When the gala drew to a close, the night was already deep.
In the backstage exit corridor, Jiang Kaiwen walked in front, cradling the trophy in his arms while carrying the packaged cake box in his other hand. He took every step with extreme caution, as if walking on a makeshift single-log bridge.
Jiang Yue followed behind him, the applause and cheers from the venue still echoing in his ears.
Watching Jiang Kaiwen look as if he wished he could turn himself into a safe, he couldn't help but speak up. “With your posture right now, you look like you just adopted two children, one in each arm.”
“One is the Quality Drama Actor of the Year trophy, and the other is the VIP Star commemorative cake.”
Jiang Kaiwen adjusted his posture. “I'd be heartbroken to death if either of them dropped.”
Jiang Yue reached out his right hand. “Give me the cake.”
Jiang Kaiwen immediately dodged to the side. “No way.”
“I'm not going to steal it.”
“Your left hand hasn't fully healed yet. There are too many people right now, so don't carry things carelessly.”
Jiang Yue fell silent for a second.
He had only scraped his skin; it wasn't like his hand was broken.
But seeing Jiang Kaiwen's tense face, he tactfully swallowed his retort and changed his wording. “Then give me a piece.”
“We'll eat it when we get back to the hotel. It's not convenient right now.”
“What about the trophy?”
“I'll let you touch it when we get back to the hotel, too.”
Jiang Yue tilted his head to look at his tense back, laughing softly. “Are you my manager or the guardian of the trophy and the cake?”
Jiang Kaiwen replied righteously, “Both.”
The car door closed, shutting out the lingering camera flashes and noise outside the window.
After getting into the car, Jiang Kaiwen first secured the trophy safely in his arms, then placed the cake box on the center armrest. He even stared at it for a couple of seconds after putting it down, as if it were his second trophy of the night.
Su Qing's messages arrived almost exactly on cue.
【Lamerd's official announcement data is extremely beautiful. The brand is highly satisfied with tonight's red carpet results and exposure.】
【Discussions on topics related to Quality Drama Actor of the Year are continuing to climb, and public opinion is positive.】
【Tomorrow is a rest day. The day after tomorrow, we take an afternoon flight back to Beijiao.】
Jiang Kaiwen stared at the last message. The corners of his mouth, which had been raised high due to the bountiful harvest, unconsciously fell back down.
“At most, we only get to rest for a day and a half.”
Jiang Yue leaned against his seat, watching the rapidly receding lights outside the window, his finger lightly tapping the edge of his phone.
Of course he was happy.
The official brand announcement, the platform trophy, and the closing stage had all been thrown in front of him tonight. No one in his position would remain completely unaffected.
Yet before the warmth of the moment had fully faded, the reality of filming dragged him right back.
Once he relaxed, fatigue belatedly seeped into his bones. Even the minor injury on his left arm began to assert its presence, itching slightly.
He sighed. “There are over a hundred people in the crew waiting for us.”
“You won such a big award, and they won't even give you a couple more days off to celebrate?”
“The trophy can't finish filming my scenes for me.”
Jiang Yue paused. “Besides, if we really took two days off, I bet you'd be more anxious than me.”
Jiang Kaiwen wanted to argue, but he opened his mouth and realized he really couldn't. He could only silently push the cake box toward Jiang Yue.
“Have a bite first to tide you over.”
Jiang Yue looked at him. “Didn't you say we'd eat it when we got back to the hotel?”
“I'm afraid you'll faint from hunger, and tomorrow's trending headline will be #Shocking! Jiang Yue Actually Fainted from Excitement After Winning an Award#.”
Jiang Yue raised an eyebrow, amused by his ridiculous imagination. Taking the fork, he scooped up a small dollop of cream and put it in his mouth. The sweet flavor dissolved on his tongue.
“Tastes pretty good.”
Jiang Kaiwen's curiosity was instantly piqued by this review. “Really? Let me try a couple of bites too.”
As he spoke, he had already picked up another fork, his movements faster than anyone's.
The day and a half of rest passed in the blink of an eye.
That afternoon, their flight landed at an airport near Beijiao, where a business van sent by the crew was already waiting at the exit.
As the vehicle headed toward the film and television base, Jiang Yue had already reopened the script for 《The Pivot Bone》.
Since returning from Donghai, Jiang Yue's Weibo follower count had surged as if a valve had been opened. Every time he woke up over the past two mornings, there was a glaring new string of numbers.
The Quality Drama Actor of the Year trophy was also personally placed into the studio's glass display case by Su Qing.
Chen Fei took a photo and sent it to him with a very simple caption.
