Forcefully Doting On You - c69

 

Chapter 30

The slender waist under his palm was so slim, it could almost fit into his hand.

Heat burned fiercely in Gu Yunchen's eyes, as if he sought to envelope and consume the person trapped in the corner.

Mu Cai placed one hand on Gu Yunchen's shoulder, a trace of panic in his eyes. Even his voice couldn't help but tremble, "Zicheng, what are you doing?"

Gu Yunche took a deep breath, stumbling over his words, "Xiaobin, my parents said... said that the times are tough. They want me... want me to get married..."

As he said this, his gaze was fixed intently on the person in front of him.

Mu Cai's eyes contracted in shock. His bright red lips parted slightly as he gaped at Gu Yunchen in disbelief.

After a moment, he regained his senses, the color completely draining from his face. Mu Cai lowered his head slightly, avoiding Gu Yunchen's piercing gaze and forced a smile, "Isn't that a good thing? Zicheng, you've reached the age to get married too..."

Upon hearing this, Gu Yunchen forcibly turned Mu Cai's chin towards him, searching his eyes, "Even you think I should get married? Xiaobin, why would you think that? Did you forget about that night...we..."

Mu Cai promptly cut him off, "What else is there to do?"

The slender young man raised his face, revealing a pair of eyes that seemed to carry a layer of watery light on his pale countenance. Furrowing his brow, he looked both sorrowful and helpless, "What else can we do? Zicheng, we're not children anymore. Even if...even if I like you, don't you want to have children? Don't your parents want to hold their grandchild? Forget about me and find a girl you like..."

Before Mu Cai could finish speaking, he felt the hand gripping his shoulder tighten suddenly.

As he lifted his head, he saw a look of joy on Gu Yunchen's face, "You like me? You like me! That's great! That's great!"

Unable to contain his happiness, Gu Yunchen hugged Mu Cai tightly, as if he wanted to embed him into his embrace. Struggling for breath, Mu Cai couldn't help but smile when he saw the other's excitement.

However, that smile carried a hint of indescribable bitterness.

Mutual affection was supposed to be a beautiful thing, but it was nearly impossible for the two of them.

After his excitement subsided, Gu Yunchen quickly noticed something was off with his beloved.

Composing himself, his sharp gaze softened, "Don't worry, I'll handle everything you're concerned about. I'm not the only son in our family. My brother already has children, so it's not my responsibility to carry on the family line. If they want me to get married, I'll enlist in the army instead!"

Mu Cai's eyes widened in an instant, "Join the army? That could be life-threatening! No! You can't..."

"Shh, listen to me," Gu Yunchen gently covered the other's mouth with his hand, feeling the softness of the lips beneath his palm, which stirred up some restless thoughts, "I've heard that the government's army lacks recruits. I heard the treatment is really good. If you join the army now, not only will you eat white rice, but you'll also have meat on special occasions and receive two silver coins per person every month!"

At this point, he started making calculations, "Don't worry. If there's a real battle, can't I just run away if I can't win? When I save enough money, I'll come back to find you. I'll give a portion of the money to my parents, and the rest will be yours. We'll take your younger brother and move somewhere nobody knows us, and live our lives together. I have skills, I can make furniture for others to support you! I'll also build a heated brick bed in the house, so you can sleep warmly in the winter!"

Gu Yunche spoke with excitement and anticipation in his eyes.

His enthusiasm was contagious, and Mu Cai couldn't help but be taken in by the idea. He imagined the scene described by Gu Yunchen and found it very appealing, as he had lost his parents at a young age and raised his younger brother alone, with no one else to rely on.

However, although Mu Cai was tempted, he still hesitated, "Going to war is too dangerous. I'd rather not have those things and just want you to live well and be safe."

Touched by Mu Cai's words, Gu Yunchen felt the urge to give him a tender kiss. He thought about it, and that's exactly what he did.

A sudden kiss on the forehead made Mu Cai's eyes widen in surprise. He found Gu Yunchen gazing at him and heard him say, "However, I want, I really want to be with you. If I were to be with someone else, I'd rather die."

No sooner had he said this than he felt a cool touch on his lips. The man before him had a stern face, his earlier sorrowful expression gone as he wrinkled his brow and glared at him fiercely, "Don't talk nonsense! It's so inauspicious!"

Gu Yunchen began to laugh. He took hold of Mu Cai's hand, kissed it, and said, "Yes, I was talking nonsense! But I can't imagine being with anyone else other than you. Marrying another woman would be just cruel to her, and I can't do that. Now my elder brother is married and has children, and my younger brother is growing up. It might be good if I join the army. There will be one less mouth to feed at home. When I come back, all the girls in the neighborhood will probably be married, and my parents won't have time to arrange a marriage for me. Then, I'll seize the opportunity to whisk you away."

Seeing that Mu Cai was about to dissuade him again, Gu Yunchen quickly said, "I've already talked with the recruiters, and they'll come to take me soon. I initially thought that if you didn't like me, I would give up and leave to save you any embarrassment. Now that you do like me, I'm so happy!"

At hearing these words, a faint blush came over Mu Cai's face. Seeing that further persuasion was futile, all he could do was to caution, "Then you must be careful. I... I will be here waiting for you to return."

As he said this, his eyelids drooped, and his long eyelashes fluttered like the wings of a butterfly. There was a touch of shyness in him.

A tender feeling stirred in Gu Yunchen's heart. Just as he was about to wrap his arm around him again for some more affectionate moments, they heard a stern voice calling from a distance, "What are you two doing?!"

