Jiang Yue handed his phone to Han Song.
Han Song froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.
“So you've finally seen the light?”
He shook the can in his hand and raised an eyebrow at Jiang Yue. “Alright, you've definitely asked the right person today. I might not be the best actor in the industry, but when it comes to taking photos, I'm easily in the top three.”
Everyone in the industry knew that Han Song took a very laid-back approach to his main job of acting, avoiding the rat race whenever possible.
However, he genuinely had a knack for aesthetics and composition.
Many fans even used his daily life photos as references when posting their own pictures.
Han Song looked around before pointing toward a vintage iron railing under a streetlamp not far away.
“Go over there and lean against it. Tuck your chin in slightly, look out at the river, and don't look at the camera.”
Jiang Yue did as instructed. He walked over, slipped one hand into his pocket, and leaned against the railing.
Han Song squatted down slightly, holding Jiang Yue's phone, and adjusted his angle a few times.
The river breeze swept past, rustling the hem of Jiang Yue's dark overcoat.
The side-lighting from the streetlamp fell across his profile, sharply capturing his brow bone, the bridge of his nose, and his jawline.
Click.
Click.
Han Song pressed the shutter a few more times before standing up and handing the phone back.
“Take a look.”
Jiang Yue looked down and glanced at the screen.
There was no lens flare in the photo. The streetlamp illuminated only half of his face in profile, and the hem of his overcoat was lifted by the river breeze, making the shot look incredibly clean and sharp.
It was indeed much better than the profile picture he had hastily taken back at the hotel.
Jiang Yue opened his Weibo settings and replaced his old profile picture with this new shot.
Then, he scrolled down to the comment section.
He found the most-liked fan comment from earlier, which had been urging him to change his profile picture.
His fingers tapped across the keyboard as he typed out a reply:
【Changed it.】
He tapped send.
On the other end of the screen, in a female dormitory at a university in Donghai City.
A girl wearing headphones while binge-watching a show noticed a Weibo notification for her "Special Attention" list pop up at the top of her screen.
She tapped on it, and her eyes instantly went wide.
The red notification dot in the background clearly displayed Jiang Yue's reply.
“Ah!”
The girl screamed in the dormitory, startling her roommate across the room into ripping off her headphones.
She flusteredly took a screenshot and immediately forwarded it to the fan group chat and Super Topic.
The moment the screenshot was posted, the entire fan community erupted.
【Holy crap! The man himself is back from the dead! He even replied to a fan in the comments!】
【Quick, go look at his new profile picture! It's insane! That jawline is sharp enough to slide down!】
【Waaaah, it's been half a year! He finally remembered he's a public figure!】
【Han Song, please take him out to play every single day from now on! This is what real fan service looks like!】
By the roadside of the Bund.
In Jiang Yue's mind, a crisp notification chime rang out.
【Ding! Group emotional fluctuation detected. Prestige points +1000!】
Looking at the rising numbers on the system interface, Jiang Yue was in a good mood.
Just as he was about to exit the app and lock his screen to put his phone away,
A WeChat message notification popped up at the top of his screen.
Sender: Li Cheng.
Jiang Yue paused his fingers and tapped on the chat window.
A fifty-second voice message popped up.
The wind on the Bund was blowing hard.
Jiang Yue played the voice message and held the phone to his ear.
“Xiao Jiang, it's Old Li! Your brother is in a real bind this time!”
Li Cheng's voice was filled with anxiety. The background noise was chaotic—stagehands could be heard shouting to adjust equipment, and someone nearby was on the phone urging for vehicles.
“A drama I recently took on hit a massive snag shortly after filming started. The actor originally cast as the villain's enforcer lost his footing during a parkour scene. He fell from a two-meter-high container and tore his ankle ligament.”
“This character has very few lines; he mostly relies on hand-to-hand combat and intense stares to carry his scenes. With filming starting soon, the venue rental is burning through money day by day. I've looked everywhere on short notice, but I just can't find a suitable replacement.”
“I know you just wrapped up your last shoot, and I shouldn't be bothering you right now. But this time, your brother really needs to ask for a favor. The pay will follow standard rates, and you can name any other terms you want.”
After listening, Jiang Yue's fingers flew across the keyboard.
“Director Li, I'm free. Send me the call sheet and the script. I'll give you an answer once I go back and read them.”
Sent.
Beside him, Han Song caught a glimpse of the chat window on the screen.
