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Chapter 30
This web drama, from the beginning of the preparation to the start of filming, had been very discrete. Even with the participation of Lu Zhi, who is known for making a big splash, this drama did not cause too much noise. In addition, the director -Xu Wen himself- was not a person who loved making lots of fuss so much that even the opening ceremony was quite simple.
But, no matter how simple, the main cast still had to attend the ceremony. Xu Wen regarded the scattered people at the ceremony and frowned; Some newcomers were not yet on fire yet looking at the next dish1Not yet on Fire= Not yet caught popularity — yet look at the next dish= Not content with what you have, you keep looking for more/better things. Others had obviously already passed their prime but still love to play at being popular. On the first day of shooting for the new drama, the male lead was not there, nor was the second male lead, which was fantastic.
In his heart, he exclaimed that even if he took a step back and admitted that they were moderately popular, they were definitely no match for Film Emperor Qu, who still arrived on time. He sighed inwardly as he thought, ‘If it continued in such a manner, this drama would be impossible to shoot.’
Tsk, it was obvious that there was a reason they were not successful. Not only were they not dedicated to their work, but they also had no awareness at all. They may not have known that Qu Xueyu would be in this play, but that Lu Zhi had personally overseen an additional investment in it was not a secret. Lu Zhi was not unknown to them in their circle, but since this drama was not hot from the start, they treated it lightly. It was really unacceptable.
With these thoughts, he put down his dissatisfaction and grinned. “Those two teachers2Referring to Actors/Actresses as ‘Teachers’ or ‘Laoshi(老师 lǎo shī)’ in its common pinyin is a sign of respect for their dedication to the craft. This prefix is similar to saying “Doctor Smith” or “Attorney Smith”, as it’s a title they worked hard to earn. are busy men. We won’t wait for them.  Let’s proceed.”
Ruan Jiangjiu stood in the crowd, wearing a relaxed leisurely outfit with a pair of large sunglasses perched on the bridge of his nose that almost covered half of his face. It was leaving only a section of his white and radiant chin—which his little gold master put on for him.
“Xiao Ruan! My second uncle told me that all the big stars wear these.” Before the ceremony began, Lu Bai had taken out this pair of comically oversized sunglasses and seriously stated.
Ruan Jiangjiu: “…”
He knew that Lu Zhi was just messing with him, but he couldn’t refuse Lu Bai, so he nodded willingly: “Well then, you put them on for me.”
The youth then curved his eyes and put on these sunglasses for him.
Xu Wen really didn’t like being bothered with things other than filming, so the ceremony was quite simple. They just worshiped the gods together and wished for everything to go well during filming. Lu Bai was not far away under some trees holding his phone and happily taking pictures of Ruan Jiangjiu, more dedicated than a die-hard fan. Ruan Jiangjiu couldn’t help himself from softly smiling as he watched the teenager’s performance from afar.
A few of the other cast members standing beside Ruan Jiangjiu were looking at him in disbelief; their faces laced with a tangle of confusion and doubt. The director had not introduced this man to them yet, but this man—even with the sunglasses covering most of his face—looked too damn much like film emperor Qu!
They were instantly filled with gossip; could it be that his gold master actually likes Film Emperor Qu, so he found such a god-like substitute to eat?
In that case, it meant that the gold master who liked Film Emperor Qu had put the substitute he found into their crew to play a role based on Film Emperor Qu?!
Tsk, rich people really knew how to play.
“He can’t really be Emperor Qu, right?” One of the young stars whispered to her friend.
“How is that possible?!” the girl exclaimed. “Even if it were to rain blood from the sky, and you and I were to suddenly become rich overnight, there’s no way that Mr. Qu would come here to play the third male.”
“Oh, that’s true…” The small bunch of performers stated, yet covertly gazed at the jade figure of the unknown man. Although they had not seen the other person’s face, the figure and temperament were so similar to Film Emperor Qu. It was not a loss to look at a few more times.
After the opening ceremony was finished, the male lead actor and the second male lead actor finally arrived. The male lead arrived with eight large bodyguards, wearing dark sunglasses and having the bodyguards clear the way. The male lead himself wore a pair of sunglasses that were even bigger than the ones on the bridge of Qu Xueyu’s nose. He stopped in front of Xu Wen and looked as if he was bothered by the fact that he was too red3Red= Popular/trending, Black= Unpopular/forgotten. Xu Wen’s mouth twitched as his agent rushed forward and said. “Director Xu, so sorry! The road was blocked by fans and we were late.”
