Chapter 265: The No-Name Star Beckons, the Benefactor Becomes a Simp 36

Chapter 265: A Has-been Crooks a Finger, and a Sugar Daddy Becomes a Lapdog 36

So far, he'd only been given the scripts for the first ten episodes or so.

The entire drama was presented to the audience in a format of adapting, filming, and airing simultaneously. It fits today's fast-paced lifestyle well.

With the tight schedule and the original novel being tens of millions of characters long, Lin Huaiqing simply didn't have time to read it all. He only read the sections featuring the second male lead.

There's no doubt about the author's writing skills, but the male lead written by the author was a guy with an incredibly strong will and every virtue you can think of.

He seriously doubted Fei Xiu could even pull off half of what the male lead was supposed to be.

If Fei Xiu's male lead was so righteous it was creepy, then the second male lead he played was a straight-up villain.

Originally, the second male lead and the female lead were childhood sweethearts—innocent, close, fellow disciples, with her as his senior sister, always having each other's backs through their training.

But then, the senior sister he'd been pining for got snatched up by some rogue cultivator who came out of nowhere with no sect or backing.

He had no idea if the author had some kind of NTR fetish. The female lead's change of heart was so fast, nobody saw it coming.

Not only that—before the male lead showed up, the second male lead was the darling of the cultivation world.

But the moment the male lead appeared, the second male lead's halo got stripped clean off, with the male lead outshining him at every turn.

Even the senior sister who'd once been his closest companion started drifting away from him because of that random wild man.

As a result, the second male lead's heart grew more and more twisted, until he finally couldn't see any way out and went down a path of no return.

Just as he was about to force himself on the female lead, the male lead showed up right in the nick of time. After a thrilling fight, the second male lead ended up as a ghost under the male lead's sword.

During the actual filming, the earlier scenes mostly involved the male lead finding opportunities and meeting the female lead for the first time—so there was no part for him.

It wasn't until half a month into filming that Lin Huaiqing finally showed up on set.

When he got there, Fei Xiu was in the middle of a shoot. That tattered, beat-up ancient costume actually looked surprisingly natural on him.

Sure enough, if you're good-looking, even a burlap sack looks good on you.

Lin Huaiqing had only watched for a couple of seconds before a staff member called him over for makeup and wardrobe.

Compared to Fei Xiu's dirty, grimy look, his own getup was way more impressive.

An elegant, understated sky-water blue robe, paired with a plain white inner garment. A jade ornament at the waist, a golden crown on his head, and a faint pale-gold forehead mark between his brows that seemed to shimmer subtly.

The sash on the Taoist robe naturally showed off his already slim, graceful waist. With every move, he gave off an air of ethereal, otherworldly grace.

By the time he came out of the makeup room all done up, the director had already called "cut," and the crew was getting ready for the next scene. The actors could finally relax a bit.

As luck would have it, his first scene turned out to be the same one as Ji Jingzhao's first scene.

The third male lead, played by Ji Jingzhao, was from the same sect as the female lead and the second male lead, but midway through the story, he got taken in by the male lead as a follower and joined the protagonist's crew.

Unfortunately, in the end, he died protecting the male lead, getting torn apart by a demon beast's claws.

So this story teaches us that no matter when or where, you should stay far away from the protagonist—otherwise, you're gonna end up dead.

At that thought, Lin Huaiqing couldn't help but shudder.

Wasn't he now exactly that disposable cannon fodder standing right next to the protagonist?

Ji Jingzhao had gotten there earlier and was already all dressed up, waiting off to the side. When he saw Lin Huaiqing, his eyes lit up.

He scurried over without missing a beat:

"Wow~ Brother Lin! You look this amazing in ancient costume?" After the genuine compliment, he didn't forget to wiggle his eyebrows and tease, "So, did you buy the press releases to outshine everyone?"

"Outshine? With a face like mine, who could I possibly outshine?" He wouldn't dare show off in front of the two leads.

He wouldn't stoop to such cheap tricks. And if fans ever dug it up later, wouldn't that just blow up in his face?

After the first scene wrapped, Lin Huaiqing had already gotten into character, nailing his feelings for the female lead perfectly.

When facing Fei Xiu, he didn't flinch at all, treating him completely as the character in the drama.

