Bonus kofi chapter. Thank you Rii, Heemi, Missahful and I-chan for the kofi.
This is an extra long chapter, more than four times longer than the usual chapters. Enjoy!
“This is outrageous!” Ye Zhou exclaimed upon hearing the news. The experienced crew members immediately recognized the gravity of the situation. The assistant director called over several burly camera operators to lock all the exits in the studio and stand guard at the doors.
Xie Gefei was still a little confused. Looking at Ye Zhou, who was obviously in a bad state, he asked in a low voice: “Director Ye, what’s going on?”
Ye Zhou did not reply. He lowered his head and began carefully examining the rig. After fiddling with it for a few moments, the previously sturdy contraption made a faint noise. A few screws fell to the ground, rolling around the stage before dropping onto the concrete floor with a clink.
The soft click echoed through the silent studio. That faint sound made everyone’s hearts race.
The man in his early twenties responsible for the rigging turned pale. “Director Ye, I just checked it, and it was fine! This, this…”
No wonder he was so panicked. Any negligence with the wires could directly endanger the actor’s safety. Accidents caused by rigging failures were not uncommon in the industry. In lucky cases, the actors got away with just scrapes and bruises. But in worse cases, lives were lost.
Ye Zhou ignored him and continued examining the rig. When he noticed an area near the top that had clearly been cut by a blade rather than natural wear, he could no longer restrain his anger. He showed it to the assistant director, who had just arrived. Seeing it, the assistant director’s face went white.
“Someone tampered with the rig,” Ye Zhou stated bluntly. As he spoke, his gaze quickly swept over the few people present, taking in their expressions.
This was no trivial matter. Someone could have died! If not for Ye Zhou noticing something was off and stopping Xie Gefei before he jumped from such a height, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
Recognizing the gravity of the situation, the assistant director’s throat went dry. “Since you said something earlier, I’ve had all the doors in the studio locked, and everyone is still here. No one has left.”
Ye Zhou didn’t waste words and said directly: “First, call the police. Have the logistics team account for the people in the studio, see who is present that is not part of the crew.”
“Also, no one is to go near the rig or any props on set from now on.”
“Security must ensure that there are at least two people in charge of each exit. No one is allowed to leave the scene before the police arrive.”
“Lao Meng, pull up the surveillance. I want all the surveillance videos from this morning to now.”
Ye Zhou issued orders in an orderly fashion, helping the crew members who were originally a little flustered by the accident to gradually calm down and begin checking the set as instructed.
By now, Xie Gefei had also realized why Ye Zhou was so alarmed. It was hard to imagine what would have happened if he had jumped without the camera operator catching him… Anyone brushing so close to death would be frightened.
Sensing his unease, Ye Zhou took a blanket from his assistant and draped it over Xie Gefei himself. His expression was uncharacteristically stern as he solemnly said, “Don’t worry, I will definitely give you an explanation for this matter.”
Xie Gefei nodded in a daze, opening and closing his mouth but unable to get any words out. Supported by others, he made his way off the stage, not recovering himself until much later.
Xie Gefei took a deep breath as he went to push open the door to the break room, but he paused when he heard voices speaking inside.
The assistant director’s face was gloomy as he lowered his voice and said, “Director Ye, I think we should handle this privately. After all, this incident doesn’t look good. If we get the police involved and the media finds out…”
This was common practice within the industry. The first reaction when something bad happened was not how to resolve it but how to cover it up and prevent public attention. Quietly settling matters with money, as long as it could be done privately, was most crews’ preferred solution.
Even if the assistant director hadn’t said it, Xie Gefei had come to find Ye Zhou for the same reason. After so many bitter years in the industry working under all kinds of conditions, incidents like today’s were not unheard of on other sets. Xie Gefei knew how to minimize losses for the production.
Ye Zhou was an excellent director. Not only was he highly capable, but he had also given Xie Gefei a precious opportunity and trusted him with this important role. Xie Gefei was deeply grateful and cherished it.
So let it go, even though he was scared. He didn’t want to cause trouble for the crew or for Ye Zhou because of himself. Everyone was working hard on this film. He especially didn’t want a shadow cast over the movie before it was even released because of this incident. His thinking aligned with the assistant director’s – this was currently the best way to minimize losses.
What Xie Gefei didn’t expect was that just as he was about to go in and agree with the assistant director, he heard Ye Zhou’s angry voice ring out from the break room.
“Impossible. We must call the police. To dare pull such a despicable stunt right under my nose, I’m telling you, Lao Meng, this isn’t over.”
