It was a perfect autumn winter night. Perfect for a good night sleep yet it was also perfect for a night scene. So, with that said, the Su Qingtang who was busy lazing around in bed was summoned to the set. Lightly shivering Su Qingtang waits outside for Wen Xingshen and Bai Ziwen to finish their makeup. She inwardly cursed. When watching movies people never appreciate the stress and the battle against nature actors go through. They only seem to judge the aesthetics but not the practicality. Sigh. Really makes one want to reconsider-
Wen Xingshen leaves the tent first and when he leaves the tent, he doesn't even look up from his phone. This was not normal for the generally aware man so Su Qingtang acutely felt that something was wrong but she doesn't get to question it as Bai Ziwen walks out of her tent as well and everyone is told to get into their places quickly.
It was a complicated scene, but not complicated enough to cause problems for the main characters, who had already breezed through everything so far but somehow unexpectedly something went wrong. Su Qingtang felt that the heavens were against the relationship between her and her bed. Simply her crappy luck, ah!
"NG! {Not good} Wen Xingshen! Why are you looking so spaced out? You are talking to your 'beloved' even though your acting cold you still have to actually look like you aren't staring through her."
"NG! Wen Xingshen! Where is your concentration?"
"NG! Wen Xingshen! Where is your effort? Come on find your pace you've been doing well so far!"
Qiao Bifan tried everything in his powers to get Wen Xingshen to act better but nothing he said got through to him frustrating him to no end. This movie was his baby after all, how could he let anything be sullied by just simple bad acting? Not on his watch!
As the director Qiao Bifan could see every expression through a completely unrelated stance and so could see that Wen Xingshen wasn't up to par that night, but with all the cloudy nights forecasted during the next week he had no choice but to keep urging. Urging for the future of his baby! He tried the soft approach by gently pointing out the mistakes Wen Xingshen was making. He tried the hard approach with light jabs but nothing changed. Nothing changed, ah!
All he could do was call for a break and hoping that in the break Wen Xingshen would sort himself out and come back as strong as he was on normal days. For the sake of his baby and his lovely Shining he must persevere.
The half-frozen Su Qingtang hobbled over to We Xingshen making a beeline around the fuming and frustrated director. She didn't want to get dragged into the cross fire! She had to protect herself from her boss' anger.
"Hey." Wen Xingshen looked up and saw Su Qingtang's concerned gaze before sighing and returning to leaning against the wall his gaze unfocussed. "Want to talk about it?"
Silence.
Su Qingtang was going to say something when he opened his mouth to speak.
"My mother. My mother is ill and I just lost my tutoring job." Straight to the point. No sob story or seeking for pity. Simply Wen Xingshen a straightforward guy.
Su Qingtang made an 'o' sound and she fell into silence with him.
"Your looking for a job?" Su Qingtang thought for a while. "I know someone who you could look for."
Wen Xingshen looks over at her in silence. Contemplating.
Su Qingtang pulls out her phone before sending him a number. "Call this person and tell him, Su Qingtang sent you, he'll probably be able to give you a job or something."
She starts walking away. Walking towards the beconning of the warmth inside the tents.
"Why."
Su Qingtang stops but she doesn't turn around. "Why, eh? Friendship and a bit of selfishness on my part."
Wen Xingshen stays quiet and watches as she walks away, a bit of clarity in his eyes.
Wen Xingshen was prideful. He was not one to accept someone's pity. Somehow knowing that Su Qingtang didn't help him with the purest of heart seemed to put him at an inexplicable ease.
He understood people like Su Qingtang well. They aren't nice people. Call it a gut feeling but he seemed to understand these people. Favours demand repayment and even the most simple favour demads to be returned it kind. It's a rule., one of those invisible rules that bind human interactions. Rather that just being pressured by the invisible thread and uncertainty in generosity its best to be straightforward and ask for something in return.
Wen Xingshen, for the first time in a while put away his problems and felt in the moment, a knot in his heart became a bit lighter to bear with this little bit of hope entering his heart.
Su Qingtang's interference awhile ago inexplicably set his mind at a bit of ease.
"Host… why?" The system quickly expressed its confusion as soon as she moved away.
Su Qingtang chuckles as she accepts the hot coffee offered to her. "It seems everyone has this question tonight. Cant I how a little generosity?"
The system had been with Su Qingtang for a long time like calm water runs deep. This saying went perfect in describing Su Qingtang's mind. Unfathomable.