Crossover Actors

Translator: Hua

Lu Wen felt a little choked up.

There seemed to be a twister at the side of the table which was ignited by someone. It ignited in a circle like a prairie fire, and the others burst into laughter around the table.

Ren Shu laughed until his stomach hurt. He hit Lu Wen on the back of the waist, and said, “Xiao Lu, you got the wrong person!”

Lu Wen’s one hundred and eighty-eight centimeters body was so weak that his legs shook softly. He looked at Qu Yanting and said in disbelief: “It’s impossible…”

“You don’t believe it?” Ren Shu’s laughter was particularly loud. He placed his hand on Qu Yanting’s shoulder and said “This is Mr. Qu. The one you just toasted to is Mr. Zhou!” 

The assistant director, afraid of taking the blame, hastily explained: “Teacher Lu,I already told  you that Mr. Qu is wearing black clothes.”

Ren Shu asked, “Do you admit your mistake now? Xiao Lu, you are a real living treasure!”

Director Liu laughed until his face turned red. He jokingly said, “Xiao Lu, you got in the wrong car at the airport, and today you recognize the wrong person. You have to give Mr.Qu a sincere apology.”

There was a scene of chaos around him, Lu Wen didn’t know who to listen to. He felt a buzz in his head.

He stared at Qu Yanting intently, so shocked that he was about to die on the spot. It was too unexpected and terrible. This man was actually Qu Yanting!

In other words, he got on the wrong special car prepared for Qu Yanting, chatted frivolously with Qu Yanting, repeatedly showed off to Qu Yanting that he was the number one male lead, and finally  mistaken Qu Yanting for a bald middle-aged man.　

Lu Wen went from being unbelievable at the beginning to shock, and then from shock to panic.

He stood there uncomfortably, as if a newborn dog had accidentally entered the wolf’s den, afraid to speak or move.

Qu Yanting still had a faint smile on his face. He leaned forward and lifted his chin slightly. When the laughter calmed down, he spoke again and simply called out: “Male lead number one.”

This time Lu Wen stammered for real: “Q-Qu, Teacher Qu.” 

Qu Yanting repeated the question in the bathroom: “I don’t look like a screenwriter?”

Lu Wen shed a drop of sweat and replied, “Super, super like.”

Qu Yanting continued to ask: “Do you want to be a movie emperor?”

Lu Wen’s face turned red: “No… Don’t force it.”

Ren Shu couldn’t hold it anymore. He leaned back in his chair and laughed loudly. A circle of people laughed again, staggering back and forth on the chairs.

Director Liu said: “Xiao Lu, you have met the real Mr. Qu now.”

Lu Wen: “Well……”

Director Liu asked: “Do you still think that he is like your father?”

Lu Wen’s face switched between white and red. There was no need for him to answer at all, the others were already laughing. Ren Shu choked for a moment, then reflexively went to see Qu Yanting’s reaction.

As the most qualified person to make fun of, Qu Yanting didn’t laugh when he heard the word “father”. He took his gaze away from Lu Wen and his smile also disappeared.

“Okay, okay.” Ren Shu made a “stop” gesture. “Everyone takes it easy. We haven’t even started filming yet, don’t frighten our male lead.”

He glanced at his watch and said: “It’s getting late, let’s go to the banquet hall and meet the cast and crew.”

Everyone got up after hearing the words. Ren Shu stood up and patted Lu Wen’s arm: “Don’t just stand there. You didn’t deliberately recognize the wrong person. Give Teacher Qu a toast and apologize to him.”

Lu Wen nodded stiffly: “Thank you, Director.” 

The other people left, and the box seemed empty.

Apart from the table full of mess, There are only Qu Yanting and Lu Wen. The two doors were closed and the noisy atmosphere instantly returned to zero. It was strangely quiet.

Lu Wen’s current mood was hard to describe using words, even for the liberal arts champion in the college entrance examination. His chest was very swollen, as if he had been beaten by a heavyweight boxer, but he was not beaten to death, just to the point of being half-dead.

