Chapter 51: We Will Surely Meet Again

There is a pool of water on Mount Lu known as Dragon Pool.

Crystal clear to the bottom, the swimming fish can be easily counted. On the cliff beside the pool, the Chinese character for "Dragon" is inscribed in seal script, accompanied by the four characters "Divine Dragon Leaping into the Sky." All around stand ancient, weathered cliffs and gnarled old trees with branches stretching across the air, casting a deep green shade that blocks out the sun.

The waterfalls of Mount Lu are actually a cluster consisting of numerous streams. Which specific waterfall Li Bai had in mind when he wrote, "Flying straight down three thousand feet," remains a subject of debate to this day.

Dragon Pool is formed precisely by two of these waterfalls plunging through the air and converging into one.

October 10th marked the final set of scenes for *Romance on Lushan* to be filmed here, with the location set at Dragon Pool.

Today felt a bit special. The production crew cleared the area, and all onlookers were required to keep away because they were going to shoot the scenes of the male and female leads swimming together. Chen Guogiang did not mind; wearing a pair of large swimming trunks and going bare-chested, he did not care who looked.

Gong Xue, however, looked as though she wanted to bury her head in the dirt.

Director Wang Haowei understood her and patiently tried to persuade her, saying, "Xiao Gong, didn't we have a great talk yesterday? You said you had the courage; why are you backing out at the very last second?"

"I'm sorry, but this outfit is just too revealing."

She wrapped herself in a large bath towel, squatting pitifully on the ground, clutching the towel tightly around her body with both hands, stubbornly refusing to stand up.

"We already considered this issue as much as possible and picked the most conservative one we could find for you."

"But..."

Blushing, her voice as faint as a mosquito's, she mumbled, "This isn't conservative at all. My legs are completely exposed."

"This is a swimsuit, after all. You surely can't go into the water wrapped up completely, can you?"

"Take a moment to adjust your mindset. I believe you can overcome this!"

Wang Haowei sighed and walked away to arrange other matters first. Gong Xue remained in her squat. Naturally petite to begin with, this posture made her look even more delicate and helpless.

The prevailing social atmosphere was simply different back then!

Such situations were quite common. For instance, during the filming of the "Spider Demon Cave" episode in *Journey to the West*, the seven young actresses were required to expose their arms and bellies while frolicking in the water. The girls had all burst into tears, protesting that they had come to act, not to wear such improper clothes, and stubbornly refused.

Left with no other option, Director Yang Jie had to find a body double, ultimately setting her sights on the male actor who played the Black Bear Spirit, deciding that his belly was white and aesthetically pleasing.

Therefore, the little bellies of the Spider Demons that you see on screen actually belong to the Black Bear Spirit!

***

Gong Xue squatted for a while, continuously trying to psych herself up, yet always falling short of the final surge of courage. Suddenly, she turned her head away, her delicate face flushing an even deeper red that spread all the way to the tips of her ears, and hastily buried her head once more.

Not far away, Chen Qi leaned against a tree, staring fixedly in her direction.

After a moment, she felt a shadow cast over the top of her head, and a voice rang out: "Do you know everyone is waiting for you?"

"Today is the last day. You wouldn't want to ruin everyone else's hard work because of yourself, would you? We talked so much that night; you seemed quite determined to become a good actress, or are you planning to give up halfway?"

"It's just shooting a swimming scene. Is it harder than when you were doing forced labor in the countryside, or participating in field training drills?"

Chen Qi spoke to her very calmly. He had already gauged her personality—gentle on the outside yet resolute within, stubborn to the core, and possessed of a driven ambition.

True to form, Gong Xue kept her head lowered as if putting up a final struggle, then clenched her teeth and finally stood up. Gritting her teeth once more, she unwrapped the towel.

Beneath it was a swimsuit conservative to the absolute extreme.

Her chest was wrapped securely and tightly, revealing only a slight contour; neither her stomach nor the curves of her hips were exposed. At most, it revealed a pair of fair, smooth, and well-proportioned legs. Her figure was exceptionally slender, with a waist so tiny it could barely be spanned by two hands. Though uncontacted, it was undoubtedly exquisitely soft.

