Chapter 298: Thigh Hugging
Translator: BeetleBarker Editor: Tennesh
The "Founding Era" film set district.
After a day of training with props and familiarising themselves with the site, in the late afternoon, Fang Zhao brought Ji Polun and the others to the gourmet food street for some food.
"This gourmet street has a lot of stuff, but the prices aren’t low either," a young actor said as he looked at the menu.
"Does the Commodities Price Office manage this area?"
"It appears that they are unable to do so."
There was indeed a wide range of selections at the gourmet food street, but the prices were expensive.
However, this food was grown on Wai farmland. It was purely organic, no hormones or fertilizers, and it tasted great. Most importantly, many of these fruits and vegetables were varieties that had existed during the Old Era. It was rumored that at the moment, only planet Wai was able to supply these.
Therefore, eating this food was all about being pretentious!
After the dishes were served and Fang Zhao had just picked up his chopsticks, Ji Polun exclaimed, "Brother Zhao, wait a moment. Let me first disinfect the poison." As he said this, Ji Polun fished out equipment and started taking photos of the food on the table. He took quite a number from many different angles.
Since there was no internet, how about taking some photos?
When he got his internet usage time after one week, he could show off online!
"OK, I have disinfected the poison within myself. We can eat now."
"Wait, let me take some too."
"I was so hungry I nearly forgot about this! Everyone, please wait for a moment and let me take a selfie."
In this party of eight, other than Fang Zhao, the other seven were frantically snapping away at the table filled with food in all sorts of positions and angles.
Fang Zhao thought for a bit and also snapped a photo of the table. It wasn’t to flaunt on the internet. Instead, he remembered what Great-Grandfather Fang had told him before about taking some photos of the food here. Great-Grandfather Fang wanted to know that Fang Zhao was eating well here.
When he got internet access, Fang Zhao would send these to Great-Grandfather Fang.
Ji Polun came over to suck up to Fang Zhao. "Brother Zhao, let’s take a photo together."
The others all squeezed over as well. "Take together, take a photo together!"
The eight of them took a group photograph together.
Fang Zhao could not help but flash a grandfatherly smile toward the camera.
In the following few days, Fang Zhao had lunch at the large dining hall. Then, in the late afternoon, when learning assignments were done, he headed to the gourmet food street to seek memories from the Old Era.
Many of the staff, shop attendants, and chefs at the dining hall and food street were family members of military personnel. Some of them also chased stars and had been very excited to see the celebrities at the start. Here, it was really a resplendent area full of stars, an ensemble of heroes! Those who saw it especially wanted to brag online.
Forty-five film emperors and empresses filming together, have you ever seen this?
I have!
Eight top-rated film stars having hot pot together, have you ever seen this before?
I have!
Superstars, famous megastars, we have them all here, hahaha!
Here, shop attendants and staffers that were content with their lot just set their heads down and continue working without saying much. Other staffers that had higher EQs were more astute and knew what they could say and what they could do.
Unsettled people who thought themselves to be shrewd would not even be posted here. Therefore, there were no leaked images that sullied celebrities. Any photographs would only be taken after getting approval from the celebrities.
However, circumstances changed very quickly.
An example was the staffers at the dining hall. When they first saw the stars, they went: "Ah ah ah ah... Superstar, how are you!? Can I get an autograph!?"
A day later: "Please wait for a bit, everyone. Your food will be ready shortly. Can I get a photograph of us all together? I’m so excited!"
Yet another day later: "Oh, you are here."
Yet another day later: "Queue up, queue up! What are you looking at? I’m talking to you!!"
In less than a week, the employees of the dining hall had changed their attitudes toward these stars in the showbiz circles from "precious creatures" to "common as dogs." Nowadays, when the dining hall employees saw these celebrities, their hearts would not even skip a beat.
In these few days, a small group had formed beside Fang Zhao. Sometimes they would have meals together.
Silver Wing’s faction was divided into two groups. The first group had He Lisi as the head, whereas Fang Zhao was the core of the second group. The former group was mostly first-rate actors and a few other old actors. The latter group was mainly made up of second- and third-rate young actors.
There were many similar small groups like theirs, and large groups also formed very quickly.
"Founding Era" was a huge project. It was huge because it consisted of 11 "chapters." There had been 11 great generals during the Founding Era, and each of these 11 chapters had one of these 11 leads as its core.
Every chapter would have a director executing it. The Yanzhou chapter was helmed by a director named Bai Duan, who had worldwide acclaim.
Roman was rarely seen, but Fang Zhao saw Bai Duan every day. Some of Fang Zhao’s daily tasks were set by Bai Duan.
