“Don’t steal my buns, don’t steal! Don’t steal!!!!”
Wang Muguang slammed heavily onto the ground, his blackened hands frantically feeling around for his broken bowl.
The two steamed buns in the broken bowl had already been snatched away by the beggars, which meant that the dinner he had begged for with great difficulty had become someone else’s meal. From joy to nothing, all his effort turned into dust.
Wang Muguang rolled and crawled on the ground, and his performance was very realistic.
He hadn’t expected this effect either. When he asked the extras to beat him up for real, everyone hesitated, not daring to look at him, let alone agree to his request.
But once the camera started rolling, the feeling came naturally. Everyone was righteous and indignant. As expected of professional extras, the moment the camera rolled, they were in character.
But the more Wang Muguang acted, the more he felt something was off. Among so many fists, only one spot was particularly painful. The other punches were as soft as cotton falling on him, only that one area felt like being smashed with a rock.
Nevermind. Just finish the scene first.
Wang Muguang acted this scene perfectly, and the director’s satisfaction was written all over his face. After all, he had no expectations for Wang Muguang’s acting, but he did not expect that he would bring him such a pleasant surprise.
When the director called cut, one of the beggar extras pulled Wang Muguang up.
“Teacher Wang, are you okay?”
Wang Muguang waved his hand, “I’m fine, you all worked hard too.”
His back hurt like it was cramping up, and he couldn’t help but grimace. The beating was so cruel, it was the worst beating he’d ever taken in his life.
Even when he was a child and couldn’t learn the piano no matter what, no one ever blamed him. The worst injury he’d had as a kid was pulling wool off a sheep’s butt and getting kicked in the chin.
Now the pain was the same as when he’d been kicked in the chin as a kid.
He sucked in a breath. Pain was pain. He’d asked for it himself. If it hadn’t hurt this much, he wouldn’t have acted so well.
Just as he was walking down, Wang Muguang suddenly saw a familiar figure in the crowd. The person looked a bit short in his eyes, and the height was inexplicably familiar.
He was wearing tattered beggar clothes and waving his hand in the air.
“Ouc, I’m numb from beating.”
‘This voice…’
Wang Muguang: “…”
‘You little brat!
To confirm, he walked a few quick steps, stopped in front of the person. He lifted the messy hair, and a pair of bright eyes like black grapes appeared.
Bai Shuijin looked at him and immediately praised, “Little Uncle, you acted really well in that scene.”
The corners of Wang Muguang’s mouth lifted at the praise but quickly fell. No, now wasn’t the time to be complacent with praise!
“Did you just beat me up for real?”
“Beat you up for real?” Bai Shuijin shook his head, “No ah.”
Wang Muguang’s eyes landed on his hand, “Didn’t your hand go numb from beating?”
“I just got so into my role, Little Uncle. You don’t think I was really trying to beat you up, right? Am I that kind of person?!”
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
Silence was tonight’s Cambridge Bridge.
“…”
Bai Shuijin: ‘Damn, I’ve been divorced.’
He shifted Wang Muguang’s focus, “That’s not important. What’s important is that you acted well in that scene.”
Bai Shuijin jumped up and hooked an arm around his shoulder, “Little Uncle, I’m proud of you.”
The pain in Wang Muguang’s back disappeared. In fact, he really hadn’t expected to do so well today. He lowered his head and said to him, “When I was rolling on the ground just now, did I look cool?”
“What are you saying…you’re the crew’s Kardashian, super sexy. I almost couldn’t hold myself back.”
‘…Couldn’t hold back from giving you two more kicks.’
Wang Muguang smiled smugly, “Don’t say that to my brother.”
“I won’t, I won’t.” Bai Shuijin: “Don’t tell my laogong-ge either.”
“No way.”
The two of them giggled together.
Wang Muguang’s agent watched the two people with their arms around each other.
The two really looked like beggars from afar, like they’d just walked out of the Beggar Sect.
Wang Muguang hummed a little tune happily, also feeling very grateful to Bai Shuijin. Without his help in the beginning, maybe he really wouldn’t have done so well in the night parade scenes.
The other party had followed his entire schedule from start to finish. He might be narcissistic, but he knew he was quite difficult to handle.
“Bai Shuijin, thank you.”
Bai Shuijin turned his head to look at him, “Thank me for what?”
Wang Muguang said awkwardly, “Thank you means thank you, why ask?”
Bai Shuijin: “…… I should have kicked you twice more earlier.”
