Chen Qi, You Bastard

"Geng Hua, I'm leaving!" "I don't blame you. I only blame the bitter fruit my father sowed, which has now fallen upon my head. This parting may well be forever, but remember, on the other side of the Pacific, there is a heart that loves you deeply..." Inside the dubbing studio at Beijing Film Studio, the screen displayed the scene where Su Yun wrote her farewell letter to Geng Hua. Gong Xue held the script, her voice choked with emotion and her eyes glistening with tears. "Good!" Sitting nearby, the dubbing director and a veteran voice actress praised her. "Xiao Gong has remarkable intuition. She grasped the technique so quickly." "Indeed. That piece just now captured the emotion beautifully. Go on, wipe away your tears." "I'm sorry to make a fool of myself in front of you!" Gong Xue wiped her eyes and composed herself before asking, "Teacher, with my current skill, am I ready to dub it myself?" "A few minor spots still need refinement, but overall there's no problem. Looks like I won't have to step in after all!" The veteran voice actress was there to oversee the session—first to offer guidance, and second to step in and dub the role herself if Gong Xue couldn't pull it off. Compared to filming, dubbing went far faster. In later generations, an entire television drama spanning dozens of episodes could be dubbed in a week. Things were slower now, but a ninety-minute feature film could still be finished in just a few days. Gong Xue dubbed a few more segments, completing her tasks for the day. Having returned after the Spring Festival, she had immediately been summoned to Beijing Film Studio. Watching *Romance on Mount Lu* in post-production with her own eyes filled her with excitement. Yet at the same time, that familiar melancholy crept over her again. If she couldn't secure her next role, she would have to return to the military troupe, waiting to see if Shanghai Film Studio or Beijing Film Studio came calling—or perhaps be left with nothing at all... Walking back to the guesthouse, she spotted Chen Qi waiting downstairs at first glance. "Xiao Chen!" She trotted over with a smile. "Looking for me?" "How did you know I was looking for you?" "Because this is when I get off work!" "Look who's gotten sharp!" Chen Qi grinned and handed over the script in his hand. "This is the martial arts movie I wrote. Read through it and get familiar with it." "Huh?" For a moment, she couldn't process what he had said. "'Huh' what? You're my leading lady!" "But, I... I..." "Just read it first. I'm going up!" Chen Qi took off immediately. Gong Xue stood frozen for a while, glancing at the script, then looking up at the stairwell entrance he had vanished into. Her heart gave a sudden thump, wrapped in a feeling even more intense than the one she had felt during that stroll on the snowy night. She tried once more to suppress that feeling, but this time she found it remarkably difficult. This was the female lead! The leading lady of a feature film—a role countless people would fight tooth and nail for—and he had simply handed it to her, just like that, even if they were good friends. Women fell into several types. Some cared about looks; some cared about money; some cared about talent; some cared about a man being well-endowed and skilled in bed; and some were the simplest of all—treat her well, and she would follow you anywhere. As luck would have it, Chen Qi ticked every single box—though, naturally, the "well-endowed and skilled in bed" part remained to be verified. Forget women of this era; even women of later generations couldn't resist... Er, well, that was debatable. When up against top-tier materialists, nothing worked. *** Room 302. Chen Qi had already buried himself in work. Beside his hand lay an illustrated album Gong Xue had brought back. The jar person, the flowing-water mural, the paper sword—every single one was rendered with vivid detail, clearly drawn with great care. He finished putting the final touches on it and brushed four bold Chinese characters across the cover: *The Miracle Fighters*! He had Wang Yang step in to send word to the Hong Kong leftists, asking them for a small favor—to invite Yuen Woo-ping north. An invitation was one thing, but how it was handled was another. They couldn't go begging others; they had to make the other side come asking them. As the saying went, words could always cut both ways—it all depended on how you spun it: A college student moonlighting as an escort—what moral decay! An escort working to pay her college tuition—oh, what an inspiring role model! A merchant dabbling in calligraphy and painting—pretentious pedantry! A man of culture doing business on the side—oh, a scholar-merchant! *...