Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Competition
After work, the staff packed up the equipment. Xiaodie came over, looked at her and then at the people next to her, and asked carefully: "Sister Yueyue, are we going back to the hotel..."
He Chuxi hit her head with the script, "Where else can we go if not to the hotel?"
"Oh." Xiaodie touched the back of her head, her eyes still darting back and forth. She felt it was hard to say...
Sure enough, Teacher Chen asked, "Teacher He, do you want to find a place to practice?"
Sister Yueyue refused very rudely, "You practice on your own."
“How do I practice on my own?”
"How should I know?"
"He Chuxi."
"It's not my problem."
Xiaodie didn't hear what Director Fang said, and didn't know what they were talking about, but now it seems that the "discord" scene is just a quarrel between a young couple!
She looked at it quietly again, handsome guy and beautiful girl, what a good match! Enemies and mortal enemies, what a good match!
As they were talking, Ming Wei, who had also finished work, came over and said with a smile, "Teacher He, Teacher Chen, do you want to go to dinner? With Xinran."
"No."
"go."
In unison, Chen Jingzhou glanced sideways at the uncooperative woman, his eyes darkening.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense, but Mingwei knew that the two had always been like this. She heard that the scenes where they were acting together were often awkward these days.
She gently advised, "Teacher Chen, if you have nothing to do, let's go together. It's not far."
The man's expression changed slightly as he nodded in agreement. Ming Wei felt happy and said, "Let's go."
The place they had dinner was a local specialty restaurant. They had informed the owner in advance and the owner had reserved a private room for them.
As soon as Jiang Xinran sat down, he took the initiative to order. He said, "This is the old restaurant that Professor Wu recommended. Mingwei said she had never been there, so I thought of bringing her here. It just so happens that you guys are finishing up work, Teacher He." He then checked his watch and said, "Why hasn't Teacher Chen arrived yet? I remember his car was following us."
He Chuxi opened the plastic packaging of the disposable bowls and chopsticks used in the small restaurant and said casually, "Don't worry about him. He will leave even if he comes."
It's called a private room, but in fact it's just a few boards separating a room. The wallpaper on the wall panels is moldy and curling, and the tables and chairs are all old. Not to mention the storefront outside. The walls have been smoked into a deep yellow-brown color by fireworks. The air conditioner is set at 16 degrees and blows out hot air. There are miscellaneous items piled up in every corner.
There is also an open kitchen behind the cash register. The boss is stirring the wok with his bare arms, his back is shiny with sweat, and the big pot in his hand occasionally emits flames. The pungent smell of onions, ginger, garlic and chilies fills the entire small restaurant.
He Chuxi took a careful look when she came in. It was a bit old, but still sanitary, and the kitchen that was dared to be shown was also clean.
But just because she can bear it doesn't mean someone else can.
Jiang Xinran and Mingwei looked over when they heard this. He Chuxi realized that she had spoken too quickly, but it didn't matter. She snorted, "Chen Jingzhou is a big shot on the crew. Don't you see that?"
Jiang Xinran and Ming Wei laughed at the same time and stopped talking.
It's hard to say whether he is an uncle or not, but Chen Jingzhou never eats with them, nor does he rest on the crew. I heard that the clothes prepared by the crew have to be handed over to his housekeeper to wash before he wears them. This is all true.
So Jiang Xinran began to worry, "I shouldn't have called Teacher Chen earlier, it would be embarrassing for him later..."
He Chuxi laughed again, "Do you think he's someone who would bother you?"
"Too."
As they were talking, the wooden door of the box was pushed open. The man standing at the door had his brows knitted together. He was really not concerned about his appearance. His tone was extremely disgusted, "Why do we have to eat in this shabby place?"
Jiang Xinran: “…”
Mingwei was also a little embarrassed, "Teacher Chen..." He Chuxi was about to blurt out "It's up to you whether you want to eat it or not", but in the end she held back, "Teacher Chen, the food here tastes good. Mingwei and I have never eaten it before and we both want to try it. However, you may not be used to it, otherwise you can go back first..."
