Over the next three days, Ye Shanshan could be said to be wholeheartedly dedicated to serving his own Demon King, utilizing all his brilliance and cleverness in doing so.
This all-encompassing care made Gong Yue feel as if he was injured not only in his hand, but in his entire body. Essentially, with just a glance, Ye Shanshan could understand what Gong Yue wanted to do or eat without him even having to speak.
Ye Shanshan felt that giving himself a little red flower was not an exaggeration at all—after all, understanding Gong Yue’s thoughts was his top priority.
However, ever since that night when Ye Shanshan dreamed of becoming XXXL-sized, he had been having some strange dreams every time he slept.
Like today’s dream, where he found himself transformed into a water-filled doll that would leak at the slightest touch, unable to stand steadily and swaying like a spinning top.
Then he was startled awake. Rubbing his abdomen, Ye Shanshan’s thought process took several detours before reconnecting with his nervous system—ah, turns out his bladder was about to explode.
Half awake, Ye Shanshan stumbled out of bed to use the bathroom, feeling relieved upon his return. As he stood by the bed, preparing to climb back in, he suddenly felt that something was off about his feet.
Looking down, Ye Shanshan examined his foot under the dim light of the night lamp—a blood red.
“!!” With a surge of adrenaline, Ye Shanshan’s drowsiness instantly halved. He stared in horror at his blood-drenched foot, then glanced at the two bloodstains he had left behind—could it be that his dream had come true, and he really had turned into a water-filled doll that leaked?
These past few days, Gong Yue’s sleep had been shallow due to the pain from his wound. When he noticed Ye Shanshan standing by the bed without moving, he found it odd, “Shanshan?”
After nearly ten seconds of silence, Ye Shanshan’s voice trembled as he finally spoke, “Brother, I think I’m in big trouble!”
Startled by his tone, Gong Yue quickly turned on the bedside lamp and sat up, looking at the pitiful Ye Shanshan who was frozen in place. “What’s wrong?”
“I think I’m leaking.”
Gong Yue always understood Ye Shanshan’s “personal vocabulary” very well, such as “Shan can’t move and is about to die.” But now, he still couldn’t catch up with Ye Shanshan’s train of thought. “What’s leaking?”
“Water, no, blood.”
Now Gong Yue was also anxious. He didn’t care much about his own gunshot wound, but when it came to Ye Shanshan, even if it was just a tiny scratch, he would be worried for a long time. So, suppressing the slight dizziness he felt, he got out of bed immediately.
“Show me, where is it? Is it serious?”
Pointing to the sole of his foot, Ye Shanshan’s mind went through a hundred and eighty twists, each one spelling out his doom. Just as he was about to find something like a handkerchief to lament his rocky fate, he saw Gong Yue squatting in front of him, carefully lifting his foot with his left hand.
“Don’t be afraid, tell me if it hurts.”
Gong Yue examined it carefully, feeling increasingly puzzled, especially by the blood, which looked odd up close. He cautiously touched the area with the heaviest bleeding. “Do you feel anything?”
Surprisingly, Ye Shanshan replied in amazement, “No pain, it seems this wound is toxic, my pain nerves are all numbed.”
“…”
Carefully wiping away the “blood,” Gong Yue found that there was not a single scratch on the exposed skin. “This isn’t blood,” his tense voice instantly relaxed.
Ye Shanshan listened, stunned for a moment, then bent down to touch the “blood” with his fingers, sniffing it. He found it had a slightly sweet smell—no, it definitely wasn’t because he had eaten too many sweets and his blood had turned sweet.
As his mind cleared a bit, Ye Shanshan activated his own search engine and suddenly found the keyword “artificial blood bag” in his memory bank, causing him to freeze.
– This is truly a disaster!
Realizing that Gong Yue was waiting for his answer, Ye Shanshan swallowed nervously and spoke in a drifting tone,
“Brother, if I say that I didn’t put this unknown prop here, would you believe me?”
Gong Yue didn’t reply, but Ye Shanshan felt that the way Gong Yue was looking at him now was like he was looking at someone with intellectual disabilities.
Covering his face with a sigh of sorrow, Ye Shanshan wrinkled his nose, “Okay, even I don’t believe it.”
He realized at that moment that Gong Yue might have had an accident, so he casually placed the artificial blood bag on the table. Perhaps it had rolled off the table and, combined with Ye Shanshan’s forgetfulness, led to the bizarre incident of the blood bag bursting when stepped on in the middle of the night.
So, Ye Shanshan stood obediently in place, as straight-backed as a poplar tree, and his attitude of admitting fault was very sincere, “I was wrong.”
