Since the stills were released, they have gone viral online.
When Jia He was busy revising the script, she would browse the web during breaks, checking out what Yi Wenze’s fans were saying.
She had always felt that screenwriting was a good profession – no need to clock in, just sit around chatting idly about the outline with the script supervisor and other writers, divide up the scenes, and go back to write the assigned episodes. Even when with the crew, she could just sit in a room without enduring the extreme heat or cold on set. It was the perfect job for an indoor introvert.
And now, as she stared at the hundreds of comments under Yi Wenze’s Weibo post, she had one more reason to feel self-satisfied.
Today’s scene was her favorite – the male and female leads competing in calligraphy and writing skills before Empress Wu.
She had deliberately asked about the schedule in advance and begged Qiao Qiao to bring her along to watch. Qiao Qiao had given her a look of disdain before reluctantly agreeing with no further questions.
As Jia He thought about this, she contemplated which black down jacket to wear so she could completely blend into the set and avoid any more embarrassing situations. Fortunately, the director and assistant director for this scene had only given script opinions through Director Jiang and hadn’t met her before. As long as she stood in some corner, no one would pay her any attention.
Just as her mind wandered, MSN automatically logged in and a news popup appeared.
The glaring headline immediately caught her eye: Tian Chu Caught in Affair, Taiwanese Tyc*on Rebuffs Comment.
The words weren’t big, but the impact was shocking. Jia He’s heart skipped a beat, nearly suffocating. This was even more staggering than when she had seen Gu Yu put his arm around her department supervisor’s shoulders.
She swiftly connected this with the recent gossip news, imagining the before and after. In her mind was the stairwell at the press conference. Yi Wenze had leaned against the wall to smoke an entire cigarette in a few puffs. The first thing he said was for them to leave separately to avoid misunderstandings that would implicate her. Fury burned within her, making her dizzy. Just then, Xiao Ou knocked on the door to tell her she could leave.
She put on her coat and got into Qiao Qiao’s car. The actors had already arrived on set to prepare, so only the driver and Qiao Qiao were in the vehicle.
Qiao Qiao was lowered her head to text, not even looking up. “Were you online to see the news?”
Jia He mumbled an affirmative, the fire still burning inside.
“Your idol is so pitiful,” Qiao Qiao licked her lips and was about to lift her head when her phone buzzed with another message. She quickly unlocked it to continue. “Tian Chu debuted very early but never became popular in Hong Kong. She went to Taiwan but was scammed by her manager and couldn’t even afford meals. If not for relying on Yi Wenze, she would never have become famous. And now that she’s big, she just directly latched onto someone more popular.”
It was like a bucket of oil poured over Jia He’s head, igniting her anger.
“Hey, tell me,” Qiao Qiao finally spared a glance at her. “What’s so great about that woman that she could hook someone into marrying her? You’re a screenwriter, an expert in character personalities. Analyze it for me.” Having encountered too many failed romances, Qiao Qiao’s hatred of marriage had reached a certain level. She completely ignored Jia He’s feelings and directly discussed Tian Chu’s skills.
Jia He stared at her brightly and categorically stated, “Because Yi Wenze has good character.”
Qiao Qiao was rendered speechless. She picked up her phone to continue texting.
When Jia He and Qiao Qiao arrived, the director was looking at the monitor and discussing while Liao Jing stood to the side in a down jacket. The lighting technicians and assistants were adjusting the lights. The low chatter of the crew, shuffling of equipment, the assistant director’s excited voice directing the actors… All the chaos and noise brought back Jia He’s unease. She instinctively glanced around for a place to sit.
Unexpectedly, she saw Yi Wenze.
Where he stood was very dim. From this angle, she could only see him standing behind the table, head lowered as he wrote with a brush. Due to last night’s heavy rain, it was a few degrees colder. Space heaters were not provided on set so everyone wore down jackets, but he only had on a casual shirt with sleeves rolled up neatly to his elbows.
The black brush tip met the snowy white paper, instantly spreading into strokes of ink that flowed smoothly into a line of words.
Jia He definitely knew every detail of Yi Wenze’s celebrity profile, from his favorite songs to hated animals, but she didn’t know he could write with a writing brush. A spark of curiosity made her want to see what his writing looked like. Just then, the costume stylist called for Yi Wenze to change into his costume, so she took the chance to quietly walk over to the table and swiftly peered at what he wrote. Her heart leapt.
The words were strong and commanding, the strokes deeply imprinted – it was the male lead’s confession to the female lead, also her proudest line:
I do not fear remembering, only fear realizing too late. Now that we have held hands, I will stay with you for life.
“What beautiful writing.” Qiao Qiao squeezed over to take a look.
“Of course.” Jia He said softly.
“Truly remarkable,” Qiao Qiao glanced at Yi Wenze talking to the director. “Even after being soaked in dye for twenty years, he’s still a very quality pickled vegetable.” *idiom meaning experienced and cultivated person
“Can you stop comparing my idol to pickled veggies?” Jia He looked at her disdainfully.
“I’m not creative with words. I’m not the screenwriter,” Qiao Qiao picked up the paper. “Teacher Yi, can I have this page of writing?”
