Dark Fire chapter 17
Hit Twice
Lu Chixie’s breath enveloped him as he bit down deeply and heavily.
Ling Zhuo winced, parting his lips as the other’s tongue intruded, forcing its way between his teeth and lips, roughly exploring. Lu Chixie ruthlessly ground against Ling Zhuo’s lips, entwining their tongues, almost as if he intended to devour Ling Zhuo entirely with his aggressive kiss.
Initially stunned, Ling Zhuo fought back, punching and kicking, desperately biting down on the tongue still causing havoc in his mouth, the taste of blood quickly spreading between their lips and teeth.
For what felt like ages, Ling Zhuo pushed Lu Chixie away several times, only to be pulled back by him, the two of them pushing and shoving in the narrow changing room, the walls and door banging loudly. Finally, Lu Chixie released him, leaving Ling Zhuo with eyes reddened from anger. He raised his hand and slapped Lu Chixie across the face, hard.
Lu Chixie neither dodged nor flinched, simply watching as he licked twice at the blood drawn by Ling Zhuo’s bite.
Breathing heavily, eyes burning, Ling Zhuo turned and stormed out of the room.
When Lu Chixie emerged, Ling Zhuo was already bent over the sink, rinsing his mouth while intermittently retching, his face splattered with water and perhaps tears.
Approaching him, Ling Zhuo straightened up, his eyes ablaze, and through clenched teeth, he uttered, “Stay away from me.”
Returning with some items, Yang Ming entered and saw Ling Zhuo and Lu Chixie in a tense standoff. Ling Zhuo was drenched, and Yang Ming, startled, hesitated before calling out, “Zhuo Ge?”
Embarrassed, he said, “Everyone’s waiting outside. When will you be ready?”
Ignoring Lu Chixie, Ling Zhuo sat back in front of the makeup mirror, gesturing to Yang Ming, “The makeup artist won’t be back for a while. Can you help me remove the wig?”
Yang Ming hurried over.
Glancing at Ling Zhuo’s lips, still bearing traces of blood, and then at Lu Chixie’s swollen face, Yang Ming felt his heart skip a beat. Without asking further questions, he quickly picked up the tools.
Fifteen minutes later, Ling Zhuo removed his makeup and changed back into his own clothes, joining the others outside. The marks on his lips had been covered by dark lipstick, but they were still visible.
Qi Liangli rushed to ask, “Zhuo Ge, what happened to your mouth?”
Ling Zhuo awkwardly explained, “I accidentally bit it while drinking.”
Qi Liangli: “Oh…”
Lunch was arranged by the program team at a restaurant. Lu Chixie arrived late, his face probably treated, the swelling less pronounced than before but still noticeable. As he sat down, someone asked about his face, and Lu Chixie calmly replied, “I accidentally bumped into something.”
Throughout the meal, Ling Zhuo kept his head down, not saying a word. Lu Chixie remained silent as well, leaving early after they finished eating.
Back at the hotel after lunch, Zhong Yiran asked Ling Zhuo, “Did you have a conflict with Lu Chixie in the dressing room earlier?”
There was a moment of panic in Ling Zhuo’s eyes before he replied, “No, why would you say that?”
Zhong Yiran hesitated, “Nothing, I saw him go in there earlier and thought of following, but the directors stopped me.”
Ling Zhuo said, “There’s nothing.”
Zhong Yiran said, “Just… keep your distance from him, be careful.”
Uncomfortable, Ling Zhuo said, “I know.”
Zhong Yiran added, “If you run into trouble, don’t keep it to yourself. Tell me anytime.”
Ling Zhuo hesitated for a moment before nodding, “Okay.”
He would keep his distance from Lu Chixie, but he didn’t want to involve Zhong Yiran in this mess.
After resting at the hotel for an hour, the afternoon recording resumed.
Ling Zhuo applied dark lipstick to his lips, covering the bite marks. Lu Chixie also applied foundation, concealing any marks on his face. He didn’t bother Ling Zhuo again, at least not in front of the camera.
Once again, the script started from the beginning. With most of the golden fingers used up in the morning, the afternoon game became even more challenging. The plot kept veering off track, not to mention Ling Zhuo, the protagonist, who was still distracted by the earlier incident.
Finally, after overcoming numerous obstacles, the princess and the poor scholar successfully eloped. According to the original script, the poor scholar should have worked hard to pass the imperial examination and eventually been accepted by the royal family, leading to a happy ending. However, they ended up portraying the poor scholar being betrayed by his friend, who reported their whereabouts to the royal family. Guards were sent to retrieve the princess, encountering various obstacles along the way.
At the critical moment, the guard finally found the county princess. He was one of the few people left on the field who hadn’t revealed their attributes, and he still had one golden finger left unused.
Before, Ling Zhuo had guessed that he was on the side of the good guys, but when it came to Lu Chixie, no one could be sure.
The female guest who played the poor scholar spread her hands in front of Ling Zhuo, shouting that no one could separate them. Lu Chixie ignored her and calmly looked at Ling Zhuo behind her.
Ling Zhuo didn’t want to meet his gaze, so he turned his eyes to the camera.
The director below reminded Lu Chixie that he still had one golden finger left to use. Lu Chixie said, “Then let’s use it.”
