APCF – Chapter 50 Fireworks

“Xingxing, get up!”

“Xingxing, Xingxing?”

At work time, An Ran, as usual, went to the top floor to wake up her artist. She rang the doorbell for a long time but didn’t hear any response.

Qi Xingchen usually had light sleep, and every day, a couple of rings would make him groggily open the door. An Ran became more and more anxious, worried that being too late would delay the filming. She couldn’t care about gender differences and quickly used her keycard to open the door.

She rushed into the room and headed straight for the bedroom. She saw a large lump in the bed. The person she wanted to call was buried under the blanket.

No wonder she couldn’t hear anything.

Not wanting to scare him, An Ran crouched beside him and gently called, “Xingxing.”

No response.

“Xingxing, if you don’t get up, the director is going to scold you!”

Finally, the person gave a response: “Mmm…”

Something was off; the voice sounded weak.

An Ran’s sharp senses picked up on the issue. Fortunately, Qi Xingchen didn’t have a habit of sleeping naked. She carefully lifted the blanket.

The sight of the person under the blanket shocked her!

— Qi Xingchen was curled up, hugging himself, his face flushed and lips pale. Upon closer inspection, she noticed his body was shaking slightly, and the back of his cotton pajamas was soaked with sweat.

An Ran reached out to touch his forehead… so hot!

He had a fever!

She quickly pushed him, “Xingxing, wake up a bit, I’ll get Old Qin to take you to the hospital.”

“…I’m fine,” Qi Xingchen could tell he was probably sick, otherwise he wouldn’t feel this cold. “I’ll just take some medicine.”

“No, you must go get an IV.” An Ran pulled out a coat from the wardrobe and tried to put it on him.

Qi Xingchen bit his tongue, and the pain made the dizziness go away somewhat. He propped himself up on his arms and stopped her, “Really, it’s not necessary. All my scenes are today. An Ran, did you bring the thermometer and the fever medicine?”

“I did bring them, but…”

“Could you help me get them?”

“Ah! You’re really…” An Ran stomped her feet in frustration, but seeing Qi Xingchen’s completely unpersuadable look, she gritted her teeth and went to get the medical kit from her room.

Her room was on the 14th floor, and by the time she returned, Qi Xingchen had already changed into his clothes.

He took the medical kit from her and skillfully opened the thermometer, putting it under his arm. He then took out a fever patch and placed it on his forehead, calmly instructing, “An Ran, please get me a cup of warm water and a cup of hot water.”

The warm water was for taking the medicine, and the hot water was for sweating. An Ran went to the water dispenser to get the water as he asked.

During this time, Qi Xingchen found the cold medicine and fever medicine, and when An Ran returned with the warm water, he tilted his chin up and swallowed eight pills at once.

After doing all that, he held the cup and slowly drank the hot water.

After drinking most of the cup, the chill in his body began to subside. He noticed An Ran was frowning and pouting, so he joked, “What are you worried about? Drinking hot water can cure all ailments, I’ll be fine soon.”

An Ran chuckled at the “drink hot water” joke, but once she finished laughing, her concern grew. “Xingxing, didn’t anyone take care of you when you were young?”

“…They did,” Qi Xingchen paused for a moment. “But they preferred for me to be independent, so I learned to take care of myself when I was very young.”

What kind of parents let their child handle everything when they’re sick? That’s so irresponsible! An Ran was furious.

But An Ran knew her place—she was just Qi Xingchen’s assistant and had no position to interfere with his family matters, let alone criticize his parents. She pouted with a slightly upset expression.

“Alright, go get me another cup,” Qi Xingchen smiled, trying to cheer her up.

An Ran went to get more hot water, and Qi Xingchen took out the thermometer, shaking it a few times.

38.5°C, it was manageable, a medium fever. With the right treatment, it could go down quickly.

After drinking another cup of hot water and warming up a bit, he hurried to get up and wash his face. He pulled An Ran with him to the set, where the rest of the crew had already gathered.

While adjusting some equipment, Shang Yuliang teased him, “Little Qi, you’re late today… Oh, why do you look so bad?”

