Power on
On the day of the opening ceremony, smoke rose from the incense burner and various fruits and snacks were placed on the altar.
Lin Jingming was holding a tall incense stick and worshiping seriously in the crowd.
The scene was noisy, and the voice of Xia Zhitang directing the scene could be heard from a distance from time to time.
After the worship, Lin Jingming inserted three incense sticks into the incense burner, turned around and ran into Xia Zhitang giving red envelopes to martial artists. The martial artists looked at her with a smile and called her "Sister Xia".
Lin Jingming complained in his heart: These guys have no taste, yet they call someone "sister" when they are so young.
Cheng Shubai squeezed into the crowd holding his daughter: "Tongtong is going to give candies to the uncles and aunts." The little girl was wearing a Kitty Cat apron, and her candies were scattered all over the floor.
Xia Zhitang bent down to pick it up, and the hem of his clothes brushed past Lin Jingming's trousers, and the gold powder on his body fell on the tips of his leather shoes.
Lin Jingming took out his cell phone and stood there quietly replying to the message.
When Xia Zhitang stood up with the candy in his hand, he almost bumped into Lin Jingming behind him.
Xia Zhitang glanced and saw that there was only less than a fist's distance between them, and the domineering scent of Lin Jingming's cologne invisibly enveloped her.
It's the same trick again...
Lin Jingming caught a glimpse of Xia Zhitang running away with the candy in his hand, smiled silently, and put his phone back into his pocket as if nothing had happened.
He glanced at supporting actress Yin Tian, reapplying her makeup under the shade of a tree. Her pink lipstick didn't match her costume. Lin Jingming's smile fell, and he pointed at Yin Tian with his megaphone, "Hey, wipe off your lipstick and start over."
When the firecrackers exploded, Cheng Shubai covered his daughter's ears.
Lin Jingming nodded to Xia Zhitang.
Xia Zhitang called out into the intercom, "Lion dance group, get ready!"
Lin Jingming, who was standing beside her, noticed Xia Zhitang's neck, which was red from the sun, and the milky white sunscreen mixed with sweat rolled into her collar.
He turned his face and subconsciously turned the wedding ring on his left ring finger that was hurting him.
The opening ceremony lasted a whole day. When the evening breeze brought the aroma of boxed lunches, everyone gradually dispersed and the noisy filming site gradually returned to tranquility.
When Xia Zhitang returned to the scene to look for a power bank, the setting sun illuminated the equipment box orange.
The lights of the costume truck parked nearby were already on, and she heard Yin Tian's laughter floating out from the truck: "Director Lin, my room card fell into your script."
"Take it away." Lin Jingming's voice was cold. "We'll film your rain scene at 7 o'clock tomorrow."
Xia Zhitang deliberately kicked over the reflector, and with a loud bang, the RV became quiet.
After the sound of high heels hitting the ground gradually faded away, Lin Jingming stuck his head out.
His tie hung loosely on his collar: "Not leaving yet?"
"Come and get something." Xia Zhitang shook the power bank and looked at him meaningfully. "Young girls are quite direct nowadays."
Lin Jingming casually pulled a towel and sat down on it, like a big cat that had been relaxing. "Which one do you use to wipe your face, the supermarket gift towel or the real silk scarf from the store?"
"I grabbed the cotton version when it was on sale."
"So you're smart." Lin Jingming untied his loose tie and casually placed it on the table beside him. "It's not practical to use something that's given away for free."
He closed his eyes tiredly and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Remember to remind the costume crew tomorrow to use non-fading foundation for the rain scene."
The streetlights suddenly came on. Xia Zhitang looked at his own shadow overlapping Lin Jingming's back and said, "When you gave me a promotion, you weren't so picky."
"Back then, you dared to talk back to me when you asked me about the play." Lin Jingming suddenly laughed, "Now you've learned to buy discounted waist braces."
Xia Zhitang recalled the scene when he was tormented by Lin Jingming's sudden revisions and scratched his head, and he laughed too.
In the morning, the newly risen summer sun was scorching the earth, and the theater became busy early.
Yin Tian rushed towards Xia Zhitang aggressively, holding a cup of coffee.
She turned her wrist slightly and poured the iced Americano on the notice.
