Dark Fire chapter 7
Clinging to a Big Shot
The next morning, Ling Zhuo was filming with Group B under another assistant director’s supervision, and only in the afternoon did he return to Group A under He Jingping’s supervision to film scenes with the male and female leads.
Thanks to Lu Chixie’s help with running through the scenes the previous night, that day’s filming went much more smoothly. Director He Jingping was also very pleased with him.
After finishing the solo scene with Yu Fei, He Jingping smiled and asked him, “Not bad, Xiao Ling. Did you find your rhythm today? Did Lu Chixie really give you a lesson last night?”
Ling Zhuo, feeling a bit embarrassed, explained, “Teacher Lu helped me go through it once.”
Yu Fei, who overheard, was quite surprised and laughed, “So you two get along well? With his temperament, he actually agreed to help you run through the scenes in advance?”
Ling Zhuo replied, “He said it was Director He’s assignment.”
He Jingping chuckled, “Hey, he volunteered to tell me that. But since he’s willing to teach, you should learn as much as you can from him. It won’t hurt to communicate more. I think this is quite good.”
Ling Zhuo could only agree.
Lu Chixie arrived a little after two in the afternoon.
When he got out of the car, he saw a bunch of young girls crowded outside the set. Some were even on top of the buildings opposite, holding cameras and taking non-stop photos in the direction of the set. His assistant casually informed him, “Most of these people are Mr. Ling’s fans and fan-site admins, though there are some who came to photograph you and Mrs. Fei as well.”
Lu Chixie raised an eyebrow, “Not hired photographers?”
Assistant: “There are some, but most of them seem to be genuine fans.”
Lu Chixie: “Is he really that popular?”
Ling Zhuo was indeed popular. Idol fans are always passionate, especially when he’s a top-tier idol.
Lu Chixie squinted at the crowd for a moment and instructed his assistant, “Try to blend into Ling’s fan circles.”
Assistant: “Huh?”
Lu Chixie: “I heard being a fan site manager can be quite profitable. Being a manager for someone as popular as Ling should be even more lucrative, right?”
Assistant: “…”
From a distance, Ling Zhuo saw Lu Chixie come in and lowered his head to continue reading the script.
He deliberately avoided Lu Chixie, keeping Yang Ming close at all times and staying in crowded places. In such public settings, Lu Chixie, no matter how impulsive, couldn’t do anything to him. Maybe after a few days, this young master’s interest would shift.
Lu Chixie and Yu Fei had two solo scenes to film. While Ling Zhuo waited on the side, he watched the filming results on the director’s monitor. Honestly, both Lu Chixie and Yu Fei had great acting skills. Watching them act, Ling Zhuo also learned a lot.
Seeing how seriously Ling Zhuo was watching, He Jingping kindly reminded him, “Ah Fei and Chixie both have very distinctive acting styles. It’s good to learn, but don’t just imitate. You need to find the style that suits you.”
Ling Zhuo nodded, “I understand. Both teachers act very well.”
He Jingping continued, “Yesterday, Chixe said you have a talent for acting, but you haven’t had formal training. He said you’re very serious about it, which is why he’s willing to teach you. He’s learned a lot of genuine skills from his mother. You won’t regret learning from him.”
Ling Zhuo felt a slight stir in his heart. An Xin was known as a genius actress in her youth. She hadn’t acted in many films, but each one was a classic. Her only apprentice was her son, Lu Chixie. Ling Zhuo was indeed lucky to have Lu Chixie willing to teach him…if only Lu Chixie didn’t have ulterior motives.
He Jingping patted his shoulder, “Don’t overthink it.”
Next, they had a scene with the three of them. Before officially starting, He Jingping went over the scene with them again.