“…”
Then Wang Muguang’s agent saw the two people who had just been getting along harmoniously start bickering loudly.
“You still say you didn’t beat me for real? If the director hadn’t called cut, my leg would’ve been broken by you!”
“Clean hands, clear heart, your heart is really filthy!”
Agent: …
.
The office door was knocked on.
“Come in.”
The secretary walked in holding documents, ready to confirm the next few days’ work schedule with Wang Huanxiu.
Wang Huanxiu handled countless matters every day and had a lot of work, and these days he happened to be going on a business trip to Nancheng.
However, the secretary was a little puzzled when looking at the business trip itinerary. Although the company’s top management attached great importance to this project, there was no need for Wang Huanxiu to go in person to negotiate. It would be enough to find a deputy general manager.
But going was fine too. The business trip was just to discuss the project for two days, and then she can also go on a paid break after completing the work.
President Wang could also take a break. This workaholic never took a day off all year and was practically like a robot. Sometimes the secretary felt suffocated just watching his workload.
For the first time, she realized not everyone could be a capitalist, every day brought endless tasks and endless collaborations.
But that wasn’t for her to empathize with. Doing her job and getting her paycheck was enough.
However, she hadn’t received any warm-hearted calls from Mr. Bai in the past few days, which made her feel like something was missing. The cheerful greeting when she picked up the phone, and the “big beauty, good afternoon” were missing.
Every time Mr. Bai called, he’d greet her like that.
But she’d watched Mr. Bai and President Wang’s younger brother’s livestream last night. It was quite funny and she kept watching all night. As a result, she’d been yawning at work today, like she’d been poisoned by the two of them.
“Documents.”
Seeing the secretary just standing there motionless, Wang Huanxiu spoke again, “Documents.”
The secretary came back to her senses and quickly placed the files on his desk, “Sorry, President Wang.”
Wang Huanxiu had no intention of blaming her, and she sensibly left the office.
She was really curious about how someone like President Wang got along with Mr. Bai.
Every move carried an air of intimidation. Mr. Bai clearly wasn’t afraid at all. He seemed to be very mischievous, but normally no one would dare act up under Wang Huanxiu’s eyes.
The secretary scratched her head, dying of curiosity.
Not only her, the company gossip group was curious too. If only they could see how the two got along.
She would ship them so hard.
.
Wang Muguang’s scenes lasted a few days, and he practically starved the entire time. These days, he only ate half a bowl of rice and drank a bottle of water each day, and relied on vitamins and other supplements to maintain his health.
By the fifth day, when his scenes were over, Wang Muguang had visibly lost weight and even his abs had shrunk.
As soon as the production manager called a wrap, he immediately opened a bottle of Coke to gulp down, but his quick-eyed agent stopped him. After not eating for so long, this bottle of Coke would’ve killed him or put him in the hospital.
Seeing how hungry he was, Bai Shuijin gave him half of his own sandwich.
Wang Muguang took it and, for the first time, ignored his image and shoved the half sandwich directly into his mouth. Having something in his stomach felt so much better.
Bai Shuijin looked at his starved-to-death reincarnated look and guessed that going hungry for these days was probably the most suffering this young master had ever endured in his life.
Oh, and that beating from a few days ago.
After they got back to the hotel, everyone from Wang Muguang’s studio caught up on sleep at the hotel and only crawled out of bed at night. Their schedule had been like this these days and they were practically nightwalkers now.
But there was no helping it, Wang Muguang’s scenes were always at night, which meant Bai Shuijin’s skin had been a buffet for mosquitoes that never left.
Nighttime was when mosquitoes came out. The crew shot night scenes with big floodlights, attracting swarms of mosquitoes that gathered above the filming area.
One supporting actor got bitten so badly by the poisonous mosquitoes he had to go to the hospital.
Bai Shuijin was a bit better off as he armed himself fully every night, but mosquitoes were cunning and everywhere, so just when the bite on his butt got better, he got bitten again.
These days he kept scratching his butt from time to time. It was really itchy. Even applying ointment didn’t help so he just had to wait for it to heal.
When he finally got up from bed, Bai Shuijin felt hunger hit him. He came out of his room, flip-flops slapping on the floor, and ran over to knock on Wang Muguang’s door.
When the door opened, Wang Muguang’s face came into view. After seeing him looking dusty and dirty these past few days, it felt a bit strange to see him so clean now.