Gong Yue pinched his brow, suddenly feeling that a certain proverb was quite correct—every day brings its own surprise.
“What were you going to do with it?”
Ye Shanshan glanced cautiously at his Demon King, hesitated for a long time, then opened his mouth, “Play dead.” His voice dropped to the lowest level it had ever been in his life.
“Hmm?”
Since it had come to this, Ye Shanshan closed his eyes, facing death with equanimity, “Play—dead!” with an air of righteousness.
“…”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“…”
Gong Yue instantly understood Ye Shanshan’s thought process and felt a headache coming on. “Don’t say anything for now, let me just calm down.”
Ye Shanshan felt that perhaps to avoid seeing trouble, Gong Yue quickly arranged for Zheng Dong to come over and take him to the set for filming.
– His Majesty is truly avoiding me.
The next day, when Zheng Dong came to pick up Ye Shanshan to go to the set, he found him looking as miserable as a withered pea seedling.
“What’s wrong with you?” Ye Shanshan was always energetic every day, and everyone around him felt good because of his cheerful demeanor. Seeing Ye Shanshan’s gloomy face all of a sudden, Zheng Dong felt uncomfortable.
Ye Shanshan huddled in the back seat, looking hopeless as he glanced at Zheng Dong, “It’s over.”
Zheng Dong was about to ask what was going on, but before he could, he heard Ye Shanshan’s phone beep with a text message notification.
“Aren’t you going to check it?”
Ye Shanshan sighed and wasn’t in the mood to check. But in the end, he couldn’t resist and picked up his phone to glance at it. Then his whole demeanor changed instantly, sitting up straight and slapping his thigh loudly,
“He asked me to finish filming early and come home for dinner!”
His Majesty didn’t really despise me!
Zheng Dong didn’t quite understand what had made Ye Shanshan so excited, but he still followed along, “As long as you’re happy, smile more when you meet Director Zhang later.”
“Why should I smile more?”
“Every time you smile, all grudges and grievances disappear.”
Ye Shanshan touched his face. Why did it feel like Zheng Dong’s words made him seem like a hurricane that could blow down houses and uproot trees?
The car stopped outside the film and television base. Ye Shanshan’s eyes sharpened as he saw dozens of girls standing not far away, holding signs that read, “Star Tower—Fans—Support Team?” He asked Zheng Dong with some confusion, “Are they here for me?”
Zheng Dong was parking the car and looked in the direction Ye Shanshan was pointing. He indeed saw fans. “They are indeed your fans. Are you going to say hello to them or just go straight inside? We arrived early today, and the crew shouldn’t have started working yet.”
Ye Shanshan thought for a moment. “They’ve come all the way here, so it’s quite hard for them. I’ll go say hello.” With that, he opened the car door, stretched his long legs onto the ground, and, wearing a cap, walked towards the fans holding the small signs.
The two dozen girls from the support team had actually come with the hope of catching a glimpse of Ye Shanshan by chance. So when they saw Ye Shanshan, tall with long legs, approaching them step by step, they even forgot to scream.
Standing about a meter away from them, Ye Shanshan took off his cap and spoke gently, “I’m very happy to see you—”
“Ah—” The long-suppressed screams suddenly erupted. Ye Shanshan reacted quickly, covering his own ears, and then looked at those girls with astonishment— the sound waves were too strong, beyond his expectation!
After the frenzy of screams subsided, Ye Shanshan lowered his hands and waved them, thinking for a moment before coming up with a topic, “Have you eaten yet?”
One girl in front gathered her courage and said loudly, “Yes, we ate xiaolongbao and mixed sauce noodles!”
Ye Shanshan smirked, “Ah, you’ve eaten both my loyal followers and true love!”
Seeing this smile, the two dozen girls went crazy. Some whispered to each other while others took photos and videos frantically, wishing their phones had unlimited storage for all the data.
“He’s even more handsome than on TV! So good-looking!”
“Legs soft! Heart soft! Waist soft! Ahhhh—”
The shutter clicks were rapid, and Ye Shanshan cooperated by standing still. When he felt it was time, he negotiated, “Can I sign autographs? Or take a group photo? But I can’t delay here too long, or the director will be anxious.”
“We’ll be super happy with autographs and a big group photo!” Hearing a girl say this, Ye Shanshan earnestly signed his name for them and then stood in the middle, asking Zheng Dong for help to take a big group photo with the fans.
As he was about to leave, he suddenly heard someone behind him shout, “Dewdrop Little Immortal Man!”
The first word was hesitant, but the rest flowed smoothly.
Ye Shanshan paused in his steps and turned around. “I’ve said that if you call me by this fake name, I won’t respond!” He was stern, his expression serious.
