Chapter 80 - Firstly on to the Main Event

Xiao Jiashu made a very detailed schedule for himself, writing down what he had to do every day and setting strict time constraints. The next day, he stepped into the gym at nine o’clock sharp, not a minute more nor a second less, and then consulted with a personal trainer.

The two were talking when Ji Mian came, “Why aren’t you working out? Did you follow the ‘program’ today?”

Xiao Jiashu tried to control the corners of his mouth that wanted to rise, and said mildly, “Good morning, Ji Ge, we are working on the program.”

Speaking of this, the personal trainer really had a hard time saying it, and immediately complained, “Mr. Ji, you know that we create training plans according to your own condition, and adjust it accordingly everyday. Mr. Xiao asked me to give him the training plan for the next three days, even down to the number of times for each movement, it’s really unscientific. What if I put too much pressure on him? I haven’t even figured out his physical condition yet, so I really don’t dare to make plans for him casually.”

Ji Mian pondered, “Let’s start with the least amount of exercise. After three days of working out, you’ll have a good idea of his condition and you can make adjustments.”

“In this case, I am afraid that the amount of exercise is too small to achieve the effect you want. It is not easy to gain five catties of muscle in a month, not to mention losing fat first.”

“Then let’s go with medium to low intensity, give him the training plan.” Ji Mian clapped.

When the two were talking, Xiao Jiashu was expressionless and did not interrupt all throughout, his heart was even more calm and silent.

Ji Mian frowned, as if he was not used to it, and then pointed to the small notebook in his hand and asked, “Is this the program you made? Let me see?”

“Okay Ji Ge.” Xiao Jiashu handed over the notebook, noticed that his thoughts were fluctuating, and hurriedly recited the Great Compassion Mantra1 in his heart—Adoration to the Almighty One. Adoration to the noble Avalokitesvara, bodhisattva, the Great Compassionate One. I continually adore the One who Dispels all Fears, O noble Avalokitesvara, to You adoration, O Nilakantha. I shall clearly sing the ‘heart’ Dharani for the sake of all beings…

Ji Mian: “…”

Ji Mian carefully flipped through the notes and was surprised, “You’ve made it so detailed? Wake up at six thirty in the morning, brush your teeth and wash your face at six thirty-five, eat breakfast at seven, drink a glass of milk after the meal, and run in the morning at eight …… Do you strictly follow these procedures? ”

“Yes, Ji Ge.” Xiao Jiashu nodded, not saying a word more.

Looking at his expressionless face, Ji Mian felt helpless. At the end, he continued to turn the pages and saw a line of words written on the last page: take a bath at 9:30 and practice holding your breath for five minutes; Chant scriptures at ten and go to bed at ten thirty. PS: it is forbidden to browse Weibo, no cellphone, no games and no thinking nonsense.

Practice holding your breath while taking a bath and recite sutras after taking a bath. Is Xiao Jiashu going to become a monk? Ji Mian was angry, amused, and was deeply shocked. In order to play this role well, Xiao Jiashu is really ready to go all out. If Ji Mian didn’t choose him and replaced him with another more popular young artist in China, he’s afraid they wouldn’t be able to achieve this level. There is really no need to worry too much about working with him. He’s just afraid of him acting so well and getting too deep into the role, that he might harm himself.

Ji Mian wiped his face and said weakly, “Take it easy, don’t push yourself too hard! ”

“Okay, Ji Ge.” Xiao Jiashu absolutely refused to say a word more, and tried to use the most concise language to express himself. Aren’t robots like this?

Ji Mian originally wanted to ask him why he wanted to practice holding his breath, but when he saw that he had a straight face and looked extremely indifferent, he lost the desire to ask.

On the other end, the personal trainer also pulled out the training plan. Xiao Jiashu took it and looked at it, then took off his jacket and started training without a word.

Seeing that he didn’t linger, didn’t fool around, nor did he think of anything wild while training, Ji Mian felt uncomfortable. He stood in place and looked at Xiao Jiashu for a while, before silently walking away.

Twenty days passed in a blink of an eye, Xiao Jiashu unknowingly has become accustomed to a well-regulated life. He slowly quit using all types of electronic gadgets such as mobile phones, computers and televisions, and no longer went out to sing, meet friends and play. He lived like an ascetic monk, his joys and sorrows steadily going away leaving only programmed actions.

At this moment, he is sitting upright in the waiting room, staring at the timetable with deep eyes.

Ji Mian handed him the plane ticket and spoke in a warm voice, “When you go there, you have to practice fighting techniques with the martial arts instructor every day. Have you brought the injury medicine I asked you to?”

“Brought it.” Xiao Jiashu nodded slightly, his eyes still staring at the timetable.

“Don’t be anxious, our plane departs on time, I just asked.” Ji Mian comforted him.

Xiao Jiashu closed his eyes and began to recite the Great Compassion Mantra, if he ends up being late and ruining his perfect schedule, he will malfunction.

