Chapter 22
“Un?”
The sound that Fang Shaoyi made as he answered the phone was truly alluring. His voice was deep, but he gently lifted his tone at the end. If anyone heard it, they would be captivated.
Yuan Ye’s voice sounded out from the phone. It sounded really quiet on his side. He called out, “Yi ge?”
Fang Shaoyi made another noise of acknowledgment. He asked, “What?”
Ji Xiaotao was incredibly conscientious. He pulled up Fang Shaoyi’s shirt and placed a pain relief patch on his shoulder. Then, he added a heat pack outside to keep it warm. After everything, he made a hand gesture at Fang Shaoyi and went back to his own room to sleep.
Yuan Ye cleared his throat and said, “Nothing, just asking how you’ve been recently.”
The two of them hadn’t called for a long time. To hold a simple conversation through the phone gave off a familiar, intimate feeling. However, because of the year in between, this familiar sense of intimacy also seemed vaguely unreal. The lighting was warm and Fang Shaoyi’s heart felt tender. When his voice sounded from the phone, it was deep and smooth, causing Yuan Ye’s heart to beat faster. “I’m alright.”
He tugged a pillow over to place behind his body as he leaned against the headboard. He heard Yuan Ye ask, “It’s quite cold where you guys are, right? Is your shoulder still okay?”
“Un, just fine,” Fang Shaoyi said.
Yuan Ye actually had no other reason to make this call. It was only because his heart had felt stuffy after seeing the picture Ji Xiaotao had sent over. He was worried, so simply decided to make a call and ask. After asking, the two of them had nothing else to say. It had been too long since they had called each other. They had both forgotten what could be said over the phone. Or, they actually didn’t know what they could talk about given their current identities.
A brief moment of silence later, Fang Shaoyi spoke first. He asked, “What are you doing?”
A soft tone. It could even be considered gentle. Yuan Ye instinctively used his finger to caress his phone on the other end of the line. He answered, “I wrote something.”
Fang Shaoyi asked him again, “What?”
Yuan Ye said, “The same thing as before. I never really finished it. Recently, I’ve felt more at peace, so started continuing it.”
Fang Shaoyi made a noise of acknowledgement. After, neither of them spoke. For a long time, the only thing that could be heard through the phone was the sound of their breathing. Later, the sounds of Yuan Ye typing away at his keyboard appeared too. But surprisingly, nobody said anything about hanging up. Fang Shaoyi held his phone up with one hand; Yuan Ye slanted his head to hold his phone between his ear and shoulder. It was unclear why they remained on the call. Perhaps they had forgotten about hanging up, or perhaps, they merely wanted to hear the other’s breathing.
A long time later, Yuan Ye softened his voice to ask, “Asleep?”
Fang Shaoyi replied, “No.”
Yuan Ye instantly laughed. He said, “I thought you fell asleep already. It’s so late, how come you aren’t sleeping yet? Don’t you need to film tomorrow?”
Fang Shaoyi closed his eyes. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down imperceptibly. He laughed too, then said, “I can’t bear to sleep.”
The sound of Yuan Ye tapping away at the keyboard instantly stopped. It was completely silent on the other end of the line. Then, Yuan Ye cleared his throat and called out, “Ge.”
“Un?”
The soft click of a lighter. Yuan Ye lit a cigarette before blowing out the first mouthful of smoke. With one hand on his phone, he squatted on the chair and suddenly said, “……Sorry.”
Fang Shaoyi’s originally closed eyes blinked open. He asked, “Why are you apologizing?”
Maybe because the atmosphere tonight was too great, and because Fang Shaoyi was too tender, Yuan Ye really wanted to apologize out of the blue. It was a very strange impulse, but he had followed it. He hadn’t been able to hold himself back. Yuan Ye took another puff of his cigarette, then responded, “Why&#k2026;&#k2026;I don’t know either. For a lot of things, I guess.”
According to Fang Shaoyi’s personality, he normally wouldn’t keep asking after such a response. But today, he surprisingly continued to inquire, “Such as?”
Yuan Ye squatted there. He lowly chuckled. Through the line, his laughter carried with it the tones of a man who had been worn down by time. “Such as that chaotic evening, I guess. I had been too annoying with my words.”
After that event, the atmosphere between the two of them had been a little awkward. But now that Yuan Ye spoke about it, that awkwardness disappeared. Fang Shaoyi said, “It’s not your fault. I’m to blame.”
“Ey, forget it.” Yuan Ye leaned forward and flicked the ash off his cigarette. He said, “We already slept together. Why are we still hung up over it? Both of us are pretty shameless.”
The Yuan Ye of today was honestly too gentle. To an extent, he didn’t even seem like himself anymore. He was soft and no longer had his quills. That hard shell covering his body was gone, leaving only the soft flesh underneath.
