Chapter 51: Jacket

“Mountain Range Line” boasted a luxurious lineup. Directed by Wan Shan, with Zhong Yue and Wen Yage as the male and female leads, it also featured Tao Le, known for his acting skills among the younger generation, and veteran actor He Yunli in supporting roles. From the beginning of preparations, various topics of discussion never ceased.

During the intensive promotional period leading up to the release, everything from amusing anecdotes from the set, famous scenes of the main cast on variety shows, to interviews from offline promotional events, took turns trending on social media.

The news of Wen Yage and her current boyfriend Lin Xuesen’s breakup shot straight to the top of the trending charts, contributing another huge wave of popularity to the movie.

Fans were all speculating, saying that Sister Wen’s boyfriend spot was vacant again and wondering who would be the next one to successfully claim the position. Some also guessed how generous Wen Yage’s breakup fee was this time, as the man didn’t make a fuss at all, and his breakup post on Weibo was even written with exceptional grace and affection.

Unexpectedly, Wen Yage posted on Weibo directly, stating there was no need to guess. For the next two to three years, she would focus on her career, work hard to break through her acting bottleneck, and would not be in a relationship. She welcomed anyone with good directors and good scripts to contact her.

Her career-focused fans were all incredibly gratified, happily gathering in the comments section to praise Sister Wen for finally no longer being indulgent in male beauty and for getting her career ambitions back on track. All male temptors were told to begone.

Lan Xiaoshan was scrolling through Weibo with great interest, also getting gossip from both sides in an internal group he had joined. “Wow, it’s said that Teacher Wen broke up with that Lin Xuesen two months ago and even generously gave him good roles in two dramas as a breakup fee. Unexpectedly, Lin Xuesen refused, saying he didn’t want the roles and only wanted to be with Teacher Wen forever, crying and making a scene, determined not to break up.”

He commented in a very mature tone, “He’s afraid that if they really break up, he won’t be able to benefit from Teacher Wen’s connections and resources anymore, and won’t be able to cash in on the CP bonus, right?”

In the lounge, Shen Xici was reading the script, but the appeal of this gossip was too strong. He couldn’t continue reading, so he simply put down the script and focused on the gossip, asking, “And then? How do you guys even know what Lin Xuesen said?”

Lan Xiaoshan replied, “It was Lin Xuesen himself who didn’t avoid the staff. He confessed his love to Teacher Wen very affectionately, saying he didn’t want anything, that he was different from other men, and that he only loved Teacher Wen.”

Shen Xici shook his head. “That act of his won’t work. Teacher Wen doesn’t believe that kind of talk at all.”

“I think so too! Even the dog lying at the door would shake its head after hearing that!” Lan Xiaoshan quickly scrolled through the group messages, then suddenly slapped his thigh. “Wow, Teacher Wen got annoyed by his antics and cut a second male lead role in a TV series that was originally for him. Lin Xuesen immediately behaved, his tears stopped on command. His control of his expression was much better than his acting on set!”

They had broken up two months ago but only officially announced it now, clearly to maximize benefits and incidentally add a wave of discussion for “Mountain Range Line.”

But what Shen Xici was more concerned about was that Wen Yage said she would focus on her career for the next two or three years to break through her bottleneck and was in great need of good directors and good scripts.

In his memory, in his previous life, after winning the Golden Leaf Award for Best Actress for “Lost Time,” Wen Yage had indeed been stuck with the title of “two-time Golden winner,” with no new breakthroughs. She was mocked by her rivals and anti-fans for her career having reached its end.

Just as he was thinking, Lan Xiaoshan suddenly exclaimed, “Brother Shen, Brother Shen, look quick! A new trending topic just popped up. With this scale of paid posters, Xu Lingjia must have spent a fortune!”

---

The set was crowded and full of prying eyes. Xu Lingjia closed the door of his private dressing room, locked it from the inside, and then walked in, saying into the phone, “Godmother, we must seize this opportunity!” He repeated this sentence twice somewhat neurotically, the joy in his eyes expanding.

Ye Mei was much more cautious, confirming with him again, “Jiajia, are you sure the person Director Wan was talking about is you?”

On the tablet in front of the makeup mirror, an interview video was playing on a loop. In the studio, the host asked, “What was the biggest surprise you encountered in this film?”

Director Wan Shan, wearing a dark baseball cap, thought for a moment before answering, “There is a newcomer with very good acting skills who contributed an excellent performance to this film. I believe that after the film is released, the audience will also be pleasantly surprised.”

Xu Lingjia bit his nails, his eyes fixed on the screen of the tablet, a bright light bursting from them. He said with extreme certainty, “Of course it’s me! How could it not be me?”

This was right. Everything was finally back on the right track of fate!