The man at the door glanced at her unkindly before she finished speaking, then pulled out the chair left for him and sat down, saying in a low voice, "Order."
He Chuxi curled the corners of her lips and lowered her head to continue rinsing her small bowl with hot water.
Jiang Xinran thoughtfully asked everyone about their dietary preferences before ordering. When it came to drinks, he said, "The fermented glutinous rice wine here is very good. Would you like to try it?"
Ming Wei: "Sure, but I still have to work tomorrow, so drink less."
"Okay, I'll order a bottle."
As the food started to arrive, Jiang Xinran took the initiative to liven up the atmosphere at the table. "Teacher He, I heard you're from Shanghai?"
"yes."
"If I remember correctly, Teacher Chen is from North City. Where's Teacher Ming?"
Ming Wei responded: "My home is in the north, and Beicheng is still several hundred kilometers away."
"I'm from the north too, so it seems Teacher He is the only one from the south." Jiang Xinran said, "I've been to Shanghai a few times, and it's really different from our northern city. The language you speak really has a Wu dialect flavor, and it's so comfortable to listen to."
Jiang Xinran suddenly became interested. "Teacher He, I've never heard you speak the Shanghai dialect. Would you mind saying a few words?"
Before He Chuxi could respond, there was a sudden commotion on the other side and everyone looked over.
The man raised his eyes, his brows still slightly furrowed, "Do you have any boiled water?"
"Yes, yes."
"where?"
Jiang Xinran stood up and said, "I'll go call the waiter."
After this interruption, Jiang Xinran came back and no longer thought about the Shencheng dialect. The meals were served one after another, and as the only person who had eaten local food, he took the responsibility and began to introduce them one by one.
Seeing that no one around her had touched their chopsticks, Mingwei asked gently, "Teacher Chen, aren't you going to eat?"
"I'm not hungry."
He Chuxi also looked over and saw the eldest young master sitting there motionless, only drinking two sips of the boiled water he had specially requested.
She decided that she must not go out to eat with this person next time, otherwise it would be really disgusting.
Jiang Xinran's heart was also complicated, but when he looked over, his eyes were attracted by the thing in his hand. He asked hesitantly, "Teacher Chen, what are you holding in your hand?"
Chen Jingzhou half-raised the small medicine bottle in his hand and said naturally, "Oh, I picked it up a while ago. It looks good and smells good too." Then he raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why?"
He Chuxi was speechless for a while after hearing this, and had to say: "I was wondering how hard I looked for it but couldn't find it. It turns out that Teacher Chen picked it up."
Jiang Xinran understood the whole story and said with a smile, "Since Teacher Chen likes it, keep it. Teacher He, I will get you another bottle later."
"Okay, thank you."
Jiang Xinran turned the turntable and placed a special braised fish in front of He Chuxi. "Try this. Professor Wu said this sauce is unique here in the country."
He Chuxi picked up a piece and put it in his mouth, saying in surprise: "Wow, it's really delicious, a bit like sweet and sour but not that strong."
"Isn't it?" Jiang Xinran chuckled, "Then you should eat more."
"Um."
The man who didn't pick up his chopsticks looked silently at the opposite side, his tongue tip pressed against his cheek, and his hands clenched.
When she smiled for the second time, he stood up suddenly, said "I'm going to smoke a cigarette" and walked out.
Naturally, no one understood what was going on. He Chuxi continued to eat her meal happily. Ming Wei hesitated for a moment, then put down her chopsticks and said, "I'm going to the bathroom." Then she followed him out.
Jiang Xinran was a little slow to react, "Are you okay?"
"It's okay, don't worry about it."
Mingwei came back three minutes later, and Chen Jingzhou came back about ten minutes later. The meal was already over.
I don’t know how others ate, but He Chuxi felt quite full and happy. The food here tasted really good compared to the boxed lunches on the set.
