Chapter 100.2: Filming Ends
For the second scene, the Starlight Ring was put back onto Shen Xiu’s finger.
Since the shoot required a wide view of the pool, there was no one around the rooftop outdoor pool other than Shen Xiu, the main subject, and Shi Buwen, the cameraman.
Sunlight poured down, shimmering across the brilliant blue water—until it was suddenly disturbed by Shen Xiu rising out of it, sending ripples across the surface…
Roughly ten minutes later, the second shoot wrapped up flawlessly.
After the first scene, Shi Buwen had been convinced Shen Xiu was a professional combat athlete. Now, after this second shoot, he was starting to suspect Shen Xiu might also be a professional swimmer.
These two scenes had taken far less time than Shi Buwen originally estimated.
As Shen Xiu climbed out of the pool, he immediately picked up the black silk robe provided by the client and wrapped it around himself.
As he lowered his eyes and quietly tied the robe’s sash, he heard Shi Buwen’s voice again:
“Do you have a driver’s license?”
The Starlight Ring and Rose Night commercial had a total of four major scenes, according to the shoot plan.
Now that the first two scenes for the Starlight Ring had been completed, only the two scenes for Rose Night remained.
In the evening, they needed to shoot a scene of Shen Xiu driving.
The car would pass over an elevated bridge. Shen Xiu would be inside, one hand on the steering wheel, and as he turned it, the Rose Night watch on his wrist would be revealed—casually, effortlessly.
Just imagining it made Shi Buwen feel the shot would turn out incredibly elegant and visually stunning.
Shen Xiu’s hands froze mid-motion as he was tying his robe’s sash. “…I don’t.”
Shi Buwen: “…”
That light, simple sentence had an unexpectedly devastating impact, shattering the perfect image he had built in his mind.
“Sorry,” Shen Xiu apologized sincerely, then explained, “I was too busy trying to make money back then and didn’t have time to learn.”
Right after entering college, he’d heard from his roommates and classmates that students could get discounts when signing up for driving school. But at that time, he was busy juggling jobs everywhere—he truly couldn’t spare the time.
Still, it was ultimately his lack of a driver’s license that disrupted the filming plan.
Shi Buwen recalled how Shang Yu had said Shen Xiu was far wealthier than he could imagine.
So even with all that wealth, Shen Xiu had still been out hustling to make money. Shi Buwen couldn’t even begin to guess how many zeroes were behind the amount of money that made Shen Xiu give up learning to drive.
“No need to apologize,” Shi Buwen said. “I get it. We have a backup plan anyway.”
If it were him, and he had to choose between a driver’s license and that kind of money, he’d have chosen the money too—without hesitation.
Shi Buwen mentally scrapped the driving scene from the shoot.
Even if they faked the scene, it would still be considered driving without a license. Not only would Shen Xiu refuse, he wouldn’t agree to it either.
Shi Buwen’s understanding made Shen Xiu silently resolve that once school started—no, tomorrow—he would go register for driving lessons.
As the two of them left the rooftop pool, Shi Buwen asked while walking, “Do you know how to play billiards?”
It didn’t matter if he couldn’t play—billiards didn’t require a license like driving did. As long as he posed correctly, no one would be able to tell whether Shen Xiu actually knew how to play or not.
“!”
Still feeling guilty for having disrupted the filming because he couldn’t drive, Shen Xiu got excited when it came to something he could do: “I can!”
Billiards was simple and could even make money—there was definitely a place for him as a practice partner or casual player!
Shi Buwen stopped in his tracks and turned his head, giving Shen Xiu a look that seemed to see right through him. “Is there anything you don’t know how to do?”
The Shen family really raised Shen Xiu a bit too perfectly!
Shen Xiu: “Driving.”
Shi Buwen: “I can drive. I have a license!”
At least for now, when it came to driving, he was a tiny bit better than Shen Xiu! Even though he knew Shen Xiu only brought it up to avoid hurting his self-esteem, Shi Buwen still felt very satisfied.
As the elevator doors closed, Shen Xiu looked over and sincerely complimented, “Director Shi, you’re amazing.”
Shi Buwen was even more delighted. What a great junior—cold on the outside, soft on the inside, and even knew how to protect his senior’s fragile ego.
Just as Shen Xiu and Shi Buwen came downstairs, Assistant Wen arrived with lunch.
“It’s almost twelve. Everyone pause what you’re doing and come eat first.”
As the person who had negotiated the endorsement with Shen Xiu, Assistant Wen knew very well that the only reason Shen Xiu had agreed to the deal at such a low rate was because of his bond with his senior brother, Kaiser.
Even though Kaiser wasn’t currently in the country, he had reminded them that Shen Xiu lacked for nothing. The only thing they could do for him was to make sure he ate well and comfortably during the shoot.
So, Assistant Wen had specially ordered takeout from a five-star restaurant and personally brought it over.
While the staff were setting out the lunch, Assistant Wen walked over to Shen Xiu and said, “Mr. Shen, I apologize—the director is currently abroad, so he couldn’t come in person. This lunch was specially arranged by him for you and Mr. Shi. He hopes you both enjoy the meal.”
Shen Xiu: “…Thank you.”
VG, this client—not only were they generous with the pay, but everyone from top to bottom was just too nice!
Shi Buwen had long grown tired of hearing Kaiser brag over the phone about how Shen Xiu had only agreed to take the endorsement because of him. He waved at Assistant Wen dismissively. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Tell him not to come back—I don’t need him between me and Shen Xiu!”
Shen Xiu: “?”
Here we go again with the ‘I don’t understand what you’re talking about’ buff.