His last golden finger was also incredible. It was called “arbitrarily modify any plot except the ending.” Lu Chixie pondered for two seconds and said, “Previously, the county princess and the scholar eloped, so let’s modify the decision of the prince and princess, have the palace issue a decree, and sever ties with the princess.”
The director asked him, “How do you plan to advance the plot now?”
Lu Chixie sheathed his sword and said, “This is the end, let’s finish it.”
Everyone was surprised. Other guests watching the show asked him, “Guard, are you on the side of good or evil? What do you mean by this?”
Lu Chixie revealed his character attributes. He was a villain.
The rest of the villains wailed, “You are a villain. You forcibly took away the county princess. We would have won. What are you doing?”
Lu Chixie said, “According to the logic of this story, the guard taking away the county princess indeed counts as a victory for the villains. But if you think about the story afterwards, the county princess will still refuse to give up. She will find a way to escape again. Even if she gives up under pressure from her parents, the love between her and the scholar will not be severed. There will always be a chance for them to continue their relationship.”
“So I’m fulfilling them now,” Lu Chixie said with a smile. “The county princess has been expelled from the palace. In the future, no one will give her any benefits or conveniences. The poor scholar will be left with nothing. The romantic love between them will soon turn into mundane struggles. Even the people who originally supported the scholar’s studies because of the county princess will disappear. The scholar will no longer be able to continue his studies. The step of becoming resentful lovers is inevitable between them. That’s when the real tragedy begins.”
Cheng Yafeng applauded. “Brilliant! This is quite reasonable and fitting. This should be the most tragic ending, where the villains truly triumph.”
Someone teased Lu Chixie, “Your idea of breaking up the couple is quite cunning, huh?”
Lu Chixie didn’t say anything more, and Ling Zhuo frowned.
The directors specially discussed this unexpected development and announced that the villains were the winning side.
The recording of the program ended here.
Ling Zhuo only took a two and a half day break. He had to continue filming early the next morning, didn’t even have time for dinner, and went straight to the airport after removing his makeup.
Lu Chixie was still on the same flight as him. On the way to the airport, Ling Zhuo paid out of his own pocket to upgrade Yang Ming’s economy class seat to first class, the same as his.
At the airport, he didn’t even go to the VIP lounge. He stayed in the busiest area, surrounded by assistants, bodyguards, and a group of flight attendants, just to avoid Lu Chixie.
When boarding, he even actively switched seats with a passenger next to Yang Ming’s seat. He didn’t spare a glance for Lu Chixie from start to finish.
Back at the hotel on the set, it was already past eleven at night. Ling Zhuo took a shower and was about to go to bed when Lu Chixie rang his room doorbell.
Seeing the person standing outside through the peephole, Ling Zhuo didn’t make a sound and went back to his bedroom, closing the door behind him.
Five minutes later, Lu Chixie sent a message on WeChat: “Open the door.”
Ling Zhuo didn’t want to deal with him at all. If it weren’t for having to film with this person for a few months, he would have blocked him already.
Lu Chixie said, “If you don’t want your captain to suddenly encounter bad luck, open the door now.”
Half a minute later, the door was forcefully pulled open, revealing Ling Zhuo’s angry face behind it. “What do you want?!”
Lu Chixie walked in, pushing the door shut with his foot, leaning against it as he looked at him. “Ling, it’s always this phrase from you.”
Ling Zhuo clenched his fists, suppressing his anger. “Do you really think you can get away with everything?”
Lu Chixie squinted slightly, his gaze fixed on Ling Zhuo’s furious face. He leisurely said, “Do you want to try?”
Ling Zhuo said, “If you dare—”
Lu Chixie interrupted, “What are you going to do? Fight me to the death?”
He clicked his tongue. “Ling, what charm does your captain have to make you do this? I envy him. The more you resist, the more I want to see what I can do to him.”
With that, he pulled Ling Zhuo towards him, turning him around and pressing him against the wall. Ling Zhuo’s blood boiled, unable to bear it any longer, and punched him across the face.
This punch was stronger than the slap at noon, but Lu Chixie didn’t dodge or avoid it. He even had blood trickling down from the corner of his mouth.
Ling Zhuo stared at him with red eyes, the two of them locked in a standoff for a few seconds. Suddenly, the person in front of him chuckled and casually wiped the corner of his lips with a finger. “Scratched by a cat’s paw.”
Before Ling Zhuo could speak again, he said, “What should we do, Ling? It seems like I’m starting to like you even more. Won’t you consider giving it a try with me?”
Ling Zhuo felt extremely embarrassed, clenching his teeth. He didn’t want to show weakness, even if this person threatened him with Zhong Yiran. He didn’t want to show weakness.
If it came down to an irreconcilable situation, he could simply quit this industry.
Lu Chixie raised his hand and pressed Ling Zhuo’s reddened eye corner before stepping back to a safe distance. “You’ve hit me twice. Can today’s incident be put to rest?”
Ling Zhuo glared at him in silence.
Lu Chixie said, “Don’t look at me like that. Rest assured, I won’t touch your captain, I was just teasing you.”
Ling Zhuo didn’t believe his words at all, his eyes full of vigilance.
Lu Chixie said, “Really, are you still afraid I’ll use him to threaten you into being with me?”
Ling Zhuo remained silent.
Lu Chixie sneered again. “I won’t do such things. You don’t need to be so nervous. I’ll wait for the day you willingly want to be with me.”