Before filming, Lu Wen waited under a tree. He had memorized his lines so well that he didn't need to review them. He stood with his hands behind his back, exuding the calm of an old man from the front, but in reality, he was picking at his fingernails from the back.

In the drama, Ye Xiaowu likes Qi Xiao and pursues her openly.

Lin Jie and Qi Xiao were childhood sweethearts. He came from a good family, had good grades, and looked down on the underachieving Ye Xiaowu. The two of them would bicker whenever they met.

Xian Qi arrived late. She was already pure and beautiful, but dressed in a school uniform skirt with her hair in a ponytail, and wearing makeup that looked almost natural, she was even more captivating than usual.

Lu Wen wore an expression of complete calm, though it was a bit sad to say, excluding that brainless horror movie, this was the first time he was filming a romance scene in a TV series. His experience was practically zero.

Not only that, but Lu Wen also had very little contact with actresses. This was because Lu Zhanqing had strictly forbidden it. Being an actor was fine, but if any messy scandals were to spread, true or false, they would all be dealt with by breaking his legs.

When Lu Zhanqing said he'd break them, it wasn't a threat. The only difference would be whether they were broken in two or ground to powder.

At this moment, Lu Wen felt uncertain. His gaze drifted about before landing behind the monitor. Qu Yanting was sitting there. He was scared. What if he didn't act well? Would that guy surnamed Qu verbally assault him again?

Sun Xiaojian asked from the side, "Who're you looking at?"

Lu Wen had picked his fingernails thin. He said, "Qu Yanting."

"Don't be nervous," Sun Xiaojian comforted him. "Yesterday, you were the only main actor, so Screenwriter Qu could only stare at you. Today's different. Xian Qi is here. Any straight man would be captivated by her."

But Qu Yanting was gay. Lu Wen felt even more uncertain.

Behind the monitor, Qu Yanting was feeling drowsy by himself, not worried about today's scenes at all. Only when all the departments were ready and the slate was clapped did he slowly lift his eyelids.

The shot was a medium shot, and the scene looked like something out of a school idol drama: in a corner of the sports field, Qi Xiao and Lin Jie were sitting under the parallel bars, one memorizing vocabulary, the other doing a test paper.

Ren Shu sighed with emotion, "Putting young, handsome guys and beautiful girls together is really easy on the eyes."

Qu Yanting propped his head up on his hand. "So boring."

Ren Shu said, "But you wrote this yourself."

Qu Yanting said, "With so many episodes, you have to have one or two filler scenes."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone ran into the frame—familiar long legs, a back view that was both athletic and reckless. Ren Shu commented, "Alright, here comes the not-boring part."

Ye Xiaowu ran to the parallel bars and, without a word, squatted down in front of Qi Xiao.

Qi Xiao looked up. "You scared me."

Lin Jie said irritably, "Why are you everywhere?"

Ye Xiaowu plopped down on the grass, crossed his legs, and said to Lin Jie, "None of your damn business. Do you own this sports field? I find it strange too, why do I run into you every time I look for Qi Xiao? I'm super cool, the 'cool' in 'cool guy.' And you're super bright, the 'bright' in 'lightbulb'."

He delivered this string of lines without stumbling, his deep, resonant voice somehow producing a crisp and clear effect.

Qu Yanting's drowsiness receded a little. He remembered Lu Wen's audition clip for the role of Ye Xiaowu. He had delivered a long stretch of lines in one breath, and at the time, Qu Yanting had thought this young actor had good natural talent.

Ren Shu felt the same. "When Little Lu plays Ye Xiaowu, he's lively and witty. His line delivery is no worse than a professional's."

"He didn't come from a professional acting school?" Qu Yanting asked.

"No," Ren Shu said. "He went to a proper Tier 1 university. What did he study again... oh right, International Trade. With that personality, doing trade? He'd sell himself and not even know it."

Qu Yanting smiled and continued to watch the screen.

Ye Xiaowu said to Qi Xiao, "We finally have a gym class. Why don't you relax and come watch me play basketball?"

Qi Xiao: "The monthly exam is coming up. I want to use the time to study."

Ye Xiaowu said in frustration, "We just had the weekly exam, and now the monthly exam. Day after day, why is it always exams?"

Qi Xiao advised him, "You didn't do well last time. Stop playing around."

Lin Jie said, "When has he ever done well? But on the bright side, he's already last in the grade. There's no more room to drop."

Ye Xiaowu's face flushed red. "I did that on purpose. It's not the college entrance exam, does it matter what place I get? Don't you forget, I got into this key high school fair and square, and my entrance ranking was higher than yours."

Lin Jie was left speechless. He packed up his papers and left.

