I'm not pretending anymore.
—Libertas: [You bastard, you just wait!]
This message had been on Lu Chenyang's phone for over half a month. He received it the night after he took Yu Sheng back to the hotel, and then the person disappeared without a trace.
Lu Chenyang would always take it out and look at it again and again, but he never replied.
He felt that Yu Sheng was like a snarling wildcat, with no fighting power but always putting on a frightening act to embolden herself.
It's frustrating... but also kind of cute.
As filming of "Shattered Light" neared its end, Yu Sheng, who had injured her "cat paw," finally recovered and returned to the set.
Gao Qiu didn't have many scenes, and Yu Sheng was extremely cooperative, finishing the minor shots in one morning. The remaining scenes were with Qi Luo, played by Lu Chenyang.
"Old Wu." Yu Sheng, having removed her makeup, found Wu Luoyu behind the monitor and asked casually, "Where's Lu Chenyang? I haven't seen him all morning."
"Chenyang, he went to the hospital. He'll be here this afternoon." Wu Luoyu didn't even look up, her whole body buried in the monitor.
Yu Sheng, who was sitting on a small stool rubbing her sore neck, frowned when she heard about the hospital. "He's sick? What's wrong? Is it serious?"
“It’s not him,” Wu Luoyu said, her gaze still focused on the screen. She chatted with him casually. “It’s a family member who’s sick. Chenyang goes to the hospital whenever he’s not filming, but it’s been even more frequent lately. But filming hasn’t been delayed at all. As for the specific illness… he didn’t go into details. He seemed reluctant to talk about it.”
"Which hospital?" Yu Sheng pressed.
“Yaoguang, that private hospital.” Wu Luoyu answered readily this time. “Chenyang was complaining to me before, saying that stalkers are too rampant now. They even dug up his family’s hospital and followed them in. He had no choice but to transfer to another hospital to avoid conflict.”
Yaoguang? Yu Sheng remembered it. It was a private hospital controlled by Dongyao Bank. Logically, he was also one of the shareholders. He walked to the side without making a sound, took out his phone, and called the president of Yaoguang Hospital.
*
Because of Yu Sheng's request, he had been sharing a dressing room with Lu Chenyang. As expected, Lu Chenyang opened the dressing room door on time before filming began. He was wearing a simple gray-white tracksuit, a matching baseball cap pulled low, and sunglasses covering most of his face. From the moment he entered until he sat down, he kept saying, "Sorry for taking up everyone's time."
“It’s alright,” Yu Sheng replied without hesitation, extending her right hand at the same time. “Long time no see, Officer Lu.”
Lu Chenyang had imagined the scene of their reunion countless times, so he could maintain a normal expression and shake hands with her. However, when his gaze fell on the few scattered, light red, slightly raised scars on Yu Sheng's right palm, his eyes were involuntarily drawn to them, and his heart tingled.
His lips moved, but in the end, his words followed his thoughts, "Your hand..."
"Hand?" Yu Sheng raised her right hand, openly displaying the scar without any hesitation. "You're asking about this? It's nothing, I accidentally cut myself on glass."
Having finished her makeup, Yu Sheng stood up from her seat and naturally walked behind Lu Chenyang, placing her hands on his shoulders and bowing slightly. Their eyes met in the mirror.
Lu Chenyang shrank his neck. Yu Sheng was close by, and the faint scent of cologne entered his nostrils without leaving any room, stirring his memory center.
The familiar scent... Even though more than half a month has passed since that night when he took Yu Sheng back to the hotel, every time he enters the car, the faint scent of cologne will quietly appear, reminding him just when he is about to forget who this passenger has been.
Yu Sheng smiled faintly in the mirror. Lu Chenyang heard a low, breathy voice in his ear, with a seductive magnetism, very pleasant to hear, "Don't worry about me, I'm not in pain."
The afternoon filming went smoothly, and both actors were very dedicated and committed. However, Yu Sheng still noticed that Lu Chenyang was different from usual. He looked tired and didn't want anyone to notice.
During the break, Yu Sheng ordered iced coffee for the whole group. He personally picked out a cup and walked over to Lu Chenyang, who was sitting in the corner staring at his phone.
"Here, this will help you cool down and refresh yourself."
"Thank you." Lu Chenyang took it, inserted the straw, took a sip, and then put it aside, not drinking anymore.
"Not good?" Yu Sheng picked up his coffee to check: [Butter Latte, Full Sugar], he didn't pick the wrong one. This is sweet and delicious, and it can also replenish energy. He specially ordered it for Lu Chenyang.
