"..."
Shen Jingwei suddenly developed some self-consciousness.
"Of course I am talking about Zhang Fengxi," he claimed afterward.
Lu Shui blinked at him, a mysterious light sparkling in her eyes.
"Why, do you think, does Xie Jianyu like Zhang Fengxi?"
"..."
Shen Jingwei frowned.
"Hey, I should ask you that question. You are the author!"
Lu Shui shrugged.
"I asked first. Go ahead and answer."
"I don't know," Shen Jingwei murmured. "If it were me, I..."
"... will sulk but do and say nothing, hm?"
The crease between Shen Jingwei's brows deepened in surprise.
"Author, you..."
Lu Shui beamed at him, her cheeky smile somehow grated at Shen Jingwei's nerves.
"It's just my guess. Don't be offended. I will buy you a chocolate cake."
"Hmph."
Shen Jingwei lifted a stack of books and put them in front of Lu Shui.
"Rather than a chocolate cake, I would be more than thankful if you could sign these books for me."
Lu Shui looked at the books one by one.
"All of these are the first volumes," she said. "Seven books in total."
"My sister and her friends are avid fans of your work," Shen Jingwei said. "My sister insisted that I must get your signature for these books."
Lu Shui went to grab a pen and popped it open.
"Sure," she said. "But I have one condition."
"Which is?"
The author curved her lips downward into a playful but cautious smile.
"Give Yan Renzhong the benefit of the doubt."
They stared at each other for a while before Shen Jingwei put up all walls in rejection.
"You don't know what happened back then," he snapped. "You don't have the right to..."
"I don't," Lu Shui quickly said in a placating tone.
"I don't. I am sorry that I even mentioned it. But no one really does. Hatred and vengeful thoughts are like venom coursing one's vein. It will cloud your judgment and make you do things you will regret later on. I don't want that to happen to you."
Shen Jingwei scoffed.
"Not all bad people have hidden backstories no one knew about," Lu Shui allowed. "But Yan Renzhong is different. I can feel it."
"... It makes no sense because you don't know him half as well as I do."
The author broke into laughter.
"You are right. But humor me and try nonetheless."
Shen Jingwei shook his head in disbelief.
"I make no promises," he stated.
"You don't have to," Lu Shui agreed. "You only have to think about your own physical and mental well-being."
She then started signing the books one by one.
Shen Jingwei's gaze wandered around the tent until he discovered the author's laptop. It lay open, showing a wall of text.
"Have you been writing?"
Shen Jingwei leaned closer to take a look at the unfinished chapter.
Quick as an eagle, Lu Shui reached out and snapped the laptop shut.
"Ah, yes."
"Why so stingy?" Shen Jingwei pursed his lips. "What is it about? Is it another BL?"
"It's a love story between two actors in film industry, one is an A-List actor while the other is a Z-List actor."
"..."
The setting sounded eerily familiar. Shen Jingwei's face darkened.
"Wait, are you using me and Yan Renzhong as your inspiration for the actors?"
Upon hearing this blasphemous question, the author gasped sharply after air.
"Of course not," she lied shamelessly.
"..."
Shen Jingwei's expression did not suggest he believed the author completely, but he couldn't do anything either if that was the case.
"What's the title?"
"Oh, 'Second Take On Romance'."
"Cheesy title. I am going to read it," Shen Jingwei said. For some reason, it sounded like a threat. Not that it affected Lu Shui at all.
"Thank you, thank you," the author shoved the books into Shen Jingwei's arms and ushered him out of the tent. "Now get out of here, I need to get back to writing~"
After being kicked out of the tent, Shen Jingwei wandered mindlessly into his own tent.
It did not take long before he was summoned to film the next scenes.
For one, Shen Jingwei was glad that he chose to talk to Lu Shui just now.
While he resented the author's blind faith in Yan Renzhong, their conversation brought him a measure of tranquility.
He was calm enough to shoot the classroom scenes. All he had to do was pretend not to see Yan Renzhong, leaving Feng Jietang with the arduous task of giving Yan Renzhong a lot of stink eyes.
His eyelid did not even twitch when he strolled by Lang Yuxuan and a group of actors and actresses -- all from CNC Studio -- and caught snippets of their conversation.
"Senior Yan was so gentle and caring. I am glad I gave him my first kiss."
"Awwwwww~" the others cried out in unison.
Sigh.
Shen Jingwei moved faster, all the while trying hard not to roll his eyes.
Whatever.
For all Shen Jingwei cared, Yan Renzhong could kiss everyone on the set.
He did not care.
He.
Did.
Not.
Care.
Lang Yuxuan and Yan Renzhong were called to shoot Liu Wenyuan's first heat scene.
Shen Jingwei successfully hid himself until after the scene concluded.
If he had to see them share another intimate moment, he really was going to throw up.
The afternoon shoot wrapped at four, and to the crew's delight, Director Ma announced an early break. "We resume at eight, starting with Xie Jianyu and Mingyu's moonlight scene," he declared. The crew erupted in cheers and those without additional tasks scattered.
Shen Jingwei, however, had no time to unwind. A full makeover awaited him in the dressing tent.
To match the frantic pace of the shoot, the character preparation team worked with lightning speed.
After standing stiffly for one hour, Shen Jingwei finished transforming into his omega persona.
Outside, Yan Renzhong was shooting a scene at Fuxi Palace where he tried meeting Xie Jianyu but failed to do so.
Standing next to a cameraman, Shen Jingwei silently watched the scene unfold.
He disliked Zhang Fengxi for his happy-go-lucky and carefree attitude. Although he was supposed to do everything right the second time around, he still ended up hurting two omegas. He was really too stupid.
He did not deserve Xie Jianyu at all.
But at least Zhang Fengxi experienced character growth.
Unlike Yan Renzhong.
Yan Renzhong had only grown increasingly arrogant and haughty over time.
And the author asked Shen Jingwei to give him the benefit of the doubt...
Pfft.
Yeah, right.