Ji Mian was so helpless that he could only pat him on the back while asking the assistant to go to the service center to ask again. Don’t be late, or else this kid will go nuts, his current state is very dangerous.

The assistant ran back quickly and told them that the plane was not late and would leave at 11:30. Ji Mian breathed a sigh of relief, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and asked, “Would you like to go to the smoking area with me?”

Xiao Jiashu waved his hand, “No.”

“Then we’re going.” Ji Mian and Fang Kun went to the smoking area and then both lit a cigarette.

“What happened to Xiao Jiashu? He used to smile at people right away when he saw them, now he keeps a straight face all day and speaks no more than five words. He’s too old to be acting like a middle schooler2, and now he’s ready to put on the airs of a star?” Fang Kun was puzzled.

“He is preparing for filming.” It’s not good for Ji Mian to say much about other people’s business, he can only secretly remind himself that he must keep an eye on Xiao Jiashu, and not let him be ruined by this movie. He quickly finished smoking a cigarette, and then called the director, “Stisen, it’s me. Yes, we can arrive tomorrow morning. No need to pick us up, I have arrangements. I want you to arrange and concentrate on CT001’s scenes to be filmed ahead. It’s not a scheduling issue, it’s for something personal. Please help me see how soon we can finish shooting.”

Something was mentioned over the other line, Ji Mian frowned and said, “26 days? Can you compress it a little bit more? 19 days, sure, 19 days would be good. My part doesn’t matter, shoot CT001 first. If anyone else has a problem, let them directly come to me. Alright, I’ll see you later.” He hung up the phone, rubbed his temples, and took out another cigarette.

Fang Kun was astonished, “Isn’t it going to delay your schedule if you put Xiao Jiashu’s scenes first? I remember that you’re going to Boston next month to discuss some major business deals?” Fortunately, in Hollywood, the director’s power is very small and the producer has the final say when it comes to everything, and Ji Mian just happens to be the producer of《The Zerg Wars》, so this matter can be arranged smoothly. If it were in China, the director and other actors would get into trouble.

“Some things can be postponed, but some things cannot be delayed.” Ji Mian took a big puff of smoke and looked very exasperated.

The plane took off and landed on time, but it also delayed Xiao Jiashu’s sleep schedule. He was used to sleeping at 10:30 sharp, he didn’t look too good after getting off the plane. He did not lie down immediately after arriving at the hotel, and stayed up until 10:30 the next day to sleep. His whole head was aching and seemed like it was going to explode if shakes it. Fortunately, the crew gave them three days to rest, otherwise he would have come to the United States vertically and returned to China horizontally.

He also knew that something was very wrong with him, but he couldn’t control it nor do anything about it. He had to stay in this state until the movie was finished.

On the first official day of work, he finally got some good news, director Stisen was shooting his scenes ahead of schedule and the filming period was reduced to 19 days, and all the actors were willing to cooperate. When the shooting schedule was handed out to Xiao Jiashu, the corners of his lips that hadn’t been raised for a long time quickly curled up.

Ji Mian shared a dressing room with him and saw his expression in the mirror, and the worries that had been pent up for a long time finally subsided a little. It seems that his decision was correct.

“Hello to you two.” A hot white woman walked in, circled around Xiao Jiashu and teased, “You’re CT001’s actor, right? What’s your name?”

“You can call me Xiao.” Xiao Jiashu nodded politely, but his eyes did not waver.

The woman is Maddie3, the heroine of 《The Zerg Wars》. With her angelic looks and devilish figure, she has topped the global beauty list several times. All men are infatuated and dazed when they see her. There are very few people who are indifferent like Xiao Jiashu. This is clearly abnormal!

“Oh god, another goddamn gay,” Maddie complained. “What a pity for your handsomely sculpted face.”

Xiao Jiashu was momentarily stunned and then continued to read the script. He was not irritated, and he didn’t feel that he needed to justify anything. His emotional fluctuations had already been suppressed in the deepest part of his heart.

Ji Mian said in a somber voice, “Maddie, not all men are attracted to you, you have to accept the reality. Xiao is normal, you’re just not charming enough. You can go now, we need to change clothes.”

In the end, Maddie did not dare to provoke the producer and could only leave unhappily. As soon as she left, Stisen walked in to talk about the scene, “Today we are shooting CT001’s first appearance. First of all, we have to shoot the scene of 001 soaking in a large tank, so Xiao you must be completely naked and have many data cables attached to you. I have to warn you in advance that it doesn’t feel good to be naked in the water. There are many cameras on the front, back, left and right recording your body at the same time, which may embarrass you. I hope you can overcome it. I know you Eastern people are very conservative, but this is art, not pornography, you have to understand.”

Stisen explained a lot, but Xiao Jiashu only replied to him, “No problem.”

Stisen stared at his cool and handsome face, but he was short of words for a moment. He choked for a long time before saying, “OK, take off your clothes and let the makeup artist put on your makeup.” The words were said in a hurry.

Ji Mian, who was also applying makeup, frowned slightly.