After the shock, Lu Wen was confused. Since the situation was reversed, did that mean Qu Yanting had lied to him back in the office?

Unfortunately, he didn't have much time to think. Group A had finished transferring, and as the male lead, he had to get into position quickly. It wasn't too far; the next scene was being filmed at the school next door.

A few bars were missing from the fence, so Lu Wen slipped through nearby. As he passed by the window of 101, he jumped up and glanced inside, like someone practicing a jump shot while walking.

Qu Yanting, in the living room, naturally couldn't see him. After returning from playing cards, he continued to focus on revising the script. Scene 30 was a romantic scene between Ye Xiaowu and Qi Xiao. He hadn't been satisfied with it during the creative process and had revised it back and forth many times before the final draft.

He couldn't get it right. It was either too understated and insufficient, or too rich and heavy-handed, going overboard.

Qu Yanting's fingers hovered over the keyboard, stuck on a line of dialogue. Lu Wen's comment suddenly flashed through his mind—that reading the script didn't give him the heart-fluttering feeling of being in love.

Inside the school building, the second scene was being filmed.

It was a fight scene. School let out at noon, and Ye Shan went to help out at the fish stall. Ye Xiaowu secretly came to Ye Shan's school to get revenge on the boys who had been bullying Ye Shan.

Before filming, Ren Shu solemnly emphasized: no "Meteor Punches" or "Whirlwind Kicks," and no idol-drama-style slow-motion close-ups. It had to be performed in a life-like and realistic manner.

Lu Wen thought the director was overthinking it, as if he were some master fighter who could make the fight look spectacular.

Although he was tall like a wild horse, he had a father who was a veteran and tall like a Ferghana horse, giving him a much richer experience in getting beaten up. When he got into trouble outside, he also had three childhood friends who were like brothers, and they always charged in to gang up on people together.

There weren't many lines. After a couple of provocative words, Ye Xiaowu made his move. It was one against six. They fought all the way from the classroom to the hallway, and being outnumbered, he took quite a few punches and kicks. He had a fierce determination to stand up for Ye Shan, vowing not to stop until he defeated them.

Ye Xiaowu fell and rolled, then got back up and knocked all six of them down.

He was about to spout some tough words when the dean of discipline arrived. Ye Xiaowu took off running, shouting as he went, "Control your idiot students! If anyone bullies Ye Shan again, I'll be back!"

Lu Wen turned and went down the stairs. The scene was done.

He was filthy all over, and his leg hurt a little; he had scraped his knee while rolling around. Li Dapeng immediately came to help him up, crouching down to put a bandage on it for him.

Lu Wen didn't have high expectations for Li Dapeng, since he was just a crew assistant. However, after these few days, Li Dapeng had proven to be as meticulous as the old nanny at his home.

Group A could wrap up. Lu Wen returned to his trailer to remove his makeup and change his clothes. After packing his things, he went back to the residential complex before leaving the set. He didn't like being in debt to people, so he took his wallet and headed straight for the screenwriter's lounge.

In the living room, a small printer was whirring away. Qu Yanting had already finished revising Scene 30. According to the plan of "revise one, film one," it would be squeezed into tomorrow night's filming schedule.

Knock, knock, knock. Someone was at the door.

As if expecting Qu Yanting to take forever to open it, the person stopped knocking and just called out, "It's Lu Wen. I'm here to pay back the money I lost in mahjong."

Qu Yanting could no longer delay. He picked up a printed copy of the script. Group A had already wrapped up for the day, and he was supposed to distribute it tomorrow morning. Since Lu Wen was here, he might as well give him the script in advance.

Lu Wen was exhausted from working nonstop. He rested his arm against the doorframe, his forehead leaning on the door. When Qu Yanting opened it, he tilted forward slightly, and the distance between them became minuscule.

Qu Yanting took a step back. "Stand properly."

Lu Wen retracted his hand and ran it through his short hair. He opened his wallet, deftly pulled out a stack of red bills, and held it out, saying, "The mahjong money. Count it and see if it's correct."

