Chapter 8

Chapter 8

In modern society, mobile phones are almost as essential as a second life for internet users.

If a phone suddenly runs out of battery or loses signal, it can definitely make people so anxious they can't focus on anything.

However, Su Xingyao completely solved the internet signal problem for the entire crew, which, for the crew members, was like a rebirth of their internet connection.

Soon, this incident spread throughout the crew, and Su Xingyao's status in the hearts of the crew members rose sharply.

After seeing him, everyone unanimously changed their address, calling him "Teacher Su" with both respect and affection, their eyes filled with infinite admiration.

With this tycoon aura, the crew members found Su Xingyao increasingly pleasant to be around.

Over time, they also noticed that, aside from his dietary quirks, Su Xingyao was humble, easy-going, and a hard worker on set.

After so many days in the crew, none of the messy rumors about him had proven true.

Veterans of the industry know that entertainment news is a mix of truth and lies.

However, compared to various rumors, what they witnessed firsthand was real.

Gradually, many crew members began to doubt the authenticity of previous news.

Even when some staff members were deliberately asked about Su Xingyao's scandals and gossip in the crew via WeChat, they would assess him more neutrally.

*

After two days of filming in the mountains, most of the outdoor scenes were nearly completed.

Yu Sisi and Ji Linghe's outdoor scenes were the first to wrap up, and they didn't linger, heading straight back to the film base with some staff to start filming the human world scenes.

On the last day in the mountains, it suddenly started to rain heavily.

This sudden downpour brought the mild temperature down to just above ten degrees.

The rain brought the crew's filming to an abrupt stop.

"This crazy weather changes every single day."

Xiao Yu, who didn't bring thick clothes, pushed open the door to Su Xingyao's room, her hands rubbing together to ward off the cold.

In the deep mountains, with high altitude and dense trees, the chilly wind and rain made it feel even colder.

Because of the rain, Su Xingyao stayed in his room sketching.

He hadn't sketched in a while since joining the crew, so today, with nothing else to do, he grabbed a pencil and began sketching the bamboo forest outside the window.

Xiao Yu's entrance let in a chilly breeze, interrupting his sketching.

Su Xingyao didn't mind the interruption; instead, seeing Xiao Yu's lips turning pale from the cold, he tossed his windbreaker to her.

While Xiao Yu was putting on the clothes, he asked her, "Do you need a heat pack?"

Xiao Yu looked at Su Xingyao in surprise, "You even brought these?"

Su Xingyao nodded, "I packed a few."

With that, he dug out ten heat packs from his suitcase.

Xiao Yu stared at Su Xingyao's suitcase in amazement.

She clearly remembered that Su Xingyao hadn’t brought much stuff with him, yet at critical moments, he always seemed like a treasure chest, pulling out whatever was needed!

The screenwriter, passing by the room, overheard Su Xingyao and Xiao Yu talking and stopped to ask for a couple of heat patches.

The screenwriter then told Wang Dao about it.

So Wang Dao, whose legs were numb from the cold, came over to ask for a few more heat patches...

On his way back, Wang Dao ran into Jiang Zihang and casually asked if he needed a couple of patches.

Jiang Zihang happily took them and stuck them on himself, only to hear Wang Dao mention that the heat patches were from Su Xingyao.

Jiang Zihang, who had been feeling all warm and cozy, suddenly felt a bit sick when he heard this.

After thanking Wang Dao, he turned around, rolled his eyes, pulled out his phone, and started complaining to Shen Huaixi while using the signal enhancer Su Xingyao had brought.

Jiang Zihang: Ugh, I can’t believe I ended up using something from Su Xingyao.

Jiang Zihang: Ugh, I feel so gross.

*

In the afternoon, the weather finally cooperated, and the rain stopped.

The crew quickly set up the equipment and scenery during the rain break. By the time night fell, Su Xingyao arrived at the lakeside to shoot his final scene here.

In *The Fall of Colored Glass*, although the Demon Lord Bai Xu and the two immortals were sent back to the final lifetime of their three-life tribulation due to a time reversal, their return was staggered because the immortal sect had been heavily damaged.

The Demon Lord and the Jin Hua Immortal were the first to be reborn here. The Demon Lord was reborn as Prince Duan Huaijin, while the Jin Hua Immortal was reborn as the enemy general disguised as his companion.

The protagonist, the Colored Glass Immortal, only returned halfway through, taking over the body of Duan Huaiyu in this lifetime with partial memories.

Duan Huaiyu was initially portrayed as a pampered prince, the emperor’s favorite.

Duan Huaijin, however, was considered a bad omen because his birth led to his mother’s death from hemorrhage.

The emperor, deeply resentful of his son for the death of his beloved concubine, insisted on calling him a princess from birth, deliberately humiliating him despite knowing his true gender.

