Qiao Chen didn't return to the small apartment he was in before. He went to his previous house instead. He invested in the stock market after he received the money for the script Xingyu accepted. The first thing he did after was to buy his original house back. It was only put up in the market for a short while, so no one else decided to buy it. He re-turned his home and everything was the same as when he left. Nothing had been moved.
In his life as Shu Qichen, the house was lively. There was his father, three aunties who did the housework, and a chef. There was always someone there, but it was empty now. This large home of his felt quite empty.
Qiao Chen didn't go out much after completing the shoot. He didn't immerse himself in writing out the script everyday either like Du Jingnan wanted him to. There wasn't any use for him to do that because he had the system. He could plot out the rest of the points and the system would be able to fill in the rest. In fact, he'd be able to finish it all by today if he wanted to.
However, this didn't mean that he was idle either. He was busy looking for evidence. He knew everything about Xu Jieming and Liu Yi by now. He knew what they photographed, what their schedules were, and where they were. With the help of the system, he was able to hack into both their mobile phones and computers. Monitoring everything the two did was quite simple, and he was able to find everything he needed.
Qiao Chen saved the evidence of all the ugly acts they committed them. One by one, he'd download the photos or save the text messages. He was planning on waiting until the time was right before he began the process. He would slowly leak and expose the two monsters and show the public who they really were. Qiao Chen finally sifted through all the data and evidence. On this day, he found that the dirty little secret the two had was wonderful. It was so wretchedly wonderful…
——
The film, Fenghuo Lingyun, finished filming and went through post production. Xingyu released the trailers and movie information on major websites and TV stations. Soon, the news spread that Du Jingnan had played one of the protagonists. This sent all of his fans into a frenzy. All the naysayers who publically claimed that they'd boycott the movie all took back their words. They all said that they had to watch the movie to finally see their idol after his many years of absence for on camera work. They began claiming that they needed to buy tickets to support his return. For the problems they had with Shu Qichen, they decided that they'd block him out or ignore him when he appeared.
Xingyu produced two different promos for the film. Both of them didn't have Shu Qichen in them. As a result, the fans vehemently believed that Xingyu had cut him out entirely or his acting was just too horrible to show in the promos.
The movie's premier quickly approached. Movie theaters were filled with Fenghuo Lingyun showings. Fans and audiences also packed the theaters to the brim in anticipation for Du Jingnan's new movies.
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The movie began. Du Jingnan was clad in a black military uniform with gold embroidery. A black cape fluttered in the wind behind him. His hands wore pure white gloves. One hand held a whip and the other the reigns to the chestnut brown horse he rode on top of. There were dozens of soldiers all on horseback as they followed behind him. They were all in formation with their guns holstered.
Du Jingnan's fans couldn't help but scream inwardly when they saw their male god, their idol appear on screen. If they had been watching at home, then they would have screamed out loud as they gushed over Du Jingnan.
Soon after, Yang Xiukai as Jun Tianrui and Xu Manni, who was the female lead, appeared one after the other. All of their fans silently screamed in joy for their own idol's appearances. They were in awe as they inwardly exclaimed how wonderful the costume design was. Their idols' beauty and strengths were accented and amplified by the outfits. Uniforms really did give people a different air. The film so far was just a uniform lover's dream!
The story progressed and showed how Li Zhongxu and Jun Tianrui were best friends. They formed deep brotherly bonds as they grew up and helped each together. However, they grew apart one day because of a woman named Xu Manni. Xu Manni's family had an arranged marriage for her. She was supposed to be wed with Li Zhongxu. However, she had fallen in love with Jun Tianrui instead.
Jun Tianrui was in a difficult spot. He had to choose between the woman he loved, his soul mate, and his best friend since childhood. He didn't want to make mistake after mistake as he fought with this internal struggle. He couldn't let his beloved endure the pain anymore either. It took some time, but Jun Tianrui finally confessed to Li Zhongxu that he and Xu Manni were in love.
Li Zhongxu was heartbroken. He was betrayed by both his best friend and his fiancé as they went around his back. He was furious. They argued for a long time until Li Zhonxu pulled out his gun and pointed it towards Jun Tianrui. He aimed his gun at the vase nearby and was about to shoot. However, Xu Manni suddenly inserted herself into the argument to defend her beloved. She rushed forward to block the bullet for him and was shot.
Li Zhongxu saw her determination to be with Jun Tianrui as well as her love for him. Then he declared that he would dissolve their engagement right then and there.
Li Zhongxu fell into a deep depression. He lost both his supposed best friend and his fiancé all in the same day, so he drank himself into oblivion. There were usually rich businessmen in Yuncheng who would constantly flatter him and invite him to their parties. He never really attended these gatherings, but decided to one fateful day.
