Chapter 46 - I’ve got this Celebrity’s back (6)
Chapter 46: I’ve got this Celebrity’s back
After sending out ten red envelopes in a row for Director Liang to buy popsicles, Film Emperor Gu was only then able to pull back this precarious friendship from the edge of the cliff.
Liang Yuan’s current shooting site was more remote than his. Even if he had the money, he wouldn’t be able to buy ice cream or black bean noodles. He wanted even less to know how Gu Xi managed it. He simply employed the ‘what the eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve over’ principle. In a bad mood, Liang Yuan shoo-ed the other away, telling him that he should drink some water if he had nothing to do. He abandoned his phone and plunged back into his set.
Seeing the grief and indignation between the lines of the other party’s message, Gu Xi couldn’t help the corners of his lips from ticking up as he put his phone aside.
His positive news won’t stay on Weibo for long. The hot search will undoubtedly be taken down soon but this was enough. Frequent withdrawal of hot searches will only cause fiercer backlash from the netizens. The resources he had in hand didn’t need him to explain anything to them. They knew how to operate and would naturally think up of ways.
They just needed to add some firewood bit by bit to add to the flames and given enough time, he could always turn the direction of the wind back in his favor.
Lu Qingzhou had packed his things. He turned around to meet the smile in Gu Xi’s eyes. His eyes brightened and he quickly walked back to him.
“Don’t go for running around this afternoon. It’s too hot outside.”
Gu Xi got up. He stretched his arms and brought him into them. He advised him gently and then handed him his car key. “There’s air conditioning in the car. When it gets hot, turn it on. Do you know how to start the car?”
Starting up the car was, at least, still within his ability.
The skill pack was excellent, except that it didn’t teach him how to drive. Thinking of his failed driving experience, Lu Deng leaned in his arms and gave an ‘en’ of assent but his brows couldn’t help drooping.
A gentle teasing smile appeared in the depths of Gu Xi’s eyes and he looked at him carefully. He raised his hand and stroked his soft hair.
Lu Qingzhou has always been calm and gentle. But he always seemed to be hiding something in his heart. This was the first time he has seen him act like someone Gu Xi’s own age, showing a completely relaxed look of dejectedness in front of him.
So well-behaved.
Gu Xi’s heart softened. He gathered the person to his chest and rubbed his short hair. “It’s okay. I will teach how you to drive, okay?”
Lu Deng’s eyes lit up. He raised his head from between his arms and nodded twice.
In-world learning and training can speed up the mastery of skills.
He made the wrong purchase last time. He can’t possibly get it wrong the next time. He’ll learn how to do it in this world and then no matter how difficult the skill was he’ll be sure to be able to master it.
Meeting the brilliant light in those black eyes, Gu Xi smiled and nodded. He raised his hand to squeeze his cheek but then there suddenly was the sound of rapid footsteps from outside the door.
“I will come look for you tonight.”
Lu Qingzhou spoke next to his ear. He picked up his things and walked quickly to the window. He propped it open with one hand and nimbly jumped out.
He was the only one left in the dressing room. Gu Xi had seen early on his little paparazzo’s supernatural ability to come and go like a shadow but he still couldn’t help walking to the window and looking out.
A wave of heat rushed in. The sunlight outside was so bright that it dazzled his eyes that had already adapted to the light inside the room.
Unwilling to mess up his makeup, instead of raising his hand to rub his eyes, he simply blinked a few times before looking out intently. Lu Qingzhou was already gone.
He had no idea whether Lu Qingzhou remembered to go to the car enjoy some air conditioning.
He took back his hands from scalding hot window sill. Gu Xi fastened the buttons of his collar one by one. By the time he had buttoned it all the way up, the director’s anxious voice was heard coming from behind him, “Teacher Gu—Teacher Gu?”
When Li Renyi saw the person who turned around following the sound of his voice, he paused. The rest of what he was about to say suddenly got stuck in his throat.
Gu Xi seemed to have reapplied his makeup again and it didn’t look like it hd been changed much. It was obviously the same everywhere but the outline was more vivid and bright. The sunlight was shining from behind him. His features looked more prominent and his entire aura had with it a terrifying oppressive edge.
