"Cut—"
The male actor on the wire harness was lowered back to the ground at the shouted command. The director, script in hand, angrily strode over to him as he removed his helmet and wiped his sweat.
"Hey, Lin! What is wrong with you today!"
The masked male lead, called by his name, bowed in apology, "I am truly sorry, but I haven't been feeling well recently…"
"If you're unwell, then rest! That's no excuse! Look at Mei; even with her fragile health, she still performed the rain scene!" The director had a fiery temper. He slammed his folding fan onto the table, huffing smoke from his nostrils, "Fine, that's it for today. You all go back and rest first."
Lin scratched his head, sighing helplessly.
…
Lin, twenty years old, was a second-tier action actor.
His acting was decent, and his physical fitness was tough, but he had never gotten any good roles to play. Moreover, he had the strange habit of covering his face, which limited the roles suitable for him.
This time, he finally had a chance to be the male lead in a film called I Am Not a Flame-Chaser, directed by a renowned industry director. He had been working extremely hard to secure this.
However, recently, he had been experiencing an inexplicable physical fatigue. He couldn't find the cause. He wasn't sick, nor was his schedule irregular, yet his limbs felt weak.
This only started happening after he took on this movie. Lin was very troubled and thought he should visit a hospital today.
"Lin, are you coming out to dinner with me today?" The pink-haired girl blocked the sighing Lin and asked with a cheerful smile.
"Senior Elysia…" Lin recognized this household-name actress. She was about the same age as him but had been in the industry much longer. In this film, she played the female lead, a role very close to the protagonist.
Both on-set and off-set, Elysia was very amiable and approachable, with a personality that matched her character to an unprecedented degree. Lin felt indebted to her care, so calling her "Senior" was appropriate.
Lin dejectedly shook his head. The thought of the high-intensity action scenes tomorrow made him want to cry, "Forget it. I want to go to the hospital…"
"Hospital? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
Elysia's eyes flickered with a guilty conscience, but Lin, looking down, didn't see her expression and assumed it was just simple concern. He said sadly, "I've been feeling weak recently, and some parts of my body ache, like I've been hollowed out."
"Haha…" A hint of awkwardness flashed across Elysia's lovely face. She gave a dry laugh and patted Lin on the shoulder. As he looked at her confusedly, she gave him a thumbs-up, "That must just be because you've had too many action scenes lately! I'll talk to the director and help you reduce your workload. There's no need to go to the hospital!"
"Huh? No, wait…" Everything else could be compromised, but not his screentime. This was his chance to shine. Lin anxiously tried to stop her, "I still want to go…"
"Ellie, what's going on?" Another elegantly dressed woman with wine-red long hair gracefully approached. She moved with an air of sophistication, arriving by Elysia's side.
Eden was a world-class celebrity actress, several levels above both Elysia and Lin. Honestly, Lin found it incredible that he managed to secure the male lead role among a host of world-renowned figures, which made him cherish this opportunity even more.
Upon seeing Eden, Elysia panicked. She spoke in a hasty tone, as if trying to cover something up, "Eden?! Nothing, Lin is just out of sorts recently. I'm giving him some psychological counseling."
"Senior Eden, why don't you go to dinner with Senior Elysia? I still want to go to the hospital."
The dignified Eden smiled and nodded, "Alright, Ellie, you just went to dinner with Lin yesterday. Come with me today."
"Yesterday?"
Lin looked at the sweating Elysia in confusion.
They hadn't seen each other yesterday. Moreover, how could prominent figures like them frequently hang out together? Lin rarely went out on holidays.
Something vaguely flashed through his mind, but he couldn't recall it.
Speaking of which, the burden on his body felt much heavier this morning, and his head hurt terribly, yet he went to bed very early yesterday…
"N-nothing! Let's go, let's go, my dear Eden. Let's go have dinner!"
But before Lin could ask further, Elysia frantically pulled the equally bewildered Eden away.
…
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
After the physical examination was complete, the doctor's question left Lin stunned.
"No, I don't smoke or drink, and I'm not in a relationship." He answered honestly.
"Then be more moderate in the future. Young people need to take care of their bodies. You should drink some goji berry and red date tea occasionally…"
"Wait, wait, wait…" Lin finally reacted. He frowned, looking seriously at the exasperated doctor, "Doctor, what do you mean by that?"
"I mean exactly what I said. Ah, young man, you don't need to save face here with me; there's no one else…"
"That's not it! I'm an action actor! How could I have kidney, kidney, kidney… Ah! Did you make a mistake in the examination?"
"What could be wrong? I can tell your condition at a glance. Do you frequently have cold feet, poor sleep quality, insomnia, memory decline, and hair loss?"
"This, this, this…" Lin felt dizzy, a bolt from the blue striking his head, turning into a single question.
What on earth is going on?
…
Lin, twenty years old, lives in the villa area in the northeast of Nagazora City. He is unmarried and works as an action actor in a film studio. He works until 8 PM every day before returning home. He doesn't smoke and only drinks alcohol sparingly. Before bed, he always drinks a glass of warm milk, then does 20 minutes of flexibility exercises. Once in bed, he falls asleep immediately. He sleeps until dawn, never carrying fatigue or stress over to the next day. Doctors all said he was perfectly normal.
…But that was before. That was a past that had already been flushed down the toilet and into the sewer.
"I'm actually… suffering from… excessive indulgence?"
Lin found this result utterly unbelievable.
What did it mean for an action actor to suffer from excessive indulgence?
It was like taking off one's spacesuit and dancing inside the manned rocket when Apollo 11 launched.
Simply put, it was completely idiotic.
Lin thought hard. He had never had a girlfriend since childhood, and his solitary activities were only maintained at an appropriate, healthy frequency. He even thought he would never need his Little Lin in this lifetime.
"No, no, no, there's definitely something wrong here!"
Lin paced the room, clutching his head, trying to figure out where the problem lay, when his phone rang.
"Ring-ring."
Lin picked up his phone and saw it was Mobius from the same set.
He breathed a sigh of relief and answered the call.
"Lin, want to come out for dinner?"