It started raining at dawn and didn't stop, drizzling continuously until evening. The Mountain City was misty and damp, the sky as dark as a pool of ink.

As luck would have it, they were filming a rain scene today. The crew was stationed at the entrance of Ye Xiaowu's school.

Ye Xiaowu didn't have an umbrella, and Ye Shan came to pick him up, seeing him acting a bit intimate with Qi Xiao. The two brothers shared a room, so it wasn't hard for Ye Shan to vaguely guess that he was secretly in a relationship.

Ye Xiaowu generously admitted it and even complained to Ye Shan that Qi Xiao wanted him to get into university so they could go to Beijing to study together after graduation. He said jokingly, "How could I possibly get in? Unless you help me one more time, brother."

Ye Shan didn't respond, his grip tightening on the umbrella handle in a daze.

The scene required a stand-in and was shot twice with different camera positions to capture the main shots of Ye Shan and Ye Xiaowu, which would be edited together later. Small plastic markers were inserted into the cracks between the bricks on the ground to calibrate their positions; otherwise, the slightest deviation would result in a continuity error.

The camera rose and pulled back, capturing the slanting lines of rain.

The executive director shouted, "Stop! That's a pass!"

Lu Wen immediately knelt on one knee, holding an umbrella under his elbow, and pulled out the plastic markers one by one. Before the shoot, Qu Yanting had personally kneeled here and placed them according to the designed camera movement.

During the rehearsal today, it was also Qu Yanting who had taught him, shot by shot, where to step for his mark, how to find the lighting, and which camera to look at for which shot number.

Lu Wen pulled them all out, gathered them in his palm, and stood up just as Qu Yanting walked over. He wiped the dirt off and handed them over.

"Thanks," Qu Yanting said as he took them. "Let's go."

This scene was finished. Tonight was an all-night shoot, still on location, and they were preparing to head to the next filming spot.

With so many people from the various teams, the sidewalk became cramped. Lu Wen and Qu Yanting walked forward side by side, the edges of their umbrellas occasionally bumping, the tips of the ribs scraping against the fabric with a rustling sound.

The crew's vehicles were parked far away in a small, temporarily rented parking lot.

The photography team's equipment was both heavy and expensive, and they were lugging it ahead. When they reached the crew's parking area, Duan Meng shouted, "Everyone who's free, lend a hand and help move the equipment!"

Sun Xiaojian and Li Dapeng went to help, while Lu Wen picked up his own bag. His RV was parked in the very back. He scanned the area, and among the rows of labeled vehicles, he didn't see the Porsche.

The parking lot had limited space, and the Porsche wasn't as practical or durable as the other vehicles, so Qu Yanting had told the driver to take it back.

Lu Wen said, "Teacher Qu, my RV is the most spacious. Why don't you ride with me?"

Qu Yanting replied, "Okay, thank you."

"You don't have to keep thanking me," Lu Wen said. "People who are familiar with each other don't need to be like this."

Qu Yanting was speechless. "...Who's familiar with you?"

A moment later, the rain grew heavier, pattering loudly against the umbrellas. When they reached the end of the path, the two of them closed their umbrellas and got into the vehicle.

The rain had caused a sharp drop in temperature. There were some thicker spare clothes on board. Lu Wen went straight to the bed, took off his costume, and laid out his personal clothes across the bed to choose from.

Qu Yanting sat down in the booth, placing his script and other things on the table. A corner of the paper was damp, so he took out a tissue and pressed it down to absorb the water.

Lu Wen pulled on a pair of sweatpants and asked, "Which looks better, the dark gray or the light gray?"

With no one else present, Qu Yanting assumed the question was for him. He answered, "Both are handsome."

Lu Wen said, "That's the same as saying nothing."

Qu Yanting said, "The dark gray."

Lu Wen said, "Could you at least glance at me?"

Qu Yanting finally deigned to lift his eyes and watch Lu Wen being picky. He used to just not understand female celebrities, but now he didn't understand male celebrities either. There were only a few hours of rest before the next scene; was all this necessary?

Lu Wen picked up a smoky purple sweater made of fluffy mohair. The low-saturation gray tone was very gentle. He tossed it aside. "This sweater just vexes me. Sun Xiaojian actually left it in the RV."

Qu Yanting asked, puzzled, "Why?"

Lu Wen griped, "This color, it makes fair skin look fairer, tan skin look darker, and dark skin turn ashen."

Qu Yanting had no more questions. He felt that wiping up water was a more suitable activity for him.

Before long, Sun Xiaojian and Li Dapeng returned.

As soon as there were more people, Qu Yanting immediately fell silent. If it were official business or work, he would do his best to overcome any discomfort and maintain a facade of ease. But in a private situation like this, he wouldn't even lift his head, avoiding any interaction.

Li Dapeng made coffee. Seeing Lu Wen bare-chested, Sun Xiaojian hurried to the bedside. "My good lord, you're going to catch a cold!"

Lu Wen picked a sweatshirt and pulled it on, then swept the other clothes aside, cleared a spot on the bed, and lifted the blanket.

Sun Xiaojian asked in a low voice, "What are you doing?"

Lu Wen replied, "Wake me up when we get there. I'm gonna lie down for a bit."

