Two days later, Jiang Dao arrived in country M, a small country on the southern border, along with the crew of “Operation Red Owl”.
The crew contacted and booked two villa hotels not far from the filming location. The villas are a bit old, with mottled walls and a faint musty smell. Fortunately, the air conditioner can still work, so they won’t be too uncomfortable.
“But there aren’t enough rooms for everyone.” The crew apologized. “We divided the rooms on this page. If anyone needs to exchange, they can discuss it themselves, and then share with me.”
A makeup artist walked forward with her costume stylist friend and asked in a low voice: “It’s arranged?”
The logistics girl glanced at the form and calmly replied, “Yes.”
Then a few of them looked at each other and smiled tacitly. The corners of their eyes could not be controlled though, and floated in the direction of Jiang Dao and Chu Yinlong.
Jiang Dao raised his hand and scratched his neck, frowned and glanced over at the girls who were secretly poking and planning something.
Then, he heard Chu Yinlong’s voice: “Xiao Dao, you’re with me in the master bedroom upstairs.”
Then a key was handed over.
Jiang Dao hesitated.
Chu Yinlong was silent for a moment, then asked, “You don’t want to live with me?”
“Why not,” Jiang Dao took the key with a smile. “I’m just a little surprised. I thought they would arrange for you to live with Teacher Yao.”
Based on past arrangements, it’s only reasonable to arrange it like that.
Chu Yinlong frowned slightly and looked at the logistics supervisor.
The logistics girl calmly continued to distribute the keys. Behind her, the makeup artist and the costume stylist tightened their expressions, and looked around innocently, not daring to meet Chu Yinlong’s gaze.
After identifying the “culprits”, Chu Yinlong snorted lightly. But instead of losing his temper on the spot, he turned around and took Jiang Dao upstairs to the master bedroom.
When everyone’s room was allocated, the three girls went back to the room they shared, and couldn’t help screaming and hugging in excitement.
Makeup artist: “Sister, you’re so brave! How dare you arrange the rooms like this!”
The logistics girl calmly pushed her glasses up: “Father Long might scold me bloody, but my CP must be matched.”
At this time, the “matched” Jiang Dao and Chu Yinlong walked into the master bedroom of the villa and breathed a sigh of relief at the same time – fortunately, this villa was originally a hotel, and there were two beds in the room.
Although the two had squeezed together on the same bed when filming Taoyuan, Jiang Dao has been a little apprehensive after learning about Chu Yinlong’s sexual orientation. Not because he’s afraid of Chu Yinlong, but because he’s worried of any troubles caused by sharing a bed.
As for Chu Yinlong, the reason for his sigh of relief is… He’s really afraid he can’t help it.
It was okay to share a bed before he realized it. But now, after realizing it and “knowing” Jiang Dao likes him, if one day he can’t control it, he’s afraid he will really drag Jiang Dao into a messy love whirlpool in the entertainment industry.
It’s still too early. After Jiang Dao’s ability is seen and acknowledged, and the malicious rumors disappear… it won’t be too late to take that step.
There wasn’t any filming on the first day. After eating lunch with the staff, there was another script reading in the afternoon for the crew to familiarize themselves with the new filming location. The rest of the time was free time.
Since arriving at the villa, Jiang Dao has been greedy for the swimming pool in the courtyard.
When he was finally free, he went back and found a pair of shorts and put them on. He plunged swiftly into the water and swam around.
Yao Yuhua was drinking tea with the artist and the assistant director. When he saw this scene through the glass window of the restaurant, he couldn’t help laughing: “Young people are full of energy.”
The makeup lead said: “You don’t say. Xiao Dao, this kid, is physically strong, can endure hardships, and isn’t squeamish. After a few years, his achievements may not be lower than Xiao Chu. Tsk, it’s a pity…”
“It’s unfortunate. If only he was born ten years later,” the assistant director sighed along. “He will inevitably be crushed by Xiao Chu if he debuts now. If he’s born ten years later, Xiao Chu can bring him into the circle, and when Xiao Chu can’t move, it’ll be his time to shine in the field of martial arts.”
At this time, a staff member passed by carrying a box of mineral water. Jiang Dao was lying on the side of the pool and flagged him. The man tossed a bottle of water from the box over, which Jiang Dao caught. Sitting by the poolside, he unscrewed the bottle cap, raised his head, and took a few mouthfuls.
Drops of water snaked down his cheeks, flowed over his throat that bobbed up and down, and curved over his collarbones. The glow of the setting sun reflected off his smooth and graceful muscle lines, seeing hazy and golden.
“Tsk, beautiful.” In front of the window, the makeup lead stretched out her hand and gestured, “It’s a pity not to have a close-up in the script with such a beautiful figure.”
Yao Yuhua laughed and scolded: “You, how old are you to say this? Aren’t you ashamed?”
“What does appreciating beauty have to do with age? The beauty of the human body is completely different from the eroticism in the eyes of those vulgar people. The human body is the most perfect work of art in nature. Look at him, this kind of beauty is pure, and will not evoke those vulgar desires!”
On the second floor, in front of the master bedroom window.
