Translator: Lan_ Editor: Efydatia

  Du Chun had shocked Qin Guan. The two of them had not even been introduced formally ever since they had joined the crew. Before Qin Guan could say anything, Director Hu Mei shouted at them.

  "Attention, everyone! The next scene is about to begin! What are you doing, Du Chun? Qin Guan? Get into position!"

  "Yes, madame!"

  The two of them rushed to the garden and assumed their positions. Hu Mei walked towards them from behind the camera.

  "Hey, Du Chun. Your eyebrows look weird. Qin Guan’s are rising like swords, but yours are hanging down! Stylist! Where is the stylist? Did you confuse their makeup? Young Emperor Han Wu has to look handsome."

  The stylist felt like crying, but did not. Du was born with drooping eyebrows. Shall I erase them and draw over them? Besides, it’s impossible to make him look handsome while Qin Guan is standing next to him!

  After talking with the stylist in low voices, Hu returned to the camera in confusion. Is it okay for Tian Fen to be more handsome than the emperor?

  She had no choice but to try. "Camera!"

  The two men began performing.

  Du Chun was both annoying and eager. He tried his best to compete with Qin Guan, but it was in vain. Although Qin Guan was wearing a plain costume and standing behind him, no one could ignore his presence.

  Du Chun was wearing his splendid imperial robe, while Qin Guan’s robe was dark green. He looked like a steady middle-aged official in it.

  He could read the young emperor’s face, so he knew what his nephew was thinking about. He was both a really clever official and a relative of the emperor.

  Qin Guan’s flexible performance made Du Chun seem like a greenhand in comparison. He was still a young actor though. If it wasn’t for Qin Guan, everyone would have thought highly of his steady line delivery and professional acting.

  Now everyone just felt disappointed though. Even Hu Mei didn’t stop for his sake. She knew that Du Chun would not be able to improve in such a short while, so an immature, annoyed portrayal of the emperor was acceptable. Everyone was inclined to be tolerant with young actors. Every actor had to go through that period after all.

  As the long scene was finished smoothly, Du Chun felt as if he was in a dream. I have potential! The director thinks highly of me! I’m not inferior to Qin Guan!

  He chuckled to himself for a few seconds before Qin Guan turned to him again. "What were we talking about earlier? Oh, right. About romantic confidence."

  Qin Guan wrapped his arm around Du Chun’s shoulders and pulled him away.

  "You don’t know much about the situation. My mind has always been on her. It was only a matter of time. I don’t want to keep it a secret from the public. I just want to tell everyone and weed out my real fans. The people that only care about my marriage are not real fans. They are just idiots, to be honest."

  Okay, that sounds reasonable. Could you please let me go now? Du Chun realized he had been pulled away from the set. Help! This actor is trying to kill me!

  Du Chun had finally seen Qin Guan’s true colors. He couldn’t handle a passionate guy like him. I wouldn’t have talked to him if I knew. Fortunately, my scenes will be finished soon. Then I can just hand over my part to Brother Chen Baoguo. He looks like he’s a tougher man.

  Chen Baoguo had joined the crew three days earlier and watched all the important scenes of the other actors with great interest. He had also read the script plenty of times and studied all the relative material.

  Even Qin Guan, who was a very hard-working guy, felt inferior compared to Chen.

  By then, the hardest time of the summer had come around. The whole crew was wearing shorts and tank tops and had sweat streaming down their backs. If one poured water on the ground, it would turn into a white mist before evaporating. Summer in Zhejiang was terrible.

  Unfortunately, the actors had to wear Han Dynasty costumes, which included long robes, layers of clothes and tall crowns. Thousands of years ago, the temperature used to be cooler, so people hadn’t suffered from heatwaves.

  Qin Guan had only two scenes left. Tian Fen was about to reach the end of his life. He was lamentable. He was funny. He had been both humble and glorious.