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The next two days focused on filming the fight scenes between Jess and Xu Zhou. Chu Yinlong’s bar for acceptable was also raised due to the many close-up shots required.

As a result, Jiang Dao and Jing Yu could not escape the NG curse as soon as they started. Even a few simple confrontations were repeated over and over again.

This time, it’s not that Jiang Dao’s sense of oppression is too strong, but that Jing Yu’s movements always fail to meet the requirements. His force is either too light, the angle is wrong and Jiang Dao’s moves missed, or his facial expression is off.

“Stop!” Chu Yinlong raised his hand and rubbed his eyebrows. “Jing Yu, I know you haven’t practiced martial arts, so I don’t have high requirements for you. But even if it’s a close-up shot, it’s impossible to just shoot the face! You know the movements well, but can you use a little more force? Such a soft punch, how can the editor even cut your movements into the action scene?”

Jing Yu stood in the field obediently, waiting for the scolding to end. He looked at Jiang Dao with some concern, and then summoned up his courage and retorted: “However, Xiao Dao is still injured, I can’t do it.”

Chu Yinlong: …

Jiang Dao: …

Chu Yinlong’s expression became very strange. He seemed a little angry, but also a little helpless. In the end, he could only sullenly say, “You are making a movie! When you enter the set, you are Xu Zhou, a policeman. He is Jess, a criminal. How can you feel bad for him?”

“How can this be called an injury?” Jiang Dao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “It’s almost gone, you see. You can’t see it even if there was no concealer, and the skin isn’t broken at all. Is this even an injury?”

Jing Yu fell silent for a moment, and said, “Then I’ll use more force next time.”

Jiang Dao smiled and winked at him. “Even if you use force, you don’t have to pity me…”

“Cough!” Chu Yinlong interrupted the two of them. “Get ready.”

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After two more shots, the shot finally passed.

Until more than 5:30 in the afternoon, Jiang Dao and Jing Yu’s scene ended perfectly, and Jing Yu’s role in “Operation Red Owl” also ended.

When Chu Yinlong shouted “pass”, Jiang Dao pulled Jing Yu into his arms with a smile on his face, and gave him a friendly hug. “Congratulations, it’s done.”

Jing Yu was smirking when he looked up to see Chu Yinlong standing behind Jiang Dao, staring at him with a black face, and was shocked.

In the next moment, he broke away from Jiang Dao’s embrace, quickly took two steps back, and smiled stiffly: “Uh, hehe, congratulations… ah no! Thank you! Cough, that…”

Jiang Dao raised his eyebrows, silently put down the hand hanging in the air.

Why is Jing Yu so surprised? Did anyone intimidate him?

At this time, Shi Lu, who was Jing Yu’s stunt double, came over and patted Chu Yinlong on the shoulder.

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“Since Xiao Jing is finished today,” he said with a smile, “and it’s almost time for dinner, why not go out for a big meal together and celebrate?”

Hearing this suggestion, Jiang Dao turned his head and his eyes lit up.

Chu Yinlong immediately swallowed the “what big meal, order a boxed lunch” response in his throat flawlessly, and agreed: “Okay.”

Since only Jing Yu’s scenes ended this day, it was not worthy of a collective celebration. Therefore, only a small number of people participated, and even fewer drank – they still need to film tomorrow, and hangovers are a no-no.

Jiang Dao had a good drinking capacity and wanted to drink two glasses, but was ruthlessly suppressed by Chu Yinlong.

“You’re injured, what wine are you drinking!” Chu Yinlong grabbed Jiang Dao’s wrist, snatched the glass from his hand, and replaced it with a bottle of peach soda. “Drink this.”

Jiang Dao argued: “It’s just a little bruise, and it’s almost healed!”

Chu Yinlong: “Almost healed – it’s not healed yet.”

Jiang Dao put the peach soda on the table, leaned on the back of the chair and rolled his eyes.

Beside him, Shi Lu couldn’t help laughing: “Brother Long, when did your definition of injury become like this?”

