APCF – Chapter 43 The Mermaid Prince

Qi Xingchen subconsciously clicked to answer the video call.

The face of his idol, which he had admired for seven years, instantly appeared in front of him.

The sharp eyebrows, the slightly upward-turned corners of the eyes, the high nose bridge with a small mole on the side, and the tight jawline…

Qi Xingchen suddenly snapped awake, realizing what he was doing—

He… he was on a video call with Bo Ye!!!

And Bo Ye was also observing him.

His hair was messy, his eyes were red and swollen, his already single eyelids were more swollen, and there were still traces of tears under his eyes that hadn’t been wiped away.

Bo Ye immediately furrowed his brows. “Who bullied you?”

“No, no!” Qi Xingchen quickly explained, “No one bullied me!”

“Did the director scold you, or did Xu Sheng cause trouble again?”

“Really, no,” Qi Xingchen felt embarrassed, but in order to stop Bo Ye from making wild guesses, he had to tell the truth, “I filmed a crying scene today.”

Bo Ye was surprised. “How many scenes did you cry in?”

“One… one scene.”

Crying for just one scene, but crying for an entire afternoon, Qi Xingchen felt too shy to say it.

“One scene and you cried like this,” Bo Ye teased, “Then I won’t dare to upset you again in the future.”

Qi Xingchen pondered the meaning of “won’t dare to upset you.”

It didn’t take long before he figured it out—Bo Ye was worried that he might make him cry.

“I—I’m not the type of person who cries a lot!” Qi Xingchen said, flustered and angry, “This time, I cried because of filming Xiangxiang’s death!”

Mentioning “Xiangxiang’s death,” his heart skipped a beat.

“Mm,” Bo Ye responded, “You’re not the type to cry.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“I believe you, so…” Bo Ye paused, “Don’t cry anymore. Get up and wash your face, okay?”

Qi Xingchen was stunned for a moment before realizing.

It turned out that after all the roundabout talk, what Bo Ye wanted was just to comfort him, to stop him from continuing to cry.

Qi Xingchen lowered his head, trying to hide the smile tugging at his lips. “Okay.”

“Good. Go on, and eat something while you’re at it.”

Qi Xingchen nodded.

After the video call ended, he suddenly realized—he had forgotten to take a screenshot! Ahh, nooo!

QAQ!

While Qi Xingchen was comforted by Bo Ye, the Qi family’s headquarters were still worried.

In the evening, Qi Yujie was making dessert while muttering, “Xingxing must have suffered a lot this time. What should I buy him to make it up to him?”

Qi Yunxiao cleverly avoided the topic of dessert and thought for a moment. “How about buying a yacht? There’s a yacht dock at Baisha Harbor by the sea where we can park it.”

“Hmm, not bad!”

Qi Yujie was very satisfied with her brother’s suggestion. She sat down and acted coquettish. “Then, big brother, I’ll buy Xingxing the yacht, and you can help him find a yacht trailer and handle the sailing certification. How about that?”

Qi Yunxiao chuckled softly.

He knew his sister was saying this to grab credit, wanting Xingxing to feel more indebted to her. He didn’t mind, smiling as he agreed, “Okay.”

Just then, Dad Qi, who had just returned from a banquet, overheard his children already picking out gifts. He felt a bit uncomfortable in his heart.

As a father, he should be buying an even better gift to make his youngest son happier and more pleased.

He went back to his study, thinking hard. After a while, he finally came up with a good idea and called his assistant: “Book a flight to South Africa for tomorrow. I need to go there for an inspection!”

It must be said that the male lead’s face, which was identical to his idol’s, had a certain magic to it. After just one video call, Qi Xingchen’s back pain and sore waist disappeared. Climbing to the fifth floor was no longer difficult, and it felt as if he had just chugged three bottles of New Cap Zhongge (a drink).

Having taken the afternoon off, though it was a break given by Director Shang Yuliang, it did delay the filming schedule. He asked An Ran to join him and went to the hotel restaurant to order some late-night snacks to send to the crew.

The restaurant was on the first floor. As soon as he entered, he saw Xu Sheng sitting by the entrance.

His eyes were bloodshot, his complexion was dark, and his hair was unkempt, oily strands sticking to his forehead.

Xu Sheng was a person who loved to dress well. Qi Xingchen couldn’t help but remember the first time he saw him, dressed in a designer casual suit and shiny Valentino shoes.