At this time, Xia Zhitang was adjusting the positions of the extras. Brown liquid dripped down the corner of the table onto Xia Zhitang's white sneakers. She looked up and saw the other person's newly made crystal nails reflecting in the sunlight.
"Director Xia, the collar of my costume is too tight." Yin Tian tugged at the collar of her embroidered cheongsam and complained, "It's suffocating."
Xia Zhitang nodded, turned around and called the wardrobe assistant, "Bring over the spare piece, the one with the deep V back."
"The next scene is a slapping scene. A loose collar will easily expose her." Xia Zhitang glanced at Yin Tian's smooth neckline and added, "Pat her back. The audience likes it."
A stagehand happened to pass by carrying a ladder: "Director Lin said we should shoot a solo shot of the male lead first!"
"Just in time." Xia Zhitang slapped the soaked notice sheet into Yin Tian's palm. "Go to the dressing room to try on some clothes. You'll be filming the beating scene in half an hour." There was still gold powder from the extras' faces between Xia Zhitang's fingernails. She glanced at Yin Tian's unfriendly expression and reminded her, "Remember to put on two more coats of powder."
Twenty minutes later, Lin Jingming was walking around, struggling to pick up the oden in his paper bowl with a bamboo skewer. He just happened to hear Yin Tian stomping her feet and complaining to her agent, "She made me wear a backless dress and get beaten!"
"Smart." Lin Jingming couldn't help but praise, "You have good skin, your back will definitely look good on camera."
As soon as he finished speaking, a braised egg fell out of the paper bowl and was kicked into the garbage bag by the quick-eyed and nimble golden-haired boy in the martial arts world.
"My balls!" Lin Jingming stomped his feet and shouted.
The golden-haired boy from the martial arts industry was so scared that he waved his hands and started talking nonsense: "No, it's not me."
The laughter and noises at the scene mixed together, drowning out Yin Tian's faint complaints.
As the setting sun rusted the equipment box, Xia Zhitang huddled beside the monitor, chewing a sandwich. Lin Jingming tossed him a can of cold Coke. "That scene this morning was handled beautifully."
"I learned it from you." Xia Zhitang opened the can and said half-seriously, "After filming ended that year, we discovered there were bugs on the set. You said that instead of reshooting, we should change the script, and you took me to spend three days re-adjusting the editing."
Bubbles sprayed on her wrist, and the coolness penetrated through the red on her wrist and into her cuffs.
Lin Jingming loosened his tie. "Now you can draw inferences from one instance to another. That girl who threw the editing disc back then wasn't so steady."
"You dropped the teacup even louder." Xia Zhitang retorted bluntly.
The stagehand suddenly came running over: "Director Xia, Yin Tian said she has heatstroke!"
"Notify the medical team." Xia Zhitang grabbed the sunscreen spray and walked out. "Move her scene to the night show. First, shoot the scene where President Cheng's daughter plays the flower fairy."
Lin Jingming laughed out loud as he looked at Xia Zhitang's back as he ran in the wind.
When the streetlights came on, Xia Zhitang ran into Yin Tian in the dressing room, scratching her head around her costume while holding a stack of cooling patches. She knocked on the door and asked, "Do you need help?"
Yin Tian was startled and hurriedly hid the cooling patch behind her.
"No! I can handle it myself."
Xia Zhitang hung the spare costume on the doorknob: "This one has an ice pack lining sewn in."
When Xia Zhitang turned around, he heard the door lock click behind him.
Yin Tian had already taken in the clothes that Xia Zhitang had just hung at the door, and a faint rustling sound came from the locker room.
Xia Zhitang glanced at the closed door and smiled.
Yin Tian's scene in the evening went unexpectedly smoothly. Lin Jingming finally stopped losing his temper and throwing things, and the atmosphere on the entire set was harmonious.
When finishing work, Lin Jingming leaned on the prop cart and sighed: "Today's progress is two hours ahead of schedule."
He suddenly leaned close to Xia Zhitang, whispered in her ear, and asked, "How did you deal with her?"
"Thanks to you for teaching me how to cheat." Xia Zhitang stuffed the clapperboard into his backpack and distanced himself from him calmly. "It's much easier to change the script than to teach actors."
