NWWNL – Chapter 33

The crew’s speed of filming “The Way of the Phoenix” accelerated rapidly after Li Hanxing left.

Although Director Xu did not say anything aloud, he was smiling a lot more often, and he secretly regretted that he had not changed her out earlier to speed up the progress of the crew.

“Xinyi, we’ll use a stand-in for the last scene where there is a martial arts fight between you and Han Xiao.”

“A stand-in?” Xu Xinyi carefully read the script and saw that except for the last scene of rolling on the grass with Han Xiao, the others were all quite PG. Remembering what Yi Yang had said to her two days ago, Xu Xinyi hated so much her teeth itched.

One day Yi Yang, the dog man, would die at her hands!

“Director, I rehearsed with a martial arts instructor for the last scene. If the proper safety measures are taken, there should be no problem. There should be no need for a stand-in.”

Xu Xinyi thought that while she was on set she should try to draw Director Xu into her own camp. “Director, I know what your concerns are. But you don’t have to take it so seriously, whether it’s school drama or literary drama, there will always be these intimate scenes. We are actors. This is our job. If we use a stand-in and it is seen by the audience, they will laugh at our actors’ lack of dedication, not to mention our acting. How can you take that man’s words so seriously? If we really take what he says at face value, we can only say that he is too small-minded.”

Yes, she was talking about Yi Yang, the dog man with very little tolerance!

Director Xu also thought that what Xu Xinyi said was very reasonable, but…

“I know it was not easy for you to bring on a heavyweight actor like Han Xiao. If the drama develops a bad reputation from using stand-ins, what other heavyweight actors will dare to take the initiative to ask you to act in your shows in the future?”

Director Xu was thoughtful.

“You don’t have to worry about Yi Yang. I’ll explain it to him clearly.”

When Xu Xinyi said this, she was taking the initiative to admit her relationship with Yi Yang.

Director Xu didn’t want to get involved in the affairs between husband and wife. Since Xu Xinyi promised to solve the problem, he decided he wouldn’t think about it and would just concentrate on directing the drama.

“OK, then for the scene later, you and Han Xiao will find a martial arts instructor to rehearse with. Just practice twice as much to be sure no one gets hurt.”

“Alright, understood.”

Xu Xinyi breathed a sigh of relief. She had dragged Director Xu to her camp.

Yi Yang was really too naive. Thinking a director with only a small reputation but a bright future would tarnish his reputation for a little bit of stinky money.

If the drama failed, it would be the director’s expertise that was suspected.

But then again, even if Director Xu came to her side, she still didn’t know what Han Xiao was thinking.

She had offered to use stand-ins during the previous intimate scene, but Han Xiao had refused, that was to say, Han Xiao and his agent had reached an agreement between themselves that he should no longer resist having intimate scenes with actresses.

Xu Xinyi looked over at Han Xiao. Han Xiao’s agent Luo Jie always kept a strict watch over him. Every day there were at least two assistants and a makeup artist. Today, in addition to the usual staff, there was also a woman wearing glasses. She looked like she had a bookish temperament and did not look like a person from the entertainment industry.

After thinking about it for a moment, Xu Xinyi quietly took a picture and sent it to Anya.

Anya, a hundred kilometers away in City A, received the picture from Xu Xinyi.

“Every day you see Han Xiao, and now you want to show off in front of me?”

“Be serious. Who is the woman with glasses? Have you seen her before?”

Anya enlarged the picture.

“I really have seen her. She is a psychiatrist, quite a famous one. As you know, there is a lot of pressure in the entertainment industry. Many stars can’t handle it and they become more or less mentally ill. I know that many stars go to see this psychiatrist.”

A psychiatrist?

Xu Xinyi looked thoughtfully at the woman with glasses.

Did Han Xiao have a mental illness?

She thought about it.

There was so much pressure at work every day. His secret sexual orientation had to be kept in his heart for decades. He was surrounded and harassed by paparazzi and fans every day. He didn’t have any personal space, so it would be normal for him to have a mental illness.

When you thought of it that way, Han Xiao was quite pitiful.

Although he was handsome, was good acting, was a movie king who was young and famous standing at the peak of the industry, and was thought of as many women’s dream lover. He was rich and powerful and without blinking an eye he could buy a Lanting apartment, but…

Secretly he was so pathetic? How pitiful!

When there was no comparison, there would be no harm.

But wasn’t she also pitiful?

Every day that dog man Yi Yang was trampling on her youth!

Xu Xinyi was really worried that she would wake up old and yellow one day. What would she do if the young fresh meats didn’t like her anymore?

She took out a mirror, hid it behind her script, and looked at her delicate and tender face.

She felt relieved seeing it was still pretty, but made up her mind to take some time off after filming this drama to take good care of it.

While Xu Xinyi was looking at herself, the bespectacled woman next to Han Xiao was also looking at her.

Luo Jie followed her glance over at Xu Xinyi and asked her, “How is it?”

