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Chapter Text

Wukong hates him the minute he sees him for the first time.

That guy was evil. No doubt about it. There was no way he wasn’t.

Why did so many people fall for his lies?! His nonsense?

Sure he was decently good looking. And charming. And generous. And well mannered. And witty. And-

Wukong rips the poster off in a rage. Why was he staring at this guy’s face anyways?! He was much better than him! In every way!!

Wukong was better than him! He worked so hard and he knew he had loyal fans that choose him over THIS jerk anyday!

Who was he to come in and steal away HIS rightful spotlight as the top celebrity of the year?

Whatever. It wasn’t like he had to hang out with this guy or anything. He was a model and Wukong was a professional actor, which took much more talent than strutting down the aisle looking pretty.

And he never wanted to see this “Yang Jian” if he could help it.

***
“Congratulations on landing yet another major role, Wukong! The fans are all very excited to see what you will accomplish now!”

“Yes, yes! This is such a shocking development!”

“Do you know anything about this secret project? Please tell us!”

Wukong smiled and nodded through all of the flashing cameras. This was one of the worst parts that came with his career.

The paparazzi. They were relentless.

Truthfully, he had no idea what this new project was. He only knew that he would get paid a BEAUTIFUL amount of money for this job and that he would be the main character. There was no reason why he couldn’t accept such a wonderful offer.

He finally arrives at the meeting place to meet the rest of the staff. And to find out more about this show or movie that he was supposed to do.

He gets greeted by the director, Guan Yin and gets to meet the rest of the staff. It was quite a large number of people! How large was this project?!

“Hello everyone. I’m very excited to work with you guys today!” Wukong bows. Everyone applauds and bows back as a sign of respect and appreciation.

Guan Yin goes over and leads him to meet the rest of the acting cast while he asks her some questions.

“Is this supposed to be a long term TV show? Or is it a very long movie?”

Guan Yin replied, “It’s a long ongoing TV show based on a novel. It will have the largest cast of characters in the history of television and you are the main star. I just need you to sign the contract and it’ll all be set!”

Wukong asks her more about the details regarding flexibility since he still had work outside of this and she talks and compromises with his needs. This opportunity almost seemed too perfect!

Then she says something that makes him realize again that life is not always so wonderful.

“I believe you’ve heard of the name, Yang Jian before, correct?”

Wukong continues to follow her up the stairs and nods slowly, wondering what he had to do with this.

“Well, he’s also going to star with you in one of the episodes. A couple of episodes actually. Since you both are the main events of this show (two of the most famous of the entire cast) especially in its early stages, I believe it’s best you guys meet each other first.”

“It couldn’t be the same Yang Jian right? There are a lot of people who could have that name!” Wukong thought to himself.

“Here we are. I hope you can become good friends with him. I think you two will get along.”

With that, Guan Yin gave him another smile and walked away.

Wukong puts his hand on the doorknob and opens it up.

And sees the face that he had seen on the poster he had ripped to shreds with his bare hands.

Yang Jian was looking at a thick script book with reading glasses on and glanced up when he heard the door creak open.

Wukong sees Yang Jian looking at him with a cold, icy stare and without a single smile, Yang Jian gestures for him to come in.

Oh this punk….

Wukong sits on the chair on the opposite side of the table, facing Yang Jian directly. Yang Jian continues to read the script book, seemingly not knowing he was there, and then finally puts it down with a thud.

He puts his reading glasses on the top of his head and clears his throat. Then he asks, “Have you read the script yet?”

Wukong forces himself to say, “No.”

Yang Jian slides the script book over to him and tells him, “It’s in your best interest to start reading now. We have a deadline after all. You can’t get yourself fired already now, can you?”

Was-was this guy THREATENING HIM?! Who did he think he was!!

Also, wasn’t Yang Jian a fashion model?! Why the heck was he doing, giving Wukong, who was a seasoned actor for YEARS, ADVICE?!

Wukong grabs the script book and gives Yang Jian a forced smile.

“Thanks. Let me get to work then.”

He deliberately pretends that Yang Jian wasn’t even there for the rest of their “meeting.” Wukong was just doing what he was supposed to: learning the script.

Inside he was FUMING with rage.

No matter how pretty this guy was, he was still just an *sshole! This guy was going to be a nightmare to work with! Wukong was sure of it!

Chapter Text

Acting wasn’t only about emotions or pretending to be someone else. True actors had to have some level of realistic understanding to pull of their role.

In Wukong’s case, he had to actually learn how to fight. He had to learn how to properly wield his trust Golden Cudgel. He had to study Buddhism and Daoism. He had to know martial arts.

He didn’t have to be a complete expert in everything, but he had to have some levels of knowledge to truly become the Sun Wukong of Journey to the West.

That was the famous novel they were going to be adapting. One of the four great classics of all of China! One of the most memorable and famous books in the world! And HE was the main character!

So he worked hard, insanely hard. So much so that Guan Yin told him to take a break.

“You’ve been doing so amazing, my dear. The first episode will be filmed in about a week. How about you take that time to relax for a bit. Let the knowledge that you have gained marinate, hm?”

