69novels Chapter 56 Weekly News
Chapter 56 Weekly News
After returning from Sculpting Time, Li Si'an stayed in the shop for two days.
It's called "squatting," but really it's just being idle. During summer vacation, the school is empty, and the nearby universities are also deserted, so the record store's business has become much quieter.
The video arcade was still somewhat occupied at night, but almost empty during the day. Li Si'an sat behind the counter, arranging the cassette tapes on the shelf over and over again. When he had nothing else to do, he would lean on the counter and watch Tang Yun's videos.
Tang Yun was standing at the door changing the clothes of the two mannequins. The male mannequin was wearing a newly arrived Hawaiian shirt, all brightly colored, while the female mannequin was wearing a floral sundress.
She took two steps back to look, then stepped forward, tugged at her skirt, and nodded in satisfaction.
"You've spent the whole morning messing around with these two dummies," Li Si'an said.
"I'm better than you. You don't even bother with mannequins." Tang Yun said without turning her head.
Li Si'an stood up from the chair, walked over, and hugged her waist from behind. Tang Yun froze, and the hem of her skirt fell from her hands.
"I won't mess with the mannequin, I'll mess with you." Li Si'an rested her chin on her shoulder, buried her face in her neck, and took a deep breath.
She had a faint, sweet fragrance, mixed with the warmth of a July afternoon's sweat. Tang Yun felt ticklish from his breath, and shrank her neck, but didn't break free; her ears turned slightly red.
"What are you doing in broad daylight...?"
Li Si'an ignored her and brushed her lips against her neck.
"Cough cough."
They both turned their heads at the same time.
Chen Nan came out of the backyard, carrying an empty cardboard box, and stood at the back door with an expression like a cat that had caught a mouse.
Tang Yun shoved Li Si'an away, her face flushed red from her ears to the roots of her neck, and lowered her head, pretending to straighten her floral sundress. Li Si'an, on the other hand, showed no remorse, leaning against the doorframe and laughing at Chen Nan.
"Sister Nan, are you going to throw that cardboard box away or keep it?"
Chen Nan threw the cardboard box on the ground. "Can't you two go out on a date? Go for a walk in the park, see a movie, what can't you do? Why do you have to be all lovey-dovey here?"
Li Si'an pulled Tang Yun into his arms. "It's so hot outside, it's hot no matter where we go. At least we have a fan at home."
"Then go upstairs and be all lovey-dovey. Don't get in my way here at the counter." Chen Nan pointed at the two of them with her finger. "One of you is getting handsy here, and the other is arguing with those two mannequins. It annoys me."
Tang Yun crawled out from under Li Si'an's arm, tidied her hair, her face still flushed, and pretended nothing was wrong as she continued to fiddle with the mannequin's skirt. Li Si'an leaned against the door frame, suddenly remembering something.
"Sister Nan, let's buy a freezer."
Chen Nan was taken aback. "A freezer?"
"Yes. It's a horizontal one, the kind used to sell popsicles." Li Si'an pointed to the doorway. "You see, business is slow in the summer, but it's hot."
There are a lot of people coming and going in front of our store every day. If we put a freezer full of Arctic Ocean soda, Coke, and Sprite, people passing by could buy a bottle, which would be some extra income.
Chen Nan thought for a moment and nodded.
"Besides, the wiring in our store can't handle the air conditioner, but adding a freezer shouldn't be a problem. I asked Lao Ma, and the wiring in this building was newly replaced last year. A freezer can handle a maximum of five or six hundred watts."
"How much?"
"A new one costs over a thousand, while a used one can be had for five or six hundred."
Chen Nan mentally reviewed the options. "Okay. I'll take care of it. I know someone who sells used appliances in Xidan; I can have him pick out a good one and send it over."
"Alright. We can freeze the soda later, it'll be convenient for us to drink it ourselves." Li Si'an glanced at Tang Yun, "So you won't have to drink it lukewarm every day."
Tang Yun smiled, pursing her lips.
Chen Nan went to Xidan that afternoon. The next morning, a tricycle stopped in front of the store, and two workers carried a milky-white horizontal freezer into the store.
The freezer was about 80% new, with a few scratches on the exterior, but the inside was clean. Chen Nan followed him in and directed the workers to place the freezer against the wall, plug it in, and it started humming.
Li Si'an squatted in front of the freezer and reached inside. The cool air rose from her fingertips, feeling especially comfortable in the sweltering July heat.
"Okay. Sister Nan, you handled this matter efficiently."
"Of course." Chen Nan patted the freezer lid. "I'm going to buy some soft drinks wholesale this afternoon. Two cases of each of Beibingyang, Coke, and Sprite."
The soft drinks arrived in the afternoon, and Li Si'an neatly arranged them in the freezer. A layer of water droplets quickly condensed on the bottles, making them feel icy cold to the touch.
Tang Yun took a bottle of Beibingyang soda, pried open the cap, took a sip, squinted her eyes, and pressed the bottle against her face.
"It's so cold." She exhaled.
Li Si'an looked at the soda bottle pressed against her face and smiled. "From now on, you'll have something cold to drink every day."
