Chapter 179
Backstage in the movie set’s dressing room.
With her makeup and styling already done, Xie Mi lounged lazily on the sofa, scrolling on her phone while waiting for the director to cue her.
[185 Purehearted College Boy]: [Photo]
[185 Purehearted College Boy]: [Photo]
[185 Purehearted College Boy]: Teacher Xie, which tie do you think suits me better today?
In the photos, Shen Yuqing wore a loose white shirt under a dark suit jacket, each picture with a different patterned tie.
But Xie Mi’s gaze wasn’t on the ties—it lingered on his slender neck, the pale, jointed fingers, and, in the floor-length mirror behind him, the casually revealed perfect lines of his back and waist, along with those long legs.
She nearly shot up from her seat like a patient resurrected from the brink of death.
She typed a reply with lightning speed.
[Loves Cilantro]: Can’t tell from this. Send two full-body shots.
There was a brief pause. Soon, two more photos arrived.
This time, the ties were gone. The collar of his white shirt was unbuttoned by two, exposing a glimpse of collarbone and smooth skin.
[185 Purehearted College Boy]: Suddenly, I think not wearing one looks better.
You little brat!!
Xie Mi shamelessly wiped the drool at the corner of her mouth and decisively renamed his contact:
[185 Purehearted Bodhisattva]
Squeak—
The dressing room door suddenly opened, and a familiar face in a black trench coat walked in.
Seeing Xie Mi sprawled casually on the sofa, Xiao Jingxi smiled.
“Xie Mi, I knew you were waiting for me.”
Xie Mi, who was zooming in on Shen Yuqing’s photos: “? If you’re so idle, go shovel dung.”
Xiao Jingxi only took it as her sharp tongue hiding a soft heart. He closed the door behind him and naturally sat across from her.
“I heard you’ve gotten plenty of offers lately, yet you chose to cameo in this movie. Do you think I wouldn’t know what that means?”
Xie Mi’s thumb froze mid-scroll.
“My desire to play a mental patient is that obvious?”
“…”
Xiao Jingxi’s lips twitched, but he forced himself to hold it in.
“Don’t pretend. You came here to see me. You knew I’m the lead, yet you took a role with barely two minutes of screen time just to be near me. Xie Mi, why won’t you admit you still like me?”
After delivering his heartfelt line, he noticed that Xie Mi had her phone aimed at him the entire time.
“Look, a fool.”
From the phone came a familiar chuckle.
“Pretty foolish, yeah.”
“You’re on a call with Shen Yuqing?!” Xiao Jingxi snapped, instantly losing his composure, and lunged to grab her phone.
But this time, Xie Mi didn’t dodge. Instead, she bent down and rammed her head straight into his stomach like a bull.
“Pff—!”
Xiao Jingxi collapsed onto the ground, nearly coughing up his soul.
Xie Mi rubbed her iron-hard helmet and gave a goofy grin.
Because her role involved head-banging, the makeup artist had fitted a metal cap under her wig.
That hit really did him in.
“My scene’s about to start, so let’s leave it there.”
Adjusting her hair, she walked out while still speaking into the phone.
“Listen to me—skip the tie, that’s the best look.”
“Clicking my tongue here—Teacher Xie, you’re such a rogue.”
…
When it was time for filming, Xie Mi lay on the hospital bed, ready in place.
Standing at the doorway, Xiao Jingxi looked at her, ignoring the ache in his ribs. Slowly, his mind calmed down.
There was no need to be angry.
If Xie Mi went this far to cameo just for him, then of course she still cared. She was only pretending, trying to make him jealous by calling Shen Yuqing in front of him.
Thinking that way, his mood lifted.
He even wondered—when Shen Yuqing happily chatted with her, how crushed would he be if he realized he was just a prop in her jealousy game?
“Action!”
At the director’s shout, Xiao Jingxi dropped his expression and entered the room, grave and cautious.
The figure on the bed stirred. Xiao Jingxi froze. “Who’s there?!”
No response.
He frowned. Improvised or not, shouldn’t she be getting up by now?
But since she didn’t, he carried on. Carefully, he stepped closer and reached for the blanket.
The figure twitched again.
He recoiled instinctively, genuinely startled. But real emotion worked even better on camera, so he leaned in, grabbed the blanket, and yanked it.
Suddenly, the figure shot up like a spring.
“I’ll take your dog life!!”
“Holy sh*t!!”
Even knowing it was just acting, Xiao Jingxi nearly jumped out of his skin. The curse slipped out, his dignified image as a film emperor shattering instantly.
He quickly tried to recover, about to ask for a retake—
But Xie Mi rammed him with her helmeted head again, knocking him flat.
“Ahhhh!!!”
His scream pierced the set. Crew members froze in awe, terrified to make a sound that might ruin this “performance.”
This—this was true veteran acting!
Writhing, Xiao Jingxi reached a trembling hand toward the director.
Say it… quickly say cut…
Whack!
Before he could beg, Xie Mi grabbed him by the scruff, flung him, and sent him crashing onto the bed.
Stars burst in his vision. He weakly raised his hand again.
Cut… cut already…
Behind the monitor, the director was already weeping into his hands.
Such raw performance!
“Arrghhh!!!”
Xiao Jingxi’s shriek rang again—he was now wrapped up in the blanket, reduced to a punching bag for Xie Mi’s furious fists.
Half-conscious, he wondered: was he… filming?
No… this really was an asylum!!
“Cut!”
Finally, the director yelled, just as Xie Mi landed one last slap. Applause erupted across the set.
“Perfect! Brilliant performance!”
The producer even teared up.
“I don’t know how the two of you rehearsed this, but it was flawless—the protagonist’s despair, the lunatic’s madness—I felt every bit of it!”
The assistant director added with reverence, “Film Emperor Xiao is still immersed in the role, he hasn’t even woken up.”
“And he even prepared his own prop! Was that toothpaste in his mouth? He must’ve hidden it beforehand—such dedication!”
Amidst the flood of praise, Xiao Jingxi lay on the ground, foaming at the mouth.
Help…
Help me…
