Chapter 70
In order to be a more dedicated actor, in the past, Fang Shaoyi had never considered working behind-the-scenes. After acting in enough movies, he did have some resources in his hands. Most people would start thinking about making their own movies at this point. Fang Shaoyi hadn’t, though – for him, performing was performing. Having another ident.i.ty would doubtlessly distract him. Fang Shaoyi’s way of acting was submersion. Each time, he would submerge himself entirely in a film. Each movie, he took himself apart and pieced himself together again.
Fang Shaoyi had persevered for twenty years in the field of filmmaking, despite the fact that it had periodically had its ups and downs. Acting was his profession. Filmmaking had also always been his pa.s.sion. Some people were destined to become certain things from birth: their entire lives would be dedicated to this one thing. Fang Shaoyi was born to enter this field. He had also given the first half of his life to movies. Everyone felt bewildered at times. It was inevitable for one to flounder in the uncertainties and sacrifices involved each step of the way. There had also been a few times when Fang Shaoyi had felt the stirrings of withdrawal.
A lot of people were guessing that after this serious accident, Fang Shaoyi probably wouldn’t be acting anymore. Some gossip accounts were even reporting this as breaking news.
Director Wei had previously said that cinephiles needed to die in movies. This phrase had been a bit exaggerated, but it actually wasn’t wrong at all. Every individual who dedicated their entire lifetime to making movies needed to endure a few encounters with life and death. There were very rarely any exceptions. The painful catastrophes behind the glory of being a cinephile were unavoidable. If Fang Shaoyi’s filmmaking career ended, it wouldn’t be because of an external factor such as injury, unless he honestly couldn’t move anymore.
He had always been Yuan Ye’s pride. This had never changed.
Fang Shaoyi had never filmed a movie as difficult as this one. There were a lot of struggles. Many things that he originally could’ve easily accomplished were now impossible. But fortunately, he ultimately finished filming in the end.
The day Fang Shaoyi finished filming all his scenes, the director gave him a very thick red envelope. Fang Shaoyi held it in his hand and c.o.c.ked an eyebrow to ask with a smile, “Quite thick, huh?”
The director didn’t answer. He hugged Fang Shaoyi with one arm and gently patted him on the back. “You’ve worked hard.”
Fang Shaoyi held onto his bouquet of flowers while bowing to everyone. “Everyone has worked hard. Because of me, it was really hard for everyone to pa.s.s all of their scenes. I’ve troubled you.”
“Don’t say that, Teacher Shaoyi,” someone said from nearby. After, everyone else also added, “You’ve worked hard.”
That day, Fang Shaoyi shook hands with each main cast member and shared a short conversation with them. Technically, there needed to be a celebratory banquet, but Fang Shaoyi’s current health prevented him from eating a lot of things. He also couldn’t have any alcohol. Additionally, the cigarette smoke and smell of alcohol at these gatherings were unhealthy. Thus, they skipped the banquet. The director said, “When you get back, come to my house. I’ll make you whatever you want to eat.”
Fang Shaoyi nodded and replied, “Call me when you get back.”
Director Wei said, “Recover well. We still have a lot of time left in the future. All the things you’ve done for me, I’ve noted in my heart. Wait and see.”
Fang Shaoyi shook his head. He furrowed his brows and said, “Leader, you’re being too distant.”
Director Wei chuckled a few times. He then patted Fang Shaoyi’s uninjured shoulder. After, he looked at Yuan Ye and said, “Little Yuan has worked hard too.”
Yuan Ye chuckled and shook his head. His laughter was just as carefree as usual. “There’s no such thing as working hard or not for me. I’m durable.”
This movie hadn’t been completed smoothly. From beginning to end, there had been hurdles after hurdles. But Fang Shaoyi had already done his best to ensure that it could be finished in a way that preserved the completeness of the plot. Initially, he had accepted this role as a means of saving this movie during a critical moment. Regarding the accident on set, Fang Shaoyi hadn’t asked for even one cent of compensation. With him leading by example, the two other younger actors couldn’t bring up any requests either. Later, before he had even completely recovered, he had headed straight to the film set to finish his scenes after being discharged from the hospital. Given his relationship with Director Wei, everything Fang Shaoyi had done proved how much he cared about this relationship.
True, heartfelt emotions were rare in this industry, but ultimately existed. Not everything was cold. There were always some places that maintained their warmth.
Fang Shaoyi returned from the film set. When the plane landed at the airport, the two of them still felt a bit dazed. The last time Fang Shaoyi had returned had been when Yuan Ye had twisted his ankle. At that time, none of the following events had happened yet. The company sent a car over to pick them up. Ji Xiaotao told the driver, “Come, little bro. Come down. I’ll drive.”
