Chapter 46

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The dinner was actually not over before Yang Youming left. He didn’t even make another trip back to his room—someone had already helped him pack his luggage and checked out of the hotel. The car that would take him to the airport was waiting for him at the hotel entrance.

Xia Xingcheng, He Zheng and the others sent Yang Youming to the front door of the hotel.

Yang Youming hugged He Zheng before getting into the car, and he also hugged Xia Xingcheng–with the same intensity and briefness, quickly letting go of him. He then got into the car and waved at the people who were sending him off.

After the car door closed, the driver slowly started the car.

Staring at the car driving away from the hotel entrance, Xia Xingcheng stood in a daze for a long time until he patted him on the back. “Go back and rest.”

He nodded, turning around while an intense sense of abandonment arose in his heart. Yang Youming had already left, while he was still firmly trapped in place.

Filming picked up again from when Fang Jiangyuan returned to university after summer vacation ended. It took place in a vocational high school in the county.

Xia Xingcheng welcomed a new co-star, a young newcomer named Hong Qihui, who plays the role of Qiu Zhen, a fourth year senior in Fang Jianyuan’s school.

Qiu Zhen got close to Fang Jian Yuan after meeting him in a lecture, and later fell in love with him.

In fact, Hong Qihui didn’t have that many scenes. Qiu Zhen and Fang Jianyuan’s story were just a few leaping cuts, but Hong Qihui’s performance often failed to satisfy He Zheng.

There was one scene where Qiu Zhen hugs Fang Jianyuan from behind and tries to kiss him, but Fang Jianyuan strongly refuses.

When hugging Xia Xingcheng, Hong Qihui always looked somewhat uncomfortable.

He Zheng stared expressionlessly at the monitor and only kept repeating two words, “Start over.”

Hong Qihui wasn’t used to He Zheng’s way of directing scenes like this, and after taking nearly ten shots in a row without passing, he became less and less confident. His limbs were stiff, not knowing how to act.

Xia Xingcheng had no choice but to help him out again and again.

Later, He Zheng told them to take a break and adjust themselves.

Hong Qihui’s back was full of sweat, and he felt quite apologetic. He said, “I’m really not used to Director He’s style.”

Xia Xingcheng was letting the make-up artist touch up his make-up. Tilting his head up and closing his eyes, he said, “I wasn’t used to it at first too, but it’ll get better over time.”

Hong Qihui grabbed his hair and heaved a sigh.

Xia Xingcheng opened his mouth but quickly closed it once more. He wanted to say something but found that he couldn’t. He wasn’t Yang Youming and there was nothing he could do to guide Hong Qihui into character. Even his own performance was an involuntary expression of emotion from the heart—if he had to say something, he could probably only say “try to get into character yourself”. These words weren’t of any help to Hong Qihui.

He realized that the distance between him and Yang Youming was actually very, very far. Even though they co-starred in the same movie and He Zheng often expressed his appreciation for his performance, as an actor, he still wouldn’t be on the same level as Yang Youming.

Although the shooting later on was a bit bumpy, it eventually met He Zheng’s requirements. However, ever since Hong Qihui joined the cast, Xia Xingcheng clearly felt that the shooting progress had slowed down.

Fang Jiangyuan returned to school and life gradually returned calm. He got to know Qiu Zhen, yet although Qiu Zhen was very enthusiastic in his pursuit, he was not moved. If it wasn’t Yu Haiyang, he wasn’t at all sure if he really liked men.

Until one night, Fang Jianyuan ran into Qiu Zhen when he was attending a student union party. That night, he had drunk too much, and Qiu Zhen kept following him on his way back to the university.

Fang Jian Yuan was very unhappy, telling Qiu Zhen to stop following him several times in an impatient tone.

Later, Fang Jianyuan walked into a phone booth and dialed Yu Haiyang’s home number for the first time.

For this phone call scene, Xia Xingcheng and Yang Youming’s parts were filmed separately. Yang Youming’s part was filmed before he left the crew, and Yang Youming had acted with a prop phone that wasn’t even connected.

But for Xia Xingcheng’s current scene, He Zheng asked Xia Xingcheng to really call Yang Youming. The director had already contacted Yang Youming in advance to ask him to help Xia Xingcheng out.

The phone was an IC card phone that was rarely found nowadays. Xia Xingcheng dialed Yang Youming’s cell phone number directly. Because Fang Jiangyuan was drunk and impulsive, he dialed the number quickly without giving himself time to hesitate.

But it was only after the sound of the receiver passed through that he felt his hands slightly trembling. He couldn’t help but press his head against the glass of the phone booth.

“Hello——” Yang Youming’s voice rang out from the telephone.

Xia Xingcheng called out to him in a calm tone, “Yu Haiyang.”

When Yang Youming was filming this scene, Xia Xingcheng was watching him from the sidelines. He could still recall Yang Youming’s expression and tone when he was standing by the window answering the phone.

At this moment, Yang Youming wasn’t slacking off in the slightest. He almost perfectly recreated the state he was in on the day of filming, answering with a nervous and audibly excited voice, “Xiao Yuan?”

Xia Xingcheng—perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that it was Fang Jiangyuan at this moment—said, “Do you want to get a divorce?”

Yang Youming, acting out Yu Haiyang, was silent on the other side of the call.

The alcohol ate away at Fang Jiangyuan’s thoughts and nerves. His voice was hoarse as he said, “You don’t even love her. She doesn’t love you either. Get divorced. If you get divorced, I’ll forgive you.”

Yu Haiyang answered him with a low voice, “I can’t, my mother won’t be able to stand it.”

Fang Jiangyuan cried silently, he sucked in a breath and asked, “Then what about me?”

Yu Haiyang said, “I love you, Xiao Yuan.”

Fang Jiangyuan said, “You get lost, I don’t want your love!” Then he hung up the phone heavily.

He didn’t know when it started raining outside the phone booth, but Qiu Zhen, who was waiting for him outside, had disappeared. Fang Jianyuan cried so hard that he didn’t even notice how long it was before Qiu Zhen appeared again outside with an umbrella, waiting for him silently.

The scene ended there.

The person who continued to stay and cry in the phone booth was no longer Fang Jianyuan, but Xia Xingcheng, as if the pile of emotions that had been accumulating for a long time has finally found a crack to burst through. He used his arm to cover his face, not even making a sound as he cried bitterly.

Hong Qihui stood outside at a complete loss. He didn’t dare to help him. This time, there would be no Yang Youming to hug him and tell him “it’s okay”, and there won’t be one in the future.

This was the first and only contact between Yang Youming and Xia Xingcheng after the former left the crew.

☆ ☆ ☆

t/n – thank you so much for the kofis, ml! ;___; ❤

⟵ Chapter 45 | TOC | Chapter 47 ⟶

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