Love Contract chapter 9
Good Brother
Originally, the reshoot of that scene in the hallway wasn’t expected to be difficult, but Huang Zhicheng had them do several takes. Even the part where He Yujing pushes Jiang Liusui and storms off, slamming the door, had to be redone.
Huang Zhicheng appeared kind and approachable, but his demands were extremely strict, and he paid careful attention to details. Although the crucial kissing scene passed on the first take, he was not satisfied with the other parts. Unlike some hot-tempered directors who would scold people harshly, Huang Zhicheng used an encouraging approach, but it was just as grueling.
“Not bad. But Yujing, your expression wasn’t quite right. You don’t have to keep a straight face the entire time. When you push him, let your emotions show a bit more.”
“You didn’t use enough force when you pushed him! And Xiao Jiang, even if it hurts, you have to endure it! You accidentally furrowed your brow at the end.” Finally, Huang Zhicheng encouraged them, “One more take, and it’ll be even better.”
He Yujing had lost count of how many times he’d heard “one more take, and it’ll be even better.” During the last take, when he pushed Jiang Liusui, he didn’t hold back, and he actually heard Jiang Liusui hit the wall hard. Instinctively, he glanced at him. Jiang Liusui’s expression was dazed, as if he didn’t feel any pain, still immersed in the emotion of the scene.
Huang Zhicheng exclaimed with joy, “Perfect! That’s a wrap!”
“Great job, everyone. Take a break and get ready for the next scene.”
He Yujing breathed a sigh of relief. Lin Chong, who had run over, handed him some water, and He Yujing quietly instructed, “Go get some medicinal oil.”
Lin Chong quickly asked, “Did you get hurt?”
“It’s not me.” Seeing that Lin Chong was about to ask more, He Yujing cut him off softly, “Just go, quickly.”
With another scene still to be shot later, Jiang Liusui returned to the dressing room to get his makeup touched up. Ding Yan immediately asked with concern, “How’s your shoulder? Do you need some medicine?”
The scene where he was pushed had been shot several times, and Ding Yan had been worried the entire time.
At that moment, a crew member knocked on the door and came in with a first-aid kit. “Mr. Jiang, here’s some medicinal oil. You should apply it now to avoid bruising.”
“Okay, thank you. Just leave it there.”
After the crew member left, Ding Yan quickly said, “Let me take a look.”
Jiang Liusui took off his jacket and unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt. His skin was sensitive, so even the slightest bump would show. Ding Yan winced when he saw it. “Oh no! That must hurt.”
Jiang Liusui raised an eyebrow. “I’m the one who’s hurt, why are you yelling?”
Ding Yan looked away, unable to bear it. “No, no, this is bad. It’ll be worse by tomorrow!”
Jiang Liusui moved his shoulder slightly, feeling a dull ache from where he’d hit it, but it wasn’t unbearable. He looked over his shoulder in the mirror and saw a large area of bruising. It was a bit scary, but not as dramatic as Ding Yan made it out to be.
He was about to tease Ding Yan for being so big yet so timid when the door to the dressing room was knocked on lightly before someone entered.
As soon as He Yujing walked in, he saw Jiang Liusui with his shirt partially unbuttoned, exposing a large expanse of pale skin on his back. His gaze froze for a moment before he frowned and asked, “How did it get this bad?”
“It’s just how my body is,” Jiang Liusui replied, surprised that he had come. He started buttoning his shirt again as he spoke. “It’s really not that bad. It just looks worse than it is.”
He Yujing placed the medicinal oil he had brought on the dressing table, noticing another bottle already there. “You already have some?”
Ding Yan hadn’t expected this “big shot” to personally bring medicine for Jiang Liusui. Surprised, he hurriedly thanked him, “The crew just brought this over. Thank you, Mr. He.”
“Go tell Director Huang to see if we can push the confrontation scene to later and shoot something else tonight,” He Yujing instructed Lin Chong, who had followed him in. “Tell him I’m a bit worn out and would like to switch to something lighter.”