When he looked at him like this, Li Renyi had his mouth open but he couldn’t speak immediately.
“Director Li.”
Seeing him not speaking, Gu Xi spoke first. Tone calm, he asked, “Is something the matter?”
Originally, he was supposed to send Lu Qingzhou to his car but because they were disturbed like this, now, he didn’t know whether the little paparazzo had listened to him or if he had gone to secretly take more photos to fill his quota.
Gu Xi wasn’t in a very good mood. Unawares, a tinge of cold indifference appeared between his brows. It made Li Renyi’s heart tremble for a moment. He lowered his head and said haltingly, “It-It’s nothing big…”
The hot search had only been up for ten minutes before it was quickly removed. But it happened at the time of day when they had the most amount of traffic. The photo quickly circulated online, And now the set has become a mess.
Although the picture did not capture any of the cast’s face clearly, the official cast list had been released and comparing it to that, the netizen saw things began to tie in. Gu Xi’s fans exploded in anger and public opinion, as expected, sided with them.
That photo took everyone in. There was absolutely no possibility that this was a posed photo. No matter how hard the cast and crew tried to explain it , this matter simply couldn’t be washed clear.
The fans of the big-ticket stars acted swiftly and resolutely to control the comments and criticisms, but the evidence this time was really too strong. The only thing they could do was to insist that Gu Xi’s tyrannical abuse on the set and his bullying of the newcomers had caused anger among the cast and he was thus pushed out from the rest of them. But this just drew a new wave of fierce ridicule from the crowd.
Now that this matter has attracted this much attention, there was no way they could continue shooting the next scenes. Zhou Tong was the first to lift and smash his lounge chair and then he walked off. The rest either acted tough or made some excuses and within minutes, they all walked away in twos and threes.
Li Renyi really had no plan left. He instinctively came to Gu Xi to look for a way but now he couldn’t say a word.
The photo was real and it was also true that Gu Xi was wronged on the set. Anyone with a discerning eye could see what is going on. Yesterday, he had promised repeatedly to clarify the slanderous rumors for him. Today, he was forced to swallow them back. After the filming of this drama, he probably won’t be able to stay in this circle anymore.
Gu Xi waited for a while but when he saw that he still didn’t dare to speak, he simply asked, “Are they no longer shooting?”
Sure enough, he already knew about the photo.
Uncertain hope emerged within Li Renyi. He nodded and face deathly pale, said, “The lead cast is on a collective strike. Now the progress of the crew has stopped to a stand still. Teacher Gu, please help me. I can’t afford to offend anyone. I just want to make a good drama… ”
Having reached this point, Li Renyi almost poured out what was in his heart. He looked at him with trepidation, at the verge of crying.
On the contrary, Gu Xi smiled.
All the better if they didn’t shoot.
The thought he had suppressed before, rose up once again. Mixed with his long-oppressed ambition, it suddenly broke through the layer upon layer of barriers that had been piled on over the years, causing his chest to ache.
Li Renyi wanted to make a good drama. Gu Xi wanted it even more.
He threw his phone onto the dressing table and met Li Ren’s startled gaze. Gu Xi’s tone was light and his lips, as before, carried a little smile. But a piercingly cold light flashed across his eyes.
“Set up a camera. I’ll shoot.”
This was the makeup Lu Qingzhou had put on him.
His little paparazzo had endured the intense heat to infiltrate the crew. He gave him ice cream because he was afraid he would feel hot, delivered him food because he was afraid he’d be hungry. In order for him not to be wronged, he took that picture for him and even reapplied his makeup.
He had to shoot something good enough to show to his little paparazzo.
*
Li Renyi thanked him repeatedly and carefully accompanied Gu Xi back to the set.
In addition to all kinds of uncontrollable accidents, for the crew, the most serious blow was an actors’ strike that would leave them without work. Paparazzi would never let go of this kind of great opportunity that attracted a lot of attention. The set was open on all sides. No matter how strict their precautions were, it was inevitable that someone would find a way to get in.
Li Renyi hadn’t originally intended for Gu Xi to solve the problem this way but Gu Xi’s response managed to ease the embarrassment of having nowhere to go. Even if it was a retake of the scenes from this morning, he could barely explain it away as an adjustment to the performace. It was a lot better than letting the set be so deserted, making it look like an absolute joke.
