Chapter 10
Little Wu's status message: Even if you've never eaten pork, haven't you see a pig run before?
After being in the industry for so many years, she'd heard her share of rumors even if she never stirred anything up. Now she was creating some news for the production, so this was a piece of cake. She never realized she had the leadership skills to contact so many of her co-workers in the same industry and assign them different tasks. Their ultimate purpose was to create an unnoticeable, "unorganized" spread of news. Thus, each and every mini-team was assigned to pass around her photographs at different times of the day from now until tomorrow night.
If anyone accused them of "intentionally spreading these pictures," they could look at each other innocently and declare, "Eh? When did you post those pics? …Weibo? Oh I posted mine last night."
What a guileless, surprising coincidence! Human lives were full of these unguarded, fortunate coincidences, full of these so-called…"unexpected coincidences."
Technically speaking, Li Rongrong, the receptionist of the Chu Group building housing CX Entertainment, could be considered part of the entertainment industry too. She paid close attention to its directors and actors and people that major fans knew. But only those in the professional circles would pay attention to its cameramen, stuntmen, and makeup artists.
Right after "licking" her phone photo of Celestial Fairy shedding tears, Li Rongrong opened up her Weibo and started scrolling through its posts. She and a few other diehard members of the Celestial Fairy Companions fanclub had started following each other. Even without new material, they still enjoyed licking pretty photos together.
Li Rongrong slid her thumb quickly past each post. Aye, so many government news Weibo posts. And they're all crammed full of text. I really don't want to rea—
–hold on!
Li Rongrong abruptly stopped scrolling and stared. Makeup Artist – Teacher Little Wu, another account she followed, had just posted something 20 minutes ago: six seemingly secretly snapped photographs–
－ Today I'm doing makeup for the production, which will start shooting the day after tomorrow! I snuck pics of a certain actor's role, it's really too beautiful! Now I'm putting it quietly on Weibo. The director won't see this, director won't see this~ *secretly laughing haha*
With trembling fingers, Li Rongrong clicked on the thumbnails and watched the circular loading animation as the picture downloaded. She gulped with wide eyes as her heartbeat sped up.
98%, 99%, 1…
Ahhhhhhhhhh! It really is the Celestial Fairy! It really is!
Li Rongrong was so excited she almost lost grip on her phone. After suppressing the urge to jump and scream for joy, she pressed her heart back into her chest and carefully looked at th pictures one by one. The quality is crap and the pictures are blurry from the shaky camera, but…it's still so gorgeous ahhhhhh!
Before she fainted from such beauty, Li Rongrong had enough willpower to share the post and selflessly offer new resources to her fellow, parched Celestial Fairy Companions. And so, at 12AM midnight, countless cell phone screens glimmered beneath bedcovers of fellow fans suppressing their shrieks.
Meanwhile, Lin Xi hadn't paid any attention to his unofficial fanclub, much less their activities on Weibo. In his past life, it was an assistant who managed his account. Even now, he didn't know where you were supposed to click to post status updates. He didn't even put Ji Chengshu's urgent call from last night on his mind, nor did he pay attention to the man's exhortations to make a Weibo account of his own. If he didn't even know how to make posts, how was he supposed to set up an account? That was just wishful thinking.
With ears shut to the outside world and his heart wholly on the script, Lin Xi sprawled limblessly on the cream-colored sofa as he memorized his lines and thought of the feelings behind each one. His voice rose and fell freely, sometimes filled with sorrow, sometimes punctuated with gloom. Before the floor-to-ceiling windows, his emotional deliveries echoed within the house. Many films and drama series these days used professional dubbers to talk over the actors' voices, to the point where some didn't even bother memorizing their lines anymore. But Lin Xi always had a habit of taking his script lines to heart. If he was going to say them, it'd be with the best possible delivery. Moreover, he would memorize his partner's lines as well! Only then could he fully immerse himself into his role and experience the atmosphere surrounding the words.
