The Supporting Male Characters Who Died Alone All Those Years Later

While there was much speculation online, He Dongchen himself remained relaxed. The next day, he met with Director Lu Qin to discuss the script for their upcoming collaboration.

Previously, it had been agreed that He Dongchen would play the male lead and also serve as the assistant director, learning alongside Director Lu Qin. This would add to his credentials and enhance his reputation when the film was released. Once he was ready, he would be able to take on a leading role on his own.

The last film was similar; it was essentially a resource exchange.

Now that He Dongchen had arrived, he didn’t actually need this arrangement. He was confident in his ability to produce excellent work, but since the collaboration had been almost finalized and the other party had shown sincerity, he didn’t protest.

After the meal, the two sides parted amicably. At the restaurant’s entrance, He Dongchen bumped into a young man wearing a black three-piece suit; very formal and quite impressive. With his outstanding appearance, sharp brows, and starry eyes, he immediately drew attention.

Lu Qin, who was talking to He Dongchen, saw him and promptly went over to shake hands. After a round of pleasantries, he introduced, “This is He Dongchen, the actor. We’re collaborating on the next film.”

“I know. Qincheng Entertainment invested in this film,” the young man said with a smile, subtly sizing up He Dongchen. There was an intangible current of tension in the air.

Lu Qin didn’t notice and continued the introduction, “This is the president of Qincheng Entertainment, President Fu Wenyu.”

He Dongchen smiled lightly, “I’ve heard much about you.”

The system floated above Fu Wenyu and commented, [He looks like an old fox. How could he be love-struck?]

The old fox, Fu Wenyu, curled his lips slightly, “I have another appointment, so I won’t keep you. By the way, Teacher He, there will be a company meeting tomorrow. I hope to see you there.” Fu Wenyu’s tone was commanding, as if he were issuing a directive, his demeanor casual yet firm.

He Dongchen smiled slightly, “I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. As an outsider, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to attend your company’s internal meeting.”

Without waiting for a response, He Dongchen nodded and spoke coldly, “Sorry, I have other matters to attend to. I’ll leave first.”

He then gave Lu Qin a slight nod and walked away with an air of aloofness.

The system clucked its tongue, [Fu Wenyu’s desire for control is too strong. He’s trying to dominate from the first meeting, asserting his authority. It’s quite audacious!]

He Dongchen replied, “That’s why working for others is impossible for me.”

The system retracted its neck, sensing a hint of something unspoken in He Dongchen’s words.

Fu Wenyu was strong-willed and possessive. His behavior toward Bei Er was domineering, and with He Dongchen, it was somewhat bothersome. Essentially, they were similar types of people, but while He Dongchen had experienced the world and had a more restrained demeanor, having learned to wrap himself in gentleness, Fu Wenyu’s approach was more direct and aggressive.

Lu Qin, feeling awkward as He Dongchen walked away, glanced at the evidently displeased yet still smiling Fu Wenyu and tried to lighten the mood, “We just had Sichuan cuisine; it’s a bit fiery, haha.”

Fu Wenyu smiled, “I understand. He Dongchen is, after all, one of our prominent artists at Qincheng Entertainment. I wouldn’t be petty about it.”

Lu Qin thought to himself that this was indeed petty. Calling He Dongchen an “artist” was almost an insult to someone of his stature.

It seemed that Qincheng Entertainment’s style had changed. Lu Qin’s eyelids twitched, feeling that his next project might become collateral damage.

***

As expected, when the company meeting occurred the next day, He Dongchen didn’t attend. Qincheng Entertainment immediately found a reason to withhold investment in the film, their attitude ambiguous and unclear.

Lu Qin had a headache. With Qincheng Entertainment investing 3 billion, accounting for 60% of the film’s budget, things were about to become complicated.

As a successful director, Lu Qin had his own temper. He was angry that He Dongchen had not shown him respect, and his frustration extended to Qincheng Entertainment’s actions, which seemed to be undermining both He Dongchen and him.

It was essentially a case of two young people clashing, with this old man caught in the middle.

He Dongchen, having had the investment blocked, remained calm and unhurried.

