Xu Hui heard Ding Ze's suddenly urgent command over the phone and, for a moment, felt the first flicker of doubt about his own prestigious identity in the outside world.
What day was today?
Was he still the awe-inspiring, all-powerful CEO's special assistant that everyone in the company had to greet with smiling faces?
On the other end of the line, after hurriedly barking out his orders, Ding Ze finally sensed something was amiss in the ensuing silence.
"..."
Ding Ze gasped in horror and switched his tone with lightning speed: "Ah, Assistant Xu, it's like this, over here at the studio..."
He began speaking with the gentle warmth of a spring breeze, listing all sorts of reasons why a visit was currently unsuitable, attempting to confuse Xu Hui and make him forget what had just happened.
"...Yes, that's exactly it. There's simply no other way." Having brilliantly improvised a long list of reasons against a visit, Ding Ze secretly sighed in relief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"I see," he heard Xu Hui reply from the other end of the line, sounding rather regretful.
"Indeed," Ding Ze sounded even more regretful than Xu Hui.
Xu Hui's tone suddenly became emotionless: "We'll be there shortly."
Ding Ze: "..."
...
Gu Ran and Tang Song finished filming the previous shot and stood behind the monitor to watch the playback.
Since it was filmed in front of a green screen without post-production effects added yet, it was Gu Ran's first time seeing such raw footage. She found it both novel and distracting, marveling at how actors in fantasy dramas could perform so convincingly against a green screen.
But the director said she had done well too.
Gu Ran filmed a few more shots of fighting monsters according to the script. She learned a couple of moves from the instructor, brandishing her prop weapon to slash at the air a few times; the monsters she was fighting would be added in post-production.
Gu Ran's in-game skill level was only enough to beat small field mice, but for the promotional video, she had to fight a super-sized monster. The feeling was akin to photoshopping herself next to her crush's picture for a bit of wish-fulfillment, leaving her quite thrilled.
She excitedly finished filming two shots of fighting the monster in the air. During the set change, she noticed Ding Ze frowning deeply, looking utterly preoccupied.
Gu Ran: "Was my performance just now not good?"
Even the director had praised her.
"Ah?" Ding Ze snapped back to reality, ran a hand through his hair, and forced a dry laugh. "No."
He glanced down at his watch. "Ah, it's so late already. Shouldn't we be wrapping up soon?"
Gu Ran wore an expression that said "are you sleepwalking?": "We still have the last shot to film."
Ding Ze: "How about we skip it for today? Let's wrap up and film it tomorrow."
Gu Ran felt Ding Ze was acting very strange today: "What's wrong with you?"
Ding Ze: "I..."
Before he could even begin, a crew member called for Gu Ran to come over as filming was about to start.
Gu Ran turned and answered "Coming!", then gave Ding Ze another odd look before going to get ready.
This was the final shot of the day, and it involved the placeholder male lead again.
The promotional video followed Xing Yao's memory line. In her memories, the most vivid moment was the kiss with the male lead, Lin Xing.
Xing Yao's feelings were revealed through repeated dangers, and the male lead Lin Xing finally became aware of the feelings of this girl he had always treated like a younger sister.
Unfortunately, by this time, Lin Xing had already developed a tacit understanding of being lovers with the other female lead.
On the eve of the final battle, Xing Yao stood before Lin Xing, no longer her usual cheerful, lively self. With downcast eyes, she asked Lin Xing if he could give her a kiss.
The layer between them had never truly been pierced. Xing Yao knew it was impossible now. She told herself that with one kiss, she would give up completely and have no more regrets.
Lin Xing agreed, cupped Xing Yao's face. Xing Yao closed her eyes and waited. When their lips were just inches apart, Lin Xing suddenly stopped, then slowly placed the kiss on Xing Yao's forehead.
Xing Yao received her kiss, but it was ultimately only imprinted on her forehead.
In the decisive battle the next day, Xing Yao was pierced by countless arrows and vanished into dust, protecting the male lead and the other female lead.
Of course, the game's promotional video wouldn't film the exact dialogue and plot from the original story. The plan was to just film a slow-motion shot of Lin Fan kissing Xing Yao, letting the audience know it was recreating a specific scene from the original work.
The director's composition was a side-profile silhouette. Gu Ran just had to stand there with her eyes closed, not moving or needing to act much, waiting for Tang Song to give her a kiss.
...
Ding Ze had been nervously watching the entrance.
Seeing that Gu Ran and Tang Song were about to start filming over there, and Ji Shiyu hadn't arrived yet, Ding Ze breathed a slight sigh of relief.
It would be fine if they came after this shot was finished.
