Huayu: Starting from retirement, sweeping across the domestic entertainment industry

Chapter 210 Visiting Coconut

That night, Tian Xiwei changed into her pajamas, lay down next to Li Ran, pulled the blanket up to her shoulders, turned her back to him, and her breathing was so steady that she seemed to be asleep.

But Li Ran knew she wasn't asleep; her breathing was too fast, so fast it seemed like she was deliberately controlling it, so fast it seemed like she was hiding something.

He didn't ask Xiaotian what he and Li Yitong had talked about.

It's not that I don't want to know, it's that I know I won't get an answer even if I ask.

If Tian Xiwei doesn't want to talk about something, no one can get her to say it.

He turned over and closed his eyes.

Each of them was preoccupied with their own thoughts, and neither of them spoke again.

Time flies.

The tail end of September slipped through our fingers, impossible to grasp.

Filming for "The Legend of Canglan" is nearing its end.

With about a week of filming left, this drama, which started shooting at the end of July and spanned the entire summer, will soon be wrapping up.

Looking at the dwindling number of shows on the schedule, Li Ran couldn't quite describe her feelings.

At the end of September, Hengdian experienced a light rain.

After finishing the morning's filming, there was a night shoot scheduled for the evening. The director, unusually kind, didn't schedule any filming in the afternoon, allowing Li Ran and Tian Xiwei to get some rest.

We're filming all night tonight, so I need to be well-rested.

After finishing her work, Tian Xiwei headed towards the RV. After a few steps, she realized that Li Ran hadn't followed. She turned around and saw him walking towards the parking lot, carrying a bag in his hand. His pace was unhurried, as if he had planned it all along.

"Why aren't you resting?" She stood at the door of the RV, tilting her head to look at him, her tone slightly puzzled.

Li Ran turned around and smiled at her.

"Oh, I'm not tired. I happen to have some time, so I'll go visit Coconut on set."

Zhou Ye's "Protecting the Heart" started filming in Hengdian a few days ago, and her co-star is Hou Minghao, an actor from the same company.

On the day filming started, he sent a congratulatory message, and Zhou Ye replied, "Remember to visit the set." He agreed, but hadn't found a suitable time yet.

I happen to have some free time this afternoon, so I can go take a look.

Tian Xiwei snorted coldly. She didn't say anything, opened the car door, and got into the RV without looking back.

Li Ran smiled gently and turned to walk towards the parking lot.

He put the bag on the passenger seat, started the car, and drove towards the filming location of "Protecting the Heart".

The two film crews are not far apart, both located in Hengdian World Studios.

Li Ran parked his car in the temporary parking lot outside the film set and walked in carrying the bag.

He immediately recognized the set as an ancient fantasy drama scene, complete with artificial mountains, ponds, smoke machines, and ethereal white gauze and artificial flowers.

Staff members were coming and going, some shouting "lights!" and others shouting "props!" The clanging of metal frames against metal mingled with the faint singing from afar, creating a lively atmosphere.

Zhou Ye had just finished filming a scene and was sitting on a folding chair in the rest area, with his assistant handing him water and tissues.

She was dressed in a light blue theatrical costume, her hair was styled in a high bun, with a few stray strands hanging down beside her ears, making her look like a fairy who had stepped out of a painting.

She took the water, drank a sip, looked up, and glanced towards the entrance of the film set—and then she saw him.

Her eyes lit up immediately.

She shoved the water bottle in her hand into her assistant's hand, stood up, and ran towards him, her skirt billowing in the wind like a butterfly fluttering towards a flowerbed.

"You're here? Why didn't you tell me beforehand?" She ran up to him, slightly out of breath, her eyes sparkling, her tone filled with surprise.

Li Ran explained with a smile, "It just so happens that I don't have any scenes to film this afternoon."

Zhou Ye pouted, "Tch, so you only came to me because you had no chance!"

Although her tone carried a hint of sulking, the smile in her eyes was impossible to hide, like a happy little dog that had just gotten some meat.

"What else can I do?" Li Ran chuckled, deliberately trying to provoke her.

Zhou Ye didn't really dwell on the question. She glanced down at the bag in his hand, then looked up again, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. "You're not going home tonight, are you?"

"We're filming a night scene tonight, I'll come see you in a couple of days," Li Ran explained.

Zhou Ye said "Oh," his voice lowered, but quickly rose again.

"Alright then, if you don't come in a couple of days, I'll come looking for you."

Li Ran smiled and handed her the bag. "Open it and see if you like it?"

Zhou Ye took the bag, muttering as he unpacked it, "What? There's even a gift."

She unwrapped the paper, opened the box, and inside lay a fan.

The fan surface is light blue, with a few plum blossoms painted on it. The ink is light and gives it a touch of antiquity.

