Chapter 25 Violet. Ji Jiazhen fainted on set. ...
A cold wave swept across the land, and the northwest wind felt like a sharp sword, cutting painfully into the skin. At six o'clock in the afternoon, the sky was pitch black, and the wind and snow were mixed with yellow sand. The snow on the surface of clothes melted and then froze into a thin frost due to the sub-zero temperature. The sand grains covered the white frost and could not be brushed off. It was a miserable and very annoying sight.
The crew members were all wrapped up from head to toe. The actors had to be on camera and follow the script, so their faces were completely exposed to the air. When they were saying their lines, a cold wind would blow in, and after a scene, they would have a mouthful of sand.
Ji Jiazhen stood out starkly among the crowd of people in black coats, wearing a red dress underneath that reached above her ankles—a theatrical costume—over which she wore the black down jacket from the previous night. Her face was barely made up, just a few freckles and simply drawn eyebrows. Her expression was solitary as she sat in the wind and snow, her slightly furrowed brows and focused gaze conveying a resilient strength that was perfectly balanced.
"Just sitting there tells a story; it's a uniquely serene and aloof atmosphere."
That's what Chen Li said.
The little girl was joining her on set for the first time, and she was both excited and curious. Even under these conditions, she could still smile and find various angles to take pictures of her.
Ji Jiazhen had no time to pay attention to her description of "coldness"; she only felt utterly cold.
Wei Xikai is an oddball; he doesn't really treat his actors like human beings when he's filming. He said he was filming an intimate scene today, and she'd been on set for half a day, but they still hadn't filmed her scenes. Half an hour ago, Wei Xikai called her out of the RV, saying it was time to film her part with Qin He, and as a result, she'd been sitting on a camping chair for another half hour.
He had a problem with her, and she knew it.
The hot water bottle in her hand had completely lost its warmth, but Ji Jiazhen seemed oblivious, still keeping her hands inside. The hood of her clothes offered little protection from the wind, and the tips of her ears were aching from the cold.
The wind howled in my ears, and through my hat, it sounded like sobbing, like crying.
The headlights suddenly turned and shone directly on her. She tilted her head and raised her hand to shield her eyes. Her vision went black for a moment due to the strong light, and she felt dizzy for a few seconds before gradually recovering.
Zhuang Yan was walking this way. Ji Jiazhen guessed that they were going to film a scene between her and Qin He, so she stood up, handed the now-cold hot water bottle to Chen Li, took off the hat that was on her head, and prepared to take off her down jacket and put on the worn-out coat from the play.
As she was halfway off her coat, Zhuang Yan stood in front of her. "Jia Zhen, Wei..."
"immediately."
She turned her head away from him, and just as she pulled one arm out of her coat, Zhuang Yan pressed her hand down and handed her a warm hand warmer, forcing her to stop taking off her coat.
The man's voice was muffled by his mask, his eyes darting around, avoiding her gaze. He could only look down at the back of her hand. "Mr. Wei said you should go back to the hotel first. He won't be filming you today."
A cold wind swept through them, leaving snowflakes on Ji Jiazhen's hair. Strands of hair were blown by the wind onto the bridge of her nose, the ends tangling with her eyelashes, slightly blurring her vision.
She raised her hand, hooked the strand of hair away with her little finger, moved her arm slightly, and pulled the sleeve back up, just leaving it on without zipping it up. Only then did she cast a glance at Zhuang Yan.
Calm, desolate.
It doesn't look like snow falling from the sky, but rather like the Gobi Desert covered in snow.
He knew that when the yellow sand rose, the whole world belonged to her.
"I'm so sorry, on behalf of Mr. Wei, I apologize, I..."
Ji Jiazhen interrupted him before he could finish speaking, saying, "Okay."
She covered her nose with her hand and took a deep breath, hoping to filter out some of the chill, but the air she breathed in was still cold, and the cold air swirled in her chest. She took a deep breath and suppressed her emotions.
"Then I'll head back now. We'll wait for Mr. Wei to inform me of the rest."
The warm breath she exhaled as she spoke condensed into visible white mist in the air. Zhuang Yan hadn't expected her to accept so readily; at least, from what he knew, she wasn't like that.
Ji Jiazhen put the hand warmer in his pocket and accepted Wei Yikai's arrangement, but did not accept his kindness.
"It's cold on set, you can keep it for yourself."
