Chapter 69: Shattered Worldview p1
Just as Pan Xiang was about to start gossiping about Gu Tiansheng, Director Pan, as if equipped with a radar, turned around and glared at them. Pan Xiang instantly fell silent. The three huddled together, like startled quails. Fortunately, Director Pan didn’t seem too concerned and turned back after a cursory glance.
Pan Xiang breathed a long sigh of relief, her voice even lower. “Oh my, that scared me. If my grandpa heard me gossiping about Gu Tiansheng, he would lecture me for at least two hours.”
“Why… I haven’t heard of any conflict between Director Pan and Gu Tiansheng.” Ji Junxin nudged Mi Hongdou. “Have you heard anything?”
Mi Hongdou, still lost in the “mwah~” comments, looked confused.
“Oh, you weren’t in the industry then, it’s normal that you didn’t pay attention.” Ji Junxin, understanding, turned to Pan Xiang. “So why doesn’t Director Pan like Gu Tiansheng?”
“You should be familiar with Director Gu’s recent works. Last year’s ‘Spy Game,’ the year before’s ‘The Kettle and the Heart,’ and ‘The Wolf Chronicles’ from three years ago, have you seen them?” Pan Xiang listed them on her fingers.
“I’ve seen them all.” Ji Junxin nodded. Gu Tiansheng was a renowned director in the country, and as a dedicated actress, watching his films was a must.
Mi Hongdou dragged herself out of the “mwah~” daze, her head slightly dizzy from overthinking. And last year, the year before, three years ago, those were over ten years ago for her. She should have seen them, but she didn’t have a clear memory. She only remembered that Gu Tiansheng’s films often made male actors famous, but not actresses. And in her previous life, Mengguan and Qiong Yu hadn’t collaborated much with him, and neither had the people she was close to. Plus, besides acting, most of her attention had been on Ji Junxin, and since Gu Tiansheng hadn’t worked with Ji Junxin, he wasn’t on her radar. Not paying much attention naturally meant a vague memory. “I vaguely remember those films, but I haven’t seen them, I don’t know the details.”
Pan Xiang, delighted to have such an uninformed audience, became even more excited about gossiping.
“It’s okay, I’ll give you a summary, and you’ll understand. First, last year’s ‘Spy Game,’ a fictional spy thriller with complex characters and intricate relationships. Basically, two strangers, Male Lead One and Male Lead Two, join Faction C, go through various missions, overcome many difficulties, gain Faction C’s trust, and become best friends. Then, a rumor spreads within Faction C, suspecting that one of them is a spy from Faction A. So, they are investigated and even tortured. They trust each other, encourage each other, believing that Faction C will give them a fair judgment. But one day, Male Lead Two confesses, he’s the spy from Faction A. Male Lead One is released, compensated, and given an important mission by Faction C. Male Lead One, originally from Faction A, hasn’t been able to contact his organization since infiltrating Faction C. It’s not until Male Lead Two’s death and his promotion that he can finally send a message back. In the end, Faction A destroys Faction C, and when Male Lead One reports Male Lead Two’s contribution, his organization tells him that Faction B had known about his affiliation with Faction A from the beginning. The three factions had always been rivals, and Male Lead Two was actually from Faction B, and he might have even known Male Lead One’s true identity all along. So Male Lead One is shocked, then confused. If Male Lead Two wasn’t his comrade, why did he confess? In the end, Faction A defeats Faction C and starts a power struggle with Faction B. All the members of Faction A who died in the fight are hailed as heroes, their names engraved on a monument, and the survivors are rewarded and promoted. But Male Lead Two has no monument, no grave, just a shallow pit dug by Male Lead One. The final scene is of the battle between Faction A and Faction B, and Male Lead One isn’t on the battlefield, but sitting by the pit, watching the smoke in the distance, smoking a cigarette that Male Lead Two liked, a brand he never smoked.” Pan Xiang finished in one breath and looked at Mi Hongdou expectantly. “Do you understand?”
“I understand…” Mi Hongdou nodded. After Pan Xiang’s summary, she not only remembered that she had seen this film in her previous life, but also remembered Gu Tiansheng…
“Pan Xiang explained it clearly, how could she not understand?” Ji Junxin patted Mi Hongdou’s hand. “I even cried when I watched it. Not true comrades, yet they went through so much together, not comrades, but best friends, it was so touching.”
