A BMW sped along, soon bringing Qi Hui and the other two to the main entrance of the set of *Lurk*.
Since cars were not allowed inside, Ling Xiaosu got out and led Qi Hui and Zhang Ruoyun in on foot.
As soon as they stepped out of the car, the security guard let them through without a single question.
"Well, well! Teacher Ling." A voice called out from behind them.
Qi Hui and his companions turned around to see two men: one lean, middle-aged man, and another who was slightly plump and fair.
"Ah, Deputy Director Li." Ling Xiaosu greeted him with a chuckle. "Are you out scouting for actors?"
"That's right." The lean Deputy Director Li introduced with a smile, "My friend, Zhang Guofeng."
"He worked his way up from an extra. He's done extra work, walk-on roles, and bit parts. He's helped me out a few times, and this time he's landed a small supporting role."
Ling Xiaosu gestured to the two behind him by way of introduction: "Qi Hui, my junior brother, Beijing Film Academy Class of 05."
"Zhang Ruoyun, also my junior brother, Beijing Film Academy Class of 07."
Zhang Ruoyun nodded in acknowledgement.
"Hello, hello." Qi Hui greeted them with a smile, shaking hands warmly with Deputy Director Li and Zhang Guofeng. "Comrade... Zhang, hello. I used to do extra and walk-on work too. We should grab a drink together sometime."
Zhang Guofeng was flattered and overwhelmed. This was a favored son of the Performance Academy—how could he be so down-to-earth?
"Ah, ah, ah... You're too kind, Teacher Qi. It's my honor, truly my honor," Zhang Guofeng said repeatedly, speaking with a heavy southern accent.
Qi Hui gave a chuckle and couldn't help sizing him up. "What role are you playing this time?"
"Sheng Xiang, the section chief of the records department," Zhang Guofeng replied.
Regretfully, Qi Hui said, "My senior brother recommended me for the role of Xie Ruolin from the Party-Affairs Bureau. What a pity we won't have any scenes together."
"I'll take you up on that drink sometime."
"Goodbye, Teacher Qi." Zhang Guofeng waved, still looking utterly flattered.
Deputy Director Li waved as well, leading Zhang Guofeng toward the set.
"Old Zhang, you're in great luck," Deputy Director Li laughed. "An elite student from the Performance Academy thinks that much of you, and he's even from the Class of 05 Performance Department at Beijing Film Academy."
"You probably didn't know, did you? A huge star came out of their class named Yang Mi—she played Tang Xuejian in *Chinese Paladin 3*..."
"Ah... hehe, he..." Zhang Guofeng laughed rather unnaturally. For some reason, he felt that man's gaze had been slightly off.
Yet the other's behavior was completely normal; with Deputy Director Li's introduction and their shared background of struggling up from the bottom, wanting to make a friend made sense.
Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss.
No reason—just intuition.
Zhang Guofeng shook his head, hoping he was just overthinking it.
Meanwhile.
Ling Xiaosu asked curiously, "Junior brother, why were you so warm to a small supporting role?"
"Be kind to people, I've always been like this," Qi Hui said with a smile.
Hearing this, Ling Xiaosu nodded. "That's true."
When he first met Qi Hui, he had been won over by this kid's warmth.
However, Ling Xiaosu failed to notice the flash of light in Qi Hui's eyes.
That Zhang Guofeng was a wanted criminal who had been on the run for nearly ten years!
He was the infiltrator lurking within the crew of *Lurk*.
Do not pity him for running for a decade; this man had teamed up with others to armed-hijack a person's family members, steal a service weapon, and launch an assault.
The attack left one person with a spinal injury, nearly paralyzed.
How could such a villain be let off the hook?
Qi Hui had originally wanted to ask for his number, but thought better of it, realizing that being too eager might arouse the other's suspicion, so he gave up the idea.
Qi Hui couldn't recall the man's face anymore, but he still remembered the role he played: Sheng Xiang, the section chief of the records department.
The chubby fellow who was subjected to brutal torture by Li Ya (played by Zu Feng) and ultimately finished off with a single bullet from Li Ya—a truly unlucky bastard.
Of course, there was no rush; Zhang Guofeng could wait.
Now that his identity was known, a single phone call was all it took. The authorities had plenty of ways to bring this man to justice.
"Let's go, I'll take you... no, I'll take you to meet the director for your audition," Ling Xiaosu said.
Zhang Ruoyun wasn't playing Xie Ruolin—he didn't have the time.
Thus, he didn't even need an audition.
Little Zhang paid no attention to Ling Xiaosu's words, instead looking around with curious eyes. Though the timing was similar, the crew of *Snow Leopard* and the crew of *Lurk* still had many differences.
