Chapter 17: Favoritism ~ Who Made You Unhappy?

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Shi Qiu had been on guard around Zhong Xiyuan for several days. Seeing him behave quietly with no trouble, he gradually stopped watching him so closely.

The crew officially started filming. After packing his things, Shi Qiu went with Jiang Fengmian to their hotel. Originally, due to the crew’s stingy style, the two of them would have shared a twin room. But somehow, they were each given a pretty nice big-bed room.

However, their rooms weren’t even on the same floor. After putting his suitcase in his room, Shi Qiu saw Zhong Xiyuan coming out of the next-door room.

Their rooms were right next to each other.

Shi Qiu was thinking about how suddenly the crew got so generous. Now seeing he was next to Zhong Xiyuan, it was obvious who had arranged this.

Zhong Xiyuan saw Shi Qiu standing at his door wearing that signature white down jacket. His narrow fox-like eyes slightly narrowed, with a barely noticeable hint of pleasure in his voice: “Hello, Assistant Shi.”

Shi Qiu frowned and lowered his eyebrows in displeasure. When his brows relaxed, he looked harmless and innocent, but with brows drawn down like now, his whole aura became sharp and fierce.

Zhong Xiyuan loved this Shi Qiu look, especially when Shi Qiu looked at him like he was garbage.

Just being looked at like that by Shi Qiu made Zhong Xiyuan’s heart race and his body respond.

Shi Qiu noticed Zhong Xiyuan wasn’t wearing a mask and sneered, “Face not swollen anymore?”

Zhong Xiyuan smiled and stepped closer. “Not swollen anymore. Want me to check?”

Shi Qiu’s brows furrowed tighter. “Go away.”

This time Zhong Xiyuan listened, seeing Shi Qiu about to lose it. He stood up straight and put on a serious expression. “Alright, it’s getting late. Let’s put our things away and go to the set.”

Shi Qiu silently followed him into the elevator and warned, “Whatever you want to do, don’t delay my Gege’s filming.”

Zhong Xiyuan’s temper flared at the mention of Jiang Fengmian but he didn’t show it, just smiled and nodded, “Sure.”

Why would he delay Jiang Fengmian’s filming? Zhong Xiyuan wasn’t stupid. He had pulled strings to get this internship. If the project had problems, his image with Uncle Li would take a huge hit.

Seeing Zhong Xiyuan was behaving, Shi Qiu didn’t bother saying more and headed off to the set with his backpack.

The weather was nice that day, early winter not too cold yet. Director Chang Tianhe announced they’d shoot outdoor scenes without snow first, then move indoors when it got colder.

At the location, Shi Qiu looked around carrying his small backpack, circling the shooting site. Chang Tianhe sat by the monitors and called out, “Xiao Shi, what are you looking for?”

“A good place to sit…” Shi Qiu mumbled.

Then he saw Chang Tianhe sitting on a folding chair and stopped circling.

This spot was great, sunny with no wind. Sitting here soaking up the sun watching actors perform was really nice.

Shi Qiu walked over, blinking his eyes, and asked, “Director Chang, can I sit here?”

“Sure,” Chang Tianhe never minded small things. “This chair’s for you.” He gestured to the folding chair beside him.

“Thanks, Director Chang.”

Shi Qiu sat next to him and casually put his bag down.

Others might hesitate to sit by the director, but Shi Qiu felt no pressure. Jiang Fengmian’s pay was so low, and he freeloaded off the director’s guidance. Shi Qiu unzipped the hem of his down jacket and sat comfortably in the chair, acting like the director’s right-hand man.

Once everyone was in place, Chang Tianhe picked up a megaphone and began directing the shoot.

Today’s scenes weren’t difficult. Jiang Fengmian’s acting was solid, and female lead Hong Xinxue was experienced. Chang Tianhe shot several takes and felt increasingly confident, growing more satisfied with the actors.

Without the producer coming over to interfere, Chang Tianhe watched the lead actors delivering lines on the monitor and felt the conditions were so good, he might as well loosen up and make it artistic.

“Lao Yang, I think I’ve got the hang of this drama,” Chang Tianhe called out, then said “Okay, next,” turning to the people behind him.

Lao Yang was eating sugar oranges with Yuan Lingzhu. He said, “The drama you struggled with last time was pretty well handled. How much did the investors lose again?”

“Can you say something auspicious?” Chang Tianhe suddenly lost his bravado and muttered, then continued watching.

“Our Director Chang is getting artsy,” Lao Yang joked to Yuan Lingzhu.

Yuan Lingzhu dropped her orange peel and told Chang Tianhe, “Director Chang, you can be artsy, but don’t change my script without permission.”

This time the investors weren’t trying to meddle, and she came personally to ensure her original work was faithfully adapted. She wouldn’t tolerate Chang Tianhe messing it up.

“Change the script? Do you know what cinematic language is?” Chang Tianhe grabbed an orange and the megaphone. “Cut! You there, extra, where are you looking? Your eyes should be on the female lead!”

“Again!”

Shi Qiu didn’t pay attention to the apologizing extra. He leaned in to look at the monitor in front of Chang Tianhe and felt something was off.

The lighting was biased toward the female lead Hong Xinxue. Since they were outside with plenty of sunlight, the bias wasn’t obvious. But indoors, it would be glaring.

Shi Qiu pressed his lips, glanced at Hong Xinxue’s manager and assistant busily working nearby, but said nothing.

Right now, the lighting bias didn’t affect the picture quality, but Shi Qiu was sensitive to this treatment. Hong Xinxue’s side looked especially clear and bright, while Jiang Fengmian’s side was normal. Shi Qiu couldn’t bring himself to fuss over such a trivial matter with the lighting tech.

Hong Xinxue’s star power was big, and her pay for one episode equaled Jiang Fengmian’s for the entire drama. It was normal for the lighting to favor her. If it didn’t, why favor Jiang Fengmian, a student making his first drama?

Once they moved indoors, the difference would be obvious. Then Shi Qiu would raise the issue with Chang Tianhe.

Shi Qiu quietly comforted himself for a long while until he finally stopped caring about it.

He curled up in the chair, wearing his mask, hood zipped tightly, becoming an even bigger white ball.

During lunch break, Shi Qiu sat leisurely on the folding chair eating his boxed meal. Jiang Fengmian had finished eating and gone to touch up his makeup.

Shi Qiu was picky about food. good food he devoured quickly, bad food he barely touched. This boxed meal was worse than what Jiang Fengmian made, so he barely ate any of it.

He poked at a sad piece of vegetable with disposable chopsticks when suddenly a shadow fell over him.

Zhong Xiyuan sat down on the stool beside him.

“Not in a good mood?” Zhong Xiyuan smiled, adjusting his glasses. “Who made you unhappy?”

Shi Qiu looked up, glanced at him, pursed his lips, and whispered, “No one.”

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Translator note: 📌

Thank you for reading 💖 see you again in the next chapter, my lovely cherries 😘

📍Note: I’m pretty free lately, so I will be posting 3  to 4 chapters a day. Enjoy 🤭