Ye Zhou didn’t bother leaving the assistant director any face. His voice was firm and tolerated no refusal.
Seeing how stubborn Ye Zhou was, the assistant director could only swallow his bitterness and persuade patiently, “I know you’re angry right now, but you also know that if this kind of thing is exposed, it could bring endless negative impact to the production!”
“Xiao Xie was clearly wronged in this incident. If it comes down to it, we can talk to him and make up for it in other ways. I’m sure he’ll understand…”
“What’s this?” Ye Zhou laughed at his words. His expression cooled as he scoffed, “Can’t solve the problem, so go silence the victim instead?”
The assistant director was left speechless. An awkward silence descended upon the break room.
After a long while, Ye Zhou got up from his chair and walked over to the assistant director, patting him on the shoulder. “Lao Meng, I know you mean well, but I hope you don’t say such things again in the future.”
“I’m the director of this production. As the director, if I can’t even guarantee my actors’ basic safety…”
“Then what kind of director am I?”
Having said this, Ye Zhou didn’t linger. He turned towards the door, only to come face to face with Xie Gefei, who had been standing outside for who knows how long.
“Director Ye…” Xie Gefei’s eyes were slightly red.
Ye Zhou didn’t speak. Just as he had done with the assistant director, he reassuringly patted Xie Gefei on the shoulder before striding away.
He had barely taken two steps when Xie Gefei’s voice sounded behind him, soft yet laden with complex emotions.
“No matter what decision the crew makes, I can accept it.”
“Director Ye, thank you.”
Ye Zhou paused briefly in his tracks but didn’t look back, only waving at him from afar. “It’s what I should do.”
Returning to the set, the logistics team brought out all the monitoring equipment on the set and gave it to him.
The set had fifteen cameras in total. Just reviewing the recordings would be tremendously time-consuming. Ye Zhou divided the crew into groups, assigning each to review footage from one camera. Even so, this was still a quite huge task.
Just when Ye Zhou was concentrating on studying the surveillance, a loud shout suddenly came from the set. Looking over, he saw a burly man pinning A tanned young man to the ground near the rarely used emergency exit. The man’s entire body pressed down on him.
Despite the young man’s struggle, he couldn’t break free from the man’s hold.
Noticing all eyes turn their way, the young man pinned below shouted as he writhed, “Director Ye, Director Ye, he’s trying to run! Stop him!”
The tall man angrily retorted, “Bullshit! I saw you sneaking over here, so I followed!”
“Don’t falsely accuse others! Liar!” The youth bellowed back undaunted, “Director Ye, don’t listen to his nonsense. I have evidence to prove it was him!”
“He has a fruit knife in his pocket. Search him if you don’t believe me!”
The young man argued passionately in self-defense, leaving everyone at a loss over who was lying. 0
Taking a closer look, Ye Zhou realized the one pinned down was none other than the young man responsible for the rigging.
Ye Zhou walked over and looked down at the young man, asking calmly, “How did you know he had a fruit knife?”
“I saw it just now!” The young man didn’t even think about it. To increase his credibility, he added with great certainty, “It’s in the left pocket of his coat.”
Following his gaze, Ye Zhou indeed spotted the handle of a fruit knife in the man’s pocket. The man panicked, vigorously shaking his head. His voice stammered, “Director Ye, it wasn’t me. This knife isn’t even mine. I really was just following him because he looked suspicious. I only stopped him when he tried to run…”
Before he could finish, the man reached for the knife, but Ye Zhou stopped him.
“Don’t move.”
Ye Zhou took out a napkin and carefully extracted the small fruit knife, instructing an assistant nearby, “Go find a plastic bag.”
Once the assistant returned with a clean bag, Ye Zhou placed the knife inside and handed it to Xie Gefei. “Keep this safe. Give it to the police later when they arrive. It might have usable fingerprints.”
As soon as he said this, the expression of the young man, who was still arrogant, suddenly changed.
Ye Zhou bent down, leisurely meeting his eyes with a smile. “You’re quite calculating. With how smart you are, do you know your actions today already constitute a criminal offense?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the young man feigned ignorance.
Ye Zhou nodded with a smile. “Nevermind if you don’t understand me. As long as you can understand the police later. When they get here, go explain it to them.”
As if recalling something, Ye Zhou turned to the others. “Does anyone have their phone? Help me look something up.”
“I do, Director Ye. What do you need?” The assistant immediately took out his phone and opened the browser, ready to enter questions at any time.
After a brief ponder, Ye Zhou said, “Search the sentencing standards for intentional homicide.”