Thanks to his good habits, Lin Xi stayed at home on the second day too, nestled in his apartment like an ancient scholar preparing for his capital examinations. Again and again, he read and studied all the characters of Ice God until he was pleased with his progress. By then, there were less than 20 hours left to the official start of shooting.
He stood up from the sofa to stretch his joints and move his muscles and bones. He felt a little sore, but was fully satisfied as he headed for the shower. Shooting would start tomorrow morning, with actual filming in the afternoon. He had to rest well tonight in preparation.
—
The next morning, Lin Xi wound a warm scarf around his neck before taking the elevator downstairs. When he exited the building, he discovered that Wang Fang had yet to arrive. The weather was just approaching autumn, with vast, clear skies. Its dark blue hues made one carefree and relaxed. He took a deep breath of the fresh morning air as a chilly breeze brushed past his cheeks. Lin Xi secretly took delight in feeling so comfortable since his rebirth. He began heading for the entrance to his apartment flats while waiting for his driver.
These buildings were owned by the Chu Group and provided exclusively for their artists. Security was good enough that no paparazzi had ever snuck a picture or recording beyond its gates. It was always peaceful and quiet, and there were few people around. Even the scent of damp earth in the air only refreshed Lin Xi as he quickened his steps towards the gates. But he'd hardly stepped out when seven to eight reporters rushed towards him. There were both men and women and plenty of recorder pens, cameras, and all sorts of media equipment. It was clear that they had prepared ahead of time.
"Lin Xi, may I ask when you joined CX Entertainment?"
"Lin Xi, may I ask what role you're playing in Director Li's new Ice God production?"
"Lin Xi, may I ask you–"
Lin Xi never expected to be ambushed by reporters in front of his living area. But he'd had plenty of paparazzi snap his pictures during his time with Tianyu. A smile rose onto his lips as he silently withdrew to leave a half meter of space between himself and reporters. With a nod, he stated, "Sorry, I still have filming to do today. I'm afraid I can't go into details with you all."
Everyone looked at him quietly after his polite speech. He smiled back calmly, and added, "My assistant is already here. I believe Director Li will give you all satisfactory answers at the official booting ceremony."
Wang Fang had started driving towards the gates as soon as Lin Xi began speaking. He saw with his own eyes through the windshield how the reporters had him trapped. After some hesitation, he hurried out of the car and used his body to push through the crowds and rescue Lin Xi. Wang Fang only gave a sigh of relief after they broke through the mob and entered the highway.
"Chief, what's going on? Why did all those reporters come looking for you all of a sudden?"
Lin Xi knitted his brows as he squinted in thought. A sudden image of the photographs he'd spotted on the computer came to mind before his eyes widened. "Wang Fang, lend me your phone."
Wang Fang left one hand on the steering wheel as he handed over his cell, bewildered. "What's the phone for ah, chief? Are you calling big bro Ji?"
Lin Xi didn't reply. He opened the phone and saw the familiar red-eye logo of Weibo on the front page amongst its apps. Tapping into it brought him to the hot news of the day, where he scrolled through before he discovered a few certain posts published late last night.
"……."
"Chief?"
"Wang Fang…teach me how to work Weibo."
"Eh?!"
—
Li He's booting ceremonies[1] were usually simple, but not crude. A red banner hung high between two trees on site above a temporary altar and tent. In the center stood a table borrowed from the props department. On top laid an incense holder and apples and other offerings. The tablecloth was also red, making it easy to clear off the contents for impromptu interviews. Li He happily greeted Lin Xi as he arrived on set with a laugh.
"Lin Xi, ah, how have your past days been?"
Helpless at the loaded question, Lin Xi only smiled and said, "Many thanks to Director Li for your care."
Li He only shook his head. "I don't have the skills to follow media rumors. You should thank your big sis Chen if anything. She's looking out for you specifically, ah. Hahah."
