This director only directs blockbusters.

When the accident happened, no one had time to react.

That was the last scene on the mountain road—Zhao Feng drove his car off a cliff, did a 360-degree flip in the air, and then opened his parachute to land on the sea.

Of course, this is just a scene from a movie. During the actual filming, the car really did plunge off the cliff, but there were safety nets below, full protective gear inside the car, and stunt performers waiting nearby.

But Nicholas Tse insisted on doing it himself.

"I'll do this scene myself," he told Yang Ning that morning.

"Too dangerous."

"I practiced for three months." Nicholas Tse looked at him. "Director Yang, you cast me as Zhao Feng just because I can drive, right?"

Yang Ning stared at him for a few seconds.

"Okay. But there's a condition—if I don't think it's suitable, I'll immediately replace the substitute."

"it is good."

---

It was 3 p.m., and the sun was blazing.

The car was parked on the edge of a cliff, with a safety net below and the sea below that. Nicholas Tse sat in the driver's seat, his seatbelt fastened, his face expressionless.

Chen Wei conducted a final inspection of the vehicle, from the tires to the engine, from the seatbelts to the safety devices. After finishing, he stood up and nodded to Nicholas Tse.

"Brother Feng, no problem."

Nicholas Tse nodded.

Before Chen Wei walked away, he suddenly bent down and whispered something. Nicholas Tse paused for a moment, then smiled.

Yang Ning watched this scene from behind the monitor.

"What did Chen Wei say?" Old Xu asked.

"I don't know," Yang Ning said, "but it shouldn't be anything bad."

"All departments, prepare!" He picked up the walkie-talkie.

The photography team, lighting team, and special effects team all reported normal results.

Helicopters are in position, lifeboats are in position, and medical teams are in position.

Yang Ning took a deep breath.

"Action!"

Nicholas Tse's car sped off.

It was moving so fast that the camera could barely keep up. The wheels rolled over the road, kicking up a cloud of dust. The car hurtled to the edge of a cliff and soared into the air—

In mid-air, the car began to flip.

One lap. Two laps. Two and a half laps—

No, it should be three laps.

"One circle is missing." Chen Qiming stared at the viewfinder.

The car crashed into the safety net, the immense impact creating a deep crater in it. Nicholas Tse climbed out of the car and waved in their direction.

Yang Ning breathed a sigh of relief.

"As long as everyone's alright." He stood up. "Ready for another take."

---

Article .

Nicholas Tse drove the car back to the starting point and fastened his seatbelt again. Chen Wei checked the vehicle again, this time more carefully.

"Brother Feng, you entered that corner at a slightly too large angle, so your revs weren't high enough."

Nicholas Tse nodded.

They charged out a second time.

Faster speed, more precise cornering angle. The car leaps into the air, flips—one rotation, two rotations, three rotations. Perfect.

However, there were some problems when it landed.

The car landed at an off-center angle on the safety net, with the front of the car hitting it first. The enormous impact threw Nicholas Tse forward. His hand slammed into the steering wheel, and he groaned.

Yang Ning suddenly stood up.

"Stop! Stop!"

Everyone rushed over.

Nicholas Tse had climbed out of the car and was standing on the net, his face a little pale. His left hand was hanging down, and his fingers were obviously deformed.

The medical team rushed over, and the team doctor took a look at his hand and his expression changed.

"A fracture. You need to go to the hospital right away."

Nicholas Tse looked down at his hands. His ring and little fingers were crooked and swollen, looking painful.

But his face remained expressionless.

"Finish filming first," he said.

"What?" The team doctor thought he had misheard.

"I said let's finish filming first." Nicholas Tse looked up at the cliff above—Yang Ning was standing on the edge looking down. "Was that last shot usable?"

Yang Ning was taken aback.

Nicholas Tse looked at him.

At that time, Nicholas Tse was a top star in the Chinese entertainment industry, with an unparalleled dominance.