She zipped her jacket all the way up, turned up her collar to cover the lower half of her face, put her hands in her pockets, didn't give Zhuang Yan any extra glances, turned around and exchanged a look with Chen Li, tilted her head slightly towards the car, indicating that she should go back with her.
...
Chen Li had been holding back her anger the whole way, not daring to speak because of the driver in the car. As soon as she entered the room, she felt indignant on behalf of Ji Jiazhen. If it weren't for her hat covering her face, Ji Jiazhen suspected that she would have exploded with anger.
"What kind of person is this! Yesterday he changed his mind and said he would film, and today after waiting all day he said he wouldn't film anymore. If he doesn't want to film, fine, but he still made you sit outside in the cold. He knows he's all bundled up like a dumpling, but he doesn't care at all what you're wearing. How can he be like this!"
Ji Jiazhen glanced at her and said, "Shh, walls have ears."
Chen Li lowered her voice, rummaged through her bag and pulled out a palm-sized hot water bottle. She filled it with hot water and handed it to Ji Jiazhen, still muttering, "I thought Mr. Wei was a respectable and important person, but I didn't expect him to be so untrustworthy."
The room was warm enough, so Ji Jiazhen took off her coat and skirt, leaving only her innermost thermal underwear and a bathrobe on. She reached for a pack of cigarettes on the table, wanting to smoke, but then glanced at Chen Li's back and put her hand away.
Seeing that Ji Jiazhen didn't respond, Chen Li handed her the hot water she had just poured and asked, "Sister, aren't you angry?"
Ji Jiazhen glanced at her and retorted, "What's the use of getting angry?"
She's experienced situations like this before, and she's gotten angry about them before.
Back then, she wasn't even a nobody. She waited all day on set just to get a ten-second cameo role with only one line. But she still took the role seriously, figuring out how to deliver that line with the right emotions to make it memorable. Of course, she felt tired after waiting all day, but she never thought of giving up, believing it was an essential step on the road to fame.
Then I heard the director say "That's a wrap."
The assistant director said they no longer needed her character, and that scene was cut.
She was only seventeen years old at the time, proud and arrogant, and her principle was to fight if she disagreed. She argued with the assistant director, who glanced at her a few times and said, "Why don't you go talk to the director? After all, it was the director who asked us to cut it."
She actually went, and she actually got to meet the director. She asked the director if he deserved an explanation. He said that the scene she had worked so hard to film all day was being cut without any compensation. Why should he do that?
The director didn't even bother to speak to her. He pointed at her and told the person next to him, "Give her two hundred yuan."
And so, they didn't even give her a second glance, didn't give her any respect.
She got angry easily and asked him if he didn't treat extras like them as human beings.
The director gave her a look, glanced at her sideways, and said, "Yes," then asked her how much per night.
She recalled her argument with the assistant director and only now understood the look in his eyes.
— Contempt, ridicule.
—And, the gaze from gender differences and social status.
How disgusting.
Everything was telling her: your temper won't work in this circle, and sometimes you'll even pay the price for your personality.
The price she paid was that her former courage turned into a heavy blow when she fell on hard times. When rumors of her being kept by a sugar daddy were rampant, the seventeen-year-old added another stain to her reputation: numerous sugar daddies and voluntary prostitution.
*
The filming location was remote, but it did have a signal and internet access. The crew was large and diverse, so news of Ji Jiazhen being ostracized on set spread quickly and far, so far that Wen Siyu, who was in City A, found out that very night.
The call came at 11:30, just as Ji Jiazhen had finished tidying up and was getting ready to rest.
"What's up?"
It was rare for Wen Siyu to have a serious conversation with her. When he asked, "How's the filming going?" she paused for a moment before finally replying with two words, "Not bad."
You're lying to yourself.
She didn't understand what he meant at first, and frowned, telling him to get to the point.
"Did Wei Yikai give you a hard time on set?"
Ji Jiazhen swept her hair back, knowing what he was talking about.
"No, he didn't even show me his face."
It means that although they were all on set, she didn't have a chance to see anyone else.
Wen Siyu chuckled, his tone full of indulgence: "Just got back? I spent so much money to let you be the leading lady, not to see his old face."
Ji Jiazhen laughed and sat cross-legged on the bed. "Going head-on with the original author and director? Am I crazy? I still want to stay in this industry until I'm forty before retiring."
