Jin He felt a strange pain in his thigh after stretching his legs that day. Lin Nian was worried that he had strained his muscles, so when she returned to the dormitory, she brought ice to Jin He to apply to his thigh. An Yi squatted down next to her and watched.
"Does it still hurt?"
Jin He's complexion was much better than before, and he nodded: "Not bad."
"See if you feel better tomorrow. If not, you'll have to go to the hospital. You need to take it seriously. A muscle strain is no small matter; if it's serious, it can lead to disability."
Jin He, of course, would not joke about her own body, so she nodded to indicate that she understood.
At seven o'clock the next morning, Jin He arrived at the entrance of the filming base on time. Today he was going to have a makeup test for the role he was going to film. He had heard some seniors in the entertainment industry say that makeup tests were very important, as they could directly reflect how well he matched the role.
It was here that Jin He finally got his script.
This drama mainly tells the story of an emperor's growth. It is a very cliché story of a young prince who is not favored and is bullied by others, and grows into a great emperor. Jin He plays a so-called male prostitute, who is a knife under the prince's command, responsible for collecting intelligence and assassination.
However, Xiao Guan was born into a scholarly family. He studied at the Imperial Academy as a child and even shared a bed with a prince. However, due to the decline of his family, his father and brothers were imprisoned and died tragically, and the women in his family became military prostitutes. He should have been exiled, but he endured humiliation and stayed in the capital in order to find out the truth and avenge his family.
Jin He looked at the script, shook his head, and thought it was indeed quite tragic.
However, the plot then took an uncontrollable turn. Under the prince's instructions, he intentionally approached the heir of a marquis's family to extract information. The heir was no fool either, and the two actually developed some unspeakable feelings for each other. But the young man knew that worldly ethics and moral principles were an insurmountable barrier.
So the road ahead became much more difficult. He loved deeply while betraying others, watching himself jump into a fire pit with clear-headedness. When the truth was finally revealed, all he could do was kneel before the protagonist and beg for his life.
Today, the protagonist is the Crown Prince, second only to the Emperor. He is now in the warm palace and sees heavy snow falling outside. The world is covered in white, with only a splash of red standing out starkly in the snow.
"Min Huai." He called out the courtesy name given to him by his childhood teacher at the Imperial Academy.
"Come into the palace."
The man knelt upright, refusing to move an inch.
He was only one step away from ascending the throne, and he would never let a knife hinder his progress. Moreover, the knife knew too much. Even if there was some affection from his youth, he would never leave the knife with his enemy.
So, the male prostitute knelt all night and received a cup of poisoned wine.
"Only one of you, Minhuai, can live, either you or the heir of the Marquis of Zhennan. I know better than anyone the hardships you've endured along the way. Whether you stay or leave is up to you."
Jin He read through all the scenes in one go, feeling a sense of exhilaration and eagerness to try it out. Just as he was about to read the script again, someone suddenly patted him on the back.
Jin He looked up and saw a young man standing behind him with his arms crossed, looking at him.
"We need to add another floral decoration between your eyebrows," the makeup artist said to Jin He, holding a small calligraphy brush. "Look in the mirror."
Jin He obediently did as instructed, and the makeup artist told him, "Don't frown, or you'll make a mistake."
A set of ancient costume makeup is very time-consuming. Jin He waited all morning and spent two or three hours to finish the makeup. The young man behind her looked at Jin He's face from left to right and then reached out and tugged at Jin He's skin.
Jin He: "..."
"This definitely won't look good on camera," the young man muttered. "How much do you weigh now?"
Ninety-five.
"95 cm tall?! You don't have some serious illness, do you?!"
Jin He: "..."
"I'm not sick, I'm perfectly healthy."
“Listen up, to meet our on-screen requirements, you need to gain weight until you reach... 110 pounds before filming starts, 110 pounds.”
Jin He really wanted to say, "Do you think I'm an inflatable balloon that can just get fat like that?" But judging from the man's appearance, he was obviously some kind of big boss or producer, so Jin He didn't dare to argue with him and could only nod timidly.
"Let's take some photos, and then I'll see if you can change into a few more outfits?" He Mingxu said.
