Chapter 31
Chapter 31
3.8 – Having made the decision to live a little
The script was centered around school life. In China, there had recently been a flood of such films, but most were of low quality. This script could be considered as following in the clean and simple trend – it was not a story about youth and puppy love or other such tangled topics, but rather an honest film about a plain and sad friendship.
The two protagonists had different family backgrounds, but they accidentally came to share the same desk at school. The script told the story of them growing up, the awkwardness of their youth, and their three years of innocent and sincere friendship. They separated after graduation – one went abroad to study, and the other went to a famous university after the college entrance examinations, but after four years, when they met each other again, they were already totally different。
Those best years from their youth spent with the person who was always with them, who learned with them, laughed and fought with them, a friendship that seemed to transcend everything, almost standing on the edge of a taboo ** love, after four years of tempering in life, changed beyond all recognition.
The level of closeness they had at the start, finally became the level of distance that they had at the end. It had only been four years, but they ultimately became the most familiar strangers.
If they were to pass by each other on the street, perhaps they would not even look back to see the other’s figure.
This script originally came from Bai Yue, and it was unknown if he placed his own emotions into it. Even during the shooting, the production team on the set could feel the light bitterness that was transmitted through these unformed pictures.
This story was not simple. Bai Yue had countless opinions left over in his memory regarding how to shoot the film. From the first meeting of the two youths to their final reunion where they could no longer find any similarities and subsequent split, they were all shot from the perspective of one of the protagonists, like an inner monologue overlaid with sadness and loneliness, stretched out like a thin and fragile thread that would shake when touched gently. It left a sense of infinite reverie and regret. If they could have been frank and honest with each other when they had met again, would there have been a better outcome?
These were all things that Bai Yue wanted the audience to think about. The film’s subject matter was really too abstract – from the surface one could only see a helpless youth singing a funeral song, burying that youthfulness with vaguely sad mourning. But it would be a simple matter to pass the censorship board; as long as Bai Hao was there it would not be a problem. All Xue Ling had to think about was how best to shoot everything.
Although this was a script that had already won a prize in the last life, Xue Ling did not like this story, probably because it was too oppressive whereas his own personality was flashy and dazzling. But that did not affect him during shooting – hadn’t he been busy filming the whole time and still managing to suppress the protagonist?
Sun Jianan also wondered why he was suppressed by Bai Yue every time. He was anxious to perform well in front of the other party. In fact, Xue Ling had spent some effort to crush him with acting skills, using the indisputable difference in their auras and temperament as a starting point.
Sun Jianan had always believed that everything that the little young master Bai had, had come from his family. He was born with a bright future, which had nothing to do with his own strength. But all of Bai Yue’s work had come from himself before he was destroyed by Sun Jianan
Xue Ling was not like the original owner of this body, who was hardworking yet and refused to ask for help. He liked the present situation too much, where he only needed to focus on directing and acting his part well. Other things could be watched over by the broker, or if needed, there was still Bai Hao to deal with it.
Speaking of the devil. As soon as today’s shoot was finished, there came the news that President Bai had come to visit the set.
Most of the people on the set knew that Bai Yue and Bai Hao were brothers and were not surprised. Rather, it was Sun Jianan who found it a little strange. He couldn’t figure out when the relationship between Bai Hao and Bai Yue had changed from his past life to become so good. Only, he couldn’t even take on Bai Yue right now, let alone interfere with Bai Hao’s affairs, so he was well behaved as he went to remove his makeup.
The weather had turned a bit cold. Bai Hao had his people buy hot soup and some snacks to share with the staff and soon the set was filled with the sound of happy laughter.
Xue Ling removed his makeup, sat in his own rest area and yawned, making his eyes moist. He was waiting for his elder brother to feed him.
Bai Hao saw him sitting there with his head in the clouds and reached out to knock him on the head, somewhat dissatisfied as he said: “Who was the one who said last night that they would go back to their room and sleep but ended up staying up all night editing their script?”
