Tag: Chinese webnovel

{Please read the original translations on SurrealSkyTranslations instead of supporting TL aggregator sites. Thanks!}

It appeared that he could complete the side mission by tonight. After He Ruge finished reading through Crow’s dialogue, he became curious about the mysterious door Crow had been talking about

The discussions from the ‘outside world’ had yet to reach the Maze City crew. Now that they have been filming for 2 days, the crew’s shooting progress finally fell onto the right track.

There was nothing more to say about the acting skills of the two male protagonists. Director Yuan had selected Rong Xu and Bo Xiwen as the male protagonists mainly due to their acting skills, preceding their popularity. Before his formal cooperation with Bo Xiwen began, Rong Xu never expected that the other party didn’t know how to study scripts but still had good acting skills.

Opposite of Bo Xiwen, the female lead, Ren Shuzhi’s script was done up beautifully with colorful markings. Yet, when she began acting, she constantly NG’d. Director Yuan spent the majority of the morning instructing Ren Shuzhi, and in the evening, when Ren Shuzhi finally entered her role, Director Yuan reluctantly nodded his approval.

After all, Ren Shuzhi’s main line of work was singing. Thus, it was understandable that her acting skills were not up to par.

I apologize. I was writing. Could you send me a picture of the red streaks

However, during the break, Luo Qian quietly told Rong Xu a secret: “Actually, this Ren Shuzhi seems to have bought her way in. She desperately wanted a role as Female Number One in a high-grossing commercial film, so she invested in Maze City.”

Hearing this, Rong Xu suddenly came to a realization. He smiled and turned towards her: “Sis’ Xiao Qian, how do you know so much gossip?”

Luo Qian smiled shyly and whispered: “When I was talking to Sister Li from the props team, I heard her say it.”

Hearing this, Rong Xu finally understood why many celebrities would specifically look for female assistants instead of looking for male assistants who were strong and could carry luggage. Just as Luo Zhentao once said, girls are more detail-oriented. Not only were they better at managing fans, but they also had an easier time mingling with other people after arriving in a new crew. Who knows…… perhaps they could also dig up a little unknown gossip.

That day, except for Ren Shuzhi’s continuous NG’s, Rong Xu and Bo Xiwen’s shooting went smoothly. After returning to the hotel at night, Rong Xu just finished taking a shower when he suddenly received a call from Qin Cheng…… En, another video call.

Ruge: “Thank you for your scientific explanations. I haven’t introduced myself yet. You can call me Ruge.”

This time, Rong Xu didn’t answer, but rather hung up. Then, he made an ordinary phone call and said with a smile: “There’s no need for a video call. Qin Cheng, did you remember what you wanted to tell me yesterday?”

Qin Cheng: “……En, are you in the room alone right now?”

Rong Xu held his phone in one hand as he leaned back and fell directly onto the soft bed. He chuckled and said, “En, I’m alone in the room.” 

After a brief pause, he asked again: “What exactly is so private that I must not have anyone in the room before you’re willing to tell me?”

Qin Cheng: “……”

Listening to the silence on the other end of the phone, a hint of amusement flashed through the youth’s clear eyes. However, his tone was solemn, and at the moment the other party couldn’t hear the smile in his words at all: “Qin Cheng, if there is something, you absolutely must say it. Don’t hide it from me. Such a private matter must be quite serious.”

Qin Cheng: “……Actually, it’s not that private.”

The smile on his face gre a few degrees brighter, but Rong Xu’s voice became even more serious: “Go ahead, I’m listening.”

Qin Cheng: “……”

Before I came into contact with online writing, I had always felt inferior because my outer appearance was not as good as that of my friends around me.

The man’s silence made the young man unable to hold back from smiling until his eyes crinkled. He asked again, one word at a time. 

Only after a long time did Qin Cheng reply in a soft voice: “…… It’s my birthday soon. Do you want to go out and eat together?”

This time, it’s Rong Xu’s turn: “……”

Holding back his laughter, Rong Xu asked in surprise, “Just this? I remember that your birthday is still more than four months away?”

Qin Cheng replied in a calm manner: “En, it’s less than five months away.”

Rong Xu thought for a bit: “Don’t you think it’s too early?”

Qin Cheng: “There is only less than half a year to go.” 

Rong Xu finally couldn’t help but stretch out his hand to cover his mouth. Only then did he barely manage to suppress the laughter in his throat. 

The two continued to chat, and Rong Xu never asked “why are birthdays so private?” because he was worried that if this man gave an inexplicable answer with a serious face, he was likely to burst out laughing uncontrollably.

This time, they only talked on the phone for an hour before hanging up.

Welcome, welcome, it’s been so long since I saw a new person.”

With yesterday’s lesson, Ren Shuzhi never came over to call up again, and Rong Xu also received news from Luo Qian halfway through the night: [I saw her go into Ma Qi’s room when I was outside just now.】

With this, it is definitely impossible for Ren Shuzhi to go to Rong Xu to talk about the script today.

When hanging up the phone, Rong Xu overheard a strange sound from the receiver. It was familiar to the ears, but the background was too noisy to hear clearly. The two finally ended the call and the youth fell asleep early. 

He didn’t know that the familiar sound was the sound of the airport announcement speakers.

An hour later, it was late at night in Mainland Huaxia, but a plane had just taken off from the Los Angeles Airport in the United States, passing over the vast expanse of the Pacific, and heading towards the distant eastern continent.

Early the next morning, Ren Shuzhi and Ma Qi arrived at the crew together. Rong Xu raised his eyes to give them a glance, and then looked away.

Not long after, it was Rong Xu’s scene.