It seemed the conflict wasn’t small. The rest area was wrecked and several of the field crew were cleaning it up under the hot sun. Gu Xi stood to one side and watched for a while. Remembering Lu Qingzhou, his tone eased, “Looks like you’re almost done cleaning up. I won’t be resting for awhile so wait until it cools down before setting it up again.”
Compared with those hard-to-please newbie stars, Gu Xi was extremely good-natured. Inwardly, everyone on the crew had a very favorable impression of him. Hearing him helping them out of this predicament, the eyes of several of the field crew went hot. They almost teared up.
The black material being spread on the Internet these days has filled them with indignation. The leader finally couldn’t help it. He stepped forward and said in a low voice: “Teacher Gu, this morning’s umbrella, Zhou Tong found someone to intentionally occupy it… ”
Gu Xi had already guessed as much. He nodded calmly and thanked him. He placed his backpack to one side and walked towards the camera.
Most of the noon break has passed and the sun was at its most poisonous intense. Under the scorching sun, Gu Xi took a few steps and found the right spot. He raised his head and took a deep breath, immersing himself in the scene.
He was alone on the set. Except for the necessary staff on the sidelines, the rest were busy dealing with the aftermatch of Zhou Tong and others’ smashing things as they went on strike. Only the noise of the cicadas on the trees could be heard.
Despite this, Gu Xi actually enjoyed the way things were right now. His heart calmed down and he opened his eyes again.
“The 37th scene of “The Fall”, take two. Action!”
The hubbub around him quieted down. The moment Gu Xi opened his eyes, all the emotions that belonged to he himself disappeared. Instead, he took a few steps forward and the reserved light burst out from the depths of his eyes.
If the disparity in acting skills within the same cast was too obvious the scenes would appear too out of wack.
In order show consideration for the mood of these popular celebrities, he has always deliberately restrained his acting. Coupled with the unsatisfactory makeup, in his heart, it always made him feel instinctively offended. He found it difficult to completely let go when he was in front of the camera. It has been a long time since he has been given the opportunity to act to his heart’s content.
This full-length shot monodrama, a monologues in three parts that added up to more than 20 minutes, was the greatest challenge to an actor’s fundamental skills. Morevoer, he can only look to himself for a standard.
Standing behind the camera, Li Renyi was awed by the imposing aura he exploded. He instinctively took two steps back and suddenly understood the reason why Gu Xi insisted on reshooting this scene.
He did it all in one go.
He didn’t even stop for a short rest between the three scenes. Gu Xi went straight to the end and by the end of it, his voice was hoarse. Once he heard the director’s “cut” from the sidelines, his body couldn’t help swaying and that’s when he realized that he had overdrawn his energy.
His sight went slightly hazy as he began to relax after concentrating so intensely. His strength was almost exhausted and his head was going dizzy.
Gu Xi stood slack on the spot for a while, waiting for the white light in front of him to fade. Thinking of finding a cool place to take a breather, he tried to take a step but he found that he couldn’t get any strength under his legs and his body began to tip over.
“Teacher Gu!”
No matter how mediocre Li Renyi’s abilities were, he still knew how to appreciate a good performance. Naturally, he could see that the performance this time was many times better than the one this morning. Behind the camera, he stood in a daze as he called back to him those classical scenes just now. Suddenly seeing him about to fall down, he suddenly came back to his senses. “Quickly. Two of you, come help Teacher Gu rest for a while——”
Someone immediately came up from the sidelines to help him sit under the shade. He then raised his hand to untie Gu Xi’s collar.
Gu Xi has lost energy and was suffering a bit from heat stroke but although his thoughts were muddled, he still hadn’t lost consciousness. Realizing that someone was trying to touch him, he frowned subconsciously and instinctively raised his hand to block it. But the hand around his neckline, gently held his hand instead.
His mind stirred. Gu Xi blinked his eyes vigorously, clearing away the black mist in front of him. As expected, he could clearly see that familiar and delicate face.
