Three years ago.
“Xiang’ge can’t you be a bit more civilised when you eat?” The beautiful makeup artist, Mi You, came over holding a powder compact.
Zhou Xiang laughed as he stuffed some bread into his mouth. “You’re blaming me? Look at all this powder you’ve smeared all over my face. It falls off as soon as I move, I haven’t eaten lunch yet. If I faint from starvation I’m gonna get even with you.”
“Your skin tone is a shade different from Wang Yudong’s. How would I be able to get you to be the same colour without applying that much powder?” Mi You glanced at him. “Then, you hurry up and eat, I’ll give you five minutes, and then I’ll touch up your make-up. You’d better not mess it up again.”
“Will do, it’s still early. The big star isn’t even here yet, why are you in such a rush?”
Mi You poured him a cup of water. “Drink some water, don’t choke.”
“Hey yo, Mi You treats you so well.” Xiao Liu ruthlessly tightened Zhou Xiang’s belt. “Come, let me strangle Xiang’ge’s small waist to make it even narrower.”
Zhou Xiang scolded, “Stinky brat, you’d better abuse your power to avenge personal grudges. You yank any more, and I might spew up on your face.”
After Zhou Xiang was dressed his costume, he did a twirl on the spot. His slender, tall, healthy and beautiful body was dressed in a navy blue wuxia costume, dashing and heroic, with the strong air of an ancient noble warrior.
“How is it, am I handsome or not?”
Xiao Liu laughed, “Handsome.” He went around to look at his back. “Tut, tut, Xiang’ge, your back looks too much like Wang Yudong’s. Unless you’re looking from the front, it’s basically impossible tell you two apart. The only difference is that your hair's a little darker."
“You don’t say! If not, why would he find me to be his martial arts double?” Zhou Xiang jumped up and down on the spot. “I hope that we can finish shooting early today, Ah, let’s go singing after work.”
“Sure, let’s go to that place we went last time, on Sanlitun Street. The sound quality is good, and their chicken wings are really nice.”
“Xiao Liu, hurry and reserve a room.”
“At what time?”
“Reserve it for... seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven o’clock...” Zhou Xiang laughed after he finished speaking. There wasn’t a set time they got off work. It all depended on the director’s mood.
The others started laughing as well.
Chang Ji ran over to tell Zhou Xiang to get ready; they will be filming his action sequence in a moment. Zhou Xiang had already discussed with the action choreographer beforehand. The moves weren’t difficult; it would be a cinch for him to pull off.
Zhou Xiang had been a martial arts double for six to seven years already. When he first started, he did odd jobs. It was only later on when an action director noticed that he had a good figure and his physique wasn't bad either, and he had Cai Wei backing him up, that he gradually started coming in contact with this sort of work. Zhou Xiang had majored in swimming at Sports College. He had learnt a bit of Chinese kickboxing and so on from his dorm mates at that time. He never would have imagined that it would become his current meal ticket.
He currently had a pretty good reputation in the entertainment circle. There would always be one or two jobs he could accept every month. He sometimes got to play minor roles in movies, and lately, he was getting offered even more action choreography jobs for low budget films. When his parents passed away, they left him behind an apartment in a very good location. He was homosexual, and he would never have to worry about marrying a wife and raising kids in his lifetime, so even though he was living in an expensive city like Beijing, he was still very comfortably off with his salary.
Although Zhou Xiang was all alone, he was an optimistic person. He loved having fun, knew how to enjoy himself, and was very good at searching for amusement for himself. His passionate attitude towards life was very infectious; the people around him all really liked him. Most newcomers who were on the younger side and had just entered the circle, liked regarding him as their big brother. Zhou Xiang had an innate charm that made people want to get close to him and trust him.
Zhou Xiang had now stopped moving around, scared that if he moved the powder would come falling down again like a Ludagun pastry.
At that moment, a very clear and very nice-sounding male voice excitedly called from behind him, "Dong'ge."
He couldn't help but want to turn around to have a look to see what kid had such a nice sounding voice, but before he even started turning his head, a shadow shot forward, and tackled his waist from behind, knocking into him with so much force, he stumbled forward to a good number of steps before he managed to steady himself.
The chest on Zhou Xiang’s back was burning hot. Even through the costume Zhou Xiang could felt that body's explosive force, and the sturdy chest muscles which were tightly pressed against his back.