The woman shook her head. “Han Xiao’s condition has obviously improved. I suggested that this time he take the opportunity to get close to other actresses and try to see if he could overcome his psychological obstacles, but according to what you told me, he seems to not be doing well and has returned to square one. Han Xiao, do you only feel this aversion to Miss Xu, or is it the same with everyone else?”

Han Xiao, who was sitting on one side reading his script, frowned and did not speak.

The woman with glasses saw his expression and knew that he didn’t want to respond. After thinking for a moment, she said, “I’ll tell you what. Let’s go back to the hotel tonight and have a good chat.”

Han Xiao rubbed his tired eyes and said, “Okay.”

As soon as the words fell, he saw Xu Xinyi walking over with a smile.

“Teacher Han, this scene coming up is a little difficult. If it’s not convenient for you to shoot the last scene, I can go to the director and ask for a stand-in. You don’t have to feel embarrassed.”

Han Xiao seemed to be at a loss. His fingers tightened on the script he was holding and he said out stiffly: “Okay.”

“Teacher Han, Xinyi, come here for a moment.” Director Xu was standing at the foot of the city wall set to discuss the last scene that was on the wall with the martial arts instructor.

Han Xiao got up and walked with Xu Xinyi to the foot of the wall.

The woman with glasses looked at the departing figures of the two and asked Luo Jie strangely, “Wha… does Miss Xu know about Han Xiao’s illness?”

Luo Jie looked dazed. “Isn’t that impossible? Didn’t you say no one would know?”

Director Xu, at the foot of the wall, was discussing several martial arts movements with the martial arts instructor. He saw Xu Xinyi and Han Xiao walking over and said, “Xinyi, Han Xiao, you must be careful about this last move, especially you, Han Xiao. When Xinyi falls from the city wall, you hold her and roll around on the lawn. If you can’t finish this scene all at once, then we will shoot it in two shots. Our first priority is to ensure safety. Han Xiao, for the last scene, will everything be alright?”

Han Xiao did not answer immediately.

Xu Xinyi saw his hesitation. “Director Xu, the last scene is very dangerous. Why don’t we use a stand-in and just take a picture of Teacher Han’s face to put over it later.”

Director Xu looked at Han Xiao.

“We don’t need a stand-in.” Han Xiao said. 

“Alright, just remember in the last scene you must catch Xinyi.”

Han Xiao had studied martial arts and had done many more dangerous stunts before. So, of course, Xu Xinyi felt assured.

“Teacher Han has acted in a lot of costume dramas. I’m sure he’ll be able to catch me. Director Xu, you can rest assured.”

After Director Xu left, Xu Xinyi asked him again, “Teacher Han, is there really no problem? If you don’t feel comfortable touching me, you can just say, it doesn’t matter, I will understand.”

Han Xiao was stunned, “You know?”

“I just guessed a little bit. It doesn’t matter, I really understand. You don’t have to worry about my feelings. It’s no big deal, I’m fine.”

There was a long silence.

“No. Don’t worry, I’m sure I can catch you.” Han Xiao said. 

The pressure was on. Xu Xinyi and Han Xiao stood on the city wall set and there was a thick cushion below them. All the staff were in place.

As Xu Xinyi expected, Han Xiao had acted in many costume dramas and was no stranger to wire work, but now, while facing the high wall and thinking of the action he needed to carry out later, his palms were inexplicably drenched with sweat.

From somewhere a breeze blew carrying a gentle fragrance.

Han Xiao took a deep breath and the sweat faded. He didn’t know if it was because of the wind or because of the fragrance.

Xu Xinyi looked in the direction of Han Xiao’s agent. But the agent made no move to stop them. It seemed that his agent had a little more tolerance than the dog man Yi Yang.

“All departments must be prepared to pay attention to safety!” After Director Xu raised his voice, he called action, and Xu Xinyi fell from the city wall. The wind roared in her ears and she felt a sense of weightlessness that almost made her panic.

The next part of the scene should be Han Xiao flying down from the city wall and catching her. Then the two of them would fall onto the cushion under the wall and roll twice onto the lawn.

Han Xiao looked down but hesitated to jump. With his experience, he wasn’t worried at all about whether he could catch her and he remembered all the trust Xu Xinyi had in him. But looking down, he seemed to see a monster with a hideous face that suddenly exploded and turned into a cloud of burning and flying ash being blown around by a wind from nowhere.

He could see Xu Xinyi’s panicked face amidst the flying ash.

Gathering his courage, Han Xiao jumped off the city wall.

The martial arts instructor shouted: “Pay attention to saf–“

Han Xiao dropped quickly and caught up with Xu Xinyi in mid-air. He saw her panicked eyes but he caught Xu Xinyi’s waist calmly and unhurriedly.

The wind was still in his ears and the fragrance around his nose intensified.

After Xu Xinyi jumped down, she saw Han Xiao hesitating at the top of the wall for a long time without moving, and her heart went cold.

As she fell, she was wondering if Han Xiao was really so worried about keeping his purity for his sweetheart?