Yuan Ye said, “Go sleep. Rest earlier and look out for your health. You’re not young anymore, Yi ge.”
Fang Shaoyi answered, “Okay.”
Yuan Ye chuckled. He softly said, “Then I’ll hang up now?”
Fang Shaoyi laughed at him. His laughter travelled through the phone and sounded quite warm. “Okay.”
The phone call tonight had been extremely unexpected. For both of them. Yuan Ye had called because something had snapped in his brain after he saw the picture. Fang Shaoyi had softened his attitude because of this call. Yuan Ye had then taken the initiative to lower his head because of Fang Shaoyi’s attitude. This one phone call allowed the two of them to calmly and peacefully hold a conversation. There were no sharp remarks, hidden mockings, or loud arguments. When the call ended, both of their hearts felt warm.
The next morning when Ji Xiaotao walked in through the door, Fang Shaoyi was still asleep. Ji Xiaotao turned on the lights. “Time to wake up, Yi ge.”
Fang Shaoyi furrowed his brows and sat up. He said, “Got it.”
Ji Xiaotao went to grab the other’s clothes. He couldn’t keep the urge to gossip from bubbling to the top. As he handed Fang Shaoyi his clothes, he asked, “What did Ye ge say during his phone call yesterday?”
Fang Shaoyi glanced at him. He put on his pants and headed to the bathroom. “He asked why you’ve become so annoying these days.”
“……” Ji Xiaotao thought to himself you seem to be in a great mood. So energetic in the morning.
They still needed to slowly finish filming. Fang Shaoyi’s makeup couldn’t be avoided. Shirtless, they first added the fake blood and wound prosthetics onto his body. After he put on the costume, though, they still needed to add more. In the movie, he was blind in one eye. That eye was very hard to apply makeup to. It wasn’t as easy to be superficial in movies as it was for dramas. Movies were extremely detailed and held to the highest standards. The details were the most important.
The last scene was a very tragic shot. Regardless of if the main character died or not, this was still a scene demarking the fall of a nation. As long as they didn’t finish filming this shot, Fang Shaoyi’s mood needed to remain dark. He needed to immerse himself in that sort of despair. When he got on set, the time needed for his makeup to be completed was also the time for him to get into character. Basically, as soon as he was done with makeup, Fang Shaoyi was no longer himself. With the makeup on, he became his character. When he walked out of the dressing room, he was the half-blind wanderer from the movie.
He didn’t need anybody to explain the scene to him anymore. By now, they were continuously encountering problems not because of the two actors, but because of the cooperation between each team and also because of unpredictable situations.
When Geng Jinwei arrived, Fang Shaoyi was next to the director, watching a replay on the monitor. They had just finished shooting the scene, but it hadn’t passed. The explosion hadn’t caused an ideal effect: the wall hadn’t been destroyed. Fang Shaoyi pointed to the young actor on the monitor and said, “Little Wei’s expression was wrong. I didn’t even finish speaking, but you already started crying.”
The young actor said from behind them, “Something got into my eye. A tiny pebble flew in. I wanted to persevere a little longer.”
Fang Shaoyi told him, “Next time, if you encounter such a situation, you can yell ‘cut’. As long as the explosion hasn’t happened yet, it’s not a big deal. Don’t try to push yourself. You might hurt your eyes that way.”
“Okay, Shaoyi ge.” The other hurriedly nodded.
Ji Xiaotao called out to Fang Shaoyi from off to the side, “Ge, Geng ge’s here.”
Fang Shaoyi turned around. Geng Jinwei walked over with a kid and shook hands with the director. He smiled and greeted, “Director Xin.”
The director smiled and pointed at him. “Oh, the busy person’s here?”
“Not even.” Geng Jinwei gently nudged the boy next to him forward. He told the director, “I just signed this kid. He still needs a lot of practice.”
The boy looked to be in great condition. He had good body proportions and a clean, pale face. He looked quite profound. He politely said, “Hello, Director,” then nodded at Fang Shaoyi and added, “Hello, Shaoyi ge.” The director smiled and praised, “Not bad. Given the opportunity later, give him to me. I’ll make sure he gets enough practice.”
The boy pursed his lips and answered politely, “Thank you, Director.”
Geng Jinwei actually hadn’t specially come to visit. He had gone on a trip to Guangdong, so had stopped on set for a day on the way back. After greeting the director, Geng Jinwei started conversing with Fang Shaoyi. He used his chin to point at the boy standing off to the side. “I told you about him before. Brought him here so you could see him.”
Fang Shaoyi could only use one eye. The other was still covered. He glanced over and nodded. “Not bad. I can’t tell anything else right now. You’re in charge of these things.”
Geng Jinwei said, “I want you to bring him along with you for Director Jiang’s movie. He’s never acted before. Teach him a bit.”
