The Film Emperor Is Sick, I have No Cure - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

In Mad Dog, Xu Jian was framed and labeled a “snitch,” and was punished along with a few close friends in the psychiatric hospital.

After the solitary confinement ended, the first thing Xu Jian did was go to the backyard. That day was his thirtieth birthday, and everyone had agreed to celebrate it under the big tree during their outdoor break.

He waited in the backyard for an hour, but no one showed up.

Everyone believed Xu Jian was the one who had snitched and no longer wanted anything to do with him.

In the film, Xu Jian returned alone to the ward and locked himself in a public bathroom stall. The screen gradually darkened, and the camera shifted to the perspective of Xu Jian’s lover, Ah Feng.

Through Ah Feng’s eyes, the audience entered the men’s washroom, opened the stall door, and discovered a large iron barrel with its paint long faded.
The barrel was originally used to pile slippers in the corner of the bathroom, but somehow, Xu Jian had dragged it into the stall.

Cold water poured over Xu Jian’s head. His naked body was curled tightly underwater. Bubbles rose to the surface, but Xu Jian remained completely still at the bottom, like a fish hiding in a reef cave, waiting to die.

A normal person witnessing this scene would likely panic, either reach out to pull him up or rush out to call for help.

But Ah Feng didn’t.

Xu Jian was a normal person who had been mistakenly committed to the psychiatric hospital. Ah Feng, however, was a real psychiatric patient who had already lived in the facility for years.

She didn’t panic. She didn’t scream or shout. She simply squatted in front of the iron barrel, like a child, curious about what kind of game Xu Jian was playing behind her back.

“Ah Jian,” Ah Feng said, cheeks puffed out, chewing on a lollipop given by the nurse.

She asked the man submerged underwater, whose fate hung in the balance:
“Are you mad at everyone again?”

—

Just as the person in front of him finished saying those exact words, a flicker of confusion appeared in Xing Cheng’s eyes, and he shrank further into the corner of the bathtub.

His back bumped into the faucet behind him, knocking the valve connector slightly to the right. The water jet from the spout gradually came to a stop, no longer filling the tub.

Lu Danggui let out a breath of relief.

Finally, it stopped. If that had kept running, it wouldn’t have taken long to flood the entire Tingtian residence.

He pulled himself together, just about to continue communicating with Xing Cheng, when he suddenly felt a chill down his back.

At some point, the overhead rainfall-style showerhead had activated. A dense stream of water poured down from above, instantly drenching Lu Danggui from head to toe.

Xing Cheng’s earlier bump had triggered the automatic switch of the high-end bathtub, into shower mode.

……

Soaked to the bone, with icy water still dripping from his nose, Lu Danggui was so angry he could feel his heart giving out.

Middle of the night, and instead of going home, he was here babysitting Xing Cheng having a breakdown!

The worst part was that Xing Cheng, in the middle of an episode, clearly had a few screws loose, his upper body was pressed firmly over the bathtub controls, making it impossible for Lu Danggui to turn off the shower.

When he saw Lu Danggui suddenly soaked like a drowned rat, Xing Cheng was momentarily stunned. His water-drenched brows relaxed slightly, and a faint look of confusion appeared in his eyes.

Sensing the shift in Xing Cheng’s mental state, Lu Danggui completely ignored his own sorry appearance. He quickly ran through the film’s details in his mind, and seized the momentum:
“Uncle Li already said it, what happened this time, everyone getting punished, it really wasn’t your fault. They even said that once you got out of the confinement room, they’d sneak cigarettes with you in the rec room.”

The reason he remembered this line so clearly was because of a piece of gossip from the anti-fan circles last year.

That gossip claimed that the scene of Xu Jian submerged in the iron barrel was filmed using a body double, and that Xing Cheng had simply reaped the praise afterward during the film’s release.

Fans and anti-fans fought about it online for ages, but no one could offer definitive proof. One blogger even did a frame-by-frame breakdown of the scene. Lu Danggui had watched that breakdown a dozen times, trying to find solid evidence that Xing Cheng used a double, but ultimately, found nothing.

It wasn’t until later that Mad Dog’s director posted some behind-the-scenes footage online. In it, Xing Cheng, wrapped in a bath towel, walked onto the set and, before the director could even call “Action,” dove headfirst into the iron barrel.

The actress playing Ah Feng had been startled by the massive splash and stumbled backward, forgetting her line and causing the director to call cut.

Once it was confirmed that Xing Cheng had done the scene himself, the online fight between fans and haters changed course, from “Did Xing Cheng use a body double?” to “Does Xing Cheng respect his co-stars?”

That incident had long passed, and Lu Danggui never imagined it would come in handy in such a moment.
—
In a hoarse voice, Xing Cheng said to Lu Danggui,
“I didn’t snitch.”