“Oh, sure, sure.”
To help Jiang Liusui get into character, the entire parting scene was shot in reverse order by Huang Zhicheng.
Before the artist stepped out into the hallway, they had first shot a confrontation scene, followed by the scene where he leaves. The confrontation involved several intense actions, with the character played by Jiang Liusui crashing into several easels during the argument.
Realizing that He Yujing was being considerate of his shoulder injury, Jiang Liusui felt grateful. “Thank you, Yu Ge.”
“When I pushed you earlier, I knew how hard it was,” He Yujing frowned. “Are you sure you’re okay? You’re so thin, there’s hardly any cushioning when you hit the wall.”
“Really, I’m fine. It barely hurts now.” Seeing that He Yujing still seemed doubtful, Jiang Liusui jokingly said, “How about you help me apply the medicine?”
He probably knew that his request might be overstepping, so he smiled as he spoke, clearly not expecting He Yujing to actually do it.
Rather than a polite, nervous thank you, He Yujing preferred this kind of approach.
“Where’s the cotton swab?”
Jiang Liusui was momentarily stunned, showing a look of surprise. Ding Yan, sensing the situation, quickly handed over the unopened cotton swabs and medicinal oil.
Seeing Jiang Liusui still dazed, He Yujing kindly reminded him, “Are you planning to keep your shirt on while I apply the medicine?”
“Oh… right.” Jiang Liusui snapped out of it and unbuttoned his shirt again. “Thank you.”
To make it easier for He Yujing, he bent forward slightly. He couldn’t believe that someone of He Yujing’s status would personally apply the medicine, and his thoughts began to drift.
Compared to the various rumors floating around in the industry, He Yujing’s so-called temper didn’t seem that bad. On the contrary, he was rather considerate, wasn’t he?
As Jiang Liusui lowered his head, the protruding bones on his neck became even more pronounced, aligned straight like decorations on his back.
Against his pale skin, the large bruise appeared even more striking. During the application of the medicine, He Yujing unconsciously lightened his touch.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door outside the dressing room. “Is Mr. Jiang here? We need to redo your styling, but the next scene hasn’t been decided yet. Can we come in and wait for the notice?”
“Sure—ow!”
As soon as he opened his mouth, He Yujing accidentally pressed the cotton swab a bit too hard, causing Jiang Liusui to inhale sharply in pain. Realizing his mistake, He Yujing immediately loosened his grip and raised his voice, “Wait a moment!”
The stylist outside immediately recognized his voice. “Mr. He is in there too? Your group has been looking for you. You need to adjust your makeup as well.”
“Don’t rush me,” He Yujing retorted, “I’m busy.”
Stylist: “?”
After finally finishing applying the medicine, He Yujing threw the cotton swab into the trash. The makeup artist and head stylist for Jiang Liusui’s group, who had been waiting for a long time, finally entered the room.
The makeup artist’s eyes darted around, and she couldn’t hold back her curiosity any longer. “Mr. Jiang, did you bring someone a late-night snack last night?”
Jiang Liusui was stunned for a moment and instinctively looked at He Yujing, who also seemed surprised.
“How did you know?”
“I joined your fan club!” The makeup artist said cheerfully, “Someone took a picture of you at Guoyi last night. The photo, taken from a passerby’s perspective, went viral on Weibo. The blogger who posted it said you were bringing someone a late-night snack.”
He Yujing found this amusing, as the makeup artist was from his own styling team. “How long have you known him? And you’re already switching sides?”
“I joined yours too. I’m a fan of both of you now!” The makeup artist said earnestly, making everyone in the room laugh.
She continued, “What’s more surprising is that the original blogger wrote a long post on Weibo, describing the interaction with you in a very romantic way!”
As she spoke, she handed her phone to Jiang Liusui, and the Weibo post appeared before him:
[OMG, he’s really, really good-looking! My roommate, who never cares about celebrities, was stunned and still hasn’t recovered after returning to the dorm! And his voice is so sweet! When asked who the snack was for, guess what he said???He said, “For a newly acquainted brother.”
