Crossover Actors

Translator: Hua

Ruan Feng held Qu Yanting firmly with his arms around Qu Yanting’s waist. He lowered his head and rubbed on Qu Yanting’s shoulders.

At first, Qu Yanting returned the hug and stroked his back. After a few seconds, Qu Yanting began to refuse and said, “That’s enough. I can’t breathe.”

Ruan Feng reluctantly let go of his hands: “I haven’t seen you for several months and I miss you very much. Do you miss me?”

Qu Yanting could only say something like that during the call. To say it face-to-face was a bit nauseating. Even hugging, as an adult he was not used to it.

Sitting on the sofa with Ruan Feng, he asked: “Did anyone see you just now?”

“Don’t worry.” Ruan Feng sprawled on his back, “They are filming on the street at the moment so there are not many people in the community. No one saw me.” 

Qu Yanting leaned on his side and reached out his hand to ruffle Ruan Feng’s bangs: “The crew has a lot of eyes, so you should be more careful with your speech and action.”

Ruan Feng deliberately said: “Then, just to be on the safe side, I will call you Teacher Qu in private. Do you think this is ok?”

Qu Yanting scolded, “Improper.”

Ruan Feng tilted his face and rubbed it on Qu Yanting’s palm: “You came to the crew this time, is it especially to see me?”

“It’s a beautiful thought.” Qu Yanting pinched the face under his palm, “But I’m actually here to change the script, and take a look at you along the way.”

Ruan Feng covered his face in pain. He leaned over and glanced at the coffee table. As expected, there were a pile of manuscripts. Thanks to him, he rushed to the crew without a break after getting off the plane. But it turned out to be his own delusion.

Qu Yanting had used some personal connections to ask Team Leader Zhang to review the script. He told Ruan Feng to keep quiet about it. Ruan Feng nodded and asked: “How long will you stay?”

“Depends on the progress.” Qu Yanting asked rhetorically, “Have you seen the director yet?”

Ruan Feng replied, “No, I was in a hurry to see you and haven’t said hello to anyone yet.”

“Oh yes, I met Lu Wen at the gate of the community just now.” He sat up and described, “When the first male lead was chosen, I went to look for his picture on the internet. He is more handsome than the photos. The street was dark but I noticed him at a glance.”

Qu Yanting was as calm as if he was listening to the news: “Mm.”

Ruan Feng asked, “Between me and Lu Wen, who do you think is more handsome?”

Qu Yanting said, “Comparing face value is too simple, It’s better to compare IQ.”

“Forget it, Let’s just say we’re equally handsome.” Ruan Feng paused, “Wait that’s not right. You have joined the crew for only two day, how did you know his IQ?” 

The topic got farther and farther away. Qu Yanting didn’t have time to gossip. He looked at his watch and pulled Ruan Feng up from the sofa. Then he issued an order to dismiss the guest: “Let’s talk after work. I still have to change the script. You should hurry and go see the director. After seeing the director, go take a look at the set. If you have nothing to do, just rest.”

Ruan Feng reluctantly said: “Are you free in the afternoon? Will you come and watch me act?” 

Qu Yanting already promised to watch the shooting process with Ren Shu. He said: “Maybe some other times. I will be with Team A in the afternoon.” 

After the little delay, Qu Yanting continued to revise the 14th scene when Ruan Feng left.

According to the requirement, a part of the interaction between the protagonist and the supporting role was deleted. To ensure the effect of the film, some personal scenes of the protagonist were added. The protagonist’s interpretation of the scene was used to make up and set off the atmosphere of the story.

In general, there were not many changes. Qu Yanting completed it by noon and printed it out for Xiao Zhang to distribute it to the director group, camera crew, as well as the actors.

Lu Wen had just finished the shoot and was resting in the RV. Sun Xiaojian brought the script up, sat across him, and said: “This is for you. There are some changes in the 14th scene. Take a look as soon as possible.”

Lu Wen was absentminded: “I see.”

Sun Xiaojian wondered: “Why did he change the scene? Could it be that Mr. Qu was too bored?”

Lu Wen muttered to himself: “What bored, the spring breeze is beautiful.”

Sun Xiaojian didn’t hear clearly: “By the way, don’t eat anything else after eating the noodles. I ordered millet porridge for you to nourish the stomach. It will be delivered later.”

Lu Wen was not listening. The scenes he had witnessed at the unit 101 appeared in his mind. Ruan Feng smashed the door, put his hands on Qu Yanting’s shoulders and gave him a bear hug. As for Qu Yanting, he readily accepted it all.

The attitude of the two was not like they met for the first time. Could it be that Qu Yanting and Ruan Feng knew each other?

But Lu Wen wondered, he and his dad would not even hug once a year, and even childhood friends were not this intimate. In contrast, the stickiness between Qu Yanting and Ruan Feng was a bit beyond the standard.

Lu Wen couldn’t help thinking about Ruan Feng’s rumors in the circle…

“What are you thinking about, the phone is ringing.” Sun Xiaojian said.

Lu Wen’s thoughts were interrupted. He opened the message and saw that it was a temporary notice from the director’s assistant. In ten minutes, the crew would gather to do a simple reading for the shooting of the 14th scene in the afternoon.

After drinking too much milk, Lu Wen said: “I’ll go to the bathroom.”

“Lazy donkey grinding1懒驴上磨. It is a metaphor for a lazy person who finds excuses to escape when they have to work..” Sun Xiaojian took the script, “I will use the script to occupy a seat first, so that the director thinks you have arrived. Otherwise it won’t look good.”

Lu Wen said: “Grab the last seat.” 

The set was moved to the school next to the community. It was a small elementary school for children that had not been renovated for more than ten years. The students had moved into the new campus half a year ago so this old campus was temporarily abandoned.

In the play, it was the school that Ye Shan attended, a third-rate high school which scored at the bottom of the city.

On the second floor of the teaching building, various groups of people crowded in the corridor to eat lunch boxes. Several team leaders, all members of the photography team, Ren Shu and the assistant director ate in the classroom. After finished eating, they would do the reading.

Lu Wen arrived a few minutes late and looked at the last row as soon as he entered the door. Unexpectedly, there was someone in the seat.

Qu Yanting sat in the corner of the last row by the window, far away from the others. He held a pen and paper and wrote with his head down, as if he was drifting outside.

Lu Wen walked over to the table, and saw that the script that was used to occupy the seat was now in Qu Yanting’s hand. He was using it as a cushion to write. Anyone who had been to university understood that this kind of behavior was frowned upon in the university classroom.

But the reality was that Lu Wen stepped back and sat in the second to last row silently.

The pen tip was rustling on the paper, and Qu Yanting wrote without raising his eyes. Lu Wen’s back was against the edge of his table, and his broad shoulders were blocking him, making him feel a little more comfortable.

The wind blew back and forth from the rear window, and a piece of paper was rolled up and blown off the table.

Lu Wen was waiting for this opportunity. He bent over to pick it up, and glanced at the paper along the way.

Lu Wen didn’t even dare to move his chair for fear of disturbing big screenwriter Qu’s creative ideas. However, on the paper there was one solid line, one dotted line, and another wavy line. They were all a bunch of scribbles.

1懒驴上磨. It is a metaphor for a lazy person who finds excuses to escape when they have to work.