The 99CP super topic, finally blessed with sweet rain after a long drought, was celebrating like a major festival. Photos and videos from various angles filled the feed. Unable to capture dialogue in the videos, fans let their imaginations run wild, creating numerous short stories.
However, this trending topic rose purely on the enthusiasm of fans and the popularity of Li Qianxing and Jiang Lin. Without data manipulation behind it, the heat gradually subsided.
Neither Li Qianxing nor Jiang Lin paid much attention to this. The next day, the crew took them to a more remote scenic area to continue filming on location.
Although this mountain range had been designated as a scenic area, it wasn’t heavily developed. With a section of road under construction, there were very few tourists during off-peak seasons.
The crew didn’t dare bring their locally rented RVs, only Li Qianxing’s high-quality vehicle made it. Li Qianxing invited Jiang Lin and He Zhanpeng to ride with him.
As neither Li Qianxing nor Jiang Lin were primary targets for paparazzi, they weren’t followed this time. The crew filmed as they climbed, peacefully capturing all the necessary shots.
In the evening, the crew set up camp on the mountaintop to film night scenes and wait for the sunrise shoot.
Unaccustomed to sleeping bags and tents, coupled with the constant insect sounds, Li Qianxing didn’t sleep well. He woke up just after five. Hearing the crew already preparing outside, he tossed and turned twice before giving up on more sleep. He got up, put on his jacket, and exited the tent.
The sky was already dimly lit, with many crew members setting up the filming area nearby.
The wind was chilly, instantly waking Li Qianxing fully. He buttoned up his jacket, grabbed his toiletries and the thermos Xiao Zhu had prepared, and went to freshen up at the edge of the campsite. After finishing, with nothing else to do, he brought a chair to sit at the tent entrance.
Mountain-top breezes swept by in waves, gently swaying the surrounding trees with a soft rustling sound, occasionally punctuated by melodious bird calls.
Li Qianxing glanced at the drifting clouds on the horizon, then checked his phone. There was still over an hour until sunrise, but the weather forecast showed scattered showers today. He wondered if they’d be able to film the sunrise.
Just then, the neighboring tent opened. Jiang Lin emerged, stretching as he stood up straight. Noticing Li Qianxing, he turned to greet him, “Li-ge, you’re up so early.”
Li Qianxing replied, “You’re quite early yourself.”
Jiang Lin was about to exchange a few more pleasantries when he caught sight of Li Qianxing’s face in the light. He nearly burst out laughing, quickly covering his mouth and turning his head away.
Li Qianxing looked at him in confusion, “Hmm?”
Jiang Lin coughed, suppressing his amusement. “It’s nothing… Why are you sitting out here?”
Li Qianxing explained, “I woke up early, couldn’t sleep, and didn’t want to stay cooped up in the tent.”
Jiang Lin glanced at Xiao Zhu’s still-quiet tent and asked, “Want some breakfast? I can get you something.”
Li Qianxing declined, “No need, Xiao Zhu will make me a nutritional porridge when she’s up. Just go do your thing.”
Jiang Lin nodded and returned to his tent for his toiletries.
However, Li Qianxing noticed Jiang Lin first heading to the logistics tent, using the crew’s generator-powered kettle to boil water, then seemingly opening a box of instant noodles.
Li Qianxing didn’t pay much attention, lowering his head to open a novel app and continue reading. Shortly after, he sensed Jiang Lin returning to his tent briefly before coming out again. A moment later, a spicy aroma wafted closer.
As a pair of long legs stopped in front of him, a plastic bowl appeared before Li Qianxing’s eyes. It contained two eggs, steaming hot with water still clinging to the shells.
Li Qianxing looked up in surprise, meeting Jiang Lin’s smiling face.
“Fill your stomach first. They’re freshly boiled, so be careful, they’re hot.”
Li Qianxing thanked him and accepted the bowl. “Don’t you want one?”
Jiang Lin pulled up a chair and sat down, showing his own bowl of noodles containing one braised egg and two sausages. “You climbed the mountain yesterday too, you’ve burned energy. Have an extra one.”
Li Qianxing didn’t refuse further. He picked up an egg, blew on it gently, and began peeling the shell carefully.
As they were eating, He Zhanpeng walked over. “Xiao Jiang, what flavor of instant noodles is that? Smells so good…”
His gaze swept over to Li Qianxing, and he chuckled, “Oh, Xiao Li, you look haggard. Perfect for that scene later.”