Hearing her call, Yi Wenze looked over at them and nodded in greeting. “Just some casual writing, take it if you like it.”
Qiao Qiao beamed brightly and deliberately thanked him in Cantonese before neatly folding the paper and holding it out to Jia He.
All eyes on her, Jia He froze. Unsure whether to take it or not, Qiao Qiao had already grabbed her bag and stuffed it inside.
Sitting to the side, the assistant director laughed. “Qiao Qiao, you’re abusing your power, bringing fans in here.”
Qiao Qiao made a sound of acknowledgment and patted Jia He’s shoulder. “Assistant Director, she’s the screenwriter.”
Her reputation was utterly ruined… Jia He resigned herself and greeted the two directors, feeling like there was a ticking time bomb in her bag. She couldn’t stay here a second longer… Still forcing a smile, she fiercely yanked Qiao Qiao’s jacket and threw her a lethal glare. Qiao Qiao tactfully held back on excessively introducing Jia He. With an awkward laugh, she said they would go check out another scene and brought Jia He outside.
Only when the dark curtains lowered, did Jia He face the sky and sigh desolately. She should have known that popping in would lead to her image being shattered ever since the press conference for this drama.
But since she was already here with Qiao Qiao, they still wandered around a bit for show before sending away the driver and driving around themselves to watch the other scene. To avoid further awkwardness over returning, Jia He insisted on staying there with Qiao Qiao the entire afternoon. Not until evening when the gloomy skies drizzled rain did Qiao Qiao receive a call saying filming had finished early for the day. She urged Jia He to go eat with the crew.
This was her first crew dinner since joining the production. Qiao Qiao deliberately picked a bigger restaurant. Before they even got out of the car, they could see a lively group chatting inside the lobby, occasionally pointing at some food photos. Judging from the high number of beauties and ikemen,* it was another crew filming locally.
Having changed out of his costume, Yi Wenze only wore simple athletic clothes. From the moment he got out of the car, he easily became the center of attention. The younger actresses in the lobby immediately eyed him like radars through the glass door, excitement on their faces as they whispered to each other. Jia He’s mood, gloomy for the entire afternoon, finally lifted at the sight of such naked adoration. See, Yi Wenze fans were everywhere. She wasn’t too outrageous…
Yi Wenze himself appeared unperturbed. Speaking softly on his phone with his manager, he conveniently pulled open the glass door for Jia He.
“Thanks.”
Yi Wenze smiled and swiftly hung up as his assistant A Qing held the door open behind him. The two entered the lobby one after the other.
“What would you like to eat?” He stopped before a display of food photos, examining them closely.
“Mantou braised pork.” *Hengdian specialty
In her nervousness, Jia He blurted out the local specialty.
In fact, she didn’t actually like meat much…
Yi Wenze nodded and ordered two servings.
“Teacher Yi,” Qiao Qiao ran over and pointed upstairs, “I’ll order. You two head up first.” Having said that, she even bumped Jia He’s shoulder with her own. Jia He glared at her – that smile was totally a matchmaker’s look.
When they entered the private room, everyone was chatting and laughing, occasionally commenting on the food photos and actors still not finalized. Jia He intentionally squeezed in next to Xiao Ou and sat down, relieved to see Yi Wenze sit across from her. For actors with only a line or two, they could definitely find someone at the union. Even Xiao Ou was too lazy to keep listening, but Jia He was rather interested, straining to hear it for a while.
After all, these were characters from the story she created. She felt great attachment toward every person, even the serving maids.
As they spoke, the assistant director suddenly appraised Jia He in earnest: “To be honest, our screenwriter looks quite suitable. There’s only two scenes so there shouldn’t be an issue.”
Jia He had just sipped some tea and instantly swallowed it down with a gulp. “I can’t do it. I freeze up facing the camera, let alone acting in front of it.” She wondered for a bit how they ended up talking about her. There were thousands of beauties on standby at the actors’ union, so why bother tormenting her? Jia He looked at Qiao Qiao, who had just sat down beside her, with innocent eyes.
“Didn’t order much, we’ll just make do,” Qiao Qiao neatened her hair and was about to check her phone when she noticed Jia He’s pleading gaze. “What’s wrong?” she asked softly.
“There’s a role we haven’t cast yet. We wanted the screenwriter to try guest starring,” Xiao Ou said sympathetically, looking at Jia He. For someone inherently lacking any acting talent, this was simply torture.
Qiao Qiao smiled, unusually ignoring her phone messages. “Not bad, not bad. What role?”
“One of the male lead’s consorts,” the assistant director added helpfully.
Qiao Qiao grinned gloatingly. “I remember the male lead was bestowed multiple wives but ignores them all, only having eyes for the female lead. Very challenging.”
It was an impossible request.
Jia He despaired once more.
At this time, the servers started bringing dish after dish, the rotating glass platform continuously delivering food steaming hot from the kitchen past Jia He. The assistant director took out a lighter and lit himself a cigarette, then cupped the flame to pass it to Yi Wenze across from him. “What do you think, Teacher Yi?”
Yi Wenze nudged the rotating platform so the braised pork and buns stopped right in front of Jia He before using the lighter to ignite his cigarette. After thinking for a bit, he said, “I think it’s a good idea.”
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