Release that Man

Just as Ye Shuang had said, the number of cases available to Han Chu’s other agents was more than enough to satisfy their needs. The three agents took care of about seven districts each, which meant that every one of them had to look after more than a hundred cities.

Even if they changed the city daily, having them pay attention to every city was practically impossible. Furthermore, some days they had to keep their schedule open for socializing or meeting with clients, talents, and so on…

Basically, the other three agents mostly spent their time around the more advanced cities, dealing with bigger and more important cases. It was unavoidable that they would miss the smaller cases. After all, it was not uncommon for some of the upper society to not have even heard of Han Chu.

So, what about the cases that they had missed? Since they were not accepted, those could not be called cases. Either the client would find a friend to solve their problem or employ someone through the classified pages. Therefore, Ye Shuang technically had not crossed the line. After all, she had found this case herself, and if she had not, the client, who had not heard of Han Chu, would not have gone to his other agents anyway.

As long as it was not a malicious competition, Han Chu might even rescind the limitation of having either the client or the talent from San Lin City in the future. Of course, another reason Han Chu was so permissible was because it was Sister Shuang who had accepted the case. If Brother Shuang did not explain this detail on the phone, this discussion might have gone completely differently.

As a man, it was expected that he should suffer a little more than women. Of course, Ye Shuang did not know that it was because of her female identity that things went so smoothly. If anything, she was glad that Han Chu did not treat her male self so differently anymore.

After she got the approval from Han Chu, Ye Shuang made use of the two-day break in filming to contact the talents from San Lin City. After finding the candidates that fulfilled the requirement of the clients and getting the talents’ agreement, she contacted Miss Lin via email. Ye Shuang was frustrated by how convoluted this was. Whenever an identity of hers disappeared, she would need to run and hide or else she could have appeared in person to settle the thing once and for all—there was no need to be so secretive about it.

Other than that, the part-time shoot was smoother than expected. Just as Luo Mingxin had said, after the most difficult scene had been taken care of, what was there to be worried about when it came to the simpler scenes?

Director Zhou was stunned by Brother Shuang’s surprisingly good acting skill. He had originally planned to spend some time honing his skill, but seeing how good the man was… there was no need for that anymore!

Celebrity Luo had fun acting alongside Brother Shuang at the bungalow, and the film crew on set had great fun as well. The two were perfect; their scenes never required a “Cut!” and even changing scenes went smoothly. The cinematographers did not need to work hard because any single angle could be used in the movie. Basically, they only needed to push the camera according to the plan. Other than the occasional zoom in ordered by Director Zhou, there was barely any need to look over the captured scene.

The last scene was the little brother exploding after holding so much pressure in. The set manager left the scene after preparing everything. Luo Mingxin, who stood waiting on the second floor, slowly strode down from the stairs while the older brother, who was played by Ye Shuang, sat at the dining table, enjoying his breakfast without even raising his head.

…

Liu Xuan’s face was filled with suppressed annoyance as he pulled the chair out noisily. He wanted to use a cold war to stress his annoyance, but his temper lit up the moment the man across from him leveled a gaze that was equivalent to a shrug.

“Why did you chase Kexin away‽” Liu Xuan slammed on the table angrily as he stood up, his eyes burning with unbridled anger. “Do you think everyone owes you before you’re rich‽ So you use checks and money to humiliate others?”

“I am your big brother,” the man said softly, his expression cold and calm. However, there was an indescribable emotion in his eyes. His tone, though, was as flat as his expression. “You’d rather believe your so-called true love and not our blood ties?”

“That doesn’t mean you have the right to dictate my life!”

“The one who is trying to do that is not me.” The man folded the newspaper he was reading and placed it lightly to the side. With grace, he picked up the cup of coffee to take a sip. The folded sleeves hiked up his arm from the motion to expose his well-defined muscles.

After the clink from the cup touching the saucer, the man raised his head, and his finger trailed around the cup rim absent-mindedly. He looked at his little brother with a faded smile, but his eyes were as cold as a sharp knife. “Do you really think that Liang Kexin is in love with you? She approached you only because you’re my little brother…”

And behind that woman is someone that you cannot handle.

“Enough!” Liu Xian punched the table heavily. His teeth were gritted, angered by this gaze. “Stop making decisions for me in my life!”