But he couldn’t rest!

Wukong had been paying attention to his rival, Yang Jian, who was going to be playing Erlang Shen.

What a coincidence. Erlang Shen was Sun Wukong’s sworn enemy, eternal rivals till the end. It was very fitting for who they actually were in real life.

He hopes the script will allow him to beat Yang Jian up a bit.

Yang Jian had been working insanely hard as well with his role. He also had to learn martial arts and how to wield his three headed, double edged dagger properly (Wukong was admittedly a bit amazed at how cool his weapon looked.)

No matter. Erlang Shen was just a minor character. And also technically the “bad guy” of the story. Wukong was the star. Erlang was the villain.

Wukong couldn’t wait for the filming to begin.

***
Since he was supposed to take a break from all of the extra learning and practicing, he decides to pay his friend Birdie a visit. She was one of the main fashion designers in charge of all of the cast’s costumes. Wukong had chosen her to design his outfits.

When Birdie saw him, she gave him a warm hug and asked if he could just please, please try on all of the outfits she had just finished designing for him. Wukong naturally agreed.

So here they were.

“Oh my goodness, you look AMAZING!! You are like a fashionista’s dream!”

Birdie fusses over his hair and clothes and fixes him up a bit more. She put just a touch of makeup on his eyes and lips.

It was a bit strange to put on more fur to frame his face. The people who taught him martial arts also told him to change his body language in order to resemble a monkey. More playful, mischievous. Blinking his eyes and sitting where he’s not usually supposed to sit. That sort of thing.

Currently, he was wearing his “Beautiful Monkey King” outfit. His Golden Phoenix Crown Armor. Wukong thought the phoenix cap was a bit over the top but Birdie insisted that it was all PERFECT.

She was squealing and fangirling over how handsome and pretty he looked like this. Wukong felt a bit more confident with her encouragement.

Maybe he can do this role. Sure, it was the biggest role he had ever gotten in his entire career thus far and, ok, it was going to be the longest running, most important television show for possibly ever and everyone was counting on HIM to perform well in every single episode…

But yeah. No pressure. He’s totally got this all figured out!

He decides to try out the rest of his outfits too, just to be sure. Birdie enthusiastically agrees to let him try ALL of them.

He knows he’s going to be in his pilgrim outfit for the MAJORITY of the show. It was pretty cute! The tiger skirt was very pretty and the rest of the outfit made him look like a true traveler! The red scarf and yellow robes were elegant, yet simplistic. Humble but eye catching enough that the audience’s eyes would be drawn to him.

He had a couple of other ones. He had the Daoist disciple robes for his time with Puti and the first robes he snatched when he entered human society for the first time. He also had his Bimawen robe and the silly black hat that came with it. Birdie laughed as they flicked at the side “ears.”

There were of course variations of his pilgrim clothes. He would wear the yellow robes but he could rearrange his scarf and switch up his skirt. The details would be determined by Birdie and the other fashion designers on set.

The last one he tried on was just the outfit he wears coming out of the famous stone. He had on a leaf skirt and was barefoot, letting his chest and legs free. He also had on some flower bracelets and flowers in his hair, or fur.

It was pretty and not very “covered.” But it’s all to play into the idea of him coming out of the stone as a newborn creation. Babies didn’t come out with full on suits after all!

Just as he was admiring himself in the mirror, there were knocks on the door and Birdie asked who it was.

“Hi! This is Yang Jian’s stylist! We just need to grab a couple of things from here if you don’t mind us coming in real quick!”

Birdie looked at Wukong for permission and he agreed. He was almost done here anyways.

“Yeah! You can come in.”

The designer bows as he enters and closes the door; and smiles real wide when he sees Wukong’s outfit.

“Oh, Wukong, that's a lovely nature outfit! You look adorable!”

Wukong blushes at the compliment, feeling a bit shy since he wasn’t wearing much.

“Thanks. It’s really all thanks to Birdie’s expertise-

“Take it off.”

Everyone turned to look at Yang Jian, who had said the cold command. His face was icy and he crossed his arms, jaw clenched.

The designer chuckled nervously as he rummaged around and said, “Oh dear I gotta go look for that helmet now. Where is that darn thing? Haha..”

Wukong crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, taunting, “You want to see me butt naked?”

Yang Jian bit his lower lip and replied, “Why are you wearing that? Is that for the show?”

Yang Jian glares at Birdie and says, “So you’re the one who made him wear this? Don’t you know everyone is going to see him?”

Birdie blinked and responded, “Well, yeah. This is the outfit he’s supposed to wear for the first episode-

“Change it. It’s…unsightly.”

Before Wukong could get a word out, Birdie says, “But-but that means we have to make an entirely NEW outfit! And-and the episode release date is so soon! We can’t-

“Change it. Or I’ll sue this entire company. You won’t even have a single outfit left.”

Birdie swallowed and said, “Yes, sir. I’ll do my best.”

“Phew! Haha, this closet sure is HUGE!! Let’s go,Yang Jian! We still need to get your outfit figured out. Sorry about that!”