“I had a nightmare last night,” Qi Xingchen made up an excuse, “I’ll be fine after putting on makeup. I’m going to find the makeup artist now.”

Makeup truly was one of the four major tricks of Asia. After the makeup artist worked a little magic, his complexion returned to normal. The whole morning’s filming went smoothly, and aside from a slight unsteadiness in his steps, all his scenes were completed perfectly.

At lunchtime, to apologize for his tardiness, he ordered more than twenty servings of crawfish and salads for the crew. He grabbed a bottle of milk and went back to the nanny car to rest.

The intense filming of the morning had nearly drained his energy. He leaned back in his seat, hoping to clear his mind and take a quick nap so he could be more refreshed for the afternoon.

But the scene from last night kept replaying in his mind.

“Bo Ye finished your scene, and then he stayed at my place for a while.”

“If the media finds out, we’re in trouble.”

“Thank goodness for you.”

Thank goodness for you.

Qi Xingchen couldn’t help but scoff. An Ran’s analysis was so accurate.

He had stepped in to clarify things, but in the end, it had helped Bo Ye and Tao Tao.

The sunlight shining directly into his eyes was uncomfortable, so Qi Xingchen grabbed a piece of clothing and draped it over his head.

So… what was Bo Ye doing at Tao Tao’s place?

Was he helping her with a scene? Tao Tao was a professional actress, so she shouldn’t need him.

Was it to catch up with an old friend? But visiting a female actor’s room in the middle of the night? That would be inconvenient and unsafe.

Or, as some netizens had commented, did he go to Tao Tao’s place… to be intimate for a while?

Thinking about it, the only reason that would make sense for top-tier stars to risk being caught by the paparazzi in a female star’s room seemed to be this.

And this wasn’t the real world; it was a novel full of Mary Sue elements. In the novel, Bo Ye should be growing closer and closer to Tao Tao.

He himself was an outsider who shouldn’t be involved.

At this point, Qi Xingchen suddenly felt his empty stomach ache. He tossed aside the clothing and twisted open the milk.

Before he could drink it, [Bo sent a WeChat message].

Looking at the phone screen, Qi Xingchen unconsciously tightened his fingers, and the plastic bottle made a squeaky noise.

Only when he felt the wetness on his legs did he realize that he had squeezed out the milk. In a panic, he quickly grabbed some tissues to wipe his pants.

“Xingxing.”

At that moment, An Ran entered the car, holding a paper cup. “I saw you didn’t eat the crawfish, so I went to the convenience store and got some oden. It’s hot now, eat some.”

“Okay,” Qi Xingchen tossed the tissues aside and also threw his phone on the seat, “Thank you.”

Meanwhile, after finishing his scene, Bo Ye noticed the lack of a response from the WeChat message and frowned.

Lately, the little fans had been replying slower and slower, let alone initiating conversations.

What went wrong?

The hot oden soup provided some comfort to his empty stomach.

After finishing his food, An Ran checked Qi Xingchen’s temperature again, satisfied, “Not bad, you’re almost back to normal. By the way, Xingxing, how did you get a fever last night?”

He wasn’t sure either, “Maybe I didn’t cover myself well enough with the blanket.”

“Next time you get sick, you have to call me. Taking medicine early will save you from feeling worse.”

Qi Xingchen made a sound of acknowledgment, and a thought flashed through his mind.

He was still without an agent. Although An Ran had only been in the industry for a short time, she was very attentive, with a high level of alertness and sensitivity to sudden events. After observing her, it seemed like she was unrelated to the plot and was more of a dispensable supporting character.

This was the best situation for him. If a famous agent who had ties to the main character were to step in at a critical moment, he wouldn’t be able to handle it.

He began carefully considering the feasibility of turning An Ran into his agent. Not long after, An Ran patted him on the shoulder, pulling him back to reality, “Xingxing, your phone’s ringing.”

Could it be Bo Ye, seeing that he hadn’t replied, calling to follow up?

Qi Xingchen hesitated for a moment.

“Xingxing, didn’t you hear it?”

“Oh, I heard it.” He reluctantly picked up his phone.

…It was a call from the caregiver!

