Dark Fire chapter 5

 Unintentional Offense

After a few minutes’ break, the shooting continued, and this time He Jingping didn’t call for a cut.

Lin Lanyu stumbled into the demon temple with his sword, and when Zhuge You saw him struggling to resist, Xuan Jiang once again locked her in with his spiritual power.

Xuan Jiang sat on the edge of the bed, watching with interest as the enraged Lin Lanyu approached step by step. Lin Lanyu’s sword was entwined with his remaining spiritual power as he thrust it towards Xuan Jiang. Xuan Jiang calmly raised his hand and caught the blade between two fingers. His sinister spiritual power surged out, rushing towards Lin Lanyu amid Zhuge You’s tearful cries of alarm.

Lin Lanyu was no match for Xuan Jiang, especially now that he was heavily injured. He was knocked back with a single blow, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Ling Zhuo was suspended by wires and had to fall backward, with the wires pulling him back, all while biting open the blood bag in his mouth.

During the first take, Ling Zhuo couldn’t control his strength properly, and the angle of his fall was wrong. In his panic, he accidentally swallowed most of the syrup in the blood bag, which tasted so sweet and sickly that it almost made him vomit on the spot.

He Jingping called for a cut, and Yang Ming immediately rushed over to give him water.

After gulping down half a bottle of mineral water, he managed to dilute the nauseating taste somewhat. The martial arts instructor came over to teach him how to fall properly, and Ling Zhuo forced himself to listen attentively, though he couldn’t help but recall the gaze Lu Chixie had fixed on him during the previous shoot.

Lu Chixie’s acting was indeed impressive. The disdainful, mocking look in Xuan Jiang’s eyes was portrayed to perfection by him, and Ling Zhuo even felt a creeping discomfort when he was stared at. It made him lose focus in that final moment.

While Ling Zhuo was still seated by the prop bed, Lu Chixie suddenly called out, “Ling.”

Ling Zhuo turned his head.

Lu Chixie smirked faintly. “What were you just thinking about?”

Ling Zhuo’s gaze flickered for a moment, but he didn’t answer, instead nodding to He Jingping. “Director He, let’s continue.”

This time, the previous section went smoothly without any mistakes. Ling Zhuo followed the instructions of the martial arts instructor, falling in the designated spot and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

As Lin Lanyu struggled to rise, attempting to use his sword as support several times but failing, Xuan Jiang stood up and walked slowly towards him, looking down at him from above with an expression of constant interest.

Lin Lanyu knelt halfway with his head lowered, propping himself up with his sword. Suddenly, Xuan Jiang bent down, his fingers brushing against Lin Lanyu’s blood-stained handsome face.

Ling Zhuo was surprised and looked up. This action wasn’t in the script, but He Jingping didn’t interrupt them. Xuan Jiang’s fingers traced over the wounds on his face, his gaze lingering with interest as he moved across his face, then he continued with the scripted lines, “You want to come and fight me?”

Ling Zhuo felt extremely uncomfortable all over, but He Jingping showed no intention of stopping, so he could only continue with the scene despite his unease.

The next sequence was a dialogue scene where Xuan Jiang gloated in front of his rival, reminiscing about past humiliations and boasting about his current revenge and the beauty in his arms. Then he sneered at Lin Lanyu’s futile attempts, and Lin Lanyu was supposed to display hatred, anger, resentment, and disgust while silently building up his strength, having already taken a quick-recovery spiritual power pill before coming here. He was just waiting for his spiritual power to return so he could deliver a fatal blow when his opponent was most complacent.

Finally, He Jingping called cut and reminded Ling Zhuo, “You’re not getting into character. Touch up your makeup and let’s redo this section.”

The makeup artist came over to touch up his makeup on the spot, and Lu Chixie stayed nearby, waiting.

Before they resumed shooting, Lu Chixie suddenly reached out and grabbed Ling Zhuo’s arm. Without waiting for Ling Zhuo to struggle, he said to him, “Don’t think about irrelevant things when acting. Just imagine yourself as Lin Lanyu and me as Xuan Jiang. I’m not going to eat you, am I?”

Ling Zhuo frowned, momentarily forgetting to pull away from him. “Why did you add that action just now, Teacher Lu?”

