The Byoukidere Is Her Sweetie

Chapter 28: 028: Xu Fang to be a body double?

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation @@novelbin@@

Zhou Xu heard this and was momentarily stunned, crushing the milk can in her hand.

“Someone wants to kidnap him again.”

Zhou Xu was silent for a while, then her face returned to its usual cold expression: “What do they want with him?”

“The client didn’t say. They only mentioned the time and place, and offered a very high price,” Shuangjiang sent over a figure.

Seven zeros, ten million.

This was an astronomical amount in the industry.

Who could it be, willing to spend so much money to kidnap Jiang Zhi?

Zhou Xu put the milk down, losing her appetite: “Find out why they want to kidnap him?”

She had rules for taking tasks. The purpose must be stated and it must not be illegal or unethical. If the client lied, she would breach the contract.

Five minutes later, Shuangjiang replied.

“The client refused to state the purpose, but they raised the offer, now it’s twenty million.”

Willing to offer twenty million, they must be determined. The reflection of Zhou Xu’s face on the dark computer screen showed her frowning tighter: “Can we trace the client?”

“Proxy IP, can’t trace it.”

Even Shuangjiang couldn’t trace it, this wasn’t a simple person. Offering such a high price without stating the purpose, there must be a problem. Was it for Jiang Zhi’s beauty… Zhou Xu fell into deep thought.

“Shall we take it?”

Zhou Xu, twisting the strap on her hoodie, hesitated and tied a knot: “Take it.”

If she didn’t take it, someone else would. In the end, he would be kidnapped by someone else.

Zhou Xu couldn’t bear the thought of Jiang Zhi being kidnapped by someone else. Beautiful things should be well-protected, like her cotton candy box, which still looked new after being used for a long time. She also wanted Jiang Zhi to always look as new as ever, forever beautiful.

But if she broke the contract or failed the mission, she would have to compensate double the commission amount, which would be forty million…

Zhou Xu felt a bit disheartened: “It looks like I’ll have to postpone buying Moon Bay.”

Beautiful people indeed cost a lot of money.

No, she had to work harder to earn money. She opened her phone and sent a WeChat message to the group leader: “Do you have any roles that pay more?”

Lao Wei, the group leader, replied to her three minutes later.

“Can you play any role?”

“Yes.”

“How about being a double?”

“That’s fine.”

Zhou Xu had seen others doing stunt doubles. It seemed simple to her; she just needed to control her strength so as not to hurt anyone, considering how strong she was.

“Send your weight, height, and measurements, along with a full-body photo,” Lao Wei thought she was an experienced group actor and should understand the industry slang, so he didn’t elaborate. “You might not get the role though, I’ll give it a try.”

“Okay.”

Zhou Xu sent over the information and photo.

Half an hour later, just as she was dozing off, Lao Wei replied: “Yu Ran is very satisfied. You can come tomorrow to be her double for a scene, eight thousand yuan per shot.”

Eight thousand.

So much money. Being a stunt double was quite lucrative.

Zhou Xu had never earned so much before, she was very happy: “I’ll come tomorrow.”

“When you arrive, go directly to the costume group and find Anna.”

“Okay.”

Lao Wei sent an emoji.

Zhou Xu replied with a period.

Lao Wei sent another emoji.

Zhou Xu responded with another period.

“Alright, stop it, go to sleep now.”

“.”

This girl! She always ended conversations with a period.

The next day, Zhou Xu put on a military coat, wore a hat, wrapped herself well from head to toe, and went to the film city early. Apart from the staff, the actors hadn’t arrived yet, and neither had Lixiang.

She went straight to the costume group.

Anna was already there, staring at her for quite a while: “Are you the double Lao Wei found?”

Zhou Xu nodded.

Anna looked her up and down; she was wearing too many clothes, wrapped too tightly, making it hard to see her figure, so she asked: “Have you done this before?”

Zhou Xu said: “No.” She hadn’t been a double and feared she might hurt someone by not controlling her strength well.

Anna could only see half of her face exposed outside the hat, which was quite calm. She offered routine comfort: “The assistant director will clear the set, and someone will guide you through the actions. You don’t need to be too nervous.”

Zhou Xu remained expressionless, she wasn’t nervous at all…

Having never been a double, Zhou Xu didn’t know there was something called a body double.

As the sun rose and the sky brightened, the mornings of severe winter didn’t have harsh sunlight, and outside, it was foggy.

Jiang Zhi had woken up too early and hadn’t slept enough, making his temper not so good. As he sat in the chair resting, he opened his half-sleepy eyes, which were like the twilight of winter, with deep shadows, looking cold and gloomy.

“Still not starting?”

His morning grumpiness hadn’t dissipated, and there was anger in his words.