Yang Jian’s designer bowed again as he pulled Yang Jian out of the room. Yang Jian threw one last cold look at Wukong before vanishing for good.

There was a brief moment of silence before Birdie said, “Welp. Guess it’s time to get to work! Sorry about all that, Wukong. Don’t worry, it’s my fault. You look fantastic!-

“He called me UGLY! Yang Jian dared to call me UNSIGHTLY?! How dare he! That b*tch!!”

Wukong stomps once on the small stage where he had been standing for fitting and then stomps off to change into his regular clothes.

He felt himself start to cry. How could Yang Jian say such a thing?

And worse, Yang Jian was a MODEL! And he had insulted Wukong’s looks! Right to his face! Did that mean that Wukong wasn’t as attractive or beautiful as he thought he was? He didn’t meet Yang Jian’s standards at all! In fact, to him he was considered UNSIGHTLY!!

Wukong sits in front of the mirror, not moving for a while. He doesn’t feel confident in himself anymore.

No wait. Uh uh. What was he doing? Just because that fricking BASTARD had the audacity to criticize him, didn’t mean he was actually ugly!

Ok, maybe Wukong wasn’t fashion model level beautiful or handsome, but he wasn’t a model! He was an actor! A performer! A singer! He was TALENTED.

He wasn’t like SOME people who were only good for being eye candy! (Yeah, take THAT Yang Jian!!)

Why did he have to listen to him? He had no time to wallow around like this! He was Sun Wukong for crying out loud!

What he should be doing is making Yang Jian regret his words! He’ll be so dazzling, so incredible that Yang Jian will BEG to have his autograph!

Yeah! That sounded like a GREAT plan!!

Look out, Yang Jian. I’m gonna make you bow down at my awesomeness!

Chapter Text

“Ready? And action!!”

The click was like a switch that activated the natural actor within Wukong. The moment he opened his eyes, it was action time!

He plays the part of an innocent newborn perfectly! He hops around and makes curious noises as he lifts up rocks and looks through the forest.

His new outfit was less “showy.” He was wearing a sort of green leaf jacket now along with leafy pants, with a hole for his monkey tail. He was a bit disappointed that he didn’t get to wear his other costume which was far cuter in his opinion, but this was fine.

They allowed him to wear a flower crown when he became “king” after jumping through the waterfall hole. He got to sit on a throne and everything! All of the actors playing his monkey subjects were also fantastic at their job!

They manage to finish the full episode after only one day, and everyone graduated each other on a job well done.

Wukong knew this was only the beginning. They still had to film the rest of Wukong’s backstory and the next major episodes would be him traveling to learn the Daoist secrets from Puti.

And then by that time, he had to master all of his staff wielding abilities and fighting styles. The Havoc was probably the real kicker that will either make or break their show.

And that also meant he would have to film with Yang Jian soon.

Which only made him more fired up to learn!

Speaking of that jerk, what was he up to now anyways?

Wukong walks to the vending machine to grab a snack. Sure there were other foods already provided, but they were all nutritious bland foods for his special diet. Since he had done such a great job, Wukong figured, heck why not treat himself?

He stands in front of the glass, looking at all the different options. Maybe he should get a drink? Or just a candy bar?

Before he could decide which food item he wanted, someone suddenly thrusted a pink boba tea drink in front of him.

“Here, for you.”

Wukong stares at the item and takes it without thinking too much. He turns around and says, “Thanks! I was just looking for a sna-

He stops smiling when he sees who it was.

“Oh. It’s you,” Wukong says in a flat tone.

Yang Jian blinks back at him, his flawless eyebrows slightly furrowed.

“Yes. I got you peach flavored. Your favorite.”

How the heck did this guy know he liked peach flavored foods?!

Wukong would absolutely drink this if the gifted wasn’t YANG JIAN of all people. Why the heck did he give this to Wukong?

Oh this sly bastard. Wukong knew what he was planning!

He gave this to Wukong to fatten him up! To make him look bloated by messing with his favorite drink! Knowing this jerk, he probably ordered EXTRA sugar for his drink instead of just the regular normal portion.

Or he drugged this drink! He might have secretly drugged it so that Wukong would do something weird under influence.

All of these wild theories floated through his mind and he pushed the (most likely tampered) drink back to Yang Jian.

“It’s fine. I don’t want it.”

Yang Jian asks him, “Do you not like peaches?”

Wukong shrugged. “Guess I like bananas now.”

He leaves Yang Jian standing there, holding the pink drink and not knowing what to say.

Wukong clenches his teeth.

Yang Jian was still trying to sabotage him! What had he ever done to that guy?

***
The next couple of episodes went by pretty smoothly. It was mostly only Wukong interacting with the other monkeys and entering human civilization for the first time.

He interacted with all the “extras” with expertise. Everyone complimented on how well he portrayed the characteristics of a curious “baby” monkey in the real world for the first time.

The episode ends with him arriving at Puti’s cave. But Puti doesn’t let him enter and he’s forced to stay outside.

