Chapter 55: Friend Request

Chapter 55: Friend Request

With his messy white hair and ragged clothes, Qian Jin was caught off guard by the laughter directed at him. Initially stunned, he then leaned back tactically, saying, "Good thing I'm straight."

Chen Yibai: "?"

The straight friend couldn't chat for long. He took a break, and it was his turn to perform next. Due to his history of multiple NGs, the director took him aside to discuss the scene.

As soon as the friend left, like a relay race, the agent who had gone to handle other matters returned, sitting on a small stool beside him and handing over a handful of candy, saying, "These two newcomers gave these to you."

The newcomers didn't have much else, but they had plenty of snacks. Perhaps because they had a good relationship or for some other reason, once their snacks were opened, they would send some over. Sometimes it was biscuits, sometimes candy.

This person had surprisingly good people skills, receiving daily treats from various members of the crew.

After she sat down, she glanced at Chu Mingyuan sitting nearby and asked, "How's the situation?"

Chen Yibai, who was always keeping an eye on developments, immediately replied, "It seems that no little sprouts of love have emerged yet."

"?"

The agent's eyes flickered, and she lightly slapped the head full of gossip, saying, "I wasn't asking about Chu Mingyuan and the female lead's situation; I was asking about your situation."

"Me?" Chen Yibai rubbed his head, laughing. "I feel alright."

"Alright is good."

The agent said, "The weather forecast says it will rain tomorrow. The coordinator mentioned that if it really does rain, they'll change the schedule to shoot your fight scene with Chu Mingyuan outdoors, the one in the rain. Do you remember it?"

Having memorized most of the script, Chen Yibai knew exactly which scene she was referring to upon hearing her description. He nodded in response, "I remember it."

The agent looked at his slender wrist and said, "He won't punch you so hard you fly away, will he?"

There was a slight concern in her words, but not much. She was more curious about what he would look like if he did get punched away.

—What a great agent and friend.

The two assistants, who hadn't thought of this possibility, found her words reasonable and nodded in agreement, expressing their own concerns.

Chen Yibai objectively felt that their worries seemed genuine. He waved his hand and laughed, saying, "I'll try not to get punched away."

The fight scenes were real fights, with each move pre-designed. Although he wouldn't be punched away, he would definitely take a few hits.

He added, "If he goes too hard on me at the time, I'll take the opportunity to hit him a few more times."

This was Chen Yibai, who never wanted to be at a disadvantage. The agent couldn't help but laugh.

The next day brought rain.

It was heavier than the weather forecast predicted, perfectly fitting the degree the production team desired.

The crew split into two groups. The assistant director and other actors stayed at the inn to continue shooting indoor scenes, aiming to finish all remaining inn scenes today. The other group, including the director, went to shoot the rain fight scene, driving to a village some distance from town.

Due to the distance, this group had to wake up earlier, including the actors. Before the makeup room was taken over by those assigned to shoot indoor scenes, Chen Bai had already finished getting ready and left.

The vehicles left the small town, heading onto a road with few people around.

At five in the morning, there indeed weren't many people out.

The man with the messy hair leaned against the chair, draped in a jacket, half-opening his eyes while sipping soy milk and turning to look out the window.

Objectively speaking, the scenery here was quite nice, with beautiful natural landscapes that hadn't been developed. The road was made of cement, not very wide, requiring extra caution when passing oncoming traffic.

To say the least, finding a filming location like this, the team responsible for scouting locations was as talented as the props department in its own way.

The journey was long. Chen Yibai spent the first half of the trip drinking soy milk and the second half catching up on sleep. When they arrived at the destination, he was woken up by his money-making partner. He had slept too deeply, feeling dazed and dizzy, swaying slightly as he got out of the car.

His money-making partner glanced at him, genuinely worried about his physical condition now.

Fortunately, the dizziness was only temporary. After stepping out of the car and being hit by the cold wind, he became fully awake, his steps steady.

