Chapter 18: Come to My Room Tonight – A Premium Tug-of-War…

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Shi Qiu kept saying nothing was wrong, but Zhong Xiyuan wasn’t blind. He’d seen the kid sitting next to Director Chang all morning like a sulky little dumpling, pouting and poking at his lunch without eating much. And Shi Qiu expected him to believe his “nothing”?

Especially since all morning, apart from Jiang Fengmian and the director, no one had even talked to him. He had just been sitting there by himself, stewing over nothing.

Zhong Xiyuan even briefly wondered if he had done something to tick him off earlier, but Shi Qiu had looked fine when he arrived on set.

“Don’t like the lunch box?” Zhong glanced at the half-eaten meal in front of him.

“Mm.” Shi Qiu lowered his gaze, looking pitiful and aggrieved.

Zhong sighed. Lunchtime on set was short, and there was no time to run out and buy him something better. And he couldn’t have Shi Qiu sitting next to the director eating when everyone else was filming.

So he took the lunchbox off Shi Qiu’s lap, closed it, and walked over to the production crew’s catering table.

“Brother Zhang, do we have any lunches left? This one’s got a bug in it. Swap it for a new one,” he said, setting the box down and grabbing a replacement himself.

Shi Qiu’s lunch had been a standard crew meal with two meats and one vegetable. Designed to suit most people’s taste, which meant it was never great. The producers’ meals, on the other hand, were a clear upgrade with four dishes and a soup. Zhong picked a hot one and brought it back.

“Anything in here you want to eat?” he asked, handing the box over.

Shi Qiu opened it, and his eyes lit up at the sight of generous portions of sweet-and-sour pork and spicy chicken. Even the minced pork with eggplant looked good, nothing like the crew’s sad cauliflower stir-fry that made him question his will to live.

He broke apart a pair of disposable chopsticks, his bad mood already forgotten, and even flashed Zhong a sweet smile. “Thanks.”

His voice was just as sweet.

Zhong raised an eyebrow, thinking, this from the same kid who told me to get lost this morning?

He sat down next to him, watching him eat, and couldn’t help reminding him, “Slow down. Eating that fast isn’t good for your stomach.”

Shi Qiu took two sips of soup, then went back to shoveling food.

When the lunchbox was scraped clean, he leaned back in his chair with a satisfied sigh.

Zhong took the box away and, unable to resist, reached over to pinch his cheek.

Shi Qiu, full and lazy like a spoiled cat, just shot him a glare but didn’t bat his hand away.

“Now tell me,” Zhong said, pulling back his hand, “what were you sulking about all morning?”

Shi Qiu’s expression turned evasive. He knew Zhong would never just do a good deed out of kindness. If he let himself be swayed by these small favors, he’d probably end up having to go through the man’s back door sooner or later.

Zhong caught the hesitation in his eyes and sighed inwardly.

Next time the vice president complains his girlfriend is hard to coax, Zhong was going to tell him to come take a look at Shi Qiu. This was real diva-level sulking.

“I’m not going to do anything to you without your consent,” Zhong coaxed. “I’m in production; I can take care of anything in the crew. You just tell me, and I’ll handle it.”

“Or are you going to keep butting heads with me and sulking forever?”

At that, Shi Qiu thought of the entire outdoor shoot ahead, and how he’d have to keep watching the lighting team favor the female lead Hong Xinxue. He felt even more unwilling.

Yes, he was petty. Even if Jiang Fengmian and Hong Xinxue weren’t in the same league as actors, he still couldn’t stand seeing Jiang getting slighted right under his nose. Jiang had been nothing but good to him. If Jiang was wronged, then it was like he himself was wronged.

And Shi Qiu couldn’t stand being wronged.

Under Zhong’s gaze, the big white ball shifted a little and mumbled softly, “The lighting guy’s biased…”

Zhong just stared at him for a beat, then asked, “That’s it?”

All this fuss over something so tiny? The kind of thing only obsessive fans would notice?

Hong Xinxue didn’t throw her weight around or bully anyone; she was one of the easiest people in the business to work with. And here was a total newbie, someone who hadn’t even filmed a single scene, complaining about equal treatment?

And of course, it was about Jiang Fengmian.

Jiang himself didn’t mind, yet Shi Qiu had been brooding over it all morning.

Still, no one was more self-destructive than Zhong himself, getting annoyed, then running over to solve the kid’s problem anyway.

He rubbed his brow, feeling irritation bubbling inside him.

“This isn’t okay?” Shi Qiu shot back, all righteous indignation.

“Okay, ancestor,” Zhong sighed. “You’re my ancestor.”

Shi Qiu watched him stand and walk over to the lighting director, instinctively shrinking into his puffer jacket.

Zhong greeted the lighting director with a smile, chatted for a while, and soon the man was adjusting the lights.

Shi Qiu’s phone buzzed in his pocket.

Bossy Student Council President: “Happy now?”

Just then, Chang Tianhe called “Action,” and Shi Qiu leaned over to watch the monitor. The lighting was fine now.

Back in his folding chair, basking in the afternoon sun, he typed on his phone.

Treasure Brother: “Mm.”

Treasure Brother: “[Cat nodding.gif]”

Zhong looked at the cutesy sticker, then at the lazy figure slouched in the chair.

Well, now he was behaving.

Bossy Student Council President: “Come to my room tonight.”

Shi Qiu’s relaxed face immediately twisted into a look of distaste.

Zhong watched him frown and wrestle with it for several minutes before finally getting a reply.

Treasure Brother: “Oh.”

No sticker this time.

He could tell Shi Qiu was still sulking, but Zhong felt perfectly content. Pocketing his phone, he got back to work.

The first few days of shooting had no night scenes scheduled, so they wrapped early.

“You were great today. Tired?” Shi Qiu asked, walking beside Jiang Fengmian with his backpack.

“Not too bad. Physically I’m fine, just mentally drained,” Jiang said with a smile. “I couldn’t get into the zone, felt like I didn’t do very well.”

“Not true, you were amazing!” Shi Qiu encouraged him.

For his very first shoot, holding his own against Hong Xinxue, an actress with eight years in the business and a reputation for real skill, was impressive.

Jiang shook his head but didn’t argue, instead asking, “You’re not bored here?”

“Nope. It’s actually really fun.” Shi Qiu was quick to reassure him, afraid he’d be sent home.

Jiang ruffled his hair, slung an arm around his shoulders, and walked him toward the hotel.

“Rest well, okay?” After saying goodbye, Shi Qiu went to his own room, took off his puffer jacket, warmed up by the heater for a bit, then took a shower and changed into pajamas.

When he came out, his phone screen was lit up.

Bossy Student Council President: “Didn’t we agree you’d come to my room?”

Bossy Student Council President: “Relax. I won’t do anything without your permission.”

Shi Qiu tossed the towel over his still-damp hair, stormed out, and knocked on Zhong’s door.

Zhong opened it right away, only to find Shi Qiu standing there in a white bunny onesie, hair damp, a towel perched on top of his head, looking at him with that cocky little face.

The whole scene looked like something off a kids’ channel.

Zhong, who had just spent time tidying himself and the room, didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“Come in,” he said, stepping aside and going to look for the hair dryer.

Shi Qiu stomped in without ceremony, his fuzzy slippers slapping against the floor, and plopped into a chair. “So what did you call me here for?”

Zhong switched on the hair dryer, his fox-like eyes narrowing slightly. “Fuck me.”

Shi Qiu bristled instantly, glaring. “ no! I’m not doing that!”

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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 🤭