After Transmigrated as the Movie Star's Omega - Chapter 16

Shen Baibi looked helpless. “Stop messing around.”

Xia Ran fell silent.

Director Xu Ting was an internationally renowned director with over thirty years in the industry. He had directed countless movies, won innumerable awards, and was highly respected within the profession. Although Xia Ran didn’t have much overlap with the film industry, he held great respect for this legendary senior.

And now, Shen Baibi was telling him that this great director was coming over to their home as a guest tomorrow?

This meant they had to host the director and his wife.

Xia Ran felt a bit dizzy. What kind of hellish mission is this?

“Why are they coming?” Xia Ran was extremely confused. He had almost no personal connection to Director Xu.

Shen Baibi explained the situation: “I met with Director Xu today to discuss the next film. When we finished, he mentioned he wanted to drop by our home for a visit.”

Xia Ran couldn’t help but curl his lip. He remembered now—the man in front of him was Director Xu’s star pupil, a “Triple Crown” Movie Star he had personally cultivated. Their bond was deep.

Ignoring his look of disdain, Shen Baibi continued: “I’ve already agreed.”

Xia Ran grumbled, “How could you just agree like that without consulting me?”

“That’s Director Xu. How could I say no?” Shen Baibi replied crossly. “Besides, if I had consulted you, would you have said no?”

“No.” Just as Shen Baibi said, Director Xu was someone you simply couldn’t refuse.

“Then there you go.”

“But… but…” Xia Ran wanted to say more, but he didn’t know what. He couldn’t refuse, he had to agree—it was the same result regardless.

He leaned back against the sofa and ran a hand through his hair. “What is Director Xu coming for?”

He thought hard, and suddenly, a possibility popped into his head. “He couldn’t have sensed something and be coming here to ‘fact-check’ our relationship, could he?”

“You’re overthinking it.” Shen Baibi was impressed by his imagination. “Director Xu was abroad when we got married and couldn’t make it, so he wanted to take this opportunity to come see us with his wife.”

Xia Ran rolled his eyes. “Why is being married to you so much trouble?” The joint work projects were one thing, but now he had to host this legendary senior at home. It was high-stakes contact; if they slipped up even a little, they were done for.

“It’s not like I wanted this either,” Shen Baibi snapped back.

Xia Ran was too lazy to argue. His eyes darted around, and he snapped his fingers. “I’ve got it—Director Xu is a senior, so logically, we should be the ones visiting them! Call him right now and tell him we’ll visit his place tomorrow instead!”

Even though it would still be close contact, if they went to Director Xu’s house, any slips could be blamed on being in an unfamiliar environment. It would at least lower the risk.

“Do you think I haven’t thought of that?” Shen Baibi shook his head. “I suggested it, but he said it wasn’t necessary and insisted on coming over with his wife.”

“Oh my god!” Xia Ran was in despair. He remembered this director was nearly sixty; how did he have so much energy to travel?

“In short, we have to put on a show tomorrow night,” Shen Baibi said.

“Put on a show?” Hearing this, Xia Ran sat up, resting his chin on his hand as he looked at Shen Baibi. He curled his lips into a smirk. “But why should I cooperate with your acting?”

His tone was teasing, his face full of “beg me” energy—both smug and sly.

Shen Baibi stared at him for a moment before finally saying helplessly, “I’ll owe you a favor.”

“Is just owing a favor enough?” Xia Ran wasn’t letting him off that easily.

“Then what do you want?” Shen Baibi asked, frowning.

“Shen Baibi, watch your tone!” Xia Ran’s finger was practically touching his nose. “You’re the one asking me for help. Is this arrogant attitude how you ask someone for a favor?”

This was a classic case of taking an inch and wanting a mile. Shen Baibi’s gaze instantly filled with murderous intent.

Xia Ran’s arrogance flared even higher. “What, what, what? You dare glare at me? Believe me, I’ll pull out of the agreement!”

He was naturally flamboyant, and his delivery was perfectly arrogant. His sharp canine teeth made him look like he might pounce and bite at any second.

Shen Baibi pursed his lips, took a deep breath, forced a smile, and asked calmly, “Yes. Then, Lord Xia Ran, what else would you like?”

“That’s the right attitude.”

Lord Xia Ran’s temper was soothed, and he began to brainstorm ways to mess with the man. After thinking it over, he didn’t settle on a specific task. Instead, he held up his index finger and said, “You have to agree to do one thing for me.”

“What thing?” Shen Baibi asked.

Xia Ran wagged his finger. “I haven’t thought of it yet. I’ll tell you when I do.” An unspoken request was the best kind; it was a form of leverage. With this constraint, Shen Baibi would be a head shorter than him from now on. How delightful!

Shen Baibi clearly understood this logic as well. He didn’t want to agree, but the current situation didn’t allow him to refuse. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Fine. But I have one condition.”

Xia Ran raised an eyebrow. “Hmm?”

“Whatever you ask must not affect my reputation or my career.” Although he didn’t think Xia Ran would go that far, he needed to secure the agreement for safety’s sake.