The shooting location this time was a vast bamboo forest, covering large areas of mountainside. The rest of the crew had arrived before them, having already found a relatively open area for filming. The rain shelter was set up, and valuable equipment was stored inside.

Both teams disembarked from their vehicles almost simultaneously. Apart from the two actors, everyone else received raincoats distributed by the crew. The raincoats weren't cheaply made, quite thick, effectively blocking out the rain when worn.

Chen Moubai looked over, then sighed.

While the camera tracks and lighting were still being set up, the martial arts instructor came over to go through the scene with Chen Yibai and Chu Mingyuan, running through the fight sequence.

This was just a run-through. Facing someone a head taller than him, Chen Yibai opened his eyes wide, alert. "Just go through the motions; don't use any force yet."

He sternly declared, "If you use force, I'll fly away."

He spoke seriously and with considerable authority. There was an inexplicable confidence in his words, more impactful than saying, "If you use force, I'll make you fly away."

"…"

The agent covered her face, pretending not to know him. The two assistants averted their gazes.

The martial arts instructor used every ounce of self-control to maintain his expression, appearing as serious as ever on the surface.

On the side, Chu Mingyuan's agent and assistant subtly raised their hands to cover their naturally smiling lips.

Chu Mingyuan couldn't hold back a smile. "Okay."

He disliked those without talent trying to force their way in, lowering the quality of the film. But apart from a cold demeanor on the first day of shooting, he was generally a cooperative colleague.

When he said he wouldn't use force, he meant it, applying only enough strength to make it look realistic.

This fight scene turned out to be easier than the martial arts instructor had imagined. Chu Mingyuan had shot numerous fight scenes before and had experience. Despite his inexperienced appearance and thin frame, White Hair actually exerted force correctly, with fluid movements, making the scene visually appealing.

A simple run-through of the movements was completed, and the action director asked, "Have you practiced before?"

Chen Yibai looked around, then realized the question was directed at him. He replied, "If attending a children's taekwondo summer class counts."

Primarily due to engaging in many fights during his later high school years, he had gradually figured out some tricks.

But that wasn't something easy to explain, so he only revealed his meager childhood memories.

The action director responded, "…Well… I suppose it does count."

The topic was quickly moved past.

After going through the motions twice, the equipment was set up, and the director, clad in a raincoat, stepped into the rain to guide them through the positions they needed to remember.

Since getting wet was inevitable, Chen Yibai walked directly into the rain and followed along.

In this situation, with a cloth strip over his eyes, he was essentially blind, so determining the positions was primarily Chu Mingyuan's responsibility. However, since he had nothing else to do, he decided to join in, giving himself a mental grasp of the scene.

The rain intensified, the sound of water hitting green bamboo leaves and fallen foliage creating a symphony. The director had to raise his voice to be heard over the downpour, which seemed somewhat challenging.

After laboriously identifying the positions, the director slightly lifted the brim of his raincoat's hood and said with a smile, "Whether we can have lunch earlier than the other group today depends on you."

It was a peculiar competitive spirit between the director and his assistant director.

Chen Yibai smiled but didn't directly commit, simply saying he would try his best.

Upon finishing the position review and returning under the tent, the stylist tied the linen strip over his eyes, and the assistant handed him the tattered rag sword, which was even more worn than his debt.

After not holding it for a while, the sword now felt heavier, as if its weight had increased from four hundred million to slightly over five hundred million.

Rain pelted the bamboo forest, creating a solemn atmosphere.

Chang Yang bore a grudge against the son of a criminal pursued by the government, or rather, against the criminal himself. It was the criminal who had framed him, leading to the destruction of his family. With his clan wiped out, leaving him like a living dead man, he refused to let the criminal's son live on with enough wealth to survive eight lifetimes. Thus, he teamed up with a swordsman to track down the criminal's son through various means.

This scene depicted the moment when Chang Yang and the swordsman finally found the place where the criminal's son, who had changed his name and appearance, resided, leading to their first disagreement.

