80 His First Living Fan

 

It was clear the actor had never been posed that question before. She did not know how to answer so she turned her pleading gaze towards Sister Long.

“Mian Nian graduated from Xin Lu Movie and TV Acting Academy, she is a very good dancer but she has not attended any fighting classes before.” Sister Long answered on the girl’s behalf.

“That won’t work. Nowadays too many media products portray law enforcement, especially the female officers, as mere decors. That is simply not the case in reality.” Han Fei remembered his first encounter with Li Xue. The former heavy crime detective was punished because she ‘accidentally’ broke a suspect’s ribs while apprehending him. The suspect had to be sent to the ER before he could be processed by the police. “I’ve interacted with many professional female officers in real life. They are experienced, and determined. Some of them even fight better than their male counterparts. Other than that, they benefit from their natural attention to details and can often provide a unique perspective to cases.” With Li Xue as the model, Han Fei studied Mian Nian as he tried to overlap the two females’ images in his mind’s eye. “If you can master the role of the female cop, I guarantee you’ll obtain many new fans but the premise is that you can bring this character to life.”

Han Fei tried to teach Mian Nian some simple combat gestures. “These are some of the basic fighting skills a police officer would know. Here’s a tip, when you are faced with a criminal, do not lose your focus. Aim for the fatal points and strike like it is the last chance you have.”

“Wait, you even have a background in combat?” Sister Long was impressed. Based on her research, Han Fei was supposed to be a comedy actor. So how did he pick up all these impressive skills?

“I merely studied them for self-defense.” Han Fei’s lesson for Mian Nian stopped at these combat stances. He did not comment on the girl’s acting skill. After all, he did not know her that well, as a fellow actor in the same movie, it would impolite for him to do so. Mian Nian, who had not studied combat before, thought Han Fei was being quite absurd. She thought he was merely showing off but after she saw how Han Fei managed to flip the stunt double over easily with a few simple maneuvers, her attitude changed.

“We do not have much time left for training, so try to revise these stances whenever you have the chance.” Everything Han Fei did was for the greater good of the movie, he did not bring his personal emotion into it. About half an hour later, the balding scriptwriter arrived. He was grumbling when he entered but with one glance from Sister Long, he shut up immediately. The pertinent parties stayed to discuss the plot. By noon, the foundation for the new script was emerging.

“As meaningful as the name, Flower of Sin, is, I do not think it suits our movie that well anymore. Before this, the main goal of the movie is to show that love is able to bloom even in the darkest abyss of sin. However, now that the focus has moved away from that storyline and towards the conflict between the two brothers, the name does not fit anymore.” The balding scriptwriter frowned. “Does anyone have a better name in mind?”

“How about Twin Flowers? It is an evergreen often bearing a pair of fragrant flowers. The flowers compete with each other not only in beauty, but also in nutrients and water. In flower language, the twin flower bears the meaning of an inescapable bond that will last until one party is dead.” Han Fei added, “Even though Meng Changxi and Meng Changan are not biological brothers, they grew up in the same family. They are like twin flowers of the same stalk, one has to shrink for the other to thrive.” Han Fei’s suggestion was approved by all. After a simple lunch, they continued to work on the script when Han Fei received a sudden phone call. “I’m sorry, it’s a call from the police, perhaps there’s a new update with the case.”

“Go and answer it then.” Han Fei’s reason was so justified that no one even considered stopping him. Han Fei left the room to answer the call, “Li Xue, is the case closed?”

“After plenty of investigations, and combined with the evidence provided by Meng Changxi, we have more than enough to charge Meng Changshou and Meng Changan.”

“That’s great.”

“Don’t hang up just yet. I have something else to discuss with you. The government plans to release an official commendation on the internet for your bravery. Give me your social account. We’ll wire you the reward money when it’s available. When the law enforcement official website comes out with the commendation, remember to share it on your social account. Also you’ll need to do an interview with reporters from various publications so clear your schedule.”

“Do we really have to do so many things?” Han Fei was startled.

“It can’t be helped. This is now a big current event. If the law enforcement does not take this into our own hand, you’ll be harassed by paparazzi instead. The publications we invite are at least filtered by us beforehand. You’ll have to understand that some people will do anything to get their news.”

“My social account id is Han Fei. Just search for it.” Han Fei sidebar-ed the call and opened the social account that he had not used for a long time. His account did not have an official profile picture, he had no fans, no followers and no status update. The only thing available was the identification of him as an actor at the introduction bar. A click on the ‘actor’ pulled up a pop-up list. The photon computer provided a list of the top 10000 most influential actors based on factors like their popularity, wealth of work and so on. Han Fei was not on that list.

Suddenly his phone vibrated. Han Fei saw his fan number had grown from zero to one.

September Snow is now following you!

“Han Fei, are you sure you’re an actor? This is the first time I encounter an actor’s profile which has zero fan.” Li Xue’s voice drifted out from the phone.

“Well, you might not know this but I actually have many fans but you’re just the first one to follow me online.” Han Fei added self-deprecatingly to himself, ‘In fact I have so many die hard fans that they literally will not leave me alone even after death.’

“I’ve already forwarded your account to my boss. By the way, you should be more active on social media, as an actor, you need a stronger online presence.” Li Xue then hung up. Studying the singular one shown on his page, Han Fei chuckled to himself. He was about to put his phone away when more notifications came from the social platform.

“Xin Lu’s Internet Security Unit’s Official Page is now following you!

“Xin Lu Old City’s Happiness Street’s Police Station is now following you!

“Officer Zhang Xiaotian is now following you! And given you a like!

“Xin Lu Law Enforcement Old City Division’s Investigation Unit’s Official Page is now following you! And left you a comment—Brave, intrepid, and righteous. A model citizen!”

Noting the rising number of followers, Han Fei was quite happy but his list of followers was undeniably quite unique and different from what you’d expect from that of a normal celebrity.

“O well, some followers are better than none.” Han Fei switched his phone to silent mode and returned to work with the scriptwriters. At around 4 pm, a ruckus erupted from outside the set. It sounded like some kind of conflict.

“What’s going on?” Han Fei moved to the window to get a better look. He saw the victims’ families and a bunch of reporters surrounding the apartment.

“Han Fei! Look at your phone! The Xin Lu Police has just released the official commendation for everything you’ve contributed to the case!” The floor manager rushed in with the news. He patted Han Fei proudly on his shoulder. “Brother! Your big break has finally come!”