Qi Bailu had slept for less than three hours before the ringing of his phone forced him awake to start the day’s work. He woke with a splitting headache; though he wasn't particularly drowsy, he still downed a cup of coffee. Looking out at the bright morning light, the distant and near skyscrapers were shrouded in a somber dawn glow. The jade tiles remained, but the elegance had vanished; everything from the previous night felt like a preposterous dream.
He had breakfast with Ruan Qiuji. The two of them barely spoke at the table, partly because he truly couldn't muster the energy, and partly because his manager and makeup artist were right there beside them.
When they parted, Ruan Qiuji gave him a brief hug, told him to rest well, and said he would see him next month. Qi Bailu lacked the strength to deal with him. He returned to the car in a daze, his headache becoming unbearable. He pulled a sedative from his bag and swallowed it with some bottled water. Cheng Wenhui glanced at him through the rearview mirror, then turned around to face him. "You have a full morning of filming, and this afternoon you need to go back and dub lines for the TV series. Can you hold up?"
Lydia looked at him closely, also asking with concern if he had slept poorly.
Qi Bailu said he was fine. To be honest, more than rest, he needed to throw himself into work to forget everything else. He was already prepared for the day's scenes, and Lydia had brought the prepared wig. However, upon arriving at the set, they found the situation had suddenly changed. Xue Fang told them that the scenes in the bar could no longer be filmed.
Clearly, Xue Fang had only received the news this morning. His expression was very grim as he told them the producer had been called in for a talk; the higher-ups wanted the script revised once more.
"Why can't we film?" Qi Bailu asked directly, appearing relatively calm.
Xue Fang said the script was suspected of whitewashing the second male lead, and that it was inappropriate to show too much gang-related content on screen. Therefore, many scenes regarding the second male lead's background needed to be cut or modified.
Although this answer was somewhat expected, the crowd—some sitting, some standing—fell into a heavy silence. Finally, someone muttered a quiet "fuck." Cheng Wenhui snapped out of it and said slowly, "Even if that's the reason, there's no need to be in such a rush. Is there really no room for negotiation?"
Xue Fang paused before saying, "You all know the novel the original author wrote is based on a real person. There were rumors that the murderer was dead, but his tracks were recently discovered. The police are preparing to arrest him; there will likely be news reports in a couple of days."
Qi Bailu never expected this to be the reason. He asked, "So, are we still filming today?"
"No. For the next few days, we'll see if we can film Dai Ping's scenes first."
The subtext was that Qi Bailu's scenes were all on hold for the time being. If the script wasn't fixed, he couldn't perform. For the entire crew, this was terrible news.
A person's luck is indeed finite, Qi Bailu thought on the way back. His luck had been used up on his first three films. Cheng Wenhui comforted him, saying he could use this time to rest, record his dubbing lines, and film a commercial. Lydia said that even if they filmed it now, it might just be deleted later, so it was better to cut their losses early.
Qi Bailu wasn't thinking about that. Because he had always been looking at the novel and the script, he hadn't truly understood the man he was portraying. The topic was too sensitive; few people mentioned it, and information was scarce.
The prototype for his character was Pan Xiaoyun, the murderer in the "11.29" case in Shijiazhuang years ago. Pan had once been an all-powerful figure in Hebei, with underground casinos reaching as far as Beijing and Tongzhou. Due to murder, organized crime, and bribing officials, he had been listed as a Class-A wanted criminal three years ago. It was said that in his youth, he had performed in bars wearing women's clothing, having had a very destitute past. On his run, he had even killed a police officer, and he had yet to be caught. Over the past three years, there were rumors that he was dead, and others that he was living scot-free.
Qi Bailu had seen his photo on the wanted poster. The man in the photo had very short hair and slightly sinister eyes, yet it was still hard to imagine that such a delicate-looking young man could be a heinous criminal.
Cheng Wenhui thought he was still thinking about the production halt. Qi Bailu said slowly, "I think there might have been a problem with how I played him before."
"What problem?"
"Because I acted according to the script."
Cheng Wenhui didn't understand how acting according to the script could be a problem.
"The script isn't necessarily right."
Qi Bailu frowned, his mind wandering. If it weren't for this production halt, he might never have thought of it. Should he believe the original work, the script, and the director, or should he believe the heart of the man he was portraying?
Should he believe in a bright future, in various worldly morals, in sweet words, or should he believe in his own heart?
