19.
Li Mu was stumped by his question (ZQ).
For a moment, he couldn’t tell whether he (ZQ) was intentional or just really dedicated.
He looked at Zhuang Qin who was standing not far away.
Zhuang Qin was embarrassed: “Director Guo said that the film will only show the shoulders. So we only need to take off our shirts, right? ”
Li Mu looked at him still wearing the same pajamas that he came downstairs in to pick him up with. It was loose fitting and did not show his figure.
“No, I will catch a cold.” Li Mu turned sideways, “Let’s just be dressed and start.”
Zhuang Qin made an “Oh” sound. His whole person was burning up. He just wanted to find a crack in the ground and sink in.
Taking a deep breath, he desperately suppressed his embarrassment and brewing feelings to enter into the role.
Li Mu casually unbuttoned two buttons on his shirt to reveal his collarbone: “Come on”
Zhuang Qin walked over and wondered how he was going to lean on him. What kind of position was this? Was he going to sit on Li Mu’s lap?
He sat on the edge of the sofa and the two of them were next to each other, every word of the script appeared in Zhuang Qin’s mind.
“I’m sorry.” Zhuang Qin apologized first and then leaned back. His whole person was so careful as if he was afraid of being too heavy and pressing on Li Mu.
Li Mu felt that his body was stiff.
He was also a little uncomfortable.
Li Mu put his hand on his arm.
Zhuang Qin’s body went even more rigid, like a plaster statue.
“Relax a little.” Li Mu lowered his voice.
“Okay ……” Zhuang Qin breathed in and thought: He was an actor. Li Mu was also an actor. It was no big deal. Every scene was just playing a role.
Thinking about it this way was much easier. His body slowly softened and his head slightly turned to the side and completely leaned against the broad chest. His whole body seemed relieved.
A very light mint smell wafted to the nose. It was the refreshing scent of shampoo. Li Mu looked down and saw a blackhead resting on him. The hair was a bit messy but soft and tickled the skin near his neck.
He had hardly ever hugged anyone like this, and in such a position, it took a minute to remember that this was a just scene.
An ke said his lines clearly.
Li Mu closed his eyes and picked up his line. His throat slid up and down.
The scene lasted only two minutes and passed quickly. Zhuang Qin was finally able to find a little bit of that feeling and the first thing he did was to stand up when he finished his lines.
For a few minutes, neither of them spoke. Zhuang Qin struggled to get out of the role, he was very excited: “This time it’s right!”
The arms were empty, but the feeling of that embrace still remained.
Li Mu responded with little change to his expression: “Good.”
Even a compliment sounded perfunctory.
Zhuang Qin didn’t care. He didn’t pay attention to Li Mu’s expression and only focused on the fact that he caught a hint of that feeling: “I’ll go up and change my clothes.”
When he went upstairs, Li Mu was still sitting with a dry mouth. He wanted to drink water and picked up the mineral water and glanced at it. It was empty.
The first time he experienced this type of play with someone was too special.
Li Mu put on his jacket and buttoned it up. Zhuang Qin changed into casual clothes and went downstairs with a hat, mask, and black-framed glasses.
In the elevator.
“You are nearsighted?” Li Mu was almost ten centimeters taller than him and looked down at him.
Zhuang Qin said: “Just a little. It’s not serious.”
Li Mu thought of his earlier question of “Do you want to undress”.
He has met many people who have thrown themselves at him.
“Why did you take this play?” Li Mu asked as he got out of the elevator.
“Huh?” Zhuang Qin looked at him, “Director Guo came to me and gave me the script. I read the script and felt interested, so I took it.”
The two had become slightly more familiar, but outside of a scene, their relationship was just a little better than strangers. They sat in the car but also politely maintained a little distance between them.
Li Mu opened up a private room for dinner so he didn’t have to worry about being photographed. In order to find a topic, Zhuang Qin asked some harmless questions, such as his license plate: “I see it’s from Jizhou. Is your hometown in Hebei? ”
“My ancestral home is in Shijiazhuang.”
“You don’t speak with a Hebei accent at all.”
Li Mu said, “I grew up in America.”
“No wonder I saw you skiing over there last time.”
“What about you. Did you also go skiing specifically?” He originally thought Zhuang Qin was an international student.
“My shifu and shiniang are over there and my uncle runs a business over there.”
“Master? Kunqu Troupe?” Li Mu thought of the online wiki that said he sang in a Kunqu Troupe.
“Yes, how do you know?”
Li Mu’s face did not change: “The director said so.”
“Oh…oh.” Zhuang Qin knew that Director Guo’s mouth was broken. He says everything and was very chatty.
Li Mu sent Zhuang Qin home and also got off the car: “You check. Don’t forget anything.”
“I just took a mobile phone. “Zhuang Qin closed the car door, “Bye, see you in Thailand.”
Li Mu nodded and watched him walk towards the elevator but he didn’t drive the car away yet. He wanted to see when the child would react and notice that his access card was gone.
Sure enough, within a few seconds, Zhuang Qin touched his pocket and turned around to come back.
Li Mu gave him the access card from the car window.
Zhuang Qin embarrassingly took it: “It’ll definitely be gone after this time”
t/n: he’s talking about his habit of forgetting things (○´艸｀)
The corner of Li Mu’s mouth had an inconspicuous curve as he watched him run away with the access card.
