The Republic of China was a prosperous but short-lived era. The bustling streets of Wu City were full of cries of hawkers, and rickshaw drivers dragged their carts and ran tirelessly, their backs shuttled through the streets and alleys.
Mounted on the horse, Xi Nian subtly confirmed the female actress’ position with his eyes and then he rolled his sleeve which showed a hint of banditry. In the next instant, his expression became rebellious and flamboyant and he casually raised his whip, making a short sound in the air. Then, led the soldiers to gallop down the street, with his cloak pulled into a tight straight line behind him.
The extras who played the role of the street vendor dodged around, and the female supporting role actress also turned around in panic at the right time. She had willow leaf eyebrows and cherry lips, and a well-tailored blue cheongsam complimented her exquisite figure, all of which when combined made others feel pit for her.
So everyone saw that the warlord who passed by suddenly tightened the reins, then turned around and retreated, and the marron horse on which he rode snorted.
Xi Nian slightly raised the brim of his hat, and stared at her like a wolf. One could faintly see a bit of surprise in his eyes but after a while, he narrowed his eyes with interest: “When did such a beautiful woman come to Wu City, I didn’t even know.”
Regardless of appearance, the voice carried its own aura of banditry.
The dogleg1The pinyin of dogleg is gǒu tuǐ, the basic meaning refers to the limbs of a dog. However, it also works as a metaphor for a person who runs for the master and accomplices the orders. adjutant stepped forward: “Commander2[shuài]: Commander in chief. He, this girl is the eldest daughter of the Yun family, who is a famous beauty here. However, she usually doesn’t leave the house doors, so you don’t know.”
Xi Nian’s gaze never left the female supporting role actress, and he laughed loudly when he heard the words: “Generally, neither leave the gate, nor step through the second gate,3[dà mén bù chū, èr mén bù mài]: is actually related to the ancient residential buildings, with two (one main and one secondary) gates used to enter/exit. However, this mainly refers to the fact that women in ancient times were not allowed to go out easily, or did not leave the house. but when came out she bumped into Lǎo zǐ.4This is an arrogant way of referring to oneself (I). Then, isn’t it just God’s will? This Grand Commander’s mansion still lacks a third concubine. This little beauty is not bad, bring her back with us to the mansion.”
The acting skills of the female supporting role were good, her face immediately turned pale when she heard the words. Then, the servant girl also came out and blocked her behind, saying in horror: “The Ye House is the richest in Wu City, and my young lady and young master Ye Qiming already have a marriage contract and she will marry him soon. So, this servant asks Marshal He to raise his hand5[gāo tái guì shǒu] Means: Raise your hand high in mercy!/Sir, lift your hand high that I may pass under it as under your mercy! or Please do not be too hard on me this time! This is a way of asking another person to raise their hand a little so that people can pass by, and this is used as a polite expression when asking for forgiveness and accommodation.…”
Xi Nian refused simply and neatly: “Not raising!”
Hearing the words, the female supporting role actress pulled the servant girl away and glared at the man on horseback: “Is there any King’s law6王法[wáng fǎ]: The original word that is used here, and literally translates to King’s/Wang’s law, this means the law of the land. In ancient times, it refers to the laws and decrees of the country. left in this world?”
Xi Nian stopped smiling when he heard the words. He slowly tied the whip and threw it to the adjutant behind him. He bent over and stared at her, saying word by word: “In Wu City, I, He Xiaoyun, is the King’s law!”
After he finished speaking, he seemed to have lost patience. He directly grabbed the woman’s arm and pulled her onto the horse’s back. In a burst of panic and angry insults, he burst out laughing, which caused his handsome face to show a bit of an evil aura. He said to the soldiers behind him:” Let’s go back and serve some wine!7Serving/Setting wine: A marriage tradition handed down from ancient times. In the past, people did not have a marriage certificate. Therefore, the purpose of serving wine is to invite everyone to be a witness to a new marriage. Today Lao Zi is getting married to his third concubine, and we brothers won’t come back until we’re drunk!”
