Mr. Yuan is Always Unhappy - Chap 12
Edited by Yummers
After he was scolded by Zheng Qiuyang once, Yuan Rui started to avoid Le Ningyu when he saw him. It was a bit unnatural but definitely obvious.
But, Le Ningyu was a popular figure after all, so when he saw that the other had no interest in taking another step in developing their relationship, he stopped pursuing the other.
The idol drama wasn’t too hard to film. Compared to the past background characters and flower vase characters he had to play, the role he had this time just had a bit more screen time, meaning more chances for him to look cool on camera. And so, this job wasn’t a hard one for him.
More importantly, he was a lot more popular than before. Not only were there fans raising light-up signs with his name outside the shooting ground on the first day, but the director, producer, and other employees of the team were all a lot nicer to him than the other crews he’d stayed with before.
The original plan for the morning was to shoot two rivalry scenes between him and Le Ningyu, but Le Ningyu could not be found anywhere. When they called, the explanation was that they were stuck in traffic and would be there soon. Le Ningyu was the most influential person in the entire crew, so everyone could only wait.
Seeing that there was nothing to do, Zhao Zhengyi went to the bathroom to let out a big one. When he returned, Yuan Rui told him happily, “Xiao Zhao, this crew is so nice.”
Zhao Zhengyi debunked, “All the costumes and equipment are so poorly made, and the boxed lunches are bad too. What’s nice about this penniless crew?”
Yuan Rui replied, “The director himself just came up to me to explain the situation and told me to rest easy. The co-director also asked me if I had breakfast and if he should get some for me.” He picked up a box of Guliduo from the table. “Then the PA also came over to give me a box of milk. I’ve stayed with other crews in the past when I was also playing a supporting role. No one ever asked how I was doing when I was there waiting for my turn from day to night. The people of this crew are all pretty nice.”
Zhao Zhengyi thought, Are you dumb? They’re only treating you like this because you’re popular now.
Yuan Rui handed him the milk. “I’ve had breakfast, you can have this.”
Zhao Zhengyi took it and commented casually, “A lot happened in such a short while.”
“Short while? You were gone for almost half an hour.” Yuan Rui suggested to him sincerely, “remember to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables every day. Have a cup of warm water in the morning, it’d be even better if you add some honey.”
Zhao Zhengyi didn’t feel like it’d be right if he confessed that it was only because he was slacking off in the bathroom playing on his phone. So he held back, silently agreeing that he had constipation.
After another ten minutes, Le Ningyu finally showed up in front of everyone who’d been waiting. He himself showed no care to the fact that his lateness was a drag to the entire crew. He walked straight to his dressing room, only his assistant was left behind, humbling himself with a smile while apologizing to each individual one by one.
When Zhao Zhengyi looked at the other who was in the same field as him, he felt that he was very lucky.
That night, even past ten, Yuan Rui hadn’t returned home. Zheng Qiuyang felt that something wasn’t right. He suspected that he might’ve been invited out by Le Ningyu again so he called to ask his whereabouts.
It was Zhao Zhengyi who picked up. He sounded a bit rushed, “We’re still at the set.”
“Why is it still going on so late tonight? Are they filming him right now?”
Zhao Zhengyi lowered his voice to speak, “No, it’s just that the police are asking Yuan-Ge about some stuff right now, it’s probably…going to be over soon.”
Zheng Qiuyang was shocked. “What happened?”
“……Yuan-Ge got in a fight, someone called the police.”
Zheng Qiuyang was stunned.
He almost couldn’t believe his ears. Don’t even mention Yuan Rui fighting someone, he’d never even seen Yuan Rui insulting anyone! When Yuan Rui was tricked out by the fat director from the TV station and sexually harassed, he didn’t even know how to get out of it, sweat covered his head from panic back then. If Zheng Qiuyang didn’t coincidentally run into them, who knows what would’ve happened back then. After Zheng Qiuyang made the fatso scram, he asked him, “Someone like that, why don’t you just beat them up?” Yuan Rui then replied dumbly with the expression of a lucky survivor, “It’s not right to hit people.”
Zheng Qiuyang was completely out of it. Just what happened?! How angry does one need to make Yuan Rui for him to be willing to fight?!
The police officer said, “Since you guys are co-workers, it’s important to talk out any misunderstandings. Don’t get physical out of nowhere. You’re both influential people, this can affect society badly.”
Yuan Rui said nothing with his head down.
On the contrary, Le Ningyu spoke humbly, “You’re absolutely right. We were too impulsive today, it won’t happen again.”
The police officer looked at Yuan Rui to say, “What about you? At least say something, you made the first move after all.”
Yuan Rui lifted his head to glance at Le Ningyu, “I didn’t…”
Li Lingling who stood on the side had the instinct that he was not about to say something good, she quickly cut in, “He just couldn’t control his anger. They’re all still young, occasional impulses are unavoidable. Police officer, this definitely won’t ever happen again. We will do our duty with the right ideology and morality of an artist.”
