Crossover Actors - Chapter 17

After the shock, Lu Wen was confused. Since the situation had reversed, did this mean that Qu Yanting had deceived him in the office?

Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to think too much. The A-team had finished their scene, and as the lead actor, he needed to get into position quickly. Fortunately, the next scene was not far away; it was being filmed at a school next door.

A few bars were missing from the fence, so Lu Wen squeezed through. Passing by the window of Room 101, he jumped up to take a quick glance inside, almost as if practicing a simulated basketball shot.

Qu Yanting, inside the living room, couldn’t see him. Having returned from the card game, Qu Yanting continued to focus on revising the script. Scene 30, which involved a romantic subplot between Ye Xiaowu and Qi Xiao, had never been satisfactory and had been revised multiple times before the final draft.

He couldn’t get it right; either it was too sparse, or too overdone.

Qu Yanting’s fingers hovered over the keyboard, stuck on a line of dialogue. Lu Wen’s comment about not feeling the emotional stirrings of love while reading the script suddenly flashed through his mind.

Inside the teaching building, Scene 2 was being filmed.

It was a fight scene. After school at noon, Ye Shan went to work at a fish stall. Ye Xiaowu secretly came to Ye Shan’s school to seek revenge on the boys who had bullied Ye Shan.

Before filming, Ren Shu emphasized not to use flashy moves like shooting stars or tornado kicks, nor any idol drama-style slow-motion close-ups. The scene was to be portrayed realistically and naturally.

Lu Wen felt the director was overthinking it, as if he were so skilled that he could make the fight look spectacular.

Though tall like a wild horse, Lu Wen had a retired soldier father who was as tall as a blood-sweat horse, making him more experienced with beatings. When getting into trouble outside, he had three childhood friends who always joined in to help with the fighting.

The dialogue was minimal. Ye Xiaowu taunted a few times before starting the fight. Outnumbered six to one, he was beaten up quite a bit as the fight went from the classroom to the hallway. He was determined to get revenge for Ye Shan and vowed not to give up until he defeated his opponents.

Ye Xiaowu fell and rolled around, then got up and knocked down all six opponents.

Planning to say something harsh, he was interrupted by the arrival of the discipline master. Ye Xiaowu fled, shouting as he ran, “Control your stupid students! If anyone bullies Ye Shan again, I’ll come back!”

Lu Wen turned down the stairs; the scene was done.

He was covered in dirt, with his legs aching from scraping his knees during the roll. Li Dapeng came over immediately to help him, squatting down to apply bandages.

Lu Wen didn’t expect much from Li Dapeng, who was just a crew assistant. However, after these few days, Li Dapeng was as attentive as a family housekeeper.

With the A-team wrapped up, Lu Wen went back to the RV to remove his makeup, change clothes, and gather his things. Before leaving the set, he returned to the neighborhood. He disliked owing money, so he headed straight to the scriptwriter’s lounge with his wallet.

Inside the lounge, a small printer was running, making a “zizizi” sound. Qu Yanting had finished revising Scene 30 and planned to add it to the schedule for filming tomorrow night.

There was a knock on the door.

Anticipating that Qu Yanting would take a while to open it, the visitor didn’t knock again but called out, “It’s Lu Wen. I’m here to pay back the money I lost at mahjong.”

Qu Yanting had no choice but to open the door, holding the printed script. Since the A-team was done for the day and the script needed to be distributed by morning, he decided to give it to Lu Wen in advance.

Exhausted from non-stop work, Lu Wen leaned against the doorframe, his forehead resting on the door as Qu Yanting opened it. Their faces were only inches apart.

Qu Yanting stepped back. “Stand straight.”

Lu Wen withdrew his hand, brushed his short hair, and quickly pulled out a stack of cash from his wallet, handing it over. “Here’s the money for the mahjong game. Count it and see if it’s correct.”

Qu Yanting did not take it. “How about you treat the A-team to supper tomorrow night?”

Lu Wen said, “Oh,” then remembered the filming schedule. “But there’s no shoot tomorrow night. How can I treat them?”

Qu Yanting handed over the script. “Scene 30 has been revised. The filming schedule has been adjusted to tomorrow night.”

Lu Wen took the script, not immediately recalling the details of the scene. Or rather, since Qu Yanting opened the door, he could only think of what Ruan Feng had said about the salary discrepancy.

Had Qu Yanting lied to humiliate him?

Lu Wen opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and swallowed the question. Given the disparity in their statuses, he would likely receive an unsatisfactory answer no matter how Qu Yanting responded.

He changed the subject. “Never mind.”

