CH 415

“Han Fei, there’s a promo event tonight, will you be interested to attend?”

“Sorry, I can’t. I have to help collect clues for murder cases. I don’t have the time.” Han Fei was immediately accosted by Director Zhang’s assistant when he arrived at the set. The man was carrying a very expensive western suit.

“I knew you would say that.” The assistant frowned. “The concept trailer for our movie is already out. The first wave of promo activities will align with the movie festival’s activities. You are our movie’s best actor and a hot candidate for the movie festival, you have to attend these events!”

“You should get Brother Bai. I’m just an internet drama actor, the real actors will not have time for me.”

“He will attend the event with you. Furthermore, the judges for the festival have started to review the candidate list already. They will select a handful of nominees from the hundreds of actors. You should get to know the judges beforehand, it’ll be greatly helpful to your future.” The assistant persuaded him. He knew Han Fei had social anxiety but he didn’t know it was so serious.

“Han Fei, there are many people in this circle who want to know you. Since you’ve not joined any agency, this is a perfect chance for you.” Bai Xian walked over. They all knew Han Fei had social anxiety and he was introverted. When Director Zhang first contacted Twin Flower’s Director Jiang, Director Jiang already told Director Zhang and Bai Xian about that. He hoped that they would be more understanding towards Han Fei. Director Jiang guaranteed that even though Han Fei was rather reserved, he was a good person and his acting was flawless. In other words, Director Jiang had played a huge role for Han Fei to earn this chance but no one had told him about it.

“Alright, since you have put it that way, I’ll attend the event. But I’ll be honest, I’ll leave the event before 10.” Han Fei didn’t say it was because he needed to rush home to play game. Everyone assumed Han Fei was going back to investigate some kind of murder cases so they had achieved some kind of balance.

“This is the guest list for the event. You should go over it lest you fail to recognize the judges.” Bai Xian was like Han Fei’s big brother, showing him the ropes. Han Fei glanced at the list but his eyes stopped when they landed on a name. “Xia Yilan? She’s attending this event too?”

“Of course, how shall I put this…” Bai Xian revealed a polite yet awkward smile, “She is a common fixture at these events. Perhaps she likes the exposure. What is it? Are you her fan?”

“I just want to talk to her?”

“You want to take a picture with her? She should be very happy to oblige. You are so famous lately, she would definitely…”

“It’s related to a case.” When Han Fei said that, Bai Xian cleverly stopped talking. He could feel that Han Fei was not lying.

“Okay, Han Fei, you better go and change now. Director Zhang knows that you had never attended such events so he has prepared the whole set of suits for you.” The assistant changed the subject and handed the suit over to Han Fei. “The promo event is around 3 pm. We will inform you when it’s about to start.”

The cast entered the set. Even though the shooting was over, there were a few live interviews to do. Even though Han Fei had been an actor for a long time already, this was his first time experiencing something like this. In the past, he would be standing beyond the guarded line, watching the others in the spotlight.

The shooting for Thriller Novelist officially ended at 12 noon. All the cast finished their parts and the crew members started to clean up the set. The actors who would participate in the promo event and Director Zhang walked out from the factory living compound. They turned to look at the old building and felt rather sad. Even though the shoot this time wasn’t that long, it was very memorable for all the actors. Haunting, murder, accidents all in one project.

“Is everyone here?” Director Zhang changed into a more formal attire. He had high hopes for Thriller Novelist. In the past, he would never attend promo events like this.

“Han Fei is still changing in Spider’s room, I’ll call him.” Just as the assistant said that, a chime sounded. It came from the writer’s room. While they were distracted by the wind chime, Han Fei walked out from the dark corridor. The noon sun showered on him. His already handsome face lost its usual naivete. His unique presence couldn’t be described. It was like he was born for the spotlight.

“He looks so handsome in a suit!” The female actors looked at Han Fei in disbelief. Some of the crew members had taken out their phones to snap pictures. Han Fei wasn’t trying to act cool, he was just being himself but there was a stately presence about him.

“No wonder he wears so casually normally, it’s because of confidence!”

“He could have relied entirely on his face, but he is such a good actor too.”

The sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting bits of light on the ground. As Han Fei walked through the lights, he frowned with some awkwardness. “Why are you guys all looking at me like that?”

“It’s nothing. Come on, let’s hurry and get into the vehicles.” Han Fei didn’t have his own car so like usual, he shared a ride with the crew members. He climbed into the car and found a corner to sit. However, unlike normal, everyone’s gaze would consciously and subconsciously wander towards him. Compared to admiration, people were more curious and surprised by this transformation.

For Han Fei with social anxiety, he was discomfited by this treatment and thus he pretended to be asleep.

The crew’s bus moved from the countryside to the intelligent city. After everyone verified their identity, they got out from the bus one by one.

The other cast members had their own fans. They were there with their plaques, calling their idols’ names. Some of them even had slogans. Nowadays, fans treat their idols as their friends and examples, borrowing energy from them.

“The fuck! That crew member is so handsome!”

“The cameramen for Thriller Novelist are all so cool?”

“Wait, that person looks familiar, Meng Changxi?! He is Meng Changxi!” Han Fei didn’t have a fan club, he didn’t even release a status on his social media that he would be attending this event. Naturally there was no fan at the venue to support Han Fei. But many pedestrians recognized Han Fei. They couldn’t remember Han Fei’s name but they did remember he had played Meng Changxi and Meng Changan. As Twin Flowers became a famous film, Meng Changan and Meng Changxi became household names. One was incredibly touching, the other incredibly hateful.