“Don’t, Xiaotao ge. You guys are already tired enough because of the flight.” The driver was terrified. “I can drive. I’m pretty good at driving, don’t worry.”
“That’s not it.” Ji Xiaotao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “I’m telling you to come down, so come down.”
The driver took off his seatbelt and came down from the car. Ji Xiaotao patted him on the shoulder and said, “It’s fine. Don’t panic.”
Ji Xiaotao dropped the driver off at the company on the way back. The two people in the back seat were both asleep. Ji Xiaotao told the driver, “Go on.”
“Then……” The driver still didn’t really dare to leave. His original task had been to send all three of these people home. However, he hadn’t sent even one of them home; instead, he himself had been sent back here by someone else.
Ji Xiaotao shook his head and chuckled. He closed the car window and left.
They were truly tired. The two in the back had their eyes closed as they slept the entire trip. Before the car stopped again, Fang Shaoyi opened his eyes. There wasn’t a hint of sleepiness in them. In contrast, they were very bright. Ji Xiaotao turned around to look at him during a red light. He whispered, “Almost there, ge.”
Fang Shaoyi nodded. He pulled out a mask and put it on.
After parking the car carefully, Ji Xiaotao turned off the engine and undid his seatbelt. He removed his phone from his pocket and started filming with the camera pointed at the back seat.
Fang Shaoyi woke Yuan Ye up. “Ye ge, time to wake up.”
This call of “Ye ge” was too out of the blue. Yuan Ye’s eyes were open, but he still felt like he maybe hadn’t woken up. When had Fang Shaoyi ever called him this? Yuan Ye’s expression was bewildered. He had just woken up, so his voice was a bit hoa.r.s.e. “What are you doing……What random nicknames are you calling out?”
Fang Shaoyi said, “We’re here. Stop sleeping.”
Yuan Ye sat up. He rubbed his eyes and asked, “You just called me Ye ge, right? Have you fallen ill……”
“Nope.” Fang Shaoyi handed him a bottle of water. Yuan Ye accepted it and took a sip. He looked up and saw Ji Xiaotao, thus furrowed his brows and asked the other, “What are you filming? Why’s your phone all up in our faces?”
Ji Xiaotao didn’t answer. Instead, he told Yuan Ye, “Ye ge, smile. Hold up a peace sign.”
“Peace sign my a.s.s!” Yuan Ye had completely woken up. He felt like something was off. He glanced outside the car window. “Where are we? Are you two going to sell me?”
Fang Shaoyi placed his hand on the back of Yuan Ye’s head and wobbled it around. Then, he opened the door and got out of the car. After, he leaned over to tug Yuan Ye. “Come out.”
“I refuse. I think there’s a conspiracy going on.” Yuan Ye felt like these two weren’t acting normal.
Fang Shaoyi was mearing a mask over his face; his expression couldn’t be seen. He grabbed Yuan Ye by the arm and pulled. “Come down. Why are you sitting there?”
“Why would I get off?!” Yuan Ye didn’t really dare to fight back. He was scared that if he made too big of a move, he would hurt Fang Shaoyi. Eventually, he started laughing and told Fang Shaoyi, “You’re making it seem like I don’t dare to get off the car. Tell me what you guys want to do. If you’re going to sell me, just tell me. I can even help you count the money. What’s the meaning of pointing a camera at me and filming incessantly?”
After saying this, Yuan Ye pushed the phone in Ji Xiaotao’s hand away. “Little brat. Keep colluding with your ge to trick me. I can’t teach your ge a lesson right now, but I can teach you a lesson!”
Ji Xiaotao’s phone was still raised. He seemed like a stubborn reporter. “Ye ge, I had no choice!”
Yuan Ye poked his head out and looked around. After a few glances, he quite cleverly came to a general conclusion. Now that he understood, he absolutely couldn’t get out of the car. He crossed his arms over his chest and remained with his b.u.t.t glued to the seat. He leaned his head against the back of the seat, as stable as a Buddha statue.
Fang Shaoyi tugged off his mask and lowly asked Yuan Ye, “Are you getting off or not?”
Yuan Ye squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.
Fang Shaoyi gazed at him. He had been leaning over for a long time. He let go of Yuan Ye and held onto the side of his chest. “It hurts.”
“Don’t mess around.” Yuan Ye glanced at him. “Quit faking.”
Fang Shaoyi stood up straight and exhaled. He gently furrowed his brows. It looked like he really was slightly uncomfortable. “You b.u.mped into me just now.”
