Chapter 53
In the afternoon shooting, Mu Zhouyi didn’t NG again. She seemed to have finally found the feeling and it was like the acting good possessed her body to pull Ye Bing out of the script. All the close-ups of the morning passed. Xu Heng’s expression finally eased and Shen Yan’s frown loosened.
After the close-up shot, Xie Yang held the violin and prepared to exit.
“Xie Yang.” Mu Zhouyi caught up with him and stood in front of Xie Yang, full of embarrassment and guilt. “You’ve worked hard to cooperate with me this entire time. I’m sorry for the delay in the morning.”
Xie Yang glanced around at the staff looking this way and smiled at Mu Zhouyi. He said it was fine and prepared to leave.
“Wait a minute!” Mu Zhouyi reached out toward Xie Yang’s hand holding the violin.
Xie Yang hadn’t expected Mu Zhouyi to approach so suddenly in front of a big crowd. Once he realized Mu Zhouyi’s intentions, he tried to avoid it but the skin of his wrist had already been touched by Mu Zhouyi’s fingertips.
Strange, intense fluctuations spread violently from the place where his skin was touched. His mind became dazed and his ability core became unprecedentedly clear. The world in front of him started to rotate and the feeling of nausea was so strong it seemed like he would vomit at any minute.
Mu Zhouyi withdrew her hand after touching him and pointed to the violin. “I’m sorry, this is a prop. I can’t let you take it away.”
Xie Yang’s body twisted imperceptibly as he stood still. He took a deep breath and controlled the expression on his face with strong willpower. He handed the violin to Mu Zhouyi and replied, “I’m sorry, I didn’t pay attention for a moment. Thank you for reminding me.”
“It’s okay. In addition, regarding the words you spoke in the car yesterday, I want to explain it to you. Do you have time?”
How would a person affected by the golden finger respond at this point? Xie Yang barely kept his mind as he nodded. “There is time. Senior, you should come to me when you aren’t busy.”
“That’s great. I will find you as soon as possible.”
Mu Zhouyi left with the violin.
Xie Yang inserted his hands into his pockets, squeezed them firmly and turned to sit down next to Long Shuyou. Then he took out his phone and called Wu Shui.
“Boss?”
“Come here to me.” Xie Yang hung up and pressed a hand against his temple.
Long Shuyou looked at Xie Yang and asked, “What’s wrong with you? Your face is a bit bad.”
Xie Yang’s expression was blank. “My stomach hurts. After all, I ate a poisoned apple at noon.”
Long Shuyou, “……”
Wu Shui came quickly.
Xie Yang stood up and told him, “Come with me to the toilet.”
Wu Shui froze for a moment. Then he nodded at Long Shuyou, whose expression was wrinkled, and quickly followed Xie Yang. Xie Yang shook the moment he got away from the crowd and reached for the shelf next to him. Wu Shui was shocked and stepped forward to help Xie Yang, asking anxiously, “What’s wrong with you?”
“I’m fine… maybe it is low blood sugar. Send me to the toilet and I’ll wash my face. If someone asks where I am then tell them that my stomach is uncomfortable and I went to look for a place to rest. Do you understand?”
Wu Shui nodded quickly and held Xie Yang to help him to the toilet.
The toilets of the studio were in good condition and had cubicles. Xie Yang sent Wu Shui to buy coffee and locked himself in a cubicle. Then he lowered the toilet lid, sat down on it and held his head tightly.
He once experienced the awakening of an ability. His brain swelled, his limbs became weak, his throat was dry, he became dizzy and he had difficulty breathing.
Xie Yang knew the next changes in his body. After a maximum of four hours, he would get a sudden high fever. In severe cases, he would fall unconscious. If he could hold on then he would gain an ability. If he couldn’t then he would die.
He took a big breath. He wanted to vomit but couldn’t spit it out. He couldn’t help holding the piece of skin just touched by Mu Zhouyi with his other hand and he gripped it tightly, trying to suppress the strange fluctuations that were still occurring.
He couldn’t let Mu Zhouyi discover that he was in the wrong state but he couldn’t hide here forever.
Qiu Xing…
He bit his tongue hard and a bloody taste instantly filled his mouth.
The sharp pain controlled his nausea and Xie Yang forced himself to sit upright. His swollen eyes were wide and his Adam’s apple moved up and down as he swallowed all the blood in his mouth. His eyes were full of cruelty.
No one could manipulate his life and his likes and dislikes, no one.
He didn’t know how much time passed until Wu Shui’s voice was heard outside the cubicle. Xie Yang raised his eyes and got up to open the door. He walked straight to the wash basin, bent over and splashed cold water on his face several times.
Wu Shui was taken aback by Xie Yang’s appearance and stepped forward. “Boss, you don’t look well. Is it really just low blood sugar?”
“I’m fine.” Xie Yang straightened up and looked at his face in the mirror. His eyes were red and his face was pale. He turned to Wu Shui for a tissue and wiped his face, slowly adjusting his breathing so no one would hear anything wrong. Then he said, “I probably haven’t adjusted to the environment here. Have you bought the coffee?”
