vstars Chapter 24 Xiaotian: Brother, you won't leave me, will you?
Chapter 24 Xiaotian: Brother, you won't leave me, will you?
As I stepped out of the hotel in the morning, I saw Li Xue standing at the bottom of the steps, holding a notebook in her hand.
"Good morning, Director Lin." Li Xue greeted him, her voice clear and crisp. "What would you like for breakfast? I'll go buy it."
"No need, we're not busy this morning. We'll go to the restaurant after Weiwei and Haochun come down. We usually go to that old restaurant when we're not in a rush; the food is great."
A few minutes later, the elevator dinged, and Tian Xiwei and Liu Haochun stepped out. Tian Xiwei yawned, her hair a little messy.
"Good morning, Brother Feng!" Tian Xi waved to him, then smiled and greeted Li Xue beside her, "Good morning, Sister Li Xue!"
"Good morning, Weiwei; good morning, Haochun."
"Let's go get breakfast." He led the way to the alley entrance, "The usual, that 'Zhang's Noodle Shop'."
Most of the people having breakfast were local residents. The owner called out to Lam Fung from afar, "Little Lam, two ounces of noodles again today, with a fried egg?"
"Where's Haochun?" the boss asked again, clearly familiar with these young men who frequented the place.
Liu Haochun said softly, "Just plain congee, with a tea egg and a basket of steamed buns, thank you Uncle Zhang."
He turned to Li Xue and said, "You're the same as Hao Chun, right? Plain porridge with steamed buns, and a tea egg too. The noodles here are on the spicier side, with lots of Sichuan peppercorns. You might not be used to it the first time you eat it, but we've been eating it since we were kids and we can handle it."
Li Xue nodded quickly: "I'll listen to you, I really can't handle spicy food very well."
The noodles and porridge were served quickly. Tian Xiwei picked up a fried egg and took a big bite: "Mmm... noodles and fried egg are a perfect match!"
Liu Haochun sipped his porridge, picked up a small steamed bun, gently bit a small hole in it, blew on it, and then ate it.
After finishing breakfast and heading to the film set, Li Xue followed Lin Feng, taking out her notebook: "Director Lin, what exactly do I need to do each day?"
"Right now, I'm mainly liaising with Lao Yang at the company. He's in charge of copyright and business. He sends you a daily work summary, so you just need to organize it and tell me the important parts. As for the production crew, I'll help keep an eye on the inventory of props and costumes, and check if there are any changes to the actors' schedules. These are all miscellaneous tasks."
He paused, glanced at the expectation in Li Xue's eyes, and added, "Don't you like acting? Go to the set more often when you have free time, watch how they move and how they deliver their lines. The company might start a drama next month, you can try out for it then."
Her eyes lit up instantly, and her fingers tightened around the notebook: "Really? Thank you, Director Lin! I'll definitely study hard!"
"Get your assistant's job done first."
"Mmm!" Li Xue nodded vigorously.
Upon arriving at the film set, all departments were already busy. "All departments, get ready!" After sitting down behind the monitor, Li Xue moved a small stool and sat next to him, holding a pen and paper, his eyes fixed on the set.
They filmed three scenes that morning, and they all went smoothly. During the lunch break, Tian Xiwei leaned over and looked at Li Xue's notebook: "Sister Li Xue, you've written so much down?"
"Yeah, I was afraid I'd forget." Li Xue moved the notebook back a little, looking a bit embarrassed.
In the afternoon, we filmed Tian Xiwei's scenes. From being nervous to acting spoiled, and finally snuggling into her "mother's" arms to act cute, the emotional transition was natural and smooth. Even the lighting technician next to her couldn't help but say, "This girl is getting better and better at acting."
When we finished filming, I glanced at the progress chart, and it was already mostly marked with red checkmarks. "At this rate, we can wrap up filming in another week."
"Really?" Tian Xi's eyes lit up. "Then can we go to Foreigners' Street?"
"Provided that the rest of the show doesn't fall apart."
Over the next few days, even Li Xue gradually got the hang of it, arriving at the noodle shop early every morning to reserve a seat. The film crew's progress was also becoming increasingly smooth, and they were about to wrap up.
After finishing work that day, Li Xue handed Lin Feng the compiled work summary, which not only contained news about Lao Yang, but also included an inventory sheet of props on set. The handwriting was neat and the information was well-organized.
He glanced at his watch and nodded: "Well done."
At the train station in the early morning, standing on the platform, he watched the staff put up barriers on both sides of the tracks and felt a strange sense of tension.
Today we're filming the most crucial scene in the entire series: Shi Miao chasing after her brother Shi Fen at the train station, and her line, "You left me behind," is the emotional climax of the whole story.
Tian Xiwei, wearing a faded school uniform, stood by a pillar in the waiting room, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes repeatedly. Last night, she spent an hour in Lin Feng's room, going over her lines line by line and working out her emotions bit by bit.
"Shi Miao wasn't throwing a tantrum; she was afraid of being left behind." He pointed to the script and said, "She looks fierce, but she's actually the most clingy. It's like when you were little, and I went to high school in the city. You hugged my suitcase and cried, saying, 'Brother, who will take my snacks if you leave?' That feeling of being both angry and scared is exactly how Shi Miao feels now."
At that time, Tian Xiwei didn't say anything, but her eyes reddened. Standing in the real train station, listening to the announcements on the loudspeaker, and watching people coming and going with their luggage, she suddenly understood that kind of panic.
"Are you ready?" He walked over and handed her a bottle of warm water.
Tian Xi nodded slightly, her voice a little hoarse: "Brother Feng, I think I just saw someone who told me that you wore the same clothes when you were in high school."
