sovbooks Chapter 19 Mouse, stand still!
Chapter 19 Mouse, stand still!
A month later.
Friday morning.
airport.
Lin Hao stood at the arrival gate, holding up an A4 sheet of paper with four large characters written on it in marker:
Yang Mi picked up the passenger at the airport.
The handwriting is crooked and messy, but it's eye-catching.
He had been waiting here for almost an hour.
Yang Mi's flight was delayed.
That's normal; the on-time performance of flights in 04 couldn't compare to that of later years.
Sometimes being an hour or two late is considered normal.
Lin Hao leaned against the pillar, feeling bored, and reflected on the events of the past month.
Zhen Zhibing's scenes have all been filmed.
Overall, he was quite satisfied with his performance.
Especially the final scene where she "offended Little Dragon Girl," which was filmed in one take, not only earned high praise from the director but also prompted Liu Xiaoli to apologize to him.
This is probably his biggest gain from this film crew.
It wasn't the few thousand dollars in pay, nor the system's support for acting skills, but rather the talent that earned everyone's recognition.
Including that most difficult Liu's mother.
Of course, money is also important.
When filming wrapped, the production team settled the actors' salaries.
At 2500 per episode, and with Zhen Zhibing appearing in relatively few episodes, Lin Hao's final earnings totaled just over 20,000.
Twenty thousand yuan.
In 04, this amount was a huge sum of money for a seventeen-year-old high school student.
But Lin Hao was more concerned about the "price difference" than the total amount.
The system required a maximum payout of 2000 per episode, but he actually received 2500 per episode.
The extra 500 yuan multiplied by the number of episodes he appeared in is his real "middleman profit".
Although it is not much, it is of great significance.
This shows that the "pay more" approach is feasible.
As long as his acting skills make the director feel "this kid is worth the price", there is room for a higher price.
The greater the margin for price increases, the higher his profit.
If they can get bigger roles in the future, and their pay rises from a few thousand to tens or hundreds of thousands, then the difference will be much more than just a few hundred dollars.
Thinking of this, Lin Hao couldn't help but smile.
But that's all for later. The most important thing right now is...
Pick up Yang Mi.
He had promised her that he would stay in Yandang Mountain and wait for her after filming wrapped.
And he actually waited.
I waited for two whole weeks.
For the past two weeks, he hasn't gone anywhere. He's stayed in a cheap little hotel at the foot of the mountain, spending his days reading, jogging, and practicing his facial expressions in front of the mirror.
Occasionally, I would go up the mountain to the film set and chat with the staff who stayed behind to continue filming.
Life was very leisurely.
It's just a bit expensive.
Although the hotel is cheap, tens of dollars a day still adds up.
Over two weeks, I spent nearly a thousand yuan on accommodation and food alone.
It's equivalent to him losing all of his "middleman profits" from several episodes.
So Yang Mi is right.
If she hadn't come, he really wouldn't have had this "vacation".
Just then, a surge of people appeared at the exit, and a group of travelers began to walk out.
Lin Hao stood on tiptoe to look around.
Then he saw Yang Mi.
She had long, jet-black hair tied into two braids, wore a light yellow sweatshirt, carried a backpack that was completely disproportionate to her figure, and dragged a suitcase as she hurried out.
Eighteen-year-old Yang Mi walks with an air of "the whole world makes way for me".
Although she wasn't very tall, the energy she exuded made her stand out in a crowd.
Upon seeing the A4 sheet of paper Lin Hao was holding up, Yang Mi's face first flashed with surprise, then quickly changed to an arrogant expression as if a young lady had arrived.
"Oh, you even came to pick me up yourself?"
"Of course I'd pick you up. Do you even know the way?"
"Pshaw, what's so difficult about it? It's just Yandang Mountain, I can just ask for directions..."
"Give me your luggage." Lin Hao reached out to take her suitcase.
Yang Mi didn't stand on ceremony and threw her suitcase and backpack at him, leaving herself empty-handed, and started chattering away.
"You know what? The old lady sitting next to me on the plane snored the whole way, it was so noisy."
"And the airplane food was so bad, I only ate two bites and didn't want to eat anymore."
"And another thing, I finally don't have to go to math class anymore! Do you know what I've been through this past month? I got yelled at by the teacher every single day!"
"Speaking of which, you're the same. You don't even go back to school. I don't know how your mom agreed to it."
Lin Hao dragged his suitcase, listening to her rambling as he walked, occasionally chiming in with a word or two.
This way of getting along has never changed from childhood to adulthood.
Yang Mi was in charge of speaking, and he was in charge of listening.
Or to be more precise, Yang Mi is in charge of output, and he is in charge of being the dumping ground.
But to be honest, he didn't dislike the feeling.
"Alright, alright, let's put our luggage down first, then I'll take you to play."
Yang Mi's eyes lit up instantly.
"Really? What's fun to do in Yandang Mountain? I looked it up, and it says the Lingfeng Scenic Area is especially beautiful!"
"I'm here to film a movie, not on vacation. How would I know where the fun is?"
"Then why did you say you'd take me out to play?"
"It wasn't you who insisted on coming."
"Then you should thank me! If I hadn't come, you'd still be moldy in the hotel right now."
