QKYJ - 20

Cheng Ruiyi reacted quickly, immediately stepping forward to apologize, again with a standard ninety-degree bow.

Shen Zhi, however, was very composed: “We only finished these few scenes all night, with such low efficiency, how can it not be bothersome?”

She smiled at Cheng Ruiyi.

Cheng Ruiyi left the car and stood in a daze for a long time when he got back to his own car. He had never imagined she would speak to anyone so casually.

After hanging up the phone, Shen He couldn’t help but ask his assistant, “Is there an exhibitionist in Shen Zhi’s crew?”

“No way,” the assistant said.

Shen He walked to the director with his baton. As soon as he entered, the director waved him over.

“Shen He, I really admire you, and I’ve always wanted to work with you—”

Hearing such an opening, Shen He immediately raised his hand, signaling a pause. He said, “Anyway, thank you for being willing to consider me. Since it’s not happening this time, then next time.” Saying this, he immediately relaxed a lot, picking up the white tea from the coffee table to drink.

Although Shen He had his own unique style of doing things and was occasionally seen as an anomaly, his comprehension was perfectly normal.

So he already understood.

He was out of the running for this role.

The director was happy to save himself the trouble of explaining, and said cheerfully, “I’m really sorry. It just so happened that I met a very suitable young man at the Conservatory of Music, so I decided to use a newcomer.”

Shen He nodded calmly, replying, “As long as it goes smoothly. This tea is very good.”

“However,” the other party changed the subject, “my friend got a script and wants to film it too. I think you can give it a try.”

“Which teacher is it?” Shen He asked.

“Huang Zhengfei.”

When this name appeared, Shen He’s hand, holding the teacup, imperceptibly paused, then returned to its original position.

“Are you recommending me?” He curved his lips into a smile.

A smile meant to take advantage, paired with an exceptionally handsome face, could be said to be a powerful tool for testing others while still being able to retreat unscathed.

The other party smiled, and, knowing the inside story, confessed, “I’ll give it a try.”

After contacting his agent to add it to his schedule, Shen He’s mood remained exceptionally good, even though his efforts from the previous period had been entirely in vain.

The assistant sighed, “All that money spent on the musician for nothing...”

However, Shen He merely countered with a single sentence: “At least from tomorrow on, I won’t have to see pianos or wind instruments again.”

Huang Zhengfei was a mainland Chinese director who had been featured in Time magazine. He and his films were like a Chinese calling card, making waves globally and astounding audiences.

Shen He had collaborated with him once before.

More precisely, it was a very unpleasant collaboration.

That year, Shen He was still a university student, and went to audition for Huang Zhengfei’s film upon his teacher’s recommendation.

It wasn’t an important role, but being selected was a joyous occasion. Everyone around him cheered with excitement, but only Shen He remained unmoved. At that time, he treated all work equally, without any concept of opportunity. In class, he was also an atypical underachiever at the bottom of his grades, so nothing seemed that important.

He only cared deeply about acting.

Shen He had also racked his brains studying the character’s past.

However, misfortune still struck.

He had disagreements with director Huang Zhengfei.

In a sense, actors are merely tools for the director; the director’s instructions are the truth.

“Get out!”

In his memory, the director’s wrinkled face burst with uncontrollable rage.

“You cannot look at him with that kind of gaze! Your head should not tilt that way,” Huang Zhengfei retorted.

“No,” Shen He, however, unseasonably refused to back down, “‘I’ love him, so it must be this way.”

“You don’t love him! You don’t like him! What I want is an actor who understands the character!” Huang Zhengfei was instantly furious. “If I tell you to die, you have to die!”

Suddenly, the atmosphere abruptly shifted. Shen He stood silently beneath the lights, his dark shadow like winding mountain paths, sprawling over him.

He looked straight at the director, enunciating each word: “‘I’ can die, but ‘I’ will only become an empty shell. This ‘I’ is destined to fail.”

With that, Huang Zhengfei finally lost his temper, punching Shen He in the face.

Shen He actually tried to retaliate.

Fortunately, he was pulled back by others in the crew.

News of directors and actors getting into a brawl on set was rare.

Thus, it caused a huge sensation, known to all.

In summary, merely evaluating this collaboration as “unpleasant” might be too polite.

Surprisingly, Shen He went to the set as usual the next day.

Huang Zhengfei also said nothing.

There were no protests, no lawsuits, and no further verbal arguments or physical altercations.

The two never communicated privately, yet they still completed the filming peacefully.

Shen He’s scenes were drastically cut, making him almost a mascot. When the credits rolled at the end, one might even have thought he was a cameo.

But when this film won an award abroad, the overall short acceptance speech specifically mentioned this character, describing him as “a brilliant blank space, always feeling profound and memorable.”

Years later, when Shen He’s career began to take off, media outlets that had caught wind of things deliberately asked Huang Zhengfei in public, “What do you think of young actors today?”

Huang Zhengfei said, “The waves behind push the waves in front.”

Seeing that the trap didn’t work, the other party simply stated outright, “What do you think of Shen He?”

Originally, they had been worried that Huang Zhengfei would just give a perfunctory answer.

To everyone’s pleasant surprise, upon hearing the name, Huang Zhengfei instantly changed his indifferent attitude, immediately stating his position and giving a precise answer: “I don’t like him. No, I can put it this way, I absolutely detest that brat.”