Ji Junxin’s words made Pan Xiang and Mi Hongdou look at her. Seeing her sincere expression, they both retracted their surprised gazes. Their eyes met briefly, then they quickly looked away, a slight awkwardness between them.
She had explained it so clearly, and Ji Junxin still interpreted it that way, Pan Xiang felt awkward.
So in Ji Junxin’s eyes… all relationships were so pure, Mi Hongdou also felt awkward.
“Ahem…” Pan Xiang cleared her throat, suddenly not knowing how to continue the topic of Gu Tiansheng.
Ji Junxin blinked, confused. “What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to talk about ‘The Kettle and the Heart’ and ‘The Wolf Chronicles’?”
Pan Xiang’s gaze wandered. With Ji Junxin’s comprehension skills, even if she explained, it would be useless… but she still had to talk about Gu Tiansheng, or they might offend Old Pan without knowing. Pan Xiang rubbed her face resignedly and looked at Ji Junxin. “Well, maybe because I write scripts all the time, my summaries are a bit dry, and Xiaomi might not grasp the deeper meaning. You’ve seen those movies, why don’t you explain them to Xiaomi?”
Mi Hongdou glared at her. She understood, she understood perfectly!
Heh… Pan Xiang caught Mi Hongdou’s unspoken message and winked at her. Didn’t she want to see how righteous Ji Junxin’s worldview was?
She did… Mi Hongdou nudged Ji Junxin. “Tell me about them.”
Ji Junxin, oblivious to their little game, just summarized the two films: “First, ‘The Kettle and the Heart,’ a wuxia drama. Male Lead One is the son of the Wulin Alliance leader, undercover in the Demonic Sect. Male Lead Two is the young leader of the Demonic Sect, eight years younger than him. At that time, the righteous factions were at war with the Demonic Sect. Male Lead One, pretending to help the Demonic Sect, defeats the righteous alliance and gains their trust. And because of his exceptional martial arts skills, after confirming that he’s just a wandering martial artist, the Demonic Sect elders invite him to join and teach their young leader. Male Lead One, determined to destroy the Demonic Sect, teaches Male Lead Two a sinister martial art. It’s very powerful initially, but once you start practicing it, you can’t stop, and over time, you lose your mind, until you become completely insane, your meridians rupture, and you die. The young leader practices it for three years and becomes powerful enough to fight the elders. The power of this martial art tempts everyone in the Demonic Sect. Male Lead One ‘kindly’ shares it as a benefit, and everyone starts practicing it. Another year passes, and seeing that everyone is practicing it, knowing that in two years, the young leader will start losing his mind, and in five years, the entire Demonic Sect will be destroyed, Male Lead One is ready to leave. But, having spent four years with the young leader, he sees his innocence and vulnerability. Unlike the other members of the Demonic Sect, his only mistake was being born the son of the previous leader. Male Lead One, his sense of justice and righteousness awakened, sees the young leader, although the leader in name, as just a fourteen-year-old boy, a boy he has taught for four years, practically his disciple. He regrets his actions and wants to save Male Lead Two. So, he returns home after four years and asks his father, the leader of the Wulin Alliance, for a way to undo the effects of the martial art, but his father imprisons him. A year later, the young leader single-handedly attacks the Alliance headquarters to rescue his master. Male Lead One tells him the truth, but he still insists on saving him. The Alliance leader appears, and the young leader is no match for him. Male Lead One sacrifices himself to save him. As Male Lead One is dying, the young leader loses his mind, his power surging. Seeing him about to lose control, Male Lead One hugs him tightly and speaks to him gently. The young leader finally listens and leaves, carrying his master’s body. In the end, he jumps off a cliff. Then, ‘The Wolf Chronicles’…”
“Wait a minute…” Pan Xiang interrupted. “So, what do you think of ‘The Kettle and the Heart’?”
“The battle between good and evil is a common theme in wuxia dramas. But this film, except for the ending, is mostly melancholic and heartwarming. The portrayal of good and evil isn’t very strong. Most of the time, it focuses on the daily interactions between Male Lead One and Male Lead Two in the Demonic Sect, highlighting Male Lead One’s conflict between his genuine affection for the young leader and his duty to the righteous factions. The young leader is completely devoted to him, sharing all his treasures with his master, and in the end, Male Lead One dies to save him, it’s a story of…” Ji Junxin thought for a moment. “A deep bond between master and disciple.”