Although he would inevitably see those scenes in the promotional video later, watching it later in the finished video was completely different from witnessing it live in a full 360-degree, immersive experience.
A smile began to form on Ding Ze's face as he prepared to relax, when he heard someone call from behind him: "Team Leader Ding."
Ding Ze was now the head of the streamer management team at Cat's Paw, which was his title within the company. He turned with a smile, wondering which junior was being so polite, and met Xu Hui's face.
"..."
The smile on Ding Ze's face collapsed.
Looking further back, he saw Ji Shiyu, dressed low-key today.
Ding Ze's mouth fell open, gaining a profound understanding of the phrase "perfect timing."
He stammered out a "President Ji," and whipped his head around just in time to see Tang Song, following the director's guidance, testing whether to use his right hand or left hand to cup Gu Ran's face.
Even in this urgent situation, Ding Ze couldn't help but note that Gu Ran's face was small. Compared to Tang Song's palm, it was clearly not even the size of a hand.
After Ji Shiyu arrived, his gaze found Gu Ran in front of the green screen and paused.
Over there, the director finalized the positions and called "Action!"
Gu Ran closed her eyes and tilted her head back slightly. According to the setup, the male lead was supposed to initially go for the lips, only stopping at the last moment to kiss the forehead instead.
Ding Ze watched as Tang Song cradled the side of Gu Ran's face, the distance between them shrinking closer and closer, their noses seeming to almost brush, coming dangerously close to an actual kiss.
Why wasn't he stopping yet! Ding Ze stared wide-eyed at the two in front of the green screen. From this angle, he had the dizzying feeling they might have already kissed. Feeling the oppressive, storm-is-coming aura emanating from the man beside him, he found it hard to breathe and desperately wished for an oxygen tank.
Fortunately, just as he felt he might pass out, following the script, Tang Song pulled back at the last moment and placed the kiss on Gu Ran's forehead, lingering for a few seconds.
Ding Ze patted his chest, thinking he could finally relax, when he heard the director behind the monitor say: "Gu Ran, why did you lean back? Get ready, we're doing another take."
Ding Ze's blood pressure, which had just come down, instantly spiked again.
The director watched the playback on the monitor. The two weren't very familiar after all, and when Tang Song leaned in, Gu Ran clearly leaned back slightly in the frame—an instinctive physiological reaction to a stranger's proximity.
Gu Ran knew she had leaned back. She apologized to Tang Song: "Sorry."
She had been incredibly nervous. Even though it was just a forehead kiss, during the approach, he had gotten so close she could clearly feel Tang Song's breath.
So she seemed unable to control her instinctive reaction, leaning back as if to dodge.
Tang Song was also somewhat reserved, though he was far more professional than Gu Ran: "It's fine."
After a brief adjustment, the director called for action again.
Ding Ze watched with a twisted expression, cautiously turning his head to see Ji Shiyu's pitch-black pupils, his gaze fixed tightly on Gu Ran.
He wanted to force a dry laugh, attempting to dissolve the stiffness in the air, to say this promotional video was just faithfully recreating the original work. But sensing the oppressive aura surrounding Ji Shiyu, his laughter got stuck in his throat.
Another take. Gu Ran took a deep breath, telling herself to relax. Her state seemed a bit better than before,
except the helix and earlobe in the shot were gradually turning bright red.
Ji Shiyu saw Gu Ran lowering her head in front of her partner, every little expression revealing shyness.
He was not unfamiliar with this expression on Gu Ran.
He had seen Gu Ran shy many times before, sometimes even deliberately wanting to tease the kid, watching her earlobes redden like cherries.
Ji Shiyu took a deep breath.
...
This final shot was the key point. Adhering to the principle of giving your best when paid, the director polished it over and over, going through more than ten takes before finally being satisfied, even leading everyone through a recap of the story outline.
Ding Ze watched helplessly as the two people on screen repeatedly closed a distance that exceeded normal interaction between men and women. Several times he wanted to rush up and stop the director, shouting to stop filming. He was trapped in a frantic whirlpool of "real kiss, fake kiss, so close, have they actually kissed already?"
Over there, Xu Hui, who had been frowning deeply from the start, was also nearing the point of despair and surrender.
They really shouldn't have come today.
He had worked by Ji Shiyu's side for so long, dealt with countless difficult business rivals, yet never felt breathless and breaking out in cold sweat throughout like he did today.
In front of the green screen, Gu Ran and Tang Song finished the last shot of the day and wrapped up. She let out a small sigh of relief, feeling her ears were practically burning up.
Since childhood, apart from her father and Ji Shiyu, she had never been that close to any other man, and no one had ever kissed her.
Now that work was finally done, Gu Ran, her face flushed, bid Tang Song a brief farewell and ran to find Ding Ze.
