Chapter 264 – The Runaway Little Sweetheart of the Top Actor – Mixed Joy and Sorrow (08)
The commotion over here drew everyone’s attention.
Some rushed to lift the fallen lighting equipment, while others helped the people who had fallen.
Although Wen Anni kept apologizing, it didn’t change the fact that she had damaged the crew’s equipment.
When Wen Anni heard the price of the damaged light, her face turned green. Naturally, the tools Director Li used weren’t the cheap hundred-yuan kind you’d find anywhere.
Wen Anni handed almost all her salary over to her bloodsucking parents every month. Although this assistant job paid well, she had only just started a few days ago and hadn’t even received her first paycheck yet. The six-figure compensation left her on the verge of tears.
“Can you be a little lenient? I can’t come up with that much money all at once—I’ll try to raise the funds,” Wen Anni said bitterly. But her friends were all in the same situation as her—living paycheck to paycheck—so where was she supposed to get the money?
As the saying goes: An assistant’s mistake, the artist pays the price.
Wen Anni was Bai Tang’s assistant. The trouble she caused inevitably implicated Bai Tang.
When someone told Bai Tang that Wen Anni had broken the crew’s lighting equipment, he rushed to the scene. The area was a complete mess.
Bai Tang quickly calculated the pay he was expecting from his signed contract with Dizhou Films: ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand… Fortunately, it would be enough to cover the damage.
“I’ll take responsibility for the damage to the crew’s lighting equipment. I’m very sorry for the trouble caused,” Bai Tang said as he bowed to everyone.
The crew, who had initially been fuming, weren’t unreasonable people. It was clearly Wen Anni who caused the accident, and now the artist had to step in. “It’s not really your fault.”
“You don’t need to apologize…”
Similar remarks echoed all around—whether they were genuine or polite facades, everyone’s expressions remained cordial.
After all, Pu Hexu was still standing nearby. Given how attentive he’d been to the young man just now, no one dared make things difficult for Bai Tang.
Pu Hexu glanced at the repeatedly apologizing Wen Anni. It’s time to let Adam replace her.
He took the young man’s hand and told the crew member who had rushed over, “I’ll cover the compensation for the lighting equipment. I’ll have Adam handle it with you later.”
The crew member nodded. An accident that could be resolved peacefully was the best outcome. Still, he’d have to inform Director Li—breaking his beloved equipment would surely set him off again.
The crew member gave Wen Anni a sympathetic look. Once this incident got out, she could forget about ever working as an artist’s assistant again.
Soon after, Adam came over, settled the compensation, and informed Wen Anni that she didn’t need to come back anymore.
Wen Anni froze in place upon hearing the news. She really needed this job. And more importantly, she glanced at Pu Hexu, who was now speaking quietly with Bai Tang—she hadn’t even gotten her idol’s autograph yet.
In Wen Anni’s impression, Bai Tang was the easiest to talk to. If he spoke up for her, maybe she still had a chance to stay.
She dashed toward Bai Tang in a sudden burst, startling the young man.
“W-What are you doing…?” Bai Tang asked nervously. This female lead seemed a little unhinged.
Curled up against Xiao A’s back, Qiu’er, who had made up with Xiao A, muttered sleepily, “The female lead in this world is just a troublemaker. She’s not capable of much but still thinks all rich people are only lucky to be born into wealth. She can’t see the effort others put in. Tang Tang should stay far away from her before she drags him down.”
Bai Tang glanced at the damaged lighting equipment by the wall and silently agreed with Qiu’er.
Pu Hexu stepped in front of Bai Tang, blocking Wen Anni’s “charge.”
“Um, Mr. Pu, Tang Tang, please don’t fire me. I promise I’ll be more careful from now on. I really need this job, I’m begging you…”
“You’re not fit to be a proper assistant. Find another job,” Pu Hexu said coldly.
His face darkened. The fact that he hadn’t had Adam hold her accountable was already the height of mercy. The light cost over a hundred thousand, and she didn’t have to pay a cent. How could she still have the nerve to make such a request? Completely shameless.
“I want to drink your soup~” the young man suddenly said in a soft, sticky voice, cutting off whatever Pu Hexu had been about to say.
They were on set—arguing with someone wouldn’t look good for Ah Xu’s image. Bai Tang still cared a lot about his husband’s reputation.
Pu Hexu suppressed his anger, lowered his head, and spoke gently to the boy, “It’s rare to get two days off. If there’s anything else you want to eat, I’ll make it for you.”
When it came to the boy’s preferences, Pu Hexu cast all other matters aside without a second thought.
Wen Anni wanted to continue pleading her case, but Pu Hexu didn’t give her the chance.
He turned around and left with Bai Tang in tow, occasionally leaning down to whisper softly to the young man.
The crew looked coldly at Wen Anni, who was now being completely ignored. Some felt sorry for her, but most thought she deserved it.
Wen Anni had always been an outsider to this circle. Not only did she fail to reflect on her own faults, she even blamed others for the things that went wrong.
She bit her lower lip as she looked at all the indifferent faces around her, feeling utterly wronged.
It was just an accident, after all. She had apologized too, hadn’t she?
Everyone’s just an ordinary person—why couldn’t they try to put themselves in someone else’s shoes? They acted like she was somehow beneath them. Wasn’t it just because they’d been in the crew longer, had someone backing them, or came from money? If she’d been able to save money over the years, her life wouldn’t be any worse than theirs.
Wen Anni lifted her chin proudly, maintaining her “dignity” as whispers spread among the onlookers. She wouldn’t stoop to their level—what a bunch of cold-blooded, heartless people.
