The next morning, the young actor arrived on set and paused sullenly: “Good morning, Teacher Li.”

Li Baixi: “?”

It took Li Baixi two seconds to replace his “What’s wrong with you?” expression with a business like smile: “Good morning, Liu.”

The young actor, with a stiff face, quickly walked to his mark.

Last night, he had spent a long time brooding, unable to calm his mind.

The reason he didn’t follow the route of a “traffic star” was largely due to his personality. He knew he couldn’t handle the entertainment industry’s ways, so since his student days, he had walked the most straightforward path with the most straightforward attitude, selecting roles directly, honing his craft directly, and living his life directly.

This approach, while it didn’t lead to overnight fame and fortune, provided him with a steady future. He knew he could continue acting until he was sixty without worrying about job offers, so he dismissed everything outside of acting, letting his already low emotional intelligence plummet into an abyss.

Being straightforward was his passport and would be his epitaph.

But now, he had encountered a rival in straightforwardness.

Cheng Ping had almost bewildered him with his directness.

How could a “traffic star” be so candid? He himself relied on his looks, so of course, he had to cling to the stylist. But I don’t need to!

Yet Cheng Ping clung to that stylist with such righteous zeal, flaunting his relationship as if it were the most principled thing in the world.

The young actor was indignant.

Two tigers cannot share one mountain; this set could only have one person standing on the moral high ground, and that person had to be him.

After filming the first scene, the young actor signaled his assistant to bring out two large bags of milk tea: “Everyone, you’ve worked hard. Drinks are on me.”

The crew was surprised and grateful, thanking him profusely.

The young actor shot a provocative look at Cheng Ping.

See, you only care about the stylist, but I care about the whole crew!

Cheng Ping gave him an honest smile.

The young actor: “?”

Cheng Ping thought this guy was quite on the ball. He had thought they would be enemies after his harsh words yesterday, but it seemed the young actor had reflected and changed, which made him seem quite agreeable.

Thinking this, his smile became even more encouraging.

The young actor nearly fainted with rage.

Unfortunately, the next scene required the writer and the policeman to interact amiably.

The policeman told the writer about the obstacles in investigating the old case, making the writer suspicious: “But these files are from so many years ago. How could someone immediately know you’re looking into them now? Unless they have a way to monitor you!”

The young actor furrowed his brow and snapped: “Are you saying there’s a mole in my police station?”

Cheng Ping shook his head: “No, I’m saying when we were talking in the script murder house, could we have been eavesdropped on?”

The young actor’s expression grew serious: “The murderer from back then is now mixed in with the players? These players weren’t all first-timers; I’ve said before they all have suspicious motives.”

“I’ve been investigating that old case for years, changing the background and turning it into a script murder. The murderer noticed the similarities and kept coming back to play, out of fear? Or pride?”

The young actor suddenly clapped his hands: “I have to go.”

Cheng Ping: “Where to?”

The young actor was already storming off: “I carried a miniature camera while playing the script murder. I’m going to review the footage!”

Director: “Cut. Cheng, that was good. Lu, your tone was too harsh. The policeman isn’t interrogating the writer; he’s trying to help him. Your emotions weren’t right.”

The young actor: “…”

No, my emotions were almost overflowing.

As the young actor sulked, Cheng Ping felt that since the young actor had shown an attitude, he should also extend an olive branch.

Cheng Ping approached and put an arm around the young actor’s shoulders: “Shall we run through the lines together?”

The young actor grumbled: “No need.”

Cheng Ping was taken aback but thought, when he lowered himself, he too would feel awkward, so he magnanimously gave the young actor some face: “Come on, I have some questions I want to ask you.”

The two hadn’t interacted for ages, and the person responsible for filming behind-the-scenes footage had been fretting over this. Seeing them finally talking, they quickly pointed the camera at them.

The young actor: “…”

Gritting his teeth, the young actor squeezed out a smile: “Of course.”

That day, Cheng Ping performed normally, but the young actor kept making mistakes, dragging Cheng Ping into multiple NGs.

By the end of the day, the young actor refused to talk to anyone.

Cheng Ping, used to going back to his room to study after work, hesitated, recalling Actor Lu’s advice: “An actor must first believe in what they are performing.”

He tried extending another olive branch: “Want to grab dinner together?”

The behind-the-scenes camera swept over again.

The young actor suspected Cheng Ping was doing this on purpose to annoy him.

Not willing to be outdone, the young actor agreed: “Sure.”

By evening, the production’s official Weibo posted a behind-the-scenes video of Cheng Ping and the young actor smiling and running lines together.

Cheng Ping’s popularity had skyrocketed recently, but the man himself wasn’t active on social media. His fans, desperate for any update, went wild over the new video: “Oh oh oh, he’s so serious!” “Are they kinda sweet together? The visuals work too. Anyone shipping this?” “Shipping! Who tops, sisters?”…

Li Baixi: “.”

Li Baixi, lying in the bathtub scrolling on his phone, expressionlessly hit the repost button.

Fans: “Huh? Last time Teacher Li reposted a video of Cheng Ping and the actress. Why the sudden change in taste?” “Teacher Li joined our ship! Any behind-the-scenes goodies to share?”

Ma Koukou quickly sent a WeChat message: “Master.”

Li Baixi lazily scrolled: “Yes.”

Ma Koukou: “Why did you repost that video?”

“Why ask? Helping promote the production, isn’t that normal?”

Ma Koukou sent a crying emoji: “Why put yourself through this? I understand everything.”

Li Baixi: “You understand?”

Ma Koukou: “Actually, yesterday I followed and eavesdropped on Lu and Cheng. I heard something shocking.”

He had quickly adapted to using the CP name. Losing interest, Li Baixi didn’t want to listen to him being mysterious: “Ma Koukou, let me make this clear. Cheng Ping’s relationships have nothing to do with me.”