Chen Mengyang felt that she shouldn’t be foolish, so she didn’t go up.
Up ahead, Chi Feiran and Rong Jin walked quite slowly. Mainly because although the set camp had lights, for energy-saving reasons, the energy-efficient lights were not very bright.
Additionally, Chi Feiran was somewhat reluctant. All of this made him involuntarily slow down even more.
Tomorrow morning, he would have to leave…
After some hesitation, Chi Feiran asked in a low voice, “Brother Rong, are we… friends now?”
Rong Jin turned to look at him, showing a bit of surprise, then smiled. Whether it was due to the dim light or other factors, the features that seemed somewhat intimidating due to his appearance unexpectedly appeared gentle.
Rong Jin said, “Why not? Haven’t I given you a red envelope?”
Chi Feiran knew that his question might sound silly, but unsure, he felt a sense of unease without confirming.
He thought for a moment and said, “Becoming friends with an idol feels unreal.”
For him, this sense of unreality was particularly strong. Originally, Rong Jin was just a distant name to him, someone who liked the songs he sang. But in his previous understanding, they were not supposed to have any intersection in their lives.
Yet, fate turned out to be more magical than he imagined. He returned to the age of seventeen, met Rong Jin, and even became friends with him.
Rong Jin lightly laughed, “You’ll get used to it.”
Hearing him laugh like this, Chi Feiran felt his ears tingling. After a vague “Hmm,” he didn’t know what else to say.
The campsite of the entire crew wasn’t that big, and no matter how slowly they walked, it was time to part.
Rong Jin said, “Go to bed early, and let’s stay in touch more often.”
Chi Feiran nodded, “Goodbye, Brother Rong, good night.”
Rong Jin actually had more to say in his heart, but he didn’t say it. He just replied, “Goodbye, good night.”
After Chi Feiran returned to his tent, he quickly finished washing up and went to bed. Tomorrow morning, he would take a helicopter back to the city with other actors leaving the set. It wouldn’t be good if he overslept.
When Chang Haoqing went to Rong Jin’s tent to check on duty, he found that he was indeed playing games again instead of sleeping.
Chang Haoqing was quite irritated, “I shouldn’t have let you bring your computer!”
Rong Jin, looking at the computer screen, operated the game character with skill. After releasing a neat skill, he said, “I don’t have to get up early tomorrow.”
Chang Haoqing was furious, “Do you even know the harm of staying up late? What will you do when you suffer from hormonal imbalance, memory loss, and middle-aged hair loss!”
Rong Jin said, “Don’t worry, before these things happen, I’ll definitely retire from the industry.”
Chang Haoqing: “…”
He was angry! If Rong Jin retired, wouldn’t he lose his job!
Taking a deep breath, Chang Haoqing felt like he was hovering on the edge of beating up Rong Jin, “I’m doing this for your own good! Can’t you approach this with ten percent of the attitude you use to deceive children?”
Referring to children, of course, he meant Chi Feiran. Chang Haoqing was still conflicted inside, feeling that Rong Jin’s actions toward the child were too despicable, but the other had been single for so many years. It wasn’t easy to find someone who could evoke feelings…
Chang Haoqing felt he might go insane at this rate.
But Rong Jin continued to tease him, “If you look ten percent like someone, I’ll have a ten percent attitude.”
Chang Haoqing jumped, “Don’t make personal attacks! You know you’ll lose me if you keep this up!”
Rong Jin suddenly stopped, leaned back in his chair, raised one hand, and swept back the scattered hair.
Closing his eyes, he said, “I can’t sleep.”
Chang Haoqing, in a panic, went to check the medicine box in the tent. He found that the sleeping pills had been moved. This was not a good sign.
Chang Haoqing closed the medicine box again and turned back to carefully ask, “Did you… contact home again?”
Rong Jin didn’t speak for a long time amidst the silence. When Chang Haoqing was about to speak again, he finally said, “No, I just thought of things from the past.”
Chang Haoqing almost blurted out that it didn’t matter, and he should stop thinking about it!
But he also knew that such things couldn’t be controlled. After thinking for a while, he sat back in the chair, ready to have a heart-to-heart talk with Rong Jin. “Tell me, why did it come to your mind again?”
Rong Jin remained silent for a long time, and when Chang Haoqing was about to speak again, he finally said, “I feel he’s similar to me, and it reminded me of the past.”
This time, Chang Haoqing couldn’t hold back and cursed, “Damn!”
At this moment, Chang Haoqing felt that he would rather accept Rong Jin’s shameless appearance. Or if he really had feelings for the child, that would be excellent.