The young man’s face grew even uglier, but he still acted tough. “You don’t have any evidence. On what grounds are you saying it’s me? I could say the director did it.”
“Let me think… Wasn’t your name just cleared from the hot search? How’s this headline – ‘To cover up accident, third-rate director falsely accuses innocent crew member.’ Satisfied?” As he said that, the young man grinned.
Seeing this, Ye Zhou sighed slowly. When the young man thought he had compromised, he spoke again: “Have you heard of surveillance cameras?”
The young man thought that Ye Zhou really had some evidence. When he heard him mention surveillance, he immediately felt relieved and sneered: “I destroyed the cameras. What could you possib-”
Halfway through his words, the young man finally realized that he had said something he shouldn’t have said, and his voice suddenly stopped.
Ye Zhou didn’t expect that he would be so cooperative. He casually told the truth with a lie. He was stunned for a moment, then turned to ask the assistant behind him, “You got that recorded, right?”
The assistant nodded vigorously and turned the volume to max, playing back the young man’s voice from the phone: “I destroyed the cameras. What could you possib-”
It looped five or six times before Ye Zhou signaled to stop.
“Young man, have you heard of a tainted witness1A witness who accepted money to give false testimony. ?” Before the youth could reply, Ye Zhou added, “I advise you to think carefully before speaking. Intentional homicide is not a small crime. The minimum sentence is ten years. How high you can jump depends on your capabilities2He meant his fate would depend on how well he could defend himself in court. .”
“I know you took money, but with prices rising so quickly now, are you sure the little you got will support you for the rest of your life after you get out of jail?”
“It would be better to confess and get leniency. If you explain everything early, you might get off with just a few less years.”
“I recently invested in a good film called ‘Tears Behind Bars’ that would suit you well. If you behave yourself, I could probably arrange with the prison for you to be temporarily released to play a small role.”
Ye Zhou’s advice came from the heart, but to the young man, every word sounded like mockery, especially the last sentence, which was particularly aggravating.
The young man thought ‘Tears Behind Bars’ was just Ye Zhou’s way of taunting him until one day, months later, at the prison’s Spring Festival celebration, when they were allowed to watch a movie for once, and the tearjerker of the year turned out to be ‘Tears Behind Bars.’ Only then did the young man dazedly realize Ye Zhou hadn’t lied to him after all.
Perhaps the young man was weary of Ye Zhou’s lecture or afraid of saying more wrong things in his agitated emotional state. In any case, after that, he lay face down on the ground, eyes closed, refusing to say another word no matter what Ye Zhou said.
Fortunately, after the incident occurred, Ye Zhou had already called the police as per arrangements, and soon the sound of police sirens could be heard approaching the set from outside.
By the time the police arrived, the video footage that Ye Zhou had asked staffers to review earlier was mostly checked, and they had results.
Just as the young man claimed, two of the cameras had been deliberately damaged, leaving long gaps in the footage from 8 am to early afternoon. Still, Ye Zhou wasn’t angry about it. On the contrary, it helped prove the credibility of the audio they’d recorded.
Besides, Ye Zhou firmly believed in one thing – the world has a memory. No matter what happens, it leaves traces. As long as traces remain, even without recordings, evidence can eventually be found.
When the police entered the set, Ye Zhou was surprised to see Boss Jiang beside them! Ye Zhou was stunned for a moment, thinking he was seeing things. He rubbed his eyes hard, but the boss didn’t disappear. Instead, he kept getting closer!
What the…?
Jiang Tingyuan had clearly noticed Ye Zhou as well. He said something quietly to the police officer beside him before striding over.
“Jiang-ge, what are you doing here??” Ye Zhou asked.
Jiang Tingyuan’s gaze swept over Ye Zhou from head to toe, making sure he was unharmed. Only then did he reply, “I happened to be nearby and came over when I heard.”
Ye Zhou: ???
Did the boss not need to work every day? Why was he always hanging around their set? And if he remembered right, though their filming location wasn’t exactly suburban, it was about the same. Getting delivery food out here was a hassle, yet Boss Jiang was even more reliable than the delivery guy. How amazing!
After spending some time together while he was sick, Ye Zhou seriously suspected Jiang Tingyuan had completely raised him as a son.
What could he do? He held onto this big boss’s thigh, now he had to accept the consequences.
Still, Ye Zhou understood Jiang Tingyuan was concerned for him, so he took the initiative to report, “I’m fine, don’t worry.”
