Chapter 104: Film Emperor (24)

After the chaos of New Year’s Eve, with the new year came a fresh outlook. The relationship between Tong Jianxu and Zaiye, the new and old dad, also entered a new phase—beating each other before becoming friends.

As fellow members of the “Daughters’ Victim Alliance,” the two developed a strange kind of camaraderie based on mutual antagonism.

Both lived in S City. Zaiye would occasionally drop by to visit Qian, and he and Tong Jianxu were now able to sit down and share a proper meal together.

After the embarrassment of getting drunk last time and being mocked by his daughter’s singing, neither of them drank anymore, clinking glasses filled only with soft drinks.

Although Zaiye never bothered to ask before showing up, and Tong Jianxu would always toss a few sarcastic remarks his way, the fact that he was willing to pull up vegetables he’d personally grown to serve with hotpot for a guest said a lot—he had more or less come to accept this friend.

With spring arriving in S City, many people went to the Zhu River for outings. Zaiye decided to take the kid out for a weekend trip.

He drove over to pick her up himself and brought along Assistant Zhang.

Qian, happily shouldering her little bear-shaped snack bag, ran toward her Wild Dad, who was taking her out to play.

Tong Jianxu followed behind her, a little unwilling to be left home alone. “Why don’t I come too? I’ll wear a mask and cover my face…”

Zaiye didn’t bother sugarcoating it: “Did you already forget what happened last time at Yunxiang Temple when you got photographed? If you come, none of us will have a good time.”

Tong Jianxu chuckled and turned to Assistant Zhang, suddenly much friendlier. “Assistant Zhang, you’re going too? Sorry for the trouble last time. Since you’re taking Qian out today, remember to wear a mask so you don’t get recognized.”

Assistant Zhang’s face had already become familiar to his fanbase. Although her recognition level wasn’t as extreme as Tong Jianxu’s, being noticed could still be risky.

He was just making polite small talk, but unexpectedly, Zaiye looked over at Assistant Zhang for a second, thought it over, and made a decision: “Didn’t even realize—you’re starting to draw attention too. You don’t need to go either.”

He decided to take the kid out on his own—and left Assistant Zhang behind at Tong Jianxu’s house.

Assistant Zhang: “?”

Tong Jianxu: “?”

Then Assistant Zhang suddenly asked, “Film Emperor Tong, have you ever watched SpongeBob SquarePants? You know Mr. Krabs?”

Tong Jianxu understood instantly. “Exactly. Mr. Krabs.”

A scummy boss, through and through.

There was a large open space along the Zhu River, and with the mild spring breeze, it was the perfect day for flying kites. Especially on weekends, the place was packed with families out for a picnic.

Zaiye parked the car. Before getting out, he looked at Qian’s face, which closely resembled Tong Jianxu’s, and pulled out a ski mask from the bag.

It was the kind that only revealed the eyes, nose, and mouth—anyone wearing it would look like a robber.

He pulled it over Qian’s head and threaded her braids through the holes at the back. Just like that, a little robber was born!

Especially with her bubble gun in hand, this cute little bandit immediately caught everyone’s eye. Kids and adults alike couldn’t help but glance her way.

A bold young woman teased her: “What a cute little robber! Give me a shot!”

Qian cheerfully obliged, spraying her with bubbles.

The young woman clutched her chest and cried out, “Ah, I’m dead! The little robber stole my heart!”

Some people found it so amusing they even asked to take a picture with her.

Zaiye had only made her wear the ski mask to cover her face and keep her low-key. Now it looked like she was about to become a tourist attraction.

He quickly scooped her up and made a strategic retreat, heading toward a quieter area by the river, where they could walk and check out the swans and other water birds nearby.

Qian sat on the railing while Zaiye leaned against it, one arm securely around her waist. She leaned forward trustingly and shot bubbles into the water.

The translucent bubbles shimmered with rainbow light as they floated across the river toward the crowd. Children who had come for spring outings with their parents looked up and chased after the bubbles, trying to catch them.

Laughter echoed all around them, bright and joyful.

Qian giggled along, loud and carefree.

