When work started early the next morning, many people saw the great Hero Zhuang, who had thrown his weight around the day before and kept the director and camera crew waiting for over an hour, personally seek out the director and production manager to apologize.
Zhuang Xiao told the director he’d been in a bad mood yesterday and had delayed everyone’s progress. Whatever shots they’d missed, he would make up for all of them today.
The crew weren’t fools either. No one brought up the shot that had caused the quarrel. That take would certainly be cut. Everyone exchanged a few polite words, as colleagues did, smoothed over the misunderstanding, and pretended nothing had happened.
The production manager, a sly old fox, clapped Zhuang Xiao on the shoulder. “It’s all right, brother. I just had to hold my piss outside the bathroom for half an hour. I’m getting old, you know. Nearly gave myself a medical problem!”
Zhuang Xiao said apologetically, “Sorry, brother. There’s been so much rubbish gossip online lately. It’s really been getting on my nerves and affecting my work.”
Who hadn’t seen the two former girlfriends sniping at each other from afar online? That was the reason Zhuang Xiao offered for his bad mood.
The production manager immediately understood and comforted him sympathetically. “Right, right. Trouble in your own backyard. Women, eh? One’s trouble enough, and when two or three show up together it’s even worse. Completely understandable!”
Zhuang Xiao added, “Then could I trouble you to apologize to Mr. Pei for me, too?”
“Huh?” The production manager’s expression shifted. “Tell him yourself. You two are so close.”
Zhuang Xiao said, “We’re not that close. We’ve only worked on two productions together. I don’t want Mr. Pei thinking I really came here to throw my weight around. I would never. I’m certainly not a bigger star than he is.”
* * *
The director had said to cut yesterday’s take and discard it. Later, when the director wasn’t nearby, Pei Yan quietly struck up a conversation with the director’s assistant and got himself a copy of the footage.
“I thought I performed pretty well in that take. It might even win an award! My Best Supporting Actor prize is probably flying out the window this time, isn’t it? I’m copying it for my archives. Proof of my mature, masterful acting!” Pei Yan said.
That hadn’t been acting. It was fucking genuine feeling.
He wanted to keep, secretly, the image he’d imagined a thousand times over: Zhuang Xiao covered in blood and still so fiercely, irresistibly sexy. He could privately drool over it another ten thousand times.
Today they made up several shots from before Hero Yun’s torture, so that the scenes without blood could be edited together with the bloody ones. The special-effects makeup artist painted a few light abrasions and bruises on Zhuang Xiao, layering them over real muscle to create the battle-scarred look of a man who’d weathered countless ordeals.
The makeup artist and lighting technician discussed it. “Is that enough light? Will the director be satisfied?”
“Definitely not enough oil. Put some more on him.”
“I’ve already applied it.”
“Use the special stuff. Make it shine, so the muscles really catch the light! This torture chamber scene takes place at night, under warm yellow lights. We want his muscles gleaming on camera…”
Pei Yan had learned to behave himself. He hid off to the side instead of loitering around Zhuang Xiao.
But hearing the makeup and lighting crew trade these comments felt like someone reading him lines from a dirty movie. Fuck, they were being cruel. Every sentence sent blood rushing into his nose.
Zhuang Xiao took a tin of oil used for stage makeup. He’d used this kind before. Sanda fighters rubbed on similar oil before entering the ring, so that their muscles shone under the stadium’s powerful spotlights and caught the audience’s attention.
Without asking for help, Zhuang Xiao bent his head and rubbed the oil onto himself, across his chest, abdominals, and back.
Pei Yan finally couldn’t resist. He strolled over looking perfectly casual and said softly, “I want to help you rub it in…”
Master Pei cocked his head with an utterly shameless expression. Zhuang Xiao answered him with a cold smile. Both knew exactly what he meant.
Pei Yan laughed at himself too. Fuck off, you shameless bastard.
Zhuang Xiao didn’t tell him to fuck off.
His burning gaze passed over Pei Yan’s face, yet his own expression remained perfectly steady. He whispered, “Next time we’ll find someplace without anyone around. I’ll give you a whole bucket of oil and let you rub to your heart’s content.”
Pei Yan: “…”
He immediately began imagining Zhuang Xiao drenched in an entire bucket of oil, writhing beneath him, damp and flushed and panting as their bodies pressed together… Pei Yan got hard all over again.
