Chapter 9

The day prior to the start of filming for the second episode, Yuan Ye landed in the city where Fang Shaoyi was currently shooting his movie. Their second destination was Inner Mongolia, the grassland.

After getting off the plane, Yuan Ye directly grabbed his luggage and headed to the film set, which was located in a little village about 100 kilometers away from the city. On the way, the taxi driver kept telling him stories about all the celebrities who were here to film this time. It was rare for anyone to visit such a small place, not to mention that so many people had come this time. The driver asked Yuan Ye what he was here for. Yuan Ye thought about it before answering, “To do some odd jobs.”

The driver looked at Yuan Ye through the rearview mirror. He shook his head and said, “Doesn’t seem like it. You’re good looking. You seem like you’re here to act.”

Yuan Ye smiled. “I’m not. I hate cameras.”

Because Fang Shaoyi needed to film the variety show, he needed to rush through his work on set in advance. Sometimes, he would film day and night consecutively. The people acting alongside him would then need to rush too. Everyone was working very hard. It was only because this person was Fang Shaoyi, with his family background and status out there, that others wouldn’t outwardly express any resentment they felt, if they felt any.

When Yuan Ye got there, Fang Shaoyi was sitting next to the director and watching a replay on the monitor. The director was explaining the scene to a young actor. Fang Shaoyi sat beside him, silent. As he listened, he sipped on hot water.

“You need to immerse yourself in the emotions. When you’re supposed to cry, you need to cry. Nobody is capable of not crying when faced with such a scenario——your family and friends dying in front of you, one by one,” the director said.

The young actor was new. He had been chosen by Director Xin and this was his first time acting. He couldn’t really get a good grasp on his character.

The director told him, “Though he’s someone who’s bad at expressing his emotions and has a somewhat dull personality, that doesn’t mean he’s cold-blooded or indifferent. He wouldn’t make the same expression in every situation.”

The young actor nodded. It seemed like he had understood, but he also appeared a bit stumped. He sheepishly smiled, “Director, I’m afraid that I won’t be able to cry.”

The director’s expression was strict. With furrowed brows, he said, “You need to cry. If you’re unable to cry for this scene, you might as well never act again. This isn’t crying for love or some other trivial matter; it’s about life and death. Your entire family died in front of you and you’re telling me you aren’t able to cry? Then you’re still you. You’re not the character in this movie.”

Yuan Ye had actually been here for a while. He stayed a bit off into the distance behind them and didn’t move any closer. Nor did he speak. He sat on his own suitcase, both legs resting on the ground as he listened to the director explain. To be honest, he wanted to listen to Fang Shaoyi speak about the plot, but Fang Shaoyi was just holding onto a thermos flask and remaining completely silent. In the past, Yuan Ye had loved hearing Fang Shaoyi talk about these things. He had also loved watching Fang Shaoyi act.

Some people were born to be actors. As long as they were on set, their entire being would seem to start glowing. They became extremely charismatic. Fang Shaoyi was one of these people.

The young actor left. The director looked at the replay on the monitor again and asked Fang Shaoyi, “What do you think?”

Fang Shaoyi didn’t say anything, only gently shaking his head.

The director sighed and smiled in exasperation. “We’ll have to take it slow. His image matches the character too well. A pity that he can’t act.”

Fang Shaoyi smiled too. “There aren’t any actors that Director Xin can’t teach. On your sets, there are no actors who can’t act.”

The director shook his head. “That’s what they all say, that I can get a good performance from anyone if they spend a year filming with me. But that wastes too much time. Everyone needs to practice over and over with them. If it were a cast full of rookies, we could spend time going over things, but if it’s only one or two people who don’t know how to act, who wants to spend the time practicing with them? Just now, Yao Hua’s expression was already really upset.”

Fang Shaoyi didn’t say anything else. He took another gulp of water to soothe his throat, then lowered his gaze and said, “Everyone goes through that stage. That’s how we all got here.”

Yuan Ye laughed soundlessly from behind them. Fang Shaoyi was still Fang Shaoyi. Some people were born of different backgrounds than others. With different upbringings, their attitudes regarding resolving issues could be tremendously different. Though Fang Shaoyi had a high status, he never acted arrogant or brash on set. He rarely spoke, but not because he looked down on anyone. This was merely his personality – he didn’t really like talking so much. As long as young actors went up to him with questions, he would always answer them.

