Dai Weijie originally thought that encountering Luo Yingbai, this newcomer, was a stroke of good luck, believing he could easily suppress the other party and shine brightly. However, he didn’t expect the other’s acting skills and looks to be so impressive, which instead left him feeling like a wooden block, at a loss.
But to Dai Weijie’s surprise, Director Xiao said nothing, just waved his hand and said “Take a ten-minute break” before discussing with the assistant director and scriptwriter.
In the scene between the two, he praised the extra Luo Yingbai but ignored Dai Weijie, which was embarrassing in itself. Dai Weijie’s expression darkened, and just as he was about to say something to Luo Yingbai, he saw a handsome young man walk over and pull him away.
They went to the changing room, which was empty.
Xia Xianning followed him in and took out a transparent small bottle, saying to Luo Yingbai: “Quickly change your clothes.”
Luo Yingbai smiled and said: “Okay.” He directly took off the dark red outer garment and casually threw it towards Xia Xianning.
Xia Xianning, long used to his behavior, reached out to catch it, but suddenly stopped.
He realized why Luo Yingbai threw it to him and said: “So Weile was haunted because of this piece of clothing?”
Luo Yingbai, wearing multiple layers, was already feeling hot, grabbed the collar of his inner garment and fanned himself, saying regretfully: “Yes, I thought they were surrounding me because of my handsome looks, but it was actually because of this clothing. What a pity.”
Xia Xianning ignored him, carefully examining the clothing inch by inch, finally stopping at the right shoulder. He spread out the fabric, touched it with his finger, and shouted: “Pardon decree, descend from the sky, five ghosts reveal yourselves!”
A black pattern appeared – the image of a flying head separated from its body. On the heart of the flying head was a strange symbol, dark red and barely distinguishable.
He pinched it and confirmed: “It’s blood.”
Xia Xianning opened the bottle of wild ghosts, and indeed, the ghosts inside seemed drugged, rushing to the symbol, kissing and touching it. Those who couldn’t get close simply rubbed the fabric, leaving Luo Yingbai stunned and realizing their previous restraint.
“What’s going on? Take a look quickly.”
Xia Xianning diligently researched for a while and said: “To curse with a flying head spell, you need the blood of the cursed person. This symbol on the clothing is likely for drawing blood. Wandering ghosts instinctively approach when they sense blood with evil energy, which explains everything.”
Luo Yingbai said: “Oh, I understand now. The vengeful ghost you were chasing that night ran to Ou Zihen’s home because it smelled the blood on him!”
He touched his chin: “It seems Ou Zihen, though dislikable, suffered an undeserved disaster this time. I speculate the culprit originally wanted to harm Weile, so first tampered with the dragon robe, but then the role changed, and Ou Zihen wore the robe from beginning to end.”
He tugged at the robe in Xia Xianning’s hand: “As for this clothing, first Weile wore it, then I wore it. The mixed energy means although the bloody scent can still attract ghosts, the curse is essentially nullified.”
“Though nullified, it won’t be hard to find who cast the spell,” Xia Xianning said. “What are your next plans? Will you continue acting?”
To locate the flying head spell, they’d need to wait until after sunset when yang energy weakens. He needed to take the clothing and send the room full of ghosts to reincarnate. If Luo Yingbai wanted to stay, Xia Xianning couldn’t wait.
Luo Yingbai bent down to observe his facial expression: “Hmm, you seem particularly unwilling to let me act. Why? Are you jealous?”
Xia Xianning, looking down at the clothing, said flatly: “You’re overthinking.”
Luo Yingbai raised an eyebrow and laughed: “Am I? Anyway, I’m not acting anymore. Let’s wrap up and go home!”
His easy agreement surprised Xia Xianning, who couldn’t help but glance at him.
Luo Yingbai smiled: “Didn’t you notice? Director Xiao’s expression and body language clearly showed he thought the scene was inappropriate. There’s a 99% chance they won’t use me.”
Xia Xianning frowned, feeling displeased: “Why? I thought your performance was fine.”
Luo Yingbai was nonchalant: “How would I know? I never wanted to be a real actor. Just enjoying the moment is enough. Alright, let’s go!”
His prediction was entirely correct. That scene was never shot again – the role of Ling Anjun was completely cut.
Not because Luo Yingbai performed poorly, but because he performed too well, almost overshadowing Li Sheng to the point of being a background character. This made the directors realize a problem they should have known earlier: as a minor supporting role, this Ling Anjun was far too outstanding.
Stunning appearance, tragic background, vicious personality, favored by the emperor… These elements combined could easily make the character too attractive. Having such a character who wasn’t the protagonist would be problematic, regardless of the performance.
Director Xiao first argued but was eventually persuaded, reluctantly letting Luo Yingbai go and presenting him with compensation – the problematic costume and a 1,000 yuan labor fee.
Luo Yingbai happily accepted.
Before the director left, he repeatedly emphasized that he would definitely contact him if there were good roles in the future.
In this way, if the entire role was removed, then all the scenes previously shot would be completely scrapped. However, after replaying the scenes several times, Director Xiao hesitated for a moment but couldn’t bear to completely delete the scenes of Luo Yingbai’s performance and temporarily kept them.
Luo Yingbai, satisfied with the money, said to Xia Xian Ning: “I’ll treat you to a meal. Are you willing to eat some common food, Young Master Xia?”
Xia Xian Ning showed a slight smile: “Let’s go.”
“The two finally ate a hot pot near the film set and drove back to the Special Investigation Unit, with the faint smell of hot pot lingering in the car.
Xia Xian Ning opened the window on his side and said: “I didn’t expect that after nearly a year away from home, your picky eating habits have improved.”
Luo Ying Bai sighed: “Mainly because I had no money. When I left, I was completely broke and hadn’t done any feng shui readings. I just worked random jobs at school to earn some money. I even borrowed money from you for the first semester’s tuition. Do I have the right to be picky? Three meals a day, steamed buns dipped in salt, with some pickled vegetables on weekends – that’s already great.”
Even though he knew Luo Ying Bai was exaggerating, Xia Xian Ning still felt a twinge in his heart. This person had been a young master since childhood, never even washing a dish, and now he was working odd jobs – it was hard to imagine.
Thinking about this, with the scenes from his dreams reappearing before his eyes, he sighed and said: “Do you still want pan-fried tofu? I’ll make it for you when we get back.”
It would be hard for anyone to believe, but Xia Xian Ning was an excellent cook. Luo Ying Bai loved his pan-fried tofu, and Luo Ying Bai was overjoyed: “Really?”
Xia Xian Ning nodded.”
Luo Ying Bai immediately fawned: “Xian Ning, since you’re cooking once, you might as well cook twice. I also want dry-fried crispy mushrooms.”
“Okay.”
“Shall we buy a couple of beers at the supermarket later?”
“Hmm.”
Luo Ying Bai couldn’t believe Xia Xian Ning was being so agreeable today, feeling absolutely delighted: “I knew you were the best. It wasn’t for nothing that I loved you so much as a child, even splitting a candied hawthorn stick in half to share with you…”
Xia Xian Ning: “…”