A deep bond… your disciple climbs mountains every day to bring you wild game? Your disciple secretly sends away all the female disciples who have a crush on you? Your disciple, even when driven mad, still listens to your plea not to harm his family, then takes you to the mountain where you first cooked together and jumps off a cliff? You visit your disciple every night to cover him with his blanket? You secretly get rid of the girls in the sect who want to seduce your disciple? You kneel in the snow for your disciple, ruining your legs, and refuse to marry and have children even at your age? Did you even notice that Male Lead One is called Yue Qinghu, Male Lead Two is called Su Xichi, and the film is called “The Kettle and the Heart”? Such clever symbolism, all wasted on you… all the screenwriter’s efforts, wasted! Pan Xiang almost fainted from Ji Junxin’s pure interpretation.
“So, do you think there’s anything wrong with their deep bond?” Mi Hongdou asked carefully.
Ji Junxin thought for a moment and shook her head. “What’s wrong? It’s just a bit tragic… It’s fate. If they weren’t on opposing sides, it wouldn’t have ended so tragically. Perhaps they could have founded their own sect together.”
A pure love advocate… Mi Hongdou rubbed her aching forehead.
“Then… should we talk about ‘The Wolf Chronicles’?” Ji Junxin felt that their reactions were strange. Was her summary not good?
Pan Xiang gritted her teeth and forced a smile. “Go ahead…”
“The Wolf Chronicles’… set in prehistoric times. Male Lead One, as a child, is accidentally left behind in the forest by his parents and raised by wolves until adulthood. He grows up with the wolves, adopting their habits. Later, the wolf pack encounters two warring tribes. After they leave, the wolves go to eat the corpses. But one man is only injured, still alive. For some reason, Male Lead One doesn’t let the wolves eat him and even saves him, taking him back to their den, treating his wounds, and feeding him… Male Lead One saves Male Lead Two’s life, and they become friends. After Male Lead Two returns, his tribe is attacked, and Male Lead One, leading the wolf pack, saves them. But… later, a natural disaster causes a famine in Male Lead Two’s tribe, so they ask him to lure Male Lead One’s wolf pack, intending to kill them for food. Male Lead Two refuses, so they beat him, forcing him to howl in pain. Male Lead One, hearing his cries, arrives with the wolf pack. The wolves are ambushed and many are killed. Male Lead One rescues Male Lead Two but is then driven away by the remaining wolves. Injured and exhausted, they support each other, walking through the forest until they collapse, a clear lake appearing before their eyes, surrounded by fruit trees, flowers, and birds…” Ji Junxin finished and blinked, looking at Pan Xiang.
“A precious friendship,” Pan Xiang said gently.
Ji Junxin nodded in agreement and then turned to Mi Hongdou, “What do you think?”
I think… you’re probably not from this planet. Mi Hongdou forced a smile. “Um…”
Pan Xiang’s gaze softened. “Junxin, we’ve talked about three movies, and you haven’t mentioned any female leads or supporting actresses?” She had to be careful, she couldn’t just blurt it out and scare her away.
“Oh, right…” A look of confusion flashed across Ji Junxin’s face, and after a moment, she said hesitantly, “There were no female leads or supporting actresses? That doesn’t seem right… I think there was a female lead in ‘Spy Game,’ working with the two male leads in Faction C, and she seemed to have some ambiguous feelings for Male Lead One?” Ji Junxin couldn’t quite remember, but she thought there was such a character.
“What about the other two films?” Pan Xiang smiled.
Ji Junxin thought carefully, then shook her head. “I really can’t remember.”
“That’s because… even the female leads in the films you’ve seen this year are just vague memories, let alone those from previous years.” Pan Xiang’s smile deepened.
Ji Junxin thought Pan Xiang was just teasing her for not remembering and said, embarrassed, “Perhaps my memory isn’t very good…”
“No, no, no…” Pan Xiang waved her hand. “It’s not your memory, it’s their lack of presence. That’s Gu Tiansheng’s style. The two male leads are the focus, like a double male lead story, and everyone else, including the female leads, are just background characters… Do you know what people in the industry call his style?”
Ji Junxin shook her head. Mi Hongdou didn’t speak.
Pan Xiang was frustrated. “Ji Junxin, don’t you read entertainment gossip, browse Weibo, read comments on movies, read novels, or read fan fiction?” Do you even interact with the world?
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