“What's this? Xu Pingqiu's high-pressure pressure cooker of a crew just let you go, and you're already joining another one?”
Han Song finished his last sip of cola and crushed the aluminum can.
He couldn't comprehend this kind of work ethic, taking on another gig immediately after wrapping up the last.
“Your workaholic nature is terrifying even by industry standards. You're not short on money, so what are you even doing this for?”
“Returning a favor.”
Jiang Yue put away his phone.
Li Cheng had given him his very first step up in the industry.
Back in the 《Manhunt》 crew, it was Li Cheng who had gone against all objections to bring him on board, and subsequently recommended him to Xu Pingqiu.
Without that starting point, he wouldn't have earned his first batch of prestige points, nor would he have caught the attention of Xu Pingqiu and Shen Donglou so quickly.
This was a favor he had to return.
Han Song nodded and patted Jiang Yue on the shoulder.
“Keep it up. Gratitude is a good trait.”
He tossed the empty can with a flick of his wrist, and it landed perfectly in a trash can several meters away.
“I wish you luck with your new drama. I'm off to Sanya to lie around for a month. Hit me up on WeChat if anything comes up.”
11:00 PM, inside the apartment.
Jiang Yue sat in front of his desk.
Two monitors were lit up side-by-side in front of him.
The left screen was running the latest expression recognition algorithm test data for Yuantu Technology.
The right screen displayed the digital script for 《Sharp Blade》 that Li Cheng had just sent over.
The mouse wheel scrolled slowly.
Jiang Yue's gaze swept quickly across the text of the script.
The main storyline of 《Sharp Blade》 centered on anti-corruption, involving political and business interest chains, with a brutal clash between good and evil.
This character was named Duan Rui, a former foreign mercenary who had crawled out of a pile of corpses and only cared about money and orders.
Reading through the entire script, Duan Rui had no more than ten lines of dialogue in total.
He would only appear in a few cleanup scenes early on, while his most significant scenes were the final pursuit and close-quarters combat at the end.
Though the role didn't have much screen time, it demanded an extremely high level of physical performance.
If all went smoothly, it would only take a few days to shoot.
Jiang Yue went over the call sheet once more. After confirming he could squeeze it into his schedule, he sent Li Cheng an affirmative reply.
Li Cheng replied very quickly.
As soon as the voice call connected, he let out a long sigh of relief.
“Xiao Jiang, I can finally breathe easy now that you're on board. I'll have the coordinator update the call sheet right away. See you tomorrow morning at eight-thirty.”
With everything confirmed, Jiang Yue shut down his computer.
The next morning.
Jiang Yue hailed a ride-share and headed straight for an abandoned industrial park in the northern suburbs of Donghai City.
The crew of 《Sharp Blade》 had set up an outdoor location here today, preparing to shoot action scenes.
8:30 AM.
Inside the industrial park, people were bustling about.
Stagehands ran back and forth carrying reflectors and sound equipment, while a few crew members laid out crash pads near the entrance of a factory building.
Li Cheng held a megaphone, directing the stagehands to adjust the wire harness equipment.
His stubble was unshaven, and he kept looking back at the setup progress as he spoke.
Upon seeing Jiang Yue walking over with a backpack, Li Cheng strode forward to greet him.
“Xiao Jiang, you're finally here!”
Li Cheng's eyes were bloodshot, showing the immense pressure he was under.
He was a self-taught director. Although he had directed a few works before, they were mostly web dramas, which didn't carry much weight in the mainstream industry.
It was only after the massive success of 《Manhunt》 that the investors had given him this opportunity.
《Sharp Blade》 was his first prime-time television drama. With an investment of over a hundred million yuan, it was crucial for his career transition.
The investors already had doubts about his ability to handle a prime-time drama.
If they suffered delays right at the start of filming over a supporting role, the daily venue fees and crew expenses would be substantial.
If he were held responsible, his position as director might not even remain secure.
“Director Li, I finished reading the script last night.”
Jiang Yue set down his backpack. “I can take on the role, and the action scenes won't be a problem. Leave the rest to me.”
Hearing this, Li Cheng's tense shoulders visibly relaxed, as if he had just been given a reassuring pill.
“Come, let me take you to meet our action choreographer, Old Cui. Today's scene relies entirely on action. The stuntmen under Old Cui strike hard and are all seasoned martial artists. You should run through things with them first to avoid getting hurt during the actual shoot.”
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