16 Arc 1.14

"Drink your coffee, you are...." Shen Jiyu paused at the glare that Nian Zhen directed towards him and changed the word he was intending to use, "You are interesting without it."

He heard a muffled cough and glanced over to Xiao Shu who was looking away with his shoulders shaking suspiciously.

Nian Zhen looked at the two of them and a small smile appeared on his face. He carried his mug and headed to the dining table. The moment he dropped the empty coffee on the table, he felt like he had fully woken up and that his mind was extremely clear. 

He picked up his tablet that was on the table and he went through his to-do list for the day. He had cleared the schedule for Lu Yan so that he could act freely without being stressed but his day was extremely booked, he had to shift a little of his plans to go to the shooting scene later in the afternoon.

"Xiao Shu! Go upstairs and get my laptop. It is in the second office." Nian Zhen said as he picked up his phone to call Mimi's assistant manager.

"Go Ran. I might run a little late, you can go ahead and start the signing before I come. Remember, only handmade gifts would be accepted by the fan. We would not want to repeat the incident from last year. I would contact her stylist and review her outfit for today."

He started to work when he felt someone lean over from behind him, "Here is your laptop!" The scent of rosewood filled Nian Zhen and he swallowed. Lu Yan's hair was a little longer because of his last video shoot and its strands danced on Nian Zhen's neck.

Too close! He was just too close.

But his thoughts could not be read by Lu Yan who leaned even closer, "What are you working on? Wait! Your 2 pm is booked, I am shooting my first scene then. You..."

"I will come." Nian Zhen's voice sounded weird in his own ears and he could not tell why. He just knew that although the air conditioner was on, he felt like he was suffocating.

"Your voice sounds strained. Eat something before working. I am going upstairs to look at the script."

Nian Zhen was so uncomfortable that he did not think to scold Lu Yan for reading his script the day that he was supposed to act, there was just a sense of relief when Lu Yan stood back up.

He watched the youth go back upstairs and he stared blindly at the screen before him. The scent of rosewood still lingered on Nian Zhen's nose and he frowned. Why was he so distracted, maybe it was because he did not like the scent, how would he convince Nian Zhen to change it? 

But did he really hate it? His fingers trembled and he could hear his heartbeat grow even faster. These six months had changed something in him, he just did not know what yet? He looked at the unfamiliar room of paintings and potted plants that Lu Yan loved to buy and hated to take care of. Was the change good or bad?

****

It was just after noon when Shen Jiyu arrived at the set. Xiao Shu packed his black van behind a white one before he got down and opened the door for Shen Jiyu. Shen Jiyu came down and looked around. So this was a set, tens of people rushed up and about, and it was very busy.

A woman wearing black- leather trousers came over to where Shen Jiyu stood, she waved her hand with a smile, "Hello, you must be Lu Yan, the actor for Song Li I am Wu Yuanyuan, I am the casting director. Nice to meet you." Even though she had a smile on her face, how could Shen Jiyu miss the blatant disregard on her face?

Was she among those professionals who disliked people who go in through the back door? He smiled, what a pity, he enjoyed using Nian Zhen's influence as much as he could.

"I would take you to the dressing room. Hope you have memorized the lines?"

Shen Jiyu hummed non-committedly and followed behind her. The woman opened the door of a styling room and smiled at the young woman who was busying about, "Xiao Yu, this is Mu Ze's junior, the actor of Song Li. Please take care of him."

"Senior Mu Ze? No wonder you look so good. Don't worry, meimei, leave it to me."

"Lu Yan!" Shen Jiyu said before sitting down. Like hell, he would be referred to as Mu Ze's junior throughout his shooting.

The casting director gave Shen Jiyu one last look before leaving. Xiao Shu entered after she left and smiled at Xiao Yu, "My name is Xiao Shu, please make him look very good!"

Xiao Yu was more relaxed chatting with Xiao Shu and she gave him a wink, "Don't worry, the person he is playing is one of the most handsome in the book."

Xiao Shu widened his eyes with joy, "You have also read the book? I have read from front to back three times."

Shen Jiyu brought out the script to take one last look. Xiao Shu had spent the entire morning telling him about the movie.

 The Tv series, 'Ascension of the Demon King' was adapted from a novel of the same name and told the Story of Chu Yan, an ordinary boy who rose to the highest realm of power as a notorious evil Demon King.

The content of the script that was given to him was limited so he needed to listen to Xiao Shu's retelling of the story to understand more of the background. 

The role he played was Song Li, an immortal who wanted to accept Chu Yan as his disciple. Even though he had just two scenes in the book, his role was important because Song Li was the reason that Chu Yan would realize that he could not abandon his mortal coils just to seek Immortality, that he could not leave Zhi Ruo, his younger martial sister behind in the mortal world and that he loved her.

The series was already a household name so any character appearing would instantly be catapulted to fame. Nian Zhen had gone all out for this role in order for the director to accept him, a newbie actor to play. He had even hired an expensive acting coach and paid for a three-hour lesson every day.

But Shen Jiyu was not worried, when he had read the script, he had found that it was very easy to act in this role. He just needed to act as himself, as Shen Jiyu when faced with someone like Chu Yan.