In 2003, six years after his debut, he had sold over a million records and his films grossed over 100 million HKD. His endorsements ranged from Coca-Cola to Xtep, and his face was everywhere. He held six consecutive concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum, with tickets selling out in three minutes. His film salaries started at four million HKD, placing him among the top three male actors in Hong Kong. When he went to Taiwan for promotional activities, fans thronged the airport, requiring police to maintain order.

He was the youth of a generation, the dream lover of countless girls, the eternal protagonist on magazine covers, and the most dazzling name in the entertainment industry.

Someone like that, with a broken finger, should be immediately taken to the best hospital, seen by the best doctors, and given the best medicine. Because his finger is valuable, but he himself is even more valuable. The insurance company will pay, the management company will be anxious, and the fans will feel sorry for him.

But now he stands at the bottom of the cliff, his hands swollen like two carrots, his face covered in sweat, yet he asks—"Will that one work?"

Yang Ning looked at him.

"It works," he said.

Nicholas Tse nodded and began climbing up the cliff.

The team doctor chased after them, shouting, "Feng! You can't do this! Your finger needs immediate treatment! Do you know how much this hand is worth?!"

Nicholas Tse ignored him.

---

Once he reached the top of the cliff, Nicholas Tse went directly to the monitor to watch the playback.

In the video, the car flips in the air, one circle, two circles, three circles—perfect.

"This one is good," he said.

Yang Ning looked at him.

"Show me your hands."

Nicholas Tse extended his left hand. His ring and little fingers were swollen like two carrots, clearly dislocated, with purplish bruises spreading from the base of his fingers to the back of his hand; it looked painful.

"Does it hurt?"

"It hurts," Nicholas Tse said, "but I can bear it."

Yang Ning stared at him for a few seconds.

Why?

"Why? Why?"

"Why didn't you go to the hospital first?"

Nicholas Tse remained silent for a while.

"I practiced for this scene for three months," he said. "If we don't finish filming today, my hands will be even more swollen tomorrow, and I won't be able to film at all."

He looked at Yang Ning.

"Director Yang, you cast me as Zhao Feng just because I'm willing to work hard, right?"

Yang Ning remained silent.

Deng Chao, standing nearby, had tears in his eyes: "Brother Feng... you're like this... you're Nicholas Tse..."

What happened to Nicholas Tse?

"You're a big star! If you break your arm, your fans will go crazy!"

Nicholas Tse glanced at him, his lips twitched as if he wanted to laugh, but he didn't.

"Does the pain in your hand disappear now that the fans are crazy?"

Hearing this, Deng Chao forced back his tears.

Li Binbin walked over, glanced at his hand, and frowned deeply.

"Are you crazy?"

"He's not crazy."

"If you keep doing this, how are we going to film the remaining dozen or so scenes?"

Nicholas Tse thought for a moment: "Switch to driving with your left hand."

"...You're fucking insane."

Nicholas Tse's lips twitched, but he didn't smile.

---

The team doctor gave him a quick treatment, splinting his two fingers. Nicholas Tse sat there while the doctor bandaged him, his face expressionless. Several staff members surrounded him, barely daring to breathe—this was the kind of person you only ever saw on TV, sitting there with a broken hand, acting like nothing was wrong.

Yang Ning stood by and watched.

"If it hurts, just yell it out," he said.

"What are you yelling for?" Nicholas Tse said. "It'll hurt even if you yell."

After the team doctor finished bandaging the wound, he stood up with a complicated expression: "Feng, you need to go to the hospital immediately for an X-ray to see if there are any bone fragments. If the fragments are displaced, you'll need surgery. Your hand... it's really valuable."

Nicholas Tse looked up at him.

"How much is it worth?"

The team doctor was taken aback.

"It's not about the money, it's about..."

"Yes." Nicholas Tse stood up. "Tomorrow. How many scenes are left today?"