Seeing him, Bai Shuijin opened his mouth, “Little Uncle, I’m hungry.”
Once he said that, Wang Muguang’s stomach growled too. He’d been starving these days and felt like he could eat a whole pig.
He opened the door wider to let him in, walked to the closet, and asked while looking for clothes, “What do you want to eat? I’ll have the hotel send food.”
Bai Shuijin shook his head. He’d been eating either hotel food or boxed meals from the crew these days, and he was already sick of it.
“Little Uncle, I want to eat out.”
Wang Muguang didn’t want hotel food either, and eating out meant they could try something new. He walked into the bathroom to wash his face, “Alright, what do you want to eat? Let’s go out.”
Bai Shuijin thought for a moment and said, “Then let’s have Hai Di Lao.”
**Hai Di Lao is a hot pot restaurant chain. (They don’t stop at serving food, they also have dancing waiters and entertainment performances while you eat)
Wang Muguang freshened up, put on a hat and mask, and walked out of the hotel fully disguised with Bai Shuijin.
After all, he was a famous celebrity, if he got recognized, it would cause a stir.
Bai Shuijin and Wang Muguang arrived at Hai Di Lao. In order for Wang Muguang to eat comfortably, they specially asked for a private room, so they wouldn’t have to worry about being recognized while eating.
Besides, Bai Shuijin was family. He’d seen his ugliest beggar look already. Wang Muguang could eat like a wolf without caring about his image.
The moment they stepped inside, they were hit by the delicious smell, which instantly awakened their taste buds and made them decide to eat like kings tonight.
Bai Shuijin looked at the drinks menu but there was nothing he wanted.
“Little Uncle, do you want milk tea?”
The answer was obvious. Wang Muguang put his disguise back on and went out to buy milk tea, leaving Bai Shuijin in the private room to order food. He ordered a lot, enough for him and Wang Muguang to finish, and if they couldn’t, they could pack it up.
A waiter stood by his side, smiling, “Our place also has special entertainment services. Would you like to try?”
‘Special entertainment services?’
Bai Shuijin blinked.
Wang Muguang suddenly received a call as he was buying milk tea, and he swiped his finger to answer.
“Big Brother.”
.
Wang Muguang took half an hour to buy milk tea. Bai Shuijin sat in the private room bored out of his mind… all the food he ordered was already served.
This feeling of only looking but not eating was pure torture for body and soul.
Bai Shuijin’s stomach growled continuously and he sprawled on the seat.
Damn Wang Muguang, if he didn’t come back soon, he was going to call the police.
Just as he was about to dial 110 in his head, the private room door was finally pushed open from outside… but it was not only Wang Muguang who walked in, there were a few people behind him.
Bai Shuijin turned to look and his eyes lit up instantly.
“Laogong-ge!”
His eyes lit up as if he’d just seen some rare treasure, and he sprang up from his seat.
Wang Huanxiu was followed by his secretary. It was obvious he had come to Nancheng for work, but no one knew if his work was done yet.
The two hadn’t seen each other for a few days, and Bai Shuijin really missed him.
After all, Wang Huanxiu was busy working during the day, and Bai Shuijin didn’t want to disturb him so he didn’t send many messages or call. But at night, he had to work with Wang Muguang, and Wang Huanxiu needed to rest.
The two of them had perfectly misaligned schedules, and they hadn’t had any time to talk at all these days.
It was only five days, but in Bai Shuijin’s heart, it felt like a reunion after a long separation. He couldn’t wait to go over to Wang Huanxiu’s side and hug him tightly.
The secretary next to them saw Bai Shuijin bump into Wang Huanxiu. Fortunately, their president had been working out regularly, and he stood there rock solid after being bumped.
Bai Shuijin also noticed the secretary and tilted his head slightly, “Hello, Beauty.”
The secretary smiled back at him. This time she finally saw Mr. Bai in person.
Unexpectedly, he was even cuter than on livestream. She was really scared when he bumped into Wang Huanxiu just now, usually no one dared to be this… unrestrained around Wang Huanxiu.
Bai Shuijin circled around Wang Huanxiu, “Laogong-ge, why are you here? Did you miss me? Did you come to see me?”
Wang Huanxiu lowered his eyes and looked at Bai Shuijin’s starry eyes, then looked away, “I have work here these few days.”
“Then is your work finished?”
“Finished.”
Bai Shuijin giggled, his whole person sunny and bright, “So when you finished your work, you came to see me.”
Wang Huanxiu didn’t answer.
