The morning scenes were all large ensemble shots. Zhou Changjiang’s expression had been unpleasant the entire time. What he hated most was actors juggling projects; even shooting a magazine cover was unacceptable. But Lu Xianqing’s schedule had been arranged in advance and did not delay the morning scenes.
Early that morning, Yao Jinwei came to request leave in person. She said she had an event to attend, something scheduled long ago, and she also mentioned Wen Li.
“This event is my first collaboration with Sister Wen Li. She is a senior I respect very much. My manager did not inform you in advance—I have already spoken to her about it. This will not happen again. If I do not go now, not only will I be unable to answer to the organizers, I will also cause unnecessary trouble for Sister Wen Li.”
Zhou Changjiang slammed the script down. “Did no one tell you before you accepted my drama that I do not allow any overlapping work or personal leave? If Wen Li is unhappy, that is her business. Leave denied.”
The assistant hurriedly said, “Sister Yao does not want to ask for leave either. It was her manager who forgot to report it to you earlier. This schedule was set before. There absolutely will not be leave again in the future.”
Yao Jinwei nodded lightly. “I am not afraid to pay liquidated damages. I can even pay out of my own pocket. It is just that the event cannot be ruined because of me.”
Her attitude was sincere and her reasoning sound. Zhou Changjiang had nowhere to vent his anger. He waved his hand for her to go quickly and come back early.
For the rest of the morning, Zhou Changjiang was like a hedgehog, nitpicking every detail.
The entire crew barely dared to breathe. Qin Sizheng was especially nervous. His acting was probably the weakest in the cast, but fortunately there were many fight scenes, and he managed to scrape by.
“Take this seriously! Chen Qiu, what are you dawdling for over there? Catching earthworms? Move to the center!”
“Xing Yue, your hair is a mess like a chicken coop. Did the makeup artist fall asleep? Fix it! Touch up the makeup too—the lipstick is gone. And that skirt—change it to red. Do you not see it is a continuity error?”
The assistant director quickly said, “All right, calm down a little. Look at the whole crew—you have them so scared they do not even dare to breathe.”
Zhou Changjiang stood with his hands on his hips, restraining himself for a moment, then soon started scolding again. Seeing he could not be persuaded, the assistant director let him vent. Better now than during filming.
Everyone was wound tight as a bowstring. Chen Qiu shuffled over to Qin Sizheng and whispered, “I am about to be scolded silly. Scenes that usually pass are not allowed to pass now. I cannot fight like you. Of course I do not look as good as you when fighting.”
Qin Sizheng hurriedly stopped her. “Lower your voice. If he hears you, he will scold you again.”
Chen Qiu rubbed against his shoulder. “Yan Yan needs comfort.”
Qin Sizheng froze. “What did you call me?”
Chen Qiu looked puzzled. “Does Fourth Brother not call you Yan Yan? Is that not your nickname?”
Qin Sizheng choked for a moment. He did not mention that it was the name of Lu Xianqing’s cat. He could only admit it. “Yes… it is. Not many people call me that, so I did not react at first.”
Chen Qiu asked, “Can I call you that?”
“…Sure. Call me whatever you like.”
“Teacher Qin, Teacher Chen—come over to film. Director Zhou is urging people again. Hurry.” The assistant director came to fetch them, giving them a meaningful look to remind them not to run straight into the line of fire.
The makeup artist rechecked Qin Sizheng’s makeup. This shot was one of his heavier scenes. Xiao Yu was dead—his limbs all broken, even his eyes smashed into two bloody hollows.
Ding Chenhai had once hurt Xiao Yu out of jealousy. Everyone immediately suspected him. The plot bore a few similarities to the present situation. Ding Chenhai was not home; when they went looking, they found Chu Jing in his courtyard, feeding the dogs.
Chu Jing saw them with red eyes and faces full of hatred, not yet knowing what had happened. He followed them back and saw Xiao Yu’s corpse.
