Under Yan Su Ang’s heartfelt anticipation, Tan Fei finally burst into tears as he had hoped, and Lian Jue Xiu, his head aching, announced that they were wrapping for lunch.
In all his years in the industry, Lian Jue Xiu had made countless actresses cry, but very few had cried as earth-shatteringly as Tan Fei. Back when Zhang Jia Jia cried, she had gritted her teeth, held it in all the way home, and only then let the tears fall. He had only been away for a few years, yet apparently actresses’ ability to withstand pressure had dropped several levels since then.
Xiao Bai was dejected too. He seemed somewhat absentminded while eating.
Yan Su Ang tenderly stroked his hair. “For your first time acting, you already did very well.”
“But I don’t know what Director Lian means by ‘the feeling of being in love.’”
Yan Su Ang sighed inwardly. “It means that when that person is in front of you, you want to give them the entire world. When they’re not in front of you, you feel as though the entire world has lost its meaning.”
Lian Jue Xiu walked over carrying his boxed lunch and happened to hear that. He laughed. “You’d probably have a promising career if you switched professions and became a poet.” Once filming stopped, he had gone right back to being the amiable, humorous Lian Jue Xiu.
Yan Su Ang said, “If that was a compliment, I’ll accept it.”
Looking at Xiao Bai’s utterly baffled face, Lian Jue Xiu said, “It wasn’t. Poets always say things that look beautiful on paper but leave you feeling completely lost in a fog when you hear them.”
Yan Su Ang gave him a cold look. “Then what brilliant insight does our great Director Lian have?”
“Love is when your eyes light up while looking at someone.” Lian Jue Xiu gestured with his hands as though something were glowing.
Xiao Bai fell silent for a moment. “Do they have to be plugged in?”
Lian Jue Xiu burst out laughing. “Yes, but it’s an electrical connection between hearts. When you look at her, you think she’s the most beautiful person in the world. You long to have her, to live with her, and to stay together forever.”
Xiao Bai turned his head uncertainly and looked toward Tan Fei, who was being comforted by her assistant not far away.
Her tear tracks had yet to dry, and at that moment she had a delicate, pure beauty like pear blossoms in the rain.
“Wait.” Yan Su Ang suddenly turned Xiao Bai’s head back around. “Don’t think about random things while you’re eating. Eat first. Eating is important!”
Lian Jue Xiu nearly jumped up. “You’re calling acting ‘random things’?”
“I’m saying eating is serious business.” Yan Su Ang picked up a spare rib and shoved it directly into Lian Jue Xiu’s mouth before he could speak.
Lian Jue Xiu worked hard to swallow the rib. “Have I ever told you I hate ribs?”
Yan Su Ang’s expression did not change. “You mentioned it a few years ago.”
Without speaking, Lian Jue Xiu pointed at the bone he had spat onto the table, then at his own mouth, and gave him a questioning look.
“I thought that statement had already passed its expiration date.”
Lian Jue Xiu poked his rice with his chopsticks. “Don’t season my lunch with lame jokes that aren’t even funny.”
Gao Qin had already left before lunch. Jia Zhi Qing came over in the afternoon to act as the errand boy. He was quite excited about being able to see so many celebrities in one place, especially since one of them was a beautiful young woman.
Looking at Xiao Bai, who was having his makeup done, Jia Zhi Qing said, “Xiao Bai, if you ever need a stand-in for kissing or bed scenes, don’t be shy. Just tell me directly. I can give you half price!”
Xiao Bai tried to speak but was immediately silenced by a glare from the makeup artist.
Yan Su Ang said leisurely, “There aren’t any kissing or bed scenes. But for jumping off buildings, explosions, and rolling down stairs, we can give you priority.”
Jia Zhi Qing looked completely unconvinced. “Isn’t Xiao Bai playing a rich young master? Why would he be jumping off buildings for no reason?”
“A rich young master who gets kidnapped,” Yan Su Ang added.
Jia Zhi Qing twisted his mouth. “After careful consideration, I think something that professional should still be left to professionals.”
Lian Jue Xiu walked into the makeup room with a smile. “Didn’t you say you could do it for half price?”
Jia Zhi Qing looked miserable. “Half price is still half price, but I’m willing to bet the medical expenses afterward would be several times higher than your budget.”
Yan Su Ang said, “But if we ever film a scene where someone has a crippled leg, it would definitely look very realistic.”
Lian Jue Xiu hurriedly nodded. “I like realism.”
Jia Zhi Qing said, “Can I walk out the door and come in again, and we’ll pretend I only just arrived?”
Lian Jue Xiu smiled. “If you’d like, we can repeat the entire conversation and pretend the last one was a bad take.”
Filming began again, starting once more with Xiao Bai and Tan Fei’s scene.
To avoid wasting film, Lian Jue Xiu had no choice but to make them rehearse it first.
“Xiao Bai, try to keep your attention on Tan Fei, but don’t stare at her like you’re conducting fixed-point surveillance. As your emotions shift, your whole face and your eyes should respond differently.” Since they had not officially started filming yet, Lian Jue Xiu’s attitude was still fairly gentle. “Tan Fei, you’re not a newcomer. Give Xiao Bai some interaction, but don’t use your enthusiasm—use your performance to draw his performance out. Don’t make too many unnecessary movements. Keep it natural. All right, is everyone ready?”
Almost everyone on set was tensely preparing to begin filming.
Almost.
Only almost.
