The intense filming schedule quickly passed by. According to the plan, "Undercover" was set to film for about six months in total, but this time the script was cleverly designed. The dual male lead setting gave Shao Si a big advantage, allowing him to wrap up his scenes in about three months.
This was because the character he played, one of the two male leads, unexpectedly dies in an explosion midway through his mission, sacrificing himself. The later plot had little to do with him, yet his presence still lingered throughout.
"Undercover" is a story about perseverance, self-vigilance, and struggling between good and evil while not forgetting one's original intentions.
The character Shao Si played had an intense, aggressive personality. If not for his police academy background, it would be hard to tell he was on the side of justice.
Due to his striking appearance, he chose to use a flirtatious and frivolous demeanor as a disguise during his undercover work.
Sometimes when Li Guangzong watched Shao Si filming from the side, he couldn't help but swallow hard, looking at this man with loosely worn clothes, often with a cigarette between his fingers, swaying as he walked with an expression that seemed to say 'I want you'.
Although Shao Si looked half-asleep every day, as soon as filming started and the camera focused on him, he could immediately get into character. Previously, for filming "Drug Bust", Shao Si had deliberately trained his abs, but those few abdominal muscles didn't look exaggerated at all, and... who knows when Shao Si might get lazy again and lose them.
The scene they were currently reshooting was Shao Si leaning against a wall with a female actress*.
Li Guangzong was holding a coat, waiting to drape it over Shao Si when he finished the scene. The temperature had dropped today, making it unexpectedly cold in the southern region.
As he waited, his gaze followed Shao Si's hand holding the cigarette, moving to where that hand was covering the female actress's bottom.
...
"If I'm not mistaken, did you just give it a squeeze?" Li Guangzong asked as he draped the coat over Shao Si after he finished reshooting the scene.
Shao Si: "... Did you even read the script properly? What are you imagining?"
After saying this, Shao Si walked over to Director Wang to watch the playback. Confirming there were no issues, he bowed deeply to Director Wang: "Thank you for your hard work, Director Wang. I won't say any flowery words, but I've truly learned a lot in these three months. I'm really grateful to you, and I hope we have the chance to work together again."
With this, all of Shao Si's scenes were officially wrapped.
Director Wang felt both melancholic and proud. After Shao Si bowed and thanked the other staff members, he stood up and patted Shao Si's shoulder: "Regarding acting, I've taught you everything I can. Finally, I can only advise you as an elder: never become arrogant or impatient, especially in this industry. When you're popular, everyone will flatter you... Once a person develops desires*, they can never be satisfied. You need to understand why you entered the entertainment industry, what your original intention was... If we compare you to a ship, where is your anchor? This is very important. It can remind you and steady your values when you're confused or accidentally take a wrong turn."
These were undoubtedly heartfelt words.
Shao Si's eyes seemed to redden a bit. Li Guangzong couldn't see clearly against the studio lights, unsure if he was moved or just cold.
It was already night.
On the way back, Shao Si unusually didn't fall asleep. Every time he finished filming and left a project, suddenly freed from busy work, he always felt a bit unadjusted.
Li Guangzong sat in the passenger seat, holding some papers and a pen, constantly scribbling as he reported the upcoming work schedule: "I've suggested to the company to let you take a few days off to rest properly."
Shao Si sprawled in the back seat, expressionlessly finishing a game before looking up to ask: "Is the company really going to give me time off that easily?"
Li Guangzong: "I gave them the excuse that you twisted your ankle badly during the final explosion scene, so don't forget to pretend to limp for the next few days."
Shao Si: "..."
"Then in a few days, we need to fly to New York to attend Louis's New Year fashion show," Li Guangzong flipped the page. "Louis specifically requested you to be his finale model for the show... Why are you making that face, Dad? Louis is very famous, you know. A few years ago he invited my idol. Don't look so dead, this is your first step towards going international. Is taking a plane going to kill you or what?"
Shao Si didn't respond for a while, then abruptly changed the subject: "Kiddo, why did you become a manager?"
The topic shift was so sudden that Li Guangzong didn't react immediately: "Huh?"
"Just by chance, I guess. If I couldn't be a star, being a manager is pretty cool too. Actually, if you ask me why I got into this industry, I don't really know either. I just figured, since I've ended up on this path, I might as well give it my all and do the best I can." Shao Si rarely discussed such topics with him, so Li Guangzong got carried away as he spoke. "What about you? I heard you were a top student, with terrifyingly high college entrance exam scores. What made you choose this industry?"
But when he finished speaking, he realized Shao Si had closed his eyes and was already asleep: "..."
[...I heard everything, pretending to sleep won't work. You're on vacation for the next few days.] The system's resentful voice sounded. [Can we have a proper chat?]
[Chat about what? There are no leads on Yang Yinyin's situation, no schedules for a month, and now suddenly busy running around. The company is telling the public she just caught a cold recently.]
[Is that all?]
[There are some other bits and pieces. She has a small assistant whose behavior is a bit suspicious.]
[Oh.]
[I'll try to interact with her more on set these few days. I happen to know one of the main actors.]
[...Good luck! I'm giving you my spiritual encouragement and support!]
The next day, Shao Si limped to visit the set of "The Tale of the Gentle Concubine".
For this, he had contacted the minor lead actor he knew in advance: "I'm coming to see you tomorrow."
Then his WeChat was bombarded by the 'minor lead actor'.
Chi Zijuan: "????"
