In this segment of the complete plot, Luo Yinan and Xiao Can appear, supporting each other in a stumbling manner, while He Xingzhou stands in the center of the scene with his back to them.
At first, the two politely requested the senior to give them medicine, but they were ridiculed. Xiao Can was displeased and stepped forward to argue, but was stopped by Luo Yinan.
He Xingzhou praised Luo Yinan’s restraint and calmness, indicating that everything before was a test, and now that they had successfully passed, he was willing to lend a hand.
The plot was simple, and Xiao Can’s main task was to argue with He Xingzhou, performing with great intensity.
Luo Yinan naturally had a righteous face, handsome and well-behaved, with a somewhat gentle temperament, which was very suitable for the character he portrayed, and his performance was decent.
The problem mostly arose with He Xingzhou.
This pure novice remembered his lines very well, but when he recited them, they always lacked a bit of meaning.
But he also kept meddling, constantly finding faults with the whole scene.
“When you first appeared, you were stumbling and had to support each other to walk, but when you argued with me later, you suddenly became spirited and full of energy. Was there any need to appear so weak at the beginning?” he questioned, “This is contradictory and unreasonable.”
The director patiently explained to him, “This is an exaggerated theatrical expression, or you can also understand it as the character catching his breath after resting for a while.”
“I don’t understand,” He Xingzhou shook his head.
“The audience needs this kind of visual effect to better immerse themselves in the plot,” the director said.
“The audience also needs logic,” He Xingzhou replied.
He was just making trouble out of nothing, and Xiao Can wished he could go up and pinch his ears. But because there were other people present, he had to force himself to endure it, feeling anxious inwardly.
Luo Yinan spoke up softly on the side, “Is it possible that the audience actually doesn’t need that much logic?”
His words weren’t wrong. Most viewers cared more about whether the characters were charming and whether the overall plot was exciting and thrilling. As for these insignificant details, few people would nitpick them, at most they would complain silently in their hearts, not taking them seriously.
It was boring to present the whole plot just to nitpick the details, which was a case of putting the cart before the horse.
He Xingzhou was being a bit nitpicky.
The director probably had some doubts in his mind, but he still had to give He Xingzhou some face, so after thinking for a moment, he turned to Xiao Can and said, “How about this, when you retort to him later, try to appear a bit weaker.”
This was actually a quite reasonable modification.
Xiao Can was about to agree when He Xingzhou spoke up again, “But that wouldn’t be good either, it would definitely feel out of place. It’s better to have them appear more normally, without hooking arms.”
This scene of their awkward appearance served two purposes: to show their hardships along the way, and to add a comedic effect to lighten the tense atmosphere of the plot. It simply wasn’t suitable for modification.
After finally overcoming difficulties, to suddenly appear fresh and brisk would be truly unreasonable.
Seeing the director in a dilemma, Xiao Can spoke up, “I think I can do it, let me give it a try.”
Retorting weakly would sound quite weird, but if performed well, it would surely be very amusing. Xiao Can was quite confident in this exaggerated and unreasonable type of performance, as he had been used to it when shooting videos in the past.
The director quickly nodded, “Alright, give it a try.”
Unexpectedly, He Xingzhou had more to say.
“If that’s the case, then the action where he forcibly hugs Xiao Can to stop him afterwards would be unnecessary,” He Xingzhou looked at Luo Yinan, “Shouldn’t that be changed too?”
According to the original script, when Xiao Can, like a little cannonball, rushed forward, Luo Yinan would try to stop him several times, and finally simply put his arm around his body.
Xiao Can’s character was a Beta, and their actions as good friends didn’t seem out of place. But Xiao Can himself was still an Omega, albeit tall, he was slightly slender compared to an average Beta.
When Luo Yinan extended his arm, he could easily wrap his entire body around Xiao Can’s. Xiao Can still needed to resist a few times, so Luo Yinan had to hold him tightly.