Ye Xiaowu deftly scooted over next to Qi Xiao, so close that their school uniform sleeves brushed together. Qi Xiao ignored him, so he amused himself by touching the lawn until Qi Xiao finished memorizing.

"It's the last period. What do you want to eat for lunch?"

"I don't know. I'm sick of all the cafeteria food."

Qi Xiao stood up to stretch her limbs. Ye Xiaowu got up with her, grabbed the parallel bars, and hoisted himself up to sit on one. Qi Xiao hopped a little, tilting her head up. "I want to sit up there too."

Ye Xiaowu jumped down and feinted lunging at Qi Xiao without touching her, a playful fake-out.

He grinned. "I'll help you."

This scene was written very concisely, consisting almost entirely of dialogue. Regarding Ye Xiaowu's attitude toward Qi Xiao, there were only two words: proactive. When it came to the performance, the director didn't interfere, leaving it all up to the actors' own design and interpretation.

Lu Wen's series of actions were all proactive details. In the next moment, the script didn't specify how he would help, but it was clear that Ye Xiaowu and Qi Xiao would have some physical contact.

The parallel bars were chest-high, so hugging and lifting her up seemed to be the only way. Ren Shu said, "A hug might be too intimate, wouldn't it?"

Qu Yanting said, "I don't mind, but the broadcast authorities might."

Ren Shu smiled. "Let's see how Little Lu plays it. Ye Xiaowu actually knows his limits."

Just then, in the frame, Lu Wen didn't reach out for a hug, nor did he get closer to Qi Xiao. Instead, he took a step back. He bent his legs and got down on one knee.

Before, he was proactive. But in a situation where being proactive could easily cross a line, he chose to be a gentleman.

Without any lines, Lu Wen patted his thigh, signaling for Xian Qi to use it as a step to get on the bar. After Xian Qi was seated, he didn't bother with the dust on his pant leg, just stood below with it still dirty.

Qi Xiao asked, "Aren't you coming up?"

Ye Xiaowu said, "In case you lose your balance, I'll be here to catch you."

The camera tilted up. Lu Wen raised his head, his eyes bright, so sincere that it didn't seem like he was trying to flatter a girl, but more like a child sharing a beloved toy. He softened his tone as well. "Since you don't like the cafeteria food, I'll bring you lunch tomorrow. My mom makes especially delicious boiled fish."

In that instant, Qu Yanting's mind wandered. He recalled Lu Wen reaching out to stop him, inviting him for millet porridge.

Ren Shu yelled cut. The take was completed smoothly.

Lu Wen reverted to his true self, hastily bending down to dust off his pant leg. He kept dusting as he walked over to the director, Qu Yanting's silhouette appearing in his peripheral vision.

He stood straight, waiting somewhat nervously for feedback.

Ren Shu was very satisfied. "All three of you were quite steady. Little Lu is the lead, and his performance was great, better than I expected."

Qu Yanting had no objections. This scene required the actors to polish it themselves. Lu Wen had a good grasp of using physical details to show initiative, and in his expression, he added a dose of pure, innocent love.

This innocence made Ye Xiaowu seem exceptionally sincere and gave the whole scene a greater sense of the awkwardness of first love. It was a pleasant surprise.

The pre-shoot nervousness was swept away. Lu Wen was about to go prepare for the next scene. Before leaving, he shot a sharp glance at Qu Yanting, as if to wash away yesterday's shame with his gaze.

Qu Yanting was only preoccupied with his aching back and didn't notice a thing.

The crew came over to move the equipment. Ren Shu picked up his water bottle. "Time to change locations. The next scene is in the academic building."

There would be a lot of extras at the academic building. Qu Yanting shifted his body slightly. "I won't go over."

Ren Shu said, "Then you should rest for a bit. The actors are all going to film. There are three RVs, just pick one. Look how sleepy you are."

Everyone moved to the academic building. After one scene was filmed, the atmosphere on set became much more lively. Lu Wen and Ruan Feng were running lines for the next scene, and in the middle of their back-and-forth, Ruan Feng blurted out a sentence in dialect.

Lu Wen asked curiously, "Is that the Chongqing dialect?"

Ruan Feng said, "The Sichuan dialect."

Lu Wen had a flash of realization. "Oh right, the encyclopedia says you're from Sichuan."

"My breed isn't quite pure," Ruan Feng said. "I'm actually a northerner. I went to Sichuan when I was little and grew up there."

Ye Shan and Ye Xiaowu also moved south midway through their lives. Thinking of the relationship between Ruan Feng and Qu Yanting, Lu Wen said, "Your experience is a lot like the male lead's. You're famous too, so you'd be a good fit to play the main character."

Ruan Feng was silent for a few seconds, then said very softly, "No, I'm not like him at all."

