Chapter 10 - The Movie Queen's Domineering Fan (10)

Xu Zifan invested 60 million yuan into the movie, of which 30 million was for filming and the other 30 million for publicity. Before all the expenses for the early stage was spent, Xu Zifan continued to make short-term investments with his savings, making fast money and filling his pockets for additional investments for the later stage. Fortunately, the background and characters of this movie were ordinary citizens at grassroots levels, which saved a lot of expenses. Most of the team members were fans of Qiao Zixin. They were willing to help voluntarily and agreed to be paid their salaries after the movie was released. Therefore, their crew members were not overwhelmed.

When the crew was set up and ready to start shooting, the news finally leaked out. Many people were surprised and felt that Qiao Zixin must be going crazy, she was only able to play a low-cost movie made by a new Director. Almost all the crew members were newbies. How could they make anything good? People who made movies were veterans who have trained in the circle for many years!

Nobody knew who posted the news on the internet. Even after Qiao Zixin’s popularity went downhill, there were still many people expecting her to return. The news was immediately forwarded countless times and rushed to the top of the search list.

Luo Fenfen, an 18-year-old fan of Qiao Zixin, was now Xu Zifan’s assistant. She had nothing else to do besides watch all the news about Qiao Zixin on the Internet every day and report to him of any news outside their control. Luo Fenfen got the job because she was a girl addicted to the internet. She liked to read gossip on the internet. It was the most suitable job for her. She was the first to notice the news that their crew was exposed, and immediately called Xu Zifan to tell him. But Xu Zifan told her to wait, wait for others to dig out some basic information to quarrel about and then tell him.

Although Luo Fenfen was worried, she was convinced by Xu Zifan’s words. They all know that Xu Zifan was the ‘Guardian’ of the group. He had more success than all of them. It was only natural that they should listen to him at this time. Xu Zifan was preparing to shoot the first scene. Luo Fenfen sat in the corner and kept reading the public’s opinions on the Internet.

Xu Zifan personally inspected each and every one of them, told each cameraman about their shooting positions and duties, and showed the desired lighting method and effect to the lighting technician. They were all enthusiastic fans. Although they all had foundations in the industry and were all senior filming enthusiasts, they have never made a movie and were not professionals. Xu Zifan patiently answered their questions little by little, which strengthened their confidence and reduced their nervousness.

The recording engineer invited by Qiao Zixin was originally dissatisfied with the team’s amateurism and even regretted helping Qiao Zixin. He didn’t however, expect to see such a professional Director, who was in charge of the whole scene himself and did it all by himself. He smoked outside and recalled that he seemed to have become accustomed to the various grades and ranks of jobs on set over the years. Naturally, several people would go to get things done for the Director after he would say a few words. He hadn’t seen such a hands-on Director for a long time. Moreover, the cast was especially united and full of passion. He looked at Qiao Zixin coming out of the makeup room and suddenly felt as if he had come to the right place after all. Maybe this was Qiao Zixin’s big break.

Qiao Zixin was recognized as a beautiful woman. She was bright and beautiful every time she appeared, but currently, her forehead was red and swollen and her mouth was bruised. Everyone who saw her went quiet and her fans felt distressed almost immediately. Xu Zifan stepped forward and looked at Qiao Zixin’s costume, nodded and asked, “Are you ready? Is it all right?”

Qiao Zixin’s eyes were firm. “No problem, I have already practiced myself.”

Xu Zifan gave her an encouraging smile and said, “Come on!”. Then he clapped his hands and shouted loudly, “Everyone take their places, and start shooting after the last check. Remember, it is ok to shoot as we practiced yesterday. If the shoot goes wrong, there is no need to be nervous. In the end, I will definitely be able to shoot the best scene. Do you have confidence?”

“Yes!”

Xu Zifan walked back to the Director’s chair and motioned everyone to concentrate. The first scene was a domestic violence scene, which was the beginning of the movie. This let the audience enter a certain state of mind quickly with this fierce scene. The other reason was to let everyone see a different Qiao Zixin and have more confidence in Qiao Zixin. Afraid that the new actor would not dare to act opposite Qiao Zixin, Xu Zifan directly asked the stunt instructor to act out the role. The role consisted of three scenes and was not difficult, so Xu Zifan was not worried at all.

Influenced by Xu Zifan, the people around them also felt as if it was normal, but they all wanted to make the first scene go well and all stood at their places intensely. Xu Zifan checked all positions with his eyes and nodded to the marker when he was sure there was no problem.

With a clap of the clapperboard, the stunt instructor drunkenly walked into the room with a wine bottle. Qiao Zixin’s expression showed that she was enduring fear and she lowered her head to help her husband take off his coat. Her back was slightly bent and her shoulder was contracted, like a weak young wife, appearing tragic.

No sooner had the coat been taken off did the man slap her and he shouted angrily, “Slower than a snail. What’s the use of you?”

Qiao Zixin accidentally fell to the ground and knocked over a spittoon with her right hand. Inside was her son’s fresh urine, which was spilled on his coat. The man saw, and his anger rose. He broke the bottle and kicked Qiao Zixin several feet away, “You smelly b***h, dare to pour urine on my clothes! You want to die?!”