The devilish depot chief happened to be wearing a close-fitting, narrow-sleeved outfit today instead of his usual voluminous official robes. Pei Yan hastily lifted the front of his garment and held it out in a conspicuously clumsy attempt to conceal the bulge beneath. He looked like he’d stuffed a hot eggplant into his trousers as he shuffled away…
When they finished those shots, it was nearly lunchtime. Time to remove makeup so everyone could eat.
Zhuang Xiao’s full-body injury makeup was the most elaborate and eye-catching of anyone’s. Several young female extras dressed as palace ladies were secretly stealing looks at him. Someone suddenly shouted, “Why bother removing all that makeup? Dump a bucket of cold water over him and it’ll wash right off!”
Then some thoughtless soul actually brought over a bucket of water from under the eaves.
Plenty of people egged each other on, but no one dared actually throw it at Zhuang Xiao.
Pei Yan set down the bowl of noodles he’d been eating and rubbed his fingers together. “Oh, Brother Xiao needs his makeup removed? I’ll help you wash it off!”
His voice was exceptionally loud as he picked up the bucket and marched over. Zhuang Xiao had just been reaching for a boxed lunch of braised noodles with green beans and pork ribs. When he turned and saw Young Hero Pei approaching in long strides with a bucket of water and a positively wicked look on his face, he dropped the lunch box and bolted!
Nobody had ever seen Zhuang Xiao run so fast. He took off like the wind!
Pei Yan had plenty of arm strength too. Young as he was, he charged after him carrying the bucket. Chaos erupted, water splashed everywhere, and the onlookers howled with laughter.
Zhuang Xiao had the misfortune to be tripped up by the sneaky feet of spectators with ulterior motives, swallowed up in a sea of people who seemed to be helping Young Hero Pei block his way. With nowhere left to dodge or run, he took a running leap, bounded up the inn’s outer wall, and in an instant landed on the roof of the second floor…
No one could tell how he’d gotten up there. That wasn’t a special effect!
Those young female extras must have swooned from sheer admiration.
“You actually climbed onto the roof? That’s cheating!” Pei Yan stood downstairs with his hands on his hips and yelled. “You think I can’t get up there, is that it?”
Zhuang Xiao bent over with his hands on his knees, panting. “Come up, then! Let’s see you climb up carrying that bucket!”
To outsiders the two were hilarious, and undeniably impressive. Nothing in their behavior seemed particularly suspicious or romantic. How could there be anything between men who acted like that?
Xing Rong sat on a little stool eating his boxed noodles with green beans and pork ribs, looking on with unmistakable envy. At that moment he even forgot his embarrassment. He truly envied them.
Forget all that CP nonsense. Those two simply cared for each other enormously. It looked so much like the affection between real brothers: the younger one could act spoiled and be as unreasonable as he liked, and the older brother would indulge him without limit… Xing Rong lowered his beautiful eyes and ate his noodles quietly, adding a generous spoonful of aged Shanxi vinegar. Not everyone was lucky enough to have that.
From below, Pei Yan swung the bucket upward and flung the water toward Zhuang Xiao. Splash!
The water didn’t reach high enough. Barely a few drops hit the second floor. Instead, it soaked the spectators standing under the eaves, including Yu Feng, the famous television host who’d come to visit the set. It drenched him from head to toe…
* * *
As it happened, the episode of Nine Provinces Star Chart recorded earlier at Xiangjiang Television had finally aired. The anticipation online had been enormous, and its broadcast caused another explosion of excitement. Everyone had seen the actual footage: Brother Xiao really had fed little Yan meat, right into his mouth.
The number of fans flooding into the film city these past two days had skyrocketed, and the makeup of the crowd had changed dramatically. Previously, Prince Rong’s fan club had enjoyed an overwhelming numerical advantage. Now the main force occupying the mountain access road was made up of fans who supported both Zhuang and Pei.
There were so many moviegoers and fans that they squeezed into every gap in the production’s territory. They couldn’t be stopped or kept out.
These days Mr. Zhuang and Mr. Pei tried to avoid gathering in the same place. Both discreetly kept their distance, shot their own scenes, and spent their breaks taking photographs with fans and signing autographs.