But it wasn’t the case.
Chang Haoqing felt that he couldn’t let him go down this dark path and forcefully find a different perspective, “What about you at that time? What was the situation? What was his situation? You’ve said it yourself; this child was forced by his family. After his debut, he had the courage to bring his popularity directly into the crew! Why? Because he has confidence!”
“Look at your situation at that time! Accepting any crap movie! How are you like the person you’re telling me about!”
Chang Haoqing and Rong Jin have gone through tough times together. When Rong Jin filmed his first movie, life wasn’t as comfortable as it is now. During his first movie, he didn’t even have a separate tent.
At that time, Rong Jin was young, had no backing, and his family situation was difficult. He relied on a company he signed with, which was struggling both openly and secretly, causing Rong Jin to bear a lot.
Once, he even physically assaulted a producer who wanted to take advantage of him, breaking the producer’s teeth himself. If it weren’t for the movie becoming a hit after its release, with the company intervening and suppressing the incident, Rong Jin’s situation might have been different. Even in the past few years, he faced many challenges. How could he compare to a young master like Chi Feiran, who was being praised and supported?
Upon hearing Chang Haoqing’s words, Rong Jin also chuckled, “But I feel that he, like me, is someone who escaped into this world.”
Chang Haoqing was left feeling bitter by his laughter, managing to squeeze out a sentence, “Nonsense…”
Chang Haoqing thought about the time from being Rong Jin’s assistant to becoming his manager. In the blink of an eye, more than ten years had passed.
Taking a deep breath, he strained his voice to say, “I really don’t want to admit it. Right now, I’d rather believe you’re trying to seduce a minor than see you acting like a character from a tragic story.”
Rong Jin: “…”
Looking disdainfully at him, Rong Jin asked, “Are you still human?”
Chang Haoqing retorted, “Are you any more humane on a regular basis?”
Staying up late playing games and teasing your manager are daily activities!
Suddenly becoming calm, Chang Haoqing threatened, “Are you making excuses for staying up late and playing games? Rong Jin, let me tell you, if you joke about this kind of thing, I’ll beat you, do you understand?”
Rong Jin just stared at him, expressionless.
Chang Haoqing awkwardly said, “If it’s not, then it’s not…”
Rong Jin withdrew his gaze, his eyes seemingly fixed on the computer screen or wandering elsewhere. He said, “Actually, I’m happy to see him walking such a smooth path.”
It was like simulating another life, but unfortunately, the child’s heart seemed to hide something. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be moments when emotions he tried to conceal would unintentionally surface.
The old memories haunted him like nightmares, even though so much time had passed. Recalling them still made it difficult for him to sleep.
Chang Haoqing didn’t know how to truly comfort Rong Jin. Some words, no matter how many times they were said, would not help. Moreover, Chang Haoqing, who knew the inside story, was even more helpless to provide comfort.
Chang Haoqing could only dryly say, “Simply find genuine happiness. This child has talent and is working hard. He has better resources than you had before. Just wait for the next generation to surpass you.”
Rong Jin laughed and said, “I’m waiting for him.”
Meanwhile, Chi Feiran remained unaware that his carefully concealed thoughts had been keenly sensed by Rong Jin.
Having slept well and with good sleep quality, Chi Feiran woke up almost naturally when the alarm went off. The entire crew was still quiet; it seemed like most people hadn’t woken up yet.
The few actors who were leaving with Chi Feiran one by one were yawning, looking like they could fall asleep at any moment. Chen Mengyang handed out mint candies to each of them to help wake them up.
Chi Feiran also took one and only realized how unexpectedly good the taste was after eating it. It had a strong mint flavor but wasn’t excessively overpowering, and it had a hint of milk, perfectly to his liking.
Chen Mengyang proudly said, “I got it from the girls in the art department! You guys probably don’t know, they have a lot of delicious snacks!”
Chi Feiran gave him a thumbs up, indicating it was excellent. However, when he glanced in the direction of Rong Jin’s tent, he noticed that the curtain had been lifted from the inside.
After a moment, Rong Jin also looked in his direction.
Chi Feiran hadn’t expected to see Rong Jin again just before leaving. He was about to walk over, had even taken two steps, but suddenly turned back. From Chen Mengyang, he took an unopened candy, then briskly walked towards Rong Jin.
Rong Jin also walked towards him. As Chi Feiran approached, still holding the candy, he asked casually, “What’s this?”
Chi Feiran smiled with his eyes squinted and said, “It’s candy!”