AM: Chapter 52

Cheng Xia was filming when Pei Shaoze returned to the set. Pei Shaoyan was next to the director. He saw his brother and hurried over. “Brother, what happened at the company? Is it serious?”

Pei Shaoze explained as he walked, “An omega actor became pregnant and wants to leave the circle. I went to talk with him.”

Pei Shaoyan accepted this pregnancy matter very well. He calmly made an ‘oh’ sound and pointed to the filming set in the distance. “Cheng Xia and Shen Kai are shooting a scene together. Shen Kai forgot his words and NGed a few times. Director Liu asked them to go over the lines again. However, this scene is a bit more ambiguous.”

Pei Shaoze raised an eyebrow. “Ambiguous?”

“I just read Brother Cheng’s script. Qin Nian has already fallen in love with Lu Fengyang at this time. During the time when Lu Fengyang was asleep, Qin Nian secretly kissed the other person on the mouth. This means he will kiss Shen Kai later. The director says this should be an actual kiss and it can’t be a fake shot.” Pei Shaoyan lowered his voice. “Brother, I just listened to Screenwriter Xu and Teacher Lemongrass discussing the next script. It seems they want to add some kissing scenes.”

“……” A strong displeasure flashed in Pei Shaoze’s heart and he walked up to Director Liu.

Cheng Xia just happened to raise his head and the two people looked at each other. Pei Shaoze thought about what he had done to Cheng Xia during this period and was a bit embarrassed. He moved his eyes away uncomfortably. On the contrary, Cheng Xia didn’t seem to mind and showed him a shy smile.

Pei Shaoze sat down in a pretend calm manner. Just then, Director Liu shouted ‘start’ and Cheng Xia and Shen Kai immediately entered their roles.

Today they were shooting the scene of Qin Nian and Lu Fengyang going for a walk in the park on the weekend. Director Liu chose a beautiful place on campus and set up the appearance of a park.

Shen Kai opened a bottle of mineral water and drank half of it. Then he placed an arm around Cheng Xia’s shoulder. “Qin Nian, you took first place in the entire year again this time. What is your brain made of? How can you understand those messy mathematical formulas after listening to them once?”

Cheng Xia spoke seriously, “In fact, you’re also very smart. You will make progress as long as you work hard. Your mind just isn’t focused on your studies.”

……

The two people’s lines were fluent but Pei Shaoze’s eyes were on Shen Kai’s hand. This hand was gently resting on Cheng Xia’s shoulder in the intimate posture of ‘half hugging each other’ as he led Cheng Xia forward. As they chatted, Cheng Xia turned his head to look at Shen Kai. There was a bright smile on his face and he couldn’t hide the love in his eyes.

The scene of the two people walking side by side was very warm.

Lu Fengyang in the original novel had such a carefree character. He didn’t know that Qin Nian was an omega so he put his arms around the other person’s shoulders with a ‘good brother’ attitude. Shen Kai played the role vividly and it was very consistent. However, Cheng Xia’s admiring eyes toward him and the smile on his face made Pei Shaoze feel particularly uncomfortable.

This ‘the cabbage I raised is being dug up by a pig’ mentality made him frown.

Liu Xueyi noticed President Pei’s displeasure and couldn’t help asking in a low voice, “President Pei, did you think this scene wasn’t shot well?”

Pei Shaoze returned to his senses and his tone was cold. “It’s fine.”

Liu Xueyi couldn’t see what was wrong with President Pei and kept talking praise. “I think it’s great. President Pei, have you noticed that Shen Kai and Cheng Xia are becoming more and more like CP? They are a good match no matter what angle!”

Good match? Pei Shaoze didn’t think they were a good match.

Teacher Lemongrass smiled. “Yes, they are the living Lu Fengyang and Qin Nian. Both of them are very involved in the drama. The plot hasn’t reached the stage of confession but the ambiguity of caring for each other is about to overflow from the screen.”

Screenwriter Xu laughed. “If they weren’t acting then I would’ve misunderstood that Cheng Xia really likes Shen Kai!”

There was buzzing in Pei Shaoze’s brain and he didn’t hear the later praise. He only heard the sentence ‘Cheng Xia really likes Shen Kai’. He couldn’t help thinking of how Cheng Xia told him some time ago that there was someone Cheng Xia liked and would cherish this person in his heart…

Pei Shaoze was becoming more and more uncomfortable. It felt like the treasure he held in his palm was about to be taken away. Shen Kai looked really unpleasant to him. Why did this yellow-haired kid steal away Cheng Xia?

Liu Xueyi clapped his hands and shouted over there, “Shen Kai, Cheng Xia, it’s great. Continue to the next scene.”

The lights and photography were ready and the next scene started being shot.

Shen Kai and Cheng Xia turned to the next scene. There was a tree and wooden seat here. Shen Kai sat down when he was tired and lay back lazily. His hands were folded behind his back and he squinted as he stared at the sky in the distance. “I’m a bit tired. Let’s take a break.”

