The birth of an actor

Chapter 70 Wearing a Mask to Be a Person

"I'll go back and make a phone call."

After the meeting, Anxin headed straight for the door, intending to go back to her room to ask.

Unfortunately, last time I only knew the name of the production team and forgot to ask who the director was. Otherwise, I would have had a general idea.

He had only taken two steps when he came face to face with Zhao Wei.

Zhao Wei glanced at him and asked with a smile:

"Back to the room?"

"Uh... um."

"Uh-huh."

Little Swallow showed no interest in talking to Fu Ertai.

It wasn't just her; everyone on the crew knew about An Xin's state. At first, they were curious about what he was like when he was immersed in the character's emotions, but after getting used to it, they realized that apart from not liking to talk much, he was either lost in thought or reading the script alone. After noticing that he was always a beat slow to respond when others spoke to him, and there was nothing else particularly unusual about him, they stopped bothering him.

After greeting An Xin, Zhao Wei went straight to Fan Bing:

"Bingbing, shall we go shopping tomorrow? Lin Xinru, are you coming...?"

Fan Bing, who had originally wanted to listen to what was going on with An Xin, eventually stopped and watched him leave.

Anxin returned to her room and saw Lu Shiyu packing his luggage.

Liu Qing's scenes have ended.

Unlike Liu Hong, his scenes were finished the fastest, making him the first person in the crew to wrap up filming.

Unfortunately, the production team wouldn't hold a wrap party for a supporting actor, so he had to leave on his own.

Seeing An Xin come in, he smiled and said:

"Then shall we meet at the Beijing Film Academy?"

"Okay, Brother Lu."

After staying for a few days, their relationship, while not particularly deep, had established a certain foundation. Knowing that An Xin was curious about books on acting, he agreed to lend her his library card so she could access the library.

I also left my phone number; we can meet at the school then.

Unfortunately, Anxin had asked if she could audit an acting class at the Beijing Film Academy, only to find out that there were only a dozen or twenty students in the acting class, and if a stranger suddenly walked in, the teacher would easily notice.

I can only give up.

Lu Shiyu had almost finished packing her luggage last night. After packing the things she needed temporarily, she waved to An Xin while carrying her bag:

"Let's go."

"I won't see you off, Brother Lu. See you at school."

"Ah."

After watching her roommate leave, she picked up the phone with a sense of relief and dialed Brother Wang's number on her pager.

"Beep beep... Hello, Brother Wang, this is Anxin."

"Okay, don't worry, where are you?"

"Still in Huairou."

Is your film crew still shooting?

"Yes, we just finished shooting exterior scenes at the film studio today. The next step is to go back to the Beijing Film Studio to shoot interior scenes."

"Hmm, could you take two days off?"

An Xin was taken aback upon hearing this.

I was thinking, "Did you install a surveillance camera on me?"
He changed his mind and asked:

"Is there something you need from our film crew?"

"Yes, the crew is about to film the finale. They're going to Qingdao. You're Pan Dawei's underling, so you'll have to come over."

"Uh……"

"Actually, it won't take up much time, at most two days. We'll leave by train this afternoon and arrive tomorrow morning. The filming will last two days, and I'll book your return ticket in advance. The fee is quite high this time, three hundred yuan per day, plus fifty yuan per day for transportation."

"That……"

An Xin hesitated deliberately for a moment before speaking:
"Our team is quite busy. Can I try asking for leave first?"

"Don't worry, you have to go, because you were the one who filmed that scene before, and it wouldn't be appropriate to replace you abruptly."

"Uh... okay, fine. I'll go ask for leave now."

"Haha, okay."

Hearing Brother Wang's laughter on the other end of the phone, An Xin knew it was about time, so she said:
"I'll call you back in a bit."

"Okay, go ahead, I'll wait for your news."

"Ok."

The phone call ended, and at the same time, the door opened.

When he opened the door, he found it was Fan Bing.

After letting the girl in, I heard her ask:
"I was thinking of helping you pack your things, are you done?"

"Yeah, I just finished a phone call..."

After explaining the situation, Fan Bing paused for a moment and asked:

"Are you doing this to do this Brother Wang a favor?"

Would you care about a favor done by an extra?

Anxin countered with a question, then continued as the girl pondered:

"It's not about personal favors, but at least it leaves a good impression on him. Sister Hua is right, the film crew is a small society, and these things... are all necessary to do."

"..."

Fan Bing remained silent.

I just helped Anxin start tidying up things like the rice cooker.

After helping Anxin bring the toothpaste and toothbrush cup out of the bathroom, she suddenly said something out of the blue:
"Actually, everyone is wearing a mask in their lives."

"I'm afraid that if I wear it for too long, I'll forget how to take it off."

After receiving a reassuring response, the girl suddenly looked at him with a hint of suspicion:
"You can't treat me like this again, can you?"

"?"

Under An Xin's speechless gaze, she suddenly felt a mysterious confidence:
"You treat me like this, so I'll treat you like this! Hmph, you can't outsmart me!" Speechless, she simply rolled her eyes and said irritably:
"Neuropathy."

