IPCFS: Chapter 79 Part 2

The bartender knew it.

The man, who was like a newcomer and couldn’t order alcohol, also showed a complicated expression.

“You want to buy me a drink?”

“Of course.”

In this way, the two of them sat at the bar, each holding a glass of alcohol for a drink.

This man seemed to be a person with a very strong desire to talk. After drinking half a glass of alcohol, he said that his name was Wen Qiong.

Wen Qiong was originally a pampered young master and painter. His works fetched sky-high prices at auctions.

It was a pity that the Wen family fell into poverty three years ago. His father fell ill and his mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Even if Wen Qiong used up all his savings, he couldn’t save his mother.

The family burden suddenly weighed down on him.

Under this pressure, Wen Qiong found that he had no inspiration for creation.

This was a fatal blow for an artist who relied on inspiration for his livelihood. His new works lost their previous brilliance and were rejected again and again.

Wen Qiong’s always proud self-esteem was like slag thrown on the ground. Any person could crush him.

Last month, Father and Mother Wen passed away one after another.

Wen Qiong was left alone and bought a cheap, discounted air ticket to come to Iceland.

The casual first stop he made after getting off the plane was this bar.

Wen Qiong was short of money, and he had indeed struggled over the price of the cocktails for a long time. This was until Lu Yao suddenly appeared and invited him for a cup of Long Island Iced Tea.

They had very different family backgrounds and life experience, but the loneliness in their hearts was similar.

Sometimes, emotions were instantaneous.

Together, the two of them visited every corner of Iceland.

They stepped on the never melting glaciers, watched the dazzling aurora at night, blew in the chilly sea breeze, and kissed each other’s beating hearts.

Lu Yao and Wen Qiong hugged, kissed, and took each other in the simplest sense. This gradually turned into the proximity and hugging of two souls.

They were each other’s salvation. After surviving those difficult years alone, a cup of alcohol called ‘Long Island Iced Tea’ was dissolved into their bones and blood.

Every movie plot always had a twist that couldn’t be avoided.

Wen Qiong and Lu Yao also failed to avoid this unavoidable ‘turning point.’

Just as they were about to leave Iceland and head to the airport, they were involved in an unexpected car accident.

There was a sudden and desperate impact.

The worlds of the two people started to change dramatically.

Ji Li read this in one go and even his breathing froze. He instinctively turned the page to continue, only to be caught off guard by the blank end page.

“Sister Yu, this script…” Ji Li spoke impatiently.

There was a trace of depression in his chest that couldn’t be relieved.

“The remaining third is still with Director Cameron.” Yu Fuya had long expected that the other person would ask such a question and explained softly.

The director team said that the next storyline in the script was very important. In order to avoid leaks and affect the interests of the crew, the complete script wasn’t given.

It was only when the filming progress reached this scene that the actors could obtain the script. Otherwise, unrelated personnel would have to go to the theater to watch it after the movie was released.

Ji Li couldn’t help frowning and sighing when he got this answer. His fingers holding the script didn’t relax in the slightest.

He admitted that he was poked by this plot and he was even more caught off guard by this unexpected ending point.

Baozi walked back with a pile of food. “Brother Ji, Sister Yu, shall we have a meal first? You won’t finish looking at the scripts for a while. Don’t starve yourself.”

Yu Fuya could read Ji Li’s thoughts from his face and patted his shoulder. “A good story is one that tantalizes the appetite.”

It was just like the day before yesterday. She read the script and couldn’t sleep for most of the night.

Ji Li nodded and was forced to put down the script for the time being.

After the meal, Yu Fuya and Baozi left first. The scripts they brought were still quietly resting on the coffee table.

Ji Li washed up briefly and continued to nestle in the sofa to read the scripts. Snow Cake was probably bored and was finally willing to nest in the arms of his owner.

There was no schedule, so there was no need for him to wake up early.

It took Ji Li roughly two days to go through the other scripts.

Yu Fuya’s vision in selecting scripts was still excellent. The scripts of these three movie projects were remarkable. The work would not be bad as long as the director and producer were powerful.

If it was the past, then Ji Li would have definitely chosen one of them directly.

Yet two days later, Lu Yao and Wen Qiong were always in his heart, and his concern about them hadn’t decreased but increased.

After thinking carefully, Ji Li finally called Yu Fuya. “Sister Yu, help me contact Director Cameron’s team. I want to participate in the audition.”

On the phone, Yu Fuya chuckled. “It has been arranged for a long time already. We will meet this Sunday night. The plane ticket is booked for Wednesday, the day after tomorrow.”

Based on the silence and urgency after Ji Li read the script that day, Yu Fuya had expected this answer. Thus, she had contacted Cameron’s team early on in order to meet.

So what about a same-sex theme?

There was a good script, good director, and good team. This was undoubtedly an excellent opportunity for Ji Li to stand on the international stage.

It wasn’t just Ji Li. Yu Fuya was his agent and she also wanted to fight for it.

“Have a good rest and prepare well. The day after tomorrow, I will pick you up with Baozi to go to the airport.”

Ji Li’s lips curved up. “Okay. Thank you, Sister Yu.”

“Why be so polite with me? This is a choice you made for yourself.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Sunday, a high-end restaurant.

In order to show courtesy, Ji Li and Fuya specially dressed up to attend.

Ji Li’s hair was dyed dark brown and it was cut shorter than his red carpet look more than a month ago. The gray-blue, three-piece suit was calm yet playful at the same time.

Ji Li’s appearance and body proportions originally made him a walking hanger. The moment he entered the restaurant, he attracted the attention of many people.

“Good evening, Sir, Madam. Is there anything I can do to help you?”