“Since we’re showing weakness, struggling wouldn’t make sense,” He Xingzhou said.
Luo Yinan nodded in agreement and then said, “Actually… some physical contact during filming is quite normal.”
He said it a bit deliberately, but He Xingzhou remained unfazed, nodding earnestly, “Of course I know.”
“He’s just quite pedantic,” Xiao Can chuckled, trying to defuse the situation, “Very meticulous. Actually, he means no harm.”
Luo Yinan also smiled along, “Being meticulous is a virtue, worth learning.”
After that, everything went relatively smoothly.
He Xingzhou’s final performance unexpectedly turned out remarkably well. He had a naturally strong presence, with deep facial features, very photogenic. Even if his lines were delivered plainly, he exuded an air of dignity and elegance.
As for Xiao Can, after adjusting some details, his performance was even more brilliant than the original version. His appearance of being powerless yet exploding with anger made everyone on set couldn’t help but chuckle.
The director had been troubled by He Xingzhou throughout the filming, but finally felt relieved when seeing the final result.
He Xingzhou’s cameo role had very few scenes, and the rest of the scenes only required shooting separately in the studio. Xiao Can and Luo Yinan still had another scene to shoot, so they parted ways here.
After leaving, during a break, Xiao Can sent a message to He Xingzhou.
-“Liar.”
He Xingzhou replied quickly.
-“I didn’t lie to you, I can teleport.”
Xiao Can chuckled and put down his phone, hearing Luo Yinan’s voice beside him.
“Is he checking up on you?” Luo Yinan asked.
Xiao Can was briefly stunned, quickly understanding his meaning, but still pretended to be clueless. “Huh?”
“He Xingzhou,” Luo Yinan said, “It seems like he cares about you a lot.”
“He Xingzhou is a very self-centered person,” Xiao Can said with a smile, “Sometimes his actions may seem strange to others. We can’t judge him by ordinary standards.”
“I see,” Luo Yinan smiled, “Sorry, did I cross a line?”
“You may not have noticed, but you and Xiang Xiang really look alike,” Luo Yinan continued, “When I read the original work, I particularly liked this character, so… I couldn’t help but develop some feelings, caring too much.”
Xiang Xiang was the character originally intended for Xiao Can, but was snatched away by Ying Qiwen in the end.
Xiao Can couldn’t figure out where he resembled this naive and romantic character at all. It wasn’t convenient to mock the other party’s overly vivid imagination face to face, so he replied, “Then you should care more about Ying Qiwen.”
Luo Yinan chuckled lightly.
Xiao Can pretended not to understand his emotions and continued, “Pure and innocent, ignorant of the ways of the world, he really fits with him.”
Luo Yinan sighed, “You’re really kind.”
Xiao Can rubbed his arm, trying to suppress his goosebumps.
At this moment, his phone received another message from He Xingzhou.
-“What time will you finish tonight?”
Xiao Can replied with a lowered head.
-“There are two more scenes tonight, so it will definitely be past midnight.”
The filming schedule of the crew was quite reasonable, and Xiao Can’s overall scenes were not many. Since joining, he had been able to guarantee at least six hours of sleep every day. It was just unfortunate that that day’s schedule was a bit tight.
-“It must be hard.”
He Xingzhou said.
Xiao Can looked at the four words and couldn’t help but wonder, did that mean He Xingzhou was a little worried about him, or even felt sorry for him?
Lately, he couldn’t help but have some overly optimistic thoughts, which led to more expectations.
He Xingzhou sent another message.
-“I’ll wait for you.”
Xiao Can blinked.
Wait for me? What does he want to wait for? It couldn’t be to go for supper together, right?
After finishing filming late into the night, they would be exhausted and just want to rest as soon as they returned to their rooms. Where would they have the energy to entertain him?
Xiao Can sighed, feeling a small burst of excitement, and replied pretending to be calm.
-“Oh.”