Growing up in such an environment, Duan Huaijin was bullied, which twisted his psyche and awakened his demonic nature, leading to world destruction.

Before the protagonist took over, the ninth prince, Duan Huaiyu, had been one of his bullies.

The scene to be shot tonight was about the ninth prince, who had lost a sword fight to the protagonist’s companion during the day, going home and falsely accusing the “princess” of losing his jade pendant, forcing him to search for it in the river late at night.

Once his makeup was done, Su Xingyao headed to the lakeside.

Xiao Yu held his jacket, gazing at the still lake with worry.

The temperature tonight was even lower than during the day, and Su Xingyao was about to shoot a scene that not only required him to enter the water but also to act opposite Jiang Zihang, who was notorious for needing ten takes to get a scene right...

Just thinking about Jiang Zihang made Xiao Yu feel suffocated.

She knew right away that tonight would drag on past midnight.

Xiao Yu could foresee this, and Su Xingyao had naturally anticipated it as well.

So when confirming the scene, he had brought up to the director that he had injuries on his thigh and abdomen, which might make it unsuitable for him to shoot the water scene.

But the director insisted the scene was too important to use a stunt double.

The director repeatedly assured him that the water wasn’t deep, at most reaching only up to the knees, and would not affect his injuries.

After hearing this from the director, Su Xingyao felt it would be inappropriate to refuse.

Soon, he and Jiang Zihang boarded the crew’s prop boat, and once everything was ready, they began filming for the night.

Tonight, Jiang Zihang was surprisingly on his A-game.

The first take went smoothly without any retakes, and it was wrapped up in just a few tries.

Seeing his performance, the crew felt relieved, thinking he was dependable when it counted, and they might not have to pull an all-nighter.

But before the compliments could even sink in, something went wrong.

Jiang Zihang, decked out in lavish robes, strutted over to Su Xingyao, who stood at the boat’s bow enduring the chilly wind. Jiang tilted his head arrogantly and winked.

“No, Your Highness, this jade pendant was given to me by the emperor—it’s priceless. You must help me find it tonight.”

With that, he reached out and shoved Su Xingyao, who had his back to him.

As per the director’s instructions, he was only supposed to mimic the action for the shot.

But Jiang Zihang, as if he’d downed a strength potion, put all his might into shoving Su Xingyao in the back.

Su Xingyao felt a massive shove against his back.

Already at the boat’s edge, the force sent him tumbling into the river.

The whole thing happened in a flash, leaving everyone in shock.

Only when Su Xingyao got to his feet did everyone snap out of it and grasp what had just gone down.

The river wasn’t deep, but it was enough to drench Su Xingyao from head to toe.

As he looked down at his soaked clothes, Su Xingyao was thankful he’d thought ahead and wrapped his injuries in medical cling film.

Otherwise, the scrapes he got from tumbling down the cliff would’ve definitely gotten infected by the filthy river water.

Su Xingyao’s unexpected plunge into the water sent the whole crew into a panic.

The crew rushed to bring him clean towels, and Xiao Yu grabbed a hairdryer to dry his clothes, worried he’d catch a cold.

Thanks to Jiang Zihang’s blunder, everyone ended up with extra work.

Yet, Jiang Zihang walked up to Su Xingyao with an innocent expression, blinking like he had no clue what had happened.

“Oh... was that my fault? My bad, I got too carried away and didn’t hold back.”

Xiao Yu was seething at Jiang Zihang’s smug tone.

Biting back the urge to roll her eyes, she snapped, “Even if you’re in character, you still need to be careful.”

Jiang Zihang took one look at Su Xingyao’s sorry state, smiled, and added, “Oh, sorry, it wasn’t on purpose...”

Jiang Zihang’s assistant quickly stepped in, apologizing while making excuses for their star.

“Acting can get intense—it happens. Remember that award-winning actress who actually slapped someone on set? It’s all about getting into character, totally unintentional...”

Xiao Yu clenched the hairdryer so hard it creaked in her grip.

She felt that if she had to listen to these two idiots for one more second, she might actually lose her temper and hit someone.

But Xiao Yu didn't have time to deal with those two anymore. She was worried Su Xingyao might catch a cold, so she kept blowing his clothes dry.

Looking at the wet clothes, she suddenly remembered the heating pads Su Xingyao had brought.

It would be so nice if she could stick them on him now.

Unfortunately, they had all been used up earlier in the day.

Soon, Su Xingyao's clothes were mostly dry. After the stylist fixed his look, filming resumed.

Before this scene, Wang Dao specifically spoke to Jiang Zihang, telling him to be more careful during filming.

Maybe the warning worked, because Jiang Zihang behaved much better this time.

This time, he didn't push Su Xingyao, but that didn't stop him from messing up repeatedly.

He flubbed his lines, forgot his lines, couldn't match the emotions, and even burst into laughter for no reason...

