Qi Tongwei took a skewer of cicada pupae, slapped a mosquito on his arm that was gorging itself happily, and stared at the small smear of bloody sludge, his mood souring.
"How much longer do you guys have to shoot?"
Huo Ge chewed with a crunchy sound. "Should be another two days!"
"You said two days last week."
"This time it really is two days. The leading man arrives this afternoon, and after two days of shooting, we move to another location."
"Lie to me again and I'll skewer you!"
Qi Tongwei raised the bamboo stick in his hand like a bayonet, making a stabbing motion, his face heavy with threat.
"Who do you think you're scaring?"
Huo Ge picked up a prop sword from the side. "Come on, you get a stick, I get a sword, and you'll be riddled with holes!"
"You're ruthless!"
Qi Tongwei dropped his hand with a disgruntled look. The two of them had sparred before, and to his shame, he—a Sanshou champion—couldn't beat Huo Ge, who had practiced Kung Fu since childhood without ever winning a single competition.
At that moment, the commotion picked up down by the shooting area near the pool. Qi Tongwei stood up and looked down to see that the leading man had arrived early and was preparing for a shoot.
"Why aren't you going down to get ready? Honestly, this leading man isn't as good-looking as you!"
After watching for a moment, Qi Tongwei sat down with a bored expression. The leading man was the currently popular star Li Guanpeng, yet he wasn't even as handsome as Huo Ge.
"It doesn't matter, I'm the leading man's stunt double. There are no action scenes for the leading man today, and besides, I'm enjoying a rare vacation!"
Huo Ge kept his head down, devouring the cicada pupae, entirely unconcerned with the leading man's arrival.
He had no idea what the director was thinking, hiring a whole five doubles for just the leading man: a literary double to act in dramatic scenes for him; a kissing double for kissing and bed scenes; and three stunt doubles for action sequences.
Huo Ge was one of the action doubles, and he also had a bit part as an extra with lines. But while the extra work was done, the stunt double duties hadn't required him even once.
With this double and that double, it seemed the leading man only showed up to film close-ups of his face while everything else was handled by stand-ins. That leading man was making millions in pay so effortlessly and comfortably.
Huo Ge figured the production team simply had money to burn. He had actually wanted to tell the director that a single double—himself—would be plenty!
He was an all-rounder who could handle drama, romance, and action, and it would even save money. But the director had claimed it was to make the film more perfect!
Though in reality, the director probably just hired a few extra so he could pad the budget.
Qi Tongwei felt indignant on Huo Ge's behalf. "With your looks, you could totally play the leading man. Did you not grease any wheels?"
"The director doesn't like men," Huo Ge replied crisply.
"Is that what I meant? Are you saying you *can* grease wheels with a female director?!"
"A female director, sure. But this leading man was shoved in by the investors, and he graduated from the Central Academy of Drama—trained professionally, with real acting skills!"
"Good grief, him? Acting skills?! Paralyzed face trying to look cool, and you call that acting?"
"That's called the unflappable, mountain-collapsing-before-me school of acting!"
"What kind of nonsense is that?!"
Qi Tongwei seemed to recall something unpleasant as well; his gaze grew even gloomier. He stood up, stared at the pool, and paced back and forth a few times.
Suddenly, he started holstering and shouting, "Hey, hey! That Fairy Sister of yours—what's her name, Liu Yifei—she's out!"
Huo Ge appeared beside Qi Tongwei with the speed of the Flash. "Where? Where?"
By the water's edge, a young girl dressed in a light purple long dress was stepping out of a black van, her graceful figure captivating even from a distance.
She walked over to a small stream just above the pool, where a few staff members were strapping her into a wire harness to prepare for a shot where she crosses the stream."Oh, wow. She is wearing a light purple long dress, her sleeves fluttering in the wind like a blooming violet. Her dark hair cascades like a waterfall down her willow-slim waist, her eyebrows are like distant misty mountains, and her eyes shimmer like autumn waves. Her skin outshines the snow, her lips are like a touch of vermilion, and her smile is as gentle as a spring breeze. Look, she just smiled at me like that, and my heart rate skyrocketed to 180 miles per hour!"
Huo Ge muttered to himself, perfectly capturing Liu Yifei's ethereal and otherworldly temperament.
"Such literary flair, Brother Huo! You could even see her smiling at you from this distance—I'm floored! Absolutely floored!"
"A Fairy Sister like that can only be admired from afar!"
"With a face like yours, you could go cozy up to her and play around a bit!"
"What are you talking about? I'm no simpering sycophant!"
Qi Tongwei didn't know what a sycophant was, but the word didn't sound entirely proper.
"We've been shooting for over a month, and I've seen plenty of people hustle over just to speak with her. But you? You've never tried to get close to her. Just look at her background—even the fifth female lead has a private van, and her family is either insanely rich or politically connected. Yet you haven't said a single word to her!"
Qi Tongwei didn't doubt Huo Ge's social skills at all. Huo Ge was thick-skinned and instantly friendly; he could start a conversation about anything under the sun with anyone after just two sentences.
Yet, strangely enough, he had never once seen Huo Ge proactively strike up a conversation with Liu Yifei.
Despite her privileged background, Liu Yifei had arrived with only a single junior assistant, making her quite a magnet for unwanted attention.
It was only later that she was assigned a private van, after which the malicious suitors practically vanished.
The young girl had no hidden agendas, nor was she aloof; she was quite easygoing, chatting amiably with everyone from the director down to the background extras.
Of course, she wouldn't proactively chat with an extra like Huo Ge—after all, they belonged to different worlds.
Huo Ge rubbed his chin. "The timing isn't right. For a minor role like me with zero value right now, just making her familiar with my face won't accomplish a thing!"
Qi Tongwei completely disagreed. "Only once she's familiar with your face will you have a chance!"
"My chance will come!"
"When?"
"Soon. A real opportunity is one where you can approach her naturally without her suspecting any calculation!"
"Can you stop acting like a philosopher? Why are you talking about such profound nonsense?"
"I'm heading down to take a look. I have a feeling today is the day!" Huo Ge grabbed his prop sword and walked down.
Qi Tongwei glanced at the golden-brown roast chicken, debating whether he should eat the whole thing himself or save the chicken's rear end for Huo Ge.
"Save me a chicken leg, and come down in a minute—your big break is coming, too!"
"What? What did you say?"
"Put out the fire and come down first. Brother is going to take you places!"
Qi Tongwei looked at the roast chicken, then at Huo Ge's retreating back. He hesitated for a few seconds, but the phrase "big break" sounded too tempting. He grabbed a basin of water, doused the stove, and dashed off to follow him.
As the two men neared the set, they saw Liu Yifei fall screaming from mid-air while dangling on a wire.
She landed right in the middle of a shallow stream. Because the stones were slippery, she tried to stand up, fell again, and was carried further down by the current.
The crew members initially thought the water was shallow enough for Liu Yifei to get ashore on her own, and only one staff member stepped into the water to reach out and pull her up.
To everyone's surprise, within the blink of an eye, her petite frame was swept four or five meters away, right to where the current grew stronger.
"Help!"
Liu Yifei had sprained her ankle. After failing to stand up, she fell back into the water, choked on a few mouthfuls, and panicked. The more panicked she became, the faster she slipped. Before she knew it, she was approaching a drop-off and about to slide down into the deep pool below.
Qi Tongwei immediately broke into a run, but Huo Ge was already moving like a gale-force wind, closing in on Liu Yifei at lightning speed.