Chapter 262 – The Runaway Little Sweetheart of the Top Actor – The Person Behind Tang Tang (06)
Zhou Mengsi’s admiration for Pu Hexu wasn’t something new—it had been going on for quite some time. Originally, the company had no intention of letting her take on the role in Above the Firmament. Although Zhou Mengsi was a top-tier celebrity with a huge following, her acting skills weren’t quite on par with the award-winning Pu Hexu. The company feared that she wouldn’t be able to hold her own opposite him, and that fans would lash out in disappointment.
But when Zhou Mengsi found out that Pu Hexu was the male lead in the project, she ignored her agent’s objections and insisted on taking the role, even though the company didn’t fully support it.
It’s often said that love can blossom on set, and many celebrity couples in the industry have ended up together after working on a drama or film.
Although Pu Hexu had never been involved in any rumors with his co-stars before, Zhou Mengsi thought—what if she could be the exception?
The persona the company had crafted for Zhou Mengsi—perfect, gentle, intellectual, and professional—had made her the “people’s sweetheart” in the eyes of many netizens. These were the traits her male fans admired most.
Zhou Mengsi was confident that as long as she got the chance, even if Pu Hexu didn’t fall for her, she could at least leave a lasting impression.
To be fair, Miss Zhou was indeed confident—and this drama gave her the opportunity to chase her dream.
As the most important female supporting role apart from the male lead, Zhou Mengsi had plenty of scenes opposite Pu Hexu.
Now, the scenes between the male lead, Situ Cheng, and the female supporting character, Zu Pingwan, were starting to film.
On camera, Zu Pingwan—dressed in a flowing blue-green gown—was gentle and graceful, beloved by many of the disciples within the sect.
Zu Pingwan said, “Senior Brother Situ, the Qiankun Mystic Realm is about to open. We must find the Hundred-Threaded Immortal Herb before the demonic path does. If it falls into their hands, the consequences will be unimaginable.”
“You’re right, Senior Sister Wan,” another disciple chimed in. “Senior Brother, assign the team members. Let more of our junior brothers go in. The more people we have, the better our chances of finding the herb quickly.”
A hundred years ago, the demonic path’s ancestor, the Blood Demon, had been seriously injured by the combined efforts of righteous cultivators and sealed in the swamplands. The righteous sects had paid a heavy price—many of the venerable elders were gravely wounded, and over the following century, they passed away one by one.
Recently, the Blood Demon had somehow broken free from the seal and escaped the swamp. Though he managed to get out, his strength had been severely depleted. The Hundred-Threaded Immortal Herb in the Qiankun Mystic Realm was an extremely powerful restorative. If he obtained it, the world would once again be thrown into chaos.
As the realm was set to open, the righteous sects quickly joined forces, sending their most elite disciples into the mystic realm to find the herb before the demonic sects could.
Since Zu Pingwan’s arrival, she had won the affection of everyone in the sect. Even Situ Cheng often spent time with her, discussing strategies for the upcoming mystic realm expedition. At first, Que Ning had enjoyed the freedom that came with no longer being supervised by his senior brother, but as time passed and he repeatedly saw Situ Cheng and Zu Pingwan laughing and talking together, his mindset began to shift. Even the other senior brothers spoke of Zu Pingwan with admiration and respect.
“Senior Sister Wan is just like Senior Brother—both geniuses in the cultivation world…”
The more his senior brothers said things like this, the more Que Ning felt the widening gap between himself and Situ Cheng and Zu Pingwan. He began training day and night without rest, which even surprised Situ Cheng.
“What wind is blowing today, that Ning’er is suddenly working so hard?” Situ Cheng asked with a chuckle.
“Is it so bad that I’m trying harder now? I don’t want to hide behind Senior Brother forever,” Que Ning replied.
“Good. It’s good to know the value of hard work.”
With his head lowered, Que Ning mumbled gloomily, “Senior Brother, when do you think I’ll ever catch up to you and Senior Sister Wan?”
