Chapter 35: Du Mu’s Challenge

Du Mu wasn’t angry at all at the rejection. Instead, he continued joking: “I want to replace you, Su Xuan. I think I can act better than you. Rong Yan Zhi—I’ve seen your performance. Since I really like your bed scene, wanna watch me play Rong Yan Zhi and give it a try?”

Hua Na waved the script and roared at Du Mu: “I don’t agree!!!”

“Oh,” Du Mu replied coldly to Hua Na, then turned and grabbed a girl from the crew. Grinning, he asked, “Pretty lady, where’s the dressing room? Can you tell me?”

Hua Na took a step forward, ready to call someone to stop Du Mu, but just as he opened his mouth, Du Mu paused mid-stride. He tilted his head slightly, hands in his pockets, looking at Hua Na with a beaming smile: “Oh, by the way, even though I told you to curse my dad, I’m a person who values reciprocity. If you curse my dad, then all of your dad’s film and television works this year might not be able to enter any domestic awards, Director Hua.”

Su Xuan’s face paled. He leaned in and quietly asked Song Xiao: “Is that true?! Does Du Mu’s family really have that much power?”

Song Xiao’s expression turned serious: “It’s fake. That’s impossible. Film awards are very complicated. Although the Golden Tree is a crooked award, not all film festivals are like that. He can’t just make it so that a big director like Hua Wei can’t even get nominated for a single award this year.”

“But…” Song Xiao pursed her lips, annoyed. “But UK can indeed influence the direction of some awards. The Golden Elephant supposedly doesn’t, but Wang Muzhe’s Golden Elephant Best Actor award was still obtained during his UK period, and his competitors at the time were quite strong…”

She sighed: “So it’s hard to say.”

Du Mu wandered around the set like he was touring a park. After a full circle, he said, bored: “Oh, Shen Chao isn’t here. Forget it. I won’t act opposite a stand-in. Next time.”

As he brushed past Su Xuan, he leaned over and whispered in his ear: “Next time I’ll perform for you, Third Young Master.”

Su Xuan covered his ear and dodged away. Du Mu watched him, his eyebrows curved in a smile. He seemed unfazed by Su Xuan’s evasive action, shrugged, and left.

Hua Na sat dazed on a small stool, staring blankly. Song Xiao comforted him beside him. Hua Na looked like he’d been knocked senseless by Du Mu’s sudden blow—he hadn’t snapped out of it even after Du Mu left. Two of his associate directors had been replaced.

And from the looks of it, Du Mu had also set his sights on the role of Rong Yan Zhi that Su Xuan had.

Hua Na gave Su Xuan the day off, saying he needed to discuss some matters with Star Culture.

Yan Gang said if they were resting, he wouldn’t spar with Su Xuan. Su Xuan was rarely free, but now he sat bored and frustrated on the roadside, accompanied by Song Xiao, who was equally frustrated because she couldn’t shoot action scenes. The two of them propped their chins on their hands, sitting on the curb, letting out a long, deep sigh.

Yan Gang took off his shirt, wiped his crew-cut hair with a towel, and sat down as well. Su Xuan and Song Xiao’s eyes simultaneously turned to him, staring intently. On his left cheek was written [SPILL], on his right cheek [THE BEANS]—it was practically written on their faces: “Tell us what you know about Du Mu!”

Yan Gang wiped his face with the towel and spoke: “Du Mu… he acts pretty well, but he’s very picky about his projects—I mean, resources. Du Mu’s acting depends heavily on his mood and the character. If he doesn’t want to act, he won’t. If he wants to act, he’ll get the role by any means necessary.”

Su Xuan frowned and asked: “So he’s taken a liking to the role of Rong Yan Zhi?”

“No.” Yan Gang shook his head. “The role of Rong Yan Zhi rubs him the wrong way. Du Mu has a rule: he doesn’t play characters whose mother has died, and he rarely plays non-lead roles. Rong Yan Zhi is the kind of character he absolutely dislikes—the kind he wouldn’t even glance at. Plus, he’s the second male lead.”

Su Xuan’s brow furrowed deeper: “Then why did he come?”

Yan Gang stared fixedly at Su Xuan: “I think he came for Shen Chao.”

Su Xuan: “??”

Yan Gang continued: “Anyway, his attitude toward Shen Chao is really strange. He hates Shen Chao’s guts and basically won’t allow anyone to mention Shen Chao in front of him. But he still goes to see Shen Chao’s movies, and he watches them many times. The way Du Mu came this time, I feel he wanted to act opposite Shen Chao.”