Brother Liu was also not very anxious. They were not the kind of artists who needed exposure and works to maintain their popularity. They could afford to wait and see whether they had more time or if Fu Wenyu could maintain pressure on the profitable project for longer.

Qincheng Entertainment needed to make money, and He Dongchen’s films had never lost money.

As the newly appointed president, Fu Wenyu was on shaky ground and lacked the respect of others. He could only maintain his position for so long.

This move was merely an attempt to establish authority.

Unfortunately, Fu Wenyu was hitting a steel plate with poor aim.

With the film temporarily on hold, He Dongchen had plenty of free time. He spent his days exercising and drinking tea, enjoying a pleasant life.

***

Meanwhile, the first episode of “Pastoral Scenery” was aired after the production team worked overtime on editing.

He Dongchen’s fans had been eagerly waiting and were full of anticipation.

Once the show started, He Dongchen’s casual outfit led to a wave of admiration, and the drawing segment sparked heated discussions. Everyone recognized that Fang Nanxing, who was teamed up with He Dongchen, was the female celebrity He Dongchen had liked on Weibo.

[Is there really something going on between them?]

[Haha, Fang Nanxing’s comment, ‘I grew up watching your movies,’ made He Dongchen go silent. Am I that old? I’m only 2 years older!]

[To be honest, I also grew up watching He Dongchen’s movies!]

[Me too!]

[+1!]

The barrage of comments was full of joy. When the show reached the segment where they selected the fish pond, Fang Nanxing rambled on, while He Dongchen cleverly used bread to attract the fish, causing a flurry of laughter in the comments.

Fang Nanxing: The fool was actually me.

The subsequent fish-catching segment was also exciting and vivid.

With four teams catching fish separately, the production team naturally selected the most interesting footage or the segments featuring more popular guests. Less noteworthy teams had their footage reduced.

Of course, they didn’t make it too obvious; there would occasionally be cues, but if one paid close attention, it was clear that the footage time for certain teams was less than half of that for others.

Indeed, this referred to Bei Er’s team, which had less than half the screen time of He Dongchen’s team.

There was no way around it. Bei Er’s entire performance was characterized by laziness, complaints, passivity, impatience, and sleeping. The director had a stack of footage but was reluctant to cut too much. If all of it were shown, Bei Er would definitely be criticized harshly.

The director wanted to create a healing and relaxing pastoral variety show and didn’t want it to be chaotic and eye-catching.

So, they decided to handle it coolly.

If the team member had been He Dongchen, the director might have racked his brain to enhance Bei Er’s performance with more positive footage.

Ultimately, the director didn’t want to put in extra effort for a mediocre artist who wasn’t worth it.

After the show aired, various discussions emerged online. He Dongchen’s skillful fish-catching was turned into numerous memes, all showcasing his charisma. In contrast, Fang Nanxing was portrayed as a character full of admiration, with starry eyes, and her heartfelt performance in the show, where she was focused and didn’t lag behind, easily won people’s favor.

Other guests also had commendable performances, but Bei Er was like an invisible person, with no presence from start to finish.

Bei Er’s manager was furious; “The production team is too much!”

Bei Er remained her usual passive self; “But there wasn’t much to cut.”

Bei Er was somewhat aware of her own shortcomings. Did they want to include all my sighing and complaining? That would surely result in harsh criticism.

The manager was exasperated, “Even bad publicity is still publicity! Besides, there are still eleven more episodes. If you just put in a bit more effort, you could salvage your image. The worst thing isn’t criticism; it’s being boring. The production team has edited you out to look like a bystander. How am I supposed to write a press release?”

Bei Er shrank back, and while her manager was scolding her, she quietly took out her phone and slipped away.

When the manager realized she wasn’t getting a response and turned around, the room was empty! She rolled her eyes in frustration and had to steady herself against the wall.

“Bei Er!!! I’m going to bring in a new artist!!!”

The manager seemed utterly disappointed and stormed out, slamming the door.

Bei Er, hearing the commotion, was relieved and patted her chest, preparing to continue watching her show. Just then, a call came in with the note [Mom.]

