TRYMBPIETM 121: When I went in the Past (3)

Ding Yuan’s agent told Fang Mingge that Ding Yuan had a car accident this morning.

A few years ago, Ding Yuan was very dedicated to filming, which led to him developing a severe stomach condition.

Lately, he had been experiencing persistent discomfort in his stomach and had visited the hospital several times.

After receiving the notice to join the production team, he had planned to go for a follow-up examination this morning, get the necessary medication, and then fly to Linghe Village in the afternoon.

But plans couldn’t keep up with changes. On the way to the hospital, Ding Yuan and his agent were involved in a rear-end collision.

His agent had a habit of not wearing a seatbelt when sitting in the backseat. Today, by coincidence, they didn’t check the car properly and failed to notice a minor malfunction with the rear door.

During the collision, the relatively lightweight agent was almost thrown out of the car.

Ding Yuan acted on instinct to save her and made a rather risky move. Although he managed to grab his agent in time, his leg got firmly trapped between the deformed trunk and the car door.

It took the police a great deal of effort to rescue him. Fortunately, he was already on the way to the hospital, and since it was nearby, he was quickly taken in for surgery, which ultimately saved his right leg.

However, the force of the impact undoubtedly caused serious injuries.

His left leg was sprained, and his right leg suffered two fractures—there was no way he would be discharged anytime soon.

Of course, even if he insisted on stopping his treatment and rushing to the set, he wouldn’t be able to perform the physically demanding role of a fitness coach.

Chi Qingzhou nodded.

He had read the script for Wanxiang and knew that, aside from the three main characters, there were two other supporting roles with significant screen time.

One was the university student that Chi Qingning was set to play—a character who constantly claimed to be a cultivator, but lacked certificate.

The other was the fitness coach that Ding Yuan was originally cast for—a muscular man who used to run a gym but switched careers to become a tour guide due to poor business, earning himself the nickname the walking human map.

The university student role required some understanding of cultivation, and Chi Qingning, who had been exposed to such things but only had a half-baked understanding, could play the part naturally.

On the other hand, the fitness coach had many scenes involving running and climbing. Even when uninjured, Ding Yuan would have struggled with the physically demanding role—let alone now, with a broken leg.

Fang Mingge, noticing that Du Huan was also in the room, stepped inside and found a chair to sit on.

He spoke candidly, “Ding Yuan is truly a great actor. Under normal circumstances, I would have postponed his scenes and waited for him to recover. But things are different now.”

Whether it was the disappearance of Madam Chi, the bizarrely blooming peach blossoms in Linghe Village, or the key Cheng Shang had been waiting for—none of them could afford to wait.

“Wanxiang must start filming immediately. I have to recast,” Fang Mingge stated bluntly. “But I suspect that no matter who I choose, they’ll run into trouble before arriving in Linghe Village.”

He turned to Chi Qingzhou with a sincere expression. “Teacher Chi, do you have any recommendations?”

Chi Qingzhou briefly recalled the scenes involving the fitness coach and asked, “This character has significant screen time, but he isn’t particularly crucial to the plot, correct?”

Fang Mingge nodded. “That’s right. What are you suggesting, Teacher Chi?”

Chi Qingzhou smiled. “Since this character isn’t a core role, he can be replaced with any character who serves the same function.”

Fang Mingge said, “That’s true. Do you mean combining his role with another, or do you have a specific actor in mind?”

After some thought, he added, “If we modify the script, the filming schedule will need to be delayed.”

Chi Qingzhou replied, “No need for a complete merge. The guiding role can be given to Shen Wenxing. He’s playing a mysterious investigator, correct?”

Fang Mingge nodded.

The Wanxiang script had gone through several revisions, but the three main roles had remained unchanged.

The male lead was a half-trained cultivator who had received guidance from a wandering Daoist and could barely be considered a private investigator. The female lead was a skilled ghost-hunter streamer. The second male lead was the character Shen Wenxing was about to play—an investigator suspected to be from an official organization.

In the previous filming attempt, this role was played by a popular idol who had decent fame.

That person had some indirect connections with Xue Jinshi. After disbanding from his group and going solo, he still hadn’t successfully transitioned into a serious actor.

His acting wasn’t terrible, but it was utterly unremarkable.

For this new shoo, he had been competing for a role overseas and had no interest in returning to deal with Fang Mingge’s outbursts, so he simply declined the offer.

Shen Wenxu had heard about this and had arranged for his cousin to take over.

Chi Qingzhou’s lips curled slightly. “Shen Wenxing is from a cultivator family—he has the knowledge and physical skills needed. Wouldn’t that make him the perfect ‘walking human map’?”

Fang Mingge hesitated. “Is that so…”

He glanced at Chi Qingzhou, aware that the explanation was somewhat perfunctory, but also knowing that Chi Qingzhou wouldn’t make such a suggestion just for convenience. After a brief moment of thought, he accepted the idea.

He then asked, “Solving the guide issue is easy. We can just adjust a few lines. But should we remove the fitness coach character entirely?”

Chi Qingzhou’s smile deepened.

“No need. The character’s background can be adjusted. For example, we could make him a reckless rich second-generation heir who chased after his crush into this expedition.”

Fang Mingge was taken aback. “Huh?? Wouldn’t that require a major rewrite?”

Chi Qingzhou’s smile remained unchanged, but his gaze carried deeper meaning.

“No need to write much for him. Trust me—the person playing this role can completely disregard the script, act as himself, and naturally blend into and drive the plot forward.”

“Act as himself?”

Fang Mingge repeated the words, suddenly feeling an inexplicable sense of unease.

