1RomanceEB Chapter 4 Junko, the Introvert
Chapter 4 Junko, the Introvert
We had lunch at Tian Xiwei's house. Tian's mother specially prepared his favorite dishes: pork rib soup in a clay pot, spicy and sour pickled shredded pork, and tofu pudding.
"Try this tofu pudding. Your uncle just went to that shop on the old street to buy it. It was your favorite when you were little."
I dipped it in chili sauce and took a big bite. The spicy aroma hit my nose: "It's still the same taste. You can't find this anywhere else."
"Eat as much as you like. Auntie will cook more for you when you're done with your work." Tian's father smiled and put a piece of pork rib on his plate. "After Weiwei finishes her exams the day after tomorrow, have her mother take her to the main city to find you."
"Okay, sure." He replied casually, glancing at Tian Xiwei, who was engrossed in eating next to him. The little girl's mouth was stuffed full. Hearing this, she looked up and winked at him.
After finishing their meal and sitting for a while, Lin Feng got up to return to the main city. As he was leaving, Tian Xiwei chased after him and handed him a bag of snacks: "Here, have some for the journey. When I get to the main city, you have to take me to eat something delicious!"
"Okay, you little glutton." He smiled and ruffled her hair.
On the afternoon of the 18th, Tian Xiwei indeed came to the main city with her mother. As soon as she entered Lin Feng's house, she was like a wild horse, first rushing to the living room and then heading straight to his bedroom. She opened the wardrobe door to take a look, picked up the script on the desk and flipped through it a couple of times, and finally threw herself onto the bed and rolled around: "Brother Feng, your bedroom is much bigger than mine, but it's also much messier."
"Don't rummage through things." He followed her in and saw her throw the pillow aside. He shook his head helplessly. "Put the script down, or it'll get wrinkled."
"Okay." She put the script back on the table, then picked up the photo frame next to her. It contained a picture of Raymond Lam when he was in high school. "Hey, you looked so silly back then."
Hearing this from the living room, Tian's mother laughed and called out, "Weiwei, don't be so disrespectful!"
"That's true." Tian Xi stuck out her tongue, put the photo frame back, and leaned closer to Lin Feng. "Liu Haochun is arriving tomorrow? Should I prepare a gift for him?"
"No need, just stop bullying her." Lin Feng flicked her forehead.
The next day at noon, Zhou Ming picked up Liu Haochun and her mother and took them to the mountain city, directly to the hotel he had booked in advance. Lin Feng took Tian Xiwei and Zhang Lan there, and for lunch they found a casual restaurant near the hotel.
As soon as they sat down, Tian Xiwei moved closer to Liu Haochun and said, "Haochun, is this your first time in Chongqing? There are so many delicious foods here. How about I take you to Jiefangbei this afternoon?"
Liu Haochun had just sat down, still a little reserved, when she was taken aback by her sudden enthusiasm and said softly, "I...I'm fine with anything."
"It's a deal then!" Tian Xi's eyes lit up, and she asked, "Was your flight here tiring? Are the dance classes at the Affiliated High School of Beijing Dance Academy particularly strenuous? I saw the practice videos you posted on your WeChat Moments, your splits are amazing!"
She chattered away like a little sparrow, talking about everything from food to school, and then to the characters in the script. Most of the time, Liu Haochun just nodded or responded quietly. Occasionally, when pressed, she would look up, her eyes round and slightly bewildered.
He watched from the side without saying a word. Tian's mother and Liu Haochun's mother, on the other hand, chatted amiably about the children's amusing stories, and the atmosphere gradually warmed up.
"Weiwei is such a talkative child, don't find her noisy." Tian's mother smiled and put a piece of fish on Liu Haochun's plate. "You two will be filming together in the future, so take care of each other."
Liu Haochun nodded hurriedly, but before she could speak, Tian Xiwei interrupted, "Haochun, you're playing my best friend, so you have to be on my side and 'bully' my brother together!"
The "my brother" she mentioned referred to a character in the play, but Liu Haochun didn't quite understand, blinking, "Huh? Bullying...your brother?"
Tian Xiwei chuckled, "It wasn't real bullying, it was just in the play! Did you read the script? It's that part..."
After dinner, Tian's mother suggested taking the children out for a walk, and Liu's mother also said she wanted to see the scenery of the mountain city, so the group headed to Ciqikou first.
