Another sunny day.
After shooting the morning scenes, the crew of The Great Swordsman had only a few afternoon shots left before packing up and leaving Wudong Township.
Ever since joining the crew, Huo Ge hadn't acted in anything besides delivering a single line—"Bring me your head!"—followed by a scene where he got shot with an arrow and fell over.
Most of the time, he felt more like an odd-job boy, rushing over to help wherever he was needed. Fortunately, he had plenty of experience by now, and no matter what task he was assigned, he was entirely in his element and quickly finished the job.
Liu Yifei's scenes were also finished, but instead of leaving, she stayed with the crew to study and observe the performances of other actors.
Aside from a brief conversation at the hospital, Huo Ge hadn't spoken to Liu Yifei once. Kong Xiaoli stayed glued to Liu Yifei's side, keeping a sharp eye on anyone who came near her like a vigilant lioness guarding her cub.
At midday, after eating a boxed lunch that lacked anything resembling meat or oil, Huo Ge took advantage of the lunch break to head down to a bend in the stream below the pool to fish.
His fishing rod was far from professional equipment. He had simply snapped off a piece of bamboo, tied on a few meters of fishing line, bent a paperclip into a hook, and dug up a few earthworms for bait right on the spot.
The setup was quite crude, so he sat there in silence for nearly half an hour without catching a single fish.
Unfazed by his lack of success, Huo Ge pulled a copy of The Art of Photography out of his backpack and began reading it with great relish.
He had barely turned two pages when he heard a disturbance behind him, as if someone was walking his way.
He looked back and saw Liu Yifei and her assistant, Chen Cheng, walking along the mountain path about ten meters away. Their eyes seemed fixed on a small red squirrel leaping from one pine tree to another, and they hadn't noticed him.
Huo Ge didn't greet them either and simply went back to his book.
Liu Yifei walked lightly along the winding mountain path, watching the red squirrel in the tree stuff its cheeks with a pine nut.
At the hospital, her mother had forced her to stay in bed for two full days before allowing her to get up and walk around. If she hadn't insisted on finishing her scenes, her mother wouldn't have let her come back at all.
Fortunately, once her scenes wrapped yesterday and Kong Xiaoli had to leave briefly for something, Liu Yifei finally dared to ask Chen Cheng to take her out for a stroll.
Though her steps were light, walking for ten minutes still brought a trace of fatigue to her ankle, which hadn't completely healed yet. Seeing an open area ahead with a flat rock and a few clusters of blooming wildflowers growing beneath it, she walked over and sat down.
Chen Cheng laid a handkerchief over the rock so Liu Yifei wouldn't have to sit on the cold stone.
"Chengzi, how wonderful it would be to live here! The mountains are green, the water is clear, and the air is so fresh!"
Liu Yifei panted softly, using the back of her hand to gently wipe away the beads of sweat on her forehead. She looked around, taking in the quiet and beautiful natural scenery.
In the distance, mountain ranges rose and fell, wreathed in mist like a moving painting. Nearby, birds sang cheerfully in the branches, and a stream gurgled past, playing a natural melody.
Chen Cheng pressed a finger to her lips, making a soft shushing sound, and then pointed down to the lower left.
Liu Yifei turned her head and spotted Huo Ge sitting by the stream below.
She saw him, and she also noticed the book in his hands—it looked rather like some sort of risqué picture album. As Huo Ge happened to turn the page, she caught a clear glimpse of what was on it: a photograph of a bare-chested Western blonde woman. The sight made her quickly look away.
Naturally, Chen Cheng had also caught a glimpse of the woman on that page and noticed Liu Yifei's embarrassment. She immediately broke into a cough, "Ahem, ahem!"
"Hey!"
Huo Ge looked back, put on an expression of surprise, and greeted them, "Hello there! Have you eaten yet?"
Liu Yifei turned back and waved awkwardly at Huo Ge.
Chen Cheng replied, "We've eaten. What are you doing?"
"Fishing and reading!" Huo Ge closed the book and held up the cover so they could see it.
"Oh!" Chen Cheng nodded. Seeing that the title was The Art of Photography, she realized it wasn't some trashy magazine after all.
Huo Ge glanced at Liu Yifei, smiled, and lowered his head to read again.
"I'm going down to say a few words to him," Liu Yifei said, standing up and gently brushing the dust off her clothes.
"Oh," Chen Cheng walked down a step ahead to help steady her.
"No need," Liu Yifei waved her hand in refusal. "I can go down by myself!"
Carefully navigating the uneven rocks, Liu Yifei made her way down until she was about three or four meters away from Huo Ge.
Huo Ge looked over and saw that Chen Cheng hadn't followed, but instead stood a good distance behind, presumably to give Liu Yifei and him some space to talk.
"Are you trying to fish?"
Huo Ge nodded at Liu Yifei and picked up the bamboo pole.
"No thanks!"
Liu Yifei took off her shoes and socks, cautiously dipping her feet into the clear, pure stream water. Feeling the refreshing chill sink into her skin, she let out a comfortable sigh, "Ah~."
The smooth pebbles beneath the water gently brushed against the soles of her feet, creating a subtle massaging sensation. She wiggled her feet slightly, sending ripples outward as curious little fish swam over to dart and play around her toes.
Having a celestial beauty paddling in the stream made it impossible for Huo Ge to keep his mind on what he was doing. Though he sat rigidly still, his eyes kept straying involuntarily toward that pair of fair, delicate little feet in the water.
"Um... about last time, my mom..." Liu Yifei's voice was a bit soft. When Huo Ge had come to the hospital last time, she had noticed how unwelcome he was to Kong Xiaoli, which made her feel quite embarrassed.
Huo Ge's ears were sharp. "It's fine! Auntie is a very nice person!"
"Well, you... I—"
Liu Yifei started again, but trailed off halfway through, unable to find anything else to talk about. Seeing The Art of Photography resting on Huo Ge's knees, she asked, "I heard you want to be a director, which is why you're reading these books?"
"Yeah, it's my dream!" Huo Ge picked up the book and held it out toward Liu Yifei. "Do you want to look at it?"
Remembering the not-so-child-friendly images she had glimpsed earlier, Liu Yifei shook her head. "No thanks!"
"Which film academy did you graduate from?" Liu Yifei looked at Huo Ge as he concentrated on fishing, thinking that his profile had very handsome and well-defined lines.
Huo Ge glanced back at her. "High school graduate, didn't go to university. But I took the self-study exams for the Beijing Film Academy's film and television art design major and got my bachelor's degree just last year."
"Wow, Beijing Film Academy? My mom originally wanted me to go straight there, but my dad wouldn't agree—he insisted I take the regular college entrance exams."
"With your looks, the Beijing Film Academy probably would have admitted you through special recruitment."
"I didn't want to start college too early, either."
"If you're going down the path of acting, the earlier you get famous, the better!"
"Why?"
Huo Ge laughed. "Didn't your mom tell you? Being a big star means making big money!"
"She did," Liu Yifei tilted her head with a cute expression. "So what if it does?"
"If you go the route of taking the college entrance exams and then making a name for yourself through acting later, you'll miss out on making big money for a few years. If you get famous from acting right now, wouldn't you make a lot more?"
"But what if I don't become a big star?"
"Impossible, absolutely impossible! Judging by the eye of a future master director like me, you're going to be a superstar!"
"..."