Zhou Xiang's heart was like a frisky monkey. Is today a special day? Why did a boy suddenly throw himself onto him?
He quickly turned his head around to see who it was.
With that turn, the two froze.
Zhou Xiang's heart almost jumped out of his chest. That face was too goddamn good-looking. Even though their faces were so close, his skin was so tender, Zhou Xiang couldn’t find a single pore. Those eyes, that nose, those lips, tsk, tsk. He had been mingling in the entertainment for almost ten years, what type of beautiful man hasn't he seen? Yet today, this young man’s face completely blew him away. Just which agency did this celebrity belong to? It would go against the will of nature if he didn't become famous.
Yan Mingxiu was also dumbstruck. The face that turned around was not Wang Yudong’s, but his back looked so much like Wang Yudong's. Yan Mingxiu let go at once and fell back a few steps He was a bit embarrassed that he had made a mistake. No matter how Yan Mingxiu looked at Zhou Xiang’s beaming face, it seemed like he was mocking him, making him feel exceptionally humiliated and resentful. He knitted his brows, and said rudely, “Who are you?”
Zhou Xiang didn’t take offense. He laughed, “My name is Zhou Xiang. Are you looking for Wang Yudong? I’m his martial arts stunt double.”
No wonder their figures look so similar. Yan Mingxiu also didn't know what was up with himself, but this man, who had Wang Yudong's figure but had a face that was many times inferior to Wang Yudong's, really rubbed him the wrong way. Perhaps it was because he had done something stupid, and that warm smile on that man's face continuously reminded him of his mistake.
A bystander couldn't suppress a snigger. Yan Mingxiu's complexion didn't look too good. "Where's Dong'ge?"
“He isn’t here yet. He's scheduled to film two hours from now, he might also get here earlier. If you know him, you should give him a call, the director also would like him to hurry up and come."
Yan Mingxiu shot him a glance and went to sit alone at the side, waiting for Wang Yudong.
Zhou Xiang glanced at him several times. He couldn't help but inwardly sigh with admiration. Unfortunately, this boy didn't seem to like him much. It wasn't Zhou Xiang's fault this boy mistook him for someone else. Zhou Xiang was very innocent in this matter.
He asked Xiao Liu, "Who is this boy? He’s too beautiful, he doesn’t look real.”
"Dunno, he was very arrogant, demanded for ‘Dong’ge’ as soon as he arrived. He’s definitely connected to Wang Yudong in some way." Touching his own chin, Xiao Liu sighed, “Let’s not talk about that. He really is good-looking, I’m a guy but even I want to gaze at him forever.”
Mi You also couldn't resist looking at him a few times. "Could he be a new talent of some agency? He's too handsome, and he also has such a good figure. Act in any TV drama, and he'd definitely rocket to stardom."
Yan Mingxiu was only dressed casually in a white T-shirt and jeans. As soon as he sat down, his surroundings seemed to freeze into a photo frame with him; it had an indescribable sense of beauty. How earth-shattering a person’s beauty could be, could be seen by looking at the people secretly eyeing him.
Zhou Xiang really wanted to go up and exchange a few words with him. Unfortunately, they were almost about to start shooting, so he could only walk onto the set for the scene while holding back his disappointment.
This was a Feast of Hongmen type scene, except this scene was taking place on the birthday of the leader of the Martial Arts Alliance. Zhou Xiang was in charge of performing a sword dance to liven and entertain the guests, while seizing the opportunity to assassinate the Martial Arts Alliance Leader’s Left Protector.
Zhou Xiang weighed the sword in his hand. To order for the scene to look realistic, the sword was real and felt heavy. Sword dances weren’t his strong point; his bare-handed kungfu fighting was more beautiful, however, it still wasn’t any problem for him.
The director yelled, "We're starting! Pay attention when I tell you where to go, be focused, Lao Wang, go stand up there, raise the light a little higher."
Zhou Xiang started brandishing the long sword according to the action director's choreography. His movements were beautiful and precise but the director's requirements were very high. Zhou Xiang was even made to perform the simple action of flipping over and stabbing forward four times.
Yan Mingxiu's eyes, which were originally gazing outside the set area, slowly gravitated towards Zhou Xiang. He narrowed his eyes, watching Zhou Xiang's slender and powerful body nimbly dance on the set.