Tag: Chinese webnovel

Thank You, Anonymous C, for your lovely Kofi donations! A new SA goal has been reached, and chapter 78 will be a sponsored chapter!

I would also like to thank Nebulae for a lovely Kofi donation towards WDBKFMGB! A sponsored chapter for Koi will also be posted!

Happy Halloween everyone! Please enjoy this chapter as we bid farewell to October and welcome a new month. As a Thank You to all the wonderful supporters, readers, and fans of this site and these novels, SurrealSky Translations will be hosting a Thanksgiving Giveaway Event in November. An official announcement and page will be posted soon with more information on how to participate. Additionally, a poll will be added to get a general scope of the readers’ preferred giveaway items. Keep your eyes peeled for them! (^u^)/ *

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

Same question, different answer.

Rong Xu was still holding onto the thin woolen scarf in his hands. Previously, he didn’t feel anything (towards Qin Cheng) in particular and nothing differed from their past relationship. But now, he suddenly felt that his fingertips were… a little hot — there was still residual body temperature left on this scarf, and that warmth climbed slowly from his fingertips all the way to the tip of his heart.

Something became different from before.

The funding for Maze City’s crew was stronger than that of Ambush’s. Thus, the hotel where Rong Xu was living today was also the only four-star hotel within Xiangshan Film and Television City. However, no matter how big a hotel room is, when two men are squeezed in front of a closet together, it would still feel quite crowded. 

Because he hadn’t given it much thought before, he hadn’t felt anything about it. But, when he suddenly realized it, even the air around them seemed to be gradually heating up.

The youth’s clear pupils trembled slightly as he stared at the man in a daze, hearing the other person repeat ——

“I wanted to come on my own.”

The room’s lighting fell onto the man from behind, casting a faint halo that encompassed his body. Perhaps due to the backlight, that already profound face appeared even more three-dimensional at this time. Those long and narrow phoenix eyes seemed to be immersed in a pool of every color spectrum, making them look deep and dark. Inexplicably…… Rong Xu felt that this person seemed to be gently examining him.

Suddenly! Rong Xu turned his head around and withdrew his gaze from Qin Cheng. He moved hastily and stored the scarf into the closet. Afterwards, he began to organize his clothes. Clearly, his clothes were already neatly hung up, but he still organized it a few more times and placed all his attention into the closet, as if trying to ignore the person beside him.

Once the clothes truly couldn’t be tidied up any further, Rong Xu smiled and spoke as he walked toward the bathroom: “I didn’t expect you to actually come, so I was a little surprised. I’m going to wash up first, can you wait a while?”

As soon as his voice fell, the young man walked directly into the bathroom, raised his hand and closed the door in a matter of seconds.

Qin Cheng: “……”

Outside the door, the cold and profound man was momentarily taken aback. He frowned and thought for a moment. Then, as if suddenly realizing something, he looked up surprised in the direction of the bathroom.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Rong Xu didn’t wash up as he had just said, but rather walked over to the sink. The huge mirror reflected the beautiful face of a young man. His somewhat long hair slightly covered his eyes but couldn’t completely block the light flush on his cheeks.

After staring at himself in the mirror for a long time, Rong Xu calmly turned on the faucet, caught a bit of cold water in both hands, and started to wash his face.

Not long later, the sound of running water could be heard from the bathroom. Qin Cheng sat on the sofa but then contemplated a bit before walking over to sit on the bed — the bed was closer to the bathroom, and the clear sound of water could be better heard from there.

He turned on his phone silently. 

The sound of water filled his ears, and the Weibo platform was in front of his eyes. The man edited a Weibo post expressionlessly. Before posting it, he thought for a while and then attached another image.

[Lotus Seed Paste and Orange Stuffing: AAAAHHHHHHHHH, he seems to like me, too! Likes me, likes me, likes me, likes me, likes me! When he’s shy, looks so good, looks so good, looks so good! Want to hold Baby’s Lotus Seed Paste, Hold him, Hold him, Hold him! ! ! [image]】

The picture was a chubby cartoon rabbit holding the little rabbit next to it in a strong embrace, and planting a bunch of kiss kiss kiss kiss onto the cute little rabbit’s face…… Repeated a hundred times! The entire picture was filled to the brim with the words “kiss kiss” and was chaotic enough to make someone go mad.

Ever since the million dollar donation event last month, “Lotus Seed Paste and Orange Stuffing” had become somewhat of a celebrity within Rong Xu’s fan circle. In just one month’s time, ‘her’ total number of fans exceeded 80,000. Even after that incident, though Lotus Seed Paste and Orange Stuffing didn’t make any more posts nor issue any official replies claiming responsibility for the million dollar donation, ‘her’ number of fans didn’t show any significant decreases. There were still more than 70,000 people left.

From a certain perspective, Lotus Seed Paste and Orange Stuffing was also one of the Big Powder bosses within Rong Xu’s powder (fan) circle.

But tonight, ‘she’ suddenly posted this Weibo. When the fans saw it, some just gave it a single glance, but some others commented in curiosity.

[Huh, this tyrant actually posted a Weibo! I thought this tyrant fan had abandoned the account】

[Hahahaha, A Steel Needle^[1] , I really don’t want to believe that this Weibo was made by a wealthy fair maiden, how can it be so naively stupid, this picture makes me laugh to death 233333 So cute! 】

[The undisputed icy, wealthy fair maiden. I always thought that wealthy fair maidens were the kind who romanced others while drinking red wine. This wealthy fair maiden is different from the script! Being pelted chaotically with this cold dog food, I feel wronged! t^t】

Not long after, over three hundred netizens had already commented on Lotus Seed Paste and Orange Stuffing’s Weibo post. Most of them posted because they couldn’t believe that this wealthy fair maiden had such unique taste! Saying Kiss kiss in the past was fine, but now you’re someone with 80,000 plus fans, a deity who could casually make a donation of one million dollars! Shouldn’t you pay attention to your image?