Lu Chixie calmly withdrew his hand. “For Xuan Jiang, the wounds on Lin Lanyu’s body are also his trophies. Is there a problem with him touching his own trophies? What do you think, Ling?”

Ling Zhuo felt he had nothing to say to him.

The shooting continued, Ling Zhuo suppressed those tangled thoughts, immersed himself in his role, gradually found some feelings, and his emotions were also stirred up by Lu Chixie, who acted opposite him.

Lin Lanyu’s spiritual power had recovered by thirty percent, finally waiting for the opportunity when Xuan Jiang became too arrogant and exposed his vital point in front of him, and he leaped forward with his sword.

The scene ended there, and the following action scenes needed to change location. They would have to shoot them later.

In the evening, the cast and crew gathered for dinner at a nearby restaurant, with the producer Gao Cheng personally footing the bill, inviting everyone involved in the production.

Removing the special effects makeup from Ling Zhuo was troublesome, so he went back to the hotel to take a shower. He arrived late, and the only available seat was next to Lu Chixie, so he took it.

He Huanping was in high spirits, pouring drinks for everyone. When it was Ling Zhuo’s turn, He Huanping asked if he wanted white wine or beer. Ling Zhuo quickly declined, saying, “Thank you, Director He, I’ll do it myself.”

“No need, no need, just sit down, it’s fine. I’ll pour for all of you,” He Huanping insisted, smiling warmly and gesturing for Ling Zhuo to sit.

As Ling Zhuo hesitated, Lu Chixie on his side grabbed his arm and pulled him down, saying, “Just sit, Director He likes to pour drinks for people, why be so formal?”

He Huanping poured Ling Zhuo a beer, who thanked him again. He Huanping waved it off and started talking to someone else.

As everyone at the table chatted and laughed, Ling Zhuo couldn’t find an opportunity to join in, so he simply lowered his head and ate.

Lu Chixie next to him asked, “Ling, you’re a popular idol star after all. Even if it’s your first time acting, do you really need to be so cautious?”

When Lu Chixie spoke, he had one hand resting on Ling Zhuo’s chair back, and his tone wasn’t serious either. Ling Zhuo put down his chopsticks and turned to him, “Teacher Lu, you said it yourself that this is my first time acting. Shouldn’t I be cautious?”

Lu Chixie smiled, “You worry about offending Yu Fei because she’s the female lead, and Director He because he’s the director, but you don’t mind offending me?”

His voice was low, and since everyone else was talking, no one else heard.

Ling Zhuo calmly asked him, “Did I offend you, Teacher Lu?”

Lu Chixie: “Did you?”

Ling Zhuo turned back to continue eating, completely ignoring him.

The conversation at the table drifted to Ling Zhuo, and He Huanping laughed as he recounted how enthusiastic Ling Zhuo’s fans were during the opening ceremony in the afternoon, even giving gifts to all the main crew members. “With Xiao Ling around, I reckon this drama will be hot from filming to airing.”

Yu Fei also joked, “When I came over in the afternoon, a few girls greeted me very warmly. I thought they were my fans, but they thanked me for taking care of Xiao Ling. I was puzzled at first, but later I heard that Xiao Ling had talked about how I brought snacks for everyone on the day I joined the crew during his livestream yesterday. I felt embarrassed. Director He is right; with so many people paying attention, our drama will definitely be hot.”

He Huanping and Yu Fei joked, “As long as they didn’t cause trouble for the crew.” Ling Zhuo forced a smile.

Indeed, he had a livestream yesterday for an endorsement event, casually mentioning filming, and when the host asked about his experience joining the crew, he politely said a few clichéd phrases about everyone getting along well. He also mentioned Yu Fei bringing snacks for everyone.

Lu Chixie: “Really? Then next time you livestream, should you also tell your fans that I brought drinks for you guys?”

The table burst into laughter, and Ling Zhuo felt embarrassed. Fortunately, the topic shifted away from him afterwards.

He excused himself to go to the restroom and breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped out of the private room door. He didn’t feel like going back in for now, so he just stood in the corridor outside, where no one was around.