After the show, everyone present except Chen Jingzhou drank some local rice wine.
Arriving at the door, Ming Wei clutched her bag and cautiously looked at the man with her hands in her pockets. "Mr. Chen, my assistant has gone home first. Can I go back with your car?"
Chen Jingzhou half-lowered his eyes, his eyes showing no kindness to others, but the darkness obscured his view. Jiang Xinran played the role of a good guy, "Teacher Chen, is it convenient for you? Teacher He, please come with my car this afternoon. We have two assistants, otherwise we could all go back with Teacher Ming. It would be troublesome if we were recognized when taking a taxi this late at night. Teacher Chen, you..."
He Chuxi also wanted to persuade him, but when she met the man's gloomy eyes, she decided not to interrupt. She fanned herself with her hands and got into Jiang Xinran's car first.
Jiang Xinran came up quickly. He Chuxi looked back and saw that no one was at the door. "Did Chen Jingzhou deliver it?"
"Well, although Mr. Chen is not easy to get along with, he is still a very nice person."
He Chuxi pursed her lips and didn't respond.
Back at the hotel, there was a message on my phone: [Come over.]
She didn't want to go there, and there was no need to go. First, there were paparazzi everywhere, and going out alone in the middle of the night would simply give her a handle. Second, she wouldn't be able to practice anything with him, and he wouldn't be able to find the feeling of first love in her.
Besides...it's too easy to guess what will happen in the end during practice.
He Chuxi waited for a while before typing: [It's no use asking me to practice this. You should watch more movie clips and figure it out yourself.]
After taking a shower, there was no reply, and before going to bed, there was still no reply.
The phone screen dimmed automatically, and He Chuxi turned over, closed his eyes and went to sleep.
Yes, we can’t spoil him.
......
I got up early the next morning to put on makeup and go to work, but after waiting on the set for half an hour, the male lead didn't show up.
The assistant director made a phone call, and after the call ended, he came to Director Fang with a tense expression. Director Fang listened with a serious expression. After three or four minutes, he said to everyone, "Jingzhou is busy. Let's shoot the fifth and sixth scenes without him first. Everyone, hurry up and make adjustments."
He Chuxi was stunned. Something happened to him? What could be wrong with him?
Something shouldn't happen so suddenly.
The studio was a bit flustered because of this sudden incident. She picked up her phone and opened WeChat. After hesitating for a few seconds, she turned to Xiaodie and said, "You're well-informed. Go find out what's going on with Chen Jingzhou."
Xiaodie, the only one who knew about their relationship, was very surprised: "Ah? Sister Yueyue, you don't know anything?"
He Chuxi looked at her and said, "Should I know? Okay, go ask."
"Okay, okay."
After filming the first scene, Xiaodie came back from completing her task and whispered in her ear with her hands covering her ears: "I heard that Teacher Chen vomited last night, and then this morning..." Xiaodie hesitated for a while before saying: "It is said that he overslept and didn't wake up this morning."
"Not awake?"
"uh-huh."
He Chuxi smiled. He was really good, but why did he vomit? He hadn't eaten a single bite of food last night. Could he vomit after drinking a few sips of water? That was really precious.
After that, he concentrated on filming a few scenes without him. When work started in the afternoon, the man was already sitting on the lounge chair with his legs crossed. When he saw her coming, he glanced at her indifferently without any emotion.
An elusive sense of strangeness flashed through He Chuxi's mind. This person seemed to be colder today than usual... But before she could think about it, she was called to touch up her makeup.
According to the plan, we were supposed to shoot the hero and heroine's first kiss scene early this morning, but it has now been postponed to the afternoon.
Before the official start of filming, the director called the two of them over and repeatedly emphasized the key points he had emphasized yesterday, "Any questions?"
He Chuxi raised her eyes and saw the person opposite her nodding, saying in a low voice, "No problem."
"Okay, go ahead."