Su Xuan was adamant: “Shen Chao can’t shoot films in the short term. How is he supposed to act opposite him?”

Song Xiao hesitated, looking at her phone. She awkwardly shook the notification she’d just received: “…Su Xuan, Director Hua just notified that Shen Chao will come tomorrow. Du Mu requested to audition for Rong Yan Zhi’s scenes, and Star Culture agreed. It was personally approved by Director Liu.”

“They agreed to let Du Mu and Shen Chao audition the scene ‘Kill Mother to Prove the Way.'”

Su Xuan was completely dumbfounded: “What?!”

The next day.

Hua Na was busy directing the crew to put the final decorations on the brothel set, all while sporting two enormous dark circles under his eyes. He turned to Su Xuan and said: “I stayed up all night reasoning with Du Mu… He said he’ll make you voluntarily give up the role of Rong Yan Zhi. I’m terrified, so I came to ask if you’ve been affected in any way? Like, has your company been…?”

Hua Na trailed off, but his meaning was clear—he was asking about threats or coercion.

Liu Pangpang hadn’t called Su Xuan, which meant Ye Tian Media was fine for now. Hua Na rubbed his temples: “…Eh, I called my dad last night. He said Du Mu’s reach isn’t that long, but who knows? Awards are sometimes influenced by just a tiny bit…”

He was referring to Du Mu’s threat yesterday about the awards. Su Xuan had privately asked Hua Na whether it would have any effect, and Hua Na explained today.

“Anyway, Su Xuan, I’m very satisfied with you. I don’t want to replace you.” Hua Na gave a bitter smile. “But a lot of the time…”

Someone ran over: “Director, it’s set up. Take a look.”

Hua Na took a deep breath: “Turn on all the lights. Call the extras to test the scene.”

Su Xuan turned to look.

Crimson light cascaded down like a waterfall. In the carved beams and painted rafters, there were singing birds and fragrant flowers, the rustle of silk skirts, and the soft laughter of courtesans. Fans fluttered in delicate hands, stirring the air. From the upper floors, window cloths flew out, embroidered with explicit pornographic scenes of lovemaking. Occasionally a soft moan or a pale wrist would slip out from a window, curling and gripping the window frame as if unable to bear the patron’s pleasure.

Above the entrance of this five-story brothel hung a signboard with elegant small characters: [Spring Peach House].

Rong Yan Zhi’s courtesy name was Spring Peach. This brothel was his birthplace, his final destination, the root of his being.

On both sides of the signboard hung a slightly crooked couplet. The paper of the couplet was pieced together from torn pages of erotic paintings, and the calligraphy was written over the images of entangled men and women.

The first line: “Come, sir, and smell the rouge between my tresses.”

The second line: “Come, miss, and taste the peach blossom beneath my hips.”

This was the place where Rong Yan Zhi would [Kill Mother to Prove the Way]. In this scene, he teetered between demon and human, between life and death, between enlightenment and obsession.

Hua Na murmured: “My father said this scene is the hardest. In this scene, Su Xuan, you have to be both dead and alive, become a demon yet seek immortality. You have to kill others and kill yourself. My father said that after Emperor Wang finished filming, he was dazed for over a month before he recovered.”

Su Xuan slowly exhaled. He turned and looked around, then asked: “Where’s Shen Chao?”

Hua Na said: “He went to change. He and Yan Gang both need to be in this scene. Du Mu said he wants to shoot for real, but Shen Chao can’t do such intense action scenes yet. How have your drills with Yan Gang been going?”

Su Xuan recalled, sighed: “I’ve gained a bit of ability to counterattack after being beaten.”

Hua Na: “…”

Hua Na fell into unprecedented worry: “But in this scene, you’re supposed to beat Yan Gang until he can’t fight back!”

[Kill Mother to Prove the Way] was about Rong Yan Zhi’s inner demon.

Rong Yan Zhi’s origin had always been his demon. People gossiped about him, saying he came from the lowest class. And [The Way]’s advice to him was also to [Kill Mother]. So Rong Yan Zhi grew even more obsessed. He believed that if he cut off this lowborn origin, he could prove his way and ascend to the highest class.