The caregiver told him that Tao Xuan had woken up, and since it was lunchtime, Qi Xingchen quickly notified Tao Tao.

Old Qin drove them at high speed to the hospital. Upon entering the ward, they heard the caregiver speaking softly to Tao Xuan, “If you don’t eat, your body will recover slowly, and it will delay many of your treatments.”

“Tao Xuan isn’t eating again?” Tao Tao took off her jacket and quickly walked to the bedside.

Tao Xuan was leaning against the head of the bed, staring ahead, lost in thought.

When he heard Tao Tao’s voice, his posture finally changed as he turned his head to look at her.

“I’ll handle it,” Tao Tao took the lunch box from the caregiver’s hands, “Xiao Xuan, didn’t we agree that you wouldn’t let me get distracted while I’m filming?”

“…Yes.”

“Then eat your food. Nourish your body, keep your nutrition up, and you’ll be ready for the kidney transplant as soon as a donor is available, right?”

Upon hearing this, Qi Xingchen felt his heart sink. Yesterday’s test results for Tao Xuan required a 24-hour wait for the report, and he hadn’t seen the diagnosis.

He had suspected that Tao Xuan’s condition had entered an active phase but hadn’t expected it to have progressed to the point where a kidney transplant was necessary.

After lupus erythematosus worsens, patients often experience strong hallucinations and suicidal tendencies. Tao Xuan’s mental state was likely extremely unstable.

As expected, Tao Xuan lowered his head. “Sis, I don’t want to wait anymore.”

“…Xiao Xuan, what are you saying?” Tao Tao, with a determined look, scooped up a spoonful of porridge and brought it to his mouth.

“I said, I don’t want a kidney transplant anymore.”

Tao Tao’s arm holding the bowl trembled. Even Qi Xingchen, a stranger, felt uncomfortable hearing it, so it was unimaginable how much torment Tao Tao was feeling in her heart.

At a time like this, it wasn’t appropriate for an outsider to be present, so Qi Xingchen called the caregiver, and the two sat outside the ward on a bench, waiting.

Twenty minutes later, Tao Tao came out holding an empty lunch box and apologized to Qi Xingchen, “I’m sorry, I must have embarrassed myself.”

“It’s okay, Tao Tao,” Qi Xingchen paused, then asked, “How is Tao Xuan doing now?”

“He’s okay.”

“Would it be convenient for you… to let me speak with him?”

Tao Tao paused for a moment, then quickly understood what he wanted to say and nodded in agreement.

However, Qi Xingchen didn’t have any high expectations.

Before coming, he had hoped Tao Xuan would clear Qi Jiaze’s name, but now, he thought it might be better to find another way.

To avoid triggering Tao Xuan, he kept his distance and sat down. He leaned forward, adopting an open posture, “Xiao Xuan, I’m Qi Jiaze’s older brother. We met on the street, do you remember?”

Tao Xuan was looking out the window.

“I’m also friends with your sister, so I asked Jiaze to spend more time with you at school. How are you two getting along?”

Tao Xuan continued to stare out the window.

Seeing that Tao Xuan wasn’t responding, Qi Xingchen decided to approach the topic more directly, “Before you fainted yesterday, Qi Jiaze threw you a ball. Did it hurt?”

Tao Xuan finally moved.

He turned his head toward the window, and his mouth moved, “He should have thrown it harder.”

If he had thrown it harder, it would have been better if it had hit him and killed him.

Qi Xingchen: “……”

“Xiao Xuan, if you need something, you can always talk to your sister or me. I won’t disturb you anymore, just focus on getting better.”

Qi Xingchen pressed his temples and left the room.

Tao Tao had a scene to catch, so after making sure Tao Xuan had eaten, she went back to the set.

Qi Xingchen walked back alone, opened WeChat, and was about to check on Qi Jiaze’s situation.

After searching for a while, he found a contact named “King” in his contacts, possibly related to the situation. He tentatively messaged: [Jiaze?]

King: [It’s me. You didn’t recognize me because I changed my profile picture? I’ll change it back to James.]

Xingxing: [No need, did the teacher contact you today?]

