Chapter 163: Incestuous Brother Obsession Has No Future

An unrestrained sense of excitement rippled across the dining table. Mo Qi paused slightly, chopsticks in hand, before resuming her congee as if nothing were amiss.

Xi Miaomiao, sitting beside her, noticed something unusual. "Sister Mo Qi, what's wrong?"

Mo Qi smiled faintly. "It's nothing. Don't you love egg yolks? Here, have this."

"I knew Sister Mo Qi was the best." Xi Miaomiao happily picked up the egg yolk and popped it into her mouth.

If there was one person at the table whose reaction to Shen Yijue's appearance was completely normal and indifferent, it had to be Xi Miaomiao.

In the eyes of a true foodie, handsome men could never surpass good food.

Shen Yijue arrived alongside Tang Bin, his gaze immediately locking onto Mo Qi as she lowered her head to eat.

Tang Bin glanced between Mo Qi and Shen Yijue, a malicious, cold smile flashing across the corner of his eye.

Taking a couple of quick strides forward, Tang Bin smiled and said, "Mo Qi, how are your injuries? When you suddenly canceled your leave and came back, both the Heavenly King Shen and I were terribly worried. Right, Heavenly King Shen?"

Shen Yijue gave him a blank look and said nothing.

Mo Qi ground her teeth, mentally running through eighteen generations of Tang Bin's ancestors, but on the surface, she simply put down her chopsticks and offered a natural, half-joking smile. "If Director Tang is really that eager for me to take a leave of absence, I would certainly be more than willing to oblige."

Tang Bin shrugged with a look of profound regret. "If I were as wealthy and capable of making money as Heavenly King Shen, I would definitely want you to rest properly for a few days."

You jerk, would you die if you didn't drag Shen Yijue into every single sentence?

Mo Qi clenched her back teeth, playing along with Tang Bin's act. "Then Director Tang should direct more movies and make more money. Take that niche genre of sibling rivalry and mutual obsession, for instance—I think that's a rather good premise." With that, she let out a deeply theatrical sigh of regret.

The corners of Tang Bin's mouth twitched imperceptibly. This woman was simply incapable of losing an argument, no matter the time or place!

Tang Bin stepped closer, leaning down to murmur in Mo Qi's ear, "I find Shen Yijue irritating, and perhaps there's some rivalry there, but it is definitely not an obsession with my brother!"

"Ah, well, that has no future prospects then. Director Tang should proceed with caution." Mo Qi nodded in solemn agreement.

So much suppressed fury rushed up into Tang Bin's chest that he nearly choked. He had originally intended to provoke Shen Yijue and stir up Mo Qi's anger, but in the end, the only one who ended up triggered was himself.

Tang Bin fumed and fumed, until suddenly, his anger vanished and he grew oddly cheerful.

"Mo Qi, if this were the old days, you would never have been so sharp-tongued." Tang Bin looked pleased with himself. "What happened to that gentle mask of yours? Finally torn to shreds just because Shen Yijue abandoned you?"

"No," Mo Qi replied with absolute calm, shaking her head. "It's because I now consider Director Tang a friend." She flashed a gleaming smile.

Tang Bin subconsciously took a step back. Why on earth did he suddenly get the distinct impression that Mo Qi wanted to bite clean through his neck?

Feeling somewhat awkward, Tang Bin muttered, "You're no fun," and walked over to sit down on the opposite side of the table.

Shen Yijue collected a bowl of congee and two eggs, ignoring the various people attempting to strike up a conversation, and headed straight back to his tent.

Although everyone inwardly felt that the Heavenly King was perhaps a bit too cold and aloof, no one voiced it aloud. They finished their breakfast in a harmonious atmosphere and resumed work on the film.

The first scene of the morning did not require Mo Qi; after finishing breakfast, she went off to the makeup department while the rest of the crew got started.

With both the cast and crew in position, Tang Bin waved his hand. "All camera positions ready—action!"

