vstars Chapter 25 Filming Ends
Chapter 25 Filming Ends
Back on set, Tian Xiwei was sent back to the hotel to rest. He told his senior, Zhou Ming, "We'll film the other supporting characters' scenes this morning so Weiwei can rest. We'll finish filming her scenes this afternoon."
Zhou Ming nodded knowingly: "I understand, that girl cried until she was exhausted, she needs to rest." He patted Lin Feng on the shoulder, "That scene just now was powerful, it will definitely touch people's hearts when it's edited in post-production."
"Director Lin, should we go check on Weiwei?" Li Xue brought over a glass of warm water.
"No need, let her stay here quietly." Taking the water, "Go to the nearby 'Old Stove' and book a private room. We'll have lunch there and say... it's an early celebration for Weiwei and Haochun."
At 11:30 a.m., Li Xue came to call everyone. Tian Xiwei had changed into a clean hoodie. Her eyes were still a little swollen, but she looked much better. As soon as she saw Lin Feng, she exclaimed, "Brother Feng, I'm hungry!"
"I knew you were hungry." He chuckled and flicked her forehead. "I'll take you to eat something good."
Liu Haochun had also packed up and was carrying a small backpack. "Haochun, leave your backpack at the hotel. After dinner, go straight back to the set. After filming this afternoon, you'll be relaxed..." He paused, swallowing the word "wrap up" back. "After filming this afternoon, you'll be free."
Liu Haochun gave a soft "hmm". She knew that filming would probably wrap up today. She felt a little down. Although she was tired during this period, it was much more interesting than school. She could see Brother Feng every day and joke around with Tian Xiwei.
"Old Stove" is tucked away at the end of an alley. A peeling wooden sign hangs on the wooden door. The owner, a slightly overweight middle-aged man, called out to Lin Feng as soon as he saw him, "Little Lin, the private room we booked today is upstairs. I've prepared all the dishes as you requested!"
As soon as Tian Xiwei sat down, she started looking at the menu: "Wow, sweet and sour pork ribs! And braised pork belly! Brother Feng, did you order this?"
"What else?" He sat down and poured her a cup of tea. "You performed so well this morning, so I'll treat you to a snack."
Li Xue sat down next to Liu Haochun and whispered, "Haochun, Director Lin also ordered pork soup, saying it's a local specialty and not spicy, so you can definitely eat it."
Liu Haochun nodded and smiled at her. Over the past few days, she had discovered that although Li Xue was talkative, she was very thoughtful.
The dishes were served quickly, and the most eye-catching was the pot of pork soup in the middle. The milky white soup was filled with pork liver, small intestines, pork blood, slices of meat, and diced ham sausages, all sprinkled with bright green scallions and steaming hot.
"Eat quickly, it won't taste good when it gets cold." She picked up a piece of pork rib and handed it to Tian Xiwei first. "Be careful, it's hot."
"Thank you, Brother Feng!" Tian Xiwei immediately stuffed it into her mouth, exhaling sharply from the heat, but unwilling to spit it out, she said indistinctly, "Delicious! A hundred times better than a boxed lunch!"
She picked up a piece of braised pork and put it in Lin Feng's bowl: "Brother Feng, you should eat too, this is delicious!" Then she picked up a piece of pork tenderloin for Liu Haochun, "Haochun, try this, it's not greasy." Finally, she picked up a slice of pig liver and put it in Li Xue's bowl, "Sister Li Xue, the pig liver in this braised pork soup is so tender!"
"Thank you, Weiwei." She tasted the pig liver and found it to be tender and fresh, without any fishy smell. She couldn't help but take another bite.
"Don't be shy, everyone, please help yourselves." He served Liu Haochun a bowl of soup. "Haochun, try this soup, it's warming. Here, when we slaughter a pig for the New Year, we always make 'pig-slaughtering soup.' We cook a big pot of it, and relatives and friends gather around to eat it; it's very lively."
Liu Haochun sipped the soup, feeling a warm sensation in her stomach. "Mmm, it's quite delicious," she said softly, recalling how she used to cook big pots of stew for Chinese New Year when she was a child in Northeast China, with sauerkraut and pork belly, bubbling away. It was somewhat similar to this, yet not quite the same.
"When I was little, back in my hometown, my favorite time was when they slaughtered the pig for the New Year!" Tian Xi's eyes lit up, her mouth stuffed with meat. "My grandpa's family would slaughter a pig every year, and I would squat by the stove waiting. My grandma would give me freshly sliced meat dipped in chili peppers—it smelled so good! And there was pig's blood, stir-fried pickled pepper blood curd..."
"I remember the first time you saw a pig being slaughtered, you were so scared that you hid behind me, covering your eyes and not daring to watch."
"That's because I was timid when I was little!" Tian Xi blushed slightly, shoveling rice into her mouth, and suddenly asked, "Brother Feng, is our filming almost over?"
"Okay, we'll do a few more shots this afternoon, and then your scenes will be officially wrapped up."