“Then you have to grow stronger.” The man lowered his eyes, and his tone was so calm that it sounded cruel. “Strong enough that I won’t be able to make decisions for you anymore…”

…

The reporters who arrived at the scene because they heard Director Zhou had found the actor from the advertisement were confused. Wasn’t the setting about a gentle big brother? How come he had become so cruel‽

With a blank expression, Director Zhou explained that it was because the car accident scene was so perfect. Furthermore, the big brother’s reserved expression was so alluring, so the script-writer focused on this to add to the plot. A gentleness that could not be denied but never shown. The man never relied on words but simple actions to deliver the best to you.

There was no gloating, no obvious pampering, but a natural protectiveness. It was not until the end of his life that the treasure that was deeply hidden within his heart was revealed. It had to be said that after this change in setting, the character had more depth.

The character came alive with Ye Shuang’s performance. The deeply-buried gentleness that would only explode at the last moment of his life would definitely touch the little brother and the audience. In comparison, the original setting of being a saint for no reason would have appeared to be too unoriginal.

Regardless of the change in character setting, the reporters had fun watching the scene, especially considering there was no one shouting, “Cut!”

The performance by the two had the magical effect of drawing people into the scene. It was as if they were really watching a big brother who loved his little brother so much that he would not argue even if he was deeply misunderstood and a little brother who had a hard time seeing the love his brother had for him.

Luo Mingxin also had not had such a smooth shooting experience before. No matter how great an actor he was, he was ultimately human. It was natural for him to forget his lines once in a while. Whenever that happened, he needed to collect his emotions to get into the scene again; that kind of constant change in personality was tough on his psyche.

“Stop ruining my life!” Luo Mingxin ran up the stairs with a shaking back. This shoot had ended so easily. The man lowered his head, unmoved by the commotion. The only thing that showed that he registered the loud shout was the slight twitch in his hands. Then he continued to cut the rasher of bacon on his plate.

The cut food was not sent into his lips. The man lost his attention while looking at the food on his plate before placing the fork and knife down and raising his head to look at the already empty stairs. In the eyes that were unimaginably cold earlier, a loneliness that was only visible when the mask was taken off could be seen.

Director Zhou took over the camera to focus on this close-up. In the camera, the man hesitated for a moment as if he was trying to deny a decision that he had made earlier. In the end, he bit his lips and extinguished the charity that appeared momentarily in his eyes. The cold gaze returned once more to his face.

The cruelty that had to be done even though he knew it would not be understood. The lonely figure that sat alone, full of pride and confidence in the large dining room. The shadow of the man was enough to make the accompanying reporters emotional. They had half a mind to rush upstairs to yank the little brother out to face the truth.

Don’t you know everything your big brother has done is all for you‽ Why are you still hung over that b*tch, Liang Kexin‽ She should go to hell for coming between you two siblings!

When Director Zhou shouted that “Cut!” to end the scene, announcing that all scenes relating to the big brother had been completed, the reporters who had been holding it in all rushed forward.

Ye Shuang had told Director Zhou earlier that she was not going to deal with the media. She wanted potential clients and had no interest in staying in this business, so why should she have more interactions with reporters‽

Thankfully, Director Zhou understood where she was coming from. Brother Shuang had done even more than he had anticipated, so he was more than glad to follow this small request that was not really out of line. Therefore, it was Celebrity Luo who was stepped forth to block the reporters, and while he kept them busy, Ye Shuang was told to escape.

After that day, even if these people wanted to interview Brother Shuang, it would be incredibly hard. Luo Mingxin, who was always the one being shielded, was pushed forward this time to be the cannon fodder. He felt oddly sad…

Luo Ce was waiting in his car outside. He was the runaway car driver for his future cousin-in-law. Ye Shuang did not change. After all, it was a modern story, so the clothes she used for the character would not look out of place. In any case, she could send someone to return the clothes later.

As she jumped in, Ye Shuang told Luo Ce to drive without a simple greeting. After a while, she sighed in relief and told the man beside her, who was trying not to laugh, “Thank you so much Brother Luo. I don’t think I would have been able to escape today without you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Luo Ce finally laughed. “However, it won’t be easy for Celebrity Luo. I saw his agent outside the bungalow earlier. He had a young woman with him. He probably planned to use Celebrity Luo somehow.”

The media was also there, so it would be difficult for Celebrity Luo to successfully retreat.