Given the special nature of Yanzhou, although he wasn’t playing a lead role, Fang Zhao’s role was still especially important at the start. Therefore, Bai Duan frequently looked for Fang Zhao and gave him lots of tasks before filming officially began.
The living quarters were some distance away from the filming location. Every day, at allocated time intervals, there was a shuttle transport service to ferry the cast and crew. These weren’t the public transports that were commonly seen everywhere in the New Era. Instead, these were specially modified and lengthened transport vehicles from the base. These vehicles could shield from the wind and rain and were bulletproof and resistant to explosions. Even if hailstones the size of fists were to come crashing down in torrential weather, the people inside would not be hurt. Of course, even though the environment here was considered vile, it was not that extreme. The cast and crew were here to film a show, not to play a survival challenge.
Today, Fang Zhao had taken the morning transport headed for the filming location. He had a few places to visit today. Director Bai wanted him to understand more about Fang Zhao’s working environment back then.
When Fang Zhao arrived at his destination, Director Bai was instructing some men to move equipment.
Spotting Fang Zhao, Director Bai called out to someone: "You! Bring Fang Zhao to film set Y71!"
Ji Polun made his way over. "Director Bai, let me go. I know where film set Y71 is."
Director Bai did not seem to mind and waved his hands, indicating to hurry up and bring Fang Zhao over.
Ji Polun spoke as he led Fang Zhao toward film studio Y71. "I was just familiarizing myself at film set Y70 yesterday. Y71 is just beside it, so I remember it quite well."
On the way, the two ran into other Silver Wing actors that had gotten close to Fang Zhao. Since they had no pressing matters, they tagged along for a look-see.
There were others present when Fang Zhao arrived on film set Y71. He Lisi was there too, in the middle of a conversation with another middle-aged actor. Fang Zhao did not go over to disturb He Lisi and instead took measure of the film set.
This was a meeting room, similar to the backdrop of the first scene in the audition, but it was even closer to the real historical scene. Clearly, whoever had set this up had referenced historical resources to reconstruct it. Even the scratches on the table were very similar to historical videos that had been preserved from then!
Fang Zhao went over to the head of the table and walked alongside it. He brushed his fingers across the tabletop, feeling the uneven and bumpy scratches on it. He kept walking forward till he reached a very plain-looking chair placed near the front.
At present, the brilliant lights and vibrant colors of a New Era city had all become dull. Many memories were being awoken in his mind. The world that revolved around blood, fire, dust, and ash had become very distinct once again.
The lighting indoors wasn’t sufficient, and the supplementary lights had not been turned on.
When He Lisi spotted Fang Zhao, he opened his mouth and prepared to remind Fang Zhao not to touch things carelessly.
At the side, a young actor’s elbow accidentally bumped into a metal cup. The metal cup tumbled to the floor, creating a clanking sound. As if sensing something, that actor looked over and met Fang Zhao’s gaze. In that instant, the young actor felt all the blood in his entire body freeze.
That penetrating gaze was ice cold and seemed so realistic, as if sharpened hunting knives had been hurled over!
That sort of immense bone-crushing pressure seemingly reeking of blood seemed to emanate all around, making it difficult for one to breathe!
Fang Zhao’s attitude after stepping into the film set had been easy-going. Nobody in this room had made any mental preparation, and with the sudden change of pace, everyone was stunned simultaneously.
The entirety of film set Y71 was silent.
The sound of Director Bai shouting came from outside. "Fang Zhao! Is Fang Zhao here!?"
Following the shout, the freezing atmosphere in the room dissipated in a flash, as if the previous scene had never happened.
Fang Zhao responded and flashed an apologetic smile to everyone in the room before leaving. He had been a little caught up in his memories. He had not restrained his gaze and had scared that bunch of kids.
Only after Fang Zhao left did the person who had knocked over the cup feel his blood slowly warm back up. His heart was pounding, and he felt as if he had escaped death by the skin of his teeth! This was the first time he had ever felt like this. Even when the transport ship traveling here had experienced an anomaly, he had not trembled to this extent!
Other actors in the room could not help themselves, and they spoke out.
"Oh my god! Did you see his expression just now?"
"My skin was tingling!"
"I felt my legs going a little soft."
"Scary!"
"You even said yesterday that this brother is rather friendly? How is he friendly!"
The one who had been denounced defended himself. "Normally he is indeed very amiable. Who knew that he would become like this while acting."
"I finally understand how he was able to snag that important role and why I got a role that will only last one season. We are simply on a different level!"
"That manner just now... was awesome! I was caught off guard and shocked. If I was acting alongside him, I would have forgotten my lines."
