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

Chapter 156 From 1 to the End

Day 43.

A denunciation meeting.

The entire crew has been on edge for three days.

The set crew's hands trembled twice while setting up the set. The lighting technician calibrated the color temperature seven times. Even the lady in charge of serving lunch sensed something was wrong—no one had finished their lunch today.

Chen Ge arrived an hour earlier than usual.

He sat behind the monitor, flipping through the storyboard from beginning to end, then from end to beginning. He changed his teacup three times, but didn't drink a drop.

The assistant director leaned over and whispered, "Director Chen, how many takes are we shooting for this scene today?"

"One."

The assistant director's lips twitched. Another one.

But he didn't question it. The last time, the "You're Not Good Enough" scene was also filmed in one take. As a result, it became a masterpiece recognized by the entire team.

The scene is a huge open-air plaza.

Red flags, slogans, and loudspeakers. Two wooden plaques with names on them were placed on the stage, and two people were forced to kneel on it.

Three hundred extras stood below the stage, dressed in period costumes, raising their fists.

Jiang Yichen and Tan Yunxiao knelt on the stage.

Both of them had their heads shaved. They wore signs covered in writing around their necks. Their faces bore the marks of being beaten—the work of a makeup artist.

But Jiang Yichen's kneeling posture didn't seem fake.

His back was hunched, his shoulders tucked in. He was curled up in a ball, like a tree that had been uprooted and thrown to the ground.

Chen Ge glanced at Tan Yunxiao.

Tan Yunxiao was also not in a good state. He knelt upright, his lips were tightly pursed, and there was a kind of madness in his eyes, as if he had been driven to the brink of despair.

it is good.

I've bought them all.

Chen Ge raised his hand.

"Action".

Red Guards rushed onto the stage. A young actor playing a Young Pioneer grabbed Jiang Yichen by the back of the neck and forced his head down.

"Confess! Did you sing for the Japanese voluntarily?"

Jiang Yichen remained silent.

The Red Guards turned to Tan Yunxiao.

"Duan Xiaolou! You've shared the stage with Cheng Dieyi for decades, tell me! Did he ever curry favor with the Japanese? Did he ever try to curry favor with Master Yuan, that scourge of the old society?!"

Tan Yunxiao's body tensed up.

He turned his head and looked at Jiang Yichen.

Their eyes met in mid-air.

There was no hatred in Jiang Yichen's eyes. Only a calm, almost tender gaze.

It's like saying—it's okay.

But it was precisely this "it's okay" attitude that pushed Tan Yunxiao to the brink of collapse.

Because Duan Xiaolou isn't a bad person. He's just an ordinary person. An ordinary person who wants to live.

Faced with the immense violence of that era, an ordinary person had only one choice.

"Speak!" A Red Guard kicked Tan Yunxiao in the waist.

Tan Yunxiao's body tilted slightly.

Then he straightened up.

"Cheng Dieyi..."

His voice was trembling.

"Cheng Dieyi, he——"

"He did indeed perform for the Japanese!"

The extras in the audience burst into rehearsed slogans.

But Tan Yunxiao did not stop.

It was as if he had flipped a switch; all his fear, humiliation, and survival instinct poured out in words.

"He has an improper relationship with Master Yuan! He can't distinguish between his role and his character; he's played a woman's role his whole life, and he's never known who he is!"

Word by word.

It hit Jiang Yichen.

Everyone on set held their breath.

Chen Hao stood beside the monitor, his hands clenched into fists. His nails dug into his flesh, turning white with pain.

He knew it was all an act.

But Tan Yunxiao's tears were real. The despair of being forced to kill his brother with his own hands was real.

Jiang Yichen knelt on the ground, motionless.

He didn't cry.

He is laughing.

A very slight, almost imperceptible smile. The corners of her mouth twitched slightly.

But that smile contained so much. There was irony, there was relief, there was utter emptiness after a heart turned to ashes.

Be faithful to one person until the end.

We promised to stay together forever.

So that's what it means to be faithful to one person until the end.

"OK."

Jiang Yichen spoke. His voice was very soft.

"Senior brother is right."

He slowly raised his head and looked at Tan Yunxiao.

"I've never been a good person to begin with."

"I sang for the Japanese. I flattered Master Yuan. I'm a theater fanatic."

"But what about you?"

His gaze shifted towards Juxian.

"Duan Xiaolou".

"The woman you married—"

"She came from a brothel."

The entire room fell silent.

Even the extras forgot to shout their slogans.

Tan Yunxiao was stunned. He looked into Jiang Yichen's eyes. There were tears in those eyes, yet he was smiling.

It's madness that comes after complete shattering.

The actress playing Juxian stood on the side stage. Her hands were trembling.

Tan Yunxiao glanced at her, then looked at the people below the stage who were raising their fists.

He closed his eyes.

"I'm cutting ties with her."

Six words. More cruel than murder.

The actress collapsed to the ground.

"Click."

Chen Ge's voice was so hoarse it was unrecognizable.

He didn't stand up. He leaned back in his chair, tilted his head back, and looked at the ceiling of the photography studio.

Nobody knows what he's thinking.

No one moved on set.

Three hundred extras stood still, and several people were wiping away tears.

A young stagehand was crouching in a corner, his hands covering his head, his shoulders shaking.

Tan Yunxiao knelt on the stage, maintaining Duan Xiaolou's posture. His hands were on the ground, and his fingers were covered in cold sweat.

Jiang Yichen was still kneeling.

The smile hadn't faded from his face.

Chen Hao walked over.

"Brother Chen—"

He reached out and touched Jiang Yichen's shoulder.

Jiang Yichen turned to look at him.

Chen Hao's hand froze in mid-air.

