After being dumped by the diva, I was picked up by her arch-enemy.

Hengdian. Day 37.

Jiang Yichen lost nine pounds.

It wasn't intentional weight loss. It was Cheng Dieyi who took up residence in his body, changing his appetite, sleep patterns, and even the frequency of his breathing.

Su Yao watched him eat every day. But when he held his bowl, his eyes were unfocused. He would pick up food with his chopsticks, bring it to his mouth, chew a couple of times, and then put it down. It wasn't that he didn't want to eat; it was that Cheng Dieyi wasn't hungry.

Chen Ge noticed the change, but he didn't stop it.

Because the Cheng Dieyi portrayed on screen needed this kind of emaciated appearance. That fragile, paper-thin beauty, swallowed simultaneously by opium and despair.

Morning. Yuan Siye's scene.

The role of Master Yuan is played by Zhang Guodong. He is 62 years old and a retired actor from the National Theatre of China. Chen Ge personally invited him to return to the role.

This man has played villains his entire life. From stage plays to movies, from warlords to eunuchs, he's taken on all sorts of ruthless roles. But standing on the film set today, he felt nervous for the first time.

Because the opponent was too strong.

The scene is Master Yuan's study. There is a rosewood armchair, a huanghuali long table, and a traditional Chinese ink painting by a famous artist from a previous dynasty hanging on the wall. A white jade pipe sits on the table.

Jiang Yichen, dressed in a smoky gray velvet robe, leaned back on the chaise longue. His eyes were unfocused, his pupils slightly dilated. A faint smile played on his lips, as if he were looking at something very far away.

That was the state after smoking opium.

Chen Hao felt a chill run down his spine watching the monitor. He didn't know how Jiang Yichen had figured out that expression, but the emptiness and dazed look in those eyes were so real that it made him uncomfortable.

Zhang Guodong walked to the bedside and looked down at it.

"Dieyi." His voice was deep, carrying a possessive composure. "You are the best Yu Ji I have ever seen. It's a pity that your senior brother is not worthy to be your Overlord."

Jiang Yichen didn't move. He simply turned his eyes slowly and fixed them on Zhang Guodong's face.

"Fourth Master understands opera."

Three words. The voice was as soft as smoke.

But Zhang Guodong was startled.

There was gratitude, dependence, and a sense of humility in that look—the feeling of finally finding one's kind after being abandoned by the whole world.

At the same time, there was also a very faint sense of disgust.

Cheng Dieyi knew what kind of person Master Yuan was. It wasn't that he didn't understand. He simply didn't care anymore. Duan Xiaolou didn't want him, but there were still people in this world who understood his acting. Even if that person's motives weren't pure.

One look, four layers of emotion.

Zhang Guodong swallowed hard. He was completely immersed in the scene after so long.

"Click. Pass."

Chen Ge's tone was flat. But he wrote a line on the storyboard.

"A stroke of genius."

Afternoon. Japanese troops occupied Beiping.

This is one of the biggest turning points in the entire film. Duan Xiaolou is arrested by the Japanese military police for cursing a traitor on stage. To save him, Cheng Dieyi agrees to sing for the Japanese officer Aoki.

The film set has been remodeled. It's a Japanese military officer's club. Tatami mats, screens, and the Rising Sun flag hanging on the wall.

Jiang Yichen stood in the waiting area with his eyes closed.

Tan Yunxiao walked over and stood next to him for a while.

"Third brother."

Jiang Yichen did not open his eyes.

"In the scene later, after Xiaolou is released, the part where he scolds Dieyi..." Tan Yunxiao hesitated for a moment. "I'll act it out as harshly as possible."

Jiang Yichen opened his eyes.

"They should have been ruthless."

Tan Yunxiao looked at his gaunt face, her lips moved, but in the end she said nothing. She patted his shoulder and left.

The scene at the banquet went smoothly. Jiang Yichen sang "The Drunken Beauty" in front of the Japanese officer; his movements were perfect, and his voice was clear and bright. But his eyes were lifeless.

Like a puppet being manipulated.

It is beautiful, but lifeless.

This was Cheng Dieyi's state in front of the Japanese army—he hid his soul and only handed over his skills.

Chen Ge nodded behind the monitor. "One take."

What followed was the standoff after the release.

The scene shifts to Duan Xiaolou's residence. Tan Yunxiao, his face covered in bruises and bandages, sits on the kang (a heated brick bed). Juxian applies medicine to his wounds beside him.

Jiang Yichen pushed the door open and came in.

He had just returned from the Japanese officers' club, still wearing his theatrical costume and makeup. His powder was damp with sweat and somewhat smudged.

"Senior brother, are you alright?"

Tan Yunxiao suddenly looked up.

He looked at Jiang Yichen's theatrical costume. He looked at that face still covered in makeup.

The gratitude in her eyes was gradually replaced by something else.

"You sang for the Japanese?"

Jiang Yichen was stunned.

"...Senior brother, I'm going to save you."

"Save me?" Tan Yunxiao stood up. He was a head taller than Jiang Yichen, and looked down at him with an extremely complicated expression.

There was anger. There was shame. There was a man's rage and embarrassment at losing face in front of a woman.

"You went to perform for the Japanese in your opera costume," Tan Yunxiao said, emphasizing each word. "The whole of Beiping knows."

"I can afford to lose face."

"Can you afford to lose face?"

Jiang Yichen stood there, his hands trembling slightly at his sides.

It wasn't because I was scolded.

It's because of despair.

He went to beg the Japanese, dressed in theatrical costume. He abandoned all dignity, using the most precious thing Cheng Dieyi had in his life—the theater—as a bargaining chip.

What I got in return was, "You're shameful enough to lose face like that."

"Senior brother." Jiang Yichen's lips trembled slightly. "I just want you to live."

Tan Yunxiao turned his head away.

"You can leave now."

Jiang Yichen stood there for a long time. Finally, he turned around.

As he walked out the door, he appeared shorter than when he arrived.

"Click."

Chen Ge took off his headphones and took a deep breath.

No one spoke on set. The actress playing Juxian sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), tears streaming down her face.

Tan Yunxiao walked off the stage and went straight to Jiang Yichen.

"Third brother—"

"It's nothing." Jiang Yichen raised his head and gave a slight smile. "Well done, senior brother."

Tan Yunxiao opened his mouth.

In the end, I just patted him hard on the back.

---

That evening. At the hotel.

Jiang Yichen sat in the bathtub; the water had long since cooled.

His phone rang for a long time outside the bathroom. He didn't move.

He didn't go out until the third phone call came in, still wrapped in a bath towel.

Caller: Gu Ruanxing.

Connect it.

"Are you alright?" Gu Ruanxing's voice was urgent. "I sent three messages in the group chat and you didn't reply."

Jiang Yichen glanced at the time. It was 11:40 PM.

"I was taking a shower, I didn't hear you."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"Your voice sounds off."

Jiang Yichen leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

"Today's scene is a bit intense."

"Do you need me to fly over?"

"Need not."

"...What are we filming tomorrow?"

Jiang Yichen thought for a moment.

"Struggle session".

The phone went silent at both ends.

Gu Ruanxing had heard him talk about this script before. She knew what the scene of the denunciation meeting meant.

Jiang Yichen.

"Um."

"Remember to come back after the performance."

Her voice was very soft.

"Cheng Dieyi is Cheng Dieyi. You are you."

Jiang Yichen held his phone, but did not answer.