Suddenly, the news that Director Huang Zhengfei disliked actor Shen He spread everywhere.

Of course, since it was just a matter of personal preference, Shen He’s professional abilities were evident to all. This incident could only serve as an interesting anecdote within the industry, something people heard and then dismissed. At most, a few anti-fans of Shen He or the Shen couple treated it as gospel.

________________________________________

That evening, Xixi went to pick up Shen He.

As he got into the car, she tidied the back seat and asked, “Are you really okay? Won’t it affect the relationship between the directors?”

“I don’t know,” Shen He said irresponsibly.

Xixi lost her temper: “I’m talking about something serious!”

Shen He put down his phone and slowly tilted his head back, saying, “Anyway, I’m definitely going.”

Back then, he was young and reckless, overly self-righteous in his acting, and didn’t really have any profound awakening about becoming an actor. It wasn’t enough to just want to act or be good at acting to become an actor. In this era, in society, everyone is not a solitary individual, especially public figures. All artists should cry bitterly like Xiaolaizi in the movie Farewell My Concubine, preferably speaking their true feelings—”When will I finally become a star?”

Times have changed; he is now someone whose very marriage relies on acting.

“…” Xixi fell silent, then, mischief at play, wanted to warn him. Perhaps it wasn’t an exaggeration to say, “Are you going to humiliate yourself?”

Who would have thought that Shen He would readily admit, “Yes.”

It’s no big deal.

The older one gets, the more complicated life becomes. But not everyone is like that.

The car was dead silent. He smiled inscrutably: “After all, I really like his movies.”

Afterwards, on set, Zhou Yushi would occasionally circle around Cheng Ruiyi. Seeing Shen Zhi, Cheng Ruiyi immediately gravitated towards her, forming a distinct food chain.

Zhou Yushi clearly liked Cheng Ruiyi.

Indeed, he had no blemishes, and even non-fans were at least casually fond of him. Especially young women, who probably couldn’t resist that charm.

However, even so, it didn’t change her acting skill.

Today, Zhou Yushi still didn’t remember her lines, still had exaggerated gestures, and still had a stiff expression.

During a break, the new assistant couldn’t help but secretly grumble, “Why does she always just stare blankly?”

Experienced Xiao Qiu tilted her head, answering expressionlessly, “Too much plastic surgery; that’s just how the facial muscles are.”

Zhou Yushi redid the scene over and over, and even the extras were getting a bit annoyed. As the saying goes, those with nothing to lose fear nothing. While others were reluctant to lose their temper, they had fewer reservations and simply started complaining directly.

Zhou Yushi, having never suffered such indignity, immediately flew into a rage, throwing a tantrum and shedding tears.

It seemed things were about to get troublesome.

Shen Zhi called her assistant over and gave a few instructions.

When the慰问品 (comforting gifts) were brought out, she also stood up and smiled, soothing everyone.

As the saying goes, one does not strike a smiling face. The extras were temporarily forced to suppress their anger.

Shen Zhi patted Zhou Yushi’s shoulder again, used a tissue to wipe her tears, and gently said, “Don’t cry anymore.”

Zhou Yushi sobbed and nodded vigorously, crying even harder.

In her heart, she couldn’t stop thinking, Shen Zhi is truly a good person.

Most of the people around also thought, Shen Zhi is truly a good person.

________________________________________

At the breakfast table, Zhang Jiangnan asked, “What are your plans now that you’re back?”

Mentioning this, Zhang Qingyue couldn’t help but put down her knife and fork, letting out a long sigh.

Life in America had indeed brought her catastrophic pain. She went there full of dreams and aspirations, but ended up returning in such a dismal state, carrying a completely shattered heart.

Zhang Jiangnan also felt heartache for his daughter. However, he had not supported her going abroad in the first place, so it was inconvenient to say anything now. Thus, he could only sigh.

“I’ll try my best to help you,” Zhang Jiangnan said.

“Dad,” Zhang Qingyue said with a wry smile, “Thank you for the trouble.”

“Everyone’s like this, not to mention you’re my daughter. We support each other, achieve together. First, find a reliable agency,” Zhang Jiangnan said. “Liangyi is quite good. Shen Zhi is there, and Zichen is also close to Shen He.”

These two names sounded like beads dropping into a wooden box, only a clattering, disjointed sound.

Zhang Qingyue said, “—Shen He and Shen Zhi, are they really married?”

“Didn’t you meet them that day?” Zhang Jiangnan said.

Zhang Qingyue shook her head, smiled, and said, “In school, I heard their relationship wasn’t good.”

“That doesn’t mean they can’t get married. They were my favorite kids from that class,” Zhang Jiangnan couldn’t help but smile knowingly. “One active, one quiet, but both arriving at the same destination.”

“How could that be?”

Zhang Qingyue turned her face away. There was no moon outside the window, and she gazed quietly.

“Actually, they have something in common. They are, in essence, the same kind of person.”

“What?”

Recalling his teaching days, many past events came fluttering back. Time flies.

“Very vindictive, yet able to hold their composure and understand how to assess the situation. These two,” Zhang Jiangnan said, “are the kind of people who can get things done.”