AAUMOBIP C26

 

Chapter 26

Back when he was reading the lines, Liu He had imagined what this scene would look like once filmed.

On set, he watched an actor with truly strong skills go full throttle: every movement, every line, breathed life into the words on the page. That was the charm of acting—bringing paper characters to life.

Liu He was deeply captivated by this charm, unable to extricate himself.

But soon he realized that not every actor’s craft was as good as this actor’s. And he also discovered that not every performance had real set pieces to act with.

Performances that looked embarrassingly “objectless” in person could later appear as spectacular images on the screen in post-production.

And then there was… the fact that actors touched up their makeup far too often! Just this one morning, Yun Jingqiu had already had several touch-ups.

“What’s wrong, isn’t your big bro handsome?” Yun Jingqiu sprawled on the sofa and crooked a finger at Liu He.

Liu He came over with just one beckon.

He sat on the sofa and massaged Yun Jingqiu’s shoulders.

There’d been quite a bit of action this morning, and Yun Jingqiu’s muscles were taut; Liu He had to use some real force to work into the shoulder muscles.

He answered honestly: “Handsome.”

“I was dumbstruck watching.”

Qian Sheng, the Red-Clad Swordsman, was a character full of charisma; after just a few short scenes, Liu He was already looking forward to this film.

“Xiao He, you talk so sweet,” Yun Jingqiu laughed, then hissed, “Too much force!”

Liu He didn’t ease up: “Gotta get the muscle to relax. It’ll hurt for a bit and then pass, bear with it.”

Just then, Song Zhiyuan pushed the door open. Hearing that line, he was puzzled: “What are you two doing? This lounge isn’t very soundproof, so take it easy, mind your image.”

Liu He: …

“I’m giving Yun‑ge a massage.” It was just that Yun‑ge’s noises sounded a bit too suspicious.

Song Zhiyuan exhaled in relief: “Scared me to death. I thought you two were like dry tinder and blazing fire and couldn’t hold it back in the lounge.”

“Nonsense. Do I strike you as that unruly?” Yun Jingqiu scolded lightly.

Song Zhiyuan grinned and let it pass, putting the lunches on the table and calling out: “Come on, eat.”

“Sis-in-law likes spicy food, so I ordered a few spicy dishes for sis-in-law. And here’s milk tea to go with the meal.”

Liu He’s lunch was plentiful.

Song Zhiyuan continued: “Yun‑ge, this one’s yours.”

Compared to this morning’s leafy greens, Yun Jingqiu’s lunch was much better—at least there was meat and a staple.

A small piece of steak, a few shrimp, a boiled egg, some salad, and a bit of mixed grain rice.

A standard cutting meal.

Yun Jingqiu glanced at Liu He’s lunch, then at his own, and lost his appetite.

Litte He even had milk tea!

“Brother Song, what are you eating for lunch?” Liu He asked, throwing a look at Yun Jingqiu.

Song Zhiyuan: “I’m eating with the crew. The catering’s good.”

“Once this scene wraps, they should be serving.”

Yun Jingqiu said, “Go eat. I’ll approve your budget—eat whatever you like.”

Song Zhiyuan: “Heck yes!”

He ran off for a feast.

Liu He stuck the straw into the milk tea and held it to Yun Jingqiu’s lips: “Quick, before Brother Song gets back, have a sip.”

Then he also scooped some stir-fried pork with chilies into Yun Jingqiu’s bowl.

With a meal like Yun‑ge’s, without a little oil he really couldn’t get it down.

Yun Jingqiu took a sip—milk tea: minor surface injury inflicted.

He ate the chili pork and polished off those few bites of mixed grain rice, then stared longingly at the white rice in Liu He’s bowl.

“Is white rice okay? Will today’s calorie intake go over?” Liu He worried a little.

He couldn’t bear to see Yun‑ge eating these spartan meals every day, but he was also afraid of accidentally feeding him into chubbiness.

“I’ll eat less at night and add a cardio session,” Yun Jingqiu mumbled. “Little Song and Brother Wang won’t notice.”

Liu He gave him a small portion of white rice.

It was just to taste—Yun Jingqiu didn’t take much.

By the time Song Zhiyuan returned, they had already finished eating.

Song Zhiyuan had thought Liu He was an honest, straightforward person, and that Yun Jingqiu would be responsible about maintaining his figure—he never imagined that honest Liu He would secretly give conscientious Yun Jingqiu tasty bites on the sly.

Having eaten a big meal, Song Zhiyuan was in a great mood. He sent the bill to Yun Jingqiu: “Yun‑ge, settle this.”

Seafood buffet at noon, 188 per person.

Yun Jingqiu cursed with a smile and transferred the money.

Liu He spent the whole day with the crew, watching Yun Jingqiu act all day, encountering many new things—he was at that stage where everything felt novel and interesting.