Chu Yinlong looked down at the figure sitting by the pool, his throat rolled uncontrollably.
He reached out to shut the curtains, then went back and pulled out the incense box from his suitcase. He skillfully twisted out an incense thread, lit it, and heaved a sigh of relief.
After swimming in the water for more than half an hour, Jiang Dao felt refreshed. Shaking the water from his hair, he picked up the towel that had been thrown on the folding chair next to him, put it on, and stepped back into the room with his slippers. As soon as he entered the master bedroom, he turned straight into the bathroom without thinking.
It wasn’t until he took a shower and dried his body that Jiang Dao realized it later… He forgot to bring in a change of clothes again.
Jiang Dao searched the bathroom and found that there was no bathrobe in this broken place.
So, he could only do the next best thing. He picked up the bath towel and wrapped it around his waist, then slipped lightly to the front of his suitcase.
Chu Yinlong, who was leaning on the bed with his phone: …
On the phone, Director Mu asked, “Give me an answer, can you act?”
Chu Yinlong returned to his senses: “Yes!”
Director Mu snorted: “Why are you so loud? I can hear you fine.”
Then he added: “When I decided on you, you were five years younger than you are now. You weren’t as mature and stable as you are now, and felt more youthful. Chances are, filming will only happen next year after auditions and styling. You should try to find those feelings from back then, so you don’t act like a father instead of a brother.”
Chu Yinlong watched Jiang Dao slip back to the bathroom with his clothes, then quickly retracted his gaze, and absentmindedly rubbed his fingers.
Director Mu sighed on the phone: “I originally thought that it would be good for Xiao Dao to film an emotional role with Lao Zhang, but he turned out to be unreliable. Lao Zhang is too timid and dares not use a scandal-ridden actor; it’s not like he wasn’t at the meal that day… Oh yes, if you have a suitable role on your side, you can invite Xiao Dao to practice in advance. He doesn’t seem to have been in love before, so he might not be able to show it when the time comes.”
Chu Yinlong said lightly: “Yeah, I’ll see.”
Jiang Dao came out after changing his clothes, and wiped his hair with a towel in his hand.
His nose wrinkled as he wiped, and finally realized there was a strange fragrance in the room.
“Did you spray cologne?” Jiang Dao looked at Chu Yinlong in surprise.
“No.” Chu Yinlong hung up the phone. “I burned some sandalwood to get rid of the musty smell.”
“Oh, sandalwood…” Jiang Dao suddenly recalled the contents of a previous conversation with someone else, and couldn’t help chuckling. “Is it the incense used in temples? Carrying it everywhere with you, you’re indeed raised as a Buddhist.”
Hearing him say this, Chu Yinlong didn’t know why, but subconsciously explained: “Actually, when I came out to film at the age of eight, I already returned to the secular world. I officially left more than ten years ago, and don’t need to observe the rules and regulations… It’s just a personal habit to use sandalwood.”
Jiang Dao was curious: “Then do you still believe in Buddhism?”
Chu Yinlong said: “I like some Buddhist teachings and habits, but I haven’t converted to Buddhism.”
Jiang Dao nodded clearly, and subconsciously thought about it: “Oh, that means you haven’t quit… cough, meat and fish?”1meat, fish, & worldly desires basically
Chu Yinlong: …
Jiang Dao: …
The atmosphere turned awkward from his bluntness.
For a moment, Chu Yinlong tried to turn the situation around: “Actually, I still don’t eat meat.”
Jiang Dao was stunned: “But you ate a lot of meat when filming.”
Hearing this, Chu Yinlong smiled and said, “Accurately said, it’s “fishiness”, which refers to things with strong smells such as ginger, garlic, and leeks. I also don’t eat coriander, celery, and onion.”
Jiang Dao tutted and shook his head: “You’re such a picky eater. Tsk, you must never have been hungry. I’ve been so hungry that I wanted to stuff anything in my mouth. I’ve even eaten mud.”
Chu Yinlong was taken aback. “You?! True or false?”
Jiang Dao then reacted and blinked: “Do you believe me?”
Chu Yinlong stared at Jiang Dao without saying a word.
How hungry does one have to be to eat mud?
What happened to this kid when he was a kid?
The Qin family… how did they abuse him?
Looking at Jiang Dao’s wet hair, Chu Yinlong suddenly recalled what happened while recording Taoyuan.
Jiang Dao jumped into the lake to save the vegetables at the time. It wasn’t a grandstand, a moment of excitement, or even the impulse of a young man, but… he really didn’t want to waste food.
Chu Yinlong looked at Jiang Dao, and blurted out a sentence from his heart: “I’m sorry.”
“…Huh?” Jiang Dao was stunned.
Chu Yinlong smiled helplessly and shook his head. This apology came too late and was meaningless.
Thinking about it, bits and pieces of what happened during filming bubbled up.
Jiang Dao has never had leftovers. Even if the food in the box lunch is not delicious, or he has too much rice, he will finish everything, and then increase the time and intensity of exercise at night to forcefully consume the extra energy.
So far, the only food he can recall that Jiang Dao wasted is that half of an apple.
JD – enjoying his time at the villa
CYL – being tortured by JD
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