But now, perhaps he hadn’t noticed, there were a few drops of vegetable juice splattered on his shoes, already dried and hardened.

“… Xiao Sheng, you should eat something,” his manager, sitting opposite him, advised earnestly, “Not eating or drinking won’t solve anything. If you get too hungry, people will just laugh at you. Besides, I have several artists under me, and no one can say for sure who I’m buying marketing for, right?”

Xu Sheng didn’t respond, raising his head, and their gazes met.

Qi Xingchen didn’t understand why Xu Sheng seemed to target him so much. The worst he had done was make Xu Sheng uncomfortable when they first met, but he had never actually harmed him.

Even if Night of the Peach was a mindless, feel-good novel, the antagonist shouldn’t be so petty as to clash with him, a mere cannon fodder.

Qi Xingchen pretended not to see and dragged An Ran, taking another route to the front desk.

Xu Sheng stared at their backs, his gaze chilling.

As Xu Sheng’s manager had said, they really were using a rogue strategy. After the two solid evidence photos from Fang Di Media were released, Xu Sheng and his agency didn’t respond or clarify, as if they had no involvement in planting the seeds of this gossip.

Early in the morning, the crew was setting up the props needed for the day, occasionally whispering:

“Hey, do you think Director Shang will still want Xu Sheng? Could he cancel his contract and replace the actor?”

“Hey, little brother, you don’t get it. Xu Sheng did something disgraceful, and he’ll definitely be criticized for his character, but the things he did to slander others aren’t like domestic violence or cheating—those aren’t fatal stains. It’ll blow over soon enough.”

“… After hearing you say that, it does seem like that. But if I were Xu Sheng, I’d go to Director Shang myself to resign. It’d be so embarrassing, causing a storm all over the city.”

“Resign? You think it’s that easy to get a secondary male role in a primetime drama… Stop talking, stop talking, he’s here!”

Xu Sheng hesitated for a moment but continued walking toward the set.

Face is face, but in the end, a future is more important. God knows how hard he worked to get the second male lead role in Heart of the Ocean.

Moreover, the crew had a goddess he liked.

Perhaps due to a warning from his company or manager, for the next week, Xu Sheng didn’t speak to Qi Xingchen. He avoided all their overlapping schedules—filming, makeup, and costume times—to perfectly avoid any contact with Qi Xingchen.

Coincidentally, since they didn’t have any scenes together, Qi Xingchen was happy to stay away from him, focusing on his own script, and occasionally playing with Xiangxiang, happily petting him.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiao’s role was also advancing well.

Because of Xiangxiang’s departure, Lin Xiao understood the importance of protecting wild animals. At the same time, Ji Yan began running all over the place for the white whale. Out of admiration and his own aspirations, Lin Xiao found any opportunity to stick to Ji Yan.

One day, after Ji Yan finished her work and changed clothes, she was about to step out of the dressing room—

“Bang!” Lin Xiao, holding a bag in one hand and leaning against the wall with the other, blocked Ji Yan between the dressing room door and the wall.

“… You scared me!” Ji Yan patted her chest. “Lin Xiao, what are you doing in the women’s dressing room?”

“Of course, I came to find you, Sister Ji,” Lin Xiao said. “Going home? I’ll give you a ride.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I have an appointment today.” Ji Yan squeezed out from under his arm and quickly walked outside.

The backstage of the White Whale Pavilion was a long corridor. Exiting through the second door on the left led directly to the most beautiful part of the Baisha Harbor Marine World—the marine life observation tunnel.

The tunnel was made of 360-degree transparent glass, and at the other end of the glass was the deep blue ocean and freely swimming marine creatures.

The light filtered through the water, casting sapphire-like reflections on the ground. Lin Xiao caught up with Ji Yan. “Who are you meeting? The biologist?”

“Why are you asking so many questions, kid?” Ji Yan ignored him and continued walking. “Hurry back, we have training early tomorrow.”

Hearing “kid,” Lin Xiao’s blood rushed to his head. His mind heated up as he stepped forward and grabbed Ji Yan’s arm—

With a firm grip on her wrist, he pulled her into his arms!

“Ji… Yan,” Lin Xiao gritted his teeth. “I’m not a kid. I’m eighteen, a fully capable adult. I know exactly what I’m doing, and I know how I feel about you.”