On the third night, around nine o'clock, the phone rang.
Li Si'an was squatting next to the freezer arranging soda bottles when she heard the bell ring. She stood up and grabbed the microphone.
"Feed?"
"Li Si'an? I am Zhang Yibai."
Li Si'an leaned against the counter. "Director Zhang, please speak."
"I've gotten in touch with Zhou Xun. She's in Beijing, and I've talked to her."
Zhang Yibai spoke with his usual briskness, "We've arranged to meet tomorrow afternoon at the Beijing Film Academy. The three of us will meet in person. Bring your storyboard and cassette tape."
"Okay. What time?"
Two o'clock. Back to the same spot, carving time.
"OK."
After hanging up the phone, Tang Yun peeked down from upstairs. "Who was that?"
"Zhang Yibai. See you tomorrow, Zhou Xun."
Tang Yun's eyes lit up, and she ran downstairs. "Is she the actress you mentioned last time?"
"Hmm." Li Si'an sat back in her chair, rubbing her chin with her fingers.
He had seen Zhou Xun countless times on screen in his past life; now he was going to sit face-to-face and talk about music videos.
Tang Yun leaned against him and looked down at him. "Nervous?"
"What's there to be nervous about?" Li Si'an reached out and pulled her close.
"It's not like I'm going on a blind date."
The next day, after lunch, Li Si'an changed into a clean white T-shirt and stuffed his sketchbook and cassette tape into his bag. Tang Yun straightened his collar and stepped back to look at him.
"Alright, let's go."
Li Si'an kissed her on the cheek, picked up her bag, and went out. She hailed a minivan on the roadside and said, "Jimen Bridge, Beijing Film Academy."
The car headed north. In July, Beijing was so hot that the asphalt on the road gleamed. Li Si'an leaned back in her seat, placing her bag on her lap.
The entrance to Sculpting Time remains unchanged. Dark green awning, wooden floors, and black-and-white photographs pinned to the walls.
When Li Si'an pushed open the door, Zhang Yibai was already there, sitting in a booth by the window. A girl was sitting opposite him.
Zhou Xun.
She was smaller than Li Si'an had imagined. She wore a pale yellow tank top with a thin short-sleeved shirt over it, her hair was shoulder-length, and she had wispy bangs framing her face.
Her features were small, with a pointed chin. Those eyes, which many film critics had described as "expressive" in her past life, were now just two steps away from him.
She was holding a cup and saying something when she suddenly laughed. Her eyes crinkled as she laughed, revealing a row of fine, white teeth.
Her voice was a little hoarse, not the delicate kind of female voice, but had a softness reminiscent of Jiangnan, yet also a touch of stubbornness.
Zhang Yibai saw him first and raised his hand to greet him. "You've arrived? Have a seat."
Li Si'an walked over and sat down next to Zhang Yibai. Zhou Xun's gaze fell on him, and she openly sized him up.
"This is Li Si'an," Zhang Yibai introduced. "This is Zhou Xun."
"Hello." Li Si'an extended her hand.
Zhou Xun reached out and shook it; her fingers felt cool.
Upon closer inspection, her skin wasn't the kind of dazzling white, but rather the smooth, ivory-like white unique to Asians, warm and lustrous, gleaming faintly under the coffee shop lights.
"Hello." She tilted her head and glanced at him. "Director Zhang said you're eighteen?"
"Um."
"Releasing an album at eighteen and even funding her own music video." Zhou Xun picked up her glass, took a sip of orange juice, and said, "Impressive."
Li Si'an smiled, took out her sketchbook and cassette tape from her bag, and placed them on the table. "Director Zhang, these are the storyboard and cassette tape."
Zhang Yibai picked up the cassette tape and called out towards the bar, "Old Qian, can I borrow your tape recorder?"
A middle-aged man wearing glasses behind the bar responded, pulled a dual-cassette recorder from under the counter, and placed it on the table. Zhang Yibai inserted the cassette and pressed play.
The sound of a piano flowed from the tape recorder's speakers, spreading throughout the coffee shop. The prelude was very soft, like someone tapping the keys with their fingers, hesitant and tentative.
Then Li Si'an's voice came in—"I've forgotten how long it's been since I heard you tell me your favorite story..."
Zhou Xun didn't speak, but lowered her head and opened her sketchbook.
She flipped through the pages one by one. At first, she flipped through them quite quickly, probably looking at the general layout and plot development.
When she got to the middle of the page, her speed suddenly slowed down. Li Si'an was holding her coffee, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw her finger linger on a certain page for a long time.
Then she rolled over to the back, and her hands stopped completely.
From the tape recorder, Li Si'an's voice was still singing—"You must believe, believe that we will be like in fairy tales, where happiness and joy are the ending..."
Her eyes began to redden.
The smudges crept silently from the corner of her eye, gradually spreading to the outer corner. She remained silent and still, her head bowed, staring quietly at the open page.
A tear slid down her cheek and landed on the plastic cover of her sketchbook with a soft, almost inaudible patter.
Li Si'an glanced at Zhang Yibai with some surprise. Zhang Yibai leaned back in the booth, holding his coffee, his expression suggesting he was used to this kind of thing.