The ancient town was bustling with people, and the cobblestone streets were teeming with tourists. Tian Xiwei, seemingly familiar with the place, pulled Liu Haochun into a Chen's Fried Dough Twist shop, holding up a freshly made twist and offering it to him: "Try this, it's sweet and very crispy!"
Liu Haochun took it, took a small bite, and his eyes lit up: "Delicious."
"Right?" Tian Xi shook her head smugly, then pulled her to look at the sugar paintings. "These are fun. What do you want? I'll ask the artist to draw you a little rabbit?"
Throughout the walk, Tian Xiwei kept talking. Liu Haochun initially followed behind her reservedly, but later, infected by her enthusiasm, he would occasionally ask a few questions, and his smile became more frequent.
After leaving Ciqikou, they went to Jiefangbei. In the towering commercial district, Tian Xiwei pointed to the tallest building: "That's Jiefangbei, our landmark!" She pulled Liu Haochun to stand in front of the monument, "Brother Feng, quickly take a picture of us!"
He pressed the shutter. In the photo, Tian Xiwei was making a peace sign and smiling brightly. Liu Haochun stood next to her, with a slight smile on his lips, looking less reserved.
As evening fell, the group headed towards Hongyadong. As dusk settled, the lights of the stilted buildings illuminated layer by layer, making them resemble palaces suspended in mid-air. Liu Haochun stood by the river, his eyes wide with amazement: "So beautiful!"
"Right? It's much prettier at night than during the day." Tian Xiwei moved closer to her. "We'll have hot pot here later and enjoy the night view while we eat."
For dinner, we chose a well-established hot pot restaurant near Hongyadong. Tian's mother specifically instructed the waiter to bring a half-and-half pot: "Haochun and the others are from the north, so we're afraid they can't handle too much spice. Let them try the half-and-half pot first."
The hot pot base was served quickly. The red oil was bubbling away, filled with chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns, while the clear broth was simmering with mushrooms, emitting a fragrant aroma.
Tian Xiwei picked up her chopsticks and demonstrated to Liu Haochun: "You have to dip tripe seven times and eight times in the pot. If you dip it in the pot for too long, it will become tough. You see..."
As she talked, she cooked the food, and once it was done, she put it in Liu Haochun's bowl: "Try it, it's crispy."
Liu Haochun followed her example and took a bite. It was indeed crisp, tender, and refreshing, and he couldn't help but eat a few more bites.
Halfway through the meal, Tian Xiwei noticed that Haochun was only eating the clear broth side. Her eyes lit up, and she picked up a slice of fatty beef, dipped it in the spicy broth, and handed it to Haochun: "Haochun, try this. Our hot pot is only flavorful when it's spicy. Just one bite, not spicy."
Liu Haochun hesitated for a moment, but seeing her sincere expression, he took it and put it in his mouth. After chewing it a couple of times, the spiciness suddenly shot up his throat, choking him and bringing tears to his eyes. He quickly picked up a glass of ice water and gulped down two mouthfuls.
"Hahaha!" Tian Xiwei laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight. "Look at you, your face is as red as a monkey's bottom!"
"Weiwei!" Tian's mother patted her on the shoulder and glared at her. "Stop teasing her! Quickly hand Haochun a tissue."
Tian Xi stuck out her tongue, quickly pulled out a tissue and handed it to Liu Haochun, whispering, "I'm sorry, I didn't expect you couldn't handle spicy food."
Liu Haochun wiped away her tears, her cheeks still flushed, but she wasn't angry. She just shook her head and said, "It's okay, it's quite delicious, just a little spicy."
Tian Xi stuck out her tongue and obediently handed over a tissue. Liu Haochun wiped his eyes. Although they were burning from the spiciness, he wasn't angry. Instead, he looked at Tian Xi and whispered, "It smells pretty good, but it's too spicy."
"Next time I'll take you to eat something slightly spicy!" Tian Xi patted her chest and promised.
He sat opposite them, watching the two girls interact, his camera never stopping as he took many photos.
From afternoon to evening, Tian Xiwei's enthusiasm was like a small flame, gradually warming up Liu Haochun's restraint. The awkwardness between the two gradually faded, and they could occasionally chat. Although Tian Xiwei did most of the talking, Liu Haochun responded much more.
The hotel arranged by the crew was not far from the filming location, and everyone stayed there that night. When he returned to his room, he passed by Tian Xiwei and Liu Haochun's room and heard them chattering inside. It seemed that their time together during the day had indeed had an effect.
