The Sickly Beauty Gives Up Struggling [Rebirth] Chapter 204

Lin Zhen, dressed in his heavy costume, had been filming for over three hours straight. By the time the scene wrapped, he was so overheated he felt nearly faint.

His face was scrunched up as the staff peeled off his costume to let it dry, leaving him in a thin inner garment.

Sweat trickled down his temples and cheeks, washing away the layers of set makeup and revealing the flush caused by the heat.

Squinting his eyes, he waved at Jian Fu, who eagerly trotted over with a chilled herbal tea.

Lin Zhen took it and gulped down several large mouthfuls before he started to feel slightly revived.

Standing beside him, Jian Fu looked worried. “Slow down—drinking something that cold might upset your stomach. Your face is so red—are you about to get heatstroke? Should we ask the giant panda to invent some heat-resistant summer costume for you?”

Lin Zhen barely managed to shoot him a glance but quickly closed his eyes again, too uncomfortable to respond.

The manager rushed over to support Lin Zhen, but Lin Zhen stretched one arm toward Jian Fu instead.

Jian Fu instinctively reached out and held onto Lin Zhen’s arm, letting him lean against him.

Using his other hand, Jian Fu lifted Lin Zhen’s damp, loose hair. “You’re feeling this bad? Are you going to be okay?”

Lin Zhen’s long hair was soaked with sweat, and the back of his neck was drenched. With his hair lifted, the slight breeze provided a bit of relief.

He quickly gestured toward his hair, signaling for Jian Fu not to let go.

So Jian Fu continued holding up his hair while carefully helping Lin Zhen to a shaded area under the canopy.

The location was challenging—vehicles couldn’t access it, so all the filming equipment had to be carried up. The actors only had the canopy for shelter.

Lin Zhen sat down on a chair and began tugging at his clothes, but with so many people around, he couldn’t undress completely.

The manager caught up, concern evident. “Have some Huoxiang Zhengqi. Are you holding up okay? Your next scene is in about an hour and a half.”

Lin Zhen nodded weakly and accepted the cooling herbal remedy the manager handed him, downing it in one go.

“Jian Fu, I’m going to lean on you for a bit to sleep.”

With that, he slumped against Jian Fu’s shoulder, his head drooping limply.

Jian Fu quickly steadied him, his hand brushing against the sweat-soaked shoulder bone. “How about lying down on my lap for a bit? I’ll fan you while you rest.”

Lin Zhen was too exhausted to refuse and slid down slightly, ending up lying on Jian Fu’s thighs.

Jian Fu instinctively tensed his leg muscles and carefully gathered Lin Zhen’s loose hair, twisting it into a neat coil.

He took the small fan from the manager’s hand and aimed it at Lin Zhen’s neck and face, drying the sweat on his skin.

Lin Zhen closed his eyes, feeling the cool breeze. Finally, he felt a bit more comfortable, and his breathing steadied.

Jian Fu lowered his head, watching Lin Zhen’s sharp jawline, flushed cheeks, pale lips, and tightly shut eyes.

As he fanned Lin Zhen, his hand would sometimes accidentally brush against his hair or face.

Lin Zhen was utterly exhausted and soon fell asleep. Even when Jian Fu touched him, he didn’t seem to notice.

Jian Fu didn’t dare move his leg. Instead, he kept gazing at Lin Zhen’s sleeping face, a subtle ripple stirring in his heart.

He’d fantasized before about romantic scenes in his love life, including his girlfriend resting her head on his lap, her long hair cascading down.

But now, it wasn’t a girlfriend resting on his lap, yet the flutter in his heart perfectly matched his imagined scene.

Cautiously, he reached out his hand, intentionally brushing it lightly against Lin Zhen’s cheek.

He quickly pulled his hand back, his heartbeat quickening even more.

Jian Fu felt a bit bewildered.

Was it because Lin Zhen was in costume, with long hair, that he had this wild urge to kiss his flushed cheeks?