"It's nothing," he said softly. "That's just her problem. She cries while reading novels, scripts, and even storyboards. Her emotions come and go quickly."
Sure enough, when the song reached the second verse, Zhou Xun sniffed, took a tissue from the table, and dabbed it on her eyes.
She didn't close the sketchbook, but flipped through it to a certain page, then turned it to show Li Si'an.
In the picture, an old sofa is placed in the back of an open-top truck, and two people are lying on it, laughing at the sky.
The wind ruffled the girl's hair, and the boy turned his head to look at her. Sunlight slanted down from above, gilding the outlines of the two figures.
"This painting is really good." She lightly traced the sofa armrest with her finger. "The two people have nothing, but they are so happy."
She turned the painting towards herself and looked at it again. "After the photoshoot, could you give me this one?"
"Okay," Li Si'an said.
Zhou Xun looked down at the painting and suddenly asked, "Are there really people who rent convertible trucks for moving?"
Li Si'an thought for a moment. "I don't know. There probably is."
He picked up his coffee, took a sip, and then added with a smile, "But there definitely won't be any within the Second Ring Road, because convertible trucks can't enter the Second Ring Road; they'll get caught by the traffic police."
Zhou Xun paused for a moment, then burst out laughing. Her eyes were still red and tears were still clinging to her eyelashes as she laughed, but the corners of her mouth were already turned up.
"I used to move by van." She carefully closed the drawing back into her sketchbook and pushed it to Li Si'an. "Next time I'll try using a convertible truck."
Zhang Yibai leaned back in the booth and, seeing that the two of them had finished their conversation, took over the conversation.
"Alright, let's get down to business." He leaned forward slightly.
"In terms of timing, I suggest we do it in the next few days, at the end of July or the beginning of August. Li Si'an, you'll probably be starting school in September, and Zhou Xun has other projects too. Let's take advantage of the free time now and film it quickly."
Li Si'an nodded. "Okay."
"I've discussed Zhou Xun's fee with her. Three thousand." Zhang Yibai glanced at Li Si'an.
Li Si'an nodded. "Okay."
Zhang Yibai leaned back in his chair. "Other expenses—photographer, lighting technician, stagehands, equipment rental, scene coordination, post-production—I've tallied it up, and it's roughly between forty-five and fifty thousand."
Including Zhou Xun's salary, the total budget is a little over 50,000. I'll pull out the detailed breakdown for you in the next couple of days.
"Okay." Li Si'an thought for a moment, "Director Zhang, about the deposit—how much do you think it will be? I'll give it to you first so you can get the crew set up quickly."
Zhang Yibai mentally reviewed the situation. "Let's take 20,000 yuan first. The equipment rental and set deposit need to be paid upfront. The rest will be settled after filming is complete."
"Okay. I'll bring it to you when I get back."
Zhang Yibai waved his hand. "There's no rush. Let me make a list first, then we can discuss it."
They chatted a bit more about the filming details. Zhang Yibai said they would use the Beijing Film Academy's auditorium for the concert, he would ask someone to inquire about the hospital room, and they needed to scout locations for the truck scene beforehand.
Zhou Xun listened from the side, occasionally interjecting with a question, such as whether the recording would be done live or in post-production. Zhang Yibai replied that the music video didn't need to be recorded live, as long as the visuals matched the vocals.
When we left Sculpting Time, the sun was already setting. Zhang Yibai, who lived in the Beijing Film Academy's residential area, left first.
Zhou Xun stood at the entrance of the coffee shop, took out a pack of cigarettes from her bag, lit one, and took a puff.
"Where are you going back to?" she asked.
"White Stone Bridge".
"Well, we're not going that way. I live in the east of the city." She put a cigarette in her mouth and squinted at him.
"Li Si'an, you're quite an interesting person. At eighteen, you funded your own music video. Most people wouldn't have that kind of guts."
Li Si'an smiled. "What about you? Didn't you answer it too?"
Zhou Xun took the cigarette out of her mouth and laughed. "I'm short of money. You really dare to spend it."
She flicked her cigarette ash and waved to him. "I'm leaving now. See you on set in a few days."
She turned and walked east. Her pale yellow tank top swayed in the July sunset, and she disappeared around the street corner.
Li Si'an stood at the entrance of the coffee shop, looking in that direction for two seconds. Then she hailed a Citroën Fukang on the roadside, opened the door, and got in.
"White Stone Bridge".
The car started and headed south. He leaned back in his seat, watching the street scene outside the window recede into the distance.
Zhou Xun.
He hadn't actually seen many of her movies in his past life. He only remembered the scene in "Painted Skin" where the fox demon appeared, which was truly stunning.
Later, a film critic commented that Zhou Xun used her eyes to portray innocence and naivety, innocent cruelty, and the allure of a fox demon in "Painted Skin".
Li Si'an didn't notice these things at the time, but he admitted that the eyes on the screen were truly beautiful.
He sat face-to-face with Zhou Xun for several hours this afternoon and found that her eyes truly could speak.
When she looks at you, you can read her meaning from her eyes—not guess, but read.
This is probably what a born actor looks like.