Qu Yanting reminded him, “Make sure to familiarize yourself with the script in advance.”

“Got it,” Lu Wen said, “Bye.”

Back at the hotel, Lu Wen was too tired to think much. He was so exhausted that after a shower, he pulled the curtains, put on an eye mask, and fell into a deep sleep.

He set an alarm for 6 p.m., but didn’t wake up until 8:30 p.m.

Outside, the lights were blazing. Lu Wen stayed in bed, ordered room service, and planned to read the script after eating. While waiting, he picked up his phone and saw three unread messages from Sun Xiaojian.

The first message was a forwarded notification from the production team about the early filming of Scene 30, which he already knew.

The second message: “Wow! I’m so excited!”

The third message: “Are you excited too?”

Another late night ahead. Lu Wen didn’t understand what the excitement was about. He got out of bed, took out the script, and flipped through it, quickly understanding why Sun Xiaojian was excited.

Scene 30 was the one where Ye Xiaowu and Qi Xiao were in a romantic phase. That night, Ye Xiaowu would walk Qi Xiao home and kiss her before they parted ways.

In other words, tomorrow night he would be filming a kiss scene with Xian Qi.

The next day, the filming schedule was very tight, and before he knew it, it was evening.

As night fell, the A-team moved to another filming location, which was the high-end residential area with western-style houses and villas that represented Qi Xiao’s home in the drama.

The various teams prepared for the night shoot. Night scenes were difficult to film, with the complexity of lighting significantly increased, so adjustments were ongoing.

Under a certain tree, Lu Wen sat on the curb. His knee wound had reopened and was stinging a bit. He held a fallen leaf and rubbed its stem back and forth like a spinning top.

As filming approached, he was really feeling a bit nervous.

Tonight, he would be filming a kiss scene, and it was his…

Lu Wen took out his phone, intending to play a game to relax. Suddenly remembering he had promised to host tonight, he opened the food delivery app and found a seemingly good restaurant.

He ordered based on the number of people: one portion of signature fish fillet porridge and milk taro cake per person. When paying, he reviewed the order, made a change, and edited a note.

Distracted, Lu Wen forgot to play the game. After placing the order, he stood up and strolled along the tree shade toward a quieter area.

He gradually approached the RV area where the lead actors’ RVs were parked side by side. With everyone at the set, the area around the vehicles was dark and deserted.

Lu Wen fumbled in the dark to get into the RV, grabbed a box of mint candies, and as he stepped out and walked between the two vehicles, he unexpectedly saw a human silhouette under the side awning.

“Damn it!” He yelped in fright.

The shadow was startled by Lu Wen and stood up from the chair, turning on a portable light and shining it towards the rear of the RV.

Lu Wen squinted against the light as he walked over.

As he approached, he immediately regretted it.

Qu Yanting put down the portable light and sa back in the chair, his face showing genuine frustration. The set was chaotic, and he had sought solitude here, only to be found in this dismal corner.

He retorted, “You scared the hell out of me.”

Qu Yanting remained silent, equally shaken.

They remained silent for half a minute. Lu Wen did not leave but stepped back to the front of another vehicle. Qu Yanting had a bad premonition. Knowing Lu Wen, he likely intended to cause trouble.

Sure enough, Lu Wen cleared his throat and asked, “Why is tonight’s scene being filmed ahead of schedule?”

Qu Yanting answered, “Because there have been retakes.”

Lu Wen asked again, “Why were the retakes necessary?”

Xiao Zhang found the two of them and handed over the takeout.

“Thank you, Brother Lu, for treating us. Everyone is eating now, so you and Director Qu can have some too.”

Lu Wen asked, “Is there anything missing?”

Xiao Zhang replied, “No, each person has a portion of milk taro cake and signature fish slice congee. The fish slices are particularly plentiful and fresh.”

He set the food down and left quickly.

Qu Yanting, who doesn’t eat fish, had no intention of eating the fish slice congee. Lu Wen came over and pushed one of the portions toward him.

“I don’t eat fish.”

“Just have a look. It smells really good.”

Qu Yanting hesitated, then looked at the food container, which had a small printed note attached. It said, “Century egg and lean meat congee,” with a note: “Please note, this one is for Director Qu.”

He looked up suddenly, staring at Lu Wen.

Lu Wen responded with his usual smirk, “Whether you eat it or not is up to you. Anyway, I’m treating.”

Qu Yanting wasn’t angry. He touched the warm food container and then turned off his portable light. As a screenwriter and investor, he wasn’t willing to openly admit defeat.

In the darkness, he said, “Let’s try borrowing the angle first.”