20: First kiss scene

"Fairy Sister," Li Xiuwu looked at Liu Yifei with eyes full of adoration.

"Mm," Liu Yifei lowered her head, her face full of shyness.

"What are you two doing?" Zhou Xiaowen's voice rang through the set. "Are we filming or not? If not, get lost!"

Li Xiuwu and Liu Yifei were filming scenes at Mantuo Villa. While other scenes were fine, whenever there was a scene involving eye contact, Liu Yifei would have issues.

He looked at Liu Yifei helplessly. "I'm saying, can't you just be a bit more normal?"

"You're misleading me on purpose," she complained, pinning the blame on Li Xiuwu.

She didn't know why either, but she couldn't withstand Li Xiuwu's adoring gaze and would subconsciously dodge it out of shyness.

Li Xiuwu stood to the side; he wanted to scratch his head, but his hairpiece made him abandon the idea.

"System, let's negotiate. Can we not turn on the Charm Aura?"

The system remained silent.

"You two adjust yourselves. Let's do another take," Zhou Xiaowen said with a cold face.

"Where do you think I'm going wrong? I'll change it, okay?" Li Xiuwu looked at Liu Yifei; they had filmed this take more than a dozen times already.

"Stop giving me those bedroom eyes," Liu Yifei said.

She turned her head away, not looking at Li Xiuwu, her face slightly flushed.

"I'll try."

"Actors in position, everyone ready. Scene 12, Take 16, start!"

"Fairy Sister, I've finally found you." He tried his best to restrain the adoration in his eyes.

"Don't just shout whatever you want, talking about sisters and all that."

Zhou Xiaowen saw that Li Xiuwu's eye acting was thin this time. He wanted to call "cut" but ultimately kept quiet; for a TV series, it didn't need to be that nuanced.

Li Xiuwu breathed a sigh of relief and flicked her forehead.

"Your acting is still a long way off; you still need to practice."

"I'm very good. It's you who purposely led me to make mistakes." Liu Yifei rubbed her forehead where Li Xiuwu had flicked it, her eyes glaring at him.

Liu Xiaoli walked over holding Little Lion. "Alright, stop bickering, you two. Isn't it time for Xiuwu to move to the next set?"

"Mm," Li Xiuwu nodded.

"After finishing today's scenes, we're going to Yunnan tomorrow to film the Dali segments."

They bickered when together, but hearing that Li Xiuwu was leaving, Liu Yifei felt reluctant to part again.

"You're leaving so soon?" Liu Yifei tugged at his clothes.

"I'll be back after finishing the Dali scenes." Li Xiuwu ruffled her hair.

The filming process of the production was completely out of order, with various segments being shot interchangeably.

"This time I'm flying with the crew. I'll leave the car and Little Lion here. Auntie, please help look after them." Li Xiuwu glanced at Little Lion, who was kneading in Liu Xiaoli's arms.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of Little Lion." Liu Yifei took Little Lion from her mother's arms.

"Your master is leaving; he doesn't want you anymore. From now on, you'll stay with sister. Sister will buy you delicious food every day." She lowered her head to speak to Little Lion and kissed it on the forehead.

Little Lion suddenly looked at Li Xiuwu and struggled to jump onto him, where he caught it.

"You little ungrateful thing! Who holds you to sleep every day? Who bathes you? Who buys you delicious food?" Liu Yifei stood with her hands on her hips.

"Meow, don't you want meow anymore?" Little Lion ignored Liu Yifei and looked up at Li Xiuwu.

"No, I'm going far away right now and can't take care of you. I'm letting them look after you first." Li Xiuwu explained, but it was too complicated to explain clearly.

"Meow." It looked at Li Xiuwu and reached out its paw to touch his face.

"Don't make it look like a life-and-death parting." Li Xiuwu grabbed its paw.

"I'll bring you back some treats."

The next day.

Liu Yifei held Little Lion in her arms, her gaze tightly locked on Li Xiuwu.