Ling Zhuo listened attentively. Lu Chixie, on the other hand, was lounging on a chair, slowly drinking water. Ling Zhuo unintentionally glanced at him and met his gaze. This person wasn’t listening to the director at all; his dark eyes were fixed on him. As he drank, the tip of his tongue slowly slid over the bottle’s mouth, and his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
Ling Zhuo felt a sense of being stared at, an uncomfortable feeling of being visually harassed, and turned his gaze away.
The scene went very smoothly, passing after only two takes. By the time they finished, it was past six. Yu Fei had night scenes to shoot, but Ling Zhuo and Lu Chixie were done for the day.
After changing out of his costume and removing his makeup, Ling Zhuo walked out of the set and saw Lu Chixie again by the nanny car.
Lu Chixie seemed to be waiting specifically for him, leaning against the car door smoking a cigarette. He extinguished it only when he saw Ling Zhuo coming.
Ling Zhuo couldn’t pretend not to see him, so he braced himself and greeted him.
“Let’s go for dinner,” Lu Chixie said.
Ling Zhuo replied, “I’ll eat back at the hotel…”
Lu Chixie interrupted, smiling, “Ling, I’m going to help you rehearse every day from now on. I’m not asking for anything in return. Isn’t it fair to treat me to a meal?”
Ling Zhuo said nothing.
Lu Chixie kept smiling at him, waiting for a couple of seconds until Ling Zhuo nodded.
Before getting into the nanny car, Ling Zhuo saw some lingering fans nearby. He casually asked, “Teacher Lu, aren’t you worried about being photographed smoking here? There are your fans too, right?”
Lu Chixie replied nonchalantly, “They can do as they please.”
Ling Zhuo shook his head and got into his car first.
They went to a nearby private kitchen restaurant. Including their assistants, drivers, and bodyguards, there were seven or eight people. As long as he didn’t have to be alone with Lu Chixie, Ling Zhuo felt it was okay. He didn’t want to completely sever ties with him either.
At the dinner table, the atmosphere was kept lively by Yang Ming and Lu Chixie’s assistant, Xiao Qian. Ling Zhuo kept his head down, eating, trying to ignore Lu Chixie’s occasional glances.
“Ling,” Lu Chixie suddenly called out.
Ling Zhuo looked up.
Lu Chixie asked, “Is SparkleBomb your group?”
Ling Zhuo wasn’t sure why he brought it up, “Yes.”
Lu Chixie commented, “The songs are quite good.”
Ling Zhuo: “…Thanks.”
Lu Chixie continued, “But your company doesn’t seem great. A singing and dancing group like yours doesn’t have much of a future in our entertainment industry. Have you considered switching companies?”
Ling Zhuo replied, “No need, I don’t have such plans for now.”
Lu Chixie laughed ambiguously and said no more.
Ling Zhuo felt a bit uncomfortable but didn’t show it.
After dinner, there were still fans waiting outside the restaurant. Ling Zhuo quickly got into his car.
He returned to the hotel a little past 8:30. The schedule for the next day was already out. He still had four scenes to shoot.
Lu Chixie came to knock on the door. When he entered and saw Ling Zhuo’s assistant there, he raised an eyebrow. Ling Zhuo calmly said, “Sorry for the trouble, Teacher Lu. I asked Xiao Yang to help me take notes and jot down any shortcomings.”
Yang Ming obediently sat to the side with his laptop. When Lu Chixie’s gaze swept over him, his body tensed up, feeling an inexplicable sense of unease, but fortunately, Lu Chixie quickly shifted his attention away.
Lu Chixie picked up the script, “Let’s begin.”
An hour later, they had successfully gone through four scenes. Lu Chixie sat on the armrest of the sofa and glanced sideways at Yang Ming, who was crouching by the coffee table. The kid had taken nearly two pages of notes, recording almost everything he said. Ling Zhuo leaned over to look and seemed quite satisfied.
Lu Chixie called out, “Ling.”
Ling Zhuo turned his head.
Lu Chixie said, “Have you ever considered switching companies? You have a real talent for acting, and it would be a shame to bury it in a small company.”