Without a pack of wolves on the opposite side, the actors had to rely entirely on imagination for their on-site performances. Even so, this shooting environment was countless times better than the mountain conditions. No one would complain, even if they had to shoot multiple takes.

Holding his script, Tang Bin cast a speechles glance at Shen Yijue, who was sitting in front of the monitor. "Didn't you bring Mother's things over? Why aren't you leaving?"

"This isn't your property," Shen Yijue said calmly, not moving an inch.

"I rented this place."

"Then I'll rent it from you at ten times the price." Shen Yijue didn't even bat an eyelid.

Tang Bin laughed out of sheer exasperation. "Are you out of your mind?"

Shen Yijue fell silent.

"Don't you have a movie to shoot? Don't you have a company to run?" Tang Bin sneered. "Why weren't you ever this idle before? Every time Mother invited you home for dinner, you never had the time. Now you suddenly have the time to spend all day hovering around a woman?"

"If I don't show up, I won't disturb her peaceful life," Shen Yijue replied, frowning slightly.

"So considerate? Why don't you go say that to Mother's face?" Tang Bin dropped heavily into a chair. Catching sight of the actors' performances on the monitor, he instantly flew into a rage. "The place you're heading into is a wolf pack's territory, not a rendezvous spot for illicit lovers! What's with those soft, ambiguous gazes—are you planning to make love to the wolves? Cut and take it from the top!"

Tang Bin rarely spoke harshly when directing, but today easily took the crown.

The actors looked rather awkward, hastily readjusting their facial expressions before resuming the shoot.

Most of these supporting actors were newcomers lacking practical experience, making both their expressions and gazes reek of affectation and artificiality.

Shen Yijue glanced briefly at the monitor and looked away.

Today, Tang Bin acted as though he had swallowed a crate of explosives, forcing twenty-some takes of the very first scene where they entered the wolf territory. "Are you people even capable of doing this? If not, change careers early and quit this industry!"

The actors turned pale under the heavy blows to their confidence. They were nothing more than ordinary cannon-fodder extras, and whether their faces would even make it into the final cut after editing was a coin toss. Previously, Tang Bin had rarely made things difficult for them. But today, he was picking on every single little glance, as if someone had just desecrated his ancestral tombs.

The producer stepped in to smooth things over. "We've been shooting for a while, let's all take a five-minute break to reset, and then we'll continue."

With unsightly expressions on their faces, the supporting actors—who were only making around a hundred yuan a day without even signing formal contracts—figured that if worst came to worst, they could just walk away.

Personally handing out bottles of mineral water to the cast, the producer walked back over to Tang Bin. "What's gotten into you today? Did you eat dynamite for breakfast instead of eggs?"

Tang Bin took a sip of water and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

The producer sighed. "After post-production editing, they won't even show their faces clearly. Why are you obsessing over their expressions? You're just asking to be miserable."

"It's about basic professional ethics," Tang Bin retorted. "Am I supposed to only care about how my face looks while leaving my ass completely uncleaned after taking a shit?"

The producer spat out a mouthful of the water he had just swallowed. He had known Tang Bin for quite some time, but this was the first time he had ever heard him use such vulgar language. It seemed his mood truly had plummeted to rock bottom.

"Alright, don't bicker with them. Just as long as their backs look acceptable in the next take, let it slide," the producer said with a bitter expression. "Shooting like this, take after take, costs money too."

"If you're that poor, why become a producer?" Tang Bin rolled his eyes, though his tone finally softened.

Relieved, the producer turned to Shen Yijue with a half-joking smile. "Heavenly King Shen, do the producers on your film sets also have to put up with this much abuse?"

"You could always fire him," Shen Yijue suggested earnestly with a deadpan expression.

The producer didn't know whether to laugh or cry. How could he have forgotten that this guy was an absolute instigator who feared nothing?

Tang Bin glared fiercely. "Don't get too smug. Later when Mo Qi is filming, I'm going to deliberately pick a fight with her. Let's see if you can keep that wooden face then!"

"Whatever you like," Shen Yijue replied without so much as a flicker of his eyelids.