Zheng Dong was a bit speechless on the side. If you won’t respond, why bother stopping and saying something? What kind of “not responding” is this new method?
Seeing that the girls weren’t ready to leave yet, Ye Shanshan smiled and sighed, “Alright, alright, you should all head home now. I’ll call a car for you. Be sure to stay safe on the road. Thank you for liking me, and I’ll take my filming seriously.”
After seeing off the fans, Ye Shanshan entered the film and television base and happened to meet Yan Ke, who came in from another door.
“Good morning, Yan Emperor!” Zheng Dong walked over with a smile on his face. “Shanshan was just saying in the car how happy he is to work with Yan Emperor for the second time.”
Yan Ke nodded, not particularly concerned whether the statement was true or false, then turned to Ye Shanshan. “I heard from the director earlier that there was some trouble at your home. Is everything okay?”
“Well, it’s all in the past now, but I feel bad for inconveniencing the crew with my leave and disrupting your schedule. I’m really sorry about that.” Hu Yan’s scenes were mostly partnered with Yan Ke, so Ye Shanshan’s previous absence essentially slowed down Yan Ke’s progress as well.
“Everyone encounters special circumstances, it’s just mutual understanding,” Yan Ke offered, then added, “Remember to treat the crew to a meal or something, you’ve made your stance clear, and others won’t have much to say.”
Listening on the side, Zheng Dong found Yan Emperor’s attitude quite rare. Although Yan Ke wasn’t exactly the most amiable person, now it seemed like he was treating Ye Shanshan as his junior?
Ye Shanshan was very sensitive to people’s intentions, so his smile was exceedingly bright. “Thank you, Yan Emperor.”
“Call me Yan Ge.” After some thought, Yan Ke lowered his voice. “I’m very grateful to you for helping me with those math problems last time. It was a huge help.”
Ye Shanshan was taken aback. “Ah, you can still come to me for help with math! I’m good at it!” He almost gave himself a thumbs up.
Amused by Ye Shanshan’s “advertisement,” Yan Ke chuckled. “Alright, if you need help with acting, you can come to me.”
Even until Ye Shanshan was getting his makeup done, Zheng Dong was still marveling on the side, “How is your luck so good? Helping the Emperor with math and now in a movie?”
Finishing his statement, Zheng Dong seemed quite concerned. “And doing elementary Olympiad math or something, there must be some hidden backstory. Ah, you really lucked out!”
Ye Shanshan thought for a moment before saying, “Your thinking is somewhat off. This is actually about skill. Look, even if you were given the same opportunity, you wouldn’t be able to solve those problems.”
“…” Although what he said was particularly correct, aligning with good morals, Zheng Dong felt his old habit of heartache creeping back.
Ye Shanshan’s first scene was a confrontation with Yan Ke.
Because Ye Shanshan was cast as Hu Yan after the crew had already been filming for a month, there was no way for him to follow the script’s sequence.
Filming out of sequence like this actually tested the actor’s skill because once the order was disrupted, the emotional through-line and other aspects couldn’t be coherent. Therefore, the actor needed to maintain a mental thread, quickly finding the corresponding point for each scene.
Zheng Dong was somewhat worried. “Are you sure it’s okay?”
“It’s fine,” Ye Shanshan nodded. In fact, the principle behind his portrayal of this character was simple: deconstructing the entire role. Almost every second was meticulously planned out, with dialogue, tone, expression, and movement corresponding to each other, then reassembled into a coherent performance. It could withstand scrutiny. However, the amount of information processed by the brain would be immense.
This scene was with Yan Ke’s character, Wu Qian, who began to suspect Hu Yan as the “Watcher” for the first time but wasn’t sure, so he tested him during a conversation.
Ye Shanshan wore a beige windbreaker, appearing gentle and non-threatening. He quickly got into character, almost sitting on the black vintage-style sofa. When he lifted his head, his entire demeanor changed.
The floor was somewhat dusty, and Wu Qian silently struck a match, the sound of “crackle” filling the air as the flame ignited. Hu Yan stared at the slowly extinguishing flame, his Adam’s apple moving slightly. “So, what do you want to say?”
He tried to keep himself calm, but there was still a hint of instability in his tone.
“I just—”
Taking a deep breath, Hu Yan interrupted Wu Qian’s words. Each word was spoken very clearly.
“On the night Selwyn died, I didn’t step out of my room until Jiang Rui screamed and woke me up.”
He lowered his eyelids, and the curly lashes fluttered with his breath, veiling the sadness in his eyes. “If—”, he smiled faintly at Wu Qian, the expression complex and tinged with restrained bitterness.