“No.” Lu Chenyang shook his head. “It’s a matter of taste. I don’t like sweets.” He took the coffee back from Yu Sheng, frowned, and forced a sip. “Never mind, don’t waste it.”
Yu Sheng immediately waved to her assistant, A Jiang, who brought her another Americano.
"I was afraid of wasting my drink. This is my favorite drink. I specially ordered it for you and you don't appreciate it." Yu Sheng snatched his coffee and took a big gulp without any hesitation. The coffee liquid visibly decreased, and more than half of it disappeared, revealing the shiny ice cubes.
Meeting Lu Chenyang's surprised, raised-eyebrow gaze, Yu Sheng laughed shamelessly and said matter-of-factly, "What are you looking at? I don't mind you. We've already kissed, so what's wrong with me drinking your coffee? Do you have a contagious disease?"
Hearing the first half of his sentence, Lu Chenyang was instantly reminded of the night Yu Sheng pretended to be drunk. He was already angry, and hearing the second half of his sentence only added fuel to the fire.
He tilted his head back and gulped down a large mouthful of iced Americano, suppressing his anger, and said in a serious tone, "Yu Sheng, I've already made it very clear to you before..."
"Stop!" Yu Sheng pressed a finger directly to the other person's lips. "I don't want to hear it."
Lu Chenyang wanted to swat away the troublesome claw, but when his gaze fell on the fine scars on it, he stopped and finally just gently pinched his wrist and removed it.
His voice was steady, yet it revealed a hint of unspoken helplessness. "Yu Sheng, matters of the heart are hard to explain, but sexual orientation... I'm afraid you'll waste your energy on me, so I'm advising you..."
“I won’t listen to reason!” Yu Sheng met his gaze. “Lu Chenyang, it’s certainly interesting and effective to play the victim, act weak, and gain sympathy in front of you. But I’ve had enough. I don’t want to pretend anymore.” He brushed a small fallen leaf from Lu Chenyang’s shoulder, his upturned eyes curving upwards again, his gaze now radiant with a startling light, devoid of any pretense of vulnerability. “I need you, I really need you. If you hate this ambiguous relationship, then let me pursue you, show you my truest self, and make you my…”—the catalyst!
He silently mouthed the last three words, certain that Lu Chenyang wouldn't understand.
Yu Sheng's eyes were clearly smiling, but Lu Chenyang vaguely sensed an invisible pressure, as if a carefully crafted mask had suddenly shattered, revealing a ferocious beast that looked down upon all living beings.
The once pitiful kitten has now transformed into a majestic lion, casually pawing at the herbivore before it with its paws, its eyes filled with pure desire for conquest and control.
This palpitation of impending danger, this feeling of having no way to avoid it, was unfamiliar to Lu Chenyang. But... beneath this offended vigilance, there seemed to be another, more secretive, more turbulent feeling lurking.
The feeling was very similar to the instant a wound was soaked in strong alcohol: a sharp sting, a burning sensation that made you hold your breath and tense your muscles instantly.
However, once the intense sensory stimulation subsides, what lingers is a hundredfold, a thousandfold, exhilarating comfort and release.
Lu Chenyang was somewhat curious to test this proud lion's skills. He wanted to see if, when the perceived weakling rose up and broke his fangs, he could still maintain his arrogant pride. That scene would surely be... quite interesting.
The ice in the coffee melted. Yu Sheng swirled the cup and took the last sip. That day, Lao Bai had come to his door for a "consultation" and they had talked a lot. Lao Bai said that building intimate relationships requires trust, and trust requires sincerity.
It's much easier to be honest with each other. Yu Sheng took a deep breath, lazily propped her chin up with one hand, and tilted her head to look at his 'little catalyst' with a smile. "Officer Lu, I've told you the truth, which can be considered as confessing my secret to you. In return, shouldn't you tell me one of your secrets?"
“I didn’t ask you to reveal your secret, so…” He took a sip of his iced Americano, met Yu Sheng’s gaze, raised an eyebrow, and said with an almost provocative interest, “I have no obligation to tell you.”
Yu Sheng keenly noticed Lu Chenyang's unusual expression, and his heart fluttered for no reason. He liked this feeling of sparks flying. "It's not exactly a secret. I'm just concerned. Director Wu said you've been going to the hospital a lot lately. I wanted to know if there's anything I can do to help."
Before Lu Chenyang could even utter the word "no need," his phone rang, displaying the words "Dr. Sui" in large print.
He picked up the phone, intending to go somewhere secluded to answer it, but Yu Sheng's gaze stopped him. Her eyes clearly said, 'I'll follow you wherever you go; don't even think about hiding from me to take this call.'
