Dark Fire chapter 18
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The next day on set, Ling Zhuo still avoided Lu Chixie the entire time.
His scenes that day were all in Group A, mostly acting opposite Yu Fei, and also some scenes with Lu Chixie. Luckily, there were many people on set, and Lu Chixie didn’t bother him again.
The next few days were the same.
The night practices were also stopped, and the next day, Ling Zhuo proposed to end it. At that time, Lu Chixie stood at his door, looking at him calmly but firmly said, “Thank you, Teacher Lu, I won’t trouble you anymore in the future.”
Lu Chixie looked at him for a moment, didn’t say anything, and turned away.
Since that day, Lu Chixie seemed to return to normal and didn’t bother him anymore.
Ling Zhuo also breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the young master finally got tired of playing and gave up.
The group’s new album had already begun recording in the studio. Ling Zhuo would go back for half a day or a day each week when there were no scenes scheduled, and both jobs were not delayed.
He also increasingly found fun in acting. He wasn’t very interested in it originally, but after this period of time, he found it quite enjoyable. He didn’t resist as much as before when Zhang Jing suggested helping him negotiate new roles.
But it was indeed tough. After entering August, the weather became hotter and hotter. Shooting a period drama was torture every day. Besides flying in the air with wires every day, Ling Zhuo also faced his first underwater scene.
Lin Lanyu fell into the river with severe injuries and lost all his spiritual power. He, a cultivator, almost drowned. This scene was directed by He Jingping himself, and for the sake of realism, they chose to shoot it for real.
Before going into the water, Ling Zhuo kept psyching himself up.
He was indeed familiar with water, but when he was a child, he nearly drowned while playing by the river with relatives. He still remembered the fear of being submerged and suffocated by the river water, and he had never mentioned this to anyone since then.
The riverside was filled with crew members busy with preparations before shooting. He Jingping was explaining the scene to Ling Zhuo and guiding him on how to show the process of struggling in pain and exhaustion after being in the water for a while. Ling Zhuo listened attentively, and someone called him from behind.
“Ling.”
Ling Zhuo turned around, it was Lu Chixie, sitting under the umbrella waiting for the scene to start, asking him, “Can you swim?”
Ling Zhuo was stunned for a moment, then nodded, “Yes.”
Lu Chixie seemed a bit skeptical, “Then why do you look so nervous, afraid of getting into the water?”
Ling Zhuo averted his gaze, “No.”
After He Jingping finished explaining the scene, he patted Ling Zhuo’s shoulder, “Relax a bit, try to get it right in one go.”
Ling Zhuo: “Okay.”
Then it was the official shooting.
The scene of falling into the water and struggling underwater was shot in two takes. During the first take, Ling Zhuo was indeed very nervous. Even before touching the water, he unconsciously tensed up his body, and his facial expression didn’t come out right. It didn’t pass, so they had to do it again.
Before the second take began, he took a deep breath, forced himself to clear his mind, and as he was suspended by wires, he fell from above. This time, the director didn’t interrupt him, water splashed, and his body sank into the river.
Ling Zhuo instinctively struggled, but was soon lifted up by the wires. The first shot was completed.
He choked on some water, his mouth full of mud, his whole body already soaked, Yang Ming ran over to give him some bottled water to rinse his mouth, then immediately they had to shoot the underwater scene.
Before going into the water again, He Jingping reminded him once more, “Xiao Ling, pay attention to your facial expressions.”
Ling Zhuo nodded.
Lu Chixie stood up and walked to the riverbank, arms crossed, staring in Ling Zhuo’s direction, with an unusually serious expression.
Ling Zhuo was still suspended by the wires, took a deep breath, and slowly sank into the water. Still nervous, when the water didn’t reach his nose, he instinctively wanted to get up, but was pulled down by the wires.
As his body completely submerged into the river, water rushed in from all directions. The camera had started filming, Ling Zhuo struggled to float in the water, suppressing the fear in his heart, portraying the state of losing spiritual power, severely injured, bleeding, and struggling awkwardly in the water.
