Chapter One Hundred and Fifteen

  He started to sweat a little, thinking it was because the air conditioning in the car was too hot, so he lowered the temperature. But the cold sweat on his back continued to seep out layer by layer, and eventually, even turning off the air conditioner completely didn't work.

  Not just his back, but also his forehead was covered in sweat, dripping down from the corners of his eyes. Li Jin wiped it away, his forehead scorching hot, but his fingertips felt icy cold. Only then did he feel something was off, his fingers repeatedly touching his forehead and cheeks, after doing so two or three times, his arm felt soft and weak as if he had been exhausted for a whole day.

  Has... fallen ill?

  Colds in winter often come quickly, breaking out in a sweat and blowing cold wind can immediately ignite. He slowed down the car and tried to calm himself down. During this time, he was busy with many things and didn't pay much attention to rest, so his poor resistance is no wonder. Just now in the warm restaurant, he was slightly sweating, and when he went out for a cool breeze without buttoning up his coat, he caught a chill, which is not surprising.

  From a distance, he saw the sign for the exit from the highway and followed it down. He thought to himself, "It's okay, this minor cold and fever will be gone with some medicine, I'll be fine by tomorrow."

  The crew was filming in the film city, and today they were shooting a play within a play. Li Jin stopped the car in front of the crew and looked around at the crowd, but didn't see Luo Fei.

  He pulled himself together and got off the car, calling out to a few crew members nearby: "Everyone's busy?"

  When Lu Fei first joined the group, Li Jin came to accompany him for a few days and got familiar with everyone. Everyone enthusiastically gathered around, he quickly opened the trunk of the car, revealing the coffee that was still steaming: "Filming is hard work, I and Lu Fei invite everyone to have some coffee!"

  There wasn't a decent coffee shop near the crew, so Starbucks became heavenly taste. As soon as this was shouted out, half of the crew gathered around. The chief makeup artist in the crew was a famous tomboy who slapped him on the shoulder and asked: "Just coffee? What about meals? What about snacks?"

  Li Jin was already sweating profusely, dizzy and weak in the legs. This slap almost knocked him down. He forced a smile and opened the rear car door: "Miss, everyone is here."

  "Consider yourself lucky." The makeup artist pinched his cheek like a female hooligan and went to share the cake with other girls.

  Li Jin coughed and quietly exited the crowd, looking back inside again, but Ruo Fei still didn't look at him, instead seeing the assistant director walking towards him.

  He stepped forward: "Director Zhou."

  Deputy director Zhou Ming nodded and walked to his side, lowering his voice and tilting his chin: "Director Ren is inside teaching Luo Fei acting."

  Li Jin wisely didn't go to disturb him, and walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Zhou Ming into the shed. He had been in contact with Zhou Ming for a month, and the two were quite familiar with each other, having drunk countless meals together. Zhou Ming had something to say and lowered his voice: "Ruo Fei has passed two today."

  Li Jing's heart skipped a beat, and the cold sweat on her back suddenly chilled: "What's going on?"

  "He wasn't very focused," said Zhou Ming. "The director had just told him his lines, but as soon as he stood in front of the camera, he forgot everything and kept glancing at the lens intentionally or unintentionally."

  Li Jing let out a long sigh.

  Before, when Ruo Fei was like this, he helped Ruo Fei find an excuse, saying that he was just tense from filming and the crew gave him face, so no one bothered to calculate with Ruo Fei. But after filming for many days and still being like this, it's not acceptable anymore.

  "Even Director Ren's temper is so good, he got angry today." Zhou Ming said, "Li Jin, there's something I don't know whether to say or not."

  Li Jin responded with a sound, raised his head, and felt that even if there was no wind in the shed, he was still cool to the heart, not only cool, but also dizzy. His eyes were like being covered with sweat, looking at Zhou Ming with double images.

  He said: "Director Zhou, you say it."

  "If Luo Fei continues like this, we'll have to replace him." Zhou Ming also sighed, "The machine costs a day's worth of money just to run for a day, and not everyone in the crew can accompany him here to practice his acting skills."

  His voice was still gentle, but Li Jin could hear that his dissatisfaction included himself.

  It's also true that Zhou Ming felt he had lost face because of Ruo Fei. Now that Ruo Fei was so disappointing, it was as if Zhou Ming had no face to show, and Zhou Ming couldn't blame himself for blaming others.

  Not just Zhou Ming, but Li Jin himself also began to doubt himself.

  He thought that at first, he really didn't expect Luo Fei to be selected. This kid is straightforward and wears his heart on his sleeve, what's this thing called acting skills? But unexpectedly, it hit the spot and he was chosen. Li Jin was surprised on one hand, but on the other hand, he quickly pushed him onto the stage. Who would have thought that his so-called acting explosion only lasted for those few minutes.