* Having wrapped up *The Miracle Fighters*, Chen Qi turned to organize the preparations for *Tai Chi*. In his mind, pre-production for this film was already settled; all that remained was shooting. First came the righteous faction: Yang Yugan—Li Lianjie; Chen Zhengying—Yu Hai; Chen Shaomei—Gong Xue; Chen Shaojie—Wang Qun; Xiao Tao—Huang Qiuyan; Prince Rong—Liu Xun. Wang Qun was Li Lianjie's eldest martial brother, cast as Yu Hai's son and Gong Xue's younger brother. Because Gong Xue's character was written as physically frail from birth, she was assigned a maidservant skilled in martial arts as a personal bodyguard—namely Xiao Tao, played by Huang Qiuyan. Prince Rong was also martial-arts obsessed, but he was an honorable man who gave Yang Yugan immense help. Chen Qi had tapped Liu Xun for the role. Liu Xun was still teaching at the National Peking Opera Company. Later, he would relocate to Hong Kong to teach at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and star in numerous classics, such as *Swordsman*, *Once Upon a Time in China*, and *New Dragon Gate Inn*. The old master possessed extraordinary acting chops. With a beard, he was a virtuous hero; clean-shaven, a sinister villain—a quintessential diamond supporting actor. His most iconic role was likely Pu Du Ci Hang in *A Chinese Ghost Story II*, who was actually a giant centipede demon in disguise... Then came the villainous faction: Prince Duan—Yu Chenghui. Beneath him was a trusted henchman dedicated to doing the dirty work: Ghost Face—Ji Chunhua. The Six Great Masters were: Jin Fengjin, master of kicks—Xiong Xinxin! Hao'erdu, master of wrestling. Chen Qi hadn't been able to help with this one, so Li Wenhua had scouted an authentic Inner Mongolian fellow. Meng Meng, master of the staff—Sun Jiankui! Jiu Namo, practitioner of hard qigong—Hu Jianqiang. He was heavily muscled with a prominent jaw, perfectly suited for such a blunt, brutish role. As for Feng Hua Lian—*cough, cough*—Chen Qi cast Ge Chunyan. She wasn't remarkably gorgeous, but her martial skills were superb! He couldn't actually cast Kaede Karen, could he? The girl wouldn't even be born for another nineteen years! The Wine Monk—Li Deyu, an instructor from the Criminal Investigation Police University of China who specialized in grappling and combat, and was equally adept in Yanqing Quan and Mantis Fist. Stocky and fierce-featured, he fit the rough, boisterous character of the Wine Monk to a tee. He would act in films later as well, with his representative work being *Pride's Deadly Fury*. "'A cup of spring-breeze wine among peach and plum blossoms; ten years of night rain by the lantern in the jianghu!'" Chen Qi stretched lazily, chanting the poetic lines with deep satisfaction. He stood up to move about the room, practicing several forms of the Eight-Part Vajra Exercise. His spirits soared, and both mind and body felt poised on the verge of bursting forth. *Romance on Mount Lu* was merely a stepping stone; *Tai Chi* was what he truly wanted to make. And after *Tai Chi*, he had countless more ideas lined up. With the heavy restrictions of the 1980s, he had already decided to cultivate film, television, and magazines deeply—earning foreign exchange first to establish his own foothold before anything else. Once the nineties rolled around, the possibilities would be... *Thump, thump, thump!* *Thump, thump, thump!* Just as he was lost in thought, a flurry of hurried footsteps echoed from the corridor outside, stomping heavily as though carrying immense fury. Immediately after, a furious roar exploded outside his door: "Chen Qi!" "You little bastard, get out here right now!" *...* Chen Qi rolled his eyes, casually straightened his clothes, and walked over to open the door. Standing outside with wide, glaring eyes and an aggressive aura was Zhang Xinyan, who had completely flung his usual refined, scholarly demeanor all the way back across Hong Kong Island. "You little punk! I treated you as a bosom friend despite our age difference, and this is how you repay me?!!" "You owe me an explanation!!" Gone was Zhang Xinyan's leisurely, composed manner. He shoved Chen Qi aside and stormed into the room, ready to take him to court.