60: court death

Lin Fu woke up from his nap, and outside, Shen Lian had already finished three takes.

"Nice and quick." Director Zhao was in a very good mood. "Be careful, the waves behind the Yangtze River push the ones in front; soon you'll all be squeezed out."

Lin Fu was slightly surprised, but then realized that Director Zhao was very satisfied with Shen Lian.

After Lin Fu finished eating, his energy was restored.

Director Zhao didn't delay and immediately arranged the scene for the two of them.

In terms of character positioning, compared to Lu Xiaokai, who said whatever was on his mind and wore all his emotions on his face, the protagonist Feng Zheng was quiet and introverted; early on, he always appeared preoccupied, his gaze always looking beyond the small town.

Lu Xiaokai would be very happy if he could get a job or two repairing home appliances; if he earned more, he would save a bit, and if he earned less, he would spend less. He often bought cigarettes for Feng Zheng. Both of their parents had died early, so they had supported each other and shared a deep bond.

The newly-adult Lu Xiaokai had a face full of youthfulness. He tapped Feng Zheng on the shoulder from behind, then walked around to sit on the other side, and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket: "Here."

Feng Zheng took it without hesitation, a sincere smile appearing on his cold, pale face: "How much did you earn today?"

"Over a hundred yuan." Lu Xiaokai said, a bit shyly, "There's another order tomorrow. After I finish it, I'll buy some pig's head meat."

"Impressive, Xiaokai!"

Lu Xiaokai scratched his head: "Compared to Brother Feng, I'm still far behind."

Indeed, Lu Xiaokai could only make small change, while Feng Zheng could grasp every single business opportunity that fell into the small town. He had quietly earned tens of thousands, planning to use it as startup capital. As for Lu Xiaokai, Feng Zheng was always generous; when Lu Xiaokai had his appendectomy, Feng Zheng had paid for all the medical expenses.

"Brother Feng, there are so many butterflies over there." Lu Xiaokai exclaimed.

Feng Zheng gave an "Mm," but his gaze was fixed on the eagle overhead.

The long wind rose behind them, sweeping past their figures, and suddenly rushed into the sky. The small town was left behind as a mere dot; the dreams of the young men were different and distinct from here on out.

"Cut!"

Director Zhao stood up, "Alright, that works!"

The first scene was done in one take.

Shen Lian blinked, the look of ignorance and shyness fading away. He couldn't help but be secretly shocked; Lin Fu was actually quite good. The two of them had just entered the scene, and it was done in one go without any stumbling.

Like everyone who had seen it, Lin Fu marveled inwardly: This is what you call a vase who can't act?!

Lin Fu was a man of few words, and combined with his cold looks, he gave off an arrogant impression, but in reality, he had a very good temper. Shen Lian chatted with him for a few moments, and they quickly became familiar with each other.

Lunch didn't start until one o'clock. Shen Lian first took a sip of chicken soup, then ate a mix of meat and vegetable dishes from the table.

"Do you like eating bean curd skin?" Lin Fu asked curiously.

"It's alright." Shen Lian said, "Just supplementing protein."

"You're quite particular."

Shen Lian smiled.

After eating and resting, Shen Lian went to the side to make a phone call.

Chu Yilan had also just finished eating. Shen Lian leaned against a blackened door pillar, smiling with a spring-like radiance.

"No, stop following me!" The female voice contained anger; it was Jiang You. She walked over from a distance, shouting at someone behind her as if shooing away a fly: "Stay away from me!"

"Hold on a second." After saying this, Shen Lian frowned and looked behind Jiang You. Only then did he notice a man following her. He was about thirty, not dressed very cleanly, and coupled with that lewd, provocative smile, he was the spitting image of a loser.

"Master Chu, I'll call you back in a moment." After hanging up, Shen Lian strode forward. When Jiang You saw him, she immediately trotted over, but to everyone's surprise, the man followed her.

Just as the man was about to touch Jiang You's shoulder, Shen Lian pulled her behind him and slapped the dirty hand away, "What do you think you're doing?"