Most of the time in his acting, he was crossing the river by feeling the stones. The trade-offs in the middle were hard to distinguish immediately; the scales were always swaying, but to move forward, a choice had to be made. He faintly felt that his own life had also been placed on a scale. On one end was Zheng Kunyu, and on the other was Ruan Qiuji. He didn't yet understand what choosing one of them would mean—whether it would be imbalance, collapse, or mutual destruction.
By the time May arrived, it was summer. The screenwriters worked overtime to finalize the new script, and the crew could finally resume filming. However, this delay meant that the wrap-up wouldn't happen until late June. When Qi Bailu received the new script, the characterization had indeed been somewhat distorted. Director Xue spoke with Qi Bailu for a long time, fearing that new problems would arise from him; after all, with the script heavily revised, Qi Bailu needed to memorize new lines overnight.
To his surprise, Qi Bailu adjusted very well, though he still memorized lines slowly. To catch up with the original schedule, the entire crew was practically in a state of lockdown. The atmosphere was oppressive. Qi Bailu lived a repetitive life between the hotel and the set, never even visiting the tourist attractions around Xiamen.
On the 20th, Qi Bailu almost had to work overtime for a night scene, but because he had a prior engagement with Ruan Qiuji, he had to decline the evening work. The production manager had a "look of understanding" on his face and asked, "Going to be with your girlfriend?"
"No."
The smile on the production manager's face deepened as he patted Qi Bailu's shoulder, saying earnestly, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
Qi Bailu simply stopped explaining, remaining silent. If he had remembered what day it was when Ruan Qiuji invited him to the ballet last month, he wouldn't have agreed.
May 20th wasn't originally a special day, but at some point, it became popular due to a homophone pun. Thus, the day had turned into a "Valentine's Day," a day for confessions, dates, and marriage registrations...
Fortunately, Ruan Qiuji didn't bring flowers or a specific gift; he only brought a box of pastries specifically from Beijing. When Qi Bailu opened the door and saw him standing there, he thought: *Oh, the "girlfriend."*
Ruan Qiuji made himself at home, carrying the items into the living area. Qi Bailu remembered the previous incident with the *tu-sun-dong* and felt a bit suspicious, fearing he had brought something with another strange smell. Ruan Qiuji seemed to sense his hesitation and untied the ribbon fashioned into a bow.
Qi Bailu saw the yellow box and asked if it was mango flavored. Ruan Qiuji smiled. "It's durian."
That was fine; it wasn't something he hated, but rather something he liked. Qi Bailu said intentionally, "I thought it was *tu-sun-dong*."
"You're so afraid of bugs."
Qi Bailu glanced at him. Ruan Qiuji added, "Were you bitten when you were a child, leaving a shadow over you?"
Ruan Qiuji spoke casually, but Qi Bailu took it to heart. He paused before saying, "I don't believe in that Freudian stuff."
Before Ruan Qiuji could speak again, Qi Bailu walked into the bedroom to put on a jacket—the same long shirt from last time. Ruan Qiuji leaned against the bedroom doorframe, hands in his pockets, and asked him why. After changing, Qi Bailu grabbed his things and walked up to him, tapping his arm to signal him to move. Ruan Qiuji leaned back slightly to let him pass.
Qi Bailu picked up his thermos from the coffee table and said, "If a person's entire life is determined by their childhood behavior, that would be truly pathetic."
"You mean, you're unwilling to look back?"
"Yes."
Ruan Qiuji took his hands out of his pockets and walked over. "But you still like looking back."
Qi Bailu mulled over his words while putting on his baseball cap, then turned back to glare at him. This was a roundabout way of calling him someone who "prefers the old to the new," wasn't it? Ruan Qiuji smiled and walked ahead to open the door for him.
Cheng Wenhui, who had witnessed everything while pretending to be buried in his phone on the sofa, looked up at them just then. As Ruan Qiuji held the handle to close the door, their eyes met.
Ruan Qiuji looked at him for two seconds, the casual smile remaining on his face, but his gaze suddenly became sharp and cold. Like a needle, it pierced him with unerring accuracy, as if he had long ago discovered Cheng Wenhui was listening in and was now warning and reminding him.
