TTIG Chapter 65.2

He casually hung his cap on the wall: “I’ll shower first.”

 

Fang Yinnian: “Mm, go ahead.”

 

Soon the sound of rushing water came from the bathroom.

 

Fang Yinnian sat on the bed edge, bored, scrolling through Weibo.

 

After a few minutes, Mo Xun’s phone on the bed suddenly rang—the ringtone was FTM’s album title track “Sunny Coast.” Fang Yinnian looked down to see the caller ID showed Qin Luo.

 

Qin Luo? The male lead of “Wind Rises in Chang’an,” a first-tier traffic actor with over 20 million Weibo followers.

 

Fang Yinnian picked up the phone and knocked on the bathroom door: “Mo Xun, Qin Luo’s calling. Do you want to answer?”

 

The water sound stopped, then the door opened and a hand reached out from behind the glass door: “Give it to me.”

 

Fang Yinnian’s heart nearly stopped.

 

The bathroom was steamy, and Mo Xun was completely naked. Though he only opened a crack in the glass door when reaching for his phone, Fang Yinnian still accidentally saw his body.

 

Mo Xun’s abs were firm and beautiful, his figure superb, his leg muscles powerfully defined. It’s just, his leg…

 

Right, there seemed to be a bruise on his leg?

 

Fang Yinnian was stunned—he hadn’t seen clearly just now. Was he seeing things?

 

Conversation came from the bathroom: “Brother Luo, mm, I’ve arrived at the hotel… my flight’s at 10 PM on the 12th… what a coincidence, same flight again?”

 

“Ah… then just take my car to the airport. My manager will arrange transportation.”

 

“Don’t mention it, Brother Luo. Mm mm, bye.”

 

After hanging up, Mo Xun took a towel to dry his body, changed into pajamas, and came out, quietly explaining: “Qin Luo’s stalker fans tracked him to the hotel. To avoid the stalkers, he’s taking my car on the 12th.”

 

Fang Yinnian was surprised: “Stalker fans are that excessive?”

 

Mo Xun sighed helplessly: “Popular celebrities all have stalkers. They somehow got Qin Luo’s hotel room information, went to block him there, forcing Qin Luo to change hotels overnight to our place.”

 

Fang Yinnian: “…”

 

Current stalker fans were truly rampant. Qin Luo being harassed by stalkers must be very troublesome.

 

Fang Yinnian stopped thinking about Qin Luo’s situation and looked at Mo Xun’s leg: “Sit here first.”

 

Mo Xun sat down with a puzzled expression: “What’s wrong?”

 

Fang Yinnian lifted his bathrobe—his right knee indeed had a large bruise that looked shocking, as if someone had beaten him.

 

Fang Yinnian looked up and asked: “How did you get this injury?”

 

Mo Xun explained: “I accidentally bumped into something while filming action scenes.”

 

Fang Yinnian turned to get a familiar spray bottle from his own luggage, sprayed it on the injury several times, then carefully used his fingers to slowly rub it in, asking softly: “Does it hurt?”

 

Mo Xun’s heart immediately melted.

 

Yinnian’s fingers gently brushed over his muscles. The originally burning and swollen area felt cool and comfortable when Fang Yinnian lightly rubbed it.

 

This hand was like tickling Mo Xun’s heartstrings.

 

Mo Xun’s heartbeat became somewhat uncontrolled as he said quietly: “It doesn’t hurt.”

 

Fang Yinnian asked: “How did you get injured so badly?”

 

Mo Xun explained: “The day before yesterday while filming a group scene, I was on wires and didn’t control my landing timing well. I fell and hit a roadside stone. The bruise looks scary, but it’s actually nothing serious.”

 

Worried that Fang Yinnian might be concerned, Mo Xun added: “I got it checked—the bones are fine, just muscle strain. Two days of rest and it’ll be good.”

 

He spoke lightly, but falling from the air and hitting stones must have been very painful, right? Fang Yinnian looked at him with distress: “Are action scenes very tiring?”

 

Mo Xun said frankly: “Tiring is fine as long as there’s something to gain. I quite like filming action scenes—I learned many cool moves.”

 

He struck a starting pose: “Want me to perform a sequence for you right now?”

 

Fang Yinnian slapped his hand back down: “Perform what? Your knee is injured and you’re still restless. Go rest quickly.”

 

Mo Xun laughed awkwardly and withdrew his hand, touching his nose: “Okay, I am indeed a bit tired. I’ll lie down for a while.”

 

Fang Yinnian watched him turn and get into bed, quickly breathing evenly and entering sleep… He must be exhausted.

 

He had been filming on set this morning, and after wrapping he immediately rushed to catch a flight to another city without stopping. He’d also been pulling all-nighters filming night scenes recently—being an actor was really not easy.

 

Fang Yinnian looked at Mo Xun’s peaceful sleeping face and after considering for a moment, picked up his phone to message their manager: “Brother Xu, Mo Xun injured his leg while filming. Can we skip the dance and switch to a ballad instead?”

