LOI Chapter 27 — A Guilty Conscience

The March issue of MQ sold out immediately upon release, as many were curious about Rong Ke, and his exclusive interview could only be found in MQ across the entire internet.

Rong Ke had a copy given to him by Yan Zhi, which he brought to the set, thinking he could pass time with it when he had nothing to do.

As it turned out, he indeed needed to kill time.

Today’s scene involved the villain Sha Ya discovering the protagonists’ hideout, with an epic battle on the verge of erupting.

At the moment, Director Luo Bi was coaching Liu Qing, telling him not to feel awkward, as his moves wouldn’t seem cringeworthy once special effects were added in post-production.

But Liu Qing simply couldn’t loosen up, already wasting everyone’s time for quite a while.

Sitting to Rong Ke’s left, Zhou Lin seemed bored from waiting and took the initiative to chat with Rong Ke. “I read your interview. You’ve had such a rich experience.”

Zhou Lin was in full makeup, with a striking wound on his forehead, yet it couldn’t conceal his handsome features.

He and Jiang Si had both made it onto the list of Asia’s most handsome male celebrities. Rong Ke couldn’t recall their exact rankings. He only remembered how fiercely their fans had quarreled at the time.

“When there were no roles to play, I had to find something to do,” Rong Ke said.

“You shouldn’t be short of roles now, right?” Zhou Lin remarked. “I heard several crime drama scripts want you to play a narcotics officer.”

“Mm,” Rong Ke didn’t mention he’d already declined them all, as he didn’t want to capitalize on the hype given to him by officials.

Seeing Rong Ke’s lack of response, Zhou Lin appropriately changed the subject. “That ring you’re wearing,” he nodded, pointing at the picture in the magazine, “I wanted to buy it, but it’s sold out.”

Rong Ke glanced down. It was an accessory Yan Zhi had chosen for him on the day of the interview. It was a vine-shaped ring, also from BEJ.

He never paid attention to luxury goods sales, so he naturally didn’t know he’d caused another item to sell out.

“Is that so,” Rong Ke responded.

“Have you worked with Liu Qing before?” Zhou Lin switched topics again. “He’s actually quite skilled, but performing moves without special effects is indeed a bit awkward.”

Rong Ke couldn’t help but think of a certain prince; if it were him acting, he certainly wouldn’t feel awkward.

“Rong Ke,” Zhou Lin suddenly called out, interrupting Rong Ke’s thoughts, “Do you dislike chatting?”

“Huh?” Rong Ke was taken aback.

“You seem so cold. Are you always like this?” Zhou Lin smiled, as if trying to ease the awkwardness. “Or do you just find me annoying?”

“Not at all,” Rong Ke thought to himself that he simply wasn’t interested in those previous topics.

“Don’t worry, Ke-zi is easy to get along with,” Xin Ran, who was sitting on Rong Ke’s right, chimed in. “He just gets into character once he’s on set. So the one sitting between us right now isn’t Rong Ke, it’s Sha Ya. Do you think he’d chat with you calmly?”

“Why wouldn’t he?” Zhou Lin leaned past Rong Ke to look at Xin Ran. “Sha Ya and I are childhood friends. We just chose different paths. I still hold significant importance in his heart.”

“Oh, still going with the ‘love-hate relationship’ trope?” Xin Ran quipped before returning to her phone.

“But,” Zhou Lin continued, addressing Rong Ke, “you match my first impression of you perfectly.”

“First impression?” Rong Ke inquired.

“The mermaid on MQ’s New Year cover,” Zhou Lin said. “That feeling of ‘admire from afar, but don’t touch.'”

“No, man,” Rong Ke was caught between laughter and exasperation, “I’m really not aloof.”

Liu Qing’s performance still didn’t satisfy Luo Bi, so he asked Liu Qing to take a break and decided to film Zhou Lin and Rong Ke’s scene first.

The two touched up their makeup and entered the set. As soon as Luo Bi called “Action!”, they were in character.