“If you really suspect me, I can understand. After all, in this castle, who dares to trust anyone?”
“Cut!” Director Zhang raised a megaphone and shouted, “Excellent, Hu Yan did a great job. It’s convincing to see a friend being doubted and still having to sympathize with the other party’s bitterness. Next scene has a close-up with subtle emotions. Let’s aim for a one-take!”
The makeup artist came over to touch up their makeup, while Director Zhang watched the previous scenes on the monitor.
Zheng Dong stood behind Director Zhang, and he pointed to Ye Shanshan on the screen. “Look at Ye Shanshan, acting opposite Yan Emperor, his presence isn’t inferior at all. I heard this is his third movie?”
“Yeah, it’s his 2.5th, you could count his first role as a 0.5,” Zheng Dong smiled. He had become quite familiar with Director Zhang recently. “I was worried before that he might forget his lines.”
“Not remembering lines isn’t a problem either. Let me tell you, Lao Zheng, you really have a gem in your hands. It shines without much polishing. What’s your secret? I see that Shanshan doesn’t have many resources, poor thing, does your company have any plans for him?”
Zheng Dong had to take on this responsibility and nodded. Looking at Ye Shanshan on the screen, he felt a pang of worry.
Ye Shanshan and Yan Ke worked together efficiently, with basic shots usually being done in one take. For scenes with complex character emotions, Director Zhang would brainstorm and then have them try different acting methods, always resulting in surprises.
At the end of the day, Director Zhang was in high spirits, shouting for the crew to give Ye Shanshan three more chicken legs. Ye Shanshan thanked him and quickly devoured them.
“I’ve seen some online chatter these past few days about Shanshan lacking acting skills. It seems like someone is setting the tone. Do you want me to help?”
Zheng Dong glanced at Ye Shanshan, who was enjoying the chicken legs, and politely declined. Director Zhang patted Zheng Dong’s shoulder. “I’ve taken a liking to him. If you ever need anything, remember to find me, I’ll help if I can.”
With Director Zhang’s prestige in the film industry, this was a significant promise. Zheng Dong thanked him repeatedly, but the thought of Ye Shanshan’s style, akin to a rich family’s spoiled child, made him ache all over.
※※※
Ye Shanshan completely ignored the plaintive look from his agent as he was eager to get home.
So after Zheng Dong dropped him off at his doorstep, before he could even ask Ye Shanshan about dealing with the online criticism of his acting, he saw Ye Shanshan swiftly unbuckle his seatbelt, open the door, and step out of the car in one smooth motion.
“…” My artist has a built-in teleportation skill.
By the time he got home, it was already late. Ye Shanshan prepared the medicine that Gong Yue needed to
take, then carried a glass of water and went to find him.
Gong Yue was sitting on the recliner in the flower room, resting. Ye Shanshan quietly walked in and whispered, “Guess who I am!”
After a pause, Gong Yue cooperatively responded, “Shanshan.”
“Yes, it’s me! I’m back! How are you feeling? Are you okay today? Does your wound hurt? How’s your mood? Did you miss me? Are you feeling less dizzy?” After Ye Shanshan finished his barrage of questions, Gong Yue patiently answered each one. His gaze towards Ye Shanshan was focused.
“Are you tired?” Gong Yue asked.
Shaking his head, Ye Shanshan replied, “Not tired at all. Filming went smoothly, and I treated the crew to lunch.” He looked expectantly for praise.
Gong Yue nodded. “Well done.”
Seeing that Gong Yue had taken his medicine, Ye Shanshan stuffed a small piece of candy into his mouth, then cleared his throat, and with dramatic flair, shook his head,
“Your Majesty, one day apart from you feels like a long and arduous journey, as if it’s been three autumns since we last met. Thinking of you, missing you, eagerly awaiting your return, longing for your presence, it’s all-consuming.”
“Speak properly.”
“Oh, I miss you very much.”
Author’s note: Gong ge: My classical Chinese really isn’t good. I can’t even understand the simplest version, I feel like I need to go learn.
————————
The title has changed, and the cover is about to change too. [Highlight Placeholder] has been changed to “My Family’s Old Palace Has Amnesia.” The process was extremely frustrating—His Majesty has amnesia: feels like ancient style, the Demon King has amnesia: feels like Western fantasy, the Keeper has amnesia: got censored, the male lead has amnesia: too plain, the big shot has amnesia: feels like a gangster. The Demon King and Ye’s scenes are exciting, but not feasible. Anyway, it was all kinds of rejected… so the name has finally been decided, and I’m just overjoyed ~
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