This is a strategic retreat; a foolish person might think she's too cowardly, but a discerning person would know she's stirring up trouble.
Wen Siyu was a sensible man and understood what she meant. She didn't want to get involved and wanted him to handle things. In that case, Wei Yikai would give him a hard time, and she would be the one who benefited.
Fine, what can he say? He's always willing to do anything related to her.
"Am I crazy, okay?"
Ji Jiazhen laughed and asked him, "What are you going to use to fight him? Money?"
"I have photos of him cheating. Want to see them?"
So it turns out he had something on him that he was afraid of ruining the image he had built up his whole life.
Her answer was predictable: "Who wants to see his old face?"
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, and her intuition told her that Wen Siyu wouldn't be able to say anything serious.
She guessed right.
He spoke in a flippant tone, his voice barely concealing his laughter, "Then let's see mine?"
"..."
Ji Jiazhen took a deep breath, her fingernails slammed against the screen, and she hung up the phone with a click.
ill.
It's a bit hot again.
*
Wen Siyu probably bothered Wei Yikai early this morning. Today went smoothly, and he went straight to filming Ji Jiazhen's scenes on set.
The two scenes shot during the day are necessary but not particularly important in the film; they mainly serve to build up the emotions and lay the groundwork for what comes later. The scene to be shot after dark is the main event.
—The scene between Ji Jiazhen and Qin He, the one with the most explosive emotions and the most daring scenes.
The wind was still blowing, the snow was still falling, and the sand it carried was still annoying. As dusk approached, Ji Jiazhen put on the red dress she had worn yesterday.
As she walked toward the old van, she met the gaze of Qin He, who had just finished touching up his makeup. Qin He nodded to her and said with a smile, "Hello, Wang Qiao."
Zhuang Yan was very close to them and could hear their conversation, but he didn't pay attention; his attention was entirely on the monitor.
Until Ji Jiazhen replied, her voice ethereal and hoarse, so soft and so empty, she said, "Goodbye, Qiu Shan."
The moment the words left his mouth, Zhuang Yan looked up, and Wei Yikai beside him also looked up.
Ji Jiazhen walked to the car and turned around. Her deliberately messy braids hung over her shoulders. She wasn't wearing a coat, and her thin clothes looked like a flower that could wither at any moment. Her skirt swayed in the wind. She looked like a flower that could wither at any time, delicate, yet her expression was stubborn. She seemed like a contradiction.
Yes, this is Wang Qiao.
Qin He's "Hello" was spoken in his own voice, while Ji Jiazhen's "Goodbye" was spoken as Wang Qiao.
Zhuang Yan knew that she had completely gotten into character.
She should have said goodbye.
Because the scene they're about to film is about Wang Qiao and Qiu Shan's farewell.
But he didn't know that Ji Jiazhen's eyes were on Wei Yikai.
Wen Siyu said she had just returned and couldn't, but that didn't mean she wouldn't. She would fight back in her own way.
Wei Yikai looked down on her, thinking she lacked the ability to play the role of Wang Qiao, so she worked hard on her acting skills to convince him.
This is the way Ji Jiazhen, at twenty-five, mature and well-versed in the rules of the industry, operates.
No one stays seventeen forever, and she won't remain in the naivety of seventeen.
Is it right?
...
On a snowy night with fierce winds raging, Wang Qiao and Qiu Shan began their escape.
This scene depicts Qiu Shan helping Wang Qiao kill the perpetrator, only to have his plan exposed. Knowing there's no tomorrow, he still drives that dilapidated van and elopes with Wang Qiao, chasing after an impossible tomorrow.
Outside the bungalow, Qiu Shan put his luggage into the car and anxiously told Wang Qiao that time was running out.
Wang Qiao didn't respond, so he had to go inside to check. He saw her standing at the door wearing the red dress he had given her. Her braids were messy from being tied in a hurry, but she was still beautiful and lively.
She once said that this dress was the only wedding dress she ever wore in her life.
She stood there, her cheeks red from the cold, just like the day they met, when she blushed shyly.
Her expression was a mixture of shyness, nervousness, apprehension about the unknown future, and a carefree abandon about eloping with him.
Her eyes were bright. People always said that she was too old to get married, but Qiu Shan felt that she shouldn't get married. She looked like a naive young girl.
