novelraw Chapter 115: Palace Schemes Premiere Night
Chapter 115: Palace Schemes Premiere Night
Wei Song's shout of "Cut!" instantly ignited the entire film set.
The cheers that had been suppressed for so long exploded in an instant.
"Wrap! Time to go home for the New Year!"
"Finally, it's over!"
People were immersed in the ecstasy of the impending holiday, laughing, shouting, hugging each other, celebrating the perfect conclusion of this final major scene before the New Year.
Wei Song did not join the revelry.
His gaze was firmly nailed to that kneeling red figure on the ground.
He rushed over quickly, crouched down, his face showing a fervor mixed with admiration and shock.
"Yingfei! That was divine!"
He did not spare his praise."That dance just now was simply a stroke of genius!"
Zhao Yingfei was panting, sweat soaking the hair at her temples, adding a few more layers of that broken feeling to her pale face.
She did not respond to Wei Song's praise, only slowly shaking her head, denying the credit.
Her gaze pierced through the noisy crowd, passed the half-lifted tent flap, and landed precisely on that patch of shadow outside the tent.
Jiang Ci was standing there.
Zhao Yingfei looked towards him and gave a solemn, distant nod.
Then she withdrew her gaze and looked at Wei Song.
"It wasn't me."
"It was Teacher Jiang Ci."
She paused, as if organizing her words.
"His gaze gave me inspiration, let me... see in advance what Yu Ji should have seen."
Wei Song was stunned.
He followed the direction of Zhao Yingfei's previous gaze.
He saw that Jiang Ci had already completely stepped out of character, returning to his usual aloof and somewhat distant state.
A storm of shock surged in Wei Song's heart.
He understood instantly.
These two were elevating each other, using their own auras to forcibly lift the other to another level of performance.
In a corner of the film set, a few young female clapper loaders and makeup artists did not join the celebration.
They huddled together, shoulders trembling slightly, secretly wiping their reddened eye corners with the backs of their hands.
That dance just now had made them completely step into Yu Ji's shoes.
That despair, that helplessness, had allowed them to clearly "see" that predetermined tragedy.
They were shedding heartbroken tears in advance for that man, for that Hegemon who did not yet know his future of being surrounded by Chu songs on all sides at Gaixia and ultimately taking his own life by the Wu River.
Jiang Ci was just about to turn and head back to the rest area.
But right at that moment.
A crisp, pleasant, yet long-unheard system notification suddenly rang in his mind.
[Ding!]
[Detecting intense heartbreak emotion...]
[Settling accounts...]
Jiang Ci's footsteps halted.
He stood frozen in place.
Heartbreak emotion?
Where from?
Almost subconsciously, he immediately opened the system panel in his mind.
He saw the number in the [Heartbreak Value] column suddenly start to jump wildly upwards from "140".
150...170...190...
Finally, it stabilized firmly on the round number "200".
The system's emotionless, icy broadcast followed.
[Heartbreak Value +60.]
[Source: Clapper loaders +27, Makeup artists +18, Costume assistants +15.]
[Additional lifespan extension: 7 days.]
Jiang Ci was completely bewildered.
What was going on?
He had just acted as a background prop, lifted the curtain at the very end, walked in and delivered a couple of lines, without even a single close-up shot!
That could also earn Heartbreak Value?
He abruptly raised his head, his gaze swiftly sweeping across the entire film set.
Finally, his eyes precisely locked onto those few female staff members in the corner who were still quietly sobbing and comforting each other.
An absurd yet utterly reasonable conjecture instantly flooded his mind.
He understood!
It was because Zhao Yingfei's despairing "Prayer for Blessings" dance had become a "medium"!
It had allowed those few female viewers to completely immerse themselves in Yu Ji's perspective, and through Yu Ji's eyes,
"See" the future of the Xiang Yu he portrayed—surrounded by Chu songs on all sides at Gaixia, ultimately meeting a tragic end by taking his own life at the Wu River's edge!
They weren't heartbroken for Yu Ji.
They were heartbroken for "Xiang Yu's" fate!
...
The film crew officially went on holiday.
The film city was filled with the joy of returning home.
Everyone was dragging their suitcases, faces wearing smiles of eagerness to return home, bidding each other farewell, making promises to meet again next year.
Jiang Ci briefly said goodbye to everyone and returned to the hotel arranged by the crew.
His retreating figure stood in stark contrast to the lively atmosphere around him.
Night.
In the capital in deep winter, the cold wind was biting.
Jiang Ci stood alone before the huge floor-to-ceiling window of his hotel suite.
Outside the window were countless twinkling lights, bustling traffic; the entire city was immersed in the clamor and warmth of New Year's Eve.
Inside the window, there was only him.
The hum of the air conditioner in the massive suite.
The phone on the table vibrated softly.
The screen lit up.
It was a message from his mother.
Jiang Ci swiped open the screen, and a photo abruptly crashed into his line of sight.
In the photo was an exceptionally sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner.
Steaming hot dumplings, glossy braised pork in soy sauce, steamed perch, and a few other delicate side dishes filled the table.
One could tell the person who cooked it had poured all their heart into it.
Three sets of bowls and chopsticks were placed beside the dining table.
From his mother's perspective, the two empty sets of bowls and chopsticks opposite her were just sitting there.
Amidst the festive abundance of the full table, they looked particularly glaring, particularly lonely.
Below the photo, a line of text followed.
"Xiao Ci, saved a spot for you, come home soon."
Looking at the photo, Jiang Ci felt his heart gripped tightly, cold and aching.
He could imagine Madam Chu Hong's feelings when she sent this photo.
He called up the system panel.
[Remaining Lifespan: 183 days 7 hours]
Those cold numbers slowly overlapped with the image of the empty bowls and chopsticks in the photo.
An indescribable emotion churned in his chest.
He wanted to reply with something.
His fingers hovered over the screen, deleting and writing, writing and deleting, but couldn't find a single appropriate sentence.
He couldn't explain why he wasn't returning.
He couldn't tell his mother that his so-called "busy with career" was, in the most absurd way, fighting for time to stay alive.
In the end, he only typed out one pale, powerless sentence.
"Mom, Happy New Year."
"I'll come home to visit once I'm done with work."
After sending it, he turned off the screen and tossed the phone onto the sofa.
His mother did not reply again.
Jiang Ci stood by the window for a long time, until his entire body turned cold.
The phone on the sofa rang again.
It was his assistant, Sun Zhou.
Jiang Ci walked over and answered.
From the other end of the line came Sun Zhou's extremely excited, almost cracking shout.
"Brother Ci! Happy New Year!"
He first roared a blessing, then quickly got to the point.
"Tomorrow! Tomorrow is the premiere of *Palace Conspiracy*!"
His voice was full of barely contained excitement and anticipation.
"Director Lin just sent over the final schedule and styling plan!"
"Eight PM, Tiamu Cinema in the capital, prime time slot!"