Chapter 485

Anyone who has slept next to a pile of trash for a night will definitely not smell good.

Zhang Jiaqi seemed to know this too; as she walked past Chen Nuo, she lowered her head, covered her face with her long hair, and whispered in Cantonese, "Sorry."

Clearly, she didn't know that it was the man next to her, wearing a mask and walking a bit strangely, who had covered her with a layer of old cardboard last night.

Chen Nuo stood where he was, shifting his body to let the woman pass first.

His gaze inadvertently looked down, seeing a small piece of unknown debris stuck to the top of the girl's head, her high-bridged nose, the slightly upturned corner of her chin, and that snow-white valley below her neck.

He immediately looked away and said, "It's nothing."

In the dark and cramped stairwell, the air was filled with a strange mixture of sweat, perfume, alcohol, and the musty smell of decay.

The broken hallway light flickered, and a sexy woman, drunk until dawn, stumbled up the stairs in front of a man wearing a white shirt and jeans.

All of this pieced together a scene that felt like a 90s Hong Kong film, deeply etched into Chen Nuo's mind.

Come to think of it, he didn't feel there was anything particularly beautiful about it at the time.

But later, when he described this scene to Xu Xu Anhua, this art-house film master who enjoyed a high reputation in the Hong Kong film industry and was hailed as "the only female director in Hong Kong capable of competing with male directors," she immediately showed a look of deep regret:

"It's such a pity I wasn't on the scene; if it had been filmed, that image would surely have been beautiful."

Once these words were out, Chen Nuo actually started to savor that moment, and he even felt as if there really was a bit of aesthetic beauty to it.

However, he understood in his heart that this was largely a psychological effect—the result of this art-house female director chatting in his ear for over an hour.

Chen Nuo had collaborated with many directors, but Xu Xu Anhua was the first he had encountered who would chat with him about trivial matters before officially starting to film.

"Besides this morning scene? During the days you lived in the public housing, was there anything else that left a particularly deep impression on you?" Xu Xu Anhua asked.

Her Mandarin was quite standard among Hong Kong directors.

When they first met, Chen Nuo was slightly surprised, but after they started chatting, he learned that she was born in Anshan, Liaoning, in 1947, and moved to Hong Kong with her parents at the age of five; her parents had always spoken Northeast dialect at home. That was why her name was Xu Xu Anhua.

She was a woman of gentle speech and great learning, very skilled at guiding topics and excellent at using details to evoke emotions and memories. In short, before he knew it, Chen Nuo had let down his guard, opened his heart, and was conversing with her like an old friend.

In the time that followed, Chen Nuo talked to her about the old man in the public housing who always said he wanted to introduce him to a girlfriend, though it was clear he was just joking. A widower in his 70s with no children, where would he meet any young girls? Besides that, there was Uncle Liang who sold fish; he had once opened the door for him downstairs, so he gave him an eel to eat. And that tireless middle-aged couple next door.

Xu Xu Anhua listened very carefully, interjecting a word or two from time to time, and would laugh out loud at the interesting parts, looking very engaged. Even regarding the middle-aged couple who did "it" every night, Director Ann was not shy or avoidant, laughing particularly happily.

She was truly a tough female director who, for the sake of filming, didn't hesitate to cut her hair short, wear loose shirts and jeans, and spend all day on set cracking dirty jokes with a group of men.

But when they finished chatting about these things, although Chen Nuo roughly understood Xu Xu Anhua's intention, he checked the time and still asked, "Director Ann, when do we start filming?"

Xu Xu Anhua smiled, her eyes squinting into a slit, "Don't be in a hurry."

She paused, then continued with a smile: "It's like this. Before accepting your invitation, I hesitated for a long time. At first, I didn't want to come, because I've been filming for forty years, and it's always been one good film followed by one bad one."

"You also know, I just filmed 'A Simple Life,' and Deanie Ip went to Venice and won Best Actress. I feel it was quite successful, and I'm afraid that next it will be my turn to film a bad one, ruining your project. But later, Director Du Qifeng persuaded me, saying this is a TV series, not a film. That's when I felt I could come."

"Later I thought, how should I collaborate with you?"

"I've actually watched every one of your films, and every one multiple times. From the very first 'The Mute's House' to the latest 'Inception,' I've always felt you are an actor with great changes and ideas; your talent is better than anything I've seen. Today, your performance has already received much praise. If I were to instruct you on acting, I feel I wouldn't know where to start."

"This matter made me hesitate for a long time."

"Finally, I suddenly realized that although you are young, you are already a very mature actor. Even though I am 40 years older than you, I actually don't need to teach you how to act."

"In the past, I filmed many works that were dramatic and had strong impact. After reaching middle age, influenced by directors Hou Hsiao-hsien and Edward Yang, I began to lean more toward telling stories about life. You inviting me to direct the second episode must be because you saw this point."

