Family Dinner
Lin Jingming is about to board a plane tonight to attend a family dinner tomorrow. This is already enough to make him feel irritable and uneasy, but the weather seems to be against him and is extremely uncooperative.
Early in the morning, the sky was gloomy and gray, with a hint of impending storm. As the crew began to wake up, a sparse rain had already drenched the ground, and the downpour intensified as filming began.
As the heavy rain made the plastic awning crackle, Lin Jingming tore up the notice for the third time.
He kicked the plastic bucket containing the raincoat in frustration: "This sprinkler truck is leaking!"
Xia Zhitang wiped the rain off his face and said, "The amount of rain right now is just right for capturing the despairing atmosphere of a rainstorm."
Lin Jingming wiped the monitor, which was wet with water mist, with a rag handed to him by the script supervisor. He suddenly asked, "We have a family gathering tomorrow. Will you be in charge of the scenes?"
"The scenes that require your signature are scheduled for the day after tomorrow." Xia Zhitang pulled up the storyboard. "Tomorrow we'll shoot the scene where the male lead smashes the wine glass."
"Let's break the scroll instead. I want one made of crystal."
"What mood do you want to express?"
"The despair of discovering the truth."
Xia Zhitang took out his stylus and began to correct the notes attentively amid the sound of rain.
Lin Jingming suddenly laughed when he saw Xia Zhitang squatting under an umbrella, revising the storyboard with a serious look on his face, his hair wet from the rain sticking to his face.
The cold rain dripped down his chin into his shirt, and a subtle emotion fermented in his heart.
"When we were editing 'Dark Alley', why didn't you want to ride in my car to edit the script?"
Xia Zhitang's mind moved slightly, and he subconsciously narrowed his eyes as he looked at the faded red rope hidden on his wrist. "The passenger seat is full of storyboards, there's no room for him."
Lin Jingming leaned over and whispered in Xia Zhitang's ear, "There's always room in the passenger seat."
Hot air mixed with moist rain mist brushed past Xia Zhitang's ears. Lin Jingming was satisfied with Xia Zhitang's dullness and continued in a hoarse voice, "Emotional dramas need to be truly listened to, truly watched, and truly felt."
Xia Zhitang wanted to say that his relationship affected his work, but he swallowed the words back.
She stood up, pulled out the wet scene list, and added a new scene: "The scroll-breaking scene has been changed to a third shot, and a close-up of the hand is needed."
Lin Jingming grabbed her wrist: "If only..."
Xia Zhitang pulled his hand back without hesitation: "I'll go adjust the anti-skid pads for the rail car."
Lin Jingming shouted at her back, "Smash the scroll tomorrow and I want to see the reflection of the glass shards!"
"Use icing sugar instead." Xia Zhitang said without turning back. "It's safe and reusable."
When the staff handed him the hot coffee, Lin Jingming was staring at the raindrops falling in the gray sky, recalling the time when he first met Xia Zhitang.
She was different back then. If she made a request, Xia Zhitang would chase her and ask her four or five questions. Her youthful look was serious and cute.
That night, Xia Zhitang had just spread the notices all over her bed when Cheng Shubai's video invitation sent her phone spinning on the table. She pressed the answer button, and the camera panned to the wine cabinet behind Cheng Shubai.
"How many notices did Lao Lin tear up today?" Cheng Shubai shook his wine glass. "I bet three."
"Three and a half." Xia Zhitang circled the budget for the rain scene with a red pen. "The icing for the rooftop scene was overspent. He broke the thermos he brought with him."
Cheng Shubai chuckled. "There's a Su family gathering tomorrow. He'll have enough to drink a whole pot." The ice cubes clinked in his glass. "I have to come over and take a picture of him with a scowl. I'll need it for the annual meeting PPT."
Xia Zhitang turned his attention away from the budget sheet and looked up at the carefree Cheng Shubai in the video: "Are you here to monitor the scene?"
"Of course!" Cheng Shubai loosened his tie. "Last year, after a family dinner, he bought a million-dollar video camera as a decoration. This time, I'm going to confiscate his credit card."
Xia Zhitang thought for a moment and took out the crew's budget sheet: "The crew still has some reserve funds left..."
"That's why I came here to keep an eye on him!" Cheng Shubai recalled his experience last year and gritted his teeth. "He goes crazy every time he comes back from the Su family's family dinner!"