"I thought the way his imposing manner was written in the script was just an exaggeration. I have gained knowledge and experience! No wonder everyone was striving so hard to get into such a high-grade cast. Wow! Everyone is an expert!"
"Fang Zhao did not even have makeup on. If he had been wearing makeup, wouldn’t he have had an aura like that of a great person?"
"Fang Zhao definitely wouldn’t lose to those old seniors in the showbiz circles if he went head to head with them like this!"
At the side, He Lisi pursed his lips. He had forgotten what he’d wanted to say.
Taking a deep breath, he replayed that scene once more in his mind.
The sort of imposing manner that Fang Zhao had portrayed seemed as if it was an inherent ability he could release and retract freely. If it had been He Lisi acting instead, he might not necessarily have been able to achieve that degree.
No, it wasn’t a might—he could not do it!
No wonder Roman had recommended Fang Zhao so profusely!
No wonder over 20 members of the committee of 100 had voted for Fang Zhao!
This youngster had hidden it really deep!
As He Lisi thought about having to spend a period of time acting with Fang Zhao, he felt an immense pressure.
After regaining his senses, Ji Polun violently sucked in air. "Sssss—" He wasn’t able to share his own thoughts before someone beside him lamented:
"I just realized that the thigh we are hugging is really thick!"
Ji Polun nodded his head in agreement and made a staunch resolution to hug this golden thigh even tighter. Turning and guardedly glancing around at the other young actors, Ji Polun moved his legs and ran in the direction Fang Zhao had left in.
Seeing the situation, the others also hurriedly chased after him. If they were hugging a thigh, they had to hug it really tightly. What would they do if they lost it?
Outside, Director Bai was giving Fang Zhao some additional tasks. These would be of use for the filming.
Not too far off, there were some people taking note of what was going on over here.
"That guy is Fang Zhao?"
"Right, that’s the one."
"I feel that he looks ordinary, and there really isn’t anything special about him. How was he able to force aside a bunch of old actors to snatch such an important role?"
"Who knows. Probably a powerful backer."
"I don’t believe that he doesn’t have anyone behind him."
"There really isn’t. I heard someone say last time that Fang Zhao’s family even came out to clarify."
After Director Bai had spoken to Fang Zhao, he went to look for other actors.
Ji Polun and the others hurriedly gathered over. "Brother Zhao, are you free? I have a question I wish to consult with you about regarding acting."
Fang Zhao was just about to respond when he saw a silhouette out of the corner of his eyes and turned around.
That person was clad in a military uniform with the Wai emblem. Fang Zhao had seen this person on Wai base before, and this person was clearly coming toward him.
"Wait a moment," Fang Zhao told Ji Polun and the others.
"No worries, no worries. Brother Zhao, go ahead, we can wait," replied Ji Polun and the others without delay. Their gazes also followed Fang Zhao’s as they looked over at the person and noticed he was a major. As the military personnel was walking over, his face remained expressionless.
As the filming had not yet officially started, the filming location had not been closed off yet. From time to time, soldiers would enter the interior of the sets. However, previously, they had been helping to deliver goods or equipment. Coming straight to look for a certain actor was a rare sight.
When the major saw Fang Zhao, he saluted first. Fang Zhao returned the salute.
Seeing this scene, someone whispered to the person beside him. "What is going on?"
"I have no idea. I’m just curious. That major appeared so cold a while ago, but now he is smiling as though he has just seen his own biological brother."
"That Fang Zhao seems like he really has some influence."
Ji Polun and the others stared without blinking and only saw the major speaking to Fang Zhao before handing Fang Zhao a military use communications device.
After Fang Zhao received it, he informed Director Bai.
Director Bai had no objections and nodded his head in approval.
As they watched Fang Zhao walk away, a young actor beside Ji Polun rubbed his chin while looking pensive.
"Why do I feel that the thigh we are hugging just got even thicker?"
Fang Zhao walked over to an empty resting room and answered the comms.
Wai base’s commanding officer Huo Yi chuckled. "Haha, long time no see, Fang Zhao! What is being in the cast like? Are you anxious?"
"Filming hasn’t officially started, so I’m fine. Anything the matter?" Fang Zhao did not believe that such a high ranked and busy person like Huo Yi would personally contact him just for some idle chat.
"This... I have a matter I wish to discuss with you."
Wai base.
Zuo Yu was shaking as he gestured at the squad of armed soldiers obstructing a doorway. "Despicable! Shameless! To even steal a dog!"
The soldiers obstructing the doorway put on stony expressions: We aren’t listening so we won’t return it!