So Yu Feng had come to the set to ride the wave of popularity, or more accurately, to capture a little more Zhuang-Pei behind-the-scenes interaction while the show was hot, and to extend a second invitation.
Pei Yan approached cheerfully to wipe the water off the host’s face. The cloth in his hand was a cleaning rag.
Yu Feng dodged the rag coming at his face and grinned warmly at this old acquaintance. “Old Pei, now I’ve truly seen just how popular you and your Brother Xiao are with viewers and fans! The moment that episode aired, it was like someone lobbed a thunderbolt into the crowd. We got the highest online view count we’ve had in four years of broadcasting. And the gifts and letters sent just for you two have filled our station’s conference room!”
“Really? Heh, heh…” Pei Yan smiled with lowered eyes.
Yu Feng wiped his face and craned his neck to call Zhuang Xiao down from the roof. Striking while the iron was hot, he said, “Do you two have room in your schedules for a variety show early next spring? Our station’s planning to launch a major entertainment competition series. It would suit both of you perfectly, and we’d really love to have you! Our station director himself sent me to ask!”
That was the real purpose of Host Yu’s personal visit.
Pei Yan and Zhuang Xiao were both notoriously difficult to book. Would they normally go on variety shows? Usually no one could persuade either of them.
Pei Yan narrowed his eyes and pretended not to be particularly interested.
Zhuang Xiao threw on a garment. His injury makeup had gotten wet and smeared, making him look like a painted ghost.
Pei Yan asked, “What kind of show?”
Yu Feng said, “A competitive one. Two-person teams, partners competing together. It’s our station’s original format, though it’s similar to the American Amazing Race. You’ve probably seen that?”
Zhuang Xiao said, “I know it. I’ve watched the American version.”
“Oh…” Pei Yan drew out the word. “So your station director wants Zhuang Xiao and me to compete as a team?”
Yu Feng burst out laughing. “Old Pei, you two teaming up for The Amazing Race? What would be the point of anyone else competing? Are you going to let anyone else have a chance? We might as well hand you the championship trophy right now!”
Pei Yan smiled. Hmph. At least they had some sense.
But if he wasn’t allowed to team up with Zhuang Xiao, why the fuck would he participate?
Yu Feng tried Zhuang Xiao instead. “Brother Xiao, consider it for us… You hardly ever appear on variety shows. This is different from those programs where everybody just jokes and fools around. It has real substance.”
Zhuang Xiao made no commitment. “We’ll see when the time comes.”
Yu Feng knew it wouldn’t be easy to reach an agreement. The actual scheduling and appearance fees would need long discussions with both their agents. “Fine, fine! When you wrap today, come ride in my car. I’ll wait for you two. Dinner tonight is on me. No arguments!”
“Craving chili again, Brother Feng? Want me to feed you?” Pei Yan’s lips twisted into a wicked smile.
“You’re the one who didn’t get enough last time, Old Pei! I’m waiting to watch Brother Xiao feed you lamb-broth noodles with saozi, heh.” Yu Feng looked equally knowing, as though they shared a private joke.
* * *
The film city at Yanmen Pass had practically fallen to the fans. The camera crew was on the brink of surrendering the city gates while the fans stormed in to seize its grain stores. At last, the production wrapped this phase of filming, broke camp, and moved elsewhere.
The entire crew packed up equipment and personal effects and set off for the location shoot. The director, a wanderer forever drawn to wild distant places, had chosen Huitengxile Grassland for the film’s grand outdoor scenes. It lay in some banner of Chahar, Inner Mongolia, a long way from any major city, deep in high mountain meadows, more than a hundred kilometers beyond Hohhot.
The production rented many vehicles. Most people traveled by bus, singing and playing cards along the way, then sleeping when they got tired. They slept and slept, and eventually found themselves delivered to the grasslands.
Several of the production’s big-name actors had whole teams and assistants in tow, along with private supplies. It looked as though they were moving their entire households to the Mongolian grasslands, with no intention of ever coming back.
Xing Rong sat in his own trailer van, occasionally opening the window to look outside. The wind was ferocious. In many places yellow sand filled the air, so he wore a hat and wrapped an orange gauze scarf around his face, leaving only his eyes visible.
