LOI Chapter 59 — Use Someone Else’s Knife to Kill

The planned filming duration for “Express” was one month. Rong Ke’s scenes had already wrapped up, but before he could leave the set, he was called back by Jiang Hua to reshoot his entrance scenes.

Other characters’ roles were also constantly being adjusted, resulting in another two weeks passing without anyone knowing the movie’s progress.

Tonight, they finished work early. Jiang Hua invited a few lead actors to have a late-night snack at a barbecue stall near the hotel. Seven or eight people gathered around a low table, creating a lively atmosphere.

“I want to get sentimental tonight,” Jiang Hua raised his beer glass, clinking with everyone. “Thank you all for supporting my work. I know my scenes aren’t easy to film.”

“Nonsense, Director Jiang. Working with you is nothing but joy,” said an actor playing a robber.

Others chimed in, “Yeah, this is probably the most relaxed set I’ve ever been on.”

“I wish we could continue like this,” Jiang Hua took a sip of beer and put down his glass. “But our film has a low budget to begin with, and we still need special effects to connect the long shots in post-production, which is quite costly. Today, the producer reminded me that our project has already gone over budget, so…”

Rong Ke and Yan Zhi paused their eating and looked at Jiang Hua. Others also waited for his next words.

“Let’s consider this meal our wrap party. We won’t be filming tomorrow.”

Rong Ke almost choked on his food.

Just that afternoon, Jiang Hua told him they would reshoot the ending scenes tomorrow. Now he was saying the film was wrapped up. Talk about unpredictable.

Looking around, everyone had similar reactions. Apparently, Rong Ke wasn’t the only sane person here.

“So, is our movie finished or not?” someone voiced everyone’s thoughts.

“We have enough footage to piece together a complete film in post-production,” Jiang Hua said. “Whether it’s exciting is another matter. Some of your brilliant ideas might have to be scrapped.”

“So we’re really disbanding tomorrow?” another person asked, still skeptical. “Is our production this broke? We can’t even afford one more day of filming?”

“Or maybe we could try to secure more investment?” someone else suggested. “Our lead is Rong Ke, surely there are investors willing to put money in?”

As everyone was discussing how to continue filming, Yan Zhi put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and asked Jiang Hua, “How much more do we need?”

The crowd fell silent, all eyes turning to Yan Zhi.

“Maybe… three million?” Jiang Hua held up three fingers, looking at Yan Zhi with a glimmer of hope. “Can you bring in investors?”

Then, as if realizing it might be inappropriate, he added, “But our film isn’t exactly the right fit for luxury product placements.”

“No need for product placement,” Yan Zhi said. “I’ll cover the three million.”

The table immediately erupted in excitement. The other actors looked at Yan Zhi like he was their savior, raising their glasses to him. “Ge! You’re the man!”

Rong Ke found it amusing. What was this, a young master’s brave venture into showbiz?

When the crew runs out of money, he just pulls out his own wallet. Jiang Hua probably never imagined that his casual mention during the audition would bring in such a big benefactor.

Just then, Rong Ke’s phone rang. He left the noisy table and went to a quiet spot on the street to answer.

“Boss,” Luo Fei’s voice came through, “I’ve compiled everything you asked for. What’s next?”

“Send it to me first,” Rong Ke said.

After hanging up, Rong Ke opened the PDF file Luo Fei sent.

The file documented all the marketing accounts that had attacked Wen Cheng during the “traitor incident,” and uncovered the PR teams behind these accounts.

For example, certain accounts would occasionally post content unfavorable to Jiang Si’s rivals, clearly being paid by Jiang Si.

Moreover, Luo Fei had infiltrated some online troll groups to determine who had been driving the narrative during the previous “traitor incident.”

The extensive analysis all pointed to one conclusion – Jiang Si had been pulling strings behind the scenes when the incident blew up.

The file was incredibly detailed, a testament to Luo Fei’s thorough investigation.

After all, if these findings couldn’t hold water, Rong Ke’s plan to “use someone else’s knife to kill” would fall through.

He messaged Luo Fei back: [Good, send it to Director Wen’s email.]

When he returned to the table, Jiang Hua and Yan Zhi had already worked out the investment details.

Originally, he just came to play a minor role, but somehow, he ended up as a screenwriter and now an investor. Rong Ke suddenly realized Yan Zhi enjoyed experiencing various professions even more than he did.

Watching his beauty holding a beer glass, exuding a street-smart aura while calling Jiang Hua “brother”…

Well, Rong Ke thought, as long as he’s happy.

The next day, Rong Ke followed the original plan to reshoot the ending scenes.

At the film’s conclusion, half the robbers were dead or injured, all drug dealers were taken down, and all kidnappers were arrested.

Rong Ke had already shot two versions of the ending: one where he and other officers escorted the criminals off the train, another where he watched other officers lead away the criminals while he smoked by the train window.

Today’s version was different from the previous two. It was a farewell scene between him and Yan Zhi on the train platform.

Jiang Hua first shot the scene of other officers leading the criminals away, then pulled the camera back to focus on Rong Ke and Yan Zhi.

Rong Ke lit a cigarette and said, “You’ve got some luck, kid.”

His tone carried the exhaustion of a near-death experience, and his entire demeanor was completely relaxed.

“Thanks to you, Officer. Otherwise, I would have died countless times already,” Yan Zhi looked at the cigarette in Rong Ke’s hand and asked, “Can I have one?”

Rong Ke reached for his cigarette pack, only to find it empty – an unexpected situation.

