Damn It! The Main Shou Turned Me Gay! (Showbiz) - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Crooked Thoughts

Three days after the teaser was officially released, the comments under Qi Wenyan’s bold reply on Weibo had already surpassed a hundred thousand—an internet phenomenon in the making.

And the screenwriter himself? He was currently working himself to the bone on set like a loyal little production donkey.

The casting phase had wrapped up. To capture the right scenery for Feng Xiao’s sect, the production had chosen a picturesque village in Fu’an as their first shooting location—lush mountains, clear waters, the whole idyllic package.

Outside a quaint homestay, under the shade of a straw canopy, Qi Wenyan sat wearing a giant straw hat, flipping through a script marked with highlighter lines. With a straight face, he stared at Xu Du and said, “Run the lines.”

Xu Du took a deep breath. “Feng Xiao! Let’s catch one of your master’s wild chickens for lunch!”

That was already his tenth take!

The air around them was deadly silent. Just as Xu Du was about to collapse into despair and attempt an eleventh try, Qi Wenyan finally opened his mouth.

Qi nodded. “Hmm…”

“Passable. Not as good as Xiao Chu, but at least the emotion’s finally right.”

Xu Du pressed his palms together in exaggerated thanks, practically ready to drop dead from exhaustion.

God knows how Director Li had discovered Qi Wenyan’s millionth hidden talent. His own acting might be tragically bad, but when it came to teaching others, the man was annoyingly effective.

After finally finishing the afternoon’s lines, Xu Du glanced around—no one nearby. Perfect for some juicy gossip.

He nudged Qi Wenyan, eyebrows waggling like mad. “Qi-ge, what’s the next step in your evil revenge plan? Give me a teaser. Can I join this time?”

Last time, despite the epic scale of the operation, he—the second male lead—wasn’t even involved!

Qi Wenyan tugged his wide-brimmed hat lower to shield from the blazing sun and spoke slowly, “What revenge plan? I’ve always been a peace-loving person. How could I possibly be the type to seek vengeance?”

Xu Du blinked. “?”

He asked cautiously, “Then what about Wu Feng and Wu Tianyi, those two uncles and nephews…?”

Qi Wenyan’s gaze turned cold. “Hah. They don’t count as people.”

…Brutal. Yup, still the same old Qi-ge.

Xu Du swallowed hard.

Qi Wenyan gave a small scoff. “Director Li flipped Wu Tianyi’s assistant. Got their chat logs with that greasy ‘oil tycoon’ and your everyday chauvinist. Planning to leak it the day we officially drop our character posters.”

Xu Du clapped. “Director Li is meticulous. That way we won’t even need to pay for trending hashtags!”

“But—” he paused, raising one hesitant finger, “the assistant with access to those chat logs… they were flippable?”

Sounded less like Director Li and more like a certain young master pulling strings behind the scenes.

Xu Du hesitated. “Qi-ge… don’t tell me you had a hand in this?”

“?”

Qi Wenyan turned toward him in disbelief. But his eyes softened almost instantly.

Looking downright benevolent, Qi patted Xu Du’s shoulder. “Have I been working you too hard? Got a fever? Why are you suddenly talking nonsense like this?”

Xu Du awkwardly chuckled. “Oh… So I guess… you haven’t made up with your family yet.”

Still, Qi probably had enough savings from script sales and acting fees to live comfortably—unless he was still sinking money into that needle-in-a-haystack personal search.

Xu Du and Qi Wenyan were closer than most people knew. The Xu family was a mid-tier power in Lincheng—nowhere near the old-money prestige of the Qi family that had moved overseas five years ago, but still within the same circle.

He knew that Qi Wenyan seemed carefree, but once the guy made up his mind, he was unshakable. No point trying to talk him out of anything.

So Xu Du sighed and changed the topic. “By the way, how’s your recovery? Seriously, if Director Li hadn’t brought it up, when were you planning to tell me you’d been in a car accident?”

“And don’t tell me… you didn’t even tell your parents?!”

Qi Wenyan froze mid-page. His brain went into overdrive.

Parents? Xu Du knows his parents?

Wait a minute… He has parents?!

Who are they?

Also, since when were he and Xu Du this close??

Qi’s genius brain spun furiously. His expression turned dark and complicated.

He let out a long, heavy sigh.

Xu Du immediately understood and patted his shoulder. “Makes sense. After you went all-in on becoming a screenwriter, you cut ties with your folks so bad they even froze all your accounts… Honestly, I don’t think I could’ve done it.”

Qi Wenyan gave a tragic little smile and said with deep sincerity, “To be honest, I’m kind of regretting it now.”

If even one of his cards had a balance above the activation fee, would he have thrown himself into a crew, ended up forming a dining buddy relationship with the lead actor?!

The sun climbed overhead, scorching even the shade under the straw roof.

Xu Du wiped his sweat and grumbled, “Why the hell is Xiao Chu still shooting? It’s way too hot today. Shouldn’t Director Li be considerate and call it a wrap early?!”