“I bought it but it isn’t easy to bring coffee into the toilet. I placed it under the flower bed outside.”
Xie Yang went out to the flower bed, opened the coffee that Wu Shui bought and directly drank a big mouthful. The bitter taste and refreshing effect of the coffee slightly relieved the discomfort of his brain. The strange fluctuations on the skin of his wrist were also gradually weakening over time.
Xie Yang focused on the pain at the tip of his tongue and ignored his body’s discomfort as he asked, “How long have I been outside?”
“It is approximately 20 minutes. Boss, I’ll take you to the hospital for a check. You look really unwell.”
20 minutes. This meant Mu Zhouyi’s golden finger effect would last another 10 minutes. It was enough.
Xie Yang took a last sip of the coffee and threw the coffee cup into the trash. “Return to the studio.”
***
Xie Yang was blocked by Mu Zhouyi the moment he returned to the studio and Shen Yan was following behind Mu Zhouyi.
“Xie Yang, is something wrong? Master Long said you’re feeling a bit uncomfortable.”
Xie Yang placed his hands in his pocket and made sure that only the skin of his face was exposed to the outside. “Sorry for worrying you. It was just a bit of trouble.”
Mu Zhouyi’s tone became embarrassed as she replied, “Then do you want me to get medicine for you? Your assistant might not know where the pharmacy is near the studio.”
“It’s okay. I’m not feeling so bad now. Senior, are you looking for me?”
These words were in line with Mu Zhouyi’s intentions. She glanced at Shen Yan beside him and told Xie Yang, “Let’s find a quiet place to speak.”
The three of them went to Shen Yan’s dressing room and Shen Yan once again asked his assistant to keep watch outside. Xie Yang strongly suspected that Shen Yan had Mu Zhouyi’s good will skill used on him again. Otherwise, how could he listen to Mu Zhouyi so obediently?
The three of them sat down. Perhaps it was due to the duration of the skill almost ending but Mu Zhouyi started to explain directly from the moment she sat down. “Xie Yang, actually… I do have a good impression of Qinglin but I have always cared about his family background. I don’t dare show my heart to him. You were right in the car before. I shouldn’t take care of him just because I like him. I was too rude and pretentious. I also eavesdropped. I really didn’t do it intentionally. I just heard the noise downstairs and was worried about Qinglin’s body, so I went downstairs to check secretly. I barely heard a few words of your conversation. I know I was wrong. I’m really sorry.”
Xie Yang looked at Mu Zhouyi with surprise. She admitted her feelings for Feng Qinglin? What was this? She was unable to clarify so she simply admitted it to please the family of her future boyfriend?
Mu Zhouyi glanced at Shen Yan and apologized. “Brother Shen, I’m sorry to let you hear this. I will deal with private matters more carefully in the future. I’m also sorry for being in a poor condition this morning. I went back to the capital and ran into something. I was always uneasy so… I’m really sorry.”
Shen Yan frowned for a moment before letting it go. He shook his head gently. “It doesn’t matter. Everyone has a time when they’re in a bad state.”
Mu Zhouyi sighed with relief. “Thank you for your tolerance and consideration. Then let’s go out. Director Xu should be looking for us.”
The brief explanation meeting ended. Xie Yang noticed that the moment he walked out of Shen Yan’s dressing room, the strange fluctuations from his wrist disappeared. He glanced sideways at Shen Yan and asked, “How do you feel?”
Shen Yan gazed at Xie Yang strangely. “What?”
It seemed he was still influenced by the skill. Xie Yang shook his head and said nothing. He returned to Long Shuyou and sat down. In the following time, Xie Yang performed as usual. Only his face was worse than usual but no other signs of discomfort could be seen.
Two hours later, the entire day of shooting finally ended. Xie Yang returned to the hotel with the crew. The ease on his face disappeared the moment he entered the door and he directly leaned against the door.
It was as if his brain was burning. He touched his forehead and it really was hot. This happened so fast. He braced his feet and threw himself onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling with wide eyes.
He had to temporarily stay away from Mu Zhouyi and he had to find a quiet place to pass his awakening period… he turned over, pulled out his phone from his pocket and watched the passage of time carefully.
After an hour later, he finally moved. He called Wu Shui’s phone and spoke with his last remaining consciousness, “Come to my room and take me to the hospital. Don’t say anything. Notify Xu Heng of my illness only after arriving at the hospital and take a few days off for me. Remember, don’t tell the location of the hospital to anyone other than Xu Heng. I don’t want anyone to come to the hospital.” After this, he let go of his hand and passed out.
***
It was like his body was placed in a steamer. He didn’t know how much time passed but the temperature of the steamer finally dropped slightly.
Xie Yang opened his eyes. His body was still hot, the smell of disinfectant was floating in the air, the ceiling was strange and an IV drip was next to him. This was a hospital.
Xie Yang moved and noticed a familiar figure standing at the door of the ward with his back turned to this side. A faint voice drifted over from there.
“Mr Qiu, how is Xie Yang today?”
QIu Xing’s cold voice had a trace of mocking. “How is he related to you? Wu Shui, send Miss Mu away.”