Chapter 4
Due to being teased a few sentences by Ye Lan, Jiang Chi’s entire state was messed up.
It was originally a scene of reuniting with the first love after many years of separation, a face covered in dust and temples like frost1[This line is a poem called 乙卯正月二十日夜记梦 (lit. “Memory of a Dream of Year 52 (of the sexagenary cycle) First Month Twentieth Day”) written by the Song Dynasty’s Su Shi (also known as Dongpo). It eulogizes the poet’s wife, who died 10 years before. In the last line of the first stanza, he says that even if they met again, they wouldn’t know because his face is covered in dust and his temples are like frost. In other words, this line has the meaning of unfamiliarity when reuniting after a long separation.], but the corners of Jiang Chi’s eyes and eyebrows carried with them the flavour of spring scenery, of falling in love.
Ren Haichuan was currently watching the stand-in block the scene. He glanced at Jiang Chi, who had come over after putting on his makeup, and said coldly, “Adjust your state, sort out your emotions before coming back.”
Jiang Chi felt like he had been splashed with a bucket of cold water. His heart squeezed, and he awkwardly nodded, “I’m sorry, I’ll immediately…”
Upon seeing this, Ye Lan, who was following Jiang Chi, smiled blankly at him. Just as he was about to say a few words for him, Ren Haichuan threw him a look, his expression worsening, “Mind your own business!”
Ye Lan nodded, trying not to smile, and then sat aside and played with his phone.
Jiang Chi was at an age when his emotions were easily influenced by the outside world. If you said that his acting skills were good, he was still only outstanding in a horizontal comparison with other male actors of his age cohort. Comparing vertically, let’s not talk about the current Film Emperor Ye. Even compared to Ye Lan at his age, he was considerably worse.
He still couldn’t control his character’s emotions, unable to move in and out of the role freely. It took him a long time to get in character. This was Jiang Chi’s greatest shortcoming.
Jiang Chi took a deep breath, trying his best to forget Ye Lan’s teasing.
Everyone on set was ready. It was unreasonable to let all these people wait for him alone. Jiang Chi felt a bit anxious. After thinking for a while, he pulled out his phone, searching for a few of Ye Lan’s scandals.
Even though he knew these seemingly convincing rumours were complete nonsense, after reading from the top to the bottom, these fake stories with their exciting pictures and vivid descriptions could still make him feel uncomfortable. Jiang Chi’s little heart, which had been teased by Ye Lan, calmed down a lot. He took a deep breath, thinking back on how he felt over the years, every time he heard about Ye Lan’s scandals. He slowly entered Pei Ran’s state.
Jiang Chi closed his eyes for a moment, then he returned to the camera to indicate that he was ready.
“Don’t be carried away by him, you are fighting against yourself.” In this scene, Ren Haichuan didn’t fix their positions, and gave the two plenty of room to act as appropriate. He only emphasized, “Control your emotions. I don’t want you to release them, I want you to hold back your feelings. Take back your anger toward him and turn it toward yourself, okay?”
Jiang Chi nodded.
The hairstylist came up and fixed Jiang Chi’s hair a bit, gave the director an ok gesture, and walked out quickly.
“‘Scum’, scene 27, camera 1, take 1! Action!”
Sitting at the top of the negotiating table, Jiang Chi’s expression was indifferent, as he pushed forward a file folder. “I have read this contract. I recommend Director2[The word used for “Director” is a catch-all title used for any upper management position in China. The equivalent in the US would be someone like a C-suite executive or a VP. It could also be someone on the board of directors.] Zhan to first ask the opinions of other shareholders of your company before making a decision. Our company does not have plans right now to develop in the north, many of the suggestions you put forth…”
Jiang Chi was quiet for a moment, then laughed abruptly.
He didn’t know if he was mocking Zhan Ming or laughing at himself.
Jiang Chi looked down pointedly. “Many of these suggestions… are very unprofessional and naive.”