Qi Wenyan rolled his eyes. “Are you really concerned about Xiao Chu?”

Xu Du chuckled sheepishly and waved his sweat-drenched tissue. “Qi-ge, that’s my goddess, you know?! Bai Yingying! I only auditioned when I heard she was being considered for the role of Feng Shuang!”

Today was Bai Yingying’s first day filming as the female lead in Solitary Leaning. Technically she was the main female role, but she wasn’t paired with the male lead or any other character—pretty much unprecedented.

If you really wanted to stretch it, Xu Du’s character Zhou Yeyu might count as a one-sided admirer—a classic simp.

Speak of the devil—just as Xu Du finished gushing, a bold female voice rang out from behind:

“Oh wow, thanks for the love, my dude!”

Voice before person.

Startled, Xu Du instinctively shoved Qi Wenyan forward and jumped behind him, limbs flailing as he greeted her awkwardly:

“Uh… Hello, Teacher Bai! I’m Xu Du, I play the second male lead, Zhou, Zhou…”

Chu Zhiyu frowned slightly and subtly pulled Qi Wenyan to his side, saving Xu Du with a well-timed rescue.

He finished the intro politely: “Teacher Bai, Xu-ge plays Zhou Yeyu.”

Bai Yingying graciously shook hands with Xu Du. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Teacher Xu. Your songs are really great.”

Qi Wenyan subtly waved his free hand—the one still trapped in Chu Zhiyu’s grasp—and gave him a pointed cough.

But Chu Zhiyu kept a perfectly straight face, pretending not to notice he was still holding someone else’s wrist.

Qi tugged.

…No response.

Qi narrowed his eyes. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a long-dormant warning siren suddenly blared to life.

Chu Zhiyu seemed unfazed. He politely turned to Bai Yingying and Xu Du. “Xu-ge, Teacher Bai said she shares the most scenes with you and wanted to discuss them during her free time.”

Happiness came too suddenly, and Xu Du was too dazed to resist. He just nodded like an idiot.

Bai Yingying’s gaze lingered on Chu Zhiyu and Qi Wenyan for a second longer than necessary. She gave a meaningful smile and said, “Alright, little brother, thanks for walking me over. Didn’t you say you had something to discuss with Qi-ge? We’ll leave you to it.”

She waved, then walked off with Xu Du in tow.

Soon, only Qi Wenyan and Chu Zhiyu were left under the canopy.

With no one else around, Qi got straight to the point. “Xiao Chu, you dragged me away like that… where exactly were you taking me?”

Chu Zhiyu’s eyes widened, and he hastily let go, visibly flustered.

He had acted on impulse.

But he couldn’t help it. It had been hours since he saw any trace of himself in Qi-ge’s eyes. Meanwhile, everyone else got to be by his side.

Seeing the kid’s fragile expression, Qi Wenyan immediately understood.

Of course! There was no way the plot would just let him go this easily!

The kid still hadn’t given up on the unspoken rules seduction strategy!

Qi Wenyan had already accepted this child as a younger brother. Even without the plot’s influence, he had to protect him—make sure he didn’t go down the wrong path!

So he said sternly, “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to.”

Chu Zhiyu looked up, stunned. Qi Wenyan’s eyes burned like fire.

That reaction—Qi was certain—confirmed his suspicions.

If the timing weren’t so delicate, Qi would’ve called himself a genius.

Sure, he didn’t remember what he was like in college, but a kid this age who hadn’t been out in the real world yet? Of course he cared about his pride.

In the original plot, Chu Zhiyu only approached the shady screenwriter when he had no other choice.

Now that nothing had started yet, Qi Wenyan was determined to nip it all in the bud!

He softened his tone and said awkwardly, “Look, Xiao Chu… I know you might be facing some difficulties right now. But no matter what, those… uh, rules are a line you can’t cross, okay?”

Too embarrassed to say it directly, Qi hinted vaguely.

“And besides…” he added tactfully, “Even if you tried clinging to me, it wouldn’t work. You already have the most screentime in the whole show. The only thing I could do is give you a few extra lines, but Director Li pays you by episode anyway, doesn’t he?”

Chu Zhiyu froze.

With no reply for a while, Qi looked up to see the boy staring blankly. He smacked Chu Zhiyu’s shoulder and snapped, “Hey, did you hear me? Don’t zone out!”

Proper actor education starts with their debut! Today, he was going to straighten this kid out for good!

Chu Zhiyu lowered his gaze and solemnly replied, “I was wrong, Qi-ge.”

Qi Wenyan was caught off guard. “What?”

Chu Zhiyu looked him in the eyes, his expression earnest and full of genuine remorse.

“I was stuck in my own thoughts before. Thank you, Qi-ge, for turning me down and setting me straight. I’ve realized how wrong I was. I promise I’ll never try to take shortcuts again.”