This sounded simple, but was actually quite rare in the entertainment industry. This was a very materialistic industry. It praised the mighty but stepped on the poor. People’s power originated from their worth and what resources they had. Fang Shaoyi appeared distant because of his constantly cold and aloof expressions, but he didn’t act like he was better than anyone, nor was he interested in ruining anyone. He never held himself higher than anybody else, never looked down on the rest of the world.

They were all film emperors, but there were differences in morals between film emperor and film emperor too.

Later on, it was Ji Xiaotao who saw Yuan Ye first. He had just left to get medicine for Fang Shaoyi, so had headed to the village along the way. He bought some stuff, including soup for Fang Shaoyi, the director, producer, and director of cinematography.

When he saw Yuan Ye, he was a bit surprised. He shouted, “Ye ge?”

Fang Shaoyi and the director both turned around. Yuan Ye smiled at them and raised an arm in greeting. He asked Ji Xiaotao, “Can you not be so loud every time you see me?”

“I couldn’t control myself.” Ji Xiaotao first walked over to give the director and them their soup and food. Then, he quietly asked Yuan Ye, “How come you’re here, Ye ge? You should’ve called me to go pick you up!”

Yuan Ye answered, “No need. I took a taxi over. Either way, we have to start filming again tomorrow. I’m a day early so I can wait here.”

Fang Shaoyi glanced back at him, but didn’t stand up or walk over. He remained seated next to the director, chatting with the other. The director drank his soup while speaking. Fang Shaoyi nodded and continued their conversation.

Fang Shaoyi didn’t walk over until they had finished their discussion. They hadn’t seen each other in a week, but he didn’t seem overly excited to see Yuan Ye. There were no extraneous expressions on his face. Ji Xiaotao handed a thermos flask to him. After Fang Shaoyi opened it, white steam drifted out. The director and everyone else had normal boxes for their food; Fang Shaoyi’s was one he had specially brought for himself.

Neither of these two were speaking to each other. Ji Xiaotao felt slightly awkward. He asked Yuan Ye, “Ye ge, have you eaten yet? Do you want to eat a pancake? He’s a bit sick, so is drinking soup to try and sweat it out.”

Yuan Ye nodded and said, “I already ate. No need to worry about me.”

Ji Xiaotao responded, “Ye ge, give your stuff to me. I’ll arrange a room for you.”

Yuan Ye looked at Fang Shaoyi. This person was noticeably sick. His nose was a bit red. He asked Ji Xiaotao, “You guys just stay here every night?”

“Un, we’ve been staying in the village. It’s too far away from the city. Better to save the trouble.”

Yuan Ye handed his suitcase over. Ji Xiaotao grabbed it from him. There was nothing else in Yuan Ye’s hands anymore. He stood off to the side, watching Fang Shaoyi drink soup.

This image was a bit comical. All three of them were standing there, but nobody was speaking. Ji Xiaotao would occasionally chime in a few times, but the other two barely even made eye contact. Yuan Ye didn’t even know what he was doing here. He hadn’t thought too much of it prior to coming. Either way, they would have to start filming again tomorrow. They couldn’t possibly arrive from two different locations every time. Since they were acting like a couple, they needed to seem more realistic. Now, he was standing here with Fang Shaoyi, finally feeling like he probably shouldn’t have come.

With a camera filming right in front of their faces, they could still make conversation. Without that camera, they didn’t even have anything to say to each other.

Fang Shaoyi only drank half of that flask of soup. He had already drank two cups of hot water previously, so really couldn’t consume anymore. His whole stomach was full of liquid. That afternoon, Fang Shaoyi acted when he needed to and slept in the car when he didn’t. Yuan Ye stayed squatting next to the director, listening to him and the screenwriter continuously debate. He had interacted with this director before. In the past, Fang Shaoyi had acted in his movie and Yuan Ye had followed to the film set. He was pretty familiar with both this director and screenwriter.

These two people were both stubborn about their own opinions. They were discussing whether or not the third male lead should eventually die or not. Yuan Ye squatted next to them, smoking a cigarette. Occasionally, he would hand each of them one too. Listening in was pretty interesting.

“Little Yuan, you tell me,” the director suddenly called for him. Yuan Ye paused, then smiled. “What could I say? I haven’t even read the script yet. I don’t even know what the background is.”