Li Qianxing furrowed his brow upon hearing this. “Does my face look that bad?”
Jiang Lin smiled and said, “Not really, just a bit of dark circles under your eyes.”
He Zhanpeng looked back and forth between them, no longer concerned about the noodles. He pointed at Jiang Lin, “When you’re getting made up later, remember to have Xiao Zhang give you a matching ‘post-indulgence’ look to go with Xiao Li’s.”
Jiang Lin replied with an amused yet helpless tone, “Director He, that doesn’t make sense. Cheng Yue and Ji Ming’an are just here for one night of camping, they still have to go down the mountain.”
He Zhanpeng waved his hand dismissively. “No audience wants to imagine how you’ll get down the mountain, they just want to imagine how many rounds you battled through the night. Xiao Li, just maintain that state. Alright, I’m off to find something to eat.”
Li Qianxing watched He Zhanpeng’s retreating back, then turned to look at Jiang Lin. “So, is that what you were laughing about earlier?”
Jiang Lin met his gaze, eyes full of sincerity. “I was completely led astray by the scene, I absolutely wouldn’t make such assumptions normally. Li-ge, you have to believe me.”
Li Qianxing stared at him, raising the egg to his mouth and taking a bite.
Jiang Lin saw the egg in his hand, now missing a small chunk, and for some reason felt a vague, empathetic pain. He quickly averted his gaze and lowered his head to eat his own noodles.
Time passed quickly amidst the crew’s bustle. By a little after six, everything was ready. Fortunately, the rain hadn’t arrived, and the sky was growing increasingly red and bright.
Li Qianxing and Jiang Lin entered the prop tent, waiting for filming to begin.
◆
A ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating the tent’s entrance.
The door was pulled open, and Cheng Yue, half-sprawled, brushed his hair out of his eyes, squinting at the outside before gently shaking Ji Ming’an sleeping beside him.
“Ming’an, wake up, the sun’s about to rise.”
Ji Ming’an mumbled a response, rubbing his eyes as he woke up, then rolled over to look outside.
The sky was a blaze of red, and in seemingly the blink of an eye, a crimson orb leaped above the cloud layer, showering the mountaintop with light.
Ji Ming’an leaned against Cheng Yue, a smile on his face as he murmured softly, “So warm…”
Cheng Yue turned his head to look at Ji Ming’an’s face, reddened by the dawn light, and leaned in to plant a kiss on his cheek.
Ji Ming’an, tickled by Cheng Yue’s stubble, laughed while shrinking his neck and reached out to pinch Cheng Yue’s face.
Cheng Yue allowed him to pinch for a moment before pulling his hand away and retrieving a small velvet box from under the pillow.
Seeing this, Ji Ming’an’s eyes widened slightly, his smile transforming from surprise to delight, tinged with a hint of nervousness.
Cheng Yue was also nervous, his fingers slipping twice before finally managing to pry open the box lid.
Inside was a pair of plain platinum rings.
Cheng Yue pressed his lips together, gazing into Ji Ming’an’s eyes, and slowly began to speak.
“I think we’re bound to have disagreements and arguments in the future. But this time, I’m confident we can walk together for a long time. Ming’an, are you… willing?”
Ji Ming’an looked back at him for a long moment before taking a deep breath. Then he shifted, offering his left hand.
Cheng Yue’s eyes lit up as he took a ring and reverently slipped it onto Ji Ming’an’s ring finger.
Ji Ming’an then took Cheng Yue’s left hand, put the other ring on him, and held their hands side by side, admiring them.
“You’ve learned your lesson this time, choosing the simplest ones. Can’t go wrong with these. It’s suitable for wearing in public.”
He said with a smile, his voice containing a barely noticeable tremor.
Cheng Yue moved his hand, grasping Ji Ming’an’s, their rings overlapping.
They raised their heads, instinctively smiling at each other.
Under the morning sun, warmth enveloped them.
◆
The sunrise window was brief. He Zhanpeng checked the playback to confirm there were no issues, then quickly had close-up shots taken. After a flurry of activity, they managed to finish the scene just in time.
Li Qianxing and Jiang Lin emerged from the tent, stretching their slightly stiff bodies.
Noticing the weariness on Li Qianxing’s face, Jiang Lin couldn’t help saying, “Why don’t you go get some more sleep? I’ll tell Director He to film my scene first.”
