Han Fei was a just person. Huang Yin had saved his life so he would use everything within his power to repay Huang Yin, to make him the best player in the surface world.
“Are you sure we’re doing this? Your friends don’t seem to like me, especially the guard from the school, the one with…”
“He likes you a lot, in fact he often asks me about you.” Han Fei interrupted Huang Yin, “You might not be used to it at first but slowly you’ll find a healing effect being with them, trust me.”
Huang Yin’s stability was only on the surface, internally he was depressed and introverted. Han Fei noticed this so he believed he could help Brother Huang with this Iyashikei game like how the game had helped him. The process might be difficult, but the result would be worth it. After ironing out all the details, Han Fei led Zhuang Ren away from the intelligent city and discussed more things with him.
After the Director of Immortal Pharma passed away, everything about him was sealed up by the big company. If they found out that part of the Director’s memory was sealed in Zhuang Ren’s mind, Immortal Pharma would definitely come for Zhuang Ren. Zhuang Ren understood the severity of the situation, he didn’t want to be treated like a lab rat.
After dropping Zhuang Ren home, Han Fei’s phone suddenly rang. He thought it was the police so he picked it up without hesitation.
“Mr. Han, how is your body recovering?” The person on the phone was Director Zhang’s assistant. Hearing that voice, Han Fei only realized his official profession was an actor. After days of massacring in the cryptic world, he had gotten used to the profession of midnight butcher. “The recovery is going well, how can I help you?”
“The police have removed the cordon around the meat packing factory, the fugitives have been captured as well. Would you like to return to the set? Due to the incident, everyone’s mood is affected and Director Zhang has been talking about you a lot.” Then the male assistant lowered his voice, “In fact, other than shooting the movie, Director Zhang spent most of his time on the internet to clear your name. Sometimes he would even use his alt to argue with people but it would only get him angrier.”
“Help me clear my name?” Han Fei hadn’t been online for a long time already. Unlike other actors who released their status daily, Han Fei didn’t use social media at all. If his fans wanted to get his update, they would have to check Xin Lu’s law enforcement official website.
“For some reasons, there are a lot of rumours about you, like you have been kicked out from the crew, you have crazy demands due to your new popularity, you have conflicts with the other actors and so on.” The assistant sighed, “I suspect someone is targeting you. Personally I’d advise you to join an agency as soon as possible. They will have people to handle these things for you.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not afraid of these rumors. If these people cross the line, they’ll be the ones who will be regretting it.” Han Fei was a very nice person so he was never angered by those rumors. He had no idea how ugly human sin could be but he did know that if he used Resurrection on 100 people and took over their souls, then he could get the title of Divinity of Somnambulance.
“You’re quite generous. It’s rare to find a young man who has both acting skills and great personality. I honestly hope that you’ll catch your big break. If the entertainment industry has more people like you, perhaps the whole environment can change.”
“Even though I’m an actor, I don’t see myself as part of the entertainment industry.” Han Fei smiled, “I’ll return to the set this afternoon. That way all the rumors will dissolve on their own.” Han Fei had signed a contract, in fact, the money that he used to purchase the gaming hub came from the contract. If he violated the contract, he would go bankrupt.
Therefore, after a quick meal, Han Fei hurried towards the set. Along the way, he paid attention to his surroundings. The feeling of being watched disappeared, it was like Butterfly had really died.
When Han Fei appeared at the set around 1 pm, many crew members came to greet him. He was still down to earth. But more impressive was his memory. Han Fei could memorize the names of all the members. He greeted them with their names, giving everyone full respect. There was never an actor like Han Fei. It was already considered nice if the actors would be polite with the crew members when they interacted, no actors had gone through the trouble of remembering their names. Everyone knew how good of a person Han Fei was so when they saw Han Fei was slandered on the internet, they were really indignant for him.
“Han Fei!” Director Zhang shouted his name from afar, he squeezed through the crowd, “Welcome back!” The other actors walked over as well. They were fully impressed by Han Fei’s acting skill. In the days when Han Fei was away from the set, the sense of pressure disappeared, only then they realized the pressure came from Han Fei. It was common for directors and actors to be friendly with each other but when all the crew members also loved Han Fei, it proved quite plainly how popular Han Fei was on set. This was captured by many paparazzi who stationed themselves at the set. These pictures naturally countered the rumors about Han Fei on the internet.
“I’m so sorry, my personal reason has caused the delay of the shoot. We should continue now.” Compared to the challenges in the cryptic world, making a movie was like a vacation for Han Fei. He could completely immerse in another character and empty his own soul. “These few days, I’ve been studying the character of Spider at home and I believe I’ve gained a new understanding of him.” Han Fei had met the real Spider in the cryptic world, in other words, he was the living person who knew Spider the best.