King: [Yes, I followed your advice and pretended not to know. They were furious.]

Finally feeling somewhat relieved, Qi Xingchen typed: [Tao Xuan’s condition isn’t good. When you have time today, contact the classmates who were there and ask them to help provide a testimony.]

King: [Okay, what’s wrong with Tao Xuan?]

“…” Qi Xingchen sighed.

This foolish child, hasn’t even cleared his own name but still cares about others.

Before he entered Night of the Peach, he thought the Qi family deserved their fate.

But after coming in, he realized that the Qi family was just a puppet of the plot, and each of them actually had a soft and kind heart.

Qi Xingchen briefly explained Tao Xuan’s condition, and Qi Jiaze immediately promised not to provoke Tao Xuan anymore. Hearing this made Qi Xingchen feel even worse.

He wished there would be another chance.

When he returned to the aquarium, he happened to arrive just as the scene was finishing. Shang Yuliang greeted him, “Go change your clothes and get ready for the next scene. Oh, and Xiao Qi, don’t make any evening plans.”

Qi Xingchen, curious, asked, “Is there an evening scene?”

“We’re not filming at night,” Shang Yuliang laughed. “I heard Tao Tao’s brother woke up, and his health is good. Since we’ve been working non-stop, we should go out for a meal tonight to celebrate and relax.”

As an actor, it was normal and necessary to follow the production’s schedule during filming. Qi Xingchen never made plans on his own. If someone contacted him, he would only agree if he had finished preparing for the next day’s scenes.

So, he had no prior arrangements. He responded and went to the changing room to change into his work clothes.

The afternoon scenes mainly focused on his character, Lin Xiao, working at the aquarium and his psychological changes and transformations from interacting with marine life daily.

This was also his second-to-last main shooting day. After finishing some supplementary shots tomorrow, he would follow the B group to film the university campus and outdoor scenes for Lin Xiao’s life.

The extras were very nice, and their acting was on point. The few seal performance scenes were quickly finished.

Before heading out, a young extra, in her twenties, nervously called out while holding a notebook: “Qi Xingchen.”

“Mm?” Qi Xingchen, looking at the script for the next scene, looked up.

“Could you please sign for me? I’m your starlight.”

His fan had actually made it into the group of extras, which surprised Qi Xingchen. He smiled and stood up, took the notebook, and asked, “What’s your name?”

“Ahhh!” The girl couldn’t contain her excitement. “Are you going to sign it ‘To’ for me?”

Qi Xingchen suddenly felt like this scene was strangely familiar—when he went to the airport to pick up Bo Ye, Bo Ye pretended not to recognize him and drew a star on his hand.

Qi Xingchen blinked and replied, “Mm, I’ll sign ‘To’ for you.”

The girl recited a very delicate-sounding name, and Qi Xingchen quickly signed. The girl happily hugged the notebook to her chest and left. Qi Xingchen returned to his seat, opened his phone gallery, and scrolled up to the date of the airport pick-up.

He hadn’t washed his hands all day that day, and before showering at night, he took a picture of the star drawn in his palm as a keepsake.

Staring at the photo for a while, his finger repeatedly hovered over the “delete” button. Finally, with a sigh, he shoved the phone back into his pocket.

At six in the afternoon, in preparation for the evening meal, Shang Yuliang announced that work would end early.

Everyone changed into their nicer clothes and boarded their respective cars. A row of business cars drove towards the restaurant, creating quite a spectacle.

This time, the group was larger, including all the secondary supporting characters, the director, assistant director, head of photography, head of lighting, and nearly thirty people in total. Some suggested having hotpot, so Shang Yuliang reserved a hotpot restaurant, with each person having their own little pot, seated at two large round tables.

Since the meal was meant to celebrate Tao Tao, all the dishes were served, and Shang Yuliang raised a glass and said, “It was really a close call this time. I hope Tao Tao’s brother continues to improve.”

Tao Tao was very eloquent: “Thank you, Director Shang, for your well wishes. But how could we make a scene out of the health of an actor’s family? I think Director Shang just wanted an excuse to treat everyone to dinner, and it ended up coming back to me!”