But when Rong Yan Zhi arrived at Spring Peach House, he couldn’t bring himself to kill his aging mother. He stood at the door with his sword, on the verge of falling into demonic madness because he couldn’t prove his way. The male lead happened to pass by and, thinking Rong Yan Zhi was about to turn into a demon and harm innocents, stabbed Rong Yan Zhi, who was completely off guard, with a single sword strike, severely wounding him.

See her son gravely injured, Rong’s mother was heartbroken. To help her son prove his way, she took the sword and slit her own throat.

From then on, Rong Yan Zhi fell into demonic madness, killing spree unleashed. He fought a great battle with the male lead until both were exhausted. He defeated the male lead, and at the last moment, his sword stopped an inch from the male lead’s eye. But he withdrew his sword and did not kill him.

Rong Yan Zhi set fire to [Spring Peach House]. Amid the screams of the scattering crowd, he stumbled and picked up his mother’s fan. From then on, he wallowed in the brothels and pleasure quarters day after day.

Yet in this wretched state, Rong Yan Zhi’s way was achieved.

He realized that within the nine classes, there were no distinctions—if there were no real differences between the nine classes, then living in the lowest of the low among the nine classes was exactly the same as living in the highest of the high. And he was even happier, like being beyond the ninth heaven.

And Bai Di, because he had severely wounded Rong Yan Zhi with that one sword, which led to everything that followed, felt indebted to Rong Yan Zhi. He often searched for him and protected him. Rong Yan Zhi found him annoying, but Bai Di had his own set of principles and remained unmoved. Whenever Rong Yan Zhi ran into trouble, Bai Di would descend from the heavens to help him.

This was also a crucial point of conflict between the male lead and the second male lead. From then on, Rong Yan Zhi often suffered chest pains because of Bai Di’s sword. And the male lead swore that he would never again easily raise his sword against Rong Yan Zhi.

The most spectacular part of this was the earth-shattering fight scene between Rong Yan Zhi and Shen Chao. For this reason, Su Xuan was sent by Hua Na to be beaten by Yan Gang every day.

Because Shen Chao was injured, it should be Yan Gang who would fight Du Mu.

Su Xuan thought for a moment: “Director Hua, how do you think Du Mu’s action scenes are?”

Hua Na glanced at him: “I don’t know about action scenes, but I know he’s a black belt 4th dan in taekwondo and has won awards. It shouldn’t be a problem for him to fight Yan Gang in this scene.”

Su Xuan: “…”

Su Xuan couldn’t help but think of Wang Muzhe, a national second-level volleyball athlete.

He might be in an entertainment industry full of athletes.

Shen Chao and Yan Gang both came out after changing. Yan Gang was actually a bit taller than Shen Chao, but both wore black clothes, so at a glance, the difference wasn’t obvious in the frame. Du Mu had also changed clothes. When Su Xuan saw Du Mu in costume, he was momentarily stunned.

Rong Yan Zhi’s costume was a white robe with a slightly open collar. Inside the collar was embroidered a peach blossom. When Su Xuan wore this outfit, it gave off a kind of delicate, otherworldly beauty. His features were elegant and refined, and when he acted, his temperament was free, romantic, and lighthearted, with a touch of naive, boyish charm. His flirting style was playful—smiling before speaking—which made people’s hearts flutter, well deserving of the nickname [Beauty Gongzi] given by fans.

But Du Mu was different. When Du Mu put it on, it was an overwhelming aura of peach blossoms. Su Xuan initially thought his features were more modern-looking, but this guy knew how to adjust his posture and gait. He pulled his shoulders back and leaned his upper body slightly backward, giving a lazy, boneless look. Paired with the costume and his appearance, the vibe immediately came through.

Su Xuan concluded with certainty: “His portrayal is more sinister than mine. He doesn’t look like a good person.”

…Sinister? What a weird comment. Hua Na’s feelings were complicated: “…Du Mu has good bone structure. He looks good in everything… Eh, with that figure, even if he took off his clothes, he’d probably look good.”

Du Mu had a model’s physique. Su Xuan had seen his Weibo posts of group photos with models at fashion shows, and Du Mu held his own. He already knew this guy had great proportions.

Wearing the same costume as someone like that was truly public execution. Su Xuan was half a head shorter than Du Mu, which made him a bit depressed. It made Du Mu exude a kind of adult seductiveness and tension, whereas Su Xuan looked like a carefree young lad fooling around with cats and dogs.

Even though Su Xuan was older, his features were too youthful.