"hey-hey……"

……

At noon, the bus carrying the cast and crew of "My Fair Princess" returned to the Beijing Film Studio.

The hotel booked by the production team was not used by An Xin and Fan Bing; instead, they received a 50-yuan-per-day accommodation allowance and a 10-yuan-per-day meal allowance.

After returning to the courtyard, he greeted Sui Xi and then headed straight for the train station with his luggage.

Then I saw Brother Wang in the group.

He didn't see the director or the lead actor, and didn't ask, assuming they had simply left by plane.

"Don't worry, here are your tickets. This is for the outbound journey, and this is for the return journey. Everything is ready for you."

"Thank you, Brother Wang."

Anxin quickly thanked them politely, and after glancing at the berth, realized it was still a sleeper berth.

"A sleeper berth?"

Looking at this big, bald boy who, when not wearing a shirt and sunglasses, was a sunny, cheerful young man, Brother Wang smiled slightly:
"Will I take care of you, brother?"

"Thank you, brother."

When he heard him drop the "Wang" in his name, Brother Wang laughed and patted him on the shoulder.

So, a group of people began to enter the station and eventually boarded the K25 train from Yanjing to Qingdao.

Although it was a sleeper berth, he was in the top bunk.

That's still better than a hard seat.

However, when the other crew members in the other bunks invited him to drink Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) as soon as they got on the bus, Anxin quickly shook his head and declined.

He's allergic to alcohol; if he takes even one sip, he'll probably have to get out of the car.

The others were only being politely invited; no one intended to have a drink with a child who looked quite young.

So, these guys sat on the lower bunk drinking, while Anxin opened the book "The Mountain, the Man, and the Dog" on the upper bunk.

He hadn't read this story before because he was afraid of getting distracted. Now it's a good time to take a look.

From the top bunk, I could see the side seats, and from the side seats, I could see the bathroom...

As the train lurched rhythmically, he gradually learned the story.

The story tells of a father and son postman who deliver letters to people in the mountains.

The father was getting old and his legs were failing, so he was retiring and asked his son to take over. Through countless mail deliveries, the son gradually came to understand the true meaning of his father's duty as a postman, and the father and son gradually "reconciled" with each other, among other things.

I must say, this story is quite enjoyable to read.

A typical "Chinese father and son" untangle their inner conflicts through one journey after another... Interspersed with memories and the events encountered along the way.

Through his writing, the author places Anxin into a world resembling a road movie.

It's... pretty good.

Unfortunately, Anxin felt like she had heard the name somewhere before, but she just couldn't remember where.

But that didn't stop him from watching it a second time, after he had finished it quickly the first time.

He watched until almost 9 o'clock, and when his eyes got tired, he decided to wash up and go to sleep.

He didn't sleep very soundly. No matter how good the train environment was, it couldn't compare to a safe and secure place.

Fortunately, the train arrived at Qingdao Station on time at around 5 a.m.

Having exchanged their tickets in advance, a large group of people got off the train, still half asleep.

After exiting the station, a large bus was already waiting there.

Everyone boarded the bus in an orderly fashion and headed towards their unknown destination.

……

The biggest impression I got from Qingdao was that it was colder than Yanjing. You can still wear short sleeves in Yanjing, but in Qingdao, which is by the sea, you already need to wear long sleeves.

They walked from dusk till dawn and finally arrived at their destination, a hotel by the sea.

The billboard is right next to Qingdao Second Bathing Beach.

And judging from the hotel's class, this film crew... is definitely richer than the crew of "My Fair Princess".

Although I don't know what star rating it is, it should be pretty good just by looking at the storefront.

When we got off the bus, several crew members were already waiting there, distributing room keys to everyone. They also started shouting:
"Go to your room, take a shower to refresh yourself. Breakfast has already started. We'll begin filming at 9, so don't be late..."

It was alright. Everyone had slept on the train overnight, so starting work right away didn't cause any complaints. Including Anxin, everyone went straight to their rooms after getting their room keys.

Anxin's roommate is a member of the film crew this time; he's a lighting technician.

The two took turns quickly showering, and while they were downstairs having breakfast, they got to know each other.

The lighting technician's name is Zhao Xiaoshuai.

He wasn't very old, around twenty-six or twenty-seven.

"Brother Zhao, who's the director of our film crew?"

Zhao Xiaoshuai was taken aback:
"Didn't you come here to film last time? Don't you know?"

"I didn't know, and I didn't dare to ask. All I knew was that the assistant director was director Sha Jie."

“…Good fellow.”

He looked speechless, then said:

"It's director Zhao Baogang."

"Um... does the director have any particularly famous works?"

"..."

Hearing Anxin's words, Zhao Xiaoshuai was even more confused:
"You haven't heard of the director?"

After saying that, he immediately started counting on his fingers:

"Co-director of 'Yearning,' 'Stories from the Editorial Department,' 'The Imperial City,' 'Addiction,' and last year's winner of the Spring Swallow Cup, 'East Side Sunrise, West Side Rain'..."

"Hiss~~~~"

Anxin gasped in shock.

(End of this chapter)