"Auntie Xia! Dad said this is for you!" Cheng Shubai's daughter ran over holding an ice cream.
Xia Zhitang wanted to reach out to take it, but Lin Jingming wiped the back of his hand and snatched the ice cream cone away.
Lin Jingming looked at Xia Zhitang steadily, licked his ice cream, and said in a low voice, "It's better to learn well than to teach well."
The next day, Xia Zhitang was putting on makeup in the hallway outside the VIP lounge when Yin Tian's investor stopped her. The image of a man clutching Yin Tian's phone flashed in the mirror, and Xia Zhitang's newly bought lipstick snapped and broke on the edge of the pool.
"Mr. Wang, the makeup artist is waiting to finalize the hairstyle..." Yin Tian's voice was stuck in her throat, and the nail polish scraped against the door, making it creak.
Xia Zhitang cursed Mr. Wang inwardly for being shameless and quickly turned on three faucets. The sound of running water drowned out all other noises.
She took out her phone and took a picture of the investor's Maserati parked downstairs, then sent a WeChat message to Yin Tian's agent: "Your artist has hypoglycemia. Bring some chocolate to the lounge."
Attached with the photo of the investor’s gold-plated Maserati, Yin Tian’s agent immediately responded with a string of comments! ! ! ! !
Suddenly, sobs could be heard from the lounge. Xia Zhitang kicked the dryer in frustration and yelled, "Staff! The water pipe burst!"
Yin Tian's agent ran over in a hurry, and Xia Zhitang whispered a brief account of what had happened. The agent's face turned pale, and he kept thanking Xia Zhitang.
Xia Zhitang waved his hand, and Dark Face announced the new work arrangements in the work group.
Yin Tian's agent didn't dare to say anything. He kept looking at his phone anxiously, and the sound of splashing water was mixed with low sobs.
The sound of wheels gurgled as the cleaning lady slowly came over, pushing a cart. Yin Tian's agent hurried forward and said something with gestures, sending the cleaning lady away.
When the investor wiped his hands and walked out of the lounge, Yin Tian's agent smiled and walked quickly to greet him.
"Mr. Wang, you're here! Xiao Li is so mean for not saying hello in advance. If we had known you were coming, our Tiantian would have definitely cleared her schedule and dressed up beautifully to come out and greet you!"
"You don't understand. This is what makes it interesting." Mr. Wang proudly took off his frameless glasses and wiped them with the hem of his clothes.
"Yes, yes, you are right..."
Xia Zhitang leaned against the wall with his head down without saying a word, and his fingers typed a string of garbled characters in the input box.
When Xia Zhitang pushed open the door, Yin Tian's hands were shaking violently as she put on her lipstick.
She was like a frightened but struggling rabbit, staring at the mirror with red eyes.
Xia Zhitang closed the door, leaned against it and said, "Your agent is following Mr. Wang. The water pipe in the toilet across the street has burst. Everyone is going to the bathroom on the second floor."
"Why are you meddling in other people's business!" Yin Tian threw her lipstick into the pool, and her mascara smudged into panda eyes.
Xia Zhitang took a wet wipe and patted her face. "We'll be filming the masked assassin scene this afternoon." The cool tissue pressed against Yin Tian's red and swollen eyelids. She pressed the wet wipe with both hands, slowly squatted down, and began to cry softly.
Xia Zhitang's cell phone was buzzing. Xia Zhitang answered the call, turned around and walked out the door, closing the door behind him.
"Where is Yin Tian?" Lin Jingming's voice came from the other end of the phone.
"I have a stomachache." Xia Zhitang leaned against the wall, holding the phone in one hand and rubbing his temples tiredly with the other. "I've been notified that we'll be shooting the male lead's flashbacks instead."
When Xia Zhitang returned with Yin Tian, Cheng Shubai's daughter ran by holding a popsicle and said, "Sister Yin's eyes are so red!"
"I'm allergic." Xia Zhitang took out some fruit candy and stuffed it into the little girl's mouth. "Can you get me an ice pack?"
The little girl skipped over to the assistant to get an ice pack.
Yin Tian’s agent finally ran over and took Yin Tian, who was pouting, back.
After a long and arduous process, they finally finished filming today's scenes before sunset. Lin Jingming and Xia Zhitang each took a camp stool and huddled in front of the monitor to review today's footage.
