UCS Chapter 103

Lights swayed in the distance, clamor rose—the crew had apparently finished the day’s shooting and was preparing to wrap up.

With the green iron sheet wall as boundary, one side was brightly lit with bustling voices, the other side endured long night with silent starlight.

Gao Shi couldn’t describe the feeling in his heart. He turned to walk toward the small building, but Ying Bujie grabbed his arm and casually reached into the void. A voice sounded in Gao Shi’s ear.

“Zhou You, come here. Let me explain today’s scene to you.”

Gentle yet authoritative—Xiao Yusheng’s voice.

Gao Shi hadn’t expected Ying Bujie could capture sound from a distance.

Zhou You was that young streamer who had livestreamed from the Gao house before. She’d left a decent impression on Gao Shi—the filming quality was good, she handled people with appropriate boundaries, a smart person.

…

Today’s scene hadn’t gone smoothly. The problem lay with Zhou You.

In this scene, the mute girl she portrayed needed to express all emotions through her eyes alone—from surprise to joy to despair, layer upon layer—demanding very high acting skills.

Though Zhou You had practiced diligently in private and watched many related films, when presented on camera, she fell far short.

Helplessly, this segment could only be postponed.

She felt frustrated. Everyone in this crew was a professional actor. Though she had graduated from an arts program, after graduation she became an internet celebrity. While she had star dreams and occasionally polished her acting skills, compared to others in the crew, she was far behind. She desperately tried to catch up but still couldn’t reach them, feeling somewhat despairing and guilty for failing Xiao Yusheng’s expectations.

Unexpectedly, after today’s shoot ended, Xiao Yusheng took the initiative to call her over.

When Xiao Yusheng called her, he didn’t avoid others. Envious whispers spread through the crew.

Xiao Yusheng was recognized throughout the entertainment industry for mentoring juniors, but specifically explaining scenes after crew wrap-up was rare. Setting aside fan filters, this was the youngest Grand Slam Best Actor—even casual advice could be enlightening.

Zhou You felt both happy and anxious as she followed Xiao Yusheng outside.

They walked to a secluded spot, somewhat distant from the noisy crew, those sounds becoming background noise. Soft snowflakes drifted from the sky. Snow had already accumulated thickly, making faint crunching sounds when stepped on.

Xiao Yusheng looked at her, smiled, and asked, “It’s snowing. Are you cold?”

Zhou You was startled and quickly shook her head.

But Xiao Yusheng said nothing more, as if that question was just simple small talk, then began explaining the scene.

Zhou You’s understanding of the character’s emotions was already quite good. As a woman, she empathized with the mute girl’s experiences. What she lacked was expression technique, which is what Xiao Yusheng taught her.

“…The eyes are windows to the soul. Your eyes are beautiful. You must use them well.”

“When the mute girl first sees the female lead, what’s her reaction?”

Zhou You thought, “Should be surprise, and I think also some fear.”

Xiao Yusheng nodded, “Not bad. When the mute girl sees the female lead not locked in the cellar but standing outside like the village men, she first feels surprise. Then she feels fear from recalling scenes of escaped women being executed and self-identifying with the female lead. But besides that, there should also be numbness. She’s seen too many escaped women executed and barely holds any hope.”

“Come, perform this part.”

Zhou You tried hard to embody the mute girl.

Xiao Yusheng shook his head, “You’re overdoing it.”

“The mute girl is numb, so your terror can’t be expressed so obviously. This terror can be trembling pupils, a stiff body, but not wildly shaking all over.”

Zhou You’s face flushed red.

Fortunately, Xiao Yusheng was very gentle. He lightly clapped, “Come, look at me.”

The instant Zhou You looked at Xiao Yusheng, her hair stood on end. Though Xiao Yusheng’s posture was the same as before, she saw extreme terror in his pupils, as if a murderous maniac had suddenly appeared behind her, raising an axe to strike down. Yet his expression was so calm, as if he’d seen this scene a million times, unable to stir the slightest ripple in his heart.

Zhou You shivered and, almost involuntarily, glanced back; behind her was clearly the brightly lit film crew.

When she turned back, Xiao Yusheng was smiling at her, looking nothing like he had a moment ago.

Zhou You couldn’t help marveling again and again. No wonder he was a Grand Slam Best Actor—his acting was incredible.

“Next, let’s talk about the second phase…”

Xiao Yusheng broke the scene down for her in great detail. Unknowingly, time passed; the sounds from the crew behind them had faded away, and it felt as if only Xiao Yusheng’s voice remained between heaven and earth.

“…All right, that’s it. You’ve improved a lot.”

“When performing, pay attention to the progression and expression of emotion. Some things you must comprehend on your own. For example, when the mute girl first sees the female lead, does she feel pity? Is her numbness complete numbness, or numbness that still hides hope?”

Xiao Yusheng explained carefully. At the end, he opened his thermos and took a sip of water.

Zhou You’s gratitude toward Xiao Yusheng was beyond words. After hearing his guidance once, it felt as if her meridians had been cleared—at that moment, she was the mute girl.

