Chapter 84: Not Acting—Suggest a Thorough Investigation

“It’s been a long time, Zhou Yi.”

At the MV shoot meeting for “Love Me or Her,” Zhou Xun, who hadn’t seen Zhou Yi since a brief gathering of mainland artists on Baodao last year, appeared before him wearing a simple, elegant wool coat and greeted him with a smile.

“Long time no see, Sister Zhou Xun.”

Zhou Yi, still wearing a black turtleneck sweater due to the weather not having fully warmed, looked up at the sound and stood, teasing: “What an honor—your presence brightens this humble place.”

“Such sweet talk—how many girls have you fooled?”

After handing her wool coat to an assistant, Zhou Xun greeted the MV director, assistants, and Warner staff before taking her seat as the female lead.

“Don’t wrong a good man, Sister—I’m a real, pure-hearted college student. I’ve never held a girl’s hand in my life.”

Smiling as he defended himself, Zhou Yi gave a subtle glance to the Warner MV director, who immediately handed Zhou Xun the completed storyboard.

“You really are a college student, but pure-hearted…?”

Zhou Xun flipped through the storyboard and smiled: “Someone who wrote this song? I don’t believe you’ve never held a girl’s hand.”

“Precisely because I’ve never been in love, I can write the most heart-touching fantasy love songs.”

Zhou Yi explained seriously the distinction between creation and reality—it wasn’t particularly funny, but Zhou Xun burst into laughter after one glance at him.

“Is this MV’s script based on your own life?”

Pointing to the opening plot summary of the storyboard, Zhou Xun teased: “The backdrop is your career setback on Baodao?”

Zhou Yi shrugged: “That’s immersion—half-truths stir more resonance. Besides, I hate that whole thing. Isn’t it fair to use it as a backdrop to beat a dead horse?”

In the original Tao Zhe MV, the male lead travels back and forth between Baodao and Shanghai for work; while already having a white rose girlfriend in Baodao, he meets a red rose in Shanghai who stirs his heart, matching the lyrics.

In Zhou Yi’s version, the plot direction remains unchanged, but subtle personal details are quietly inserted into the setting.

For instance, the text date at the start of the MV is exactly the day he was publicly ostracized by Baodao—anyone seeing “career setback, return to mainland” will immediately understand.

The character Zhou Xun plays is Zhou Yi’s white rose girlfriend from Baodao; Fan Bing is the red rose he meets in the capital.

Zhou Xun’s naturally fragile aura, enhanced by her acting, perfectly fits the white rose role—that’s why Zhou Jianhui suggested her for it.

As the symbol of dazzling allure, Fan Bing’s looks and figure easily carry the red rose role—the goal is to embody desire.

Of course, due to time constraints, most of the white rose and red rose scenes were shot in the capital, since exterior shots are minimal; any Baodao scenes needed can be added in post-production.

“Before I came, my agent told me she heard there were some bed scenes involving me. I was curious—how could an MV have so many bed scenes? Now I get it—it’s just lying under the covers.”

Pointing to the latter half of the storyboard, Zhou Xun wore a sly, amused expression.

Zhou Yi spun the notebook in one hand, lifted his head proudly, his voice loud enough to shake the rafters: “Sister, just tell me—is this a bed scene or not?”

A bed scene is a scene that takes place on a bed—that’s all.

Zhou Xun, who had been teasing him, laughed uncontrollably at his tone and expression.

When Fan Bing arrived at the MV set accompanied by her assistant, the first thing she saw was a scene of cheerful harmony.

“Sorry, Zhou Yi, traffic was heavy.”

Though not late, Fan Bing, well-versed in workplace etiquette, immediately lowered her posture and greeted Zhou Xun, the director, and others.

“Perfect timing—go over the script and storyboard. The first scene is you two female leads meeting at the same table for dinner.”

Saying this, Zhou Yi handed her the storyboard.

Shooting an MV is much like shooting a film—scenes are filmed by sequence, not by plot order, to save time.

“Mm, okay.”

Smiling, Fan Bing flipped through the pages while heading to the makeup room to get ready.

The plot of “Love Me or Him” is simple: a man torn between two women, ending with an open conclusion.

First, Zhou Yi’s male lead and Zhou Xun’s white rose eat dinner like an old married couple, then embrace affectionately before he leaves for work.

At the office, he receives a shocking blow: because his boss’s business in Baodao is failing, Zhou Yi, as a trusted employee, is sent first to the capital to open a new market.

After saying goodbye to his white rose, Zhou Yi, back in the capital, meets Fan Bing’s red rose—wearing a red sweater—while carrying his luggage to rent an apartment.

As he shuttles repeatedly between Baodao and the capital, the male lead grows weary, grows distant from his Baodao white rose, and grows close to his new red rose in the capital.

Sensing the threat, the white rose, Zhou Xun, travels to the capital to meet her boyfriend, and at a dinner he attends, she encounters Fan Bing’s red rose, who approaches her directly.

But the male lead covers it up well and escapes detection.

Back in Baodao, the white rose and the male lead live together but sleep apart—he constantly thinks of his red rose in the capital, and repeatedly cheats.

Until finally discovered, ending with a sky shot with no clear meaning, and one line: “Marry me.”

Due to Zhou Xun’s limited schedule, they prioritized filming her scenes alongside Fan Bing.

After all three leads changed costumes, Zhou Yi, who always appears barefaced in urban MVs, began his practiced, slick performance as a heartless man.

His gaze, so deeply sincere even a dog would believe it, nearly threw Zhou Xun off her lines.

During the scene where Zhou Yi, holding a teacup, flirts with Fan Bing by the window, Zhou Yi—with no filming experience, relying purely on instinct—showed zero mistakes.

Four takes, three times forgetting lines, yet he instinctively delivered one after another line of heartless dialogue.

Fan Bing, caught off guard, kept failing because she couldn’t quickly avoid Zhou Yi’s lips as he leaned in during the flirtation.

“Sorry, sorry, my bad.”

After several takes, Fan Bing herself was barely holding it together, apologizing repeatedly: “I just didn’t react in time.”

Watching from the side, Zhou Xun finally saw through this self-proclaimed pure college student: laughing, she teased, “Zhou Yi, others act—you’re just being yourself, aren’t you?”

“All these improvised lines—how many girls have you said them to?”

(End of Chapter)