All the party guests were dressed in gorgeous and elegant attire. They arrived as they pleased and entered the rich businessman's estate. The camera panned over the guests and focused on one person. A graceful and charming looking beautiful woman walked alongside the rest of the guests. She wore a gorgeous white lace dress with a small veil on her head. The camera pulled up and showed the bottom half of her face. The audience all thought that the woman on screen looked very familiar.
The story continued, so they couldn't dwell on it for long. The rich businessman was very flattered that Li Zhongxu would attend his party. He toasted drink after drink as he tried to cozy up with Li Zhongxu.
The scene jumped back to the woman in the white dress from earlier. She snuck upstairs and quietly entered a room. She silently and efficiently began rummaging through everything inside. She suddenly heard the sound of movement and hurriedly disappeared under the bed.
A security guard helped the drunken Li Zhongxu into the room. He rolled Li Zhongxu off his shoulder and onto the bed. Then he exited the room. As he opened the door, there were five or six guards openly carrying seen. They were guarding the entrance.
The woman in white quietly crawled out from under the bed. She looked at the door and then looked at the window. She stood up and was about to look out the window to calculate how successful her chances were of escaping from the window. However, the moment she stood up was the moment Li Zhongxu, who was drunk but not completely unconscious, suddenly woke up.
The woman saw Li Zhongxu's opened eyes and was startled. Then, Li Zhongxu sat up. He quickly got off the bed, grabbed her arm, and then rolled onto the bed with her. He was on top as he positioned the woman below him.
The next scene made the audience feel that the film was too alluring. The woman was very obviously not supposed to be in the room. She didn't dare make a sound and alert the armed guards. She pushed Li Zhongxu away, but failed. He was too strong. Amidst the struggle, her veil fell off and revealed a beautiful face.
The audience racked their minds to figure out which actor would be able to play a character that was supposed to be prettier than the female lead. The answer was at the tip of their tongues, but they couldn't really pinpoint the person.
The film clearly showed how the woman reacted as she was assaulted. Her panicked expression and fearful eyes ignited the audience's pity and compassion. However, even though they felt for the poor girl, she was still extremely entrancing. They blushed.
The camera came in closer and showed Li Zhongxu's big hands as they roughly roamed the woman's body. Then the camera showed the woman's beautiful and perfect long legs.
The scene cut to the next morning. Li Zhongxu was asleep on the woman. The woman looked like she had long passed out.
Li Zhongxu woke up and saw the person under him. First, he frowned. Then he lifted the blankets with grimace on his face. He looked under the sheets and immediately jumped off the bed. He took his gun out and pointed it at the person's head. Finally he shook the person awake. They didn't wake up, so he slapped their face to wake them up.
The person groggily opened their eyes, but immediately woke up when they saw Li Zhongxu pointing a gun towards their head. Horror and terror showed on their face. They shrunk back and desperately clung onto the blanket. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to escape to and their back hit the headboard.
Li Zhongxu asked the person who they were. The woman replied in a deep masculine voice. The audience was surprised to hear that the woman was actually a man.
Qiu Chen, played by Qiao Chen, explained everything he could to Li Zhongxu. He confessed that he was only there to steal a few things here or there so that he could make ends meet. He stressed that he didn't want to sleep with Li Zhongxu. He didn't set himself up to be raped, so that he could gain anything out of it either. He begged Li Zhongxu to spare him. Li Zhongxu walked to the door, intent on having the guards come in and drag Qiu Chen out. However, he changed his mind. He stopped mid-stride and turned around. He grabbed the blanket and wrapped up Qiu Chen and then threw him over his shoulder. Finally, he proceeded to head over to the marshal's estate.
Qiu Chen arrived at the estate and began removing his disguise. He took off his wig and washed the makeup off his face. The de-transformation was complete, and his original appearance was restored. There were a series of gasps from the audience. They saw that the person was actually Shu Qichen. They all stared incredulously. They were surprised when the female supporting role turned into a male supporting role. Then they were even more shocked to see that it was Shu Qichen who played that person. Was it really the famously stone-faced Shu Qichen who acted right now? Did he really film that scene from before? Or was it a substitute? These thoughts swirled around in the minds of audience members who recognized Shu Qichen.
From that point one, the audience was completely immersed in the movie. They were even occasionally sighing because of the actors' excellent acting skills. They had also gained a new understanding of Shu Qichen's acting skills.
Qiu Chen was a former wealthy young master, but became something like Li Zhongxu's concubine. He disguised himself as a woman everyday and often attended various banquets and occasions with Li Zhongxu. Outsiders often thought that Li Zhongxu loved him dearly, but the reality of the matter was that Qiu Chen was only a shield.
