Chà Chà Novel

The director noticed Su Nuo was getting more and more off on camera. Especially whenever he got close to Wei Sinian, he went stiff right away. The director rubbed his thinning scalp, puzzled. Acting skills couldn’t be a one-time thing, could they?

The screenwriter sat watching, completely unbothered. “I had a little meeting with them. Su Nuo’s a bit shy. He can’t handle it yet.”

The director turned and stared at her. “Did you criticize the little young master?”

He was doing so well before. Why would you scold him?!

The screenwriter shook her head. “No. I just explained the scene.”

The director felt a jolt. He’d worked with this screenwriter for years and knew her style: no matter how wholesome and pure the story looked on the surface, there was always an equal amount of uncensorable bedroom scenes hidden underneath.

Are you a screenwriter or a smut writer?!

The hand holding his script started to shake. “This scene… has one too?”

The screenwriter smiled. “Yes.”

“Isn’t he about to go to war?” The director felt cheated. That’s not what you told me before!

“Sleeping together doesn’t stop him from going to war.” The screenwriter had a gentle, ladylike face and said the most outrageous things.

“But isn’t He Yun about to get married?” The director’s voice went up.

The screenwriter repeated exactly what she’d told Su Nuo. “He Yun’s a scumbag.”

Director: “…”

He was never working with this woman again. She was a little scary.

How can you say the male lead you wrote is a scumbag with such a straight face?!

I have reason to suspect even I, the director, have been shipping the wrong couple. You wanted He Yun and Heng Yu to be together from the start, didn’t you?!

Faced with the director’s soul-searching questions, the screenwriter calmly explained, “They’re not a couple. This is the story of He Yun becoming emperor. What emperor isn’t a scumbag? What does he know about love?”

By the time he finally understood, Heng Yu would have been in the ground for years.

The director was impressed. “That’s brutal.”

When it came to torturing the main characters, nobody was more ruthless than the screenwriter herself.

The screenwriter looked at Wei Sinian with a meaningful gaze. This really was perfect casting. She had a feeling that the story in the script wasn’t happening only in the script. The one in love without knowing it wasn’t only standing in front of the camera.

“You could’ve just told Sinian about this stuff. He’d guide Nuonuo into the scene. Calling them both over to talk about it, of course Nuonuo would get embarrassed,” the director said disapprovingly.

Sure, part of the reason he looked after the little young master was out of respect for the Fu family’s money. But after getting to know the polite, talented boy, he genuinely liked him. Since the person behind the little young master could protect him, the director didn’t mind showing him a prettier, cleaner version of this industry.

Su Nuo wasn’t like Wei Sinian. At this age, Wei Sinian had already been rolling around in the mud of the industry and had tasted every kind of hardship. But someone was holding an umbrella over the little young master, shielding him from every storm.

“I’m helping Wei Sinian.” The screenwriter looked at the director like he was an idiot. “Forget it. You wouldn’t get it.”

Director: “???”

I’m the director of this production! What scene wouldn’t I get?!

Su Nuo knew he wasn’t nailing this scene. He wasn’t even doing as well as he had at the audition. After the director called cut, he obediently came over to apologize.

“It’s okay. We’re not in a rush. As long as you get the emotions right and play Heng Yu well, that’s what matters. Nuonuo, take some time to reset. Can we pick it back up this afternoon?” The director smiled kindly.

He felt guilty too. Who knew how much more he’d end up corrupting the little young master later? Look how innocent the kid still was, and they were already explaining bedroom scenes to him. That was too much!

His assistant comforted the downcast little young master. “It’s so hot. I ordered watermelon juice. A glass will help.”

Su Nuo nodded and sat in front of a little fan, looking over at the director, who was talking with Wei Sinian.

Su Nuo felt really defeated. He’d thought he’d do even better this time, but it turned out he was worse than in his past life, when he’d just fumbled his way through.

So someone explained a bedroom scene to him. So what? Wei Sinian didn’t even flinch. Why was he being so awkward about it?

Su Nuo wanted to surpass Wei Sinian. He was holding onto a grudge, because Wei Sinian had once said his acting wasn’t as good as Su Yujin’s. He wanted to prove that Su Yujin wasn’t even worth comparing to him. And not just Su Yujin. Wei Sinian too.

If he couldn’t become better, then what was the point of living this life again? Drifting aimlessly through his days wasn’t what he wanted.

He wanted to shine in this industry. He wanted those men to know that everything they said to tear him down for Su Yujin’s sake wasn’t true.

Compared to how deeply he hated the others, he’d never been that close to Wei Sinian. Getting stabbed in the back by him hadn’t hurt as much. Back then, Su Yujin’s fans were already screaming at him to get out of the industry, and he’d been worn down to nothing.

No matter how much he resented what Wei Sinian had done before, today he had to admit that he was the one holding up the production.

So why couldn’t He Yun and Heng Yu just be a little more innocent?!

After talking with the director, Wei Sinian went outside. When he came back, the watermelon juice Su Nuo’s assistant had ordered had just arrived, and he carried it in.

“Here. Room temperature.” Wei Sinian walked over to Su Nuo. Seeing his hair sticking up from the fan, he felt his heart go soft.