【In the cabinet, locked up, unauthorized personnel strictly prohibited from approaching.】
After reading it, Jiang Yue stared at the trophy locked inside the glass case for a few seconds before finally replying with six dots.
The car stopped outside the Beijiao Film and Television Base. Jiang Kaiwen's fingers were still swiping across his tablet screen, checking the densely packed daily call sheets for the coming week.
After reporting to the set and changing, Jiang Yue was immediately pushed in front of the vanity mirror to get his battle-damaged makeup applied.
“Isn't the color of this fake blood a bit too dark? It looks like it's been sitting out for two days.”
Jiang Kaiwen leaned close to the vanity mirror, watching the makeup artist use a fine brush to draw a winding trail of blood at the corner of Jiang Yue's mouth.
“We need this dark red color just before it coagulates. That's what makes it look like he spat it up from internal injuries,” the makeup artist explained.
Jiang Yue closed his eyes, feeling the cold makeup powder and sticky fake blood adhering to his skin. The corner of his mouth twitched, only to be pressed back down by the makeup artist's warning: “Don't smile.”
Two days ago, it was haute couture, trophies, and red carpet lights; today, it was mud, fake blood, and tattered clothes.
Life switched gears so quickly that he actually felt like laughing for a brief moment.
But after laughing, he still had to continue getting beaten up.
He stood up and stretched his limbs.
The dilapidated, mud-stained, and blood-soaked costume emitted a strange odor as he moved, making Jiang Kaiwen subconsciously wrinkle his nose.
Seeing his expression, Jiang Yue said with amusement, “Bear with it. Even Lu Ji himself didn't complain.”
Jiang Kaiwen was expressionless. “Lu Ji is about to be beaten to death right now. Does he even have the time to complain?”
Jiang Yue: “...”
That made a lot of sense.
Sitting behind the monitor with his headphones on, He Chuan held his walkie-talkie and ordered in a deep voice, “All departments, prepare! Camera A follow Jiang Yue's full body, Camera B capture close-ups of the pursuers, Camera C take the high-angle shot!”
The clapperboard snapped with a crisp clack, and the set instantly fell silent.
In the lens, the ruins of the century-old Medicine Valley were deep and damp.
The half-moon jade pendant on Zhao Wuji, the origin of several obscure medicinal ingredients in the Old Valley Master's prescription, and the incomplete ancient seal script secret code behind the half-moon pattern—only when Lu Ji pieced them together bit by bit did they point to this forbidden area of the Medicine Valley, which had long been forgotten by the martial world.
However, if he could find it, Xie Wuheng naturally could as well.
Traps and toxic miasma had drained most of his physical strength, and several Zhuo Martial Arts experts sent on orders had cornered him in front of a mossy stone wall carved with ancient runes.
Lu Ji leaned his back against the cold, slippery stone wall, panting heavily.
Every breath pulled at the wound on his chest, the pain making his vision go dark.
His Adam's apple bobbed as he forced down the metallic sweetness welling up in his throat.
His left leg had been sliced open by a poisoned hidden weapon, and blood had already stained his pant leg black.
“Run, little divine physician of Changle Ward! Why aren't you running anymore?”
The leading Zhuo Martial Arts expert sneered, the long saber in his hand reflecting a cold gleam in the dim light.
Lu Ji stared at his opponent. His eyelid twitched slightly from the pain, but the corner of his mouth slowly curled into a faint, joyless smile.
They had chased him all the way here, yet they still asked why he wasn't running.
Nonsense.
If he could run, who would want to stand here and wait for death?
“Do it. Make it quick. The Master is still waiting for our report.”
Before the words could fully land, the fight erupted instantly.
A long saber slashed down directly with the sound of rushing wind.
Lu Ji did not dodge; his battered body could not possibly avoid this strike.
His gaze darkened. Raising his broken saber, he met the blade's edge with the spine of his own weapon.
Clang!
Sparks flew amidst the ear-piercing screech of clashing metal.
The force of the blow traveled through his hand into his entire body. Lu Ji bent his knees with the momentum, using the recoil to roll to the side. With a backhand strike, he thrust the broken saber he had been hiding toward his opponent's ankle.
Even if it meant trading injury for injury or life for life, he had to carve out a sliver of hope from this dead end.
But the gap in strength could not be bridged so easily.
His opponent retreated in pain, and the palm wind of another expert had already swept into his chest.
Lu Ji was sent flying backward by the blast, his back slamming heavily against the mossy stone wall. A muffled groan he couldn't suppress escaped his throat.
“Cut! Move the mat a bit more to the left. Make sure Jiang Yue's back doesn't actually hit the wall.”
He Chuan stared at the monitor, and after confirming everything was fine, he raised his hand. “We'll pick up from the flying backward shot.”
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