Perhaps He Jingping wanted more footage for better editing, so he didn’t call a cut. Following the script, Ling Zhuo gradually stopped struggling, closed his eyes, and his body was pulled down to the riverbed by the wires.
Suddenly, he felt a tightness on his calf, as if his left leg was entangled by something. He tried to break free, but couldn’t. Instead, the more he struggled, the tighter the entanglement became, and he panicked instantly.
On the riverbank, Lu Chixie’s face changed abruptly, shouting loudly, “Get him out of the water! Quickly!”
Even though the wires were pulling Ling Zhuo up, they couldn’t move him. He was lifted up a bit, then sank back down. Everyone on the riverbank panicked. The underwater cameraman couldn’t help, so he surfaced and shouted for help. Lu Chixie jumped directly into the water.
Water kept rushing into his mouth and nose. Ling Zhuo once again felt the suffocating sensation of being swallowed by the river, until someone hugged him. He didn’t know who it was, but instinctively clung to the person’s body. The water grass entangled around his legs was forcefully torn off.
In a daze, he seemed to see Lu Chixie’s unusually cold eyes, but he thought it was just his imagination.
After coming ashore, Ling Zhuo sat down in a sorry state, coughing violently, vomiting out most of the water he had swallowed. It took him a while to recover. Surrounded by a bunch of crew members asking if he needed to go to the hospital, Ling Zhuo waved his hand weakly and hoarsely said, “I’m fine.”
He had swallowed a bellyful of sandy river water, his throat still burning, and his nose was bleeding.
After wiping off the blood and drinking some warm water, he felt a little better. Seeing Lu Chixie taking off his completely soaked costume by the riverbank, his mood was complicated.
When Lu Chixie’s gaze turned towards him, Ling Zhuo’s lips moved and said, “Thank you.”
Lu Chixie glanced at him, didn’t say anything, and sat down, letting someone help him remove the headgear.
He Jingping came over to apologize to Ling Zhuo. Such a major mistake happened during the shooting, and he, as the chief director, couldn’t escape blame.
Ling Zhuo hurriedly said, “Forget it, Director He, nothing really happened anyway.”
“Almost drowning isn’t considered anything?” Lu Chixie spoke coldly, without mincing words, “Does it have to be a matter of life and death in the hospital to be considered serious? Director He, do we really need such high standards for this drama? We could have shot it in a swimming pool without the need for real water scenes. Why bother with such gimmicks?”
He Jingping was extremely embarrassed. It was evident that Lu Chixie was truly angry. Even the chief director couldn’t save face. He couldn’t come up with a retort and could only say awkwardly, “It’s my negligence. Let’s just leave it at that for today. Xiao Ling, go back and rest. We’ll reschedule the night scenes for later.”
Ling Zhuo still had two night performances to go. Due to this unexpected incident, he was indeed a bit tired. Since He Jingping suggested he rest, he didn’t refuse and got into the car back to the hotel.
Upon returning, he took a shower first. The close call left him shaken, and he had little appetite for dinner, eating whatever he found and went to bed early.
He slept fitfully for less than two hours, having nightmares of drowning and sinking continuously. He wanted to scream in terror but felt as if his throat was being choked, unable to make a sound.
“Zhuo Ge? Zhuo Ge?”
Yang Ming called Ling Zhuo’s name, reaching out to touch his forehead, which was scorching hot.
As soon as Ling Zhuo turned off his phone, Zhang Jing had called him. Using the room card Ling Zhuo gave him, he entered the room and found Ling Zhuo already asleep. However, he was sleeping restlessly, with a flushed face and sweating profusely, showing signs of a fever.
Yang Ming fetched a thermometer and checked. It showed thirty-eight point seven degrees Celsius.
“Zhuo Ge, Zhuo Ge! Wake up, you have a fever, we need to go to the hospital,” Yang Ming urgently called out to him.
Ling Zhuo groggily struggled to open his eyes, sweating profusely.
Yang Ming, anxious, first called the driver to have him bring the car from the parking lot, then lifted Ling Zhuo from the bed with all his strength.
Being small in stature, at just over 1.7 meters tall, it was extremely difficult for Yang Ming to carry Ling Zhuo, who was over 1.8 meters tall. He barely made it out of the room, nearly stumbling several times.