Lin Xi didn't expect Chen Yajing to be the perpetrator behind the scenes of his sudden popularity. He turned towards her and bobbed his head in thanks, getting sweet-tempered smile in return. No matter what, Chen Yajing's actions had show a spotlight on him. Perhaps she meant to stir up interest in the production, but he'd benefited as well. This was Lin Xi's first formal exposure by the press after a year with no activity, and it made for a good start.
Half an hour later, most of the cast and crew had arrived. Li He stood in the center of the staff and main actors to take three long incense sticks from the table and light them up. He bowed three times with them in his hand before inserting them into the incense holder. The rest of the staff followed suit, paying their respects to Heaven and Earth as they made their offerings.
This completed the booting ceremony.
After that, the workers moved the red tablecloth and its contents and placed a few chairs in front of the table. Li He led the producer, stylist, and a few actors to sit in the seats. The reporters waiting on the sidelines finally swarmed over to set up their cameras and recorders for the Q&A session. Naturally, Li He wouldn't wear his boxer shorts for such a formal occasion. He was dressed in the rare Western suit as he stood up to speak.
"Thank you to our friends in the media for coming today. Our Ice God production has finally started filming today after a year's worth of preparations. Please ask all the questions you'd like. We have enough time to answer all the reporters."
Huli Web's reporter Zhao Bo had learned from his mistakes last time and arrived bright and early to the production site. He was sitting in the first row of seats and became the first to stand up with his question. "Director Li, I'd like to ask what kind of series Ice God will be? Why did it take one year to make all the preparations?"
The opening question to these events was usually friendly and easy. Li He skillfully answered, "Although we can't divulge the contents of the plot just yet, I can promise everyone here as Li He that Ice God will be expressing the grand emotions of humanity, from its sorrows, joys, and furies. We hired recommended special effects experts from overseas as part of our production and stylist teams. Undoubtedly, we'll make a series worthy of a blockbuster film and create a fantasy world filled with gods, demons, and immortals. That's why we needed the year."
Chonglang Web's reporter was the next to ask a question, but it was directly towards the male lead sitting on the side, Xia Cheng. "A'Cheng, as Tianyu Entertainment's current popular actor, what views do you have towards your senior Qi Wenyuan's fall off the building?"
Hearing this, Xia Cheng's expression stiffened. He managed to force a smile and said, "Senior has always been an example I've strived towards in my work. I deeply regret his unexpected passing."
Since the topic had been touched, many other reporters followed suit to further question Xia Cheng. Their queries were quite crafty, forcing Xia Cheng to deal with them one by one. Chen Yajing knitted her brows at the sight before shooting a meaningful look at one reporter amongst the crowd. Immediately, that reporter stood up and asked, "Lin Xi, your photos in costume have been very popular online for the past few days. May I ask which role you're playing in this production?"
The sudden question didn't startle Lin Xi, who was sitting at the very end of the row. His clean, fine features revealed a simple and elegant smile as he replied, "I never expected my photos to be spread online. Director Li should give me an explanation." After that bit of teasing, he added, "I have a rather important supporting male role in the production. For now, all I can say is that he plays a crucial part in the maturation of A'Cheng's main character."
Li He laughed out loud. "Haha, don't worry, Lin Xi. I'll definitely teach a lesson to the staff member who leaked your photos. Speaking of which, we'll be publishing the photos of Ice God's characters online this afternoon. Everyone can enjoy them then, haha."
The so-called staff who'd orchestrated the leak, Chen Yajing, was sitting right next to Li He. But all she did was smile breezily at the sea of reporters as if it had nothing to do with her at all. After that, the reporters seized upon Cheng Hanfei to ask her about her sex scandal rumors, then made other queries for an hour before the booting ceremony came to an end.
༺ Chapter Glossary ༻
[1] booting ceremony (开机) – in China, it's traditional to hold a special ceremony with the staff and cast before filming on a production begins for good luck. Incense is burnt and offerings set up for the occasion, which doubles as publicity for the production. If you look up news on Chinese dramas, you'll see a lot of pre-filming photos of actors and actresses with incense, like the ones listed in the on A Virtual Voyage!