The corners of Ye Lan’s eyes reddened slightly, then the pair of profound eyes stared at Jiang Chi.
Ye Lan held a cigarette in one hand, draped over the arm of the chair, and the other on the negotiating table. With a gloomy air, he traced the lines of the table with his thumb, pressing down forcefully. His lips trembled a little. His entire person was like a wounded leopard, enduring the pain, bloodthirsty and desperate.
Between the two of them, there was a long table, but Jiang Chi could still feel Ye Lan’s powerful aura.
Jiang Chi took a deep breath. This was as Ren Haichuan said, Ye Lan’s acting skills and momentum, while he was still holding back.
Behind the camera, Ren Haichuan frowned.
Jiang Chi didn’t need to look to know that Ren Haichuan was about to call cut.
Earlier, because his emotions were not well-adjusted, Director Ren had already reprimanded him in front of Ye Lan. At this time, Jiang Chi one million times did not want to eat an NG3[No Good, means the shot has failed and needs to be retaken.].
Jiang Chi couldn’t stand being scolded in front of Ye Lan.
“Director Zhan.” Jiang Chi got up, gently pushed the chair inch by inch under the table, and at the same time retracted the slightly awkward expression on his face. By the time he pushed the chair back to its original position, his expression had returned to normal. Jiang Chi calmly said, “We are all very busy… Let’s not waste each other’s time.”
Jiang Chi neatened up his bow tie and walked out of the conference room. The moment he passed by Ye Lan, the other man, without speaking a word, got up abruptly, grabbed his arm, and violently pulled him back to his side.
Jiang Chi nervously glanced toward the doorway, and whispered angrily, “Let go!”
In the scene, Pei Ran had been abruptly blocked by Zhan Ming in the conference room. The whole time, he was worried that his colleagues would pass by outside, and overhear their disgraceful history.
“Scared?” Ye Lan gripped Jiang Chi’s arm tightly. His exquisitely tailored suit could no longer hide his violent temper. “Call the security! Have them drag me out!”
Jiang Chi looked at Ye Lan incredulously. In a low voice, he spoke brokenly, “Can you think about your face4[Reputation.] a little?”
“When have I ever cared about that?” Ye Lan grabbed the hair at the back of Jiang Chi’s head, forced Jiang Chi to look at him, and said blankly, “Pei Ran… These years, do you know how I have…”
“I don’t want to know!”
Jiang Chi sharply interrupted Ye Lan’s words, violently pushing Ye Lan outward.
Ye Lan looked at Jiang Chi in surprise.
Jiang Chi took a few quick breaths, and without warning, tears came from his eyes.
He was struggling to maintain his last bit of decency and dignity, and was defeated by a hug that could not be counted as a hug from Zhan Ming.
Jiang Chi clenched his fists in pain, raised his hand to wipe the tears from his face. Crying helplessly, he pressed the corners of his eyes. Suddenly he gave himself a hard slap, and choked out, “You’re so cheap5[He’s speaking to himself. The word he uses which I translated as “cheap” is frequently used to describe people, and it can also mean “worthless” or “without pride”.]!”
Ye Lan’s eyes turned red in an instant, and immediately held down Jiang Chi’s hand. As Jiang Chi struggled, he lowered his head and kissed Jiang Chi’s lips.
Jiang Chi was stunned for a moment, then he went crazy, hitting and pushing, and the two tore at each other like wild animals, venting their anger perhaps toward each other, perhaps toward themselves.
In the end, after Jiang Chi pushed Ye Lan away forcefully, he leaned against the wall, half-hanging his head. He breathed for a while and then sobbed in pain. “These years… Ye Lan… you… you ruined my entire life…”
“Cut!”
Jiang Chi’s face was full of tear tracks. After a few seconds, he looked at Ren Haichuan. Ren Haichuan still had a stony face, but the satisfaction in his eyes could not be hidden. Jiang Chi grinned. Ignoring his emotions, he hurriedly bowed and apologized to Ye Lan. “I’m sorry, did I use too much force just now? Did I hurt you*? I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
“Wow.” Ye Lan looked at Jiang Chi with a smile, “Not bad.”