"I watched some clips from the first episode filmed by Director Peng, and I especially like the mother-son bond between you and Ah Hong. However, I feel that, based on your past level, it could be deeper, more settled, and more grounded in life."

"Since you've been to Tin Shui Wai and are now living in a coffin home in Sham Shui Po, you should understand what I mean."

"And in this process, I won't teach you; I will only tell you my feelings."

……

……

This is the benefit of a TV series adopting an episodic director system.

Unlike when filming 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' before, where Chen Nuo often had to wait for the director's crew to film other people's parts after completing his own scenes, which invisibly lengthened the filming cycle.

Now, after he finished his scenes for the first episode, Peng Haoxiang and Zhang Yimou were reshooting the wide shots and other people's perspectives for the first episode.

But Chen Nuo no longer needed to wait, instead directly starting the filming of the second episode.

The end of the first episode was the 201 survivors of the Red Light, Green Light game returning to the dormitory warehouse, still shaken.

Facing a group of masked NPCs, the crowd, terrified by the blood, was filled with indignation, demanding to quit this killing game.

But the masked men threw out a special bait.

That was: money.

When thousand-dollar bills began to drift down from the pipes into the glass sphere above the warehouse, eventually gathering into a small red mountain, the whole place went quiet.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on that pile of banknotes, with indescribable desire flashing in their eyes.

The masked men informed everyone that for every player who died, 1 million Hong Kong dollars would be added to the glass sphere. Since 245 people died in the Red Light, Green Light game, the prize money in the glass sphere had accumulated to 245 million Hong Kong dollars. If they could pass all the games in the end, the winner would receive all the prize money in the glass sphere.

This news instantly triggered a rift among the survivors.

Some wanted to continue the game for the money, while others hoped to save their lives and quit.

In the end, everyone decided to vote, following the principle of the majority rule, to decide whether to continue the game.

Number 456, Xie Jiajun, was the first to vote. He voted to quit again.

After intense discussion and nervous waiting, the voting result reached 100:100.

At this time, Number 001—this old man suffering from a brain tumor with not long to live—appeared last and, like Xie Jiajun, voted to "quit."

The story of the second episode under Xu Xu Anhua's direction starts from here.

On a mountain road late at night, a van sped by and stopped with a screech.

A man and a woman, stripped of their clothes and left only in their underwear, rolled out of the van onto the roadside, after which the people inside threw out a few pieces of clothing and then drove away quickly.

The man and woman were lying on their sides on the ground, hands tied behind their backs and eyes covered.

The woman's body, dressed in a bra and panties, twisted on the ground, shouting, "Is anyone there? Is anyone there?"

Chen Nuo hunched his body and said in a very nervous tone, "Miss, I, I am here."

"Who are you?"

"I was thrown out by them with you."

"Then hurry up and untie me!"

"Oh, oh, okay... but, Miss, could you help me untie the rope on my hands first?"

"Me? How am I supposed to help you!"

"Miss, please, could you bite it?"

In the shot, Guli Nazha's face was just at the position of Chen Nuo's buttocks; Chen Nuo moved his hands behind his back a little further, just right to the woman's mouth.

How it was bitten open was not performed in the shot, because there was really no way to act it out.

The female assistant filming for the first time couldn't withstand the test of a close-up shot at all; Chen Nuo's only requirement for her was to speak normally.

As for why Guli Nazha was chosen as the female lead, besides being different from the original female lead who was a thief, the female lead in 'Eagle Catches Chicken' was a young lady from a family on the verge of bankruptcy, requiring a sweet-looking beauty to play her, making people think she was a rich, beautiful, and naive girl at first glance; the rest of the reasons are a long story and won't be mentioned for now.

In the script, the contestants who had their competition uniforms taken off were all sent out of the venue wearing only underwear.

If Peng Haoxiang were to film this part, the young lady would definitely be wearing lace.

But Xu Xu Anhua had never had the slightest interest in edge-balling, so Nazha wore a sports bra. However, the good figure she had trained through daily morning swimming still looked curvaceous in the shot.

After biting the rope open, Chen Nuo struggled to turn over and get up.

This scene was actually the main reason for his weight loss. He was seen wearing a pair of boxer shorts, his clothes stripped off, revealing his ribs, giving a feeling of malnutrition and being skin and bones.

After regaining his freedom, he tore off his mask, and without bothering to put on clothes, he immediately helped Guli Nazha untie the rope and remove the blindfold.

But the first thing Guli Nazha did when her hands regained mobility was to slap him across the face with a "smack."

This was a real slap.

Under Chen Nuo's encouragement, they filmed it seven or eight times before they got this solid slap.

"Pervert!" Guli Nazha cursed.

Then, without even looking at him, she turned around to find her clothes.

