(Li Jie and Wang Juan. First appearance of the fem protag and her boyfriend.)
The new idol drama series in which Xu Jun plays the second male lead starts airing today. He is very busy with promoting the series and attending variety shows and interviews.
One day, after finishing an interview, his agent aprroaches him with a face that is hard to describe. Wang Yong looks like he is about to cry, laugh, and shout at the same time. "Brother Wang, is something wrong?"
"Xu Jun, Xu Jun, ah." Wang Yong honestly doesn't know where to begin. "Just now, the company called me. They said they received a call from M Studios. They are giving you a chance to audition for the protagonist role in The Legend of Liu Sheng-li."
Dark brown eyes widen in surprise. "Come again? Brother Wang, are you sure they asked for me? Me?"
"Yes, yes, Xu Jun. They want you," Wang Yong replies in mirth. "I was also the same when I got the call. But let me remind you, this is only an audition. There's no guarantee you will get the role."
"I know, I know. Brother Wang, who else are auditioning for the role?"
The middle-aged agent hesitates. "I heard it's Li Jie and he is personally handpicked by the author."
The author mentioned is of course the best writing novel author, Li Xiu Ying. She has created more than five award winning masterpieces since the start of her writting career. Her theme mainly focuses on ancient history with a touch of Daoism and martial arts. The Legend of Liu Sheng-li also follows this theme and has recently won many awards in the literary world. Xu Jun has not read this book yet but it seems it should be his priority tonight. "When is the audition? Do you have a copy of the book?"
Wang Yong rubs his forehead. "That. They set the audition five days from now." The actor inhales sharply. "The company tells me they will send you a copy of the book as soon as possible."
Meanwhile, inside a room in a high-rise condo, a woman slams her phone on the bed with enough force to make the rectangular object bounce.
"Juan-er? What happened?" asks a frowning Li Jie.
Wang Juan paces on the floor in frustration. "Jie, that just now was assistant director Hu. He is giving me a heads up that there is another actor aiming for Liu Sheng-li."
Li Jie abruptly sits up fom the bed and holds his girlfriend-slash-manager. "How is that possible? Didn't Liu Xiu Ying agree that only I get to play the protagonist's role?"
"Yes, she did. But it seems her stipulation is overridden." She receives another call and this one is from the big boss of their agency. She makes an eye contact with Li Jie who politely steps back to give her privacy. She answers the phone and finds out the cause of their worry. She thanks her boss before hanging up. "Another investor has injected a huge amount of money to produce the film. One of their conditions is to recommend an actor to play the protagonist's role. Since the investor only made a recommendation and not a demand, the main director and other producers agree."
"Which investor?" asks Li Jie who looks unperturbed.
"It's Z Tech Industry," replies Wang Juan. Stillness envelopes the whole room. Z Tech Industry is a multi-billion giant company. They produce the most cutting-edge technology used in various equipments, cars, and household appliances. One of their latest breakthrough is called auto-driving. It's a system that lets the car drive itself. The innovative company also has a hand in developing the highly sophisticated cameras and audio equipments used in the film industry. Furthermore, the CEO of Z Tech Industry, Wei Xiaolong is only twenty-seven this year but he has already dominated the electronics industry. His future is very bright. This powerful, handsome man, whoever gets a hold of him, is guaranteed to succeed.
After a moment of silence, Li Jie ask, "Juan-er, which actor are they recommending? Is it another A-list? Or an international star?"
Wang Juan frowns briefly. "No, it's an actor called Xu Jun."
-----
Li Ming quietly breathes, lying atop a sleeping naked man. Eyes closed, his mind works overdrive. The plot of this world seems to be deviating more than he originally thought. When Xu Jun, during tonight's dinner, has mentioned about auditioning for The Legend of Liu Sheng-li, he's thought nothing of it. He silently berates himself. Isn't that the movie where Li Jie played the main character which Xu Jun "criticized" him for his lacking performance? How in the world did he get the chance to audition for that role? What kind of heaven luck did he suddenly contract? "Xiao Hong, Xu Jun auditioning for that film isn't part of the original plot. What is going on?"
Xiao Hong is silent for a while before reluctantly answering his host. [Master, one of the major investors requested for Xu Jun to audition for Liu Sheng-li.]
White furry ears twitch. Oh? "Which investor?"
[... Z Tech Industry.]
The cat stiffens, then starts choking. Wei Xiaolong wakes up to see his beloved cat hyperventilating. Alarmed, he gently pats his back and whispers assuring words to him. Seeing him calm down, he murmurs close to those drooping ears, "Did you have nightmare, love?"
Li Ming cries without tears. "Handsome guy, why did you suddenly decide to invest in a film? That's not how you usually do things."