Sunlight spilled on his face through the gap in the leaves. Shen Kai’s face value was relatively high and he was really handsome when shot from this angle. Some time passed and he seemed to be asleep. Cheng Xia whispered, “Fengyang?”

The other person didn’t respond. It wasn’t known what Cheng Xia was thinking about but his ears suddenly turned red. He leaned over toward Shen Kai for a kiss when…

Pei Shaoze sternly shouted, “Stop!”

Cheng Xia stopped and Director Liu looked over in a puzzled manner. “President Pei? What’s wrong?”

Pei Shaoze’s expression was a bit ugly. He was very disgusted by the scene just now. He didn’t want to see Cheng Xia kissing others. The moment Cheng Xia was about to kiss Lu Fengyang, it felt like a needle pierced his heart and he instinctively called out to stop it.

Now the director, screenwriter, actors, and staff members were all staring at him. Everyone’s eyes were filled with confusion. They seemed to be wondering why President Pei suddenly called a stop. Wasn’t the filming going well?

Pei Shaoze returned to his senses and looked seriously at the author and Screenwriter Xu. “There didn’t seem to be this scene in the outline of the script that you initially gave me?”

Lemongrass smiled. “It’s true that the outline wasn’t very detailed but I have discussed it with Teacher Xu these days. I feel that Cheng Xia and Shen Kai have a strong sense of CP. Adding a scene of secretly stealing a kiss will make the audience feel sweeter.”

Screenwriter Xu also agreed. “Yes, after all, we are a love-themed school drama. Qin Nian always had a crush on Lu Fengyang. He secretly kissed Lu Fengyang after seeing this person fall asleep. Don’t you think Qin Nian like this is very cute and makes people feel happy?”

Pei Shaoze didn’t like it when his Cheng Xia was playing such a Qin Nian.

Pei Shaoze frowned. “The theme of Folding Paper is growth. You don’t need to rely on kiss scenes to attract the audience. Adding intimate scenes will be very abrupt. Qin Nian does like Lu Fengyang but he knows there won’t be any results with Lu Fengyang. This is why he has always kept this feeling in his heart. Do you think it suits his character setting to steal a kiss in public?

Lemongrass thought, ‘How does it not fit? Qin Nian secretly likes him so Qin Nian wants to get closer to this person. President Pei, have you ever been in love?’

Screenwriter Xu looked dazed. Most of the producers he met would take the initiative to ask him to add various intimate scenes for the sake of ratings and creating topics. Meanwhile, President Pei thought an intimate scene was too abrupt? The man sitting next to Director Liu looked calm and serious. He didn’t seem to be joking.

In any case, Pei Shaoze was the wealthy backer. It was very common for the producer to be dissatisfied with the script and made the screenwriter revise it seven or eight times in a row. It was already very rare that President Pei never interfered in the creation of the script previously. Now that he put forward his opinion, the director and screenwriter would naturally give him some face.

Liu Xueyi reacted immediately and smiled. “President Pei, do you think it’s better to keep our drama fresh and clean to the end?”

Pei Shaoze nodded. “Yes, I chose this script because the theme is positive and the two protagonists’ growth is touching, not for their love story. I previously searched on the Internet about school dramas with the theme of love. The audience is tired of the kissing and bed scenes. Why should we fall into this stereotype? Too many kissing scenes will only make people feel greasy.”

Everyone heard this and felt that… he made a lot of sense! Their Folding Paper focused on the growth of the protagonists and it naturally had to be fresh and clean. It would take the clear route among the school online dramas!

Xu Moran bowed his head in shame. “President Pei is right. The kiss scene really destroys the overall freshness and beauty of the drama.”

Liu Xueyi slapped his thigh. “That’s right! In Rong City, we used a lot of money on drones to shoot many spectacular snow scenes. Now we are in Ya’an and there are many beautiful scenery shots. The tone of the entire drama is fresh and natural. It was originally a light appetizer. If we add too many kissing scenes then it will turn into greasy braised pork!”

In addition to being a producer, Pei Shaoze also acted as the supervisor of the drama. The supervisor needed to check the overall direction of the drama and correct it in time when the script was off track. The reasons he put forward couldn’t be refuted. Pei Shaoze glanced around and spoke calmly, “Since everyone has no opinions, delete all the kiss scenes later.”

Screenwriter Xu wondered in a low voice, “Then should the finale also be deleted?”

Pei Shaoze thought about it. “Change the finale to a hug. The green trail is beautiful and the two people hugging will look very good.

Everyone, “……”

This was probably the cleanest of all online dramas. The two main characters filmed more than 20 episodes only to just hug at the end? However, based on Pei Shaoze’s theory, such a ‘fresh and refined’ drama might actually be a hit. After all, ambiguous scenes were overflowing everywhere. The audience was used to eating braised pork every day. If a light dish came out then perhaps it would make people shine?