Jiang Chi acted a lot better than Ye Lan had expected. This kind of smooth and expressive two-person scene was a pleasure for both of them. Ye Lan nodded appreciatively, “The moment when you slapped yourself, the expression was on point.”
Jiang Chi’s face flushed with excitement. He took the paper towel that Li Weili handed him to wipe his face, and said, “No, no, it’s because you* took care of me.”
The assistant director went to watch the replay. Ren Haichuan sat over. Jiang Chi wiped away his tears, and looked at Ren Haichuan expectantly… It was embarrassing to be praised in front of Ye Lan.
Ren Haichuan nodded to Ye Lan first. “There’s nothing to say.”
Ye Lan snorted. Then Ren Haichuan looked at Jiang Chi and spoke in a chilly tone. “Just now, in the last line, what did you say?”
Jiang Chi looked back sluggishly.
He had already memorized the lines to the point where he could recite them backwards, but now he became a little uncertain when he was asked so abruptly. Did he remember them incorrectly?
Jiang Chi hesitated. “Zhan Ming… You ruined my entire life?”
Ren Haichuan said angrily, “What you said earlier was ‘Ye Lan, you ruined my entire life’! You could even remember the lines wrong! What happened?!”
Jiang Chi’s face turned red, he was completely freaking out, it was such a perfect scene! But he actually recited the lines wrong! And he called out Ye Lan’s real name!!!
Jiang Chi gulped, and looked at Ye Lan, trembling. Ye Lan’s tone was relaxed, “It’s fine. For me6[This sentence is a bit ambiguous. Here, “for me” could mean “[speaking] for me” (meaning “in my opinion”. Or it could mean that Ye Lan also makes the same mistake when he is acting. But I’m not sure so I translated it literally and tried to express things using commas.], after getting into character, it’s very normal.”
Jiang Chi’s face turned even more red.
Ren Haichuan’s movies all used original production audio. He definitely wouldn’t allow Jiang Chi to fix the lines later through post-production dubbing. Besides, the lip shapes didn’t match for the two names, so they could only reshoot.
Fortunately, in the middle of this long scene, there was a switch of positions. They had to take close-ups of Ye Lan anyway. The two only had to start from the beginning of the kiss to connect everything together.
The makeup artist came up to fix their makeup. During this time, Ren Haichuan asked Jiang Chi to pay attention to some issues from the last take. “You’re not showing enough resistance. Are you afraid of pushing him? It’s not an action scene, so why are you afraid of hurting him? Use some more force.”
Jiang Chi agreed and bowed to Ye Lan, “I’m sorry, Ye Lan-ge, I might have to…”
“It doesn’t matter.” Ye Lan waved his hand, interrupting Jiang Chi, and slightly raised his face to let the makeup artist touch up his makeup.
Ren Haichuan stared at Ye Lan and said, “For your close-ups, you don’t have to hold back anymore, just act normally.”
Ye Lan raised his thumb toward Ren Haichuan.
Before the actors’ feelings completely died down, they couldn’t delay for too long. All departments quickly moved into place. Three minutes later, the script supervisor called out A7[To be honest, I’m not sure what “A” means, but I think it’s short for “Action”. This is a bit strange because the letter generally represents the camera angle, but the author previously specified “Camera 1”.].
Ye Lan clamped Jiang Chi’s arm tightly, lowered his head, and with a bit of force, pressed Jiang Chi against the wall.
Jiang Chi’s heart thumped, going badump badump.
Just now, he had completely entered the scene, carried by his emotions. He barely noticed Ye Lan’s kiss. At this point, he was no longer the dominant role. After his emotions withdrew, his entire body was close to shaking.
Ye Lan’s movements were vicious, but his gaze was filled with unspeakable helplessness and frustration.