Xue Ling laughed cheekily and showed absolutely no trace of embarrassment. Anyway, Bai Hao couldn’t do anything to him; everything would be forgiven as long as he acted cute. “I’m working on a new script, and it’s going to be a big blockbuster when it comes out!”
His hands drew a big circle in the air, as though indicating the scale of success for his future movie.
Bai Hao looked at him coldly and said, “It won’t matter how big your movie will be without investment.”
Xue Ling shrugged: “Elder brother, don’t always threaten me with investment. When I release this film, many people who see my value will invest in it~ I won’t need to be hugging your thighs all day anymore.”
Bai Hao was rather defenseless against him: “I just don’t want you to take your own health lightly. How did it become threatening you with investment?” The soup he personally brought over was a medicinal soup that had been stewed in the kitchen for a whole day and was very good for one’s health. He conveniently handed Xue Ling the soup as he spoke, and the fragrance spread through the whole set. Unfortunately, everyone could only watch as their director drank it.
Xue Ling took the soup and his eyes were shining. “Don’t worry, I have a good grasp on the state of my body. I plan to live a long, long, life and become a hundred-year-old old man.”
Bai Hao looked at him a little helplessly, his eyes full of doting, but his expression cooled down when his gaze moved to other places. Particularly when he glimpsed Sun Jianan walking around the studio, his face became even more inscrutable.
Bai Hao pointed to Sun Jianan, and asked Xue Ling, “Who is that man?”
Xue Ling looked up and gave an enigmatic smile. “Sun Jianan, my first male acting partner. In a sense, he is the second male protagonist in this film.”
Bai Hao made a sound, but it was unclear if he had heard Xue Ling’s words or not. In any case, he immediately sent people to investigate Sun Jianan’s life as soon as he left the studio. His face turned black as he went over the information.
With Bai Hao’s crazy obsession towards his younger brother, how could he miss the way that Sun Jianan’s eyes and eyebrows were similar to Bai Yue’s. Especially considering the way Sun Jianan also liked to put on the airs of a cold and aloof prince. Although Xue Ling no longer has that temperament, Bai Hao still didn’t like seeing someone imitate his brother.
There was only one Yueyue in the world. This poor imitation made people feel uncomfortably estranged when they saw him, and Lin Yi actually dared to bring this person in front of Yueyue. Worse, Lin Yi even took in this imitation!
Bai Hao did not want to know what Lin Yi’s thoughts and intentions towards his younger brother were. Was his younger brother someone that such a shameless scum like Lin Yi could covet?
Bai Hao admitted that he was not a generous person. He had already seen through this entire matter, and he knew who the culprit was. The substitute was not important; if there was no scum like Lin Yi, how would there be a substitute and a white moonlight? What kind of damned reason was there in loving a person and therefore finding someone who looked just like them? Wasn’t this just purposely disgusting his younger brother?
When Xue Ling returned home, he saw his elder brother with a terrible expression on his face and was curious about what had happened to him. Wasn’t he fine when he left the studio just now? They had just been separated for a little while, so what crazy idea had Bai Hao come up with now?
“Brother? What’s wrong? Who offended you?” He grinned and lightly pinched Bai Hao’s face before going to the bathroom to wash his hands. After he came out, he jumped onto the sofa next to his brother and waited to be fed snacks from the table.
At this time, Grandpa Bai had already gone to bed and the whole Bai villa was quiet. The servants seldom came out at this hour. Knowing that the two brothers liked to stay in the living room, they normally prepared some plates of snacks before they returned and placed them on the table. After all, the little young master most liked to eat those snacks.
Bai Hao pointed to the information Sun Jianan that he’d placed on the table. “Don’t use this man. Looking at him makes one sick.”
Xue Ling reached out for information, and after several fruitless attempts, the speechless big brother finally reached over and handed the documents over to his lazy younger brother, conveniently feeding him a snack on the way. When that pink little mouth bit down on the snacks, it always exhaled a little heat. Every time, it made Bai Hao itch from the bottom of his heart, really wanting to pinch his chin right then and there and interrupt his chewing by giving him a deep kiss.
