Mad Dog

Chapter 21: Putty In Her Hands

Zhi Qi, with her porcelain-white teeth biting her crimson lips, hadn’t even had time to change her sandals as she rushed to the set with Qiu Mi. Her mind was blank along the way.

At the moment she heard “Jiang Qi’s in trouble,” her mind conjured up many terrifying scenarios, frightening herself pale. Her voice trembled as she asked Qiu Mi about the situation ahead.

But how could Qiu Mi explain?

He could only keep a serious expression, pretending to be anxious. In fact, Qiu Mi was genuinely anxious. He had followed Shen Lei’s orders to scare Zhi Qi into coming, but if Zhi Qi found out there was nothing wrong, she’d be furious… and Brother Qi would have to deal with him.

Qiu Mi felt like he was between a rock and a hard place, mentally exhausted. Now he had to ambiguously handle Zhi Qi.

The set was quite far from Lan University. Qiu Mi thought about Shen Lei’s warning to bring her by 1:30, and drove recklessly, almost running red lights. Finally, they arrived at 1:25.

His impatience made Zhi Qi feel like something serious had happened to Jiang Qi. Her fingers involuntarily turned white as she clenched them together, feeling like an invisible hand was squeezing her heart, almost suffocating her.

When they arrived at the set’s entrance, Zhi Qi couldn’t wait for the car to stop before running out. Even though she was wearing strapped sandals, she moved as if she were wearing sneakers, swiftly stepping forward.

“Miss!” Qiu Mi realized something was wrong and hurriedly called out, “Wait for me, you don’t know where to go!”

Zhi Qi had to force herself to “brake” her pace.

The two took the special elevator to the floor. The moment they stepped onto the set, Jiang Qi was preparing to get into character.

Somewhat persuaded by Shen Lei’s “earnest advice,” Jiang Qi had closed his eyes, trying to recall the sweet and happy memories that could make him smile.

But then he heard a chaotic noise. Whether it was his imagination or reality, Jiang Qi faintly heard Zhi Qi’s voice. The girl’s voice had always been soft and distinctive, with a hint of biting at the end.

“What’s happened to him?”

“Where’s Jiang Qi?”

…

Was it an illusion? Or was it real?

Jiang Qi suddenly opened his eyes and saw the figure in dark green not far away through the mirror. He stood up abruptly, and his eyes met the startled pupils of Zhi Qi as she hurried over.

“Jiang Qi!” The girl ran up to him like a delicate butterfly, looking worriedly up and down at him. “What happened to you?”

What could he say? Jiang Qi was somewhat bewildered. But the sudden appearance of Zhi Qi, even if it was bewildering, was far from the joy that couldn’t be suppressed in his heart.

Before Jiang Qi could reply, Qiu Mi came panting over as well, awkwardly laughing to defuse the situation. “Haha, Brother Qi is fine, he just wanted to see you.”

Zhi Qi was stunned, asking blankly, “Didn’t you say Jiang Qi was in trouble?”

…

The atmosphere became extremely awkward for a moment. Even if Jiang Qi was usually indifferent, there were seldom moments as ‘frozen’ as this one. Qiu Mi felt his hair stand on end, completely at a loss. Oh dear, he was just following Director Shen’s instructions! How did he end up taking the blame?

Qiu Mi felt numb from head to toe, completely clueless.

Fortunately, Zhi Qi was like an angel, and after she realized something was wrong with the atmosphere, she guessed what was going on. She breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt somewhat bemused. However, she couldn’t help but feel that Jiang Qi’s gaze on the little assistant was quite intimidating.

Zhi Qi thought for a moment, then reached out and tugged at Jiang Qi’s sleeve. “Hey.”

One word could thaw the Arctic.

“Hmm?” Jiang Qi forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart, adjusting his expression before turning his head to look at Zhi Qi, his eyes softening with a hint of hostility. The girl tilted her head slightly, her porcelain-white teeth biting her lip gently, looking pure and obedient as she gazed at him.

“It’s my first time on set.” Zhi Qi smiled. “Could you show me around?”

Qiu Mi was about to be moved to tears by her request!

Of course, Jiang Qi would agree without hesitation. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Shen Lei, not far away, urged them.

“It’s time,” the man called out.

…

Jiang Qi felt another surge of anger in his heart, but unfortunately, it was truly one thirty now.

Zhi Qi tilted her head, curious. “Time for what?”

“An audition,” Jiang Qi said, hastily adding, “It’ll be quick. Can you… wait for me?”

His words seemed to imply a fear that Zhi Qi might just leave. Suppressing her laughter, the girl nodded. “Sure, is it your audition?”

Jiang Qi made a sound of agreement.

Zhi Qi’s eyes lit up. “Great, can I watch?”

Jiang Qi certainly couldn’t say no. After all, he never refused Zhi Qi, and he couldn’t control her actions either. But… for the first time in his brief ‘acting career’, he felt nervous, just at the thought of Zhi Qi watching him. Taking a deep breath, Jiang Qi adjusted his emotions several times, forcing himself to remember the script before walking towards the camera.

