We asked you to make an anti-corruption film, but you made one in the name of the people!

Zhang Songwen arrived in Hengdian three days after filming wrapped.

He has been renting a house in Hengdian for several years.

It wasn't a high-end apartment; it was just a two-bedroom unit in an old residential building, simply decorated but kept clean.

Several movie posters were pasted on the living room wall, and the desk was piled with scripts and books on acting theory. The kitchen was almost never used, and the refrigerator only contained bottled water and frozen dumplings.

He has lived in this house for almost four years. When he is filming, he stays at the hotel where the crew is staying, and when he is not filming, he comes back here.

Hengdian isn't big; it only takes about twenty minutes to drive from one end to the other. It doesn't matter where you stay; the important thing is to have a place to settle down.

I got home at four o'clock in the afternoon.

He pushed his suitcase into the bedroom, changed his clothes, and without unpacking, sat on the sofa to rest for a while.

The sunlight streamed in through the window, falling warmly on the floor.

He took out his phone and glanced at it. Zhou Yiwei had sent him a message: "Have you arrived yet?"

He replied with a single word: "Just arrived."

Zhou Yiwei replied immediately: "Come over for dinner tonight. Don't order takeout, I'll cook."

Zhou Yiwei is also filming in Hengdian. He is filming "Brotherhood of Blades", a period martial arts film.

He plays a morally ambiguous character in the film, a very important role, and he has work commitments almost every day. He finished work early today and has some free time.

Zhang Songwen and Zhou Yiwei were college classmates, sharing a bunk bed for four years.

After graduation, one of us had a smooth life while the other had a rough time, but our relationship never broke down.

Whenever Zhou Yiwei came to Hengdian to film, Zhang Songwen would always have a meal together if he was also there.

Sometimes it was Zhou Yiwei who asked, sometimes it was Zhang Songwen who asked, but most of the time it was Zhou Yiwei who did it.

He's a good cook, his specialties are braised pork and sweet and sour pork ribs, and Zhang Songwen always manages to eat an extra bowl of rice with him.

At six o'clock in the evening, Zhang Songwen went out.

Zhou Yiwei's rented apartment was not far from him, about a ten-minute walk away.

It gets dark early in Hengdian. The streetlights come on around 6 p.m. There aren't many people on the streets. Occasionally, a few extras in costumes ride by on electric bikes with boxed lunches in their baskets.

Zhang Songwen rang the doorbell, and Zhou Yiwei opened the door, wearing an old T-shirt and an apron, his hands still wet. He smiled when he saw Zhang Songwen and said, "Come in, the food will be ready soon."

Zhang Songwen changed his shoes and walked into the living room.

Zhou Yiwei's living room is a little bigger than his, but the style is similar: simple and clean.

Zhang Songwen sat down on the sofa, while Zhou Yiwei went back to the kitchen to continue working.

The sounds of stir-frying, the hum of the range hood, and Zhou Yiwei occasionally humming a few lines of a song came from the kitchen, though the sound was soft and intermittent.

Zhang Songwen leaned back on the sofa, his mind blank.

Filming for "The Storm" took nearly two months, and I was in Gao Qiqiang's world every day. Now that I've suddenly come out of it, I feel a little out of place.

It's not that I can't get over it, it's that I need time to adjust. It's like driving for a long time and then suddenly stopping; my body still remembers the speed.

Half an hour later, Zhou Yiwei came out carrying the dishes.

Braised pork belly, sweet and sour pork ribs, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, a bowl of tomato and egg drop soup, and two bowls of rice.

Zhang Songwen stood up to help set out the chopsticks, while Zhou Yiwei took off his apron and threw it on the chair. The two sat down facing each other.

Zhou Yiwei picked up a piece of braised pork, chewed it twice, nodded, and expressed his satisfaction with his cooking. Zhang Songwen also picked up a piece, took a bite, and said nothing.

After eating for a while, Zhou Yiwei put down his chopsticks and looked at Zhang Songwen: "Tell me, how was 'Raging Waves' filmed?"