Then, this Lotus Seed Paste and Orange Stuffing uncaringly and recklessly posted a second Weibo.

[Lotus Seed Paste and Orange Stuffing: Rong Rong really is good lookin’ ! ! ! Kiss kiss =3=// RongXu’s National Fan Support Club: Maze City’s opening ceremony high-definition montage [Image]……]

Before the fans even had time to react, Lotus Seed Paste and Orange Stuffing posted a third Weibo!

[Lotus Seed Paste and Orange Stuffing: This is Baby’s Rong Rong, all Baby’s! #WantToSleepWithWanQiYao# #FromTodayOnMarshallHuoIsCalledVeryHandsome# //Beautiful Melon Deity for Ten Mile: AoAoAoAoAo, rewatching Ambush and Vie for Supremacy today, I can’t, my little heart! It’s almost going to explode! Edited a snippet of YaoYao and Handsome Marshall Huo’s scenes~[Video link]] ^[2]

Netizens: “……”

This was the so-called one begets two, two begets three, and three begets……all things.^[3]

Lotus Seed Paste and Orange Stuffing usually does not post on Weibo, but once they do, they cannot stop!

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

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

He was wearing a black trench coat and long trousers that outlined his beautiful, slender legs. There was no expression on his handsome face. He glanced down with his slender and cold eyes at Ren Shuzhi with a calm and indifferent gaze. 

With a height difference of almost 30 centimeters, he was practically looking directly down at the woman in front of him. His slightly pursed thin lips and deep, dark eyes carried a aloof and powerful aura that quickly spread out along the hallway.

The air seemed to freeze in an instant. Ren Shuzhi stared in amazement at this man who had suddenly appeared here. Before she was able to recover, she saw the other person casually glance at herself and then turn his head to look at the youth next to him. He asked faintly: “She called you Rong Rong, are you two familiar?”

Rong Xu didn’t expect Qin Cheng to open the door so suddenly, but when he looked at Ren Shuzhi’s dumbfounded expression and Qin Cheng’s extremely cold attitude, the corners of his lips slowly raised. 

He said with a smile: “Sis’ Ren is the Female Lead of Maze City. We have been filming together these past few days.” 

Just filming together, not familiar.

Qin Cheng gave a soft “Oh” and turned to look at Ren Shuzhi: “Where is the phone?”

Ren Shuzhi reacted immediately. She curved up her red lips and looked at the handsome man in front of her with dazzling eyes as she said in a soft voice: “Mr. Qin, why are you here? I’m truly very surprised. I like your movie Disciples very much. It’s very good. I even went to the cinemas to watch it twice……”

“The phone is not with you?” The man calmly interrupted Ren Shuzhi.

Ren Shuzhi was stunned. From her purse, she took out the mobile phone that could have easily been stored with her assistant, and smiled: “I’m here to give Rong Xu his phone. Your^[1] relationship with Rong Rong is really good, I didn’t know…..”

Her voice stopped suddenly, and Ren Shuzhi’s smile once again froze at the corners of her lips.

She watched as Qin Cheng directly reached out and grabbed the phone, placing it into Rong Xu’s hand. This action was so fast and sequentially smooth that even Rong Xu didn’t have time to react. Ren Shuzhi grew even more embarrassed. 

Who knew that in the next moment, Qin Cheng would casually ask: “Is there anything else?”

Ren Shuzhi squeezed her fingers tightly, but her face still sported a smile: “Mr. Qin, actually……”

“Did you forget to take anything else?” Qin Cheng turned his head to look at Rong Xu, seemingly as if he didn’t hear Ren Shuzhi’s words.

Holding back a smile, the youth replied with a serious face: “Nothing else.”

Qin Cheng turned his head back again: “Thank you, Miss Ren. It’s getting late, you should return to your room and rest early, good night.”

As soon as his voice fell, the front door closed with a “BANG–“, and Ren Shuzhi, this delicate and charming beauty, was left outside to dry just like that after receiving a single insincere “good night”.

Not mentioning the amount of fire Ren Shuzhi was holding in her heart, she had yet to leave before she suddenly heard Qin Cheng’s indifferent voice from across the door: “Didn’t you say she’s unfamiliar to you? Why does she call you Rong Rong? It’s not very good for strangers to speak so intimately.”

Ren Shuzhi: “!!!”

Ren Shuzhi stepped on the ground fiercely in her high heels, even making clacking sounds on the carpet as she left angrily. Hearing the sound of the footsteps leaving, Rong Xu finally couldn’t help but laugh, his beautiful eyes bending into a soft crescent shape that made Qin Cheng’s gaze grow a little deeper.

But after laughing, Rong Xu sighed slightly and said: “You are offending others like this, Qin Cheng.”

Hearing this, Qin Cheng raised an eyebrow lightly: “Offending who?”

Rong Xu said helplessly: “Ren Shuzhi must be very angry. Your dislike for her is so obvious. She even deliberately tried to please you, yet you ignored her…… This makes it very difficult for her to act. Moreover, the matter was already settled, yet you deliberately said in a loud voice that she spoke too intimately just for her to hear. She must hate you very much right now.”

Qin Cheng leaned back against the wall, listening patiently to the young man’s analysis and explanation. Perhaps, even Rong Xu didn’t notice that his tone was mixed with unconcealed concern, and the man liked his caring appearance very much so. Gentle and endearing, making those clean and clear eyes appear even brighter.

After Rong Xu’s analysis was over, Qin Cheng calmly said: “To offend is to make another feel unhappy, and would also affect oneself to a certain extent. She may be very upset, but I won’t be affected at all, so……” His voice paused, and Qin Cheng raised his eyes to look at the young man earnestly as he said word by word: “Xiao Xu, this is not being offensive.”

The man said “Xiao Xu” very gently, his voice low and soft, and as deep and mellow as a cello.