“You have been studying your character when you were at home?” Director Zhang admired Han Fei even more now. During the break, Han fei memorized all of his lines. When the camera rolled, he walked into the factory living compound without the script. As he entered the set, his personality shifted.
The experience in the cryptic world had influenced Han Fei a lot. When he was Spider, his presence changed naturally. There was an invisible domineering aura about him. Even though he was a side character, all the other characters existed because of him.
In just a few short days, Han Fei had been through many changes. His understanding of fear had ascended beyond human comprehension. He managed to fulfill not only all of Director Zhang’s demands, but also the demands Director Zhang didn’t even think of. Han Fei’s performance was perfect and the other actors found that pressure again. After one take, the other actors were pouring so much sweat that they needed to redo their make-up.
“You have grown so much in the past few days.” Bai Xian who was a decorated actor gulped down the water. “It feels like you’ve overcome a big hurdle in your life. There’s a wind lifting you to the top.”
“Brother Bai, you have to stop praising me like that.” Han Fei chuckled.
Since he was on break for days, Han Fei needed to catch up to the progress that he had missed. Initially Director Zhang thought Han Fei needed time to get back into the groove, but he realized he had underestimated Han Fei.
When he didn’t have to be in a scene with another actor, Han Fei finished his cut without any NG. It was like he was Spider himself.
‘So we’re the ones slowing him down…’ The other 8 actors were all good actors handpicked by Director Zhang. To make them feel like they were a burden, it was ridiculous and Han Fei was only 20 plus. ‘He has a great chance to be the youngest best actor, a rare actor who caught his break from horror films.’ Horror genre itself was not that mainstream, so it was thus harder for an actor to be nominated for best actor in this genre.
Han Fei had no idea how his colleagues viewed him. He focused on his work and tradition. He finished his cut before dark and refused to work overtime.
“Remember to come back to the set tomorrow!” Director Zhang was very satisfied with their progress that day and his mood elevated a lot.
After leaving the set, Han Fei took a cab to return to the old city. His brain was filled with ideas on how to cultivate Huang Yin. It was not until he reached his apartment that he saw Ah Cheng and the superior from his former agency standing at the steps to his house.
“I’m sure you’ve sensed our sincerity, right?” The attitude of the superior was much better this time, at least he didn’t stay inside the car to talk to Han Fei. “Before this, there were some misunderstandings between us. If you’re willing to return to the company, we will compensate you fully.”
“Compensate?” That was not what Han Fei was looking for so he ignored the man. “You better use that money to hire more 50 cent army.” Han Fei walked past them. Ah Cheng wanted to stop Han Fei but as Han Fei glared at him, Ah Cheng’s arms shrunk back. After Han Fei entered the door, Ah Cheng said, “I told you he won’t agree, he’s too arrogant.”
“I value his talent, so I wanted to give him a last chance. Since he refuses to take it, then I can’t be blamed.” The superior’s face was dark, he hadn’t been so insulted in a long time already. As he got into the car, he called a number. He waited impatiently before the call was answered, “So, how is the thing coming along?”
“We… might need some more time.”
“Is it so hard to find the victims’ family?! I have already told you that money is not a problem! As long as the families are willing to help us boycott him and his movies, then his career is over!” The man’s voice was dark, “Plus haven’t those people once boycotted the movie? Just tell them to keep on doing it, we’d handle the rest.”
“This is not an issue of money. When we reached out to the victims’ family, the moment we brought up anything negative about Han Fei, we were chased out from their houses. There was an old man named Wei who even came after us with a broom.”
“They aren’t willing to launch a boycott? Not even with free money?” The man’s brows were twisted together. “There are so many victims, there has to be someone among their families who is willing to do this. Go and find them! If that doesn’t work, pretend to be the victims’ families yourself!”
After hanging up, the man tossed the phone at the seat beside him. “Drive, we’re going back to the agency!”
After the luxury car left the street, Han Fei walked out from the shadow of the first floor. He realized that after the mad laughter was triggered in his mind, he became much more sensitive to sin in others, like he could sense them in people’s hearts.
“I’m a kind person. This is the last chance I’m giving you, I hope you’ll treasure it.” Watching the luxury car drive away, Han Fei had the same advice the man had for him.
Han Fei returned to his room and lay in bed, enjoying this rare moment of relaxation. He read some books, listened to music and ate snacks, if not for the wall of murder, it would be quite a relaxing scene.