Zhang Songwen also put down his chopsticks and thought for a moment: "It feels like I ran a marathon for two months and finally reached the finish line, but after I stopped, my legs were still shaking."

Zhou Yiwei laughed: "Is it that tiring?"

"It's not tiring, it's heavy." Zhang Songwen picked up his water glass and took a sip. "Gao Qiqiang is such a heavy character. He was bullied and looked down upon since he was a child. He wanted to turn his life around, but the price he paid was too high. His brother died, his wife died, and in the end, he died himself. To play this character, you have to carry his whole life in your heart."

Zhou Yiwei listened without interrupting.

Zhang Songwen continued, "Director Lin said something to me: Gao Qiqiang wasn't born a bad person; he was forced into a corner by life. When you're playing him, don't think about him committing crimes; think about him having no way out. After hearing that, I knew how to play this role."

Zhou Yiwei nodded: "Director Lin Mo, I've heard a lot of people talk about him. Some say he's fast at filming, some say he's accurate in directing scenes, some say he's ruthless at casting. What do you think?"

Zhang Songwen thought for a moment and said, "They all have these, but the most powerful ones are not these."

"What is that?"

"He knows what everyone should be like." Zhang Songwen looked at Zhou Yiwei. "Not what he imagines, but what everyone should be like as they are. Zhang Yi should be An Xin, Wu Gang should be Xu Zhong, and Jia Bing should be Xu Jiang. He puts them in those positions, and they naturally become those people. This is not a director, this is a fortune teller."

After hearing this, Zhou Yiwei laughed and said, "That's a bit far-fetched."

Zhang Songwen laughed as well: "It's not a mystery, it's true. You'll know when you're on set. His eye for people is even better than his acting skills."

Zhou Yiwei stopped laughing, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "Then you've met a benefactor this time."

Zhang Songwen did not respond.

He wanted to say that Lin Mo was not only his benefactor, but also the benefactor of many others.

But he didn't say it; it would be too sentimental to say it out loud.

Zhou Yiwei changed the subject: "Let's not talk about you anymore, let's talk about me. Filming 'Brotherhood of Blades' almost made me fall apart."

Zhang Songwen became interested: "What?"

"There are so many action scenes." Zhou Yiwei picked up his chopsticks and then put them down again. "I'm suspended by wires every day, fighting every day. My old bones are about to fall apart. The director has high standards. He has to shoot a single action more than ten times. It's not that the fighting is bad, it's that he himself doesn't know what he wants. He shoots one take, looks at it, and it's not right. He does another take, looks at it, and it's still not right. When you ask him what's wrong, he can't say."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Song thought of Lin Mo.

Zhou Yiwei continued, "Sometimes we'd only filmed two or three shots in a day. I'd ask him, 'Director, isn't our pace a bit slow?' He'd say, 'No rush, slow and steady wins the race.' I'd say, 'This isn't about slow and steady wins the race; it's about you not having figured out what you want.'"

Zhang Songwen smiled.

Zhou Yiwei laughed too, then sighed, "I'm really envious of you now."

"What do you envy about me?"

"I envy you having a director who knows what you want." Zhou Yiwei picked up his water glass and took a sip. "You don't know how painful it is for actors when the director doesn't know what they want during filming. You do one take, he says good, let's do another. You try a different way of acting, and he still says good, but he just won't let you pass. You don't even know which direction to go."

Zhang Songwen remained silent.

The two talked for a long time.

They chatted until almost 10 o'clock, when Zhang Songwen stood up and said he had to leave.

Zhou Yiwei saw him to the door, stood there for a while, and suddenly said, "Songwen, I think you're going to be famous this time."

Zhang Songwen turned to look at him; Zhou Yiwei's expression was serious, he wasn't joking.

Zhang Songwen was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Whether it's popular or not doesn't matter, as long as the acting is good."

Zhou Yiwei laughed: "Don't give me that crap. If you don't become famous, how can you justify all the hard work you've put in over a decade?"

Zhang Songwen didn't reply, just smiled, turned around and left.