Elna Assault

"I didn't say anything. I'm leaving this afternoon. Let's get together again in Capital City."

Zhang Yi really hadn't meant anything by it.

With Shen Qi's looks and physique, all he had to do was hint that he was lonely, and plenty of actresses and female crew members would slip their room keys into his pocket.

He had no need to take care of himself in public.

"You're done filming already?"

Shen Qi counted the days. Filming had officially started on August 20, and barely half a month later, Zhang Yi was already finished.

You're a little quick, aren't you?

"I barely had any scenes... How could I compare with you?" Zhang Yi sounded sour.

They were filming in the same place, but spent most of their time with different units.

They rarely had scenes together.

Of course, jealous as he was, Zhang Yi had no intention of causing trouble.

They were both nobodies just starting out.

One of them had merely gotten a few steps ahead.

A little healthy competition. They could cheer each other on.

"Are you heading back now? Why not stay with the crew and learn a little?"

Shen Qi wouldn't be going back anytime soon.

Besides, in a few days he would head into the city to film the Working in the City scenes.

"I want to try out for more roles and see if I can land a better one. I refuse to believe I can't!"

Watching Shen Qi do better and better had made Zhang Yi anxious too.

They were brothers who had been through thick and thin. They'd both been happily poor, so why did Shen Qi have to get rich first?

Keep this up... and you'll have fewer and fewer friends!

"Good luck!"

Shen Qi rolled his eyes.

There was no helping it. Jealousy could make a person unrecognizable.

"Last time our director visited my theater troupe, I heard him tell the political commissar he wanted to turn our play Elna Assault into a TV series. Keep an ear out. Maybe you can get a role from him."

Zhang Yi lowered his voice.

This was definitely confidential.

He told Shen Qi only because Shen Qi was one of his few friends.

He couldn't help it. There was something peculiar about his luck.

Even if someone made the mistake of getting too close to him, once they learned the truth or got a harsh dose of reality, they quickly drew a line between them.

Shen Qi was different.

Shen Qi was tough. Somehow, he'd managed to thrive while remaining Zhang Yi's friend.

Fine horses and priceless furs couldn't compare. A brother like that was hard to find.

"Elna Assault?"

Shen Qi was baffled.

What was that? He'd never heard of it.

"It's a military story. Talk to the director about military stuff when you get the chance. Maybe he'll remember you."

That was as much as Zhang Yi could do to help.

After all, he hadn't landed a role in it himself!

"Thanks, brother..."

Shen Qi felt bad for Zhang Yi.

But he had only just started out himself.

He genuinely had no opportunities he could offer Zhang Yi in return.

He had no idea what was happening with Cao Baoping.

As for Zhang Jizhong, he had even less say there. He might have landed Yin Zhiping, but if it had been another role, he might not have had a chance at all.

"Don't mention it. We're brothers!"

Zhang Yi didn't think much of it.

He was twenty-six. It wasn't his first time running into closed doors.

Three days after Zhang Yi left, Shen Qi finished his rural scenes and began filming in the city.

The city scenes were mainly set at construction sites and in rented rooms.

Those scenes posed no problem for him either.

Whether he was hauling bricks at a construction site or unclogging a drain, none of it was difficult for him.

The only tricky parts were some of his scenes with Pan Yuchen.

Hugging, flirting, getting close.

But they couldn't go too far, or the show wouldn't pass review.

Finding the right balance was hard.

"You need that innocent, uncertain feeling, with a touch of love at first sight. Haven't you ever liked someone?"

Kang Honglei refused to give up on him.

Shen Qi's performance wasn't especially bad. If it had been anyone else, Kang Honglei would have grudgingly let it pass.

But Shen Qi was different.

Kang Honglei had coached him to near perfection in every other area.

He couldn't let the romantic scenes fall flat.

Come on, get it together!

"Director, let me try again..."

Shen Qi could have wept.

He was a normal man. He even had to wash his underwear and bedsheets now and then.

But dating a woman?

When would I have found the time?

Even if he felt the first stirrings of attraction, he would slap himself before the feeling could take root.

Oh, please. Who do you think you are?

The moment a woman can sway your thoughts, don't hesitate. Cut her off!