This was how it was in the prophetic dream. The role of “undercover Ah Zheng” would be praised and lauded by countless people.

He let out a breath—finally, he had waited for this opportunity.

Ye Mei’s tone was hesitant. “But I vaguely heard someone say that the newcomer named Shen Xici’s acting is also not bad—”

“His acting is not bad?” Xu Lingjia’s voice suddenly rose, the end of his words sharp. Quickly, he composed himself again and lowered his voice. “Godmother, we were on the same set, wouldn’t I know? He’s just a bit good-looking, and the director thinks his face fits the character in the script, which is why he passes his regular scenes in just a few takes. But when it comes to important scenes, like the final cliff-jumping scene, everyone on set knows Shen Xici had over ten or twenty NGs. How can that be called good acting?”

Ye Mei asked, “Are you saying he’s the ‘vase’ type of actor?”

During this time, Cui Yunwei had been relentlessly holding the matter of Xu Lingjia and Zhong Yue over her head, not only suggesting to the higher-ups to prevent her from being involved in the film’s subsequent promotion and release but also tripping her up at every turn. She was overwhelmed with work.

She hadn’t seen the final cut of “Mountain Range Line,” but she had taken the time to ask her subordinates, who all said that Xu Lingjia, as a newcomer, performed quite well. Zhong Yue and Wen Yage also acted very well, and the overall quality and texture of the film were very good, with high box office potential. Indeed, no one had mentioned the newcomer named Shen Xici.

“Pretty much.” Accidentally biting his finger painfully, Xu Lingjia didn’t want to say more on this topic. He had always been a bit jealous of Shen Xici’s looks. He said, “The role of undercover Ah Zheng is very good. I had a few too many NGs at the beginning, but once I got into the state, I basically passed in one or two, or two or three takes. Zhong Yue was even helping me by explaining the scenes and running lines with me at the time.”

Hearing him mention Zhong Yue and say that he could pass in two or three takes under Director Wan’s camera, Ye Mei’s doubts were mostly dispelled, and she felt quite relieved. She planned, “Director Wan’s comment is indeed a timely rain for us. It’s been almost half a year since the Zhong Yue allergy incident. People are very forgetful these days. If we can use this opportunity to hype up the ‘skilled actor’ label for you and stick it on you, covering up the impact of the Zhong Yue incident, your image will be much more positive, and it will be easier to get scripts.”

“Yes, I’ll have to trouble godmother to operate this for me again. Godmother is the best to me!” Xu Lingjia brought up again, “That Shen Xici is always at odds with me, godmother—”

“Alright, stop whining. Godmother knows what to do. I won’t let Shen Xici steal your thunder.”

In one production, there can only be one surprising newcomer. Putting aside the fact that Xu Lingjia called her godmother, Xu Lingjia was still the artist she was primarily promoting. Their interests were firmly tied together. If this time she could use Director Wan Shan’s comment to suppress the negative impact of the previous Zhong Yue anaphylactic shock incident, she could also catch a breath and push down Cui Yunwei’s arrogance.

After a few more words, he hung up. Xu Lingjia thought that fate was ultimately on his side.

Hearing a knock on the door, Xu Lingjia got up in a good mood to open it. Seeing the person, he lifted his chin, his tone still polite enough. “Is there something, Director?”

Wu Ya looked humble and constrained. “Um… were you just on the phone with President Ye?”

Sitting back in the makeup chair, Xu Lingjia leaned back, casually spinning his phone. “Yeah, chatted a bit with my godmother. What’s up?”

Wu Ya followed him into the room and spoke cautiously, “About the additional investment—”

Frowning, Xu Lingjia was a little displeased. “The crew isn’t filming any big, money-burning scenes, nor are we building a city from scratch. The total investment is so high, how could the money not be enough?”

Wu Ya always kept his posture very low. He was also good at reading people. After spending time together, he knew very well what kind of words this little young master Xu Lingjia liked to hear.

“I’m just trying to make our film well, to make it perfect, so we can get a good box office during the Spring Festival, right? So, when the standards are high, the money gets spent quickly. And it’s already the end of September. Promotion will slowly have to start, and that’s another large sum of money…”

“Alright, alright, I get it.” Xu Lingjia waved his hand impatiently. Thinking of the prophetic dream where this film swept the box office and was a massive hit, he managed to have a little more patience for Wu Ya.

He comforted himself that you can’t get high returns without high investment. Director Wan Shan’s praise had some effect, but it could only be used for hype, to help him recover some image points.

To make a complete comeback, he ultimately had to rely on the movie “Double-Sided.”

After a quick thought, Xu Lingjia’s words carried a somewhat superior tone. “How about this, I’ll go ask my godmother and my parents again. The money can definitely be raised, you just wait a bit longer.” He turned his face away. “Go get busy, I’m going to rest a bit more.”