Both men turned around and saw Mo Hengqing approaching, a serious look on his face, "What does it look like, two men tugging at each other like this?!"

His gaze swept over the two men in front of him, then came to rest on Mu Cai's face.

Mu Cai flinched slightly.

He was somewhat afraid of this acknowledged elder brother of Ji Zicheng. Although there had been instances of two men together in their neighborhood, the neighbors, though slightly taken aback, didn't make a fuss. However, the man before them displayed a strong sense of rejection.

Moreover, Mu Cai always felt like this man didn't like him. Every time he looked at him, it was as if he wanted to devour him.

Gu Yunchen stepped in front of Mu Cai and asked, "Brother Fang, what brings you here?"

Having his view of the delicate-faced, pale, skinny young man blocked, not to mention not being able to see those eyes that resembled sparkling spring water, Mo Hengqing's mood instantly soured.

He coldly withdrew his gaze and looked at Gu Yunchen standing in front of him, saying, "People from the army are here; it's time for us to go."

"Do we have to leave right now?" Mu Cai, no longer concerned about Fang Ling, quickly poked his head out and grabbed Gu Yunchen's arm.

Gu Yunchen held Mu Cai's hand, also feeling reluctant, "Yes, I have to go. Remember to wait for me!"

Their clasped hands became even more irritating in Mo Hengqing's eyes. He coldly urged, "It's time to go." Then, he reached out his hand to pull Gu Yunchen away.

Gu Yunchen was yanked by him, almost stumbling to the ground. Seeing that Mu Cai might fall as well because of him, he quickly let go of his hand and shouted, "Remember to wait for me!"

The slender young man's brows furrowed with worry as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn't. He just stood behind Gu Yunchen and gently nodded as the latter was dragged away.

-----

"Cut!"

At Director Wu Feng's command, the three actors in the center of the empty space immediately dropped their character expressions. Mo Hengqing let go of Gu Yunchen's arm, and Gu Yunchen quickly distanced himself from Mo Hengqing, standing next to Mu Cai.

A fanatical gleam shone in Wu Feng's eyes.

He knew it! He knew he hadn't chosen the wrong people!

Even though Wu Feng usually makes award-winning films with intricate and heavy content, he doesn't dismiss films with a commercial nature when watching as a viewer. Some time ago, Wu Feng saw the movie "Snowy Kingdom", and he was instantly drawn to the character Yi Sheng, portrayed by Mu Cai.

Despite his youth, Mu Cai conveyed a worldliness in front of the camera. The detached and otherworldly aura emanating from him instantly caught Wu Feng's attention.

Especially at the end of Xiaoxue Jiangshan, the scene where Mu Cai slowly closes his eyes was exquisitely crafted. It was as if he had found the Yao Xiubin he had always been searching for!

Thus, he intentionally contacted the other's agent to invite Mu Cai for an audition today.

Wu Feng has discovered numerous actors, many of whom have been momentarily impactful, yet somewhat lacking during the actual auditions. To his surprise, upon meeting today, both Mu Cai's appearance and his understanding of the role exceeded his expectations.

It was truly an unexpected delight.

Wu Feng openly expressed that all three of them performed very well. He gave a brief evaluation and with it and added, "The film crew plans to start shooting next week, the production is tentatively scheduled for two months. I'm wondering if your schedules would allow for that?"

After speaking, he waited anxiously.

Wu Feng knew his films were more acclaimed than they were blockbuster hits. In other words, they won awards but didn't make much money. This film was particularly tricky because of its potentially sensitive timeline. It might not even get permission to be shown in China.

Since his films weren't box office hits and now lacked a country's audience, naturally, the pay he could offer actors was limited.

He wasn't worried about Gu Yunchen and Mo Hengqing. After all, they were already established actors, not affiliated to any agencies, with full freedom to choose their films. If they were here to audition, it meant they were truly interested in his movie and didn't mind the low pay.

But Mu Cai was a different story. He was a newcomer, just starting to gain popularity. It wasn't certain if his agency, Kaicheng Entertainment, would consent to him acting in a film that promised little profit.

As expected, Gu Yunchen and Mo Hengqing nodded agreement quickly. Mu Cai didn't speak, only turning to look at Su Xingyun.

Wu Feng also anxiously turned to look at him.

Su Xingyun, glancing at the company shareholder Gu Yunchen, calmly stated, "Yes, we have an opening in Cai's schedule."

Relief spread across Wu Feng's face.

Both parties were pleased, promptly signing the film contract. 

-----

A week later, Mu Cai joined the team.

The planned shooting period for this time was a little over a month, less than two months. Given that the structure of the story for 'Memories of a Small Town' was fairly simple and the scenes were not complicated, the shooting should progress quickly. Although the story involved war, there wouldn't be many large-scale war scenes in the actual frames.

After conducting the shooting ceremony, the official Weibo of the "Memories of a Small Town" crew quietly posted an update. Despite the possibility that it might not be shown domestically, it was still important for Mu Cai to promote it as one of the leading actors.

However, as soon as he reposted the crew's Weibo update and exited the editing interface, he saw a bright trending topic:

#Divine Couple Endless Love#

It was a hot trend for the couple pairing of Gu Yunchen and Mo Hengqing!

Mu Cai's eyes lit up.

Here comes the juicy part!

-----

Author's Notes:

Gu Yunchen: Cai Cai, let me explain!

Mo Hengqing: Don't listen to him; he's a philanderer!

Mu Cai: .... (What do your trends have to do with me.jpg)

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