Old Xu flipped through the script: "There are three more scenes. But they are all dialogue scenes, no hand gestures required."

"Then let's shoot."

Yang Ning stopped him.

Nicholas Tse.

Nicholas Tse stopped.

Do you know what you're doing?

Nicholas Tse looked at him.

"Know."

"Then do you know what will happen to this movie if something really happens to you?"

Nicholas Tse remained silent for a few seconds.

"Director Yang," he said, "do you know why I took this role?"

Yang Ning remained silent.

"Because you said you believed me," Nicholas Tse said. "In all these years, no one has ever said that to me. It's always 'Nicholas Tse, are you even capable?' 'Nicholas Tse, stop messing around.' 'Nicholas Tse, listen to me'—as if I'm just a pretty vase, there to look good.

He paused.

"You said you believed me. You said I could play Zhao Feng well, and that I was worth the price."

Yang Ning looked at him.

"So," Nicholas Tse said, "I can't let you down."

He turned and left.

Yang Ning stood there, watching his back.

Old Xu walked over and whispered, "Yangzi, this kid... he's got guts."

Yang Ning nodded.

Give me the camera.

"what?"

"The camera," Yang Ning said, "was that part filmed?"

Old Xu was stunned for a moment, then realized: "I filmed it! From the accident to the bandaging, I filmed everything!"

Yang Ning took the camera and watched the footage from earlier.

In the footage, Nicholas Tse climbed out of the net, looked down at his hands, his face pale, but he didn't utter a sound. While the team doctor treated his wounds, he sat there, his forehead covered in sweat, his hands trembling violently, but he didn't utter a single cry of pain.

People nearby were saying, "He's Nicholas Tse, why is he suffering like this?"

Yang Ning stared at the screen.

"Keep this," he said. "It'll be useful later."

---

After finishing work that evening, Nicholas Tse was escorted to the hospital by the team doctor.

I had X-rays taken, a cast put on, and didn't get back until midnight. My left hand was in a cast, looking like a big white club. The doctor said I need to rest for at least a month, otherwise my finger might suffer permanent damage.

The next morning, he arrived on set on time.

Since his left hand was immobile, he used his right. Driving was out of the question, so he filmed dramatic scenes. Sitting wasn't an option, so he stood. His hand, in a cast, swayed back and forth in the camera's view, but he never missed a single scene.

The screenwriter made a last-minute change to the script, adding a new detail for Zhao Feng—that he had been injured during a previous mission and therefore always wore protective gear.

Nobody knew that the protective gear was real.

Some staff members privately commented, "If Brother Feng develops a problem with this, how will he be able to film in the future?"

"With his high salary, why would he put up with this?"

"He's Nicholas Tse, he doesn't need this one more movie, does he?"

Nicholas Tse heard it, but said nothing.

On the day filming wrapped, Nicholas Tse stood in the middle of the crowd, his left hand still in a cast. He looked at everyone and suddenly smiled.

"Thank you everyone," he said. "I will remember this play for the rest of my life."

Deng Chao chimed in from the side, "Brother Feng, that finger was worth it!"

Nicholas Tse glanced at him.

"It was worth it."

Yang Ning stood behind, watching this scene unfold.

He recalled what Nicholas Tse had said that day on the cliff edge—

I can't let you down.

He smiled.

Some people, standing at the highest point, suffer the most when they fall.

But some people, even when standing at the highest point, can still jump down.

Because someone was below catching it.

---

Later, when "Dragon Shield Crisis" was released, that scene on the winding mountain road became a classic.

The audience screamed, applauded, and were thrilled in the movie theater.

Nobody knew that during the filming of that scene, the lead actor broke three fingers.

No one knew that the hand in the cast was a real injury, not a prop.

But Yang Ning knew.

He has kept the footage from that camera.

Keep this as a reminder to myself—

Some actors, even when they're at the top, are still willing to jump off.

Such a person is worth risking your life to film.

It's something you should remember for a lifetime.