Chapter 86 – Back to Work!
On the first day of New Year’s visits, Xiao Fang collected nearly eighty thousand yuan in New Year’s money. When he got home, Fei Xiangnan casually gave him another million, telling him to buy snacks. Xiao Fang had a policy of not asking too many questions about the old man’s romantic gestures. He saved the money for himself, taking out fifty thousand to donate anonymously to the orphanage, as he usually did.
With the Fei family’s problems temporarily resolved, Xiao Fang very politely sent a small red envelope to his cousin in a foreign country, wishing him a happy new year. Fei Heyu didn’t refuse; for people he liked, helping out was no big deal. Of course, this was a little activity conducted behind Fei Xiangnan’s back. It wasn’t for any other reason than that this cousin of his was too handsome, the kind that made one especially uneasy!
During his days off at home, Xiao Fang also sent New Year’s greetings to his friends one after another, visiting those he could. For example, he went to Zhang Yuanxiao and Ruan Tan’s home. Although Ruan Tan was tsundere in various ways, the two had officially started dating. When he visited that day, it felt like Zhang Yuanxiao’s smile was glowing.
After being at home for half a year, Xiao Fang was about to officially start work again. Wen Qianshi gave Xiao Fang a specific date, and then his agent, Sister He, officially scheduled a meeting with Xiao Fang at the company to discuss his work for the next six months.
“The movie Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy is about to start airing. Fortunately, although this movie requires traveling all over the country, your scenes only need to be filmed in this city. Then there’s a variety show. The director is Director Liang Chengyun, who has always had a good reputation. They’ve expressed their interest, and as long as we’re willing, we can sign the contract. The show is called I Am a Volunteer. This season’s theme is to go to various orphanages to volunteer. Are you interested?”
Hearing about a variety show, Xiao Fang was subconsciously reluctant. For one, if he didn’t handle it well, he could easily attract anti-fans. For another, variety shows weren’t the path he wanted to take. Making appearances on various variety shows was more than just being an actor. But when he heard it was about orphanages, Xiao Fang hesitated. Being able to use a variety show to rally everyone to help orphans was a good thing for them.
“Okay, I’ll do it. Let’s just do this one variety show this year, Sister He. I won’t take any others, okay?” Once Xiao Fang made a decision, he agreed decisively.
Sister He herself was a smart person. To become an excellent actor, one couldn’t waste their life on gossipy variety shows, or they would forever be a little fresh meat who could never make it big. One variety show a year to maintain some exposure was enough. The rest of the time had to be proven with one’s work. Sister He didn’t say much more and immediately went to negotiate with Director Liang. Within two days, Xiao Fang’s first variety show was confirmed.
Filming for Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy had actually been underway for some time, previously in other cities. Wen An’an’s part was already finished. According to Wen An’an, Ruan Tan was unusually strict when working. During her scenes, the arrogant Xiao Qi was actually scolded to tears by Director Ruan. Genuinely scolded to tears.
Xiao Fang originally had some confidence, but after hearing what Wen An’an said, it instantly vanished. He went back to drilling his one-page script over and over again, studying in the study under Fei Xiangnan’s resentful gaze each time.
However, Xiao Fang had a hidden agenda here. As a virgin at heart, ever since the New Year, all he could think about was the date Fei Xiangnan had set for him. Although his body didn’t reject Fei Xiangnan at all, he still felt a little sad in his heart. From time to time, after pondering the script, he would secretly watch some “educational films” to learn a few things, afraid that one day Fei Xiangnan would just force himself on him and discover he was a complete novice.
Finally, amidst Xiao Fang’s worries and efforts, the day of his official return to work arrived. Lang Lang and Nuomici were left in the care of the two nannies. The nannies were very kind, and Xiao Fang had no worries leaving them in their care. Besides, his current job was still in the city, so he could go home every day, which diluted much of his reluctance to leave.
The person happiest about Xiao Fang’s return to work was undoubtedly Xiao Ma, Ma Rui. Ma Rui had been thinking every day about how to get rid of Que Jiang. Now that Xiao Fang was back to work after his “maternity leave,” Que Jiang had no reason to come over as an assistant. With him working every day, Que Jiang couldn’t bother him every day either. He had gone on several blind dates after returning home for the New Year, but all five girls gave him the “good guy” card and wished him luck in finding someone better. It even made Ma Rui wonder if he was too ugly for girls to like him.
“Brother Xiao, am I that ugly?” The two of them were slurping hot and sour noodles in the nanny van when Ma Rui asked gloomily.
Xiao Fang took a big slurp of noodles, then looked up at the very handsome and even somewhat delicate Ma Rui. He said indistinctly, “No, you’re quite good-looking. Someone like you, even if you weren’t the school hunk in high school, you’d at least be the class hunk, right?”
Xiao Fang was speaking from experience.
At this, Ma Rui became even more depressed. This was a part of his history he didn’t want to look back on. “Not the class hunk.”
“Oh? The grade hunk?”
“…The class beauty.”
“Cough, cough, cough, cough!” Xiao Fang successfully choked. Ma Rui immediately handed him a tissue, a miserable look on his face.
Xiao Fang didn’t know whether to praise him or laugh. After he recovered, he could only pat Ma Rui’s shoulder solemnly. “Don’t worry, that’s a kind of proof in itself, isn’t it?”
