Chapter 8: Luxury Car, Beautiful Women

Morning sunlight streamed into the alley, but not into the rented room.

Inside the dim room, a musty odor lingered.

Chen Jianfeng silently flipped through the script.

Sort of…

A script?

The more he flipped, the more suffocated he felt.

The absurd lines in the script for “Sun Wukong vs Superman 2” made Chen Jianfeng feel like vomiting.

Director Shen Long smoked one cigarette after another, his hair messy, clothes filthy—barely distinguishable from a street beggar.

The atmosphere inside the rented room was oppressive and stifling.

It made Chen Jianfeng feel like he’d choke.

“Are we really going to make this movie?”

Shen Long heard his voice but didn’t respond—he kept smoking his 2.5-yuan Daqianmen cigarettes, staring out the window with a pretense of depth.

After waiting a long time without reply, Chen Jianfeng quietly set down the script, his gaze distant.

“Could it be… he’s… a fraud?”

Chen Jianfeng said it again.

Shen Long finally crushed out his cigarette and looked at Chen Jianfeng: “What could I possibly scam you out of?”

“… ”

This time, it was Chen Jianfeng who fell silent.

Fuck!

We’re about to starve—what’s left to scam?

But cooped up in this room, the boredom was driving him insane.

“I’m going out for a walk.”

He said that, and was about to step out when Shen Long’s phone rang.

Then…

“Hello? Boss Zhou?”

“Huh? Tour the set?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve got everything ready? Really?”

“??? ”

When Chen Jianfeng saw Shen Long’s face alternate between shock and confusion, he stopped in his tracks.

“What? Take a shower, change into something decent, and go with you to the set?”

“??”

“Wait, Boss Zhou, are you sure you’ve got everything ready? Did you really check off everything on my project list?”

“That doesn’t make sense—Boss Zhou, you’ve only been out for two hours at most. How could you have finished everything already?”

“… ”

After hanging up, Shen Long stared at his phone in stunned disbelief, as if seeing a ghost. When he tried to call back, he realized his phone had just shut off—of all times.

Fine—he was now so broke he couldn’t even afford a hundred-yuan phone top-up.

At that moment, Chen Jianfeng’s phone rang too. He glanced at the caller ID—it was Zhou Yang.

“Boss Zhou?”

“Little Chen, still inside?”

“Yes.”

“Take a shower, change into something decent, then come meet us at the set to get familiar…”

“Huh? Boss Zhou, where’s our set?”

“Oh, Room 405, Building 35, Xinghe Road, Dongjie…”

“Oh, okay.”

After hanging up, Chen Jianfeng froze. Why did that address feel vaguely familiar?

He didn’t dwell on it, and turned to Shen Long, who also looked bewildered: “Shen Dao, what’s going on?”

Shen Long shook his head, dazed. After a pause, he muttered: “Don’t know. Shower first, change clothes…”

…………………………

The world felt a little ridiculous, a little surreal…

Chen Jianfeng, a down-on-his-luck guy who’d nearly switched to selling pirated DVDs, was suddenly told he’d be the lead actor.

But in a movie called “Sun Wukong vs Superman 2.”

Absurd lines, mind-bending plot, a director no one had ever heard of—just thinking about it made him cringe, like a scam A4 recruitment poster targeting fools.

Pure nonsense, right?

But yet…

“This set… is it the ‘Love Ferris Wheel’ set? I don’t know why, but I feel like an idiot…”

After showering, Chen Jianfeng remembered the address—“Room 405, Building 35, Xinghe Road, Dongjie”—and suddenly snapped awake…

That was the “Love Ferris Wheel” set!

He’d gone there yesterday for an audition—and got rejected outright without even meeting the casting officer.

Shen Long, meanwhile, quietly adjusted his new clothes…

Well, “new” was generous—it was just a barely passable jacket paired with jeans, making him look less disheveled.

“Should we take a taxi?”

“No money.”

“Bus?”

“No money.”

“Not even a single yuan?”

“No. You mind lending me some?”

“…”

“Can you lend me money for a bottle of water?” Shen Long asked again.

“…”

Looking at Shen Long, then at himself, Chen Jianfeng instinctively patted his empty pockets, then coughed: “I didn’t bring any either. Let’s walk. Walking’s good for health.”

Though his expression was calm, inside he was in chaos.

Fuck!

Why did he feel more and more like an idiot?

He actually believed someone like him could be the lead actor!

He actually believed this set…

He’d actually walked all the way to the “Love Ferris Wheel” set again—wasn’t that idiotic enough already?

Chen Jianfeng took a deep breath, lowered his head, and followed Shen Long—like a fool, step by step—toward the “Love Ferris Wheel” set studio.

After walking over half an hour, his throat parched and burning, they finally arrived beside the “Love Ferris Wheel.”

At that moment…

A red Audi A6 sped past them.

Seeing the license plate “Jing A233,” Chen Jianfeng couldn’t help but envy it.

Fuck!

When would he ever get to drive an Audi A6? Even an A2 would do—on this sweltering day!

As he stood there, bemused, the Audi A6 pulled up beside him. Out stepped a familiar figure.

The man straightened his suit, brushed dust off his trousers, adjusted his glasses, and smiled as he introduced something to the two girls who’d gotten out of the car.

“Our Director Shen is outstanding—so young, yet already won many prestigious international awards. That’s why I chose him…”

“…”

“Besides Director Shen, yesterday I also discovered a promising talent from Yanying Academy—I’m thinking of nurturing him properly…”

“…”

“Actually, my film’s budget isn’t that high—just a few million. Just testing the waters in the film industry…”

“…”

“I was planning to meet a cinema chain today about an acquisition, but look—phone’s ringing again? Zhang Dao, An Dao, hold on a sec—I’ll take this call.”

Chen Jianfeng saw Zhou Yang smile at the two girls.

Then he stepped aside to answer the call.

Chen Jianfeng edged closer.

Then…

He heard a conversation that shattered his worldview.

“Oh, Boss Zhang, sorry—I’m busy on set right now, yeah, yeah, at the ‘Love Ferris Wheel’ set…”

“…”

"There's no way around it—it's an emergency... I didn't want to, but I was invited to play the male lead in Love Ferris Wheel... oh, actually, it's the second male lead—a tall, rich, handsome guy..."

"Mr. Zhang, you know I'm not really interested in acting, but both directors were so enthusiastic, they practically dragged me into it. They said the pay was no problem, and that if I didn't join, the movie would have to be discounted. To not dampen the enthusiasm of these two new directors, I had no choice but to go take a look..."

"Don't worry about the acquisition—I've reviewed the contract. I have a few questions; let's talk in person when you're free..."

"..."

Chen Jianfeng saw Zhou Yang answer the phone.

Then he turned around and stared at him blankly.

A moment later, he glanced again at Shen Long, drenched in sweat...

His expression turned strange: "How come you look like a water rat? Wait—you walked here?"

Before Chen Jianfeng and Shen Long could speak, Zhou Yang noticed the two girls over there and smiled: "Let me introduce you—this is Director Shen. Director Shen has gone to great lengths for our film; just look, he's worked so hard his hair is soaked..."