Helpless, Lu Chenyang didn't want to get entangled with him, so he answered the phone, but he turned down the volume to make sure that only he could hear the conversation.
The phone call lasted a long time. Lu Chenyang deliberately spoke less and avoided key words. Yu Sheng listened intently, but even after listening to the whole thing, she didn't get a single useful piece of information.
As expected of a police academy graduate, his counter-surveillance skills are impressive. Yu Sheng wanted to applaud him.
Lu Chenyang didn't hang up the phone until the director called to get ready to film. Yu Sheng deliberately slowed down and walked behind, took out her phone, opened the chat box of the director of Yaoguang Hospital, and sent a message: Dr. Sui's patient.
The next scene shows Gao Qiu, played by Yu Sheng, meeting Qi Luo, played by Lu Chenyang, who is now a policeman, five years later. Gao Qiu is still living a carefree life. When the two meet, Gao Qiu is being beaten on the ground by a group of thugs younger than him. Qi Luo saves him, but Qi Luo is wearing a police uniform. Gao Qiu, who is used to fighting, brawling, and petty theft, instinctively runs away when he sees a police uniform, which arouses Qi Luo's suspicion. He is quickly subdued by Qi Luo and taken back to the police station.
The scene where Qi Luo chases Gao Qiu was filmed in several takes. Qi Luo's pursuit and his uniform were not neat enough, and his eyes were not sharp enough. Lu Chenyang was obviously not in the right state of mind. Others may not know, but Yu Sheng knew. Lu Chenyang frowned the whole time during the phone call with Dr. Sui, which must have been affected by this.
Before filming resumed, Yu Sheng patted Lu Chenyang on the shoulder with great confidence and said in an extremely serious tone, "Relax, trust me, just follow my performance, I'll help you, I guarantee we'll get it in one take."
The actors were in position, and the stagehand snapped the black and white clapperboard shut. "Scene 190, Shot 3, Take 6, Action!"
Qi Luo shook his numb hand from punching, and pulled Gao Qiu, who was curled up on the ground, up. Gao Qiu seemed dazed from the beating, and leaned his head weakly on Qi Luo's shoulder, panting heavily.
According to the script, at this moment, Gao Qiu would gasp in terror upon opening his eyes to see [illegible], then push Qi Luo away and run away.
However, just as Gao Qiu's cheek was pressed against Qi Luo's neck, and he seemed about to open his eyes to see the epaulettes, Lu Chenyang felt a warm and soft touch on his neck!
It was Yu Sheng's lips! He actually managed to quickly kiss his neck in a blind spot where the camera couldn't capture it!
Is this what he meant by "Follow my lead, and I'll help you"?
Is this how he helped?!
Hold!
A surge of anger, a mixture of embarrassment and being mocked, suddenly rushed to his head! The instant Yu Sheng shoved him away and turned to run away, Lu Chenyang's eyes suddenly turned extremely sharp and cold! Almost instinctively, he reached for his lower back, flicked off the handcuffs with a "click," and strode forward as swiftly as a cheetah, his movements fluid and fast, almost leaving afterimages!
The next second, Yu Sheng's arms were neatly and cleanly twisted behind her back, and she was pinned to the ground!
"Cut!" Wu Luoyu shouted excitedly, "That was perfect! This was amazing!"
"Hey!" Yu Sheng patted Lu Chenyang, who was pinning him down, and pointed to his wrists, which were already white from being handcuffed. "Let go, Officer Lu. Do you really think I'm a criminal? Why are you using so much force!"
"...Oh." Lu Chenyang snapped out of his daze and quickly loosened the handcuffs. Although the other party had helped him instantly "get into character" in that way...
"Is this what you call 'helping me'?" he asked in a low, complex voice.
Yu Sheng nonchalantly dusted off her bottom, stood up, and flashed him a triumphant yet provocative smile, revealing her little tiger teeth. "Tell me, did I help you or not?"
Yes. Lu Chenyang couldn't deny it. It's happening again! Scolding him would make him seem petty and calculating, but not blaming him would leave him feeling stifled and uncomfortable. He didn't want to deal with this irresponsible guy anymore, so he flicked his wrist, turned around, and went into the RV to rest, his gloomy aura palpable.
Yu Sheng shrugged nonchalantly; after all, he was the one who benefited. He leisurely found a small stool under the shade of a tree, took out his cigarette case, and sat down.
The phone screen lit up at that moment, notifying her of a new message. It was a reply from the director of Yaoguang Hospital, and it was quite long. Yu Sheng's attention was completely drawn to a few words that appeared repeatedly: mid-stage leukemia.
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