The literary era since 1979

December 12th, Christmas.

At nightfall, the villa area in Repulse Bay is decorated with lights and neon lights flashing, and almost every household has a Christmas tree.

"Ding dong, ding dong."

The doorbell rang again and again. Lin Qingxia walked slowly and opened the door. She saw Fang Yan wearing a red pompom hat, a red suit, and even a long white wig. He looked like Santa Claus, with his eyes wide open and his pupils shaking.

"you you……"

"Merry Christmas!"

"Pfft! Why are you dressed like this?"

"Alas, it was Xiaoxiang, Xiaoxian and the others who strongly requested that we not dress up as Santa Claus, as it would not create a festive atmosphere."

Fang Yan sighed, "I resisted, but in the end I had to bow to the 'evil forces'. My reputation in this life is ruined..."

"Nonsense! I don't know you well enough. If you don't agree, you won't give in no matter how others force you."

Lin Qingxia said angrily, "It's obvious that you also want to dress up as Santa Claus. Xiaoxiang, Xiaoxian and the others' suggestion is just what you want, right?"

"Ah."

Fangyan pretended to sneeze to cover up the embarrassment at the moment.

"It's cold outside, come in."

Lin Qingxia grabbed his hand, and as soon as it touched, a piercing chill surged into her warm palm.

Seeing his slightly red fingers from the cold, she couldn't help but said distressedly, "You said you were going to dress up as Santa Claus and even prepared a fake beard, but why didn't you prepare a pair of gloves?" She frowned slightly, "You are a writer. If your hands are frozen, how can you write and create?"

Fangyan smiled awkwardly and looked around the room. It was empty and deserted.

"Why are you alone tonight?"

"I gave everyone a holiday."

Lin Qingxia said that she would go to the United States in a few days.

After asking Fangyan, I learned that the American Film Academy will hold a personal film exhibition for Lin Qingxia at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the capital, titled "Lin Qingxia - Today, the Star of the East; Tomorrow, the Star of the World". This is the first time that the entire center has held a personal film exhibition.

"It's a pity that Gong Xian, Xiao Xian, Li Zhi and others were filming a movie at that time."

Lin Qingxia looked sad and forced a smile, "By the way, are you free that day? If you are free, do you want to come and participate..."

"Of course that's no problem."

Fangyan put down the bag he was carrying and said that he would also leave for the United States after Christmas.

“What are you going to do in America?”

Lin Qingxia rubbed his hands with her own, as if trying to pass on the warmth in her palms.

Fang Yan explained that in addition to discussing the production plans of "The Intouchables" and "Die Hard 2" with Fox, more important was the Oscar-winning journey of "Farewell My Concubine". If one wanted to win an Oscar, one not only had to spend a lot of money on publicity, but also had to understand public relations.

"So after I finish my personal film exhibition, I can take advantage of your influence and have the honor of attending the Oscars?"

Lin Qingxia raised her eyebrows.

"It's not just the Oscars. If you want, you can also win the Golden Globe Awards."

Fangyan took the initiative to invite her to go to the United States together when the time comes.

"A word is settled!"

Lin Qingxia stretched out her little finger.

Fangyan couldn't help but laugh, but he also stretched out his hand with great accommodating attitude, hooked his two little fingers together, and then touched their thumbs together.

When their eyes met, Lin Qingxia blushed and changed the subject: "Christmas... Christmas gift..."

Fangyan smiled without saying anything and skillfully took out a beautifully wrapped gift from the bag.

"What's in here?"

Seeing his mysterious smile, Lin Qingxia opened the gift box impatiently, and a wreath woven from champagne roses came into view.

"Are you surprised? Are you happy?"

"I didn't expect you to remember that this is my favorite flower."

"Would you like me to put it on you?"

"Ok!"

Lin Qingxia lowered her head, looking shy, feeling the slight weight of the wreath on her head, but her heart felt like it was being hit hard by a heavy hammer.

Fangyan asked, "Is this Christmas gift acceptable?"

"You're allowed to pass."

Lin Qingxia pursed her lips, then stood up suddenly, "I, I'll go get you the gift I prepared."

Seeing her hurriedly jogging figure, Fangyan smiled, especially when the wreath almost fell, she hurriedly protected it for fear that it would fall to the ground.

They left quickly and came back even faster. Lin Qingxia gently pressed the wreath with one hand and handed over the gift with the other.

"Don't open it now. Wait until you leave."

"it is good!"

"Have you sent it to Gong Xing and the others?"