Seeing them leaving on horseback, the director shouted at the right time: “Good performance! Took one shot to end, and we’ll add some close-ups later.”
Xi Nian got off the horse and helped the actress down as well. The other party couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed, and joked while fixing her hair: “I didn’t see that you have a lot of strength. I was startled when you pulled me up just now as it was not in the script.”
Xi Nian also made a joke: “Isn’t that how bandits used to kidnap brides8[qiǎng qīn]: Take a woman for marriage by force.?”
After he finished speaking, he walked out of the shooting location. Lu Xingzhe had been watching from the sidelines just now. Seeing this, he handed Xi Nian a bottle of water, and then carried a bag full of snacks like the other assistants: “Are you tired, eat something.”
Xi Nian didn’t sit on the recliner and sat directly with Lu Xingzhe on the roadside. He lowered his head and pulled on the snack bag. He opened the biscuit bag and saw a bag of chocolate inside. He casually threw it into Lu Xingzhe’s arms, but it as unknown what he recalled as he spoke:
“Well, I have been more tired than this before.”
Lu Xingzhe finished the chocolate in two or three strokes, his cheeks were bulging, and while looking at the Film and Television City, he unconsciously asked, “How much tired?”
Xi Nian said: “The kind that was too tired to endure.”
In the entertainment circle, there were a lot of people who had no strength but became famous, and there were a lot of people who had acting skills but were unknown. And, there were only a handful of people who were both powerful and popular. In the final analysis, what was lacking was a chance or opportunity.
In his previous life, Xi Nian was tormented to even get a little opportunity and couldn’t sleep all night. He didn’t know how to get everything he wanted, and he didn’t know who could give him a hand.
He’d exhausted everything, but he still couldn’t see any hope of getting ahead.
If not intended to deliberately recall, Xi Nian would have almost forgotten that there was a time when he also had his feet on the ground. But later he didn’t get what he wanted, and he didn’t want to persist, so he chose another path that he didn’t know was right or wrong.
Lu Xingzhe paused for a moment, then smiled: “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say the word ‘tired’ before.”
It really was true.
He did not say anything either when he was scolded by the whole network, or when he was scalded by Su Ge with boiling water. Xi Nian was indifferent to anyone and anything as if he was drifting away from the world.
Lu Xingzhe moved in his position without a trace, trying to get closer to Xi Nian. He squinted at the gradually fading sunset at the edge of the sky, adding a faint golden light to his hair, and muttered: “It’s normal to be tired. If you are a human, you will get tired, and we are not gods, right.”
After finishing speaking, Lu Xingzhe turned his head to Xi Nian and unconsciously licked the tip of his teeth, as if there was still a hint of chocolate sweetness left. Then he reached out and patted himself on the shoulder: “Tsk, if you are tired, I will lend you for free place to lean on.”
Xi Nian didn’t move, but asked instead: “Just by leaning on, and then I won’t be tired?”
Lu Xingzhe silently counted his savings in his heart and confirmed again with his fingers: “If you’re tired, don’t shoot anymore. I’ll take care of you for the rest of my life.”
Xi Nian smiled and said: “I use you to raise me?”
After speaking, he turned his gaze away and didn’t speak again. Lu Xingzhe quietly sat with him, occasionally snapping his fingers and looking at the crowd of actors, without feeling bored.
Not long after, a short-haired girl suddenly walked over from not far away. She seemed to be a staff member here. She glanced at Xi Nian quietly, hesitated for a while before mustering up the courage to come over, and asked in a low voice with a blushing face: “Xi Nian, I’m your fan, can you sign for me?”
After hearing the words, Xi Nian came back to his senses, looked over, and then took the pen from the girl: “Where do want the signature?”