The hotpot soup base had already boiled and they could start eating. Bai Shuijin and Wang Muguang were both very hungry, and Bai Shuijin pulled Wang Huanxiu to sit next to him.
Wang Muguang: “This is my…”
Halfway through his sentence, he shrank his neck, “This is my big brother’s seat.”
“…”
Wang Huanxiu sat there. He had only finished work nearby and came by since both his partner and brother were here.
He seemed to want to prove something.
Prove that he wasn’t the heartless person the old man called him… but deep down, he actually didn’t really care what the old man said.
He didn’t even know why he’d impulsively called Wang Muguang after finishing work.
Maybe it was because he hadn’t heard that noisy voice these days, so he was a little uncomfortable.
Bai Shuijin scooped a slice of beef into his mouth.
“Laogong-ge, was work tiring?”
“It was fine.”
The secretary ate across from them while quietly observing the two.
Mr. Bai could be so bold in front of President Wang only because the two of them have a deep emotional foundation and a good relationship.
Back then, when Mr. Bai embarrassed himself at the wedding, President Wang didn’t say anything.
Bai Shuijin chewed while glancing at Wang Huanxiu, “Laogong-ge, I haven’t seen you for days, I missed you.”
Wang Huanxiu teased, “Missed me just with your mouth?”
“Of course not, I missed you from the bottom of my heart.”
He thought of the photos Bai Shuijin had sent him before and the endless “laogong” messages on WeChat, “Really? I thought you were having too much fun to think about home.”
“How could I!”
Bai Shuijin despised Wang Huanxiu’s lack of trust in him, “Laogong-ge, there’s no one else in my heart but you. These days, I haven’t even looked at a single handsome guy.”
Wang Huanxiu stared at him with his dark eyes, “Really?”
“Really.” Bai Shuijin pouted his mouth, enough to hang a soy sauce bottle on it.
These days he’d been so exhausted being Wang Muguang’s assistant that there wasn’t even time to watch the stars and moon with any laogong.
Just then the private room door was pushed open by a waiter, who scanned the room and quickly walked up to Bai Shuijin’s side.
The other party had ordered the service but never called them, nor said when to start.
Bai Shuijin looked at the waiter who appeared next to him, a bit confused, and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong? Is something wrong?”
The waiter glanced at Wang Huanxiu beside him. This man looked like someone who was not easy to deal with.
He swallowed hard and asked Bai Shuijin, “Sir, do you still want the Subject Three and Window Cleaning you ordered?”
Bai Shuijin: “…”
The waiter hadn’t spoken loudly, but the private room instantly fell silent. The secretary’s eyes went wide and she quickly averted her gaze from the two, lowering her head to sip her soup.
So Mr. Bai was even bolder than she imagined. He said one thing with his mouth and did another behind the scenes, acting outrageously right in front of President Wang.
She didn’t hear anything. She didn’t hear anything at all.
No wonder Mr. Bai was able to marry President Wang, no one else could ever manage to make him this angry.
For a moment, the only sound in the room was the bubbling of the hot pot. Wang Muguang stuffed meat into his mouth and didn’t say a word.
Bai Shuijin’s scalp tingled. At the age of 20, he bought himself a big villa with full payment. It was not in Nancheng or in the capital, it was right under his feet.
“Heh.”
Hearing the cold chuckle in his ear, he bounced up and sat up straight, saying seriously to the waiter, “No need. I really hate watching that kind of stuff. I don’t like it at all.”
Waiter: “…”
When he first ordered Window Cleaning, this guest’s eyes were glowing like lightbulbs.
After the waiter left, Bai Shuijin immediately tried to coax his 1.88-meter-tall fragile laogong-ge, “Laogong-ge, I really don’t like watching that stuff. It just suddenly popped up on the menu, don’t worry, I’ve already canceled it.”
Sweet talk.
Not only Bai Shuijin, even the secretary could clearly feel that their President Wang’s mood had soured and a low-pressure was spreading around him.
By the end of the meal, everyone was sweating profusely…mostly from fear.
Wang Huanshou carried the imposing presence of someone in a high position. Just one glance when he was cold was enough to make your scalp go numb.
After the meal, the group headed out.
The secretary wanted to ask if Wang Huanshou would return to the reserved hotel with her. After all, from what she knew, the hotel Mr. Bai was staying at was the same one as the film crew’s. It was not a star-rated hotel, just a regular hotel. It was only because it was close to the filming base that people stayed there.