As they walked toward the set, Ling Xiaosu prepped Qi Hui, introducing *Lurk* and the character of Xie Ruolin.
The story followed Yu Zecheng, a Military Statistics agent who underwent an ideological transformation, becoming a warrior for the Party and fighting on its secret fronts.
Ling Xiaosu assumed Qi Hui was in the dark, but Qi Hui had actually binged this show several times before.
It couldn't be helped; there were simply too many iconic scenes: the Steinkopf coffee grinder, the jade throne and gold Buddha, the basic principles of audio recording.
Not to mention Station Chief Wu's every clever remark, which left a deep impression.
Lines like: *"Time is like a wild donkey; once it starts running, it never stops."*
*"You've got wrinkles now, just like how my prostate acts up all the time."*
*"Mount Emei, and a solo portrait at that—simply brimming with romanticist flair..."*
Xie Ruolin's snappy lines were numerous as well.
Like: *"Full of principles on the lips, but all business in the heart."*
*"Now there are two gold bars in front of you. Tell me, which one is noble, and which one is sordid?"*
*"If you fail to kill me with one shot and I come back to life, the two of us will keep doing business, as long as the price is right."*
The two of them were practically a gold-quote king and a gold-quote prince.
It wasn't just Xie Ruolin and Station Chief Wu; every single character in the show was brilliant.
For instance, the inept operations captain Ma Kui, Ma Kui's wife, and Secretary Hong, who was truly in love with Ma Kui's wife.
Then there was Li Ya, who kept getting slapped across the face, and Secretary Dakang... cough, Teacher Wu Gang playing Intelligence Department Chief Lu Qiaoshan.
And that didn't even include the infiltrator Sheng Xiang.
While Ling Xiaosu talked, Qi Hui and Zhang Ruoyun listened, the three of them walking toward the director.
Mid-conversation, the three arrived at the perimeter of the filming set.
Director Jiang Wei was also the screenwriter of the show; he had majored in history as an undergraduate and earned his master's in directing.
It was quite a wide leap, but precisely because of this, his scripts aligned closely with historical facts, exuding a rare sense of realism.
It made people feel as though his dramas had truly happened.
When the three arrived, Director Jiang Wei was directing a shoot.
Yet the content of this particular scene... after watching for two seconds, Qi Hui's expression turned somewhat peculiar.
The scene being filmed wasn't a men's drama; it was about the women.
Specifically, a scene about catching an adulterer.
The station chief's wife and Cuiping (played by Yao Chen) were chasing down Ma Kui's wife and beating her.
The reason was that Ma Kui had already died in the line of duty, and taking advantage of the absence of others, the station chief had gone knocking on a widow's door—though, of course, it was strictly for work.
As luck would have it, they were spotted right in the act by the station chief's wife and Cuiping.
Following that was a three-way women's brawl, and poor Mrs. Ma, having just lost her husband, suffered a tragic beating to boot.
As a result... Cuiping discovered that Mrs. Ma had indeed been cheating.
Only it wasn't with the station chief, but with the station chief's secretary, Secretary Hong.
Secretary Hong had been hiding in the wardrobe of the master bedroom in Ma Kui's house and was caught red-handed.
The late Ma Kui had unexpectedly been turned into a cuckold.
Qi Hui couldn't help laughing out pleasedly, unable to hold back a quirky remark: "A world-famous painting: Comrade Ma Kui is in Poland."
"Oh? Little comrade, what do you mean by 'Comrade Ma Kui is in Poland'?" A voice asked from not far away.
Qi Hui turned his head to look and saw a kind, middle-aged man sitting in a chair, watching him with a smile.
Actor Feng Enhe.
This time, he was playing the spymaster Wu Jingzhong, Station Chief Wu.
Aside from this role, he had shaped many classic characters; he had even appeared in *The Decisive Engagement: The Liaoshen Campaign*.
The corps commander who had lost his position while attacking Jinzhou and failed to report upward was played by none of him.
Commander 101 had even snapped, *"In large-scale group operations, discipline must be strict,"* and nearly had him executed on the spot.
Fortunately, Marshal Luo stepped in to handle the matter, but not before he took the position back—otherwise, he truly would have been done for.
So... he was a bona fide Northern Number One Chief.
Right beside him sat Li Dakang... cough, Wu Gang, currently reading his script.
"A world-famous painting?" Director Jiang Wei and Wu Gang not far away looked equally baffled.
Ling Xiaosu and Zhang Ruoyun were similarly bewildered. They both knew Ma Kui was a major character in the story—the operations captain of the Tianjin Station who had caused no small amount of trouble for male lead Yu Zecheng.
But what did that have to do with Poland?