While waiting earlier, Li Qianxing had dozed off next to Jiang Lin. Probably because of the heat from Jiang Lin’s body, Li Qianxing felt a little sleepy now. Hearing this, he nodded without hesitation and walked towards his tent with a yawn.
Jiang Lin watched Li Qianxing enter the tent before going to find He Zhanpeng.
There were two more scenes to shoot at this location, which were solo scenes for Jiang Lin and Li Qianxing that echoed the earlier proposal scene.
Cheng Yue and Ji Ming’an had planned to camp here and watch the sunrise when they were dating in college but kept putting it off until they broke up. Later, they had each come separately but never encountered good weather, missing the sun entirely.
The crew had to get all the shots in one visit, so those two scenes would be filmed when the sun was higher and the light more stable, to be darkened in post-production.
Both solo scenes had no dialogue, relying entirely on the actors’ body language, expressions, and eye work to convey emotions. Such scenes could be either easy or challenging to film – if the emotions were right, they’d wrap quickly; if not, it would take time to build up the right mood.
By the time it was Li Qianxing’s turn, it was already late. He filmed two takes, and He Zhanpeng felt it was nearly there, asking him to continue building the emotion for one more take as a backup.
Xiao Zhu checked the time and approached, saying, “Li-ge, I’ll go down the mountain first to prepare your meal. By the time you finish shooting and come down, it’ll be ready.”
Li Qianxing was uneasy about her going alone, so Jiang Lin asked Xiao Ding to accompany her.
The two assistants quickly packed up and left.
Li Qianxing shot two more takes, completing all the filming tasks for this location.
He Zhanpeng said to them, “You two go ahead, Xiao Li needs to eat. It’ll take quite a while to pack up here.”
The crew had prepared instant food, and by this time, they would certainly eat lunch before carrying equipment down the mountain. Jiang Lin didn’t mind, but since conditions allowed, Li Qianxing didn’t have to make do with those.
He Zhanpeng was about to ask the assistant director to arrange for someone to accompany them, but Li Qianxing declined. “You need all hands for the equipment. There is no need to send anyone with us.”
Jiang Lin added with a smile, “Don’t worry, Director He. I’m here; I won’t let any mountain spirits steal Li-ge away.”
He Zhanpeng considered that with few tourists around, two grown men going down the mountain in broad daylight shouldn’t be cause for concern, so he let them go.
Jiang Lin grabbed a bottle of water, and they started down the mountain together.
The mountain wasn’t particularly high, and the trees weren’t very thick, but they were tall and slender. Combined with the lush ferns, walking through the forest made the sunlight seem much scarcer, creating a cool, shady atmosphere.
The two chatted casually about films, novels, and TV shows as they slowly descended the scenic path, genuinely feeling like they were on a leisure trip.
However, as they walked, Jiang Lin suddenly stopped Li Qianxing, looking around, “The trees are much denser here, and the stone path is rougher than above. Did we pass through an area like this yesterday?”
Li Qianxing looked around as well. “I don’t think so…”
As he spoke, he took out his phone and paused, “There’s no signal here.”
Jiang Lin frowned. “Then we definitely didn’t pass through here. We had signal all the way up the mountain yesterday, I’m certain of that.”
Li Qianxing thought for a moment and said, “There was a fork in the road earlier, with a crooked signpost. Could we have taken a wrong turn there?”
Jiang Lin: “It’s possible. Let’s head back.”
However, just as they turned around, they felt water droplets falling on them.
Li Qianxing looked up. “Rain?”
The next instant, countless fine raindrops filtered through the trees, creating a rustling sound all around.
Though not heavy, the rain would soak through their clothes if they stayed out too long.
Jiang Lin quickly took off his jacket and draped it over Li Qianxing’s head, putting an arm around him as they walked back.
“We passed a cave earlier, let’s take shelter there first.”
Li Qianxing, covered by the large jacket and guided by Jiang Lin, took a moment to react.
“Put your jacket back on. A little rain won’t hurt me.”
Jiang Lin’s voice came through the jacket.
“I’m fine. This jacket is waterproof. The mountain wind is strong, and your restricted diet affects your immune system. Getting wet would be more troublesome for you. Now stop talking and focus on walking.”
Li Qianxing glanced up slightly, but his view was blocked by the jacket. He lowered his gaze, seeing Jiang Lin’s long strides.
On his shoulder where Jiang Lin’s arm rested, the warmth from Jiang Lin’s palm seemed to penetrate the clothing, reaching all the way to his skin.
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