Chapter 18

How could he change so much overnight? Xiao Ziyu clicked on Meng Leyu's Weibo again and saw that he had posted a short essay similar to an apology:

[Mr. Xiao Ziyu is indeed my stunt double. Yesterday, I saw him posing with a sword flower so beautifully that I couldn't help but share it with everyone on Weibo. I didn't expect it to cause misunderstanding. I would like to apologize to all my fans and friends here. Due to health reasons, I didn’t see the news in time. I hope I didn’t cause trouble to everyone. 】

His Weibo post did not explicitly say that he was the one who swung the sword flower. He just let it go without saying it, and even took the opportunity to play off the victim with his health problem. Anyone who speaks up for Xiao Ziyu would be seen as arguing.

But there are still passers-by who don’t buy it: [You deserve the netizens to be used as your gun [狗头][狗头]]

[What a pure and innocent little white flower]

[Can you stop now? My wife is already in poor health, and she has to film during the day, and at night she has to be criticized by you haters]

[Baby, I'm so heartbroken, let's not bother with the haters]

[To be honest, if it wasn’t Meng Leyu, who would have been able to see this stand-in? He really got the upper hand. 】

[Teacher Yuan: Ah, yes, yes, I am the complaining person who is eager to get free rides from others]

[Then you are not the one hanging on the wire, just to clarify]

[Is there something seriously wrong with the above person? When did Meng Leyu say that he was the one in the wire drama? Wasn't it just the netizens' guess?]

[The owner of the video has apologized, but the fans are still making a fuss. Stealing is wrong. 】

Xiao Ziyu left the comment section and calmed down a little. This ending was already considered relatively good in his opinion. Meng Leyu gave an explanation, and at least his efforts would not be in vain.

But what does Teacher Xiao Xiao mean? Xiao Ziyu was not very sensitive to the online world and only realized later that Yuan Heng had also posted on Weibo.

If there hadn't been a clarification from an actor-level figure like Yuan Heng, given the chaotic environment on the Internet, the comments from his side would definitely not have been very friendly.

Xiao Ziyu raised his head and looked at the person sitting opposite him who was eating his buns leisurely: "Thank you for last night..."

He was a little embarrassed. He didn't expect that Yuan Heng would help him deal with the Weibo issues after he fell asleep.

"Just thank you?" Yuan Heng looked at him with interest, as if Xiao Ziyu's embarrassed look made him feel happy.

Xiao Ziyu thought about it and took the eggs from his plate to Yuan Heng.

Yuan Heng: "..."

Xiao Ziyu seemed to feel embarrassed as well, but he was not as rich as Yuan Heng, nor did he have as much traffic as Yuan Heng, and he really had nothing to show for it now.

Fortunately, Yuan Heng didn't want to bully others so early in the morning, so he took the initiative to give him a way out: "You can't drink much, so you'd better drink less outside."

Xiao Ziyu was not convinced: "Although the alcohol tolerance is poor, the drinking habits are good."

Yuan Heng said: "Yes, when you are drunk, you ask someone to be your coachman, and you also want to visit the Imperial Garden."

Xiao Ziyu's heart skipped a beat, and he realized the seriousness of the problem. If he spoke the truth after drinking and said something he shouldn't, wouldn't that be strange? He excused himself: "I just watched a palace drama recently."

"Is it fun to visit the Imperial Garden?" Yuan Heng asked.

Xiao Ziyu almost blurted out "good", but swallowed it hard: "I don't know, I'll buy a ticket and go shopping some other day."

After finishing his meal, Xiao Ziyu saw that Luo Li had called him several times in the middle of the night. He called back and the other party answered almost immediately: "Brother Xiao, you are finally awake!"

"Yesterday, Meng Leyu's team contacted me and asked us to delete the Weibo post. I said, screw him!" Luo Li suppressed his indignation. "But it's okay now. Teacher Yuan's message is more effective than anything else."

Xiao Ziyu pursed his lips and said, "I'll go to the crew now, we'll talk when we meet."

Yuan Heng has a night scene tonight and will not start until after dusk, so Xiao Ziyu went to the crew alone.

As soon as I got off the car, Luo Li approached me mysteriously and asked, "Brother Xiao, where did you spend last night?"

