Uncle Zheng Zhaoqiang

Over the next few days, Shen Qi kept helping out on set.

He had to earn the two boxed meals—at least—that he ate every day.

Other actors ate less or skipped meals to stay in shape, but Shen Qi had no intention of starving himself into a beanpole.

He would just exercise more.

The man handing out meals was happy to give him extra, especially after hearing he used to be a PE teacher.

After all, PE teachers were "frail and sickly."

In truth, Shen Qi was built like a young bull. He just couldn't beat the professionals.

What he hadn't expected was for someone to ask him to play a fighter.

"Wu?... Oh, Brother Wu!"

When Shen Qi first picked up the phone, he almost didn't recognize the caller.

He had spent the entire morning taking notes like mad. His head hurt, and his thoughts were a jumble.

Only when he heard that awkward Hong Kong-accented Mandarin did he remember who it was.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten me, kid."

Wu Shuixing sounded a little annoyed.

"How could I? It just took me a second. What can I do for you, Brother Wu? I'm not in Hengdian right now, but I'll buy you a drink when I get back!"

Shen Qi certainly couldn't admit he had nearly forgotten him.

"You do owe me a drink. But I'm not in Hengdian either—I'm in Hong Kong." Pride crept into Wu Shuixing's voice. "I've been looking for a role for you these past few days."

From his tone, Shen Qi could tell Wu hadn't just been looking. He had probably found one.

This call was about taking credit and showing off—and people like that loved being praised.

Without another word, Shen Qi launched into such a barrage of flattery that he nearly left Wu Shuixing dizzy.

It took Wu a while to collect himself before he said wistfully, "Remember the ring I kept in my wallet? I bought it last year but never dared give it to her."

"I remember. Is there good news?"

Shen Qi really did remember.

Wu Shuixing had said he carried a ring around, wanting to confess to the woman he liked but never finding the courage.

Shen Qi had found it a little funny, but he sympathized with him.

The poor guy had lost his hair so young. Finding someone couldn't have been easy.

"When I got back, I told her I'd nearly lost my wallet and showed her the ring... Guess what happened?"

Wu Shuixing needed someone to play along.

"Holy crap, bro. Did you call just to rub your love life in my face?"

Shen Qi cared more about what role Wu had found for him, but he played along and gave him the reaction he wanted.

For that, he had to endure roaming charges plus Hong Kong international call fees of two yuan a minute.

Every minute he waited cost money!

"Haha, you caught me! I'm so happy... Ah Zhen actually liked me too, but because I never confessed, she thought I liked someone else... Anyway, we're together now!"

Having finally found someone to share his happiness with, Wu Shuixing was oblivious to Shen Qi's agony.

To him, it felt like a dream.

That was precisely why he had made up his mind to get Shen Qi a role.

He had even gone to his uncle Zheng Zhaoqiang and pestered him until he got it done.

"Congratulations, Brother Wu! When's the wedding? I'll bring a generous gift!"

Shen Qi kept him talking for more than ten minutes. Luckily, he had plenty of credit on his phone.

"There's no rush to get married. Guess what role I found for you?"

Once Wu Shuixing had enjoyed himself enough, he finally got down to business.

"Thank you so much, Brother Wu! Anything's fine with me. I'll follow your lead!"

Wu had kept Shen Qi in suspense long enough. Now he genuinely hoped the man had a surprise for him—before this, he had thought Wu might just be bragging.

"You know Milkyway Image, right?"

Wu Shuixing was still dragging it out. He enjoyed this sort of thing.

"Of course I do! Who hasn't heard of it? Come on, Brother Wu, stop keeping me guessing. I can't wait to hear it."

Shen Qi sounded suitably impatient, thoroughly satisfying Wu Shuixing's urge to show off.

Still, doubts crept into Shen Qi's mind.

Why would they give a role to me?

You're not bluffing again, are you?

Or are you going to lure me to Hong Kong, tie me up, and make me shoot a Category III film with Amy Yip, Veronica Yip, Rachel Lee, Yvonne Yung, Amy Chan, and Pauline Chan...?

Maybe you'll just ship me off to Southeast Asia to work as a gigolo.

"They're shooting a new film about the triads. There's a fighter role in it with a decent amount of screen time, so I got it for you. Interested?"

Wu Shuixing made it sound effortless.

In truth, it had been nowhere near that simple.

