Chapter 4: A Hard-to-Raise Golden Canary

In the middle of March, even next to the black tripods of the set’s cameras, a few bright golden wildflowers were blooming.

Shen Xici came out after changing into the clothes prepared by the styling team and asked Lan Xiaoshan, who was holding his coat beside him, “Has anyone called me?”

Lan Xiaoshan handed over the phone. “I’ve been keeping an eye on it, Brother Shen. No calls came in, but you received a text message.”

A text message?

Shen Xici held out his arms to let the head of styling adjust the details of his clothes while he opened his phone. There was indeed a text message, but it wasn’t from Sheng Shaoyan. It was a mass notification from the school, reminding all students to pay attention to fire prevention in the dormitories and prohibiting the use of unauthorized electrical appliances. Most likely, someone had been caught using a rice cooker in their room again.

Shen Xici felt he might be worrying too much. Sheng Shaoyan only had amnesia, he wasn’t disabled or mentally incapacitated. It wasn’t as if he’d burn himself drinking water or get hit by a car going outside.

The head of styling took a step back, and Lan Xiaoshan immediately let out a “wow,” cheering him on. “Brother Shen, you look so good in this outfit!”

To fit the setting of a mute boy living in a traditional village deep in the mountains, the costume designer had used local white homespun cloth to create a robe. It had a frog button at the collar and a slanted placket beneath. The placket’s edge was pieced together with fabric made using an ancient blue indigo dyeing technique. The sleeves were wide, but tightened at the cuffs with blue cloth to form narrow sleeves.

Two long, rectangular strips of colorful brocade were woven on a traditional loom. The longer one served as a belt, cinching his lean waistline, while the shorter, wider one hung at his side as a decoration. A small, tarnished black-and-silver fish, the size of a fingernail, was also attached, swaying with his every move.

The head of styling was also very satisfied with the result and was already thinking about how to take credit in front of the director. “This kind of homespun robe on you really has that vibe Director Wan described, what was it, glass beads or something,” he thought for two seconds, then slapped his fist into his palm. “Right, right, ‘as clean and beautiful as a morning dewdrop’! Cultured people are so pretentious and sappy!”

Lan Xiaoshan also chimed in, “Right! It looks great!”

Shen Xici stood before the full-length mirror, looking at the person in the reflection, slowly adjusting his posture and gaze, as if meeting the eyes of the mute boy from the script.

Through the other’s eyes, he saw the vast mountain forests, birds taking flight, leaping fish, the sunset landing on fingertips, the damp, cold mist at dawn, and the wind whistling past his ears as he ran.

Tilting his head, Shen Xici suddenly said, “Sir, do you think I should add an earring to my left earlobe?”

The head of styling was in his forties and an old partner of the director. He knew how much importance Wan Shan placed on the role of the mute boy, which was why he had personally come to modify the costume details. Hearing Shen Xici’s suggestion, he raised his eyebrows with interest. “An earring? What’s the story behind it?”

“I heard from the locals that there are many blue crystals in the rock caves of this mountain. The mountain people would grind the blue crystals into oval or teardrop shapes, polish them, and string them below old silver passed down from their elders to make earrings. It carries the meaning of parents and elders blessing the younger generation.” After explaining, Shen Xici shared his own idea. “I just feel that the mute boy has a deep bond with his family. When he was young, his mother would definitely have gone to the caves to find stones and personally make an earring for him, praying for his safety.”

“Where did you learn all this? You’ve got some skills.” The head of styling thought for a moment, then called his assistant over, described the idea, and told him to hurry and find one with the tricycle. He then turned back to Shen Xici. “That’s a great idea. However, while we can pierce your ear right now, we don’t have enough time for the piercing to heal.”

Shen Xici had thought of that too. “It’s fine. We can hang the pendant directly on the piercing needle during filming. I have a constitution that allows wounds to heal quickly.”

“Put it on during filming and take it off after? Hiss, you’re really not afraid of pain? How about wearing an ear clip?” The head of styling was a bit of a perfectionist. He thought Shen Xici’s proposal was indeed good; adding the earring would give the character more distinctiveness, while not adding it would leave something lacking.

But he had to lay it all out first. Otherwise, if the piercing got infected later and the actor made a fuss, he would be the one to take the blame.

Shen Xici shook his head. “On the big screen, an ear clip would be noticeable. The character’s presentation is the most important thing.” He then smiled, “Otherwise, by the time my piercing fully heals, the crew will have already wrapped up filming.”