But when Du Mu walked up to Shen Chao, that seductive, romantic aura was suppressed.

Su Xuan inexplicably felt that Shen Chao today was… hard to approach, cold and aggressive.

Shen Chao was very calm: “You want to play Rong Yan Zhi?”

Du Mu smiled: “Yeah, why not?”

“You and Su Xuan are too far apart.” Shen Chao looked down at Du Mu. “You can only play yourself.”

Du Mu’s face twisted for a moment, then he forced a frivolous smile: “Is that so?”

Yan Gang and Du Mu walked to the set together. Du Mu glanced at Yan Gang, squinted, and clicked his tongue: “I usually don’t act opposite stand-ins, but today… fine.” Du Mu looked at Su Xuan and suddenly curled his lips in a smile.

Hua Na saw the two of them in position: “Action!”

Yan Gang thrust his sword with unstoppable force. Du Mu was struck directly to the ground. The camera zoomed in on his face. The blood pack burst, blood scattering across his face. His eyes were unfocused, his hand clutching the sword at his chest, but he suddenly laughed wildly: “…Kill me, fine! Kill me!!”

Du Mu’s hand slid inch by inch along the sword. His chest pressed against the blade, his other hand holding the sword on the ground for support. Du Mu staggered to his feet, nonchalantly wiped the blood from his mouth, swallowed, and then grinned.

Hua Na and Su Xuan were both stunned. Hua Na suddenly realized: “Did he swallow the blood pack?”

At this moment, the actress playing Rong Yan Zhi’s mother let out a piercing scream, grabbed the sword from Du Mu’s hand, and slit her own throat.

Du Mu looked at the corpse with an indifferent gaze. That single look sent a shiver down Su Xuan’s spine.

Hua Na frowned: “He changed the script!”

Originally, Du Mu was supposed to rush forward to stop Rong Yan Zhi’s mother from killing herself, but he didn’t. Instead, he watched coldly as his mother committed suicide.

Du Mu walked step by step to his mother’s corpse, then kicked it away. He crouched beside her body, tilted his head and observed her for a moment, then suddenly coughed twice, laughed, and turned to look at Yan Gang: “Did you see? She’s dead…”

“She’s dead!” Du Mu’s eyes gradually turned bloodshot. His mind seemed to teeter on the edge of madness. He grabbed the sword stained with his mother’s blood and pointed it at Yan Gang: “Was it you who killed her?!”

All of this was Du Mu’s close-up.

Hua Na called cut and, with a grave expression, had Shen Chao replace Yan Gang.

Shen Chao held his sword and looked at Du Mu with an unreadable expression: “The sword that killed her is in your hand.”

Du Mu’s eyes suddenly became childlike. He seemed unsteady, stumbling back two steps, looking at the blood-covered sword in his hand as if puzzled: “Why did you stab me, but she died…”

Shen Chao closed his eyes: “She died because of you. I was at fault.” After saying this, he walked toward the corpse.

“You are at fault.” Du Mu grinned. He laughed, and a single tear fell. His voice was almost inaudible: “Then you should die. Stay away from her!!”

With that, Du Mu raised his sword, his eyes fierce and filled with unstoppable ferocity, aiming at Shen Chao’s neck with a vicious thrust.

Su Xuan couldn’t help but shout: “Shen Chao!”

According to the script, Shen Chao wasn’t supposed to take this sword! Yan Gang should have been the one! But before Hua Na could call cut, Du Mu attacked Shen Chao!

Shen Chao’s face darkened. Just as he was about to dodge, he saw a strange smile on Du Mu’s face. Du Mu twisted the sword in his hand, turning it in a curve, and then spun around to stab at Su Xuan, who was standing behind him unaware!

From Su Xuan’s angle, he couldn’t see the fancy moves Du Mu was pulling! Although the prop sword wasn’t sharpened, being hit like that could easily poke an eye!

Shen Chao’s expression changed. He sidestepped and blocked the sword with his own, clenching his teeth slightly.

Du Mu’s smile grew brighter. He pressed down with his sword, locking Shen Chao’s blade. Blood dripped from Du Mu’s eyelashes onto the peach blossom embroidered on his robe: “You should die. Why did you fight back?”

The people off-set were terrified.

Hua Na frantically shouted cut, calling people to control the scene, to get the actress playing Rong Yan Zhi’s mother’s corpse out, to prevent Shen Chao from stepping back and falling during their scuffle—Shen Chao’s injury wasn’t healed yet!

