Chapter 9

The collision was quite strong and Lu Zixi clearly heard a groan from the other party. Due to the height difference, his forehead hit the corner of the other party's lips.

Kiss... kiss?

The warm touch of his lips made his mind go blank for a moment, but what first awakened his consciousness was not the pain of the collision, nor the crisp "ding" sound of the compass, but the smell.

There is a saying that the most profound thing in human memory is smell. This is an instinct similar to that of animals. Lu Zixi now firmly believes that this statement is correct, because even though he has died once and his memory has been completely changed, he can still easily smell out who the smell comes from.

Yan Yunzhen.

And Yan Yunzhen was indeed wearing a black casual suit from head to toe.

Yan Yunzhen was a very particular person. Every shirt he wore was mixed with essential oils before being washed, spread out in the sunroom to dry naturally, and then hand-ironed by a specialist. He then fumigated it with special incense before hanging it in the closet. He waited until the initial strong scent dissipated before wearing it. Therefore, not only would his scent remain unchanged for ten thousand years, it could never be confused with anyone else's.

In comparison, Lu Zixi, who had been raised in the rough and tumble of the military, wasn't as refined. His first perfume was a gift from Yan Yunzhen, and his first red carpet appearance involved a stylist borrowed from Yan Yunzhen. After their awkward relationship, the company had been responsible for his wardrobe. Now that he was alone, his style had instantly reverted to pre-liberation times: a black and white striped sailor shirt with black jeans, pure white sneakers, and a thin knitted jacket. If he slipped into school uniform and snagged a school badge, he could pass for a straight high school student.

But even though Lu Zixi thought he was dressed so inconspicuously, Yan Yunzhen kept staring at him without blinking, as if he was deeply attracted to him and couldn't look away.

Lu Zixi was a little scared by his gaze, and even forgot why he came to the park with a compass. He took the initiative to apologize: "Sorry, well, just now I..."

"Nothing, I was just not careful when walking." Yan Yunzhen came back to his senses, slightly avoiding his gaze. He put his thumb on the corner of his mouth and gently wiped it. He didn't show any disgust, but it was not even close to goodwill. His tone was flat, as if the person with the deep gaze that could swallow people just now was not him. "Why do you go wherever I go?"

Yes, how did I meet you again?

Lu Zixi finally eased the awkwardness of the kiss under his indifferent attitude, and even secretly complained, "Intercity Park is no longer your Yan family's property this time, right? You should also be responsible for this chance encounter! Why are you still questioning me?"

"I'm just... here to hang out." Lu Zixi certainly didn't have the courage to really question Yan Yunzhen, so he could only say obediently, "I'll be leaving in a bit. Well, yesterday... thank you."

"Don't associate with them in the future. They are not good people." Yan Yunzhen was about to frown, but as if he remembered something, he stopped and sighed.

Lu Zixi was frightened by his scolding tone and remained silent, but his mind was working fast.

What he was actually thanking for was the recommendation opportunity from yesterday afternoon, and what Yan Yunzhen was talking about was obviously last night.

Last night... What on earth did he do last night?

Yan Yunzhen ignored him while he was thinking hard, looked in another direction, and pressed his temples irritably.

The moment he bumped into the person in front of him, he really thought he had bumped into Lu Zixi from ten years ago.

The same recklessness, the same casual matching, even the aura around them was very similar, an aura that reminded Yan Yunzhen of his first love the first time he saw it.

Afterwards, he confirmed with Song Yang that it was not his illusion. This person had the same feeling as Lu Zixi in high school, just as clean and pure, like a stream in the sun, bright, clear, and shining. This feeling cannot be imitated or disguised. It is about whether a person really has a clear conscience, whether he is really not arrogant but has pride. So even though he met this person again and again by chance, and repeatedly gave up his psychological bottom line for this person, he never suspected that this person had other intentions.

He could only regard him as a jewel that was once covered in dust, a jewel that was buried in Changxing and finally shone brightly at Yuanhong's audition.

But he didn't want to treat this jewel as another person. It was unfair to both of them, and to him, it was both disdainful and despised.

"Filming will officially begin next Tuesday. Before that, the production team will send you the script. The reason it's been delayed so long is that there have been major changes compared to the previous ones." Yan Yunzhen thought about it and still felt that it would be more appropriate to talk to him about work. "Your role is not important. If you perform well, we can finish it within three days."

"You changed the script just for me?" Lu Zixi's attention was indeed drawn to the work. He asked in surprise, "Why?"

"They originally envisioned a handsome, elegant young man who would blush when talking to girls, but after seeing your performance, they changed their minds," Yan Yunzhen explained. "They feel that a more rogue style would suit you better. Of course, it's not that they think you can't play such a role... I saw your performance, and your acting is quite good."