The opening ceremony was simple the next morning. The crew gathered downstairs in the residential building, set up a table covered with a red cloth, and placed fruit and an incense burner on it.
As the assistant director, Zhou Ming said a few auspicious words and led the way in offering incense. Tian Xiwei and Liu Haochun followed behind. The two girls were a little nervous. They bowed to the incense burner with their eyes full of curiosity.
The morning's scenes were mostly simple transitional shots, such as Shi Miao (played by Tian Xiwei) running out of her house with her schoolbag on her back and bumping into a neighbor in the stairwell and greeting them, or her walking side by side with her best friend (played by Liu Haochun) in the school corridor and exchanging a few words.
Tian Xiwei seems to be born for this job. As soon as the camera is on her, her cleverness comes out. Her casual greeting to the neighbors was so natural that she only needed two takes to get it right.
Liu Haochun didn't have many scenes in the morning. She mostly stayed by Tian Xiwei's side and talked to her. Although she didn't talk much, her expression was quite natural, though occasionally a little stiff. After Lin Feng called "cut," he said a few words to her, and she nodded. The rest of the filming went much more smoothly.
"Looks like it's going well; both girls are quite quick to learn," Zhou Ming said to him from the side. "The morning's progress was faster than expected; hopefully, the afternoon will go smoothly too."
Sure enough, the problem surfaced during the afternoon filming of a scene where Shi Miao and her best friend argue in the classroom. In the script, the best friend couldn't stand Shi Miao being bullied by her brother and had to stand up for her, so her tone had to be sharp and a bit sassy.
As soon as Tian Xiwei yelled "Action!", she immediately got into character, hands on her hips, sulking at "Air Brother," then turning to Liu Haochun and shouting, "Don't try to persuade me! He's doing it on purpose!"
But Liu Haochun stood there, his face flushed red, the lines he had prepared stuck in his throat, and after a long while he could only squeeze out one sentence: "You...you don't need to be angry."
His voice was soft, his expression was restrained, and his eyes darted around, completely lacking the drive to stand up for his friend that was supposed to be in the script.
"Stop." Lin Feng frowned, picked up the megaphone, and said, "Hao Chun, relax. You're standing up for Shi Miao, so you need to be fierce and loud. Don't be afraid."
Liu Haochun nodded, took a deep breath, and started again. But when she got to the emotional parts, she still got stuck, either her voice trembled or her eyes drifted towards the camera, clearly unable to let go.
Tian Xiwei was so anxious that she kept stamping her feet, but she couldn't urge her, so she could only encourage her with her eyes.
After five or six takes, Liu Haochun's forehead was covered in sweat, and his eyes were red. He stood there at a loss, and whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm a little nervous."
The assistant director sighed and leaned closer to Lin Feng: "This girl is too reserved. Maybe it's her first time facing so many people, and she's not open up. Look at Tian Xiwei, she has such a wild energy, it's like she's playing herself."
He noticed it too. Tian Xiwei treated filming as a game, acting out her familiar daily life, but Liu Haochun was different. He had been raised to be well-behaved since childhood and had never experienced a situation that required him to express his emotions. Plus, he was surrounded by strangers and the camera was pointed at him, so he was naturally nervous.
He waved his hand: "Let's take a ten-minute break and have some water."
Walking up to Liu Haochun, she said in a relaxed tone, "Actually, filming is just like chatting with Weiwei in your daily life. Don't think too much about it. Just think of it as arguing with her in the classroom, her being bullied, and you standing up for her. Just say what you really think and don't worry about the camera."
He pointed at Tian Xiwei, the girl who was squatting on the ground asking the production assistant for candy: "Look at her, she doesn't take the camera seriously at all. You shouldn't take it seriously either, just treat it like chatting with a friend, okay?"
Liu Haochun looked at Tian Xiwei's retreating figure, then at Lin Feng, hesitated for a moment, and nodded slightly: "Okay, I'll give it a try."
After the break, filming resumed. This time, Liu Haochun took a deep breath, his gaze fixed on Tian Xiwei, as if he were genuinely angry for her. His voice was louder, his eyes were more focused, and his lines flowed more smoothly.
"Cut!" He breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, just like that, it would be even better if it were a little more natural!" Looking at Liu Haochun, who was still a bit reserved in front of the camera, he thought to himself that he had to think of a way to make her relax more.