Chapter 40: Be the Woman Behind Me

Lawsuits, especially copyright lawsuits like this one, can't be settled in less than three to five years, and no one knows who'll win or lose!

Even if we lose, it's just a few hundred thousand in damages—years from now—and the other side's legal fees probably exceed that already.

Let's drag it out—who's afraid of whom? I originally thought I'd just pay a little and be done with it, but now I won't give them a single cent.

Since they called him "disgusting," then he'll be disgusting to the end!

After hours of discussion, they finally hung up the phone.

"Who were you talking to on the phone? You talked for so long." Liu Tianxian walked over, wearing her costume and holding an umbrella.

It's August, and the sun is still blazing.

She was wearing a white gauze robe, the kind that floats like a celestial being—she was playing Nie Xiaoqian.

But this Nie Xiaoqian is a demon!

"What girl? She's almost a middle-aged woman." Fang Hong put away his phone.

Chen Zhixi is twenty-eight this year, turning thirty soon—she's practically a middle-aged woman.

"I didn't know you had such a heavy taste!" Liu Tianxian smiled, teasing him.

"You've finished filming, so you're bored." Fang Hong said.

"Hehehe!" Liu Tianxian laughed: "The movie's a box office smash—congratulations, you've taken off!"

"This is all thanks to Boss Liu's help. Without Boss Liu, there'd be no Boss Fang today." Fang Hong said.

"Oh? You've learned to speak well—so tell me, how will you repay me?" Liu Tianxian smiled, gazing at him.

"Easy—I'll repay you, but you still need to be the woman behind me, give me another five million, and keep lifting me up." Fang Hong said.

"The woman behind me"—he said it so ambiguously.

Liu Tianxian closed her umbrella, sat beside him, shifted closer: "Hey, I've got a question—if I don't give you money, will you still let me be the female lead in your movie?"

To be honest, the movie Those Years helped her immensely—it was the best film she'd made in years, a signature work.

Unlike her earlier role as Xiaolongnu, which didn't boost her national recognition much.

Like Chen Yanxi from the other life, even after over a decade and countless scandals, even after quitting acting, she still lived off the royalties of being the female lead in Those Years.

When people mentioned her, they thought of the pure, innocent Shen Jiayi—the impression she left on audiences was excellent.

"Of course I will—I asked you for a loan and asked you to act in my movie are two different things; don't confuse them. Asking you for money is personal; hiring you to act is professional." Fang Hong spoke smoothly.

In truth, if this girl hadn't lent him money, he'd have found someone else—anyone who gave him cash could be the female lead; he just needed to earn his first pot of gold.

But you can't say it like that!

Liu Tianxian nodded slightly—this explanation of separating personal and professional matters pleased her, and she'd already made her decision.

Still, she couldn't let this man get the money too easily—he wouldn't appreciate it if it came too freely.

Fang Hong watched her thinking and asked: "By the way, I've been here two days—when are you giving me the money?"

"We'll see how you perform!"

Liu Tianxian smiled, stood up, and walked off into the distance.

Filming was about to begin—their shooting schedule was tight.

Fang Hong watched her back, thinking: Just give it already—why pretend?

Around the set were ancient buildings, the scenery arranged with wild grass and tangled trees, rustic and dilapidated—the scene of Lanruo Temple.

This was a constructed set, not a real location.

A Chinese Ghost Story was filmed under closed conditions—no outside interviews or fan visits allowed; if they were, countless reporters and fans would flood in daily, and filming would stop.

Fang Hong got in as Liu Tianxian's friend.

At this moment, many crew members moved about busily—this was a major production, and they needed the atmosphere of hard work.

Actors Heigu, Fan Shaohuang, Yu Shaoqun, and Hui Yinghong barely interacted, each focused on their own tasks.

Among them, perhaps only Hui Yinghong and Heigu got along well, and Liu Tianxian and Yu Shaoqun were close—they were fellow countrywomen.

Co-productions meant mainland and Hong Kong actors and crew were naturally estranged.

On set, extras merely watched stars without approaching or speaking to them.

Speaking carelessly was a major taboo!

Because walls have no ears—if you blab and someone catches you out, you might just get fired, or worse—you might never act again.

Of course, this was someone else's set; Fang Hong's amateur crew had no such rules.

It wasn't that he didn't want rules—he just hadn't reached the level where rules were necessary; as long as everyone got the job done, that was enough.

In fact, the investor behind A Chinese Ghost Story was from Baodao, though the company was registered in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong-Taiwan film industry was deeply intertwined!

The current scene being filmed showed Liu Tianxian being captured by Fan Shaohuang's Taoist priest and thrown into a cage with sixty-eight red talismanic threads to suppress demons.

Around the cage stood several large industrial fans blowing directly at Liu Tianxian—the fans were positioned very close.

As Fan Shaohuang chanted his incantation, Liu Tianxian had to look like her hair was whipping wildly, her face twisted in agony.

"Huhuhuh!"

Filming began—the surrounding fans roared continuously.

Liu Tianxian clutched her head, threw back her head, screamed loudly, forcing a grotesque expression, her hair flying wildly in the wind.

Fang Hong watched from afar, showing no reaction—it didn't matter how good the acting was; it was a trash movie anyway.

But he noticed her expression looked genuinely pained, her screams sounded authentic—he marveled at how her acting had improved, when before it was terrible.

Acting is hard to define—its ceiling is high, its floor is low; sometimes actors exceed themselves, sometimes they're completely hollow.

Director Ye Weixing stared fixedly at the monitor, nodded slightly—he also thought this girl had performed quite well.

The surrounding crew showed no reaction.

"Ah!"

On set, Liu Tianxian's face contorted; her hoarse scream sounded as if it came straight from her throat—she was in agony!

"Yes, that's exactly the feeling!"

Ye Weixing suddenly clapped his hands in admiration—she acted with incredible realism.

Those around her also looked at Liu Tianxian with new respect; she had finally delivered a good performance.

But Fang Hong frowned, for he felt it went beyond reason—Liu Tianxian didn't look like she was acting; she truly seemed to be in pain.

Without thinking, he stepped closer to observe carefully.

"What are you doing? Don't come forward—you're in frame!" a crew member stopped him.

Dammit!

Fang Hong's heart lurched; he ignored the man and sprinted toward the back of the set.

At that moment, a strand of Liu Tianxian's hair had become tangled in the side fan, causing her tears to shoot out from the pain.

Yet no one on the set had noticed—they were still murmuring in admiration at how real Liu Tianxian's performance seemed.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

At the back of the set, a crew member saw Fang Hong charging through and tried to block him.

Fang Hong paid no heed; he shoved the man aside.

The crew member stumbled back, his temper flaring—he roared: "Fucking bastard, you want to die?"

Saying this, he lunged forward.

(End of Chapter)