“Good evening, I’m Yun Jingqiu, and this is Cream.” A rabbit lay draped over Yun Jingqiu’s hand as he introduced it to the camera.

He put the rabbit on the table, then hooked an arm and pulled the person beside him into the frame.

[??]

[Is Cloud Sis playing at absurdist performance art?]

[I have a hunch this was Cloud Bro’s idea hahahaha]

[Cloud Sis is a non-celebrity and doesn’t want to show their face, hahaha]

A young man stepped into frame—

This was Liu He’s first time facing a livestream camera; he was shy. He glanced at Yun Jingqiu, then began to introduce himself: “Hello.”

The barrage in the chat scrolled like crazy. Liu He couldn’t keep up and averted his eyes.

Although the set visit by Yun Jingqiu’s partner hadn’t made the trending list during the day, many fans already knew, and it was quite a hot topic.

The company saw this and suggested that Yun Jingqiu go live with Liu He to capitalize on the heat and promote the new film.

Yun Jingqiu had wanted to refuse, since Xiao He wasn’t comfortable showing his face.

But Xiao He agreed—and even came up with this method.

Business like this was something Yun Jingqiu had done countless times; he was already an old hand.

This was Liu He’s first time livestreaming—he did agree, but seeing the viewer count skyrocketing, he couldn’t help getting nervous.

“He’s shy, so he won’t show his face,” Yun Jingqiu explained with a smile. “If you have questions, ask me.”

Liu He still felt tense facing the camera; he nudged his gaming chair outward, so only half his body was still visible on screen.

That felt much better.

“How did we get together?” Yun Jingqiu picked the most-asked question to answer. “I actually said this in a previous interview—when I was at my lowest point, he descended like a heaven-sent rescue and pulled me out of my difficulties.”

“You know that feeling, right? When a helping hand reaches out at the most isolated and helpless moment—in that instant, my heart was moved.”

“What ‘suspension bridge effect’? Don’t talk nonsense.” Yun Jingqiu bantered with the fans.

Liu He reached out to pet the rabbit on the table; its soft fur was addictive to the touch.

“What’s Sis-in-law’s name?”

“That, we can’t say—he’s a non-celebrity, it’s inconvenient to disclose. See? He’s here with me on stream but not showing his face,” Yun Jingqiu said.

“When are you planning to get married? That I really can’t answer yet.”

Liu He felt the hand he had been holding suddenly reverse and grip him back, fingers scratching lightly in his palm.

He looked at Yun Jingqiu.

“The fans are asking me when we’re getting married.”

Liu He heard it and wanted to play dead and pretend he hadn’t.

But Yun Jingqiu didn’t give him the chance—he lobbed the question straight over.

Liu He mumbled, “Let’s talk after graduation.”

They hadn’t even been dating that long—how were they already at marriage?

“He says he’ll marry me after graduation,” Yun Jingqiu told the fans.

What he had said was “let’s talk after graduation,” not “marry after graduation”!

If following Liu He’s original relationship progression plan, then after graduation they’d have been dating for more than a year; strictly speaking, it would indeed be time to advance the plan and pursue a closer status.

Getting married after graduation wouldn’t be impossible.

“You want to see us kiss? No way, the stream would get shut down. What, you want to see me kiss the costume? The thing I want to kiss is his soft, sweet mouth!”

“Aren’t you curious why he made a special trip here today?”

“He came to visit the set! He specifically came to watch me act and praised my look, praised my performance.”

“Am I good at acting or what?” Yun Jingqiu threw the question back to the fans.

[Awesome~]

[Awesome~]

[Is this praising your acting or praising your partner?]

[Wait, who even asked?]

[Who asked you, lol?]

A string of “awesome” flashed by in the barrage, and Yun Jingqiu was satisfied.

“Please look forward to Crossing the River; it’s a really good project,” he said, seizing the chance to promote the film.

Liu He went back to teasing the rabbit.

With strong hosting control, Yun Jingqiu chatted with fans, occasionally looping Liu He into the interaction, and promoting Crossing the River whenever he could.

The ugly fish costume head was a little stuffy; through the small eye holes, Liu He could see the outside, but his view was obstructed and limited.

When he turned his head, the fish’s mouth bumped right into Yun Jingqiu’s face.

Barrage: [Hahahahahaha]

[Cloud Bro got kissed by a fish]

[Cloud Sis wearing that costume head is peak absurdity]

Yun Jingqiu laughed: “I haven’t kissed you yet and you’re kissing me first?”

He murmured at Liu He’s ear (?): “I’ll let you kiss me enough tonight. Can’t do it now—the stream would be shut down.”

He kept his voice low and even cupped the mic, so the fans in the stream didn’t hear what he said.