Pei Yan also traveled with a team of two vans, except that one of his vehicles was stuffed full of food, the snacks and late-night treats he regarded as essentials on every shoot. Filming was exhausting. Without something to eat before bed, he’d wake up in the morning feeling so weak and lightheaded that he couldn’t get up.
The food was packed so tightly that opening the van’s sliding side door or rear hatch caused packets of snacks to spill out. Zhuang Xiao took one look at his food van and burst out laughing.
“You brought all this? Can you even eat it all?” Zhuang Xiao asked.
“You lot keep stealing my snacks. I need to stock up,” Pei Yan replied.
“Can you even get inside that vehicle yourself?”
“Of course I can’t get into my own van anymore… Want to go play cards with those guys?” Pei Yan gave him a meaningful look. Together they boarded the bus to play cards with a rough bunch of lighting technicians, pyrotechnicians, and stunt crew members…
Not long after they left Hohhot and entered the grasslands, Zhuang Xiao’s team appeared from a side road and joined their boss. It was another convoy of vehicles.
The martial-arts performers and horse trainers needed for the big outdoor scenes all belonged to the Zhuang Stunt Team, including Sa Risheng. They’d driven straight over from the local area.
Sa Risheng had brought a powerful Land Rover SUV, well suited to long drives over the rough, pitted roads across the grasslands.
Zhuang Xiao said, “I’ll drive. Go get some sleep.”
Pei Yan took one look, tossed down his cards, and stopped playing immediately. “I’ll drive!”
Sa Risheng didn’t especially enjoy driving anyway and threw his keys to his boss. The instant Zhuang Xiao got into the driver’s seat, Pei Yan shamelessly occupied the front passenger seat.
Zhuang Xiao gave a cold little laugh. “What’s this? I was just going for a drive.”
Pei Yan said casually, “Then go for your drive. I’m just riding along.”
“I just want a cigarette,” Zhuang Xiao said.
“Go ahead. I don’t mind.”
“I want to smoke you…” Zhuang Xiao murmured under his breath, his voice low and resonant.
“Open wide.” Pei Yan instantly leaned toward him, face almost pressing against his. “Go on, smoke me.”
Zhuang Xiao sighed helplessly. There was no getting rid of this piece of sticky candy…
They opened the SUV’s sunroof and let the car roar freely across the grasslands in the wind. Zhuang Xiao’s hair streamed backward, and his sunglasses nearly blew away.
Their SUV led the entire production convoy toward the endless highland meadows beyond the pass. Pei Yan’s head was conspicuous enough to serve as a huge lightbulb guiding the line of cars. The road ran all the way to the edge of the sky. The scenery was magnificent. The farther they traveled, the more wildflowers covered the ground, and their spirits seemed to soar along with the wind…
These grasslands were more extensive than those around Bashang or Zhangjiakou, offering a far wider horizon. As the wind bent the grass, cattle and sheep came into view.
Pei Yan occasionally brushed the back of his hand against the driver. Then, almost without realizing it, he let one hand rest lightly on Zhuang Xiao’s thigh, feeling the curve and warmth beneath it.
He didn’t dare grope or do anything outrageous.
“Move your hand,” Zhuang Xiao told him.
Zhuang Xiao drove perfectly steadily, eyes on the road. Neither his hands nor legs trembled. He didn’t even look at Pei Yan.
Pei Yan drew his hand back.
These days Pei Yan thought Zhuang Xiao was one very straight iron rod of a man. But Mr. Zhuang liked him at least a tiny bit now, cared about him and felt something for him. It was a beautiful miracle…
Autumn on the Huitengxile Grassland was bitterly cold. By the time the production arrived, the tourist season was nearly over. If it got any colder, nobody would be able to travel into the mountains.
As evening approached, the temperature plummeted. Suddenly it was freezing. The cold wind scraped at their faces as if it meant to peel off a layer of skin.
“Go get your coat,” Zhuang Xiao said. “Don’t tell me you brought no clothes in that van. I reminded you last time to pack something warm!”
“I did bring some… I just don’t know where I put them. They’re probably buried under the food!”
“Idiot. Warm clothes are more important than snacks,” Zhuang Xiao scolded.
Just then, the convoy ground to a halt in the desolate mountains beyond the pass. Dusk was drawing near. The remaining sunset was red as blood, spraying fire as it rushed toward the edge of the sky.
