FS-novel Chapter 552: Someone's Trying to Cause Trouble? Brother Xiao Seems More Like the Bad Guy...
Chapter 552: Someone's Trying to Cause Trouble? Brother Xiao Seems More Like the Bad Guy...
On the third day, Liu Rulan, who was also in Beijing, came to check on Xiao He's situation, and she was somewhat surprised afterward."That person is very honest? No little tricks at all?" Liu Rulan folded her arms and looked around Xiao He's working environment.
"Yeah, I originally thought he might pull a few small moves here and there, but not at all." Xiao He shrugged, "On top of that, Teacher Ren is especially nice, very warm, so warm I felt a little embarrassed."
"He didn't interfere with my normal filming either, he would even come over from time to time to ask me questions about acting."
The corporate slave character Xiao He was playing looked to be in his thirties, a bit world-weary. The production even lengthened Xiao He's hair so that the strands at his forehead slightly covered his eyes, giving him a decadent vibe. The makeup made him look more mature, so in an instant Xiao He transformed from a handsome young man into a decadent, handsome uncle.
That said, getting older didn't take away his handsomeness.
Xiao He was quite satisfied with his makeup and styling.
He had thought his appearance might need to be made even uglier and older to set off the protagonist, but that wasn't the case. Zhan Min settled the makeup look on the spot, and Ren Yibai watched from the side with no objections.
As for these days' shooting... everything went normally.
If it weren't for the production's still somewhat oppressive atmosphere, and if Xiao He hadn't met Ren Yibai's young assistant and the production's prop master in advance, he would have sincerely thought Ren Yibai was a decent person.
"That's reasonable. Your identity is different now, not everyone is stupid enough to offend you outright." Liu Rulan pondered, then warned, "But the more someone seems different on the surface than they are inside, the more careful you have to be with them."
"Yeah, I understand." Xiao He nodded.
...
Even though Liu Rulan had warned him and Xiao He raised his guard, the following days' shooting still proceeded normally, without any unpleasant incidents.
Ren Yibai gave up his own dressing room and used the director's adjacent rest room instead. His attitude toward Xiao He had always been very good, even respectful.
He would proactively bring Xiao He afternoon tea, which Xiao He refused each time, but Ren Yibai did not give up.
The assistant Xiao Gao, who had nearly bumped into Xiao He earlier, was practically frightened out of his wits when he realized the person he'd almost collided with was Xiao He. With red eyes, he quietly came over to apologize to Xiao He and begged him not to tell Ren Yibai about the incident.
Xiao He: ?
Weird. Xiao He wasn't a tattletale.
Such a small thing, he wasn't going to tell Ren Yibai.
Besides, even if Ren Yibai found out, it wouldn't be a big deal... right?
Ren Yibai's attitude toward him and his assistant's attitude made a glaring contrast that really puzzled Xiao He.
After watching the young assistant leave, Xiao He's own assistant Xiao Chen sidled up: "Brother Xiao, I think they're pretty nice. This Xiao Gao helped carry something for me when he bought coffee before, and Teacher Ren actually pressed the elevator button and waited for me to get on to go upstairs together!"
Xiao He had originally thought Ren Yibai giving up his dressing room was a setup to dig a hole for him, but after this time had passed it remained calm. Ren Yibai was not only kind to Xiao He, but treated others on set equally well.
He really couldn't understand how the production's oppressive atmosphere had formed.
Xiao He shook his head and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.
Since his role recently was a heavy smoker, even though Xiao He himself didn't smoke, he kept in character during filming. When irritated he would light up to immerse himself in the role.
Xiao Chen dutifully helped light the cigarette.
Xiao He held the lit cigarette between his lips without inhaling, leaned back lazily in his chair, crossed his legs in a bold, boss-like posture, squinted at the smoke drifting in midair, and vaguely reminded Xiao Chen, "No matter what, we just do our jobs and stay vigilant. Don't harbor ill intentions toward others, but always guard against them."
If anything happened later, they'd deal with it when it came.
Seeing Xiao He's mobster-like sitting posture, Xiao Chen's mouth twitched; for some reason he felt Ren Yibai's side should be more worried that they were the troublemakers instead. He nodded like a little chicken pecking rice: "Okay, Brother Xiao, don't worry! I'll definitely be careful."
...
"Your body really is in terrible shape."
The man who had been swaying slowly stood up sluggishly. His crumpled gray suit made him look especially shabby; even the hair on his face stuck to his cheeks in a messy way, and the long-neglected stubble made his shadowed chin show a bluish-black tinge. Only his exposed eyes flickered with an excited, eerie light.
At that moment, the powerful aura of the other identity poured out. The weak office-dweller costume the man wore burst into an unprecedented arrogance, instantly crushing the young man who had been dominating the situation.
"So you've already woken up! You've been secretly watching everything I do this whole time!"
Zhu Feng was cowed by the other's fierce gaze and involuntarily took a step back; then he finally understood that he'd been trapped from the start!
No wonder when he, a person with no foundation or training, followed the killer's plan step by step he kept encountering unexpected problems, yet the intended target still walked right into the trap and died.
—It turned out this guy had been helping him from behind the scenes!
"Isn't this a remarkably novel experience?"
The man threw back his head and laughed wildly, like a madman. Zhu Feng, however, stared at his own face and couldn't laugh.
"Tell me, if your body dies, who dies— you or me?"
A small knife flicked out nimbly and ended up pointed precisely at Zhu Feng.
Zhu Feng shouted, "You're crazy!"
He lunged forward and grappled with the man, trying to wrestle the knife away. Unexpectedly, during the struggle, the knife really did pierce the man's body.
In an instant, blood spurted out.
The man collapsed to the ground, gasping. After only being bedridden for a few months, this body had rapidly declined, which left him both distressed and frustrated.
But seeing the expression on the young man's face, he lifted his head and laughed again.
Yes, the scene was truly eerie—
The man lying on the floor spread his arms, seemingly unconcerned about his stab wound, letting the blood flow out to take his life, while the young man who had stabbed him wore a panicked, distraught expression, kneeling and covering the other's bleeding wound, looking very worried that the wounded man might die...
"Cut."
Zhan Min called the end.
Ren Yibai straightened up and asked with concern, "Teacher Xiao, thank you for your hard work. Are you all right just now? Did I hit you?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine." Xiao He straightened and brushed away Ren Yibai's concerned hand with his blood-stained hand, smiling as he shook his head, "You don't need to support me. That's all 'blood,' don't dirty your clothes."
Seeing that, Ren Yibai withdrew his hand and began wiping the 'blood' off his own hands.
"Teacher Ren, Teacher Xiao, that's it for today's shooting." Zhan Min jogged over and said to them, "It's really too late today. The last bit of the scene can be filmed tomorrow. We can't affect either of your rest."
"Okay, thank you, Director Zhan." Ren Yibai said, and Zhan Min looked flattered, waving his hands repeatedly.
Xiao He found it amusing.
He felt that these people on set treated him as a complete outsider. No one had given him any indication of anything, as if everyone was jointly keeping a secret, presenting a united front to the outside world.