Today, they were going to film a scene in the dissection room. Xue Jiazhe, as a psychologist invited to help in the case, studied criminal psychology when he was in college and was good at crafting criminal psychology profiles. If one wanted to craft a criminal profile, they couldn’t just go to the scene and interview witnesses, but they’d also need to analyze the body of the victim because it was the point of closest contact to the criminal.

ho said I have no talent. My speed is 10,000 words per hour. If you could squeeze out a hundred words in an hour that’d already be amazing

{Please read the original translations on SurrealSkyTranslations instead of supporting TL aggregator sites. Thanks!}

The author has something to say:

Rong Rong: Did you forget something?

Orange Qin: Baby is back! RongRong, Baby is here. (*>∇<)/

TL corner: >w> Qin Cheng on the day of his birthday: “My next birthday is only less than 365 days away. Let’s plan ahead”

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Thank You, Anonymous 1, Anonymous 2, and M.Landers for your lovely Ko-fi donations!

Chapter 75 will be the sponsored chapter and will be released in the next few days. Meanwhile, Chapter 74 part 2 will be posted within 24 hours. (^u^)/ Enjoy!

{Please read the original translations on SurrealSkyTranslations instead of supporting TL aggregator sites. Thanks!}

The higher the quality of the Zerg wings, the lighter the color and the longer the length. High-quality Zerg wings not only have the ability to fly long distances in high altitudes, but also have sharp bones covered in spikes that maintain extremely terrifying lethality.

In this world, movie award ceremonies liked to stagger times and present different awards separately. However, Huaxia’s three major TV series Awards were very strange and preferred to be presented together. Each June, the Peony Award would take the lead and publicize the results early in the month, followed by the Feitian Award, and then the Golden Bell Award.

Among the three awards, Peony Award’s selection process was based on the audience’s choice, with professionalism being the weakest factor. The Feitian Award was based on both comprehensive professional analysis and audience votes. The Golden Bell Award had the strongest focus on professional opinion, where the results of audience votes would only be counted as one total vote. The majority of the weight was still on expert evaluation.

In any case, these three awards are Huaxia’s most heavyweight TV series awards. When their nominations were announced, there had been no doubt that Vie for Supremacy and Ambush would be the big winners of the year.

For the Peony Awards, “Vie for Supremacy” received 13 nominations, and “Ambush” received 10 nominations.

For the Feitian Awards, “Vie for Supremacy” received 9 nominations, and “Ambush” received 5 nominations.

For the Golden Bell Awards, “Vie for Supremacy” received 7 nominations, and “Ambush” received 4 nominations!

Although, in regards to the most professional Golden Bell Award, the advantages of these two TV series were not as obvious as it was for the Peony Award and Feitian Award, they were still far ahead of the other TV shows from the same time period. This was especially so for “Vie for Supremacy”. Best Director, Best TV Series, Best Actor and Actress…… this TV series received nominations for all of them!

Even the Male Number Four could be nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Bell Awards! 

[YaoYao was nominated for Golden Bell Award’s Best Actor~!!! AAAHHHHHHHH I heavily support this nomination! YaoYao is really too beautiful, RongRong also played him very well!]

[#BeggingToSleepWithWanQiYao# I post a Weibo with this tag every day, really want to sleep YaoYao!]

[YaoYao I definitely cannot sleep with, so I will take a step back and compromise, I will sleep RongRong instead XD] 

[A shameless LS! RongRong is mine! My Rong is the best, nominated for 2 Best Supporting Actors awards, and nominated for 2 Best Newcomer awards! AAAAHHHHH, Marshall Huo is great, YaoYao is great, they are ALL GREAT. RongRong is the best! #RongXu]

The success of Vie for Supremacy and Ambush equated to Rong Xu’s success.

He looked forwards, through the iron cage, at He Ruge in the distance and saw the worry and pity that were about to overflow from his deep, black eyes.

This situation was not particularly obvious in Vie for Supremacy because Tang Menglan’s and Dong Zheng’s interpretations were also spectacular, and both had been nominated for TV Emperor and TV Empress. Compared to them, Rong Xu’s Best Supporting Actor and Best Newcomer were not particularly eye-catching. However, for Ambush, no one expected that the actor Han Yanghao didn’t even get a single Emperor nomination, while Rong Xu got a nomination for Best Supporting Actor and Best Newcomer for the role of Huo Xi.

Of course, after the incident half a year ago where he flaunted his celebrity status, Han Yanghao had already fallen out of popularity. Not to mention comparing with Rong Xu, even compared with ordinary first-line newcomers and second-line newcomers, he was already out of his league! In recent months, Han Yanghao had completely disappeared from public notice- all endorsements had been changed, and no new works had appeared.

When Ambush received the nominations for the three major TV series awards this time, some netizens even jokingly said: [Do you think that shameless Han Yanghao’s skin will be thick enough to follow the cast onto the red carpet? 】

An outraged netizen immediately replied: [Back when we asked him to roll out of the entertainment circle, he kept playing dead and shut off his Weibo! Maybe he really will go benefit off the red carpet this time. Clearly, he even wanted to drive our Rong Xu out of the crew in the beginning. If he wants even a smidgen of face, he shouldn’t go. Of course, if he really dares attend the awards ceremony, then I dare to brush his black materials onto social media a hundred times! 】

Ordinary quality Zerg wings are like a bird’s wings, being generally gray or light brown in color, and have the ability to fly short distances.

Just news pertaining to Han Yanghao, there was already this much, but most netizens regarded this protagonist of Ambush as invisible. Anyways, this person didn’t have a single nomination for any award. Even by casually discussing him, it would be giving him publicity traffic for nothing! 