The real actor for Puti was actually his old mentor, back when he attended acting school. It was a true honor that Wukong got to work with his old teacher again.

After the filming, Puti goes over to congratulate Wukong on his accomplishments thus far.

“I’m very impressed. It’s great to see my old pupil thriving in this oppressive industry.”

Puti always said things like that with a flat tone. Later on, Wukong learned that he just had a very dry sense of humor. Puti was sarcastic but didn’t use a sarcastic tone.

Wukong was very happy to see him again too. And they both arrange to meet for a coffee the next morning.

This meeting got Wukong to wonder about the other cast members. He hadn’t known that his old teacher would be here. Maybe his other friends would also be a part of this show?

He decides to ask Guan Yin, who tells him, “Well we won’t be seeing any new notable characters for a while. You’ll be training with Puti for another episode…and then there’s the journey back to Hua Guo Shan where a couple of the same extras will play as the Yao Guais. And then you’ll meet the Dragon King, who’ll be played by someone, but they won’t be too important…”

She flips to the other page and then continues, “You’ll also have the Underworld episode, where you’ll work alongside a new rising actor. He’s pretty young, but he does have a certain kind of potential.”

Wukong asks, “Who is he?”

Guan Yin answers, “His name is Stalin. He’s pretty shy but after the underworld episode, he’ll come back to play some of the villain roles as well.”

Wukong asks if he could look at the upcoming script, just to keep ahead and study. Guan Yin gave him the script book for the next few episodes but made him promise not to overwork himself.

At his apartment, which was provided by the company he’s working for, he sits on the bed as he peruses through the script book.

Yang Jian’s annoying voice taunting him for not knowing the script stayed with him, like a thorn at his side. No way was he going to slack off!!

As he reads through the script, he decides to also read a bit more of the actual novel too, just to get a more well rounded idea.

The novel was fascinating to say the least. No wonder people still talk about it even hundred of years later. He’s already read the entire first few volumes but he decides to read them again for good measure.

When he gets to the battle portion of the novel, the Havoc, he sees the title “Erlang Shen” again.

Argh.

Was there any way he could just stop seeing this guy?

How the heck did Yang Jian get so popular anyways? Wukong worked and did nearly everything to do with the entertainment industry.

He remembered his first taste of success. After that game show he entered.

He grew up in an orphanage, after his mother left him on the doorstep. The other children looked up to him as a role model and it was because of their encouragement that he decided to go on with his dream of being an actor.

He loved watching the plays and shows. He remembered how all of them would crowd together and watch the tiny, small black box together. Huddling for warmth during the winter nights.

After getting attention from winning the small game show, Wukong had been sad to leave when he got accepted into the acting school of his dreams, but the other kids all told him it was his destiny. It was his time to shine.

He made a TON of great, amazing and talented friends while he was at school.

He knew Bajie was aspiring to be an actor while Sha was thinking about doing behind the scenes work. Ao Lie was torn between being a model and acting.

Wukong told him that he should do both.

After all, it was possible…

ARGH WHY WAS HE STILL THINKING ABOUT THAT STUPID JERK!!

Wukong tries to think about more pleasant people. Like Birdie. And his other friends.

He remembers his other best friend, Nezha, who was still very much active in the filming industry. He had been like Wukong, an almost overnight created child star.

They bonded over a lot of things. But they sadly lost touch after their workloads increased.

Maybe he should text Nezha right now, just to check up on him…

Just then, the door suddenly swung open and Wukong yelped out in surprise, nearly dropping his book.

“WHAT IS UP ROOMIE?!! LET’S GET LIT!!”

Oh wow, speak of the devil…

“Nezha?!”

Chapter Text

“Oh my goodness I have SO MUCH to tell you!”

Nezha slams down all of his belongings on the bed beside Wukong and hops onto Wukong’s bed.

Wukong sets aside his script book, giving Nezha his full attention.

Nezha takes a deep breath and gives him a bone crushing hug.

“How’ve you been, Kong Kong? You look quite skinny! Have they been overworking you again? You need to take care of yourself!”

Wukong laughed as he hugged back. Nezha was still the same, very chatty and friendly.

“I’m fine, Nezha. I’m glad we get to see each other so soon! I was just about to text you.”

Nezha gasps as he leans back. “Me too! I planned to catch up with you a while back you see but so much happened! And then I got this offer from the studio and when they told me you would star in it, I knew I had to take the job!”

Wukong asks, “So what have you been up to?”

Nezha gets up and starts to unpack his things, saying, “I just finished filming the first movie named after me! Well, I guess it’s the other way around. My mom thought Nezha’s story was great and named me after HIM but yeah! The movie is going to come out soon! I think it’s going to be a hit!”

When he got going, Nezha spilled out all the beans. He goes on to tell Wukong about how the filming went and, “I even got to meet the CUTEST PRETTIEST guy ever! Bing Bing is just the SWEETEST guy ever! I have to introduce you guys sometime. We met on set and-“

As he chattered, Nezha changed into more comfortable clothes after folding and putting the rest of his items away. After completing his story, he then asks, “So what about you?”