“Could you look at me for a second?” He leaned down, gazing directly into Ji Yan’s eyes. “Sister Ji, I like you…”

“Cut! Cut! Cut!” Shang Yuliang shouted, hands on his hips. “Xiao Qi, come over here!”

Qi Xingchen’s heart sank. Great, this scene didn’t meet Director Shang’s expectations.

He bowed to Tao Tao and ran over to Shang Yuliang.

“Xiao Qi, you’re fine in other areas, but this confession part is lacking. You’re facing the girl you like, not your sister. Not only should your expression be full of emotion, but your eyes should be burning with love…” Shang Yuliang explained, “Do you know what ‘burning with love’ means? It’s intense, overwhelming, it’s scorching your heart and your mind, almost driving you crazy.”

“I… I’ll try again.” Qi Xingchen nodded, somewhat confused.

Shang Yuliang sighed deeply.

“… Forget it,” he sighed. “We won’t shoot this scene today. Tonight, you come to my room, and I’ll personally teach you.”

Qi Xingchen: “…”

“… Don’t overthink it, I’m not suggesting any unspoken rules. I’ll just help you with the acting.”

Shang Yuliang quickly clarified and pushed him aside. “Go think about it more, don’t get in the way. Now, next scene—Tao Tao, is the Whale Dance ready?”

Just like the death of Xiangxiang, the Whale Dance was also one of the key scenes in the drama. The show was named after the Whale Dance — Heart of the Ocean.

At the same time, the Whale Dance was the very first scene in the entire drama. Tao Tao had struggled to learn the dance, which was why it was being filmed only today.

Upon hearing Shang Yuliang’s question, Tao Tao, who had already changed into her costume, gave an “OK” gesture.

Qi Xingchen quickly took a seat in the audience, eager to watch this iconic scene.

In the original Night of the Peach, this scene marked the turning point in Tao Tao’s career.

Shang Yuliang would be impressed by her performance and personally edit a trailer for her.

Once released, it would immediately go viral!

Since Qi Jiaze had agreed not to clash with Tao Xuan, the plotline where Qi Jiaze was exposed for campus violence and crashing into Tao Xuan only to be killed would also be dropped.

With his younger brother out of danger, Qi Xingchen felt much lighter. Looking at the Whale Dance, he was excited to enjoy it properly.

After all, art is universal, and circus performers are not much different from marine performers.

The Whale Dance was performed by two actors, Tao Tao and a real whale trainer from Baisha Harbor Ocean Museum.

Once all the props were ready, two white whales obediently stood upright in the water under the trainer’s guidance.

With the clapperboard signaling the start, the background music began, and Tao Tao and the trainer both leaped into the water!

The background music chosen for Heart of the Ocean was the theme song from Titanic — “My Heart Will Go On.”

Tao Tao and the trainer each guided a white whale and danced gracefully to the rhythm of the music.

“Now I get it…” Qi Xingchen thought as he carefully observed their movements. He realized that both white whales were guided by the trainer; Tao Tao didn’t need to command the whales but only needed to perform perfectly, feeding the whale with fish food when coming up for air.

After the performance, Qi Xingchen still felt something was missing.

Tao Tao resurfaced and asked Shang Yuliang how the shot turned out.

The nearly four-minute-long underwater shot, filmed in one take, was watched twice by Shang Yuliang, who clearly wasn’t very satisfied. “It’s almost there, Tao Tao, but your movements need to be softer and more beautiful.”

Not soft enough, not beautiful enough… Qi Xingchen suddenly understood!

No wonder he felt it lacked something—Tao Tao hadn’t studied dance, and her body was too stiff. Though there weren’t many dance movements in the scene, mainly interactions with the whale, the lack of the soft and graceful quality that dance conveys made the performance less impactful, reducing the overall artistic feel of the scene.

“Then I’ll try again,” Tao Tao said. “Maybe it’s because it’s my first time in the water. I was stiff. Let me try again.”

Shang Yuliang nodded, and the underwater camera was prepared for the second take.

… Unfortunately, the second take was no different from the first.

After Qi Xingchen’s failed confession and Tao Tao’s failed Whale Dance, both scenes ended in failure. Shang Yuliang, pulling at his hair, sighed. “What should I do? Should I get an underwater dance teacher to help you?”