Qu Yanting didn't take it. "Treat Group A to a late-night snack tomorrow."

"Oh," Lu Wen said, then immediately recalled the shooting schedule. "That's not right. I don't have any scenes tomorrow night. How am I supposed to treat them?"

Qu Yanting handed him the script and said, "There are changes to Scene 30. It's been moved to tomorrow night."

Lu Wen took it, not bothering to recall the plot of this scene. Or rather, from the moment Qu Yanting opened the door, all he could think about was what Ruan Feng had said about their salaries being reversed.

Had Qu Yanting gone so far as to lie just to humiliate him?

Lu Wen opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, then swallowed his question. His status was not equal to Qu Yanting's. Qu Yanting could answer however he wanted, and he would most likely get an answer that would just make him look foolish.

He changed his tune. "It's nothing."

Qu Yanting instructed, "Memorize the script ahead of time."

"Okay," Lu Wen said. "Bye-bye."

Back at the hotel, Lu Wen couldn't be bothered to think about anything. He was too tired. After showering, he drew the curtains, put on an eye mask, and got into bed, sleeping like the dead.

He had set an alarm for six in the evening but didn't wake up, sleeping straight through until eight-thirty.

Outside, the city lights stretched to the sky. Lu Wen lazed in bed and ordered dinner from room service, planning to read the script after eating. While waiting, he picked up his phone. There were three unread messages from Sun Xiaojian.

The first was a forwarded notice from the production crew that Scene 30 would be filmed ahead of schedule. He already knew about that.

The second: Holy crap! I'm so excited!

The third: Are you excited?

Another all-nighter. Lu Wen didn't understand what the hell there was to be excited about. He got out of bed, took out the script, and flipped through it. He instantly understood what Sun Xiaojian was excited about.

Scene 30 was from the phase when Ye Xiaowu and Qi Xiao were flirting. At night, Ye Xiaowu walks Qi Xiao home and kisses her before they part.

In other words, he had a kissing scene with Xian Qi tomorrow night.

The next day, the daytime shoot was very packed. Before they knew it, they were busy until evening.

As soon as night fell, the members of Group A moved to another set, which was Qi Xiao's home in the drama—a high-end residential complex with western-style houses and villas.

The various teams made preparations before filming. Night scenes were difficult to shoot; the complexity of the lighting work increased significantly, and they were constantly making adjustments.

Under a certain tree, Lu Wen was squatting on the curb. The wound on his knee had reopened and was stinging a little. He held a fallen leaf in his hand, twirling the stem back and forth like a bamboo dragonfly toy.

As the shoot drew near, he was actually feeling a little nervous.

He had to film a kissing scene tonight, and that was his...

Lu Wen took out his phone, wanting to play a round of a game to relax. He suddenly remembered that he'd promised to treat everyone tonight, so he opened a food delivery app and found a restaurant that seemed pretty good.

He ordered based on a headcount, getting everyone a serving of the signature fish fillet congee and milk taro cake. When he was about to pay, he paused and went back to the order page to make a change. When he paid again, he edited in a note.

Lu Wen's mind was wandering. After ordering the food, he forgot about playing the game. He stood up and ambled along the shade of the trees toward a less crowded area.

He gradually walked near the trailers. The trailers for the male and female leads were parked side by side. Everyone was gathered on set at the moment, so there was no one around the vehicles. It was pitch black.

Lu Wen fumbled his way into his trailer in the dark and grabbed a box of mints. After getting out, he was passing through the gap between the two trailers from the rear when he was caught off guard by the sight of a faint human-like silhouette under the rest canopy on the side of the other vehicle.

"Fuck!" he yelped in fright.

The figure, startled by Lu Wen, jumped, stood up from the chair, turned on a portable lamp, and aimed the entire beam of light toward the back of the trailers.

Lu Wen squinted his eyes and walked toward the light.

The moment he got closer, he regretted it.

Qu Yanting put down the portable lamp and sat back in his chair, his face a mask of genuine helplessness. The set was chaotic, so he was hiding here for some peace and quiet. He hadn't expected to be discovered even in a dead-end corner like this.