At the very least, Yan Su Ang and Jia Zhi Qing were remarkably detached from the proceedings.
Jia Zhi Qing read the script enviously. “‘Bai Rui Di wraps an arm around Deng Xiao Xiao’s waist.’ Considering Xiao Bai’s height, I think this scene should really have a stand-in.”
Yan Su Ang glanced at him. “For a stand-in your height, a pair of elevator shoes would be enough.”
Jia Zhi Qing choked. It took him a long while to reply, “At least he still couldn’t reach my height if I wore elevator shoes too.”
“That makes you neither here nor there.”
Jia Zhi Qing indignantly pointed at Xiao Bai. “Then what about him?”
“Just right.”
“……” Jia Zhi Qing muttered, “What a bizarre standard.”
Just then, Lian Jue Xiu suddenly shot them a warning look.
Yan Su Ang and Jia Zhi Qing instantly shut their mouths and put on perfectly serious expressions.
Lunch had given everyone in the production more strength.
It had not given them more luck.
In fact, filming progress between Xiao Bai and Tan Fei remained firmly at zero.
Lian Jue Xiu’s fury blazed back to full force. “Did the two of you forget to evolve? Huh? Can’t understand human language? Do I need to go to the wildlife park and bring back a translator for you?! Every single movement is stiff as a board. Did I ask you to play zombies? Why don’t you forget walking entirely and just hop around?”
Xiao Bai lowered his head, looking thoroughly dejected.
Yan Su Ang’s heart ached at the sight, but without saying a word, he walked out of the house.
Jia Zhi Qing followed him. “Aren’t you going to say something for Xiao Bai?” He usually acts like he cares so much about him. Why does he drop the ball at the crucial moment? Looking at Xiao Bai just now made even me want to rush over and say we’re not filming anymore. Fortunately, Gao Qin had warned him over the phone beforehand that aside from running errands and doing grunt work, he was not allowed to interfere with anything else. Jia Zhi Qing had thought about it for a long time and finally classified “arguing with the director” under things that did not count as running errands or grunt work.
Yan Su Ang leaned against the outside wall of the villa and smiled faintly. “What do you think I should say?”
“Argue with him…” Jia Zhi Qing remembered Xiao Bai’s terrible performance and immediately realized his position was not particularly defensible. He changed tack. “At least give him some encouragement or something.”
“You know, abroad, when a child falls down, the parents generally let them stand up on their own. Any outside assistance is temporary. Only your own strength is truly yours.”
“……It’s just encouragement. Did you really need to take the example that far?” Besides, since when did Xiao Bai become his son? “What if Xiao Bai keeps failing to get it right and never reaches the standard?”
Yan Su Ang lifted his head and looked toward the villa across the way. “Then they replace him.”
“Do you have to be that heartless?”
“Nobody can do everything. Every profession has people suited for it and people who simply aren’t.” Yan Su Ang shrugged. “Worst case, next time I’ll suggest Xiao Bai try releasing an album.”
Jia Zhi Qing looked horrified. “I sincerely have to tell you that your suggestion is extremely dangerous.”
“How dangerous?”
“Dangerous to human life.”
“……”
Yan Su Ang and Jia Zhi Qing chatted outside for quite a while before going back in, but Lian Jue Xiu’s roaring was still going strong.
Tan Fei had already escaped the sea of suffering. It could basically be said that she had found her footing, but Xiao Bai seemed more and more lost. Even the lines he had originally delivered fluently were beginning to come out in stutters.
Lian Jue Xiu’s brows drew tighter and tighter until he looked one step away from cursing someone’s mother.
Seeing that things were going badly, Jia Zhi Qing immediately ran outside and obsequiously called Gao Qin to report the situation.
Gao Qin said coolly from the other end, “Let them handle it themselves.”
“Them? Who?”
“It doesn’t concern you either way.”
Feeling seriously ignored, Jia Zhi Qing said furiously, “If you won’t tell me, I’ll quit!”
“Then don’t just talk about it. Do it.”
“……If I quit just because you told me to, how boring would that make me? I refuse!”
Gao Qin said impatiently, “Anything else? If not, I’m hanging up.”
“Hey, I’m seriously giving you a work report. Do you have to have that attitude?”
“I’m seriously sitting on the toilet. Do you have to pick this exact time?”
Jia Zhi Qing instinctively covered his nose. “You have absolutely no manners!”
Click. Gao Qin hung up, carrying his lack of manners through to the bitter end.
Jia Zhi Qing put away his phone and headed back inside, only to see Yan Su Ang coming out with an arm around Xiao Bai.
Xiao Bai’s eyes were slightly red. Tears were stubbornly trapped in them, refusing to fall.
Lian Jue Xiu’s roar came from inside. “If you perform like this again tomorrow, you can spend the rest of your life staying away from cameras!”
Jia Zhi Qing hurriedly asked, “What happened?”
It was actually a pointless question. Anyone with eyes could see perfectly well what had happened. But at that moment, Jia Zhi Qing felt that every other word in his vocabulary had mysteriously disappeared.
Yan Su Ang said, “I’ll take Xiao Bai home. You go back by yourself.”
“No need. I’ll—”
Without even looking at him, Yan Su Ang said, “It’s on my way.”
……Don’t Xiao Bai and I live under the same roof? If we’re talking about whose route is more convenient, who could possibly be more on the way than me?
Utterly speechless, Jia Zhi Qing watched Xiao Bai get into Yan Su Ang’s car before the vehicle sped away in a cloud of dust.
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