Back when his company was just starting out and he was swamped with work, Zaiye still carved out time on weekends to take his child out, wandering like this. He’d even skipped class to roam the streets with her back when he was in school.

“In the blink of an eye, I’m getting old, and you’re still this small,” he murmured, suddenly sentimental.

He lifted the tired girl onto his back, one hand supporting her while she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Zaiye thought to himself, this is enough. If he ever missed his daughter, he could video call her—or just find a weekend like this to take her out and play.

Days like this were peaceful and full of harmony. He hoped they could last a little longer.

Recently, Feng Yu had been bringing a lot of collaboration offers to Tong Jianxu, but he rejected almost all of them.

He wasn’t short on money or popularity anymore. What he needed were good scripts and strong roles—but unfortunately, nothing good had come along this year.

One day, the big boss of Xinghong Entertainment personally reached out to him.

“President Tong, how have you been lately…”

After a few pleasantries, the boss finally got to the point: “So someone came to me. You’ve heard of the Illusory Pagoda of No Regret, right?”

Tong Jianxu raised a brow. “The one by Director Wang Chenqi?”

“Yes, yes, that’s the one. A huge project with a fifty-billion investment. He already cast the male lead, but he’s still struggling to find the right person for the second male lead. He wants to invite you. Since you’re not too busy right now, how about shooting for a couple months? The pay’s good, and they’re very sincere. He’s asked me several times, and, well, I didn’t want to turn him down outright…”

Tong Jianxu was already familiar with the project. Back when he was filming Moonlight of the Southern Dynasty with Director Fang, he’d met Wang Chenqi at a dinner—he was there courting investors for Wuwang Futu.

Wang hadn’t produced anything worthwhile in years and had been the subject of industry ridicule. This project was clearly his bid for a comeback.

At the beginning of the year, someone had subtly sounded out Tong Jianxu’s interest, but he had already politely declined.

Never mind the long-standing grudge between them—even without that, Tong Jianxu disdained Wang Chenqi’s work ethic.

“President Wu, I’ve been busy taking care of my kid lately. I’m afraid I can’t join the production.”

The big boss caught the undertone in his voice and let out a couple of awkward sighs.

“Ah, just like last time, you can bring your daughter to the set. I know you and Director Wang had some history when you were younger, but that was years ago. He’s still a senior in the industry, and he’s being sincere now. Let bygones be bygones! Tell you what—how about I arrange a dinner someday, we all have a few drinks, clear the air over the table? Don’t let this affect future collaborations.”

Tong Jianxu found the idea distasteful and fended him off with a few vague, lukewarm replies.

He was completely unmoved, and in the end, the big boss had no choice but to say, “Let me be honest—our company’s investing in this drama too. If it flops, you’ll be losing money as well. No need to be at odds with money… I know what you’re worried about. But with your current standing, even someone like Wang Chenqi wouldn’t dare mess with you. He’s not that stupid. You just need to show up and do a few scenes, patch things over. Even if you don’t like the way he conducts himself, we can all just turn a blind eye, pretend we didn’t see anything.”

Seeing that the big boss was set on getting him to go, Tong Jianxu didn’t outright refuse. His tone softened a bit. “Alright. I’ll think about it for a couple of days.”

As soon as he put down the phone, his agent called. Unsurprisingly, it was about the same thing.

She sounded hesitant. “It’s actually a solid production—investment is in place, and the male lead is Shi Jing. You’ve worked with him before. His acting and reputation are both solid. Plus, the script was revised by Professor Chai Rongjin. I’ve looked through it—it’s really good. It’s just that Wang Chenqi is absolute scum.”

Tong Jianxu was a little surprised to hear the name Chai Rongjin.

Chai Rongjin was a renowned screenwriter. He had been behind many classic, beloved dramas in the past. However, due to poor health, he hadn’t written anything new in recent years. Tong Jianxu had really loved one of his earlier scripts, but unfortunately never had the chance to work with him, something he still regretted to this day.

He hadn’t expected that they’d actually managed to invite him this time. Tong Jianxu was now genuinely tempted.