Zhou Mengsi watched Wen Anni leave the set and cursed under her breath, “Useless.”
Of course she could tell Wen Anni liked Pu Hexu. And yet she hadn’t even managed to say a kind word before getting kicked out. If that’s not useless, what is? Still, that clumsy, awkward demeanor of hers might come in handy later…
Wen Anni would be lying if she said she wasn’t upset. This had been the highest-paying job she’d ever had, and just like that, it was gone. The thought of returning home to her parents—who did nothing but ask for money—gave her a headache.
Over the years, she hadn’t had many friends. The few she did have were working now too. She couldn’t just interrupt them while they were making a living.
Feeling both heartbroken and disheartened, she sat on a park swing, staring blankly ahead.
Suddenly, a pair of legs appeared before her. Wen Anni looked up to see Yu Shuang standing there with a backpack slung over her shoulders.
“Anni, can we talk?”
…
Meanwhile, Pu Hexu was driving Bai Tang home.
Back in the familiar space, Bai Tang instantly relaxed and threw himself onto the squirrel plush on the couch.
“I missed you so much~”
The boy buried his face into the plushie, rubbing his cheek affectionately against the squirrel’s fuzzy head.
Pu Hexu felt a pang of jealousy. If only he were that squirrel plush—then he’d be the one Bai Tang was rubbing against right now.
“I’m hungry~” the boy added sweetly.
The boy’s dewy eyes stared at Pu Hexu, making the latter smile warmly.
“Then I’ll go cook. Since I’m working so hard in the kitchen, do I get a reward?” Pu Hexu leaned close to Bai Tang.
Bai Tang’s eyes sparkled mischievously, and he planted a kiss on Pu Hexu’s cheek.
“That’s it?” Pu Hexu put on his best actor performance, showing a look of disappointment.
Bai Tang’s cheeks turned pink, as if something had suddenly crossed his mind. “T-Then I’ll make it up to you tonight.”
The unexpected surprise nearly made Pu Hexu lose control.
“Tang Tang, are you saying…” He leaned in and whispered into the boy’s ear.
Bai Tang’s face went from pink to bright red, his whole body burning. “Mhm~”
“Tang Tang, you’re the best…”
Pu Hexu gently kissed Bai Tang’s lips—the moist, rosy softness incredibly tempting.
“Then you’d better treat me well. Otherwise, I’ll just run off with someone else…”
Bai Tang didn’t get to say the last two words. His sentence melted into their kiss.
“I’ll never let you go.”
Pu Hexu’s eyes were full of affection. This was a treasure he had come upon unexpectedly, and now that he had it, there was no way he’d ever give it up.
The mood was just right, passion flared, and nothing could stop it.
In the end, their dinner became a midnight snack.
That very night, Pu Hexu finally got Bai Tang to agree to be his boyfriend—going from unofficial to official, name and all.
Pu Hexu was so happy he wanted to set off fireworks. Unfortunately, fireworks were banned in the city.
But when the boss is happy, the employees benefit. Every employee at Dizhou Films received an extra month’s salary, which left everyone overjoyed. After some digging, Adam let something slip.
The boss is in love—and the “national crush” is taken.
In an instant, countless girls’ hearts shattered. No one could say if they were more happy or more heartbroken. Losing their “idol love” in exchange for an extra month’s salary? Honestly… kind of worth it. After all, Pu Hexu was a public heartthrob. Most fans were sensible. And that raise? Pretty sweet.
Of course, while most accepted it, not everyone did.
A few overly emotional fans ranted online and shared the news with other fan communities.
And so, Bai Tang went viral.
“Above the Firmament” hadn’t even finished filming or airing yet, but Bai Tang’s personal information had already been thoroughly dug up—down to every obscure supporting role he’d ever played.
Even the smallest celebrity has fans, and Bai Tang was no exception.
Although he was barely active online, that didn’t stop people from liking and following him.
A wave of irrational fans of the film emperor flooded into Bai Tang’s Weibo, leaving nasty comments under his posts. Most of them were along the lines of “A toad dreaming of eating swan meat,” “Delusional,” or “Trying to climb the ladder.” But Bai Tang never responded.
The original host hadn’t been well-known and rarely posted anything. Since Bai Tang took over, he hadn’t touched the account either—no photos, no updates. In past roles, supporting characters like his were often deliberately styled to look unattractive in order to highlight the male lead.
Once his old stills were unearthed, netizens pounced, using both his appearance and acting skills as targets to vent their frustration.
Adam, who wasn’t just Pu Hexu’s agent but held a status akin to a vice president at Dizhou Films, had been swamped with responsibilities and hadn’t yet dealt with the situation.
It wasn’t until Pu Hexu and Bai Tang spent a peaceful couple of days together and were about to return to the set that he finally found out about it.
Pu Hexu gently coaxed the oblivious Bai Tang into the living room to watch a nature documentary, and once back in the study, he unleashed his full fury on the PR team and his subordinates.
“Handle this immediately. Bai Tang is someone I’ve acknowledged—and in the future, he’ll be the master of Dizhou Films. PR team, release a statement.”
His voice was low and firm, leaving no room for argument.
“But… that might damage your image, sir. There could be a massive fan backlash and losses…” the PR manager tried to protest. A statement like that could cause significant fallout for the company.
Author’s Note:
Repeat after me: Tang Tang is the group’s darling.
The netizens who are cursing him now?
In just a few days, they’ll be competing with Pu Hexu for his love.
Just you wait!