Ma Rui looked up at the sky in hesitation—no, at the roof of the van. Was it this hard to find a girlfriend these days? Would he be destined to be alone for the rest of his life? As he thought this, the cold image of Que Jiang flashed through his mind. He immediately shook his head. How could he think of that great Buddha? It was simply ruining his mood for starting work!
Upon arriving at the set, Xiao Fang’s status was completely different from when he first came for the interview. Last time, he was just a young master who had bought a script. This time, he was a talented young actor who had won the Best Actor award. The way everyone looked at him was different.
The actress he was paired with was also a recent college graduate named Shi Yiyi. She seemed rather shy. When Xiao Fang saw her, she was sitting alone in a chair reading her script, not trying to build connections. She didn’t even have an assistant with her. Occasionally, she would look up to watch other actors perform. This reminded Xiao Fang of himself when he first started acting, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit of fondness for her.
Xiao Fang first went to greet the director, Ruan Tan. When he wasn’t in work mode, Ruan Tan was easy to get along with. Plus, Xiao Fang’s relationship with him had already reached the level of friendship, so they interacted very naturally. To outsiders, it was perfectly normal for a talented actor and a director to have a good relationship.
“How has filming been lately?” Xiao Fang handed Ruan Tan a bottle of water and found a small stool to sit on.
Ruan Tan frowned in disappointment. “These newcomers are in terrible shape. Even if they have talent, they lack experience. A scolding is usually enough. But Xiao Qi…” It seemed that after spending a long time with Xiao Qi, Ruan Tan couldn’t even be bothered to put on a facade. He had also heard from his boyfriend about the fallout between Xiao Fang and Xiao Qi, so there was no need to be considerate.
“The Film Emperor can’t let go of his airs. The roles he’s played before were all great heroes, down-and-out presidents, officials, or emperors. He always has a certain air about him. Now he’s playing a chef, but he can’t let go of that air. I had to scold him so many times before he changed a little. This is truly the most difficult Film Emperor I’ve ever had to manage.” As a fellow Third Gender, Ruan Tan even skipped the part about cherishing the fairer sex. He got angry just thinking about Xiao Qi.
“Can you stick it out?” Xiao Fang didn’t continue talking about Xiao Qi, but instead asked in a teasing tone.
Ruan Tan had been a director for so many years; he had been through this before. He immediately glared and said, “What’s the big deal? I’ll just treat it as teaching a newcomer.”
Xiao Fang smiled and patted Ruan Tan’s shoulder, saying, “You can do it.” Encouraged, Ruan Tan’s face didn’t look so defeated anymore. In the future, he should listen less to the nonsense from investors and find actors who were one hundred percent to his liking.
After chatting with Ruan Tan for a bit, Xiao Fang had been wanting to ask him something else, but it wasn’t appropriate to ask during work. He could only wait until the day’s work was over. With that, Ruan Tan urged Xiao Fang to go to the makeup room to get ready.
***
“Do you think Xiao Fang can play this role well?” The voices of two girls chatting came from the makeup room. Xiao Fang heard his name just as he was about to walk in.
“Sigh, Director Ruan’s requirements for actors in this movie are notoriously demanding. Forget about the veteran actors; the ones who came are all newcomers. Director Ruan will waste a lot of tea just scolding people. Even the Film Emperor Xiao Qi can’t fully handle it. Do you think Xiao Fang can? Compared to his brother, he’s still a newcomer.”
“That’s true. I think it’s a long shot this time. I’m still rooting for Xiao Qi.”
They hadn’t stopped talking by the time Ma Rui reached the door. Ma Rui didn’t hold back, coughed loudly, and walked in with a dark face. Xiao Fang walked in with a calm expression. The two makeup artists inside were instantly mortified. The most awkward thing is when you’re talking bad about someone, and they hear everything and then come face to face with you.
“Uh, we, I…” The makeup artists looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
Xiao Fang smiled peacefully. “I’ll be in your hands for the next part.” He then sat down in front of the mirror. A smart person knows how to pretend they didn’t hear anything. This made the two girls feel not only embarrassed but also apologetic. They could only pour this apology into their work, applying Xiao Fang’s makeup with great effort and constantly asking for his opinion.
Some things Xiao Fang handled much more gracefully than Ma Rui. Xiao Ma, who had been a bit annoyed, saw the meticulous work of the two makeup artists and finally understood Brother Xiao’s intention. It was better to earn benefits peacefully than to tear off all pretense.
When Xiao Fang was working, he was always able to consider things much more deeply than usual.
After finishing his makeup, Xiao Fang came out and saw the tardy Xiao Qi. He had his own exclusive makeup artist and dressing room. When he saw Xiao Fang, he just glanced away, pretending not to see him. Xiao Fang had a total of two scenes, one with Shi Yiyi, and one with the three of them together, including Xiao Qi.
Dressed in his costume, Xiao Fang wore a worn-out purple short-sleeved shirt and a pair of unremarkable cheap long pants. He looked poor but not sloppy. The makeup artist had slightly adjusted his features, reducing the youthful delicacy and adding a touch of world-weariness, making him look exactly like a poor young man.
Ruan Tan took a look and was very satisfied with Xiao Fang’s appearance. He had passed his inspection in terms of looks. Next up was Shi Yiyi. She was playing a female white-collar worker, wearing a form-fitting professional suit with her hair tied up high. She looked quite like a white-collar worker, and her inherent shyness added a different kind of feminine charm.
Ruan Tan nodded in satisfaction. “Alright, all units, get ready. Let’s start shooting.”
Xiao Fang, who had been idle for over half a year, felt a surge of passion for his new job.