“Xiao Yu!” Chu Jing was stunned. He grabbed someone at random. “Who did this? Speak! I am asking you—who did this!”
“Who else could it be? It must be Ding Chenhai!” Ninth Uncle gritted his teeth and slammed his fist against a nearby lamp post, the impact dull and heavy.
“He has always despised West Hua Street. Last time he beat Xiao Yu half to death and even took our land! He is trying to drive us to our deaths!”
“In his eyes we are not even worth as much as dogs. A Jing, you are close to him—did you step over our corpses to be with him? Was it you? Did you help him kill Xiao Yu?”
At the mention of Ding Chenhai’s name, Chu Jing shuddered. Xiao Yu had died horribly—exactly the kind of thing Ding Chenhai was capable of.
Last time he had warned him, telling him not to be so close to Xiao Yu. The night before, Xiao Yu had asked him out for drinks. They had sat together on the skeletal frame of an abandoned factory behind West Hua Street.
Xiao Yu had said, “A Jing, living is damn meaningless. No matter how hard we try, we are just rats in a gutter.”
Chu Jing tilted his head back to look at the stars. “That is not true. Whether rich or poor—even if we are rats, when we lift our heads, we can still see the stars.”
Xiao Yu turned to look at him, bit down hard on his lip, then suddenly hugged him tightly. “A Jing, I… I like you.”
Chu Jing had been so startled he froze. Xiao Yu clung to him urgently. “You have always helped me since we were kids. Every time something happened, you pulled me out. I never dared to say it before. I know you are with Ding Chenhai. You even did that kind of thing with him. Do not be with him—he is not a good person. I will treat you well!”
Chu Jing shoved him away. “Xiao Yu, calm down!”
Xiao Yu shook his head, speaking faster and faster. “I know you like men. Now I finally dare to say it. Be with me, A Jing. We are the same kind of people! Do you like Ding Chenhai’s money? Is it because I am poor that you do not like me?”
As he spoke, he grabbed Chu Jing’s shoulders and tried to kiss him. Chu Jing punched him in the face. “The person I like is Ding Chenhai! It has nothing to do with money. If you bring this up again, we will not even be brothers anymore. Get lost.”
Xiao Yu was stunned by the blow and sobered up. He lowered his head, wiped his face, and choked out, “I am sorry. I spoke without thinking. I… but I really…”
Chu Jing cut him off. “Forget this ever happened. I do not like men. I just like Ding Chenhai.” He jumped down from the metal frame, and as he walked out, he saw Ding Chenhai standing outside.
Lu Xianqing was not present, so this scene was not filmed. They shot the later scene of Xiao Yu’s murder first.
Chu Jing’s first thought was also Ding Chenhai. The expression he had worn the night before—normally he would have been jealous, but instead he had smiled, gentle in a way that sent chills down the spine.
Someone suddenly kicked Chu Jing. Immediately afterward, a stick struck his back, pain bursting through him and drawing cold sweat at once.
Chu Jing’s grandmother hurried over in small, shuffling steps, crying as she shielded him. “Do not hit my A Jing. Do not hit my grandson.”
A stick came crashing down toward his head. Chu Jing’s eyes widened. He moved in a flash to shield his grandmother, and Qin Sizheng was also careful to protect the elderly actress tightly, afraid the sticks might hurt her.
Xiao Yu had grown up before the eyes of West Hua Street. His death fueled their hatred of Ding Chenhai. When they saw Chu Jing hesitate, they took it as confirmation he was the killer.
The blows fell like rain across Chu Jing’s back. These were his elders; he could not fight back. He also had to protect his grandmother. He was beaten until he was covered in bruises, yet he clenched his teeth and endured the insults and strikes without a sound.
Ding Chenhai was not there. Lu Xianqing was not there. Chu Jing had to bear it alone. Qin Sizheng had to bear it alone as well.
“Where is Ding Chenhai? Speak!”
“Did you conspire with him to kill my Xiao Yu? Chu Jing, we have never wronged you. You found a man and killed your own friend for him—are you even human?”
