A single sentence from Chu Feiliang had sent Wang Lujie’s heart into a tizzy. For several days afterward, she worried constantly that Chu Feiliang might suddenly lose her head and do something out of line.
After all, it wouldn’t be the first time.
In her youth, Chu Feiliang had been unruly and wild; there was nothing she didn’t dare to do. Although she had toned it down considerably now, to the point where the term “of high prestige and moral integrity” was almost being applied to her, Wang Lujie still couldn’t help but worry.
However, she didn’t do anything.
Not only did she not do anything strange, but she was also as well-behaved as a goody-two-shoes with no dark history.
Since she and Rong Guang didn’t have many scenes together recently, and Rong Guang had left a few days ago with the second unit director for an on-location shoot and hadn’t returned, the two of them hadn’t run into each other much.
Because they were filming in different locations, Chu Feiliang seemed to have reverted to the state Wang Lujie was most familiar with from the beginning.
She was silent and withdrawn, sitting in her chair for an entire day, devoid of energy, her face often cold.
When Shi Xiaoyun returned from her business trip, she was startled to see Chu Feiliang like this. “What’s wrong with her again?” she asked. “Didn’t she say she really liked this script? Has she lost all interest now?”
Chu Feiliang glanced lazily at Shi Xiaoyun, her eyes returning to her script. She yawned listlessly, wiped the corner of her eye, and chuckled softly. “I’m still interested. It’s probably just autumn fatigue these past few days. I’m drowsy all the time, and the progress is slow. The whole crew is feeling the same way. When filming reaches the midpoint, everyone gets a bit tired.”
Wang Lujie frowned at her but said nothing more.
Chu Feiliang looked at Shi Xiaoyun and took the initiative to ask, “How’s Rong Guang? Did she come back with you?”
“She’s back.” Shi Xiaoyun nodded and couldn’t help but say, “She’s completely exhausted. It’s been non-stop battle scenes these past few days. The makeup effects alone took four or five hours. Forget her, even I, who didn’t have to be on camera, couldn’t take it. She went straight to her room as soon as she got back. She’s probably catching up on sleep right now.”
“Alright.” Chu Feiliang perked up a little, setting her script aside. “Let’s get this done quickly. The sooner we finish filming, the sooner I can clock off.”
Although she said that, Chu Feiliang’s filming progress, not just for tonight but for the past few days, had been exceptionally rocky.
When she was in the zone, other people’s performances were off. When the others got their act together, there was some aspect where she couldn’t meet her own standards, or Director Zhang’s, and he just wouldn’t call “cut.”
A simple scene in the imperial study discussing memorials, which was entirely a showcase of line delivery skills—something that could have passed with just an emotional recitation—was filmed for over two hours without success.
There were some takes where Director Zhang felt Chu Feiliang’s solo performance was perfect, but the shots were unusable because of other people’s mistakes. He was so regretful it pained him to no end; losing even one of those takes was agonizing.
After repeated errors, Zhang Nanchuan’s temper flared.
“Can you act or not? What is the meaning of this? Huh? What’s wrong with the props department? First the jade tablet breaks, then the clothes are loose. Can’t you check everything before we start? Huh?! Actors, stick to your own marks! Why are you fighting for positions? Will you die if you don’t steal the scene? Who are you trying to torment? Forcing me to yell at you in the middle of the night?!” Zhang Nanchuan was so angry he didn’t even bother with his megaphone, just stood on a chair and started cursing.
Hearing him shouting over there, Chu Feiliang’s expression turned frosty, but she showed no particular reaction. She found a military greatcoat from somewhere, draped it over her shoulders, wrapped herself up slowly, and carried a small space heater to a corner to get warm.
Some of the actors playing ministers in the back were extras. Even in a scene of discussing matters in the imperial study, the number of ministers who might speak was not small. There were over a dozen of them, all somewhat known in the extras’ circle, with a bit of acting skill and a desire to climb to the next level.
This kind of situation was the most difficult to manage.
They were eager to have a work with some screen time to show at auditions for other crews, so naturally, they all tried to find ways to get more time in front of the camera.
