pappabearbooks Chapter 589: The World Is Noisy; Better to Carry a Shovel Up the Mountain
Chapter 589: The World Is Noisy; Better to Carry a Shovel Up the Mountain
Tonight there was no way he could sleep at all.After explaining the whole situation to Yang Li, Xiao He quietly stepped out of the chaos.
Outside was still pitch black, but at least the rain-and-sleet had stopped. The air only held dampness and the scent of the countryside. Xiao He took a deep breath and felt as if his soul had been cleansed.
At that moment another person stepped out beside him.
Xiao He glanced and saw Yun Ziqi.
He was a little surprised, “Weren’t you watching from inside?”
Jiang Junjie had the incident; Yun Ziqi was his guarantor and should have stayed on site to mediate the conflict.
But the man had come out to hide with him.
“My agent will handle it.”
Yun Ziqi said calmly.
Xiao He looked at him a little more and realized this guy wasn’t quite what the rumors painted.
According to the negative posts online, this guy should have been arrogant and unapproachable.
But in reality, Xiao He found Yun Ziqi to be, like his name, mild—like a cloud, coming and going without a trace.
“When we separated beds last night, you seemed pretty put off by Jiang Junjie?”
Xiao He asked tentatively.
“Jiang Junjie and I share the same agent, so I know his situation somewhat. As for whether he’s actually ill given his many girlfriends, I don’t know.”
Yun Ziqi gave Xiao He a neutral look, then turned the question back: “Did you notice anything too?”
Xiao He just smiled without answering, “You two don’t seem very harmonious.”
They had the same agent, yet they interacted like strangers.
Yun Ziqi let out a light laugh. “That’s why I envy you. Your agent only has you as talent, so they give everything to fight for your resources instead of taking one person’s resources to give to another.”
Xiao He fell silent for a moment. “You’re pretty open about that.”
Telling a fellow industry person he’d only met once about his own embarrassing matters felt oddly uncomfortable.
This Yun Ziqi didn’t seem naive either.
Xiao He quietly raised his guard.
“Ha, sorry, maybe Teacher Zhuo didn’t introduce things clearly before.”
As if sensing his doubt, Yun Ziqi chuckled and introduced himself again, “I did graduate from the Beijing Drama Academy, and my teacher is Ms. Gao Zhenxia.”
Xiao He was stunned for a second, then understood and relaxed somewhat, “So you’re Teacher Gao’s student.”
Teacher Gao Zhenxia was someone Xiao He had met while filming Corner Also; she had pointed out many acting issues to him. Later when Xiao He audited classes at the Beijing Drama Academy, it was she and Zhuo Jianhua who helped recommend him, so Xiao He respected her greatly.
“Last time I went to visit her, she mentioned you. She admired you and said you would achieve something in this field sooner or later.”
“It really turned out that way.” Yun Ziqi gave a bitter smile, “But I’m still not fully satisfied.”
“Oh, that’s normal. Many people in the circle aren’t satisfied—one less or one more won’t matter.”
Xiao He’s words successfully choked off whatever Yun Ziqi was about to say.
“You…” Yun Ziqi hesitated, “you’re not exactly what Teacher Gao described.”
Xiao He shrugged and started walking out, “Think whatever you want.”
“Where are you going?”
“Just walking.”
Yun Ziqi was quiet for a moment, then he caught up to Xiao He and said in a low voice, “Actually, I believe Jiang Junjie isn’t sick, but Ding Cheng reacted strongly. Pay attention.”
Xiao He stopped mid-step, turned, and looked meaningfully at the well-intentioned man in front of him: “Oh, thanks for that.”
“Just out of respect for Teacher Gao, some casual talk. You don’t need to take it to heart.”
Yun Ziqi smiled at Xiao He with gentle harmlessness, then turned and walked back.
Xiao He watched his retreating figure with an expressionless face.
A few minutes later, in the silent black night, a young man’s amused voice finally sounded: “Jingyou Entertainment… these people are really interesting.”
-
At five in the morning, the troops reorganized and prepared to depart.
Hanging around near the village, Xiao He asked and learned they planned to start early to shovel snow and repair the roads, so the line could be restored and traffic could pass normally.
That was their duty.
Coincidentally, Xiao He ran into the same soldier who’d flown the drone the previous day.
The man was packing up the drone equipment too, apparently planning to use it to record the operation.
As soon as Xiao He saw the drone, he couldn’t walk away; he struck up a conversation, asking about the drone model and basic specs.
Since acquiring the Mechanical Modification skill, Xiao He had shifted from being a coding brain to an electronics fanatic. Modding computers was routine now; most of the time he discussed various electronic devices with others.
The two hit it off, and Xiao He followed the main force up the mountain to shovel snow.
So when Xiao Chen woke up after seven in the morning and looked for Xiao He, he was shocked to find Brother Xiao missing!
Asking other crew members, Xiao Chen lamented dramatically while slapping his thigh, “Aiyo! What a pity!”
How could he have slept so hard last night and missed the first juicy bit of on-site gossip!
Such a pity, such a pity.
Then Xiao Chen glanced around and asked the soul-searching question: “So where did Brother Xiao go?”
Lao Qi, who had gotten up at six and just finished exercising at the village entrance, heard Xiao Chen and casually said, “Teacher Xiao seems to have gone up the mountain with the troops to shovel snow.”
Xiao Chen: “Huh?”
What? Went up to shovel snow with them?
Brother Xiao, have you forgotten you’re a celebrity?
Once you’re in the crew, behave like an actor and stop wandering off!
Why are you so energetic?!
“I think it was around five-something. I planned to go with him, but the car was full, so I didn’t.”
“Ah?”
Xiao Chen was shocked again, “You were awake this morning too?”
“I woke up early. When there was so much commotion over there, I went to see with others, but I saw you sleeping so I didn’t wake you.”
Lao Qi answered honestly.
“Aiyo!”
Xiao Chen slapped his thigh in regret again, “So what’s the plan now? The road isn’t open yet, so the crew can’t get people out!”
Jiang Junjie insisted he wasn’t ill and even produced his medical report, but Ding Cheng kept demanding to return for tests and accountability, while also objecting to the crew’s temporary housing changes.
Although the bedding swap was due to the natural disaster, not the crew’s doing, the crew still couldn’t fully escape responsibility if the matter was pursued. They had recruited Jiang Junjie, so there had been some negligence. The director and producer could only hope to appease Ding Cheng’s emotions by offering other compensation.
The dispute continued until after seven this morning before finally settling down.
But today’s scenes were definitely unshootable.
That included the transport squad’s parts.
Before Ding Cheng confirmed things at the hospital, the crew’s work had to shift from Group B to Group A.
So Group B’s other actors could only stay in the village and wait for further notice.
Because most people weren’t close to Xiao He and harbored some degree of exclusion, the whole morning passed and surprisingly few noticed Xiao He was absent from the village.
Yun Ziqi, however, was particularly concerned. He asked a few more questions, learned Xiao He had gone up the mountain, said nothing else, gave a single compliment, and then left.
Around noon, Xiao He returned proudly carrying a snow shovel.
Seeing him come back, Xiao Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Brother, you’re finally back!”