Xu Wen mentally laughed at the idea of how many fans would be blocking someone. But also knew that the first day couldn’t have any more mishaps, therefore he suppressed his anger and just said, “Well, you’ve made it.”
On the contrary, the second male had a seemingly gentle demeanor and apologized with a smile.
Lu Bai was watching from the side, smacking his lips, and he swore: “Xiao Ruan, I will also hire some bodyguards to protect you.” When he thought about all those people who had been pining for Ruan Jiangjiu in the original story, he then said, “Xiao Ruan, you really make me worry too much.”
Ruan Jiangjiu was looking at the person in the center of the bodyguard like a clown and was silent for a moment, and then said, “No need.” After pausing, he added; “Besides, won’t you always be by my side?”
Lu Bai nodded seriously: “I will.” He wanted to protect him well.
Ruan Jiangjiu smiled and tousled the teenager’s hair.
On the opening day of the new drama, there was not much work for the actors but a lot of miscellaneous tasks for the crew. Ruan Jiangjiu’s job for the day consisted mainly of trying on his costumes. He entered the dressing room, wearing his oversized sunglasses, and the actor playing the male lead had already listened to some of the gossip on the set about him being a canary and a substitute. Thus, he stared at the young man’s back and sneered disdainfully, “Heh, a little white-faced4a ‘little white face’ is an insult based on someone’s looks. Akin to a ‘pillow pet’, they use a weak and submissive act alongside a carefully cultivated appearance to catch rich patrons to support them. bastard who climbed up the ladder by selling his body.”
Lu Bai heard his words and turned around, looking blankly at the man with a grim face. He cocked his head slightly—his face appearing strangely innocent, but his eyes were frighteningly cold. “Did you know? I rarely get angry.”
The actor stalled, but then anger and frustration appeared on his face. He was about to say something even worse when he saw the teenager looking straight at him, his eyes dark: “You are the lead male protagonist. Xiao Ruan still has to get along with you for an extended period of time. But if you dare to say one more bad word about Xiao Ruan, or dare to touch him -” the pair of beautiful eyes seemed to have a ruthless intent and hostility passing through, and his voice was still calm and unruffled: “You already know, I am Lu Bai. I am a big troublemaker, and I can do anything.”
The male lead actor flinched as he took a step back. With his back against the wall, he looked at the young teenager in a stupefied daze and couldn’t utter a single word.
In the makeup room next door to the studio where the final photo was taken, Ruan Jiangjiu removed his makeup and changed back into his regular clothes after finishing taking the final pictures. With the gifted sunglasses placed back on the bridge of his nose, he left the room and walked towards Lu Bai.
“What are you up to?” Ruan Jiangjiu glanced at the actor, who was frozen in shock and unabashedly caressed the teenager’s hair.
The moment Lu Bai saw Ruan Jiangjiu, all the coldness on his face seemed to melt away like snow, disappearing completely. He looked at Ruan Jiangjiu with a sweet smile on his face and could not be more innocent. “Helping you and colleagues to establish good relations.” After a pause, he pointed to the man standing nearby and said, “We had a particularly good chat, and the atmosphere was also particularly pleasant. He shares many of my opinions.”
The male actor: “…”
Lu Bai repeatedly emphasized several “particular”, and Ruan Jiangjiu’s face darkened. He measured the man he had never heard of before through his sunglasses with an unfriendly expression and said blandly: “Is that right?”
Lu Bai nodded his head with great enthusiasm: “Yes!”
Despite wearing sunglasses, the actor felt overwhelmed by Ruan Jiangjiu’s eyes and aura.  He vaguely realized that what he thought was a canary and a little white-face seemed even more intimidating than the teenager he’d just encountered—but it clearly shouldn’t be…
Ruan Jiangjiu stepped between the actor and the teenager and suddenly flashed a smile towards the man, before saying quietly, “Don’t mess with Xiao Bai. Stay away from him in the future.”
The threatening man took the teenager’s wrist and walked away, and finally, he breathed a sigh of relief but found that he had developed a cold sweat.
The sky had become dark, and Ruan Jiangjiu wanted to drag Lu Bai straight home. But just as they were about to leave, they were stopped by Xu Wen. He looked at Ruan Jiangjiu with a smile on his face as he said, “The assistant director asked me to ask you if you wanted to go to a dinner party.” In fact, it was really a bit strange. Obviously, he could have asked Ruan Jiangjiu himself, but he instead asked for him to do it. But it was just an ordinary dinner invitation, and he didn’t think about it any deeper. This master either could go or not. Anyway, he just passed on the message.