She paused for a second, then looked up at Li Ran, her eyes shining even brighter.

"You're quite thoughtful." Her voice softened, tinged with surprise.

That day, she and Xiao Hu came to visit the set. Before leaving, they saw this fan in a shop on the old street. They picked it up and looked at it again and again, but finally put it down.

She thought no one had noticed, but he remembered and even went out of his way to buy it as a gift for her.

"I'm glad you like it." Li Ran said in a flat tone, as if he were talking about something insignificant.

Zhou Ye took the fan out of the box, unfolded it, and looked at it in the sunlight.

The plum blossoms on the fan surface appear exceptionally vivid under the light, with the layers of petals and the texture of the branches clearly visible.

She looked at it for a few seconds, then closed it, put it away, put it back in the box, and hugged it to her chest.

"I love so much."

Li Ran chatted with the director of "Protecting the Heart" for a while in the afternoon.

What the two of them were talking about, no one knows.

-

The director could only nod occasionally, frown occasionally, and smile occasionally. Finally, he stood up and patted Li Ran on the shoulder, as if they had reached some kind of consensus.

When Li Ran left, it was already evening. The setting sun dyed the entire film set in an orange-red hue, and his shadow was stretched long, trailing on the cement ground as a hazy gray line.

Hou Minghao stood at the door of the dressing room, watching Li Ran's figure disappear in the direction of the film set entrance, then turned around and looked at Zhou Ye.

She was sitting in a folding chair, holding the fan in her hand, opening and closing it repeatedly, the plum blossoms on the fan surface gleaming faintly in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Her lips were curved in a smile, as if she were in a good mood.

"Zhou Ye," Hou Minghao walked over and sat down next to her. After hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke, "Are you really dating Ran Ge?"

His tone carried a hint of probing and trepidation.

Zhou Ye looked up at him, his expression as if he were looking at a stupid dog.

"What else?"

Her tone was matter-of-fact, as if she were saying something that no one needed to ask.

Hou Minghao was stunned for a moment.

He scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly. "I thought you guys were just creating a couple image."

He paused, as if organizing his thoughts, "After all, Li Ran has quite a few CP (couple pairings)."

He was telling the truth. Li Ran's CP fans are all over the internet, including Xin Yi Wei Ran, Ye Huo, Cun Xin Ran Dong, and Ran Qing Wei Xiao—any one of them could dominate the charts.

He always thought Zhou Ye was just one of them, a kind of "hype during the promotional period, then break up after the show ends" kind of collaboration.

Zhou Ye snorted coldly, "What do you know? We've been together since college."

After she finished speaking, she stood up angrily, turned around and left, adding before leaving, "Only Li Ran and I are real."

Seeing her angry back, Hou Minghao quickly stood up and took two steps after her.

"Wait, why are you angry?" His voice carried a hint of innocent confusion.

He thought for a moment, then added, "So, shall we still cook? Sister Bing said—"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Ye suddenly turned his head, glared at him fiercely, and said, "Fry your big head! Go fry the air!"

After saying that, she left without looking back. This time she really left, and even her back view carried an aura of "don't mess with me".

Hou Minghao stood there, watching her figure disappear around the corner of the corridor, stunned for several seconds.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back. In the end, he just shook his head and turned to find the director.

As he walked down the street, the scene from earlier kept replaying in his mind. Li Ran had been talking to the director for an hour, and Zhou Ye said that she and Li Ran had been together since college. Sister Bing wanted him to create a CP (couple pairing) with Zhou Ye, but Zhou Ye refused.

These fragments were pieced together in his mind, eventually leading to an answer he should have thought of long ago.

Li Ran's visit today wasn't just a simple set visit.

He's been in the industry for several years, so he can tell these things.

He was there to support Zhou Ye and also to pass on a message to the director. As for what message he passed on, he didn't know and didn't want to know.

He pushed open the director's door and went inside.

The director was sitting in front of the monitor watching the playback, without even looking up. "You're here? Sit down."

"I happen to need to talk to you about something."

Hou Minghao sat down next to him, watching the images flashing on the screen, and suddenly felt a little nervous.

When Li Ran returned to the set of "The Legend of Canglan", it was already completely dark.

Tian Xiwei had finished her makeup and styling and was sitting on a folding chair in the rest area, holding a script in her hand. However, she was clearly not looking at Li Ran, whose gaze was fixed on the direction he was coming from, with a faint smile on her lips.

"It's so late, aren't you going to do your makeup and hair?"

Li Ran smiled, took the water handed to him by his assistant, and took a big gulp.

"No, filming starts at 8:30? There's still time."

Tian Xiwei glared at him. "Hurry up and go! I still need to rehearse with you later."

Li Ran nodded and got up to go to the dressing room.

The night scenes went very smoothly.