Rong Xu’s heart couldn’t help but tremble. He looked at Qin Cheng again, only to see Qin Cheng’s calm eyes looking seriously at himself. It was unknown what the other was thinking in his heart while staring at the other person. Rong Xu’s lips moved, but in the end, he didn’t manage to say a word.

Qin Cheng curled up the corners of his lips and said gently without giving anything away in his expression: “And she is not Han Yanghao, so she won’t trouble you.”

The most agonizing thing in the world is when you have no one to blame but yourself if you get slapped because you personally delivered your face up to be slapped, and can’t even show a bad expression.

To be able to mix into the entertainment industry to this extent and yet not have any major scandals with such a chaotic private life meant that Ren Shuzhi was still pretty clever. As long as she’s smart enough, she wouldn’t be so stupid as to offend Qin Cheng because of such a trivial matter, or to provoke Rongxu because of such a trivial matter.

The only thing Qin Cheng did today was not give her any face, and wouldn’t make her hate him to the extreme. When Ren Shuzhi had just switched to filming, she was once slapped 22 times on the face by a film queen who used ‘filming’ as an excuse to slap her until her face bled before letting her go.

At that time, Ren Shuzhi had a pretty good status within the music scene. But, in the eyes of a Queen, it was simply not enough. 

This was all because the Queen’s current husband had had a relationship with Ren Shuzhi in the past. It was obviously a pre-marital affair, but that Queen was still reluctant to behave nicely, almost beating Ren Shuzhi to death.

Although Ren Shuzhi had later gotten an opportunity to get photographed evidence of the film Queen’s husband’s frequenting of prostitutes and made the actress heavily lose face, Ren Shuzhi still endured it on the surface in the moment. So today, she would just assume that nothing happened. She might even pretend to be just as enthusiastic and generous the next day while heading to the crew to film.

Without thinking anymore into it, Rong Xu stretched out his hand to flip on the light switch. Bright light shone down immediately and illuminated the entranceway. While turning on the lights (in the room), he lifted the corners of his lips and asked with a smile in his voice: “Why’d you suddenly remember to visit me at work? You just finished up yesterday, and yet you return to the country to visit my work today. Aren’t you exhausted?”

After sending that woman away, the two walked into the room together.

Rong Xu took off his coat, and Qin Cheng helped him hang it into the closet. Qin Cheng untied his scarf, and Rong Xu helped him tidy up.

The two’s movements were very smooth and efficient, as if they’d practiced together countless numbers of times—— But, it was true. After all, Rong Xu had lived in Qin Cheng’s house for half a year now.

While finishing tidying up the scarf, Rong Xu’s smile deepened as he casually asked: “Was it Auntie Qin who asked you to visit me at work again?”

Qin Cheng: “……”

The bright smile made the youth’s pale and delicate face even more beautiful as it reflected a hint of his youthfulness. It was clearly only half of his face, but it was still so beautiful that it made people unable to glance away. 

Rong Xu grinned, deliberately suppressing a smile, and said serenely: “If I had known earlier, I would’ve called Auntie Qin. It’s bad to trouble you. Auntie Qin always asks you to visit my workplace, you can’t even have a good rest……”

“It has nothing to do with Mother,” the man’s low, magnetic voice sounded. “I wanted to come on my own.”

Silence suddenly permeated^[2]. Rong Xu’s eyes opened wide, and he immediately turned his head around, only for his gaze to suddenly fall upon a pair of deep eyes.

Watching the young man’s surprised expression, Qin Cheng’s thin lips slightly twitched, and he repeated it word for word: “It was I, myself…… who wanted to come.”

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

TL Corner: Baby Qin is all grown up now and can his own decisions! Can even go to the store by himself! ୧(๑•̀A•́)૭

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Note: the asterisks in the translation reflect the censorship in the raws.

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

In the narrow and cramped entrance area, Rong Xu’s left hand was holding down Qin Cheng’s right hand, but his eyes were locked onto the door.

The lights in the room were not turned on. Only the dim moonlight projected through the glass windows and cast hazy shadows in the room. There was no response from the inside, but the person knocking outside the door was very patient. She didn’t feel any sense of embarrassment at all. After a long period of silence, she actually smiled again and said: “Rong Rong, are you busy?”

Only Little White Tiger was as still as a mountain, nestled in He Ruge’s arms and looking at He Ruge with his blue eyes. There were a plethora of complex emotions swirling in his eyes.

The man frowned slightly, and he lightly moved his right hand. The youth’s left hand that was being held moved along with it. Rong Xu turned his head to look at Qin Cheng, only to see the latter staring at him deeply, his eyes narrowed as if inquiring: Ren Shuzhi?

Rong Xu nodded lightly.

At this time, they heard Ren Shuzhi chuckled again and say: “Rong Rong, did someone enter the room with you just now? I didn’t see it clearly. Is it someone from our crew?”

Hearing this, Rong Xu slowly raised the corners of his lips and released the hand that was holding down Qin Cheng. He smiled faintly and said: “Sis’ Ren, I happen to have something going on just now. If it’s my phone, I will have my assistant go to your room to retrieve it.” From his words, he avoided answering Ren Shuzhi’s question.

Qin Cheng narrowed his eyes and pursed his thin lips.

He Ruge didn’t pay too much attention to Little White Tiger because Crow had warned that they must jump off the carriage when they reached Floor E.

As if perceiving the man’s down-heartedness, Rong Xu turned his eyes to look at Qin Cheng, face full of helplessness. He lowered his voice and said softly: “You came so suddenly. I’m not prepared. If Ren Shuzhi sees you, I wouldn’t know how to explain it. It’s also not good for you.”

The implication was that he didn’t want to disclose Qin Cheng’s presence to Ren Shuzhi.

Just then, Rong Xu was surprised from suddenly seeing Qin Cheng. Then, he saw Ren Shuzhi and instinctually pulled Qin Cheng into the room to ensure the two didn’t meet. This behavior was purely a subconscious action, but after rethinking it, his actions were not without reason.