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Seeing Chu Yinlong frowning and not answering, he brought up some past events: “There was a little actor who bruised his elbow before and asked to go to the hospital. You scolded him for being squeamish, afraid of blood, and not being masculine in enough. It’s only been two years, how did your heart become so soft?”

Chu Yinlong said, “That Xiao Zhang, why did he pick you of all people when looking for a replacement?”

When they first met, Shi Lu was afraid of him. But after working together on a few projects, he seemed to understand his temperament and became more and more casual with him.

Listening with joy, Jiang Dao secretly reached out to steal his wine glass back.

Chu Yin didn’t even turn his head, but moved his hand to grab the glass, and handed it to the waiter who had finished serving the dishes: “Take it away, we don’t drink here.”

Jiang Dao: …

Jiang Dao poked Jing Yu who was sitting on the other side: “Hey, let’s change seats.”

“No no no, I don’t dare!” Jing Yu’s head shook quickly. 

Jiang Dao frowned: “Aren’t you not afraid of him?”

Jing Yu pursed his lips and glanced over. He looked at Chu Yinlong first, then looked at Jiang Dao, and shook his head.

Because there were several older actors, directors, and cameramen at dinner, Jiang Dao didn’t want to make too much noise. He could only be obedient and glumly take a sip of the peach soda.

…huh, it’s pretty good.

When he goes back, he’ll buy a box to keep at home.

Shi Lu’s eyes swiveled between Jiang Dao and Chu Yinlong, and then he silently retracted his gaze, with a little melancholy between his brows.

There was no filming in the evening, so everyone returned to the hotel after dinner.

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Jing Yu was in a good mood. After drinking a lot of wine, he became more courageous, dragging Jiang Dao and saying he wanted to sleep with him. In the end, he was dragged away by the collar by his manager and stuffed back to his own room.

After letting the meal digest a little, Jiang Dao put on a t-shirt and shorts, and went downstairs to go to the gym for a run.

He has been eating a lot recently, and if his exercise can’t keep up, his body fat rate will rise, which will affect his physical fitness and endurance. He’s always paid attention to keeping in shape, not for good looks, but for health.

Unexpectedly, when he came to the door of the gym, he found people already inside.

On the mat, Shi Lu stretched out his hand, and stood up with Chu Yinlong’s help. Panting, he smiled and said, “I still can’t beat you… Why do I feel you’ve become stronger again?”

Chu Yinlong wiped his sweat and replied casually: “It’s you who hasn’t practiced much recently. Have you gotten worse?”

Shi Lu shook his head, moved his wrist, and beckoned, “Come again.”

“I won’t fight with you.” Chu Yinlong refused and raised his chin towards Jiang Dao who was standing outside the glass door. “Why don’t you two give it a try.”

Turning around, Shi Lu saw Jiang Dao walking into the gym, and couldn’t help smiling. “Him? His arms are still blue, don’t you feel bad?”

Chu Yinlong thought for a while, and then said: “You may… not necessarily be able to touch his elbow.”

Naturally, Shi Lu was unconvinced: “Hey, even if I can’t beat you, how can I be so bad as to not even touch an arm! Come, come, Xiao Dao, come, let’s practice.”

Unfazed, Jiang Dao simply stretched, warmed up, and then stepped on the mat and adjusted his posture.

“Your posture, what school did you train under?” Shi Lu smiled.

Jiang Dao shrugged: “Nothing, it’s just a wild1wild being no school / casual, kind of like gangsters who are good at fighting but aren’t formally trained way.”

It turns out that Jiang Dao’s style is really wild.

Moreover, Chu Yinlong’s judgment was accurate – Shi Lu was not able to touch Jiang Dao’s injured arm at all. In just a few rounds, he was thrown to the ground, and couldn’t get up.

“Cough!” Chu Yinlong cleared his throat. “Okay, get up. No need to count the seconds.”

Jiang Dao got up and reached out to pull Shi Lu up.

Lying on the ground, Shi Lu raised an arm to cover his eyes, and sighed heavily.

Chu Yinlong was helpless: “Are you learning from kids now? If you lose, you can’t get up on the ground?”

