Chapter 8: The First Encounter with Sister Zhi

Outside the ward, Wang Tianlin paced back and forth in the corridor. Whether it was because of the heat or because he was anxious, he was drenched in sweat within minutes.

Zheng Shaoqiu was lying in the hospital bed with an IV feeding him nutrients. The diagnosis was already out, and it wasn’t anything serious. It was mainly exhaustion, lack of sleep, and a mild cold.

The doctor said Zheng Shaoqiu needed at least a week of rest before he could go back to work, otherwise he was likely to relapse, or even collapse and die suddenly.

But the problem was that the episodes of The Legend of Chu Liuxiang already filmed would finish airing in five days. By then, there would be no time to rush out new footage.

After turning it over in his mind again and again, Wang Tianlin still couldn’t think of a good solution.

He returned to the ward. Zhao Yazhi and Wang Mingquan were both there, and in the corner sat a supporting actor whose name he couldn’t quite remember.

Yes, that supporting actor was Kang Jianfei.

As for the others, after learning that Zheng Shaoqiu was fine, they had already left one after another.

After the nutrient drip and a while of rest, Zheng Shaoqiu was now completely awake, though his body was still a little weak.

Seeing Wang Tianlin look so troubled, Zheng Shaoqiu took the initiative and said, "Uncle Tianlin, I figure I’ll be mostly recovered by this afternoon. I can keep filming tomorrow. There isn’t much left anyway, so I should be able to push through it."

Zhao Yazhi and Wang Mingquan said nothing. As friends, they naturally didn’t want to see Zheng Shaoqiu working while sick, but with the director right there, it wasn’t appropriate for them to try to stop him.

Wang Tianlin waved a hand. "No, no. Just half a day of rest isn’t enough. The doctor said you need at least a week."

Zheng Shaoqiu said, "But the TV station is still waiting to air it."

Wang Tianlin frowned and thought for a long time before reluctantly saying, "All right, then rest for two days first. If you’re in good shape after that, we’ll keep filming. If not, we’ll figure out another way."

With that, the matter was basically settled, and the others all fell silent.

The man sitting in the corner suddenly said, "Director, could we use a stand-in?"

"A stand-in? Who in Hong Kong could replace Qiuguan? His face is the brand. Nobody can replace him!" Wang Tianlin flatly rejected Kang Jianfei’s wild suggestion.

Kang Jianfei said calmly, "How about this? We move Qiuguan’s hospital bed to the set. All the action scenes are done by a stand-in. Qiuguan only acts in the dramatic scenes, and even some medium and long shots of the dramatic scenes can be done by a stand-in too. Then, during editing, we just add a few front-facing shots of Qiuguan. That way he won’t have to work so hard, and he could easily finish the rest of the filming without strain. He wouldn’t even need to take the IV out of his wrist; we’d only shoot him from the waist up."

Halfway through Kang Jianfei’s explanation, Wang Tianlin already understood. By the time he finished, Wang Tianlin couldn’t help but praise him. "That’s a good idea. Qiuguan, what do you think?"

Zheng Shaoqiu also nodded. "I think that’s very good."

Wang Tianlin gave Kang Jianfei a meaningful look and asked, "You seem to be Ah-Ding’s man?"

Kang Jianfei nodded. "My great-uncle is Wu Chenggang, the lighting assistant on the Chu Liuxiang crew. Right now I’m learning from Master Ding."

"Looks like you know your way around TV production. Were you at Jia Shi before?" Wang Tianlin remembered that Wu Chenggang had transferred over from Jia Shi, and assumed Kang Jianfei had also worked there before.

Kang Jianfei smiled. "No. I only came over from the mainland last month."

"What? You just came from the mainland?" Wang Tianlin was shocked. He never would have imagined that Kang Jianfei was a mainlander who had only just arrived in Hong Kong.

It wasn’t just Wang Tianlin who was stunned. Zheng Shaoqiu, Zhao Yazhi, and Wang Mingquan were also quite surprised.

The calm way Kang Jianfei had just laid out his idea, and the identity he revealed afterward, were so wildly different that he left a profound impression on them. From then on, they would have a hard time forgetting the name Kang Jianfei.

There were no long-form TV dramas being made on the mainland yet. If CCTV wanted to produce commercial TV dramas, it still had to send people to Europe specifically to learn production methods and experience. So Kang Jianfei could not possibly have come into contact with TV production in the mainland.

In other words, everything Kang Jianfei had just said was based solely on a single week of exposure to filming.

He was practically a television genius!

After the shock faded, Wang Tianlin was already thinking about cultivating Kang Jianfei.

Of course, he wouldn’t say it out loud now, in case Kang Jianfei got a swelled head. Wang Tianlin planned to let him start out as a crew worker on the next production and keep observing him before deciding anything.

If Kang Jianfei performed well on the next show, Wang Tianlin would promote him to be his assistant. If he was only average, then Kang Jianfei would either keep gaining experience or simply be dropped.

