Chapter 14
Like him? Of course I like him. He was the person he had liked since middle school. But facing the camera, Ji Wei didn’t know how to answer. His feelings for Lu Shenxing were probably very complicated, too complex to be described in a single sentence.
Before meeting Lu Shenxing, he was afraid he wouldn’t be as good as he imagined, yet also afraid he would be even better than imagined—a radiant, dazzling figure. He would be a speck of dust under that light, looking up at him. He could only look up at him.
Ji Wei fell silent.
“I’m just teasing you.” Film Emperor Lu suddenly chuckled softly, his gaze fixed on him. “Not nervous anymore, are you?”
How did his idol know he was nervous before? Ji Wei abruptly looked up at Lu Shenxing. The man still had a gentle and refined appearance. He let out a soft “mm.”
He really wasn’t nervous anymore. Lu Shenxing’s joke had dispelled the slight distance that had formed over the week, making him feel less remote. He now had the courage to speak with Lu Shenxing.
[Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I want to be teased by Film Emperor Lu like that too!]
[Film Emperor Lu is quite a considerate person, actively taking care of his juniors. His acting and character are impeccable. I wonder if I’ll ever be lucky enough to meet him.]
[Speaking of which, Film Emperor Lu has no romantic chemistry with anyone he acts with. How come he has chemistry with the little brother all the time?]
[You’re not alone! This CP fan is about to faint. Lu-Wei is real!]
The flight from Yancheng to France took eleven hours. When they disembarked, everyone was quite tired, but the fresh sea breeze that washed over them seemed to sweep away all their fatigue. “A vacation on the public dime.” Du Ruosong smiled, looking very content. Su Wen also nodded slightly.
Everyone was in a good mood until Director Zhang, holding Yancheng Television Station’s trademark megaphone, shouted, “Welcome to the beautiful seaside city of Nice. All guests, please voluntarily hand over your mobile phones and wallets.”
Du Ruosong immediately started to sigh dramatically. “Director Zhang, we’re in an unfamiliar place in France, and we don’t speak French. It’ll be the death of us without our phones and wallets!”
Old Sir Ma Liqing also stroked his long beard with concern. Not only did he not speak French, but he couldn’t speak English either, only Russian.
“Your first task is to find the contact person at a musical instrument store.”
Director Zhang showed them a photograph. The man in the photo was in his early fifties, with a very typical French appearance—dark hair, brown eyes, and faint freckles on his cheeks. There were probably thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people like him on the streets of Nice.
After a staff member took back the photo, Zhao Yue saw Ji Wei close his eyes and use his hand as if measuring something. He couldn’t help but mock, “It’s useless no matter how well you remember it. Nice is huge; the hard part is finding the person.”
Du Ruosong frowned. “Without phones or money, finding someone is like looking for a needle in a haystack. The production team is being too difficult.”
Perhaps because of the guests’ intense resentment, the production team made a concession, allowing them to form teams of two. The groups would be decided by drawing cards.
[Huh, why do I feel like the production team is targeting Film Emperor Lu? Can’t they just let a man slack off in peace?]
[Hahahahahaha, drawing cards for groups. I’m sorry, but my Old Lu has no relationship with the King of Luck. At this year’s Cannes Film Festival, he was in the group of death and didn’t win an award. It broke my heart, such a good role.]
[Hahahahahahahahahahahaha, are they afraid of a Lu-style democracy if they let them group up voluntarily?!]
[Hahahahahahahahahahahaha, I can feel the production team’s strong will to survive. I’m dying of laughter.]
Six cards had three numbers written on them. Those who drew the same number would be in a group. After everyone had taken a card, Su Wen glanced at hers and suddenly asked, “Ji Wei, what’s your number?”
Everyone still remembered Ji Wei’s unconventional performance in the last episode. All eyes converged on Ji Wei, waiting for his answer. Ji Wei, however, didn’t notice and replied casually, “Number three.”
“Number three, huh—”
Lu Shenxing lowered his eyes, his tone faint.
“I’m number three! I’m number three! I’m number three!” Du Ruosong leaped up from the ground with joy, clutching the card in his hand. He opened his arms, wanting to give Ji Wei an enthusiastic hug.
However, Lu Shenxing reached out, grabbed Ji Wei’s wrist, and pulled the young man to his side, causing Du Ruosong to lunge into empty air. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Lu Shenxing say slowly, “Talk is fine, but don’t get handsy.”
Du Ruosong was speechless.
[At first glance, what Film Emperor Lu said makes a lot of sense, but the fact that he’s holding the little brother’s hand while saying it makes it very unconvincing.]
[Click to see Film Emperor Lu’s online double standards! Songsong didn’t even touch him, but you’ve already grabbed the little brother’s hand.]
[Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, CP fans, where are you? Let me see your hands!]
[Me, me, me!!!! No matter what anyone else says, in my eyes, this is love!]
After a moment, Lu Shenxing finally let go. Ji Wei flexed his wrist. Even through his sleeve, the spot where Lu Shenxing had held him felt… somewhat hot.
The group assignments were quickly finalized. He was with Du Ruosong, Lu Shenxing was with Zhao Yue, and Su Wen was with Old Sir Ma Liqing.
[The first two groups are fine, but are you sure the last one isn’t the group of silence? Do you even want viewers in that stream?]
[Someone on Weibo tallied the number of times Su Wen spoke last episode. She only said ten sentences in total, and seven of them were related to Ji Wei. Tragic.]
[It’s not that bad. The little brother’s group only has a combined 104,000 viewers. The Heavenly Queen’s group has 5.84 million. People will watch even if the Heavenly Queen just sits there and does nothing.]