  Was I wrong?

  Li Jin's whole body seemed to have lost all its strength, his hands and feet went soft, and he leaned against the wall in despair.

  He thought: was I wrong?

  "Director Zhou," after a moment, he looked at Zhou Ming with a serious expression, "I'm troubling you to help me stall for another day or two. I guarantee that within two days at most, Luo Fei will definitely make progress."

  Zhou Ming's face showed a difficult expression, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

  Li Jin's heart was racing, just as she was about to speak, her throat suddenly constricted, and she could only manage to squeeze out a voice after swallowing hard: "Director Zhou, I..."

  "Alright, Xiao Li, no need to say more. Two days, I'll do it." Zhou Ming waved his hand, anyway he had been putting it off for so long, two more days wouldn't be hard. Besides, Li Jin was already being troublesome enough, why add fuel to the fire? "Remember you owe me a drink, pay me back when you're free."

  Li Jin smiled: "No problem, Director Zhou, whenever you return to the city I will definitely... cough!"

  A mouthful of air suddenly entered his trachea, causing him to cough violently. He covered his mouth, thinking that two coughs would be enough, but the air in his chest was stuck there, neither going up nor down, making him cough more and more fiercely, almost expelling all the air from his chest.

  "Li Jin, Li Jin, what's wrong with you?" Li Jin coughed so hard that his face was scrunched up, and at the sound of this voice, he almost coughed out his lungs. Zhou Ming was frightened and supported Li Jin, but he suddenly trembled violently and slid down from his palm.

  Li Jin heard Zhou Ming calling him, but he didn't have the strength to respond. He felt like he couldn't breathe, his chest was suffocating and aching. It seemed like something was blocking his heart, all the blood flowing there had stopped, and even his heartbeat had ceased. What's wrong, he thought, what's happening to me? He tried to open his mouth but couldn't, his body uncontrollably curled up, even his calves and arms were cramped.

  In the chaos, he felt that many people seemed to be gathering around him, some supporting his shoulders, some touching his forehead, some calling out his name and asking how he was doing, and others shouting for an ambulance.

  Should we send him to the hospital?

  But he was just choked, he coughed and got better, he coughed and got better...

  Li Jing grasped the person beside her tightly, trying to adjust her breathing and make herself look better: "No need... no need for an ambulance... I just have a bit of a cold, would you mind helping me find a place... to rest for a while?"

  He can't go to the hospital, he doesn't have time to waste lying in bed.

  He must also gather his spirits and deal with this disappointing Luo Fei!

  "Alright, alright," Zhou Ming looked around at the people and reluctantly agreed, "Take him to the rest room."

  Li Jin felt like she had just woken up from a very long dream.

  In his dream, everything was in a mess. One moment he found himself in the ocean, with cool seawater wrapping around him, making him feel comfortable and free to swim. The next moment he was at the mouth of a volcano, with molten lava spewing out, scorching his whole body. Then he felt like he was buried under ice and snow, shivering from his internal organs to his teeth. At first, he tried to hide and was afraid, but later on, somehow, he knew this was just a strange and bizarre dream. His mind slowly calmed down, and the scenes in front of him stopped flashing by like a lantern show. Those complex images gradually merged into the shadow of one person.

  He thought it was Li Yiheng, so he hurried over to chase him.

  That man had long legs and big strides, walking extremely fast, not waiting for anyone. He chased after him with great difficulty, but couldn't catch up, even though he was using his fastest speed, still lagging two steps behind. Looking ahead, the line of sight was level with that man's thin shoulders and elegant neck, wanting to look again, but there was only a cold, icy back of the head.

  He thought it was Li Yiheng, but why would Li Yiheng not wait for him?

  There is only one person in the world who would make him work so hard to catch up, using all his strength but still unable to catch up; there is only one person in the world who knows he is behind and doesn't even turn around to look at him, let alone wait for him, and instead walks quickly with big strides.

  It's been a long time since he dreamed of him.

  "Shu Mu." He heard himself call out.

  Then something covered his breath.

  He suddenly woke up, and in front of him was a dull grayness. He lifted his still weak hand to touch it, and surprisingly found that there was a piece of clothing covering his face.

  A slight tug on the clothes, and the line of sight was no longer obstructed. The light suddenly became brighter. But even when all the clothes were pulled to one side, the expected dazzling feeling did not come.

  Someone is standing there, blocking the light.

  What's wrong?

  This article has been selected by the website to participate in the reader's comment lottery activity ~

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