———–
In early April, Zhuang Qin packed up his summer clothes and dragged his luggage to the airport with Xiao Lian.
It took five hours from the capital airport to fly to Bangkok, and Zhuang Qin read the script along the way. He took off his coat, revealing the thin long-sleeved shirt inside.
Filming was arranged in Rayong Province: a city with few tourists.
The tourists that go to Southeast Asia mostly head for Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, or Phuket. Very few would go here.
Outside of the airport, there was a special pick-up car. It was a narrow van with a local driver who could speak a little English. Director Guo found him in Rayong and asked him to pick up Zhuang Qin.
Zhuang Qin just happened to be practicing a few lines in Thai and along the way grabbed the driver from time to time to chat with him. There were just a few words exchanged in their back and forth.
Although Thailand was so close, it was still the first time he’s come here. Xiao Lian has been here a few times during university. When he arrived, it was already 6:30 pm.
The car slowed down and entered a very narrow alley, but here, the car couldn’t pass. The road was too narrow. The car stopped and the driver said, “I can’t drive in, you can only walk in.”
He reversed the car and stopped.
“Director Guo.”
Zhuang Qin got out of the car and saw Director Guo who was wearing a straw hat as shade from the sun.
Director Guo helped him with his bag and lead him into the narrow alley: “It’s quite remote here, so it’s a lot of work to get here. Did you bring everything?”.
“Yes. Clothes, toiletries, electronics. Everything.” Zhuang Qin looked at the orange-colored ground under the afterglow of the sunset. On one side was a fence and on the other side was a wasteland, all unattended and filled with wild plants.
“It’s very hot over here, so be careful not to get heatstroke. The room you’re staying in has air conditioning. You’ll be given tomorrow off. You can go out and play or rest, and tomorrow night the script reading will begin.”
“How long till we start filming?”
“The makeup and film photos is set for the 12th. The 13th is the official start. That day is the Thai water festival. I asked the master in a nearby temple a few days ago and he said that this day is more auspicious…here it is.” He led Zhuang Qin to a wooden double door, “During this period, we will live here. The conditions are average and it’s not bad. You will live in one room by yourself.”
Zhuang Qin followed him inside and raised his eyes to see the beautiful tropical plant garden and fountain under the lights. The front desk was on the left and a lounge area that looked like it was for breakfast was on the right.
“Is this a hotel?”
“It’s a private hotel. Don’t think it’s big. It’s just two floors with a total of sixty rooms. I booked it for four months.”
Zhuang Qin thought that it’s different when you have money.
Passing the front desk, there was a huge swimming pool that was reflecting the sunset.
“This swimming pool is pretty nice. ”
The swimming pool was 20 meters long and rectangular. It is quite large compared to the size of the hotel. There are 20 or 30 sun lounge chairs on both sides. All with white umbrellas.
Someone came over and greeted Director Guo and called out to Zhuang Qin: “Hello, teacher Zhuang.”
Zhuang Qin nodded: “Hello.”
Director Guo said, “He is with the film crew. You just call him Tielin…… Come on, this way. You will live on the second floor and it’s a big bedroom. Don’t dislike it. This hotel is on AGODA and has a score of 8.8!”
“It’s okay, I’m not afraid of hardship, and besides it’s not really suffering.”
Someone came to help Zhuang Qin carry his luggage and they went upstairs. It was a middle room. Room number 258.
“I specially reserved this for you. Upstairs privacy is better so I left it for you.”
Zhuang Qin: “…… thank you.”
Director Guo: “I live downstairs in 118.”
Zhuang Qin: “……”
t/n: 😂
After opening the door with the room card, Zhuang Qin walked in and saw that the room was 40 square meters, with a bed, a bathroom, a balcony, a TV, two single sofas, and a coffee table.
Director Guo asked him and Xiao Lian for their passports and said he was going downstairs to check-in. He then handed a room card to Xiao Lian: “You live next door. 257.”
“Thank you, Director Guo.”
“No thanks. This room card is usually demagnetized every three or four days. Just go to the front desk and find them to sort it out. I’ll take you to get acquainted with it later after dinner. First, clean up”
Director Guo went downstairs.
Zhuang Qin walked to the balcony to take a look. This side does not belong to the hotel. Most of the second floor was had a balcony and you can see the sea from a distance.
With the sea breeze blowing in the distance, Xiao Lian said behind him: “Although the environment is not five-star, it’s not as bad as imagined. Brother Zhuang, I’ll help you change the bedsheets first.”
“It’s okay, I’ll change them myself. You go to your room and have a look.”
After Zhuang Qin finished changing the sheets, Director Guo came upstairs with his passport and said to him: “It’s done.”
“Have all the cast members arrived?”
“Part of them have arrived, like you and Li Mu who have the most scenes this month and there are also some supporting characters. Get to know them later.” He had a lot of soy sauce roles* in this play. Director Guo arranged for them to come over next month to shoot.
t/n: passerby; insignificant roles
“Oh.” Zhuang Qin nodded, and asked, “Where is Li Mu? Didn’t he arrive yesterday? Which room is he staying in?”
“Oh, he arrived yesterday morning and was taken by his real estate agent to buy a villa in the afternoon.” Director Guo said this with an expressionless face. Reaching out to point at the window, “Just ten minutes away. It’s a sea view villa. The pool is even bigger than the one here.”
Zhuang Qin: “……?”