 Coincidentally, Rong Xu’s endorsement advertisement for Luck Potato Chips just began airing on TV the day before yesterday. Deng Yiwen’s scenes had accidentally been cut out in the ad, and only the scene of Rong Xu’s seizing the treasure was shown. Coupled with this time’s nominations, Rong Xu’s popularity reached a new high, and he rose to eighth place on Weibo’s trending celebrities list! 

Weibo’s trending celebrities list includes all of Huaxia’s celebrities. This list didn’t rank celebrities according to their position, work or seniority, but rather on the amount of Weibo discussions held about each celebrity within a week’s time. It was a simple and crude ranking system. So, in theory, as long as one was popular enough, even if they’d only debuted for a month, they could still surpass other celebrities and become number one on the list.

It was also worth mentioning that the Number One position on this list had not changed in the past six years.

It was always Qin Cheng.

The experience of Zerg wings transplantation was a layer of murky gray ash in Xi Guican’s memories. He initially thought that if he experienced this pain again in the game, he might lose control of his emotions.

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I’ve added some Easter Eggs for bots and humans stealing translations ^v^. If you can see them, please do not support aggregator or theft sites~~ Many Thanks! Please read on SurrealSky Translations!

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{Please read the original translations on SurrealSkyTranslations instead of supporting TL aggregator sites. Thanks!}

Ren Shuzhi didn’t know whether Rong Xu was calling his parents or other relatives. But, having this kind of thing overheard by a third party, and even more so by the other’s relatives……really was a huge loss of face. Ren Shuzhi awkwardly said a few more words to Rong Xu, and then tried to leave. Before leaving, she still remembered to look at Rong Xu and wave the script in her hand: “Let’s find time to talk…… about the script later.”

Rong Xu raised an eyebrow without refuting. He just smiled and nodded to the other party.

Finally, Ren Shuzhi left Rong Xu’s room reluctantly, and Rong Xu closed the door. Before he even walked back to the bed, he heard the man’s low and magnetic voice flow over: “She has a bad reputation, doesn’t really want to discuss the script.”

Rong Xu picked up the phone, lay down on the bed, and smiled: “I know.”

Qin Cheng froze for a moment, and then heard a smile in the youth’s voice: “Maybe tonight was really just to talk about the script. But, coming tomorrow and the day after tomorrow…… then, maybe it won’t be something as simple as script discussing in the future. No one would deliberately come to someone else’s room in the middle of the night to talk about a script. While discussing the script, they can also do other things.”

Following that, Rong Xu then revealed Ren Shuzhi’s behaviors during the day. At the end, he frowned and said with confusion: “I heard Sis’ Xiao Qian say that she really likes to be with male actors of the same crew and do …… those kinds of things. But those kinds of things have always been ‘You ask, I’m willing’ (mutually consensual). She was already walking with Ma Qi during the day, why would she come to my room at night?”

Qin Cheng: “……”

Why? If it were him, he wouldn’t want any Ma Qi or Niu Qi. He also wanted to carry a script book and knock on your door!

In the end, Rong Xu never came to a conclusion on this matter because Qin Cheng very quickly diverted the topic. The two chatted about each other’s filming, and later, they talked about Rong Xu’s desire to raise a cat at home. Like this, they chatted until eleven o’clock in the evening^[1] and Qin Cheng had to go film. It was only then that Rong Xu suddenly remembered: “By the way, exactly what did you need to talk to me about?”

Qin Cheng looked on calmly: “I forgot.”

Rong Xu: “……”

Seeing the man’s indifferent and mild expression, Rong Xu couldn’t help but slowly curve up his lips. A thought suddenly flashed through his heart. He smiled and looked at the man on the phone and saw that Qin Cheng had already thrown on his coat and seemed to be heading out.

“The dark blue tie might suit you better.”

Qin Cheng’s hand, which was holding onto the crimson tie, suddenly froze. He swiveled his head to look at the phone and saw the delicate and genteel youth on the screen curl his lips in a smile. He suddenly felt as if the spring flowers were in full bloom, dazzling and soft. 

Rong Xu said seriously: “That tie is very nice and suits you quite well.”

Qin Cheng silently put down the crimson tie, picked up the dark blue tie, and tied it up.

When he finished this, he saw Rong Xu nod and say with a smile: “Very handsome.”

Qin Cheng: “……En.”

The smile on Rong Xu’s lips deepened a few degrees: “Then, good night?”

Qin Cheng looked down at the phone: “Good night.”

Just before hanging up, the youth smiled again and repeated: “Really, very handsome.”

Qin Cheng’s ear tips turned a bit red: “……En.”

This international video call lasted a full three hours before it finally ended. Qin Cheng put his cell phone into his suit pocket, walked silently to the floor-to-ceiling mirror in the room, and inspected the dark blue tie carefully. Without blinking, he looked at it coolly for one minute, two minutes……

At this moment, Xu Jin’s voice came from outside the door: “Why haven’t you come out yet? Qin Cheng, you’ll be filming your final scenes this afternoon. Didn’t you ask for an early return to China yesterday? You’re still not coming out yet?”

The man immediately retracted his gaze and walked over to open the door. Unexpectedly, the other party suddenly opened the door first. 

Xu Jin was stunned, and his eyes were drawn to the other party’s tie: “Huh, when you all were deciding on the image for the final scene yesterday, didn’t you say that the crimson colored one is better? Why did you choose this one?”

Qin Cheng gave him a light glance: “You remembered wrong. This one is better.”

Xu Jin: “…… Do you think I’m dumb?”

Qin Cheng stopped and looked at Xu Jin, his eyes were full of the implication “oh, you found out”, and then he resumed walking.

Xu Jin: “……” It’s so hard to live well these days! ! !

At the same time, on the other side of the planet, Huaxia was in its midnight hours.