He moved a little, and carefully sat down beside Qu Yanting. After sitting down, he realized that this was the closest he was to Qu Yanting, closer than when they were talking in the bathroom.

Lowering his eyes, he could see the carved flowers in Qu Yanting’s watch and the blue-purple blood vessels on the back of his hand. Under the table, there are Qu Yanting’s slender thighs wrapped in black trousers. He looked sideways and saw Qu Yanting’s straight nose, the texture of his skin, and the dense eyelashes.

When he first entered the box, Qu Yanting was sitting among the drinking people, refreshing and handsome, with a well-mannered and bookish air which caught his sight immediately.

Lu Wen silently counted that he had seen Qu Yanting four times before and after.

…..Damn.

How shocking was Lu Wen? To fully confirm the situation, he opened his mouth and asked: “…Are you really Qu Yanting?”

Qu Yanting replied, “Should I show you my ID card?”

“No need…” Lu Wen changed his mind.

He was at a loss, and suddenly found that he had been holding an empty wine glass. Putting the glass away, he picked up a half bottle of Kruger and poured Qu Yanting a glass of wine. He said, “Teacher Qu…I’ll give you a toast.” 

Qu Yanting said, “Do you want to repeat those words again1He referred to the words that Lu Wen said to Zhou Zong when he toasted to him.?”

Lu Wen’s wrist trembled. He tried to recall the words that he was too scared to forge: “The word you want to hear…” 

Qu Yanting said: “No, I can’t listen to it.”

Lu Wen breathed a sigh of relief. After pouring the wine, he turned to Qu Yanting again. Qu Yanting reached out his hand and drew circles on the cup holder with his fingertips, but did not pick it up.

He asked: “Are you really my fan?”

Lu Wen didn’t give a positive answer, but said honestly: “I have seen all the movies you wrote.”

Qu Yanting didn’t inquire about the true or false, and asked other things: “How do you feel about script reading today?”

Lu Wen said: “The harvest is great.”

Qu Yanting said: “Did you digest all the details?”

Lu Wen had an unclear premonition and replied: “Not all…” 

Qu Yanting said, “You gut is not very good.”

Lu Wen suddenly  didn’t feel so good.

Why did he say hello to Qu Yanting in the bathroom? Why did he want to chat with Qu Yanting? Why did he have to sneer at Qu Yanting?

While regretting what he had done, Lu Wen felt that he was also suffering from injustice. As the saying goes, the ignorant is not guilty. And he was indeed ignorant, but Qu Yanting knew everything.

He mustered some courage and said: “Teacher Qu, you know I made a mistake, why didn’t you tell me?”

Qu Yanting asked, “Didn’t I hint you?”

Lu Wen recalled that Qu Yanting’s hints were quite obvious. In order to lighten the responsibility, he said in his own defense: “I am rather stupid and can’t understand the hints.” 

Qu Yanting, as if observing the mystery of the world, said: “Fool, are you kidding me?”

Lu Wen hurriedly said: “I’m just an eighteenth tier star, how could I dare play tricks on you? I am happy for nothing and I have offended a big shot. I-I don’t know what to do.” 

Qu Yanting asked: “Isn’t it annoying to pretend to be a grandson?” 

“Pretending to be a grandson is not important. You asked to meet me, of course I’m very happy! ” Lu Wen blurted out in a hurry and did not stutter. His voice was quite loud.

After that, he remembered that the other party was Qu Yanting, and he was a little bit embarrassed. He murmured: “You know everything, and you told me to come, do you want to see me making a fool of myself?”

“Wasn’t that what you said?” Qu Yanting replied, “That I came here to see the soul of the whole play.”

Lu Wen’s face burned: “After you have seen me, do you regret letting me play the leading role?” 

Qu Yanting finally picked up the glass and drank all the wine. Lu Wen was looking at Qu Yanting’s rolling Adam’s apple. His reaction was a bit slow, and he quickly drank his own glass.

