Dark Fire chapter 10
Try with Me
Zhong Yiran had work the next day, so he came to accompany Ling Zhuo for a hotpot dinner and then left. By the time Ling Zhuo returned to the hotel, it was already late at night. After taking a shower, he went straight to bed. The next day was another full day of shooting, and he had to wake up before five in the morning for makeup.
Fortunately, most of the scenes scheduled for that day were group scenes, and his lines were few. He just needed to be a background.
At three in the afternoon, they moved from group B to group A for an outdoor shoot, where Ling Zhuo would have a solo scene with Lu Chixie.
The outdoor location was quite far, taking over forty minutes to drive there. Ling Zhuo took the opportunity to catch some sleep in the car until Yang Ming woke him up. “Zhuo Ge, we’re here.”
Ling Zhuo took a sip of water and got out of the car. As he stepped out, he saw Lu Chixie. Lu Chixie had arrived before him and was talking to He Jingping under a parasol in front.
Ling Zhuo walked over to greet He Jingping, but Lu Chixie glanced at him and ignored him.
After waiting for a few minutes, the action director came over.
This scene was where Lin Lanyu once again tested Xuan Jiang in the secluded mountain forest, and despite Xuan Jiang having no spiritual power, he managed to block Lin Lanyu’s attacks for over a dozen moves with just his bare hands.
There were only a few lines, with most of the scene consisting of action. He Jingping suggested minimizing the use of stunt doubles and having them do it themselves.
Ling Zhuo followed the action director’s instructions seriously and practiced with Lu Chixie. However, Lu Chixie seemed indifferent and careless, as if teasing him, but there was hardly anything wrong with his movements.
“Why aren’t you taking this seriously, Teacher Lu ?” Ling Zhuo stopped and couldn’t help but ask.
Lu Chixie raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “We haven’t officially started shooting yet. Why are you in such a hurry?”
Remembering yesterday’s experience of being constantly criticized by him, Ling Zhuo closed his mouth, hoping that he would behave normally today. He didn’t want to end up staying until it was dark again.
But the weather was not on their side. Just before they could start shooting, thunder rumbled, and it was about to rain. Out of safety concerns, the crew temporarily retreated from the mountain forest until the thunderstorm passed.
Back in the nanny van, Ling Zhuo lost his desire to sleep. He took out the script to review it and slowly ate a bag of pudding, a snack bought for him by Zhong Yiran yesterday.
Yang Ming came to remind him, “Zhuo Ge, Teacher Lu said to rehearse the scene with you first, so that we can save time when shooting later. He wants you to go to his car.”
Ling Zhuo looked outside, and Lu Chixie’s nanny van was parked opposite. Lu Chixie leaned against the car door, with a cigarette in his mouth, seemingly looking over at him.
Their eyes met, and Ling Zhuo subconsciously looked away. Then he remembered that the person outside the nanny van couldn’t see him inside and furrowed his brows.
“Zhuo Ge?” Yang Ming called again.
Ling Zhuo took a deep breath and got out of the car.
Lu Chixie watched Ling Zhuo approach, emotions indiscernible behind the smoke. As Ling Zhuo got closer, still holding the half-eaten bag of pudding and the script in his hands, he calmly asked, “Shall we rehearse the scene first?”
Lu Chixie flicked away the cigarette butt and crushed it underfoot, gesturing for him. “Get in the car.”
Ling Zhuo hesitated slightly, but Lu Chixie looked at him and said again, “Get in the car.”
Ling Zhuo got into his car, and Lu Chixie stepped in with one stride, slamming the door shut with a bang and blocking Yang Ming from following them.
As thunder rumbled, the rain poured down.
Ling Zhuo looked wary. “What are you doing?”
Lu Chixie’s gaze fell on the half-eaten pudding in his hand. “Do you like this?”
Ling Zhuo frowned, not wanting to answer him.
There were only the two of them in the car, with Lu Chixie’s driver, assistant, and bodyguard nowhere to be seen. Ling Zhuo regretted a bit. When the person in front suddenly approached, he instinctively backed away, leaning against the other car door. Lu Chixie reached out and lightly touched his temple, then withdrew his hand.
In his hand appeared a dry leaf, which Lu Chixie crushed between his fingertips. He chuckled softly, and Ling Zhuo felt embarrassed. “…Can you move back a bit?”
Outside the car, the rain poured down heavily, the sky darkened, and inside the car, they were almost pressed together, their breaths entangled. Ling Zhuo felt particularly uncomfortable and said again, “Teacher Lu, can you be more serious?”
Lu Chixie laughed again, retreated a bit, and turned on the interior light.
Ling Zhuo sat up straight, still guarded. Lu Chixie lowered his head to flip through the script. “Relax a bit. I don’t intend to eat you.”
Ling Zhuo suppressed the words he was about to blurt out. It was pointless to confront someone who seemed crazy. Forget it.
Afterwards, they began rehearsing their lines. Lu Chixie finally restrained his frivolous demeanor and became serious. Ling Zhuo relaxed slightly, pushing aside his unease and focusing on the script.
The lines they were rehearsing were actually just a few sentences, and they quickly got through them.
The rain outside showed no sign of stopping, so they continued practicing the scenes they were going to shoot the day after tomorrow. Although the specific shooting schedule hadn’t been released yet, they had a general idea of which scenes they would be filming.
“Starting from this week, the shooting schedule is extending each day, and we’ll begin shooting night scenes. I might not have much time to help you rehearse in the evenings,” Lu Chixie said.