After 1:00 AM on May 23, the three major TV drama awards in Huaxia, the Peony Award, Feitian Award and Golden Bell Award, all simultaneously announced their nominees for the year. This list of nominations considered all the TV series broadcasted on TV stations at the Huaxia prefectural level (widespread showings) and also web series broadcasted on major video websites in the past year. In the end, each technical award had eight nominees, and each major award had five nominees.

Among all the award nominees, the biggest weekly drama benefactor was Ambush, which was launched in November of last year, and the biggest daily drama benefactor was, of course, the most-viewed major production film in the past year, Vie for Supremacy.

When Rong Xu woke up and turned on his phone, he received a bunch of congratulatory text messages.

[Luo Zhentao: Xiao Xu, congratulations! Huo Xi was nominated for the Best Male Supporting Actor for the Peony Award, Wan Qiyao was nominated for Best Male Supporting Actor for the Golden Bell Award, and you were also nominated for Best Newcomer for both the Peony Award and Feitian Awards! 】

{Please read the original translations on SurrealSkyTranslations instead of supporting TL aggregator sites. Thanks!}

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Hi all! Thanks for waiting. I translated the wrong WDBKFMGB chapter and had to catch up, so it pushed all my scheduled posts back this week.

Thank you Anonymous and Ohchile for your lovely Kofi donations! Another bonus chapter goal has been met and chapter 74 (or 75) will be a bonus chapter! Thank you for your support!

{Please read the original translations on SurrealSkyTranslations instead of supporting TL aggregator sites. Thanks!}

This visual blessing that fell from the heavens only lasted for three minutes before it came to an abrupt end.

Rong Xu reached out and retrieved the clothes from under the phone, and without the support of the clothes, the phone laid flat on the smooth sink. And so, on the other side of the ocean, remaining on the man’s phone screen, there was only a span of blurry, white…… ceiling.

Qin Cheng: “……”

Rong Xu put on his clothes quickly and also wiped down his hair. Only after he had everything in order did he pick up the phone on the sink again to see Qin Cheng looking through a script with a calm expression, not looking at his phone.

Rong Xu smiled and said: “I’m done, Qin Cheng. Is there something you’re looking for me for tonight?”

Hearing Rong Xu’s voice, the man sported a blank face and put aside the script in his hands that he’d turned over hundreds of times already and looked into the phone screen. When he looked over, he only saw that the fair-skinned, handsome young man was wiping his hair with one hand. The white towel was contrasted against his slightly flushed cheeks. His skin was slightly translucent, and his eyes were black and shiny while carrying a faint, moist glow.

Qin Cheng pursed his lips slightly and asked: “Did you get hurt from the fall just now?”

Not realizing that the other party was avoiding his question, Rong Xu smiled and said: “It’s nothing, I just wasn’t standing balanced in that moment.”

Qin Cheng nodded curtly and continued: “I remember that there is a hospital near Xiangshan. If you are hurt anywhere from the fall, you should go get it examined. Today is the launch ceremony for Maze City?”

Rong Xu walked into the bedroom with his mobile phone while simultaneously nodding his head in reply: “En, yeah, just started filming today.”

“Are there any actors I know?”

Rong Xu put his phone on the bed and leaned over to search for band-aids. He replied thoughtfully: “Actors you know? Then, I’m not sure. Do you know Bo Xiwen…… Oh yes, and Ren Shuzhi, Ma Qi.”

The entertainment industry looked harmonious on the surface, but there was a strict hierarchy of power on the inside. The so-called big celebrities could crush people, and those with higher tiers have higher status, their words also carried more weight than those of smaller celebrities. For example, Qin Cheng. He had never filmed a TV series, so the only stars he had been in contact with are those in the movie circle, and the stars who could co-star with him must be at least at Xia Muyan’s level.

At any and all awards ceremonies, these kinds of movie emperors and movie empresses would generally make appearances near the end for the important finale.

Of course, there were also some popular newcomers who, relying on their current heat and ability to throw around their name, would deliberately postpone their appearances until the end as a way to show off in the entertainment circle. But in fact, this kind of mindless celebrity won’t get far. Though Rong Xu had been hot on the trending searches twice now, he still didn’t think himself to be better than Xia Muyan, Chu Qi, and the others.

If you don’t convert popularity into works and awards, there is no true stability.

After searching for a while, Rong Xu finally found the hotel’s band-aids in the drawer. He tore the seal and gently attached it to his right index finger. There was a small piece of skin that was torn there. Although it wasn’t bleeding, whenever he touched water, he would feel a slight tingling sensation.

At this moment, the man’s low and calm voice sounded: “Ren Shuzhi, I know.”

Rong Xu was taken aback as he swiveled his head around to look at the phone screen. He asked: “You know her?”

Ren Shuzhi is the current popular Sexy Empress, but compared with the whole world, she could only be regarded as a somewhat popular female singer. Even if Huaxia didn’t have ten female singers on the same level as her, there was at least five, and this wasn’t even including empresses with a higher ranking than her. 

Qin Cheng supported his chin with one hand. His eyes were indifferent, and his tone of voice seemed calm. But, every word was emphasized as he said seriously: “Ren Shuzhi’s reputation within the inner circle is not very good, you should be careful.” After a pause, Qin Cheng added: “If Mother knew that you are in contact with her, she may be very worried.”

Rong Xu immediately understood the other party’s meaning. He smiled slightly and was just about to tell the other party what happened today when he heard a knock on the door.

Rong Xu said softly: “I’m going to go take a look, it might be Sis’ Xiao Qian.”

Qin Cheng hummed softly and continued to look down at his script while Rong Xu got up and walked to the door. The man heard the squeak of the door opening as he was boredly reading the script for the nth time, when suddenly he heard a strange voice through the phone: “Miss Ren?!”