 

Xu Baichuan quickly replied: “Leg injury? Is it serious?”

 

Fang Yinnian: “He hit something during action scenes. There’s a large bruise near his knee. I’m worried dancing would worsen the injury.”

 

Xu Baichuan thought for a moment and said: “Alright, the program lineup hasn’t been announced yet. I’ll contact the TV station to change your song. ‘Night Scene’ and ‘Love Contract’ as a medley—no dancing.”

 

Fang Yinnian: “Thank you, Brother Xu.”

 

The next morning, their manager took them to rehearse songs.

 

Originally this stage was supposed to perform “Sunny Coast” and “Night Scene”—one dance track plus one ballad. But today their manager suddenly said they were changing songs to “Night Scene” and “Love Contract.”

 

Fu Fei was puzzled: “Why change songs?”

 

Xu Baichuan said: “Yinnian suggested it. Mo Xun injured his knee and it’s not convenient to dance.”

 

Hearing this, Mo Xun felt warmth in his heart. Yinnian really cared about him, even privately asking their manager to suggest changing the dance program.

 

Actually, if forced he could still dance, but the knee pain would affect his spinning and jumping movements. The muscle strain in his calf wasn’t completely healed either—forcing himself to dance could indeed worsen it.

 

Everyone looked at Mo Xun with concern.

 

Tan Junwen asked: “Brother Mo got injured? Is it serious?”

 

Tang Che said: “Why didn’t you tell us?”

 

Mo Xun smiled and waved his hand: “Not serious, just bumped into something and got some swelling. Dancing might not be as smooth.” He looked at his teammates: “Sorry for making you all accommodate me.”

 

Tan Junwen patted his shoulder: “You’re being too formal saying that. It’s just changing a song—no big deal.”

 

Fu Fei said: “Exactly! Everyone’s probably tired of ‘Sunny Coast’ anyway. Let’s do a fresh song.”

 

During afternoon rehearsals, FTM’s entrance was also changed—everyone stood on a double-decker tour bus, performing while touring the venue.

 

The Double Eleven gala’s stage design was very elaborate, directly transforming the stadium into several shopping streets with numerous brand advertisements on high-rise buildings.

 

The streets were wide enough for two cars to travel side by side.

 

The five sat in the car, singing while circling the constructed streets. The effect was good and the director was satisfied.

 

After rehearsals they hurriedly filmed some materials. Evening was full rehearsal, and the next day was another full day of commercial shoots.

 

Xu Baichuan booked them a new endorsement—down jackets that were affordable and good quality. With winter coming, endorsing a down jacket brand meant fans could buy them for actual use.

 

The five wore winter flagship down jackets and shot many promotional photos and advertisements. The partner again gave them the title of brand spokesperson.

 

Since the endorsement was finalized relatively late and couldn’t make the Double Eleven event, the brand decided to officially announce it in two weeks but still sell at Double Eleven promotional prices.

 

***

 

On the evening of November 11th, the Double Eleven Celebration Gala officially began.

 

FTM’s performance received widespread praise.

 

Among a bunch of ear-piercingly loud, shrieking, poorly adapted songs, FTM’s two ballads were like a breath of fresh air.

 

Especially the newly changed song “Love Contract,” which they performed publicly for the first time—a relatively obscure track from their album.

 

Audiences were surprised to discover—even FTM’s obscure songs were quite good!

 

Nanxing TV posted FTM’s live performance video on Weibo. Views quickly surpassed ten million, breaking into the top three most-watched Double Eleven gala performances.

 

Mo Xun’s return performance completely reassured Music Notes that his filming hadn’t affected FTM’s performances. On the contrary, the five coordinated even more seamlessly on stage with very stable harmonies.

 

On November 12th, the five continued shooting commercial advertisements—this time for a nationally popular snack brand.

 

Since the previous juice sold extremely well, many food commercial opportunities came knocking. Xu Baichuan carefully selected this snack brand.

 

Available in supermarkets nationwide, continuing FTM’s offline face-showing strategy.

 

Forums soon had various insider news.

 

“The music group went to shoot commercials again”

 

The poster revealed: “Mo Xun returned for three days with an extremely packed schedule. Besides the Double Eleven gala, he shot two commercials—clothing and food.”

 

This revelation quickly drew many replies.

 

“Is the poster industry insider?”

 

“Commercials can’t be leaked early, right? Material leaks are taboo!”

 

“The poster didn’t reveal which brands, don’t worry”

 

“With FTM’s current popularity, unlikely to be stolen”

 

“Ahhh there’s food, I can stock up”

 

“Those who mocked FTM for having no endorsements or commercials—now they have more and more hahaha”

 

“Mo Xun joining the filming crew didn’t affect team activities. Where are those who stirred trouble and cursed Mo Xun before?”

 

“This group really gets stronger the more they’re mocked. Haters are going to break down again”

 

Mo Xun’s return had a packed schedule with Xu Baichuan concentrating all accumulated tasks into three days.