He raised his head to look at Chi Qingzhou and asked slowly, “Teacher Chi, the person you’re referring to is…?”

Chi Qingzhou stood up, opened the door, and gestured toward it.

“He’s not a stranger. You should be familiar with his name—Chi Qingning’s fiancé, Fu Wenan. You’ve heard of him, haven’t you?”

…

Having arrived at the filming site just a few hours earlier than Chi Qingzhou, Chi Qingning had a restful sleep that night.

After a long, exhausting journey, he had gone to bed early, completely unaware that Chi Qingning had arrived—or that something strange had happened in the village.

Even because Fang Mingge took into account that Chi Qingzhou might have other arrangements, no one in the entire crew told him that Fan Tao was missing.

He only knew that his mother had come to Linghe Village and seemed to have injured her leg, and he planned to visit her after waking up.

But by the time he woke up and finished washing up the next morning, before he even had a chance to eat, Fang Mingge showed up with a new script.

Chi Qingning was a bit confused: “Director Fang, the script changed again?”

Fang Mingge replied: “Ding Yuan was in a car accident yesterday and can’t shoot. I made some small changes. This is the new script. Take a look.”

Although Chi Qingning was curious why Fang Mingge was blocking his door so early in the morning for the script, upon hearing this, he could only take the script and reply, “Okay.”

After handing over the script, Fang Mingge didn’t leave; he just stood in the hallway waiting for him to finish reading.

Chi Qingning originally wanted to have breakfast before reading the script, but now he had no choice but to open the script, glancing through it.

Soon, a look of shock appeared on his face.

He suddenly looked up, staring at Fang Mingge with confusion: “Director Fang, are you joking? Asking Wen Ge to guest star as a rich second generation? We all know he wouldn’t agree!”

Fu Wenan had no interest in acting, even if he was in the crew, Fu Wenan would never personally step in to act!

Chi Qingzhou couldn’t help but laugh and complain: “Director Fang, this idea really doesn’t make sense. Did you come up with this yourself? I suggest you find someone else for the role.”

Fang Mingge glanced at him, his tone calm: “He will agree.”

Chi Qingzhou helplessly replied, “Wen Ge really won’t agree. He’s the heir of the Fu family and is already managing the company. He wouldn’t do something that, in his view, would harm his image.”

After all, Fu Wenan’s image also influenced the company’s stock price to some extent.

Fang Mingge remained calm, his tone still steady.

“He will agree. This suggestion came from Teacher Chi, so I believe he won’t have a reason to refuse Teacher Chi.”

Teacher Chi?

Wait, this suggestion came from Chi Qingzhou!

Chi Qingning opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say, and fell into silence for a moment.

It could have been seconds, or it might have been minutes before he pulled a smile, an expression that said “this idea is really great.”

“Director Fang, you’re right. Wen Ge has no reason to refuse this suggestion.”

What a joke! Even if Fu Wenan had a thousand reasons to reject this role, for the sake of his life, he couldn’t just say no!

In this situation, of course, he had to act according to the times!

Fang Mingge couldn’t help but glance at Chi Qingning again.

He hadn’t expected that this fake young master from the Chi family could be so adaptable in front of Chi Qingzhou.

But thinking about Chi Qingzhou’s abilities, it wasn’t surprising.

He waved his hand to Chi Qingning, saying he had to deliver the new script to Shen Wenxing, then turned and left.

Chi Qingning looked down at the new script in his hand, his face full of speechlessness.

His mind was in chaos, so he decided to have breakfast first and sort through his thoughts.

After eating in a daze, Chi Qingning found a place to sit for a while, and finally figured out what Fang Mingge had hinted at.

He muttered to himself: “Since Director Fang said this suggestion came from, uh, from him, does that mean he’s already joined the crew?”

“He’s here, and he even assigned Wen Ge to play the rich second generation. Does that mean Wen Ge is fine now?”

This speculation made Chi Qingning restless.

He quickly took out his phone and dialed a well-known number.

The ringing tone sounded twice, and the call was soon connected.

Fu Wenan’s voice came from the other end: “ Qingning?”

Chi Qingning inexplicably felt nervous, wiping the sweat from his palm as he responded: “It’s me. Wen Ge, how are you doing?”

Fu Wenan was silent for two seconds before replying: “I’m okay. Qingning, is something happening in the crew? Did you send someone to pick me up?”

Chi Qingzhou froze for a moment: “Pick you up?”

He hesitated, then heard a chaotic background noise on the other end.

It seemed like some people were fighting, and someone was shouting “Don’t move,” with the noise growing louder and softer, though he couldn’t tell who was moving.

Chi Qingning paused, thinking of asking Fu Wenan what was happening on his side, when he heard a gentle voice from the other end.

“Donor, are you finished with the call?”

Fu Wenan’s voice suddenly turned cold: “Can’t you see I’m on the phone? This master, is this the kind of etiquette you monks have? You really taught me something!”

A Buddhist chant sounded from the other end, but the master wasn’t angry, only explaining: “We need to rush to Linghe Village today.”

Fu Wenan sneered: “Sorry, I have a meeting today, my schedule won’t allow it.”

“…” Chi Qingning awkwardly fell silent for a while. Taking advantage of the silence, he whispered, “Wen Ge, I didn’t send anyone to pick you up, but this person might have been sent by my second brother.”

Fu Wenan, who was sneering just moments ago: “…”

He fell silent for a while, then casually asked the people on his side if they knew Chi Qingzhou.

After receiving a positive answer, he remained silent for a few seconds before saying: “I understand. I can walk on my own. Don’t bother with me.”