Chapter Eighty-Six: Why Should I Give Up a Role I Earned With My Own Talent?

Fearful that Li Shixin might run himself into the ground, the crew’s shooting schedule had been drawn up with ruthless tightness.

Given the pace they were on, even An Xiaoxiao, the undisputed leading lady, was not working at the same intensity as Li Shixin.

And because of the trending topics on Weibo, Li Shixin had also taken on more than a dozen media interviews in succession.

With no days off, and the occasional night shoot on top of that, he had to squeeze interviews into the breaks between scenes. Even after rejuvenation, his body was beginning to strain under it all.

A few days into filming on the stadium set, even Li Shixin’s old bones were rebelling against him. While cursing Wang Hai for drawing up a shooting plan that was practically designed to work the old man to death, he could only swallow several Peak Chewing Gums to stagger through the most grueling scenes.

Meanwhile, the veteran members of the fan support club watched Li Shixin work himself so hard that they were both pained and inspired. Every one of them seemed to be on a permanent shot of adrenaline, arriving day after day like clocking in at work to cheer him on.

Though the arrival of Qiao Hong, who turned into a schoolgirl whenever she heard "Sweet Honey," made Old Lady Wu feel deeply threatened, as the support club’s president she still used the old folks’ channels to spread the news of Qiao Hong joining.

With their former idol Qiao Hong among them, even some elderly fans from Rongdian and neighboring cities made special trips over. And after being told by Wu Ming and learning about Li Shixin’s situation, the number of members in the fan support club swelled like a snowball.

...

Once winter set in, mornings turned bitterly cold.

Li Shixin’s open-air tricycle was no longer suitable, so he rode to the set of Flying Against the Wind at the Old Times Film Base in Zhang Shuo’s car. Wrapped in a down jacket, he arrived to find a crowd of his old fans already waiting there.

Looking at the group of elderly people packed into their layers so thickly they resembled a row of snowballs, their noses red from the cold as they rubbed their hands and stamped their feet while chatting and laughing, Li Shixin walked over with his hands behind his back.

"Brother Shixin’s here!"

As soon as they saw him, the old fans immediately gathered around.

"Didn’t I tell you not to come these past couple of days with the temperature dropping? Why are you all here again?" Li Shixin said sternly.

A few days earlier, when the weather had turned cold, he had already driven them off several times, worried they would not be able to take it. But judging from today’s display, they had shown up in full force again, and he could not help but worry.

Especially that eighty-four-year-old Grandpa Liu Feng in the crowd, wrapped in layer after layer until he looked like a ball, a blanket draped over him, sitting in his wheelchair with his nose running from the cold.

He was shaking all over. If he caught a chill and something went wrong, who could bear the responsibility?

At Li Shixin’s rebuke, Liu Feng laughed heartily and reached out to stop him.

"Little Brother Shixin, we know you mean well. But you have to understand, once people get old, winter is hard to endure. And what’s hard to endure isn’t the cold or illness, but being cooped up indoors until we can’t stand it."

"Get out, move around a little, loosen up these old bones a bit. Cold weather isn’t scary; just wear more layers. But for people like us whose legs and feet aren’t good, if we stay home and let that last bit of spirit drain away, this winter really may be hard to get through."

"That’s right, Brother Shixin. We’re not talking about whether we come on other days. But today’s your final scene. We’ve come all this way, and there’s only this last little stretch left, isn’t there?" Now that it was cold, Wu Ming could no longer keep up his elegance. He wore a heavy mountain down jacket and even knee braces for his old cold-rheumatic legs, looking for all the world like a steamed bun.

"Brother Shixin, don’t worry about us! Take care of yourself. It’s the final scene today—give it your all!"

"At home it’s warm enough with the heating on, sure, but the kids are off at work or school, and being alone just makes the heart feel cold! So what if it’s cold outside? Seeing you so full of energy warms us right through!"

"That’s right! Shixin, stand tall! When you’ve got spirit, just watching you makes us feel great!"

Faced with this group of stubborn old fans, each one as unyielding as a wooden stake, Li Shixin was utterly out of options. He looked helplessly at Qiao Hong, who was seated in her wheelchair.

"Teacher Qiao, say something fair."

Qiao Hong smiled faintly and exhaled a long plume of white breath.

"Though we only met this morning, these new friends are right. Teacher Li, give it your best. Watching you act, I feel like my mind has been clearer lately. As long as you’re performing, I’m happy to watch."

Sister, you’ve been hanging around the fan club for more than half a month!

What the hell do you mean you just met this morning, new friends?

Li Shixin could only sigh in resignation.

By then, the crew in the set had already finished their preparations, so he had no choice but to clasp his fists and bow to the fans before turning and heading inside.

Within the set, Jiao Chendong was already coordinating the next round of filming with the assistant director, the floor managers, and the rest of the crew.

Seeing Li Shixin arrive, everyone greeted him warmly.

Returning each familiar face’s greeting with a cheerful good morning, Li Shixin made his way toward Jiao Chendong.

But just as he reached them, he saw a middle-aged man of about forty standing there frowning as he argued with Jiao Chendong.

"Director Jiao, when I took this role, my agent told me it was the second male lead. So how come the script that got to me has the second male lead’s scenes cut down? What’s going on with the later part?"

"Ah... Teacher Fan, let me explain. Actually, the second male lead was originally assigned to another actor. But then there were changes on the company’s end. So... Teacher Fan, don’t get angry. The later homeless scenes for the second male lead are basically all with heavy makeup; you can’t even see the face!"

"Don’t fool me. I’ve heard about it already. The actor playing the later parts of the second male lead is also playing the male lead, he’s the prop supervisor, the chief extra wrangler in the crew is his godson, and even the laborers hauling equipment on set were brought in by him. What is this, if not me, Old Fan, running into a role hog? I’m easy to bully, so my scenes have to be snatched away, is that it? Besides, if one role is being played by two people, when the movie comes out, whose name goes on the cast list—mine or his? Or do we put two names under one character?"

Watching the middle-aged actor refuse to budge an inch, Li Shixin raised an eyebrow.

He had a rough impression of the man. Back in the early years, he had acted in a few rather well-known urban melodramas, but in recent years he had not produced anything especially notable.

Judging by this, the man’s temper had not mellowed, even if his anger had.

Seeing Jiao Chendong struggle to explain with a bitter face, Li Shixin coughed lightly.

"Oh, old sir, you’re here?"

At the sight of Li Shixin, Jiao Chendong immediately came over and pulled him aside.

"Well, Old Sir. This is Teacher Fan, who plays the second male lead. He has some opinions about the street scene you’re doing later in the script. You see, the schedule’s been so tight lately, and you’re tired as well. Maybe..."

"No." Before Jiao Chendong could finish, Li Shixin shook his head outright.

As if!

When I was pulling four night shoots in a row, why didn’t anyone think this old body of mine couldn’t handle it?

And those scenes after the second male lead...

I earned those with my own ability!

What right does anyone have to hand them over?