The two of them held on to their tickets as they waited for the bus.
Jiang Se was drenched in sweat from all the walking, so she fanned herself with her hands. The passersby would often do a double-take at her with awe on their faces. She frowned and turned around to see Lu Baobao still scrolling through the various artistes on her phone.
"It's said that at least $200 million has been invested into 'Rescue Mission' this time," Lu Baobao reported while wiping the sweat from her forehead away. "The heat is killing me. Sese, would you like a drink?"
"Haven't got the money." Jiang Se shook her head. She had $24 on her which she had salvaged from the notebook under her pillow.
The fare for the transportation between Shen Villa and the city already cost her $10. If she bought a drink with her remaining money, she would have to walk back home.
When she remembered her days of lavishly spending money as if it was running water, she felt frustrated. She tapped Lu Baobao's head. "What's the theme for 'Rescue Mission' this time?"
"I don't know." Lu Baobao spread her arms and blinked. "These big-shot directors are always secretive about their shows before the camera rolls, so they won't let slip anything. However, if we get there and become extras, we might be able to learn something."
Because she could not stand the heat, she eventually bought two bottles of water and handed one to Jiang Se.
When they reached Shen Villa, it was already past ten o'clock and the sun was shining brightly.
Perhaps because it was the weekend and many other people must have gotten wind of "Rescue Mission" being filmed in Shen Villa, just as Lu Baobao did, there was an exceptionally large crowd in Shen Villa that day.
Shen Villa was an amphibian dock that was built along the Daxing River during the Qing Dynasty. During the Republic of China era, it was bought over by the famous rich businessman, Shen Congzhi. However, due to its unique geographical location, it had been the frequent target of invaders.
Shen Congzhi did not back down in the face of cannons and gunfire. He was worried that the invaders would use the Daxing River to disseminate their firearms all over the country and his countrymen would be the ones who suffered. Therefore, he fought the invaders multiple times and eventually lost his life on the amphibian dock. That was how Shen Villa became famous.
There were well-preserved ancient architectures here apart from the heroic marks that the martyrs of the revolution left behind. Because of that, aside from the usual tourists, filming cast and crew would also shoot their productions here.
Jiang Se realized that she was too young the moment she set foot in Shen Villa. She completely believed Lu Baobao.
However, if Lu Baobao knew that "Rescue Mission" would be filmed in Shen Villa, so would anyone else naturally.
There were many fans like Lu Baobao here. Nevertheless, although they found out about the location of the cast and crew, the production team had firmly cordoned off the shooting site with layers of tight security.
Some of the people among the crowd attempted to peek inside by raising their phones high above their heads. The bodyguards hired by the production team were keeping a close eye on the crowd. Nobody, be they man, woman, child, or senior, was allowed in regardless of their plea.
Jiang Se stopped Lu Baobao who wanted to go and try her luck with the guards. She shot her a glare.
"You said that we could be extras…"
The two of them were being jostled around as there were too many people. To prevent being separated, Lu Baobao maintained a firm grip on Jiang Se's hand. "I didn't expect there to be such a huge crowd…"
Besides the numerous fans in Shen Villa, there were also many people who wanted to become extras.
Many of them harbored the same wish to become an extra. Then, by some lucky twist of fate, they longed to be noticed by the director and be on their way to achieve a meteoric success in their career. They were all gathered around the main entrance to the production team's site, attempting to get in.
Jiang Se knew that she could not count on Lu Baobao anymore, so she sighed and asked one of the security guards, "Mister, is the Rescue Mission crew looking for any extras?"
Her gorgeous palm-sized face made her stand out in the crowd.
The bodyguards hired by the production team had seen a fair share of female stars who all looked stunning. However, when he laid eyes on Jiang Se, the man in the security guard uniform seemed as if his breath had been taken away.
He must have met quite a number of people who wanted to make it into the entertainment industry just as Jiang Se did. When he heard her question, he gave her a long, good look before pointing in a direction. "Turn left, walk out of the main door, then turn right and walk straight. Just wait at the spot called Changchun Building."
Jiang Se thanked him and pulled Lu Baobao out from the crowd. She followed the security guard's directions and finally reached a spot nearby where the words "Changchun Building" were written.
The so-called Changchun Building was nothing but a memorial arch. Guards were also stationed there, denying entrance to any unauthorized personnel.
There was already a group of people squatting before the arch. They were clearly background actors who were waiting for the crew to pick them. Their ages ranged from 17 to 60.
There were both male and female actors, and Jiang Se thought that there were too many of them. She roughly estimated that there were about 100 individuals. Their trip today might very well have been for naught.
Jiang Se frowned when she saw a young man in a white T-shirt running toward them from beyond the Changchun Building door plate. When the people who were gathered in small clusters saw the crew member, they hastily got to their feet and attempted to squeeze through the door.
"Don't push. Get back. We want 50 background male actors of all ages and 20 females," the young man stepped forward and hollered. When the crowd backed away, he told them what he needed.
Lu Baobao tugged at Jiang Se and pushed her way into the crowd. When she saw a chance of seeing an actual celebrity, she got extremely excited. Drawing strength from an unknown source, she forced her way into the crowd with Jiang Se in tow.
The young man from the crew picked the actors casually. "You, you, you…"
The chosen ones stepped aside excitedly. The remaining crowd was still elbowing one another to get to the front.
Lu Baobao raised her hand and shouted, "Us! Us! We're females!"
Her loud voice drew the attention of the young man who turned to look and immediately saw Jiang Se.
"Come here, you two!"
The young man's eyes brightened. Even though Jiang Se nearly suffocated from being pulled into the crowd by Lu Baobao, she still seemed stunning. The man picked all the background actors he needed, and they followed him into the site.
Lu Baobao's voice was quivering with excitement as she exclaimed, "Sese, we've been chosen! We've actually been picked! Hahaha!"
She reached for her phone again. "I want to take a picture with Liu Ye, Lu Bingbing, Zhao Ruoyun, and Ruan Mi. I want their autographs as well!"
Before they could even settle down, someone hurried up to them and urged them along, "Men, follow me. You're changing here."
The young man, who led them in, addressed the remaining females and pointed in a direction, "Head over there to the changing room. The makeup artists will be waiting for you there."
After he finished, he pointed at Jiang Se and said, "You, come here."
Jiang Se was momentarily stunned. The other females around her glanced at her calmly at this unexpected turn of events. There were hints of mockery in their gaze as they turned around and left.
Lu Baobao did not seem to register what was happening. "Is he calling you?"
Jiang Se walked up to the man. Perhaps because Lu Baobao was still watching her from behind, the man did not do anything drastic. He merely produced a name card from the pocket of his jeans and stated, "My name's Zhang Fan. I'm in charge of recruiting the cast. If you're interested to be in a movie, give me a call."