Situ Cheng sighed, “Ning’er, you’re too eager for quick success.”
But to Que Ning, those words sounded like mockery—as if no matter how hard he tried, he would never be able to catch up to them.
“I… got it.” Que Ning turned away, tears welling up in his eyes.
“Cut—” Director Li nodded with satisfaction. Bai Tang was truly a natural talent, perfectly portraying Que Ning’s inner struggle.
This was exactly the feeling he wanted. In the world of the script, romantic feelings between men were taboo. The young junior disciple was still naïve when it came to emotions, but Zu Pingwan’s presence began to blur the once pure bond between Situ Cheng and Que Ning as senior and junior brothers.
“That’s a wrap for today. Pack it up.”
“Tang Tang, that was amazing.” Pu Hexu had been worried that Bai Tang might not be able to handle Director Li’s pickiness, but to his surprise, Bai Tang had delivered a flawless performance.
“Mhm~” Bai Tang responded softly. In the blink of an eye, a few tears rolled down his cheeks and splashed onto the slate floor.
“Don’t cry, Tang Tang. I’m not Situ Cheng—I won’t betray you for someone else.” Pu Hexu knew Bai Tang hadn’t fully stepped out of the role yet.
Bai Tang nodded and let Pu Hexu gently wipe away his tears with a tissue.
“What do you feel like eating tonight? We might not be able to go home, but I can have the assistant bring over ingredients. I’ll cook for you.”
“Hot pot~” the boy murmured, his voice soft and sticky-sweet. Xiao A had made up with Qiu’er over hot pot, and watching them made him want some too.
“Alright~ Hot pot it is tonight.” Pu Hexu ruffled the boy’s hair, his face full of affection as he held his hand and led him off the set.
The behind-the-scenes assistant covered her mouth to stifle a scream—this was too heart-melting! What kind of heavenly CP was this? Not only was there chemistry on screen, but off screen they were even sweeter.
She was officially locked into the Hexu × Tang Tang ship—more than just a couple in drama, they were a dream pair in real life too.
During Bai Tang and Pu Hexu’s filming, Wen Annie, who worked as Bai Tang’s assistant, was often given a hard time.
Assistants had their own circles, too. As one of them, Wen Annie didn’t understand the unspoken rules of the job. She would glare at people over the slightest disagreement, and her favorite catchphrase was, “You’re just flaunting your money.” She managed to offend quite a few people, but out of respect for her boss, Bai Tang, no one dared say anything to her face.
Although Bai Tang wasn’t yet a household name, for someone so unknown to land a lead role in Director Li’s production, he had to have strong backing. After some digging, it turned out he was a newly signed actor under Dizhou Film. Dizhou was known for being a star-making powerhouse. Every artist they launched had gone on to massive fame. And currently, their most influential artist was none other than Film Emperor Pu Hexu.
Could it be that Pu Hexu was taking such good care of Bai Tang because they came from the same agency?
Assistants working for second- and third-tier stars didn’t dare offend Wen Annie—out of consideration for both Bai Tang and Pu Hexu. But Zhou Mengsi’s assistant wasn’t afraid.
Following Zhou Mengsi’s instructions, she first approached Wen Annie under the guise of friendliness, using a sweet and gentle demeanor to win her trust.
Wen Annie, a little too naïve, genuinely believed her. She treated Yu Shuang—Zhou Mengsi’s assistant—as her first true friend since becoming an assistant. Completely letting down her guard, Wen Annie unwittingly gave away everything she knew about Bai Tang under Yu Shuang’s probing.
Yu Shuang was stunned by what she learned—she hadn’t expected Bai Tang to have been brought into the production by Pu Hexu himself.
She gave Wen Annie a polite smile, then immediately relayed everything to Zhou Mengsi.
Zhou Mengsi fell into deep thought. Who exactly is this Bai Tang, to be so favored by Pu Hexu?