"How did you see my performance?" Lu Zixi asked curiously, "Were you there too?"

Yan Yunzhen's face flashed with an unnatural look for a moment: "Record."

"Yuanhong is truly wealthy," Lu Zixi sighed, also wondering why he hadn't known Yuanhong backed up everyone's audition results. Was this database really that powerful?

Of course, he didn't know that his entire performance was filmed at Yan Yunzhen's special request, and Yan Yunzhen obviously didn't intend to explain this to him and quickly changed the subject: "Do you know what's going on here today?"

"I just saw Chang Yi," Lu Zixi thought for a moment and decided not to hide it from him, "They were filming on location, right?"

"Yes," Yan Yunzhen asked him, "Do you want to go and take a look?"

"Who? The two of us?" Lu Zixi suspected that he had misheard and kindly reminded, "There are a lot of reporters outside..."

"Do you think anyone would dare film me?" Yan Yunzhen asked back, "This isn't some explosive piece of news, and I'm not here to visit the set. Would any media outlet be so bold as to take the risk and release material about me without Yuanhong's permission just because I'm here?"

...Okay, I give up. I forgot that he is a prince. It has always been the media who is afraid of him, not him who is afraid of the media.

Lu Zixi resigned himself to his fate and followed him forward, hanging the compass back around his neck.

Yan Yunzhen walked in front, passed through a maple forest, and arrived at the park fountain.

The crowd had surrounded the crew in three layers, and the cordon was stretched out several meters apart. The stage manager was holding a loudspeaker and shouting at the top of his lungs for the extras to take their positions. The scene was in chaos.

"Do you know how to get up there?" The media might be wary of Yan Yunzhen, but the crazy fans wouldn't. The two of them finally managed to avoid the public's sight and found a secluded place. Yan Yunzhen raised his chin towards the hillside that no one cared about because of its steepness and asked.

"You want to climb a mountain?" Lu Zixi looked at him in a suit and tie and asked in disbelief.

"...You crawl, I'll show you." Yan Yunzhen was a little amused, "Silly boy."

If it weren't for his wrong identity, Lu Zixi would have glared at him right now.

There's nothing I can do. He's the boss after all. Not to mention climbing a mountain, even jumping off a cliff, I have to do what he says.

Fortunately, although this body had little strength, Lu Zixi's instinctive skills were still there. He climbed up in a few steps with almost no effort and stood at the top looking down.

Chang Yi was standing in the middle of a park bench, standing with an actress in school uniform. Both of them looked tired. The director also seemed to have a bad temper, clapping the script in his hand and cursing.

"This doesn't look like a big production at all..." Lu Zixi muttered softly, "Besides, why come to Intercity Park to shoot modern themes instead of the Republican era?"

The management is chaotic, the location is poor, the female lead is not a big star, and even the subject matter seems to be the most simple campus theme. Even if we ignore all these, the director is not a famous director, and any actor with a little experience knows that the standing position just now is not good, but the director still insists on his unique vision. This alone is enough to make people feel depressed.

"No one said this was a 'big production,'" Yan Yunzhen said calmly. "Tianhan only reported the total budget. It was he who mistakenly thought it was a big-budget movie."

"But if it's a single-episode, low-cost campus TV series, there's no need for him to switch to this job. He's a TV actor himself, and he's very familiar with playing this type of role..." Lu Zixi stopped talking halfway.

"Yes, Yuanhong can definitely give him something just as good, or even better, but he just isn't satisfied." Yan Yunzhen stared into the distance and suddenly changed the subject, "Lu Wenqi, do you want to film a movie?"

"Ah?" Lu Zixi couldn't adapt to this new name for a while, and looked at him with blinking eyes.

"I'm asking you, do you want to film?" Yan Yunzhen tutted, "Are you a little silly today, kid?"

"I'm not a child, I'm twenty... I'm twenty-two!" Lu Zixi subconsciously refuted halfway, and quickly changed his words. He quickly realized what Yan Yunzhen had said before, "You said, filming... filming?"

Although he had passed the audition, filming and acting were definitely two different things. Without the small screen, he could directly advance to the big screen. Such a high starting point, Lu Zixi in his previous life did not even have it, so why would Yan Yunzhen give it to him?

"Although I don't know how you honed your acting skills, or whether you have any acting experience, I can responsibly tell you on behalf of Yuanhong that your acting is very talented. You are the best newcomer I have ever seen, bar none." Yan Yunzhen stared into his eyes, "Come to Yuanhong?"