In the afternoon, Qi Liangli had sent the photos from Weibo hot search into the group, tagging him. The group members were all teasing, asking if he really had a good relationship with Lu Chixie, who was surprisingly warm and proactive towards him.

Ling Zhuo helplessly replied, “Why are you all so interested in that young master?”

Qi Liangli: “Ling ge, you finally showed up. It’s not that we’re interested, just look at what happened this afternoon. Some people are already shipping you and the young master together. What a fuss. What are we supposed to do, Yiran ge?”

Half a minute later, Zhong Yiran, who hadn’t spoken before, replied, “Stop spreading rumors.”

Ling Zhuo looked at those words for a while before deleting what he had intended to say.

Was Zhong Yiran referring to Qi Liangli’s teasing about him and someone else, or about him and Zhong Yiran himself?

Qi Liangli: “I didn’t say anything wrong. Ling ge and Yiran ge are the official CP of our SparkleBomb boys group. How can we let outsiders take advantage of it?”

Zhang Xun: “Why do you keep calling us SparkleBomb boys group? Isn’t it corny?”

Qi Liangli: “It’s supposed to be SparkleBomb boys group. Why deceive ourselves?”

Afterwards, the group fell silent for several minutes. Ling Zhuo hesitated for a long time, staring at Zhong Yiran’s WeChat profile picture. Since Zhong Yiran didn’t speak up, he didn’t want to say anything more.

Qi Liangli probably sensed that something was off in the group, so he posted again, “Why is everyone so quiet? Did I say something wrong again?”

Deng Lanluo: “If you know you’re not good at speaking, then speak less.”

Qi Liangli: “What’s with that?”

“Ling, didn’t you say you were going to the restroom, turns out you’re hiding here to use with your phone.”

Lu Chixie’s voice came from behind, and Ling Zhuo turned around. The man was smoking against the wall, squinting at him.

Ling Zhuo didn’t want to talk to him, so he turned to leave, but was pulled back by Lu Chixie.

Ling Zhuo was annoyed, “What do you want?”

Lu Chixie: “Nothing. Ling, be a bit more sincere. I gave you my personal WeChat, and you use your work account to fool me. Isn’t that a bit insincere?”

Ling Zhuo’s face turned cold, and Lu Chixie raised his chin, letting go of his hand, “Angry? Why are you so easily provoked?”

He couldn’t afford to offend this young master.

Ling Zhuo endured and endured again, resisting the impulse to argue with him, and simply clarified, “Teacher Lu, did you not understand what I said to you that day? I know there are many unwritten rules in this circle, and it’s common for people in a crew to fool around. But I’m not that kind of person. I don’t want to play along. Could you please not waste your time on me?”

Lu Chixie repeated his line: “Add me on WeChat.”

Ling Zhuo: “…”

He really didn’t want to get entangled with this person, so he took out his phone.

Lu Chixie stared at his movements and chuckled, “Your profile picture looks pretty good.”

The profile picture of his account was a selfie of himself. Ling Zhuo slightly turned his head, avoiding the secondhand smoke from the person beside him. Lu Chixie said with a smile, “Don’t like the smell of smoke?”

Ling Zhuo: “Not really used to it.”

Lu Chixie smiled and flicked the cigarette butt on the ashtray next to him.

Ling Zhuo fiddled with his phone and reluctantly added Lu Chixie on WeChat, looking somewhat unwilling.

Zhong Yiran happened to send a new message, and he accidentally opened it while swiping the screen.

Zhong Yiran: “How are you getting along with the Shangxin prince?”

Ling Zhuo quickly clicked to exit, but it had already been seen by the person next to him.

“Shangxin prince?” Lu Chixie read out these words, then chuckled, “Talking about me?”

Ling Zhuo felt extremely embarrassed: “Sorry.”

Lu Chixie looked at the change in his expression and found it quite interesting. He leaned closer and said, “Ling, your friend asks a lot of questions, huh? What does it matter to him whether we get along well or not?”

Ling Zhuo turned off the phone screen.

Lu Chixie lowered his voice: “Actually, Ling, you misunderstood me.”

Ling Zhuo didn’t quite catch it and looked at him: “What?”

Lu Chixie’s gaze fell on his lips for a moment before he said, “I’m not that kind of person, I don’t fool around casually.”