Yu Fuya nodded calmly at the waiter. “We have an appointment with Mr Cameron.”

The waiter immediately understood the situation. “Please come with me.”

“Thank you.”

The two of them followed the waiter. They moved through the dining hall, passed through the winding and quiet corridor, and were brought outside a private room.

The waiter knocked on the door.

Soon, a young woman opened the door. She saw Ji Li at the door and her eyes lit up slightly.

Immediately afterwards, she turned sideways and gave way. “Ms. Yu, Mr. Ji, please come in.”

She was Cameron’s daughter and one of the people in charge of this movie project, Lanlinta.

Ji Li smiled slightly and calmly stepped in.

Before coming here, he had learned more about Director Cameron.

The other person was 58 years old and the movies he made had always been hailed as the aesthetic representatives of literary movies. He was extremely good at composing pictures and extending the artistic concepts of the story.

Many fans and friends said that as long as it was a movie directed by Cameron, any frame could be used as a wallpaper.

Cameron was both a director and artist.

Ji Li saw Cameron sitting in the seat.

He had white hair covered by a square, black beret and his excessively long beard was also white. He looked like an artist.

“Hello, Director. I am Ji Li. Sorry to keep you waiting.” Ji Li took the initiative to speak.

“We have just arrived. Please sit.” Cameron smiled and didn’t look like a very serious director.

Ji Li and Yu Fuya looked at each other and took their seats under Lanlinta’s instructions.

Cameron looked at Ji Li and asked, “Do you like steak? The charcoal-grilled steak here is very nice.”

“Thank you, Director. I can eat it.”

Ji Li looked around and suppressed the doubts in his heart.

What about the audition?

This box didn’t look like an audition occasion.

“Have you read the script?”

“Yes, I’ve seen it. It is very uncomfortable…” Ji Li looked over in a helpless but sincere manner. “It is very uncomfortable to be left hanging by the storyline.”

Cameron smiled heartily. “Please forgive us for doing this. Everything has been done for the mystery of the movie.”

“Of course.”

“I’ve seen the advertisement you collaborated with Adolphe on, the one at the dinner party. Your performance was very charming.” Cameron praised.

If it wasn’t for this opportunity, he wouldn’t have known that China still had such a unique face like Ji Li.

He had been preparing this movie script since a year ago and really put a lot of effort into the Chinese faces of the two protagonists.

Not only did they need to have strong expressive skills, but the actors’ appearance had to match the standard. The most important thing was that the actor needed to be willing to go all out to act.

Cameron and his team had seen the profiles of many actors from China, but they couldn’t find the person they had in mind.

He almost wanted to give up and directly change the character’s foreign identity, but he was rejected by the screenwriter.

In recent years, there had been countless same-sex movies in the West. The foreign actors had long passed the fresh taste of the foreign audiences.

What the screenwriter wanted to try was the type of delicate emotions that were far away from enthusiasm and being unrestrained, as well as show different aesthetics.

Therefore, he set both roles as Chinese.

Cameron and Ji Li chatted for a while before the latter tentatively asked, “Director, forgive me for asking directly, but this audition…”

Cameron slightly raised his eyebrow. “My eyes are the lens of judgment.”

Lanlinta on the side added with a smile, “Mr Ji, don’t look at my father’s smile and think he is very good at talking.”

“In fact, he has never selected actors based on rigid acting skills. It is based on his intuitive sense of the actor and character image.”

The so-called going through the back door and relying on connections wouldn’t work on Cameron.

He had always adhered to his standards. Acting skills that could move the audience actually came from the characters themselves.

In other words, the first impression that an actor gave must be that character.

Cameron had seen Ji Li’s photos and a dynamic video. He had been 50% convinced in his heart. Now after seeing the real person, it had been raised by the other 50%.

It was the first time Yu Fuya had heard such a selection criterion and a hint of surprise appeared in her eyes.

She thought that this international director’s selection of actors would be very, very strict and they would have to go through several rounds of repeated auditions.

“If you are willing, you can discuss the filming contract with my team tomorrow.”

Cameron looked at Ji Li and asked jokingly, “Of course, the salary for you won’t be low.”

Since Ji Li was willing to come, he was naturally prepared to work hard for his role.

Now he could spend less time winning the role, and he was naturally happy.

“Okay, thank you Director Cameron,” Yu Fuya replied for him.

“Director, am I playing the role of Lu Yao? Has the actor who will play Wen Qiong already been set?”

It was the first time Ji Li was starring in such a thing. According to the script he read, there were still intimate scenes. To be honest, he was nervous about his acting partner.

“Wen Qiong’s role was set earlier than yours, and he is also a famous actor in China.”

Cameron and Lanlinta looked at each other and the latter smiled. “He also happens to be in the United States, and we invited him to come tonight.”

Before Ji Li could digest the amount of information, there was a knock on the door again.

Lanlinta replied, “Please come in.”

Ji Li heard the sound of the door being pushed open, and his heart tightened.

Before he could look over, an all-too-familiar voice was heard.

“Director Cameron, long time no see.”

Yu Fuya looked at Qin Yue, who suddenly appeared in the box. Then she glanced at Ji Li, who was stunned and surprised for a moment.

For some reason, she suddenly felt aggrieved.

It was over.

She guarded against him.

As a result, she personally sent her baby into the mouth of the big-tailed wolf?

Proofreader: Azure

rainbowmushroom

Any support on Patreon will be appreciated and you will also get access to advance chapters.
https://www.patreon.com/rainbowturtle

If you just want to support or buy me a coffee, you can consider Ko-fi:
https://ko-fi.com/rainbowturtle