A flash of panic appears in those golden eyes upon hearing those mournful cries. "Love, do you hurt anywhere? Do you want me to call the vet?" He can't bear to see this white fluffy creature be sad or agrieved. He knows it's crazy, and bordering lunacy, but he feels like he wants to offer the whole world to this adorable cat.
Seeing the genuine concern coming from his man, Li Ming feels warm in his chest. Ah, whatever. If Xu Jun gets in a direct confrontation with the main CP of this world, then he will just back his human up. The cat nuzzles the warm patch of skin and gently nips. "Nothing to worry about, handsome." Unsatisfied, Li Ming generously licks Wei Xiaolong's face.
The gorgeous man chuckles and the crease of worry instantly disappears. He kisses back the cat and craddles him close. "Sleep, love." he murmurs.
-----
The Legend of Liu Sheng-li depicts the story of a young general who had triumphed against the invasion of neighboring kingdoms. Liu Sheng-li, second born from the main wife of Liu patriarch, used to be a prodigal son. Before he came of age, he squandered his time playing hooky, gambling, drinking, and neglecting his martial arts. His older brother by four years, Liu Chenglei was the successor of the family. He was an upright and capable man who, at the age of fifteen, had already joined his father-general to many campaigns along the border. Every time Liu Sheng-li went out, other nobles ridiculed him for being a waste, a trash when compared to his well-accomplished brother. When war finally broke out, Liu father general and first son set out. Without their knowledge, Liu Sheng-li had sneaked off with the cavalry, thinking to prove himself in front of his strict and overbearing family. However, tragedy struck. Liu father was killed by an assassin during the battle. Liu Sheng-li, who was terrified from the hellish scene before him, stood unmoving with his helmet strewn on the ground. Liu Chenglei incidentally spotted him and his heart almost broke. He lost his father and he could not afford to lose his younger brother too. He ordered his second-in-command to cover for him and made his way to Liu Sheng-li. When he reached him, the barely sixteen year old boy was still spacing out with tears and snots silently flowing out. "Look at you," Liu Chenglei gently admonished while wiping the dirt on that young face. "Listen, Sheng-li. Take my horse and run as far away as you can from here. I will ask my most trusted subordinate to help you escape. Do you hear me, Sheng-li?"
More tears ran out. "Father, he-"
"He died a heroic death. That's all you need to remember." Liu Chenglei frowned and parried an attack. "Minzhe, take my brother away and bring him back to the captial. No matter what, you have to deliver him safe and sound."
Minzhe only hesitated for a second before scooping a still dazed Liu Sheng-li and dumping him to a tall white horse before riding behind him. He whipped the horse and they rode away. Liu Chenglei watched them from the corner of his eye while giving them cover from behind. His brother, ah, he didn't teach him enough. Could he uphold the house? If his wish could be followed, he wouldn't mind letting his younger brother continue his dandy ways. At least he'd be unharmed and far away from the horrors of war. Distracted, he felt a sharp pain coming from his left shoulder.
Liu Shengli woke up from his trance and noticed they were moving away from the battlefield. Oh no! His older brother was still there! They had to turn back and fetch him. He looked back, searching for his brother's figure amidst the standing and fallen soldiers. His eyes constricted and he couldn't help shouting shrilly, "BROTHERRRRRR" Liu Chenglei fell down on his knees, clutching his left shoulder. But hearing his brother's cry, he endured and kept on fighting. "Don't look back, Liu Sheng-li!"
"No! Brother!" Liu Shengli started to struggle and Minzhe decisively chopped the back of his neck. Before darkness enveloped him, Liu Sheng-li saw his brother's valiant and bloody figure fighting a group of enemies. "Brother..."
Xu Jun stops reading and closed his tear-stained eyes. He is suddenly engulfed with the urge to hear his brother's voice, to make sure he's still where he can reach him. Before, he would be afraid to be in the same room as him; afraid to be gazed at by those cold and apathetic eyes; afraid to be reprimanded. However, it is different now. He enjoys talking to his brother about mundane things; enjoys fighting him over Baby's attention; enjoys eating meals together. He really wants to be spoiled by his older brother. Deciding, he packs up a bag and drives to his brother's villa.
Wei Xiaolong only quirks an eyebrow when his brother comes knocking in the middle of the night. He has told him to stay how ever long he wants. But Baby gets to sleep with him. Xu Jun only stares at him with dead eyes that say, "That's my cat."
So starts the two brothers' cohabitation. In the morning, two grown men and a beautiful feline eat breakfast. The younger goes to the studio to film while the older goes to the company to work. The white folded-ear cat is left at home to amuse itself. In the evening, two grown men and a beautiful feline eat dinner. Afterwards, the younger studies his script while rubbing the cat. Before it gets late, there comes a knock and the older brother demands to have the cat back. And they go to bed. Thus, starts their routine.