“It must’ve been the doctors. Those damn bastards.” He stared at the white bathroom wall, muttering to himself,
“They’re trying to drive me crazy… they definitely want to drive me crazy…”

Hearing this, Lu Danggui finally let out a huge sigh of relief.

He hadn’t been entirely sure at first, it had been a gamble.

Thankfully, he’d bet on the right scene.

Taking advantage of the moment, he continued reciting the lines from the film in one breath:
“Ah Jian, don’t be mad at them anymore. They’re not worth it!”

Xing Cheng closed his eyes.
“…Yeah. Not worth it.”

“When the illness is cured, and we get out of here, we’ll live a good life. They won’t be able to control you ever again.”

Upon hearing that line spoken in Ah Feng’s voice, Xing Cheng struggled to sit up from the water, leaning toward the outer edge of the bathtub.

In Mad Dog, it was also after Xu Jian heard this line that he emerged from the water, poking his head out from his tightly sealed reef cave.

The water overhead was pouring down hard, Lu Danggui could barely keep his eyes open. He could only vaguely see Xing Cheng drawing closer and closer. The stream from the shower had formed a curtain, soaking both of their clothes completely through.

Moments later, a cold hand lightly landed on Lu Danggui’s back.

This was also one of the film’s most iconic moments: Xu Jian climbed out of the iron barrel, leaned over its rim, pulled Ah Feng into his arms, and turned his head to kiss her.

——Wait a second!

Lu Danggui sensed something was off.

In the film, Ah Feng was played by a veteran actress, an actual stunning beauty. No matter how unstable Xing Cheng was, surely he couldn’t possibly mistake him for a woman?

Quickly trying to shift the situation, Lu Danggui said,
“Why don’t… why don’t you let me hold onto the razor for now? I’ll keep it safe and return it to you later, alright?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the man leaning against his shoulder suddenly tensed.

Xing Cheng’s chest began rising and falling violently, a deep and ragged panting, like that of a small wild animal, slowly emerging from his throat.

…Shit.

Lu Danggui wished he could slap himself.

That last line wasn’t even from Mad Dog.
He’d made it up in the heat of the moment.

He hadn’t fully committed to the role. He didn’t stick to the script. Now Xing Cheng was probably about to break character!

Xing Cheng let go of him, those dark pupils glaring coldly at the man in front of him.

Lu Danggui instinctively tried to scoot back, wanting to widen the distance between them.

Before he could figure out a way to escape, Xing Cheng had already grabbed his wrist.

Water splashed over Xing Cheng’s forearm, and blood that had only just begun to coagulate now slowly seeped out again, running down his fingers.

The sharp razor was still tightly gripped in his palm, its blade pressing against Lu Danggui’s right wrist. The icy cold edge kissed his skin, hovering dangerously close to the surface of his veins.

The sight made Lu Danggui’s heart race. His lips twitched as he tried to explain:

“Actually, I—”

But after all that chaos, he’d completely forgotten what the next line of the film was supposed to be.

Just then, loud banging suddenly came from outside the bathroom door.

Xing Shi’s anxious voice shouted from the other side:

“Eldest Young Master! Are you inside, Eldest Young Master?!”

Right behind him came Tingtian Dashu’s shrill cry:

“Xing Cheng, are you okay?! Don’t scare me, open the door!!”

The noise outside grew louder and louder. Accompanied by heavy banging sounds from tools, someone was clearly trying to force the door open.

Xing Shi was breaking into a cold sweat. After the car accident, Chairman Xing had installed a tracker on the Eldest Young Master’s wheelchair to prevent any accidents.

They had been guarding the outer courtyard of the Tingtian residence all night. When the tracker signal suddenly disappeared, they immediately contacted the Tingtian household.

The old butler brought people into the main hall to investigate, and only then did they realize something was wrong.

If something really happened to the Eldest Young Master…

Xing Shi didn’t dare think further.

Hearing the chaos outside, Xing Cheng’s expression abruptly shifted.

The razor in his hand slipped and dropped into the water with a splash.

From the moment Xing Shi and the others reached the door, Lu Danggui was already numb.

Great. Just great.

Two words: he’s screwed.

He had spent all that time in the bathroom locked in a life-or-death mental chess match, delivering tragic lines, getting drenched, and this bunch of clueless oafs outside, in one fell swoop, undid all his progress and sent their master’s mental state straight back to square one.

The next second, Lu Danggui’s collar was yanked up by Xing Cheng with one hand, and his back was slammed hard against the tiled wall beside the bathtub.

Bloodshot eyes. Xing Cheng’s well-defined fingers wrapped tightly around Lu Danggui’s throat, like he really intended to strangle the man before him to death.

“You’re. Not. Ah Feng.”

Xing Cheng said it word by word.

Lu Danggui couldn’t speak. He gasped like a dying fish, mouth wide open, struggling desperately in Xing Cheng’s grasp, trying to escape this dangerous man’s control.

