What to Do When Pretending to Be an Alpha Gets Exhausting [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 5

“Ji…”

Before they started acting, Ye Xingyuan was used to communicating with his scene partner first.

But before he could even speak, Ji Chu Xi suddenly grabbed him and yanked him down, forcing him to “thud” onto the cold, hard ground.

His knees went numb with pain, and his palms scraped against the sand on the floor, breaking the skin. A burning sting spread across his hands.

Enduring the pain, Ye Xingyuan stayed in character. He lowered his head, both hands pressed to the ground in a nearly crawling posture.

His body trembled with fear as he voiced his plea for mercy.

While prostrating himself, he deliberately let his cheek brush against the dirty ground, making himself look even more miserable.

“Your Highness, please spare me… I didn’t mean it, I really didn’t mean it.” His voice carried layered fear.

A servant who had done something outrageous, caught by his master, too cowardly to take responsibility—his desperation to survive was portrayed perfectly.

Ji Chu Xi stepped forward, grabbed Ye Xingyuan’s hair, and forced his head up.

“You wretched thing! I treated you so well—fed you, clothed you, housed you, even sent you to school. And you dare seduce the Prince behind my back?”

Ye Xingyuan’s scalp burned in pain.

But it didn’t affect his acting.

Tears of panic gathered in his peach-blossom eyes.

Because the role required him to be in a heat period, the corners of his eyes were red, and his face was flushed beneath the dirt.

Even in such a miserable state, his face was still breathtakingly stunning.

Ji Chu Xi’s heart gave a sudden jolt when he met those eyes.

Was this just a coincidence?

Why did Ye Xingyuan’s gaze feel so alive?

For a moment, Ji Chu Xi was almost suppressed by his performance.

But he quickly snapped out of it. Embarrassed and furious, he raised his hand and slapped Ye Xingyuan hard across the face.

“Pa!”

The sound echoed sharply.

A visible red mark bloomed across Ye Xingyuan’s fair cheek.

Xu Xiaopan clutched his bag tightly, afraid Ye Xingyuan would lose control and fight back on the spot.

Everyone held their breath.

But in the next moment, Ye Xingyuan’s performance stunned everyone.

He fully embodied the servant’s cunning, shamelessness, greed for survival, and lack of dignity.

Even though it was only a rehearsal, without costumes or sets, he still made people hate the character to the core.

His performance was extremely immersive.

In just a few minutes, he pulled everyone into the scene emotionally.

They hated his character, yet couldn’t help being drawn to his striking face.

Ye Xingyuan’s cheek visibly swelled from the slap.

The surrounding staff gasped when they saw Ji Chu Xi actually hit him for real.

Even during rehearsal he was already going all out—what about the actual shoot? Would he deliberately NG multiple times just to hit him more?

In this industry, such things were not uncommon.

People with personal grudges sometimes used “acting mistakes” as an excuse to repeatedly reshoot scenes just to humiliate the other party.

Everyone present—staff, actors, extras—knew about the feud between Ji Chu Xi and Ye Xingyuan.

So they couldn’t help worrying for him.

The rehearsal ended.

The director was very satisfied with Ye Xingyuan’s performance and praised him in front of everyone.

Then, seeing his swollen face, he suggested, “Go back to the hotel and rest today. Ice your face. Come back tomorrow after the swelling goes down.”

Ji Chu Xi left angrily, fists clenched.

When Ye Xingyuan and Xu Xiaopan were packing to leave, a girl with twin braids and black-rimmed glasses walked over and handed him a bottle of water.

He was slightly surprised and accepted it.

“Thank you.”

The girl said indignantly, “Teacher Ye, aren’t you angry? Ji Chu Xi went too far! He was clearly trying to take advantage of you.”

Ye Xingyuan smiled calmly. “Why be angry? Acting is acting. Ji teacher hit me because he’s professional and takes acting seriously.”