Lu Wen didn't hear him and was busy pondering why Qu Yanting didn't let Ruan Feng play the male lead.

After thinking for a long time, he thought, 'It's probably because I'm more handsome.'

Next, they filmed some miscellaneous campus scenes. Ye Shan was an outlier in a third-rate school, while Ye Xiaowu was an oddball in a key high school. He was mischievous, loved to stir up trouble, was enthusiastic and loyal, and had good buddies in every class—the complete opposite of Ye Shan's situation.

They filmed until the afternoon. Lu Wen had a long night shoot scheduled, so he now had a three-hour break.

Lu Wen returned to his RV. As soon as he stepped up into the small living area, he eagerly took off his school uniform jacket, pulling off his shirt as he walked. When he reached the booth in the inner section, he froze abruptly, bare-chested.

There was actually someone curled up in the booth.

And that someone was actually Qu Yanting.

By the window, Qu Yanting was slightly hunched over, one elbow resting on the windowsill with his fist propping up his temple. He was sleeping, his breathing light, like an office worker who was exhausted after a long day and riding the last bus home.

Lu Wen stood frozen for a moment, then withdrew the hand that was about to unbuckle his belt and picked up his shirt to put it back on. He started to feel constrained in his own RV; he didn't dare change his clothes, didn't dare hum a song, and even his movements unconsciously became lighter.

He sat down across the table. The game console, half-full glass of water, and lip balm on the table were all untouched. The curtains were still rolled up, and the blanket was folded neatly.

Qu Yanting hadn't touched anything. He had only quietly borrowed a spot.

Lu Wen surveyed the surroundings before his gaze finally landed on the uninvited guest across from him.

Ever since meeting Qu Yanting, his mood had been on a rollercoaster—one moment feeling like life was over, the next feeling half-dead, and then reviving again—it was too complex to describe.

The light was dim, and when Qu Yanting woke up, he thought it was nighttime.

He was a man, so it would have been inconvenient to go to the actress's trailer. He also wanted to deliberately avoid any suspicion with Ruan Feng, so he had taken a nap in this RV. When he woke up, there was a big living person across from him, staring at him with a blank expression.

Qu Yanting sat up straight and, to appear calm, cleared his throat.

Lu Wen's sensitive nerves reacted immediately. He preemptively said, "I didn't have many NGs today."

Qu Yanting replied, a beat too late, "Oh."

Lu Wen added, "Director Ren said I performed very well. He was especially satisfied."

Qu Yanting realized that Lu Wen was seeing enemies in every bush and tree, likely spooked by their conversation yesterday.

Pressure leads to progress, and besides, this was the type of person who would shine if you gave him a little sunshine. He swallowed the words "I was also very satisfied" and said instead, "It wasn't especially good. A normal performance, I'd say."

Lu Wen was indignant. "Are you biased against me?"

He was no longer respectfully calling him "Teacher Qu," nor was he using the formal "you," as if some earth-shattering grudge had already formed between them.

But Qu Yanting didn't care about titles. He replied, "Opposites attract. This scene wasn't hard to act. You're a handsome guy, she's a beautiful girl. Just being face to face will create a magnetic feeling of attraction."

Lu Wen said righteously, "But I didn't feel it."

"Really didn't, or are you just trying to argue?"

"I didn't means I didn't."

Qu Yanting said with a calm face, "Are you straight?"

Lu Wen almost jumped to his feet. He screamed wildly at Qu Yanting in his head, 'Do you think everyone is the same as you?!'

He suppressed his anger and answered slyly, "Of course I'm straight. I just didn't feel anything in this scene. When I read the script, I couldn't feel even a flicker of the thrill of being in love."

Qu Yanting asked, "Are you saying there's a problem with my writing?"

Lu Wen thought, 'Nonsense. You're a gay man. How could there not be a problem when you're writing about love between a man and a woman?'

It suddenly fell silent. Faced with Lu Wen's tacit agreement, Qu Yanting also became silent. He didn't retort, nor did he use his status as the screenwriter to pressure him. He lowered his head and rubbed the edge of his sweater with his palm.

After a long while, his palm had grown warm. "Then tell me, what does the thrill of being in love feel like?"

Lu Wen froze, turning his face away. He stammered, "What's there to talk about? You'll know once you've been in a relationship... Besides, every relationship feels different... I can't explain it."

Qu Yanting asked, "Have you been in many relationships?"

Lu Wen answered, "How should I put it? My ex-girlfriends could circle Jiefangbei three times."

One had his head down, the other had his face turned away. Neither noticed the other's awkwardness. After a good while, Qu Yanting said his first affirmative sentence since they'd met: "You're quite impressive."

Lu Wen was in a predicament he couldn't back out of. Feeling guilty, he swallowed hard.