She found Ding Ze and only then realized two more people were present today.
Gu Ran stopped, seeing Ji Shiyu who had appeared here at some point. She finally understood why Ding Ze had been acting so strangely earlier—it was because Ji Shiyu was coming.
Gu Ran realized that her earlier filming with Tang Song might have been watched entirely by Ji Shiyu. Her originally flushed face instantly cooled.
She pursed her lips, said nothing, took her phone back from Ding Ze's hand, and then went to the dressing room to change.
After changing, Gu Ran had the hairstylist help remove the hair accessories, and finally picked up her bag, ready to go home.
At the door of the makeup room, she ran into Tang Song, who had also just changed. Dressed like a male college student, Tang Song saw Gu Ran, pulled out his phone, and hesitantly asked if they could exchange WeChat.
After all, it was just a brief professional relationship. He was just a minor background character, while Gu Ran was a well-known streamer endorsing the game. It would be perfectly normal if she didn't want to engage.
But Gu Ran didn't seem unwilling. She nodded: "Sure."
"Thank you." Tang Song immediately started scanning the QR code.
After Gu Ran and Tang Song exchanged WeChat, she looked up and found that, at some point, Ji Shiyu had appeared again in the dressing room corridor.
Tang Song, holding his phone with Gu Ran's newly added contact, couldn't help but glance at Ji Shiyu twice as he passed by. The moment his eyes met the man's gaze, however, his hair suddenly stood on end, and he just wanted to speed up and leave quickly.
Gu Ran saw Tang Song leave somewhat in a fluster, scared off by Ji Shiyu's look.
Through the air, she could almost feel Ji Shiyu's current mood and emotions.
But what right did he have to be unhappy? Who was he to her?
Gu Ran inexplicably thought of the scumbag male lead in "Holy Spirit Jianghu" who played with both the red and white roses.
Gu Ran jutted her lower lip out downward. Thinking of this made her even more justified. She walked past Ji Shiyu with her head held high and chest out.
"Ran Ran." Ji Shiyu called out to her as she passed.
Gu Ran seemed to have anticipated he would call her. She stopped, turned, and with a tone that said 'you have no right to be unhappy': "Hmm?"
Ji Shiyu's gaze fell on Gu Ran's forehead, and on her little face that was written with righteous indignation.
He frowned, hooked his arm through Gu Ran's, pulling her a couple of steps closer to him, as if he was about to do something.
Gu Ran raised her little face, wearing an expression of "just you dare, try it."
Faced with this version of Gu Ran, Ji Shiyu finally let out a slight sigh, the aura around him gradually receding.
...
Ding Ze was waiting outside, growing somewhat anxious.
He wondered if he should go take a look.
After all, the aura and emotion emanating from Ji Shiyu earlier had been truly terrifying, frightening enough to make him want to shiver.
No one knew what irrational actions a man driven mad by jealousy might take.
Especially when the target was the delicate and helpless Gu Ran.
The domineering CEO and runaway wife idol drama plot was something he had imagined for Gu Ran. When it seemed to play out in reality, it somehow felt a bit scary.
Ding Ze couldn't wait any longer. He suddenly stood up and said to Xu Hui, who was sitting with him: "Um, I think I'll go take a look."
He thought Xu Hui would stop him, but instead, Xu Hui stood up with him.
Ding Ze glanced at Xu Hui, then went to the dressing room to find Gu Ran.
He reached the door and was just about to knock when it was suddenly pulled open from the inside.
Gu Ran, seeing Ding Ze standing at the door, was first surprised, then said: "Let's go."
Ding Ze found Gu Ran completely fine, clothes neat, not a single strand of hair out of place.
Not quite what he had imagined.
He said "Oh," and then saw Ji Shiyu walking behind Gu Ran.
Ding Ze then tried to look for something on Ji Shiyu's face—a slap mark, scratch marks, things like that.
Nothing.
Ji Shiyu glanced at Ding Ze.
Ding Ze immediately averted his gaze, offering an ingratiating smile.
In the car on the way back, Ding Ze noticed Gu Ran was very quiet today. She wasn't on her phone either, seemingly lost in thought.
"Ding Ze." Gu Ran suddenly spoke.
"Huh?" Ding Ze hurriedly responded. "What's up?"
Gu Ran pondered for a moment, then asked anyway: "If a man says he never kissed his ex-girlfriend, not even on the forehead, would you believe him?"
"Ah, that..." Ding Ze seemed momentarily at a loss for how to answer.
But Gu Ran didn't seem to be truly waiting for Ding Ze's answer.
She shrank back into the seat, remembering his whispered words, and muttered: "I don't believe it."
