Chapter 9

Wang Chuanze returned to the set overnight and arrived at the location early the next morning. Since his first scene wasn't scheduled yet, he sat beside the director to memorize his lines.

He Yifeng, the director of this production, was a native of the Southwest. He grew up in the mountains and only learned that things like movies existed after moving to Beijing with his mother, who had remarried. Despite never attending an arts academy after graduating from junior high, He Yifeng possessed an artistic talent that surpassed many others. His film, *The Mountains*, remains a classic in the film industry today.

*The Mountains* told the story of his hometown in the southwestern mountains. In an era where every urban household used natural gas, the film followed a fourteen-year-old boy, his face smeared with mud and tanned dark by the sun, who spent his days herding sheep and chopping wood on the mountainside. Returning to a dilapidated home, he would cook, wash laundry, and care for his elderly grandparents and his father, who was paralyzed in bed. His small hands were already covered in thick calluses.

This child, who should have been struggling desperately in a hopeless situation, turned out not to be the biological child of this family at all. The elderly couple, fearing they would have no descendants, had bought him from human traffickers for five hundred yuan. The boy was both unfortunate and lucky; his real family never gave up searching and eventually brought him home. However, the boy brought back could not speak the local language, was reticent, and because he had never been to school, felt like an outsider to his peers, revealing a sense of caution and inferiority in every action. A child who should have grown up happy and carefree, a family that should have been happy—all were changed just because human traffickers wanted to make those few hundred yuan.

People in the same village and county were not unaware of the situation, but they did not care. Some were even complicit, remaining silent for various reasons, shielding and indulging in the crime. Shortly after its release, many claimed the film was a direct reflection of his hometown in a certain southwestern province, leading to the film being forcibly pulled from theaters within two days. Ironically, while the film was banned domestically, it achieved significant success abroad, winning the Best Director award at an influential film festival. No other Chinese director had received such an honor at the time, which solidified He Yifeng’s status in the Chinese film industry.

Compared to his original persona’s father, who was solely focused on his career, the original owner clearly admired the veteran director He Yifeng more. A major reason the original owner agreed to sign a contract with Tingyu Entertainment was that the company could provide him with this opportunity to collaborate with Director He.

The production cycle for this espionage drama was short, lasting about a hundred days. Wang Chuanze played the third male lead; his screen time was less than the lead's, and he was only contracted for forty working days. Xiong Yueyue, his manager, placed great importance on this project. Since it was the first film Wang Chuanze had taken since joining the company, Xiong felt that if it were successful, Wang's future career path would be smooth sailing. He accompanied him to the set, bringing along the assistant Zhuzhu and the publicist Zhouzhou.

This was Xiong Yueyue’s first time working on a project with He Yifeng, and he was quite excited. In his view, a newcomer like Wang Chuanze landing a role in such a major production was worth buying a trending topic; paired with Wang’s handsome face, the buzz would surely skyrocket. Xiong’s publicity plan was rejected by a single sentence from Wang Chuanze: "Director He requires confidentiality." Undeterred, Xiong began planning promotional events for after the film’s release to hype up Wang's popularity. Wang Chuanze was unaware of Xiong’s schemes, but after spending some time together, he realized the man was prone to bouts of foolishness and thought he should find an opportunity to switch to an agent more to his liking.

After a period of working together, He Yifeng found that he and the young Wang Chuanze were quite compatible. In particular, Wang Chuanze had a clear understanding of the espionage tactics of that era and grasped certain sensitive issues more precisely than even the director himself. Consequently, after adding each other as friends, they began to exchange ideas. Through these interactions, they became close friends across generations, appearing like brothers wherever they went.

There was no scene for Wang Chuanze at the moment, so he sat next to He Yifeng, staring at the monitor and listening to the director guide the actors on set.

They were currently filming a scene between Cui Huaiyong, a station chief for the Kuomintang, and the second female lead, Xiuxiu. Cui, who played the station chief, was a veteran actor nearing fifty with a stellar reputation and many awards under his belt. He rarely participated in films or dramas anymore, focusing mostly on stage plays. He wouldn't have taken this role if not for his long-standing friendship with He Yifeng.

Zhao Shulei, who played the second female lead, came from a talent show and was currently very popular. To secure investment and traffic, He Yifeng had to compromise and allow her to join the crew with her own funding. Zhao had never acted in a film before; like Wang Chuanze, it was her first time. However, the difference was that while Wang Chuanze had shown significant improvement from the start—moving from knowing nothing to a level of acting that, while not masterful, was better than the average in the industry, and occasionally even delivering explosive performances—Zhao Shulei lacked that intuition. Almost every scene she was in resulted in her being scolded by Director He, and her acting seemed to remain stagnant since the first day of filming. With Zhao Shulei as a contrast, He Yifeng’s patience for the easy-to-manage Wang Chuanze grew significantly.

