Chapter 274 – The Runaway Little Sweetheart of the Top Actor – When XuTang Is Being Sweet (18)
The filming schedule had been delayed for quite some time. Once the doctor officially declared that Bai Tang’s injuries had completely healed and he could resume normal work, Director Li—who had been closely monitoring the condition of both actors—couldn’t wait to bring him back to the set.
Upon his return, Bai Tang was warmly welcomed by the crew. The other actors, whether out of politeness or other reasons, treated him kindly and congratulated him on his recovery.
Bai Tang thanked them one by one, then followed Pu Hexu to the nearby rest area to chat.
Director Li was now troubled by the casting of the second female lead. The role had originally gone to Zhou Mengsi, but her current physical condition no longer allowed her to continue filming. Even if she were able to act, her reputation and character had already been thoroughly tarnished—Director Li wouldn’t consider hiring her again.
Zhou Mengsi had already completed half of her scenes. Replacing her midway meant all the footage featuring her would have to be reshot.
This would be another time-consuming task, causing Director Li a major headache.
Today’s scenes didn’t involve the second female lead. When Bai Tang was suspended mid-air by wires for a stunt, Pu Hexu, watching from below, felt like his heart was in his throat. Every time Bai Tang performed a martial arts move in the air, Pu Hexu’s heartbeat sped up a little more.
“Are you sure the wires were checked properly?”
“How much longer?”
“Are the safety measures all in place…”
The usually calm and composed Best Actor was now acting like a panicked child, asking the crew the same questions every two to three minutes.
During Bai Tang’s recovery, the behind-the-scenes editor had already released all the saved-up footage. Over the past week, fans had been relentlessly asking for updates—and now, fresh content had finally arrived.
#BestActorLosesHisCool — Interrupting the Crew On Set, Live#
The title was spot on. As soon as it was posted, both Bai Tang’s worried fans and his haters—concerned he’d fallen into the wrong hands—clicked in to watch… only to be force-fed a giant helping of sugary couple content.
In the video, Pu Hexu stood beside a crew member, repeatedly reminding them, “Slowly, slowly lower him down…”
His incessant nagging was a stark contrast to his usual calm demeanor. Once viewers realized why Pu Hexu was acting so out of character, they couldn’t help but laugh.
Then, as soon as Bai Tang safely touched the ground—before he could even undo the harness—Pu Hexu swept him into a full embrace.
“I’m fine, don’t worry~” the boy said softly.
But Pu Hexu wore a deeply shaken expression. He kissed Bai Tang on the forehead, then covered Bai Tang’s hand with his own.
“Your hands are freezing. Are you cold?”
“I’m not cold~”
Netizens cried out in envy. When will it be our turn for love this sweet?
They weren’t even being greedy—they’d be satisfied if their future partner were even half as attentive as Pu Hexu.
…
Oka Entertainment ultimately couldn’t withstand the “onslaught” from Dizhou Films. On the eve of Zhou Mengsi’s court hearing, the company announced bankruptcy and filed for liquidation. All their contracted artists were released, and Zhou Mengsi lost her biggest source of support—there was no one left to bail her out.
After the trial concluded, Zhou Mengsi’s sentence was handed down. Shortly afterward, multiple videos of her misdeeds surfaced online—solid evidence of her wrongdoing. Even her diehard fans couldn’t stay loyal. At this point, anyone still trying to associate with her would truly be a fool.
Reporters seized the opportunity, analyzing Zhou Mengsi’s outrageous behavior from all angles and in-depth. The scandal stayed at the top of the trending list for nearly a week.
The deeper the love people once had for her, the harsher the backlash now.
Many fans flocked to Bai Tang’s Weibo to apologize, only to discover that he hadn’t been affected by any of the public backlash at all. During his recovery, he had even been casually showering everyone with couple content.
The most reposted post on his Weibo was a live broadcast from a few days ago. Curious netizens traced it back and found screen-recorded reuploads of the stream. They clicked in just to take a look—only to come out clutching their chests, eyes sparkling. They’d been converted, completely won over. “We need to watch this again! It’s too sweet, too sweet…!”