The dressing room door was closed again. Xu Lingjia locked it again and anxiously scrolled through his phone, silently urging his godmother to make a move.

After an unknown amount of time, finally, he scrolled to several articles from marketing accounts, and the topic #NewActorXuLingjia# also appeared on the trending list.

—“I knew Director Wan was talking about Jiajia! Ahhh, Jiajia is super excellent!!”

—“Sob, Jiajia is so great, this big sister is so gratified!”

—“His first film is a masterpiece from a major director, and he was even personally named and praised by the director. My Jiajia, you’ve made it! Looking forward to it!”

On the other side, the paid posters began their work.

—“Is it true that a certain newcomer actor surnamed Shen’s acting is said to be awkward? Can someone in the know talk about it?”

—“LMAO, just had dinner and heard my bestie who works on set complain that a newcomer couldn’t pass a cliff-jumping scene even after twenty-something takes. The whole crew had to stay up with him. My bestie was so mad she wanted to jump off the cliff herself…”

—“I was originally a fan of a newcomer actor’s looks, really liked him. Didn’t expect to see a video of him filming on set, it’s so awkward!! Can we leave acting to professionally trained actors?”

—“No way, I heard a crew member say SXC’s acting is awkward. Ahhh, I really liked him before! How can he be chosen for a major director’s film with such bad acting? Can anyone tell me what his background is? Or is some big shot backing him?”

—“In the entertainment industry, what else could it be? With his looks, many people would be willing to spend money on him, right? He looks so clean in photos, who knows how dirty he is behind the scenes…”

A pleased smile appeared on Xu Lingjia’s lips.

He thought, Shen Xici can’t blame me this time. Who told him to be on the same set as me? If he really wants to blame someone, Shen Xici can blame his own parents for being country folk with no background or connections, and for not having a resourceful godmother.

---

On September 30th, Shen Xici took leave in advance to return to Ningcheng. Before leaving, he made a special trip to say goodbye to Lu Jiming.

Lu Jiming not only had to lead the entire “Fleeting Life” crew in filming, but after everyone else rested, he still had to stay up all night editing in front of a screen. This resulted in the dark circles under his black-framed glasses being about as dark as smoky eyeshadow. The thick beard he always kept clean-shaven before filming had sprouted again, and he had lost over ten pounds. He looked like a malnourished mushroom growing in a corner.

Taking off his wrinkled jacket and spreading it on the ground, Lu Jiming pulled Shen Xici down to sit with him. After a moment of silence, he uttered a life lesson: “This damn director job, whoever wants it can have it!”

Shouting through a megaphone all day had made Lu Jiming’s voice hoarse. When he said this, not only did it lack any force, but it also sounded a bit miserable and bleak.

Shen Xici laughed at him. “Really? Then let’s not film? As long as you give the word, I’ll go on strike immediately.”

“Don’t, my ancestor! I want to film, I absolutely will film! I was just saying it casually, just kidding!” Lu Jiming now truly worshipped Shen Xici like an ancestor. In the past, he thought Shen Xici’s acting was pretty good, at least better than most film academy students.

But he really hadn’t expected that this wasn’t just being better than film academy students; this was surpassing most actors who had graduated from film academies!

Surprise? A huge surprise! At this age, with this level of acting skill and these looks, he would bet that you couldn’t find a second one even with an eight-figure salary! It was as if by chance he had gotten a lottery ticket, and when the numbers were drawn, hey, he’d hit the jackpot!

With an even greater fear of Shen Xici running away, Lu Jiming swallowed his grievances and was subjected to Shen Xici’s various forms of PUA and motivation every day. Things like “a certain famous director’s film was released just two months after filming wrapped,” “a certain international director only sleeps three or four hours a day on set,” and “as long as we can make the Spring Festival release, this film will definitely be a massive hit.” Anyway, tons of inspirational talk was poured down his throat.

Being pushed and rushed like this, he counted the days on the calendar and found that maybe, just maybe, they really could make the Spring Festival release?

Shen Xici still trusted Lu Jiming very much. Lu Jiming was a typical man of action; when he said he would do something, he would really do it. But the words still had to be said: “Then during my three days off, you’re not allowed to procrastinate again.”

This tone, why did it sound so much like his elementary school teacher warning him to remember to do his homework? Something wasn’t right. Director Lu figured it out: “I’m the—”

“You’re the director. No procrastinating these few days.”

“Oh, okay.” After gathering his momentum for three seconds, Lu Jiming spoke again with pleading eyes, “Then come back quickly after your break is over.”

Leaving Lan Xiaoshan to rest at the hotel, Shen Xici returned to Ningcheng alone.