Everything was ready. The heroine who was staying at the hero's house took the initiative to take charge of dinner and housework. After dinner, she went to the kitchen to wash dishes. The kitchen was narrow, and the hero came in to get water. The two of them could hardly turn around. Their hands clashed and then quickly avoided each other. The heroine slipped and fell into the hero's arms.
Xia Xiaoyu was startled. Zhou Zhuo held her waist, and the man and woman looked at each other from top to bottom.
There is a little difference. In the scene yesterday, there was something that could be called "love" in his eyes, but now it is extremely dull.
His expression showed many more emotions such as excitement and helplessness.
No one breathed on the set, and Director Fang didn't call cut.
Zhou Zhuo approached cautiously little by little. When they were so close, he trembled slightly and closed his eyes. His soft lips touched He Chuxi's. He Chuxi felt the panic that he wanted to hide but failed to hide.
She was too unfamiliar to him. Chen Jingzhou never cared about the rules when kissing her, and he seemed to want to eat her up every time.
"Card--"
"Zhou Zhuo is great, but Xiaoyu isn't so good. What's wrong with Chuxi? How are your emotions? What's your response? One more."
He Chuxi got up from his arms and smoothed her hair.
She had indeed just lost consciousness.
After taking a few deep breaths, He Chuxi adjusted himself.
The second kissing scene was passed in one go, and then the next one started.
The young actor and actress have some talent, and the filming took quite a long time. Once they got into their roles, they were absolutely authentic to the characters, and they basically got through the afternoon scenes in one go.
It was another day of finishing work early. He Chuxi went back to the dressing room to change clothes. It happened that she was on the same way as him. When there were no other staff members around, she called out to him, "Chen Jingzhou."
The man turned halfway around, his eyelids drooping lazily, and asked nonchalantly, "What's wrong, Teacher He?"
"......" Teacher He? He Chuxi looked around, and after making sure it was safe, she lowered her voice: "Are you okay?"
"What can happen to me?" He seemed not to want to say another word to her, and walked back with a withdrawn look.
He Chuxi stood there for a few seconds, smiled, and went back to her dressing room.
The next few days were still scenes set in the alleys, but Chen Jingzhou came on time every day and left as soon as work was finished. He was not seen during breaks. The assistant director wanted to talk to them about the scenes several times but didn't have the chance. Fortunately, the filming turned out well, so Director Fang didn't care too much.
A few days later, the rumors on the set seemed to be "confirmed" with certainty - Chen Jingzhou and He Chuxi were indeed not getting along.
Even Xiaodie came to ask, "Sister Yueyue, did you and Teacher Chen have a fight?"
He Chuxi couldn't answer. Chen Jingzhou was indeed very cold to her these past few days. He no longer made inappropriate jokes with her in private, and he didn't let her pass by. It was so normal that it was a little abnormal, and she was still a little uncomfortable with it.
Xiaodie moved closer and whispered, "Sister, I heard that Teacher Chen has been with Teacher Ming these days."
He Chuxi opened his mouth in shock.
Xiaodie waved her hand again, "Oh, that's not what I meant. It's just that Teacher Ming has been going to see Teacher Chen for something these days. Brother Liang said he was studying the script. Didn't Teacher Ming just graduate..."
He Chuxi smacked her lips and said, "It's pretty good."
"That's not good! Sister Yueyue, how could Teacher Chen do this!"
She laughed: "Why are you more serious than me?"
"Oh, you! Sister!" Xiaodie stomped her feet in anxiety, feeling very disappointed with her.
"Don't think too much, there's nothing between him and Mingwei."
At least nothing of that kind.
Yan Ling called in the evening and said that she and Chen Jingzhou were on the hot search. Someone posted a video from the set. In the two-minute video, the male and female protagonists were far apart, each holding the script without saying a word.
The title is still the old-fashioned "Incompatible". He Chuxi feels that the word "incompatible" has almost become a traffic password.