Wukong catches Nezha up on all that had happened to him. Including the stuff about being in every single episode, learning everything there walks to learn, and how he was feeling a bit worried about his own capacity for acting.

“I know I’ve been a professional actor for a while now, but it is a pretty big role. And it’s so different from the ones I did before.”

Nezha nods as he listens closely. One thing that they both could agree on was that the entertainment industry was brutal. Once you mess even ONE thing up, it’ll haunt you for the rest of your life.

Wukong then remembered to ask, "Oh yeah, what are you going to be doing here? Are you going to be a main cast member?”

Nezha grinned and replied, “More like a guest cast. I’ll show up similar to how that Yang Jian guy will. And the episode with me in it will likely be filmed and produced after my movie comes out! Which will make this show even more popular!”

That was pretty smart of Guan Yin. She definitely knew how to cast properly. Using Nezha’s blockbuster movies to propel their show? It was pretty crafty.

“Oh yeah, speaking of Yang Jian, what do you think about him? Isn’t he just a model?”

Wukong sneered as he thought about the guy again.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought too. I have no idea why he decided to become an actor all of a sudden.”

Nezha tapped a finger on his chin as he suddenly recalled, “Oh, I just remembered. Apparently he also owns his own company that helps young aspiring entertainers get training and connections. And his uncle is THE Jade Emperor!”

Wukong's eyes widened at this proclamation.

The Jade Emperor was just a stage or celebrity name for Yu Ding Zhe, the richest and most influential celebrity in the country! He hosted talk shows and directed and produced numerous movies.

No wonder Yang Jian was such a jerk. With that kind of background, he could basically do whatever he wanted with no consequences!!

He didn’t realize he was growling until Nezha said, “Um, Wukong. Are you ok? Your face looks a bit intimidating…”

“Sorry. I just really, REALLY don’t like that guy…”

“Yang Jian? What’s up with him?”

Wukong sighed. “Once you meet him, you’ll get it.”

***
The next few days of filming were a doozy. They had to film him returning to the mountain, beating up all the Yaos, and getting the weapons from underwater.

It was getting close to the havoc now. But they still had to film the underworld scene. It was one of the most iconic moments in the novel!

Birdie went over to him and introduced him to the newcomer, Stalin.

Birdie enthusiastically introduces them both, “This fellow here is our “Yan Wang”! Stalin’s going to play him and a couple of other villains afterwards! Stalin, this is Sun Wukong! I’ll let you guys get situated!”

Birdie left them both alone without another word.

Stalin only stared at Wukong blankly, not saying a word.

It was a bit awkward before Wukong cleared his throat and said, “Um…do you want to go practice some lines?”

Stalin blinked and nodded, eyes not looking away. It was both a bit unnerving and curious. Kind of like how one feels when a cat is watching you.

***
After Stalin performed his act in front of Wukong, he knew this guy was going to get very far in his acting career.

During the reading, Stalin also opened up more and Wukong could actually chat with him normally.

“You’re a really good actor! I’m so impressed!!” Wukong praised.

Stalin rubbed the back of his neck. “Well…thanks. I guess. You’re really great too. I’m a huge fan of your work.”

Wukong laughed. “It’s always great to meet a fan! Is this your first time acting?”

Stalin shrugged. “I’ve acted in stage performances before. Theater. Shadow puppets. That sort of thing. But no project as amazing as yours.”

Wukong felt himself preen a bit. He did like compliments.

“Aw, it’s really nothing. I think you really have potential! Can you show me how you did that deep scary voice? It was really cool!”

Stalin nodded and asked Wukong if they could meet later at a cafe to chat. Wukong naturally agreed.

As he bid farewell to Stalin, he thought about going to find Nezha. They chatted all night last night, but he wondered where Nezha was during the day. Did he go back to their room?

“Wukong! Wukong, over here!”

He spots Nezha sitting at one of the tables in their lunchroom.

Wukong smiles and walks over. Seeing Nezha always made him feel better.

“Guess what? I was just sitting here with Yang Jian! He’s actually a really cool guy! He went away to get us some drinks!”

Hearing this, Wukong refuses to sit down. He didn’t even want to touch somewhere that Yang Jian might have grazed.

“Really? He’s…cool?”

“Yeah! You made him sound like he was going to be some sort of wicked villain, haha! I think he’s just a bit quiet and shy. But he’s not mean.”

So did Yang Jian only hate him?

Speaking of the devil, Yang Jian returned at that moment, holding two cups of coffee.

“Oh Yang DaGe! What’d you get for us?”

Yang Jian didn’t answer and only stared at Wukong, also not sitting down.

And then Wukong hears him say in a cold tone, “Hi. Can I help you?”

Wukong nearly popped a vein right then and there. What was with this guy?!

“Nothing. You two enjoy your drinks. I’ll leave-

“I can buy you one too. What do you want?” Yang Jian set the drinks down and walked in front of Wukong, blocking his path.

“I don’t drink coffee.”

“I can get you some other drink then. Do you want a banana shake?”

