Chapter 12

“Good morning.” Xiulan greeted Jian Lan with a neutral expression. Jian Lan blinked twice before his lips curved into a smile.

“Good morning.” His eyes still looked sleepy.

“Are you feeling better?” Xiulan asked, not knowing how to continue the conversation. He was hinting at the time Jian Lan almost fainted, but it took his junior a minute before he realized what Wen Xiulan meant. Jian Lan’s pale cheeks flushed a faint red color.

“I still feel embarrassed…” he admitted and scratched the back of his head. Xiulan nodded.

“I won’t bring it up again then.” His senior concluded and started heading towards a tall, twenty-story building. Jian Lan followed him, sipping a coffee he got on his way there.

Arriving sooner didn’t mean they would be the only ones there. As the elevator doors opened on the 11th floor, a big hallway stretched in front of them. Recording equipment, various cables, and wires just as well as cameras were scattered on both sides, making it difficult to walk around.

The staff was rushing from one place to another, setting up the last details.

Xiulan had been to this place multiple times while shooting other projects. This building was one of few the recording studio rented regularly. The layout of the building was very convenient because every two floors were different. There was, for example, an open floor without any walls, only one big space, which was ideal for cafeteria setting. Since the drama took place in college, most of the floors were renovated into classrooms and school administrative spaces.

Jian Lan looked around with his eyes wide open, peeking into some of the open rooms as they passed them. Most of the scenes that day were shot in dorms, so all apartments on the floor resembled dormitories.

Because Wen Xiulan seemed to know where they were supposed to go, Jian Lan kept following him until they reached the last door in the corridor. There were the dressing rooms made for actors to change and get their makeup done.

“Wen Xiulan, darling, how great you came sooner. Jian Lan is here as well? Wonderful. Get prepared, we need to adjust some lightning and start right away.” The director greeted them with a smile that never meant anything good. Her hair was tied in a messy bun and her glasses were slipping down from her nose.

Xiulan proceeded to sit in one of the high chairs in front of a mirror while a young woman attended him. Jian Lan was seated next to him with a confused expression. Wen Xiulan found it a bit amusing when newbies came to a big set for the first time. Everything was chaotic and it was very easy to get swept away by the flow. Wen Xiulan was reminded of his early years.

As the makeup was applied to the two actors, another staff member showed up, looked them up and down closely before disappearing in another room. She then appeared again with clothes hanging down from both her arms.

“Mr. Wen Xiulan, here are your outfits for today’s shoot.” The young woman put down the clothes carefully on a nearby chair. Xiulan nodded slightly, making an as little movement as possible not to distract the makeup artist.

Jian Lan was also shown his clothing.

“Mr. Wen Xiulan can keep the jeans he’s wearing right now. As it comes to Jian Lan…” The staff member was much more formal towards Xiulan. Then she started the other male up and down again before lightly shaking her head. “I’ll get you some other pants.” She commented once observing Jian Lan’s clothes.

Xiulan peeked at his junior curiously since he previously did not notice what he was wearing. Jian Lan’s outfit consisted of a dark blue shirt with a picture of a yellow garbage truck stretching on his whole chest. Wen Xiulan couldn’t help it and raised one of his eyebrows slightly before his look slid down. White jeans with colorful patches on Jian Lan’s thighs entered his vision.

Now, both of Xiulan’s eyebrows were raised. He looked up and his gaze met Jian Lan’s. He noticed that his senior was looking at him in the mirror and smiled.

“Your style is very unique,” Xiulan commented. He wasn’t there to judge, yet his mind was still blown away by the taste of his junior. His words made Jian Lan shift on the chair nervously as he realized why was Xiulan staring at him.

“My brother likes to go shopping with me and often chooses my clothes.” He explained. The makeup artist grabbed Jian Lan’s chin as a sign for him to stop moving.

“𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰’𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥.” The conversation they had two days ago flashed in Xiulan’s mind. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴. Once Wen Xiulan understood the reason behind Jian Lan’s weird style, his view changed. The respect he had for his junior increased.

Their makeup was done in the next few minutes and the duo headed to change. There were only two changing rooms, one for men and one for women.

A profession such as model or actor, there was very little personal privacy when it came to changing and revealing skin. Xiulan was used to being half-naked around others since it was purely for work purposes. There was no hesitation in his movements when he smoothly took off his jacket and t-shirt.

Jian Lan, who was standing on the other side of the room, involuntary laid his eyes on his senior. Wen Xiulan wasn’t facing him, thus all that Jian Lan’s eyes caught was porcelain skin on Xiulan’s back. There was a long, faded scar stretching from his neck down to one side. Jian Lan felt a weird feeling in his stomach, as if he saw something he shouldn’t, and hurried up to take his clothes off as well. He only managed to change his jeans when Xiulan turned around.

“Are you done ye-“ Wen Xiulan’s gaze landed on his shirtless junior. His upper body was muscular and a six-pack on his stomach was asking for attention. “..-t?” He finished the last word as naturally as possible and looked away. “I’ll head out first,” Xiulan stated with no emotion and walked out. He didn’t know what else to say and wanted to provide some space to Jian Lan.

Although everyone had already changed in the same space before, during the rehearsal week, Wen Xiulan wasn’t the type to look around at others. This was the first time he noticed how good his junior’s form was, those ‘unique’ clothes he wore hid it perfectly.

The moment Xiulan stepped out to the hallway, the director grabbed him and a long, tiring day had begun.