And this person had the nerve to blame him first, "You scared the shit out of me."

Qu Yanting didn't say anything. He was just as shaken, wasn't he?

They were both silent for half a minute. Lu Wen didn't leave but stepped back to the front of the other vehicle. Qu Yanting had a bad feeling. Based on his understanding of Lu Wen, the other man was probably about to stir up trouble.

Sure enough, Lu Wen cleared his throat. "Why is this scene being filmed ahead of schedule tonight?"

Qu Yanting answered, "Because there were changes."

Lu Wen asked again, "Why were there changes?"

Qu Yanting said, "You don't need to know."

Lu Wen was rendered speechless and sulked in the dim light. In truth, he didn't want to know at all; he just didn't want a scene from next month to be moved up to tonight.

A dim sidelight cast onto the side of the vehicle. Qu Yanting could vaguely make out Lu Wen's expression—a mixture of gloom and apprehension that looked quite uncomfortable.

He asked, "Do you have a problem?"

Lu Wen said, "Xian Qi and I have only met three or four times, and now we have to shoot a kissing scene. I'm afraid I won't do it well."

Qu Yanting was very surprised. For an actor, a kissing scene was no different from any other scene; it was all just acting. He didn't expect Lu Wen to worry about this.

But he couldn't offer any advice, so he said, "It's fine, just... kiss her."

"Easy for you to say," Lu Wen said. "If the kiss isn't good, you won't give it a pass."

Qu Yanting's patience was limited, and he didn't like young actors haggling. He twisted the portable lamp, shining a dedicated, strong beam on Lu Wen, and asked, "Then what do you want to do? Not film it?"

Lu Wen had been slouching languidly. The moment the beam hit him, he straightened his spine and stuck his hands in his pockets. He thought Qu Yanting was wavering and immediately said, "I want to get more familiar with Xian Qi first, then shoot the scene."

Qu Yanting retorted, "The girlfriends you've dated could circle Jiefangbei three times. Did you 'get familiar' with every single one of them first?"

Lu Wen: "I..."

Qu Yanting: "You're quite meticulous, aren't you."

A single sentence cut him off at the knees. Lu Wen became angry out of embarrassment. "I'm worried the girl will be uncomfortable! What do I have to worry about? Isn't it just a kiss? I'm just worried my kiss won't pass muster!"

After his rant, Lu Wen opened the box of mints and poured a mouthful in.

There was a sound in the distance, the crisp rustle of a paper bag. The two of them simultaneously looked toward the approaching dark figure. Xiao Zhang from the crew had been searching all over. He followed the light and ran over, carrying two takeout orders.

"Screenwriter Qu, Brother Lu Wen!" Xiao Zhang panted. "You two were hard to find!"

He placed the takeout on the table, opened the bag, and said as he took things out, "Thanks for the treat, Brother Lu Wen. Everyone's gotten their food. You and Screenwriter Qu should eat while it's hot too."

Lu Wen asked, "No one was missed, right?"

Xiao Zhang said, "Nope. Everyone got a milk taro cake and the signature fish fillet congee. There's a lot of fish, and it's really fresh."

Once the food containers were laid out, Xiao Zhang ran off.

Qu Yanting didn't eat fish, so he naturally wouldn't have the fish fillet congee. Just then, Lu Wen walked over and pushed one of the servings in front of him.

"I don't eat it."

"Then take a look. After all, it smells so good."

Qu Yanting froze for a moment. He looked down at the container and saw a small printed slip stuck to the side. The item name was "Preserved Egg and Lean Pork Congee," and there was a note: "Please label: This one is for Teacher Qu."

He abruptly raised his head, looking up at Lu Wen.

Lu Wen put on that same irritatingly smug look. "Take it or leave it. I treated you anyway."

Qu Yanting didn't get angry. He touched the hot container, then turned off the portable lamp. He was, after all, the screenwriter and an investor; he couldn't openly voice his compromise.

So, in the darkness, he said, "Let's try a camera-angle kiss first."