She didn't care much, but Yan Ling was very nervous, "Is it true?"
"yes."
"Look at you, you've been filming for almost a month, can't you just get along well with others?"
"Can I do it just because I want to? He won't cooperate."
Yan Ling said earnestly, "I don't care about you. Even if you have to do some face-saving work, you have to do it well for me. You two are a young couple on the screen! Do you know what people are obsessed with now? They are obsessed with sugar!"
"I think knocking on a knife is pretty good."
"He Chuxi!"
The sudden increase in the volume of the phone made He Chuxi put the phone away. After several seconds, he put it close to his ear again and said, "I know, I know. Let's build a relationship."
Chen Jingzhou had been acting strangely these past few days. She was also curious. Had she provoked him? She hadn't slept with him for just one night, so was he still angry?
Two days later, on a holiday, He Chuxi sent a message to his housekeeper Uncle Wang, asking Uncle Wang to come and pick him up. This was a safer way.
On the way, she inquired: "Uncle Wang, is he in a bad mood recently?"
Uncle Wang sighed, and sighed again, and finally said, "The young master hasn't been in a good state recently. He had two bouquets of roses sent over yesterday from North City, but the flowers weren't good, so he threw them away after just one look."
He Chuxi was silent, and when it was almost time, she asked again: "That day, last Friday, why did he vomit after returning from the hotel? Was it an allergy or a stomach upset? Or...was he feeling unwell?"
Uncle Wang looked over, opened his mouth, and then closed it again. "Miss He, you should ask him yourself."
He Chuxi understood and nodded, "Okay."
This is a rented villa. It is not as good as the North City Manor, but it is still more luxurious than that of ordinary people.
The house is also clean and tidy, and the furniture, decorations and curtains look very new, probably newly replaced.
Uncle Wang, who was following behind him, said, "The young master is in the bedroom on the second floor. He should be sleeping now."
"Sleeping again?"
"Um."
He Chuxi changed her shoes and went upstairs, gently pushing open the bedroom door. The room was dim and there was someone on the bed. Sure enough, he was sleeping again.
She walked into the room quietly and sat down beside the bed.
The sleeping man had a shallow furrow between his brows, and beads of sweat seeping from his forehead slid down his temples and wet the pillow.
His right hand, hanging by his side, unconsciously clenched the sheets, his knuckles turning white from the force, the fabric wrinkled in his palm, and it was obvious that he was sleeping very restlessly.
She also frowned and pried open his hands that were tightly gripping the bed sheet, but her hands became the bed sheet in the next second, and the ignorant man almost crushed her.
He Chuxi was surprised that this man had so much strength even when he was sleeping, and tried to break free carefully.
After this back and forth, the man opened his eyes and stared at her in the darkness. After a while, his cloudy eyes cleared up, but his words were still muffled. "Why are you here?"
"Come to see if you're dead." He spoke too quickly to stop.
Chen Jingzhou wasn't angry, he just sneered, "It's a pity that I couldn't do what you wanted."
He Chuxi lowered her eyes and looked at him, "Yeah, what a pity, I'm leaving now that I'm not dead."
As soon as she stood up, her hands were grabbed and she was pulled onto the bed. The man came over to kiss her, and He Chuxi had to stretch out her hand to stop him, "No, no, I'm on my period."
Chen Jingzhou's newly-awakened emotions dissipated, "Then why are you here?"
He Chuxi was speechless, "Can you please stop thinking about that all the time?"
The two of them were still in a half-hugging position. He was lying on his side, holding her shoulders. He curled his lips slightly when he heard her words, and then let go. "What else? What is our relationship?"
He Chuxi looked deeply, but he did not avoid it. The darkness in the room became thicker and thicker, but it could not block the intersecting sights in the air.
After a long time, the woman looked away and said, "I'm leaving."
She stood up and walked out, step by step.
As I walked to the door, a deep voice came from behind me, "Which scene are we filming tomorrow?"
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