Nezha sips his coffee and raises a brow, “A banana shake?”

Wukong felt embarrassed that Yang Jian would offer such a kiddish drink, especially in front of his friend. Was he patronizing Wukong?

“No thanks. I’m going to take a nap. Nezha, come find me later. Without him.”

He says the last sentence with emphasis, making sure that Yang Jian got the hint.

He leaves feeling his cheeks flaring up. He manages to make it back to the apartment room before screaming into his pillow.

Wukong collapses onto his bed and runs his hands over his face.

“I can’t stand that guy…”

***
Half an hour later, Nezha came back to the room.

“I don’t think Yang Jian was being patronizing. I think he thought he was being friendly!”

Wukong couldn’t believe that his best friend was defending his worst enemy.

“Did you hear how he talked to me? That tone? I just-argh!”

Nezha shrugged. “Well…yeah. The “can I help you?” did sound a bit passive aggressive. But he offered to give you a drink!”

“Yeah, well a creepy old man could also do the same! That doesn’t give him any brownie points!”

Nezha sighed and didn’t really know what to say next. He had a feeling that Yang Jian didn’t actually hate Wukong at all. But Wukong definitely hated Yang Jian right now.

As his best friend, he knew where his loyalty lied.

“Yeah, you do have a point. I won’t talk to him anymore. Come on, let’s just watch some tv.”

Nezha turns on the channels and flips through.

Eventually, they landed on something that caught their eye.

“Wait, is that?…”

It was Yang Jian in an interview.

Wukong mutters, “By the looks of it, it seems to have been filmed two days ago before our last episode.”

They both sat together on Wukong’s bed as they listened to the interview. It appeared that they were watching near the end of it.

“Thanks so much for visiting us today, Yang Sir. Just one last question. Long time fans of yours have been dying to know: Why do you suddenly want to be an actor?”

Nezha and him briefly make eye contact at this coincidence. They had both JUST been wondering that same thing.

“I don’t want to.”

They both look at the TV in unison with an incredulous expression and say, “What?”

“Oh? Then…um, why do you want to become part of the cast for 西游记？”

“I don’t care about the show.”

Nezha had started eating his bag of chips as he listened with keened interest, eyes not daring to look away.

Wukong’s jaw was dropped open, and he thought he might have misheard.

The interviewer was just as confused as they both felt.

“So, uh back to our original question. What’s with the sudden shift of careers?”

Yang Jian looked at the interviewer with an uninterested eye. The interviewer was scared Yang Jian wouldn’t say anything.

But then they hear, “I don’t want to be an actor. I don’t care about the show. I’m doing this because I love someone. I’m doing this for them.”

A collective gasp sounded from the crowd. The interviewer’s eyebrows rose straight up.

“My! Are you telling us that you’re in love? Who is this lucky gal?”

Yang Jian replied, “They’re the love of my life. And I’m going to marry them. But it is none of your business.”

With that, the interviewer finally got the hint that he wasn’t going to budge. They concluded the interview just like that and the channel went to a commercial break.

Nezha and Wukong stared at the tv in shock.

“Woah. Yang DaGe is IN LOVE?! I would’ve never guessed!!”

Wukong meanwhile felt a familiar frustration boil up. He yanks the bag of chips from Nezha’s grasp and eats some of them.

“That bastard…” he muttered.

Making fun of Wukong was one thing, but Yang Jian basically spat on and disrespected Wukong’s LIFE with that one interview.

He didn’t care about acting? He didn’t care about the show?

Did he even realize how hard, how difficult it had been for Wukong to even get a speaking role at first? Did he realize that this show meant more to Wukong than anything he had ever done before?

Did Yang Jian realize that he essentially just said, “I don’t give a sh*t about your life’s work” right on national TELEVISION?!

He just insulted all the actors and the producers of their show!!

“Guan Yin is willing to let him stay? After THAT?!”

Nezha chewed and swallowed his food before saying, “Well, he is really popular with the fans. And he was just being honest. Actually, his blunt confession might draw in more eager watchers who want to find out who this mysterious lover is!”

Of course he could get away with something like that. While Wukong had to be careful to smile and be polite in public, Yang Jian could do and say whatever the h*ll he wanted with zero consequences!

Also he was doing this because he was in love? Who the heck was he in love with?

Unfortunately, Wukong became rather curious too. This was pretty juicy information. He’s sure the internet would be buzzing with questions. One of the top celebrities in the country was in love?

***
While Nezha went to take a well deserved shower and bath, Wukong decided to take a short break by scrolling through his phone.

With how busy he had been, he never went online to check his socials. Maybe he should do that, just to see how much he missed.

Their show was the talk of the year. But more than that, there were a lot more comments about who this mysterious woman was that managed to steal the most attractive man of the year’s heart.

Fans already made comments about it on the blog sites and video comment sections.

“It has to be one of the cast members! It has to be!”

“Is it that female designer? Or is it the director?! How scandalous!!”

“Hear me out guys! What if the mysterious lover is not a woman?”