Jin He had thought that the makeup trial would be troublesome, but he didn't expect it to be this troublesome. He even suspected that the makeup artist and He Mingxu were treating him like a Barbie doll. One outfit after another, one styling after another, and by the time the makeup trial was over, it was already evening!
"Let's go out to eat," He Mingxu said. "Let's go, it's my treat, let's go for hot pot."
Jin He has rarely eaten hot pot in his life. In his memory, hot pot dishes always look overcooked and not delicious. He didn't understand why so many people liked to eat it. It wasn't until after his debut and when he went out to eat with his fellow members that he realized that hot pot actually tasted alright.
Of course, it's just so-so.
He Mingxu took Jin He to a chain hot pot restaurant, which was known for its service-first approach. As soon as they entered, he asked Jin He to order. Jin He didn't stand on ceremony. She first asked He Mingxu what he couldn't eat, then quickly ordered a few vegetarian dishes and handed the tablet back to him.
He Mingxu took it and saw that it contained baby bok choy, garland chrysanthemum, mushrooms, potatoes, and a bowl of noodles. At first glance, it looked like he had ordered a "Green Grassland" dish.
"Why didn't you order any meat?" He Mingxu randomly tapped on the tablet, then asked Jin He, "Are you religious?"
Jin He shook her head: "I don't really like it, but you can order it if you want."
"I get it, it's all about your idols' body management again, right? I've always thought it's unhealthy, but nobody listens to me, really..."
The waiter brought over a plate of small cucumbers, and Jin He picked one up and crunched on it.
"Hey, do you have any desserts here? Give him one first."
So before dinner was served, Jin He received a small dessert.
"Eat."
Jin He actually had a little-known quirk, which he thought he had hidden quite well: he actually loved eating small cakes.
He only discovered this after he debuted and attended his teammates' birthday party—how could there be such a delicious thing as a small cake in this world! But Jin He always thought this habit was quite childish and was too embarrassed to say it, so probably no one knows about it now.
As the waiter brought over the hot pot broth, An Yi made a video call. The moment Jin He answered, she saw An Yi's aggrieved face: "Why aren't you back yet? The afternoon tea I bought for you has been sitting here for ages, the cream's almost melted..."
"What?"
"Cake, don't you love it?"
Jin He: "Pfft! Cough cough..."
I just said it was a secret!
An Yi can't stay any longer; he knows a lot.
"Where are you?" An Yi leaned closer to look at the camera.
"Ah, I'm having dinner with my colleagues from the film crew at a hot pot restaurant," Jin He replied. "I'll go back after dinner."
"Who are my colleagues on the film set?"
Jin He was taken aback by the question, not even noticing the accusatory and offensive tone in An Yi's words. She subconsciously glanced at He Mingxu: it seemed that neither of them knew who the other was all afternoon...
"Seriously? I've been following you all day and you don't recognize me?!"
"Seriously? You don't even know who he is and you're eating with him! And it's just the two of you!" An Yi's incomprehension was practically leaping off the screen and hitting Jin He on the forehead. "I'm telling you, Jin He, don't get too cocky!"
"I haven't had a chance to introduce myself yet." Jin He touched his nose, looking guilty. "Um, bro, why don't you introduce yourself?"
"I'm the director, He Mingxu." He Mingxu looked utterly speechless. He hadn't expected this little star to be so clueless, not even knowing who he was after all afternoon... Well, that's right, he hadn't even auditioned, so of course he wouldn't recognize him as the director!
"Ahem, I'm so sorry, Director He. How about I treat you to dinner today?"
He Mingxu hummed in agreement, which was considered as consenting to the request. It was just a meal; he could always invite her back later.
An Yi narrowed his eyes, looking rather dissatisfied, a sign that he was about to lose his temper.
Jin He asked him, "What's wrong with you now?"
"What do you mean, 'So what now'!"
"This must be your teammate. I heard your company is nearby. Why don't you invite your teammate to come and eat with us? We've ordered so much food we can't finish it all."
"He doesn't really like it..."
“Okay.” An Yi readily agreed. “Send me the address, and I’ll be there right away.”
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