As far as everyone knew, the movie Qin Cheng was currently filming was set in the United States and had nothing to do with Xiangshan Film and Television City. If he suddenly appeared here and even more so in Rong Xu’s room, then naturally it could only be because he was visiting Rong Xu.

Qin Cheng and Rong Xu had only collaborated once in Black Clouds. The two may be familiar with each other, but there were no rumors on the outside that they are friends. 

Now that Qin Cheng had suddenly appeared in Rong Xu’s room… it would still be easy to explain if they were seen by another, but being seen by Ren Shuzhi……

He Ruge was mainly afraid of running into people. All of them were combat inept.

Though Rong Xu didn’t know this woman well, he knew that the other party was not exactly considered a good person.

It’s true that there aren’t many good people within the circle, but there are still some. However, Ren Shuzhi is definitely not among them. 

It’s unpredictable as to what she would say. Maybe she’ll quietly spread false news, and…… Ren Shuzhi, this person, is actually quite beautiful, has a good body, and is open and proactive about her feelings. When a man looks at her, he was afraid that the news would not be treated as air^[1].

Inexplicably, there was a strange feeling emerging in his heart. Although Rong Xu was still calm on the surface, his pupils were shining with a deep light.

But, if Ren Shuzhi really was this easy to deal with, she wouldn’t have come knocking on the door again. The sound of a woman’s soft laughter through the door. As a titled Sexy Empress, Ren Shuzhi’s voice was very nice and sounded quite moving. Though, Rong Xu felt it was a bit harsh on the ears.

Ren Shuzhi said softly: “It’s just a small effort of opening the door, Rong Rong. I won’t even go in. I won’t discuss the script with you today.”

There are certain types of people in this world who, regardless of men or women, they are very open about romance and have low requirements for love. They just want to enjoy the present, and savor sex/love. Throughout the ages, there have been countless numbers of such people. 

Since there were people like Plato, who only pursued the art of spiritual communication, then naturally, there were also people who didn’t care too much about love and only wanted to pursue whatever they liked.

The Golden Python talked like he’d been injected with chicken blood (energetically), directly replacing the chatterbox Little Rabbit and chittered endlessly.

In his last life, Rong Xu knew a young American pop king who was super into American sweethearts. He never had a girlfriend, but he’d had numerous lovers. Everyone did what they needed to receive se*ual and emotional bliss. 

It’s said that [that American pop king] once chased after a female French singer. The other party rejected him several times, but he was not discouraged and instead became more persistent.

Rong Xu was not this kind of person, but he also didn’t really hate these kinds of people. It’s just that if this sort of messy thing fell on his head ……En, did indeed make him feel a bit stuffy and irritable.

Rong Xu thought for a while, and was about to open his mouth to refuse again, but Qin Cheng intercepted and asked in a low voice: “Can’t open the door?”

Rong Xu was startled and subconsciously replied: “……What about you hide first, then I’ll open the door?”

When he finished speaking, the youth raised his head and his gaze suddenly met a pair of smiling eyes. Qin Cheng rarely made his pleasure so obvious like this, and it surprised Rong Xu. Before he could react, he heard the man’s low, magnetic voice ring in his ears: “Don’t worry about me, she just wants to drop off the cell phone, it’s okay.”

At the next moment, they heard Ren Shuzhi say again: “Rong Rong, are you this afraid of me? I’m just here to give you your cell phone. If you continue to not open the door, Sis’ Ren is going to get angry. Is it that the one who entered your room just now was also I know……”

“KA DA—”

The crisp sound of the door opening directly interrupted Ren Shuzhi’s words.

A shrewd light flashed from those beautiful eyes, and Ren Shuzhi pinched her fingers calmly as she gradually became more vigilant in her heart.

Someone who could make Rong Xu pull them into his room immediately and not allow her to meet them absolutely must not be a man. They must be a woman! Exactly who on earth is this woman to be treated by Rong Xu with such care, to not even want them to meet herself?

When speaking through the door just now, Ren Shuzhi’s tone had been pleasant, but her face was green.

This piece of fresh meat that she’d been fond of for so long yet couldn’t hook in after all kinds of ways was suddenly snatched by another! She wanted to see who had such charms to be able to directly hook in with a man who even Ren Shuzhi herself couldn’t hook up!

Ren Shuzhi clenched her teeth. Her face maintained a smile, but in an instant, the smile on her lips suddenly froze. Her eyes widened involuntarily as an expression of disbelief appeared on this beautiful and moving face. Ren Shuzhi opened her mouth, but even shock or horror were simply not enough to describe her current expression.

When the door slowly opened, a tall and handsome figure gradually appeared at the door.

What was behind that door?

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

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

He Ruge wasn’t good at mixing into crowds, so he just quietly watched from behind the screen for a while before exiting the group chat to go write. Inside the small black room, he managed to write 2,000 words in one go,

In any group scene, there will always be a main focus. In this scene, Xue Jiazhe is definitely the protagonist through and through. Therefore, Rong Xu’s performance is the most important – whether he could employ the atmosphere and immerse the audience.

Bo Xiwen’s and Ren Shuzhi‘s performances were not as important. Rong Xu was the key.

And so, after the scene ended, the makeup artist immediately entered the set to help with makeup touch ups, and Director Yuan replayed the recording without saying a word.

He watched it a full five times before he finally gave a soft sigh. He then raised his head and said: “Ren Shuzhi needs to redo one shot, then this scene passes!”

When this sentence reached Rong Xu’s ears, he raised his head in surprise and looked at Director Yuan. At the same time, Bo Xiwen and Ma Qi also looked at Director Yuan in surprise, while Ren Shuzhi nodded helplessly as she prepared to retake the shot.

After cooperating with Director Yuan for only three days, Rong Xu already knew that this director was very keen on using long shots.

Compared with many other artistry obsessed directors, Director Yuan’s long shots were not considered that long, the longest being only four to five minutes, unlike some other artistry obsessed directors whose long shots could reach forty to fifty minutes and never pause. 

