Chapter 9
That night, as soon as Tang Xiyan returned home, Qu Di urged him to take out the artist profile he had been given to review.
But Tang Xiyan wanted to play it slow. “I’m so tired. Can we look at it tomorrow?”
“No, where did you put it?” Qu Di asked.
Tang Xiyan lay on the bed and pointed to his desk, which was cluttered with the recent compositions he’d been working on. Qu Di tidied up a bit and, to his surprise, found the script for this drama under the pile of papers. The script had “Mountains and Rivers” written in large letters on the white cover, with Tang Xiyan’s signature above it.
“Is this your script?” Qu Di inquired.
Tang Xiyan glanced at it and reached out his hand. “Yes, I took a look after receiving it and left it there.”
Qu Di picked up the topmost script and noticed that the pages had curled edges, with several sticky notes stuck throughout, showing that Tang Xiyan had not merely looked at it and left it alone. He handed the script to Tang Xiyan, who casually flipped through it. It was filled with notes and comments, even using different-colored pens.
Tang Xiyan looked up at Qu Di and, thinking Qu Di was interested, said, “Do you want to read it? You can take it and study it.”
Qu Di, however, quickly stopped him, “No, I just thought you hadn’t prepared at all. Now I feel reassured.”
This unexpected praise made Tang Xiyan blush, and he pretended to focus on the script while nervously shuffling the pages. He even spoke louder, “Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something on my face?”
Qu Di, though, suspected he was pretending, but he left Tang Xiyan to his reading.
Two weeks later, on August 1st, the annual grand drama “Mountains and Rivers,” produced by Tang Xiyan’s investment company, officially began filming. The opening ceremony was held at the Red Pear Film and Television City. Qu Di had spent the previous night at Tang Xiyan’s home to ensure he wouldn’t be late for this important day.
Qu Di woke up early, well before 6 a.m., as he didn’t want to miss this crucial event. He had been anxious all night, fearing he might oversleep. He went downstairs to prepare breakfast for Tang Xiyan. Today, he knew Tang Xiyan would be busy, so he decided to let him have a slightly more substantial breakfast than usual.
He originally planned to wake Tang Xiyan at 6 a.m., but when he entered the room, he saw that Tang Xiyan was already awake. He had just finished showering and was wrapped in a white bath towel, with a wet head. When he saw Qu Di, Tang Xiyan complained, “Why didn’t you knock before entering?”
The strong scent of Alpha pheromones assaulted Qu Di’s senses, even though most Betas couldn’t detect such scents. He had always been one of the few exceptions who could mildly sense them. Tang Xiyan was unaware of this ability.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed about unintentionally invading Tang Xiyan’s privacy, Qu Di quickly explained, “You seemed to be awake, so I thought I could come in.”
Tang Xiyan was surprised at how early Qu Di was up and thought he might have been trying to impress him. He wondered if he had done something remarkable. “Why are you up so early? Are you trying to impress me?”
Tang Xiyan looked at his well-defined muscles and felt quite pleased with himself. He assumed that Qu Di was envious of him.
At the crack of dawn, the chauffeur-driven car arrived, and they were the second group to arrive at the location, with even the male lead, Shu Yi, not having arrived yet. As soon as they arrived, Tang Xiyan was ushered away to the makeup and wardrobe department.
Qu Di was feeling a bit nervous, especially as they moved closer to the set. His palms began to sweat, and he grew increasingly uneasy. Finally, as they stepped into the makeup room, he abruptly said, “I’ll go get you some water.”
Without waiting for Tang Xiyan’s response, he turned and left the room. The makeup artist was puzzled and mentioned, “We have water right here.”
Tang Xiyan’s agent leaned in and quietly explained, “He’s a bit new and is feeling nervous. He hasn’t slept well all night. Look at those dark circles under his eyes.”
Qu Di left and spent nearly half an hour outside. He stood in the sun with two bottles of water in hand, but he hesitated to enter the makeup room. He still hadn’t figured out a way to make his encounter with his predecessor less awkward.
Suddenly, a soft voice broke his train of thought. “Xiao Di?”
It was Shu Yi, with his assistant Zheng Siyi and his agent, Liu Meng, following behind.
He turned to the side, wanting to let them in. “Ah… Mr. Shu… Shu Yì.”
“Call me Shu Yì, and why are you standing here? Why don’t you come inside?” The water from the bottle dripped down the side of the bottle, casting a small shadow at his feet. Every time he spoke to Shu Yì, he would instinctively get nervous. “I… I… I’m waiting for Xi Yan. He’s… he’s getting his makeup done.”
In this state, he looked like a naughty student caught doing something wrong by the class teacher, stuttering in his speech and avoiding eye contact. Shu Yì didn’t press him and reminded him, “Assistants can go inside too. Don’t stand here; it’s too hot outside.”
After saying this, Shu Yì went inside to get ready for makeup. Qu Di suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, but he also realized that he wasn’t as nervous as he had been just a moment ago. So he gathered his courage and went inside.
He took too long, and Tang Xiyan had already gone into the dressing room to change. He put down the water he was holding and looked around discreetly. Other than Shu Yì, who had just entered, he didn’t see Yang Ji’s figure. Maybe he had already finished makeup and changed his clothes… But before he could sit down, someone came out of one of the dressing rooms.
He didn’t notice and bumped into a chair next to him, causing the chair legs to scr4p3 against the floor, creating an ear-piercing noise. In an instant, everyone in the makeup room turned their gaze to him, including Yang Ji, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.
Yang Ji’s pupils slightly contracted, partly in disbelief and then subconsciously furrowing his brows. How could he be here!? Why was this beta so persistent? Didn’t he make it clear to him?
“Sorry… I disturbed everyone,” Qu Di said apologetically.
Many of the makeup room staff were the same people who had taken the official makeup photos last time and knew he was Tang Xiyan’s assistant. They all expressed that it was no big deal. “It’s a small matter; just be careful.” Then everyone went back to their tasks.
Only Yang Ji remained in place, staring at him. Qu Di was the first to avert his gaze because he saw Tang Xiyan coming out in his changed clothes.
“Qu Di! Did you go to Mars to buy water? How long has it been?”
Qu Di quickly approached to help him with the long and heavy red tassel spear. “You have to go out to get it here; I don’t know the way, and I got lost.”
“Are you stupid? How could the organizers not have water? Tang Arts is not that poor.” Although he said this, he still picked up the water Qu Di bought and took a sip.
This outfit was really making him feel hot.
Qu Di handed him a tissue. “Be careful not to mess up your makeup.”
“Alright, why are you so troublesome, just like an Omega.”
Seeing his ex boyfriend, who had been useless in the past, being so familiar with the current popular idol, Yang Ji tightly gripped the cuffs of his pants. Although he should be the one in a superior position, Qu Di had only ever looked up to him.
T/N: Hey there! There is plenty more where that came from, so stay tuned! And stay healthy! Straighten your posture, so some stretches and drink some water before continuing hehe~
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Also, check out the other series we have on HoH!
If you like cats, check out Revenge of the Garfield
If you like dragons, check out I’m Pregnant with the Hope of the Entire Planet and The Dragon and the ‘Princess’
How about some mystery or showbiz? Check out Morbid Addiction & Perfection
What about the perfect, most non-toxic male lead ever? Laws of Love
How about MC nursing ML back to health? Forced into the Deep
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