The theories were getting out of hand. Wukong couldn’t believe how outrageous some of them were. One even suggested that Yang Jian was in love with HIM!

“Stupid social media…”

Even though he depended on social media for his career (with his streams and videos) he tried to stay off the internet whenever he could. Haters keep hating, so why bother giving them attention?

He already took a shower before and decided to change into his sleeping robes. Just as he did, he hears a loud knock on the door.

Wukong peeks through the keyhole and sees a familiar face. He opens it up and greets the unexpected visitor.

“Oh hello Stalin! What’s up?”

Stalin gave him a small smile and said, “Um, Wukong. I-I was wondering if you could…go out with me tomorrow? I-I got a reservation at a really nice restaurant that just opened up. I know we already planned to have coffee later when we aren’t so busy but…”

Wukong could tell it was really difficult for Stalin to make this request. And coming here so late? He was very sincere.

“Sure, Stalin. Is it after the shooting?”

Stalin’s eyes lit up and he nodded. “Yes! I already memorized all of my lines and I can definitely complete all of my scenes in one take!”

He then perked up and reached into his bag, handing something over to Wukong. It was a stuffed animal of a kitty cat.

“This is for you! I-I just happened to buy it for someone else but they didn’t want it so…you can take it…”

Wukong doubted that. The stuffed plush still had the tag on and it was in immaculate condition. It appeared that Stalin JUST now bought it as a gift for him.

Wukong hugs the stuffed plush gratefully and beams.

“Thanks, Stalin. I’ll see you tomorrow then!”

Stalin smiled back. “See you tomorrow, Wukong.”

When he closed the door, he was surprised to see Nezha standing there mouth open and hair dripping wet.

“DID YOU JUST GET ASKED OUT ON A DATE?!”

Chapter Text

The next day at filming, Wukong couldn’t help but feel apprehensive during the entire shoot.

This was mainly due to a certain jerk who kept giving him glares, standing moodily in the corner pretending to be reading the script.

They were finally filming the infamous underworld episode where Wukong dies and bullies Yan Wang, the king of the underworld himself. In this case, it was a mainly Stalin and him episode.

However, due to some technical issues, the shoot was postponed until a later time in the day, and Wukong took that opportunity to escape to his dressing room.

When he got there, he sighed a breath of relief. Performing in front of others had never been much of an issue. He RELISHED the attention and the spotlight. However, it was very intimidating when your worst enemy was staring you down the entire time, praying for your downfall through their eyes.

He uses this opportunity to study the script one more time before the shoot starts again. As he was perusing through the pages, he suddenly hears a loud knock at the door. Before he could even call out and ask who it was, he heard the door SLAM open.

He whips his head around and was shocked to find his living nightmare once again next to him, glaring at him.

Wukong glared right back at him. Why should he be scared?

“What do you want? This is MY room!”

Yang Jian scoffed and completely ignored this fact! He strides over and slams his arms beside Wukong’s shoulders.

Wukong had swirled around in his chair and he was feeling rather uneasy with this change in physical advantage. He was sitting up and Yang Jian was standing, looming above him and bending over, pinning him in place.

“When did you and Stalin become so close?”

“Huh?”

Why did Yang Jian care about that?

“I heard you guys talking earlier. You guys are going on a date? When did you guys start dating? Why him?”

Wukong huffed in frustration.

“Ok, you need to just mind your own business.”

“Answer my question.”

“Which one?”

“All of them.”

Wukong wanted to hold back and make Yang Jian suffer from anxiety. He didn’t want to give him any answers. But how could he? Clearly, Yang Jian was unwilling to let him go unless he spilled.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t mess with him a bit..,

“Oh me and Stalin go WAYYYY back. We’re very much in love and he’s actually my boyfriend.”

The look on Yang Jian’s face was SOOO worth the lie.

“You?! With-with that guy? But I thought you said you weren’t interested in anyone!!”

Wukong smirked, feeling very satisfied with how fun this was.

“That was just a lie. I didn’t want NOSY people butting in and asking ANNOYING questions. But congrats, you’ve found out.”

Yang Jian finally got up and stared unblinkingly down at Wukong, arms beside his waist and fists clenched so tight, his knuckles were white.

“No. You’re lying. I can tell.”

Wukong rolled his eyes.

“Ok, be in denial all you want but it’s the truth. Now will you PLEASE leave me alone already? I’m kinda busy here.”

To his credit, Yang Jian did leave him alone afterwards. And Wukong went back to memorizing his script until the workers notified him that they were ready.

***
The shooting went well without any further delays.

Stalin performed better than he had ever done before. Every single person present were impressed.

Wukong heard murmurs of, “Where were they hiding this guy? He’s amazing!”

Of course, he couldn’t fall behind and he also performed his very best. He was starting to feel even more confident in himself after these shootings. It felt like the role was meant for him.

Being a naughty monkey was pretty fun to act out. It was very much like his own personality, but the one that he suppressed because of publicity issues.

After he erased his name, giving Stalin a wink as he does so, and he wakes up from his death, the shoot was over.

The next episode would be about him getting recruited to go to the celestial realm to become a horse stable hand.

