Chapter Twenty-Five: A Cameo Threaded Through the Entire Play

Bai Chenxi glanced over the next scenes in the script. Since Chu Muyun was only making a guest appearance, all of his scenes had been scheduled together to be filmed first. One had to admire the director’s cleverness—Chu Muyun was only in four scenes, but those four scenes managed to thread through the entire drama. The director’s calculations were nothing short of brilliant.

The upcoming scene was where Ning Lulu brought Xu Qingzhe home. At home, Ning Yuan gave Xu Qingzhe quite a lesson: he cooked with practiced ease, and before long, he’d prepared a sumptuous dinner for the whole family, complete with earnest hopes for his future brother-in-law. Of course, that was just the character in the story; in real life, Chu Muyun couldn’t cook at all. On camera, he flipped ingredients confidently, but off camera, his fried eggs burned and stuck to the pan.

As soon as the director called “cut,” staff rushed over to swap out props and prepare for close-ups. Bai Chenxi had always thought Chu Muyun was someone who could do anything, but seeing him scowl at the eggs he’d ruined, she couldn’t help but laugh.

Hearing Bai Chenxi’s laughter from not far away, Chu Muyun, who had been wallowing in his culinary failure, felt his tightly knit brow relax a little.

Despite only appearing in four scenes, Chu Muyun’s performance sparked a lively discussion once the show aired. Viewers wondered what kind of miraculous boyfriend this was—suave in the boardroom, skilled in the kitchen, an overbearing CEO to the world, a loving brother at home, and a masterful cook to boot. Even Bai Chenxi’s following grew, though most new fans were envious “love rivals.” But that was a story for another time.

After Chu Muyun finished his scenes, it was already late, and he had more work ahead. As soon as filming wrapped, he started preparing to leave. Even though it was just four scenes, the crew thoughtfully gave him a bouquet of flowers to celebrate.

During a photo opportunity, Zhang Kai took the chance to tease him: “You’re leaving already? Not going to say goodbye to your little girlfriend?”

Unconsciously, Chu Muyun glanced toward Bai Chenxi. She had her back to him and didn’t even spare him a look.

Frowning at her distant figure, Chu Muyun’s tone grew colder. “No need.”

Zhang Kai could only shake his head. How did this guy ever land a girlfriend? Glancing at Bai Chenxi in the distance, he thought, it must be exhausting to be with someone like him. Not easy at all.

Bai Chenxi knew Chu Muyun was about to leave, but she couldn’t very well go over. The crew watched their every move as though through a magnifying glass—if she went over, it would only fuel gossip!

Besides, though Bai Chenxi admitted he was right about earlier, hearing those things from his mouth still left her uncomfortable.

Just then, Lantian grabbed her arm and started pulling her forward.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked.

Lantian looked back at her, as if it were only natural. “To see Brother Chu off, of course!”

Bai Chenxi pried Lantian’s hand off, protesting with reluctance, “If you want to say goodbye, go yourself. Why drag me into it?”

Lantian looked puzzled. “Did you two have another fight? Things seemed fine just a moment ago.” Without waiting for Bai Chenxi to retort, Lantian pushed her forward, muttering, “It’s nothing, couples fight all the time. Quarrels at the head of the bed, peace at the foot. Just act a little cute and Brother Chu will surrender in no time.”

That made Bai Chenxi anxious. “Why should I be the one to act cute? He’s the one who went too far!”

“Fine, fine, then let him act cute for you,” Lantian replied. He didn’t care about any of this; his job was just to bring her over, and let them sort out their own issues.

“Brother Chu, Brother Chu!” Lantian ran up excitedly to hug Chu Muyun, who blocked him with a raised hand. Moving to his side, Lantian whispered, “Bro, I brought her over. She seems a little upset—it's up to you now.” He even patted Chu Muyun on the shoulder for good measure.

Chu Muyun looked over and saw Bai Chenxi standing not far away, tapping her toes on the ground, refusing to look up at him.