“Meng Changxi, we’ll help you capture Butterfly and make him pay!”

“Stop calling him Meng Changxi, his name is Han Fei, the criminal kryptonite, Han Fei. He’s an agent planted by the law enforcement in the entertainment industry.”

“Is he really an actor? I’m curious because our police institute teacher always brings him up in classes.” Just like that, more and more people got curious about Han Fei. These discussions overshadowed the cheers of the other fans. The other actors could only smile at this unusual development. Before Thriller Novelist was released, Han Fei already had a high popularity, this was something no one expected.

‘I was right to cast you in this role.’ The more Director Zhang looked at Han Fei, the more satisfied he was. He entered the venue with Han Fei. At backstage, Han Fei looked at the filled up audience seat, and he was reminded of the promo venue for Twin Flowers. Back then Director Jiang only had a small side hall. There was no one in the audience seat and the host was plotting against him. At the time, Han Fei had no popularity. Even the host didn’t think much of Han Fei, they also thought Han Fei was easily bullied.

“Han Fei, you’ll be the third to take the stage. You’ll be after me. Watch your breathing. If you’re nervous, try to yawn. Come, I’ll show you.” Bai Xian was a very good senior. He was worried about Han Fei and his condition so he patiently shared his experience. Soon the first promo for Thriller Novelist began. After the host made the introduction, Director Zhang and Bai Xian walked out. Then it was Han Fei’s turn.

Seeing the spotlight in the middle of the stage, Han Fei didn’t hesitate and walked out from backstage. When the shoot for Twin Flower ended, Han Fei promised himself that he would make it to a bigger stage and he had done it. No one was there to ruin it this time. Many people shouted his name. At that moment, Han Fei had never felt so alive. When he attended Twin Flower’s first showing, he was wearing Meng Changan’s costume and was attacked by people online. But now everything was different.

Regarding the host’s Q and A, Han Fei managed it smoothly. He interacted with the audience nicely too. Even though Han Fei still hadn’t quite gotten used to this kind of situation, he was already better than most actors his age. Thriller Novelist’s promo ended at 6 pm. Once the trailer was released, it immediately caused a great reaction online.

Someone reviewed the acting for the 9 actors and to everyone's surprise, after they watched the trailer, Han Fei’s popularity as a side character was about the same level as Bai Xian’s main character. The other 7 actors were not even mentioned that much. Some comments even claimed that even as a side character, Bai Xian had done perfectly well. Thriller Novelist’s popularity continued to climb, this was not something comparable to Twin Flower. Big director, big named cast, everyone had high hopes for this movie. Director Zhang who was normally so calm, was nervous seeing the reaction the trailer got online. He was afraid that should the actual film fail to reach the public’s expectation, the movie would be ruined by the hype. But of course, if the movie managed to live up to the hype, it would be an instant classic. After the promo event was over, Director Zhang led the actors to the next event.

The venue for the promo was close to the main hall for the movie festival. They were within the same area inside the intelligent city. The movie festival would officially start one week later, the event today was merely a nomination event. The judges would come out with the nomination list from hundreds of participating actors. The actual winner would be announced on the day of the festival. Even though this event was just a preliminary event, the scene was crowded with media from all companies.

“I’ll go and find my old friends to chat with. We’ll meet at the entrance to hall 1 at 7.30 pm.” Director Zhang hurried away and the other actors left to mingle. Han Fei prepared to head to the buffet table.

“Han Fei, let me introduce you to some friends of mine.” Bai Xian was afraid that Han Fei might feel lonely so he offered. Han Fei thought about it and nodded. “Okay, we’ll go find Xia Yilan. If you don’t think that’s convenient for you, you can just point her out to me.”

“Erm…” Bai Xian chuckled helplessly. This was the best chance to make connections but Han Fei only cared about solving cases. Bai Xian knew Han Fei was serious. In a way, at this place where fame and power were everything, Han Fei didn’t fit in.

“I’ll find a friend to ask, come with me.” Bai Xian was about to lead Han Fei to the hall when there was a commotion from the entrance. A large group of people surrounded a haggard middle-aged man.

“As our nation’s most popular comedy actor, why didn’t you make more films? Is it because there is no good script?”

“We hear that you were not feeling well and you were sick, is that true?”

“Why did you decide to be the judge this time? Is it because you are coming out of retirement?”

“Who do you think will win this time?”

Squeezed in the crowd, the middle-aged man only looked tired. He tried to maintain a smile until he saw Han Fei and Bai Xian. Through the crowd, the man couldn’t believe his eyes. He was shocked and startled. ‘So the dream is true… I've found him.’ As the crowd swallowed him again, the middle-aged man smiled. ‘He looks so much more handsome than I was at his age.’

Bai Xian and Han Fei walked into the main hall. With a female actor’s help, they found Xia Yilan who was taking event photos. The woman was beautiful, time left no trace on her. She didn’t look 40 at all.

“She’s incredibly beautiful but has no acting chops. She can’t even make simple expressions so no one wants to use her.”

“It’s too far to see anything, I have to go closer.” It was too late for Bai Xian to stop Han Fei. Han Fei stepped on the still rolling red carpet towards Xia Yilan.

‘Doesn’t he have social anxiety? Why is he doing this?’ Bai Xian gritted his teeth and made to follow.