Chapter 138

At night, the crew rented a bar.

This was another iconic scene—the famous line "Tonight, Young Master Zhao is treating" was spoken in this very shot.

Liu Tianxian would also appear in this scene, and she'd be given an injection.

Inside the bar, red lights and green wine glowed, the music deafening, as numerous handsome men and beautiful women danced wildly on the floor.

Liu Tianxian, portraying a female movie star, wore a high-end Chanel-style outfit, carrying a purse as she walked through the dance floor toward Fang Hong's Young Master Zhao, but was stopped by two security guards.

"Don't you recognize me? I'm Young Master Zhao's woman—get out of my way!"

Liu Tianxian was arrogant; she shoved the two guards aside with one hand.

She stormed into a luxury private room: "Young Master Zhao, what the hell is your meaning? I've served you like a dog, and now you really think I am one? You won't answer my calls, and you canceled my endorsement!"

After speaking, Liu Tianxian hurled her purse at Fang Hong.

At that moment, Fang Hong was deeply troubled: his grandfather had lost faith in him, and the police had gathered evidence and were hunting him down.

He said nothing, rose from the sofa, and slapped her across the face—*pop*—sending her sprawling to the floor.

"You've always been a dog in front of me."

Fang Hong's expression was cold; he kicked her mockingly: "Come on, wag your tail for me."

"You bastard, I've slept with so many people for you, and yet you treat me like this..."

Liu Tianxian hadn't finished speaking.

Fang Hong grabbed her throat and slammed her against the wall: "What? You're unhappy I made you serve others? Tell me—what was it like serving them?"

After speaking, he stuck out his tongue and licked her cheek: "Your face must've loved it, right?"

The scene was both perverted and disgusting, but Fang Hong's character was always meant to be like this.

Liu Tianxian couldn't take it anymore—she slapped him hard across the face, the sound sharp and loud.

This man acted the pervert too realistically; she simply couldn't hold back.

Fang Hong flew into rage, grabbed her hair, and dragged her all the way to the coffee table, ignoring her screams and struggles, brutally, with not a shred of gentleness.

The audio was muted here, because the visuals were too depraved.

Fang Hong, wearing shiny leather shoes, planted one foot on Liu Tianxian's back to pin her down, then pulled a toxic needle from its sheath, extended one of her arms, and jabbed it in.

Too perverted—it was even more extreme than the original!

The next day, Fang Hong drove Liu Tianxian from Shanghai to Ningbo.

Not far—only about three hours total!

Liu Tianxian huddled in the passenger seat, holding her forehead, as if suffering from psychological stress.

She hadn't recovered from last night's scene; her expression was dazed.

Now she couldn't tell whether "Fang Hong" was "Young Master Zhao," or whether "Young Master Zhao" was "Fang Hong."

Fang Hong had played the pervert so intensely that she couldn't shake the role—seeing this man's face made her think of "Young Master Zhao."

Fang Hong glanced at her and patted her shoulder: "Still not recovered?"

Liu Tianxian brushed his hand away, as if unwilling to be touched.

"I went too far," Fang Hong said. "I told you not to act, but you insisted."

Liu Tianxian said nothing; her mind seemed fractured.

"You're like this now—I won't dare play villains anymore."

Seeing she still gave no response, Fang Hong sighed: "Forget it. No more acting. I'm hanging up my boots."

Liu Tianxian ignored everything he said, offering no reply whatsoever.

The space grew utterly silent.

Fang Hong hadn't expected that just acting a scene could scare Liu Tianxian this badly.

It seemed he'd been playing the good guy too long—he'd formed a fixed impression.

The two rode in silence; Fang Hong didn't press her, letting her find her way out on her own.

Liu Tianxian's face looked normal enough—no visible signs of fear. She was just self-regulating, trying hard to distinguish reality from fiction.

Now, she couldn't yet switch in and out of character as easily as she would later; she still needed time to adjust.

Mostly because last night, Fang Hong had pulled her deep into the role.

Xiangshan Film and Television City had many replica ancient buildings—from Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing to the Republic era—perfect for wuxia, ancient warfare, and street-life scenes.

The previous film, "The Orphan of Zhao," had been shot here.

Fang Hong brought Liu Tianxian to the Song Gu Cheng area—after all, "The Four Great Constables" was set in the Song Dynasty.

The current scene being filmed here? He didn't know—he hadn't seen it.

In his past life, Zhang Songwen had played a minor role in this movie; but in this life, Zhang Songwen's fate had changed, so he didn't take the part.

All Fang Hong had heard was that Deng Chao could turn into a werewolf, and Liu Tianxian could kill enemies with her mind.

According to Wangyi's reviews: it was a mutant hybrid of the Fantastic Four, werewolves, Resident Evil, X Zhan Jing, and One Piece—nobody knew what the hell this movie was even trying to say.

Oh, I forgot—it also mixed in "Beauty and the Beast."