“Thanks.” Su Nuo took the juice, poked in the straw, and took a big gulp. He finally felt alive again in the sweltering summer heat.

Shooting out of season wasn’t easy. His costume was soaked with sweat before he even took it off.

His assistant couldn’t shake the feeling that the Best Actor was looking at her little young master with hungry green eyes, like he wanted to eat him.

“Come have lunch with me.” Wei Sinian adjusted the fan so it wasn’t blowing right in Su Nuo’s face. “I’ll walk you through this scene.”

Su Nuo hesitated. “I…”

“We need to finish this afternoon. I don’t have time tomorrow.” Wei Sinian looked at him, perfectly matter-of-fact.

In the end, Su Nuo agreed. “Okay. Sorry for the trouble, senior.”

“It’s no trouble.” Having gotten what he wanted, Wei Sinian didn’t push it and turned to leave.

Out of Su Nuo’s sight, Wei Sinian despised himself for how low he was being. The boy could be easy to read sometimes, and he was using the boy’s good nature against him.

He knew Su Nuo desperately wanted to be perfect and was frustrated about all his retakes today. So he took advantage of the moment and used “going over the scene” as an excuse to lure him close.

It wasn’t just Su Nuo’s assistant who found it strange. Wei Sinian’s assistant couldn’t understand it at all.

Did this little newcomer put a spell on their Best Actor?

Live long enough and you’ll see everything. Someone was casually walking into the Best Actor’s trailer, and he’d been invited, no less.

“I brought my script…” Su Nuo lowered his eyes, unsure if Wei Sinian was doing this just because he admired him, or for some other reason.

Su Nuo didn’t share Su Yujin’s hobby of circling around men. Especially these men. He wouldn’t pick them up if they were lying on the ground.

As long as the other person hadn’t done anything and kept helping him, he’d keep up surface-level politeness so no one watching could find fault.

“Sit down and eat.” Wei Sinian struck the perfect balance as a senior. In private, he wasn’t overly familiar, but he wasn’t strict either.

Before, whenever they worked together, Su Nuo loved going over to ask him a question or two, because it made him feel like he was with Fu Baihan.

Who took whom seriously? In the end, they were both just looking for comfort.

When it was just the two of them, Su Nuo couldn’t stop thinking back on everything from his past life. He didn’t want any strange emotions to show, so he just kept his head down and ate.

“Why does Heng Yu spend one reckless night with He Yun before they part?” After they ate, Wei Sinian flipped through the notes on Su Nuo’s script and started teaching.

Why else? Because he knew the scumbag would never fall for him, so he wanted to at least have him physically.

Heng Yu probably understood that once he left, there’d be no coming back. He was going to a meeting with certain death.

“Because he loves He Yun,” Su Nuo answered.

“No. Because he’s given up on He Yun.” Wei Sinian offered a different interpretation. “Heng Yu knows He Yun is about to get married.”

Su Nuo looked up. “Isn’t that still love?”

“Based on the script, Heng Yu’s love ends right there. He steps back into his place as a subject.” Wei Sinian explained. “He’s gentle, but he’s even colder than He Yun.”

Su Nuo: “…” So why did this script have such a complicated love storyline between the male lead and the supporting male character?

“Stop focusing on the fact that they slept together. It’s just a goodbye.” Wei Sinian smiled. “Get it?”

Su Nuo thought, what kind of scumbag logic is that? Sleeping together means goodbye?

But thanks to Wei Sinian’s explanation, he really did figure out how to play the scene that afternoon, and how to get past his hang-up about the “bedroom scene.”

“Got it. Thank you, senior.”

“You’re welcome.”

Su Nuo found Wei Sinian a little less annoying today. After all, between the meal and the lesson, he’d actually gotten something real out of him.

Which showed in how he finally loosened up on camera and delivered exactly the feeling the screenwriter wanted.

The screenwriter was so moved she wiped away tears. “My Heng Yu, waaah… Mommy’s so sorry. That scumbag doesn’t deserve you!”

Director: “…Calm down.”

The actor playing the scumbag is looking over here. Careful, or Wei Sinian will threaten you into changing the script!

This morning Wei Sinian had even said that if it really didn’t work, they should just cut the scene and not force Su Nuo to act out content that had failed censorship. He was blatantly using his position for personal reasons.

Now the director knew it wasn’t about the investment. Wei Sinian simply wanted to win over the little young master.

Too bad. The kid wasn’t buying it.

“Would you ever like someone like He Yun?” Wei Sinian asked Su Nuo while they took off their makeup.

“No,” Su Nuo said firmly. “I’m shallow. I couldn’t die for his empire like Heng Yu did. Besides, he married someone else.”

He Yun was brilliant, but Su Nuo wasn’t Heng Yu. He didn’t admire that kind of ruthless brilliance.

The makeup artist chimed in, “He Yun is such a pig!”

“Then what kind of person do you like?” Wei Sinian looked over.

Su Nuo’s lips curved. “Me? I like someone who’ll always choose me, no matter what.”

Wei Sinian’s heart suddenly ached. Looking at the boy’s bright, vivid face, he felt as though he’d once done something unforgivable that had broken his heart.