Chapter 70: Played for a Fool

“That’s exactly the feeling I wanted!”

Director Cheng An slapped his thigh excitedly. He had been sitting behind the camera, closely watching Aofeng’s expressions. From the pride of snatching the chicken leg, to the leisurely satisfaction along the way, and finally the shock, confusion, and rising anger upon discovering someone lying in its nest – the subtle shifts in expression perfectly conveyed its emotional journey. Cheng An hadn’t expected that an animal could act this well.

He had originally planned to use the act of dropping the chicken leg to show shock, but now realized he’d underestimated this dog.

After the director called “cut” and signaled that the take was good, Aofeng spat out the fake chicken leg and lazily walked back to Song Changfeng. According to the schedule, Aofeng only had two scenes to shoot today. Once they were done, he was free for the rest of the day – a pretty easy gig. What Aofeng didn’t know was that Cheng An had planned to film each of these scenes shot by shot, since working with animals was always unpredictable.

But Aofeng had performed beyond expectations, catching Cheng An off guard. With time to spare, he decided to move the afternoon’s scenes up to the morning.

Bored, Aofeng looked around, wondering if he could explore a bit. He had never been to a film studio before, and seeing buildings from different historical periods arranged side by side intrigued him.

Maybe Song Changfeng noticed the eager look on Aofeng’s face, or maybe he himself wanted to take a stroll. Either way, he walked over to Cheng An, exchanged a few words, then returned wearing a badge.

The badge read “Actor Access Pass” in bold letters, stamped with the seal of the Tongcheng Film and Television Base. With it, they could freely enter and exit the base without needing to buy tickets at every turn.

Of course, areas currently in use by film crews were off-limits to tourists, even with a ticket. To block outsiders’ view, crew members would get up early to set up the location, covering everything with large sheets of fabric.

Aofeng followed Song Changfeng out of the modern drama set and arrived outside a palace built in the style of the Ming and Qing dynasties¹. At the palace gate, a narrow entrance led to a small booth with its window open, labeled “Ticket Checkpoint.” Song Changfeng walked over, and after the guard glanced at his pass, he opened the gate and motioned them inside. Seeing them move slowly, he even urged them along.

“Director Zhang’s already blowing up in there. Hurry up and get into makeup! Oh, and someone just dropped this off for Director Zhang. They’re over at East Compound Four² now. Take it over for me, will you?” Without waiting for a response, the guard shoved a small package into Song Changfeng’s arms. Since only one crew was shooting here today, he naturally assumed Song Changfeng belonged to it.

Realizing the guard had mistaken him for someone else, Song Changfeng was about to explain when a tour group arrived outside. Dozens of people bustled toward the gate, and the guard quickly turned to check their tickets, too busy to pay him any attention.

Song Changfeng thought for a moment, then swallowed his words. Since they were planning to look around anyway, they might as well deliver the package too.

With that, he led Aofeng inside. After pausing briefly at a map, he precisely located the area where filming was underway.

Just like Cheng An’s set, this place was tightly sealed off to prevent spoilers from leaking online.

After circling the area for a bit, Song Changfeng finally found the entrance. There was no door, just a curtain hanging down. He hesitated for a moment, then lifted the curtain and walked in with Aofeng.

Inside was a completely different world. While the outside was quiet and still, the interior buzzed with activity. People rushed about, carrying or moving equipment, while extras in period costumes stood around in small groups. The noise was so loud that everyone had to shout to be heard.

At the center of the crowd stood several tables, one of which held a large monitor playing back a recently filmed scene. Sitting behind it, wearing a scowl and pursing his lips into a tight line, was presumably Director Zhang.

As Song Changfeng led Aofeng forward, they had barely taken a few steps when someone rushed over, shouting, “Hey, hey! What are you doing here? How did you get in?”

The man was sweating bullets. He’d only stepped away to use the restroom, and someone had already slipped in. With Director Zhang in such a foul mood today, if he found out, this guy would be in serious trouble.

Song Changfeng stopped and said, “Sorry, I have a package here for Director Zhang. The gatekeeper asked me to bring it in.”

“A delivery?” The man eyed Song Changfeng suspiciously. He didn’t look the part. “Where’s the package?”

Song Changfeng handed it over. The man glanced at it, then tossed it back with a laugh. “There’s no sender or recipient on this. You say it’s for Director Zhang, and I’m just supposed to believe you? Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. You just want to get in front of the director, right? I’ve seen this trick a hundred times.”

He deliberately glanced at the actor’s pass hanging around Song Changfeng’s neck. These extras were always scheming – one day pretending to deliver packages, the next pretending to bring lunch. It was exhausting.

Song Changfeng hadn’t looked closely at the package before, but after hearing this, he examined it and saw that the man was right. The flat, lightweight envelope had a blank shipping label stuck to it.

