Chapter 28: This Man Is Definitely Sick

[Page 1 of 3]

“I feel like that man just talked a whole lot of nonsense,” said Liu Tianxian irritably on the drive back, seated inside the production van.

“I wouldn’t call it nonsense. At least what he said about youth films and chick flicks does fit the current market.”

Liu Xiaoli seemed deep in thought.

“Mom, are you actually thinking of investing?”

“What else can we do? We can forget about the Beijing circle. The Hong Kong circle is declining by the day, and we have no connections in Shanghai at all. We passed on The Bronze Sparrow Terrace, and the only unreleased films left are The Legend of the Hongmen Banquet and The Four Constables.

“According to what Zhang Qianjun said just now, we’ll be lucky if The Legend of the Hongmen Banquet merely breaks even after advertising rights and box-office revenue are combined. Listen to him: directors from Hong Kong and Taiwan can’t handle historical subjects. No matter how they shoot them, it turns into gangsters brawling, with no sense of national feeling whatsoever.

“I thought about it, and it does seem to be true.”

Liu Tianxian stared at her mother in astonishment.

“Mom, you haven’t been brainwashed, have you? You can’t believe everything he says.”

Liu Xiaoli replied in a distant voice, “We can’t believe everything, but neither can we dismiss everything. From yesterday until now, you’ve seen it yourself. Everyone on the production, in front of the camera and behind it, gives him face. They all listen to him. Have you ever met someone like that?”

Liu Tianxian shook her head.

“Not in person. But I’ve heard Director Jiang Wen is like that on set.”

Liu Xiaoli sounded faintly wistful, almost melancholy.

“Yes, Director Jiang Wen.

“Zhang Qianjun was born in 1992. He’s five years younger than you.”

At that, Liu Tianxian could only make a helpless face.

“So when do you want to start, Mom?”

Liu Xiaoli smiled.

“There’s no need to rush. Let’s see how things develop first.”

Liu Tianxian wrinkled her nose.

“I just feel that man’s motives aren’t entirely pure.”

Liu Xiaoli turned to look at her daughter.

“We’re all adults. What motives are ever entirely pure? But he’s probably just trying to get you to promote the film. I doubt he has any other intentions. Do you think he harbors any improper thoughts about you?”

“Hmph.” Liu Tianxian snorted twice.

“That man cares most about the food. And whenever he talks to you, he only looks at you. As far as he’s concerned, I’m not even as attractive as his little assistant. When he isn’t talking, he’s either lowering his head to eat or staring at his assistant.”

Liu Xiaoli smiled knowingly.

“I asked several people about Zhang Qianjun. Apart from having a bad temper and a fondness for swearing, he really has no particularly bad reputation. His girlfriend is the second female lead in Better Days, and she also attends the Beijing Film Academy. They got together while filming and are still dating. Other than that, there have been no rumors about him and any other woman. Overall, he’s one of the few genuinely respectable men in the industry.”

Liu Tianxian immediately added, “Not only are they still together, they’re very open about it. He went to the airport to see her off in broad daylight, without making any attempt to hide it.”

Liu Xiaoli burst out laughing.

“What is it? Are you jealous, Xixi?”

“I’m not jealous!”

When she saw Liu Xiaoli laughing without saying anything, she added, “Well, perhaps just a little. Mostly I envy the fact that they don’t hide their relationship.”

Hearing this, Liu Xiaoli said solemnly,

“That’s why I said Zhang Qianjun is a capable man. He doesn’t conceal his romantic relationships at all. How strong must his self-confidence be?

“A man like him knows exactly what he wants. Once he’s made up his mind, he’ll use every means at his disposal to obtain it. You see how hot-tempered he is, how he refuses to show anyone the slightest consideration. I think all of that is simply how he achieves his goals. He’s just more extreme than most.”

Liu Tianxian leaned back.

“Ah, that kind of life sounds exhausting.”

“Perhaps he enjoys it.”

[Page 2 of 3]

Before long, it was time for Liu Tianxian to shoot her first scene. Everyone had assumed filming would proceed smoothly, but someone had other ideas.

Liu Tianxian was dressed in red, with cool, bare-faced makeup that made her look ethereal. It was precisely that ethereal quality that caught Zhang Qianjun’s attention.

“Micky, come over here.”

“Take a look at Sister Fei’s makeup. I think there’s a problem. It’s too plain. On camera, she looks a little pale and wan, almost like a sickly middle-aged woman. What prostitute looks like this?”

Liu Tianxian frowned at once. It was an entirely ordinary line of criticism, so why did he make it sound so offensive?

“Oh, Qianjun, this makeup is the closest to the historical record. We referred to Ming dynasty portraits of women. Besides, this style is popular in costume dramas right now. It’s designed to look almost like a bare face.”

“Historical accuracy is one thing. I think it’s enough to get the clothes and hairstyle right. Speaking of the hairstyle, what’s with those squid tendrils? Comb them all back. How could anyone in the Ming dynasty have hair like that?”

Zhang Qianjun paused.

“And Sister Fei is one of the people we’re counting on most for publicity. That plain a look is absolutely unacceptable. Remember my requirements: heavy makeup, but she still has to look pure and luminous. Her face and hands need to look exceptionally clean, without any influencer vibe.

“There should be a sheen to her face, but not that greasy Korean glass-skin look. She must catch the audience’s eye the moment she appears. She barely has a few minutes of screen time. If we don’t give her an impactful entrance, the female lead becomes pointless.”

Micky, the makeup supervisor, could only twitch his eyes as he listened. Sang Lin, standing at the edge of the set, was secretly delighted.

So it had finally begun. It was about time the others suffered a little too.

People who had been caught in the rain always seemed eager to take away everyone else’s umbrellas.