After all, some of them didn’t know that fighting for a spot in the front was useless since it could all be edited out later. So they kept trying to push forward, thinking it would give them more exposure.
“Take a break!” Zhang Nanchuan coughed twice in anger, his face red as he sat down, still panting.
The actors dispersed, each finding their own spot to rest.
Suddenly, someone handed him a cup of water, holding it right in front of him.
Zhang Nanchuan’s mouth was dry from all the talking, so without much thought, he grabbed it and took two gulps before realizing the taste was a little off.
“What’s this flavor?” Zhang Nanchuan smacked his lips. “Why is it so sweet? What’s in it… Oh, Chacha?”
Chacha was wearing her favorite Doraemon onesie, her little face flushed with excitement. She waved at Zhang Nanchuan and said, “Drink up!”
Zhang Nanchuan took another sip. “What’s in here?”
“Sterculia lychnophora!” Chacha said in a clear voice. “With honey. Do you want more, Uncle Zhang?”
As she spoke, Chacha fumbled in the front pocket of her onesie. “My Sister Guangguang has been really stressed lately. She has two sores on her mouth, and her eyes are all red. The director over there said that state was perfect for Jiang Wenmou’s look of being drained of all energy, so he kept making her eat chili peppers and wouldn’t let her take any anti-inflammatory medicine. Now that she’s finally back, I’ve been making her drink lots of cooling and soothing water, trying to combine it with food therapy… Oh, found it. Want me to add more?”
She pulled out a small, squeezable bottle of honey. There wasn’t much left, but it was a common acacia honey, very sweet and quick to dissolve in water.
Zhang Nanchuan’s head was spinning from Chacha’s rambling. He waved his hand and said with a smile, “No more, go give it to your sister. Why did you think to bring a cup just for me?”
Zhang Nanchuan looked down at the disposable paper cup in his hand. By Chacha’s feet was a rather large water jug, probably three or four liters. The little girl had carried this whole jug over just for him.
Chacha looked perfectly righteous. “Of course it’s to build a good relationship so you’ll give my sister special treatment—it’s hard to be harsh after accepting a gift, and I can’t be as bad as Auntie Jiang, so I have to find my own way to make a living!”
The words Chacha used gave Zhang Nanchuan another headache. “Hold on, hold on—what do you mean, ‘find your own way to make a living’? Is that how you use that phrase?”
Chacha paused. “Is it wrong?”
Zhang Nanchuan was speechless for a moment. “Didn’t that girl Ye Zi tell me you skipped a grade into your second year of high school? You don’t know how to use such a basic phrase?”
“Oh, my studies are lopsided,” Chacha said nonchalantly. “I get full marks in science, but my total for liberal arts and language is only in the eighties, and that’s all from guessing the answers. My parents have been called in several times—here, Uncle Zhang, have another cup.”
After this round of nonsensical pestering from Chacha, Zhang Nanchuan’s anger from before had completely vanished.
Seeing Chacha and the other returning actors had lifted his spirits a bit. He looked at the water in his hand and couldn’t help but ask the assistant director next to him, “Does this water really cool you down?”
The assistant director had also been fuming, but his anger had dissipated as well. He said, half-convinced, “Probably… Should we prepare more? I heard chrysanthemum also helps cool you down…”
Seeing her mission accomplished, Chacha bounced back to Rong Guang’s side.
Rong Guang was holding another small pot of water near Chu Feiliang. Chu Feiliang was sleeping, so she didn’t make a sound.
When Chacha returned, Rong Guang looked at her and whispered, “Is everything taken care of?”
When Zhang Nanchuan was angry, he wouldn’t listen to anyone. If the previous scene kept failing, he would have stayed angry.
Rong Guang knew his temperament all too well, which was why she hadn’t gone over herself when she got back. After hearing the news, she had sent Chacha to wander over.
Faced with someone like Chacha, who was completely unconventional and whose train of thought was different from ordinary people, Zhang Nanchuan had no outlet for his anger. After being led astray by Chacha’s chatter, his mind would be sent running eight hundred meters away. Who could remember what they were angry about?