After the three groups separated, Du Ruosong was very excited. He could finally experience what it was like to be on the winning team. “What should we do now? Go to the instrument store?” Du Ruosong asked.
Ji Wei shook his head. “I want to find paper and a pen.”
That was a bit tricky. Although they were in a central square, Du Ruosong wasn’t sure if any of the shops would be willing to lend them paper and a pen. Suddenly, a piece of paper and a pencil appeared in front of Du Ruosong.
Talk about a timely rescue! Du Ruosong was about to say thank you when he looked up and saw it was Lu Shenxing. He had a bad feeling. “Film Emperor Lu, what are you doing here? Weren’t Weiwei and I supposed to be a team?”
Lu Shenxing glanced at Du Ruosong and said slowly, “It doesn’t say two groups can’t cooperate.”
Du Ruosong was speechless.
[Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Please cut to the director’s camera. I want to see the director’s expression right now!!]
[Well, Old Du is depressed.]
[Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha, Film Emperor Lu is truly a man one cannot refuse.]
[I reasonably suspect the person above is throwing shade at Film Emperor Lu. If you’ve got something to say, say more!]
For the sake of exposure, Zhao Yue had no choice but to follow Lu Shenxing. He watched Ji Wei with a slightly impatient expression. “No, what do you need a pen and paper for? Are you going to draw the contact person?”
“Yes.”
Ji Wei nodded.
Zhao Yue was speechless. Damn, he actually dares to boast.
He didn’t believe it at all, but with Lu Shenxing nearby, he had learned his lesson and didn’t say what he was thinking. Instead, he suggested tactfully, “I think what we should do now is ask for the location of every instrument store and search by area.”
“There’s no need.”
Ji Wei began to sketch on the paper, speaking softly.
Zhao Yue threw up his hands, not angry. “You said it.”
He could already guess how much Ji Wei’s reputation would change after the show aired. No one likes a stubborn person. Indeed, the bullet comments were more in favor of Zhao Yue’s approach.
[As an art student, let me say that portrait drawing is a very meticulous skill. You usually draw stroke by stroke with a model in front of you. Five minutes of observation is really only enough for a quick sketch. Of course, a great master’s sketch can be very powerful, but relying on it to find someone is still quite a stretch.]
[I think Zhao Yue has a point. Even if he does draw the portrait, they’ll still have to search for instrument stores one by one.]
[The little brother is being a bit arrogant this time. Maybe the last episode’s task went too smoothly for him.]
Ji Wei didn’t know that the netizens were not optimistic about his performance this episode. He closed his eyes, recalled the photo, and then slowly sketched an outline. His strokes were steady and precise, requiring almost no correction.
[Holy crap! Is it my imagination, or does this sketch already look very lifelike? I kneel before the little brother.]
[As a science student, I’m impressed but don’t understand why.]
[I take back my previous comment! I thought the little brother was an amateur and wasn’t optimistic about him finding the person with a portrait. Looking at this technique, he’s clearly a professionally trained master. This is award-winning level work.]
[Is it really that good? It’s just a sketch, you can’t really tell much from it.]
There were still voices of doubt in the stream, but as time passed, the original sketch was slowly filled in with countless details of light and shadow. A complete portrait gradually appeared before the audience, so realistic it was almost like a photograph. All the doubt was replaced by astonishment.
[Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! Is he even human? He’s a damn human photocopier!]
[His memory and observation skills are terrifyingly high. And his strokes are flawless, without any changes. I have to go back and watch the video again. He’s really amazing.]
[Don’t ask me why I’m watching the video on my knees. It’s just my knees, take them!]
Soon, someone edited a clip of Ji Wei drawing and posted it on Weibo. In no time, it was trending. More and more people poured into Ji Wei’s stream. The viewership, which started at 43,000, surged upwards, quickly breaking the 150,000 mark, and the growth rate never slowed.
If the stream was like this, one can only imagine the reactions of Du Ruosong and the others who witnessed it in person. From the moment Ji Wei started drawing, Du Ruosong hadn’t blinked, his eyes fixed on the brush in Ji Wei’s hand. He didn’t know much about painting, but he just felt that Ji Wei’s drawing was fluid and natural, inexplicably comfortable to watch.
He sighed with emotion. “I’ll definitely make my son learn to paint in the future.”
Because it gave one such an air of refinement… The young man sat on a bench on the street, with modern high-rise buildings behind him. He was looking down, diligently drawing on the paper with a pen, revealing a small section of his fair neck. It seemed as if everything around him had become tranquil because of him.
The scene was simply too beautiful. It attracted many French people to stop and watch. Most of them watched with admiration, while some took out their phones to take pictures.
Ji Wei made the final stroke and stood up. Applause and praise immediately erupted around him. Ji Wei was a little surprised. He had been so engrossed in his drawing that he hadn’t realized so many foreigners had gathered around. He smiled shyly at the crowd.
Lu Shenxing quietly watched the young man beside him. The first time he saw Ji Wei… it seemed to be a similar scene. Perhaps his gaze was too focused, because a young French man nearby mustered up the courage to ask him, “Who is he to you?”
Lu Shenxing looked relaxed and said lazily in French, “My little boyfriend.”
His voice was too low to be picked up by the microphone. Only Ji Wei, who was closest to him, heard it. He didn’t understand French, so he asked curiously, “What did he just say to you?”
“He said—” The man’s gaze lingered on Ji Wei’s face for a moment, then he paused and said, “that we look good together.”