Having not been back for almost three months, a thin layer of dust had settled on the furniture in the house. Shen Xici skillfully opened the windows to air out the place, rolled up his sleeves, and began to clean.

Until the doorbell rang.

Outside the door, a familiar scent reminiscent of moonlight in a mountain forest wafted over. Sheng Shaoyan was wearing a white silk shirt and black trousers, with a handmade suit jacket neatly folded over his arm. He was formally dressed, as if he had come straight from a conference room to his doorstep.

The air in the hallway tensed slightly.

Shen Xici keenly noticed a tall person in ordinary clothes standing in a dark corner, with little presence.

In his previous life, Shen Xici had already gotten used to these ubiquitous security personnel around Sheng Shaoyan. He even felt that in Sheng Shaoyan’s situation, having one or two bodyguards was too few. To be safe, he should have several more!

Withdrawing his gaze nonchalantly, Shen Xici stepped aside, bent down, and took a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet, placing them at the door. “Wear these.”

Sheng Shaoyan’s gaze hardened slightly.

These were the same slippers he had worn in the rental house in Sui County.

Unexpectedly, Shen Xici had not only brought them all the way back but had also placed them in the shoe cabinet by the door.

Slipping on the slippers, Sheng Shaoyan closed the door behind him and walked inside. The house Shen Xici was renting was not large; one glance was enough to take in the entire layout.

It was indeed quite similar to what Shen Xici had described when the two of them were lying in bed, and he had asked what kind of house Shen Xici wanted to rent back in Ningcheng.

The area wasn’t very large, the decor was new and refined, there wasn’t much furniture, and the space was clean and spacious. The doors to both rooms were open, which should be the bedroom and study Shen Xici had mentioned.

Taking a cup from the drawer, Shen Xici poured a glass of water and handed it to him. “I thought you’d be here later. Don’t you have a regular meeting this afternoon?”

“I had Lin Yueshu attend in my place.” Sheng Shaoyan took the cup and then said, “I’ve booked a restaurant.”

A restaurant? Shen Xici had no objection. “Okay, then let’s have dinner together and then go to the cinema for the premiere.”

Sheng Shaoyan took a sip of water. “Mm.”

The feeling under his fingers was familiar. It was also something he had used in the rental house in Sui County. It was the same style as Shen Xici’s cup; the one in his hand was white, and Shen Xici’s was light grey.

Furthermore, when Shen Xici opened the drawer just now, he had inadvertently glimpsed that, besides the slippers and cup, the pajamas, tableware, towel, jacket… every item inside was something he had used before.

And the wooden chair Shen Xici had custom-made for him was also on the balcony.

Everything of his from that rental house had been brought back by Shen Xici.

Shen Xici had originally thought that since they were both incredibly busy and hadn’t met in so long, it might be awkward. But it was the complete opposite. He was perfectly clear on all of Sheng Shaoyan’s movements during this time, including which places Sheng Shaoyan had been to, which team of chefs had been changed, and how capable the new subordinates were. He couldn’t feel any sense of strangeness at all.

Naturally draping his suit jacket over the back of a dining chair, Sheng Shaoyan asked, “How many days off did the director give you?”

“Three days.”

“Can you keep up with the schedule?”

Obviously, it wasn’t just him who was familiar with everything happening with Sheng Shaoyan; Sheng Shaoyan was the same.

Shen Xici’s suspended emotions slowly settled, and his tone relaxed a lot. “We can keep up. Director Lu adjusted the filming order in advance. They’ll film others for these three days. When I go back, they’ll concentrate my scenes together.”

“Will it be very tiring?”

Shen Xici shook his head. “This intensity is okay. Besides, if you want a vacation, you have to pay a price, right?”

The two chatted casually, one sentence after another, giving Shen Xici the illusion that he had returned to the time of Sheng Shaoyan’s amnesia. Before heading out, he went to the bedroom to change his clothes and asked, “It’s almost seven. Shall we go eat?”

Sheng Shaoyan was looking at the script Shen Xici had tossed onto the coffee table. He turned his head and saw Shen Xici standing at the bedroom door, wearing a T-shirt with a light-colored denim jacket and long pants. A black mask was bunched up at his chin, the complete look of a male university student, simple and casual.

His gaze swept over the suit jacket draped on the back of the chair. Sheng Shaoyan spoke, “The online meeting this afternoon only ended at five-thirty. I didn’t have time to go home and change.”

Shen Xici was looking down, adjusting his sleeves. After hearing this, he didn’t quite understand, but still nodded, waiting for the other person to continue.

“Wearing a suit to the cinema isn’t very suitable.” Sheng Shaoyan chose a jacket for himself based on the style of the one Shen Xici was wearing. “The black denim jacket I wore before, can I borrow it again?”