Chapter 254: Still Far From It

That night, the main cast of the crew all partied wildly, cake crumbs flying everywhere, champagne splashing, what a lively scene.

Liu Tianxian was even wilder, teasing one person after another, playing with this one and that one, always pulling goofy faces, and with Fang Hong she was arm-in-arm, utterly inseparable.

Each of these scenes was frozen in time.

Sometimes it was a group photo, everyone pulling strange expressions — some winking, some flashing peace signs — all manner of poses.

Sometimes Fang Hong chased after Liu Tianxian, tossing cake onto her; sometimes Liu Tianxian opened her mouth wide and Fang Hong stuffed cake into it;

Sometimes the two of them grabbed each other's throats for the camera, sticking out their tongues goofily; sometimes Fang Hong puckered his lips toward her messy face, and she playfully closed one eye — they played until the clock struck midnight, leaving the floor a complete mess.

Nobody knew who would clean it up, who would tidy it — in any case, once they were done playing, they all left.

After playing, it seemed Liu Tianxian hadn't gained anything, still empty-handed, no gifts at all — but her heart was full, her spirit joyful.

She didn't lack material things; what she lacked was companionship, was love, was the beautiful times spent together.

At night, Liu Tianxian lay on her side on a soft white bed, the faint glow of her phone lighting her face, her finger swiping as she flipped through photo after photo.

Seeing the birthday scene Fang Hong had set up for her, she would break into a sweet smile; seeing her own silly poses with Fang Hong, she would grin foolishly. Then she opened her Weibo and posted a birthday group photo on it.

The photo showed her making a wish over the cake, a circle of people gathered around her — like the most dazzling princess. Caption:

"{Another year has come, my joy is like being at the grandest celebration, cakes piled high, flowers spread out, champagne sun-warmed and tipsy, cheeks flushed and bubbling.

But why is my heart still not satisfied? I want more, want to possess more, want to possess the best, the loveliest, the rarest of everything — yet suddenly I realized, the very best I already possess.

It is one stretch of shared growth after another, one night and one day of silent companionship, one touching moment after another. Where did they come from? From understanding and support, from tolerance and consideration, untouched by outside things — from feeling, from resolve.

The gift you won through your own perseverance completed our dream. Thank you for your companionship, thank you for granting me a beautiful dream — happy birthday! }" Liu Tianxian finished it in one go, and after typing out this passage, posted it to her own Weibo.

In no time, fans still awake in the middle of the night responded one after another, sending Liu Tianxian their blessings.

"Wow, sis you're so pretty! I want to be your dog!" -- Luckin Coffee "I thought sis had forgotten, why is she only posting her birthday wishes now?"

"She's probably been too busy filming!"

"Xixi, keep going, we'll always support you!"

"."

Actually, hardly anyone could make sense of this passage — fans thought it was meant for the fans, outsiders thought she was posting it to herself, and of course some thought it was meant for a lover.

Different angles yield different views.

Fans, friends, and passersby get their information through completely different channels — fans don't know she has a boyfriend, but friends all know.

Some celebrities know about the two of them, but they won't offend the Principal by exposing their relationship.

You expose someone else's romance, and others can expose you for soliciting prostitutes — married couples in the crew, who doesn't know a little dirt on whom.

The entertainment circle is like this — you can stir up old scandals, but you can't deliberately expose anything; they're not paparazzi.

The current Jade Rabbit isn't someone they can afford to offend either! So of course fans saw it as being addressed to themselves, and didn't dig deeper.

But in Liu Tianxian's heart, this was meant for her and Fang Hong.

Liu Tianxian was always like this, always posting words that seemed to mean one thing or another, ambiguous.

After this passage was posted, many of her friends also reposted it and sent their blessings — Zhang Jingying, Shuchang, Hui Yinghong, and that Zeng.

Liu Tianxian glanced at the fans' comments, then turned off her phone and lay flat to sleep.

After sleeping a while, she opened her eyes again, finding she couldn't sleep — her heart was still stirred, still moved.

She picked up her phone and checked — four o'clock. She wondered if that man had gone to sleep. After hesitating, she still sent Fang Hong a message: "Are you asleep?"

After sending it, she turned off the phone screen, set it beside her, and closed her eyes.

In her heart there was a kind of hope — hope he hadn't slept, that he'd chat with her — yet also hope he had slept, and was resting well.

She lay with her eyes closed listening for a long time but never heard the phone vibrate, figured that man had fallen asleep, and her heart settled down as well.

What she didn't know was that the moment she closed her eyes, her phone screen lit up several times in a row.

The next day, Now You See Me continued filming as usual — it's not like someone's birthday means taking the day off, work still had to be done.

This was in Macau, where a single day's expenses were no small sum.

And the venue was rented — an entertainment gambling hall — so the daily cost was no small sum either.