An alcohol wipe on his earlobe brought a cool sensation. The head of styling had a very steady hand and pierced it directly. Lan Xiaoshan covered his eyes with his fingers, not daring to look. In contrast, Shen Xici showed no reaction at all, as if he felt no pain.

After four different makeup and styling versions, Shen Xici was finally able to leave the dressing room as it was getting dark. Xu Lingjia was seizing the time to film his first scene after the role change.

The criminal investigation team, led by undercover officer A’Zheng, had entered the jungle and gotten lost. The group set up tents to rest where they were.

They started a fire. The youngest officer in the team, Xiao Lin, went to talk to A’Zheng, asking him, “We look about the same age, why couldn’t you think straight and decide to become a bad guy?”

The undercover officer, A’Zheng, hid the envy in his eyes and spoke in a nonchalant, roguish manner, “When my parents were beaten to death by the village tyrant, why didn’t I see you righteous saviors come to help? If I don’t steal, don’t rob, and don’t follow my big brother, who’s going to give me money to spend? You? Your salary isn’t even enough for me to open two bottles of liquor at a nightclub!”

Xiao Lin felt he was incorrigible and didn’t bother to say more.

Seeing Xiao Lin get up and leave, A’Zheng lowered his head and stared at the handcuffs on his wrist, his expression dejected. He wondered when he would be able to openly wear a police uniform like the other man.

After filming, the director did one more take for safety and praised Xu Lingjia for a good performance.

Xu Lingjia stood to the side, drinking water while his assistant sprayed him with insect repellent. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shen Xici come out in his costume, and a sense of pride welled up within him.

As expected, only a chosen one like him could foresee the future and make the more correct choice!

A few days ago, when he got up in the middle of the night to light a mosquito coil, he accidentally tripped over something and fell. When he lay back in bed to sleep, he had a dream.

He dreamed that he had taken the role of the mute boy. When filming first began, he thought the role was great because being mute meant he didn’t have to memorize lines, which saved a lot of trouble. He acted very smoothly.

Midway through filming, because the mountain forest was full of mosquitoes and insects, he couldn’t stand being bitten and wanted to leave the set several times, or switch from location shooting to studio shooting with special effects. His godmother persuaded him to stay each time, saying, “Your character will definitely be a huge hit after the release.”

But he never expected that his godmother had lied to him. It wasn’t a huge hit at all after the release!

The entire internet was filled with negative reviews, with labels like “wooden post,” “knows only how to smile foolishly from beginning to end,” “stiff expression,” “dead eyes that only know how to stare,” and “no acting skills, only knows how to act cute” all stuck to him. Even his most loyal fans, who had followed him since his childhood appearance on a parent-child travel show, expressed great disappointment in his performance in this film.

It was clearly the character’s problem, why was it said to be his fault?

And also, didn’t those fans claim to love him? How could they be so easily swayed by anti-fans?

He was both angry and aggrieved. His agent also asked him to post on Weibo to appease his fans. He posted one, explaining that the character was originally mute and had no lines, so all he could do was smile, what else could he do? He also attached photos of the large welts on his body from mosquito bites, trying to show that he had put in a lot of effort.

But unexpectedly, he was ridiculed even more severely. “Xu Smiley” and “Xu Big Welts” quickly became his derogatory nicknames.

Meanwhile, Shen Xici seemed to have stepped in dog poop luck. Even though before the release, he had his godmother delete many of Shen Xici’s scenes to give him more screen time.

But with just over ten minutes of screen time, Shen Xici’s scene of dying in a sea of fire was voted one of the “Most Tear-Jerking Scenes of the Year.” The hashtag #A’ZhengGoesHome even trended for over a week, and even official media outlets proactively posted articles praising Shen Xici’s performance and commemorating the nameless heroes who sacrificed for the country.

In the same movie, both being first-time actors, and with the news of the real and fake young masters having already broken, countless media, marketing accounts, and passersby compared them. Just scrolling through Bilibili, one could see comparison videos. Even the brands he endorsed tactfully reminded him that he could take more acting classes.

Xu Lingjia was literally scared awake.

His silk pajamas were soaked with cold sweat, sticking icily to his back. He hugged his knees tightly, trembling all over in the darkness.

Especially the part in the dream where he wasn’t his parents’ biological son, but Shen Xici was—the moment he woke up, he knew this dream was absolutely real.

He had never told anyone that both his father and mother had Type A blood, but he was Type B.

Because of this secret, he never had his blood type checked again, and he reported Type A on all his documents.

Fortunately, there was still time. Following the clues from the dream, he intercepted the poor, old woman who had come looking for him, making the secret a complete secret forever, and had his godmother help him switch roles.