Bai Tang’s fan count skyrocketed. “XuTang” shippers (fans of Pu Hexu × Bai Tang) camped under every post, begging for more sweet moments. [There’s not enough candy!] they cried. Some even flocked to the official account of the Skies Above production team, demanding more behind-the-scenes footage of XuTang.
The hype surrounding Above the Firmament kept climbing even before the film’s release—something no one in the crew had anticipated. While half of the buzz wasn’t even about the movie itself, attention drawn to the actors was still a form of promotion.
On the recommendation of Dizhou Films, Zhou Mengsi’s role was handed over to an actress with no scandals, no gimmicks, and strong acting chops—yet someone who had remained under the radar for years.
She was a great actress, quick to get into character and equally quick to step out of it once the director yelled “Cut.” Behind-the-scenes videos showed her casually greeting other actors, prompting netizens to joke that the Best Actor had finally stepped down from his pedestal as an untouchable heartthrob.
The most outrageous part? This actress—Qi Xiaolan—was surprisingly friendly toward Bai Tang. She even offered him little packets of nuts from time to time, quickly boosting Bai Tang’s fondness for her.
In truth, Qi Xiaolan just thought Bai Tang looked adorable when his cheeks puffed up while eating, like a little chipmunk. She liked watching him chew with his puffed-up cheeks, so whenever Pu Hexu turned away to change clothes or chat, she’d slip him some snacks.
Netizens couldn’t stop laughing—especially at how Bai Tang would sneak food like a squirrel whenever Pu Hexu wasn’t looking. When it came to snacks, Bai Tang never held back.
Fans knew that Pu Hexu strictly controlled Bai Tang’s snack intake. So, to help Tang Tang sneak a few more nuts, they even created secret code words in the comments—just in case Pu Hexu read them and found out what was going on.
But Bai Tang’s freedom didn’t last long. After wrapping up his scenes, he was caught red-handed—standing off to the side eating nuts while watching Pu Hexu film.
As punishment, Pu Hexu made him drink bitter herbal tea. To Bai Tang, that was no different from drinking traditional Chinese medicine.
The boy tried everything—whining, acting cute, begging for mercy—but none of it worked on the cold-faced, iron-willed Pu Hexu, who was only thinking of his health. In the end, Bai Tang could only drink it with teary eyes. Afterward, Pu Hexu would give him a honey date as a reward, finally calming the poor boy who was on the verge of tears.
“Can we… not drink this anymore, please~?” he pleaded, voice trembling with a sob.
Bai Tang didn’t like drinking herbal tea. Pu Hexu always picked the most effective kind for reducing internal heat, which of course made it extra bitter. Every time Bai Tang drank it, he felt like he was being tortured.
Pu Hexu kissed the corner of Bai Tang’s lips.
“Then can Tang Tang control himself and not overeat nuts?”
“I… I think I can…” the boy replied with a miserable expression. He didn’t want the tea, but he couldn’t give up nuts either. What was the point of life without snacks?
But Bai Tang’s promises were never reliable. Every time, he would solemnly swear not to snack anymore—only to get caught sneaking food again a few days later.
Fans watching the behind-the-scenes footage couldn’t stop smiling. Whenever they felt down, they’d go watch Tang Tang and immediately forget their worries.
[Tang Tang, come here! I’ve got all the nuts you could ever want—unlimited supply!]
[Tang Tang is so easy to please. Just one honey date does the trick. I’ve got tons of honey dates at home~]
[Pu Hexu, how dare you force Tang Tang to do something he doesn’t want to (insert dog-head emoji for safety)! Draw your sword!]
Without the female lead and second female lead, time flew by quickly. In the blink of an eye, Skies Above officially wrapped filming.
At the wrap party, Pu Hexu kept a close eye on Bai Tang to make absolutely sure he didn’t touch any alcohol. After all, drinking could easily lead to trouble—just like last time, when a drugged drink caused a serious incident. Luckily, Pu Hexu had been the one to save Bai Tang. And thankfully, Bai Tang’s target that night had been him.