Xia Zhitang looked up at the glass windows that were washed into streaks by the heavy rain, and couldn't help but feel a little worried: "Be careful when driving in this weather."
"Don't worry, I'll take the high-speed rail." Cheng Shubai shook his wine glass.
After hanging up, Xia Zhitang drew a simple sketch of the ancestral hall's eaves on the edge of the scrapped notice. The sound of drunken laughter emanated from the barbecue stall downstairs. She quickly closed the curtains, pulled a notebook from the bottom of her suitcase, and added the information Cheng Shubai had just provided.
She opened her phone and looked at the date, and suddenly remembered that the time three years ago when Lin Jingming forced her to take the key out of the ice bucket was exactly the same as the date of the family dinner.
At that time, she had just submitted her resignation application, but Lin Jingming had been holding back on its approval. Finally, she forced the HR department to go through the process based on the Labor Law.
The next day when he came back to the company, he went crazy and targeted her...
She had thought about it for a long time, but she couldn't figure out what Lin Jingming was thinking at the time, and just thought he had a weird temper.
Xia Zhitang closed the notebook and smiled self-deprecatingly. After three years, she finally came back and still had to figure out his thoughts here.
However, looking at the red rope in her hand, she sighed again.
After all, this is the closest breakthrough point to the Su family that she can currently access.
The next day, when Xia Zhitang got up, Lin Jingming had already set out to attend the family dinner.
The weather today was still bad. When the heavy rain soaked the monitor screen into black, the scene fell into chaos.
The staff were running around holding the waterproof cloth, the equipment were breaking down one after another, and Xia Zhitang was busy making arrangements.
"Secure the equipment first!" The cold rain stung my eyes as it seeped through the brim of my raincoat. "The lighting team, retreat to booth number two!"
When Cheng Shubai rushed into the set holding a business umbrella, he saw such a messy scene.
"Do you want people or money?" He frowned and pressed the panicked Xia Zhitang's shoulder, "Calm down!"
"The rain is too heavy!" Xia Zhitang waved away Cheng Shubai's hand, picked up the loudspeaker with trembling hands and prepared to continue directing.
Cheng Shubai pressed her speaker: "Calm down."
He took out his cell phone and made three calls in a row. Then he turned to her and said, "The sand truck from the building materials market will be here in ten minutes. Put up the tarpaulin to cover the leak first!"
Then he grabbed a megaphone and yelled, "Whoever finishes moving the sandbags gets a red envelope!"
The roar of trucks drowned out the sound of rain as workers and crew members carried sandbags to build a dam.
Cheng Shubai calmly directed, "Move the sand pile half a meter to the left! That's right! Block that leak!" He turned and saw Xia Zhitang's stunned expression. "Why are you looking at me? I won an award for flood prevention drills!"
After 20 minutes, the flooding stopped.
The panicked crew restored order and all departments began to operate in an orderly manner.
"Shoot the drenched scene instead!" Cheng Shubai grabbed Xia Zhitang's director's chair and continued directing. "A ready-made rainstorm scene is something Old Lin couldn't even ask for!"
Xia Zhitang looked at the messy sandbag wall at the scene and said, "The male and female protagonists' positions need to be rearranged..."
"Let the stand-in try first!" Cheng Shubai looked at Xia Zhitang's face and suddenly smiled, "There's mascara on the left side of your cheek."
Xia Zhitang wiped his face nonchalantly, grabbed the intercom and began to give orders: "Camera crew, test the camera position, avoid the sandbags."
The rainstorm slowly subsided. Xia Zhitang had been waiting for this moment: "Lighting crew, take your positions! The male and female protagonists, please!"
When filming was over, Cheng Shubai twirled the handle of his umbrella proudly: "How's it going? I'm better at watching the show than filming it, right?"
Xia Zhitang wrung out the rainwater from the corners of his clothes and looked at him seriously: "Thank you, Mr. Cheng, for saving us."
Xia Zhitang's eyes were clear and bright, and a few strands of wet hair stuck to her cheeks, which were rosy from a busy day.
"No, no!" Cheng Shubai suddenly stuttered, "I just moved my lips..."
The staff pushed the hot ginger tea over and Xia Zhitang handed him a cup.
