OSM Chapter 9

“But…” Gao Kui listened to him finish and fell silent.

“If you really get involved in his life and the media finds out, it wouldn’t be good.”

He hesitated before asking again, “But do you really have to get involved in his life? Do you have to fall in love with him? I’m not saying this, but after all these years, don’t you think all the love has faded away? Even if you can’t be together, you could still be friends…”

“I can’t be friends with him.” Li Yuze didn’t wait for Gao Kui to finish his sentence and hung up the phone.

He doesn’t want to be friends with He Zhiqiu. Never has, and never will.

Li Yuze held his wine glass with one hand, sitting on the single sofa by the hotel window. The photo Gao Kui had sent was still open on his phone, and once the call ended, the photo remained on the screen.

He stared at it for a while, until the screen went dark, then closed his eyes.

Life on a film set wasn’t easy.

To complete all the filming within two months, everyone on the crew had to work long hours, barely getting three hours of rest each day.

Tang Song was a newcomer, but his family was well-off, so he had never had to endure this kind of hardship.

At first, Tang Song was excited to follow He Zhiqiu around and watch the actors in their group rehearse. But lately, he’d lost all enthusiasm.

Whenever he had a break, he would rest under the shade of the pergola in the yard. The life on set was nothing like he imagined. He thought he could freely showcase his acting skills, but because he wasn’t experienced enough, he was often scolded by the director.

Moreover, their group was too poor, and many scenes had to be shot in the studio sets. Only two outdoor locations were used within the film studio, and they kept going back and forth in the same small area, which felt repetitive and stale.

Tang Song was still young and couldn’t settle down.

He wasn’t like He Zhiqiu, who loved acting. He simply wanted to become a star.

“Aren’t you tired?” Tang Song waved the script to fan himself and took the bottle of water He Zhiqiu handed him.

Today, He Zhiqiu didn’t have any scenes, so technically, he could have rested at the hotel.

But he still came, full of energy, and even helped the staff hand out boxed lunches.

“I’m not tired at all,” He Zhiqiu said. “This is a rare opportunity.”

Tang Song took a couple of bites from his box lunch. “What opportunity? To hand out lunch boxes?”

He Zhiqiu smiled and replied, “No, it’s rare to have a chance to see so many different actors perform. I want to take the opportunity to learn more.”

Just as he finished speaking, they heard a loud, pitiful scream. Tang Song and He Zhiqiu quickly looked up and saw the male lead passionately reading his script aloud.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say he was reciting. He spoke with varying tones, and his expressions were exaggerated.

He Zhiqiu remembered that the scene he was performing should have been one where the male lead was separating from the female lead. The director had asked him to tone down his emotions and present a calm, sincere side of the character. But the male lead’s performance was the complete opposite of what the director had asked, with emotions running too high, making it difficult to pull back.

Tang Song watched silently for a few seconds before turning to He Zhiqiu. “Do you know why he’s never made it big?”

“Why do you ask?” He Zhiqiu replied.

Tang Song muttered under his breath, “Because audiences aren’t blind! Look at that acting—it hurts my eyes. How could audiences stand watching it?” Then, as if reflecting on his own performance, he added, “Although I’m not much of an actor myself and probably can’t talk, if you want to learn, shouldn’t you look for someone with real talent?”

He Zhiqiu understood Tang Song’s point.

In their group, the average acting skill hovered around mediocre. There were no standouts, nor were there any exceptional talents. Even worse were cases like the male lead—no matter how the director tried to guide him, he simply couldn’t deliver the desired performance.

Xu Sui had told him to learn and observe more, but he didn’t mean watch just anything.

However, aside from his fellow actors in the same production team, he didn’t know anyone else at all…

“Tang Song.” He Zhiqiu suddenly stood up and asked, “Do you know where Gao Kui is filming?”

“Yeah, it’s not far from here.” Tang Song seemed to sense what he was thinking and said, “But with a production team like theirs, they hire top-tier stars, and it’s usually forbidden to watch the filming.”

He Zhiqiu nodded but still wanted to take the chance to visit while they had this break. After all, opportunities like this were rare, and being able to watch an award-winning actor perform in person would be incredibly beneficial.

Thinking of Gao Kui, he remembered the strange things Gao Kui had said to him.

Had he mistaken him for someone else?

He Zhiqiu jokingly thought: maybe Gao Kui knows another person named He Zhiqiu, who just happens to have the same name and look like him.

Although they were filming in the same film studio, Gao Kui’s filming location was completely different from He Zhiqiu’s, which was in a couple of small courtyards they had rented.

It was said that the grand building in front of him had been specially rebuilt for filming this heavy historical drama, and just the set and costume designs had taken three years to complete.

He Zhixiu stood in the empty plaza, feeling a bit envious.

Such a high-budget production set probably required very accomplished actors to even be allowed inside.

The staff guarding the set had been observing him for a while. Seeing that he hadn’t left, they came over to ask him to move away. He said the set was a closed shooting area where only people from the production could enter.

He Zhiqiu hadn’t expected much anyway, so he politely apologized and was about to turn around and head back when a black SUV stopped right in front of him.

He thought he was blocking the way and was about to step aside when the person in the driver’s seat rolled down the window, revealing a surprised smile. The person waved casually and called out, “Hey, He Zhiqiu.”

He Zhiqiu blinked in surprise. He hadn’t expected Gao Kui to be in the car. He quickly greeted him politely, saying, “Senior Gao.”

“Haha.” Gao Kui laughed heartily. “Why the formal address? Didn’t you just call me Teacher Gao the other day?”

He Zhiqiu smiled and squinted his eyes. “If you don’t like being called Senior, I’ll just call you Teacher again.”

“Hey, it’s not a big deal. Just call whatever feels natural.” Gao Kui leaned out of the car and asked, “So, no filming today?”

He Zhiqiu nodded.

“Perfect. I took the day off too.” Gao Kui said, “I mentioned treating you to a meal last time. How about we go together?”

“But I…” I don’t even know you! He Zhiqiu wanted to decline, but he couldn’t figure out how to start his refusal.

Sure, I don’t know Gao Kui personally, but I’ve seen him everywhere in dramas and movies. Not just that, I was even trying to learn acting techniques by sneaking onto the set earlier!

Feeling slightly off-balance and faced with Gao Kui’s persistent invitation, He Zhiqiu could only agree.

He initially wanted to sit in the front passenger seat, but Gao Kui told him to sit in the back.

He Zhiqiu simply said, “Okay.”

When he opened the car door, his breath caught in his throat.

He didn’t expect someone else to be sitting there—a man dressed in simple black clothes with a baseball cap pulled low over his face.

It was Li Yuze.

Li Yuze gave him an emotionless look before eventually frowning and asking, “Are you three and a half years old now?”

“You climbed in the car just because he said he’d treat you to dinner? Do you know him that well?”