At first, his godmother tried to persuade him, saying Director Wan had designed many storyboards for this character. Xu Lingjia was both annoyed and angry. What did she know? She had assured him he would be a huge hit playing this role, but did he become a hit?

Besides, so what if there were many great storyboards? The character didn’t have a single line of dialogue; it was just hard to act out!

The undercover role was much better. In the dream, Shen Xici, a complete newcomer who had never taken a single acting class or even dipped a toe into the entertainment industry, could play this role well. Then he would only play it better!

After filming the first scene, Xu Lingjia finally let out a sigh of relief.

It turned out that his choice was incomparably correct. Whether in the dream or in reality, he had never received a single word of praise from Director Wan. This time, he passed after four takes and even heard an evaluation of “not bad” from Director Wan’s mouth!

Director Wan was standing with his arms crossed, watching the effect on the monitor.

The head of styling brought Shen Xici over and glanced at the monitor. “How is it? I heard the shoot went pretty well?”

Director Wan stared at the monitor without looking up. “Hard to say. This scene is simple, can’t see much. But he’s just a kid, give him some encouragement.”

The head of styling chuckled and said deliberately, “Indeed. Other kids don’t get this kind of treatment.”

“Go, go, go!” Director Wan waved his hand in annoyance. As he looked up, he happened to see Shen Xici standing beside him. His eyes lit up, his brows smoothed out, and after a careful look, he said with satisfaction, “Alright, we’ll shoot in this outfit tomorrow.”

“That’s not all, there’s more in the works!” The head of styling quickly explained Shen Xici’s idea in a few words.

His gaze fell on Shen Xici’s newly pierced ear. Director Wan Shan nodded. “The earring idea is quite good. It shows you’ve done your homework on the character, very well, you’ve put in the effort. Remember to arrive early tomorrow to film the sunrise scene.”

Shen Xici didn’t glance at the monitor, nor did he show the elation of a newcomer praised by a major director. He nodded calmly. “Okay, I’ll read two pages of the script tonight and then sleep.”

The head of styling stayed to discuss the next day’s scenes with Director Wan, and assigned an assistant to take Shen Xici back to the dressing room to change and remove his makeup.

Not far away, Shen Xici came face to face with Xu Lingjia, who was walking over with a sippy cup.

Xu Lingjia smiled and greeted the styling assistant, sweetly calling her “sister,” then said to Shen Xici, “Brother Shen is filming his first scene tomorrow? You should sleep early and get your energy up.”

He knew that he was actually born an hour earlier than Shen Xici, that he was the fake one, but in this world, who else knew about this besides him?

The smile at the corner of his mouth deepened. “But this role is indeed quite difficult for a newcomer. If Brother Shen doesn’t act it well, it’s also normal. Don’t be too nervous. I have a good relationship with Director Wan, I can put in a good word for you then.”

The styling assistant smiled and praised, “Oh, our Jiajia is so thoughtful!”

A nearby staff member chimed in, “Exactly, everyone knows Teacher Xu is humble and polite, and always takes care of newcomers. Only he has this kind of face with Director Wan.”

Shen Xici also smiled. “Then thank you in advance, Teacher Xu.”

Opening the door to the rental apartment, Shen Xici habitually squeezed a pump of rinse-free sanitizing gel into his hand. After rubbing it in, he clipped a palm-sized device to his thumb, staring at the blood oxygen saturation and heart rate numbers while his other hand picked up the ear thermometer beside it and skillfully took his temperature.

In the small living room, an anchor’s voice was clear and articulate. It seemed financial news was playing on the television. Shen Xici paused for a moment, then said softly, “I’m back.” After saying it, he couldn’t help but find the feeling very novel—the house wasn’t dark and empty, the lights were on, and someone was sitting on the sofa watching TV.

Taking the warm-light bulb he had bought from the supermarket downstairs to the bathroom, Shen Xici stretched out his arm and found his fingertips were just a little short of the bulb. Just as he was about to stand on his toes, a hand entered his line of sight, unscrewed the old bulb in two twists, and took the new bulb from his hand.

Shen Xici simply retracted his hand and stood properly, making small talk with Sheng Shaoyan. “What did you eat for lunch and dinner?”

Sheng Shaoyan tilted his head up, his jawline forming a distinct curve. “I ate at that shop downstairs. Meat and green vegetables.”

Hearing this description, Shen Xici understood. The man had no idea what kind of meat it was or what kind of green vegetable was on the plate.