“PAH DA–“

The script was closed abruptly by the man, and Qin Cheng turned his head very swiftly to look straight into the phone screen.

It was unfortunate though that the cell phone was tossed on the bed by the youth and not carried with him. So, all Qin Cheng could see was the unchanging and unforgiving ceiling. From the other side of the phone came steady voices.

There was a hint of a smile carried in the youth’s voice, but he was a little cautious: “Miss Ren, is something the matter?”

A feminine voice rang over: “Rong Rong, I have scenes tomorrow, and I don’t quite understand them…… Can you teach me?”

Qin Cheng: “!”

Rong Rong?! Is Rong Rong a name you can casually call? ! !

Rong Xu gave a low laugh: “It’s a bit late today. I can study the script with you tomorrow morning?”

Ren Shuzhi’s voice carried a bit of grievance: “But, I’m worried that it will be too late tomorrow……”

Qin Cheng: “!!!”

Asking someone to help you, yet you have so many conditions! ! !

Silence rang out on the other side of the phone for a moment before Rong Xu’s helpless voice finally sounded: “Miss Ren, it’s a bit late now. A single man and a single woman alone in the same room studying the script, I’m afraid……”

The intention of sending off the guests (wanting her to leave) was very obvious. This was implying to the other that if the paparazzi caught onto a weakness, it wouldn’t be good.

But, unexpectedly, Ren Shuzhi gave a sweet laugh: “It’s fine, Rong Rong, we’ll just be studying the script, it’s nothing much.”

Qin Cheng: “!!!”

Although he couldn’t see the other two’s expressions, the man was actually heavily scrunching up his eyebrows. Seeing that the youth didn’t speak up for a while now, Qin Cheng pursed his thin lips and narrowed his phoenix eyes. He then threw the script directly on the table next to him and coughed calmly.

At the door, Ren Shuzhi suddenly heard a sound and was taken aback. After a bit, the smile on her face stiffened, and she smiled at Rong Xu dryly: “Are you on the phone with someone else?”

A sly glint flashed through the youth’s bright eyes, and he said lightly: “En, I’m currently on the phone with a family member.”

Ren Shuzhi: “……”

The door-to-door hookup was overheard by family members! ! !

{Please read the original translations on SurrealSkyTranslations instead of supporting TL aggregator sites. Thanks!}

This chapter hasn’t been edited yet. If you find anything that needs corrections, please let me know! Thanks a bunch!

TL Corner: Ohho. I wonder how Family Member Qin feels about this.

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Part (2/2) of the Sponsored Chapter! Enjoy!

{Please read the original translations on SurrealSkyTranslations instead of supporting TL aggregator sites. Thanks!}

As if not hearing the students’ wailing, Xue Jiazhe walked out of the classroom holding his laptop. The moment he left the classroom, he suddenly side-stepped and the man who was prepared to throw a punch at him only struck air.

Xue Jiazhe raised his eyebrows to look at the man. The camera lens obscured the expression in his eyes, but the corners of his lips were slightly raised: “This male student, trying to beat up a teacher, is going to be expelled from school.”

Tan Yangxuan asked indifferently: “Then, if I want to ask the teacher for a favor, how else do I go about it?”

Xue Jiazhe replied casually: “What kind of favor?”

The smile on Tan Yangxuan’s face immediately sank: “A serial murder case. Brother Xue, my true brother, please save me.”

The smile on Xue Jiazhe’s lips deepened a bit more, completely unlike the one he showed during class that made him feel otherworldly^[1]: “Save you? Wants to kill you? Which murderer can kill you who works out 8 hours every day and has an eight pack at the age of 18, won the Sanda World Cup (SWC) at 20, shut down a drug den in Myanmar at 23, fought off 16 gangsters alone at 25, and at 27……”

“……Why do you remember my life better than me?”

Xue Jiazhe turned around and walked off: “Because smart people can remember these sorts of little things.”

Tan Yangxuan was taken aback for a moment, and then immediately chased after him: “Xue Jiazhe! Speak clearly. Are you saying that I am stupid? Okay, I haven’t seen you in a year, yet you treat your old classmate and friend like this? You, don’t leave……”

The two people’s figures gradually disappeared down the end of the corridor. When Bo Xiwen’s silhouette also vanished, Yuan Tao shouted “CUT” and ended this long-focus shoot.

Daring to use a long-focus lens to shoot the first scene showed just how bold Director Yuan was, and that he also had bold spending capabilities.^[2]

In the scene playback and analysis, Xue Jiazhe’s indifference and coldness contrasted against the changes when faced with his old classmate, and Tan Yangxuan’s toughness and righteousness were all portrayed vividly. Although the acting skills of those extras were very ordinary, even if they were the ones specially selected to have lines, it was still difficult to please Director Yuan. But, as far as the two lead actors were concerned, their scenes were already fantastic.

Director Yuan thought for a while: “Let’s do another take of the extras’ scene, one more time!”

At this time, Rong Xu and Bo Xiwen just walked back from the corridor together, and hearing this, Rong Xu smiled towards Bo Xiwen. Even though it was hidden by the lens (during filming), this face that belonged to both Rong Xu and Xue Jiazhe was still outstandingly dazzling.

Bo Xiwen was stunned when he saw it. A moment later, he nodded to Rong Xu awkwardly and immediately walked away. The handsome, sunny disposition of Tan Yangxuan from just now was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing his reaction, Rong Xu raised an eyebrow. Luo Qian had just walked over, and she said strangely: “Bo Xiwen……seems a bit weird? How come as soon as the camera leaves him, he suddenly becomes so shy and soft spoken. When he was in front of the camera, he was clearly so bold.”