“Deal,” Xia Ran agreed instantly. He didn’t intend to cause real trouble for Shen Baibi’s career; his main goal was just to pick fights in private.

Shen Baibi nodded. “Good. Since we have a consensus, we must cooperate well tomorrow.”

Xia Ran was about to agree, but then something occurred to him. “Wait! What time are they coming tomorrow?” This was a critical question that had to be cleared up.

“We agreed on 6:00 PM.”

Xia Ran frowned. “6:00 PM? Doesn’t that mean they’re staying for dinner?”

Since they were coming to the house, they couldn’t exactly take them out to eat. That meant someone had to cook…

He suddenly looked at Shen Baibi. “Hey, hey, hey, you don’t expect me to cook for them, do you? Impossible!” Whether he could actually produce something edible was one thing; whether he could serve it to guests was another.

“I’ll do the cooking. When they arrive, you’ll be responsible for hosting,” Shen Baibi said nonchalantly.

“You’re cooking? Can you even do it?” Xia Ran was skeptical. This man looked like the type who believed a “gentleman stays away from the kitchen.” He could cook?

What a joke!

Shen Baibi lifted his chin, full of confidence. “Of course.”

“Hmph, whatever.” Xia Ran couldn’t stand his smugness and nodded dismissively. But then, he thought of something else. “Wait!”

Shen Baibi was speechless at his constant outbursts. “Now what?”

“You want me to host them?” Xia Ran pointed at himself.

“Yeah,” Shen Baibi said as if it were obvious. “I can’t cook and host at the same time, can I? That leaves it to you.”

Xia Ran’s mouth fell open. It took a while before he could speak. “But I’m not… familiar with them…”

By the end of the sentence, his tone wasn’t so much reluctant as it was bashful and nervous. Indeed, when meeting such a legendary senior as a junior, anyone would be nervous. Shen Baibi could understand his feelings.

Seeing the usually high-spirited guy suddenly become shy and anxious was a rare sight for Shen Baibi.

He smiled faintly, his tone becoming gentle and reassuring: “Don’t worry about that. Director Xu and his wife are very kind people, very easy to get along with. Don’t be nervous.”

Xia Ran’s face was a picture of “I’m uneducated, don’t lie to me.” “But I heard Director Xu has a huge temper! Every actor who’s worked with him has been scolded to tears!”

Shen Baibi thought for a moment; those rumors did exist. He countered, “Who said that? I was never scolded to tears. And he only scolds people if they don’t meet his standards. It’s criticism, just with a stern tone—it’s not really ‘scolding.’ In private, he’s very kind and quite humorous.”

“Really?” Xia Ran still didn’t believe him. Was Shen Baibi setting him up to get yelled at by Director Xu?

“Why would I lie to you?” Shen Baibi was helpless. He could only reason with him. “Think about it: if Director Xu were truly as difficult as the rumors say, why would he come visit us? I’m his junior; he has no obligation to do this.”

Xia Ran rubbed his chin, musing. “That actually makes some sense.”

Shen Baibi sighed. “It makes a lot of sense.”

Xia Ran stared at him for a long time before relenting. “Fine. I’ll trust you this once.”

Shen Baibi massaged his temples. Communicating with him was exhausting.

“By the way,” Xia Ran sat up straight, looking directly at Shen Baibi. “Tell me more about Director Xu and his wife. The more I know, the better I can cooperate with the ‘acting’.”

However, after hearing this, Shen Baibi fell into a pensive silence.

Seeing his solemn expression, Xia Ran asked suspiciously, “What is it? Something else?”

Shen Baibi shook his head. “We can’t ‘act’.”

“Huh?” Xia Ran was even more confused. If they weren’t acting, what were they doing? Just being normal? Bickering and fighting in front of a senior would be a terrible look.

“Director Xu is a veteran director. His eyes are like a hawk’s. If the acting is too obvious, he’ll see right through it,” Shen Baibi analyzed.

Xia Ran nodded. “You have a point.”

“So, we can’t treat this as a performance.” Shen Baibi’s voice grew serious. “We have to treat each other as actual lovers. We can’t do the forced ‘public displays of affection’ like during the photoshoot or the live stream. Our interaction must be natural.”

Xia Ran’s expression froze. Him and Shen Baibi? Lovers?

So the difficulty level just went to maximum, huh?

Xia Ran stood up. “I’ve changed my mind. You solve the trouble you caused yourself. I’m going to bed. Goodnight.”

He turned to leave, but Shen Baibi grabbed his hand. Xia Ran was pulled backward, falling onto the sofa.

Shen Baibi loomed over him, his smile both elegant and dangerous. “Going back on your word isn’t being a good boy, little Xia Ran…”

The drawn-out suffix drifted into his ear, and a faint scent of green tea surrounded him. Xia Ran felt his tailbone tingle. He muttered, “I get it…”

“Good.” Shen Baibi’s voice was low as he pulled away.