However, Director Yuan was very principled. The long shots were still definitely long shots. Although they weren’t the standard long shots taken with only one camera in the strictest sense, he wouldn’t break the scene as long as the actors were still acting ,and would even make them start over from the very beginning.

But this time, Director Yuan made an exception. He didn’t have anyone accompany Ren Shuzhi for her retake, but rather made Ren Shuzhi retake the scene by herself.

Suddenly, a thought popped into his mind. Originally, he didn’t want to think too deep into it. However, that thought lingered in his mind and finally drove him to reopen “Family of 5 Lakes and 4 Seas” and say: “I have a question. Do monsters have parents?”

After Ren Shuzhi re-dripped the eye drops and finished the retake, Director Yuan spat out a mouthful of complaints: “Cry, do you know how to cry? Not borrowing the eye drops to cry, but actually really cry! Rong Xu and Bo Xiwen did such a good job. Yet, you somehow can’t even cry right, almost wasted a spectacular shot!”

And so Rong Xu finally came to understand that when they took the close-up shot for Ren Shuzhi the second time, there were practically no tears in her eyes!

Because the eye drops had run out, Ren Shuzhi was just plain howling in the second close-up take. Most people might not be able to see it well from a distance – after all, her face was already fully stained with eye drops, so one wouldn’t be able to tell whether there were tears in her eyes – but the camera can catch it all clearly.

After being reprimanded so many times by Director Yuan, Ren Shuzhi’s face was a bit ugly. But, after all, the director had the most power, so she accepted Director Yuan’s suggestions with a dry smile.

In the evening, Ren Shuzhi even proposed to have a dinner gathering.

He Ruge’s emotions shifted only for the briefest of moments. His fingertips which were placed on the keyboard twitched as he slowly replied

“It was a bit late by the time I joined the crew, and we haven’t had a single meal with everyone yet. Today, I will treat, inviting everyone to have a meal in the neighboring restaurant^[1]. Please don’t be polite.”

Within the crew, Ren Shuzhi had always been enthusiastic and generous. After she said that, she directly booked tables for them, and everyone walked over happily.

Because she’s a singer, Ren Shuzhi didn’t drink alcohol, only juice. At the table, everyone except her had tasted some alcohol. Though they didn’t drink much, they could be considered to have “drank”. Even Rong Xu had poured himself a glass of red wine.^[2]

After three rounds of drinking, Luo Qian walked over from the assistant’s table and asked Rong Xu quietly: “Xiao Xu, exactly what kind of medicine is Ren Shuzhi selling in her gourd^[3]? Suddenly inviting everyone to dinner…… I keep feeling it’s kinda weird.”

Hearing this, Rong Xu was startled for a second. After deliberating it for a moment, he smiled: “Perhaps she wants to make up for it, for constantly NGing these past few days?”

Although it is uncommon for celebrities to treat others to meals on a large scale, even Rong Xu had done it several times before. It was normal, there was nothing suspicious about. It was nothing more than building a good relationship with the crew.

However, Luo Qian frowned and said softly: “I keep feeling that something is off……”

But, though she’d said that, Luo Qian’s ‘woman’s sixth sense’ didn’t appear to have a miraculous effect this time around.

After the crew members finished their meal, they walked back to the hotel together. The hotel was right next to the Film and Television City, so the security was pretty decent. Rong Xu and Luo Qian walked to the forefront of the team, and Ren Shuzhi and Director Yuan could be heard talking and laughing in the distance.

The little white tiger was sleeping. He Ruge’s gaze wandered along the outline of the little white tiger bit by bit, from his bud-like ears and delicate pink nose, to his thin and long snow-white tiger whiskers and his two overlapping small paws.

Director Yuan hahahah’d constantly. At this moment, there was no trace of the man who’d scolded Ren Shuzhi in the morning.

Listening to their laughter, the youth’s mouth curled up thoughtfully, coming to understand the purpose behind Ren Shuzhi’s actions.

Eat food, shorten words. Receive things, soften hands^[4]. Huaxia’s idioms always make sense.

 Very soon, Rong Xu got on the elevator with the first group of crew members. After saying goodbye to Luo Qian, he walked to his room alone.

The bright and dazzling lights illuminated the entire length of the long and narrow corridor. Thick carpets blanketed the ground, making the sound of people’s footsteps barely audible. The doors on both sides were closed tightly, and Rong Xu could only hear his own breathing and extremely light footsteps.

Da Da, Da Da——

His room was next to a corner. It was originally at the end of the corridor, but the superstitious^[5] Luo Qian insisted on changing Rong Xu’s room to not be at the end of the corridor. Thus, she switched it to this one.

As he walked, Rong Xu took out the door card from his pocket. His mind was filled with the scenes he will be acting out the next day. It was still an indoor scene, performed in Xue Jiazhe’s office. There, Tan Yangxuan will bring Xue Jiazhe the latest photos taken of the crime scene, and Xue Jiazhe will finally decide to go visit the square where the victim was hung to investigate.

This scene seemed very simple, but in fact, from beginning to end, Rong Xu must act out Xue Jiazhe’s duality.

Everything this person analyzed was directed at himself. He knew very well that it was he, himself, who killed those people. But, he never felt emotionally moved. He always seemed to be standing to the side, looking at the whole thing from an outsider’s perspective. Looking at the victims he killed. Looking at his own cold-blooded self.

Therefore, for the most important scene tomorrow, Rong Xu needed to be able to show Xue Jiazhe’s indifference deep within his bones. It could be reflected through small details, but also in his speaking tone with Tan Yangxuan.

For example, he could purposefully not pour a cup of hot water for Tan Yangxuan from beginning to end, or……

“CLATTER–“

The sound of footsteps stopped abruptly.

The youth turned the corner and finally saw the man leaning against the door of his room, waiting quietly.

