IPCFS: Chapter 39 Part 1

As the director, Wang Zhang had his own leadership style. Under his leadership, the crew quickly got on the right track for filming.

In addition to the friendship storyline between the three male protagonists, the love plotline of the movie Time Lobbyist naturally revolved around the male and female protagonists.

Fang Yitian, the female protagonist played by Chang Shiran, was a transfer student. For her first mock exam, she was placed in the classroom with the lowest grades by the Academic Affairs office.

Coincidentally, she sat behind the male protagonist, Cheng Yu. In this way, the two of them had their first conversation.

Fang Yitian was pleasing to the eye and was very well-behaved. She spoke in a soft and sticky tone, and almost every sound entered Cheng Yu’s heart.

Cheng Yu’s reputation in school was not good. He had a lonely and wild temperament. He was a bad student who went out of his way to fight, but no one knew that Fang Yitian liked this ‘crazy demon’ teenager.

On the surface, the two of them were a bad boy and a good girl, two students who weren’t on the same level. Behind the scenes, their fingers clasped together and on their foreheads, light, throbbing kisses were exchanged.

Yet in youth, there were always some changes that came unexpectedly.

Cheng Yu caused too many problems outside of school as a member of  Brother Yang’s gang. One day, gangsters visited his house and threatened the elderly couple who adopted Cheng Yu.

Cheng Yu’s grandfather was so angry that he had a heart attack on the spot and died. His frightened grandmother died not long after…The death of his elders gave Cheng Yu a fatal blow.

Some people had to grow up overnight.

For the first time, the boy’s world completely collapsed. He held a knife and thought about extracting his revenge in the most extreme way. However, he was stopped by Fang Yitian, who rushed over to him.

In the quiet night, the girl stood on tiptoe, gently covered the eyes of the boy that were filled with hatred and despair, and whispered softly.

“Ah Yu, you said that you would marry me when I graduate from university?”

“I’ll tell you the answer now. I will wait for you.”

Due to this promise, Cheng Yu dropped the knife and was led out of hell by the girl he loved the most.

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In addition to the roles of the male and female protagonists, the scenes of the second male and female lead were equally wonderful.

Under the fatal oppression of Mother Fang, Fang Huai finally experienced a complete collapse. The fiercest argument between mother and son broke out.

Right before his eyes, Mother Fang slit her wrist with a pair of scissors. Facing the dripping blood, Fang Huai’s expression went from shock, to a bitter smile, to a final indifference.

Naturally, Mother Fang didn’t die. Under the joint persuasion of their neighbors, Fang Huai knelt numbly in front of her hospital bed and asked for forgiveness. However, he always carried a scar in his heart that never healed.

On the day of the university entrance examination, he left under the earnest expectations of Mother Fang and disappeared without a trace.

He abandoned the exam and chose to leave his family.

After hearing the news, the protagonists searched everywhere for him. The second female lead, who had always liked Fang Huai, was deceived due to her anxiety. During the search, she was abducted by a drunk gangster and an accident occurred…

By fate’s arrangement, tragedies followed one after another.

Xiang Suian, played by Ji Li, acted as the ‘persuader of fate’ in countless rebirths.

He would let the male protagonist return home at the right time to stop the gangsters from killing the elderly couple; he persuaded Fang Huai to go out and prevent the quarrel that was destined to bring tragedy; he found a way to protect the second female lead, ensuring that she bypassed the road where the accident would occur…

He tried to change everything.

Yet in the end, there would always be unexpected accidents that turned them back to the original ending.

When the second male lead disappeared into the vast sea of people, the second female lead received a heavy blow and was taken out of town by her parents, and even the male and female protagonists returned to the beginning of the script.

The girl who once pulled Cheng Yu out of hell and said she wanted to marry him ended up marrying someone else. In less than half a year, her tragic death personally sent the most beloved teenager in her life back to hell.

It was just like the last words of Xiang Suian in the script:

“I am like a lobbyist out of time, trying to make them whole in each round of reincarnation.”

From the beginning to the end, Xiang Suian was the one who lived the clearest and most tormented life.

It was difficult for a wise man to enlighten himself. He could persuade others to let things go, but he could not persuade himself.

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As the movie progressed, more details appeared that could create the feeling of ‘regret.’

Outside of the movie, Feng Cheng and Wei Lai made rapid progress under the invisible ‘pressure’ of Ji Li’s acting skills. Several important scenes were acted out very well, and Wang Zhang praised the young actors in the crew in his Moments every day.

A month of filming passed by quickly.

Ji Li was the third male lead, so he had fewer scenes than the other leading actors. He completed his filming in Shuoyang Town and returned to Shanghai first.

The movie hadn’t finished yet, and Ji Li still had a few scenes that were arranged to be filmed half a month later by the crew.

Schemes of the Great Zong Dynasty Youth was scheduled to air in January of the next year. There was now only one and a half month left to complete the production.

The TV drama was undergoing intense and orderly post-production work. Most of the scenes kept the live recorded voice but some individual scenes needed post-dubbing.

The crew was pressing hard, and Yu Fuya had no choice but to arrange for the dubbing work to take place within the two weeks where there was no filming.

Ji Li had been exposed to post-dubbing in many movies and dramas before and was familiar with the work. He spent four days in the recording studio and finished dubbing the drama.