Those eyes.

It's not Jiang Yichen's.

It belongs to Cheng Dieyi.

It was completely empty. There was nothing left.

Chen Hao's nose tingled with emotion. He squatted down without saying a word, simply taking off his coat and gently draping it over Jiang Yichen's shoulders.

"The play is over."

"Come back."

Jiang Yichen's gaze slowly focused.

A long time passed.

His shoulders slumped.

"...Is there any water?"

The sound was hoarse.

Chen Hao quickly handed over the thermos.

Tan Yunxiao removed her makeup and walked over. Without saying a word, she pulled Jiang Yichen up from the ground, put her arm around his shoulder, and walked out.

"We're not stopping work tonight. Let's go get hot pot."

"Not hungry—"

"I'll eat when I say I'll eat." Tan Yunxiao's voice was muffled and heavy. "If you don't eat, I'll tell your two wives tomorrow and have them fly over to deal with you."

Jiang Yichen was helped out by him.

Chen Ge remained seated behind the monitor, never getting up.

The assistant director walked up to him, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.

"Director Chen..."

Chen Ge waved his hand.

"Pour me a glass of wine."

"Not allowed on set—"

I said, "Pour me a glass of wine."

The assistant director turned and ran away.

Chen Ge sat alone in the center of the empty film set.

Three hundred chairs were empty. The lights were still on.

He stared at the frame frozen on the monitor—Jiang Yichen kneeling on the stage, a smile on his lips, tears welling in his eyes.

.........

Day 58.

The day filming wrapped.

The final scene.

Everyone knows what this play is about.

Page 217 of the script. Epilogue.

Eleven years later. An empty theater. Cheng Dieyi and Duan Xiaolou reunite. Their final performance together in "Farewell My Concubine".

Yu Ji committed suicide.

Chen Ge began preparations three days ago. The lighting, camera positions, and movement were all precise down to the second.

Today he wasn't sitting behind the monitor. He stood next to the machine, personally watching the viewfinder.

The entire crew came. Everyone, regardless of whether they had a scheduled day, was there.

In the dressing room.

Jiang Yichen sat in front of the mirror.

The makeup artist is applying makeup to him. Her technique is very light; she's practically patting it on with her fingertips.

The person in the mirror had a gaunt face and sunken eyes. A few strands of gray hair had appeared at his temples.

That was Cheng Dieyi after eleven years of turmoil.

Jiang Yichen looked at himself in the mirror. He remained motionless.

A cell phone sat on the table beside him. The screen was lit up. It was a message from the "Supervisory and Management Committee" group chat.

Hsu Chih-yu: "Is filming wrapping up today? Good luck! Come back soon after you're done filming! I'll make you a cake!"

Gu Ruanxing didn't send any text. She only sent a hugging emoji.

Then he added, "I'll wait for you."

Jiang Yichen looked at it for a few seconds, then turned his phone over.

The makeup artist finished drawing the last stroke of his eyebrows.

"Teacher Jiang, it's done."

Jiang Yichen stood up.

He put on the costume of Yu Ji from the opera. Fish-scale armor, a pearl and jade phoenix crown, and snow-white flowing sleeves.

The outfit was exactly the same as the one worn in her first famous scene.

But the people are different now.

More lines appeared at the corners of his eyes. His lips drooped slightly. His entire demeanor changed from sharp and fierce to desolate.

She is a Yu Ji who was crushed by the times and barely pieced back together.

Jiang Yichen pushed open the door to the dressing room.

The corridor was packed with people. Stagehands, lighting crew, prop masters, extras—everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him.

No one speaks.

Jiang Yichen walked through the crowd. His steps were steady.

He walked onto the empty stage.

Tan Yunxiao is already on stage.

The Overlord's attire: helmet, banner, and thick-soled boots.

The two met face to face again after "eleven years".

Tan Yunxiao looked at Jiang Yichen.

His eyes instantly reddened.

It wasn't Duan Xiaolou's emotion. It was Tan Yunxiao's own—he knew this was the last scene. This junior apprentice, with whom he had worked for two months, was going to "die" in front of him today.

"Let's begin," Chen Ge's voice came from below.

The drums and gongs sounded.

The sound engineer played a pre-recorded erhu (a two-stringed bowed instrument used in Peking Opera).

The two began to move.

There are no lines. Only singing.

Tan Yunxiao sang that line—

"His strength could uproot mountains, his spirit could cover the world—"

His voice sounded much more weathered than in the first performance, carrying a sense of melancholy, like a hero past his prime.

Jiang Yichen took over.

"Your Majesty—"

A king's voice.

Everyone in the room, whether standing or sitting, got goosebumps.

That voice contained so much. It contained twenty years of waiting, eleven years of torment, and all the joys and sorrows from the first day I became an apprentice to this moment.

It's about someone spending their whole life loving another person, only to never receive a response, and all the grievances they feel.

"With the king's spirit broken, what reason is there for this lowly concubine to live?"

Jiang Yichen's flowing sleeves billowed. His movements were graceful and fluid.

Sing the last line.

He stopped.

He reached for his waist.

The Fish Intestine Sword was tucked into his waistband. The props team used a real sword; the blade had been dulled, but the body was made of real metal.

Chen Ge's heart was in his throat.

Jiang Yichen drew his sword.

It lies horizontally on the side of the neck.

He looked at Tan Yunxiao.

Laughed.

That smile was completely different from the smile he had during the "You don't deserve it" scene a few dozen days ago.

That time, my heart was broken.

This time it was a complete success.

Be faithful to one person until the end.

He did it.

The sword's edge grazed the side of his neck.

Jiang Yichen's body slowly fell. His flowing sleeves drew a final arc in the air.