This scene was no exception. Zhao Shulei’s nervousness was visible to the naked eye. Wang Chuanze frowned as he watched. As expected, she stumbled after only one sentence, too nervous to remember her lines. Wang Chuanze heard He Yifeng sigh, then pick up the walkie-talkie and say sternly, "Xiao Zhao, you forgot your lines. Also, don't let your voice shake. Take another look at the script; we're doing this take again."

Zhao Shulei bowed and apologized repeatedly, took the script to look over, and tried again. Although she didn't forget her lines this time, her performance was stiff. Knowing herself that the take was not good enough, she could only continue to bow and apologize. Before He Yifeng could speak, Cui Huaiyong said, "Director, let Xiao Zhao adjust her state for a bit; call me when she's ready." Cui’s meaning was clear: he was unwilling to continue rehearsing with a newcomer over and over. He Yifeng did not object and told Zhao Shulei to go and adjust herself.

He Yifeng turned to Wang Chuanze and said, "Get yourself ready. If it doesn't work out later, we'll film your part first. You took three days of leave; hopefully, you haven't gotten too wild to settle back down."

Wang Chuanze smiled, "Not at all. I'll go get ready."

Because it was a modern historical drama, it didn't take long to get into makeup. Wang Chuanze changed into his costume and was soon in position. Having already done a few scenes with Cui Huaiyong, Wang handed his script to his assistant and quickly found his mark. He Yifeng used the walkie-talkie to explain the effect he wanted for the scene. Both actors indicated they understood, and once the director shouted "Action," they began performing immediately.

As soon as Cui Huaiyong stepped in front of the camera, his demeanor changed; his aura became cold and sinister. In this scene, he began to suspect Wang Chuanze’s identity and initiated a verbal probe. Wang Chuanze was not overwhelmed; instead, he caught the rhythm of the performance steadily. His own aura remained contained, and he even began to trade blows on equal footing. The entire segment was brilliant. Wang Chuanze dodged every one of Cui's probes, his attitude remaining steady. His heartbeat didn't even skip a beat, showing no sign of the panic or confusion one would expect from being suspected or exposed.

He Yifeng silently marveled that he had stumbled upon a genius. After they finished, he slapped his thigh and shouted, "Good!"

The executive director asked if they needed to film a safety take. This earned a scolding from He Yifeng: "The actors' emotions are so fluid, why would you want to film a safety take? Are you trying to save a fetus?" The executive director pouted, thinking to himself that this was how things were always done, and he had only asked out of habit—why was the director yelling?

The camera, lighting, and art departments swarmed in to set up the next scene. Cui Huaiyong walked over and patted Wang Chuanze on the shoulder, "Not bad. You've improved a lot. Keep working hard, you have a bright future." Cui had taught Wang quite a bit on set, and Wang, feeling very respectful toward him, thanked him sincerely.

Their shooting pace was fast; at most, it took three or four takes for a scene to pass. Although much time had been wasted earlier due to Zhao Shulei, by the time they wrapped for the day, the progress was almost exactly in line with the schedule.

That evening, Wang Chuanze returned to the hotel and went to the bathroom to remove his makeup. Zhuzhu had borrowed the hotel kitchen to cook a special meal for him—two dishes and a soup—which was much more refined than the boxed lunches provided by the crew. After eating, Wang wanted to video call Meng Shengsheng, but worried she might not have her phone during military training, he decided against it. He sent her a message, and when she didn't reply—assuming phones weren't allowed at the camp—he opened the crew's group chat to check tomorrow's schedule. He memorized his lines a few more times, practiced his scenes, and went to bed at his usual time.

While he was asleep, Meng Shengsheng was still awake. The training camp was nothing like a university dormitory. The rooms here were very large, with three rows of bunk beds. Meng counted them, and the room could house thirty-two people. Students from the School of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the School of Management were assigned together, so the room was filled with people from various departments.

At this point, everyone only knew their roommates slightly, and everyone else was a stranger. Most people were huddling with their roommates. It would be better once they got to know each other, but for now, this was all they could do. Meng Shengsheng had just finished unpacking when someone tugged at her to borrow some floral water. Looking over, she saw Luo Shu’s neck covered in red mosquito bites. When asked, Luo said she had bought some but had been in such a rush that she forgot to bring it. No sooner had she lent out the floral water than she heard another girl shouting to borrow a power bank...

In a room housing dozens of girls, there wasn't a moment of peace. Meng Shengsheng sighed softly, thinking that this was fine—it was lively, and they would all be familiar with each other in a couple of days.