Chi Zijuan: "Bro, are you out of your mind? [Shocked.jpg]"
Chi Zijuan: "I'm just playing a small eunuch beside the emperor... My lines for the whole show don't add up to three sentences, and you want to come visit me on set? [One rampaging mantis shrimp.jpg]"
Chi Zijuan's WeChat profile picture was a big pot, seemingly stewing some indescribable skewers inside.
He was the one who had debuted at the same time as Shao Si, but due to his poor acting skills, was the poor soul that Qi Ming had gotten drunk and sent to an investor's bed.
Shao Si had beaten up Qi Ming to stand up for him.
Afterwards, Chi Zijuan more or less retired from the entertainment industry because of this incident and switched to selling spicy hot pot. Occasionally, he could get some insignificant bit parts.
...Like this one, a small eunuch beside the emperor.
Shao Si: "I was just taking a shower, wait a moment, bro's coming right away... What's wrong with being a small eunuch? Don't look down on small eunuchs."
Chi Zijuan: "...Yes, sir."
However, by the time Shao Si arrived on set, Yang Yinyin had already left.
"The female lead isn't here?" Shao Si squatted by a flower bed, fully armed with a hat, mask, and sunglasses. The oversized black hoodie he wore made him look even thinner than usual. He carefully scanned the set once again, confirming that he couldn't see any trace of Yang Yinyin.
Chi Zijuan, dressed in Qing dynasty eunuch attire with delicate features, also squatted on the ground, their heads close together: "You mean Yang Yinyin?"
Shao Si replied nonchalantly: "Mm."
Chi Zijuan looked left and right, making sure no one was around, then lowered his voice even further and whispered: "She suddenly had an emotional breakdown in the middle of filming today. Her manager came out to stop the shoot and asked for leave to take her back."
"Emotional breakdown?" Shao Si took off his sunglasses, revealing his signature cold eyes with a hint of inquiry.
"Bro, please be more careful and cover up properly. The 'Entertainment Live' crew is here today to interview about Yang Yinyin's situation... It'll be trouble if they spot you." Chi Zijuan quickly helped him put the sunglasses back on, then paused before continuing, "At first she just looked unwell, was sweating, and kept needing makeup touch-ups. Then after a few hours... she started vomiting. Her manager and assistant stopped everything and took her away."
Sweating, vomiting?
Is this just her being unwell, or could she be... pregnant?
System: [Pregnant... Could she have been raped?]
Shao Si: [...]
The system gasped: [Dark secrets of the entertainment industry, an incident of gang-raping a top actress, I think I might have figured out the truth.]
Shao Si: [...You don't know shit. Last time with Chen Dongxu, you said it was gang rape even though the guy just had hemorrhoids. Why are you so dirty-minded?]
While Chi Zijuan was happily bantering with him, Shao Si discreetly sent a text message to his private investigator, asking about Yang Yinyin's current whereabouts.
Chi Zijuan, with his lively personality, smiled with his eyes curving into crescents: "Bro, my spicy hot pot business is doing great! We use a healthy bone broth base, and there are so many people lining up every day! I'm not far from getting rich. I'm planning to open another branch in the city center these days. What do you think?"
"Mm, go for it," Shao Si responded casually, his head lowered and seemingly disinterested.
With his hat covering most of his face as he looked down, his long, slender fingers tapped a few times on the screen. After sending the message, he turned off the screen and looked up at Chi Zijuan, belatedly saying, "...You've made me a bit hungry talking about all that."
Chi Zijuan was silent for a moment before replying, "Actually, I've made myself hungry too."
Shao Si then pocketed his phone and stood up. From Chi Zijuan's perspective, his legs looked impossibly long. Furrowing his brow, he asked, "How many more scenes do you have to shoot?"
Chi Zijuan brightened at the question: "With Yang Yinyin not here, I basically have no more scenes today. I should be done in about half an hour! Wait for me, I'll treat you to spicy hot pot! We'll have the whole place to ourselves! I'll kick everyone else out!"
Chi Zijuan was the most innocent person Shao Si had met in his many years in the entertainment circle, so innocent that his emotional intelligence was somewhat concerning.
This included the fact that when he said this, he truly just wanted to treat Shao Si to a meal. He was straightforward and didn't consider how inappropriate it might be to ask a top-tier superstar to wait around for half an hour.
However, Shao Si didn't mind. He found this kind of normal interaction between friends quite to his liking. There was no "superstar" and "nobody" disparity between them.
While waiting for Chi Zijuan to finish work, Shao Si wasn't idle. He learned from his private investigator that Yang Yinyin had returned to the company.
...Why did she go back to the company?
Not to the hospital, not home either.
Shao Si couldn't figure it out, vaguely feeling that this matter wasn't so simple.
As he sat on the flower bed pondering, his gaze was drawn to Chi Zijuan.
Shao Si watched for a while and couldn't help but stroke his chin, sighing that Chi Zijuan's acting skills were still as... poor as ever.
Back then, they had joined the company in the same batch, both under Qi Ming. When they were assigned their public personas, it was done in a meeting room for everyone at once, after which they all dispersed.
Later, Shao Si went to the bathroom to wash his hands. After drying them and preparing to leave, an unfamiliar boy rushed over and grabbed his arm, refusing to let go.
Chi Zijuan: "Hey classmate, I wanted to ask, what did Brother Qi mean earlier? I didn't understand... What's 'OOC'? Also, on this sheet it says 'trolling black fan magnet'. What does that mean?"
Shao Si admitted that his initial friendship with Chi Zijuan was purely because Chi Zijuan's "black fan magnet" persona seemed even more idiotic than his own "ice prince" image.