 

On the evening of the 12th, he flew back to Qingshan Film City overnight.

 

Qin Luo, chased by stalker fans into changing hotels overnight, took Mo Xun’s car to the airport together. This was also Fang Yinnian’s first time meeting Qin Luo.

 

Fang Yinnian didn’t usually follow TV dramas and wasn’t familiar with this popular actor. However, Qin Luo was truly handsome with gentle features—a typical light-colored actor with a pair of affectionate peach blossom eyes.

 

When Fang Yinnian went to see Mo Xun off and met him, he didn’t know how to greet him, so he smiled politely.

 

Mo Xun put his arm around Fang Yinnian’s shoulder and introduced: “Brother Luo, this is my teammate Fang Yinnian.”

 

Qin Luo squinted and said: “I know. I really like your single ‘Listening to Snow’—it’s beautifully sung.”

 

Fang Yinnian was flattered and said with a red face: “Thank you, Brother Luo.”

 

After saying it, he suddenly realized calling him “Brother Luo” following Mo Xun was somewhat presumptuous since he wasn’t familiar with Qin Luo—he should have called him “teacher.”

 

Fortunately, Qin Luo didn’t mind and said easygoingly: “Xiao Mo, we need to hurry or we’ll be surrounded by stalkers again.”

 

Mo Xun turned back to Fang Yinnian: “I’m leaving first.”

 

Fang Yinnian nodded: “Mm, safe travels.”

 

Mo Xun got in the car and waved at Fang Yinnian, who then turned to leave the underground garage.

 

In the car, Qin Luo said meaningfully: “Your teammate specially came to see you off—pretty good relationship, huh?”

 

Mo Xun’s mood lifted as he curved his lips: “Yinnian was going downstairs to buy something and just happened to see me off.”

 

Qin Luo raised his eyebrows: “Don’t pretend. Aren’t you two doing CP fan service? If photos were taken of him seeing you off in the garage, CP fans could ship you even more.”

 

Mo Xun’s heart jumped as he asked quietly: “Brother Luo, what do you think about boy groups doing CP marketing?”

 

Qin Luo looked nonchalant: “The entertainment industry values popularity most. No matter how you get famous, as long as you do, the industry sees it as successful marketing. Not just boy groups do CP marketing—TV dramas do it too.”

 

He smiled at Mo Xun: “I did it when I debuted too. If you don’t mind, we could do some marketing for our new drama.”

 

Mo Xun: “…”

 

Qin Luo winked with a half-smile: “The ruthless, brooding prince and the loyal bodyguard with superior martial arts—when the drama airs, our CP might take off. Want to cooperate on some marketing?”

 

Mo Xun quickly said: “Forget it. I don’t know how to do drama CP marketing. Besides, Brother Luo, you’re so popular that if I marketed with you, I’d be accused of clinging. Your fans would definitely say ‘Mo Xun back off, don’t get involved.'”

 

Qin Luo burst into laughter and patted Mo Xun’s shoulder: “You’re so funny… I was joking, don’t be nervous.”

 

Mo Xun breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t want to do CP marketing with anyone else. His CP was only Fang Yinnian—the best and the only one.

 

Qin Luo put away his smile and said quietly: “The acting path isn’t easy to walk. Xiao Mo, your acting is good and your image too—you have unlimited potential. You’ll definitely make it in the future. Director Qi particularly likes you.”

 

He paused and said: “I’ve filmed so many dramas over the years and seen many newcomers. You’re the one I find most naturally gifted. You can catch my acting and give me positive feedback.”

 

Mo Xun was happy to be praised: “Thank you, Brother Luo.”

 

Qin Luo encouraged: “Keep it up. You can’t be an idol forever. If the acting path works out, it’s also pretty good.”

 

“Male actors have long careers. When young, they film idol dramas. In middle age, they can mix into serious drama circles. By their sixties and seventies, they play grandfathers to the new generation of actors, hahaha.”

 

Mo Xun was amused by him. Qin Luo had a good temperament, and Mo Xun learned a lot acting opposite him in the “Wind Rises in Chang’an” crew.

 

He was one of the rare high-traffic actors with genuinely excellent acting skills, which was why the S+ political intrigue drama cast him as the male lead.

 

Mo Xun really enjoyed being on set and wanted to take on more roles to make a name for himself. When he could one day be a male lead and film a quality drama, could he ask Fang Yinnian to sing the OST for his show?

 

That kind of collaboration would be wonderful.

 

Fang Yinnian had no interest in acting—he only wanted to sing. They were destined to develop separately in the future.

 

Mo Xun believed Yinnian would definitely become a singer with high national recognition. And he would keep working hard too.

 

Because falling for someone exceptionally outstanding made him want to become more outstanding himself—for Mo Xun, his feelings for Fang Yinnian weren’t a burden, but inspiration and motivation.

 

**

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 (advanced chapters available on kofi)