Macau was still very hot; over thirty degrees in the daytime was perfectly normal.

Inside the crew, people came and went. Fang Hong yawned as he walked, greeted by people along the way. Liu Tianxian watched him approach and moved the things off the chair beside her.

Fang Hong sat down and complained: "Did you do that on purpose last night?"

Liu Tianxian turned the electric fan toward him and let out a few "hehehe" laughs.

Last night, after she sent the message she closed her eyes, thinking Fang Hong wouldn't reply, and even if he did the phone would vibrate — she hadn't expected that she'd forgotten to switch the phone to vibrate mode.

So she had missed Fang Hong's messages.

It was only when she got up this morning that she discovered Fang Hong had sent her several messages.

"Not yet, you?"

"Can't sleep?"

"Why aren't you replying — did you fall asleep?"

"."

Liu Tianxian saw his aggrieved look, gently patted his back: "Alright, I'm sorry, my fault. Here, have some lychees — the crew just bought them."

She took a bright red lychee out of the plastic bag beside her and handed it to him.

This was a summer fruit produced locally here.

"How am I supposed to eat it without peeling it?" Fang Hong glanced at it.

"Let me peel it for you."

Liu Tianxian knew he was throwing a little tantrum, so she obediently peeled it and held it up to his mouth.

"I want you to feed me." Fang Hong raised another demand.

"Isn't that exactly what I'm doing?" Liu Tianxian held it out again.

"Feed me with your mouth!" Fang Hong pressed his luck.

"Then take it or leave it."

Liu Tianxian was about to pull her hand back—so many people around, and he wanted her to feed him mouth-to-mouth? No shame at all.

Seeing she was about to withdraw, Fang Hong bit down at once, swallowing it into his mouth; the flesh was tender and juicy.

Liu Tianxian gave a soft laugh—he had to be difficult about it.

She picked up another lychee, peeled it, and fed it to his mouth: "Why are you still up so late?"

"Can't sleep. Thinking about you," Fang Hong said softly.

Liu Tianxian pressed her lips in a small smile—in truth, last night she had also been thinking about this man.

"Are they filming over there?" Fang Hong looked toward the distance.

"They're filming—it's Zhang Songwen and the others' scene, I don't need to appear." Liu Tianxian's hands didn't stop; after cracking open a lychee shell, she popped one into her own little mouth.

Then she started peeling again.

Fang Hong glanced down at her lower half, noticing her jeans were full of holes with little frayed threads still hanging. He hooked a finger into one of the holes—inside was a smooth, bare thigh: "Can't you dress more properly? You look like one of those delinquent girls."

"What's wrong with this? I'm not showing anything." Liu Tianxian tugged at her jeans—perfectly fine.

"Can't be bothered lecturing you." Fang Hong turned his head to look elsewhere.

"I'm too lazy to lecture you either—look at you, listless, obviously up all night again." Liu Tianxian peeled a lychee and ate it herself, not giving him any.

The two had been chatting just fine, and now they were bickering again.

Fang Hong turned his head, saw Liu Tianxian only busy eating herself, wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close: "You only care about yourself?"

Having said that, he leaned his mouth toward the lychee in her mouth and bit at it.

"Hehehe, here, here, take it."

Liu Tianxian laughed, took the lychee out of her mouth, and fed it into his.

The crew had no idea what was going on between the two—one moment fine, the next not—but they didn't know what they were talking about either, so they paid little attention; everyone was busy.

Liu Tianxian was lightly dressed, her body soft, and being held by Fang Hong she leaned against him.

"Let me ask you something," Fang Hong said.

"Mm, go ahead."

Liu Tianxian fed the peeled lychee into his mouth.

They were sweet again as before, as if the earlier quarrel had never happened.

"I've seen you act before—you're pretty open with kissing scenes and such, and others watching you doesn't seem to bother you. So why can't you relax when you kiss me?" Fang Hong was puzzled.

When it was just the two of them, Liu Tianxian was very forward, even pressing close herself to kiss; but once more people were around, she became reserved.

Physical contact like arm-around-shoulder or leaning together, she didn't resist.

"How could that be the same? When I kiss you, that's emotional investment—I have a reaction. At work I stay clear-headed."

Liu Tianxian spoke softly: "With feelings, with sensation, it makes me lose myself—of course I'd be a bit shy. At work I don't want my personal reasons to hold things up; I have to stay clear-headed at all times, able to step out of the scene at any moment—even if I feel something, I have to keep it under control."

Still that same theory: work is work, feelings are feelings.

At her core, she was still conservative.

"But if you want to, I won't refuse either," Liu Tianxian added.

Fang Hong looked at her, leaning his head closer.

Liu Tianxian was just about to lean in and kiss him when she suddenly stopped, catching a group of people approaching out of the corner of her eye: "Someone's coming."