He had just swallowed the wine and didn’t have time to wipe the corner of his lips. Qu Yanting seemed to answer, and also seemed to warn: “I don’t regret it. I won’t know until after the filming starts.”

That bowl of noodles had long been lumpy. Qu Yanting picked up the chopsticks and flipped them a few times, he said: “Okay, let’s go out.” 

Lu Wen got up obediently, walked out to the mini porch and looked back. Under the radiant crystal lamp, Qu Yanting was wrapped in a black suit and sat alone at the table, his thin back looking lonely.

Not knowing why, he suddenly wanted to confess: “Well, all that speech was made up by my agent.”

Qu Yanting’s tone didn’t fluctuate: “Why did you tell me?”

Lu Wen also didn’t know why so he just answered casually: “I don’t know.”

Qu Yanting chuckled and said in a deep tone: “Suit yourself. But in the future, Things like “seeing you is like seeing my father”, don’t say such nonsense.”

Lu Wen decided to shut up and didn’t plan to confess, that sentence was his own thought.

Coming out of the box, Lu Wen was suddenly relieved. He leaned on the wall to take a long breath. When he went in, he was full of spirits, and when he came out, he was burnt out. He suspected that he had endocrine disorders2Read here: https://medlineplus.gov/endocrinediseases.html.

Sun Xiaojian waited three steps away and rushed over immediately: “What’s the situation? Director Ren led them all to the banquet hall and said that you would stay and talk to Editor Qu. Is that true?”

Lu Wen replied, “That’s true.”

“F*ck” Sun Xiaojian was flattered, “Editor Qu not only wanted to see you, but also chatted with you alone?”

Lu Wen felt like something was stuck in throat. “…I also didn’t expect it.”

Sun Xiaojian pressed on his digital watch: “From the time you had entered the room, I started timing. I estimated that it would be ten minutes at most. As a result, you went in there for a total of thirty minutes. You are awesome!”

Lu Wen really didn’t know how to answer. He said, “Men can’t be too fast3I supposed it was a dirty joke..”

Sun Xiaojian’s face was wrinkled with a smile. He stretched out his hand to wipe the sweat for Lu Wen and said, “Why are you sweating so much? By the way, you didn’t forget the words I told you right? How did Teacher Qu respond after you finished talking?”

“He… laughed.” Lu Wen felt like he had no love4The raw is 生无可恋. Internet slang means, There are no more people or things to miss in life. Life has no meaning anymore., “Everyone else also laughed.”　　

Sun Xiaojian said: “That means you are favored by them. How do you feel about yourself, do you think Teacher Qu can remember you?”

Lu Wen conservatively estimated: “If Qu Yanting never had a car accident and hit his head in this life which leads to amnesia, I think he can remember me for a lifetime.”

“Wow…” Sun Xiaojian was taken aback, “Awesome.”

The door opened, and Qu Yanting had just put the chopsticks down. He wiped his mouth and distinguished that there was only one person’s footsteps. Ren Shu came back first. His cheeks were red and drunk, and he felt dizzy when he sat down.

Qu Yanting poured a cup of tea and pushed it over: “Sober up.”

Ren Shu held it up: “How much did you drink?”

Qu Yanting drank some Wuliangye and a few glasses of Kruger but he  didn’t turn red or out of breath. When he was in college, the boys always had to drink at dinner parties. After the party, he had to carry  the drunk Ren Shu back to the dormitory all the time. Meanwhile, he was sober enough that he could still do his homework.

Ren Shu said dully: “Hey, is Xiao Lu gone?” 

Qu Yanting let out a “hmm” while lowering his head and sending a message to the driver to wait for  him at the entrance of the hotel. Ren Shu regretfully said: “Xiao Lu is probably too nervous. He was just a little actor who hasn’t seen the world.” 

Qu Yanting thought to himself,a person who stayed  in a luxurious suite, wearing custom made clothes from head to toe, adorning the latest and most difficult-to-buy jewelry and was a narcissist, that was not someone who hadn’t seen the world.