“Sha Ya, I know your orders are to capture us alive,” Zhou Lin held a knife to his own throat, “Take another step, and I’ll plunge this in.”

“What? Are the sunglasses no longer effective against your mind-reading?” Rong Ke lazily removed his sunglasses, tossing them aside. “So your abilities are indeed evolving.”

—At the end of the first season, the leader’s mind-reading ability would evolve into mind control, and Sha Ya would ultimately be controlled by the leader, walking into the furnace himself.

Their scene only needed two takes to pass. Luo Bi called Liu Qing and the extras back to continue filming Lao Er’s¹ confrontation with Sha Ya’s subordinates.

Rong Ke returned to his resting chair, only to find several stains on it and the magazine that had been neatly placed now on the ground.

“Ke-zi,” Xin Ran whispered to Rong Ke, “Liu Qing’s assistant tripped earlier and spilled coffee on your chair.”

Zhou Lin, noticing the situation, said to Rong Ke, “Why don’t you take my seat? I’ll have my assistant find another chair.”

On set, there were many places to sit—cardboard boxes, steps, prop crates—but proper resting chairs for actors were limited.

Rong Ke didn’t respond. He looked up at Liu Qing’s assistant, who was sitting comfortably in Liu Qing’s chair, casually playing with his phone.

Rong Ke walked over in a few strides and kicked the chair leg. “Get up.”

The assistant, clearly not expecting Rong Ke to confront him directly, responded with panic and defensiveness. “What’s your problem?”

Perhaps it was the submissive posture of looking up at someone, or maybe Rong Ke’s icy gaze was truly intimidating, but the man stood up without knowing Rong Ke’s intentions.

Rong Ke immediately pulled away Liu Qing’s chair. The assistant panicked and grabbed it. “What are you doing?”

“Not letting go?” Rong Ke asked.

By now, the assistant understood the situation and, knowing he was in the wrong, released his grip. However, he couldn’t help but mutter, “It’s just a dirty chair, what’s the big deal?”

Rong Ke ignored him and returned to replace the soiled chair.

Many people witnessed this scene. Xin Ran leaned in to ask, “Do you have beef with Liu Qing? It’s not like you to retaliate.”

Rong Ke replied calmly, “I don’t bother those who don’t bother me.”

Zhou Lin watched Liu Qing’s assistant frantically searching for a chair around the set, then looked at Rong Ke with newfound interest. “I didn’t realize you had such a temper.”

The outcome was predictable; Liu Qing threw a massive fit when he returned.

He didn’t explicitly curse Rong Ke but kept berating his assistant for not being able to keep a simple chair.

The assistant, while being scolded, muttered, “Who knew he was such a diva, daring to take even our chairs.”

“Some people just don’t know their place. Is this your first day?”

The crew members all wore expressions of eager spectators, yet Rong Ke, the other central figure in this incident, remained exceptionally calm, as if he hadn’t heard Liu Qing’s outburst at all.

Just as Liu Qing seemed to be working himself into an even greater rage, an unexpected person arrived on set.

Jiang Si, under the pretext of visiting Liu Qing, brought his team to deliver afternoon tea.

The tension on set immediately dissipated. The spectators began envying Liu Qing for having such a considerate boyfriend, while Liu Qing’s face instantly brightened as he and Jiang Si started displaying their affection.

Up until that moment, Rong Ke’s heart had remained undisturbed.

Now, however… a hint of nausea crept in.

He grabbed his cigarette pack and went outside the studio to smoke. He had barely lit up when someone followed him out.

“I heard you just put Liu Qing in his place?” Jiang Si lit a cigarette of his own and asked, exhaling a puff of smoke.

Rong Ke silently bit his cigarette, mentally doing some calculations.

One Huazi² costs two-fifty, and he’d barely taken a puff. It wasn’t worth wasting for Jiang Si.

“What, feeling sorry for him?” he casually asked.

“Nah, I know he likes to throw his weight around. He must have provoked you first,” Jiang Si said.

Rong Ke couldn’t be bothered to respond further and smoked faster.