He followed her gaze and saw only a throng of heads. "That's fate," he said, patting her on the back. "Be careful when you run later, don't really fall."
"Okay." Tian Xi sniffed slightly, then suddenly looked up at him, "When you're acting later, will you really walk like in the script?"
"It's just acting." But I saw a hint of genuine fear in her eyes, and she added, "After filming, I'll just stand here and not go anywhere."
Liu Haochun and Li Xue stood not far away. Liu Haochun held a tissue in his hand and kept glancing at Tian Xiwei, feeling worried for her.
She practiced this scene with Tian Xiwei several times, and every time she said "you left me behind," Tian Xiwei's eyes would redden.
"Brother Zhou, just like we discussed yesterday, zoom in on Shi Miao's running figure and then give her a close-up when she shouts 'You left me behind.' We need to capture the details of Shi Fen's reaction, especially the second he freezes in shock," he said to Zhou Ming, who was in charge of the camera.
Zhou Ming nodded: "Don't worry, the equipment is all set up. I guarantee that even the teardrops will be captured clearly."
Tian Xiwei walked to the starting point and took a deep breath. The announcement came over the loudspeaker: "The train bound for... direction is about to arrive at the station," just like the scene in the script.
She closed her eyes, and two images flashed through her mind. One was a summer four years ago, when she was holding Lin Feng's suitcase and watching him leave.
One thing was that last night when I was packing my schoolbag, I saw the strawberry-flavored eraser that Raymond Lam had bought for me, and I suddenly remembered that after this movie was finished filming, they would be separated for several months.
"All departments, prepare yourselves! Action!"
Tian Xiwei was like a spring that had been switched on, and she rushed out suddenly. The wind lifted the corner of her school uniform skirt. She passed through the crowd of people carrying luggage, her eyes fixed on the back of the person standing at the carriage door. It was Lin Feng wearing Shifen's clothes.
"Brother!" Her voice was swallowed by the noise of the crowd, then suddenly rose, sharp and shrill, "You left something behind!"
Lin Feng turned around, his face full of confusion. He looked down at the backpack in his hand, then touched the pocket, raised the backpack and waved it at her, mouthing, "I didn't forget anything."
At that expression, Tian Xiwei's tears welled up instantly, falling like beads from a broken string to the ground.
She remembered when she was little, Lin Feng would stand on the platform with his schoolbag on his back, smiling and saying, "I'll come back and bring you spicy snacks when I'm on vacation." But she knew that now that he was gone, there would be no one to carry her across the street on rainy days, and no one to stand in front of her when she was bullied.
"You left me behind!" she practically screamed, her voice trembling with despair and tears. "You left me behind!!"
Lin Feng's body stiffened abruptly. The script said "Shi Fen was stunned," but at this moment, looking at Tian Xi's slightly red eyes and her shoulders trembling from crying so hard, the words "You left me behind" felt like a needle piercing his heart.
Suddenly, he stopped acting and realized he was really leaving the girl who had followed him since childhood. His eyes welled up and tears fell without warning.
He opened his mouth, wanting to call her name, but found his throat felt blocked, and could only let the tears flow down his face.
"Brother, don't go! Don't go!" Tian Xiwei rushed forward two steps, but was stopped by the barrier. She clung to the railing, her fingers turning white from the force, her cries filled with pleading, like a little dog abandoned by the roadside.
Lin Feng was pushed towards the car by the "passenger" behind him. He looked back at her, turning back every few steps.
The car window separated the two people. He could see that Tian Xiwei was still crying, her mouth opening and closing as she said something, but he couldn't hear her. He raised his hand and waved it forcefully, his tears falling onto the car window.
"CUT! Perfect!" Zhou Ming's voice was filled with excitement, but he stopped when he saw the scene offstage.
Tian Xiwei was still clinging to the railing, her shoulders shaking violently, tears streaming down her face. It seemed she hadn't yet recovered from Shi Miao's emotions, or perhaps she was crying out all the reluctance she had held back these past few days.
He pushed open the car door, ran over, squatted down in front of her, and gently patted her back: "Weiwei, the scene is finished."
Tian Xiwei ignored him, instead squatting down, hugging her knees, and crying even harder, as if she wanted to cry out all the grievances she had suffered over the years.
Liu Haochun and Li Xue quickly ran over and handed over tissues.
He crouched down and gently patted her back, just like when she fell and hurt herself as a child: "It's alright, it's alright, I'm here, I haven't left."
Tian Xiwei slowly raised her head, her eyes swollen like walnuts, her face streaked with tears. She looked at Lin Feng and asked in a tearful voice, "Brother, you won't leave me, will you?"
"I won't leave." He reached out and wiped away her tears, his voice soft. "I'll never leave."
Tian Xi stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly threw herself into his arms, hugged his neck tightly, buried her face in his shoulder, and burst into tears.
"I knew it..." she said, her voice choked with emotion, "You loved me the most..."
He held her in his arms, gently patting her back, his eyes welling up with tears. He glanced at Zhou Ming, who tactfully led his men away, giving them some space.
"Once filming wraps up, I'll take you to Foreigners' Street, and we'll play until you're tired of it," he said softly.
Tian Xiwei nodded in his arms, her crying gradually subsided, but she still clung to his neck and refused to let go.
The surrounding noise seemed to have stopped, leaving only Tian Xiwei's lingering sobs and Lin Feng's gentle comforting voice.
After a while, Tian Xiwei finally lifted her head from his embrace, wiping her face sheepishly. "Brother Feng, did I cry for too long?"
"No, I only cried like that because I acted well." He pinched her cheek. "Come on, I'll take you to buy some delicious food to make up for it."
"Yes!" Tian Xiwei nodded immediately, her eyes still glistening with tears, but the corners of her mouth turned up.