Thinking about it, he added: “Song Zhi’an and the others have gone over already. You can go or not; it doesn’t matter. I have things to do, so I won’t go anyway.”
Ruan Jiangjiu was about to refuse when he heard Lu Bai questioningly say, “Song Zhi’an? Song Zhi’an is also in this crew?”
Xu Wen was stunned and nodded: “Yes, he is the second male.”
Hearing the name of a strange man from Lu Bai’s mouth, Ruan Jiangjiu had a sip of vinegar and was about to say something. But he was met by the teenager’s eye who said, “Xiao Ruan, let’s go! I want to see that Song Zhi’an.”
Ruan Jiangjiu’s face darkened. He took a deep breath and wanted to say something against it until the teenager tiptoed up to his ear and whispered, “He’s my sister’s boyfriend. I’m a little apprehensive and want to see him.”
Ruan Jiangjiu’s dark face immediately vanished, and he stroked the teenager’s hair and said, “Okay, let’s go.” Anyway, it’s just an ordinary dinner, it’s not a big deal to go.
~~~~~~
The meeting place chosen seemed to be quite an upscale restaurant. When Ruan Jiangjiu saw the dim sum store next to the restaurant, he halted his steps and said, “Xiao Bai, you go in first. I’m going to stop by that dim sum5See drop down at bottom of chapter for Wiki info dump store to buy something quick.” This dim sum store was an old brand in Chunming and should have just opened in Jinghai. The store’s sweet yet not cloying dessert was a specialty, and it was always good to buy some for the teenager to try.
Lu Bai looked at the store’s sign and knew what the young man wanted to buy. His heart filled with warmth, and he obediently nodded and headed for the restaurant.
~~
“I let Xu Wen, that fool, do the talking. In the end, if that little scourge of the Lu family really wants to accuse someone, they can’t blame me, right?”
In the private room, the assistant director was fawning over and talking with an obese, greasy-faced man sitting nearby with a flattering smile on his face.
The fat man was holding a fresh-faced young man in his arms and was full of excitement: “Does he really look so similar?”
The assistant director patted his chest: “Really does! I was blown away when I saw him today. He looks exactly like him!”
The fat man laughed so hard that his eyes became slits: “What’s the name of this guy?”
“They say his name is Ruan Jiangjiu.”
The man ‘heh heh‘, and a glass of rice wine went into his belly.e  He sighed: “The Qu family can’t be messed with, so it’s worth it to play around with a look-alike. Unfortunately, the good thing fell into that little fop’s hands.” He patted the assistant director’s shoulder heavily and remarked, “Don’t worry, if I’m satisfied tonight, I’ll kick out Xu Wen immediately and you’ll be the director! Heh, for such a shitty little drama, Lu Zhi is not going to fight with me.”
He said flippantly and stroked the man’s face in his arms, “Zhi’an, how about tonight we have a game of double flying?—What the hell!? Lu, Lu Bai!? How did you get here?”
The assistant director was also a bit flabbergasted and couldn’t figure out why the legendary domineering young ancestor of the Lu family would accompany a canary to a dinner party.
Lu Bai stood at the door of the room; with his head slightly lowered and his hair in front of his eyes and shadows obscured his expression. His lips were tightly pursed downward; his fists were tightly clenched, and the back of his fists were bulging with veins.
“Young master Lu wants to come and play together?” The obese man’s facial expression was so lewd that it made people want to vomit. As he patted the table, he said, “How about a drink for Young Master Lu, and we can play with someone else as well?” For some reason, the man who was in his arms looked at Lu Bai somewhat sheepishly but did not dare to leave his embrace.
Lu Bai raised his head and looked at the man blankly, his eyes were cold and frightening with hostility churning through them.
He took a large step toward the three men. When he passed the wine on the table, he picked up the opened bottle of rice wine on the table.
“Yo, young master Lu wants to drink from the bottle?”
Walala Lu Bai expressionlessly poured the whole bottle of rice wine over the fat man and Song Zhi’an who was in his arms.
“What the fuck are you doing!”
Crshh! Lu Bai slammed the bottle down onto the table ridge. Half of the bottle was completely shattered, and the upper half of the intact bottle ultimately was broken with sharp edges.
The man was on the verge of a harsher sentence when his pupils suddenly shrank—seeing the teenager holding the half-glass bottle in his hand, pressing the cold glittering tips against his neck. As soon as the teenager exerted force, he could feel a stinging pain in his neck; he was bleeding!
When he looked up, he was confronted with the boy’s almost frightening blank expression.
