Yao Shen doesn't see anything that resembles the little ghoul boy during his flight, but he's shaken for the rest of the morning.
The taxi ride into the city and his hotel passes by in a blur. The hotel is no less luxurious than the previous one they stayed at. Although the facade is a lot more understated, but it's also closer to set.
The room Bi Jialu helps him carry his luggage into is just as spacious as the previous one, but along with the living room area comes a small dining nook by the windows, and the novelty of a balcony with a hot tub. The balcony is hidden from view from the other floors and any people on the street by a few bamboo stalks planted alongside the protective railing.
Some of Yao Shen's unease is dispelled by the promising sight of that hot tub.. He bets he and Xin Hulei can have a lot of fun in it.
He remembers the threat of Si Wang dropping into his mind and his new-found enthusiasm promptly fizzles.
Somehow, he needs to find the time to make it to Youdu and handle him for good. He feels a little more at ease knowing that Xie Bian and Fan Wujiu are handling things for him, and will let him know if something goes wrong.
He hides the two-way gold mirror in one of the nightstand drawers, because he can't have cleaning staff happening on it.
He'll probably take it with him to Xin Hulei's apartment. In any case, if things go extremely wrong either Xie Bian or Fan Wujiu will come get him in person.
Yao Shen has barely gotten his stuff out of the way when Bi Jialu knocks on his door.
"If laoshi is ready, we should go to the set at once," she says, rummaging for something in her bag. She finds a bag of corn chips and hands it to him. "Laoshi can eat on the car, we don't have much time."
Yao Shen eyes the chips with disappointment but still takes them from Bi Jialu before following her out of the room.
---
It's obvious as soon as Yao Shen arrives on set that everyone is working as fast as they can to shoot as many scenes as possible. Several actors are moving around standing in profile and looking thoughtfully into the middle distance next to the buildings that make up Frozen Peak sect, to get quick 'wintertime' shots to add to select footage. Making it faster and cheaper than getting all the actors involved in a particular scene together.
The crew has been working even before the actors arrived, and they still look harried and overworked. The mood is completely different from when they started filming in the beginning in spring.
Yao Shen goes through makeup and costuming much faster than usual -- even the stylists seem to be working under pressure.
His first scene of the day is with Ye Fang, she looks just as confused as he does, albeit a little more worried.
"Ah, Ye-jie, good to see you. I hope the break was good," Yao Shen says, feeling a little sheepish that her hopefully created Groupchat got so little use.
She doesn't seem to hold it against him, and smiles warmly. "Yes, it's good to be back, though." She casts her eyes around the set. "Although, it seems the rumours I heard are true."
"What rumours?"
"That some of the investors in the drama pulled their funding," Ye Fang says, her large eyes even wider. "Supposedly it's connected to the criminal activities laoshi helped expose."
"How is that related? If anything that gave the drama more notoriety. The criminals have all been arrested," Yao Shen says, his tone serious.
Ye Fang nods, the bangs of her wig going everywhere with her enthusiasm. "That's why some of the speculation is that the criminal's families are pressuring the investors as some type of pushback for revealing their crimes. After all, they might have been arrested, but their family members haven't been implicated in anything, and the fines they had to pay are only a drop of their vast fortunes."
She has a point, and it would explain the attempts to slander both him, Xin Hulei, and Tan Liansi. Everything has been quiet lately because the three of them have spent months sequestered in Xin Hulei's apartment.
But if anything, that probably has only made the people behind the slander bolder -- convinced that their actions have forced the three of them into hiding.
"I'm sorry this whole situation is creating trouble for the crew, and the rest of the cast," Yao Shen says, genuinely anxious.
Ye Fang pats his back with a smile. "It's not your fault. All of you did the right thing by exposing the crimes and bringing justice to the families."
Assistant Director Li calls them to their marks afterwards, looking just as stressed as everyone else.
Yao Shen's first scene back goes by smoothly, but when he asks the assistant director if they can go over it a third time because he isn't sure if has gotten Yan Shuyi's posture right, he tells him they don't have time.
The rest of the day passes by at the same breakneck speed. He and Xin Hulei have two scenes together but barely a chance to exchange two words before they're ushered to a different set, a different scene.
By the time Xin Hulei picks Yao Shen in his hotel room to take him to the apartment, he's so tired the only thing he wants to do his watch some mindless TV show and eat crap on the sofa.
---
Xin Hulei gets them Burger King, something Yao Shen hasn't eaten ever since he became an actor.
"I think I've made a discovery," he says, his mouth full of whopper. "People eat crap because they're too tired and apathetic to not only cook for themselves, but even to wait for food to be cooked for them."
Xin Hulei hums thoughtfully. "Overworked people can't look after themselves or others."
"Exactly," Yao Shen says. "It's alienating. Which is why I hate the current mood on the set."
Unfortunately, it's not uncommon in filming crews, and while it isn't easy on the actors, the crew gets by far the worst of it.
Yao Shen has told Xin Hulei about what Ye Fang said, regarding the rumours.
They both agree there's some substance to the rumours. The problem is, it's not easy to prove them. People can't be arrested for being related to criminals.
"Sooner or later they'll do something to expose themselves," Xin Hulei says, his tone reassuring. "We'll catch them then."
It's not that Yao Shen doesn't believe him, is just that the last time something happened, Xin Hulei, Jincan and Heimao were unconscious for months.
Speaking of which. "Did you see Gao Wu today on set?"
Xin Hulei shakes his head. "No, but I didn't ask about him. It's possible he didn't have any scenes scheduled for today and is only arriving tomorrow."
Yao Shen can't even imagine how awkward things will be if he does return -- poor Ye Fang will be caught in the middle of it all with no idea what happened.
"Did Jincan bother you a lot today?" Yao Shen didn't see Jincan around the set either, but that probably means that Xin Hulei was successful in keeping him out of the way.
"I've introduced him as my Personal Assistant, and Heimao as my bodyguard." The corners of his lips twitch up. "I told him to just stay back and observe the actual assistants. I think he was overwhelmed."
Yao Shen can imagine that. The set was hectic today, Jincan must have felt like a fish out of water.
"Did he complain?"
"He said he wanted to change roles with Heimao because his job was easier."
Yao Shen can't help laughing at the mental imagine. No one in their right mind would believe Jincan was a bodyguard. He barely looks capable to guarding himself, let alone someone else.
"I imagine Heimao was great at his job, though," Yao Shen says, smirking.
"He does have a talent for standing around glaring and looking pissed off."
---
Yao Shen manages to wind down after dinner, but especially after a hot shower in which Xin Hulei washes his back languorously, dropping kisses to the knots of his spine from time to time.
Yao Shen feels so relaxed, that it soon turns to sleepiness. Xin Hulei helps him dry off his hair, and then the two of them climb into bed.
"I like autumn and winter better," Yao Shen says, in the gloom of the room, with his head comfortably pillowed on Xin Hulei's chest. "It's cosier."
Xin Hulei is playing with the soft strands of his hair, running his fingers through it. "I miss the cicadas."
It might be the exhaustion of the flight, and a tiring work day afterwards, but Yao Shen can feel himself falling asleep between one word and the next.
He can almost hear the cry of the cicadas. At first warm and mellow just like a slow summer night, and then thick and cloying like the humid summer heat.
When Yao Shen dreams, he sees swarms of cicadas blotting the sky, their song almost deafening.