Qiao Zixin immediately closed her eyes, put her hands on her head, curled up her body, and bit her lips tightly. She didn’t dare to make any noise.

After the kick, the man felt that it was not enough. He grabbed Qiao Zixin by the collar and flung her to the bed. Qiao Zixin’s lower back rested on the edge of the bed. Her face suddenly turned white and she couldn’t help crying out in pain. The man’s fist followed and fell on her. He was drunk. No matter how heavy his hands were — The worse she cried, the more excited he was. Qiao Zixin couldn’t stand it any longer and sobbed.

At this moment, the small door at the side was pushed open by a little boy. The little boy cried and ran to hold the man’s leg. “Mom… Don’t hit Mom…”

The man kicked him away. He didn’t take him seriously at all. He didn’t even hit him with his fist. The little boy climbed up from the ground a few times, stumbled to his feet and rushed out the door crying.

“Card!”

As soon as Xu Zifan sounded out, the stunt instructor immediately stopped and pulled Qiao Zixin up. “Are you all right?”

Qiao Zixin shook her head, acted quickly, and smiled at him. “It’s okay, it was all fake. Master Cao is really a professional.”

Some of the fans around did not return to their senses. They were immersed in the scene deeper than the two were. So that was it? The scene was too ruthless, so sad! When they saw their goddess being beaten, they wanted to rush up to kill the man. If it hadn’t been for several days of training and listening to Xu Zifan’s commands in their headphones, they would have done so long ago.

Xu Zifan called everyone to come over, “Let’s look at the results of the shoot just now and see how it turned out.”

Everyone came to their senses and became nervous. They crowded in front of the small screen and watched the replay anxiously and expectantly. Qiao Zixin and Master Cao also came along. The film they shot was not the same as what they had just saw on scene. It was completely a bitter domestic violence scene. Qiao Zixin’s fear, pain and despair was magnified by her expression and body language. They felt distressed for her when they saw this, and they were a little angry. They couldn’t wait to shout at her: Hit him! Fight back! Don’t endure it!

This scene was especially well filmed, and made them feel pins and needles tingling on their scalps. Domestic violence was really horrible!

Xu Zifan and others clapped their hands after watching and laughed: “Very good, our production team has made a good start, and it will certainly go well in the future! Everyone had seen Zixin’s strength. She could play not only a fairy and a beautiful woman, but also a cowardly woman who was beaten violently. Shouldn’t we also work harder if she worked this hard?”

“Yeah!” Everyone clapped excitedly and looked at Qiao Zixin with bright eyes. This was their goddess. Her acting skills burst to such an extent that they could not help but be proud and felt honored to participate in this production team.

Qiao Zixin smiled at everyone and said, “It’s all because of teamwork. Today I invite you all to have hot pot together. You are all welcome to come.”

On the first day of the shoot, no other scenes were arranged. Xu Zifan wanted everyone to succeed, and wanted everyone to have time to calm down from the excitement of success. They might have to face various situations in the future. The mood at the beginning must be grasped well, so as not to have too much of a psychological gap between each success and failure. Moreover, everyone was very busy these days, but most of the cast members were still working hard for Qiao Zixin. Xu Zifan suggested that Qiao Zixin invite everyone to have a meal today, and celebrate the success of the startup while having hot pot, laughing and having fun in a lively way, so as to shorten the distance between everyone.

Xu Zifan booked a large private box in a hotpot restaurant. Dozens of people sat at three tables and they ordered a lot of expensive and delicious food, which caused everyone to eat without restriction. There was also a singing karaoke machine in the box. A few young fans sang one by one. Soon the atmosphere began to rise. Everyone drank again, joking and laughing, and playing games. People who were not familiar with each other felt close to each other in the moment. Everyone was a big group, one with great energy.

Xu Zifan mingled with everyone and kept an eye on everyone’s needs. When the banquet was halfway through, he opened another bottle of wine for Qiao Zixin to propose a toast to the three tables. Everyone liked her and was willing to support her, but affection needed to be reciprocal. When Qiao Zixin’s life was at its lowest point, they were willing to help. This was a great sentiment. The more grateful Qiao Zixin was, the more they kept it in mind, the happier they will feel. This wine was to be respected.

A little girl suddenly burst into tears after toasting a cup with Qiao Zixin, sobbing: “I like Zixin-jie so much. I never dreamed of drinking with Zixin-jie and getting along with Zixin-jie. I… I don’t know what to say, I am so excited!”

“Yes, seeing Xin Bao Er at such close range is like a dream. Xin Bao Er, you can rest assured that no matter what you want to do, we will accompany you to do it!”

Qiao Zixin raised her cup with tears in her eyes and spoke to everyone with a smile: “Let’s have a drink together. No matter what happens in the future, we will always be a group. One for all and all for one!”

“One for all and all for one! Cheers!”

Everyone cheered and drank happily and boldly, the atmosphere was warm. Qiao Zixin followed their mood. This was the first time that she got along with her fans. It was a different feeling from the feeling of distance formed by the layer of barriers at fan meet and greets. Now, seeing so many fans supporting her and helping her, her heart was particularly touched. She suddenly had a sense of purpose. As long as there was one fan who liked her, she must not fall. She must also try her best to do something for them and fight for all her fans!

(we do not translate into epub or anything else besides translateindo)