“Why did you choose the role of Sha Ya?” Jiang Si asked again. “There’s hardly any screen time, and you’ll be written off in the first season.”

Rong Ke gave Jiang Si a strange look and retorted, “Are we that close?”

Jiang Si was momentarily taken aback, then said, “Can’t we be friends again?”

This had to be the funniest joke Rong Ke had heard all year.

Suppressing the pain in his heart³, he stubbed out the half-smoked Huazi. “I don’t need more friends.”

“Rong Ke,” Jiang Si hurriedly called out to Rong Ke, who was already turning to leave, “Are you still angry with me?”

Rong Ke didn’t even pause his steps. Just then, his phone rang. He took it out and looked – it was a WeChat message from Yan Zhi.

[Yan Zhi: I don’t want to order takeout anymore :(]

His Royal Highness’s takeout orders always cost at least 500 yuan. Every time he sent pictures to Rong Ke, Rong Ke felt a pang in his wallet.

Realizing it had been nearly two weeks since he’d been home, Rong Ke replied: [I’ll come back and cook for you tonight]

[Yan Zhi: Great ^^]
[Yan Zhi: I’ll be waiting]
[Yan Zhi: Make sure to fill me up, dear hubby]

Rong Ke’s temple twitched as he rapidly typed back.

[Rong Ke: Stop with the dirty talk]

Rong Ke’s contract had strict filming hours—a first for him—so evening shoots usually didn’t run too late.

After wrapping up, Zhou Lin suggested everyone go sing karaoke, but Rong Ke slipped away unnoticed.

By the time he arrived at Tianxi Yunwan, the ingredients he’d ordered had just been delivered.

It was already past nine at night. Rong Ke hurriedly put on an apron and started cooking. Yan Zhi, who had been sitting on the couch, followed him into the kitchen, hovering around like a clingy spirit, “Was filming tiring?”

“Did Liu Qing give you a hard time?”

“When will the first episode air?”

“Stop,” Rong Ke raised his chin, pointing at the dining table. “If you want to eat sooner, go sit over there.”

Yan Zhi obediently took a seat.

Rong Ke prepared all of Yan Zhi’s favorite dishes. Evidently, His Highness was in a good mood today, as he even volunteered to clean up the kitchen.

The two casually watched a soap opera, chatting intermittently. Before long, Yan Zhi suddenly looked at his phone and asked Rong Ke, “Jiang Si went to your set today?”

It seemed he’d come across some related news.

“He went to flaunt his relationship with Liu Qing,” Rong Ke felt nauseated just thinking about their public display.

“Did he talk to you privately?” Yan Zhi asked.

He had to admit, someone’s sensitivity was quite high.

“You even guessed that,” Rong Ke said languidly.

“What did he say to you? Did he cause any trouble?” Yan Zhi furrowed his brow. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“There was nothing worth mentioning,” Rong Ke said, perplexed. “Don’t make it sound like I was secretly meeting my ex-boyfriend behind your back.”

“So what exactly did he want from you?”

“Nothing, just spouted a bunch of nonsense.” Rong Ke truly didn’t feel there was any need to report it. Not wanting Yan Zhi to press further, he retrieved a medicated patch from the first-aid kit and sprawled across Yan Zhi’s lap, saying, “I was on wires today, my back’s a bit sore. Help me put on a patch.”

Yan Zhi raised an eyebrow, swallowing his follow-up questions.

To make applying the patch easier, Rong Ke not only lifted his shirt but also lowered his pants, exposing a small portion of his buttocks.

Yan Zhi pursed his lips, feeling somewhat guilty. He hesitantly began, “Actually…”

Wait.

If he honestly confessed to being a top, he’d never see such an alluring sight again.

But if he didn’t confess, and it was discovered later…

The consequences could be even worse.

An internal battle raged in Yan Zhi’s mind. After a long silence, Rong Ke turned his head to look at Yan Zhi and asked, “Actually what?”

“Actually,” Yan Zhi paused, his large hand caressing Rong Ke’s lower back, “I’m quite skilled at massages. How about I give you one first?”