After some consideration, she realized her real target was Pu Hexu, not Bai Tang. But if Bai Tang could earn Pu Hexu’s favor, then he clearly wasn’t someone ordinary. She had seen how close the two were on set that day. If she could build a good relationship with Bai Tang, perhaps it could benefit her own career as well.
“All right,” Zhou Mengsi instructed. “Get closer to that Wen Annie and find out who’s backing Bai Tang.”
Meanwhile, Wen Annie, following Pu Hexu’s request, came back with bags full of groceries.
Pu Hexu opened the door, took the groceries, said a curt “thanks,” and closed the door again—all without the slightest hesitation.
Wen Annie stood outside the door, muttering to herself. He’s nothing like I imagined… On TV, he seemed so friendly and approachable, but in person, he was cold as ice. After all the effort she put into buying the groceries, he didn’t even invite her to eat with them…
“Annie, want to have dinner together?” Yu Shuang walked over from the other end of the hallway and invited her.
Wen Annie didn’t have many friends here—Yu Shuang was practically the only one who had shown her any kindness.
She readily agreed. “Sure!”
Three rounds of drinks in, Wen Annie was already completely drunk—thanks to Yu Shuang.
Yu Shuang had hoped to coax some useful information out of her, but to her disappointment, Wen Annie was clueless about everything she asked.
Yu Shuang stared at the empty bottles and the pile of dishes on the table, feeling the sting of the wasted effort. What a loss…
Meanwhile, in the other room, where the hot pot was bubbling, a small mishap occurred.
Wen Annie had originally imagined she’d be sharing hot pot and plum wine with her idol—but to avoid making things awkward, she had specifically chosen a mild-at-first but strong-later type of plum wine.
While Pu Hexu was washing vegetables, Bai Tang spotted the brightly packaged bottle of plum wine in one of the bags.
He sniffed curiously. A light, sweet scent of plums reached his nose.
It probably tastes really good, Bai Tang thought.
By the time Pu Hexu came back with the washed vegetables, he found the boy sitting at the table, cheeks flushed red, beaming up at him with a silly grin.
“Ah Xu~” The boy lit up happily when he saw Pu Hexu.
“This stuff… tastes good. It’s sweet~ Heehee…”
Pu Hexu walked over and took the bottle out of Bai Tang’s hands.
Plum wine?! He raised an eyebrow—it was imported from France, completely covered in French writing. No wonder Tang Tang hadn’t recognized it.
“Ah Xu, heehee, you should drink too~”
At some point, Bai Tang had stumbled over and thrown himself into Pu Hexu’s arms.
“Come on, drink it, drink it~” Little drunkard Tang clung to the bottle like a treasure, urging his man to share it with him.
“Alright, I’ll drink.” Pu Hexu took a swig straight from the bottle. It was sweet, with barely any taste of alcohol.
“Is it good? Is it good~?” Bai Tang squirmed restlessly in Pu Hexu’s arms, almost driving him over the edge.
“It’s good.”
Pu Hexu wasn’t a lightweight by any means—but at this moment, he felt completely intoxicated.
The boy beamed up at him with a bright, unrestrained smile. But when he saw Pu Hexu holding the bottle and taking another sip, his expression shifted into a pout.
“Don’t drink it all… Leave some for me…” The boy’s lips trembled, and his dazed eyes shimmered with tears.
“Then I’ll feed it to you, Tang Tang.”
Saying that, Pu Hexu took a sip but didn’t swallow it—instead, he leaned in and passed it directly into Bai Tang’s mouth.
Bai Tang’s eyes widened. Before he could even process what was happening, the sweet taste of plum wine had already slipped down his throat.
“Tang Tang…”
Pu Hexu scooped Bai Tang into his arms, carrying him bridal-style.
The night… had only just begun.
Author’s Note:
What’s Bai Tang’s background? Of course, it’s… (You already know~)