Although Sheng Shaoyan was a top student from Princeton, his knowledge in this area was on par with someone who couldn’t tell different grains apart.

“You—”

With a few turns of his five fingers, the light bulb was installed. Sheng Shaoyan looked down from above. “I took the medicine, the wound didn’t reopen, and I didn’t get it wet.”

He’s even learned to answer before being asked?

Shen Xici pulled the corner of the phone sticking out of Sheng Shaoyan’s jacket pocket, had him unlock it, and then, in front of Sheng Shaoyan, downloaded Alipay. After real-name verification, he directly linked his own bank card.

No phone or other identification documents were found near where Sheng Shaoyan had been unconscious. A passport couldn’t be reissued for the time being, so Alipay could only be linked to Shen Xici’s own card for now.

Sheng Shaoyan’s gaze swept over Shen Xici’s reddened ear piercing. He didn’t comment on other people’s hobbies. Watching Shen Xici’s actions, he thought to himself, could it really be a kept relationship?

Shen Xici hadn’t mentioned taking time off, which meant he didn’t have a job. Not only did Shen Xici leave living expenses before going to work, but now it seemed that even other payments were coming from Shen Xici’s card.

Confirming that payment was possible, Shen Xici handed the phone back, unable to resist adding a piece of advice, “Spend it sparingly.”

Sheng Shaoyan took the phone. “What do you mean?” It sounded like he used to spend a lot of money?

Shen Xici had the frankness of a poor man. “There’s not much money in the card. When it’s gone, it’s gone.”

Having gotten a sense of Shen Xici’s, or rather, their financial situation, Sheng Shaoyan nodded cooperatively. “Okay, don’t worry.”

Closing the bedroom door, the volume of the news broadcast dropped by half. Shen Xici turned on the desk lamp, spread out the script, and continued reading from where he had last marked.

Xu Lingjia was right about one thing: a mute character was indeed difficult to play.

Because there were no lines, all emotions and thoughts could only be conveyed through actions and micro-expressions.

Just like when he was cramming for exams in high school, Shen Xici twirled the pen in his hand, leaned back in his chair, and imagined the mute boy sitting on a thick tree trunk, a pair of clear eyes peeking through the dense, layered leaves, the blue crystal hanging from his earlobe swaying gently.

At this moment, the phone’s notification sound went off. Shen Xici casually opened the text message. It was from the bank.

His mind still on the character, he glanced at it nonchalantly. Oh, an Alipay transaction of 9,687 yuan was completed, the remaining balance—

Huh?

How much?

Shen Xici sat up abruptly, grabbed his phone, and read it carefully word by word. It was indeed an expenditure of nearly ten thousand.

A scam?

He hadn’t touched his phone at all just now, how could he have made a payment?

Breathing a sigh of relief, Shen Xici lay back in his chair. Halfway down, his whole body suddenly stiffened.

He hadn’t touched his phone, but,

Sheng Shaoyan!

Shen Xici got up and opened the door, just in time to meet Sheng Shaoyan’s gaze as he sat on the sofa looking at him. He tried to ask as calmly as possible, “A’Shao, did you just buy something?”

Sheng Shaoyan pointed. “I bought a chair. Wanted to put it by the French window. Is that not okay?”

“It’s not that it’s not okay,” Shen Xici glanced at the window. It was indeed a good spot. Sunlight would stream in on fine days, and the pale purple bougainvillea was like a large splash of pigment on a canvas. He remembered the bedroom suite Sheng Shaoyan lived in. “A brown, retro, oil-waxed leather cigar chair?”

A flicker appeared in Sheng Shaoyan’s eyes. “Yes.” He remembered Shen Xici’s “spend it sparingly” and probably understood why Shen Xici had suddenly asked him this question. He said first, “I didn’t buy that fifty-six-thousand-yuan chair.”

Shen Xici thought, indeed, a ten-thousand-yuan chair could only be considered a replica. Even a fifty-six-thousand-yuan one wouldn’t make it through the Sheng family’s door; it would need at least another zero added to the price.

Shen Xici felt as if he was raising a golden, glittering canary, one so precious even its claws were made of gold, that had gone out and brought back a ten-thousand-yuan branch to decorate its nest.

So golden canaries were this hard to raise!!

Shen Xici closed his eyes, tapped the screen a few times, and placed it in front of Sheng Shaoyan.

Sheng Shaoyan looked at the bank account balance displayed on the phone screen: 125.63.

It seems it’s not a kept relationship.

Sheng Shaoyan made a judgment in his mind.

The sponsor is too poor.