Chang Yang wanted the man dead, while the swordsman intended to bring him alive to complete his mission. To stop Chang Yang, who was already drawing his sword to kill, the swordsman had no choice but to engage in combat.

Amidst dense rain and dim lighting, two figures darted through the bamboo forest, splashing water everywhere.

The mist in the rain spread, allowing only faint glimpses of two pale black silhouettes moving continuously among the verdant bamboo.

When visibility improved, a curved blade, gleaming coldly, sliced through the mist and rain, passing dangerously close to the camera lens.

White hair entangled with the cloth strip flew through the air as the raggedly dressed man crossed his tattered rag sword to block the incoming curved blade, taking a few steps back until his spine pressed against the rain-drenched green bamboo.

The stalemate lasted for a second before the swordsman spoke, "You cannot kill…"

The man leaning against the bamboo bent sideways and crouched, circling behind the swordsman. His rag sword slashed downward diagonally.

Before turning, the swordsman had already horizontally positioned his curved blade, the edge meeting the rag sword. The sharpness of the blade caused the rag wrapped around the sword to loosen, tearing a thin slit.

In that instant, the blind man exerted force, lunging forward and twisting the wrist of the swordsman holding the blade, while his foot pushed off the bamboo to leap.

The long bamboo bent, its leaves shaking as raindrops scattered chaotically. The swordsman, held at the throat by the unsheathed rag sword, fell onto the bamboo forest floor, being firmly restrained.

He raised his eyes to look at the person above him, his hand slowly gripping the handle of the curved blade as he said, "Do you want to kill me?"

The thoroughly drenched cloth strips mixed with his white hair hung down, the long strands barely touching his chest, their tips carrying a cool dampness that brushed against the skin of his neck. The dominant figure remained silent for a moment.

"…"

In the silence, the agent, who had been sitting on a folding chair, stood up, removed the raincoat hood still on her head, and squinted to carefully observe the two people on the ground.

Something was different.

Although she couldn't act, she spent every day watching, having spent years observing the production crew. She could discern subtle changes.

The person currently dominating the scene wasn't as steady as before.

Unstable, and there was a subtle indication of being led by Chu Mingyuan's rhythm. Once an actor is led by another's pace, they tend to become disoriented, which wasn't a good sign.

She furrowed her brow slightly. The assistant beside her didn't fully understand, but seeing her frown, she could sense that something might be amiss.

They were observing, and coincidentally, the director standing nearby was also watching. His eye wrinkles were pronounced, and his eyes, peering through his glasses, neither furrowed nor showed any other expression. Instead, he quietly remarked, "He's finding his feel."

Being a distance away from the boom microphone, speaking softly wouldn't be easily picked up by the mic, allowing for a safe conversation.

The agent asked, "Finding his feel?"

As they whispered, maintaining a moderate distance, they watched the person in the dominant position smile.

A smile devoid of any warmth, not meant to convey any emotion—it was merely a simple upward curl of the lips, neither joyful nor sorrowful, as if even basic human emotions had been lost.

He said, "Why not?"

It was still that hoarse, peculiar voice, barely melodic.

He seemed to have merged completely with the pervasive rain and fog, without a place to belong, drifting aimlessly.

—He had connected.

And found his feel.

The one who could most clearly sense this was the actor engaged in the scene. In the area not captured by the camera, Chu Mingyuan lay on the ground, his fingers subtly twitching as his gaze met the eyes obscured by grayish-black linen.

Without hesitation, he tightened his grip on the handle of the curved blade, propping himself up with his elbow, capitalizing on the opponent's blindness. Using the bamboo joint as leverage, he flipped over.

The power dynamic reversed, with the swordsman now in the superior position. His hair dripped with water as he horizontally positioned the curved blade above the person beneath him, declaring, "I must live, and the bandit must also be brought alive to the authorities."

The blind man lay atop the fallen leaves, his white hair spread out, and the ragged cloth sword that had been in his hand was pushed aside by someone, sliding out of reach.