Just in case, Pu Hexu was adamant: no alcohol for Bai Tang. He still remembered the time Tang Tang got drunk off just a little plum wine.
Everyone at the wrap party ate and played with joy—it was a rare chance to relax. After receiving Dr. Hank’s final medical report confirming Bai Tang was in perfect health, Pu Hexu finally allowed him to indulge for one night and eat to his heart’s content.
The production team had been thoughtful and considerate of each actor’s tastes.
At the dinner table, Bai Tang stared at the plates of nut-based dishes in front of him, drooling. They all looked so delicious—but sadly, Ah Xu wouldn’t let him eat too much.
His face fell a little. He patted his flat belly and murmured to it: “You’ve suffered.”
Pu Hexu took Bai Tang’s hand and gently wiped each finger with a wet wipe.
“Tang Tang has been behaving well lately. Dr. Hank said you’ve fully recovered—there’s no need to avoid any foods now.”
Bai Tang froze for a second, then his eyes lit up with joy.
“Ah Xu, are you saying… I can eat whatever I want?”
Seeing Bai Tang’s cautious yet overjoyed expression, Pu Hexu felt a twinge of guilt. He’d really starved his Tang Tang of all the good things lately.
“You can. As long as Tang Tang doesn’t get hurt and doesn’t need medication, you can have a little more nuts and snacks each day.”
“Long live! Ah Xu, you’re the best~”
The boy waved his hands excitedly, but still managed to restrain himself so as not to disturb others.
While the rest of the crew went off to play games, Pu Hexu stayed by Bai Tang’s side, patiently shelling nuts and pouring him water. Whenever Bai Tang ate something delicious, he’d scoop up a spoonful and hold it out for Pu Hexu.
From beginning to end, neither of them noticed that they were using the same pair of chopsticks and the same spoon. Even if they had noticed, they probably wouldn’t have minded—after all, the two of them were already extremely close.
As a die-hard XuTang shipper, the behind-the-scenes (BTS) editor (the “Miss BTS”) naturally didn’t miss the chance to film them together. Sure enough, when she returned from playing a game and picked up her camera again, she caught a perfectly sweet moment—Bai Tang feeding Pu Hexu.
She snapped a photo of Bai Tang holding a spoon out to Pu Hexu and uploaded it to Weibo as a pinned post. But after a moment, she felt something was missing. So, she posted a second Weibo, this time teasing:
“XuTang couple’s sweet feeding moment—my personal collection. Not sharing the video.”
At first, fans were squealing over the photo: [So sweet!]
But when they saw her second post, chaos broke out in the comments—everyone was howling in protest, accusing her of being selfish and lacking in team spirit.
[Miss BTS gets to see XuTang live, and we’re just surviving off your posts. How could you not share the candy?]
[Waaah, Miss BTS has turned evil. I’m crying for you—see? 😭 /doghead]
Soon, Miss BTS replied cheekily: [One punch for each crybaby~ 😘]
Fans started playfully begging and acting cute, and in the end, Miss BTS gave in: [No video… but how about a live stream instead?]
[YES YES YES!]
[You’re the best, Miss BTS! Love you, heart heart~]
[Ahhh I can watch the livestream again! I won’t miss it this time…]
Not only did Miss BTS start streaming, but Qi Xiaolan also joined the fun.
She was seated at the same table as Pu Hexu and Bai Tang, directly across from them—prime viewing spot.
One person streamed from the side, the other from the front: a full-coverage view of the Best Actor doting on Tangtang in real time.
[“Tang Tang really does look like a squirrel when he eats.”]
[“So cute! What an angel. The Best Actor really hit the jackpot.”]
[“Tang Tang just fed the Best Actor… AHH licking fingers?! I’m dead…”]
The two livestream queens—one behind Bai Tang, one directly across—exchanged a knowing glance and smiled with shared understanding:
“Oh? You ship XuTang too?”
“Of course I do. What a coincidence.”
“What a coincidence indeed.”
Author’s Note:
What a coincidence—I ship XuTang too! Hehehe~