While Jian Fu was lost in his chaotic thoughts, Lin Zhen slept soundly for almost an hour.

When the director called for the cast and the manager came to wake him, Lin Zhen opened his eyes, their rims still red.

Still groggy from sleep, Lin Zhen instinctively raised a hand, reaching out for Jian Fu. “Jian Fu?”

Jian Fu immediately grabbed his hand. “I’m here. What’s wrong?”

Feeling Jian Fu’s hand holding his, Lin Zhen relaxed, his arm limp. “Time to shoot. Help me up.”

Jian Fu glanced at the soft, fair hand in his palm, tempted to give it a bite.

Of course, it was just a thought. The next moment, he slipped his arm behind Lin Zhen’s back and helped him sit up.

Lin Zhen straightened, his long hair falling over his chest, his back still leaning firmly against Jian Fu.

Jian Fu supported him, their bodies pressed closely together—chest to back. Even in the sweltering heat, it didn’t feel stifling.

The manager handed over a bowl of mung bean soup, intending to give it to Lin Zhen, but Jian Fu grabbed it first.

Naturally, he scooped a spoonful and brought it to Lin Zhen’s lips. “Here you go, superstar. Open up.”

Lin Zhen tilted his head slightly, lowered his gaze, and drank the soup from the spoon.

Jian Fu scooped another spoonful. “Have some more.”

Lin Zhen obediently drank again, licking his lips after finishing.

Jian Fu said, “Drink more. Otherwise, you’ll feel overheated again.”

Lin Zhen let him feed him a few more spoonfuls before lightly pushing Jian Fu’s wrist. “You should have some too.”

Jian Fu didn’t hesitate and used the same spoon Lin Zhen had used to down the rest in a few gulps.

In the past, he wouldn’t have touched anything someone else had eaten, not even his parents’.

But now, he found the mung bean soup refreshingly cool and pleasantly sweet.

The manager looked at Lin Zhen in disbelief. In her impression, Lin Zhen was always humble and polite. Since most of the staff around him were older, he usually insisted on doing things himself, without a hint of arrogance or fuss typical of a top-tier celebrity.

Having worked in the industry for years, the manager was used to seeing stars who made a show of their status, some even expecting to be carried around like royalty.

But Lin Zhen, likely due to his upbringing in an ordinary family, had always been considerate of others’ hard work. For things like mung bean soup, he never let anyone serve him.

This was the first time she had seen him willingly accept someone feeding him.

This could only mean that, deep down, Lin Zhen saw the person in front of him as someone he was incredibly familiar with—someone close enough to rely on and with whom he didn’t feel the need to put up a front.

Three years of being classmates, and their bond was already this strong?

After resting, Lin Zhen was called over by the makeup artist for a touch-up and to get back into costume. He found a moment to ask, “Jian Fu, did I make your leg go numb while I slept?”

Jian Fu patted his thigh and stood up. “You’re so light. No way.”

Lin Zhen nodded but, after a pause, asked again, “Don’t you have work in District One to take care of?”

Jian Fu replied, “It’s vacation time. District One doesn’t revolve around me. Taking a few days off is no problem.”

The makeup artist finished applying powder to his face, smoothing out his hairstyle, and carefully tidying every strand of hair.

Lin Zhen added, “If you’re tired, you can head back to the hotel first.”

Jian Fu said, “I’m not tired. I think it’s pretty interesting here—something new.”

Lin Zhen then said, “Jian Fu, can you put my phone away for me?”

Jian Fu walked over, took Lin Zhen’s phone, and slipped it into his pocket.

Lin Zhen asked again, “Where’s the cooling patch?”

Jian Fu replied, “Didn’t you say earlier you gave it to Sister Mei?”

The manager quickly came over. “It’s in my bag. Here, here, here.”

She pulled out a cooling patch and stuck it to the back of Lin Zhen’s neck.

Lin Zhen used to rely heavily on her, trusting her seniority and experience, and he would ask her about everything.