With nothing in his hands, he felt around, touching the conical splinters left behind by the mountain man when he had cut down the bamboo grove, hidden beneath the bamboo leaves. He grabbed one, gripped it tightly with his backhand, and swiftly raised it above his head, thrusting upward fiercely.

As he moved, the bamboo tip met the throat of the swordsman, whose curved blade, which had been at a distance, suddenly pressed against his own throat.

The blade gleamed coldly; if he reached up just a little more, the sharp edge would slice through flesh and skin.

But if he reached up just a little more, the bamboo tip could pierce the swordsman's chin.

There was no stalemate, nor much time for hesitation. The blind man ignored the curved blade across his neck, lifted his head, and continued the incomplete action.

Wandering the world for too long, he seemed to have forgotten that he was still human, a living being who would die if his throat were slit. The boundary between life and death had become blurred.

Not expecting him to suddenly advance, a faint bloodstain appeared on the edge of the blade as the swordsman reacted quickly, tilting his head to avoid the approaching bamboo spike.

As the bamboo spike barely grazed his skin, the hand holding the hilt flipped, and the curved blade instantly turned, pressing the flat side against the man's neck. With his other hand, he snatched the bamboo spike and threw it aside, delivering a chop to the back of the neck as the man fell back to the ground.

Finally, the blind man ceased moving. His white hair cascaded down, entwined with bamboo leaves, landing on the ground.

Complete silence enveloped the surroundings, leaving only the sound of raindrops hitting the bamboo leaves.

Chu Mingyuan sheathed his sword, lowered his head, and saw the raindrops continuously falling onto the dirty linen wrapped around the man's eyes, staining it with dark marks. The raindrops that landed outside the linen couldn't stay, sliding down the sides of his face and ultimately disappearing into the white hair at the back of his pale neck.

"..."

Amidst the sound of rain, the director's loud voice rang out with a "Cut."

Instantly, the area became bustling, but the two people near the ground didn't move.

"..."

In the silent void, it was Blind Chen who spoke first: "Friend, can we stand up now?"

He added, "I don't mean to rush you, but this ground is rather cold."

A heavy sword was still across his body, weighing him down so much that he found it difficult to get up.

As soon as he spoke, the atmosphere they had created vanished.

Chu Mingyuan came to his senses, sheathed his sword, apologized, and extended a hand toward the person sitting on the ground.

Chen Yibai's blindfold hadn't been removed yet. It was dim here, and apart from a blurry blackness, he couldn't see anything else. He completely ignored the hand stretched before him and got up by supporting himself with his old waist.

Chu Mingyuan looked down and realized that this person had been acting opposite him in near-complete darkness the entire time.

After the scene ended, stylists and assistants rushed forward, promptly helping to remove the blindfolds and holding umbrellas over them.

Regaining his sight, Chen Yibai accepted the towel offered by his assistant and buried his entire face in it, enjoying the comfort.

As the wet and sticky sensation on his face disappeared, he exhaled, lifted his head from the towel, smiled, and expressed his gratitude.

Apart from burying his face, the towel could also be draped over his head. Placing the soft, white towel atop his head, the busy Chen Master followed his assistant toward the tent. Just as he lifted his foot, he finally remembered to exchange polite greetings with his good colleague and thus turned back.

His colleague was already surrounded by assistants, a group of people standing there looking quite busy. The words on the tip of his tongue retracted, and the considerate Chen Yibai chose not to disturb them. As he was turning back, the colleague who was surrounded looked over and greeted him first with a "Hard work."

Since the other party had already initiated the greeting, Chen Bai returned it with a smile, waved his hand, turned around, and continued walking back with his assistant, taking advantage of the opportunity to chat along the way.

"…How are you? That's good."

"When I bent over, I thought I was going to end up there. Fortunately, there was a bamboo to support me for a moment."

The voices faded away with the retreating figures, eventually drowned out by the sound of rain.

Chu Mingyuan shifted his gaze, accepting the water offered by his assistant.

The most challenging scene unexpectedly passed in one take. The director was delighted, and the crew worked efficiently, quickly moving on to the next scene.