Especially the second male lead's initial contempt, disdain, and disgust toward the male lead—Lin Huaiqing played it to perfection.

The director called "cut" with a satisfied look, showering Lin Huaiqing with praise.

He'd initially thought the new actor President Qin recommended was just another pretty face with no substance, but it turned out his acting was actually pretty solid.

Any ordinary newcomer would definitely be nervous and stiff acting opposite a film emperor of Fei Xiu's caliber.

But surprisingly, Lin Huaiqing was completely in the zone. The look of utter disdain he gave Fei Xiu in that shot just now practically radiated off the screen—it was so real.

It didn't even seem like acting.

"Alright! Actors, take a break! After lunch, we're shooting the outdoor scenes."

When he snapped out of character, he realized his spot had already been taken over by someone who shouldn't be there.

Qin Song's long legs—longer than his own life—were crossed, and his tall, imposing frame sat awkwardly on Lin Huaiqing's folding chair, looking especially cramped.

"What are you doing here?"

As Lin Huaiqing walked at an unhurried pace, the long hair behind him swayed gently with each step.

The delicate silver threads on his hair tie glimmered under the fluorescent lights, and with the pale-gold forehead mark, Lin Huaiqing seemed to glow from within.

Combined with his breathtakingly beautiful face, he was so stunning it was hard to tear your eyes away.

Qin Song froze for a second before managing to save face in front of Lin Huaiqing.

"What? Not allowed to come visit the set?"

"It's only the first day of filming, and you're already here? You're that free?"

Lin Huaiqing always had a way of shutting him up in just a couple of sentences.

The man was gorgeous, so why did he have to have such a sharp tongue?

"You're so ungrateful. I came to bring you food!" With that, Qin Song pulled three insulated lunchboxes out from behind the chair.

The moment Lin Huaiqing saw them, his eyes lit up.

On set, any actor with a bit of fame had an assistant bringing them meals, because the crew's boxed lunches were generally terrible.

But he only had one assistant, Xixi, who was already stretched thin. He never expected Qin Song, a big-shot CEO, to personally deliver him food!

Lin Huaiqing did a complete 180 on his attitude, starting to butter up Qin Song:

"Mr. Qin, you're truly wonderful! With such a busy schedule, you still found time to bring me food. Next time, you don't need to make the trip yourself—just have your driver deliver it! Or I can have Xixi pick it up!"

"What did you call me? Don't call me that!"

He didn't like Lin Huaiqing calling him "Mr. Qin," like he was his employee.

But Lin Huaiqing couldn't hear Qin Song's words at all—his eyes were glued to the food. After filming all morning, his stomach was already growling.

He popped open the three insulated lunchboxes one by one, and inside were all his favorite dishes.

The kung pao shrimp balls were bright red and glossy, with a shiny, translucent sheen, crispy exteriors and springy, tender shrimp meat. They must have just left the wok.

The rich, glossy soy-braised plum ribs were Lin Huaiqing's all-time favorite.

And they were cut from the best part of the rack—the premium ribs—with no extra bone at all.

The meat slid off the bone with a single suck, and the bone itself was only as thick as a pinky finger, so he wouldn't get his hands dirty.

Even a simple dish like stir-fried mushrooms and greens was packed with flavor, the taste lingering long after each bite.

Lin Huaiqing was too busy wolfing down his meal to notice the two pairs of eyes watching him from nearby.

Fei Xiu and Ji Jingzhao sat together, at a short distance, quietly sizing up Lin Huaiqing and Qin Song.

Watching the two of them eating and chatting with smiles, clearly head-over-heels in love.

Under the table, out of sight, someone slowly clenched their fist.

Fei Xiu might have hidden his feelings from the staff around him, but he couldn't fool Ji Jingzhao, who sat beside him observing closely.

The fancy, elaborate bento his assistant had prepared—Fei Xiu barely took two bites before slamming down his chopsticks.

"This tastes like absolute crap! Get it out of here!"

For some reason, he thought of the roasted lamb and pickled fish with sour vegetables that Lin Huaiqing used to make for him—his favorites back then.

Buried in some dark corner of his heart, the memory began to ache and sting again.

Hadn't he already moved on?

But why, when he saw Lin Huaiqing smile at Qin Song so genuinely, did he feel like all of this should have been his?