Ling Zhuo hurriedly responded, “Then let’s forget about it, it’s too much trouble for Teacher Lu…”
Lu Chixie replied, “In the future, I’ll only help you rehearse for the crucial scenes in advance. Just twenty minutes each night should be enough. Ling, don’t feel embarrassed.”
Ling Zhuo didn’t know what to say for a moment. After a while, he awkwardly said, “Thank you.”
Lu Chixie looked up at him and lowered his voice, “Ling, the person you like, is it the one from yesterday?”
Ling Zhuo’s expression suddenly changed.
Lu Chixie stared at him, and Ling Zhuo nervously said, “He’s my captain, don’t talk nonsense.”
Lu Chixie scoffed lightly, “Is that so?”
Ling Zhuo replied, “It’s none of your business.”
Lu Chixie continued, “What do you like about him? He’s decent looking, but his personality seems dull. Don’t you feel bored being with someone like that?”
Ling Zhuo felt uncomfortable listening to this. It didn’t matter what Zhong Yiran was like; he didn’t need someone in front of him to comment.
His voice turned cold, “I’ve told you, it’s none of your concern.”
Lu Chixie pressed on, “Do you like him? Does he like you?”
Ling Zhuo’s expression became even more unpleasant. Lu Chixie seemed to get his answer from Ling Zhuo’s expression. “He hasn’t confessed to you?”
He sighed mockingly, “Why are you so pitiful? You’ve known each other for seven or eight years, and you’re still stuck in unrequited love? Is it you who’s inadequate or him? If you haven’t made any progress in seven or eight years, you might as well give up early.”
Lu Chixie tightened his grip on Ling Zhuo’s arm and leaned closer, whispering in his ear, “Ling, why don’t you try with me?”
Ling Zhuo didn’t attempt to struggle. He knew he couldn’t break free. He just coldly chuckled, “Do you like me too? You’re just unwilling to give up because I won’t yield to you. If I were like others and fell into your trap, you’d probably get bored after having fun for a few days, wouldn’t you?”
Lu Chixie retorted, “Ling, you’ve forgotten what I said. I told you I don’t fool around.”
Ling Zhuo turned his face away.
Lu Chixie asked, “Don’t believe me?”
Ling Zhuo replied, “What does it have to do with me?”
Lu Chixie persisted, “Really don’t believe me?”
After a moment of silence, he released his grip on Ling Zhuo’s arm and stepped back, as if sighing, “Why don’t you believe me?”
Ling Zhuo was taken aback.
Outside the car window, the rain had stopped, leaving behind clear skies after the storm.
Lu Chixie opened the car door, and Ling Zhuo snapped out of his daze and got out of the car.
A long rainbow stretched across the evening sky on the horizon, faintly visible amidst the fading twilight. Ling Zhuo stood by the car door, gazing up at it, and Lu Chixie also got out of the car, joining him. They both took out their phones and snapped photos.
It was a rare moment of peace until the director called them over to continue shooting.
By the time they finished, it was already dark. On the way back, Ling Zhuo casually posted the rainbow photos he took earlier on his social media, and after a moment of hesitation, he also posted them on Weibo with a rainbow emoji.
Five minutes later, after refreshing, Lu Chixie also posted on Weibo, with the same photo and expression as Ling Zhuo.
Ling Zhuo paused, his finger hovering over the delete button for two seconds before deciding against it. Deleting it would only make him seem guilty, so he left it as it was.
Suddenly, Yang Ming exclaimed, “Damn, where did this fan site come from? How did they manage to capture this scene?”
Ling Zhuo glanced at his phone. It was the fansite for him and Lu Chixie, which had just posted a new Weibo.
“The most beautiful thing is not the rainy day, but the rainbow and sunset you’ve watched together after the rain.”
This time, there was only one photo, a side shot of them leaning against the car door together, watching the sunset in the twilight. It had to be admitted that the photo was indeed aesthetically pleasing, and the filter wasn’t overly exaggerated, giving it a natural feel.
Yang Ming remarked, “This person is quite good at taking photos. Actually, Zhuo Ge, there aren’t many genuine fans of you and Teacher Lu’s CP. Most of them are just onlookers stirring up trouble. But the repost rate of this Weibo is increasing rapidly.”
Ling Zhuo felt irritated, so he looked away.
He asked, “Was there anyone following us for outdoor shooting today?”
Yang Ming replied, “I didn’t pay much attention, but even if there was, they shouldn’t be nearby. But this photo is so clear, could it be taken by one of the crew members on site?”
This speculation wasn’t unreasonable. There were still many part-time workers at the set, doing miscellaneous jobs. Being a fansite was also a way to make money.
Ling Zhuo still felt something was off, but Lu Chixie sent him a WeChat message, forwarding the photos to him. “Nicely taken.”
Ling Zhuo asked, “Do you know who took this?”
Lu Chixie replied, “Why bother about that?”
Ling Zhuo questioned, “Why did you copy me and post on Weibo?”
Lu Chixie retorted, “Ling, let’s be reasonable. My post and yours were within ten seconds of each other, and I posted mine first.”
Ling Zhuo checked Weibo again and indeed found that Lu Chixie had posted first.
Ling Zhuo replied, “You only posted after seeing my post on Moments, didn’t you? You never used emojis in your previous Weibo posts.”
Lu Chixie responded, “So you have gone through my old Weibo posts?”
Ling Zhuo didn’t want to engage with him any longer.
Lu Chixie sent another message, “Ling, consider it. Give it a try with me.”