Le Ningyu’s talent agent also chimed in to help, “Right. Both Le Ningyu and Yuan Rui are excellent idols, their public appearance has always been good.”
The police officer showed slight disdain. Le Ningyu’s hit and run news had become a big deal back then. When he was called over for two actors involved in a fight, with one of them being Runaway-Le, he thought that Yuan Rui couldn’t have been the responsible one. But after some questions, everyone there could confirm that Yuan Rui made the first move. Though both of their talent agents got there in a flash, it was most likely because they didn’t want their artists to end up in the headlines for fighting. They made a silent agreement to not investigate this any further. It didn’t bring any real harm to either side so the conflict was solved as a common trivial matter.
Once the police officer left, Le Ningyu’s agent quickly took him away too. She bid goodbye to Li Lingling, with an unspeakable meaning in their eyes. They were lucky that the crew got the news spreading down immediately so the media didn’t find out. It’d be best if this matter never got brought up again.
Le Ningyu met Yuan Rui’s eyes for a moment before he left, neither of them said anything. Le Ningyu was a bit awkward while Yuan Rui was filled with disgust and anger.
He had never been in a fight before. Despite him being the one who made the first move, he wasn’t able to make the first strike and gain the initiative. Instead, he was countered by Le Ningyu several times. Fortunately, his face was still fine, only his clothes were all wrinkled up. His hair was in a mess too, he seemed extremely pathetic.
Li Lingling already got the full story from Zhao Zhengyi, and looking at Yuan Rui’s appearance, she couldn’t bear to get angry. She simply said, “I never knew, you could be so…so…” For a moment, she couldn’t find the right adjective.
“Yuan-Ge,” Zhao Zhengyi walked in from outside. He nodded towards Li Lingling to greet her before continuing to tell Yuan Rui, “Mr. Zheng came. He’s outside the door, the crew won’t allow outsiders in.”
Yuan Rui instantly raised his head, he wanted to leave, but didn’t dare to ask.
Li Lingling said, “……You can go home first, we’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
Zheng Qiuyang waited very anxiously outside the door.
Yuan Rui took irregularly large strides on his way out, he technically ran out.
Zheng Qiuyang saw him in a complete mess and asked in both shock and worry, “What happened?!”
Yuan Rui wanted to smile at him, yet he couldn’t. He said, “Let’s go home first. My agent told me to make sure to not let anyone catch me on camera like this.”
Zheng Qiuyang drove with Yuan Rui in the passenger seat. Yuan Rui was picking his fingernails with his head down, he was visibly distressed.
“What happened?” Zheng Qiuyang slowed down his speech this time, “who did you fight with?”
Yuan Rui replied, “Le Ningyu.”
Zheng Qiuyang knew it, he stated bitterly, “I said he didn’t have any good intentions.” He was extremely ticked off, he could already imagine what Le Ningyu did to Yuan Rui; he wished he could poke a hundred holes into Le Ningyu’s body.
He looked at Yuan Rui as his right hand reached over to squeeze Yuan Rui’s hand. He complimented, “That’s right, that type of person deserves to be beaten, you don’t have to feel sorry.”
Yuan Rui replied, “I wasn’t feeling sorry. I couldn’t beat him. It was only after I made the first move that I remembered he had trained in martial arts before to act in Wuxia dramas. I was too dumb.”
“……”
Yuan Rui raised his head to look at the scene in front of him, the neon lights that flashed by them on both sides reflected in his eyes. Zheng Qiuyang even felt sad for him. He asked, “You got hit? Are you hurt? Where?”
Yuan Rui shook his head. “I’m fine, it doesn’t hurt. I just feel so useless.”
Zheng Qiuyang tried to ease him, “It is a fight, if it’s not you hitting him then it’d be him hitting back. Don’t worry about it so much.”
Yuan Rui put his head down again, “Mn.’
Yuan Rui took off his coat when they got home and said, “I’m going to shower first.”
“Okay. I’ll order delivery for you, what do you want to eat?”
“I’m not hungry and it’s too late already. It’s more comfortable to sleep on an empty stomach anyway, don’t order anything.”
When he got out of the shower, Zheng Qiuyang handed him a cup of warmed milk. He drank it out of the cup, then got on the bed to sleep.
It had been half a month since the shooting started, and the two hadn’t done it the entire time. Zheng Qiuyang kind of wanted to do it, so he slipped off his shoes and climbed onto the bed, hugging Yuan Rui from behind.
Yuan Rui reacted with a painful, “Ah.”
Zheng Qiuyang was caught off guard. “???”
He lifted Yuan Rui’s pajamas to see a slanted, purple-colored wound on his back.
“Fuck!” Zheng Qiuyang exclaimed, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!”
Yuan Rui wanted to pull his pajamas back in place. “It seriously wasn’t hurting earlier.”
Zheng Qiuyang stopped him. He flipped the other around and back to check every other place, fortunately, the only wound left behind was the one on his back.
Yuan Rui stated, “This was probably from me crashing into the dressing room’s cabinet.”