***

“Cut! That’s a wrap.” The director’s sharp voice ended the scene. Wen Xiulan sighed in relief, this was their eleventh take of this shot. Hua

Ling’s face, that was only a few inches from his just a moment ago, also relaxed. They had kissed for so many times that day it stopped being a big deal for her.

Xiulan was, as always, very professional. Despite never being in a relationship in his life, he was a very good kisser. The experience he has gained throughout his years of acting wasn’t technically real, but it counted. Therefore, the kissing scene they just shot was a piece of cake for him. While acting, he had no shame and easily acted out anything that was requested.

Jian Lan was meanwhile resting in the corner of the room, sitting on the floor. He didn’t have many scenes today and most of the time rested and watched others, mainly his senior. He could learn a lot from Wen Xiulan and he truly admired his skills. Just as he observed the kissing scene, Jian Lan was glad for the gay role he had. He knew himself and his abilities, he wouldn’t be able to act out an intimate scene on such level.

(Not)Surprisingly enough, Jian Lan had only been in two relationships. One was getting serious but she cheated, the other lasted a few weeks. When he compared himself to his senior, Jian Lan felt his experience points were in negative numbers.

When Jian Lan thought about this, a small chuckle escaped his mouth. A sudden realization of how much he lacked hit him but he wasn’t feeling upset. There was still a long way ahead of him. Being an actor was something he had never considered but since this option showed up, he didn’t decline it.

“Wen Xiulan, Jack, Yi Bai, and Jian Lan! Others may leave sooner.” The director announced and most of the extra actors brightened up. Jian Lan glanced at his phone’s screen that lit up, it was half-past seven p.m. Although he didn’t have many scenes that day, there were still some left to shoot.

The upcoming scene only included him and Wen Xiulan and was placed outside.

Jian Lan stood up to get ready, waving Hua Ling goodbye as she left the room. Strangely enough, Jian Lan didn’t mind staying overtime. Although it was chaotic on set, he also got to interact with many people and started feeling comfortable soon. He occasionally thought about his younger brother being home alone but it couldn’t be helped. They’ve discussed the whole matter thoughtfully before Jian Lan accepted the job, there wasn’t a way back now.

“Let me quickly touch up your makeup.” A staff approached Jian Lan with a small cosmetic bag in her hand. She seemed a bit tired but a smile still formed on her face. Jian Lan slightly crouched down to make her work easier. There wasn’t any chair to sit on but he didn’t mind.

He noticed the director discussing something with Wen Xiulan before she quickly headed out. Xiulan then proceeded to strip down from his shirt and changed into another one with long sleeves. Jian Lan reflexively looked away, not wanting to peek. At this point, Xiulan didn’t bother to walk all the way into the back room just to change his shirt. Nobody minded this behavior, moreover, the female staff felt quite the opposite.

The filming equipment was transferred out and so were the actors. As Jian Lan found out, there was a change in schedule and their scene was to be shot after Jack’s and Yi Bai’s. This was their romantic, evening kissing scene so it was ought to take some time to shoot.

Meanwhile, Wen Xiulan and Jian Lan found themselves standing next to each other. Although it was already the end of February, the nights were cold. Both of them had their hands in the pockets, Xiulan wearing a long, navy jacket while Jian Lan had only a grey hoodie to provide him with some warmth.

In the scene, they were supposed to meet by a chance in front of a Seven-Eleven. Jian Lan’s character headed out only for a short while to buy something so he was dressed in light clothes. His hands were currently forming fists and he flexed his muscle to stop the shiver.

“The weather is a bit cold today.” Jian Lan commented when he noticed that his senior was looking at him. This was their first interaction since morning but neither of them knew how to start the conversation. Wen Xiulan only nodded and remained silent.

They observed Jack and Yi Bai act for a while. A cold breeze brushed past them, making Jian Lan shiver some more.

This part of Beijing wasn’t as busy as others, though some people still gathered around to see what was up.

“You like it?” Wen Xiulan asked out of blue and put end to the silence he previously started.

“Hm?” Jian Lan made a ‘what you mean?’ sound and looked at his senior. Xiulan returned the look.

“From now on, every day is going to be like this.” Wen Xiulan continued. “Since we are the leads, there won’t be a chance to go home earlier.” He explained what he had on his mind.

Jian Lan nodded with a quiet ‘ahh.

“I don’t mind it.” He confessed after giving it a quick thought. “It’s quite nice, everyone works hard and thought the environment is a bit stressful, I can tell I’ll manage it just fine.” Jian Lan evaluated seriously. “Plus there’s this one senior that has my back! I have nothing to worry about.” He decided to add to lighten the mood and smiled at Wen Xiulan.

Jian Lan told the director how the gap between him and Xiulan was closed over the weekend and how his senior made the first step. The director was satisfied and told him to act more casually around Wen Xiulan from then on. This was his first attempt to do so.

“That’s good then.” His senior ignored the last comment and they kept silent until it was their turn to act.

The truth was that Wen Xiulan was tired and he reached his socializing level a long time ago. He was preserving some energy for the last few scenes before he shut himself in completely. He wasn’t very talkative normally, not to mention after a long and hard day.

The shooting ended something past ten p.m.

An Ni was already waiting for Wen Xiulan at the parking lot when he exited the building. She saw him and Jian Lan together and smiled. They waved goodbye and Xiulan got into his manager’s car.

Wen Xiulan’s day ended as soon as he got home and collapsed into his bed after a quick shower. He went through the next day’s scenes before falling into a dreamless sleep.

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