Jiang Zihang managed to mess up seven or eight times for various ridiculous reasons.

Because of his mistakes, Su Xingyao had to stand in the water for hours.

In the scene, Jiang Zihang's character wore luxurious, thick clothes with a fur collar, so he was perfectly warm.

But Su Xingyao's character was miserable, wearing only a thin layer that had been soaked earlier and was still damp.

The cold night wind blew over him as he stood in the river, and Su Xingyao felt his skin grow icy.

By now, filming had dragged on until 10 PM.

When they needed to shoot from different angles for the previous scene, Jiang Zihang, for the second time, "lost control of his strength" and pushed Su Xingyao back into the water. This time, Su Xingyao gave him a cold warning.

"Cut it out with these little tricks. If you keep messing up on purpose, don't blame me for not being nice."

His pale skin had a fragile, almost sickly beauty under the moonlight.

Su Xingyao's cold expression as he spoke perfectly matched the character of the young demon lord—a fragile beauty.

He knew Jiang Zihang had always enjoyed playing these childish tricks to bully him.

Just like his so-called friend Shen Huaixi used to do, always trying to stir up trouble to get others to bully him.

In the past, he had always thought such behavior was childish and didn't bother to pay it much mind.

So he usually avoided Jiang Zihang as much as possible.

But now he realized he'd been wrong.

His indifference and cold treatment had only made Jiang Zihang think he was an easy target, leading to increasingly bold behavior.

Su Xingyao shot Jiang Zihang a cold look, threw down those words, and then got up and left the water.

This was the first time Jiang Zihang had seen Su Xingyao speak to him with such a cold look.

For a moment, he was genuinely intimidated.

But soon, after calming down, he thought to himself, Su Xingyao wasn't as popular as him, nor did he have as many fans. Why should he be afraid of him?

After thinking this through, he didn’t take Su Xingyao’s words to heart.

So when filming resumed, he deliberately pulled the same stunt again.

But this time, as he reached out to push, Su Xingyao, who had been standing still with his back to him, suddenly stepped aside.

Jiang Zihang used a lot of force but ended up missing his target.

The next second, off balance, he tumbled into the water face-first.

The water sprayed several meters high as he thrashed about.

Completely caught off guard, Jiang Zihang, terrified of the water and startled, kept flailing and couldn’t get up.

After choking on filthy water a dozen times, he was finally pulled out of the river by his belated manager.

The filthy river water gushed into his stomach, and Jiang Zihang gulped down more than he bargained for.

After coughing up the water, the realization of its filth made him nauseous, and he couldn’t stop retching.

At that moment, Jiang Zihang was no longer the composed figure he had been; he looked like a drowned rat, tears and snot smeared across his face, his image utterly ruined.

Seeing Jiang Zihang in such a state, his manager, heartbroken, immediately pointed an accusing finger at Su Xingyao, “What are you trying to do? Kill him?”

Confronted by Jiang Zihang’s manager, Su Xingyao, poised at the boat’s bow, remained unflappable.

He calmly wiped the water off his face with his sleeve before casting a slow glance at Jiang Zihang.

Under the moonlight, he smirked slightly, “You should be asking him.”

The manager was taken aback; he hadn’t expected Su Xingyao to lay bare the tension between them.

Jiang Zihang’s manager knew he was in the wrong but couldn’t stomach the humiliation.

So he still wanted to argue back at Su Xingyao.

But his words were cut short by Shen Huaixi’s sudden appearance.

Shen Huaixi hadn’t anticipated that his late-night visit to Jiang Zihang with Qin Mingchuan would lead to such a spectacle.

After savoring the drama, he shot Qin Mingchuan a significant glance before heading over to Jiang Zihang.

Su Xingyao had also caught sight of Shen Huaixi.

But now his legs were burning and itchy, and his head felt dizzy.

After a sidelong glance, he made his way to his resting spot.

Qin Mingchuan, who hadn’t laid eyes on Su Xingyao in ages, stood frozen, his gaze locked on him.

Just then, a beam of light lit up Su Xingyao’s face.

It was only then that Qin Mingchuan noticed Su Xingyao’s face was as pale as a sheet.

Seeing Su Xingyao’s poor state, Qin Mingchuan rushed over, extending a hand to steady him.

But the moment his hand brushed the costume’s sleeve, Su Xingyao deftly sidestepped his touch.

Without acknowledging the disappointment in Qin Mingchuan’s eyes, Su Xingyao accepted the phone Xiao Yu handed him.

"Su Su, it's Auntie Zhang calling."

Su Xingyao thought it was odd that Auntie Zhang was calling so late, but fearing she might have something urgent, he picked up right away.

"Auntie Zhang."

But the moment he spoke, everything went black.

Then, his body went limp, and he blacked out right there.