The main storyline and the force behind the movie were driven by the two male protagonists Li Zhongxu and Jin Tianrui. They secretly cooperated with one another as they fought against the enemy even though were former best friends who have a huge falling out. The journey they took throughout the movie had some humor and some outright hilarious parts. Other times, there was a thrill and suspense as the storyline became serious again. The audience thoroughly enjoyed the movie of the two men as they lived their lives and fought on the behalf of the nation.
Li Zhongxu was followed by an endless army of soldiers on the outside. Jun Tianrui also secretly helped Li Zhongxu along the way. However when night fell, it was Qiu Chen who stayed by Li Zhongxu's side. He was the shield to take the bullets. Qiu Chen had even been at death's door one time, because he took a bullet for him when an assassin attempted to kill Li Zhongxu. There was also another time where Qiu Chen risked his life to steal top secret documents for Li Zhongxu.
Qiu Chen was able to get the documents to the mark, but was caught by enemy forces. He was imprisoned and tortured within an inch of his life. He bore all the pain and refused to talk. He was at his last breath when Lu Zhonxu was finally able to rescued him
Li Zhongxu felt guilty. He thought he owed Qiu Chen a great debt because of this incident, so he decided to give Qiu Chen a large sum of money and then set him free. He told Qiu Chen that he didn't need to pretend to be a woman anymore. He could live life as a man. However, Qiu Chen refused and asked to stay with Li Zhongxu. Qiu Chen said that he was willing to defend Li Zhongxu until the day he died.
The audience's eyes welled up with tears as they heard Qiu Chen's monologue. His monologue explained everything. Qiu Chen didn't have a place to call home anymore. He was just a drifter and a grifter. He wasn't afraid to die and thought that it was better to stay with Li Zhongxu even with the risks he had to endure daily. It was better to stay with someone, anyone. What Qiu Chen feared the most was to be alone again. He begged Li Zhonxu not to drive him away. The sadness, the pain, and the anguish all hit the audience members deeply. They all began to cry.
The second half of the movie focused on Japan's invasion. War was about to erupt. Li Zhongxu insisted on sending Qiu Chen away. He needed to be able to enter the battlefield with peace of mind, so he denied Qiu Chen's requests to stay. Qiu Chen had no choice but to agree and be sent away by Li Zhongxu. There was a lot of foreshadowing throughout the movie. This made the farewell scene very moving for the audience members.
Li Zhongxu and Jun Tianrui let go of their previous differences and forgave one another. They entered the battlefield together to fight against the Japanese soldiers. They were both very educated individuals who also had great combat skills. Li Zhongxu was stronger in combat while Jun Tianrui was more talented in analytics. Together they formed a nearly invincible pair.
Throughout the war, the female lead, Xu Manni, had always accompanied Jun Tianrui. There were times where she took up arms to fight against the enemy on the battlefield alongside Jun Tianrui. This proved to be very effective because she had save Jun Tianrui when he was in a crisis at one point.
Then, the evening arrived. Jun Tianrui and Xu Manni would nestle with each other as they slept throughout the night. This served as a foil to show how lonely Li Zhongxu was.
In the final battle, Li Zhongxu personally led his men into the enemy territory. The enemy forces finally fell under Li Zhongxu's command. However, there was an unexpected explosion. No one knew whether Li Zhonxu survived or not. Jun Tianrui and Xu Manni led their forces to search for Li Zhongxu dead or alive.
At the end of the movie, Qiu Chen sat in an exquisite courtyard in a remote town. There were several servants who accompanied him. Qiu Chen spent most of his days sat under an osmanthus tree in his front yard. He'd wait there with a cup of tea in hand. Sometimes he would read or write, but the servants would be able to find him sitting in the yard more often than not. There was the gate in front of the yard. Qiu Chen hoped that the one his was expecting would one day walk through those gates.
Spring turned to autumn before Qiu Chen realized it. This day, he was sat at the same spot since morning. The sun had set, so Qiu Chen knew there wasn't any point in waiting for the rest of this day. He stood up and was about to go back to his room. He suddenly heard the sound of the gate opening behind him.
Qiu Chen immediately looked behind him. The golden osmanthus petals fell from the tree and traveled with the wind. The camera panned over and then the screen faded to black. The movie ended.
No one knew whether or not it was the one Qiu Chen was waiting for. They didn't know if Jun Tianrui and Xu Manni had sent him news of Li ZHongxu's death. They didn't even know if it was just one of Qiu Chen's servants who left to do something.
Everyone originally thought that Shu Qichen's acting would have destroyed the entire movie, so they were ready to slam down criticisms online when they got back home. However, in terms of Shu Qichen's acting and interpretations of this role, even the professional movie critics couldn't find anything to pick at.