novelraw Chapter 3 The Active Oda
Chapter 3 The Active Oda
On the way back from the coffee shop, I sent a QQ message to Tian Xiwei, giving her Liu Haochun's QQ number.
"This is your best friend in the play, her name is Liu Haochun. She's from the Affiliated High School of Beijing Dance Academy and is about your age. Add each other as friends and chat to get to know each other."
A few minutes later, Tian Xiwei replied with a "Received" emoji, followed by a grinning emoji: "Don't worry, Feng-ge, I guarantee we'll become true best friends!"
For the next month, aside from attending classes, I devoted all my time to the preparations for the film crew.
Assistant director Zhou Ming helped finalize the selection of the photography and lighting teams, all of whom were senior students from the Beijing Film Academy's photography department.
"I went to the small commodities market to check out the props," the art team leader reported to him with a list, "school bags, stationery, and household decorations for the students, all from the show's setting."
"Okay, you've got the details down well."
Meanwhile, Zhou Ming also finalized the filming location. The main scenes were to be set in the old town of the mountain city. He found an old-style residential building similar to the one described in the script, and the landlord readily agreed when he heard that a movie was being filmed. For the school scenes, he contacted a local middle school and borrowed classrooms and the playground for a few days during the winter break, which the school also supported.
"The venue contract is signed, and the deposit has been paid," Zhou Ming handed the documents to Lin Feng. "The filming permit has also been obtained."
Looking at the documents, he said, "Thank you for your hard work, senior."
"Don't be so polite with me." Zhou Ming patted his shoulder. "By the way, the training for the two girls is going very smoothly. The acting teacher said they are both quick learners. Tian Xiwei is very outgoing, and although Liu Haochun is shy, his eyes are very expressive once he gets into character."
This was within his expectations.
With winter break drawing near, the crew's preparations are nearing completion. The equipment inventory in the equipment room has been checked, the staff's task assignments are posted on the wall of the temporary office, and photos of the actors trying on costumes are displayed on the table. Everything is progressing smoothly.
During the preparation period, messages from Tian Xiwei kept popping up on my phone. Sometimes it was a snapshot of the sunset, and sometimes it was a voice message complaining about the teacher assigning too much homework.
That day, I had just finished finalizing the last batch of props with the art team when my phone vibrated. It was a video call request from Tian Xiwei.
"Brother Feng! Look at this math problem, I've been trying to figure it out for ages and I still can't get it right!" She shoved her workbook in front of the camera, her handwriting flamboyant and exaggerated.
I glanced at the questions and asked first, "How much homework have you done? How's your memory of the script lines I asked you to memorize last time?"
Tian Xi's face fell, and she rolled her eyes at the camera: "Ugh, you're just like my mom! All you do is nag about homework! I've got a problem, you know!"
"Let's put the difficult questions aside for now," he teased her, "and answer my question first."
"I've written half of it! I've even memorized the lines!" she shouted, her neck stiff, and in her frustration, she even blurted out a phrase in her dialect, "You're even more long-winded than our homeroom teacher! It's so annoying!"
Raymond Lam was amused by her: "I'm being long-winded for your own good. If you forget your lines during filming, see who's going to bail you out. Okay, which question? Let me see."
After helping her understand the problem-solving approach, Tian Xiwei complained while staring at the screen, "By the way, Brother Feng, why isn't Liu Haochun responding to anyone?"
"Um?"
"I text her every day, asking if she's tired from dance practice, and sharing funny stories from our class. She just replies with 'It's okay' or 'It's quite interesting,' or she sends an emoji, looking all blank!" Tian Xi pouted. "I thought we could become best friends, but how can we keep talking like this?"
After thinking about it, Liu Haochun's personality was indeed rather quiet, and coupled with her lack of experience in this area, she might be a little reserved. "She's probably shy and not very good at chatting," he advised. "Tell her more about filming, ask her what she thinks of the character, and maybe you'll have something to talk about."
"Okay, I'll try again." Tian Xi pouted slightly, then suddenly remembered something, "Oh right! My mom bought me a new down jacket. Can I wear it for filming winter scenes? Let me show you!" As she spoke, she turned around to find the clothes, the camera shaking violently.
Listening to her conversation with her mother on the screen, interspersed with a few familiar words of Qing dialect.
"Go do your homework and stop playing on your phone all day." He couldn't help but remind him again before hanging up the video call.
"I know, I know! You nagging devil!" Tian Xiwei said, quickly hanging up the video call, leaving the last frame of her making a face on the screen.
With only a week left before winter break, he flew back to the mountain city ahead of time. On the afternoon of his arrival, instead of going home first, he went to the previously arranged filming location for a stroll.
The residential buildings in the old town have a more lived-in feel than in the photos. Half-dried ivy climbs the walls, old furniture is piled up in the stairwells, and sunlight shines through the narrow courtyards onto the cement floor, just like the "home" in the script.