The girl instinctively touched her pocket upon hearing this, only to find that she didn’t have a photo of Xi Nian with her. She also looked at her short-sleeved T-shirt and was about to tell him to sign it on her clothes when Lu Xingzhe, like a magician, pulled out a photo from her bag and said, “Sign here.”
Xi Nian took it over, turned to see it, and found that it was his own photo. He glanced at him conspicuously, then signed his name and handed it to the girl.
The girl narrowed her eyes with joy and whispered: “I used to work here, but I didn’t expect you to come filming. Xi Nian, you must work hard, and Nian Gao9[nián gāo]: As stated before, Xi Nian’s support group is called Nian Gao which translates literally to New Year cake; New Year cake (made of glutinous rice flour). This name makes more sense in Chinese and would have caused confusion, therefore I have been using Xi Nian’s support group as an alternative to New Year Cake, but for now, I will just use Nian Gao (as I should). So, Nian Gao means Xi Nian’s fan support. all support you!”
After speaking, she clenched her fist, made a cheering gesture, and then left with a happy face.
In this Film and Television City, in the style of the ancient, every brick and tile looks like the old Republic of China. The trolley bells could be heard endlessly, and the hawks were buzzing. The fiery evening glow of the sun was spread recklessly on the horizon, and the paramount lighting was angled to lit the adjacent lamps. At first, it seemed that after night approached, it would become dark but now it turned out to be the night of red lanterns and green wine.10[dēng hóng jiǔ lǜ] Also means: scene of debauchery/feasting and revelry. This is used to describe the bustling and lively scene of cities or entertainment venues at night.
The director originally planned to make up for the footage, however, now that the daylight was gone so he had to switch to a night scene. He walked over and gave Xi Nian a business card, without saying anything, just patted him on the shoulder: “Maybe next time there will be the role of supporting male lead second or the male protagonist. Go back and think about it carefully, you even played such a small role brilliantly.”
Seeing the director leave, Lu Xingzhe raised the brim of his hat slightly, and smiled at Xi Nian: “Look, not everyone is as blind as Sun Ming.”
Hmm.
Xi Nian stood up, patted away the on his clothes, and did not make any comments, but seemed to maintain a high degree of agreement with the idea of ’Sun Ming is blind’. He reached out his hand toward Lu Xingzhe, and pulled him up from the ground: “It’s going to rain at night, let’s go back to the hotel.”
In the next few days, often heavy rain and light rain did not stop, and Xi Nian had to postpone the filming of the scene that was originally scheduled to be completed in a week and finally finished work in half a month. At the same time, the fourth season of “Decoding the Chamber of Secrets” had also reached its airing time, and the program team seemed very confident in this episode, making enough publicity and momentum. That night, they rushed to the hot search and mentioned several guests on the official website.
[@ Secret Room Decoding Official Weibo: This episode of the program will meet everyone at 8 pm on time, absolutely thrilling and exciting, and would make adrenaline surge, so don’t be timid! Thank you to the three guests for their enthusiastic participation (flowers) (flowers) @Xi Nian @Qiao Zhi @Bai Yicheng]
This program has high internet traffic and a large number of loyal fans. Upon hearing that the new episode of the script had finally been scheduled to air, everyone became restless, and Nian Goa did not fall behind. They liked and forwarded the post to help promote the new season. At this moment, black fans jumped out again.
Black fans: Xi Nian will certainly die!
Nian Gao: You are the one who will die!
Black fan: Xi Nian will be eliminated after playing for less than ten minutes!
Nian Gao: Shhh, talking nonsense about the truth!11This line could also be translated as: what a load of crap/what nonsense are you talking about. This basically refers to the meme that started on the Internet in mainland China around 2016. This sentence (translation: talking nonsense, what a big truth!) can be used when someone points out some well-known truth, usually in a joking tone. Talking nonsense about the truth means tactfully complaining about why the other party wants to tell the truth.
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The author has something to say: #If you get fans like this, what more could one ask for#
Black fan: I suddenly feel like I don’t have any sense of accomplishment…