Stalin didn’t even both taking off all of his makeup and clothing before going up to Wukong and clasping his hand, eyes shining with wonder.

“You were absolutely magnificent this time. I have much to learn from you.”

“No, no. I am still just a novice! You were incredible!”

Stalin then leaned forward to whisper beside his ear,

“Meet me at ….. And wear something nice.”

***

 

Wukong’s eyes widened when he saw where Stalin was gesturing towards.

“You got us a reservation here?!”

It was named some kind of fancy French word and Wukong knew that getting a reservation at this location usually had to be reserved months in advance sometimes. How did Stalin manage to get them a reservation so quickly?!

“Don’t worry about it,” Stalin says as he holds out a hand.

Wukong happily takes it and they both walk in. The hostess was very polite when she saw who they were and efficiently got them settled into a booth.

“It is such an honor to have you both as our guests! Would you like to get started with any of our drinks? We specialize in alcoholic beverages! Or would you like something simple like a Shirley Temple to get started? Or sprite? Or-

“Thank you, but we’re fine with just water for now.” Stalin thankfully interrupted the server politely, before Wukong’s head exploded with confusion.

Even though he was a celebrity, he never had time to truly enjoy his life of “luxury.” It was always work nonstop and he usually limited himself to diets. He didn’t even know what a Margarita was!

“Sorry, Stalin. I’ve never gone out much before…”

Stalin gave him a small smile and said, “It’s quite all right. I apologize. Maybe I got a bit too excited.”

Wukong shook his head. “No! It’s wonderful. I love it, really!”

Stalin went on to say, “I’m paying for everything, so feel free to order whatever you like on the menu.

Wukong lifted the fancy looking menu up and checked the names. He couldn’t even pronounce some of these! Most were a mix of French and English! Was there not a Mandarin version?

The numbers were quite high too. Even though Stalin offered, Wukong felt too ashamed to make him pay for too much. He didn’t want to take advantage of Stalin’s generosity.

“I’m not feeling too hungry right now. I’ll just order an appetizer.”

Stalin looked over the menu and said, “The filet mignon is pretty good here. It’s not a huge portion either and I think you would like it.”

Wukong shook his head.

“No, thank you. I don’t eat meat.”

“Yeah, he sure doesn’t,” a new voice says. Wukong and Stalin both glance up to see a man standing beside their table. He was wearing a waiter’s uniform and had glasses and a light beard. His hair was combed back into a man bun.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.. I didn’t notice you were standing there,” Wukong smiled nervously. That was unnerving. How was this waiter so quiet? He really snuck up on them! And what was with that comment?

“It’s quite all right. Could I get anything for you?” The waiter asked back. Wukong noted that he had a rather rough voice, as if he was sick.

“Water for me is fine.” Wukong answers.

“Anything else? I heard you wanted appetizers too. Perhaps our finger food platter with stuffed mushrooms, spinach dip, caprese skewers, and fresh warm loaves?”

“Oh um, sure. Strange, I don’t see that option on here…”

“It’s a secret menu option. I’ll bring it right out for you.”

Stalin furrows his brow and clears his throat.

“Eh hem! Could I also order?”

The waiter glanced over at him as if he hadn’t even noticed Stalin was sitting there.

“Sure. What would you want?”

Stalin squinted his eyes. The waiter had a rather cocky tone.

“I’ll get a Margarita, strong with tequila base with light ice and lime juice. And then I would like the beef Wellington well done but not too well done with a side of vegetables a platter of noodles to share and-“

Stalin rambled on until he was satisfied, even ordering dessert. Wukong was too stunned to speak while the waiter simply listened to this long ridiculous order without speaking a word.

When Stalin finished, Wukong asked, “Um. Waiter, don’t you need to write this down?”

The waiter fixed his sleeve cuffs and gave him a smile.

“I don’t need to. And what would you like to have?”

Wukong listed a sort of middle ranged appetizer that looked ok just to give an answer. The waiter smiled widely and replied with a polite voice.

I’ll be back with your food shortly.”

Stalin asks, “What about mine? Did you even hear it?”

The waiter gives him a strained smile, “It’ll get here eventually.”

The waiter tosses another smile at Wukong before leaving, presumably to get their food.

“Do you know him?” Stalin asks.

Wukong shakes his head. He’s never been here, so he couldn’t have met that man. But why did he look so familiar?,..

***

Yang Jian rips off his glasses in anger and wipes it again.

Stupid, stupid, stupid Stalin.

Stealing HIS love and coming in with that foot smile and just-ugh!

Yang Jian did not work this hard for this long to give up now.

And he’s going to keep trying. He can’t afford to lose him. Even if that meant stealing another waiter’s uniform and “keeping an eye on” Wukong then so be it!

He remembered everything Wukong ordered. What Stalin ordered..,who cares?

After walking out of the restroom, he goes to the kitchen to check up on the food. To make sure they were truly decent enough for Wukong or if he would have to take things into his own manners…

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spots a dish filled with red hot peppers placed by the chefs for another server’s table and gets an idea.