Lin Qingxia looked up at him with deep affection.

Fangyan said that because Zhu Lin was at home, she was the first to be sent off, followed by Lin Qingxia and Li Zhi who were staying in the villa.

"After I give you the gifts, I have to go visit the set of Ghost and personally deliver the gifts to Xiaoxiang and Xiaoxian."

"Yeah! Then you should give them gifts right away!"

Lin Qingxia's eyes were filled with reluctance, but she still hardened her heart and sent him out of the house.

A sharp cold wind whistled past, and she stood alone at the door, watching his figure gradually go away until it disappeared from her sight.

Despite the freezing weather, my body and soul felt warm, especially when I looked at the champagne rose wreath that looked like fresh cream.

"One, two, three... eleven! It's really eleven flowers, you're smart!"

The corners of Lin Qingxia's mouth kept rising. The flower language of champagne roses is "affection and romance", and the number eleven has even greater meaning.

With this thought in mind, she carefully put the wreath back on her head, "Loving you is the greatest happiness of my life, missing you is my sweetest pain, being with you is my pride, without you I am like a ship that has lost its course..."

………………

At the same time, the cold wind hit the windows, making them rattle, and a thin layer of frost condensed on the glass.

Zhu Lin, however, was not distracted, his eyes fixed on the Christmas gift Fang Yan gave him, the movie script of "In the Mood for Love"!

I was deeply immersed in the story and couldn't extricate myself. I couldn't bear to skip a single word or line or paragraph.

As the plot unfolds, I begin to imagine myself as Su Lizhen. As for Zhou Muyun, he is certainly not the imperial brother in "Journey to the West".

Page after page, I soon turned to the last page of the thin script, and saw Zhou Muyun asking Su Lizhen to buy a boat ticket for him. It was obvious that they couldn't let go of each other. Zhou Muyun's inner monologue was "If there is one more ticket, will you go with me?", and Su Lizhen's inner monologue was, "If there is one more ticket, will you take me away?" In the end, neither of them asked this question first.

A "spiritual affair" full of ambiguity but ending without any result came to an end. After reading the last line, Zhu Lin couldn't recover for a long time. Is this the script that Fangyan tailored for him?
After a long while, he let out a long sigh, then picked up the pen and wrote in the corner of the paper:
"The most beautiful thing in love is ambiguity. You feel reluctant to take a step back, but you are not qualified to take a step forward."

After writing the last word, his eyes flashed with complex expressions, and his gaze fell on the ending of "In the Mood for Love" again.

Zhou Muyun traveled to Angkor Wat and sealed his feelings for Su Lizhen in a tree hole.

I silently memorized "Angkor Wat", thinking that maybe one day I would go there and find a suitable tree hole.

The desk lamp emitted a yellow glow, making everything blurry and dim. Zhu Lin muttered to himself in the pitch-black environment:

“Angkor Wat.”

Like her, Li Zhi, who had just opened her Christmas present, was also muttering "Angkor Wat".

A Christmas card, a lyrics sheet, and an accompanying cassette containing just one song.

Li Zhi hurriedly found the radio, carefully put the tape in, and pressed the play button.

I immediately heard Fangyan's voice next to my ears. It turned out that the tape contained a demo of Fangyan singing "Angkor Wat" himself.

"I open my eyes and dream, asking you, what is the point of sending me home?
Although she knows you, she is loyal to you without words, but when she sees you, she feels heavy to hide your ring..."

He had a loud, hoarse voice, a floating and scattered tone, an erratic breath, and was even off-tune occasionally, but he still deeply attracted Li Zhi.

Browsing the lyrics from top to bottom, it tells the story of the complex emotions of a third party, a love that cannot see the light of day, being deeply trapped in a relationship that one knows cannot be fought for, as if being in a dark cave, unable to ask for help, and can only hide his feelings in the mournful song.

"Don't you have the courage to go back on your promise? You are loyal!"

"Two people, too crowded, too crowded to accommodate more secrets,"

"If you can't hold on tight, you'll become more stubborn."

"I'm sorry you're too rational, but you have to keep secrets with me.
"Forgive me for being too wild, I want this relationship to be deeper,"

"Once the two of them disappeared, the rumors could not be confirmed."

"Only the dark night sky, remember..."

Li Zhi's eyes flashed with panic. Is this the song that Teacher Fang wrote for her? It turns out that he had already seen through her thoughts!
………………

The last stop is, of course, the filming location of "Ghost".