He didn’t have any leisure time to worry about Er Bai Wu. He poured a second cup of tea for Ren Shu and said, “Go back to your room and rest early. Don’t delay the start of work tomorrow.”

Ren Shu jokingly said, “What are you afraid of? The crew has you now. If I can’t make it, you can do it for me. Did you forget that you are the number one student in our director department.”

Qu Yanting smiled and did not speak. It seemed as though he was looking at his mobile phone, but in fact his eyes were on the tips of his ten fingers. This pair of hands that was once used to draw on split screen and touch the machines, had been writing and typing on the keyboard all these years.

He hadn’t forgotten, but he also didn’t dare to say or try it.

On the way back to the hotel, Qu Yanting kept his eyes half closed, as if tired. The radiant neon lights shone into the car. He didn’t like the gorgeous light, so he pulled the curtains.

The driver noticed that, and speeded up silently.

On the 62nd floor corridor of the hotel, Lu Wen stood with his back against the door.

He came back early with the excuse of reading the script, he did not remove his makeup nor take a bath. After his emotions had stabilized, he realized that he forgot to apologize to Qu Yanting in the box.

While waiting, he was pondering if he apologized, can Qu Yanting’s impression of him be restored?

From now on, he would never have the opportunity to play in Qu Yanting’s script, right?

Zeng Zhen’s movie was also probably out of reach?

Lu Wen’s thoughts were a mess. Inadvertently, a long time had passed. Suddenly, there was a slight flash of light. He turned his face to look at the end of the corridor, and was abducted by the target person he was waiting and thinking about.

Qu Yanting was soaked in alcohol. His black shirt was loosely covering his body and his sleeves were rolled up. His arms and cheeks were illuminated by the warm yellow light of the wall lamps. The black coat in his hand flicked with every step.

He was not drunk, but he was a bit sedated.

Qu Yanting walked over, leaning against the door of 6206. Each of them leaned against the door and met in the dim corridor. The atmosphere was very similar to Wang Jiawei’s movie “In the Mood for Love”.

Lu Wen took a step closer: “Teacher Qu, you are back.”

Qu Yanting did not respond, and fumbled for the room card with his eyes down.

Lu Wen said: “Teacher Qu, I didn’t have enough time in the box, now I want to seriously apologize to you. I have offended you so much for the past two days, I’m sorry.”

Qu Yanting took out the room card and turned around.

Lu Wen seized the time: “I shouldn’t ride in your car, drink your Paris water, let alone rant to you, the last thing is to recognize the wrong person in front of others. It’s all my fault, you can forgive me?”

Qu Yanting got goosebumps all over his body. Thankfully no one was passing by, otherwise they would have thought that the two of them were acting in some kind of emotional drama.

“It doesn’t matter.” He said, “Go back and don’t bother me again.”

Lu Wen felt a little relieved. At the same time, Qu Yanting was opening the door.

When Qu Yanting was about to enter, Lu Wen suddenly remembered that the most important point he had forgotten to explain was the one that Qu Yanting had warned before leaving the box.

“Teacher Qu!” Lu Wen dashed forward, reaching out to support the door panel.　

Qu Yanting was startled by the arm next to him and the low pitch voice behind him. He turned back impatiently: “Is there anything else?”

Lu Wen’s expression was extremely sincere as he said word for word: “You are definitely not like my father.”

Qu Yanting was dumbfounded for a few seconds, and said from the bottom of his heart: “I don’t want to have a son like you.”

After speaking, he saw that Lu Wen’s eyes were slightly startled, a little confused and a little helpless. He remembered that Lu Wen said he had grown up in a single-parent family when he toasted.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have said that to someone who only had a parent.

Unexpectedly, Lu Wen suddenly replied: “Damn, my dad said the same thing.”

 

1He referred to the words that Lu Wen said to Zhou Zong when he toasted to him.2Read here: https://medlineplus.gov/endocrinediseases.html3I supposed it was a dirty joke.4The raw is 生无可恋. Internet slang means, There are no more people or things to miss in life. Life has no meaning anymore.