Without breaking character, he directly offered his lit cigarette. “Mind sharing?”

“Sure.” Yan Zhi took it with his index and middle fingers, inhaled deeply, then returned it to Rong Ke. “Lucky there were so many police on this train. Otherwise, it would have been a disaster.”

“We received intel about a potential train robbery,” Rong Ke said, casually smoking. “Luckily, we prepared in advance.”

The wind on the platform was strong, making the cigarette burn quickly.

Rong Ke offered it again, but this time Yan Zhi declined. Instead, he took out a business card from his jacket pocket and handed it to Rong Ke. “Here’s my card. If you ever need anything, feel free to contact me.”

With that, Yan Zhi picked up his suitcase and turned to disappear into the crowd.

Rong Ke turned to walk in the opposite direction, but glancing at the card, he suddenly realized something was off.

The card’s background featured a koi fish, identical to the tattoo behind the robbers’ ears…

His relaxed demeanor vanished instantly. Rong Ke abruptly stopped, as overlooked details flooded his mind.

Yan Zhi’s consistent ability to escape danger – was it due to Rong Ke’s protection, or because the criminals never truly intended to kill him?

The kidnappers’ elaborate plan to grab the wrong person – did they get the wrong information, or Yan Zhi’s deliberate disguise?

And Yan Zhi taking Rong Ke’s hidden gun – was it an accident or intentional?

A chill ran up his spine. Rong Ke quickly turned to search for Yan Zhi, but by then he had already…

Stepped out of frame and joined Jiang Hua.

“OK, excellent!” Jiang Hua exclaimed, observing Rong Ke’s confused expression in the lens. “How’s this ending?”

Rong Ke gradually composed himself and approached Jiang Hua. “So in this version, Yan Zhi is the robbers’ boss?”

“Exactly!” Jiang Hua snapped his fingers excitedly. “When he was smoking with you, he was fishing for information, right? Why were there so many police on this train? Because someone had leaked information in advance.”

“Yes,” Yan Zhi said. “Once I got the information, there was no need for me to stay.”

Their dialogue during the performance was pre-arranged, and Rong Ke hadn’t realized Yan Zhi was probing for information.

It wasn’t until Yan Zhi took out that business card, which wasn’t in the two-page script, that Rong Ke noticed something was wrong after a double-take.

In other words, like the kidnappers, he too had been played by Yan Zhi.

“What if I didn’t notice the issue with the card?” Rong Ke asked, suppressing a throbbing vein on his forehead.

“I believed in you. I knew you’d notice,” Yan Zhi said.

“Even if you hadn’t, we’d just reshoot,” Jiang Hua said nonchalantly. “It’s not like I had to keep the plot a secret from you.”

Rong Ke thought to himself, Why do I feel like you’re enjoying this?

“But your performance just now was great,” Jiang Hua continued. “The transition from relaxed to tense, the change in your eyes – you captured it perfectly.”

Rong Ke’s mouth twitched. “Because that wasn’t acting.”

“Anyway,” Jiang Hua led a round of applause, “let’s congratulate Rong Ke on wrapping up!”

Rong Ke had already wrapped once before, and he knew full well that if Jiang Hua had any new ideas, he’d drag him back for reshoots.

Jiang Hua clearly had the same thought. Despite congratulating Rong Ke, he hadn’t even arranged for a bouquet.

On the way back to the hotel, Yan Zhi drove while Rong Ke sat in the passenger seat, reflecting on the scene they just shot. “The idea of you being the robbers’ boss – was that yours or Director Jiang’s?”

“Mine,” Yan Zhi replied, eyes on the road. “Why?”

Even though he felt a bit sour – having such an outstanding boyfriend could be a bit intimidating – Rong Ke said, “Maybe you should really try directing or screenwriting.”

He thought the mermaid cover was enough to showcase Yan Zhi’s abilities, but over this period, he realized that Yan Zhi was far more talented than he had imagined.

“I could,” Yan Zhi nodded thoughtfully. “Then let me direct a housewife roleplay first, with Jack as support. You’re the lonely housewife, only able to comfort yourself with Jack at home. I’m the delivery man who accidentally catches you, and I decide to soothe your lonely soul.”

Rong Ke: “…Shut the fuck up.”

The hotel wasn’t far from the studio, just a ten-minute drive.

Just as Yan Zhi parked and they were about to get out, Rong Ke suddenly received a call from Luo Fei. “Boss, check the trending topics quickly!”

Rong Ke paused as he was opening the door. Yan Zhi also stopped, asking, “What’s wrong?”

“Luo Fei wants us to check the trending topics,” Rong Ke hung up and opened Weibo, seeing #Jiang Si Cheating# exploding at the top of the list.

A famous paparazzo had exposed chat logs between Jiang Si and someone. From their conversation, it was clear that despite having a boyfriend, Jiang Si was flirting with this person.

[Jiang Si: He’s not here tonight. When are you coming over?]
[Pixelated: What’s the rush? /eyeroll]

All eighteen screenshots contained similar dialogues. Any normal person could tell Jiang Si was having an affair.

The paparazzo didn’t explicitly guide the narrative, but combined with previous gossip, many in the comments section had already guessed that Jiang Si’s boyfriend was Rong Ke, and the person he was cheating with was Liu Qing.

Judging from the tone of the pixelated texts, it did indeed sound like Liu Qing.

“What does this mean?” Yan Zhi asked. “Is Liu Qing dragging Jiang Si down with him?”

“I don’t think so,” Rong Ke shook his head. “It might be Wen Cheng’s doing.”