Tian Xiwei gave a soft "Oh," lowered her head to eat her rice, and didn't say anything more, but she barely touched her chopsticks. She actually knew that filming was about to wrap up, but hearing it from Brother Feng still felt a bit sudden, like being at the height of a lively banquet when suddenly told that it was time to leave.
"It's good that filming is over," he said, noticing her low spirits. "Once filming is over, I'll take you guys to Foreigners' Street. We'll ride the roller coaster and the giant swing ride, have a blast. Besides, it's not like we'll never see each other again. You can chat with me anytime, and we can even video chat on the weekend if you're free."
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"Really?" Tian Xi looked up slightly, her eyes lighting up again.
"Of course it's true." He picked up a piece of pork rib and put it in her bowl. "Eat quickly, then you can focus on filming this afternoon and try to get it right in one take. Let's wrap up filming sooner so we can have some fun."
"Mmm!" Tian Xi nodded vigorously and began to eat heartily, but the smile on her lips wasn't as bright as before.
Liu Haochun listened quietly beside her, feeling much the same way Tian Xiwei did. The wrap-up of filming meant she could go back to school, and her mother would surely be happy, but she felt empty inside.
I won't be able to film with Tian Xiwei anymore, and I won't be able to...
"Haochun, you should eat more too." Li Xue picked up a meatball for her. "This meatball is made with lean meat, so it's not greasy."
"Thank you." Liu Haochun said softly, taking a bite of the meatball. She remembered when she first joined the crew, she was so nervous that she was even nervous to talk to Brother Feng. It was Tian Xiwei who pulled her to play with her, and it was Brother Feng who patiently taught her how to move. Now that she was leaving, she realized that she had gotten used to everything here.
Looking at the two of them, Li Xue felt a little emotional. She had worked on many film sets. She took a sip of soup and said with a smile, "Actually, it's good that filming has wrapped up. It means that your hard work over this period of time has paid off. When the movie is released, we can go to the premiere together. By then, you'll be big stars, and I can tell people, 'I had dinner with the female lead.'"
"I'm not a big star at all," Tian Xi muttered, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up.
"Maybe. When you guys become famous, don't forget to treat me to this restaurant's sweet and sour pork ribs."
"I definitely won't forget!" Tian Xiwei said immediately. "I'll treat you to ten servings then, Brother Feng!"
The meal was finished in this atmosphere that was half lively and half melancholy. On the way back to the film set, Tian Xiwei didn't skip around as usual, but walked slowly. Liu Haochun followed behind, clutching the hem of his clothes, seemingly lost in thought.
He and Li Xue walked a little ahead, and Li Xue said softly, "Director Lin, they seem quite reluctant to part with us."
"Yeah, it's my first time acting, so it's understandable that I got emotionally involved." He paused for a moment, "When we wrap up filming, ask the production crew to prepare some small firecrackers to make it a bit lively and not too sentimental."
"OK."
The afternoon's scenes were filmed exceptionally quickly. The few reshoots were scenes between Tian Xiwei and Liu Haochun. Perhaps knowing these were the last few takes, both of them were extra dedicated, and they nailed it in one take.
"CUT! Perfect!" Zhou Ming's voice was filled with laughter. "I hereby declare that Tian Xiwei and Liu Haochun have officially wrapped filming!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the staff next to her raised a small confetti cannon. With a "bang," colorful confetti rained down, landing on Tian Xiwei and Liu Haochun's hair and shoulders.
"Happy wrap-up!" Everyone laughed and applauded.
Tian Xi paused for a moment, then laughed and reached out to catch the colorful confetti. Liu Haochun also laughed, his eyes curving into crescents, and he raised his hand to brush the confetti off his shoulder.
But as she laughed, Tian Xiwei's eyes reddened. Looking at the familiar scenery around her, at the smiles on the staff's faces, and at Lin Feng not far away, she suddenly felt a lump in her throat. It was really over.
Liu Haochun's smile slowly faded. She looked down at her hands; she had been holding Tian Xiwei's hand during filming, but now it was empty.
"Here, take this." He walked over and handed each of them a bouquet of sunflowers. "A wrap-up gift. May you all be like sunflowers, always moving towards the light."
"Thank you, Brother Feng." Tian Xiwei accepted the flowers.
"Thank you, Brother Feng." Liu Haochun accepted it as well. The sunflower petals were soft and had a faint fragrance.
Li Xue took out her phone: "Let me take a picture for you guys, to commemorate this."
Tian Xiwei and Liu Haochun stood side by side, holding sunflowers in their hands, smiling at the camera.
After taking photos, the staff brought over a wrap-up cake with a sign that read "Happy Wrap-up." Tian Xiwei cut the biggest piece for Lin Feng, then cut two more pieces for Li Xue and Liu Haochun, before taking a small bite for herself.
"Is it sweet?"
"Sweet." Tian Xi nodded slightly, but her eyes became even redder.