Chen Nuo stood stunned for two seconds, then a hint of obscure grievance flashed in his eyes, but it was eventually covered by a numb expression; he lowered his head and also began to search for his clothes.

……

"Cut, we got it!"

"Nazha, that's it, have more confidence. You're fine."

……

Xie Jiajun had returned to the real world just like that.

However, it had long been riddled with holes and was no longer a place to stay.

First was his mother's collapse.

In Xu Xu Anhua's lens, that foot swollen and bleeding from diabetic complications was like a piece of rag eroded by time and illness, having lost its original shape and luster.

The hospital's color tone also exuded a cold paleness.

The old equipment, the dim lighting, the shadows cast through the blinds—it was as if everything around Xie Jiajun was slowly collapsing along with his mother's weakness. The pale white walls and the cold metal equipment intertwined with the gray sky outside the window, forming a depressing and hopeless atmosphere.

And Chen Nuo blended into it perfectly.

He was like a pet dog suddenly abandoned, every part of him from head to toe revealing panic and unease.

Alex Fong, wearing a white coat and black-rimmed glasses, explained: "Your mother's condition is mainly because it was dragged on for too long without treatment... She must be in a lot of pain like this. Did you notice anything unnatural about her walking usually?"

"No."

The moment this word came out, Chen Nuo's tears fell, looking like a helpless and pitiful dog.

Alex Fong looked at him, his gaze returning to that rotting left foot, and muttered: "Didn't notice? That doesn't make sense."

Chen Nuo blinked his eyes hard, suppressing the sobbing in his throat, and asked: "Doctor, it can be cured with treatment, right? Is that so?"

Alex Fong said: "In the worst case, amputation might be needed... In any case, let your mother be hospitalized first, and we'll see how it goes while treating her."

Chen Nuo's dull and wooden gaze moved bit by bit to Kara Wai's face. His lips trembled, his face full of despair.

The camera cut.

Kara Wai walked out of the hospital limping, with Chen Nuo chasing behind.

He blinked his eyes hard, "Mom, where are you going? The doctor wants you to be hospitalized!"

Kara Wai said lightly, "It doesn't matter."

Chen Nuo looked both anxious and helpless: "How can it not matter? You're already having trouble walking, Mom."

Kara Wai turned her head abruptly, glaring at him: "You haven't been home for days, where have you been messing around?"

Chen Nuo was startled and said, "I..."

"Alright, let's go home." Kara Wai didn't ask again, turned around, and continued to limp forward.

Chen Nuo walked a few steps faster, stammering: "Mom, don't listen to the doctor, the doctor said you might, might..."

Kara Wai said expressionlessly, "Amputation, right? I heard it."

Chen Nuo blinked his eyes painfully, his head trembling, his fingers on both hands twitching unconsciously in the shot, saying: "Mom, why, Mom?"

Kara Wai said lightly: "Because of money. If I don't work, who will pay off your debts? Besides, there's no insurance, and hospitalization is very expensive."

Chen Nuo stopped suddenly.

Kara Wai stopped, turned her head and said, "What are you doing? Let's go. Come and support me, my foot hurts."

Chen Nuo walked over step by step, asking in a faint voice: "Mom, what about your insurance?"

"I stopped paying it a long time ago."

Kara Wai's eyes were also a bit red; she stood on tiptoe, reached out to touch his head, and said: "You're already this tall, and you're still crying. Don't worry, Mom is fine. After your debts are paid off, Mom will go get her foot checked."

……

"Cut, we got it!"

"Brilliant. Mr. Chen, Ah Hong, I feel like giving you both an award right now."

……

The problem is here.

A debt of five million, one and a half percent annual interest, a woman working two part-time jobs in Hong Kong for fifteen hours a day—how long will it take to pay it off?

The answer is, the fastest time is 40 years.

Xie Jiajun felt he couldn't wait for 4 years, 4 months, or 4 days, let alone 40 years.

…….

"Uncle. Can you lend me some money? I'll run longer every day from now on, and I'll pay you back slowly."

"It's not that, Ah Jun, I also lost a lot on horse racing last time, and when I got home, your sister-in-law made me kneel on a washboard for three days. I don't have a single cent of pocket money this month, what do you want Uncle to lend you?"

"Uncle, please."

"Don't say please. If I had it, I would definitely lend it to you. But I don't, even if you kneel down and kowtow to me three times, I still don't have it. Think of another way, Ah Jun."

The final shot of this scene was the short, chubby back of Lam Suet as he pushed the door and went in.

Chen Nuo, dressed in sloppy clothes, stood under the steps with that silent, pale face.

……

"Cut, we got it!"

"I like this scene, it has a feel to it."

……

The rain started to fall.

Xu Xu Anhua is very skilled at using rain to set the atmosphere.