Chapter 78 Ominous Signs

Chapter 78: The Prelude to Turmoil

No wonder Tang Yuexi harbored such animosity towards him.

Why hadn't he suggested rehearsing with Luo Hezhi earlier, only to do so when Luo Hezhi was already speaking with him?

Wen Yuchen scrolled idly through his phone, a hint of exasperation on his face.

Soon after, the second scene of the day commenced.

This time, they were shooting in a larger venue.

The scene involved Qing He and the main cast, but with numerous extras, it was quite an expansive setting.

Perhaps influenced by Tang Yuexi and Su Nai, the other actors, with the exception of Yang Mobai and Luo Hezhi, subtly kept their distance from Wen Yuchen.

Of course, the second male lead, Chen Jia, was equally indifferent to everyone; outside of filming, he was a man of few words.

Wen Yuchen had a scene where he faced multiple opponents.

His weapon was a glaive, and as the saying goes, "a long weapon is a strong weapon."

Despite Wen Yuchen deliberately holding back his strength, several actors, including Su Nai, dramatically collapsed to the ground, letting out exaggerated cries of pain.

This left Wen Yuchen utterly bewildered. He lowered his weapon, planting the butt of the glaive on the ground, and waited silently to see what other theatrics they would pull.

"Are you all right?"

Tang Yuexi, feigning concern, was the first to rush over. He helped Su Nai to his feet, solicitously brushing dust from his clothes.

Su Nai, with a show of grievance, still managed a faint smile. "I'm fine, thank you, Xiao Xi. You're so kind and beautiful, unlike..."

He left the last sentence unspoken, but his gaze subtly flickered towards Wen Yuchen.

Yang Mobai and Luo Hezhi also went to help the fallen actors.

Compared to their perfunctory gestures, Tang Yuexi's performance was exceptionally dramatic.

Yang Mobai rolled her eyes, muttering to herself, "If only he'd acted like this earlier, we wouldn't have had so many retakes."

Tang Yuexi addressed the group with a gentle smile, feigning understanding. "Everyone, please don't blame Teacher Wen. He didn't do it on purpose. After all, that blade is quite heavy; it's perfectly normal for Teacher Wen to lose his grip."

"If you can't handle it, then don't use it."

"Exactly, why pretend to be a martial arts expert if you can't even hold a blade properly?"

Those who had witnessed Wen Yuchen's formidable skill with the blade the previous day could only cringe!

But Wen Yuchen thought: I can hear you!

A circle of people gathered around Tang Yuexi, staring intently at Wen Yuchen.

Su Nai was the first to lose patience. "Wen Yuchen, do you have any manners? We all fell, and you didn't even bother to check on us?"

Wen Yuchen knew perfectly well whether the blade had actually touched them.

He blinked innocently, then pointed towards the director's area.

Zhang Chunhui's face darkened, while the assistant director was furiously gulping down tea to quell his anger.

"Can we still film or not!" the assistant director bellowed, his face red and neck veins bulging. "Did he even touch any of you? Extras making such a fuss—if you don't want to film, there are plenty of others who will!"

"Are we filming or not! Are we filming or not!"

"Alright, alright, calm down." Zhang Chunhui patted the assistant director's shoulder, his expression softening. "Everyone, get ready. No more shenanigans. Remember, there are plenty of people outside the studio waiting to seize an opportunity!"

"But..." Su Nai tried to speak again.

"Let it go, Xiao Nai." Tang Yuexi gently tugged at Su Nai's arm. "Let's focus on filming properly."

Su Nai nodded, shooting a furious glare at Wen Yuchen.

Wen Yuchen raised an eyebrow, returning the gaze with a challenging smirk.

This utterly infuriated Su Nai.

With his back to them, Tang Yuexi bent down to pick up his sword. His delicate face was cast in shadow, concealing the dark glint in his eyes.

The rest of the filming proceeded smoothly.

There was a night shoot scheduled for that evening, and Wen Yuchen estimated he wouldn't be back until past 1 AM.

After sunset, Lu Chenghe sent a message.

Lu Chenghe: [Chenchen, is something wrong? Why aren't you back yet?]

Wen Yuchen: [There's a night shoot tonight. I'll be back later, probably around 1 AM. You and Zheng Zheng should eat first.]

Lu Chenghe: [I see. Alright, I'll get Zheng Zheng something to eat now.]

About five minutes later.

Lu Chenghe: [Chenchen, have you started filming?]