Not knowing how to thank him, she could only keep saying thank you.

Xiao Yusheng smiled again. He seemed to like smiling; his smile was always gentle and accepting.

“No need to thank me. You have great potential and you’re willing to work hard. I didn’t misjudge you.”

He lowered his eyes and said, “Come, before we go, I’ll give you a test question.”

“Look at me.”

He lifted his gaze, those beautiful, soulful peach-blossom eyes meeting hers through drifting white mist.

“…What do you see?”

His smile faded from his lips, yet the corners of his eyes still held a soft spring warmth. His eyes contained a myriad of emotions. Whether because of the white mist between them or because he refused to reveal all of them, she couldn’t quite see clearly for a moment.

The air seemed to thicken; snowflakes froze midair. Only those eyes continued to flow with spring-water gentleness.

Just before the atmosphere turned ambiguous, Xiao Yusheng blinked, and everything returned to normal. The sliver of emotion he’d shown her was completely concealed again, locked in his heart by its owner.

“All right. Remember my question. When filming wraps, I’ll ask you for the answer.”

…

Gao Shi frowned tightly.

What was this supposed to be?

“Gentle Film Emperor’s Beloved in the Palm”?

If he didn’t know what kind of person Xiao Yusheng really was, he might have believed it.

Xiao Yusheng was definitely no good person; Zhou You was probably in danger.

But what did he want from Zhou You?

In terms of status, Zhou You was just an internet celebrity with a million followers, while he was a Grand Slam Best Actor with fans all over the world.

In terms of wealth, neither Zhou You nor her boyfriend could hold a candle to Xiao Yusheng.

In terms of looks, Zhou You was decent-looking, but in the entertainment industry she was at best average. Xiao Yusheng, on the other hand, could gain a million followers from a single photo—his looks were legendary.

At first glance, Zhou You didn’t seem to have anything worth scheming for. But that only made it more suspicious, more worthy of vigilance.

Gao Shi thought it over and had the Gao family’s development department contact Zhou You, saying the Gao family had a customer appreciation event and inviting her to try their newly developed alarm device.

However, before he finished sending the message, he saw Xiao Yusheng start walking.

He walked for about eight or nine minutes, almost into the forest, before spotting a figure in the snow.

The person’s face looked familiar. Thinking a bit, Gao Shi felt she resembled his son’s friend, Yun Zhiyi.

Thinking of Yun Zhiyi and then the Yun family’s background, the person’s identity became obvious.

Yun Wan, Yun Zhiyi’s cousin.

Yun Zhiyi’s second uncle was idle and notorious, but Yun Wan’s reputation was relatively good.

What was she doing here?

After the two met, Yun Wan’s cheeks flushed. They chatted happily. Though there was no more intimate physical contact, the ambiguous atmosphere between them was obvious to anyone. A random snapshot would be paparazzi gold.

Xiao Yusheng took out a tube of hand cream, squeezed some out, and gently applied it to Yun Wan’s hands. Their fingers intertwined, skin touching. Yun Wan blushed and let him gently massage her fingertips.

“Going out without gloves again, you.”

Their eyes met, the air so charged it seemed they’d kiss in the snow the next second.

“Such beautiful hands should be well protected.”

“This is for you.”

He placed the tiny, ten-thousand-yuan hand cream in Yun Wan’s palm. “I’ve been making a traditional hand balm recently. My Miss Yun, would you be willing to be my first user?”

He kissed the back of her hand lightly, then looked up slightly with a teasing invitation. He emphasized the word “my,” as if what he was inviting her to use wasn’t the hand balm, but himself.

Yun Wan’s face reddened to her ears, her eyes shining. “I’m willing.”

Gao Shi watched with his brows knitted. In the dream, Xiao Yusheng was the jerk who used recordings to threaten Gao Gusheng. There weren’t many other scenes, but from real-world information, his personality type didn’t quite match that of a simple sex-obsessed predator—so why was he flirting everywhere?

Just as Gao Shi was puzzled, he felt warmth on the back of his hand. Ying Bujie, imitating Xiao Yusheng, had cupped Gao Shi’s hand.

Unlike Xiao Yusheng’s practiced movements, Ying Bujie was a bit clumsy. Gao Shi thought he wanted to nuzzle again and was about to touch Ying Bujie’s cheek when he saw a faint spiritual glow at Ying Bujie’s fingertips. White spiritual energy, thick like liquid, seeped from the back of Gao Shi’s hand into his body. As the spiritual energy entered, Gao Shi felt his whole body relax.

But he knew that though the energy looked small, its compressed density was terrifyingly high and might make Ying Bujie uncomfortable. He quickly stopped him. “Don’t give me spiritual energy yet… What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly channeling energy into me?”

Ying Bujie looked at him seriously, then pointed in Xiao Yusheng’s direction. “When it’s coated in white, you can kiss.”

Before the words finished leaving his mouth, he lowered his head and placed a precious, careful kiss on the back of Gao Shi’s hand.

***