Rong Xu received the glass of water, took a sip, and smiled: “You think his change was big?”

Luo Qian nodded.

Rong Xu said, “That shows that he has good acting skills. For Director Yuan to choose him, it is not without reason.” That he could become a first-tier film newcomer, there is naturally a reason.

Rong Xu didn’t say the later part of that sentence out loud. He stared at Bo Xiwen’s back for a brief moment before turning his gaze away, and going to prepare for the next scene. Thus, he naturally didn’t notice that, beside the set, there was always someone staring at him, a gaze that contained curiosity and scrutiny.

The gorgeous and sexy queen rubbed her red lips and whispered to herself: “Rong Rong, Rong Rong, ah……”

On the first day of the shoot, the crew only filmed until 8 o’clock in the evening before ending for the day, letting everyone return to rest early and prepare for the long battle ahead.

Since Rong Xu received Qin Cheng’s text message that afternoon, he never replied, and Qin Cheng also didn’t send another message.

Originally, Rong Xu thought that Qin Cheng was only joking around with him. After all, the other party would be filming until four or five o’clock in the morning, without even taking a break. So, why would he (QC) want to call him (RX)? No matter how he thought about it, it would be weird. Thus, when he returned to the hotel, he only sent Qin Cheng a brief “I’m back at my room” and started taking a bath.

Unexpectedly, right after he’d finished washing his hair, his phone suddenly rang. Rong Xu was caught by surprise, and he immediately reached out to answer the phone on the sink: “Qin Cheng?”

The moment the youth pressed the answer button, the sound of water splashed into the man’s ears through the speaker. There was a few seconds of delay on the phone before an image suddenly appeared on screen, and both Qin Cheng and Rong Xu froze.

Rong Xu had answered the phone in a flurry and didn’t notice that the other party was actually making a video call. Whereas, Qin Cheng never would have expected that as soon as the call went through, he would see the youth’s naked upper body!

Water droplets dripped slowly from his wet hair, sliding across that beautiful jawline, across those fragile collarbones, and passing across that white chest like a stream, moving along that thin and slender waist to the area below that was hidden by the screen.

Qin Cheng: “!!!”

The jade white skin and pink nubs on the boy’s chest caused Qin Cheng to look away immediately, but in the next moment, he turned back silently.

Now, it was Rong Xu’s turn: “……”

He directly tossed the phone face up onto the sink onto a pile of clothes and turned on the hands-free option.

The image instantly changed. Qin Cheng opened his eyes wide as he saw something seemingly flash across his eyes, but, the image changed so fast that he didn’t have time to see anything clearly. When he finally took a closer look, all he was able to see was a fixed ceiling and a small glass sliding door.

 The bathroom was filled with silence, and only the sound of dripping water broke the quietness.

Qin Cheng carefully examined the screen, and when he realized that he could truly only see the ceiling and the sliding glass door, he retracted his line of sight with what seemed to be regret as he asked in a solemn voice: “……You are taking a bath?”

Rong Xu silently picked up the soap, and while doing the final procedure (soaping and washing), he replied calmly: “En.” 

After a while, he said again: “I didn’t expect you to make a video call. Is something the matter?”

The rustling sound of rubbing soap made Qin Cheng scrunch up his brows slightly, and his eyes darkened a few degrees. He said in a seemingly casual tone: “There is indeed something I need to tell you. There is no one else in your room, right?”

Hearing these words, Rong Xu’s mind instantly returned to the text message sent by the other party in the afternoon.

……What is it, so private, why did Qin Cheng continuously insist that no one else be present?

Caught deep in his train of thought, Rong Xu wasn’t paying attention, and the soap suddenly slipped out from his hands. His eyes widened in surprise, and hurriedly wanted to grab the soap, but he was caught off guard and stepped directly onto the slippery soap, causing his whole body to suddenly fall on the side.^[3]

“BANG——”

“Rong Rong…… Rong Xu!”

The man’s flustered voice immediately sounded. But, before Qin Cheng even had time to worry, he suddenly saw an arm propped onto the sliding glass door of the bathroom. Consequently, the young man’s naked upper body once again appeared on the phone screen. This time, he was a little embarrassed. His black hair was messy scattered across his cheeks, and his arms were resting on the sliding door as if barely keeping him from falling again.

This picture was shockingly beautiful, a chaotic beauty which was even more charming, and that delicate, beautiful face was still painted with a hint of flush caused by panic.

Coughing once, Rong Xu shook his head: “Nothing’s wrong……”

Qin Cheng staring at the phone screen intently: “En, nothing’s wrong……nothing’s wrong is good.”

Rong Xu used the sliding door as support and slowly stood up straight, finally completely avoiding the ending of another fall. He picked up the soap and put it back in the soap box with lingering fear in his heart. Then, he turned on the shower and started to rinse the foam off his body.

Therefore, at this moment, Qin Cheng’s mobile phone screen was divided into two halves. One half was the ceiling, while the other half…… was the image of the youth’s chest. From time to time, it would reveal a tiny bit of pink that could stimulate another’s imagination. Qin Cheng said nothing as he listened to the sound of water and watched the unguarded Rong Xu take a shower.

Over the phone, Rong Xu’s voice also sounded through the noise of water: “Give me a minute, I’ll finish soon.”

Qin Cheng: “……En.” He knows that you will be finished soon.

After watching for half a minute, even Qin Cheng himself felt that his behavior was too shameless and quietly turned away his gaze. But, after only turning away for a few seconds, he involuntarily turned back again and continued to stare at the phone screen. Look righteously and openly!

The video call continued, and the youth on the screen was still completely unguarded.