The middle school next door is also suitable, with red brick walls and old-fashioned teaching buildings. The sycamore trees by the playground have lost all their leaves, and their bare branches stretch to the sky, exuding a youthful campus feel.
"We initially wanted to film in Tongliang, mainly because we were familiar with it, but the location was too limited." Standing in front of the teaching building, he sighed to Zhou Ming, who was accompanying him, "This place is more suitable. The scenes are rich enough, and it fits the urban feel in the script."
Zhou Ming nodded: "The props team has already started setting up the interior of the 'home'. As you said, the details are being followed up."
When they got home that evening, they had prepared a table full of his favorite dishes. His parents asked, "Is everything ready?"
"It's almost done. The venue, equipment, and personnel are all in place. We're just waiting for the actors to join the crew." He picked up a piece of twice-cooked pork. "Xiao Tian will come over after her exams next week. Liu Haochun has also agreed to come over as soon as winter break starts."
"That's good. Do your best on the filming." Mom served him a bowl of soup. "Don't overwork yourself. Take care of yourself. If you need any help from home, just let me know."
"Okay, Mom."
The next morning, Lin Feng took a ride back to his hometown of Tongliang. The county town was particularly lively on the weekend. Shops on both sides of the old street had their doors wide open, and various vendors' calls rose and fell. When he arrived at Tian Xiwei's house, it was Tian's mother, Zhang Lan, who opened the door with a smile, her eyes full of warmth.
"Lin Feng is here? Come in, come in quickly. Weiwei was just reading in the room. I'll go call her." Mother Tian called out to the inner room as she stepped aside to let him in.
He was carrying fresh fruit he had just picked out at the fruit shop downstairs. As he handed it to her, his mother playfully waved her hand and said, "Child, why did you buy fruit? We're all family, just come. Bringing this makes you seem like a stranger."
As she spoke, she picked up the fruit and turned to go to the kitchen. Then she turned back and told him to sit in the living room, and poured him a cup of warm tea.
Tian Xiwei was lying on her desk in her room, with several review materials spread out in front of her. Her hair was casually tied back, revealing her smooth forehead.
Hearing the noise, she looked up, her eyes lighting up, then her face fell again: "Brother Feng, what brings you here? I'm studying, final exams are next week, it's so annoying!"
"Just dropping by to see you, and maybe catch up on filming." He walked to her desk, glanced at her workbook, and remarked, "Working so hard?"
"What if I don't study? My mom will yell at me if I fail the test!" Tian Xi wailed, then leaned closer and whispered, "Is filming about to start? Will I be able to wear that down jacket?"
"Focus on your exams first, then we'll talk about clothes." Lin Feng flicked her forehead. "Don't get punished if you don't do well on the exams."
"Okay!" She rubbed her forehead, then looked down at her homework again. "After my exam, you have to treat me to hot and sour noodles!"
"Okay, plenty. By the way, how are things going with you and Liu Haochun?"
When Tian Xiwei heard him mention Liu Haochun, she slammed her pen on the table, frowned, and complained, "Just thinking about her makes me angry. That girl is no fun at all!"
"What's wrong now?" He sat down on the chair next to her and casually picked up her open English vocabulary book and flipped through it.
"It's still the same as always!" Tian Xi leaned back in her chair, her tone slightly aggrieved. "I'm always the one who has to start a conversation. She either says 'uh-huh' or sends an emoji. She's very quiet, like a silent person."
She mimicked Liu Haochun's tone, using a high-pitched voice, saying, "'It's okay,' 'It's alright,' 'It's quite interesting,' she kept repeating the same few phrases. I don't know how to continue the conversation with her."
Closing the vocabulary book, she said, "They might just be slow to warm up; they're not that familiar with you yet. You two haven't even met in person, have you? Chatting through a screen is bound to make you feel awkward."
"Will things be better once we meet?" Tian Xi raised an eyebrow, looking unconvinced.
"Of course! Have you forgotten about Tingting from the next alley when you were little? At first, you said she wasn't fun to be around, but after you met her and jumped rope together once, you became inseparable."
Tian Xi thought about it for a moment, and it seemed to make sense. She curled her lips slightly and said, "That's different. Tingting is from here, and she knows the place well. She's from out of town, so I wonder if she'll get along with us?"
"How could that be?" He tapped her workbook. "She's about your age and studies dance. Why don't you take her around the city more often? Go to Ciqikou to eat Chen's twisted dough sticks, go to Hongyadong to see the night view, and then take her to Foreigners' Street. If it's lively and fun, she'll talk more, won't she?"
He paused, then said, "Besides, you two play best friends in the drama. You'll be rehearsing lines and filming together every day. It'll be hard not to get to know each other. Take the initiative and guide her. With her personality, she'll definitely be quite interesting once you get to know her."
Tian Xi pondered his words, tapped her fingers on the table, and after a while hummed, "Fine, I'll reluctantly take her out to play sometime. If she's still this bored, I won't care anymore."