A Valiant Life

Naturally, Director Qin passed this important task to one of the crew members. The person selected was a young lad who did not have a girlfriend. When he got the director’s orders to bring Little Blackie for the ‘full package’, he was stunned. He had never gotten this sort of treatment and a dog got it…

The young lad wanted to ask if he was supposed to look for a person or a dog for the ‘full package’, but in the end, he concluded that it must be a dog.

Lin Fan did not stay any longer in the studio because he had a hunch that Director Qin might take more scenes and upgrade Little Blackie from a supporting role to a role similar to the main actor.

If Little Blackie continued with these kinds of performances, Director Qin believed that this movie would be an absolute hit, no matter on the story front or the cinematics front.

Lin Fan dragged Wang Ming Yang and the rest to go off after seeing through what Director Qin was thinking, not giving him a chance to ask for more favors.

“Phew!”

“This Director Qin has plenty of ideas and he even dared to throw away everything he had taken beforehand, I wonder how much money he wasted just by doing that?” Lin Fan wondered.

Wang Ming Yang felt like he just witnessed a miracle. “How on earth did you communicate with the dog? This is simply amazing. I’ve been around so many circles of people and I’ve never seen something as spectacular as this. If you were to stream this to the masses, it would definitely attract the attention of the people, don’t you think so?”

Xu Xin Le was still in a daze. “I didn’t really take much notice at first, but when Little Blackie’s face showed so much emotion, I was taken aback and I couldn’t believe my eyes at first. I thought this movie had some potential but now with Little Blackie’s performance, I think that this movie is going to be a real hit.”

“You guys are over exaggerating! It’s only a dog, I don’t believe that he could carry the whole movie…”

Xu Xin Le didn’t think it was so. Although the plot was important in making a movie successful, it ultimately was the actors who put the icing on the cake and make the movie come to life.

The crux of this movie was the battle scene. Creating the atmosphere of people losing their loved ones was the main challenge in making the movie. Little Blackie’s performance brought the movie to a whole new plane. She could not put it into words, but she just knew that the scene just brought the movie to life and many people would be moved to tears by it.

“Brother Lin, you got it right. If it was before, Little Blackie would just be another one of the supporting roles and would make much of an impact on the movie. But with his acting, I can imagine that the movie would be absolutely brilliant. Just wait for the movie to come out in the cinemas and you’ll see,” Xu Xin Le was no critic, but she just knew that she was right.

Little Blackie performed so well with Brother Lin’s guidance that Director Qin was reluctant to let Lin Fan leave. But if he had helped Brother Lin help, he might have to change a lot of things in the movie. However, Little Blackie could really act. Even though it wasn’t human expressions, the dog’s expressions could really capture the hearts of the audience.

“Alright, please invite me when it comes out. I really look forward to it,” Lin Fan said expectantly.

“Don’t you worry! Even if I don’t say anything, Director Qin would definitely invite you. This movie is going to be a hit, and a large part of the effort was from you!” Xu Xin Le laughed.

Lin Fan waved his hands and said, “Alright. Anyway, I have a gathering with some of my classmates tonight. Do I have your permission to stop being the third wheel here or do you guys want to join me?”

“My fiancée and I don’t really like crowds. Besides, my aunt gave me a call and invited me for dinner at her place,” Wang Ming Yang smiled as he said.

“Damn!” Lin Fan stood frozen on the spot, before turning to look at Wang Ming Yang. “You should stop spouting so much nonsense, otherwise I might really lose it.”

“Relax! Am I that kind of person?” Wang Ming Yang looked at Lin Fan and smiled. But to Lin Fan, this rascal was really that kind of person who could not stop bragging.

With such a huge company and so much free time, there was not much more that a man could improve on. But he knew that there were highly paid people who were in charge of the company and Wang Ming Yang could boss them around as he liked.

Between six to seven o’clock.

Bai Ke’s restraint was situated on a food street. It wasn’t a huge dining place with a small shop front. The restraint was handed down by Bai Ke’s parents. After he graduated from high school, Bai Ke didn’t choose the University route and instead learned culinary skills from his parents and took over the family business. Although he could not live extravagantly, he earned enough to live a comfortable life.

Hao Ke restaurant.

His small restaurant’s shop front was a little run down and the interior looked like any other regular restaurant. The walls lined with wallpaper that had not been changed in years and a few four-seater tables scattered across the hallway.

This small restaurant was starkly different from the other restaurants around the area, keeping its historical charm. Most of the other eateries around sported a more modern look and sold a wide variety of different foods.

Rice-flour noodle shop.

Yellow chicken stew shop.

Hong Kong cafe.

Many different eateries!

Bai Ke’s shop didn’t really stand a chance against the other eateries around the area. Even before people could judge the restaurant based on the taste of the food, people were already turned away by the design of the shop since it was nowhere near attractive.

The customers occasionally chose where to eat based on the look of the restaurant. For a restaurant that looked like it came out of the twentieth century, a renovation was absolutely needed to remake the ancient looking exterior.

A young lady who was sweeping the floor immediately welcomed Lin Fan when he walked in, thinking that he was there to eat.

“Is Bai Ke in?” Lin Fan asked.

The young lady pondered his question for a moment before shouting towards the kitchen, “Someone is looking for you!”

Bai Ke’s voice emanated from the kitchen even before he came out, “Lil’ Fan, you’re here?”

Bai Ke took off his apron, smiling as he walked out of the kitchen. “Come, let me introduce you guys to each other. Lil’ Fan, this is my girlfriend Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan, this is my best friend from high school. He just came back yesterday, so I asked him for a bro’s meeting today.”

Xiao Yan smiled at Lin Fan and said, “I’ll go and buy a pig head, you guys take your time to catch up!”

“Whoa, you have a girlfriend now!” Lin Fan laughed at Bai Ke after Xiao Yan had left.

Bai Ke grinned, “Yeah, that’s for sure. Since my ability to earn money is not that much, my ability in other areas like finding a girlfriend must be good right?”

“When are you guys getting married?” Lin Fan asked.

“There isn’t any rush now. I’m just trying to save up some money. Now, let’s not talk about all this. Let me go and whip up a few dishes and then we can slowly catch up afterward. Don’t you disappear!” Bai Ke said jokingly.

Lin Fan chuckled. “That would be perfect. When we were in high school, we always cooked our own stuff to eat but the real deal was your aunt’s food. I hope you learned how to cook like her!”

When they were in high school, Lin Fan and the rest of the gang would sometimes come to Bai Ke’s family restaurant instead of going home and eat until they were bloated. At that time, the business in the restaurant was brisk, with the main chef being Bai Ke’s mother. However, after she had got burnt while cooking, she was not able to cook anymore. Bai Ke’s grades in high school were not good, so he decided to take over the restaurant instead of going to university.

“Sure, just take a seat first, I’ll go to the kitchen to whip up a few of my best dishes!” Bai Ke said happily.

“Sure, I’ll act as a food critic and I’ll judge your food,” Lin Fan sat there, looking around the place and taking in the familiar scent.

…