With Shen Lian's shout and the commotion just now, many staff members gathered around.

The man was startled and didn't dare to move further, only blustering, "W-what do you want?!"

Shen Lian ignored him and turned to ask Jiang You, whose eyes were red, "Don't be afraid, tell me what happened."

"I was taking pictures along the river at the entrance of the town. I don't know where he popped out from. I felt something was wrong, so I ran back, but he followed me the whole way and even asked me... if I wanted to be his wife."

"You're a toad trying to eat swan meat." Lin Fu sneered.

The man was instantly enraged by shame, "What does it have to do with you?"

"Get lost! If you harass my assistant again, I'm calling the police." Shen Lian said coldly.

The man had thought Jiang You was just a Young Girl passing by as a tourist, not expecting a film crew to be stationed here. Of course, he didn't dare to face this formation, so he glared viciously at Jiang You and turned to run away.

The old woman who had brought watermelon to Shen Lian in the morning witnessed the whole thing and whispered, "That's a notorious hooligan in the area. Even his parents can't control him. He's in and out of trouble every few days, and the police are numb from arresting him. Young Girl, in the future, when you arrive in a strange place, don't go alone, whether it's day or night."

Jiang You nodded hurriedly, terrified.

Shen Lian looked at Jiang You and sighed heavily, "I thought you had at least this much safety awareness."

"I'm sorry..." Jiang You whispered. She was an only child, and apart from suffering some harsh realities when she first graduated and interned at Xingtu Entertainment, her understanding of the dangers in this world was very one-sided.

Later, being kept by Shen Lian's side, things had been even smoother.

Jiang You rarely came to such primitive places with mountains and rivers, and getting caught up in taking pictures, she couldn't imagine the hidden dangers.

"I'm not blaming you, I'm worried about you." Shen Lian instructed, "In the future, wherever you go, have Li Yi accompany you, understand?"

Jiang You nodded vigorously, "Understood!"

Jiang You had one advantage: she learned from her mistakes! Or perhaps the man's disgusting stalking behavior had left a shadow on her. Anyway, for the next few days, she stayed obediently at the filming site. Occasionally, if she went out to buy an ice cream, she would drag Li Yi along. She would return immediately after buying it, without wasting a second.

In the meantime, a staff member ran over to tell Shen Lian that they saw the man wandering nearby again. But because the other party hadn't done anything and was in a public place, there was no other way than to stay vigilant.

For a rotten, wily old bastard like this, it would be a huge loss to damage oneself just to deal with him, but if one relaxed even a little, he would dare to keep disgusting people.

Jiang You brought the dried bedding to Shen Lian's room and carefully changed it, then returned to her small courtyard before dark. She was surrounded by staff members on all sides, so she wasn't afraid.

As per the old routine, after Shen Lian finished his phone call with Chu Yilan, he turned off the lights and went to sleep. As for what happened during the day, he mentioned it casually.

In a hazy state, it seemed to be the middle of the night when Shen Lian vaguely heard the sound of the door lock being pried. It happened several times in a row, then stopped, and started again after a few seconds.

Shen Lian suddenly opened his eyes.

The next second, the old-fashioned door opened with a creak.

In the silent night, this seemed extremely chilling.

The other person's footsteps were very light, causing the wooden floor to make small, sharp noises. Shen Lian's vigilance was raised to the maximum, almost acute enough to capture even the slightest vibration in the air.

Soon, a foul, disgusting stench reached his nose and mouth.

"You are really fucking asking for death." Shen Lian guessed who it was.

Upon suddenly hearing a male voice, the other person froze in fear, then turned and ran.

But Shen Lian leaped up, moving extremely fast. He flipped the entire quilt up flat and then used force to send it flying, landing it on the dark shadow. In his panic, the man stepped on the corner of the quilt and stumbled. Just as he was about to fall to his knees, Shen Lian kicked him over from behind.

With a loud "Bang!"