The youth’s clear eyes slowly widened as the handsome young man was reflected in his gaze. With his hands in the pockets of the black windbreaker, the man’s figure was pure and straight, like a perfect statue, waiting quietly and collectedly at the door, and leaning gently against the wall. When he heard footsteps, he tilted his head slightly and looked towards the suddenly-appearing youth with calm eyes.

White light poured down from the top of the man’s head (from the overhead lighting), causing his scattered hair to leave a faint shadow and hide those deep phoenix eyes as they stared at the young man without a noise, watching carefully.

Silence hung in the corridor. Rong Xu looked at Qin Cheng in shock, while Qin Cheng similarly looked down towards him.

Both of them stared at each other, and neither of them spoke first. One was frightened into silence, the other seemed to be enjoying this state of being. 

Qin Cheng stared at the youth in front of him with a blank expression. Only the raised corners of his lips reveal his secretly happy mood at the moment.

It was only after a long time that Rong Xu finally recovered. He subconsciously wanted to ask why the other party suddenly appeared here, but just as he said the word “you”…

All of a sudden! 

Very light footsteps sounded out from behind him.

The sound of high heels stepping on the carpet was really too easy for people to ignore. Rong Xu only noticed the other party when they had neared the corner. He turned around quickly, and his eyes suddenly widened.

Qin Cheng raised an eyebrow and asked softly: “What……”

“BOOM!”

Without giving the man a chance to speak at all, Rong Xu directly grabbed his hand, swiped the key card speedily, and pressed Qin Cheng to the wall with one violent stroke. With a hook on his left foot, there was a loud bang, and the door was closed behind him.

Qin Cheng looked at the young man in surprise and saw Rong Xu holding down his arm with one hand, pressing him (Qin Cheng) between him (Rong Xu) and the wall. He was obviously half a head shorter than himself, but this young man looked solemn at the moment as he turned his head and looked in the direction of the door without blinking.

Qin Cheng: “……”

After a moment of contemplation, Qin Cheng silently moved his hand down and clasped the youth’s hand.

Just like that.

Rong Xu didn’t seem to notice the sensation and was still staring intently at the door.

Qin Cheng’s gaze flicked across the youth’s face and finally also looked in the direction of the door. He narrowed his eyes slightly. A slight darkness flashed through deep eyes, only to hear, in the next second, a crisp knock on the door.

A soft female voice sounded over with a smile and flowed across the thin door: “Rong Rong, did you forget to grab your phone when we were eating just now? I brought it here for you. Open the door for a bit.”

He Ruge’s birthday is next month. He had once thought that when he’d saved some money, he would buy himself a cat for his own birthday gift.

The author has something to say:

Orange Qin: Eh, RongRong Kabedon’d Baby, Shy Shy  ?(///>w<///)?

RongRong: (Someone’s outside the door, watching)

Orange Qin: Eh, RongRong hasn’t realized Baby is grasping his hand ~ \ (≧ ∇ ≦) / ~

RongRong: (Someone’s outside the door, watching!)

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Part 2 of the lengthy sponsored chapter! It’s a bit short because this was the only logical place to cut it off. On the plus side, part 3 will be longer~ Enjoy!

I included imperial system measurements in (parentheses).

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

He Ruge wasn’t good at mixing into crowds, so he just quietly watched from behind the screen for a while before exiting the group chat to go write. Inside the small black room, he managed to write 2,000 words in one go, looking at the plump and full document in a daze.

Knowing how to say lines is a compulsory course for every actor.

Reading a script seems to be a very simple task, just words flowing from the mouth, but in fact, it is a vital aspect of every actor’s skills. As for Ren Shuzhi, her acting skills greatly disappointed Director Yuan. So, yesterday, Director Yuan specially found the screenwriter to significantly reduce Ren Shuzhi’s lines. Now, she only had a role with practically no lines.

An actor with a good command of line reading could make the audience feel immersed when they speak; an actor with a bad command of line reading would make it feel like they were reading a book when they spoke, simply reciting the text on the table and make the audience feel removed from the work.

In order to salvage these kinds of actors, the value of voice dubbers were increased. Although the need to dub lines isn’t necessarily due to an actors’ poor skills, actors with poor line reading skills must be dubbed.

For today’s scene, Rong Xu’s lines already added up to nearly a thousand words. Whether or not so many lines could be memorized is a test of an actor’s skills. Usually, these types of scenes are shot in separate parts, divided into small segments and filmed continuously.

However, Director Yuan was a director who loved to utilize long shots. Last night, he specifically went to look for Rong Xu to ask if he could memorize the 1,000-word lines. Rong Xu smiled and said without hesitation: “Yes.”

And so, there was today’s scene.

That didn’t seem to be the case. Life still goes on, and words still have to be written.

The young man’s cold, almost freezing, voice sounded through the silent set. His words were clear and concise, and his voice carried a mysterious undertone.

To say that Rong Xu’s spoken lines were emotionally moving and enticing is impossible. This was simply because Xue Jiazhe is not a passionate person. He is cold by nature and was just a superficial gentleman. So, Rong Xu’s tone was actually relatively plain, as if he were just stating facts. Yet, as he was talking, many onlooking staff members became slowly immersed in the scene as they also began to deliberate the situation after his questions.

Why did he say that the criminal definitely doesn’t know the victim?

Why is the criminal between 25 and 35 years old, with a height of 1.8 to 1.85 meters (5’9″ ~ 6’0″), a weight of 60 to 75 kg (132~165lbs). Why does the criminal have a bachelor degree or higher, wear glasses, is left-handed, and likes music and painting?

Even if you know the height, weight and age of the criminal, how could you be so sure that the criminal wears glasses, is left-handed, and likes music and painting?! This wasn’t scientific at all! Moreover, he also said that the criminal despised the victim from the bottom of their heart. In the criminal’s mind, the victim is a sinner and committed an enormous mistake.

This lump stayed hidden in his heart and would always leave a dull pain when touched, an undesirable and unexpected pain.