After a moment’s thought, Chu Muyun walked over. When Bai Chenxi saw his shadow at her feet, she finally looked up.

“Still mad? I only said those things to provoke you—couldn’t you tell?” Chu Muyun’s tone was light, but once he’d spoken, he watched Bai Chenxi intently.

“I could tell,” she replied coolly, her voice betraying little pleasure at his explanation.

“Then why are you still angry?” Chu Muyun couldn’t fathom it. If she knew he’d done it on purpose, why was she still upset?

Bai Chenxi looked at him with a faint smile. “I’m not angry.”

“Yes, you are,” Chu Muyun said with certainty.

She met his gaze. “Fine, you say I’m angry—then tell me, why am I angry?”

Chu Muyun was suddenly at a loss for words. He didn’t know why Bai Chenxi was angry, nor did he understand why he cared so much about it.

Seeing him speechless, Bai Chenxi shrugged. “See? You can’t say. I’m really not angry.”

“Whatever.” With that, Chu Muyun turned and walked away, leaving Bai Chenxi stunned on the spot. He just left like that? She shook her fist at his retreating figure in frustration.

Seeing Chu Muyun approach, the group of gossiping crew members quickly dispersed, resuming their usual tasks.

“That’s it? He’s leaving after just a few words?”

“If not, why don’t you stay here instead?” With that, Chu Muyun got into the car.

Watching Chu Muyun’s dark expression, Zhang Kai silently wondered if Lantian was right—did the two really have a fight?

Zhang Kai thought it was no small miracle Chu Muyun had found a girlfriend at all. Bai Chenxi seemed like such a good match; he couldn’t just let them fall apart. As the older one, he felt obliged to offer some advice.

“You two were fine when you arrived. How come after a short while, she’s ignoring you? What did you say to upset her?”

“Why is it always my fault? Can’t she be the one acting unreasonable?” Chu Muyun just couldn’t understand it. Bai Chenxi was upset over who knows what, but everyone assumed he was to blame.

Zhang Kai looked at him with disbelief. “Oh, come on! She doesn’t seem like the type to make trouble for no reason. We know you—bad temper, sharp tongue, never know how to coax anyone. That’s fine with us, but treating your girlfriend like that? If she doesn’t break up with you, it’s true love.”

Chu Muyun had meant to say she wasn’t his girlfriend, but what came out instead was, “Is my temper really that bad? Am I really too harsh?”

Zhang Kai stared at him, barely believing those words had actually come from Chu Muyun. Clearly, Bai Chenxi meant more to him than most.

Chu Muyun, head lowered, didn’t see the corners of Zhang Kai’s mouth twitch as he held back laughter. Zhang Kai cleared his throat and said solemnly, “Of course. Girls need to be coaxed. Let me ask you: if your girlfriend asks whether her clothes look nice, how do you answer?”

Without hesitation, Chu Muyun replied, “Tell her the truth.”

Zhang Kai gave him a look of exasperated disappointment. “When a girl asks if her clothes look good, she doesn’t actually want your opinion—she just wants to be told she’s pretty.”

Chu Muyun looked unconvinced, but Zhang Kai went on, “For you, not saying something unpleasant is already a stretch. Saying something nice? Forget it. Over time, any girl would get upset!”

“I explained it to her,” Chu Muyun said, sounding aggrieved. Why were women so complicated?

Zhang Kai perked up. “Explained what?”

“It’s just…” But when he looked up and saw Zhang Kai’s gossip-hungry face, Chu Muyun reverted to his old cold self. “Nothing.”

Zhang Kai was disappointed. It had been such a good opportunity, but Chu Muyun caught on too quickly. Still, he was in no rush—he had a feeling there would be plenty more chances in the future.

After all these years with Chu Muyun, he’d seen the same expression every day. He never imagined he’d live to see the day when Chu Muyun was troubled by love. Perhaps this truly was one of life’s rare miracles.