As the cast dinner and social commenced, the staff brought out plates of food. At first, conversation stayed at tables, but, by the time drinks came out, everyone had begun mingling beyond their initial table.
Li Feiling, as the main antagonist, and the second-most—arguably the most—popular cast member, juggled her usual never-ending stream of actresses and actors making social connections.
“Yes! Nice to meet you, of course!”
“Oh wow, so nice to see you again! Yes, ofcourse I remember working with you three years ago. Glad you’ve found your feet!”
“Pleasure to make your acquaintance as well. I’m always here to answer questions. Just come up to ask! We’re all seeking to improve, so don’t hesitate. I like to do mini improv-esque scenes with people in character just to practice, if you want to sometime?”
Xia Ruyun, unlike last time though, hung around in the circle. After the greetings, everyone seemed to move towards more casual conversation. While the university-like chattering surrounded her, she stayed quiet, piping up with the occasional comment and nothing more.
“Then, my last director, Wang Long, then booked him, in punishment, to be shooting every single day for fifteen hours! He was so tired, but honestly? Deserved. After what he did to her, he’s genuinely a scumbag who doesn’t deserve to work in the industry.”
“Yeah!”
“Good for that director.”
“Why does that happen so often? Like ew.”
“It’s just a sad thing that happens, the industry is messed up like that,” Li Feiling sighed, supporting her chin with her hand. “I heard he has a new role in a big movie? By... I don’t remember the director...”
“Wen Naying?” Xia Ruyun asked, after searching her memory for a couple seconds.
“Yeahhh, her,” Li Feiling shook her finger and nodded. “Yeah, that’s the one. Thank you, Ruyun.”
People came and went. Like bees in a hive, everyone seemed to buzz between tables. Over time though, the entire cast seemed to divide into two groups with an invisible wall dividing the two: Chu Changfeng’s group and Li Feiling’s group. Like in the show, the two seemed to head opposing factions. Each of their little ‘hives’ though, of course, didn’t mirror the factions in the show one-to-one.
After the groups had settled, and the wall had appeared, though, a few brave souls crossed the barrier, mingling with both sides. One such individual drew a lot of gazes as she left Chu Changfeng’s side: Han Jingyi. Having been sitting right beside Chu Changfeng, many of the more keen-eyed observers had already written her off as Chu Changfeng’s newest woman.
Han Jingyi, noticing the crowd around Xia Ruyun and Li Feiling disappearing, seized her chance. She walked over to Li Feiling, extending a hand as she neared. Bowing her head, she introduced herself. “I’m Han Jingyi, a fresh graduate from acting school. I just wanted to connect with you. I’m looking forward to working with you. I’ve been a really big fan for a long time as well...”
“It’ll be a pleasure,” Li Feiling smiled and returned the handshake, a trace of curiosity flashing in her eyes as she noticed Chu Changfeng looking over from the other side of the room. “Filming this TV show will certainly be an interesting experience, I hope you learn a lot during your time here. It’ll definitely be different from the projects you did in school.”
“I will do my best. Thank you for the well-wishes,” Han Jingyi nodded before turning to Xia Ruyun and extending her hand once more. “Senior Xia, I’m also a big fan of your music. I hope we have a nice time working together.”
“Likewise,” Xia Ruyun returned the handshake. “Work hard and you’ll be successful, I’m sure.”
“Thank you for your kind words,” Han Jingyi smiled. Looking around and noticing no one else around, she paused before continuing to speak. “Do you two seniors have any advice for me?”
“Hmm...” Li Feiling propped her chin up. “I can’t really give specific advice without seeing you act, but generally, I always tell people who are just starting that ‘no matter what you’re filming, you should make sure to spend a lot of time trying to understand the character you’re playing.’ Even in a TV show like this. Especially in a TV show like this. The characters make or break a show like this.”
“Understood, thank you,” Han Jingyi made a mental note of Li Feiling’s words.
“I’d just say to take a lot of notes, and to not spend all your time in the hotel when you’re not on. You can learn a lot just by sitting and watching others act,” Xia Ruyun answered after thinking for a moment. Getting a “definitely,” from Li Feiling, she shrugged. “I’m sure you’ll be fine, though.”
“Thank you again,” Han Jingyi’s eyes crinkled, her words formal as she did a half-bow. As she moved to leave though, she paused, her hand freezing mid-air as Li Feiling spoke up once more.
“Oh yeah, I’d stay away from Chu Changfeng if I was you. He’ll say otherwise, but he and I are not on good terms,” Li Feiling leaned in closer. She lowered her voice to level quiet enough for only Han Jingyi to hear. “Stay safe. There’s no smoke without fire, so whether or not you believe the rumors, stay wary. If things really go south, you can come to me for help.”
“... I see,” Han Jingyi pressed her lips into a fine line. Seeing the serious look in Li Feiling's eyes, she nodded before walking off back to Chu Changfeng’s table.
Watching her retreating figure, Xia Ruyun looked over to Li Feiling. “What did you say to her?”
“Same thing I said to you, just to be careful,” Li Feiling leaned back into her chair. As she did though, the rest of the words she wanted to say caught in her throat. Falling silent, she began agonizing over Xia Ruyun’s words.
Is she implying something? What’s with the awkwardness between us? Did I do something wrong?
Like... her expression, is it judgement?
Xia Ruyun, at the same time, had also fallen silent. Not particularly talkative in the first place, she had nothing to bridge the ever-increasing chasm of awkwardness forming between her and Li Feiling.
Did I mess up somewhere? I was just curious... Like... I think we’re friends. We get along. But is this the end?
Would it be better to just end things now? Maybe it’d hurt less that way. But also that’d make filming really awkward.
Unable to come up with an answer, she made a note to ask Li Feiling later. In the meantime though, she pulled out her phone. A swipe through the lock screen and a tap into the documents app later, she began reading back through the script.
Another read through with a more focused perspective on making sure to understand my character’s motivation wouldn’t hurt.
---
10 p.m.
The rustle of coats. The pushing of chairs. The clink-clank of glasses being taken. The clattering of plates being stacked.
“Ahhh... goodnight, I’m calling it here.”
“Same, same.”
“Filming starts so early tomorrow, ready to get back on the grind?”
“Not at all, but we’ll make it work. Copious amounts of caffeine are forecasted in my near future.”
The cast social came to an end. A strange atmosphere, though, hung over everyone. Feng Wei, the director himself, hadn’t even had much of a presence. Having stayed in the corner with others in the directing and screenwriting crew, the entire social seemed to represent the battlefield between Li Feiling and Chu Changfeng—and their respective factions.
“Isn’t this a good thing, director?” The screenwriter patted Feng Wei on the shoulder. “Isn’t it going to be easier to represent the conflict then?”
“I was never worried about Chu Changfeng and Li Feiling,” Feng Wei sighed as he got out of his chair and slipped his phone into his pocket. “I’m more worried about the cast members who are on different sides here being unable to work together on screen. Like you see Liu Fangjie over there? She has a lot of scenes with people on Li Feiling’s side; like the entire table to the left of Li Feiling, that’s what I’m worried about.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine, I’ve seen your other works,” The screenwriter patted Feng Wei’s shoulder, as if his concerns were nothing but dust. Walking off, he joined Chu Changfeng’s group as they left the venue.
Watching the screenwriter's black boots walk off, Feng Wei’s eyes darkened as he turned to leave on his own. “And I have to ‘make sure Xia Ruyun and Li Feiling have minimal time shooting together’ what does that even mean?”