—
After lunch, Shen Xiu rested for two hours in the room arranged by the client. At 2:00 PM, the third shoot began.
Thanks to Shen Xiu’s professionalism, the shoot at the billiards hall was once again a great success.
While Shen Xiu went to change out of his costume and remove his makeup to prepare for the third scene’s styling, Shi Buwen was getting scolded by the billiards consultant he’d invited.
“You messing with me, Brother Shi? I specifically cleared my schedule for this!”
“Sorry, sorry,” Shi Buwen replied sheepishly.
He had asked Shen Xiu in the morning whether he could play billiards, and Shen Xiu had said yes. But Shi Buwen had forgotten that he’d already invited a friend to come guide the shoot—so his friend had made the trip in vain.
The consultant immediately seized the opportunity and said, “Then how about this—since you didn’t give me a heads-up, can you at least set up a match between me and him?”
Just those few minutes of filming had shown such skill—it wasn’t nearly enough. He wanted to go up against Shen Xiu himself.
But Shen Xiu looked cold and aloof. Every movement he made was casual yet carried an imposing aura.
Let alone inviting him for a match—he didn’t even have the courage to approach and speak to him.
“No way,” Shi Buwen rejected the idea. “Shen Xiu’s not like us. Every second of his time is precious—it’s all used for grinding, for becoming stronger. Don’t go bothering him.”
After saying that, Shi Buwen chuckled to himself. “Tch, listen to me acting like you’d even dare bother him, hahaha.”
Shi Buwen laughed so smugly that his friend punched him a few times. In the end, Shi Buwen agreed to compensate with a bottle of red wine, and the matter was settled.
The setup for the fourth shoot took quite a while—several hours of preparation.
Once Shen Xiu had finished hair and makeup, he was led by the staff to the filming location.
As he saw the scene before him—glasses clinking and a lavish banquet—he was reminded of the farewell party the production team had arranged for the trainees back at the training camp.
All this extravagance just for an advertisement… Shen Xiu once again marveled silently at how rich the client must be.
The fourth scene required a large number of extras. Each shot needed a big group of people to stand in their exact positions—it wasn’t just about Shen Xiu. Because of this, the shoot took quite a bit of time.
By the time the fourth scene wrapped, it was already 8 PM.
At 9 PM, Shen Xiu and Shi Buwen finished dinner and walked out of the restaurant together.
Shi Buwen rubbed his temples, sore from a long day of work, and looked enviously at Shen Xiu, who still looked fresh and energetic.
He muttered, “Sometimes I seriously wonder if you’re a robot that doesn’t get tired.”
Shen Xiu answered seriously, “I’m not a robot.”
Shi Buwen: “Yeah yeah, I got it. Anyway, I’ve basically finished the lyrics and composition for the group album. I’ll send it to your email later tonight. As the team leader, you send it to the others. You guys take a few days to look it over—wait for my update.”
Shen Xiu nodded: “Okay.”
—
At 10 p.m., after finishing a full day of filming, Shen Xiu was driven home by VG’s car.
Once home, Shen Xiu quickly washed up. While blow-drying his hair, he recalled what Shi Buwen had said before he left. He checked his email—no new messages.
With no other choice, Shen Xiu picked up his phone and headed to the study. He placed the phone on the desk, started watching a movie, and waited for Shi Buwen’s email.
At 11 p.m., the phone on the desk lit up. Shen Xiu paused the movie and checked the screen—it was an email from Shi Buwen.
He opened the email and looked at the credits for lyrics, composition, and choreography. His pupils dilated in shock, and he exclaimed into the darkness, “Director Shi is Mr. S?!”
A director who can also write songs and choreograph—no wonder he’s capable of being a director!
Shen Xiu’s admiration for Shi Buwen rose to a whole new level.
Once he recovered from the shock, Shen Xiu forwarded the file to the group chat. Worried that someone might miss it, he also sent it individually to everyone’s email and chat windows.
…
The next day.
After coming back from his run and showering, Shen Xiu received a call from Teacher Jiang. “Teacher?”
“Shen Xiu, you’re still living at Yulin Banxia, right?”
Shen Xiu nodded—then quickly realized his teacher couldn’t see him through the phone and replied aloud, “Yes.”
“Go to my office now and send me the second file on the third row of my desk.” After seeing the trending searches, Jiang Jinya knew Shen Xiu was currently staying at Yulin Banxia, less than a ten-minute walk from Qinghe University.
Shen Xiu often helped Jiang Jinya with errands and had a key to her office.
“Okay.”
After speaking, Shen Xiu suddenly remembered that the new semester was about to start. He didn’t really want to run into that roommate, so he thickened his skin and said, “Teacher, could you call the dorm supervisor for me? I’d like to go up and get my luggage.”
Shen Xiu knew very well that a teacher’s word carried more weight than a student’s.
Jiang Jinya replied, “Sure.”
Twenty minutes later, Shen Xiu arrived at the dorm entrance.
Ten minutes earlier, he had already sent over all the files his teacher needed. She had also informed him that he was allowed to go into the dorm to retrieve his things.
There were still a few days before school officially started, and all his roommates were locals. At this time, they were probably still at home, so Shen Xiu hadn’t expected anyone to be in the dorm. He walked straight up to the door and inserted his key.
Just as the key entered the lock, before he had a chance to turn it, he heard the sound of a chair moving inside, followed by approaching footsteps.
While Shen Xiu was still puzzled, the dorm door was opened from the inside.
The person who opened it frowned so hard it looked like they could crush a fly between their brows. Unable to hold back their sarcastic tone, they said, “Well, well, the big celebrity’s back~”