Xiao Ziyu subconsciously wanted to say that he was in the crew hotel, but he swallowed the words when they came to his lips. He didn't want to lie to the child: "What?"

"You didn't change your clothes, but they were washed. You must have spent the night outside!" Luo Li shrugged his nose like a dog, "Hmm... this scent is a little familiar."

Being with Yuan Heng day and night, Xiao Ziyu couldn't avoid being contaminated by the smell of ambergris. He felt a little guilty: "No."

"Brother Xiao, tell me secretly, are you in love?" Luo Li asked quietly, "I'm your assistant, we have to keep each other informed so that I can cover for you."

Xiao Ziyu couldn't explain it clearly, and fearing that he would continue to ask, he simply responded: "Yeah."

"Is it true?" Luo Li stepped into the melon field early in the morning. "Inside the circle or outside the circle?"

"He... is relatively low-key," Xiao Ziyu avoided the main point. Worried that Luo Li still wanted to meet him, he said, "He is also relatively old and doesn't like to show up."

Unexpectedly, Luo Li, who was so excited just now, suddenly shut up and patted his shoulder with some regret, "Brother Xiao, you are in good condition, don't let yourself down."

Xiao Ziyu had a hunch that he was thinking wrongly, but he agreed with that statement. He was quite capable and had been the top performer in the opera world. Of course, he would not let Yuan Heng control him.

Xiao Ziyu said softly: "Okay."

When Luo Li saw that he admitted it, he felt even more regretful. He patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Brother Xiao, I will definitely work hard to get you resources. When you become rich, you won't have to rely on those old sponsors anymore!"

Old sponsor? Xiao Ziyu didn't understand what this word meant, but Yuan Heng should be quite rich. After all, he could eat as much steak as he wanted at 888 Hotel, and he occupied the suite on the 30th floor of Marriott International. He could bully anyone he wanted, so he probably deserved the title of "moneybag".

After gossiping for a long time, Luo Li finally remembered the important matter: "When we return to the crew today, let's pretend nothing happened and keep it calm."

"Isn't Meng Leyu pretending to be a little white flower? Let's pretend too."

Xiao Ziyu didn't have much work to do today, as there were no complicated martial arts scenes. His main task was to help him try out the lighting and positioning before Meng Leyu arrived, so as to find the best shooting position, which would save a lot of time for subsequent shooting.

This scene is a rainy scene. The weather is gray and gloomy, which is perfect for shooting. The biggest worry when shooting rain scenes is that it will actually rain. Natural rain is often uncontrollable, so Tang Lin had to finish shooting this scene before it rained in the evening.

The sprinkler truck was ready. Xiao Ziyu couldn't help but be amazed when he saw it. Modern people are so knowledgeable that they can even imitate things like wind and rain.

When the ground was soaked, Xiao Ziyu changed his clothes and walked into the rain curtain.

The weather in March and April is not very warm, the spring chill has not yet dissipated, and the raindrops hitting the exposed skin bring a fine chill. In order to capture the rain lines clearly, rain scenes have stricter requirements on lighting, and are usually shot with backlighting. Tang Lin tried several angles but was not satisfied with any of them.

The entire crew was affected by the slightest move. During filming, photography, lighting, and stage management were all integrated. If one place was fine-tuned, the rest would have to be changed drastically. Xiao Ziyu was getting wet in the rain and could hear their discussion from afar. Gradually, his hands and feet lost feeling.

"The stand-in should move a little closer to the center!" Tang Lin stared at the surveillance camera and gestured to Xiao Ziyu in a loud voice.

The clothes became wet and heavy after being soaked by the rain, and they stuck to his body layer by layer. Xiao Ziyu wiped his face and moved to the correct position without any shaking. His steps were decisive, creating splashes of water.

"Okay, that's it!" Tang Lin made the final decision, "Go ahead, actors, just stand in the position where Xiao Ziyu was just now and go through it again!"

Meng Leyu was leisurely doing his makeup. If he didn't come, Xiao Ziyu would have to wait in the rain. After all, in such a hazy rainy day, if the angle changed slightly, the photos would lose a lot of flavor.

"My hair is so curly, give me a curling iron to hold it down," Meng Leyu said, "My face is swollen from being busy all night last night, let's reduce the swelling first."