According to the script, the victim’s sister finally finally couldn’t withstand the anger in her heart anymore and rushed forward, pushing Xue Jiazhe hard. This occurred very suddenly and Xue Jiazhe took two steps back off-guard and collided with the sink with a loud “BANG–“.

Tan Yangxuan was stunned, and Xue Jiazhe also supported the sink with one hand, not responding.

Now, it was Ren Shuzhi’s scene. She was crying once again as she shouted loudly: “Don’t speak nonsense! My brother had never done anything wrong. He kept to himself, and his colleagues always said that he is a good person. He’s honest. He provided for me to go to college and study. He’s never had a girlfriend, never made a family nor started a business! What do you know!”

Director Yuan looked at the scene on the monitor and frowned with dissatisfaction. He was about to call CUT, but unexpectedly, at this moment, Rong Xu showed a soft smile. 

All the spectators immediately turned their heads towards him and saw him lift his hand to gently remove his glasses from the bridge of his nose. He slowly raised his eyes, his gaze as sharp as a searchlight as he smiled and watched Ren Shuzhi. Under his gaze, everything seemed to be transparent. 

There was nowhere to hide.

He Ruge’s emotions shifted only for the briefest of moments. His fingertips which were placed on the keyboard twitched as he slowly replied, his body similar to a block of frozen ice slowly being defrosted: “Okay, thank you.”

A pair of thin lips parted slightly to clarify the reality straightforwardly and sarcastically: “There’s two different ring marks on the ring finger of his right hand, one darker and one lighter. There’s also a chain-like mark on his neck similar to one of the ring marks.”

The genteel and elegant professor lifted his legs and walked towards the grieving young lady step by step.

“His upper body sported a plain black, cotton jacket, and his pants were the most common style. However, his belt is one of the latest models within the last two months. Though the price is not high, the style is unique. This belt’s selection shows a woman’s hands, but although this woman believes herself to be quite stylish, her vision is only average. The traces on the victim’s neck and right ring finger are similar and must be related to this woman. They are a couple’s ring and necklace of the same style.”

Ren Shuzhi slowly widened her eyes, as if she suddenly saw something impossible to believe.

However, it wasn’t over yet.

“There’s also a hickey on his back and a hickey on the backside of his neck. In terms of coloration, the one on the neck was made within a week. The hickeys have the same imprints and thus show the same habits, meaning they were left by the same woman. A call girl wouldn’t give a belt, so it is not a call girl. It could only be a girlfriend.”

Speaking up to here, this handsome and cold professor smiled slightly. His words were soft but cruel: “Your brother has a girlfriend and was involved in marriage talks. The other party is over thirty years old and was anxious to get married. Blue-collar work class. Your brother and her had broken up with each other in the past week. The two should have parted on a bad note.”

At the end, he turned his head and looked to the side, his smile even more profound: “Student Tan, am I right?”

Tan Yangxuan dumbfoundedly looked at his own old classmate, and only after a long while did he nod continuously: “Yes! I just found out this morning that Li Zhong had an ex-girlfriend who works in a nearby factory. She’s 31 years old this year, and they had almost reached talks about marriage. They broke up five days ago because……”

“Because Li Zhong wanted that woman to have an abortion.” Xue Jiazhe pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and smiled. His eyes were calm and his face was gentle, but the eyes hidden behind the frame carried no warmth at all. He casually examined that dazed woman with the most indifferent eyes.

At this point, the scene was completed!

He rapidly blinked his dry eyes a few times before closing the group chat. A strong sense of exhaustion flooded over him like a tide, and He Ruge fell into a daze for a long time.

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

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Hi all! A little disclaimer about the translation for this chapter. The wordings for this chapter’s raws were more formal and strict compared to the previous chapters. Thus, I took a bit of creative liberty to adjust the punctuation and wordings of the translation to better match the overall tone of the original raws. That being said, my choice of certain adjectives in this chapter might not be exactly the same as the ones used in the raw’s because the English and Chinese usages of some words may not carry the same underlying implications and tone. However, the translation still reflects the implications of the context overall.

Thanks for your support, everyone! This is Part 1/3 of the lengthy sponsored chapter. Enjoy!

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

He Ruge giggled a little. After laughing, he opened his still-hot bento lunch box. Regardless if he was hungry or not, the lunch box must be eaten. He specially bought the most expensive bento. If he wasted it, his conscience would hurt.

Dazzling lights illuminated the studio, and the props staff were conducting a final tools inspection. The actor who was playing the corpse had long taken his place lying down on the dissection table with a cyan colored special effect film plastered directly onto his right hand. During the post-compositing process, the effects staff will directly crop out his hand to create the effect of “the right hand has been cut by the murderer”.

This was a group scene, and Rong Xu, Bo Xiwen, Ren Shuzhi and Ma Qi all had roles.

Faced with the tragic death of her brother, Li Xiao, the younger sister played by Ren Shuzhi, naturally had to weep bitterly and wish desperately to catch the criminal immediately. In contrast, Rong Xu was to portray the image of a composed and rational professor. He’d analyze the criminal’s behavior calmly and draw a preliminary criminal profile.

So, in this scene, Li Xiao’s grief and Xue Jiazhe’s distinct indifference created a sharp contrast and carried a strong impact.

Emotionless Coding Machine: “Have you prepared the liver exploding (stressful) update for after you enter V? Don’t forget that you said that after entering V, you would do 10,000 a day!”

Eight cameras were set up in various locations. Once Director Yuan shouted “ACTION”, Ren Shuzhi, who was standing in the center of the set, suddenly burst into tears. In the midst of those beautiful eyes, tear drops flowed down continuously. The eye drops specially used for crying scenes made her eyes a bit red and created a sad and desperate appearance.

She approached the dissection table step by step from the door of the autopsy room. As a family member of the victim, this was the first time she’d seen her brother who had died a tragic death. Ren Shuzhi’s acting skills were definitely not very good, but for such a strongly emotional scene, her acting could be considered on-point: after all, she just needed to present a show of crying and running. As long as she cried and howled, she could be considered to have passed.