Laughter filled the private room as everyone chimed in with their thanks, and Shang Yuliang laughed heartily, taking a drink.

After the main people had their drinks, the rest naturally followed suit and raised their glasses. After the first toast, Shang Yuliang continued with the second: “Adjusting the schedule like this has been tough on everyone, following me around every day. I really appreciate your hard work.”

“It’s our duty,” “It’s what we signed up for,” “You’re the one who’s worked the hardest,” “We’ll continue to do our best,” the crew members said, throwing polite words around while their eyes were on Xu Sheng.

If it weren’t for him, would things have been this exhausting?

Recently, Xu Sheng had been in a tough spot within the crew. His manager might have given him some advice, and he had automatically chosen the most remote seat to avoid being looked down upon in the core area.

Qi Xingchen also glanced toward him, and suddenly noticed Xu Sheng’s strange expression.

His face was plastered with a fake smile, but his eyes were dark and brooding, staring intensely at Tao Tao’s profile.

…Why was he looking at Tao Tao like that?

Qi Xingchen rubbed his stomach in confusion, then suddenly remembered—this was just like the scene in Night of the Peach, where the male lead heroically saves the heroine!

Tao Tao gets drunk at the dinner, and Xu Sheng tries to bring her back to his room to assault her. Tao Tao calls the male lead, who rushes to save her.

In the original plot, this scene takes place at Xu Sheng’s wrap-up party. He knew he wouldn’t see Tao Tao again, so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

But now the timeline had advanced, and the motivation remained unchanged—Xu Sheng had only a few scenes left, and with only three days of filming remaining, his character’s wrap-up party was likely not going to be arranged by the crew.

If he didn’t act now, he would miss his chance!

After two drinks, Qi Xingchen suddenly became alert—Bo Ye and Tao Tao having a night out was one thing, but knowing Tao Tao might be in danger was another.

Women, when faced with men, inherently have no advantage, and in the struggle, Xu Sheng could easily gain the upper hand. Qi Xingchen couldn’t just watch her fall into a situation where she might be assaulted in fear.

If he could change the plot while he was at it, even better.

He quickly moved closer to Tao Tao and whispered, “Tao Tao, drink less, we have a lot of shots to make up tomorrow.”

Tao Tao smiled and said, “Thanks for your concern, but I would’ve drunk less even without you saying so!”

Qi Xingchen felt much more at ease, keeping a close eye on her and Xu Sheng.

However, things didn’t go as planned.

After such a long day, everyone finally found a chance to relax, and the toasts kept coming. Shang Yuliang, seeing the staff happy, joined in with even more toasts.

Everyone present was from the industry, and no one knew the background of the others. Once the toasts started, it wasn’t just about politeness—if you didn’t drink, the other person might think you were disrespecting them, and secretly, they could cause trouble for you.

If that happened, it would be hard to stay in the industry!

So, by the end of the night, most people were drunk. Even Qi Xingchen had drunk quite a bit, and his stomach was churning.

“Alright, that’s enough. I’m really afraid I won’t be able to work tomorrow,” Shang Yuliang called the waiter over, signing the bill while giving instructions. “The guys are responsible for sending the girls back to their rooms.”

“I’ll take Tao Tao back!” Qi Xingchen quickly raised his hand.

“I can see you’re quite drunk, I can’t bear to send my leading lady with you,” Shang Yuliang scanned the room, “Xiao Xu has a good tolerance, you can take Ji Yan back.”

Qi Xingchen: “……”

Damn!

Soon, the arrangements were made. Luckily, everyone was staying at the same hotel.

Qi Xingchen got out of the car and quickly escorted another actor back to their room. After receiving thanks at the door, he couldn’t wait to head back up, so he ran up the fire escape to the 24th floor.

Just in time, he saw Xu Sheng pushing Tao Tao into her room!

He quickly rushed over, but unfortunately, it was too late. Xu Sheng had already closed the door, and Qi Xingchen only managed to see the sinister smile on his face!

“Ding-dong—ding-dong—” Qi Xingchen slammed on the doorbell.

“——” He pounded on the door.

But Xu Sheng was determined to ignore him.

…The main thing was, where was the male lead?!