Zheng Qiuyang rubbed his back. His teeth ached from anger, he asked ragingly, “Is that Le Ningyu going to the set tomorrow too?”
“He’s the male lead. How can he not go?” Yuan Rui sighed. “I don’t even want to go now, I don’t want to see him.”
Zheng Qiuyang couldn’t help but ask, “What did he do to you?”
“He didn’t do anything to me. He’s pretty nice to me.”
“……”
Yuan Rui tidied up his pajamas, then spoke dispiritedly, “But he’s a terrible person, he tricked my fan.”
“……What? What did he trick them for?”
“Into having sex.”
Yuan Rui was very nice to his fans. He would always give out autographs and take pictures when he meets them. Because of that, some of his fans would often wait outside the set to see him.
One day when Le Ningyu’s car passed by them, the fans thought it was Yuan Rui; but then they realized he wasn’t Yuan Rui when he pulled his window down, the girls felt quite awkward. There was this one girl who was bold enough to hand the gift she’d delicately prepared to Le Ningyu, asking if he could give it to Yuan Rui.
It was probably because the girl was really pretty that not only did Le Ningyu not get mad, he actually handed Yuan Rui the bag of snacks. Yuan Rui even made a thank you post on Weibo to thank the fan that day. After that, Le Ningyu and the girl met a few more times. Yesterday, when he got off work, he took the girl home. The reason why he was late in the morning wasn’t due to traffic, but the fact that he was caught and trapped at home by his girlfriend.
The fan of Yuan Rui’s was still a student. The female celebrity spoke to her harshly and even threatened to expose this to her parents and school. Out of fear, the fan planned on committing suicide after she returned to school. Before she did it, she posted a suicide note on the fan forum. Yuan Rui peeks at the forum in secret very often, he was very shocked after seeing that. But on second thought, it could’ve just been a wanton story made up by an extreme fan. After some thought, he decided to ask Le Ningyu for confirmation.
Yuan Rui said, “He sure admitted to it without any concern. He even said that it was a dream of those fans to sleep with an idol, and that he was just fulfilling her dream.”
Zheng Qiuyang felt speechless, “What a nasty mouth.”
Yuan Rui was very mad. “That’s my fan. I didn’t even get to sleep with her, what gives him the right to?”
“……”
“Plus, I don’t want to either.”
Zheng Qiuyang didn’t know what he should say to him. He thought about it then asked, “What about the girl?”
Yuan Rui answered, “I called their school, said I was her brother. I said that due to some family problems, her mood has been down recently. I’m afraid that she might cause harm to herself so I hope the school will take some time to help take care of her. Their director was a pretty good person, he ran right to her side when he heard the news. She should be fine now.”
Zheng Qiuyang rubbed his back softly. “Sigh, you…getting into a fight with someone for this. What if that girl really did like Le Ningyu?”
Yuan Rui shook his head violently. “They’ve only met so many times. The girl’s young and falls for tricks easily, it may have been due to some vanity as well. I understand all that. I wouldn’t care if Le Ningyu was tricking his own fans, but why did he have to go and trick my fan?”
Zheng Qiuyang didn’t know if he should laugh or cry. Remembering the wound on the other’s back made his heart ache a little. “Alright, alright. Don’t be mad anymore, you already fought it out anyway.”
Yuan Rui punched the bed harshly, he spoke bitterly, “I didn’t even get to hit him. He was too swift. Plus, I don’t know how to fight.”
Zheng Qiuyang suggested, “Should I tell Fang Shiqing about this? With how much he gossips, he probably won’t be able to hold back from telling the people at his workplace. If it gets on the news, Le Ningyu’s going to have a fun time.”
Yuan Rui quickly said, “No, the media will definitely dig out who the girl is. She’s still so young. She’ll have a new life after this is over, she’d be done for if she gets entangled by the media for this.”
Zheng Qiuyang could only reply, “Okay okay, then let’s stop talking about it. Don’t be mad anymore, sleep soon.”
Yuan Rui blinked and asked, “Do you still want to do it?”
“Let’s wait until your wound is healed, I can tell it hurts just by looking at it.”
“Oh.”
The two lied down facing each other, ready to go to sleep while they were wrapped up in each other’s arms.
But after a moment, Yuan Rui spoke up again, “It actually doesn’t hurt as long as I don’t lie on my back.”
Zheng Qiuyang sighed. He replied in a way as if he was troubled, “Come, sit here and move by yourself.”
After he moved until the middle of the night, Yuan Rui fell asleep lying face down.
Zheng Qiuyang went to take a piss and proceeded to call Wang Chao in the bathroom.
Wang Chao on the other end yelled, “Do you want to die?! Why the hell are you calling me at 3 in the morning?!”
Zheng Qiuyang asked, “Do you have time tomorrow?”
“What?”
Once their conversation was over, he tossed his phone to the side before lying down comfortably again. He saw Tomas with a darkened face next to him. He immediately replied in shock, “It was Zheng Qiuyang! He asked me to help him in a fight tomorrow! For real! I swear!”