By drawing on recordings of other people's performances and filling in the rest with his imagination, Shen Qi finally met Kang Honglei's standards.

"Your gaze was wandering a little. When you acted that last part, who were you thinking about?"

Pan Yuchen was curious.

She and Shen Qi had plenty of scenes together in this drama.

She had assumed Shen Qi would be like other men: when they met an attractive actress, they would find excuses to flirt, whatever their intentions.

But Shen Qi always kept a respectful distance.

For a while, he had even made Pan Yuchen doubt her own appeal.

"No one in particular. Men tend to imagine their own unattainable first love..."

The performance recording Shen Qi had just used came from Pan Yuchen.

He couldn't help it. He had used up nearly all the earlier ones.

He had recorded the newer ones on the spot.

They came from either Fan Ming or Pan Yuchen.

For romantic scenes, Pan Yuchen's were more useful.

With one of those recordings, he could deliver a passable performance without feeling anything himself.

He just hadn't expected it to make Pan Yuchen uncomfortable.

Women...

Show them too much interest, and they put on airs.

Ignore them, and they get upset about that too.

Who knows what kind of man she'll end up with?

"You're a good actor. I hope we get to work together again."

Pan Yuchen had come to recognize Shen Qi's ability.

After all, their performances had meshed inexplicably well these past few days.

It was a mutual appreciation between "equals."

"That might be hard. I don't have many opportunities right now, and you're already playing leading ladies all the time."

Shen Qi had landed Migrant Workers through sheer luck.

Even if it got a decent response when it aired, that wouldn't immediately bring him more opportunities.

Unless he kept playing migrant workers.

The problem was that waves of shows driven by policy tended to come and go quickly.

Their quality was uneven, too.

And they paid poorly.

It really wasn't a path worth pursuing.

"If I get the chance, I'll recommend you to a director," Pan Yuchen said with a smile.

"Thanks!"

That was exactly the result Shen Qi wanted. If he got to know enough people, sooner or later he would find his footing in the entertainment industry.

Kang Honglei also made him an explicit promise.

On the day filming wrapped, everyone gathered for a farewell dinner.

Shen Qi raised a toast to Kang Honglei.

Kang Honglei graciously finished the beer in his disposable cup, then caught Shen Qi by the arm and said with feeling:

"You've got some talent, kid, but your fundamentals aren't solid, and your performances are still inconsistent. You need to keep working at it."

"I will!" Shen Qi said, unable to hide his regret. "It's a shame we only filmed for a little over a month. I didn't have time to learn more from you."

Shen Qi knew Kang Honglei thought well of him, but whether that goodwill would lead to anything later was another matter.

So he had been waiting for this moment.

If you wanted something in life, you had to go after it!

Someone handing him an opportunity wasn't something a nobody like Shen Qi could count on.

He had to take the initiative.

"What's the problem? Next time I'm filming, you'll be the first person I call."

Kang Honglei saw no issue with that.

He had made up his mind long ago to keep working with Shen Qi.

"I'm going to hold you to that!"

Shen Qi was overjoyed. Kang Honglei was a highly capable director.

He was already looking forward to working with him again.

At the end of September, Shen Qi rode back to the capital with the crew.

Huang Qidao and Wei Jianguo came to pick him up together.

Wei Jianguo had volunteered.

He had even driven over—in a brand-new Cadillac.

"Damn it, it's such a short trip. You didn't need to pick me up. You just wanted to show off your new car, didn't you?"

Damn!

Did working as a male escort really pay that well?

Wei Jianguo had bought a car, and a luxury brand at that.

Shen Qi finally understood how Zhang Yi felt.

He hated to see his brother struggling, but he hated the thought of him driving a luxury car too.

"You introduced me to the dealer, so of course I had to show you. Piao Yiye took me to the northeast to pick it up. I drove it all the way to Capital City and saved over thirty thousand yuan."

Wei Jianguo stroked his beloved car, unable to keep his hands off it.

"Him... Didn't he lead you astray?"

Shen Qi didn't know Piao Yiye well. What he remembered most was the guy talking about a brightly lit hair salon and a woman from Sichuan.