Ling Zhuo replied, “Jing Jie—my manager—she’s very capable. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have gotten into this crew.”
Lu Chixie sneered, “That’s because you have popularity right now and can exchange it for resources. But popularity fades quickly; three years is the limit. Once your fame starts to decline, it will be too late if you don’t find another way out.”
Ling Zhuo did not respond.
He said, “Thank you for tonight, Teacher Lu. Let’s end it here.”
Lu Chixie smiled, “Finishing the job and planning to kick me out? Ling, you’re quite straightforward.”
Ling Zhuo replied, “I need to shower and go to bed.”
Lu Chixie didn’t tease him further, “Alright, I’m leaving.”
Ling Zhuo escorted him to the door. As Lu Chixie was about to leave, he held the door open and, seeing Ling Zhuo start to frown again, said, “Good night, Ling. See you tomorrow.”
This time, it wasn’t in the usual playful tone. Lu Chixie’s serious voice was quite pleasant.
Ling Zhuo was momentarily stunned and then said, “Good night.”
The amusement in Lu Chixie’s eyes deepened as he watched the door close in front of him.
Ling Zhuo returned to the living room. Yang Ming had already organized the notes he had taken and casually remarked, “Mr. Lu is quite impressive.”
Ling Zhuo responded, “His mother is An Xin.”
Yang Ming, who knew that Ling Zhuo idolized An Xin, reminded him, “Zhuo ge, why don’t you ask Mr. Lu to get an autographed photo from his mother for you?”
Ling Zhuo felt a bit tempted but then thought better of it. He didn’t want to get more involved with Lu Chixie.
After chatting a bit, Yang Ming went to his room. Ling Zhuo went to take a shower and then lay in bed with his phone.
The group chat was quiet that night. He sent a message to Zhong Yiran, who didn’t reply. He then remembered that they were likely recording their variety show that day and pouted.
Their group’s variety show had regular recordings every two weeks. This was Ling Zhuo’s first time missing it, and he might continue to miss them until his current drama finished filming.
He opened Weibo and refreshed it, seeing a post from Lu Chixie from a few minutes ago.
A gossip account had posted photos of them dining together, insinuating that he was cozying up to Lu Chixie. Lu Chixie had directly reposted it, saying, “Don’t spread rumors. I’m the one cozying up to Ling.”
Ling Zhuo was speechless.
He opened the comments on Lu Chixie’s post and saw fans going wild with excitement, even giving up on controlling the comments.
Someone had already created a CP (couple pairing) super topic for him and Lu Chixie. Ling Zhuo clicked on the link out of curiosity and found it quite lively, with nearly a thousand people posting pictures, stories, and comments.
The CP name was strange, “Ling Chi.” Why such an ominous name? And why did these fans call themselves “little beasts”?
Ling Zhuo read for a while before realizing that the original CP name was “Ling Chi Chusi” (Ling Chi’s execution), but the last word sounded bad, so they kept only the first two. The fans’ name was a play on the sound of the latter part.
“We’re all here to see LZ and LCX go crazy on each other, like little beasts.”
Seeing the screen full of wild comments made Ling Zhuo uncomfortable, so he exited the page.
Lu Chixie sent him a message on WeChat: “Ling, do you agree with me?”
Ling Zhuo: “About what?”
Lu Chixie: “You just liked my Weibo post.”
Startled, Ling Zhuo checked Weibo and realized he had accidentally liked Lu Chixie’s post. He quickly unliked it.
Lu Chixie: “It’s useless. Screenshots are everywhere.”
Frustrated, Ling Zhuo replied, “Why did you retweet such a post?”
Lu Chixie: “Why not?”
Ling Zhuo didn’t want to deal with him anymore.
Half a minute later, Lu Chixie sent another message: “Are you mad?”
Lu Chixie: “Ling, you have quite a temper.”
Ling Zhuo directly logged off and shut down his phone.
What a nutcase.