Wang Qiao asked him in a trembling voice, "Once you get on this bus, there's no turning back. Are you sure?"
Qiu Shan stepped forward and took her hand, showing her through his actions that he only wanted to think about his future with her.
The car headlights pierced the darkness, leaving tire tracks on the snow-covered Gobi highway, which were then covered by falling snow. By the next morning, there were no more traces of the car.
Just like their lives.
The final shot focuses on Wang Qiao's profile, full of hope, yet a tear rolls down her cheek as she lowers her eyes. She knows her life will end tomorrow, and even at the very last moment, she still doesn't tell Qiu Shan the truth about how she used him.
...
Wei Yikai stared at the monitor without speaking, his eyes trembling. Zhuang Yan looked up at the light bulb on the ceiling.
It remained completely still.
Ji Jiazhen didn't wipe away her tears, letting them dry on her face. She got out of the car, and Chen Li immediately wrapped his coat around her and gave her a thumbs up. She didn't respond, but just looked in Wei Yikai's direction and walked towards him.
Wei Yikai was still watching the monitor when she walked over to him. Instead of speaking to him in Ji Jiazhen's tone, she remained in the role of Wang Qiao, whether intentionally or not, and asked him, "Mr. Wei, how is it?"
Wei Yikai's gaze shifted to her, lingering on her face for a moment. His hoarse voice, accompanied by the howling wind, reached Ji Jiazhen's ears.
"Get ready for the next match."
She saw Zhuang Yan nod at her, and she knew what Wei Yikai meant.
That is to say, she acted well.
...
The next scene is an intimate one. Qiu Shan and Wang Qiao, one carrying the reluctance of parting in life and the other carrying the pain of death, have sex for the last time in that van.
The makeup artist sprayed water on Ji Jiazhen's forehead and neck to create the illusion of sweat. Qin He lifted heavy objects to stimulate blood flow to his muscles.
Once everything was ready, the two got into the car.
The back seats of the van had been removed, and luggage and other items were placed around them, leaving just enough space for two people to lie down.
Ji Jiazhen lay down on the quilt spread in the car, and Qin He lay on top of her. He treated her like a little girl and was very considerate of her feelings. He said in a gentle voice, "I might be a little rough. You can stop me anytime if you feel any discomfort."
Ji Jiazhen said okay, raised her hand and made an "OK" sign towards the outside of the car. Filming began.
Qin He's lips brushed past the tip of her nose, his slight stubble poking her lips. She hugged his waist and finally kissed him.
He touched her neckline, reluctant to unbutton her skirt. Ji Jiazhen's lips were pressed against his, her emotions following the plot. She cried out when he kissed her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks onto his thumb. She hugged his neck tightly, calling his name again and again.
Qin He gradually became rougher as she cried, kissing her cheek and then her wrist.
Ji Jiazhen heard the sound of her skirt being torn, looked at the dim light on the car roof, bit Qin He's shoulder fiercely, and then said sorry again and again.
Qin He spoke in a low voice, wrapped his arm around her waist, and said "I love you" five times without getting tired of it.
Finally, their fingers intertwined, she pressed her hand heavily against his vest, and she finally replied, "I love you."
...
After hearing the word "cult," Qin He straightened up, wrapped his coat, which was lying to one side, around Ji Jiazhen's shoulders, pulled her to sit up, rubbed her shoulders, apologized, and said he hoped he hadn't hurt her.
Ji Jiazhen shook her head, not saying she was fine, because her shoulder did hurt a little.
Qin He got off the bus first. She took the hot water that Chen Li handed her and put on her coat before getting off the bus after she warmed up.
When you step on the snow, the soft snow makes a "crunch" sound.
The unexpected happened at that moment.
*
It had been drizzling for two days in City A. The sky was overcast and the temperature was low, unlike early spring.
Wen Siyu had a black hair tie wrapped around his left hand; it was the one Ji Jiazhen had left at his house last time.
The right thumb moved, then hovered over the screen, and the chat box contained an unsent message: "Can I come find you?"
He didn't send the message, but with a swipe of his thumb, he was redirected to the flight ticket purchase page, just one step away from making the payment.
A message suddenly popped up: @Ji Jiazhen, whom you care about, is trending on Weibo.
He paused for a moment, then chose to view the document rather than pay.
Trending topic: Ji Jiazhen fainted on set.
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