Rebirth 02, the Celestial Being Told Me to Stop Pretending

In December, the fog in the mountain town was so thick it looked like someone had poured a pot of soy milk into the sky.

When Lu Chen got off the train, the first breath he took in was damp and smelled like hot pot broth.

This is probably the meaning of "no three days of sunshine, no three miles of flat land," and it truly lives up to its reputation.

Oh, you mean Guiyang? Never mind then.

The train platform was packed with passengers carrying burlap sacks, and announcements were being made over the loudspeaker in Chongqing dialect, spoken so fast it sounded like they were arguing.

He stood at the exit carrying a canvas bag, followed by Zhang Songwen, Zhao Bo, and Wang Yan.

Four people, four bags, all their belongings.

The filming equipment was already in place.

Ning Hao was already waiting at the exit.

He and Xing Aina arrived in Chongqing three days in advance to scout locations, find accommodations, and contact filming locations—they did everything they could to get around to.

He was leaning against a pillar with a Zhongnanhai cigarette in his mouth. When he saw Lu Chen come out, he raised his chin.

"Over here."

"Is this Chongqing?" Wang Yan looked around. "It's older than I imagined."

"Old is better," Lu Chen said. "That's exactly what we want."

Ning Hao lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and looked at the hazy sky outside the station.

"I came here a couple of days ago. There's an abandoned textile factory in YZ District, an old residential building next to Jiefangbei, and we've also finalized a deal with the Yangtze River Cableway station. We can film there for a little money. We don't need to build sets for these places; we can just go straight to filming."

"What about accommodation?" Zhang Songwen asked.

"It's all arranged. It's a guesthouse in YZ District, 31 rooms, shared bathroom, no air conditioning," Ning Hao said. "I went to check it out the day before yesterday, it'll do."

"No air conditioning?" Wang Yan's face fell. "December in Chongqing—"

"The cold in Chongqing is a damp cold, unlike the cold in Beijing." Lu Chen patted his shoulder.

"Just wear two more pairs of thermal underwear."

"I only have one pair of thermal underwear."

"Then buy one."

Wang Yan opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He now understands that working for Lu Chen doesn't mean he can expect any good conditions.

"Brother Lu," Wang Yan thought for a moment, "do they sell thermal underwear in Chongqing?"

"have."

"Is it spicy?"

Lu Chen glanced at him: "Long underwear isn't hot, it's the girls who wear long underwear that are hot."

"That's great, I'll find an opportunity to give it a try." Wang Yan's face lit up with joy.

The guesthouse is located in a narrow alley in YZ District. A wooden sign with peeling paint hangs at the entrance, bearing the four characters "Red Flag Guesthouse," the red lettering faded.

The owner is a woman in her fifties from Chongqing. She speaks loudly and is so enthusiastic that it's almost overwhelming.

Five rooms? Yes, yes, yes! There are rooms on the third and fourth floors, with windows facing the river—the view is amazing!

Lu Chen glanced at what was supposedly facing the river.

The window does indeed face the Yangtze River, but it is separated by three buildings and an overpass, so the visible river surface is only about two meters wide.

"Okay, this is it," Lu Chen said.

The five people were assigned to different rooms.

Lu Chen had his own room, Zhang Songwen had his own room, Zhao Bo and Wang Yan shared a room, and Ning Hao and Xing Aina lived next door.

The room wasn't big, with two single beds, a 21-inch color TV, and the remote control wrapped in transparent tape; the battery cover had long been lost.

Let's see how things are arranged once the cast arrives; the rest is up to Wang Yan.

Lu Chen threw his bag onto the bed and opened the window.

Outside, the night view of Chongqing unfolds, with buildings resembling matchboxes carelessly tossed onto a hillside. In the distance, the Yangtze River Bridge is brightly lit, and the whistles of cargo ships echo across the river.

The next morning, the whole team went to scout the location.

The mountainous terrain is a natural film studio.

The mountain city's elevation differences give every street a sense of layering. Old residential buildings hang on the hillside, cable cars glide overhead, and hot pot restaurants converted from air-raid shelters emit white smoke.