“Director Shang,” Tao Tao panted heavily, “I can keep trying.”

“No, you’re already exhausted. I’ll find an underwater dance instructor…” Shang Yuliang said as he took out his phone to contact a friend.

“Director Shang!” At that moment, Qi Xingchen stood up. “No need to find anyone. Let me try.”

Shang Yuliang: “…”

Looking at Shang Yuliang’s incredulous expression, Qi Xingchen quickly jumped down from the audience seating. “I know acrobatics. Sister Tao Tao knows. Acrobatics tests flexibility the most. And I’ve been a trainee at the company for a year, so I have a basic foundation in dance. Let me give it a try.”

Finding an underwater dance performer was more troublesome than finding a regular dance performer, so it was easier to let Qi Xingchen give it a try. Director Shang, though doubtful, agreed.

To observe Qi Xingchen’s performance, the underwater camera didn’t leave, and the director’s monitor stayed on. Qi Xingchen stood at the edge of the pool with the trainer, pulling on a pair of goggles.

He then ripped off his shirt, revealing a strong upper body and toned arms!

Since entering the book, he had continued to work on his acrobatic skills, never stopping his training. His once thin, frail figure had transformed into one with a narrow waistline and smooth back.

His abdomen hinted at a set of abs, with a faint outline of a six-pack. He had the beauty of a man, but his overall slender frame still retained a youthful vibe.

The trainer standing beside him turned red, likely the first time seeing a young handsome guy strip in public.

The women around the venue weren’t doing any better, their faces flushed with excitement, their eyes shining with hunger.

Qi Xingchen didn’t notice this. He shared a glance with his partner and nodded.

Then, Celine Dion’s deep and powerful voice slowly began to fill the venue from all directions. Qi Xingchen jumped into the water and swam toward the waiting white whale.

“Every night in my dreams, I see you, I feel you…”

He placed his hand on the whale’s head, guiding it through the waters.

“That is how I know you go on…”

He gripped the whale’s fins with both hands, spinning and moving with it.

“Near, far, wherever you are, I believe that the heart does go on…”

He wrapped his legs around the whale’s tail, bending at the waist and extending his arms.

“Once more, you open the door…”

“And you are here in my heart, and my heart will go on and on…”

He leaned his forehead against the whale’s, eyes closed, smiling gently, holding each other tightly.

The entire audience was stunned, including the trainer.

In that moment, he was no longer Qi Xingchen, nor was he an actor performing the Whale Dance.

He was an evil sea demon, a romantic merman prince, a god awakening from his slumber after millennia in the deep sea.

—He was a king!

—The king who ruled the white whale, the king who ruled the ocean!

“Woo woo woo…”

The scene paired with My Heart Will Go On was so moving that a soft sob could be heard from somewhere in the venue.

Everyone finally snapped back to reality from the performance.

Shang Yuliang hurriedly shouted, “Quick, pull Xiao Qi out of the water! Don’t let him hold his breath any longer!”

People rushed to pull their merman prince out, and Shang Yuliang, intending to join them, noticed that he had two missed calls on his phone.

Both from Bo Ye.

There were also two WeChat messages:

[I’m coming to Baisha Harbor to shoot a new music video and will visit you. Where is your filming location?]

[No need, I’ve found it. You continue with your work.]

The calls and messages had been sent twenty minutes ago.

Shang Yuliang put his phone away and stretched his neck to look outside.

Sure enough, Bo Ye was standing at the entrance of the white whale exhibition hall, his gaze fixed on the whale training area, where the merman prince had just been pulled out of the water.

“Uh…” Shang Yuliang raised a loudspeaker. “We’re off for the afternoon! My friend has arrived, and I’m going to have lunch with him. Everyone go relax. Xiao Qi, you’re in charge of teaching Tao Tao the dance—Xiao Qi, don’t forget to come to my room for a rehearsal tonight!”

Upon hearing this, Bo Ye finally shifted his gaze toward Shang Yuliang, raising an eyebrow. “Rehearse for what?”

“The confession scene. Xiao Qi is a beginner; he doesn’t know much.”

A rehearsal?

Do you need to get involved?

“Take a break,” Bo Ye lowered his gaze, then casually lifted his eyes, a smirk at the corner of his mouth.

“I’ll rehearse with him.”