Ji Chu Xi happened to hear this as he passed by. His face turned red and white with anger, and he stormed off.

Ye Xingyuan curved his lips slightly and said to Xu Xiaopan, “Let’s go.”

Meanwhile, Liu Xiaojun hurried back to the car on the roadside, jumped in, and said excitedly, “Brother Chen, guess what I just saw?”

Zhou Yichen looked at the script in his hands. “What did you see?”

“I saw Ji Chu Xi and Ye Xingyuan rehearsing the scene—the servant betraying the master, climbing into bed, getting slapped by the princess… Ji Chu Xi actually pulled him down and slapped him hard!”

He even mimed the slap in the air, excitedly reenacting it.

Pei Yanchen paused flipping through the script. His long fingers pressed against the paper.

“You’re saying that’s true?”

“It’s true! Before I left, I even heard him tell a girl, ‘Acting is acting. Ji teacher hit me because he’s professional.’ Can you believe it? Saying something so righteous like that!”

Pei Yanchen frowned slightly. His expression turned cold.

Liu Xiaojun continued, “And Ye Xingyuan’s acting today was weird too. He even asked for your information before, and his eyes lit up when he saw you in the makeup room.”

Pei Yanchen recalled that day.

He had clearly heard it through the door: “I want all information on this Alpha within three minutes.”

And then the way Ye Xingyuan looked at him after opening the door.

Like it was their first meeting.

Like a wolfdog seeing meat.

“Brother Xing, does your face hurt? Should we go to the hospital?” a voice came from ahead.

Liu Xiaojun leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Brother Chen, they’re coming out.”

Pei Yanchen looked through the windshield.

Ye Xingyuan walked out with Xu Xiaopan. He casually tossed a drink up and caught it, then stopped a little away from the entrance and poured it out.

Xu Xiaopan asked, “Brother Xing, why did you pour it out?”

“The cap was opened. Would you still drink it?”

Xu Xiaopan’s face turned pale. “Did someone try to harm you? Was it Ji Chu Xi?”

Ye Xingyuan shook his head. “Not him. He’s impulsive but not sneaky. Besides, he was the one who even got me this role. If he wanted to hurt me, he’d rather just humiliate me on set.”

Xu Xiaopan looked worried. “What if it was poisoned?”

“Then I’d rather not risk it.”

He then casually tossed the empty bottle into the recycling bin.

As they left, Ye Xingyuan walked past a black Maybach. He thought it looked familiar but didn’t stop.

Inside the car, everything was tinted black from the outside.

Pei Yanchen watched him pass by. As Ye Xingyuan walked past, he suddenly turned his head and glanced at the car window.

Fair skin slightly dusted with dirt, yet still strikingly beautiful.

Long lashes, bright peach-blossom eyes—clean and vivid.

Like a delicate high school student.

Liu Xiaojun muttered, “He’s so annoying… but why does he look like he walked out of a manga?”

Pei Yanchen tightened his grip on the script.

“A manga character?”

“Yeah, like someone who stepped out of a comic. He looks that perfect… just a pity about his personality.”

In the makeup room, Ji Chu Xi still hadn’t calmed down.

He clenched his fist; his palm still tingled from earlier.

Even now, he felt no satisfaction.

It felt like he had won—but also lost completely.

His assistant carefully handed him iced coffee.

Ji Chu Xi knocked it away. The coffee spilled all over the assistant.

The assistant quickly knelt to clean the glass shards, apologizing.

Ji Chu Xi suddenly thought of what Ye Xingyuan had said during rehearsal:

“Acting is acting…”

He muttered, “What exactly is he trying to do?”

The assistant froze.

Ji Chu Xi snapped, “Get out.”

The assistant left quickly.

From inside came the sound of things smashing—glass bottles, cosmetics, expensive skincare products shattered across the floor.

The assistant quietly closed the door.

Author’s note:
Pei Yanchen opens his diary: Another day of secretly watching my wife.