As if he was afraid that Boss Jiang wouldn’t believe him, Ye Zhou jumped up and down in front of him, indicating that everything was fine.
Jiang Tingyuan watched him jumping around like an idiot, silent for a moment before ignoring him completely and asking the assistant director and producer behind Ye Zhou directly, “What happened?”
The producer was originally from Jingzhe, so he was very familiar with the big boss Jiang Tingyuan, and immediately recounted the afternoon’s events in full detail for him.
Ye Zhou: …
He felt like an idiot just now.
Fortunately, the police were very responsible. They asked the director, Ye Zhou, some questions about the details since he had been the first to discover something wrong and obtain evidence.
Ye Zhou gave a simple statement to the police and provided all the set’s surveillance videos, as well as the fruit knife and damaged wire.
The officer who interviewed Ye Zhou was a very spirited young man. After finishing his questions, he held onto the suspect with one hand while extending the other to Ye Zhou, “Thank you for your cooperation. The police will inform you immediately once we have results.”
“Thank you for your hard work,” Ye Zhou nodded.
After seeing off the young officer, Ye Zhou turned back to see Jiang Tingyuan speaking with a middle-aged man in a police uniform.
For the most part, the middle-aged man did the talking while Jiang Tingyuan just nodded occasionally, saying very little.
Feeling Ye Zhou’s gaze, Jiang Tingyuan looked up at him, then said to the middle-aged man, “Director Song, let’s stop here for today.”
The middle-aged man, addressed as Director Song, was clearly very perceptive. He immediately responded, “Of course, Mr. Jiang. Rest assured, we will get to the bottom of this as soon as possible and give you and Director Ye a proper explanation.”
After speaking, Director Song smiled kindly at Ye Zhou before leaving.
Ye Zhou approached the boss with a puzzled look on his face and whispered, “Who was that just now?”
Jiang Tingyuan reached out very naturally to ruffle his hair, then calmly replied, “Director of the Public Security Bureau of City A.”
Ye Zhou: “No…no way?”
“Yes way,” Jiang Tingyuan continued calmly.
Meanwhile, in the police car, the young officer who took Ye Zhou’s statement was also full of questions. He looked uncertainly at the director in the passenger seat and asked hesitantly, “Director Song, didn’t you say you had a very important case to handle before we came here? What was the address? Shall we head over now?”
“No need, no need,” Director Song said lightly as he buckled his seatbelt, “It’s already been taken care of. Let’s just go back to the station.”
The young policeman was even more confused. “It’s done? But we came straight here after leaving the station…”
His colleague beside him couldn’t stand it and explained, “It was about that case at the filming set just now.”
Finally, the junior officer understood, but even more questions popped up.
“This case isn’t that complicated. Was it necessary for you to come out here personally?” Director Song opened a bottle of mineral water and drank a few sips before asking slowly, “Do you know who that man was who came in with us earlier?”
“I don’t know,” the junior officer shook his head after thinking back for a moment. His voice was uncertain, “I heard you call him Mr. Jiang – is he a wealthy businessman?”
Director Song turned and lightly knocked his head with the water bottle, “Our station got most of its equipment donated by him. When something happens involving him, how could I not come?”
The young policeman was stunned, suddenly recalling the photo on the director’s desk, which seemed to be of Director Song and that Mr. Jiang.
Seeing the realization dawn on him, Director Song clicked his tongue and reminded, “Xiao Liu, we have to investigate this case thoroughly and get to the bottom of it. Otherwise, we won’t live up to the huge sums he donates to our station for construction every year.”
“Don’t let Mr. Jiang’s aloofness fool you. He’s actually very kind-hearted. Every year when we have casualties in the force, on top of the standard compensation from the government, the Jiang Corporation provides additional subsidies.”
“Don’t worry, sir, I understand,” the young officer nodded solemnly at the director’s words.
…
After the police took the suspect Hu Jun away, Ye Zhou assumed Jiang Tingyuan would leave as well. But not only did the boss not leave, he even sat and watched Ye Zhou film.
Having the boss watch him work felt like a student with his father observing him do homework. Still, Ye Zhou didn’t dare chase him away and could only continue working hard.
With the wire broken, they had contacted the manufacturer for a replacement, but the earliest they could deliver was tomorrow. Left with no choice, Ye Zhou discussed with the crew and they temporarily adjusted the shooting schedule.
Zhu Ning, who had already gone back to rest at his hotel nearby, was called back. Thankfully Zhu Ning rushed over without hesitation after receiving the call. Upon hearing what happened while he was away, Zhu Ning wanted to ask Ye Zhou if he needed any help, but when he entered the studio, he saw Jiang Tingyuan. He promptly shut his mouth and started hastily memorizing lines instead.