Even if he did remember, once the peak of his anger passed, as long as he didn’t get stuck on it, he would be able to think things through.
“Mission accomplished!” Chacha made an ‘OK’ sign, placing the now-empty water jug she had brought back to the side. She stood with her hands on her hips and said, “That really wore me out.”
Rong Guang smiled and rubbed her arms. “Thank you for your hard work.”
Chacha happily let Rong Guang massage her, then lovingly stroked the Doraemon outfit she was wearing. “I just took a walk around, and all the big brothers and sisters said I look cute, and that the outfit really suits me!”
“Mm,” Rong Guang said, gently pinching Chacha’s cheek.
It was quite a coincidence during this location shoot.
For some reason, Chacha had always loved Doraemon, including related merchandise and anything even remotely connected to the blue cat.
Her schoolbag, stationery, hats… even her clothes had Doraemon’s head printed on them.
This time, it just so happened that there was an amusement park near the filming location. During a break, Rong Guang took Chacha to have some fun, and on their way out, they discovered a shop selling specialty clothing.
Chacha didn’t say anything, but Rong Guang knew she wanted it, so she bought it for her.
The little girl was so happy with the clothes she couldn’t bear to wear them at first, admiring them in front of the mirror for a long time. As soon as she got back, she changed into them, eager to show them off, telling everyone she met that Rong Guang had bought her new clothes.
Chacha carefully checked her outfit again to make sure it wasn’t dirty, then borrowed Rong Guang’s phone to video call Ye Zi and share the happy news.
Not long after Chacha left, Chu Feiliang opened her eyes. Seeing Rong Guang, she raised an eyebrow and said, “Didn’t they say you went to catch up on sleep?”
Rong Guang moved closer. Seeing that Chu Feiliang was awake, she couldn’t help but say, “I… I wanted to come see you. I heard from Sister Shi that you haven’t been in a good state lately, always feeling drowsy and lacking energy. Do you… want some honey water?”
Chu Feiliang was quiet for a moment.
Then she looked at Rong Guang and smiled. “I’ll have some.”
Rong Guang’s face lit up with a smile. She picked up a clean cup and poured some water for Chu Feiliang, saying softly, “This pot was prepared for you. I didn’t go back to sleep. I went to make you some tea.”
The cup was placed in her palm. Chu Feiliang paused, feeling that the weather, which had seemed a bit cold just a moment ago, had suddenly become so warm that a certain emotion called restlessness began to stir within her.
She lowered her gaze and said, “So nice of you? You didn’t even take care of your own rest, and came to make tea for me first?”
“Not really… I just heard that filming hasn’t been going smoothly lately…” Rong Guang’s face reddened slightly. “Anyway, it’s not far to come back and forth, and I also wanted to say hello to the director and see what was going on. It wasn’t specifically because of you, so you don’t have to feel any pressure.”
Chu Feiliang took a sip. The warm sensation flowed from her mouth to her heart, then spread through her limbs, warming her entire body.
She squinted her eyes, her mood, which had been irritable for days, miraculously calming down at this moment. Looking at the mud on the soles of Rong Guang’s shoes, she said, “It’s not a big deal. Filming is already halfway through, which is when it’s easiest to get tired and slack off. It just so happens that a few of the somewhat famous extras we signed are acting up, trying to get more screen time for themselves. That’s what’s causing the progress to stall and all the interruptions.”
Rong Guang nodded. “Is it easy to solve?”
“Who knows.” Chu Feiliang shrugged, drank half the cup, but didn’t put it down, holding it in her hands for warmth. “That’s the director’s team’s business. They’ll coordinate it. It has nothing to do with me, an actor.”
Rong Guang hummed softly in agreement. That was indeed the case.
After a moment, Chu Feiliang blinked, a cunning glint flashing in her eyes. “Go get my phone for me. It’s charging with Lulu—she should be in the makeup room getting some props right now.”
Get instant access to all chapters now.