But unfortunately, that person was his younger brother. Bai Hao couldn’t do anything, and should not even have this kind of idea. But he liked to abuse himself, and had even developed the activity into a daily interaction between the two brothers.
Xue Ling looked through the information Bai Hao had found and was amazed, thinking to himself that money could really make anything happen. Even his own understanding of Sun Jianan was not this deep. Xue Ling dawdled over the documents, finally pointing a finger at a particular piece of information and asking Bai Hao: “Elder brother, don’t you think it’s strange?”
“Hm?”
“Look, when Lin Yi first took in Sun Jianan, Sun Jianan only resembled me, and it was just around his eyes and his lips. At that time, he was a small bit actor and looked like an ordinary person. But,” Xue Ling pointed at another piece of information: “Later on, when he reappeared, his acting skills began to develop rapidly, and his behavior became about seventy percent similar to mine.”
Bai Hao looked at the data, shook his head and said, “He is nothing like you; not only is his imitation poor and not done well, at the end an imitation is still just an imitation.”
Xue Ling laughed happily. “Elder brother also feels this way. I feel this way too. So there’s no need to pay attention to him.”
Bai Hao frowned. “Do you know who he is? Do you know what Lin Yi is thinking?
“Isn’t he just thinking about impossible things~” Xue Ling had no intention of hiding from Bai Hao. He was so calm that Bai Hao would not believe him if he said he knew nothing about the issue. “It’s funny, why does he think that he can pick up someone who looks like me first, and then abandon them when I return home, like he can get me anytime he wants? Do I look like I’m such an easy target that would put be willing to accept any kind of scum?”
Bai Hao touched his head and said, “You don’t need to think about it. I will solve the problem of Lin Yi for you. Daring to think of my… younger brother that way, does he think Bai family is easy to bully?”
Xue Ling did not bother himself over his strange pause. He stretched lazily and accepted a small round cake that Bai Hao handed over. It seemed like an accident when the tip of his tongue slipped out and licked the tip of Bai Hao’s finger, his face still looking puzzled when Bai Hao retracted his hand directly.
Bai Hao’s face turned strange. Xue Ling finished eating the small cake and got up to go upstairs. “I’m going up to sleep first, elder brother~ I need to get up early tomorrow. Good night!”
“Good night.” Bai Hao’s voice was deep when he answered, to the point where it didn’t even sound like himself.
Because of his little brother’s action just now, Bai Hao’s lower body had reacted. He stared at his own lower body with some regret-wasn’t it just a small lick? How could he already be unable to hold it in?
Just! A! Small! Lick!
What to do? He didn’t want to wash his hands at all!
Xue Ling glanced back thoughtfully at the Bai Hao that was still sitting there frozen, staring at his finger and wondering if he should follow suit and lick it again, and couldn’t help but show a small smile over his successful prank.
The system shook out its fur and silently lit a candle for Bai Hao. Its host was a damned tsundere who did not like to discuss much, but liked to do some strange actions such as seducing people, teasing them to the point where they were forever lost in their wild and fanciful thoughts, but still managing to make it appear to be very innocent and totally unintentional.
He really was true to his nature as someone from the fox clan; he had such skill when it came to seducing men.
Xue Ling thought that Bai Hao was really fun to play with. Compared with the always gentle and yet repressed Cole, Bai Hao’s ** would always be carelessly exposed from time to time. Back then it had been because Cole had stubbornly refused to speak that Xue Ling had also kept quiet. Bai Hao’s attitude always made Xue Ling want to tease him.
He didn’t care about what the relationship between this body and Bai Hao was. He was not Bai Yue, and he wasn’t even human. What was the point in caring so much about these things?
As early as when he asked the system if it could bring people away, he had already made up his mind that if someone could really make him like them, he would not let go of them no matter what!
As a fox who had been single for over a thousand years, yet still held back with effort over the first two worlds, Xue Ling wanted to express that he had never been of the abstinent school of thought! He only had one life, and he wouldn’t die if he lived a little!
It was true that he wouldn’t die, but he’ll never get away from it…
editor: alamerysl