Micky, the makeup artist, tried helplessly to resist with his professional knowledge and an appeal to current trends. But when Zhang Qianjun stared at him and demanded, “Can you do it or not?” he quickly lost his nerve. He glanced toward the director, who remained silent, and had no choice but to take Liu Tianxian away for a complete makeover.

Nearly an hour later, the hairstyle and makeup had finally been redone. Zhang Qianjun examined the result. It was nowhere near the standard of the famous makeup artists of later years, but it should be good enough to use.

Filming officially began.

They had just finished a take of Shen Lian spending the night in Zhou Miaotong’s bedchamber when Zhang Qianjun was about to review the footage. That was when Lu Yang made another request.

“Yifei, although Zhou Miaotong is fundamentally afraid of Shen Lian and feels disgust toward him, the truth is that at the Directorate of Music, Shen Lian gave her a brief refuge. Her feelings toward him are complicated. They aren’t simply fear, disgust, or gratitude.”

“All right, Director. I’ll adjust it.”

“No rush. Take some time to find the feeling.”

Who would have thought that finding the feeling would take the entire day?

By the end, Zhang Qianjun was sick of acting opposite her and could think only of finishing as quickly as possible.

“Cut! That was good. Let’s keep this one as a safety take.”

Zhang Qianjun had thought they were finally done, but the words “safety take” made his ears buzz. Liu Tianxian looked equally miserable, yet because of her professionalism, she still performed the scene again as requested.

“Cut. That was good. We have it.”

Although Zhang Qianjun had attended only a handful of acting classes, he could still tell whether a performance worked. As far as this scene was concerned, the last few takes were clearly inferior to the third and fourth.

What was Lu Yang doing? The man was usually a fast shooter, so why had he suddenly become so exacting with the female lead?

Even Zhang Qianjun, who had never demanded too much in terms of acting ability, cared more about the overall action sequences and the impact of the characters. That was why he had been so particular about Tianxian’s makeup and styling.

He simply couldn’t understand it. Liu Tianxian’s acting was only average, but did this scene really require such a high standard?

When filming finally ended, and no outsiders were nearby, Zhang Qianjun quietly approached Liu Yifei.

“Fairy, what did you do to offend the director? Why is he demanding so much from you?”

He had no idea that the moment Liu Tianxian heard this, all the emotions she had been suppressing burst out.

“Zhang Qianjun, you bastard! I just got here. How could I possibly have offended the director? He’s using me to torment you! You idiot, what’s the use of having such a big head if there’s nothing inside it?”

Zhang Qianjun grew even more confused.

“If he has a problem with me, he can come straight to me. When we started filming, I told everyone to speak to me directly and resolve problems the same day. And don’t curse at me. If you keep cursing at me, I’ll curse right back from now on. You’d better leave yourself a little dignity.”

At that moment, Liu Tianxian had only one thought:

What kind of fool was I to turn down The Bronze Sparrow Terrace and come act in this movie? And how on earth did this idiot fool my mother?

[Page 3 of 3]

All she wanted now was a moment of peace.

Unfortunately, Zhang Qianjun continued talking beside her.

“Fairy, this won’t do. If there’s a problem, you have to deal with it directly. You can’t waste time on unimportant personal relationships. Otherwise, you’ll never become the center of a social circle.”

Liu Yifei forced the words out through clenched teeth.

“I’ve already told you not to call me Fairy. I don’t like it. Today’s problem was caused by you. By your own logic, go and resolve it today. And do you know how annoying you are, going on and on like this?”

To her surprise, Zhang Qianjun immediately agreed.

“All right, Little Liu. I’ll take care of it. I guarantee the director won’t put you through this again for no reason.”

With that, he turned around and walked rapidly toward the director.

Now it was Liu Tianxian’s turn to stare in astonishment. He was really going? And what kind of ridiculous nickname was Little Liu? Couldn’t he simply call her by her name?

She glanced at her mother, who had stepped in front of her the moment Liu Tianxian started calling Zhang Qianjun a bastard.

“It’ll be fine. Little Zhang will handle it,” Liu Xiaoli said confidently.

Liu Tianxian had no idea why her mother trusted that man so much. But since her mother had said so, she relaxed.

Before Liu Yifei had even finished removing her makeup, Zhang Qianjun returned.

“Done. Lu Yang promised it won’t happen again.”

Watching Zhang Qianjun in the mirror, and still unwilling to trust him on principle, Liu Yifei blurted out, “How did you talk to the director?”

“I told him that if he has a problem in the future, he should come directly to me instead of using this roundabout method. I brought Fairy here. Unless she’s done something wrong, he can’t torment her.”

“And then?”

“That was it. The director agreed.”

Liu Yifei had no idea how he had communicated with the director, but judging by the result, it must have been extraordinarily direct.

“Are you always like this?”

“Like what?”

“So direct. You don’t care what other people think.”

“I’m more tactful when I’m coaxing my girlfriend. I do care about her feelings.”

Right. There was no way to continue this conversation.

Liu Yifei fell silent for several seconds. Zhang Qianjun began to grow impatient.

“Anything else? If you have something to say, say it.”

Whatever favorable impression Liu Yifei had just begun to form of him vanished instantly.

“Am I supposed to thank you?”

“No need. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Liu Tianxian thought that, for all his faults, the man was at least reasonable. She was just about to say something polite to ease the atmosphere when Zhang Qianjun’s next words made her reconsider.

“Besides, if you want to thank me, just say thank you. What do you mean, ‘Am I supposed to thank you?’ Don’t you know whether you should or not? Honestly, how affected can you be?”

With that, Zhang Qianjun turned and walked away at the uniquely rapid pace he maintained on set, leaving only a quickly receding figure in the mirror.

Liu Tianxian took a deep breath and said to her mother,

“That man is absolutely insane.”