There was no time to waste, safety first. If he waited for the male lead to arrive, Tao Tao might suffer who-knows-how-many more inappropriate advances.

Qi Xingchen dialed 110 with his left hand and started knocking on Feng Qingyuan’s door with his right, hoping he would help break the door down.

After knocking several times without a response, he remembered that Feng Qingyuan had been responsible for sending Shang Yuliang back. Seeing that the elevator was just about to arrive, he quickly ran toward it!

“Ding~” The elevator door opened, and he stepped inside—only to crash into the passengers inside!

“Sorry…” Qi Xingchen quickly apologized.

He only managed to say the first word, but when he saw the person’s face, he suddenly couldn’t say the next two words.

A fever, stomach pain, dirty pants, being drunk… all the frustrations of the day hit him at once. Without thinking, he raised his hand and punched Bo Ye.

He had drunk too much, and the punch was soft, without any force.

Bo Ye looked him over from head to toe: “Drinking again?”

“Yes! I’m throwing a drunken tantrum!” Qi Xingchen replied recklessly.

“No wonder you weren’t picking up the phone,” Bo Ye said. “I’ll take you back to your room first, then get you some hangover medicine.”

“…No need,” Qi Xingchen was still thinking about Tao Tao. “Please, help me! Tao Tao is being taken into Xu Sheng’s room!”

As he spoke, he pulled Bo Ye to the door of Xu Sheng’s room. Bo Ye understood the urgency of the situation. Together with Qi Xingchen, after more than ten tries, they finally managed to break open the door!

.

Tao Tao seemed to have struggled, as the neckline of her clothes was torn, but the rest of her was unharmed.

Xu Sheng, disoriented and panicking after his actions were discovered, was quickly overpowered by Qi Xingchen and Bo Ye. In just two or three moves, they had him pinned to the ground.

Five minutes later, the police from the local precinct arrived quickly. Considering Tao Tao’s status, they only took a simple statement before taking Xu Sheng away.

Shang Yuliang was very shaken, repeatedly saying that it was his fault, and ordered the driver to take Tao Tao to the hospital for an examination.

Once everything was settled, Qi Xingchen finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, he soon realized that his body felt sore and weak, his waist nearly unable to straighten.

“Are you feeling better?” Bo Ye stood by the door of Xu Sheng’s room. “Let’s go, I’ll take you back to your room.”

“No need, I’ll go upstairs myself. Your task is done, you can leave now.”

“What nonsense are you talking?” Bo Ye supported him. “I haven’t finished my business yet, I was going up anyway.”

Qi Xingchen didn’t care much, wanting to say, weren’t you here to rescue Tao Tao? What other business could you have?

But then he realized that Bo Ye’s answer seemed strange.

“You…” Qi Xingchen asked cautiously, “Why are you at our hotel so late at night?”

“I’m here to deliver the demo of the theme song for Heart of the Ocean to Director Shang.”

“Didn’t you come because someone called you?” Qi Xingchen asked in disbelief.

“I was actually wondering why none of you were picking up the phone. I wasn’t sure if I should come,” Bo Ye took it as him being drunk. “Go back and rest, don’t just stand here.”

Qi Xingchen’s mind was in a haze… The male lead’s explanation didn’t seem to align with the storyline at all.

Since he was drunk, he urgently needed clarification and pressed him, “When did you ever say you were going to write the theme song for Heart of the Ocean?”

“Director Shang asked me before, but I didn’t agree. That day, after I helped you with your scene, he dragged me out again for a whole session of talking. What could I do? I had to agree in the end.”

Dragged out for a whole session…

Qi Xingchen ran his hand through his hair, feeling like someone had stuffed a bunch of fireworks into his brain, popping and flashing in all directions.

“Then…”

He took a deep breath, his voice trembling just a little, “Where did you and Director Shang discuss the theme song?”

If anyone else had asked endless questions like this, Bo Ye would definitely have left with a cold expression.

But the little fan in front of him, with his single eyelid folding so cutely, made Bo Ye patiently explain, “Of course, we discussed it in Tao Tao’s room. The song is meant for her to sing.”