Chapter 42: What Exactly Are You Doing?

At the edge of the set, two men were haggling.

"I'm not asking you to do anything bad."

Fang Hong pulled his arm, turning them in another direction, and pointed: "See that lead actor up ahead, the one with the baby face?"

"I see him!" Lu Dabo nodded.

Fang Hong whispered something in his ear.

"What!" Lu Dabo gasped: "That's not bad?"

Fang Hong held up three fingers: "Three hundred yuan!"

"No way. What if we get caught? It's not just about the money."

Lu Dabo shook his head like a rattle, and he was surprisingly honest.

He then turned to leave.

Fang Hong pulled him back: "You earn a hundred a day and think it's great, but I'm offering you three hundred for a small favor and you won't do it?"

"It's not that I won't do it—this job of yours is dangerous! If we get caught, I'll get fired." Lu Dabo looked deeply troubled.

"You're from Neidi, right? Do these Hong Kong people treat you well? Who cares if they fire you?" Fang Hong said.

Lu Dabo fell silent. These Hong Kong people really didn't treat them well—they either barked orders or called them "puk gai," even if he didn't understand the words, the tone and expression were clear enough.

And their pay was low—same work, Hong Kongers earned three times as much.

But they had to endure it just to eat!

"If you're not caught, what do you lose? He'll just miss filming this afternoon, and you'll pocket three hundred yuan for free—who benefits the most? You."

Fang Hong tapped his chest. The words made sense—and were persuasive.

They swayed Lu Dabo completely.

They earned only two or three thousand a month—this one job would net him three days' wages.

But the risk was huge—if caught, they wouldn't let him off easily.

"Alright, five hundred!" Fang Hong held up five fingers: "That's my limit—I can't go higher!"

"I'm afraid that if I get fired, no other set will hire me—I'll be unemployed." Lu Dabo voiced his concern.

If word got out that he'd done something bad to an actor, no production would touch him.

"If no one wants you, I will." Fang Hong pulled out a business card: "Keep it. If you're out of work, find me."

Lu Dabo took the card, his pupils widening—he read the text: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Yutu Film Industry, Fang Hong!

He stared at the man, mouth agape, unable to believe it—how could he randomly meet someone so important?

But he had to believe it—this man's bearing and aura truly resembled a successful person, radiating calm from within!

"Have you heard of the movie Those Years? My company invested in it." Fang Hong added.

He hadn't seen the film, but he'd heard of it—it had caused a huge stir.

Lu Dabo thought for a moment, then asked: "You really will protect me?"

"What kind of talk is that? As long as you do it, we'll be brothers with the same goals—and brothers protect each other." Fang Hong said.

"Fine, I'll do it!"

Lu Dabo made up his mind—he believed Fang Hong's lies.

But for men like him, there was no choice—Fang Hong's status was a lifeline, a chance to change his fate.

"That's the spirit. We're both from Neidi—we won't treat you differently."

Fang Hong patted his shoulder and pulled out his wallet: "We're men of our word—payment first, then the job."

"No need—I'll do it for free," Lu Dabo waved off, how could he take money from the boss?

If Fang Hong were ordinary, he'd take it—but with Fang Hong's status, he figured helping such a boss would bring other rewards.

Truth was, the boss probably wouldn't even remember him!

"You must take it."

Fang Hong opened his wallet—inside were only two hundred-yuan notes. He snapped it shut immediately, swallowing his words.

He changed tack: "You're excellent. I have great faith in you—you've embodied the spirit of Neidi people helping others."

He said it without blinking, quietly slipped the wallet away—so embarrassing!

Lu Dabo was flattered—he felt the big boss had noticed him—and vowed to complete the task, scampering off happily.

Fang Hong's throat was dry—he cursed, damn it, having no money meant owing favors.

All because Liu Tianxian loved filming kissing scenes!

"I never want to see you drunk at night, never want other men to see your charm—you know this breaks my heart…"

"."

Afternoon. The A Chinese Ghost Story set.

Inside a dilapidated ancient temple, the crew's lights and cameras were ready. Liu Tianxian was already in position.

"Xiao Yu, where's Xiao Yu?" Director Ye Weixin shouted.

"Director, Director, I'm here!" Yu Shaoqun walked over, clutching her stomach, moving slowly—she looked terrible.

Ye Weixin stared: "What's wrong with you?"

"I don't know what I ate—I've had diarrhea all morning." Yu Shaoqun spoke weakly.

Those around her were confused, no one knew what was going on.

Liu Tianxian was equally baffled!

Lu Dabo, who had helped Fang Hong, hid among the crowd, terrified someone would find out it was him.

But no one paid attention to such a minor figure!

Only Fang Hong remained calm, unafraid, utterly composed.

If you can't even handle something this small, how are you supposed to handle the big stuff!

Ye Weixin's face showed displeasure — they were about to film, and now this had to happen. He said, "Then can you still film or not?"

"I'll push through it!" Yu Shaoqun said.

Hearing him say that, Ye Weixin said nothing more — as long as it didn't delay the shooting schedule, it was fine. He waved his hand to signal the start of filming.

This scene was Liu Tianxian being cursed by Grandmother, needing to absorb a person's Vitality to recover.

So Yu Shaoqun, playing Ning Caichen, transferred Vitality mouth-to-mouth to Liu Tianxian.

Then the two of them couldn't control themselves and started kissing — the very intense kind — and even lay down on the wooden board and got busy. After finishing, perhaps because of the Essence she had absorbed, Liu Tianxian was fine. Very abstract.

Filming begins now!

Inside the broken temple, weeds ran wild and everything was dilapidated. Liu Tianxian collapsed weakly onto a wooden board, listless.

"Absorb my Vitality — go on, take it!"

Yu Shaoqun, dressed in a scholar's robe, finished speaking and was about to lean in for the kiss.

Fang Hong in the distance felt his eyes go hazy!

Just as the two were about to close the distance, Yu Shaoqun's body suddenly stiffened. He bent over, clutching his stomach, his face showing a pained expression.

Liu Tianxian in front of him saw something was wrong and hurriedly held him up, saying, "What's wrong with you?"

"I can't — my stomach hurts." Yu Shaoqun waved his hand.

"Yu Shaoqun, what's going on with you?"

Ye Weixin, sitting behind the monitor, stood up and shouted through a bullhorn, his tone very annoyed.

Every delay like this burns the investors' money.

"D-Director, I'm sorry, I need to use the restroom."

Yu Shaoqun really couldn't hold it in. He said an apologetic word to the director, then ran off toward the restroom — he couldn't hold it any longer.

The on-site staff were all dumbfounded — the shoot had been going fine, and the lead actor had run off.

Well, nothing to be done — they could only wait, wait until Yu Shaoqun finished before resuming filming.

Wasn't this just wasting time? Ye Weixin took a deep breath, doing his best to suppress his anger.

"Director, I think you could use a body double for this scene."

Fang Hong, no one knew when, had walked up beside Ye Weixin and offered him a suggestion.

Ye Weixin turned his head, saw it was this guy again, and felt annoyed: "What exactly do you do?"

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(End of chapter)