Holding his hand, Lu Qingzhou moved to his side. He unbottoned his clothes open for him and placed a prepared ice towel on him. He sprayed some water on his body unscrewed a thermos of iced mung bean soup and fed it to his lips.
The little paparazzo’s movements were neat, crisp, and methodical. Although the brim of his hat was pulled down low, he could still sees the clear worry in his eyes.
Gu Xi drank a few sips of mung bean soup and it seemed to dissipate a lot of the heat from his chest. He had recovered some of his vigour and he quietly fumbled for the other’s hand.
Lu Qingzhou used his body as a cover and let him hold his hand. Seeing that his lips were dry and cracked, he took out a plain cotton handkerchief from his chest pocket, soaked it in ice water and wrapped it around his fingers, carefully moistening Gu Xi’s lips for him.
Heatstroke was really hard on the body.
Feeling that he probably wasn’t very clear-headed, Gu Xi’s mouth soundlessly pulled down and he tightened his hold on Lu Qingzhou’s hand.
The warm black eyes blinked. Lu Qingzhou understood what he wanted and leaned down to place his ear nearer the other.
Gu Xi’s voice was completely hoarse, but still extremely affectionate. Revealing a helpless soft smile in his tone, he said, “You didn’t listen…”
“I’m working overtime. There are a lot of people trying to scramble for a headline.”
Lu Qingzhou spoke earnestly. He helped him lie down on the reclining chair and brought an electric fan from who knows where to blow on him.
The turmoil caused by that photo spread in no time and the popular stars went on strike. No matter the reason, anything that had to do with these stars was considered big news and the paparazzi naturally flocked to it like ducks. Regardless whether they could publish it smoothly after taking the photos, as long as they were able to grab first-hand information, they could earn upwards of five-figures. If any of those popular actors wanted to squash the news, this amount would double.
Once again, he was blocked by the dedicated little paparazzo’s business needs. Gu Xi was in a much better mood. While no one was paying attention, he pulled him in gently and said, “What did you take? Show me. Your makeup was so beautiful, I couldn’t bear not to put on a good performance…”
It seemed that he had found the trick. Whenever Film Emperor Gu had the opportunity, he would praise him nonstop. Lu Deng’s face turned red when he heard it. He pushed him to lay down and gave him a sharp look, “I couldn’t take any. They managed to send their pictures out first.”
There were a lot of paparazzi who come to grab the lead story. Even if Lu Qingzhou deliberately masks his photos, they would always have his distinct personal style. If he were the one to send out the photos once again, the photos might be suspected as being staged.
Only Gu Xi was at that empty set. It would be the same regardless of who shot the photo. He had the system intercept the first shots and after checking that there were no problems, he allowed them to be released. He then took the opportunity to locate where Gu Xi was wholeheartedly shooting his scenes.
Someone was deliberately stopping hot searches that were favorable for Gu Xi. If they were to use normal and proper means, it would be impossible to have this issue explode. Lu Deng deliberately had the system increase the internet traffic. Right now, he wasn’t even sure at what rank of the hot search this issue was now on.
Gu Xi didn’t understand the deeper meaning behind his words instead he took delight in thinking that his little paparazzo wasn’t able to take the shot because he’d been mesmerized by his performance. As before, there was still a smile in his eyes. He stretched out his arms to grab his hand: “If you weren’t able to take it, then it can’t be helped. Next time we’ll cooperate. I’ll be on the lookout. If you want to shoot, I’ll expose myself. We–”
Before he finished his words, his shirt was completely lifted up by the little paparazzo.
…We’ll do whatever you want.
The silver-tongued Film Emperor Gu suddenly felt his heart jump. He wanted to speak but his heartbeat was running faster and faster. He was at a loss for words, “Qing——Qingzhou…”
Although they could do whatever he wanted, being photographed sprawled out on his back like this was really detrimental to the image of an actor.
“En?”
Lu Qingzhou was busy trying to cool him down. He raised his head in response and poured alcohol onto his palms and rubbing it against his chest to dissipate the heat. He had no intention of using his camera.
Film Emperor Gu, with his crooked thoughts, coughed and chalked it up to the heat getting to his head. He was about to look away when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a clear smile in those sleek raven-black eyes.