Director Xin looked at him, eyebrow cocked in displeasure. “When haven’t you been the first person to read the scripts for Shaoyi’s films? What are you scared of? Speak. Let me hear what you think.”

Yuan Ye froze in the middle of exhaling out smoke. After, he finally shook his head and responded seriously, “Director Xin, I really haven’t read this one.”

The last time Fang Shaoyi had worked with Director Xin was four years ago. That time, they would practically change the script on the spot every day. Oftentimes, Yuan Ye would participate too. He and the director usually had the same opinions, resulting in frequent arguments with the screenwriter. Yuan Ye was straightforward when he spoke. He always said what he thought, unafraid of insulting someone.

The screenwriter chuckled off to the side, “Yo, you two shouldn’t fool around like that. I can tell that there’s something wrong between the two of you. Don’t cause any trouble when everything’s going smoothly.”

The people in this industry were all clever. Those who didn’t have any idea what was going or who couldn’t get a clear idea of how things were supposed to be wouldn’t be able to survive in this circle. Fang Shaoyi’s work schedule was extremely packed this year, to the point that he didn’t even have a single day off. He lived on different sets, never going home. Yuan Ye never visited either.

Director Xin and Teacher Liu, the screenwriter, always worked together. They had collaborated for almost twenty years. Fang Shaoyi’s dad had a great relationship with them, so regardless of if the reason was their friendship with Fang Han or their work with Fang Shaoyi, these two acted like Fang Shaoyi and Yuan Ye’s uncles. They dared to scold them. If this were any other young couple, they wouldn’t even say a single, extra word.

Yuan Ye nodded and made a noise of acknowledgment. “Got it! Teacher Liu!”

The director looked at him with a smile and said, “Teacher Liu is saying that for your own good. Don’t feel annoyed.”

“I won’t,” Yuan Ye hurriedly shook his head. “How could that be possible.”

Ji Xiaotao took Yuan Ye’s stuff to the room next door to the one they were staying in: a room in the same courtyard. However, the other room could only be used as a storage because it didn’t have a bed. Normally, he and Fang Shaoyi each slept in their own beds in the same room. This night, he gave up his bed for Yuan Ye and went to squeeze with someone else in their room.

Yuan Ye looked at these two rooms and didn’t say anything. It wasn’t possible for him to go and squeeze with someone, because this would send a blatant message to other people. They might even say that the assistant had gotten a leg in and forced him out of the relationship. So he also shouldn’t act like an overdramatic person and say he wanted to head back to stay in the city. What were you doing earlier? Everyone’s tired. It’s already so late, so stop causing trouble.

Thus, Yuan Ye nodded and said, “Okay. You’ve worked hard, Xiaotao.”

At night, Fang Shaoyi and Yuan Ye each slept in their own beds, on different sides. Neither spoke to the other. Yuan Ye could hear Fang Shaoyi’s muffled coughing. After enough time, his throat started getting hoarse.

Yuan Ye pulled out his phone and sent Ji Xiaotao a WeChat message: Has he taken his medicine tonight or not?

Ji Xiaotao sent back: I gave it to him, but I don’t know if he ate it or not!

Ji Xiaotao: How about you ask him?

Yuan Ye replied: Un.

Yuan Ye put his phone down and stuffed it under the pillow. He turned around so that he was facing the wall and no longer looking at Fang Shaoyi. He cleared his throat and spoke, “Yi ge, did you forget to take your medicine?”

“No.” Fang Shaoyi only responded a few seconds later. In a raspy voice, he asked, “I disturbed your rest?”

Yuan Ye furrowed his brows in the dark. He placed his arm over his head and responded, “No, I just feel like you must be very uncomfortable.”

After, the room fell into complete silence. No one spoke again. No one coughed again. Yuan Ye couldn’t hear Fang Shaoyi’s coughing anymore. He wanted to flip around to check, but also felt that it was honestly too quiet; flipping would be too loud.

A long time later, or maybe it had only felt like a long time but had really been merely a few minutes, Yuan Ye heard Fang Shaoyi speak up again. His voice was both low and coarse, filled with the slightest hint of mockery. As it traveled into one’s ear through the dark, it felt like sandpaper, capable of rubbing off a layer of one’s heart——

“You can still feel whether or not I’m uncomfortable?”

“Can you?”