They had never considered a mainland actor for the fighter role of Ah Wu.

After his nephew pestered him relentlessly, Zheng Zhaoqiang had finally approached Johnnie To.

Zheng was Johnnie To's regular cinematographer and a respected figure in Hong Kong, yet he had never asked for a favor. He hadn't even gotten his own nephew Wu Shuixing into Milkyway Image, leaving him to work with Wong Jing instead.

Since Zheng had finally asked, Johnnie To took it seriously.

After thinking it over, he decided it made sense for Brother Add-Money to be a mainlander. He belonged to the Number Gang and was skilled with a pair of Shaolin sabers.

Besides, he would appear after Jimmy and Big Circle Leopard had reached an agreement.

With their deal settled, someone would get out of prison and come to help. That left more room for interpretation.

"I'm interested. Of course I'm interested! Thank you so much, Brother Wu. When does filming start?"

Shen Qi wasn't about to pass up any opportunity now.

"Filming's already started. They didn't plan to shoot this much at first, but the more they filmed, the more it clicked, so they decided to make the next one too. Your role is in the second film. Just come over around New Year's Day. I'm not sure how long you'll be shooting. You can negotiate your own pay when you get here, though I doubt it'll be much..."

"Thank you so much, Brother Wu! I don't even know how to thank you!"

The more Shen Qi heard, the more credible it sounded.

Johnnie To was a huge name. Anyone could look up what he was working on—a scammer wouldn't leave such an obvious opening.

"Ahem. About that... To get you the role, I may have embellished your résumé a little."

Wu Shuixing sounded slightly awkward.

Hong Kong's film industry might have declined, but plenty of people still wanted in.

For a newcomer hoping to appear in a Johnnie To film, dreaming about it was far more likely.

"Uh... How did you describe me?"

Shen Qi had a bad feeling. Come on, man. Information's so easy to find now. They can check this stuff in seconds.

I'm going to get blacklisted by the entire Hong Kong film industry.

"I said you'd played plenty of roles and were very talented, but none of them had brought you much fame." Wu Shuixing suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right. I also said you were formally trained, often performed in stage plays with veteran artists, and wielded a pair of Shaolin sabers so well that not even a drop of water could get through your defense..."

"Brother Wu. Brother Wu..."

Shen Qi's vision went dark.

He had met plenty of people who liked to brag.

The most ridiculous was a guy who claimed his family owned a factory in Africa that covered a full 250 million square kilometers.

What Wu Shuixing had said about him felt about as believable.

Not even a drop of water?

Why not try throwing hot oil at me?

"Just don't let anything slip, okay? Relax, people over here don't care about that stuff. As long as you can act well, no one's going to check."

Wu Shuixing had no idea Shen Qi was falling apart.

"Brother Wu, won't they kick me off the set the moment I show up?"

Shen Qi could already picture it.

He had heard that plenty of Hong Kong film crews had triad connections. If they got angry enough, they might tie him up and make him shoot a Category III film.

"Seriously, don't worry." Wu Shuixing knew he had gone too far with the bragging and hurried to reassure him. "Let me put it this way: my uncle is Zheng Zhaoqiang. He's Johnnie To's cinematographer."

"Holy crap, really? I had no idea!"

Shen Qi's reaction gave Wu Shuixing exactly the respect he wanted.

His uncle wouldn't let him use the family connection to show off in Hong Kong, so he could only enjoy doing it in front of this young mainlander.

"Don't worry. I'll give you a number. Just contact them directly—it's all settled!"

Wu Shuixing gave Shen Qi the contact details, chatted a while longer, then ended the call.

Shen Qi stared at the new number, lost in thought.

Who was Zheng Zhaoqiang?

That was easy enough to find out. Shen Qi could ask An Jingchuan.

As a fellow cinematographer, An Jingchuan might know him if Zheng Zhaoqiang had any reputation at all.

"You don't know Zheng Zhaoqiang?"

An Jingchuan looked astonished.

"I... only got into the industry a few months ago!"

Shen Qi felt wronged.

He barely recognized many actors, let alone cinematographers working behind the scenes.

How many ordinary viewers cared who shot a film or TV series?

"You know Fight Back to School, at least?" An Jingchuan began counting on his fingers. "And Lifeline, The Longest Nite, The Mission, Running on Karma, PTU..."

He quickly ran out of fingers.

Holy crap. I really should have known who he was!