That's not wrong.
Lin Hao admitted it.
After putting their luggage away, the two headed straight for the Yandang Mountain scenic area.
Yang Mi was prepared and took out a small silver camera from her backpack.
Digital cameras in 04 had only two or three million pixels, but that was considered a very "high-end" device at the time.
"Come on! Take a picture of me!"
Yang Mi posed in front of a stone tablet inscribed with "Yandang Mountain" and handed the camera to Lin Hao.
Lin Hao raised his camera, pretended to carefully adjust the angle, and then...
Click.
"Let me see! Let me see!"
Yang Mi took the camera and her face immediately darkened.
In the photo, she has a crooked mouth and squinted eyes, with an expression that looks like the relief of someone who has finally relieved themselves after squatting in the toilet for half an hour.
"Lin Hao, did you do this on purpose?!"
"No, it's because you weren't standing properly."
"You clearly chose that angle on purpose! One more shot!"
"Okay, okay, we'll film this time with seriousness."
Click.
Yang Mi took another look.
This time it's even worse.
Not only is her expression ugly, but the composition is also crooked. Half of her head has been cut off, but the stone tablet behind her is clearly visible.
"Lin! Hao! You! Just! Wait! For!"
Yang Mi grabbed her camera and chased after him, while Lin Hao laughed and ran away. The two chased and fought in the scenic area, attracting the attention of the surrounding tourists.
The scene was similar to that of two junior high school students on a spring outing.
After a while of commotion, Lin Hao finally "seriously" took a few normal photos of her.
After checking it, Yang Mi nodded in satisfaction and put the camera away.
The two continued walking up the mountain.
As Yang Mi passed by a quaint little temple, she suddenly stopped.
Looking at the temple plaque, she suddenly stopped laughing and became serious.
"Rat."
"Um?"
"You know... if I become a huge star in the future, will we still be able to hang out together like this?"
Lin Hao glanced at her.
On the surface, this question asks, "Can we still hang out together in the future?"
But Lin Hao could tell that she really wanted to ask more than just that.
Yang Mi looked at Lin Hao, her eyes filled with inexplicable emotions.
"Shouldn't I be the one asking this question?" Lin Hao said with a smile. "I'll definitely become a big star first."
Yang Mi was stunned for a moment, then glared at him with annoyance.
"Seriously!"
"I'm serious."
"Then answer me, can we still be like this in the future?"
Lin Hao thought for a moment, then said three words very seriously.
"Definitely."
Why?
"Because no matter who becomes famous first, the other person won't let the gap widen."
Yang Mi stared at him for several seconds, her lips twitching slightly as if she wanted to laugh but held it back.
"Is there a possibility..." she suddenly changed her tone, a hint of provocation in it, "that you won't become a huge star?"
"That's impossible."
"you!"
Yang Mi bared her teeth in anger, ignored him, and turned to walk into the temple.
She wasn't actually angry.
This sounds arrogant, but upon closer examination, it seems to answer the question she really wanted to ask.
He was saying that no matter what happens, he won't go far.
But he refused to explain himself clearly.
Okay, it's still infuriating.
The temple was small, and a young monk was guarding it.
Upon seeing someone enter, the young monk immediately smiled and took out a fortune-telling container.
"Sir, would you like to draw lots? It costs ten dollars per draw."
Yang Mi's eyes lit up, and she took out twenty yuan and slapped it on the table.
"Two servings, please! Mouse, I'm being generous, it's on you!"
The two of them each drew a lot.
Yang Mi's fortune reading: Good luck in love.
Lin Hao's fortune reading: Prosperous fortune.
"Haha! My luck with love is off the charts!" Yang Mi held up her fortune slip triumphantly, then glanced at Lin Hao's slip and curled her lip. "You only have wealth luck? No love luck at all?"
"Good fortune in wealth is enough; it's much more practical than any romantic luck."
Lin Hao was quite satisfied with the draw.
His good fortune is exactly what he wanted, to "make a profit as a middleman".
Yang Mi suddenly turned to the little monk and pointed at Lin Hao.
"Little Master, he drew a lot of lucky money, but what about his love life?"
The young monk carefully examined Lin Hao for a few seconds, then said in a serious tone.
"Judging from his appearance, this person's marriage will come relatively late. But it is something he cannot avoid."
Yang Mi was delighted.
"Hahaha! Mouse! Did you hear that? Your marriage is coming late! Does that mean you'll be a bachelor for many years?"
She laughed so hard she almost rolled around in the temple.
But as she was laughing, she suddenly stopped.
Marriage came late.
But there's no escaping it.
The combination of these two sentences made her heart skip a beat.
It came late, but there was no escaping it...
Does that mean he and his destined person might already know each other?
It's just not the right time yet.
Yang Mi's smile slowly faded, and her expression became somewhat subtle.
She secretly glanced at Lin Hao.
Then quickly looked away.
"Let's go, let's go, this dilapidated temple is no fun."
She walked quickly out of the temple, her pace much faster than when she arrived.
Lin Hao followed behind, completely unaware of the change in her expression.
He was pondering in his mind whether that "good fortune" was reliable or not.
If it's reliable, should we ask for a higher price for the next role?