“You deserve to say Xiao Ruan’s name?”
“I am vindictive and bad-tempered. If you want to touch my Xiao Ruan, I will never let you get away with it.” His voice was still calm and unruffled but carried ruthlessness and hostility.
“You, you let me go!” The fat man looked at the teenager’s hostile face and felt the warm blood that was flowing down his neck. Finally, he learned to be afraid and swore, “I, I’m not touching him! You-you let me go!”
“And there’s also you,” Lu Bai remained pressing the sharp edges against the fat man’s neck. However, he was looking directly at Song Zhi’an who was in the man’s arms. He was expressionless as he said without batting an eye, “Who told you to approach my sister?”
Song Zhi’an was so shocked by the teenager that he was covered in a cold sweat, swallowing. He stammered: “It, uh, it was Xiao Yang…”
“Xiao Bai…?”
A familiar voice sounded in the doorway.
Lu Bai’s pupils shrank as he looked back. Only to see his Xiao Ruan standing there, carrying the snacks he loved in his hand.
Lu Bai finally let go of the broken bottle.
Ruan Jiangjiu saw the teenager’s inner pain, but he didn’t know what had happened. The teenager’s expression at the moment really stung his heart.
He was about to take a big step forward to embrace the younger man in his arms but saw that the teenager had already walked toward him.
The young man stood in front of Ruan Jiangjiu; there was no more hostility visible on his face. A soft smile was offered to the other man, and his warm hand gently covered the other man’s eyes. His voice was incredibly gentle: “Xiao Ruan, don’t look. It’s dirty.”
The author has something to say: sorry it’s so late orz6This is a bowing emoticon. With the head on the ground ‘O’, the arms holding up the body ‘r’, and bent legs ‘z’. Also I have heard it spoken as slang before pronounced as ‘Oars’, because work is too busy I can only stay up late to write really fast to post the update!
(And so Xiao Bai is not only warm and soft side)
Dim Sum Info dump from Wiki
“There are at least two thousand types of dim sum in total across China and over one thousand available in Guangdong alone. Dim sum are usually eaten as breakfast or brunch. Cantonese dim sum has a very broad range of flavors, textures, cooking styles, and ingredients, and can be classified into regular items, seasonal offerings, weekly specials, banquet dishes, holiday dishes, house signature dishes, travel-friendly, as well as breakfast or lunch foods and late night snacks.
The subtropical climate of the southeast quadrant of Guangdong partly influences dim sum’s portion size. It can cause a decrease in appetite so people prefer eating scaled-down meals throughout the day rather than the customary three large meals. Teahouses in Guangzhou served “three teas and two meals”, which included lunch and dinner, and breakfast, afternoon, and evening teas with dim sum.
Many dim sum dishes are made of seafood, chopped meats, or vegetables wrapped in dough or thin wrappings and steamed, deep-fried, or pan-fried. A traditional dim sum brunch includes various types of steamed buns, such as cha siu bao (a steamed bun filled with barbecue pork), rice or wheat dumplings, and rice noodle rolls that contain a range of ingredients, including beef, chicken, pork, prawns, and vegetarian options. Many dim sum restaurants also offer plates of steamed green vegetables, stuffed eggplant, stuffed green peppers, roasted meats, congee, and other soups. Dessert dim sum is also available and can be ordered at any time since there is not a set sequence for the meal.
It is customary to order “family-style”, sharing the small dishes consisting of three or four pieces of dim sum among all members of the dining party. Small portion sizes allow people to try a wide variety of food. ” –Wikipedia
Shio: It’s my Birthday today so extra chapter for everyone!
Edit: Krone
Proof: Nitta
1Not yet on Fire= Not yet caught popularity — yet look at the next dish= Not content with what you have, you keep looking for more/better things2Referring to Actors/Actresses as ‘Teachers’ or ‘Laoshi(老师 lǎo shī)’ in its common pinyin is a sign of respect for their dedication to the craft. This prefix is similar to saying “Doctor Smith” or “Attorney Smith”, as it’s a title they worked hard to earn.3Red= Popular/trending, Black= Unpopular/forgotten4a ‘little white face’ is an insult based on someone’s looks. Akin to a ‘pillow pet’, they use a weak and submissive act alongside a carefully cultivated appearance to catch rich patrons to support them.5See drop down at bottom of chapter for Wiki info dump6This is a bowing emoticon. With the head on the ground ‘O’, the arms holding up the body ‘r’, and bent legs ‘z’. Also I have heard it spoken as slang before pronounced as ‘Oars’