When supply is less than demand, any kind of business opportunity would be accepted, so that hotel still had some popularity.
But since they’d arrived in Nancheng, they had always stayed in the presidential suite of a five-star hotel. She didn’t think President Wang would go stay with Bai Shuijin.
Especially after what just happened at the restaurant.
As soon as Bai Shuijin heard that Wang Huanxiu was leaving, he immediately couldn’t bear it. “Laogong-ge, come back with me, let’s sleep together.”
It had also been a while since he’d seen those abs, and he missed them.
The male actors in the crew all looked quite good, but they were all a little too thin.
He still preferred someone like Wang Huanxiu, who was solid and refined in every way.
The secretary had already called a car, but when it arrived, Wang Huanxiu didn’t get in.
“You go back first.”
Secretary: !
‘Damn, he’s actually going with him!’
One sentence, and he got a man to give up a presidential suite to go stay in a cheap little hotel.
The secretary even wondered why President Wang didn’t just take him back to the presidential suite. Then a lightbulb went off in her head…it’s because the bed in the cheap hotel was smaller. The moment those two saw each other, they were already sticking close. A small bed would just make them stick even more.
Even though Wang Huanxiu hadn’t said anything while being clung to, he also hadn’t refused. A deep and scheming person like him would directly reject something if he didn’t like it. No rejection meant he liked it.
The secretary was suddenly overwhelmed. She covered her mouth and quickly opened the company gossip group to share the melon.
“President Wang is being toyed with in the palm of Mr. Bai’s hand!”
After the secretary left in the car, a strange gust of wind blew. Bai Shuijin, who was sharp-eyed, pressed down the edge of Wang Huanxiu’s coat that was fluttering up.
“Be careful.”
Wang Huanxiu: ?
Bai Shuijin: “Your abs might get exposed.”
“…”
Wang Muguang saw that after his brother showed up, Bai Shuijin completely ignored him, so he tried to get some attention. “Why don’t you help press mine too? My abs don’t matter?”
Bai Shuijin said disdainfully, “You have so many fart matters.”
“Hey!”
The three of them returned to the hotel where the crew was staying. Wang Huanxiu didn’t book a new room but went straight to Bai Shuijin’s room because there were no rooms left even if he wanted to book.
As soon as they entered the room, Bai Shuijin went to shower first.
The moment Wang Huanxiu stepped inside, he felt the crampedness. The room was very small, and the “double bed” the hotel mentioned was clearly smaller than a standard one, and compared to the bed at home, it wasn’t even worth looking at.
He even felt like the air in this room wasn’t fresh. He had never stayed in such a small room.
After Bai Shuijin finished showering, Wang Huanxiu went in. Bai Shuijin even specially requested a large, clean bathrobe for him.
He sat on the bed expectantly, legs pushing at the covers, waiting for Wang Huanxuu to come out of the bathroom.
His laogong-ge usually wore a bathrobe with the collar loose, so you could see the abs.
It had been so long, and he wanted to take this opportunity to see enough today.
As a result, when Wang Huanxiu came out of the bathroom, the collar was wrapped up tightly.
Bai Shuijin: “…”
A lightning strike on a clear day wouldn’t feel worse than this.
Wang Huanxiu walked to the bedside and looked down at Bai Shuijin who was sitting on the bed.
The other party’s hair was half-dry, soft and clinging to his face, and his eyes were staring up at him, full of longing. He didn’t know what he was longing for, but anyone who saw this look would desperately give him the stars in the sky even if he asked for them.
Wang Huanxiu looked at him coldly. He said he missed him, but he hadn’t done a single thing that showed it.
Since the other party wouldn’t reveal, Bai Shuijin decided to take matters into his own hands. He got up from the bed and reached out to tug at Wang Huanshou’s bathrobe, only to have his hand slapped away.
It wasn’t hard or painful, but he felt the distance in it.
“What are you doing?”
Seeing he wasn’t allowed to look, Bai Shuijin muttered, “Laogong-ge, are you upset?”
“No.”
“You are.”
Wang Huanxiu didn’t answer again.
It probably had something to do with the Window Cleaning.
Bai Shuijin moved closer. “Laogong-ge, what would make you happy?”
Wang Huanxiu looked at him, and Bai Shuijin suddenly had a bad feeling.
After all, this man was sinister and black-bellied.
Wang Huanxiu remembered the message the other party had sent him before.
“Taking a look at your mosquito bite.”
