The entire production crew and cast worked hard in the past week. Soon, they were going to start shooting another important act -- the alphas' graduation mission, which was to slay the Thousand-Legged Centipede Spirit.
The grueling task of editing and assembling the hunt scenes had consumed the production staff day and night. To offer the team a much-needed respite without disrupting the shooting schedule, Director Ma made the decision to relocate everyone to a nearby hotel. As a reward for their tireless efforts, the cast was granted a full day of unrestricted relaxation within the small town's confines.
Shen Jingwei had but a humble wish to fulfill -- sleep the entire day, eat when he's hungry, and then sleep again.
Of course, his dear friend Feng Jietang disallowed him this simple pleasure.
At six in the morning, his phone vibrated and woke him from his deep slumber.
Shen Jingwei groaned, put his phone on silent mode, and went back to sleep.
At nine, someone hammered at his door.
"Shen Jingwei!"
"Little Shen!"
"Weiwei~!"
"....."
Shen Jingwei put on some ear plugs, courtesy of the hotel, and pulled his blanket over his head.
At ten, his rumbling stomach woke him up.
Groggily, he dragged himself to the bathroom to take a shower.
The hot water successfully dispersed the drowsiness clinging to him, energizing him enough to go downstairs and eat some nutritious brunch at the ground floor.
Since the surrounding area often served as filming location, particularly for period movies or dramas, the hotel was used to receive a lot of celebrities.
Nevertheless, it was advised to maintain low profile, and most importantly, attitude.
Black fans were ubiquitous, their online presence undeniably pervasive.
One single post from them on Weibo could ruin the entire production before the drama hit the screen.
Shen Jingwei, clothed in an unassuming set of casual clothes complete with hat and tinted glasses, looked almost like a boyband member in disguise.
He stood at the buffet table with an empty plate in his hand.
As he reached for a serving of stir-fried vermicelli with julienned vegetables, the door to a private dining area opened up and a familiar voice cut through the ambient noise.
"Oiii, Little Shen!"
Feng Jietang, undisguised at all, waved at him excitedly.
"Come here, quick! Everyone is here!"
"..."
Shen Jingwei loaded his plate with stir-fried vermicelli and strolled toward the private dining area.
It was big enough to accommodate two round dining tables.
Feng Jietang was sitting at one with a group of ladies from Yunhuan Entertainment, including Lin Ruoye. At the adjacent table sat Yan Renzhong, Lang Yuxuan, and other people from CNC Studio.
Lang Yuxuan shot him a frosty smile for the briefest split second before he beamed at him like he was the God of Fortune himself.
"Senior Shen," he greeted Shen Jingwei sweetly when Shen Jingwei took a seat next to Feng Jietang.
"What, only stir-fried vermicelli?" Feng Jietang shook his head in disbelief. "Of all the food you can eat!"
He then started shoveling food into Shen Jingwei's plate.
"Take this chicken breast and these skewers and these fried crab and shrimp meatballs..."
"Uh. Jietang, I think I have enough," Shen Jingwei said in a hurry. The mountain of food on his plate was on the brink of toppling over.
The ladies quickly fell into a choir of "Oooh~!"
Shen Jingwei dumbly asked, "What is it?"
Lin Ruoye, blushing slightly, muttered, "Senior Shen just called Senior Feng by his given name. You two seem to be quite close."
Feng Jietang broke into a holler. He draped one arm around Shen Jingwei shoulder and pulled him close.
"What do you know! Little Shen and I are practically joined at the hip!"
A sharp crack echoed from the next table. Heads swiveled sharply in that direction. Yan Renzhong had just split a conjoined pair of chopsticks in two.
"Excuse me," the A-List actor smiled at everyone. "I was being too loud with the chopsticks."
Feng Jietang grinned at him.
"And I thought you just snapped someone's neck into two," he joked. "Like you did in one of your action movies."
"Oh, no, I would never," Yan Renzhong smiled at his rival, but his eyes remained cold and unfeeling. "On the other hand, I heard that your upcoming role will feature a nemesis who likes to break necks."
Feng Jietang sneered.
"You are well-informed, Emperor Yan."
Yan Renzhong tilted his head slightly to the side, his face betrayed nothing but his words sent shivers down everyone's spine.
"Would you like to practice? I am more than happy to help you."
"..."
Feng Jietang's sneer disappeared, replaced by a scowl. Yan Renzhong raised his glass at him before redirecting his focus to his own companions.
"Senior Feng, we are outside," Lin Ruoye mouthed. "Don't give in to his provocations."
"I know," Feng Jietang mouthed back. "Son of a bitch," he then cursed into his glass angrily.
The two tables were shrouded in silence. Only the sound of clinking cutleries was heard until one by one, they took their leaves.
"Senior Yan, will you help me practice my lines?" Lang Yuxuan asked Yan Renzhong.
"I will later. You can go up first," came the reply.
Lang Yuxuan's eyes shifted between Yan Renzhong and Shen Jingwei several times before he nodded in apprehension.
"En. I will wait for you."
"Little Shen, we are going to play tennis outside," Feng Jietang announced after Lang Yuxuan and his companions left. "Wanna join?"
"I will come out in a bit," Shen Jingwei twirled the vermicelli on his plate with a fork. "You all can go first."
Feng Jietang left with the ladies, not without giving Yan Renzhong a side glare.
As soon as they were out of sight, Shen Jingwei turned to look at Yan Renzhong.
"How could you do that?"
----------
Author's note :
Mini theater!
Ah, this author is sad that her two babies keep arguing~
Little Shen : Can you come teach Emperor Yan some manners then (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
Emperor Yan : Go chant the Heart Sutra 100 times! ┬─┬ノ(ಠ_ಠノ)