Fortunately, he finally jumped.

This was not Xu Xinyi’s first time doing a wire scene, but the shock of weightlessness still made her subconsciously cling to Han Xiao. Only when they landed on the cushion and rolled out onto the grass did Xu Xinyi’s little heart recover.

“Are you two all right?” The staff all around swarmed forward.

Xu Xinyi settled down and wiped away her frightened expression. She smiled at Han Xiao, who was hugging her, and extracted herself from his arms. “Thank you, Teacher Han.”

Han Xiao silently released her and stood up with the help of the crew.

The psychiatrist wearing glasses in the distance nodded thoughtfully and looked at Luo Jie. “Wasn’t that good?”

Luo Jie seemed to want to say something but eventually didn’t.

With that rehearsal done, during the official shooting, Xu Xinyi and Han Xiao seemed to have some tacit understanding. Xu Xinyi jumped, then Han Xiao jumped and held Xu Xinyi firmly in his arms in mid-air and then they rolled a few times on the grass.

The whole process went smoothly and was done in one fell swoop.

Director Xu said, “Cut! Pass!”

Then he hurriedly asked, “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine.”

“Alright, let’s clean up and get ready for the next shoot!”

The scene of Xu Xinyi and Han Xiao jumping off the city wall was the last scene using the city wall set. After filming it, the crew needed to go to the next set to shoot.

The crew and several workers from the studio quickly tidied up the set to make it usable for the next crew.

“I said, can you be quicker with your hands and feet? You didn’t come because you were sick yesterday but you said you were good now. Hurry up and don’t dawdle. Do you still want your salary?”

The worker who was scolded, whose face was covered by a hat, bowed down and tried to move a heavy log aside, but, it was unclear whether it was because the log was too heavy or whether he had no strength, but it didn’t move even after several tries.

“Alright, you can go home. You’re done today. You two over there come here and move this thing.”

The worker stood in the same place at a loss and watched helplessly as the two other workers moved the log in front of him away. He tried to plead with the leader.

“I’m sorry, I haven’t been feeling well these two days, so…”

“If you are not in good health, have a good rest at home, don’t come out and delay everyone’s work!”

“If you give me another chance, I will do a good job.”

“Whatever, get out of the way!”

Xu Xinyi, who had finished work on her side and was ready to follow the crew to leave the venue, heard the argument and seemed to hear a familiar voice.

But she didn’t recognize who it was for a while.

Looking at the figure, he was tall, thin, and a little familiar.

“Sister Xinyi, aren’t you going? Did you leave something behind?”

“Wait a minute…” Xu Xinyi walked towards the workers with great curiosity.

But with a glance, the tall, thin worker hurriedly pressed down his hat and walked quickly towards the exit of the set.

“Stop.” Xu Xinyi shouted.

The man really stopped where he was.

“Turn around.”

The man didn’t move.

“I told you to turn around.”

Looking at his posture the man seemed to want to go, his feet shuffled idly for a long time, but he eventually turned around slowly.

He was dressed in the uniform of a worker from the Film and Television City but he was bowing his head and pressing down the brim of his hat, so Xu Xinyi was unable to see what he looked like.

“Look up and let me see.”

But instead of listening, the man stepped back a few steps.

Xu Xinyi didn’t have the kind of patience for this game so she reached out and took his hat off as soon as he stepped forward.

“Jiang Nian? How come it’s you?” Xu Xinyi’s eyes lit up, “What are you doing here?”

Jiang Nian’s lips moved silently, he glanced at Xu Xinyi, but then looked down guiltily.

“How…” Xu Xinyi looked at the hapless child. Compared with the Jiang Nian she knew, he had lost a lot of weight, his face was tinted gray and didn’t look very good. There were a few bruises on his cheekbones and at the corners of his eyes.

How long had it been? How did he get so roughed up? But he was still handsome.

“I work here.”

“Why didn’t you reply to me when I sent you a message?”

“I…” Jiang Nian seemed nervous, his pair of clear and watery eyes blinked innocently, and his panicked appearance seemed quite lovely to Xu Xinyi.

Xu Xinyi patted the dust off of his hat, then stood on tiptoe and put it on his head. “Alright, come with me.”

Jiang Nian seemed disbelieving. He looked at her and asked, “Come with you?”

Xu Xinyi looked around at the messy set. “Do you still want to work here?” She noticed that Jiang Nian’s hands were covered with scratches and frowned, “Why are there so many injuries on such a beautiful pair of hands?”

Jiang Nian hurriedly pulled his sleeve over his hands, bowed his head, and said, “It will be alright.”

Not too far away–.

“Han Xiao, what are you looking at?”

Han Xiao silently withdrew his gaze.

“Nothing.”

Previous TOC Next

TL note: I guess the author is using these chapters to set up a second and maybe third male lead (kind of?) but I’ll be glad once we’re through them. I dunno all the showbiz stuff just isn’t as fun to me as watching Yi Yang and Xu Xinyi bounce off each other all the time lol