Two o'clock in the afternoon.
Li Mu dropped Uncle Ge off at the set, then drove his car to a 4S dealership near the production location.
Several staff members stepped forward. After an inspection, an older employee proposed a repair plan.
Replace the engine?!
My damn car just got its hood dented, and you want me to replace the engine?
Even if you pinned the blame on Liu Zi, he wouldn't accept that.
Li Mu slammed the repair plan onto the ground, pointed at the older employee, and snapped, "I'm telling you right now, my second uncle is a journalist at CCTV! Do you believe I can get you all exposed on the 315 Evening Gala?!"
The staff immediately caved. Why didn't you say so earlier?
"Hehe, actually the engine only has a minor issue, let's take another look," the older mechanic said, wiping away sweat as he rephrased his words carefully. "The front headlight is broken and needs replacing, and the hood is dented, so that needs to be replaced too."
"Would you like OEM parts or aftermarket parts?"
"How much for OEM?"
"If we replace everything including labor, it's about sixty-six thousand."
"Why don't you just go rob a bank?!" Li Mu's eyelids twitched.
The mechanic grew anxious and hurriedly defended himself, "We really aren't ripping you off. If you don't believe me, go ask around yourself, that's the going rate. I dare say our prices are the cheapest in this whole area."
"Fine, sixty-six thousand it is then."
"Got it."
"About how many days will it take to fix?"
"Normally around a week. The main thing is we don't have your specific hood in stock, otherwise we could finish it for you today," the employee answered with a sheepish, ingratiating smile.
Li Mu nodded, his gaze turning icy as he offered a stern warning, "Let me tell you, don't try any funny business. If I find out you swapped out any parts of my car, I'll make sure none of you hear the end of it."
"What are you saying? We're a legitimate business, not one of those shady backyard shops," the middle-aged mechanic replied with a forced, reassuring smile.
Li Mu let out a scoff, left his contact information, and walked out of the 4S dealership.
...
Evening.
Li Mu's hotel room.
Sitting on the sofa in his hotel room, Li Mu took out his phone. After hesitating for a moment, he dialed Princess Jing.
The car belonged to her after all, and now that it needed repairs, he was obligated to inform the owner regardless of the circumstances.
After about thirty seconds, the call went through.
"Oh, so the busy man finally deigns to call me today?" Princess Jing teased in a coquettish tone, laced with a thick layer of grievance and reproach.
Li Mu coughed awkwardly. "Well, um, today when I went to pick someone up, the car accidentally got rear-ended..."
"Are you hurt?!" Before Li Mu could finish, he heard her voice ring out with concern.
"How could I be hurt? I'm a veteran driver," Li Mu shook his head. "Some idiot suddenly cut in, and the traffic police put him at 100% fault, so we don't need to use your insurance..."
"As long as you're not hurt," Princess Jing let out a long sigh of relief, then asked, "If the car's in the shop, doesn't that mean you don't have a car to drive now? Should I have my driver bring you the spare A6 we have at home?"
Ahem...
Li Mu broke into a violent fit of coughing.
Listen to that—just listen to that! Is that something a normal person would say?
A spare A6.
"No, no, the production crew has vehicles, and it's only for a few days anyway," Li Mu said, waving his hand with a smile as he declined.
Princess Jing let out an "oh," and then began asking about Li Mu's time with the crew.
Li Mu fabricated a whole story, which Princess Jing listened to with great interest. Finally, she let out a helpless sigh, "I really envy you, having so many friends over there. I don't have a single friend here, it's so boring."
"Aren't we friends?" Li Mu chuckled.
"Is that all we are—just friends?" Princess Jing's voice softened as she posed that soul-searching question.
Li Mu froze entirely.
He sat there in a daze, offering no reply, while Jing Tian on the other end went quiet as well. The two of them sat in silence, neither speaking, as if time itself had stopped in that very moment.
"Hello? Are you still there?" Jing Tian spoke up first.
"Say something. Why aren't you talking?"
"Hello, hello, hello, hello, say something."
"Don't tell me getting rear-ended knocked your brains loose."
Jing Tian chattered on boisterously, but Li Mu didn't say a single word back.
Just then, Li Mu heard someone calling out to Jing Tian from her end. She hurriedly acknowledged them, then said to Li Mu, "Coward! I've got things to do, I'm hanging up. When I have time, I'll come visit your set."
With that, she hung up the phone.
A buzzing dial tone filled his ear. Li Mu leaned back against the sofa, closing his eyes with a complex expression.
That night, Li Mu suffered from insomnia.
He tossed and turned in bed until dawn before finally drifting off to sleep.
Before long, however, a fuzzy-headed Li Mu was shaken awake by a ringing phone. He heard Wang Hao shouting excitedly, "Brother Mu, get over here! The people from Hong Kong have arrived today too—Fatty, Liu Jialing, they've all reached the Capital and will be on set today."
"The director wants us ready."
Li Mu sprang up from the bed in one fluid motion, muttered "Be right there," and quickly got dressed and washed up.
...
Nine o'clock in the morning.
The set of Let the Bullets Fly.
Under the temporary canopy erected for the production, people busthed about in a bustling, roaring tide of noise as staff members walked in and out one after another.
Everyone looked both anxious and excited, as if eagerly anticipating something.
Li Mu threw himself into the work.
As long as he kept busy, it helped him forget those lingering troubles.
Standing at his workstation, he looked at the four or five minor crew leads and instructed them, "The people from Hong Kong will arrive around one o'clock this afternoon. There are over eighty of them in total, and the director will go to greet them in person."
"We'll hold down the fort here and make sure their lodging and transport are sorted out."
"Don't worry, Brother Mu," the group chorused in agreement.
"Is everything settled with the hotels?" Li Mu asked, turning to look at another person nearby.
"According to the director's standards, the top executives of Emperor Entertainment and the well-known actors have all been booked into a four-star hotel near China Film Group to guarantee they're satisfied," that floor manager replied.
Li Mu nodded, then turned to the only woman among them: "Xiaoya, keep an eye on the hotel banners and the welcome ceremony. Don't give them anything to complain about."
"I understand, Brother Mu," Xiaoya nodded.
After they all gave their affirmations, Li Mu had them repeat the instructions back to him before finally dismissing them to get to work.
With all that done, Li Mu leaned back in his chair and took a heavy, deep breath to soothe his nervous tension.
It was finally about to begin.
This epic masterpiece in Eastern Country's cinematic history—Let the Bullets Fly—was about to unfold right before his eyes.
To be able to take part in it, even if just contributing behind the scenes, was an honor in itself.
At that moment, Li Mu's excitement was overwhelming.
His heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest.
"Come on! Work hard! Strive!" After taking several deep breaths in a row, Li Mu patted his chest, stood up from his chair, and strode out from under the canopy.