The makeup artist made changes again and again according to his request, and finally said helplessly: "It's OK now, no different from yesterday."

Tang Lin also looked at it carefully and said, "That's fine, let's go ahead."

Meng Leyu put on the warm pack and then stood up slowly, frowning: "This is too cold."

Xiao Ziyu stepped aside to make room for him. The lights and cameras had been adjusted to the best angles. Meng Leyu walked into the rain, shivering with cold.

"One, two, three, swing the sword!"

Meng Leyu followed Tang Lin's instructions. The hilt of the sword was soaked in water, becoming wet and slippery, and flew directly out of his palm.

"Xiao Ziyu, go and teach me the key points of the movements!" Tang Lin shouted.

Xiao Ziyu bent down to pick up the sword and handed it to Meng Leyu, "Use your thumb to push the hilt so it won't fall off easily."

He demonstrated: "The blade of a soft sword is flexible, so it can only be lethal if it is stabbed out. The blade should face outwards, and don't chop around."

"I've filmed so many scenes, how come I'm not better at wielding a sword than you?" Meng Leyu disdained to let him teach her, "Don't tell me that you think you're so awesome just because those people on the Internet call you teacher."

The raindrops fell so fast that it was impossible to open your eyes. Xiao Ziyu's eyelashes were wet, and his fingers holding the sword were cold. He said slowly, "Don't be disturbed by other emotions when performing, otherwise the film will be flawed. If you are angry about something, you can come to me later and I will accompany you."

Having said that, Meng Leyu couldn't get angry with him in public, so he sneered, "Don't think that everything will be fine just because you have Teacher Yuan's support."

It was the first time Xiao Ziyu heard the term "clinging to someone's thighs", but he also understood what it meant. "If what I did was considered clinging to someone's thighs, then what was that time when you met Boss Huang at the bar?"

Meng Leyu was speechless. When had Xiao Ziyu ever contradicted him? He snatched the sword back and stabbed twice in the wind and rain, as if he wanted to tear out the bones and flesh of someone.

Finally finished shooting this shot. Xiao Ziyu had been standing in the rain for most of the morning. His face had completely lost its color, was dripping with water, and looked thin and sharp.

Luo Li came running over with a towel and hot tea, wrapped the man's head in his hands, and touched the back of his hand, which was as cold as ice.

"Let's go. I borrowed Teacher Yuan's nanny car from my master. There are blankets and hot water bottles on it." Luo Li pulled him away.

"It's okay, I'll just go upstairs and rest for a while." Xiao Ziyu didn't want to owe Yuan Heng any more favors.

"Teacher Yuan is very easy to talk to. My master has already told him." Luo Li took out the spare key of the nanny car. "It's even more humid in the building. If you don't dry yourself off, you'll get sick from the cold."

The car's constant temperature system had been on, and as soon as they got in, the warm air hit them in the face. The alternation between cold and warm was too distinct, and they both shivered.

"You can't wear your clothes anymore. You have to change them all." Luo Li pushed the man behind the curtain. "Teacher Yuan said you can wear his spare clothes."

Xiao Ziyu took off his cold and wet outer robe and clothes, and Luo Li handed in dry clothes from outside.

It was a black cashmere sweater and casual pants, with the price tag still on. Xiao Ziyu secretly calculated how much he would have to pay for a few days' wages, and after he finished the calculation, he felt despair.

The cashmere sweater was too big and the collar had slipped down to my shoulders, but the fabric was soft and warm and didn't irritate my skin at all when it sat against my body. The cuffs and trouser legs were a bit too long, Xiao Ziyu felt awkward, but Luo Li was still cheering beside him: "This size is just right, loose fit is popular now."

After blowing his hair dry, the biting coldness on his body finally eased a little, but he still didn't feel energetic. Xiao Ziyu lay listlessly in the car, playing with his long sleeves loosely.

Luo Li got off the car to get a lunch box, avoiding the red chili peppers and picking out a portion of scrambled eggs with tomatoes for Xiao Ziyu.

When he was walking back, he saw a brand new nanny car slowly pull into the parking lot. A few staff members in suits and leather shoes got out of it and stopped him and asked, "Hello, is Mr. Xiao Ziyu here?"