Ning Hao walked at the front, holding his sketchbook of location scouting notes. He stopped at each spot to point out the locations to the others.

"From this angle, you can see the entire alley when you take a picture from the second floor. This air-raid shelter, if you turn on a light inside, becomes a natural film set."

Zhao Bo carried a DV camera around, filming as he went, noting camera positions on his laptop, and occasionally squatting down to find the right angle.

Zhang Songwen stared at the passersby, observing their walking posture, way of speaking, and facial expressions.

Wang Yan is in charge of logistics.

Specifically, this involved buying water, boxed meals, carrying equipment, and asking for directions at every intersection.

The roads in Chongqing are three-dimensional. What looks like walking straight for 200 meters on a map may actually involve going down three flights of stairs, passing through an air-raid shelter, and then climbing two more floors.

Wang Yan got lost three times near Jiefangbei. Each time he came back covered in sweat, but he never missed buying a boxed lunch.

The actual location scouting took another two days, and all the filming locations were confirmed.

Lu Chen went through the filming locations marked by Ning Hao again, and used a red pen to draw the shooting order of each scene on the Chongqing map, and used a blue pen to mark the alternative plans.

Ning Hao also brought back someone, whom he had discovered during his scouting trip.

It was when Ning Hao was scouting locations near Jiefangbei that he was eating noodles at a small noodle shop.

A girl wearing a red cotton-padded jacket was sitting at the next table, chatting with the proprietress.

It wasn't just ordinary chatting; she was imitating the proprietress's speech in Chongqing dialect, and she did it so well that it made the old man at the next table laugh.

Ning Hao said he was stunned at the time.

He looked at the girl for two minutes, then went over and started talking to her.

The girl's name is Su Chang, and she came to Chongqing to visit relatives.

Ning Hao had her read a line into the DV camera. After she finished, Ning Hao turned to Lu Chen and said, "Jingjing is her."

Lu Chen watched the DV playback.

The girl in the picture has very bright eyes, and when she speaks, the corners of her mouth turn up slightly, as if she is smiling or thinking about something.

This kind of temperament is exactly what Dao Ge's girlfriend, Jingjing, needs—a mix of innocence and shrewdness.

Are you sure?

"Confirmed," Ning Hao said. "This girl doesn't need to be taught; she's born knowing where the camera is."

"You don't know her?"

"Should I get to know her?"

That makes sense, since the internet wasn't as developed back then; there were no Weibo or Douyin.

Lu Chen nodded. "Everyone will know her next year."

Ning Hao assumed Lu Chen meant the girl would become famous after the movie was filmed, and remained noncommittal.

But Lu Chen was referring to next year's "The Story of a Noble Family," in which she and Liu Yifei both became famous.

In her previous life, Su Chang played the Eighth Sister in "The Story of a Noble Family," a national sweetheart.

Later, he acted in the bearded version of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," as well as CCTV's "Lotus Lantern" and "Magic Phone."

Each one is more popular than the last.

However, the team was not good, and their personalities, like Liu Yifei's, were rather laid-back, so they could only end up acting in short dramas and doing live-streaming e-commerce.

Family members, three, two, one, connect.

But that was after 2003. Now, Su Chang is a well-known child star who has just finished filming "The Secret History of Xiaozhuang" and is visiting relatives in Chongqing.

On the third day, the actors arrived one after another.

Guo Tao was the first to arrive.

He was thinner than Lu Chen had imagined, wearing a military green cotton coat and carrying a hiking backpack. He looked more like a backpacker than an actor.

"Director Lu?" Guo Tao sized him up.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-one."

Guo Tao's tone carried a hint of hesitation, as if he had been deceived.

"Brother Guo," Lu Chen said, "read the script first, and then decide."

All production teams send actors only an outline or a few pages of their own scenes; the complete script is only available after the contract is signed.

Guo Tao took the script and sat down on the sofa in the lobby of the guesthouse to start reading.

He read very slowly, turning each page twice.

When he saw the scene where Bao Shihong was squatting in the toilet, he chuckled.

When Bao Shihong returned the fake jade to his wife at the end, I was silent for about ten seconds.

"This character," Guo Tao said, closing the script.