"Remember to call me."

Li Xiuwu waved his phone and boarded the production's bus.

Upon arriving in Dali, Li Xiuwu's filming schedule became intense. He was the only lead on this storyline, so the plot was entirely centered around him, with many scenes every day.

Li Xiuwu's acting was good. Once the Charm Aura was activated, it was as if he had divine help. The filming speed wasn't slow either, and Yu Min was very satisfied with him.

"Director Yu, why are you looking at me like that?" Early this morning, as soon as Li Xiuwu arrived on set, he felt everyone's gazes were a bit strange.

"You brat, stop pretending. Don't you know what scene we're filming today?" Yu Min rolled his eyes at him.

"Of course I know, but I have the heart of an artist. It's just sacrificing a bit of my looks; I won't hesitate." Li Xiuwu patted his chest righteously.

"You brat, she's so beautiful and a year younger than you, yet you make it sound like you're the one losing out."

"Everyone's the same. She's a beauty, but am I not a handsome man? It's my first kiss too, okay?"

"Alright, get lost and go prepare well." Yu Min sensed Li Xiuwu's shameless side.

As time passed, Jiang Xin also arrived at the set. She looked over at Li Xiuwu, her face slightly red.

[Detected top-tier cauldron Jiang Xin, favorability increased to 67]

Li Xiuwu subconsciously looked over, and Jiang Xin abruptly withdrew her gaze, her heart thumping.

This man was too handsome. There wasn't much romance in their brief scenes, but his eyes were full of charm, leaving Jiang Xin somewhat infatuated.

A young girl's feelings are always like poetry.

"Sister Wan." In the stone chamber scene, the two were under the influence of an aphrodisiac. Duan Yu, played by Li Xiuwu, restrained his lust, while Mu Wanqing was completely lost in it.

"Cut." Before the performance even began, Yu Min had already called cut.

"You two are supposed to be confused by an aphrodisiac, not having a wedding night. Look at you both, all shy and bashful."

The actors watching burst into laughter.

"Yu Min, they're two youngsters. Isn't it normal to be shy? Back when we were young, we wouldn't even dare to take a second look at someone we liked."

Ji Chunhua, the leader of the Four Great Evils, said with a laugh.

Mu Hongmian, Gan Baobao, and Ye Erniang were also looking at the two with "auntie smiles."

"You know, Xiuwu and Jiang Xin are quite a match. A talented man and a beautiful woman, similar in age," Mu Hongmian teased.

"That's hard to say; how old are they, anyway?" Ye Erniang also chuckled. These actors were all watching the two youngsters' intimate scene.

Li Xiuwu stood up, feeling a bit embarrassed. Before filming, he had thought about the youthful and beautiful Jiang Xin—what was there to be hesitant about?

But when it came to the actual filming, never mind the cameras, all these actors were standing outside the frame watching. He really felt a bit embarrassed to go for it.

Being watched by so many laughing people, even he felt a bit inhibited, let alone Jiang Xin, whose face was completely red.

"Alright, everyone disperse. Don't pressure them." Yu Min saw this too and directly chased the other actors away.

"You two adjust yourselves well. We'll start in five minutes."

The two made eye contact, and Jiang Xin immediately lowered her head.

"Let's try to get it in one take," Li Xiuwu said.

"Mm." This usually outspoken girl was like a timid quail today.

"How are your preparations going?" After a while, Yu Min's voice came over.

"We're ready." Li Xiuwu glanced at Jiang Xin and answered loudly.

"Everyone in position. Dali Scene 64, Take 2, start!"

"Sister Wan." The two embraced. Jiang Xin, playing Mu Wanqing, had a flushed face, which fit the performance of someone under an aphrodisiac's influence.

Her hands wandered over Li Xiuwu's body, and she bit her lip, her face full of infatuation.

Mu Wanqing's clothes were loosened, revealing her Dudou.

Their lips pressed together.

[Detected top-tier cauldron Jiang Xin, favorability increased to 78]