Chapter 41: Interview
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
“Xiangxiang, lend me a hundred thousand yuan.” Li Xiangling didn’t beat about the bush.
“Okay, I’ll transfer it to you now.” Yun Xiangxiang picked up her phone without any hesitation. She used the bank’s app to transfer a hundred thousand from her personal account to Li Xiangling’s card.
“Don’t you need to ask me the reason? Or when would I return it?” Li Xiangling didn’t need to say what she had prepared.
“We grew up together. Do you think I don’t know what kind of person you are?”
Yun Xiangxiang finished her broth, “You wouldn’t have asked for my help if it wasn’t an emergency. As for when will the money be returned, I believe that you will do it the first chance you get. Also, I don’t really need the money now. Sleep early, I am feeling really tired.”
It was fortunate that a bowl of bird’s nest wasn’t really burdening the stomach. Yun Xiangxiang really didn’t want to wait. She pushed Li Xiangling out of her room; bade her goodnight; washed up and immediately hit the hay.
Yun Xiangxiang’s circadian clock woke her up in the morning. She dragged Song Meng and Li Xiangling for some morning workout in the hotel’s gym.
They showered before having their breakfast at eight o’clock. Han Jing was also having her breakfast at this time. Everyone finished their breakfast together and took a short break before heading for the TV station.
The programme’s person in charge and the host welcomed them. The programme was called “Filmmakers”. It was an interview show that talked about films.
Yun Xiangxiang donned a casual outfit and applied some nude makeup then sat mellowly beside Han Jing.
The host was a very friendly man and talked in a graceful manner. He was a graduate of Communication University of China [1] and looked around thirty years old.
“Teacher Han, what was your purpose in shooting this film?” The host asked the question according to what they agreed on.
Han Jing and Yun Xiangxiang had reviewed the content of the interview in the morning. Programmes like this usually wouldn’t talk about personal topics. It was just to let the interviewee prepare themselves so that they would look more natural on the camera.
“This story was based on a true story that I heard when I was in a charity that was helping the poor. I was upset when I heard it at the time so I wanted to jot it down after that.”
Han Jing answered, “I wanted to shoot it as a promotional video at first. Then Xiangxiang infused real emotions into it. I feel that the movie wasn’t just a retelling of a story that happened. It was an authentic recreation of the story.”
“Seems that Teacher Han has quite a high opinion on Xiangxiang. Any special reasons for that?”
“She has a lot of likable quirks.” Han Jing wasn’t ambiguous with her praise when it comes to Yun Xiangxiang, “Hardworking; enduring; dedicated; passionate about films; resilient; tenacious; great temperament; great personality… I haven’t found any flaws on her until now.”
It is rare to hear any seniors praising a newcomer as dedicated now. Can you give some examples?”
“There are too many…” Han Jing paused for a while, “I’ll give some typical ones. We were shooting a theme that revolves around families that live in the slums. I had her to become unrecognizably thin before we started filming.
Such a young lady forcibly tore her legs until bloody blisters appeared just because she wanted to match the character during filming. Her legs were so roughed up and cracked there wasn’t even any good skin on it.
The female protagonist was living in extreme poverty. She had no position in her family. All she had were two tattered clothes. She wore a long sleeved unlined shirt during summer. Sichuan was sweltering with a swaggering forty degree Celsius. She had to wear a long sleeved shirt and sandals while not even showing any signs of discomfort.
The winter scenes were even worse. The protagonist only had a wadded jacket that was full of holes and a pair of cotton wadded shoes. It was a negative twenty something degrees in the mountain. Even we who were wearing down jacket felt cold. Her hands and legs swelled until they looked like white carrots due to the freeze.
She didn’t complain once about the pain or exhaustion. She didn’t even say she had to go to the hospital when she had accidents that nearly destroyed her face and her eyes or when she bled so much…”
“Does Xiangxiang have anything to say after hearing so much praise from Teacher Han?” The host was starting to respect and admire Yun Xiangxiang after he heard the praise.
“It was what I should do. There is no real work that isn’t exhausting.” Yun Xiangxiang stayed humble, “It wasn’t just me working hard. The whole team was enduring nature’s test.”
“I saw the comments online. They asked why didn’t Yun Xiangxiang shoot the films that had fairylike characters but instead went and hurt herself?”
“I am already a real fairy. It would be meaningless if I play as a fairy in a film.”
Yun Xiangxiang smiled cheekily, “My acting skill still has quite a lot of room for improvement. Besides, I want to be a competent actor and not just a pinup. It might have something to do with my personality that likes challenges. The more people think I will fail, the more I want to prove them wrong.
“Seems like Xiangxiang is someone with a thirst for conquest. Xiangxiang, all you’re doing now is films. Will you consider playing in a TV drama in the future?”
“I will if I think that the character is challenging and if they will have me.” Yun Xiangxiang replied with certainty.
The host asked some questions revolving films next. Both of them answered smoothly.
The interview continued until twelve o’clock without a hitch. The programme team promoted the film. It was said that this interview would be aired on the Sixth of July.
Lunch was on the host and the person in charge. Song Meng called the host as senior affectionately when she knew that he graduated from the Communication University of China. She used this connection as a topic and talked with the host happily. They even exchanged numbers in the end.
There were a few more variety shows that tried to invite Han Jing and Yun Xiangxiang. However, Yun Xiangxiang was in a hurry to enter the team for “Justice and Selflessness.” She didn’t even have the time to record any programmes.
On the other hand, Han Jing was a budding director. She agreed to the invitation of a variety show that had the highest ratings to promote “University Dream.”
Yun Xiangxiang turned up for her appointment with Milles that night. Milles was an opinionated and humorous Frenchman. Both of them talked in French since Yun Xiangxiang’s French wasn’t bad.
Both of them chatted a lot about films. They discovered that their take on films was connected with each other. It was late into the night before they parted ways.
Yun Xiangxiang and the others couldn’t sleep at all back at the hotel. They were waiting for the wee hours. That was when they could check their results for the national college entrance exam. Some regions that were earlier already had their results released today. The trio was confident before this. But even Yun Xiangxiang was filled with trepidation right about now.
Song Meng promptly played “Caring Love” on a streaming website in the end due to her anxiety. Li Xiangling went over to watch it too.
Yun Xiangxiang joined the chat in Four Seasons group when she saw Wei Shanshan online.
[Wei Shanshan: Xiangxiang, I have two scripts on my plate now. One of them is the main female protagonist for a web drama; another one is a secondary lead for a big production. What do you say about the character that I should choose?]
Wei Shanshan, who was in a dilemma, could only seek help from the group. She summarized the two characters once.
Yun Xiangxiang asked about the members for both filming teams. She mulled over it for a while before giving her advice.
[Yun Xiangxiang: I would suggest that you choose the secondary role for the big production if we are talking about the character. This character is likeable. The main female protagonist for the web drama seems a bit affected.]