Not far away, Cheng Xia’s ears turned red as he listened to the conversation between the chief creators of the crew. Did President Pei not want to see him kiss another alpha? Was this why he had the screenwriter delete all the kiss scenes?

In fact, Cheng Xia had felt really awkward. He really couldn’t say anything when facing Shen Kai. He tried to think of the other person as the one he liked so he could find a bit of feeling. However, he would feel sick in his heart if he really had to kiss Shen Kai intimately.

It wasn’t that he hated Shen Kai. Shen Kai was very nice and took good care of him. He just had a psychological sense of cleanliness. After discovering that he liked President Pei, he would feel sick at the thought of being intimate with other alphas. He thought of the other person’s mouth touching his own and Cheng Xia’s entire body became cold.

It was great that President Pei had the screenwriter delete the kissing scenes with a few simple words…

This alpha always protected him in such a calm manner, making Cheng Xia feel warm.

Since Pei Shaoze suddenly raised an objection, Screenwriter Xu had to change the scene on the spot. The scene where Cheng Xia lowered his head to steal a kiss from Shen Kai was changed to Cheng Xia gazing gently at Shen Kai from the side. This effect was actually very beautiful. Liu Xueyi was very satisfied with this and had the crew finish work in advance.

At dinner time, everyone went back to the hotel to eat together. There were too many people around so Cheng Xia just smiled and greeted President Pei before going to sit with his agent. As he sat down for dinner, Cheng Xia secretly sent a message to Pei Shaoze. [Thank you, President Pei.]

Pei Shaoze didn’t respond. Why did Cheng Xia thank him? He asked suspiciously, [Thank me for what?]

Cheng Xia’s understanding of the message was, ‘We have this type of relationship. What is there to thank me for?’

Thanks for what? The two people’s understanding had deviated again.

Cheng Xia continued to talk. [President Pei, is your body better? Don’t be careless at night. You should take cold medicine before going to bed.]

Cheng Xia’s concern made Pei Shaoze’s originally annoyed mood much better and he easily replied, [Yes, I know.]

At this time, Pei Shaoyan came back with his food. He suppressed his laughter as he leaned toward his brother’s ear. “Brother, you’re awesome. You’re so jealous that you don’t want to see Cheng Xia kissing someone else. As a result, you found a lot of high-sounding excuses to delete the kiss scenes. The writer, director, and screenwriter were all convinced by you. Awesome!”

Pei Shaoze slightly raised an eyebrow. “What nonsense are you saying? This drama is indeed a fresh style. If there are too many kissing scenes then what is the difference with the crude online dramas that use intimate scenes as a gimmick?”

Pei Shaoyan shrugged. “That’s true—but can you swear that you weren’t jealous?”

Pei Shaoze, “……”

He definitely couldn’t swear in such a childish manner.

Pei Shaoyan gloated. “You just looked at Shen Kai like you were looking at a rival. There is nothing wrong with admitting that you were jealous. If an omega I liked was kissing others then I would go crazy with jealousy.”

Pei Shaoze’s face was calm as he didn’t reply. It was because he found that he couldn’t refute his younger brother’s words. Was that inexplicable emotion just now jealousy?

No, he regarded Cheng Xia as a junior who needed to be cared for. Logically speaking, he shouldn’t interfere too much with Cheng Xia’s personal feelings. Then why couldn’t he stand Cheng Xia being too close to other men?

At first, he thought it was an ‘old father’s mentality’. Most fathers didn’t want to see their child fall in love at a young age and affect their career. If they saw their child being close to a peer then the father would naturally be unhappy.

Did he really have an elder’s mentality toward Cheng Xia?

What if the person standing in front of Cheng Xia wasn’t Shen Kai but a very good alpha who was capable of giving Cheng Xia happiness? This person had money and power, was handsome, and was willing to protect and take care of Cheng Xia for the rest of his life… would he agree to leave Cheng Xia with that alpha?

Pei Shaoze imagined it for a moment and realized he couldn’t accept Cheng Xia being with others. An alpha kissing Cheng Xia, hugging Cheng Xia, marking Cheng Xia…

He couldn’t accept it. In his heart, no alpha was good enough to deserve his little seedling.

How could such a hard-working, lively, caring, and warm young man be taken away by another alpha? Even if Cheng Xia was an omega male who could be marked or even get pregnant, this didn’t mean that Cheng Xia had to be with another alpha.

Pei Shaoze had a headache. He was surprised to find that he actually had a strange ‘exclusive desire’ for the seedling he had raised for a long time. If Cheng Xia knew this, would he be scared off by a ‘perverted uncle’ like Pei Shaoze?

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The author has something to say:

Cheng Xia won’t be scared away. Hahaha, he also has an exclusive desire for you Old Pei!

President Pei’s worldview has been refreshed √

Slowly understanding things √

Bonus ko-fi chapter

Proofreader: Cat