"He's not a hero, just an unlucky guy. But this unlucky guy has his bottom line."

"Yes," Lu Chen said.

"I'm fine," Guo Tao said.

Liu Hua was the second to arrive.

He was a size bigger than Guo Tao, with a round face and two dimples when he smiled, which made him look cheerful.

He plays Brother Dao, a seasoned gangster who has a face that makes it impossible to hate him.

"The character of Dao Ge," Liu Hua said, flipping through the script.

"He's bad, but he follows the rules. I've seen people like that in real life."

"So that line, 'I'm a person who values ​​rules the most,'" Lu Chen said.

"You have to make the audience laugh until they feel a chill down their spine."

Liu Hua nodded.

Huang Bo was the last to arrive.

He was a day late because the train was delayed.

Huang Bo was wearing a faded denim jacket and carrying a travel bag bigger than himself. His face showed the weariness and stubbornness typical of people who have moved to Beijing.

"Huang Bo?" Lu Chen stood at the entrance of the guesthouse.

"Yes, I'm Huang Bo." He held out his hand, which was calloused.

"Director Lu? You're too young," Huang Bo said in a funny way, speaking with a strong Qingdao accent.

"I'm twenty-one this year."

Huang Bo paused for a moment, then continued with a smile, "About the same age as when I went to Beijing."

Lu Chen squeezed his hand.

He had worked with Huang Bo three times in his past life and knew what kind of person he was.

He may not be the most handsome, but he has an exceptional sense of camera presence and a natural talent for comedy.

In 2002, Huang Bo was still working as an extra in various film crews in Beijing, earning fifty yuan a day. He worked as a resident bar singer, lived in a basement, and ate noodles.

He had no idea that he was about to meet someone who would change his destiny.

"The character Hei Pi," Lu Chen handed him the script, "you can take a look first."

He reads the script faster than Guo Tao, but he stops and reads certain passages repeatedly.

When he saw the scene where Blackie snatched bread and ran down the street, he put down the script and looked up at Lu Chen.

"This scene doesn't even need to be acted out."

"What do you mean?"

"I ran it."

Huang Bo said, "It wasn't running in the movie; it was chasing someone on the streets of Beijing, demanding their wages."

Lu Chen looked at him without saying anything, but patted him on the shoulder as a form of comfort.

Lu Chen knew that Huang Bo had a tough time before he became famous, which is why he later said, "After becoming famous, everyone around me is a good person."

It is precisely the hardships he is currently facing that make him cherish this acting opportunity so much.

Yue Xiaojun and Xu Zheng came together; the two were acquainted and could be considered friends.

The two people got off the same train, carrying the same size travel bags.

Yue Xiaojun plays Xiaojun, Dao Ge's subordinate, with limited screen time. This is a role he created for himself as a screenwriter in his previous life.

Lu Chen valued Yue Xiaojun's screenwriting ability more than his acting skills.

In his previous life, Yue Xiaojun became Ning Hao's go-to screenwriter, and he was involved in works such as "Crazy Racer" and "The Golden Era".

He's still just an extra, but Lu Chen knows he's got real talent.

Xu Zheng plays Chairman Feng, the biggest villain in the entire film.

As for Xu Zheng's comedic sense, it is clearly different from that of Liu Hua, Huang Bo, and others.

Xu Zheng is so serious that he makes you want to laugh; this contrast creates a sophisticated comedic effect.

The more serious a well-dressed boss is about to do despicable things, the funnier it is for the audience.

His current fame is limited to the television industry; he wants to enter the film industry but no one is offering him jobs.

As is widely known: Movie stars > TV stars.

So Xu Zheng decided to act in the script the moment he received it, and he did so even without pay.

"The character of Chairman Feng," Xu Zheng said, looking up at Lu Chen after reading the script, "is unaware that he is funny."

"That's right," Lu Chen said. "The more serious he is, the more the audience wants to laugh. But you can't laugh yourself, or it will ruin the whole thing."

Xu Zheng nodded, a slight upturn at the corner of his mouth—a smile reminiscent of Chairman Feng, serious yet sinister.

This man is a natural comedian, he just doesn't know it yet.