There must have been an autumn rainstorm the previous day. One stretch of road was muddy and low-lying, and as luck would have it, the wheels of two smaller vehicles sank into the mud and couldn’t get free.
“Come on, everyone, put your backs into it! Get these cars out!” the production manager shouted anxiously.
They were in real trouble now, stuck halfway along the route when they’d hoped to reach their lodging before dark.
The moment Pei Yan stepped outside, he nearly froze. It was genuinely cold, a different season and climate from midday, as though they’d crossed directly from the temperate zone into the Arctic. “Fuck, could a horse freeze to death in this place?” he yelled into the wind.
“A horse really could freeze to death here, didn’t you know?” the director shouted back. He was wearing a down jacket and padded cap. “Where’s your coat, little Yan?”
As luck would have it, one of the cars trapped in the mud was carrying Xing Rong and his agent. Their group reluctantly climbed out, miserable faces peering from inside their padded coats as they stood in the biting wind.
Pei Yan was moving through the crowd, preparing to roll up his sleeves and help lift Xing Rong’s car, when a sudden wave of warmth settled over him from behind. A thick down jacket dropped over his shoulders and wrapped around him…
Pei Yan pulled it around himself and turned to look for whoever had given it to him. There was no one behind him. When he turned forward again, Zhuang Xiao was already walking away to help push the car.
“If we can’t get this car out, we’ll all be stranded here!”
“By morning we’ll be a whole crowd of frozen zombies!”
“The grass is already frosting over! What do we do?”
“The cars are freezing up! Let the other vehicles go now, or none of them will start later!”
Zhuang Xiao turned back and said to Pei Yan, “Drive on ahead. Follow the camera crew’s vehicle. Once it freezes, the engine won’t start. Take my car and go.”
Pei Yan clutched the down jacket. “What for? I’m going with you.”
“Then how about taking Xing Rong and the others ahead with you?”
Pei Yan refused immediately. He frowned, unhappy, and lowered his voice. “I’m not going.”
Zhuang Xiao frowned right back. “Don’t start acting like a stupid little monkey.”
* * *
Xing Rong looked mortified and apologetic, telling everyone around him over and over, “I’m so sorry to cause all this trouble. I don’t know how the wheel got stuck like that… I’m really sorry.”
Ice crystals had already begun forming in the mud puddle trapping the wheel. They spread visibly across the road as the temperature dropped ever lower.
Zhuang Xiao handed Sa Risheng a cigarette.
Sa Risheng lit it and drew deeply several times. A tiny ember glowed in the darkness. Of everyone present, he was wearing the least: a single thin shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He didn’t seem bothered by the cold.
A group of martial-arts performers from the Zhuang Stunt Team surrounded the rear of the car, gripped its undercarriage, and heaved together.
Feet shuffled and mud splashed. The moment Xing Rong loosened his scarf, two freezing drops of mud spattered his face, making him shiver violently.
“Brother Xiao, thank you for the hard work.” Xing Rong hastily offered a packet of tissues and a pair of padded gloves.
This wasn’t deliberate flattery. He genuinely felt bad. Even if he couldn’t help lift the car, he shouldn’t stand around with his hands on his hips doing nothing.
The man in front of him turned sharply, revealing an incredibly cool, long, narrow face. His slender single-lidded eyes carried a distinct northern nomadic look. He gave Xing Rong a cold glance, then turned back to continue lifting.
Xing Rong’s agent stood beside him and pulled back the hand offering the supplies, making a disdainful gesture: That’s not Mr. Zhuang. Why are you sucking up to some irrelevant person? He’s just a stuntman. You need to offer him tissues and gloves too?
Xing Rong froze. In the darkness, he’d mistaken the man in front of him. It was Xiao-Sa.
Seen from behind in poor light, Sa Risheng really did resemble Zhuang Xiao as his designated double. Their builds and hairstyles were similar. The difference was that Sa hardly ever spoke and cared even less than Mr. Zhuang about acknowledging other people.
Working together, the stuntmen finally lifted the car and pushed it out of the icy rut. The convoy started its engines to warm them up, and after a slow, bumpy journey, finally reached the depths of the Huitengxile Grassland and checked into a hotel in the scenic area.