But ever since Jian Fu started tagging along, Lin Zhen would call his name every few sentences. Sometimes Jian Fu couldn’t even offer much of an opinion, but Lin Zhen just seemed to naturally call out to him.

When Lin Zhen went off to film a scene, the manager smiled at Jian Fu. “Young boss, I didn’t expect you to be so good at taking care of people.”

Ever since she learned about Jian Fu’s impressive background, the manager had started calling him “young boss.”

Jian Fu raised an eyebrow. “Me, taking care of people?”

He found the compliment unexpectedly gratifying. Back at home, he hardly ever lifted a finger. His parents, Jian Changli and his wife, would always say, “You’re so lazy; no girl will want you in the future.”

Jian Fu always felt that was completely unreasonable. There were housekeepers at home, so why should he do chores? And when he got married someday, a housekeeper could handle things then too.

So, he never took it to heart. This was the first time someone had praised him for being good at taking care of others.

The manager added, “I think you’ve been taking excellent care of Lin Zhen—better than most assistants.”

Jian Fu chuckled. “Why are you suddenly so full of praise for me?”

The manager replied earnestly, “I mean it.”

Jian Fu suddenly realized he wasn’t incapable of taking care of others or too lazy to do so. It was just that, in the past, he hadn’t met someone who gave him the motivation to make the effort.

When he genuinely wanted to care for someone, he could do everything quite well.

If no girl ever wanted him, so what? Maybe Lin Zhen would.

Jian Fu didn’t even realize how dangerous that line of thinking was as he basked in his newfound sense of pride.

After a full day of filming, Lin Zhen finally wrapped up at 8 p.m.

The high-altitude location had extreme temperature differences between day and night. During the day, it was unbearably hot; at night, it turned cold and damp.

Lin Zhen changed out of his costume and into long sleeves and pants, looking like he’d lost a lot of weight.

He was so exhausted that he had no appetite and only wanted to collapse in bed at the hotel. But the director had emphasized that all the actors needed to eat and drink well—no dieting—so they could face the intense filming schedule with energy.

With this workload, any attempt at dieting would likely result in total physical collapse.

Back at the hotel, Lin Zhen showered and immediately flopped onto his bed, refusing even a sip of water.

When a person reaches the peak of exhaustion, they can develop a bit of a temper. The manager and assistant knocked on his door several times, trying to get him to eat, but Lin Zhen dismissed them with groggy hums and mumbles.

Finally, the manager had no choice but to hand the packed meal to Jian Fu, instructing him to make sure Lin Zhen ate it before 10 p.m.

Jian Fu sniffed the meal box.

The food smelled delicious, with a rich variety of ingredients and balanced nutrition.

He wasn’t particularly hungry himself, having drunk too much soda earlier and feeling bloated, but Lin Zhen had to eat.

So Jian Fu marched over to Lin Zhen’s bed and plopped down. “Smells so good. Take a sniff.”

Lin Zhen slowly opened his eyes and poked Jian Fu’s hip with his finger. “You’re wearing your outside pants on my bed.”

Jian Fu blinked. “Should I take them off, then?”

Lin Zhen: “…”

If he took them off, he’d be down to just his underwear.

What’s done was done.

Jian Fu grinned and persisted, “Really not going to eat anything? If you get any skinnier, there’ll be nothing left of you.”

Lin Zhen pouted and turned his head away. “I’m not hungry. Don’t feel like eating.”

Jian Fu, unfazed, scooted closer, holding the meal in front of Lin Zhen. “Then eat with me. I’m hungry.”

Lin Zhen pushed the meal box away, impatient. “You eat it yourself.”

Jian Fu refused to give up. “If you don’t eat, I’ll feed you by force. Scared yet?”

Lin Zhen buried his face in his pillow and wrapped himself tightly in his blanket, stubbornly declaring, “Even if you force me, I won’t eat.”

In desperation, Jian Fu yanked the blanket open, propped one hand beside Lin Zhen’s waist, leaned in, and whispered in his ear, “Then I’ll feed you with my mouth!”