On the way back, Ji Li took the initiative to inquire about his next work, “Sister Yu, does the company have any new movie or television projects now, or have you found a script?”

Filming for Wang Zhang’s movie was about to end, and he didn’t want a large gap in his schedule.

Yu Fuya, who was sitting in the front seat, turned sideways and answered him seriously, “I helped you look around. The movie crews that made offers were all for small supporting roles. The company’s current investment resources are biased toward TV dramas which aren’t suitable for you.”

The two of them had very seriously discussed  Ji Li’s intention to develop on the big screen.

It was just that the movie circle was even more difficult to enter than the television circle.

Ji Li might’ve filmed three works in a row, but he was still an actor who didn’t have anything released.

It wasn’t so easy to want a movie’s capital to take the initiative to find him.

“Don’t worry. Have a good rest after this movie is finished. There will be more crews starting up after the new year, and I will definitely find a good script for you.”

Yu Fuya was ambitious.

Ji Li had already played a villain in a TV drama and the third male lead in a movie. He couldn’t return to an unknown, supporting role in his next movie or television work.

Oher new actors could hone their acting skills through supporting roles in movies, but Ji Li’s acting skills were already sufficient. The quality of the role must not decrease.

It was better to be lacking than to accept something shoddy.

Ji Li understood her consideration and nodded. “Yes, I’m not in a hurry.”

In any case, there was Chaoying Culture behind him and Yu Fuya was his agent. His future development path was already much larger than other actors of the same age.

The car stopped at the entrance of the company. Ji Li had two sets of daily promotional photos to be taken today.

The group got out of the car.

Suddenly, a middle-aged woman dressed in plain clothing rushed over and grabbed Ji Li’s arm hard. “Xiao Li, I was waiting for you!”

Ji Li’s expression changed in an instant at the sudden physical contact.

Yu Fuya and Baozi reacted quickly. They moved to his left and right and pulled the two apart.

“Who are you?”

“Who gave you permission to touch Brother Ji?”

The middle-aged woman broke free from their grasp and shouted in an unwilling manner, “Why do I have to ask you? Who are you? I came to find my nephew. Can you stop me?”

She stood upright and pushed away her messy hair, revealing her thin, yellow face.

Ji Li met this unfamiliar face, and the memory of the original owner was immediately unsealed. He slightly frowned and didn’t call out her title.

The middle-aged woman’s name was Xie Kefang, and she was the aunt of the original owner.

In the beginning, she was the one who ‘abducted’ the original owner, who just graduated from university, and sent him to Dream Media in order to pay the tuition for her own son. She signed a completely unequal contract for him and was also paid his training fee and signing fee in advance.

After Ji Li replaced the original owner, he directly left this person’s family behind. He regarded the ‘contract salary’ that was taken away as the original owner’s payment to the family for raising him.

From his perspective, there was no need to recognize such relatives.

Unexpectedly, after more than four months, Xie Kefang actually took the initiative to find him.

Xie Kefang saw that Ji Li didn’t respond and hurriedly took two steps forward. “I’m sure I didn’t recognize the wrong person? Xiao Li, how have you been doing lately? Auntie just found out that you changed companies…”

She showed a fake smile and wanted to step forward to grab his sleeve.

Baozi’s eyes were fast, and his hands were quick. He immediately stood in front of Ji Li. “Speak carefully, and don’t get so close!”

Brother Ji’s expression wasn’t right, and he didn’t seem to have any good feelings toward this woman. As an assistant, Baozi naturally had to be careful and wary. He couldn’t let this woman gain an inch.

Xie Kefang was stopped by Baozi and her eyes rolled. She used a condescending tone to play the family card.

“Xiao Li, I am your aunt. How have you been for the past few months? Your uncle and I have been at home worrying about you in fear that you were wronged by the company.”

“Why haven’t you called me back after such a long time?”

Ji Li didn’t fall for her trap at all. “Don’t pretend. You know more than me about  how I entered the entertainment industry.”

Xie Kefang glimpsed the indifferent Ji Li and her heart became unhappy. Her tone of voice immediately became harsh and mean.

“Ji Li, what are you saying?”

“If I hadn’t brought you to that entertainment company, would you be here today? Is a chicken worthy of being a phoenix after flying up on a branch?”

“I didn’t expect you to be an ingrate after raising you for so many years!”

Xie Kefang’s voice was loud and sharp and immediately attracted the attention of nearby passersby. There must be a melon to be eaten at Chaoying Culture’s headquarters.

Yu Fuya leaned sideways and quickly pulled up Ji Li’s sweatshirt and hat, shielding most of the young man’s appearance.

She stared coldly at Xie Kefang, who had a calculating expression. “Baozi, take your Brother Ji inside first. Leave this woman for me to handle.”

Previously, when Yu Fuya took over Ji Li, she had investigated his family background in detail. Therefore, she already realized Xie Kefang’s true intentions in this short period of time.

Now that Ji Li had gained a foothold in the entertainment industry, she wanted to come back and benefit from their relationship?

Bah! What kind of aunt was this?

Wanting to use Ji Li as a money bag? There would be no such thing!

Baozi quickly swiped the company’s access card. “Brother Ji, let’s go.”

“Sister Yu, I’m sorry to bother you.” Ji Li didn’t want to have too much involvement with relatives like Xie Kefang, so he quickly entered the company.

Proofreader: Azure