Regardless of the situation, the actors were confird. Peak’s preparation work was precise and swift, soon setting a date for the film’s comncent. Everything was on the right track, except that Peak always kept its guard up against Qiao Yihan.
Deng Lishan still ran to the set whenever she had the chance, except that Xi Cheng mostly ignored her, and she ignored Qiao Yihan completely. These three ford a peculiar love triangle, amusing the rest of the crew.
After Xi Cheng’s acting skills were proven, the crew’s focus shifted to other quirky aspects of him.
For example, they assud he was poor, had never seen the world, was uneducated with a low level of schooling—in short, the clique ntality in the crew persisted, not out of malice but because they didn’t know how to interact with soone from the countryside.
The only one willing to get close to him was Deng Lishan.
But he didn’t pay attention to anyone; he could freeze out even the director’s daughter.
Deng Lishan didn’t care, however, and tirelessly shared mundane bits of her life with Xi Cheng, even though he never responded.
At tis like these, Qiao Yihan would buy her candy and toys, really paying attention to her as if she were his little sister, sotis even snagging limited edition toys for her. But Deng Lishan never cared for these gestures.
For instance, right now, Deng Lishan was working on practice problems on set, but she couldn’t get any of the algorithms right. Upon seeing this, Qiao Yihan imdiately slapped his thigh and exclaid, "Let check for you!"
Other actors with no scenes were also curious and took a glance, then remarked that their student days were long gone—they had given it all back to their teachers.
"Look, here’s the solution process!" Qiao Yihan handed over the answer.
Deng Lishan peeked at it and rolled her eyes: "It’s not the sa conditions."
"Aren’t you just in your second year of high school? Why are you looking at university calculus?" Qiao Yihan asked.
Deng Lishan didn’t want to talk to him and directed her gaze toward Xi Cheng, who had finished his scenes.
"Don’t expect anything from him. What would a repairman know about advanced mathematics?"
Without answering, Deng Lishan continued to plead with her eyes to Xi Cheng, but he still showed no interest in engaging. He picked up his coat to leave when suddenly, a piercing remark reached his ears.
"Probably doesn’t have a family; otherwise, how could he lack empathy for a young girl?"
Although Xi Cheng was used to it, Deng Lishan got angry and glared at the speaker, "He has a family. Stop targeting him. Regardless of who he is, doesn’t his professional ability deserve respect?"
In the end, Xi Cheng didn’t leave. He returned to the crowd, took Deng Lishan’s textbook, and under the astonished gazes of everyone, swiped a pen from her and wrote down his thoughts on solving the problem. After he finished, he added one comnt, "This problem isn’t suitable for you."
After saying that, he put down the textbook and walked away from the group.
The crowd, inspecting his solution process, were shocked: "When did repairn beco so versatile?"
Deng Lishan smiled, feeling vicariously honored. He knew more, had more—it would scare them to death one day.
Qiao Yihan stared in the direction Xi Cheng had left, falling deep into thought. For so reason, the more they looked down on Xi Cheng, the less he cared, occasionally showing off a skill that caught them off guard.
As Xi Cheng walked away, Deng Lishan followed him, but when she got to his hotel room, he shut the door directly, nearly catching Deng Lishan’s hand in the process.
"What kind of image does a girl give off when she runs around after a man everywhere? Your father would be angry."
Deng Lishan knew he wasn’t pleased and pulled out a sunflower lollipop from her bag and stuffed it into Xi Cheng’s hand, "When you frown, you look like a fifty-two-year-old man. The past is gone; you need to start anew. Life happens only once. If you can’t let yourself bloom, might as well die right now."
After speaking, Deng Lishan turned and vanished down the narrow corridor, leaving a silent man staring at the orange lollipop.
Xi Cheng knew what had happened to Deng Lishan; after all, it was known nationwide.
But he couldn’t move on.
He didn’t even have the courage of a child.
...
That night, early winter was approaching.
After her bath, Shi Lan sat on the bed, staring at her lower abdon.
A mont later, Director Yan entered the bedroom and sat beside her.
"You’re showing, aren’t you?"
Apart from Tang Ze, no one else knew about her pregnancy yet, and with winter approaching and the availability of loose clothing to cover up, it was even harder for others to tell.
Yan Shixiu reached out and gently laid his hand on her abdon. Although he could hardly feel anything at this point, the changes in her body filled him with an excitent that left him slightly overwheld.
"You’re not planning to go public with it?"
Shi Lan shook her head, "It’s a very private matter, I’d rather not."
"You won’t be able to keep it a secret forever."
"We’ll cross that bridge when we co to it," Shi Lan said, snuggling closer into Yan Shixiu’s embrace.
The two held each other tenderly, intending to be intimate, but a ssage from Deng Lishan ca through on WeChat in a most untily manner.
Shan: "An Lan, I want to save soone, am I sick or sothing?"
Miss: "..."
She really felt like blocking this girl right now.
Disturbing soone’s intimate ti in the middle of the night, isn’t this deadly?
Shan: "I really can’t stand watching soone waste their pri years, why does Xi Cheng have to be so decadent?"
Seeing the na Xi Cheng, Shi Lan suddenly had a bad feeling.
When a girl starts showing curiosity about a man, it’s often the beginning of a troubled connection.
Although Xi Cheng was only twenty-five or six, not an old man, Deng Lishan was not quite of legal age yet.
Sothing about this didn’t seem right.
An Lan: "Do you rember who you are? You’re about to take your college entrance exams, to go to university, you are a student."
Shan: "I’m clearer about it than anyone else, I just can’t help myself, I know I’m overstepping, but Sister An Lan, I have no one else to talk to, please don’t tell my dad, and don’t try to prevent like an elder, just tell , what would you do if you were ?"
After reading the ssage, Shi Lan glanced at the man beside her.
What to do?
Isn’t the answer obvious?
Throw caution to the wind and leap without looking.
But could she really say that to a seventeen-year-old kid?
Shan: "Adults will probably tell it’s wrong, it’s not appropriate, but can’t I tell right from wrong myself?"
An Lan: "When did you start feeling this way?"
Shan: "From the first ti I saw him, no, from the first ti I heard about him from your mouths."
So curiosities should never be awakened—once the floodgate is opened, they beco a monstrous deluge with no possibility of return.
Shan: "Don’t preach to or encourage . I know my limits, I just, want support... I think you’re different from others."
An Lan: "I did everything I could to pull you out of the mire, yet you insist on jumping back in. Xi Cheng is the kind of person who wraps himself in layers, closes off his heart, it’s not easily ward, but once it does warm up, it can incinerate you to ashes. There’s no right or wrong in matters of the heart, only what should and shouldn’t be done. If you dare love, you must also dare face the consequences."
Shan: "What kind of consequences?"
An Abyss? Shattered to pieces?
An Lan: "A fate worse than death."
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