Assistant Director Zhao was terrified of him and answered with a slight tremble: “The actors are not ready yet.”

Jiang Zhi raised his wrist to look at his watch: “Eight forty-seven.” He looked up at Assistant Director Zhao, “Making the whole crew wait for one person. Is this her first day? Doesn’t she know my rules?”

It was a cold winter day, and sweat immediately broke out on Assistant Director Zhao’s forehead.

The female lead Yu Ran’s manager, Xu Lu, hurried over to apologize and explain: “Sorry, Director Jiang, the stunt double isn’t ready yet, we’ve already urged her.”

“Stunt double?”

Jiang Zhi looked at his own hand; his fingertips were reddened from the cold, and the weather was irritating him. He threw the script away and put his hands under the blanket to warm them, lifting his eyelids nonchalantly: “When did I agree to use a stunt double?”

In the winter, he looked lazy and weak, and his complexion was very pale.

But this sickly appearance terrified people, and Xu Lu’s heart pounded, making her swallow her pride and plead for her artist: “Yu Ran is a new actress, her foundation isn’t strong yet, and most of her fans are male. After several discussions at the studio, it was decided to use a double.”

This film was a national drama, a spy war story, and the female lead was an intelligence agent. There was a bed scene that required exposure from the nape to the lower back.

The scope wasn’t large, but it did require undressing.

“What you’re saying,” Jiang Zhi’s speech was slow, occasionally accompanied by two coughs, sounding weak. He dragged his words, finishing the sentence, “Does it have anything to do with my film?”

He gave no face at all.

“Yu Ran, she,” Xu Lu panicked and made up a story, “She has a scar on her back, it wouldn’t look good on camera.” Female actors couldn’t easily reveal their bodies, especially since Yu Ran had a pure image. Because of this, she brazenly went against his orders once.

Jiang Zhi shook the milk can in his hand without speaking.

Xu Lu quickly seized the opportunity and continued to persuade: “The stunt double I’ve found is in great shape, she will definitely give a better effect. Director Jiang, how about trying a take with her first?”

Assistant Director Zhao also tried to smooth things over: “Why don’t we meet the stunt double first? Take a look at her back and then—”

Before he could finish.

“Boss!”

“Boss!”

The six-foot-two hulking figure of Ah Wan stumbled over, out of breath.

“Miss Zhou, she,” Ah Wan gasped, “She,”

He choked on a breath of cold air and couldn’t speak.

Jiang Zhi glanced coldly, displeased: “Straighten your tongue.”

Ah Wan took a deep breath and exhaled: “Miss Zhou wants to be the body double!”

Body double…

Jiang Zhi squinted, sat up from the lounge chair, and his gaze shifted lightly, revealing a touch of sky blue: “Who is the stunt double you found?”

How would they know!

Assistant Director Zhao hurriedly called out: “Lao Wei.” His voice urgent, “Lao Wei!”

Lao Wei was one of the top group leaders at the film city, with a multitude of stunt doubles, background extras, and actors under his wing. He had been a long-time collaborator.

Lao Wei ran onto the set: “What is it, Assistant Director?”

“What’s the name of the stunt double you found?”

“Her name is Zhou Xu,” Lao Wei scratched his head, “Why? Is there a problem?”

It’s that Zhou girl again.

Assistant Director Zhao wiped his sweat nervously, not daring to speak further, watching for Jiang Zhi’s reaction only to see his eyes, previously sparkling like rippling water, darken.

The atmosphere suddenly became oppressive.

Lao Wei, seeing the director for the first time and unaware of his temper, couldn’t help but say something nice: “Director, Zhou Xu is very good. Although she hasn’t been a double before, she has been an extra for a long time and is very experienced. Also, several team leads, including me, have seen her photos, her figure and—”

Bang.

The milk can fell from Jiang Zhi’s hand, rolling on the ground.

Instantly, no one dared to breathe heavily.

“Break for twenty minutes.”

Jiang Zhi left that statement, stood up, and his gaze lazily fell on the late-arriving Yu Ran: “Can’t shoot the back scene?”

She bit her lip and remained silent.

Jiang Zhi restrained his gaze, his slender fingers slowly buttoning up his coat one by one, speaking nonchalantly: “If she can’t shoot, find someone who can.”

Xu Lu panicked: “Director Jiang—”

Yu Ran pulled at her: “I can do it.” Her face turned pale as she spoke each word, “I can film it.”

If she dared to say no, Jiang Zhi would replace her.

On that gloomy day, the sound of coughing was carried away by the wind.

“Where is she?”

Ah Wan was stunned.

Jiang Zhi stopped in his tracks, turned back, his gaze darkening slightly, wrapped in an imperceptible anger: “Zhou Xu, where is she?”