Cheng Wenhui's heart skipped a beat. Ruan Qiuji didn't stop closing the door; a moment later, he lowered his eyelids and left, shutting the door behind him. Cheng Wenhui felt incredibly frustrated. He put down his phone and thought: *Bailu, that idiot, seems to have no idea what kind of person he's dealing with. At this rate, he's going to be played to death by that old fox sooner or later...*
*And behind the old fox, there's a big bad wolf...!*
Ruan Qiuji had flown in, so they had to take a taxi. The two of them had dinner first, and it was already nine o'clock when they came out of the theater. Although it wasn't the core commercial district, the entire street was still very lively. They were surrounded by couples holding hands in sweet affection. Qi Bailu was fully armed with a hat, mask, and oversized sunglasses. Though he was a bit conspicuous, fortunately, not many people looked at him, because more people were looking at Ruan Qiuji beside him.
Earlier, while they were watching the ballet, a couple in the front row kept turning to kiss, their shoulders twisting and their hands moving under the cover of darkness, becoming increasingly brazen. Qi Bailu endured it for a long time until he couldn't take it anymore and was about to lean forward to speak. Ruan Qiuji pressed down on his thigh, signaling him not to move, and leaned forward himself. He placed a hand on the man's shoulder and said in a low voice, "Please be mindful of the setting."
Ruan Qiuji's tone was polite, but it sounded very cold and heavy. The man looked back at him, then at Qi Bailu, who sat beside him with his hat pulled low. He irritably pulled his girlfriend—who was staring at the handsome man—back around. This time, although he stopped moving, he hissed a vicious "damn gays."
Several nearby audience members heard this. A small commotion rippled out like circles on a lake before quickly returning to calm.
"..."
Qi Bailu leaned against the back of his chair, staring at the stage in speechless frustration. Although he wouldn't be hurt by such words, encountering this kind of thing while out was still a mood killer.
As his mind wandered, a hand in the darkness grabbed his hand resting on his knee and gave it a gentle squeeze. Qi Bailu glanced at Ruan Qiuji, his fellow "damn gay." Ruan Qiuji didn't look at him; he released the hand quickly after that squeeze, as if it were merely to steady his spirit. Thus, Qi Bailu gradually settled down and focused on the stage.
The weather was clear tonight. The streets were lined with Phoenix trees, and the flowers were now in bloom, a relentless red stretching all the way down the road. Countless red buds clustered on the branches, looking like heavy makeup. It was hard to catch a taxi at the theater entrance, so they walked along the road lined with Phoenix flowers toward the next intersection.
By the roadside, they passed an electric tricycle loaded with fresh flowers. The flower seller saw them passing and called out for them to take a look, suggesting they buy a bouquet for a girlfriend. The old man was too enthusiastic; a "no" was about to leave Qi Bailu's mouth, but Ruan Qiuji had already stepped over and was looking at the flowers with genuine interest.
The old man asked who he was buying for—a girlfriend or a wife. Ruan Qiuji smiled. "Is there a difference?"
The old man pointed to the pre-wrapped bouquets. This one was called "Two Hearts as One," that one was "Being With You is the Most Romantic Thing," and another was "Pure and Eternal Lover." Qi Bailu stood silently to the side, thinking they all looked about the same and the auspicious names didn't sound much different either.
In the end, Ruan Qiuji bought the most common and "cliché" red roses, holding a large, bright red armful. The old man heard the notification of the payment on his phone. Judging Ruan Qiuji to be over thirty, and thus likely married or close to it, he smiled and said, "I wish you two hearts as one, and may you be blessed with a son soon."
Before the old man could even finish, Qi Bailu hurried away, as if those words had been directed right at him.
Ruan Qiuji followed him at a leisurely pace. Taking advantage of Qi Bailu's lack of attention, he thrust the flowers into his arms and let go. Qi Bailu was forced to clutch the bouquet. "Carry them yourself..."
Ruan Qiuji turned away to hail a taxi, his gaze drifting to the end of the long street. That hand suspended in mid-air showed not the slightest intention of taking the flowers back.
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
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潘小匀 | Pan Xiaoyun | The real-life criminal prototype for Qi Bailu's character.
11.29大案 | "11.29" Case | A major criminal case referenced in the story.
土笋冻 | Tu-sun-dong | Sipunculid worm jelly; a traditional Xiamen snack made from marine worms.
凤凰花 | Phoenix flowers | Delonix regia; bright red flowers common in Xiamen.
5月20日 / 520 | May 20th / 520 | A modern Chinese "Valentine's Day" because "520" sounds like "I love you" (Wo ai ni).
早生贵子 | May you be blessed with a son soon | A traditional Chinese wedding blessing.
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