” Luo Mingbai stretched his face, pulling Xia Xianning’s smile wider: “Just like this. You’re younger than me, so stop acting so deep.” He held up the flower branch and brought his face closer: “How about, you do it again? Laughing makes you feel much better.” Xia Xianning raised his hand, and Luo Mingbai closed his eyes, but that hand gently patted his face and pinched it. Before Xia Xianning could say anything, they both heard hurried footsteps and stood up straight, looking in that direction. Somewhat familiar… oh, right, it seemed to be the director who was interesting when scolding people. Director Xiao strode up to Luo Mingbai, excited, and before saying anything, he was about to touch his face. But before his fingertips could make contact, Luo Mingbai was pulled away by Xia Xianning. Did he think anyone could just come and touch him? Xia Xianning’s eyes showed a hint of displeasure: “Director Xiao?” Director Xiao then came to his senses and apologized repeatedly. He had been struggling with the shoot and feeling frustrated. After announcing a break and coming out to smoke and calm down, he saw Luo Mingbai and Xia Xianning from a distance and was stunned. This—this was the perfect male companion image in his mind! Looking at the young man, not only was he delicate and pretty, but his every word, every action was exactly what he wanted. “
His smile seemed flattering at first glance, but upon careful observation, one could see the genuine care in his eyes. Director Xiao sincerely said: “Sorry, sorry, I was too abrupt.” The words were directed at Xia Xianning, but his eyes were on Luo Mingbai. He eagerly asked: “Young man, want to be a big star?”
Luo Mingbai stepped out from behind Xia Xianning: “Of course I do!” Director Xiao didn’t expect him to be so straightforward. Excited, he said: “That’s great! I have a role that perfectly matches your temperament. I took a liking to you at first glance. Try an audition, and if you do well, becoming famous overnight is possible!”
Seeing Luo Mingbai getting carried away, Xia Xianning interrupted: “What role do you want him to play?” Director Xiao: “Ah, Captain Xia, didn’t you both see? It’s that male companion role.”
Luo Mingbai: “…No, are you saying my temperament is like a male companion?” He whispered disbelievingly to Xia Xianning: “Is he here to mock me? Did you offend him earlier?” Xia Xianning said: “No, probably not.” He paused, then sincerely added, “It’s actually quite similar.”
Luo Mingbai instantly forgot their previous camaraderie of cheering him up and angrily said: “Shut up! Show some respect!” Xia Xianning touched his nose and fell silent.
Director Xiao looked at the two, surprised that the larger one was actually Luo Mingbai, but still focused on the main business and decided to try again. To be honest, Luo Mingbai only somewhat matched Director Xiao’s standards when deliberately acting silly. His appearance was cold, with a lazy and mysterious temperament that was quite different from the script’s character. But he could act, and that was enough.
Director Xiao: “Oh, young man, I don’t mean anything bad. Don’t take it to heart. I just think you’d play this role brilliantly. Try it out. That feeling of being the center of attention in front of the camera, you’ll definitely love it!”
Luo Mingbai didn’t want to play along anymore: “Thanks for your kindness, but I’ve never done this before, and…”
A noisy sound drowned out the rest of his words. The door to the nearby restroom opened, and Wei Le-yi walked out, already changed into regular clothes and seemingly not planning to perform anymore. His agent was following, continuously trying to persuade him.
Wei Le-yi loudly said: “Stop talking. It’s not because of the director scolding me. You heard it too—everyone’s secretly talking about what happened to Ou Ziheng yesterday. Zheng Hui! He must have come back for revenge. I’m not ready to die, so I absolutely won’t play this role!”
He then complained: “Initially, they said I’d play the emperor, but after the audition, the emperor became a male companion. I can’t handle that type of role at all!”
Am I being discriminated against for being short? Luo Mingbai and Xia Xianning looked at each other, sensing that a clue had emerged. They had been waiting for Wei Le-yi to finish shooting so they could catch the ghost, but looking at him now, the ghosts around him had disappeared, and his entire demeanor showed no abnormality. Yet they couldn’t understand what had happened earlier. Xia Xianning walked up and asked: “Excuse me, who is Zheng Hui?
Wei Le Yi argued with his agent for a long time, losing patience and not controlling his volume. When he heard Xia Xian Ning’s voice and looked up, he suddenly realized that Director Xiao had heard what he just said. His face turned awkward: “It’s no one, just a star. You can look it up on Baidu.”
Xia Xianning couldn’t be bothered with small talk, pulled out his badge: “Police. Speak.”
Wei Le Yi: “…”
Fine, you’re a police officer, go ahead.
Afterward, they felt there was more to the story after hearing Wei Le Yi’s account.
Wei Le Yi and Zheng Hui were from the same talent agency. Zheng Hui was quite unlucky, having acted in several films without breaking through.
Zheng Hui gained some fame from the drama, but unfortunately, due to his low emotional intelligence and flamboyant personality, he became arrogant after a small success and offended many people.
Six months later, the web drama was taken down due to its excessive content, and he was also exposed in a scandal of being manipulated by a famous gay wealthy businessman. Overnight, he became a laughingstock online. Unable to bear the pressure, Zheng Hui committed self-immolation at home two years ago.
Luo Ying Bai interjected, “But what does this have to do with Ou Zi Heng?”
Wei Le Yi thought about it and felt a chill down his spine. He really didn’t want to speak, but Xia Xian Ning stood coldly beside him, with an oppressive gaze more terrifying than a ghost. After hesitating, he lowered his voice and said, “Because we’re from the same agency and had some acquaintance. After the fire, I went to the scene… I watched the firefighters searching for his body, looking everywhere, but only finding a head, and that head was completely intact…”
Xia Xian Ning asked, “Since you knew, why did you come today?”
Wei Le Yi smiled bitterly, “I had no idea before.”
During the break, Ou Zi Heng suddenly started shouting about a ghost scratching him and talking about last night’s events. When I heard about the head, I thought of Zheng Hui and was terrified.
Director Xiao, who had not been at the scene back then and didn’t believe in supernatural things, thought Wei Le Yi was just making excuses to quit. He angrily scolded, “Young people these days can’t endure any hardship, can’t take a single criticism. Always thinking about becoming famous, it’s just a dream! What do you mean by ‘playing a woman’? This role was never meant to be a sissy! You’re too thin and short to even wear the imperial robe. Is that my fault?”
Luo Ying Bai blinked and suddenly said, “Director, why don’t you let me try?”
Director Xiao, who had been begging for half a day without success and had just heard Wei Le Yi’s vivid ghost story, thought Luo Ying Bai would definitely not agree. Unexpectedly, he was overjoyed and repeatedly said, “Really? That would be great!”
Luo Ying Bai was serious, but Xia Xian Ning was reluctant, thinking it was better to investigate Zheng Hui first and not wanting to inconvenience Luo Ying Bai.
He found it hard to accept: “You really want to play a male concubine?”
Luo Ying Bai was already in character: “Do you look down on us male concubines? What’s wrong with being a male concubine? Did I eat your rice? Did I use up your resources?”
Xia Xian Ning: “…Huh?”
Luo Ying Bai: “…emmmmmmm.”
