Chapter 265 – The Runaway Little Sweetheart of the Top Actor – Sweet Behind-the-Scenes Moments (09)
“I didn’t realize I couldn’t afford to pay that little amount.” Pu Hexu tapped his fingers on the table. Although his face didn’t show any anger, those who knew him well could tell—he was furious.
On the other side of the screen, a group of people broke out in a cold sweat. Releasing a public statement would cost them fans, but ultimately, their livelihood depended on Pu Hexu. Since the boss had made the decision and wasn’t afraid, what did they have to fear?
“Understood. We’ll release the statement right away and defend Mr. Bai Tang’s reputation,” said the PR team.
After the meeting, Pu Hexu adjusted his expression to avoid letting Bai Tang notice anything was wrong.
“Tang Tang, it’s time for us to head to the set.”
“Alright, can I watch this in the car?”
Bai Tang glanced at the tablet, which was currently playing a nature documentary about squirrels. He was curious to see how humans perceived their squirrel kind.
“You can, but not for too long. It’ll hurt your eyes,” Pu Hexu replied.
“Yay! Ah Xu, you’re the best~”
Watching the boy’s carefree smile, Pu Hexu couldn’t help but be affected by his joy. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly into a smile.
As long as Bai Tang didn’t make any outrageous decisions like wanting to leave him, Pu Hexu would let him do whatever he wanted. All that mattered was Tang Tang’s happiness.
The news spread quickly online, and soon everyone on the film crew knew about it.
But they didn’t believe the rumors circulating on the internet. Judging by what they’d seen on set, it was clearly the Best Actor who was clinging to Bai Tang. Those claims that Bai Tang was the one desperately chasing after him were absolute nonsense.
If Pu Hexu’s daily behavior—holding hands, hugging, even offering his own thigh as a pillow for Bai Tang to nap on—was considered Bai Tang “throwing himself at him,” then they all wanted to throw themselves at the Best Actor too. What a great deal that would be.
Bai Tang was polite and had a good temperament. He never threw tantrums on set, and his acting was excellent—he usually nailed his scenes in one take, making everyone’s job much easier. Even when someone was in a bad mood, just a short conversation with Bai Tang, hearing his soft voice and seeing his sweet smile, was enough to lift their spirits and make life feel worth living again.
When the two returned to the set, no one gave them strange looks. After all, hearing something couldn’t compare to seeing it with your own eyes.
The staff had all interacted with Bai Tang up close and knew what he was like—how could they possibly dislike someone so lovable?
Everyone tactfully chose not to bring up the online drama.
From a social status perspective, Bai Tang and Pu Hexu were indeed worlds apart, and it was hard to accept. But anyone who’d seen them together could tell: it was the Best Actor who had fallen into the whirlpool called “love” first.
“Tang Tang is here…”
“Good morning, Tang Tang…”
“Long time no see, Tang Tang…”
“Hello, everyone. Long time no see. I’ll be troubling you all again…” Bai Tang responded with a smile.
Even without saying anything else, the sheer number of people greeting Bai Tang upon his arrival was enough to show how well-liked he was.
Zhou Mengsi, who had tried to stir things up online but failed, watched this scene and nearly broke her freshly manicured nails out of frustration.
“Annie, call the makeup artist for me. I need to get my makeup done,” Zhou Mengsi said.
“Are you feeling rested and ready to film, Sister Meng? I’ll call them right away,” Wen Annie responded, quickly setting down what she was doing and rushing to the ladies’ room to fetch Zhou Mengsi’s personal makeup artist.
Yes, Wen Annie was currently working as Zhou Mengsi’s assistant—though only temporarily.
A few days ago, after being fired by Pu Hexu, Wen Annie had been sitting on a park swing, fretting about her livelihood, when Yu Shuang came to find her.
“Annie, I have a bit of an unreasonable request. My cousin is getting married, and according to our rural customs, all relatives of the same generation—cousins and such—have to go home. I might be gone for a week. But Sister Meng can’t be without an assistant. I thought, since you’ve been an assistant before and you’re familiar with Director Li’s set rules, maybe you could fill in for me for a few days. What do you think…”
Wen Annie was surprised. “Huh? You want me to fill in?”
Yu Shuang had actually come under Zhou Mengsi’s orders—she had been instructed to bring Wen Annie back to the set no matter what. Though Yu Shuang didn’t know what Zhou Mengsi’s intentions were, she was still her employer, and when the boss gives an order, you follow it.
“Don’t worry, you won’t be working for free. I’ll pay you my daily rate for however many days you cover for me. You’ll be fairly compensated.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you or anything… I just…” Wen Annie hesitated, recalling the incident with the broken lighting equipment. She felt embarrassed.
Before being kicked off the set, the way everyone had looked at her made her extremely uncomfortable. She really didn’t want to face them again—it was like they all looked down on her.
Yu Shuang smiled and mentioned her own daily salary, making Wen Annie’s eyes widen in shock.
“Your pay is that high too? Being an assistant really pays well,” Wen Annie marveled. If she hadn’t been fired by Pu Hexu, and had stayed for the full month, her salary would’ve even exceeded Yu Shuang’s.
“What do you mean, ‘that high too’…” Yu Shuang felt a pang of discomfort at Wen Annie’s unintentional bragging. She pushed down her irritation and forced a smile. “So, what do you say? Just take it as a favor between acquaintances—help me out, will you?”
Desperately short on money, Wen Annie eventually agreed to Yu Shuang’s request.
Yu Shuang cheerfully sent Wen Annie a document listing Zhou Mengsi’s phone number, preferences, and habits. “These are Sister Meng’s habits—make sure you don’t get them wrong.”