This was the night 2 days before Qin Cheng was set to return from the United States. It was 8:30 in the evening, and the night had just begun.

The author has something to say: 

Orange Qin: [Turns gaze away] Baby is an honest and good baby, cannot peep!

[Three seconds later]

Orange Qin: [Turns back] Baby…… Baby is not peeping. Baby is looking openly and righteously ?(? ???w??? ?)?

RongRong: You Rogue!!!

{Please read the original translations on SurrealSkyTranslations instead of supporting TL aggregator sites. Thanks!}

TL corner: //Bends down. Here you go, Qin Cheng. I picked up the face you seemed to have dropped along with Rong Rong’s soap >_>

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Part (1/2) of Sponsored Chapter! Enjoy! Part (2/2) will be posted very soon.

{Please read the original translations on SurrealSkyTranslations instead of supporting TL aggregator sites. Thanks!}

There was no time to ask the other party what was wrong before the scene manager called on Rong Xu to start filming.

The confusion in his heart was temporarily suppressed, and Rong Xu handed his cell phone over to Luo Qian, walking towards the set up scene. Before walking away though, he thought for a moment and said solemnly to Luo Qian: “No matter what messages I receive later on my cell phone, Sis Xiao Qian, don’t look at it.”

Luo Qian was taken aback for a moment, but immediately put the phone in her small personal bag and answered earnestly: “Okay, Xiao Xu, don’t worry, I will definitely not look at it!”

Like this, Rong Xu left without worry.

With Luo Qian’s character, since she made a promise, then she definitely wouldn’t peek. Although Luo Qian didn’t have the password for Rong Xu’s phone, as long as a message came in, she would be able to see the message sent by the other party just by looking at the lock screen interface without even unlocking the phone — at least a good half of it.

Although Rong Xu didn’t know what Qin Cheng was going to discuss with him… En, private matters, but in any case, it was best not to let anyone else know about such matters.

Even until now, Luo Zhentao hadn’t told Rosie about “Rong Xu and Qin Cheng living together”. This matter, If one less person could know about it, then one less person should know about it. If this is actually exposed, it will cause both Rong Xu and Qin Cheng trouble.

Thinking of this, the youth paused briefly, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind: Is it time to buy a house and move out?

However, this thought only briefly flashed in his mind for the moment, and even Rong Xu himself didn’t put much importance on it. He gently lifted the corners of his lips, and a helpless smile appeared on his face.

And so, this matter was once again thrown to the back of his mind by said person.

The crew of Maze City first shot the indoor scenes at Xiangshan Film and Television City. The prop team had set up all the indoor scenes a month and a half ago, and was currently working on setting up the outdoor scenes. After all, this was a modern drama, so there were not too many requirements in the creation of the scenes’ settings. The first scene being shot was the scene where Tan Yangxuan (Bo Xiwen) went to find his college classmate, so naturally, they also needed to film Xue Jiazhe’s (Rong Xu) teaching scenes.

The vice director had hired more than fifty extras to play Xue Jiazhe’s students.

These extras would wait every day near the Film City for job opportunities, and upon seeing celebrities, they weren’t overly excited. Only a few of them who were obviously newcomers couldn’t help but be curious, coming forwards excitedly to ask Rong Xu, Bo Xiwen and Ren Shuzhi for autographs and a group photo.

Rong Xu had only made his debut one year ago, and most of the temporary actors had been in the industry far longer than him. However, this circle was a harsh place. Many people have dreams of becoming so-called “horizontal drifters” or “drifters on a tailwind”^[1], but end up having neither a good face nor a talent for acting. Thus, they could only become a temporary actor first and strive to improve their acting skills, hoping to mix deeper into the entertainment circle.

Ren Shuzhi only signed two names before retracting her smile from impatience and asking her assistant to dismiss these new extras. Meanwhile, Bo Xiwen dazedly autographed for every new extra and also took a group photo.

From a distance, Ren Shuzhi watched the two male protagonists in the crew and covered her lips, chuckling softly to her assistant: “See, I didn’t misjudge Rong Xu, he has good looks and also a good temper. His attitude towards the group is good, and he’s a much better person than I am.”

Her assistant smiled and said: “Sister Ren, he’s just ignorant. Since he came out with the “Lost Wings” album, then that means he wants to take on the music scene. If he builds a good relationship with you, it would only benefit him, not harm him.”

Ren Shuzhi retorted disapprovingly: “Are you so short-sighted?”

The assistant was stunned.

Ren Shuzhi curled up her red lips and tapped her fingers upon her beautiful face twice while examining Rong Xu’s body. She said meaningfully: “This is my favorite type. Compared to him, Ma Qi is really far away…”

Perceiving Ren Shuzhi’s gaze, Rong Xu raised his head to look at the other party. He nodded slightly, revealing a calm and genteel smile.

Ren Shuzhi immediately waved at him, blinked, and made a finger-heart gesture.

Before long, the lighting group and camera group were both ready, and the group of extras all sat in their seats. Director Yuan brought Rong Xu and Bo Xiwen over to discuss the details of filming the next scene, and then he sat back in his seat and raised his hand—

“Action!”

In that instance, the set quickly quieted down.

Bright lights illuminated the entire classroom. The extras began whispering softly to each other, imitating the scene of college students goofing off and laughing before class, and making it seem like they really had come to a youthful classroom. Eight cameras shot this scene from various directions until faint footsteps sounded from the corridor outside the door.

The sound was calm and unhurried, and it didn’t speed up. If you listened carefully, you would find that the interval between each footstep was exactly the same!

When the door creaked upon being pushed open, the classroom fell silent in an instant. Everyone’s eyes were on the man who opened the door and they all froze the moment they saw him. He was wearing a light-colored suit, holding a thin laptop in his right hand, and stepping into the classroom.