"Come to Yuanhong, the movie version is yours. Although their production is poor, the IP is very good. The main target audience is young women, which is also conducive to accumulating popularity." Yan Yunzhen raised his chin towards the set, "In terms of production, Yuanhong will not lose to Tianhan. Tianhan only produces idols, while Yuanhong produces actors."

After saying that, Yan Yunzhen stared into his eyes, hoping to read a gleam of joy in them.

He hoped that he was not wrong. For the person in front of him, being an actor was more important than being an idol.

"Can I understand this as Yuanhong's suppression and revenge against the betrayer?" But the light did not appear as expected. The man just smiled and said, "Even though they took advantage of me, it's still a win-win revenge."

"It used to be, but not anymore," Yan Yunzhen said. "Yuanhong really admires your abilities. We were planning to discuss this with you after the filming was over, but what happened last night made me worried that your agent would ruin you before we did."

Does it worry you, or does it worry you?

These words lingered in Lu Zixi's mind, but he didn't say them out loud in the end.

But he was even more certain that something like a hero saving a damsel must have happened last night, otherwise Yan Yunzhen would not have been so concerned about him the moment he saw him today.

"I'll think about it." Lu Zixi hesitated for a long time and asked, "Is there no other reason?"

"I think you look particularly good to me today. Is that a reason?" Yan Yunzhen looked down at his watch. "I have something else to do. I'll leave first. If you still want to watch this chaotic show, you can continue to wait."

"I'm going back too, to take a look at the script and make preparations early." Lu Zixi waved his hand and was about to climb down from the edge of the cliff when he suddenly felt a pain in his stomach.

It happened again!

Yan Yunzhen looked at his face which turned pale in an instant, and his expression changed slightly: "What's wrong with you?"

"Don't worry about me," Lu Zixi hissed, "It's just an old problem. I'll find a rock to lean on for a while..."

"Come down and go to the hospital." Yan Yunzhen said without hesitation.

"Can't you see it hurts so much! You can't get down!" Lu Zixi was a little annoyed by the pain, so he yelled at him, but regretted it right after he yelled.

He really thinks he is still the son of a general and the new movie emperor!

Just give yourself some color and you can start a dyeing factory. What's wrong with that?

"You really aren't afraid of me," Yan Yunzhen gritted his teeth, "After all these years, you're still the number one..."

They were both stunned for a moment, and even their stomachs started to ache after a while.

Because they all knew that this was the second one.

The first one even had a memorial service, he was completely dead.

Lu Zixi didn't know why, but he felt like laughing at an inappropriate time.

"I'll take you to a private hospital." Yan Yunzhen's tone gradually softened, "I'll make sure no media finds out."

Lu Zixi blinked in confusion.

"Do you think I don't know that you don't dare go to the hospital to treat your stomach problems because you're doing food broadcasting?" Yan Yunzhen sighed, "Don't do that anymore. It's bad for your health."

"Just treat this as an employment physical examination. Focus on filming well in the future." Yan Yunzhen said again.

He didn't want Lu Zixi to think that he was taking special care of him.

Even if I am.

"I can't get down." Seeing Yan Yunzhen staring at him, Lu Zixi gave a wry smile and stretched out his hand, "How about you help me up?"

He meant it as a joke, but Yan Yunzhen actually unbuttoned his coat slowly and leisurely, then took a step forward and steadily used the force to put Lu Zixi's arm on his shoulder.

"Let's go, do you still want me to carry you?" Yan Yunzhen finally couldn't help but frown again and said, "What are you waiting for?"

It was early spring, and neither of them was wearing much clothing. Lu Zixi's arm directly touched Yan Yunzhen's smooth neck, and he could even feel the heat from his body.

His face suddenly turned red uncontrollably.

Even though Young Master Lu had never been in a serious relationship, he had lived for twenty-eight years before that. He just changed his body. Why should he be so innocent?

But Lu Zixi discovered with some sadness that the original owner of this body was really very sensitive and shy. Not to mention hugging, in the past, if Yan Yunzhen could look at him, this little fan would blush and feel embarrassed, and would want to cover his face with his tail like a little squirrel.

Lu Zixi gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to hide his face like a squirrel. Yan Yunzhen turned his head, but thought he was still having stomachache. The concern in his eyes was completely revealed, making Lu Zixi turn his head away involuntarily.

He clenched his fists and put them in his pockets, trying to prevent himself from pushing Yan Yunzhen away out of shyness.

That's right! We're all grown men, what's there to be ashamed of?

As he thought this, a voice appeared in his mind.

[I have checked the other party's identity card, and the identity is: Prophet]

Lu Zixi was stunned and immediately turned to look at Yan Yunzhen beside him.