“What’s the script like? Let me take a look.”

The moment he said that, Feng Yu knew he was interested and immediately sent over the script.

In her opinion, this script was solid in every way—far better than all those love stories between CEOs and employees, princes and princesses, immortals and goddesses.

“It’s just a shame the director is Wang Chenqi. Like dropping a rat turd into an otherwise perfect cake!”

Tong Jianxu flipped through the story synopsis.

It was a Xuanhuan fantasy tale about the male lead achieving Buddhahood through trials of life and death.

The overall tone was grand and vivid, rich in metaphor and philosophical reflection, with moments of humor and levity—it was clearly Chai Rongjin’s style.

The second male lead, the role they wanted him to play, was also quite unique. A fallen evil Buddha, a genderless being who had to embody both the boldness of a man and the softness of a woman. He needed to exude the sanctity of a Buddha, but also portray the descent into depravity when doing evil—an obstacle on the protagonist’s path to enlightenment.

No wonder they were so fixated on casting him. After all, his breakout role had been a character that perfectly embodied androgynous beauty—one that had left a lasting impression.

He hadn’t responded at first, so eventually Wang Chenqi reached out personally, lowered his tone, offered flattering words, and even apologized for his past “disrespect.”

Although Tong Jianxu still found him distasteful, in this industry, one couldn’t afford to completely disregard everything. In the end, he agreed.

And just like that, he was joining another production.

Wang Chenqi’s set was very different from Director Fang’s. It was chaotic and crowded, with crew members constantly rushing around, barely touching the ground with their feet.

When Tong Jianxu arrived, the assistant director personally came to greet him and led him to the designated rest area prepared for him.

The lounge was quite high-end, complete with a private changing room and a shower.

After giving him a full tour and heaping praise, the assistant director finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw there were no issues, then rushed off to pick up the next actor.

This production had strong backing and major prestige. Not only were both male leads Film Emperors, even the supporting female leads were Film Empresses. A whole lineup of top traffic stars had also been packed into the cast.

With so many “golden Buddhas” gathered together, the crew was inevitably overwhelmed.

Compared to a certain Film Empress who only ate food flown in daily from a specific restaurant and insisted on three hours of skincare treatments every afternoon no matter what, or a certain idol who threw a fit over the carpet in the lounge and had the whole room redecorated, Tong Jianxu was extremely low-key. All he did was bring his child to the set.

“No running around, alright? Stay close to Tian Miao and Ah Yan, got it?”

Tong Jianxu reminded Qian over and over, and gave repeated instructions to his assistant Ah Yan as well.

Ah Yan had just recovered from an illness and was immediately summoned back to work by Feng Yu. Feng Yu was worried something might happen to the father-daughter pair in such a chaotic crew. Ah Yan had always been detail-oriented. With her around, Tong Jianxu finally felt okay bringing his child into this messy environment.

Wang Chenqi loved grandeur. With so many pieces in place, every second cost money, so the filming pace was fast. Tong Jianxu started shooting the very day he arrived.

Normally, he would only bring one assistant into a shoot, occasionally two. They’d stay by the sidelines during filming.

But this time, he brought three. One stayed by his side, and the other two remained in the lounge with his daughter Yi Hua at all times, never leaving her unattended.

After half a month of high-speed shooting, Tong Jianxu noticed that his child was getting listless from being cooped up in the lounge all day. He specifically carved out time to take her out for a bit of fun.

As soon as they left, Duan Hui—who played the sixth male lead—seized the opportunity while no one was watching. He approached Tong Jianxu’s lounge with a bag in hand.

Inside the bag were a pinhole camera and installation tools.

He nervously clutched the keys in his pocket, swallowed hard, his mind torn with fear.

But the image of Tong Jianxu’s face and figure flickered in his mind, and desire ultimately overcame hesitation. He took out the key.

Just as he touched the door, a crew member passed by.

“Mr. Duan, are you looking for Mr. Tong? I just saw him step out,” the crew member said.

Duan Hui was startled and quickly withdrew his hand. “Ah? He’s out? Okay then, I’ll come back and look for him later.”