Kang Jianfei had no idea what Wang Tianlin was thinking, and he also didn’t care much about Wang Tianlin’s opinion, because he had his own plans.

Before his transmigration, Kang Jianfei knew all sorts of miscellaneous things, but his strongest skill was reading people. He could size someone up at a glance.

In order to climb higher and higher, he had done many things that couldn’t see the light of day. You could almost describe him as willing to use any means necessary.

Only after Kang Jianfei truly succeeded and became famous did he realize that some things could be handled more tactfully. If you blocked someone else’s path, you were also blocking one of your own.

In his previous life, Kang Jianfei had lived in hatred until he was thirteen. Later, during the years he spent in a children’s welfare home, he lived the most comfortably, and much of the viciousness in him had been worn away by the old director.

After that came years of drifting through society, where he pursued fame and fortune by any means necessary. It wasn’t until after he turned thirty-five that Kang Jianfei gradually became more polished and restrained.

Here and now, with Kang Jianfei reborn in Hong Kong, he had many paths open to him, so he didn’t want to succeed by relying on underhanded tricks. Success like that carried too many hidden dangers; one day, he might well fall because of it.

After arriving at the Clear Water Bay set, he had been waiting for an opportunity. Only when Zheng Shaoqiu collapsed did he suddenly step in, planning to first get on Wang Tianlin’s good side and then carry out his next step.

...

Wang Tianlin didn’t keep asking about Kang Jianfei. Instead, he asked Zheng Shaoqiu, "Qiuguan, do you have anyone in mind for your stand-in?"

Zheng Shaoqiu glanced at Kang Jianfei and smiled. "I think Ah-Fei would be a very good fit."

That was Zheng Shaoqiu returning the favor. After all, Kang Jianfei had first carried him to the car and taken him to the hospital, and then come up with a way to solve his problem.

It was only a stand-in actor. Wang Tianlin had no intention of embarrassing Zheng Shaoqiu over something so small. If Kang Jianfei’s acting really wasn’t up to par, they could always change stand-ins during filming.

Wang Tianlin immediately agreed. "Fine, let Ah-Fei do it. Qiuguan, you rest for half a day first. We’ll continue filming tomorrow."

Just as Wang Tianlin finished speaking, they heard a heavy banging of footsteps outside, so loud that the people in the ward seemed to feel the floor tremble.

"Qiuguan, are you all right?" A fat woman rushed in and squeezed up to Zheng Shaoqiu’s bedside, asking with concern. That fat woman was Zheng Shaoqiu’s live-in girlfriend, Lydia Shum.

Wang Mingquan knew Lydia Shum well. The two had once been in the same women’s singing group, and she comforted her, saying, "Don’t worry, Ah-Ha. The doctor said Qiuguan isn’t in any real danger. He’s just too tired. A few days of rest and he’ll be fine."

Wang Tianlin stood up and said, "With Ah-Ha here to take care of him, there’s nothing more for us to do. Everyone should go back and rest. We’ve all been worn out these past few days. If we don’t leave now, and the reporters get word and block the downstairs entrance, then it’ll be hard to get out at all."

Zhao Yazhi, Wang Mingquan, and Kang Jianfei also said their goodbyes and left the ward together.

After they got out of the hospital, Wang Tianlin drove straight back to the set. Tomorrow they would have to shoot a lot of stand-in scenes. The plot wouldn’t change, but the visual coverage would need major adjustments, so he had to discuss it with the cinematographer in advance.

After Wang Tianlin left, Wang Mingquan also drove her car over and asked Zhao Yazhi and Kang Jianfei, "Where are you headed? I can give you a ride."

Zhao Yazhi politely declined. "No need, sis. My home is over on Hong Kong Island. I’ll just take a taxi back myself. If you drive me, you’ll have to make a big detour."

Kang Jianfei said, "I don’t need a ride either. I live not far from here."

"Then I’m off first," Wang Mingquan said, waving to the two of them before driving away in a flash.

Kang Jianfei and Zhao Yazhi had both come to the hospital in costume, but fortunately the weather was hot, so once they took off the outer period costumes, what they had underneath were just shirts and short outfits.

Even so, they were still wearing cloth shoes, which made them quite eye-catching walking on the street.

Zhao Yazhi stood by the roadside waiting for a taxi. But cabs were one of those things that seemed to pass one after another when you weren’t waiting for them, yet when you actually stood there waiting, not a single empty one would show up for half an hour.

In the meantime, a few of Zhao Yazhi’s fans ran over, got her autograph, and happily left.

Under the shade of the trees, Zhao Yazhi’s face glowed with a rosy flush, white tinged with red, a drunk-inducing blush rising across her cheeks like a gorgeous rose blooming in summer.

Her pretty figure, pacing back and forth as she waited anxiously, made Kang Jianfei’s heart stir.

Most beauties in later generations were made up with cosmetics. Naturally beautiful women did exist, but they were not something a photographer like Kang Jianfei had the right to possess.