Just before it officially began, Shen Lei saw Zhi Qi following behind him. His eyes lit up, and he grabbed Jiang Qi’s arm, lowering his voice. “If you can’t smile at the end of the audition, look at your little girl.”

Jiang Qi was slightly taken aback. He was extremely intelligent, but it wasn’t until now that he realized why Zhi Qi was here.

So everything was arranged by this old fox.

Before stepping up, Jiang Qi couldn’t help but glance at Zhi Qi again. The girl stood next to Qiu Mi, her dark eyes fixed on him intently. With a mixture of affection and playfulness, she seemed to melt anyone’s heart in an instant.

In a daze, Jiang Qi seemed to have figured out how to ‘smile’.

Just the thought of Zhi Qi made him smile naturally, and all the embarrassment and awkwardness from before disappeared in an instant. Jiang Qi walked up to the camera and began his solo performance. He followed the script methodically, almost completely immersed in his own world.

*

The young man was slender, wearing only a thin shirt. When he faced the mirror, his straight back revealed the slight protrusion of his shoulder blades, so thin that it almost evoked a sense of pity. But his expression between his eyebrows was not like this. Although the young man felt like he was a girl, there was a stubbornness in his softness.

A famous actor once said that the most charming quality of male actors is the vulnerability that makes people want to destroy them, while female actors have a sense of stubbornness.

Jiang Qi was a male actor, but his current role was a ‘gender dysphoria patient,’ so he needed to adjust his mindset to truly believe that the character he was playing was a girl. What he was seeking now was the stubbornness that female actors needed the most.

Qu Heng, behind the camera, watched without blinking, realizing for the first time what a ‘genius actor’ was. These actors, relying solely on talent, were not constrained by the rules and regulations of teaching. They had an innate sensitivity and knew exactly what the audience wanted to see and expressed it most accurately.

That’s what an actor is. Just two simple words, but some people can never achieve it in their lifetime, while others can understand it in an instant.

God was unfair when creating people.

The entire audition set was silent, with everyone staring blankly at Jiang Qi’s performance, their thoughts drawn into the world he had created. And Zhi Qi was the only ‘outsider’ in the entire set. Here, she was the only one who didn’t know the content of the audition script, so at first, she could only watch Jiang Qi’s performance blindly, like feeling an elephant in the dark.

She watched the young man sitting in front of the mirror, as if his whole demeanor had changed. The usually tough and aloof ‘mad boy’ softened, grooming himself in front of the mirror like a girl. This was a performance without props, without anyone to act with. The young man had to find his feelings all by himself.

At first, Zhi Qi didn’t understand what Jiang Qi was doing or how he became like a girl, but gradually, she got into it.

Except for Jiang Qi in front of the camera, there was only a mirror and a bed. The young man didn’t deliberately imitate the obvious features of a woman, such as affected walking postures, etc. He just seemed very satisfied after ‘dressing up’ in front of the mirror and walked around the room.

Then the young man sat down, his long legs lightly crossed as he lit a cigarette. It was still the prestigious Huanhe brand he was used to. Jiang Qi bit the cigarette, held between two fingers. Only the knowledgeable could understand that this was the posture of a woman smoking.

The young man didn’t do it deliberately, but the details were meticulous—Jiang Qi’s mind was extremely sharp, and basically all the small details were not particularly observed in daily life, but were recorded bit by bit. For example, during those days in prison, what couldn’t be seen? After finishing a cigarette, the expression between the young man’s brows seemed unusually content.

Then he stood up, walked to the edge of the bed, opened his arms, and fell back, letting his body sprawl freely on the large bed. His movements were like a graceful bird, joyful and free. Unconsciously, it was time for the final scene of the audition.

Jiang Qi needed to lie on the bed, laughing happily and contentedly.

Shen Lei suddenly snapped out of the scene, becoming nervous. He subconsciously looked towards the ‘savior’ he had brought in, but was surprised to find that at some point, tears were streaming down Zhi Qi’s face.

The young girl bit her finger joints to suppress her voice, but she couldn’t help whimpering softly, and even her shoulders were trembling slightly. She didn’t know what Jiang Qi was performing, but Zhi Qi could always sense his inner feelings, feeling Jiang Qi’s loneliness and discomfort.

Zhi Qi had already guessed that the character Jiang Qi was portraying was probably a unhappy and pitiful person, so she couldn’t help but cry along with the performance. Shen Lei couldn’t help but frown with a headache, thinking this was bad. If this girl cried, how could Jiang Qi still smile?

—But flowers can bloom on cliffs and steep slopes, and surprises often happen when least expected.

In the last scene, Jiang Qi turned his head slightly and saw Zhi Qi’s dark green figure from afar. Suddenly, his thoughts were drawn back to scenes from several years ago.

He finally remembered the most beautiful moments.

About himself and Zhi Qi—meeting, reuniting, liking each other, making promises. Jiang Qi smiled from the bottom of his heart, his light-colored eyes filled with madness and contentment. This was also the first smile captured by the media after he entered the public eye.

But only a few people knew that he was just smiling at Zhi Qi.