Chapter 89: "Surprise!"

After breakfast, Zhou Ran and Li Mi each went their separate ways to play yo-yo. Both had their own matters to attend to; Zhou Ran would rest until the afternoon, then head to the film set.

...

"Thank you, Master!" After waking up in the hotel, Zhou Ran quickly freshened up, mainly to ensure he wouldn't be recognized at first glance. Once he was ready, he went straight to the set. A beautiful day began with work, and the sun was blazing on his way there, pouring its warmth onto him as if welcoming his return to the team.

In truth, while Zhou Ran made his way to the set, someone was quietly preparing a surprise for him.

He had expected the crew to have some small celebration for him when he arrived, but when he got there, everyone acted as if nothing had happened. It was as if he had never won any award at all.

Although Zhou Ran sensed something was a little off, he didn’t pay much attention to it. After all, winning an award was his own achievement; it had little to do with others. No one was obliged to celebrate for him. If someone did, that was wonderful; if not, it was perfectly normal, and there was no need to dwell on it.

Besides, Chef Huang and Zhang Xiaofeng had already sent their congratulations via text when Zhou Ran won the award.

Despite thinking this way, Zhou Ran couldn’t help but feel a slight disappointment deep down. Who doesn’t like to be praised? But he would never show it. He remained calm and focused on his acting, and such feelings were always fleeting, gone as quickly as they came.

Today, he was to film a scene where the protagonist celebrates winning an award—a segment meant for the final scene. However, the production didn’t shoot in order; everything was arranged by the director. Sometimes, the first day on set meant shooting the ending, and the opening scenes would be filmed on the last day. Scheduling depended on the director and the actors’ availability.

As time passed, Zhou Ran’s acting had improved considerably, but something was off today. Chef Huang seemed particularly dissatisfied with Zhou Ran’s performance.

Zhou Ran acted the scene three or four times, yet Chef Huang kept demanding retakes without specifying any errors, just repeatedly asking him to redo it.

"Aiya, Zhou Ran, what are you doing? Why can’t you capture the feeling? What are you thinking? If you can’t do it, leave!" By the sixth retake, Chef Huang finally lost his temper.

Zhou Ran was stunned by the outburst—it was unusually harsh. He didn’t dare argue, only nodded quickly and gestured that he understood, knowing well that the best course was to go along with Chef Huang’s wishes. If he started arguing, the scene would never get finished.

Quarreling between directors and actors was a taboo in the industry, especially since Zhou Ran was the male lead. He didn’t want all his hard work to go to waste because of a dispute.

He waited until Chef Huang calmed down a bit before preparing to act again. But then he noticed the expressions of the crew and other actors—strangely calm, as if they’d anticipated Chef Huang’s reaction and weren’t surprised at all. No one tried to intervene, not even Zhang Xiaofeng, who simply watched quietly.

From that moment, Zhou Ran felt something was wrong—a peculiar atmosphere hung in the air. Still, he didn’t dwell on it. His priority was to perform the scene well; otherwise, if trouble broke out, the set would be notorious, and word would spread fast.

He could already imagine the headlines: "Rising Best Male Singer Throws Tantrum on Set—Public Argument with Director: Is Fame Going to His Head? Should Young Audiences Look Up to Such Behavior?" Zhou Ran had already written the headline in his mind.

If this ever got out, the paparazzi would never let it go—of that, Zhou Ran was certain.

Collecting himself quickly, Zhou Ran began shooting the next segment.

But as filming continued, Zhou Ran sensed something was amiss. The actors he was interacting with weren’t reciting their lines. Zhou Ran glanced at the director, hoping for a "cut," but Chef Huang showed no intention of stopping.

"Do you know what day it is today?" the four actors asked in unison, leaving Zhou Ran completely baffled.

Their words were not part of the script at all; they were improvising, and Zhou Ran had no idea how to respond. Awkwardly, he replied, "What day is it today?"

No sooner had he spoken than the group grew suddenly serious and tense, gesturing for him to be quiet. "Shhh! Don’t speak, today is..." Their voices grew softer and softer, until Zhou Ran couldn’t hear them at all.

He leaned in to listen, but as soon as he did, they burst out laughing. "Today is the day we congratulate you for winning Best Male Singer!"

Their sudden cheer startled Zhou Ran; he hadn’t expected them to say that. As soon as they finished, the staff all whipped out small party poppers and set them off around him.

Even the formerly stern Chef Huang now broke into a smile, happily saying to Zhou Ran, "How was it? Were you surprised by our little celebration? And how was my performance?"

"Damn, you nearly scared me to death! That was really terrifying!" Zhou Ran said, patting his chest as he spoke to Chef Huang. He’d suspected there might be a surprise, but never imagined it would play out like this.