But Du Mu lightly scanned around: “Whoever dares to touch anything here, I’ll press down. Shen Chao’s injury isn’t healed yet. If I press hard enough and cause another bursting fracture, he’ll never recover for life.”

Su Xuan was furious. He rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward: “Du Mu! How dare you!”

Du Mu licked his lips and said softly: “It’s just a filming accident. Don’t get so worked up.”

Everyone froze.

As Du Mu said, with his ability and background, this could easily be whitewashed as an “unintentional” filming accident.

Even if Hua Na was recording, UK could still make sure the crew didn’t release the outtakes.

Even if they were released, so what? Su Xuan tried to calm down. It was just a moment of over-enthusiasm during a rehearsal; it wasn’t an indelible stain. Du Mu’s online water army team was incredibly powerful at twisting the truth—he had already seen that.

On Du Mu’s punchable face, it was practically written: “Sorry, money can make you do whatever you want.”

Du Mu turned back with a smile: “It’s rare to act opposite the great star Shen Chao. Tell me, why should you die? Where should you die? And how should you die?” He pressed down as he spoke.

Shen Chao’s expression was cold, but sweat beaded on his forehead. No matter how Du Mu pressed, his hand didn’t budge. Shen Chao calmly continued the scene: “Because your mother shouldn’t have died. I shouldn’t have struck that sword. That way, maybe you and she would have had a chance to live.”

Shen Chao was still acting opposite Du Mu, without a script. Du Mu was completely improvising, following his own instincts.

Du Mu seemed enraged by Shen Chao’s words. His face contorted ferociously. He screamed hysterically, gripping the sword and pressing down hard. The grating sound of the swords scraping against each other was audible.

Du Mu gritted his teeth: “You also know she originally had a chance to live! If not for you…”

Shen Chao looked at him: “Then why did you want to kill her?”

“She died because of you, didn’t she?”

Du Mu’s pressing sword stopped. He lowered his eyelids to look at Shen Chao, then slowly pulled up the corners of his mouth in a soft laugh: “…You’re right about that…”

He slowly released his grip. The sword fell to the ground. Su Xuan pushed him away from behind and supported Shen Chao, helping him off the set.

Su Xuan could barely contain his anger as he turned to look at Du Mu, who seemed dazed: “What the hell are you doing?!”

Du Mu lowered his head, laughing so hard his whole body shook. He laughed until tears came to his eyes. He looked at Su Xuan: “I was acting. I just got too into character. Don’t be nervous.” He raised his hands in surrender. “I’m done, I’m done. I have this addiction to acting—once I start, I have to finish. Sorry about earlier.”

“Great star Shen.” Du Mu grinned at Su Xuan. “Oh my, oh my. There’s actually someone who worries this much about you? I thought you never let anyone touch you and never talked to anyone? What, have you opened up?”

Du Mu’s eyes widened slightly as he looked at Shen Chao. His eyes were full of disgust, but the smile at the corners of his mouth grew richer: “Teacher Su, do you know what kind of thing this Shen Chao you’re supporting is? Don’t let your kindness feed a white-eyed wolf.”

“—In the end, the white-eyed wolf will devour you, bones and all.” Du Mu said softly. He reached out to touch Su Xuan’s face, smiling. “Teacher Su, why don’t you worry about me instead—”

Shen Chao’s face showed an unprecedented ferocity. He slapped Du Mu’s hand away before it could touch Su Xuan, his gaze cold and sharp as ice: “The audition is over. Get lost.”

Su Xuan was completely shocked. It was the first time he had seen Shen Chao lose his temper like this. His chest was heaving. Shen Chao grabbed Su Xuan’s hand tightly, staring deadly at Du Mu: “Don’t touch him.”

Du Mu casually wiped the bloodstains from his mouth with a few wet wipes, smiling at Shen Chao: “Alright, Teacher Shen. You acted really well.”

“I almost thought you weren’t the same Shen Chao anymore.” Du Mu shrugged and laughed. “But from the looks of it, you haven’t changed much, have you?”

With that, Du Mu beckoned his people and left.

Su Xuan stood frozen on the spot. Shen Chao bowed his head, still holding Su Xuan’s hand, gripping it tighter and tighter. At the points where their fingers interlaced, Su Xuan could feel Shen Chao’s hand trembling slightly.