Fang Shaoyi made a noise of acknowledgment. “Ask if there are still any available characters over there. Discuss with them.”
Geng Jinwei was forty-something now. He usually wore a white collared shirt with dress pants. Now, it was cold outside, so he also had on a coat. His face was all hard angles, making him appear quite harsh and distant. But his status was there. He had a pretty high status from all these years in the industry. When others passed him, they all stopped to say hi.
After talking about the newly signed kid, Geng Jinwei lit a cigarette and dragged Fang Shaoyi over to the side. He said, “And your situation. I’m giving you a heads up. You’ll need to be prepared.”
Fang Shaoyi looked at him. “What’s my situation?”
Geng Jinwei responded with a question, “You’re asking me about your own situation?”
Fang Shaoyi cocked an eyebrow. “The divorce?”
“Un, someone contacted me.” Geng Jinwei nodded, “Wanted money.”
Fang Shaoyi asked, “Who?”
“A new little company. They only have fake accounts, so don’t have much influence. Their plan was to blackmail us for some money. If unsuccessful, they would use your situation to cause trouble,” Geng Jinwei said.
Fang Shaoyi asked, “How did you answer?”
“I ignored them.” A cigarette dangled from Geng Jinwei’s mouth. He glanced at Fang Shaoyi and added, “Your situation can’t be kept a secret forever. We don’t know where the news got leaked from, but no living person has privacy these days. When everyone knows, there’s no use in keeping it a secret anymore. Maybe one day things will explode. More than one party will expose you.”
Fang Shaoyi didn’t say anything. He kept his head down and remained silent. After, he said, “It can’t be kept a secret forever. Let them do as they wish.”
Geng Jinwei furrowed his brows and said, “Your situation is a fucking sword dangling over my head. If I can’t get out of the way fast enough and it falls down, all of us will get beheaded. I’ve already notified the public relations department. We have an emergency plan prepared; I’ll send it to you to look over later. However, there’s no need to be worried about this right now. Things are secure, so it won’t get exposed anytime soon. At least, definitely not before the show finishes broadcasting. We can discuss things after.”
Fang Shaoyi nodded. “Nobody cheated and we didn’t produce any negative news. It’s just a divorce. People would only discuss it for the novelty for a few days. It won’t be a big deal. Let them gossip as they want. There won’t be any real consequences. It was a peaceful separation. Don’t make it become anybody’s fault, you know?”
Geng Jinwei laughed. He turned to the side and cussed, then said, “Don’t push the blame onto Yuan Ye? You could’ve just said it straight.”
Thus, Fang Shaoyi repeated himself, “Un, he’s not part of this industry, so doesn’t understand these things. Don’t push the blame onto him.”
Fang Shaoyi was still dressed as that dilapidated swordsman. He was largely expressionless, maintaining a calm demeanor. As he spoke, his tone was light, but no matter what he said, he only had one main point——make a normal PR plan. Don’t blame Yuan Ye.
Geng Jinwei chuckled. He scolded, “You really are a swordsman. Why are you acting like a righteous and tender person now? Truly have nothing fucking better to do.”
Fang Shaoyi smiled too. He didn’t say anything else.
That afternoon, Geng Jinwei didn’t leave. He still had other business he needed to discuss with Fang Shaoyi. In the afternoon, he brought that newly signed boy to set and watched Fang Shaoyi act with him. The boy was named Yang Siran. He looked young, but was actually already twenty five. Geng Jinwei told him, “Be diligent and learn how to act from him. When he was your age, he was already the designated male lead for Wei Hua.”
Yang Siran nodded. “Okay, Boss Geng.”
Ji Xiaotao ran over. With a big smile on his face, he said to Geng Jinwei, “Hi, Geng ge.”
“Hi my ass, hi. Every time I tell you to come back and help me train some people, you act like you’re deaf,” Geng Jinwei scolded.
“I can’t train anyone. My ge wouldn’t be able to survive without me.” Ji Xiaotao didn’t even feel embarrassed saying this. “My ge is old now. He can’t handle switching assistants.”
While Ji Xiaotao was chatting with Geng Jinwei, a makeup assistant ran over from the other side to tell him, “Tao ge, someone sent something. They’re waiting for you to sign for it.”
“What?” Ji Xiaotao asked while walking in that direction. He turned around and made a hand gesture at Geng Jinwei.
——After filming that day, Geng Jinwei noticed that Fang Shaoyi had two electric heaters on his left and right. He closed his eyes and sat in his chair, waiting for the assistants to remove his makeup. He seemed like an extremely big shot. Ji Xiaotao said that both heaters were gifts from his Ye ge.
Geng Jinwei looked on for a bit. He scoffed, then turned and walked out to smoke a cigarette.
They really fucking knew how to stir things up. But in the end, who were they causing trouble for?
Both fucking lunatics.