"Rest my ass," Sun Xiaojian said, pulling him up. "We're shooting a major scene tonight. Go sit over there, read the script right under Screenwriter Qu's nose, and let him see how diligent you are."

Lu Wen shuffled over. In the small booth by the window, he and Qu Yanting sat across from each other at a table.

The RV was divided into two sections. After making coffee, Sun Xiaojian and Li Dapeng slipped into the small living area at the front and pulled the screen divider shut.

The vehicle started moving. The atmosphere was quiet, with only the sound of the wind and rain outside.

Qu Yanting warmed his hands on his hot coffee. His cuffs were damp, sticking coldly to his wrists. He lifted the cup for a sip, his gaze passing over the rim.

He watched Lu Wen put on an act.

Lu Wen sat primly at the table and first laid out his tools: sticky notes, marker tabs, correction fluid, and the cool black canvas pencil case favored by male university students.

Finally, he took out the script. He placed it solemnly on the table, but as soon as he did, his heart sank.

Lu Wen nonchalantly covered the front cover, but unfortunately, Qu Yanting had already seen it.

Lu Wen hesitantly removed his hand, revealing the doodle on the cover. It was the little swallow he had drawn next to Qu Yanting's name on the day of the script reading.

He hadn't even had a second to show off his "diligence" and had been caught red-handed. He tried to save face, saying, "This is me showing you respect."

'Then why not draw a tree next to Ren Shu's name? Does that mean you don't respect the director?' Qu Yanting didn't believe a single word from this childish fool.

Speak of the devil, his phone suddenly rang. The caller ID showed "Ren Shu."

The moment the ringtone sounded, Lu Wen caught Qu Yanting flinching backward as if startled. Although the movement was slight, he was sure he hadn't seen wrong.

Curious as to who could elicit such a reaction from Qu Yanting, he glanced at the screen. "Uh, it's a call from Director Ren."

Qu Yanting held his coffee, not moving.

The phone vibrated against the tabletop, the ringtone repeating once, twice, three times...

The ringtone looped on its own, accompanied by the gusting wind and rain outside. Qu Yanting was waiting for the final ring before the call ended. Before that happened, Lu Wen couldn't hold back anymore. "You're so young, how did you suddenly go deaf?"

Qu Yanting shot Lu Wen a glare.

But a glare from his phoenix eyes was like a decorative spear, or a rose's thorn. Before one could even taste the pain, one would be enticed and emboldened, daring to do it again next time.

The ringtone cycled for the last time. Qu Yanting picked up the phone and swiped to answer.

"Yanting, it's me." Ren Shu got straight to the point. "Are you busy? How are things over there?"

Qu Yanting replied, "On the road, almost there."

Ren Shu said worriedly, "I saw the weather forecast said moderate to heavy rain in Chongqing, so I called to check on you."

"Yeah, it's been raining all day," Qu Yanting said. "It's perfect, we don't need a sprinkler truck."

He was joking, but the actual situation was far from optimistic. The worst thing for a rain scene was real rain. Many conditions were uncontrollable, and the final effect could be worlds apart from what was intended.

Tonight's shoot was a major scene—a car crash in the rain.

The scene occupied a real stretch of road. The crew had scouted and chosen the location months in advance and submitted a filming application to the local authorities. Once approved, the date couldn't be changed. They had to clear the area and finish filming within the allotted time.

Ren Shu asked, "Are the storyboards useless now?"

"I was just about to mention that," Qu Yanting said. "The rain is quite heavy, so the lighting and angles need to be changed. Changing one part affects the whole, so your storyboards probably can't be used."

Ren Shu understood. "Location shoots are always unpredictable. Mine was just a rough draft anyway. Yanting, don't worry about anything else. You have full authority. If you can shoot it, shoot it. If it's really too difficult, just forget it. I'll figure something out when I get back."

Ren Shu's gruff voice was very penetrating; it could be heard in half the RV. Lu Wen, flipping through his script, was listening in on the excitement. When he heard that line, his page-turning slowed by half a beat.

He thought Ren Shu had a point.

Filming on location on such a brutal, rainy night was a huge challenge. Qu Yanting was a chief screenwriter and investor; why should he suffer like this? At worst, they could reapply and find a chance to reshoot it later.

However, Qu Yanting's tone was calm, even nonchalant, as he said, "You won't need to figure anything out when you get back. Just watch the dailies."

Not long after he hung up, the RV slowed down and gradually pulled over to the side of the road, the engine cutting out. Getting out and walking fifty meters straight ahead was tonight's filming area.

The phone screen was still lit. Qu Yanting opened a group chat and typed a message: Protect the equipment, check the filming vehicles, wires, and safety gear.

The various teams replied one by one, "Received."

Amidst this string of notification sounds, Lu Wen watched Qu Yanting exit the interface, lock the screen, and put the phone in his pocket. The series of movements was as smooth as flowing water, making him seem like a completely different person from the one who had hesitated to answer the phone earlier.

Qu Yanting grabbed an umbrella, about to get out and check the filming area.

The door opened, and a gust of damp, cold wind poured into the RV. Lu Wen shrank his neck, tightened the drawstrings of his sweatshirt hood, and stuck the small metal aglets at the ends into his mouth.

Outside the window, Qu Yanting walked by under his umbrella. The edge of the umbrella trembled from the force of the rain, occasionally flipping up at the corners.