The crew was surprisingly quiet, as if the last scene of the night had been filmed and all the staff had gone off to rest.

But the fact is just the opposite. Tonight's shooting plan has not ended, and what is being filmed at this time is the most important and climax scene in "Ghost", that is, Ning Caichen and Nie Xiaoqian, a ghost, a man and a woman, kneading pottery together.

In fact, it is a process in porcelain production, which is the hand-throwing method.

This scene became the most classic scene in "Ghost", and was later paid tribute to and imitated by many major movies.

For example, in "All's Well, Ends Well", Stephen Chow and Maggie Cheung were kneading pottery together.

However, the end of this scene involves a passionate scene. In order to allow Zhang Guorong and Wang Zuxian to quickly get into the role, and to avoid being disturbed by the outside world during the performance, Gong Xing decisively chose to clear the scene, leaving only the photographer, lighting technician, prop master and a few others.

And for fear that Wang Zuxian would not be able to move freely, he simply replaced all the actors with women.

The room was heated at this time. Wang Zuxian was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, and her slender white arms were covered with mud.

Zhang Guorong, with his shirt closed and wearing jeans, sat behind Joey Wong and put his hand on hers, wanting to lend a hand.

"Put your hands here."

“Let the clay flow through your fingers.”

The four hands holding the clay are embracing each other tenderly, and the rotating clay, under the mixing of the hands of the hero and heroine, slowly turns into exquisite pottery, symbolizing that their love between humans and ghosts has transcended the insurmountable boundary. The whole picture should be quite romantic, but there is no romance.

"Crack!"

Gong Xing called a halt and said seriously, "Xiao Xian, you need to act more affectionately. You are kneading pottery as a couple of humans and ghosts, not as siblings. Your performance just now was like a brother and sister playing in the mud. It's not romantic enough!"

"Well, do it again!"

Wang Zuxian nodded and tried to gather her emotions again.

"ACTION!"

The clapperboard clicked, and Joey Wong and Rongsheng Cheung entered the camera again.

As Tao Li was turning, their hands gradually intertwined, and the atmosphere became ambiguous.

Wang Zuxian looked back and was about to move her face closer to kiss Zhang Guorong, but her eyes still did not show enough affection.

"Crack!"

Gong Xing reminded her that it was just like when they were filming "A Chinese Ghost Story", what they wanted was the eye contact between Nie Xiaoqian and Ning Caichen at that time.

"Okay, I'll try."

Wang Zuxian took a deep breath.

"Scene 130, seventh shot, seventh time!"

"ACTION!"

However, things went against her wishes. Wang Zuxian was unable to find the feeling she had when filming "A Chinese Ghost Story" and she and Zhang Guorong never had a chemistry.

For just this one scene, we shot it over and over again for more than a dozen times, but either the acting wasn't good enough or there were technical issues.

"Cough cough!"

Gong Xing was very helpless. He was not like some domestic directors who would severely criticize the actors if they did not perform well in the filming.

Wang Zuxian also knew that it was because of her that the last scene was delayed, and she showed an awkward and guilty smile.

"Xiao Xian, what's wrong with you? You're not like yourself normally." Zhang Guorong frowned.

"Maybe I'm so used to calling you 'brother' that I've already considered you my 'real brother'."

Wang Zuxian said aggrievedly: "So when I was filming with you, I always felt a sense of incestuous incompatibility."

"You know what, I had the same feeling. When Gong Xing yelled at me to 'cut' just now, that's why I couldn't perform well."

Zhang Guorong sighed quietly. He felt a little reluctant to film passionate scenes with his sister, who was always playful and frivolous with him, even if he used a substitute camera.

"what?!"

When these words were spoken, Gong Xing, the photographer and others were shocked.

Just as everyone was looking at each other, at a loss as to what to do, the mobile phone that Gong Xing carried with him rang.

As soon as Gong Xing answered the phone, a smile immediately broke out on his serious face. Then, in front of the photographer, lighting technician and others, he said with concern:

"Today is Christmas, it's hard for everyone to take pictures at this time, I specially asked someone to order milk tea and midnight snacks, and they are delivered now."

"Take a ten-minute break. Everyone go eat something and drink something. Xiaoxian and Guorong, you should also take this opportunity to adjust your state."

"it is good!"

There was a hint of apology in Wang Zuxian's tone.

"Xiao Xian, put on your clothes and be careful not to catch a cold."

Gong Xing reminded her, and then asked her to go with him to the RV, under the pretext of telling her about the play! (End of this chapter)