Cheng Shubai took the ginger tea, held it in his palm, and the warmth spread from his hands.
Xia Zhitang looked into the distance, thinking of a director who was entertaining guests at the Su family banquet in the distance, and sighed: "You are the best work partner."
Cheng Shubai choked on the ginger tea and coughed. "Yes! Money-making partners!" He fished out his car keys. "Will you take me back to the hotel?"
"Let's send the equipment back to the warehouse first." Xia Zhitang looked worriedly at the equipment boxes in the rain. "Can Mr. Cheng's car fit ten boxes of lenses?"
The streetlights cast golden specks in the puddles. Cheng Shubai rolled up his trousers and pushed the equipment cart: "I'll treat you to pancakes tomorrow morning!"
“Add two eggs.”
"make a deal!"
At two in the morning, Xia Zhitang was awakened by the sound of banging on her door, her instant noodle soup still turning sour in her stomach. With her hair disheveled and barefoot, she opened the door a crack. Lin Jingming rushed in, reeking of alcohol. His suit was stained with the scent of incense ash from the ancestral hall, and his tie was twisted into a knot.
"Why are you cutting my blasting budget?" Lin Jingming kicked over the trash can with a flushed face.
With a "clang", the empty wine bottle in his hand fell to the ground and rolled to the door, until it hit a pair of fluffy slippers that suddenly appeared.
"Hey, Lao Lin, you're back."
Xia Zhitang looked closely and saw Cheng Shubai rushing towards him wearing cartoon pajamas, with two tufts of hair sticking up.
He rushed in angrily, slippers clacking on his feet, and grabbed Lin Jingming by the collar: "Go to the finance office if you're drunk!"
"Who do you think you are!" Lin Jingming shook him off. "My special effects lens..."
Xia Zhitang grabbed the notice sheet and slammed the table, "The overrun was caused by the ancestral hall explosion scene you insisted on adding!"
Cheng Shubai suddenly interrupted, "That's enough money to buy twenty sets of firefighting equipment! Last week, your assistant asked me to approve the money for fire extinguishers!"
The door lights in the corridor came on one after another, and the entrance was crowded with people of all heights.
"Everyone, go back!" Xia Zhitang slammed the door and turned to continue arguing with Lin Jingming. "The money saved by replacing the explosion scene with smoke effects is enough..."
"That's bullshit!" Lin Jingming pointed at Xia Zhitang, staggering, "Why didn't you tell us about the real car explosion when we were filming 'Dark Alley'?"
Cheng Shubai picked up the bottle that Lin Jingming had thrown away: "I bought that car from the used car market!"
He suddenly laughed out loud, "It's still rusting in the warehouse. Do you want me to drive it over and blast it for you again?"
Lin Jingming picked up a chair and was about to smash it, but the martial artists who came over after hearing the noise held his arms.
Xia Zhitang took the opportunity to pull out the car keys from his trouser pocket: "Drive my car to the set tomorrow."
"Give it back to me!" Lin Jingming struggled and kicked over the lamp. "I'm not drunk!"
Cheng Shubai stuffed the shrimp crackers from his pajamas pocket into his mouth and said, "Shut up, drunk shrimp!" He gestured to the martial artists to carry the man, "Send Director Lin back to his room and put a trash can next to the bed."
The martial artists carried the cursing Lin Jingming away, and Cheng Shubai shouted into the corridor, "If you don't go back to sleep, you'll be fined tomorrow."
The crowd of onlookers had enough of the gossip and slowly dispersed.
Xia Zhitang covered his forehead, which was throbbing with anger because of Lin Jingming. He had a hunch that within an hour the entire crew would exaggerate and modify the story into countless versions.
Finally, when the corridor returned to silence, Xia Zhitang, looking exhausted, slumped on the ground and looked up at Cheng Shubai, who was also slumped in a chair.
"Why are you still wearing your Spongebob pajamas?"
"My daughter bought it..." Cheng Shubai suddenly turned his face away, "Ahem, it's a sale at the supermarket."
Xia Zhitang kicked the deformed trash can into the corner and said sullenly, "We'll redo the budget tomorrow."
"Give me a midnight snack allowance." Cheng Shubai sighed as he walked out in his slippers. He accidentally slipped on a noodle fork and fell. He shouted angrily, "Let Lao Lin reimburse me for my new slippers!"
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