On her feet were a pair of slippers, size thirty-five at most.

Chen Qi did not stare overtly—that would have been outright hooliganism. He stepped away, returning to the shade of the tree, and curled his lip in silent amusement: And here I thought it was some terribly revealing swimsuit; something like this could be worn walking casually down the street in future generations.

Have people not seen those young ladies wearing yoga pants nowadays—those contours, those hip lines, looking like steamed buns one second and butterflies the next...

At this moment, as Gong Xue made her debut appearance in this attire, both men and women grew slightly restless.

Her status within the crew was much like her character: possessing the air of a wealthy foreign miss, blessed with exceptional natural conditions, and possessing a gentle, kind, and hardworking disposition. She was the very embodiment of the "goddess" archetype Chen Qi had mentioned.

The male comrades liked her, and the female comrades liked her too.

Filming commenced. The two jumped into the water to swim, then sat together on a large boulder by Dragon Pool to chat.

"My father said Li Bai left a poem right here. I don't know much about classical poetry myself. Do you?"

With her legs bare, Gong Xue rested both feet casually on the boulder, placed one hand on Chen Qi's shoulder, and leaned her head closer.

Chen Qi also leaned in closer and smiled, saying, "That poem is very famous. Shall I recite it for you?"

"Yes, please!"

"Sunlight on Incense Burner Peak engenders purple smoke; gazing from afar, the waterfall hangs before the river stream. It flies straight down three thousand feet—could it be the Milky Way cascading from the ninth heaven?"

The two of them gazed into the distance together, as if the waterfall were right before them—though in reality, it was completely invisible, and the waterfall footage would be added later during post-production.

Following this, the frame slowly pulled back.

"Cut! That's a wrap!"

Wang Haowei was immensely satisfied. With the shimmering ripples of water, handsome men and beautiful women engaged in a sweet romance, this was precisely the effect *Romance on Lushan* aimed to achieve.

During their initial discussions, she had been quite troubled over how to convey this "sweetness." Chen Qi had offered a clever trick: "Just have them say more sweet words to each other; make them relentlessly confess 'I love you, you love me,' lock eyes at the slightest provocation, hold hands, blush and get their hearts racing, and then find a tree to circle around a few times while letting out carefree, silvery laughter..."

Naturally, that would create a sense of sweetness.

Having suffered deeply from the torment of poorly made dramas, he knew these tropes like the back of his hand.

He saw nothing wrong with applying them to *Romance on Lushan*; after all, what did people of this era know of such套路 (tricks/tropes)?

"Cut! That's good!"

At Wang Haowei's call, Gong Xue was the first to stand up and wrap herself in the large bath towel. The mountain air in October was quite chilly; soaking in the water had left her body shivering, and as soon as she wiped away the moisture, she hurriedly put her clothes back on.

Once properly dressed, she finally let out a sigh of relief. Otherwise, it had felt far too awkward—wearing a swimsuit felt just like walking around naked.

***

Chen Qi also let out a breath, barely managing to feast his eyes.

There was no help for it; everything was a matter of comparison.

What kind of life had he lived in his past life? Online welfare models and offline companions—both virtual and reality had been exceedingly joyous. How could it compare to the present? Having transmigrated half a year ago, he had guarded his purity even more strictly than a monk, and the female comrade with whom he shared the closest bond was Huang Zhanying, who was practically a female version of Zhang Fei.

Having finally encountered a true beauty who was also a gentle, mature older sister, he was naturally quite happy.

***

The production crew spent over two months on Mount Lu and was finally preparing to leave.

Everyone felt reluctant to part, and the hotel staff were equally heartbroken. The head chef held Chen Qi's hands and wept, lamenting that there would no longer be anyone to boast and chat with him, while the waitresses gathered around in a circle.

"Little Chen, once you leave, nobody else will ever tell us such wonderful stories."

"When are you coming back?"

"I'll definitely come next year!"

Chen Qi consoled everyone, turning rare and earnestly solemn as he smiled and said, "When *Romance on Lushan* hits the screens, and the mountain flowers are in full bloom once more, we will surely meet again!"

(The End)