OMG, Jiang Liusui, are you a reincarnated fox spirit? Who wouldn’t be moved, WHO! WOULDN’T! BE! MOVED! Tell me, who is this ‘good brother’ you just met and brought a snack for? I feel like your relationship is progressing so fast, can I ship you two?]
Jiang Liusui’s heart skipped a beat. “Isn’t this… a bit exaggerated?”
“It’s fine. This kind of over-the-top writing is popular now; the more exaggerated, the better.” The makeup artist said righteously, “Even if it’s a bit much, she’s still complimenting how good you look.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Jiang Liusui muttered.
He was thinking that the situation wasn’t that serious, so why were they already shipping them? But since the other person involved was right there, he didn’t want to make things awkward and stiffly changed the subject, “Is there anything wrong with complimenting how I look?”
“…”
The makeup artist met his gaze and quickly changed her stance: “No, no! You’re beautiful, so everything they say is right!”
The head stylist, who had remained silent until now, interjected with a refined comment, “Mr. Jiang’s looks and personality are impeccable, the kind that inspires creativity.”
He Yujing didn’t respond to that, instead, he reached out his hand. “Let me see.”
Jiang Liusui remembered the ambiguous “good brother” from that post and felt a rare sense of embarrassment but could only watch as the makeup artist handed the phone over. Jiang Liusui hesitated to speak several times, but He Yujing suddenly smiled and waved the phone at him.
“Is this about me?”
“…Yes.”
“Oh.” He Yujing’s eyes curved with a smile, and he seemed to be in a good mood.
Ding Yan suddenly realized who Jiang Liusui had brought the snack for last night and looked shocked.
Not just Ding Yan, but everyone else in the room also showed expressions of surprise. He Yujing, ignoring their reactions, scrolled through the phone with interest. “‘As soon as our Suisui appeared on the screen, the street-side food stalls became heavenly.’… This is quite interesting.”
“?” Jiang Liusui took a moment to react, realizing that He Yujing was reading that girl’s long Weibo post. What was even more ridiculous was that the makeup artist chimed in, “Right? She’s really good at complimenting!”
Jiang Liusui felt a bit embarrassed in this public roasting session.
“Why are you reading that? Stop it.”
He Yujing was just casually reading it, but seeing that Jiang Liusui was embarrassed, he couldn’t help but tease more. He intentionally picked the most daring sentence from the post, “‘When he smiled at me, I even thought of our future child’s name.’”
“…Pfft.” Ding Yan couldn’t hold back a laugh, covering his mouth immediately.
Jiang Liusui lowered his head, remaining silent. Thinking he might have gone too far, He Yujing handed the phone back to the makeup artist. “Okay, you’re not mad, are you? I won’t read it anymore—”
“Yu Ge,” Jiang Liusui suddenly looked up and smiled at him, just as described in that Weibo post.
“Have you thought of a name for our future child?”
His smile was indeed captivating, with a charming and seductive glint in his already attractive eyes, full of life and allure.
Even He Yujing was momentarily stunned by his appearance.
“…”
Seeing that He Yujing was speechless and just staring at him, Jiang Liusui had to stifle his laughter. He didn’t expect to see He Yujing caught off guard, so he playfully teased, “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“I’m thinking.”
He Yujing replied nonchalantly, but the impact of his words was far from casual, “Will the child take your last name or mine?”
The room fell silent as everyone was stunned by the intensity of their conversation.
The makeup artists were blushing all over. Originally a bit drowsy from the night shift, they were now completely awake thanks to the two people in front of them. Huang Zhicheng had finally decided which scene to shoot, and he had come personally to inform them. However, upon entering the room, he overheard He Yujing’s boastful remarks and could not help but fall silent for a moment:
“You two haven’t even shot the romantic phase yet, and you’re already at this stage?”
Jiang Liushui was the first to cover his face with one hand, seemingly unable to bear the situation, while He Yujing’s playful expression on his face slightly faltered.
The two exchanged glances and couldn’t help but smile.