Saying that, she sat up properly and tidied her clothes.

Fang Hong turned his head and also saw a group of people.

The men wore Western suits, carrying themselves with an official air; their attendants were refined and educated, no ordinary folk either. One of those at the front was none other than Han Jianü.

Apart from Han Jianü, he didn't recognize these people, but he guessed they were leaders from the Macau side.

"Chief Cui, that's our director, and also Chairman of Jade Rabbit—Chairman Fang."

Han Jianü led the group over and made introductions: "The lady beside him is Liu Tianxian, our leading actress."

Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian stood up properly.

"Chairman Fang, this is Chief Cui of Macau, this is Vice Chairman He, a member of the Legislative Council, and this is Director Tan of the Cultural Affairs Bureau." Han Jianü only introduced the three main figures; the other attendants she didn't bother with.

No need to let Chairman Fang meet the small fry.

Councilor He would take over as Chief Executive of Macau in 2014.

Following her introductions, Fang Hong shook hands with each of the three leaders in turn: "Hello, Chief Cui. Hello, Councilor He. Hello, Director Tan."

Liu Tianxian also gave them each a light handshake.

"Miss Liu is even prettier than on TV." Chief Cui wore glasses and was a bit on the chubby side.

"Thank you!" Liu Tianxian smiled politely.

"General Manager Fang is also young and promising." Chief Cui offered another compliment.

"You're too kind. I've only done some trivial things—still far from it." Fang Hong was modest.

"Hahaha!"

Chief Cui and the others all laughed good-naturedly.

"No need for modesty. Coming here to film makes you our guest—if you run into any difficulties during filming, feel free to raise them with the relevant departments. Whatever can be resolved, we'll do our best to resolve for you." Chief Cui made his stance clear.

"Not for now. The people of Macau are very warm, and filming here is very convenient for us." Fang Hong offered a compliment in return.

After a round of pleasantries, the group walked deeper into the set, exchanging nothing but polite small talk.

Actually, the other side's move was understandable—mainland film and TV companies coming to Macau to film were rare; usually it was the Hong Kong side.

But now Hong Kong's film and TV industry was in decline, while the mainland's was on the rise, so naturally it could attract some mainland film and TV companies to come film here.

Macau was small in land and population, with a single-track economy—it couldn't rely on gaming alone. Developing diversified film and TV, culture, and tourism had always been a key priority being pushed here.

And *Now You See Me* was a big-budget production—if it was filmed well, it could naturally attract other film and television companies to come to Macau to shoot and use it as a location.

One could say Fang Hong was a pioneer, a banner-like figure.

The few of them wandered around casually. Filming was actually nothing much to look at—you couldn't tell anything, just a bunch of machines around and a few actors giving wooden performances.

"I've heard Yutu puts out several films a year. In the future you can come to Macau to shoot often. Actually, our Macau is also a city of performing arts," Chief Cui said with a smile.

"Definitely, definitely. Macau is a wonderful city. Only after coming to Macau did I realize this place can give us film people a lot of inspiration," Fang Hong continued with his official platitudes.

"Yes, Macau's street scenes, the city, gave us a different sense of freshness. After our General Manager Fang arrived, he even sighed that this place is really too suitable for filming movies, too suitable for filming *Now You See Me*. We must capture the unique aspects of this place and show them to the audience," Han Jianü chimed in from the side.

"Hahaha!"

Hearing this, the officials present laughed heartily, feeling very pleased.

Liu Tianxian watched these two going back and forth, they were really good at making things up—she had never heard Fang Hong say any of that.

The two of them were together every day, and Fang Hong had never even mentioned the word "Macau"—he had just come to film and complete the task.

But she also knew that everyone liked to hear pleasant words. She rested her hand on Fang Hong's arm: "This is my first time filming in Macau. I heard from Fang Hong that I have a film participating in Macau's film festival."

"Yes, but the shortlist hasn't been announced yet," Fang Hong added.

The Macau International Film Festival is held in December, every year in that month. The shortlist should be announced in September, three months in advance.

"Whether or not it's shortlisted, our Macau welcomes Miss Liu to attend our film festival," Councillor He spoke up.

He would be taking over in two years, and this would be his political achievement from then on. Liu Tianxian's current fame was great, perfect for letting the television and film festival ferment and build its reputation.

Attracting a wave of people to come to Macau for tourism was also fine!

"I'm an actress. Of course I'm honored that my film can participate in the Macau Film Festival. I'm already prepared to come over," Liu Tianxian said with a smile.

"Miss Liu is not only beautiful, but her attitude toward her own profession is truly admirable," Councillor He praised.

"You're too kind. I've only done what I can, I'm still far from it," Liu Tianxian mimicked Fang Hong's tone from just now.

The people present were puzzled—why did this sound like something they'd just heard? (End of chapter)