In that instant when Du Mu was about to touch him, Shen Chao’s reaction was too intense—as if the one being touched wasn’t Su Xuan, but Shen Chao’s heart was about to be bitten by a venomous snake.

Shen Chao held on for a long time before slowly releasing Su Xuan’s hand. He averted his gaze slightly: “…Sorry, I scared you just now.”

“…It’s fine, it’s fine.” Su Xuan awkwardly waved his hand to show he didn’t mind. He flexed his numb hand uncomfortably and asked, “Shen Chao, are you okay?”

Shen Chao lowered his eyes to look at Su Xuan: “I’m fine. My injury has almost healed. Starting today, I’ll officially return to the crew.”

Su Xuan looked up in surprise: “You’re coming back so soon?”

Shen Chao stared at Su Xuan’s right cheek—the spot Du Mu almost touched. He pressed his lips into a thin line, then slowly relaxed: “Mm.”

If he didn’t stay here to protect Su Xuan, staying alone in the hospital, thinking about Du Mu coming to find Su Xuan, Shen Chao might go crazy.

He never wanted to experience again the feeling of being told that Du Mu had come to the set and chatted with Su Xuan—that crushing sensation in his heart.

Shen Chao’s gaze was too intense. Su Xuan felt nowhere to hide. He awkwardly tried to make conversation: “When Du Mu was acting, he could freely improvise extra lines and actions. Director Hua didn’t even call cut.”

Su Xuan sighed: “I felt that he truly hated his own mother, hated her to the point of wanting to kill her. But when she really died, he couldn’t stop himself… He acted quite well.”

This made Su Xuan feel somewhat frustrated—that such a scumbag could still act well.

Shen Chao’s eyes fell on the sword of Rong Yan Zhi that Du Mu had carelessly discarded on the set. His breathing was slightly irregular from the fight just now. He said: “Because he wasn’t acting.”

“He truly hated his own mother, and his mother really did die.” Shen Chao looked at Su Xuan and said, “He wasn’t playing Rong Yan Zhi; he was playing himself. That’s why his performance was so powerful.”

“But that kind of expressiveness is pathological.” Shen Chao commented flatly. “It will destroy an actor.”

Su Xuan was stunned.

He suddenly recalled a line Wang Muzhe had said to him: [This isn’t acting; it’s replaying a tragedy on the actor’s body.]

[UK directors like to let actors with relevant experiences play corresponding roles. For example, if his mother died, they’d make him play a character whose mother died…]

Yan Gang had told him: [Du Mu doesn’t like to play any role whose mother has died…]

Su Xuan was dazed, then suddenly understood. He thought of something, but found it both incredible and chilling, standing there dumbfounded.

After a few minutes of hesitation, Su Xuan tentatively asked: “What was the first drama Du Mu acted in after his mother passed away?”

Shen Chao was silent for a moment, then said: “‘The Orphan of Rain City.'”

After entering the hotel room, Su Xuan locked the door. He quickly opened his laptop and began searching for information about Du Mu’s background. Su Xuan hadn’t looked into the man’s history in detail before, only following netizens’ discussions about him and Shen Chao.

But now, Su Xuan started an all-out investigation into any information about Du Mu.

Du Mu’s mother died when he was twelve. She was a fairly famous actress but a flash in the pan. She still appears in many nostalgic compilations of ancient-style beauties. When Su Xuan saw this, he was also shocked—he never expected Du Mu to be Yun Jieying’s son.

This actress, named Yun Jieying, married into a wealthy family shortly after rising to fame, marrying Du Long, a major shareholder of UK. After marriage, she gave birth to a son, Du Mu. But later, Yun Jieying died of depression following a serious illness, jumping from the top floor of the hospital. The details were unclear.

Su Xuan focused on checking all UK productions after Du Mu turned twelve, any work featuring Du Mu.

At age twelve, Du Mu starred in “The Orphan of Rain City,” a niche art film, playing an orphan whose parents both died in a mining accident.

At thirteen and a half, Du Mu made a guest appearance in the youth campus TV series “Class Teacher” as a student who became radically different after losing his mother.

At sixteen, Du Mu played a young killer in that year’s Golden Bauhinia Best Martial Arts Film “High Mountain Flowing Water.”

This killer killed his entire family, including his mother. Du Mu received a Best Newcomer nomination for this role.

Su Xuan was breathless, his head buzzing.