Wen Yuchen: [Not yet, why?]

Wen Yuchen: [?]

Lu Chenghe: [Zheng Zheng is crying and wants to video call you. Do you have time?]

Hearing that his precious son was in tears, Wen Yuchen's heart ached. Even if he didn't have time, he would make time.

He sent a message while heading towards a quiet corner.

Wen Yuchen: [Yes.]

After sending the message, Wen Yuchen initiated the video call.

At that moment, Tang Yuexi happened to be treating the entire crew to coffee, distributing cups to everyone.

His assistant scurried around, delivering coffee.

Coincidentally, there was none for Wen Yuchen.

Tang Yuexi approached, looking apologetic, about to say something.

"I'm allergic to coffee. Step back a bit, you're blocking my signal." Wen Yuchen was anxiously awaiting his baby's video call and had no time for Tang Yuexi's chatter.

Tang Yuexi awkwardly stepped aside and fell silent.

Su Nai, however, was fuming and stepped forward, ready to defend Tang Yuexi.

The video call connected.

"Zheng Zheng, don't cry anymore. Look who it is?" Lu Chenghe's voice came through first.

Wen Yuchen had already walked further away with his phone.

Hearing the voice he longed for, Tang Yuexi was engulfed by a surging tide of jealousy.

......

Zheng Zheng hadn't seen his daddy all day, and his tender little face was streaked with tears.

As soon as he saw Wen Yuchen, the little one wished he could crawl through the screen into Wen Yuchen's arms.

The little boy whimpered, "Daddy, why aren't you home?"

That pitiful, baby voice melted Wen Yuchen's heart.

He said softly, "My poor sweetie, Daddy will come home to be with Zheng Zheng as soon as work is done."

Zheng Zheng sniffled, "Then, hurry up, okay?"

Wen Yuchen: "I know, Zheng Zheng. Wipe your tears. Your little eyes are all red."

Zheng Zheng nodded eagerly, then turned to boss Lu Chenghe around.

"Papa, wipe baby's tears."

The adorable, stuffy voice was utterly heartwarming.

Lu Chenghe chuckled and said resignedly, "Alright, alright, let's wipe our big baby's tears."

A soft tissue gently wiped away Zheng Zheng's tears.

The little one sat on Lu Chenghe's lap, holding Lu Chenghe's phone with both chubby hands.

On the other end of the screen, Wen Yuchen could only see Zheng Zheng's chubby little face and Lu Chenghe's collarbone.

Under Zheng Zheng's "screen hogging," Lu Chenghe couldn't get into the frame.

Zheng Zheng and Wen Yuchen cooed at each other for about half an hour before reluctantly saying goodbye.

Zheng Zheng murmured, "Daddy, come home soon, Zheng Zheng wait."

"Okay, Daddy will hurry back as soon as work is done."

"Mhm." Zheng Zheng nodded, and just before ending the call, he puckered up his little lips to kiss Wen Yuchen on the screen.

It warmed Wen Yuchen's heart.

After ending the video call with Wen Yuchen, Lu Chenghe looked at the drool marks on his phone, wiped them off with a helpless smile, and carried Zheng Zheng to feed him.

"Was that your son just now?" Luo Hezhi bounded over, looking excited.

Wen Yuchen nodded.

Luo Hezhi beamed, "He even gave you kisses, so adorable. By the way, Bro Wen, you said you'd mentor me."

Wen Yuchen nodded helplessly; this kid hadn't forgotten about it.

Sitting gloomily nearby after overhearing the warm video call, Tang Yuexi gnashed his teeth, thinking fiercely: I must ruin Wen Yuchen and his little runt, especially that little one—how does a beta deserve to be Brother Chenghe's child?

Sensing the dark mood nearby, Su Nai adjusted his expression and walked towards Tang Yuexi. After all, even the scraps from Tang's resources would...

Even though Su Nai didn't really like Tang Yuexi either, no one says no to money.

Just as Su Nai was about to speak to Tang Yuexi, Tang Yuexi suddenly turned around.

It startled Su Nai, but he kept his composure and smiled, "What is it?"

Tang Yuexi's face was stormy: "I don't like that Wen Yuchen. Make it happen. Do it well, and the lead role in Director Lin's drama..."

He gave Su Nai a look that said "you know what I mean."

Su Nai was instantly overjoyed. Suppressing his excitement, he exhaled and said, "Consider it done."