The true protagonists of this scene were Rong Xu and Bo Xiwen.

Emotionless Coding Machine: “…… Damn, what Ji Ji. Who’s a Ji Ji, Are you that stimulated (from shock of entering V) or are you drunk?”

Xue Jiazhe and Tan Yangxuan had arrived at the autopsy room long ago. The criminal psychologist wore white gloves and looked at the victim’s severed hand and knife wounds on his chest with an indifferent face. His expression was almost ruthless, as if he was not looking at a human being, but rather a stage prop.

A white light flashed across his cold eyes, and Xue Jiazhe raised his eyes to look at Tan Yangxuan.

Tan Yangxuan immediately asked in a serious manner: “Did you find anything?”

However, the next moment, Xue Jiazhe smiled and lifted the corners of his lips. He said in a steady tone: “Help me push up my glasses.” 

His voice was cold and clean, and accompanied by Ren Shuzhi’s howling cries, he appeared even more genteel and collected.

Tan Yangxuan was a bit taken aback when he heard those words, but then he looked down at Xue Jiazhe’s hands that had touched the corpse. He suddenly realized the issue and quickly helped his old classmate straighten out his glasses.

Then, Xue Jiazhe continued to observe the corpse.

After a while, just as Li Xiao was on the side crying, he (Xue Jiazhe) took off his gloves, and said indifferently while walking towards the sink in the dissection room: “The knife wound on his chest was the fatal wound. Evidently, I am not a forensic doctor, but I speculate his right hand should have been cut off before his death.”

Tan Yangxuan immediately replied: “Yes, his hand was cut off first, and then he received the fatal injury to the heart.” After a pause, Tan Yangxuan quickly added: “There was no trace of anesthesia found in his blood test.”

The sound of splashing water resonated throughout the autopsy room then, and Xue Jiazhe suddenly chuckled.

Emotionless Coding Machine: “Ah——all drunks say they are not drunk. Listen up, go to bed and take a nap right now.”

This laughter stopped Li Xiao’s crying abruptly as everyone turned to look at him. They saw the tall and thin young man standing in a shadowed blind spot, leaning over slightly and carefully washing his fingers. Clearly, he had put on gloves when he touched the corpse just before, but now, he was still carefully washing every nook and cranny of his fingers, as if even the little specks of invisible dust in his nails had to be washed away. 

His thin lips curled up in an imperceptible arc. Behind him was a cold-bodied corpse without a hint of warmth, but he seemed to be unaware that anything was off. Instead, he was calm and peaceful, as if he was attending a party instead.

When the script reached this point, Li Xiao, played by Ren Shuzhi, was triggered by this strange person’s behaviour. Her brother had died innocently and tragically, yet, this person who’d been examining her brother’s wound wasn’t even a forensic scientist. He held no respect for the deceased at all and was now even laughing!

Emotionless Coding Machine: “Ancestor, you are already drunk to this extent, yet still want to play games ah.”

However, Xue Jiazhe’s following words made her angrier. While washing his hands, this criminal psychologist said, “Since his right hand was chopped off before his death and anesthesia was not administered, it must have been extremely painful and the victim would definitely have struggled. However, this incision wound is so straight, it’s obvious that the criminal must be good at this —— chopping off someone’s right hand, they must have a certain degree of medical knowledge and be highly familiar with the bone structure of the human body to know how to remove someone’s hand with the fastest speed and the least possible effort.”

When those words fell, Xue Jiazhe turned off the faucet, and as if suddenly thinking of something he said: “Oh, yes. Also, this corpse weighs at least 100 kilograms (220 pounds), yet they could find the gaps between the bones through such a thick layer of fat. Very intriguing.”

Li Xiao slowly quieted down, but Tan Yangxuan asked: “What else?”

Xue Jiazhe turned around: “One stab to kill, no second wound needed. What can that prove?”

Tan Yangxuan deliberated for a moment: “The criminal knows exactly how to kill, just like he could cut off a right hand precisely. He has a certain degree of medical knowledge. Of course, he might also be a butcher.”

Xue Jiazhe actually shook his head, his lips perking up slightly: “Not only that, but it also proves that he wasn’t familiar with the deceased victim.”

Tan Yangxuan was stunned for a second. But, in the next moment, he suddenly recalled: “Isn’t that already certain? We’ve checked the information of the six previous victims, and they have nothing in common. Their social networks also hardly overlap. This prisoner probably doesn’t know any of the deceased victims.”

Xue Jiazhe raised his line of sight, his gaze piercing through the cold glasses lens as he stared straight at Tan Yangxuan.

“Human social networks are a very strange thing. No one can say clearly exactly how many people they know, and even they, themselves, cannot explain it (their social networks).” After a brief pause, Xue Jiazhe continued: “The reason why I say the criminal isn’t familiar with the deceased is because as long as it’s not a performance based crime^[1], it is not likely to end it with just one stab. With one stab, it takes at least ten seconds for the victim to die. In that ten seconds, they could undertake another twenty to thirty more stabbings. Yet, the criminal did not do that.”^[2]

Tan Yangxuan was still a little at a loss: “Can’t this possibly prove that the criminal is highly confident in knowing that he can kill the victim with just a single blow?”

Xue Jiazhe laughed helplessly: “Has your IQ been packaged and distributed to the development of your limbs, classmate Tan? There is no trace of previous bindings on the corpse’s face, which shows that the deceased saw the criminal come after him with his own eyes. If one were to face someone they are familiar with, psychologically speaking, it would produce a feeling of nervousness and fear. The victim would struggle with the first blow, and the criminal, being nervous, would strike another blow. Based on past cases, there are very, very few victims who only have one wound on their body. It’s usually accompanied by many more wounds and one fatal wound.”

The door to room No.20 opened. When his blurred drunken vision saw Little White Tiger, his eyes immediately widened. He Ruge looked closely at the little white tiger

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

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