With the first scene concluded, every subsequent scene here involved him, but they were incredibly relaxed. The burden fell on the male lead, who merely needed to carry him around like a corpse.

In a sense, the male lead had quite good physical strength, carrying a corpse for half a day while still appearing lively and energetic.

The morning scenes progressed swiftly, and they wrapped up earlier than planned. Hearing the director's final "Cut," the person who had remained motionless like a corpse finally stirred.

It was time to clock out, and even corpses could regain their vitality. Supporting his old waist, he made it his top priority to return to the car and lie down.

Just as he arrived in the morning, he departed in the same manner. The only difference was that the heater was turned on during the return journey, catering to the person who had been drenched in the rain all morning.

Putting away the umbrella, he felt the warm air rushing towards him as soon as he entered the car. The person with an almost incapacitated old waist squinted his eyes slightly due to the warmth.

The agent and assistant followed behind, removing their raincoats at the car door before getting in. The quality of the raincoats was excellent, leaving their bodies dry except for slightly damp pant cuffs and wisps of hair by their foreheads. A quick wipe with a towel restored them to their original state.

The agent climbed into the car and instructed him to tie up his hair first, saying, "You were caught in the rain this morning. You're resting this afternoon. Your hair is wet, so tie it up first, then change your clothes. Don't catch a cold."

In the end, it was Little Meng, the assistant, who helped tie up his white hair. She seemed to have a wholesale supply of hair ties, with a bunch in her bag, ready for use whenever needed.

With his white hair tied up, the driver greeted him, gently pressed the accelerator, and started the vehicle.

The scenery by the roadside receded as Chen Bai removed the tattered outer robe he was wearing after securing his hair.

This clothing was easy to take off. After removing it, there was still a single layer underneath, which was relatively dry and could be worn directly under an overcoat.

Donning the wide, black overcoat, the ragged beggar transformed into a cool guy with white hair. The agent glanced at him twice and commented, "Your friend's clothes suit you well."

They were surprisingly practical, becoming one of the most frequently worn outfits since the temperature drop.

And among the other frequently worn clothes were also those belonging to his friend.

Chen Yibai chuckled, turning left and right, and said, "Cool, right?"

The two turns of his wrists caused the originally rolled-up sleeves to slide down. He then bent his head low and vigorously rolled up his sleeves again. He must have pulled a muscle somewhere, for it triggered a twinge in his old waist, causing him to inhale sharply through his teeth.

The two assistants turned their heads, choosing to sidestep this issue.

...One could only say that this person seemed rather cool before he opened his mouth to speak.

Agent: "…"

Regret filled the agent's heart for having brought up this topic.

She took a deep breath, shifted her mood, and directly bypassed this topic, saying, "When today’s first scene wrapped up, the director praised you for your talent and good understanding."

The man rolling up his sleeves slightly lifted his head in acknowledgment, then lowered it again to roll up the other sleeve that had also slipped down.

His attitude was somewhat indifferent, which puzzled the agent. She asked if he didn't like being complimented.

Chen Yibai raised his head once more and said, "That's not the case."

It was just that he had encountered four directors so far, and all four had praised him for his talent. It was as if each one's compliment was a stamp to collect; he had come to fully understand that this was the industry-standard lingo used by directors.

"…"

The agent felt something was off but couldn't immediately find words to counter the stamp-collecting analogy. She fell into deep thought, then after some struggle, she said, "This director doesn't hand out compliments easily."

Chen Yibai nodded in agreement, turning his head to retrieve his phone from Assistant Liu.

As soon as he turned his head, the agent knew what he was about to do. She snapped out of her contemplation instantly, her eyes twitching as she said, "Going to chat with your friend again."

It was a statement, and indeed, the truth.

With practiced ease, the friend's brain opened WeChat. Before tapping on the pinned contact, a notification popped up in a floating window on his phone.

It seemed like a friend request, but he didn't look closely. Before his mind could react, he habitually swiped the message away.