Close-fitting suit trousers outlined his slender and straight legs as he walked to the podium step by step. He placed down his laptop and raised his eyes to look at the group of students below the podium. All of his hair was fixed to perfection with hairspray, not even a single piece of loose hair could be found. It was as if he had obsessive-compulsive disorder. His clothes were ironed neatly, and his narrow, beautiful eyes were hidden behind silver glasses, while his lips were pursed slightly, and his eyes were indifferent.

Suddenly, no student in the audience dared to speak nonsense, and the extra actor closest to him actually involuntarily opened the book in front of him and looked down in a very serious manner.

A strong and cold aura instantly diffused into the scene, and Luo Qian, who was observing next to the set while holding a towel and thermos, couldn’t help but swallow her saliva. She even wanted to take out her phone and secretly take a photo, but she quickly cut off that idea.

Not far away, Ren Shuzhi handed her water glass to her assistant, surprise flashing through her eyes, and she couldn’t help taking a few steps forward.

At this moment, a cold and noble voice sounded in the spacious classroom: “Who believes in horoscopes?”

One sentence broke the silence. Director Yuan sat enthusiastically behind the eight monitors, carefully examining the images on the screen. Ren Shuzhi had already walked over to the side of the set and stood beside Luo Qian. Her red lips curled up as she looked at Rong Xu who was standing very seriously in the center of the set.

No one had thought that when Rong Xu began acting, he would change completely.

When Director Yuan first decided to choose Rong Xu to play Xue Jiazhe, the screenwriter and producer were actually both opposed to it.

Rong Xu is too young and has very little filming experience. 

Xue Jiazhe is the *oss (final boss) of “Maze City”. A 27-year-old, young associate professor. Xue Jiazhe is deep and introverted, indifferent in appearance, but possessing outstanding self-cultivation and wisdom. Not to mention whether or not Rong Xu could bring out Xue Jiazhe’s ‘duality’, but even the screenwriters found it very difficult to simply act as a university professor.

However, Director Yuan rejected all their opinions and just directly sent the script to Rong Xu.

When he’d tried on the makeup a few days ago, Rong Xu’s screen image was quite good and the styling effect was also very good, which satisfied the screenwriter and producer. Even until just then, the producer had quietly said to Director Yuan: “If he doesn’t perform well, there is still time to change actors.”

But now, a seemingly insignificant sentence fully captured the attention of the entire crew that was watching.

He was gentle and elegant, incomparable to anyone else. Rong Xu’s Xue Jiazhe was handsome and cool, unlike a rookie actor who was only barely 18 years old. His every action was sophisticated and restrained, and even his expressions had been slightly adjusted, making him appear more mature.

After he spoke, not few students raised their hands. As arranged in the script, Rong Xu looked towards the extra actor who was sitting closest to him, and the latter automatically and subconsciously stood up as she heard Rong Xu say lightly: “What is your zodiac sign?”

That female student looked at Rong Xu’s side profile as if she was in a daze. She looked exactly like a little child who was afraid of a professor’s majestic presence. Even She herself didn’t know what was going on. Just hearing Rong Xu’s words and looking at his expression, she subconsciously replied in a low voice: “Xue……Professor Xue, I am a Sagittarius.”

“Sagittarius?” The young professor reached out and pushed at the glasses frame on the bridge of his nose. “You desire to gain others’ attention, but tend to find fault with yourself. You appear cheerful and optimistic, but sometimes feel lonely that no one can understand you. Some of your ideas may be unrealistic, but even if you know this yourself, you would occasionally suddenly want to try realizing them.”

The student’s eyes opened wide and they nodded: “Yes! Professor, do you also study constellations?”

Without answering the female student’s words, Xue Jiazhe turned to look at a male student sitting next to her: “What zodiac sign are you?”

The classroom immediately boiled over.

A professor who would actually chat about horoscopes with the students! And it was even such a handsome professor!

At this moment, the back door of the classroom was quietly opened, and a young policeman in a black jacket sneakily entered the classroom. He had just sat down in a seat when he heard the man’s cold voice say: “Fourth seat in the third to last row. Wearing a black jacket and blue jeans, with hair that is sticking out randomly and not neatly combed that……male student, what is your zodiac sign?”

Tan Yangxuan, who had just entered the set, immediately laughed, and said to Xue Jiazhe in a joking manner: “Teacher, I don’t believe in horoscopes.”

Xue Jiazhe raised an eyebrow: “What is your zodiac sign?”

Tan Yangxuan said with a cheeky smile: “I am a Cancer.”

Xue Jiazhe gave him a deep look, and after a while, he calmly replied: “You believe that everyone can have their own secrets and should not be overly frank with others. You know you have shortcomings, but you also know how to make up for them……”

After this other phrase, Tan Yangxuan smiled and said: “Teacher, you are correct. That is quite similar to myself.”

The students in the classroom began discussing even more fervently. At some point, a few students asked “Professor, do you like constellations, too?”, but Xue Jiazhe never answered their questions from beginning to end. After he took the last student’s attendance, he calmly looked down at every person in the audience and said with a casual tone: “Just then, everything I said was just made up nonsense.”

“Ah?!!!” The students instantly wailed, only the young policeman sitting in the back sported an expression of “I knew it”.

At this moment, the bell signaling the end of class rang, and the young, handsome professor said gently: “The lesson from just then was about the Barnum effect^[2]. For the next class, you must research on the Barnum effect and turn on an essay discussing your thoughts on it.” 

A pause, “Not less than a thousand words.”

“Professor!!!”^[3]

{Please read the original translations on SurrealSkyTranslations instead of supporting TL aggregator sites. Thanks!}

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