Fortunately, despite the various accidents today, the actors’ moods were unaffected. Even Xie Gefei, who had just wandered from the edge of life and death, was not affected at all.
So, the afternoon shoot went very smoothly, and by six o’clock, they had mostly completed the day’s tasks.
After dismissing the crew, Ye Zhou was in great spirits. His gaze toward Jiang Tingyuan softened somewhat as he asked, “Jiang-ge, what should we eat tonight?”
As usual, Jiang Tingyuan coolly returned the question. “What do you want to eat?”
“Let me think…” Ye Zhou checked the time and saw that it was not yet seven o’clock. He suggested after some thought, “It’s still early. Why don’t we go to the supermarket to buy some ingredients, and let’s go home and cook it ourselves.”
Recently Ye Zhou had fully adapted to Boss Jiang’s diet. The food didn’t need to taste great, but it had to be healthy.
No matter how delicious the junk food was, as long as the boss was around, he would not be able to eat even one bite.
Ye Zhou used to be a junk food fanatic, so he didn’t understand Jiang Tingyuan’s ascetic ways at first. He protested a few times in the beginning, but after learning Jiang Tingyuan used to have severe stomach issues requiring a strict, bland diet, Ye Zhou stopped bringing it up. Instead, he gradually grew accustomed to it.
Since the boss’s nutritious meals were very plain and lacking in salt, sugar, and oil, the taste left much to be desired. To save his taste buds after eating like that for a while, Ye Zhou started cooking for himself.
He was already a decent cook, and now with motivation to improve, his skills progressed remarkably. In the past when Ye Zhou cooked, the chef would buy fresh vegetables and ingredients ahead of time, leaving Ye Zhou to freely follow the recipe without worrying about ingredients.
Come to think of it, since coming here, he rarely went grocery shopping himself.
Jiang Tingyuan hesitated for a moment, then agreed in the face of Ye Zhou’s expectant gaze.
Though he suggested going to the supermarket, Ye Zhou hadn’t intended for Jiang Tingyuan to join him. He planned to have the boss wait in the car while he went in alone to shop. But after parking in front of the supermarket…
Ye Zhou had just closed the car door when he saw Jiang Tingyuan getting out as well.
Ye Zhou was confused. “Brother Jiang-ge?”
“What is it?” Jiang Tingyuan frowned.
Seeing he truly meant to go in together, the words of dissuasion on the tip of Ye Zhou’s tongue went round and round, but he didn’t dare say them aloud.
With Boss Jiang in tow, Ye Zhou reined in his shopping enthusiasm. Ignoring everything else, he anxiously made a beeline for the supermarket on the top floor.
It was around seven o’clock during the evening rush hour at the supermarket. Seeing the shopping cart parking area completely empty without a single cart, Ye Zhou sighed inwardly. They’d have to wait here for a bit.
Seeing him make no move to enter, Jiang Tingyuan asked, “Why aren’t you going in?”
“Waiting for a cart. We can get one in a bit,” Ye Zhou replied, looking around. He paced near the checkout counters, trying to spot an unused cart left by a customer who’d just checked out.
“We will definitely have a lot of things to buy later. It’s too inconvenient to carry them by ourselves. A small cart is just right.” While searching for a cart, Ye Zhou explained to Boss Jiang, who he guessed had rarely been to supermarkets.
Jiang Tingyuan, who indeed had never gone supermarket shopping, fell into contemplation.
Seconds later, he also started helping Ye Zhou look for a cart.
Ye Zhou gaped as he watched Boss Jiang waiting by the checkout area for shoppers to finish and abandon their carts. Before his eyes, crowds of aunties and uncles ganged up to shove Jiang Tingyuan around, snatching up cart after cart.
Minutes later, Boss Jiang returned empty-handed. His expression was frigid, looking very solemn as he said to Ye Zhou, “Let’s buy one.”
Ye Zhou:!!!
Look how they bullied the poor child!
Ye Zhou’s heart ached. He pulled the boss aside where no one could see, morale sky high as he declared, “Jiang-ge, wait for me. Watch this!”
Then Ye Zhou rushed furiously toward the group of old men and women who had pushed Jiang Tingyuan earlier, determined to win this round for the boss!
Yet another few minutes later, Ye Zhou stumbled back dazed and confused, also empty-handed.
Jiang Tingyuan: ……
Ye Zhou: ……
Argh, how infuriating!
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