Ye Lan squeezed Jiang Chi’s arm tightly, forcefully narrowing the space for him to resist.
Jiang Chi’s heartbeat sped up. With strong rejection, his tears meandered down his eyes.
Jiang Chi lifted his gaze. Ye Lan was less than ten centimeters away from him, staring directly at him. It seemed as if the despair and deep affection in his eyes would swallow him.
The entire set was infected by Ye Lan’s emotions, and several young girls covered their mouths, even blushing.
Ye Lan lowered his head and kissed Jiang Chi’s lips.
Jiang Chi’s eyes suddenly widened. He could clearly feel Ye Lan forcefully sweeping between his lips with the tip of his tongue.
Jiang Chi: “!”
Until Ren Haichuan called cut, Jiang Chi didn’t recover.
Ye Lan acted normally, so perfect that he made Ren Haichuan unable to pick out any mistakes. Jiang Chi also fixed the incorrect line from earlier. After watching the replay twice, Ren Haichuan nodded, “Pass.”
Jiang Chi breathed a sigh of relief. His heart was going badump badump, beating rapidly. In his head, he kept replaying the kiss just now, thinking wildly about it. Although he was fined so much for his breach of contract, it was worth it for today’s scene. If he didn’t have money, he could still earn more. But kissing Ye Lan wouldn’t be so easy…
“Jiang-ge, you have a text message.” When Li Weili came over to give Jiang Chi a paper towel, he also handed over his phone, saying in a low voice, “Geng-ge sent it.”
Jiang Chi unlocked his phone in a daze.
Ye Lan rubbed the shoulder that Jiang Chi smacked earlier, glanced at Jiang Chi’s phone screen inadvertently, and was stunned.
Before shooting, in order to put himself into a state of resentment, Jiang Chi browsed an entertainment news page which was still shining boldly on his phone screen.
[Shocking secret, Ye Lan’s girlfriend who has been rumored for many years is actually her! Unambiguous evidence!]
Ye Lan: “…”
Ye Lan looked totally speechless. He took the water that his assistant handed him. After taking a sip, he endured and then endured some more. Then he screwed the cap back on, and put the bottle to the side. He turned his head and said to Jiang Chi, “I’ve never dated her before.”
After speaking, he returned to his dressing room by himself.
Jiang Chi was shocked for a moment and looked down at his phone in a trance. His hair stood up in an instant.
Jiang Chi hurriedly turned off his screen and rushed to the dressing room.
T/N: Jiang Chi was so cute when he thought he would get praised in front of Ye Lan but ended up getting scolded again 🙂
Also, did you notice the kabedon!?!!!!!
* formal you (您)
- 1[This line is a poem called 乙卯正月二十日夜记梦 (lit. “Memory of a Dream of Year 52 (of the sexagenary cycle) First Month Twentieth Day”) written by the Song Dynasty’s Su Shi (also known as Dongpo). It eulogizes the poet’s wife, who died 10 years before. In the last line of the first stanza, he says that even if they met again, they wouldn’t know because his face is covered in dust and his temples are like frost. In other words, this line has the meaning of unfamiliarity when reuniting after a long separation.]
- 2[The word used for “Director” is a catch-all title used for any upper management position in China. The equivalent in the US would be someone like a C-suite executive or a VP. It could also be someone on the board of directors.]
- 3[No Good, means the shot has failed and needs to be retaken.]
- 4[Reputation.]
- 5[He’s speaking to himself. The word he uses which I translated as “cheap” is frequently used to describe people, and it can also mean “worthless” or “without pride”.]
- 6[This sentence is a bit ambiguous. Here, “for me” could mean “[speaking] for me” (meaning “in my opinion”. Or it could mean that Ye Lan also makes the same mistake when he is acting. But I’m not sure so I translated it literally and tried to express things using commas.]
- 7[To be honest, I’m not sure what “A” means, but I think it’s short for “Action”. This is a bit strange because the letter generally represents the camera angle, but the author previously specified “Camera 1”.]