The hand around his neck only tightened:

“You’re not Ah Feng. Who are you?”

Lu Danggui’s eyelids rolled upward, a painful gurgle coming from his throat.

“Who are you?”

“You are… you are—”

A hysterical madness rose in Xing Cheng’s eyes. It was as if he had to find the answer. As he questioned Lu Danggui, the pressure of his grip kept increasing.

Can’t breathe.

That was the last thought flashing through Lu Danggui’s mind.

His vision blurred, and a sharp pain exploded at the back of his head.

Then everything went black, he lost consciousness.

—

When he woke up again, Lu Danggui’s first reaction was to grope around, trying to find his phone.

He hadn’t expected it to be right within reach.

Before entering the bathroom to find Xing Cheng, he had placed his phone on the coffee table. Later on—

Right. What happened after that?

Lu Danggui’s eyes flew open.

An unfamiliar ceiling. Half-open carved windows. Soft autumn morning sunlight… His gaze landed on the tatami mat at the doorway. He recognized the decor, it was Tingtian Dashu’s house.

He was still at the Tingtian residence.

Seeing the time displayed on his phone screen, Lu Danggui shivered and sat up in a panic.

The back of his head still ached dully. He rubbed his temples and opened his work group chat, typing out a long message to explain everything to his department head.

After sending it, Lu Danggui felt like dying.

He could only imagine what the director’s face would look like after realizing he’d been late two days in a row.

“Doctor Lu, you’re awake?”

A familiar figure appeared at the door, Tingtian Dashu, who had heard Lu Danggui had regained consciousness and had run up from the downstairs dining room.

Tingtian Dashu told the servants to bring breakfast to Lu Danggui and sat down on the small sofa near the bed.

“You… feeling any better?”

Lu Danggui nodded slightly and frowned. He asked Tingtian Dashu, “Where is he?”

“You mean Brother Cheng?” Young Master Tingtian blinked innocently. “He’s fine. He fully recovered last night and left with Xing Shi and the others, already back at the hospital.”

Tingtian Dashu didn’t plan to explain in detail what had happened the night before, because, frankly, it was too complicated to put into words.

Last night, when Doctor Lu had passed out, it was Brother Cheng who dragged him out of the bathroom.

When he’d burst through the door with the Xing family bodyguards, Brother Cheng had just fallen out of the bathtub. His legs still hadn’t fully recovered, he was using one hand to drag Doctor Lu by the back of his collar, and the other to support himself as he crawled across the floor.

There were specks of blood scattered all around the outside of the tub. Lu Danggui lay unconscious on the ground. His first reaction had been to think Brother Cheng had lost it completely and killed the young doctor he’d brought along.

Lowering his head and thinking it over, Tingtian Dashu asked Lu Danggui nervously,
“Doctor Lu, should I not have called Brother Cheng out yesterday? After being hospitalized for so long, he feels even crazier than before.”

Lu Danggui scooped up a spoonful of porridge from the tray, sipped it slowly, and had no intention of responding to this silly young master.

While eating breakfast, Lu Danggui began replaying the events of the night before in his mind.

He wasn’t expecting someone with severe personality disorders to reflect properly on anything, but to not even say a word of apology, to just get up and leave like nothing happened… that really was such a Xing Cheng thing to do.

Such an utterly irresponsible act, just like what had happened to his sister all those years ago.

“Right!”

Tingtian Dashu smacked his head like he’d just remembered something. He opened the nightstand drawer and pulled out an envelope, handing it to Lu Danggui.

“Brother Cheng specially asked me to give this to you before he left.”

Brother Cheng had come to see the young doctor once before leaving. He’d sat silently in the room for over ten minutes. After coming out, he left this envelope behind and asked Dashu to pass it on.

Lu Danggui opened the envelope and found a black bank card inside.

“Brother Cheng said that since he hurt you last night, he’s leaving this card as compensation,” Tingtian Dashu said earnestly.

“You can use it however you want. Buy whatever you like. The password is his birthday, you can find it easily online.”

Lu Danggui: “……”

Seeing that Lu Danggui didn’t look quite right, Tingtian Dashu scratched his head.
“Doctor Lu, what’s wrong?”

Was this doctor thinking that, just because Brother Cheng was generous with money, he could make some outrageous demands?

Tingtian Dashu thought to himself. Everyone in the industry knew Brother Cheng wasn’t someone to mess with and valued boundaries. This young doctor… still too green.

“Nothing.”

Lu Danggui shoved the bank card back into the envelope, quickly regaining his composure.

This was just the same old trick used to pacify mistresses, he was being brushed off with the exact same tactic.

Lu Danggui clenched his fist so hard his knuckles cracked, smiling through gritted teeth:

“Just feeling a little… thinking, killing, people.”