Chapter 335: A Difficult Problem
The fans in the group chat were all chatting noisily when a small fan suddenly said, “Student Xiao Liu’s last name is Liu, and Miss Xu’s assistant’s last name is also Liu. Assistant Liu is also a fan of Teacher Song. Xiao Liu, are you actually Miss Xu’s assistant?”
In the fan group, Liu Xiangyi’s nickname was “Student Xiao Liu.” In the past, she had always been quietly lurking, only speaking up when the group got chaotic, revealing bits of insider information about Song Zhibai.
She hadn’t expected that one visit to the filming set would lead to fellow fans digging up her true identity completely.
Seeing that Liu Xiangyi stopped responding in the group chat, a major fan stepped up to control the situation.
“Come on, why are we exposing people’s identities? Weren’t we supposed to respect each other?”
The discussion about the matter gradually quieted down.
Liu Xiangyi thought the matter had blown over, but unexpectedly, the major fan privately messaged her.
“No matter whether you’re Miss Xu’s assistant or not, our fan team warmly welcomes you. Since you’re about to visit the set, I have to tell you some set visit rules.”
The major fan was very gentle, offering a bunch of advice. Though they called it “rules,” it was really out of worry that Liu Xiangyi might accidentally offend someone and drag Song Zhibai into trouble.
The next morning, Xu Youyou’s team headed to the airport in full force.
Since it was a domestic trip, Xu Youyou brought Guai Guai along. Because the trip was decided at the last minute, Lu Jingyao was busy with a merger case and couldn’t come, but he still sent half of his bodyguards to accompany Xu Youyou.
As a result, there were even more people traveling with Xu Youyou. They barely managed to fit everyone onto the private jet.
The plane couldn’t land directly in the small town where the filming was happening. After landing in a nearby city, the cars that had been pre-booked were already waiting at the airport.
Xu Youyou looked slightly tired, but she refused the suggestion to rest nearby and headed straight to Fushan County, where the crew was filming.
Fushan County was three hours away from the airport. Thanks to years of major infrastructure development, the roads were excellent. Even the winding mountain roads didn’t feel too bumpy—just tiring from sitting too long.
After several hours of traveling, Xu Youyou was really exhausted. After arriving in Fushan County, she didn’t head straight to the set. Instead, she had lunch at the hotel and took a nap for an hour.
When she woke up, Xu Fang quietly reported, “Boss, Director Ouyang is waiting in the lounge.”
It wasn’t just Ouyang Ouyang waiting—Song Zhibai was also there.
Xu Youyou had already received news that Song Zhibai had become deeply immersed in his role while filming, but when she actually saw him, she was still startled.
“Ouyang, what happened to Xiao Song? I handed him over to you in good shape, and this is how you’ve taken care of him?” Xu Youyou’s voice carried a hint of blame.
She wasn’t deliberately picking a fight—Song Zhibai really looked terrible.
He was thin, unshaven, with dull, lifeless eyes, and an overwhelming aura of despair. If not for his still-striking looks and decent clothing, Xu Youyou would’ve thought he had become a homeless man.
However, despite how bad he looked, it weirdly fit the character’s state of utter hopelessness in the second half of the film perfectly.
Director Ouyang quickly said, “Boss, you’re wronging me. Teacher Xiao Song is very precious to me. I wouldn’t let him suffer. He’s sacrificing himself for the movie.”
Hearing this, Xu Youyou sighed heavily. Looking at Song Zhibai, who still seemed a bit out of it, she said softly, “I know that mess at the Hong Kong awards hit you hard, but you can’t let yourself sink too deep into the role. If you can’t pull yourself out later, that would really worry everyone.”
Warning bells rang wildly in Xu Youyou’s mind. Over two lifetimes, she’d heard too many stories of actors who sank too deep into their roles, eventually losing themselves and going mad.
Whether as a friend or as someone who saw Song Zhibai as a valuable asset, Xu Youyou didn’t want him to end up crazy.
At that moment, an image of Gu Xueying’s mother flashed through her mind—a once-famous star of Jinling City who eventually became a lunatic.
Director Ouyang nudged Song Zhibai, seeing he hadn’t responded.
Song Zhibai finally seemed to wake up from a dream, and when he looked at Xu Youyou, a bit more life returned to his eyes. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. What happened in Hong Kong didn’t affect me… I just felt like I finally found a really good script and wanted to give it my all.”
Although he only said a few words, Song Zhibai already looked fatigued.
Xu Youyou and Director Ouyang exchanged a glance, both feeling a wave of pity.
“Xiao Song, Auntie Song has two kids to take care of now. Before I left Shanghai, she especially asked me to pass along a few reminders to you…” Xu Youyou said gently.
At first, Xu Youyou thought Song Zhibai just looked fragile, like he carried countless stories on his shoulders. Now she found herself resenting that air of tragedy around him—people like him were just too easily trapped by emotions.
Hearing her words, a faint, beautiful smile appeared on Song Zhibai’s handsome face.
“I know… Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing,” he said. After a slight pause, he added, “Boss.”
Xu Youyou’s expression didn’t change much upon hearing him call her “Boss,” but Director Ouyang’s face immediately crumpled, like he’d eaten something unbearably sour.
“What’s wrong with you?” Xu Youyou asked Ouyang.
Director Ouyang quickly waved it off. “Nothing.”
Although he said he was fine, sadness was flooding his heart. He had spent so much time with Song Zhibai and paid close attention to him.
He clearly remembered that ever since Song Zhibai realized his feelings for Xu Youyou, he had stopped calling her “Boss”—instead, he called her “Miss Xu” or simply used her name.
Hearing “Boss” again all of a sudden made it painfully clear to Ouyang: Song Zhibai, despite his fame and success, had given up. He had let go of this unspoken love that Xu Youyou never even knew about.
“I brought gifts for everyone in the crew. Have Xu Fang hand them out later,” Xu Youyou said.
Director Ouyang nodded seriously. Xu Youyou had always been generous—whenever she visited a set, even the extras would get a little red envelope.
“Has there been any trouble during filming this time?”
Xu Youyou asked casually.
Unexpectedly, Director Ouyang’s spirits lifted immediately. “Boss, we really have run into a big problem.”