Bei Er immediately tensed up, took a deep breath, and answered the call slowly.

“Bei Er, your younger brother needs to attend tutoring classes. Remember to send the money.”

Bei Er nodded throughout the call. Because she was in her original owner’s position, Bei Er felt uneasy. Every time the Bei family asked for money, whether reasonable or not, she had no choice but to agree, or else she would dream of the original owner standing by her bed with a cold smile.

Feeling guilty and scared, Bei Er had to meet the Bei family’s demands repeatedly, not realizing that this would only increase their demands and sow the seeds for future troubles.

***

The first episode had a good start, and then filming for the second episode began.

The location was a village known for raising chickens. The village was surrounded by lush green hills and waters. Almost every household had chickens, with even the smallest farms keeping over a hundred. They enclosed a piece of land on the hillside for raising the chickens, and whether selling chickens or eggs, they never had to worry about sales.

Feeding chickens cost around 20-something yuan each, and they were fried before sale. Free-range chickens cost 50 yuan per pound, several times more expensive. Similarly, eggs were also priced differently; plastic wrapped eggs in supermarkets cost 9 yuan for fifteen, while farm eggs were 2 yuan each, with larger ones costing 3 yuan.

After arriving in the countryside, Brother Liu kept insisting on buying some free-range chickens and eggs to bring back for his family to make soup.

As everyone knew, chicken soup was the top choice for nourishing the body in their country.

Like last time, all eight guests arrived the day before, and filming started early the next morning. Since it was a chicken-raising village, the sounds of roosters crowing began throughout the night.

The guests got up groggily from their beds. Amid the hustle and bustle, Fang Nanxing thanked He Dongchen for the likes on Weibo, perfectly shifting the attention.

“It was a small effort,” He Dongchen replied with a slight tilt of his head, downplaying the gesture.

The content of this episode followed the usual routine; teams would select a chicken farm, compete in collecting eggs, and finally host an all-egg banquet.

Without previous experience, Fang Nanxing and He Dongchen had to make a random choice. To avoid chaos, the chickens in the selected farm were all secured in advance, so their exact numbers were unknown.

He Dongchen chose a farm where rows of citrus saplings were planted on the terraced grassland. The saplings were about waist-high, with no tall trees or dense grass, providing a clear view.

The owner managed the farm well; there was no visible manure, and the outdoor air was clean.

He Dongchen and Fang Nanxing, dressed in long sleeves, long pants, and sun hats, entered the chicken farm.

Although fully equipped was hot, the June mountains had everything, so proper protection was necessary.

Each carrying a basket, their first task upon entering wasn’t to rush to find eggs but to line the bottom of the baskets with a layer of wild grass to prevent the eggs from breaking.

“Hey, there’s so many purple flowers here!” Fang Nanxing said excitedly, pulling up a bunch of purple flowers from the ground and showing them to He Dongchen. The small purple blooms were very eye-catching.

“These are wild vegetables, edible and also used as medicinal herbs,” Fang Nanxing said, placing the flowers in the basket. The green grass in the basket was dotted with purple flowers, looking very beautiful. Fang Nanxing nodded in satisfaction.

Seeing this, He Dongchen bent down to the place where she had picked the flowers.

Fang Nanxing thought he was also going to pick some and quickly moved aside, feeling a bit smug as she said, “Aren’t they pretty?”

However, He Dongchen, with his gloved hand still showing clear knuckles, turned and bypassed the purple flowers. He reached into a clump of wild grass nearby, gently brushed aside a few leaves, and pulled out a white egg.

“Such an obvious egg, and you only noticed the flowers.” He Dongchen straightened up, placing the egg into the basket, and raised an eyebrow at the dazed Fang Nanxing.

Fang Nanxing opened her mouth and instinctively hummed the melody of an old song; “In my eyes, there are only flowers, no eggs~~”

Everyone was taken aback for a moment before bursting into laughter. Even this worked!

The original lyrics were “In my eyes, there is only you, not her,” but Fang Nanxing changed it to “only flowers, no eggs.”