Almost eighty percent of the time, in UK productions, Du Mu played roles whose mother died. This couldn’t be explained by coincidence. UK was intentionally feeding Du Mu these roles.

That’s right, feeding. By the later stages, when Du Mu played these roles—motherless or with mother dead under strange circumstances—his peculiar expressiveness grew stronger. Today it was so strong it sent chills down Su Xuan’s spine.

This… situation only improved after Du Mu turned eighteen, reaching adulthood.

Su Xuan saw on Du Mu’s performance record that he once auditioned for the young emperor role in “The Grey Dynasty.” That was the film that won Wang Muzhe his Best Actor award. The young emperor role was originally Du Mu’s, but he refused it, and the role fell to Wang Muzhe.

In that film, the young emperor eventually shoots his stepmother dead with an arrow.

This was the first time Du Mu refused the kind of role UK fed him.

Su Xuan stood up and called Wang Muzhe: “Hello, Emperor Wang?”

Wang Muzhe picked up, sounding in a good mood: “What, have you changed your mind about returning to our ‘Jewel Thief’ crew?”

Su Xuan said awkwardly: “No, Emperor Wang, I want to ask you about someone.”

“It’s about Du Mu.” Su Xuan’s voice was soft. “Can you tell me about him?”

The smile in Wang Muzhe’s voice faded: “…I heard he went to your set. What happened?”

Su Xuan held the phone with both hands, biting his lower lip: “…I wanted to ask about Du Mu’s audition for ‘The Grey Dynasty.'”

Wang Muzhe was silent for a long, long time, then said: “I can tell you, Su Xuan. Du Mu was… my friend during my time at UK.”

After Su Xuan heard Wang Muzhe recount Du Mu’s story, he lay on the bed, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling. His mind was blank, except for the ticking clock beside him and Wang Muzhe’s words replaying in his head over and over.

“…For ‘The Grey Dynasty,’ Du Mu himself didn’t want to audition, but the director selected him. As you know, ‘The Grey Dynasty’ tells the story of an emperor whose first empress dies, then he marries a beautiful stepmother, and the ambiguous relationship between the stepmother and the crown prince for power. The director chose Du Mu not only because his mother died—”

Wang Muzhe paused for a very long time, then continued with difficulty:

“—but also because Du Mu had a good relationship with his stepmother at the time. The director thought the relationship between Du Mu and his stepmother matched the ambiguous interactions between the young emperor and his stepmother in ‘The Grey Dynasty,’ so he chose Du Mu.”

“…The UK shareholder remarried, and that stepmother was Director Liu. Director Liu treated Du Mu very well, and Du Mu’s attitude toward Director Liu was also good. The director felt that Du Mu’s personal experience and the character were highly compatible, so he chose him.”

“So the director of ‘The Grey Dynasty’ was insane enough to ask Du Mu to ponder his ambiguous relationship with Director Liu to better get into character. Du Mu refused. He said he only regarded Director Liu as his mother, without any other disgusting emotions.”

Wang Muzhe let out a long, complex sigh: “But after Director Liu divorced the UK shareholder, she took a group of people and left UK, establishing Star Culture. Many in the industry say Shen Chao has been treated like a son by Director Liu, doted on and promoted. I’m not surprised Du Mu came knocking.”

“Du Mu… wasn’t this crazy before. The role in ‘The Grey Dynasty’—he gave it to me. He recommended me to the director, saying it was an opportunity for me.”

Wang Muzhe seemed distressed, his voice faltering: “And I took that opportunity, won the award, and then ran away, leaving him alone at UK. He probably considered me… a friend.”

“By then, Shen Chao had already been poached by Star Culture. He saw my performance in ‘The Grey Dynasty’ and recommended me to Director Liu. I couldn’t wait to grab any olive branch thrown my way to leave UK, so I… with Shen Chao’s recommendation and Star Culture’s help, I left UK.”

After listening, Su Xuan was silent for a long time before asking: “So that’s why he hates Shen Chao so much? Because he thinks Shen Chao stole everything from him? His stepmother and his friend? And that’s why he made the entire UK go after Shen Chao?”

Su Xuan asked in genuine confusion: “Did Shen Chao do something wrong by working hard and giving you opportunities?”

“Emperor Wang, I won’t mince words. Du Mu is your friend, but Shen Chao is more important to me than a friend. If Du Mu keeps this up…”

Su Xuan clenched his phone and said calmly: “I will definitely retaliate against him.”

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