He frowned. Could the guy be right? Even Aofeng looked confused. Was this really a thing? Had they been played?

“I honestly don’t know what’s going on,” Song Changfeng said. “But the gatekeeper really did give me this package and asked me to deliver it to Director Zhang. If you don’t believe me, you can check the security footage at the gate.”

The man snorted. “Who’s got time for that? You’d better leave. Director Zhang’s in a bad mood today. Even if you did get to see him, it wouldn’t end well for you. If he gets pissed and says a word, you can kiss your career at Tongcheng Film and Television Base goodbye.”

Seeing that the man had no intention of backing down, Song Changfeng didn’t try to force his way in either. Since they wouldn’t accept it here, he figured he’d just return the package to the main gate later and let the gatekeeper handle it. With Aofeng in tow, he turned and walked away.

The man gave them a glance, then turned around and sat down on an inconspicuous stool by the entrance, pulling out his phone to play with.

Because this spot was a fair distance from the main gate, Song Changfeng tucked the small package into his coat and decided to take Aofeng for a stroll first.

This place truly lived up to its nickname, the “Little Imperial Palace.” Though it was only a replica, every detail was exquisitely crafted. Aside from lacking the weathered charm that came from centuries of history, it wasn’t much different from the actual palace in Jingdu. Aofeng looked around with great interest, while Song Changfeng took out his phone to capture the beautiful moment for him.

Meanwhile, Director Zhang was growing increasingly irritable. His hands were shaking from all the shouting, and despite the winter chill, sweat was rolling down his forehead. The others couldn’t help but feel concerned when they saw him like this. Was he about to pass out from rage?

It was strange. The lead actors had actually been performing quite well today, but Director Zhang was still dissatisfied. Just a few days ago, someone kept messing up their lines, and he hadn’t been nearly this angry.

After a bout of heavy breathing, Director Zhang finally began to calm down, though he looked like he’d just been through a serious illness. His hands trembling, he pulled out his phone from his pocket, only to find it had shut off due to low battery.

He plugged it in and turned it back on. Once it booted up, he saw several unread messages. The moment he opened them, he immediately called for his assistant.

“Quick, go check the gate right now. See if someone brought something for me.”

Seeing how anxious he was, the assistant rushed out. When he found the gatekeeper and asked, he learned that someone had already brought the item inside.

He ran back to report to Director Zhang, who immediately asked, “Who brought it in? Ask around! Why wasn’t it delivered to me?”

But when the assistant started asking, no one admitted to having brought anything in for Director Zhang.

Director Zhang’s expression darkened. He ordered someone to gather all the extras. His gaze swept over the few dozen people standing before him, and he smiled as he said, “Whoever brought me that package, step forward. I’ll give you an important role.”

The extras looked at one another, eyes filled with envy. No one knew who had gotten so lucky. But as the minutes ticked by, not a single person stepped forward.

Director Zhang’s expression grew more dangerous. Just as he was about to tell his assistant to start searching everyone, a girl dressed in a maid costume hesitantly stepped out.

“Director Zhang, I think I saw someone come by earlier to deliver something. Said it was a package for you.”

Director Zhang strode over to her in a few quick steps. “Oh? So where’s the package now?”

“Brother Xiao Hu stopped him and said a few words, then the guy left. I don’t know if he actually handed over the package,” the girl said nervously.

Director Zhang forced a smile at her, then turned to his assistant. “Get that Xiao Hu guy over here!”

Xiao Hu, who had been standing guard at the gate, was suddenly summoned and walked in, completely confused. Inside the small soundstage, only Director Zhang was seated. The glow from the monitor cast light on half his face, leaving the other half shrouded in shadow.

“Director Zhang, you wanted to see me?”

“Did someone come by today to deliver a package?” Director Zhang asked. His voice wasn’t loud, but to Xiao Hu, it sounded like thunder.

Crap. He shouldn’t have spent so long in the bathroom. Someone must’ve ratted him out, saying he let an outsider in. He quickly explained, “Director Zhang, I didn’t let him in. He barely made it to the gate before I turned him away!”

“And the package?”

“There was no info on it at all. He was probably pretending to deliver something just to sneak in and land a role. I didn’t even give him a chance. I kicked him out right away—”

Bang! A thermos flew across the room and slammed into the camera next to Xiao Hu. The screen shattered instantly, shards flying through the air and leaving a bloody scratch on Xiao Hu’s face.

But what terrified Xiao Hu even more was the look in Director Zhang’s eyes. That violent, seething rage, as if he wanted to destroy everything, made Xiao Hu feel like if looks could kill, he’d already be torn to pieces.

This was bad. Was that guy someone important? Or maybe the package contained something crucial? Otherwise, there’s no way Director Zhang would be this furious!

Translator’s Notes