Oh really? I b.u.mped into you? Yuan Ye hadn’t even dared to put any force into his actions. He hadn’t pushed Fang Shaoyi at all.
But Yuan Ye couldn’t out-stubborn Fang Shaoyi when the other was complaining about pain. Fang Shaoyi had a trump card and he didn’t. Yuan Ye accepted his fate and got out of the car. As soon as he did so, he reached out and gently rubbed the side of Fang Shaoyi’s rib cage. He sighed, “……Okay, okay. Stop hurting, Fang Jiaojiao.”
Fang Shaoyi grabbed his hand and walked forward while holding onto it.
Yuan Ye was led forward. Ji Xiaotao stayed right next to them, filming. Yuan Ye said, “Are you planning on filming a doc.u.mentary? That’s enough.”
Ji Xiaotao didn’t dare to say anything. He trembled as he diligently held the phone up.
Yuan Ye had been here before, twice. Including this time, this was his third trip here.
The first time, he and Fang Shaoyi had gotten their marriage certificates. The second time, they had gotten a different type of certificate. There was no need to ask why they were here this time. While walking, Yuan Ye couldn’t help wanting to laugh. They were honestly quite a troublesome couple.
However, as soon as he entered the lobby, before he could even put his foot down, Yuan Ye’s smile froze on his faze. “……Good lord.”
——In the lobby, almost twenty camera lenses were pointed straight at them. The sound of shutters clicking could be heard continuously. Yuan Ye rubbed his head and used his arm to cover his face. He quietly asked Fang Shaoyi, “Ancestor……what are you playing at?”
Fang Shaoyi let go of him briefly to take off his mask. Then, he greeted everyone.
“You’ve all worked hard. I’m causing trouble for you guys.” Fang Shaoyi nodded at everyone in front of them. He clung onto Yuan Ye’s hand again and refused to let go.
“My relationship with Yuan Ye has been a point of interest these past few years. Today, I’m borrowing everyone’s camera lenses to say a few things. Additionally, I want everyone to be our witnesses.” Fang Shaoyi’s face was handsome; his voice was calm and composed. Though he was thinner than before, he didn’t look sick at all.
“I’ve never publicly talked about us. Everything has only been everyone’s guesses. Actually, there isn’t really anything to talk about.” Fang Shaoyi squeezed Yuan Ye’s hand and said to the cameras, “We fell in love in our youth, then got married. Everyone knows this. You also all know that we got divorced.”
“After our divorce, we partic.i.p.ated in a dating and travelling variety show. That was truly ill-considered on our part. It was I who wanted to partic.i.p.ate in the show. A lot of people said I did it to get money, but that’s false. I donated all the money I earned. I purposefully wanted to join the show because I never wanted to actually get divorced from him. I joined the show just to see what his feelings were.”
Here, Fang Shaoyi glanced at Yuan Ye. The corners of his eyes were tinted with amus.e.m.e.nt. After, he continued, “I brought up the divorce too. I forced him to sign the papers. There are a lot of different parts of our personalities that don’t match. We got divorced to be able to recognize our innermost thoughts more clearly. I used the wrong method and suffered the consequences I deserved.”
“Yuan Ye is a very stubborn person. To everyone else, it seems like I work harder. But actually, over all these years, he’s the one who’s been indulging me more.” Fang Shaoyi had said too much. He coughed a few times. Someone nearby handed him a bottle of water. Fang Shaoyi waved his hand, signalling that he didn’t need it.
“Actually, at the time, neither of us were of clear mind. There were many things that didn’t need to be so clearly differentiated. No matter how hard a problem seems, there’s always a better solution, one that’s better than divorce. In the future, we might still have lots of conflicts and problems, but I believe him. I believe myself too.” Fang Shaoyi’s palm was always dry and warm. When one held onto it, it gave off a sense of comfort and strength.
“In the past, I always felt that there was no need to rush. We still had so much time. We could take our time with our relationship and slowly grow old together. To us, marriage seemed more like a formality. He was right next to me. It didn’t seem that important anymore whether or not we got married.”
“I suffered a few injuries while filming this time. It was technically a small accident.” Fang Shaoyi gently twisted the ring on Yuan Ye’s finger. He coughed a few times again. After, his voice sounded slightly hoa.r.s.e. “When the accident happened, I honestly didn’t know either if there was going to be a tomorrow for me. In those days, I finally felt regretful in my heart. If my life ended just like this, Yuan Ye wouldn’t even be my legal partner.”