Whether it was because both of them were in the zone or neither wanted to drag it out any longer, they finished each take very quickly.

When the director yelled "Cut," Li Ran and Tian Xiwei exchanged a glance, neither smiling nor speaking, but simply walked to the side in tacit agreement to wait for the next scene.

When the last scene was filmed, it was already past 3 a.m.

Li Ran glanced at the time, then looked at Tian Xiwei beside her.

She yawned, a few tears welling up in the corner of her eye, which she wiped away with the back of her hand.

"That's a wrap." The director's voice came from afar, carrying a sense of relief and exhaustion.

The staff began packing up the equipment.

Li Ran stood up and stretched his stiff shoulders, his bones making a slight clicking sound.

Tian Xiwei also stood up, and the two walked side by side toward the parking lot without saying a word.

Back at the hotel, there were only the two of them in the elevator.

Tian Xiwei leaned against the elevator wall, her eyes closed, her eyelashes casting faint shadows under her eyelids.

Looking at the two shadows reflected in the elevator doors, Li Ran suddenly felt a little dazed—it seemed like it had been a long time since they had spent such a quiet time together.

The elevator arrived, the doors opened, and the motion-sensor lights in the corridor turned on one by one.

Tian Xiwei leaned directly onto his back, saying, "I don't want to move."

Li Ran smiled and gently carried her on his back.

Back in Tian Xiwei's room, the two took a quick shower and went straight to sleep.

The afternoon sun warmed the set. As soon as Li Ran arrived, he saw Lu Yuxiao standing in the rest area, chatting with Zhang Linghe.

She was wearing a cream-colored knitted cardigan, her hair was loose, and she wore a light-colored baseball cap with the brim pulled low, so she was hard to recognize unless you looked closely.

I don't know what Zhang Linghe said, but she smiled with her eyes crinkling.

Li Ran paused for a moment, not yet deciding whether to go over, when Lu Yuxiao had already seen him.

Her eyes lit up, and she waved to him with a gesture so large it looked like she was waving a flag.

"Li Ran! Over here!" she called out to Li Ran, her voice filled with undisguised joy.

Tian Xiwei walked beside him, glanced in the direction of the sound, then looked away, her face expressionless.

She didn't speak, or even pause, and walked towards the dressing room.

Li Ran didn't chase after him. He turned around and walked towards Lu Yuxiao, his steps unhurried and his posture relaxed as if he were taking a stroll in his own backyard.

He walked up to her, stopped, and looked down at her. Her face under the brim of her hat was fair and delicate, her eyes were bright, and the corners of her mouth still held the smile she had just had.

"What brings you to our film crew?" he asked casually.

Lu Yuxiao frowned, her brows furrowing in a very layered way. First, a shallow "川" (river) shape appeared between her brows, and then her whole face followed suit, making her expression both cute and funny.

"Can't I just come to see you?"

Li Ran looked at her and smiled slightly, but didn't say anything.

He turned and left, his movements swift and decisive, as if to say, "I'm done watching, I'm leaving."

Lu Yuxiao was taken aback for a moment, then quickly followed, "You just said hello and ran off? Why do I have to charge you for chatting?"

Li Ran didn't turn his head or stop walking; he simply replied casually, "It is indeed a fee. Top celebrities' time is very precious."

Lu Yuxiao quickened her pace, caught up with him, and looked at him sideways with a hint of cunning in her eyes. "Let's talk about 50 cents first, and I'll check out the service attitude."

She spoke in a very serious manner, as if she were discussing a business deal.

Li Ran finally turned his head, glanced at her, and the smile on his lips deepened.

"Two thousand a night."

He spoke casually, as if he were quoting a very fair price.

Lu Yuxiao's eyes widened, her mouth slightly open, her expression as if she had choked on something.

"Are you robbing me?"

Li Ran ignored her and quickened her pace toward the dressing room.

Lu Yuxiao stood there, watching his back, stamped her foot, and followed him.

Zhang Linghe sat on a folding chair in the rest area, watching the two walk away one after the other, and sighed.

He looked down at himself, then looked up at the direction where Li Ran had disappeared, and suddenly felt a little uneasy.

She's not bad herself either; she's 1.9 meters tall, has regular features, and her "acting skills" are on point.

Why don't any girls chase after him like that?

He thought for a moment, then reached out and touched his face. His fingertip traced a few fine lines at the corner of his eye, which were especially noticeable when he smiled.

Could it be because my face is full of wrinkles when I smile?

He looked at the front-facing camera on his phone, pursed his lips, and didn't smile. "Not bad."

When she smiles, wrinkles appear at the corners of her eyes, like the surface of a lake ruffled by the wind in autumn.

He put down his phone and leaned back in his chair.

No, I need to get a Thermage treatment after filming wraps up.

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