When the door across the corridor opened, Lu Chixie came out, seeing Ling Zhuo weakly slumped on Yang Ming’s back with closed eyes, he furrowed his brows tightly and stepped forward to help: “What’s wrong with him?”
Yang Ming gasped for breath and said, “High fever, over thirty-eight degrees, can’t wake up. I’m planning to take him to the hospital.”
Lu Chixie looked at Ling Zhuo’s flushed face, his brow still furrowed, and bent down to lift him up, swiftly heading towards the elevator.
Yang Ming hurried to follow.
Ling Zhuo’s driver had already started the nanny car and was waiting in the underground parking lot. They got in the car and headed straight to the hospital.
Lu Chixie cradled Ling Zhuo’s head on his shoulder, reaching up to test his forehead, which was indeed burning hot.
He instructed Yang Ming, “Call the crew and inform them about Ling’s condition. He definitely won’t be able to shoot tomorrow.”
Only then did Yang Ming calm down and quickly took out his phone to notify the necessary people.
They first went to the emergency room upon reaching the hospital, then moved to the ward for IV drip. Ling Zhuo finally opened his eyes from a state of semi-consciousness half an hour later, feeling disoriented by the scene before him.
He was in a hospital ward, with an IV drip in one hand. The only person in the room was Lu Chixie, sitting by the bedside, looking down at his phone.
Hearing the sound, Lu Chixie looked up, leaning closer to him: “Are you awake? Do you remember what happened earlier?”
Ling Zhuo stared blankly, not reacting.
Lu Chixie continued, “You fell asleep with a high fever. I and your assistant brought you to the hospital, and your assistant went to handle the payment.”
Ling Zhuo’s throat moved, his voice hoarse: “Thank you.”
Lu Chixie poured a cup of warm water and handed it to him. Seeing Ling Zhuo not moving, he raised his eyebrows, “Not drinking? Or do you want me to feed you?”
Only then did Ling Zhuo reach out to take it, and Lu Chixie helped him raise the back of the bed. He was too weak to hold the cup after just two sips and let go of it.
“About today… thank you, Teacher Lu,” Ling Zhuo said.
Though still groggy, Ling Zhuo knew that Lu Chixie had once again helped him a lot, and he owed him a great favor.
Lu Chixie shrugged indifferently, “Instead of thanking me, why don’t you try not to overexert yourself next time? It’s just a drama, not worth risking your health repeatedly. Are they paying you enough for the effort you put in?”
Ling Zhuo felt embarrassed and pursed his lips, not responding.
Lu Chixie asked him, “Do you know that your temperature soared to over thirty-nine degrees earlier?”
Ling Zhuo didn’t know what to say. He wanted to reach for his phone but realized he was still in his pajamas, probably left in the hotel room.
Watching his movements, Lu Chixie pulled the corners of his mouth in an ambiguous smile, “What are you looking for your phone for? To inform someone you’re safe?”
Ling Zhuo replied hesitantly, “…No.”
He did subconsciously want to contact Zhong Yiran. He had always relied on him a lot and tended to think of him first whenever something happened.
Lu Chixie stared at his slightly embarrassed expression, leaning closer.
Nervous, Ling Zhuo tried to avoid, but Lu Chixie held his hand, “Am I that scary?”
Ling Zhuo had no strength to struggle, turned his head aside, his eyelashes trembling lightly, “I thought… you’ve figured it out.”
“Figured what?” Lu Chixie asked, “Do you think I was joking when I said I wanted to pursue you before?”
Ling Zhuo remained silent.
Lu Chixie continued, “Ling, I’ve been behaving well lately, haven’t I? I haven’t bothered you again, and today I even saved you. Shouldn’t you give me some credit?”
Ling Zhuo frowned.
The person in front continued, “Since you’re not speaking, I’ll take it as your agreement.”
Ling Zhuo looked even more embarrassed, but Lu Chixie didn’t say anything more. He picked up the water glass Ling Zhuo had put down and brought it to his lips, speaking with rare gentleness, “Have some more water.”