“Give me back my Xiao Yu! He was my only son!”
With difficulty, Chu Jing shielded the only family he had left, refusing to reveal Ding Chenhai’s whereabouts. He would ask him whether he had done it. Until then, no one was allowed to wrong him.
He endured the sticks and the humiliation—torment of both body and mind—yet still protected the one person he loved.
“Cut!” Zhou Changjiang called out. Everyone snapped their heads toward him like startled birds, making him pause for a second before he laughed helplessly. “All right, I know I was fierce this morning. This take was very good. It is passed. Good work, everyone.”
The entire crew breathed out in unison.
Shen Changfeng brought over a cup of water so Qin Sizheng could rinse the stage blood from his mouth. Ninth Uncle patted his shoulder. “They did not actually hit you, did they?”
Qin Sizheng quickly said, “No, no. Everyone was very careful. I was not hit at all.”
“Thanks to your performance, Director Zhou actually smiled. Otherwise we would have been scolded again this afternoon. With that dark expression of his, I would not even dare speak,” Xing Yue added softly.
Qin Sizheng pressed his lips together and smiled. “You all carried me. I have no experience and was afraid of being scolded. It was your intensity that satisfied Director Zhou. Otherwise he would definitely have said, ‘Qin Sizheng, if you cannot act, get out!’”
Everyone laughed, thoroughly charmed without realizing it, and began inviting him to eat in their dressing rooms.
“No, he is coming to mine first. Step back.”
Xing Yue looped her arm around his affectionately. “A Jing is coming to Sister Li’s place. What is there to visit in those stinky men’s dressing rooms? Pah.”
Qin Sizheng was overwhelmed by their enthusiasm and hurried to placate them. “I want to read through the script a bit more later. Next time I will definitely come.”
Xing Yue had only been joking anyway. She released him with a couple of teasing clicks of her tongue. “There goes my dream of a younger boyfriend.”
Chen Qiu made two spitting sounds. “A Jing is mine. We share a dressing room. No one is stealing him. He is eating lunch with me. You can all keep dreaming.”
No one insisted further. They joked a few more lines and dispersed.
Shen Changfeng said, “Go rest in the dressing room first. I will get the meal.”
“All right.” Qin Sizheng had just taken two steps when he suddenly heard a faint cracking sound. He instinctively looked up. The battered signboard hanging on the wall seemed to shift slightly.
“Why did you stop?” Chen Qiu hooked his arm again and followed his gaze, staring blankly for a moment. “What are you looking at?”
“Nothing. Maybe I imagined it.” Qin Sizheng had just lifted his foot when there was another sound. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the elderly actress playing his grandmother walk out, chatting and laughing with her assistant.
He shoved Chen Qiu aside. Chen Qiu fell to the ground. “What are you—” Before he could finish, a massive signboard crashed down at his feet from above. He froze in shock.
Qin Sizheng moved quickly. The instant after pushing Chen Qiu away, he grabbed the elderly actress and fell backward, shielding her with his own body. She was unharmed.
The loud crash drew everyone’s attention. Zhou Changjiang’s face turned pale. He sprinted over. “Who is hurt? Who is hurt? Chen Qiu, are you all right?”
Chen Qiu stammered, “I… I am fine. Check Sizheng!”
In the summer heat, everyone was dressed lightly. Qin Sizheng’s elbow had a superficial scrape. Zhou Changjiang did not even bother cursing the set construction yet. He rushed over and asked, “A Jing, are you all right? Teacher Xue, are you all right?”
The elderly actress was badly shaken, her face white and speechless. Zhou Changjiang ordered the assistant to examine her and send her to the hospital immediately if anything seemed wrong.
After that, he turned back to Qin Sizheng. “How about you?”
Qin Sizheng raised his arm. From his right elbow down to his forearm was red and abraded. “It is just a scrape. I will clean and bandage it later. It is not serious.”