Chapter 00052: We Will Meet Again
# We Will Meet Again
Chapter 52
Novel: 1979 Golden Age
Chapter 52: We Will Meet Again
On Mount Lu, there is a pool known as Dragon Pool.
The water is so clear that you can see the bottom, and the fish swimming within are easily countable.
On the pool's wall, there is a seal script character for "dragon," accompanied by the phrase "Divine Dragon Leaps into the Sky."
Surrounding the pool are ancient trees and towering cliffs, their twisted branches stretching across the sky, casting a dense shade—legend has it that the sacred robe of the Purple Dragon is buried at the bottom of this pool!
The waterfalls of Mount Lu are actually a group of many waterfalls.
There is still debate over which waterfall Li Bai described in his famous line, "The waterfall plunges three thousand feet straight down."
Dragon Pool is formed by the convergence of two of these waterfalls.
On October 10th, the final scene of Love on Mount Lu was to be filmed here at Dragon Pool.
Today was special—the set was cleared of all unnecessary personnel because they were shooting a scene where the male and female leads would swim together.
Tang Guoqiang, the male lead, was unfazed, wearing just a pair of large swim trunks and no shirt, ready to dive in.
But Gong Xue, the female lead, was nearly burying her head in the ground out of embarrassment.
Director Wang Haowei understood her discomfort and patiently tried to reassure her.
"Xiao Gong, didn't we talk about this yesterday? You said you had the courage. Why are you hesitating now?"
"I'm sorry, but this outfit is too revealing," Gong Xue replied, her voice barely above a whisper.
She was wrapped in a large towel, crouched on the ground, clutching it tightly around her body, refusing to stand up.
"We've already tried to address this issue and picked the most conservative swimsuit for you," the director said.
"But…" Gong Xue's face turned red as she whispered, "It's still not conservative enough. My legs are completely exposed."
"It's a swimsuit. You can't exactly wrap yourself up completely and swim, can you?" the director reasoned.
"Try to adjust your mindset. I believe you can overcome this!"
With a sigh, Director Wang left to attend to other matters, leaving Gong Xue still crouched on the ground.
She was petite to begin with, and in this state, she looked even more fragile and helpless.
Times were different back then.
Such situations were common.
For example, in the Journey to the West episode featuring the Spider Cave, the seven spider spirits were required to wear outfits that exposed their arms and stomachs while playing in the water.
The actresses had cried, saying they came to act, not to wear such inappropriate clothing, and refused to comply.
Director Yang Jie had no choice but to find a body double—a male actor who played the Black Bear Spirit, whose fair and attractive belly was used as a stand-in for the spider spirits' stomachs.
So, the "spider spirits' bellies" you see on screen are actually the Black Bear Spirit's!
"..."
Gong Xue crouched there for a while, trying to muster her courage but still falling short.
Suddenly, she turned her head and noticed Chen Qi leaning against a tree not far away, staring directly at her.
Her face flushed even redder, reaching all the way to her ears, and she quickly buried her head again.
A moment later, she felt a shadow fall over her, and a voice spoke up.
"Do you know everyone is waiting for you? Today is the last day. You don't want to ruin everyone's hard work because of this, do you? That night we talked so much, and you seemed so determined to be a good actress. Are you really going to give up halfway?"
"Shooting a swimming scene isn't harder than working in the fields or enduring military training, is it?"
Chen Qi spoke to her calmly.
He had already figured out her personality—soft on the outside but stubborn and ambitious on the inside.
"..."
Sure enough, Gong Xue, still with her head down, seemed to be making a final struggle.
Then, gritting her teeth, she finally stood up and, with another determined clench of her jaw, removed the towel.
Underneath was the most conservative swimsuit imaginable.
It covered her chest completely, with only a slight hint of her figure.
It didn't expose her stomach or the curve of her hips—just her smooth, well-proportioned legs.
She was slender, with an especially narrow waist that looked as if it could be encircled with one hand.
Though he hadn't touched her, Chen Qi imagined it would feel incredibly soft.
She wore a pair of sandals, no larger than size 35.
Chen Qi didn't stare—that would have been outright indecent.
He walked away, returning to the shade of the tree before muttering to himself, "I thought it was going to be some scandalous swimsuit. This thing could be worn on the street in the future."
After all, hadn't he seen those women in yoga pants in his past life? Their curves, their hips—sometimes round like buns, sometimes fluttering like butterflies...
When Gong Xue finally revealed herself, there was a stir among both the men and women on set.
Her treatment in the crew matched her role—she had the air of a refined young lady, with excellent looks, a gentle and kind personality, and a strong work ethic.
She was exactly what Chen Qi would call a "goddess."
Both the male and female crew members adored her.
The shoot began, and the two leads jumped into the water to swim, then sat on a large rock in Dragon Pool to chat.
"My father told me that Li Bai left a poem here. I don't know much about ancient poetry. Do you know it?" Gong Xue asked, her legs bare, her feet resting casually on the rock.
She placed one hand on Tang Guoqiang's shoulder and leaned her head close to his.
Tang Guoqiang also leaned in and smiled.
"This poem is very famous. Should I recite it for you?"
"Please!"
"The sunlit Censer Peak exhales purple mist; Far off, the waterfall hangs like a river in the sky. It plunges three thousand feet straight down, As if the Milky Way were falling from the heavens."
The two of them gazed into the distance as if the waterfall were right in front of them—though in reality, it wasn't visible.
The waterfall would be added in post-production.
The camera slowly pulled back.
"Cut! That's a wrap!"
Director Wang Haowei was very pleased.
The shimmering water, the handsome man and beautiful woman, the sweet romance—this was exactly the effect Love on Mount Lu was going for.
During the initial discussions, she had struggled with how to convey this "sweetness."
Chen Qi had suggested, "Just have them say romantic lines over and over—'I love you, you love me'—and have them gaze into each other's eyes, hold hands, blush, and laugh like crazy while circling a tree a few times. That'll do the trick."
Having suffered through countless bad dramas in his past life, Chen Qi was well-versed in these tropes.
He didn't see anything wrong with using them in Love on Mount Lu.
After all, people nowadays hadn't seen this kind of套路 (trope) before.
"Cut! That's a wrap!"
As soon as Director Wang called it, Gong Xue was the first to stand up, wrapping herself in the large towel.
It was quite chilly in the mountains in October, and after being in the water, her body was shivering.
She quickly dried off and put her clothes back on.
Only after she was fully dressed did she finally relax.
Wearing a swimsuit had felt almost like being naked.
"..."
Chen Qi also let out a breath.
He had gotten quite the eyeful, relatively speaking.
But it was all about perspective.
In his past life, what kind of life had he led? Online "benefactors," offline escorts—both virtual and real-life pleasures had been abundant.
But now? He had been here for half a year, keeping his chastity stricter than a monk.
The closest female friend he had was Huang Zhanying, who was more like a fierce Zhang Fei than a gentle woman.
Finally, he had encountered a true beauty—a gentle older sister—and he was quite pleased.
…………
The crew had been on Mount Lu for over two months, and now it was time to leave.
Everyone was reluctant to go, and even the hotel staff were sad.
The head chef held Chen Qi's hand, tears streaming down his face, lamenting that there would be no one to chat and brag with anymore.
The waitresses also gathered around.
"Xiao Chen, after you leave, there won't be anyone to tell us such wonderful stories anymore."
"When will you come back?"
"I'll definitely be back next year!"
Chen Qi comforted everyone, then, in a rare moment of seriousness, smiled and said, "When Love on Mount Lu is released, and the mountain flowers are in full bloom, we will definitely meet again!!"
(End of chapter...)