Lin Jingming, biting his popsicle, suddenly said, "The script changes are going pretty smoothly."
Xia Zhitang looked at Lin Jingming in confusion. He was staring at the screen intently.
"I asked Xiaolin to delete the surveillance footage in the corridor." Lin Jingming's eyes didn't leave the screen, but his expression turned cold. "I can't let this kind of scandal happen on my crew."
Xia Zhitang nodded slowly, and when he took out his cell phone from his pocket, he touched the broken new lipstick.
Xia Zhitang threw the broken lipstick into the trash can and said softly, "Back then you said editing couldn't save a bad play, and that revising the script was the right thing to do."
Lin Jingming turned to look at Xia Zhitang. The orange-red sunset cast a beautiful golden edge on Xia Zhitang's profile. Xia Zhitang looked off into the distance with a faint expression, not knowing what he was thinking.
In the evening, when Xia Zhitang was sitting in the hotel stirring instant noodles with a fork, there was a knock on the door.
She walked to the door in her slippers. In the peephole, Yin Tian was standing outside the door with her face turned away, and the ends of her soft hair were still stained with hairspray from the set.
Xia Zhitang opened the door.
"Here you go." Yin Tian took out a box of Band-Aids. "You cut your hand during the day, didn't you?"
Xia Zhitang glanced at the red mark on his palm and stepped aside to let someone in.
"Sit down. Would you like a Coke or mineral water?"
Yin Tian shook her head and sat uneasily on the edge of the chair, biting her lip and twisting the hem of her lace skirt for a long while before she spoke hesitantly, "During the day...thank you."
Xia Zhitang sighed and advised, "Be careful next time."
Yin Tian lowered her eyes and nodded slightly. After hesitating for a moment, she asked, "Why do you want to..."
"You need help, just like I need the vinegar bag now." Xia Zhitang took out the vinegar bag, tore open the plastic bag and poured the dark brown vinegar liquid into it.
Yin Tian suddenly stood up and asked, "Then why did you deliberately call Director Lin away when I was acting with him last time?"
Xia Zhitang stirred the soup with a fork and spoke carefully, "Wolves don't like to eat meat that's served to them." The vinegar-infused soup swirled into a vortex. "They enjoy the hunt."
"You know this again?" Yin Tian excitedly slammed her hands on the table where Xia Zhitang had placed his instant noodles. "Stop pretending to be a good person!"
Xia Zhitang pulled out a wet towel and wiped the soup-spattered table. "Last year, a screenwriter delivered a script to him in the middle of the night." She suddenly laughed out loud. "Guess what? Director Lin scolded her for dirtying the carpet."
Yin Tian was stunned and slowly sat down.
Xia Zhitang glanced at Yin Tian, who was frowning and thinking about something, then stood up and opened the refrigerator: "Want some ice cream? Mango flavor."
Yin Tian looked up at the sweet-looking Xia Zhitang, and a vague idea flashed through her mind.
"Are you..."
Xia Zhitang was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously looked down at the red rope on his wrist.
"I used to be his employee." Xia Zhitang threw the mango ice cream in his hand to Yin Tian.
Yin Tian hurriedly caught it, absentmindedly tore open the popsicle packaging, and said doubtfully: "That's not right..."
"I'm an investor now." Xia Zhitang rolled up a handful of instant noodles with a fork and slurped it.
Yin Tian was about to say something when Chibi Maruko-chan's ringtone suddenly rang. She glanced at the flickering screen and jumped up: "I should go."
"Wait." Xia Zhitang pulled down the sunscreen jacket hanging at the door, "Put it on. There's a photographer waiting downstairs."
Yin Tian walked to the door wearing an oversized coat and suddenly turned around: "Why are you telling me this?"
"There's a drowning scene tomorrow." Xia Zhitang flicked through his phone's photo album and showed the crew's schedule. "Remember to wear waterproof underwear."
Yin Tian stomped her feet in anger, snorted, and slammed the door loudly.
Xia Zhitang sat back at the table, but he had lost his appetite. His hands unconsciously stirred the instant noodles in the bowl, but his eyes stared blankly at the ever-changing heat rising in the air.
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