With her task complete, Yu Shuang was now on paid leave and no longer had to serve Zhou Mengsi. A rare look of ease appeared on her face.
Zhou Mengsi was genuinely difficult to get along with. If it weren’t for the need to support her family, Yu Shuang wouldn’t have put up with her either.
And just like that, Wen Annie became Zhou Mengsi’s temporary assistant. Perhaps it was thanks to Yu Shuang’s repeated reminders before leaving, but after spending more than half a day on set with Zhou Mengsi, nothing had gone wrong so far.
Meanwhile, the crew quietly assumed Wen Annie must really have some tricks up her sleeve—getting fired one day and landing a new role with Zhou Mengsi the next.
Out of respect for Zhou Mengsi, the crew didn’t give Wen Annie any trouble. They minded their own business, and most wouldn’t even bother talking to her unless necessary.
When Bai Tang saw Wen Annie back on set, his only reaction was: horror.
Was the female lead’s halo in this world called “clingy ghost that won’t go away”? He’d already gone out of his way to avoid the male and female leads’ first encounter, yet she still ended up joining the crew. And even after Ah-Xu fired her, somehow, she managed to return again.
Bai Tang contacted Qiu’er to ask about it, and Qiu’er replied, “It’s that supporting female character Zhou Mengsi. She’s had a crush on the male lead for a long time. According to the plot, she and the female lead are supposed to dislike each other.”
Qiu’er even scanned Zhou Mengsi’s favorability levels. Her gray health bar clearly showed that her favorability toward Wen Annie was –10, and toward Tang Tang, it was –50.
“Zhou Mengsi is super scheming. She’s definitely up to something. Tang Tang, you have to be careful,” Qiu’er warned. Though it could detect favorability levels, it wasn’t able to read people’s actual thoughts.
Bai Tang nodded. “Got it. Qiu’er, go ahead and finish the movie with Xiao A.”
Why was it related to Xiao A again? Qiu’er was just about to explain when—“snap”—Bai Tang abruptly cut off the connection.
As a good host, interrupting the systems’ love life was immoral.
Bai Tang thought to himself, I really am such a good host.
While Bai Tang was getting his makeup done, a young woman from the behind-the-scenes filming team walked into the lounge and greeted him.
“Hi, Tang Tang!”
“Hello, Miss! You look so pretty today~” In front of the camera, the young boy smiled sweetly and bashfully, his crescent-shaped eyes and brows sparkling like starlight.
“Aww, Tang Tang praised me! I wore this new dress just for today—ah, I’m getting off topic. Today’s a major scene with wire work! Are you ready, Tang Tang?”
“I’m ready! I’ve memorized all my lines. Ah Xu even ran them with me in private~”
His soft, cottony voice spoke mischievously. Just then, he heard Director Li calling to him from not far away.
He called back loudly, “I’m coming!”
Then he turned to the camera and waved. “Miss, I’m off—Director Li’s calling me to shoot. Bye~”
“Bye-bye…”
In both his previous world and this one, Bai Tang had never played a lead role before—so he’d never experienced having behind-the-scenes footage filmed.
Even though he knew such clips existed, he hadn’t realized that this kind, cheerful young woman was actually part of the promotional behind-the-scenes team.
She had already been a devoted Tang fan for a while. She was furious at the people online who were slandering Bai Tang. With Director Li’s permission, she was allowed to release a few earlier behind-the-scenes clips to help build buzz for the film.
Ever since Pu Hexu’s PR team released their statement, some fans had cried and declared they were leaving the fandom in disbelief. But more level-headed fans chose to offer their blessings. After all, the Best Actor was human too—he had emotions and desires. So what if he liked someone? That boy named Bai Tang—they’d looked him up. Sure, his acting was a bit weak, but he had no scandals and seemed like a clean, decent person. That wasn’t bad at all.
Acting was something that could be trained and improved over time.
They trusted their idol’s judgment. If Pu Hexu liked someone, that person couldn’t have terrible character.
But just as one wave settled, another wave rose again…
The official Weibo account of Above the Firmament released two behind-the-scenes clips.
Fans who were following Director Li’s new film or the cast members involved received the updates immediately and clicked to watch.
The first clip was a standard behind-the-scenes video showing some lighthearted bloopers during filming.
[I see Sister Meng! Her makeup looks amazing!]
[Pu Hexu! Pu Hexu! His acting is top-notch…]
[Who’s that… Bai Tang? Is he the one the Best Actor made his relationship public with?]
[Where? Where is he…]
Sharp-eyed viewers spotted a young boy in the corner speaking with a crew member. Although only his side profile was visible, his presence and aura were very pleasant—quietly captivating.
The second clip featured actors greeting the camera as they passed by after wrapping a scene. As the camera panned, Bai Tang and Pu Hexu came into frame. The two were seated, going over lines together.
While Pu Hexu was explaining the scene, Bai Tang quietly reached behind himself, grabbed some snacks, and started sneaking them into his mouth—one, two, three pieces—stuffing his cheeks until they puffed up like a little squirrel caught in the act.
Netizens were utterly charmed by his cuteness—especially the moment when Pu Hexu caught him sneaking food and the boy pouted and acted spoiled: “It’s really tasty. I already tried it—Ah Xu, you should try it too~”
Pu Hexu leaned forward and took a bite directly from the nut in Bai Tang’s hand, then patted the boy’s head and said, “It’s delicious.”
The affection in his voice practically overflowed from the screen.
Author’s Note:
Behind-the-scenes girl: Silently takes credit for her work (proudly)