Shi Lu moved his arms away and looked at Chu Yinlong suspiciously: “Learn from kids? Which kid?”

Chu Yinlong pointed to Jiang Dao. “That one. Every time he loses, he lies on the ground.”

Shi Lu sat up with his arms up and asked, “Do you fight often? I don’t think he was taught by you.”

Chu Yinlong smiled, and shook his head. “I can’t teach this kind of… All the martial arts I learn are upright, but his movements are too slippery and hard to see through. It’s quite difficult to deal with, right?”

Shi Lu turned his head and looked at Jiang Dao with a complicated expression. “It’s quite difficult to deal with…”

After speaking, he lowered his eyelashes and pursed his lower lip, and raised his face again: “But it’s good, you’ve found another friend you can learn from.”

For some reason, Jiang Dao suddenly felt that a little redundant standing there.

Chu Yinlong and Shi Lu are old acquaintances, and their tone when speaking is very casual. Moreover, the relationship between the two is not as pure as Chu Yinlong and Director Mu, and seems a little more than simple work partners or friends… Jiang Dao couldn’t tell what the difference was, but he intuitively felt like the atmosphere was a little strange.

“I’ll go run for a while.” Jiang Dao greeted slightly embarrassedly, then turned his head and ran away.

Chu Yinlong’s eyes chased Jiang Dao’s back, and then quickly retracted.

He turned around and picked up the towel and mobile phone from the shelf next to him. “I’ll go first. Xiao Dao, don’t practice too late, and get some rest.”

Jiang Dao didn’t look back, but hummed casually, and waved his hand behind him.

Shi Lu got up and said, “I’ll go too. Let’s go back together.”

Chu Yinlong didn’t care, and the two walked out of the gym side by side to the elevator.

As the elevator rose slowly, a sigh came from the enclosed space.

After a moment of silence, Shi Lu said: “Martial arts really requires practice. I used to think I was very good, but now I can’t even beat young artists.”

Hearing this, Chu Yinlong comforted: “Xiao Dao is not an ordinary artist. Don’t think he’s weak because he looks pretty; he’s actually quite cruel to himself.”

Shi Lu muttered under his breath, “Aren’t we all very hard on ourselves? People who practice martial arts, how can they not be hard on themselves… He’s just like you, with good luck and good looks, and his path forward is much wider than mine. If we can stand in front of the audience, who would want to stand in the shadow of others?”

He suddenly turned his head and smiled at Chu Yinlong: “However, with you, I am willing to stand in the shadows.”

After a while, Chu Yinlong didn’t speak.

The elevator arrived at the guest room floor, and the two went out one after the other and turned into the corridor.

“Shi Lu.” Chu Yinlong suddenly called out.

“Huh?” Shi Lu looked at him.

Chu Yinlong stopped, turned around, and looked at the other person solemnly.

“Don’t say that kind of thing again.” His words were calm, but there was a touch of alienation in his tone. “We’re friends, so I am willing to get along with you like before. But if your gratitude is not so simple… I’m sorry, I can’t accept it.”

Shi Lu was stunned.

After a long time, he smiled wryly. “You can tell…”

Chu Yinlong didn’t speak.

Shi Lu asked, “Is it because of Jiang Dao?”

“No.” Chu Yinlong answered quickly.

Shi Lu smiled.

“Do you believe yourself? You may not have noticed how gentle you are when you look at him. If I hadn’t seen the way you look at him, I wouldn’t have said those words just now…” He closed his eyes, and when they opened again, there was a lot more freedom in them. “But that’s fine, after trying it and knowing your attitude, I can give up.”

“But…” Shi Lu said, looking at Chu Yinlong with a teasing smile. “…I don’t think Xiao Dao is enlightened yet. Who knew Chu Yingdi has an unrequited love?”

 

Chu Yinlong: I don’t like you

Shi Lu: So you like Jiang Dao?

Chu Yinlong: …no

Shi Lu: Really?

Chu Yinlong: ……………

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1wild being no school / casual, kind of like gangsters who are good at fighting but aren’t formally trained

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