Deng Chao was the beast, Liu Tianxian was the beauty. And yet they made three films? Wang Zhangtian was truly bold, and the Hong Kong director had zero psychological burden.

It felt like Chen Jiashang had gone senile or something—back in the 90s he'd made great films like "Fist of Legend," "Police Story 3: Super Cop," and "The Royal Swordsmen."

But after entering the new century, he seemed unable to make good films anymore—not one had earned critical praise!

Clearly, without Xing Ye, Yuan Ba Ye was useless!

The two got out of the car and walked into the set, when a small stray dog ran up to Liu Tianxian, wagging its tail, as if it recognized her.

"Aww, miss me?"

Liu Tianxian saw the little dog, crouched down, and stroked its fur.

Her expression softened greatly—no longer the gloom and heaviness from the drive; she seemed like her old self again.

She picked up the puppy and held it out toward Fang Hong: "Look, isn't it adorable? This is the dog I raised for the drama."

Fang Hong glanced at it, his mood souring.

For no reason at all, she'd ignored him all day, yet showed such affection to the dog—he felt less than a dog.

The Wangyi weren't lying: men are worse than dogs!

Liu Tianxian saw Fang Hong's scowl and pointed: "Doggy, bite him."

The mongrel was listless, as if slightly afraid.

When Fang Hong unleashed his aura, even humans feared him, let alone a dog.

"Oh oh, you're scared of him too, right? I'm scared too!" Liu Tianxian acted like a lunatic.

"I'm leaving," Fang Hong couldn't take her anymore.

Liu Tianxian turned: "Where are you going?"

"Back to the set to shoot. Are you going to feed me if I don't shoot?" Fang Hong looked back.

"You're willing to leave me behind," Liu Tianxian stared at him.

The two locked eyes for a moment, then Fang Hong walked back: "I can't bear to."

Liu Tianxian stayed with him for a few days, and he stayed with her for two; after all, The Big Man had two assistant directors, and it wasn't all his scenes.

"Silly," Liu Tianxian smiled, her mood lifting. At first, she'd truly struggled to adapt—she thought the character he played was rotten to the core.

But it was just acting, not reality. If this man acted well, she should praise him.

"Yifei!"

Deng Chao finished his scene and came over to greet them. Seeing Fang Hong, he frowned: "This gentleman looks familiar?"

"Fang Hong," Fang Hong extended his hand.

"He's known as the Principal," Liu Tianxian added.

Hearing the first part meant nothing, but hearing the second, Deng Chao's eyes widened, and he gripped Fang Hong's hand tightly, shaking it vigorously: "My apologies, I've long admired the Principal's name."

"No need for formalities—I just can't bear much pressure on my hand," Fang Hong pulled his hand away, appearing overly enthusiastic.

"Oh, sorry, I got a bit carried away," Deng Chao released his grip.

Fang Hong nodded, saying nothing.

Deng Chao had already left Huayi. It was said—only said—that he was often mocked by the Red Pants, which led him to leave Huayi.

But it was a general trend for artists to leave Huayi; now that they were famous and capable, all of them opened their own studios.

For example, over the past two or three years, Huayi lost many stars: Huang Xiaoming, Wang Baoqiang, Li Bingbing, Fan Bingbing, Yu Quan, Su Youpeng, Zhou Xun, Xu Qing. Ge You will leave this year; his departure shook Huayi, prompting them to increase capital and equity to retain stars.

So this company has no real foundation—it's practically held hostage by its stars.

Nothing else matters: artist management is becoming increasingly profitable.

But Huayi's peak is far from over. In a few years, with a flood of hot money, its market cap could surpass a hundred billion—extremely powerful!

The three chatted a bit. Soon, more people appeared: besides Deng Chao, there were Zou Zhaolong, Zheng Zhongji, Wu Xiubo, as well as some supporting actors and crew, and of course Jiang Jianzhu.

Shooting had stopped, everyone was dispersing. Some greeted Liu Tianxian, others didn't—as if they didn't know her.

But Liu Tianxian treated everyone the same: neither close nor distant, always polite.

Fang Hong, however, was like a log: if someone spoke to him, he responded; if no one spoke, he acted as if he didn't exist.

Naturally, few spoke to him.

"Tianxian, you've finally come back! You're not leaving again, right? I'll arrange your scenes right away," said Chen Jiashang, the old man with two thin mustaches.

"I'm not leaving, Director. Sorry for the trouble."

Liu Tianxian went to speak with the director.

Deng Chao ventured beside Fang Hong: "Principal, you've come all this way—let's get together tonight."

"Too much trouble. I'm just visiting the set, nothing else," Fang Hong declined calmly—who had time to eat with him?

In truth, Deng Chao was highly opportunistic; you didn't need to look far—his own films proved it: all money-grabbing projects.

But Fang Hong didn't care who others were—it had nothing to do with him.

(End of Chapter)