Putting down his phone again, he glanced around sneakily and found Luo Yinan staring at him.
“Do you need something?” Xiao Can asked.
Luo Yinan shook his head.
Xiao Can smiled at him again.
Anyway, from Luo Yinan’s perspective, he couldn’t see his screen. They were just ordinary colleagues, so he couldn’t control or care about what others thought in their hearts.
The accommodation arranged by the crew was at a four-star hotel near the film and television city, with each of the main actors having a small suite with a living room.
Ying Qiwen seemed somewhat dissatisfied with the room, but he was also thin-skinned and didn’t feel comfortable going out to stay alone like Hua Linling, which was quite lamentable.
Xiao Can grew up in an ordinary family and wasn’t that picky, but he guessed that with He Xingzhou’s personality, he wouldn’t fancy this kind of accommodation either, let alone be willing to endure it.
On the way back to the hotel, he sent a message to He Xingzhou asking where he was.
It was already 2 a.m., and He Xingzhou replied very quickly with a room number.
Judging from the floor, it should be a high-level suite with a view. With the crew’s stingy style, undoubtedly, He Xingzhou had arranged it himself.
It didn’t seem appropriate to go to an Alpha’s room in the middle of the night.
But being on the same floor as Xiao Can were all colleagues from the crew. If He Xingzhou came over and was seen by someone, it would be even more troublesome.
Of course, it wasn’t absolutely necessary not to see him, but Xiao Can really missed him and didn’t want to miss this opportunity.
He secretly sighed in his heart, realizing that liking someone felt like this.
Arriving at the hotel, he first went back to his own room, quickly freshened up, and changed into a different outfit.
He told himself that he wasn’t expecting anything, just that he was tired from the day, feeling dirty all over, with makeup residue on his face and hair. It wasn’t suitable for visiting.
To keep a low profile, he even wore a hat when he went out.
Finally arriving outside the room He Xingzhou had given, his heart was beating rapidly. He took two deep breaths before pressing the doorbell.
Even though they had seen each other that day, the thought of He Xingzhou appearing in front of him still made him nervous.
The door opened, and Xiao Can instinctively held his breath.
He Xingzhou stood at the door, locking eyes with him for two seconds before smiling and saying, “This looks better.”
Xiao Can pushed him forcefully with his head down, “Get out of the way.”
He Xingzhou stepped aside, and Xiao Can quickly walked in. He urged, “Quickly close the door, don’t let anyone see.”
The door closed behind him, leaving only the two of them in the space, and Xiao Can became even more nervous.
“Did you come to me for something special?” he asked.
“Hmm,” He Xingzhou nodded.
Xiao Can was surprised, thinking, isn’t it just because he missed me?
But he saw He Xingzhou leading him into the living room, walking to the refrigerator, and taking out a container, gesturing towards him.
“No… it can’t be duck feet, right?” Xiao Can frowned.
“Do you like duck feet?” He Xingzhou asked.
Xiao Can shook his head slightly, “…Not really.”
And because he had some psychological shadow, he hadn’t felt like eating lately.
He Xingzhou breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to him, saying, “It’s drunken shrimp.”
Opening the container, a fresh scent, completely different from the memory of drunken shrimp, wafted out.
Xiao Can blinked twice and said, “I don’t eat raw or pickled food.”
“I know, this is cooked,” He Xingzhou said confidently, smiling, “The seasoning is my exclusive recipe, with plums and lemons added. You should like it.”
“You called me over in the middle of the night just for this?” Xiao Can asked.
He Xingzhou nodded naturally, “After I made it at home and tasted it, I felt it was necessary to send a box to you.”
Looking at the neatly arranged shrimp soaking in the broth, Xiao Can couldn’t help but smile. He asked, “Did you really go through all this trouble just to give this to me, and then pretended to have some ‘serious business’?”
“Huh?” He Xingzhou looked puzzled, “This is serious business.”