Fang Shaoyi had said so much. This was no elaborate speech. Each word he said came from the bottom of his heart: each word was honest. From start to finish, Yuan Ye’s head was tilted as he looked up at the other. The person before him wasn’t wearing that white tuxedo he had worn back then. This year, he was thirty eight years old. Thirteen years had already pa.s.sed since that wedding ceremony. Yuan Ye maintained a faint smile the entire time. Eventually, the rims of his eyes slowly became red.
Fang Shaoyi stared into his eyes and slowly knelt on one knee. In a calm and determined voice, he asked, “Can you get married to me one more time?”
Yuan Ye instantly lowered himself too. He was kneeling on one knee as well. His jeans glued to his form and formed a beautiful, sensual curve. The corners of Yuan Ye’s lips were turned up in a smile. Voice hoa.r.s.e, he said, “You’ve caused such a big scene. If I say no, the fans are going to tear me to bits.”
Fang Shaoyi c.o.c.ked an eyebrow. “So?”
Yuan Ye held his hands out in slight exasperation. “I can get married to you one more time, but you at least need to be prepared in advance. Did you bring our household registration booklets? What about our proof of residency? And the divorce certificates? Right now, there are so many long and short cannons……They’re all doc.u.menting this. I’m waiting to see how we’re going to resolve this situation today. Don’t you feel embarra.s.sed……”
Some of the people present couldn’t help laughing out loud. Yuan Ye said, “Please forgive us. After this injury, Teacher Fang has taken to occasionally acting very stubborn.”
Fang Shaoyi hadn’t said anything, but Yuan Ye was already coming up with ways to resolve this situation.
Ji Xiaotao inched over from the side, back hunched. He asked someone else to hold the camera for him; the livestream couldn’t be cut off. He shifted his backpack so it was hanging in front of his body. Then, one by one, he stuffed the necessary doc.u.ments into Yuan Ye’s hands. “Divorce certificates……household registration booklets……proof of residency……”
Yuan Ye held onto this big pile of stuff, speechless. There was still amus.e.m.e.nt on his face. His lips didn’t move, but he clenched his teeth together and asked in a voice that only Fang Shaoyi could hear, “You stole my stuff again?”
Fang Shaoyi gestured in Ji Xiaotao’s direction with his chin. “He stole them.”
Yuan Ye stood up and tugged Fang Shaoyi up too. He carried that big pile of doc.u.ments over to the registration area. They were clearly both very lowkey people, but every time they got married, they did so in such a flamboyant manner. While filling out the application form, Yuan Ye lowly asked Fang Shaoyi, “Where’s your ring? You don’t need me to put it on for you?”
Fang Shaoyi pulled it out from his pocket and put it on himself.
Someone asked with a smile, “Teacher Fang, how come you’re not making Teacher Yuan put it on for you?”
Fang Shaoyi smiled while shaking his head. “I need to know my limits. Who knows how long I’m going to have to act pitiful at home after this surprise.”
“Does acting pitiful work?” Someone else asked.
“Yes,” Fang Shaoyi nodded. He reached out with his right hand to cover Yuan Ye’s hand that was holding the pen. Like this, he helped the other write “Yuan Ye.” While writing, he said, “It works. Teacher Yuan has a soft heart.”
Yuan Ye was already letting him do as he wished. As long as Teacher Fang was happy.
Fang Shaoyi had planned this very early in advance. Either way, there was a long period of time after where he would be out of the public eye. This time would also be spent recovering. It didn’t matter if he was being highkey now. In the end, he would definitely be able to lose all the attention.
Yuan Ye told the cameras, “Don’t get tricked by him. He’s so confidently boasting right now, but it’s actually all a plan to gain popularity. The has-been film emperor is shamelessly sticking to the currently popular author. Don’t fall for his lies, my fans. Do you see me blinking at you guys? That means I’ve been kidnapped.”
Fang Shaoyi slanted his head to look at Yuan Ye. “Scorning me? No matter how unpopular the film emperor is, are you in a position to be scorning me?”
Yuan Ye scoffed. “The film emperor’s lungs hurt. The film emperor needs to slowly recover. The film emperor won’t be releasing any films for a long time after this.”
What had just been a romantic and affectionate moment now became a strange scene in the blink of an eye. The two of them took turns taking jabs at each other. Between their conversation and laughter, the two of them made eye contact. Reflected in their eyes and hearts was still clearly that youth they had loved for half of their lives.
The author has something to say:
The formal text is complete. Let’s end here.
Thankful, grateful, appreciative.
There are three extra chapters coming up:
1) Ch 71 – Main CP (Fang Shaoyi x Yuan Ye)
2) Ch 72 – Main CP ft. guest appearance from the cast of Tattoo
3) Ch 73 – Side CP (Geng Jinwei x Yang Siran)