Zhao Yazhi was exactly that kind of woman born with natural beauty. She had been wearing makeup for the role, but she had washed it all off in the hospital restroom. Now her face was bare, yet she was still so beautiful and captivating.

A surge of desire to pursue her rose in Kang Jianfei’s heart. Once that impulse had appeared, he couldn’t be bothered to care whether she had a boyfriend or not. Anyway, he felt no guilt at all about poaching someone else’s wall.

Kang Jianfei very gentlemanly volunteered to stay and keep Zhao Yazhi company while she waited for a car. Only when he saw fine beads of sweat forming on her forehead from the heat did he say, "Sister Zhi, let’s go have some afternoon tea first. We can cool off in a teahouse."

Zhao Yazhi really was hot. She kept fanning herself with her script. Hearing Kang Jianfei’s suggestion, she nodded. "All right."

The two of them found a teahouse that looked fairly clean and sanitary along Kwun Tong Road. It was just after two in the afternoon, and there were hardly any customers inside.

"What would you like to order?" A waiter ran over. Just as he finished asking, he suddenly looked at Zhao Yazhi in delight. "Su Rongrong, no, you’re Ah-Zhi!"

"Shh!" Kang Jianfei motioned for the waiter not to make a scene, then said, "I’ll have a cup of black tea, and a few pineapple buns. What would Sister Zhi like?"

Zhao Yazhi smiled at the waiter. "A cup of yuenyeung milk tea, please."

The waiter looked enviously at Kang Jianfei, who was sharing a table with Zhao Yazhi, then happily went to make the tea.

Soon the snacks and drinks were brought over. Watching Kang Jianfei gobble down pineapple buns, Zhao Yazhi asked curiously, "Do you drink afternoon tea on the mainland too?"

Kang Jianfei laughed. "What afternoon tea is there on the mainland? These last few years have been a bit better at least. We can finally fill our stomachs."

Zhao Yazhi wasn’t familiar with Kang Jianfei, so she stirred her milk tea with a metal spoon. After a while of silence, she finally found something to say. "Kang..."

"Just call me Ah-Fei," Kang Jianfei said.

Zhao Yazhi advised him, "Ah-Fei, I think Uncle Tianlin seems to have some intention of promoting you. You can make a good impression in front of him over the next while."

"Thanks for the reminder, Sister Zhi, but that isn’t what I want," Kang Jianfei said with a deliberate, cocky smile.

Zhao Yazhi grew more and more curious about Kang Jianfei. Most mainlanders who came to Hong Kong showed nothing but inferiority and endurance; as long as they could get a stable job, they’d be overjoyed.

Even for Hong Kong people, if they knew they had won Wang Tianlin’s favor, they would almost certainly be thrilled beyond measure.

Yet Kang Jianfei merely laughed it off, as if he didn’t care about Wang Tianlin’s support at all, and casually said that it wasn’t what he wanted.

The more unusual a person’s words and behavior were, the more they stirred curiosity. That was exactly Kang Jianfei’s goal.

And sure enough, Zhao Yazhi took the bait. "You don’t want to stay in the crew? Then what do you want to do?"

Kang Jianfei said, "I just don’t want to shoot TV dramas. The budgets for TV dramas in Hong Kong are too small, and the schedule is too tight. You can’t make the kind of result you really want. I’d rather open my own film company, be my own boss, and sell films overseas."

Zhao Yazhi found it amusing. Her impression of Kang Jianfei right now was that he was simply too arrogant.

He had been in Hong Kong for less than a month, and already he was thinking about starting his own film company. Did he really think filmmaking was that easy?

She had been in the entertainment industry for nearly ten years now, and she still could only honestly keep filming TV dramas. Even when she occasionally took on a movie, she would do it nervously, afraid of performing badly.

Seeing Zhao Yazhi smile without speaking, Kang Jianfei asked with a laugh, "What, you don’t believe me?"

Zhao Yazhi offered a tactful criticism. "Ah-Fei, we’ve only just met, and normally I shouldn’t be so blunt. But I still want to say this: it’s better to be grounded when you do things."

With Zhao Yazhi’s current fame and status, lecturing Kang Jianfei, a mainland newcomer, was by no means out of line. In fact, it was mostly kindness. Otherwise she wouldn’t have said such a thing.

Kang Jianfei raised one finger and smiled. "Do you believe me when I say I can set up my own film company within a year?"

Zhao Yazhi was finally completely speechless, because she realized that this guy was a lunatic and impossible to communicate with normally. She could only smile and say, "Then I wish your dream comes true."

If you want someone to remember you completely, you have to keep surprising her. Best of all is to give her one big shock after another when she doesn’t think much of you.

If Kang Jianfei didn’t give Zhao Yazhi some special excitement and surprise, then what reason would she have to pay attention to a nobody like him now that she already had a boyfriend and was a top star? Let alone trying to lure her into changing her heart and falling for someone else.