Chapter 49: A Feast of Fireworks and Regrets

At the time of the tenth anniversary celebration of Jade Rui, Sang Zhiyi was still filming with the crew.

Only when she finally had a break after a busy period did she see Jiang Yingru’s remarks online.

Jiang Yingru was thin-skinned and would never have taken the initiative to tell her about it.

Looking at Jiang Yingru in the video on her phone, Sang Zhiyi smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.

Now, hearing Zhu Qing ask about her, Sang Zhiyi answered obediently.

“Sister Jiang hasn’t taken on any acting jobs lately.

She’s mainly been resting at home.”

She would also get the special medicine for Jiang Yingru’s condition from the system store as soon as possible.

After discussing Jiang Yingru’s situation, Zhu Qing, like a teacher grading a paper, also brought up Yu Zilin, whom Sang Zhiyi had mentioned earlier.

“Zilin has a withdrawn personality.

It’s good that you’ve been so patient with him,” Zhu Qing said.

“But Zilin wasn’t like this when he was young…”

At this point, Zhu Qing suddenly stopped herself.

She frowned tightly, struggling for a while over whether to tell Sang Zhiyi something so personal.

In the end, Zhu Qing chose to speak.

In Zhu Qing’s heart, Sang Zhiyi was already “one of us.”

Moreover, Zhu Qing trusted Sang Zhiyi, knowing that she was a reliable person who wouldn’t spread things around even if she heard them.

Relaxing her brow, Zhu Qing spoke with a hint of nostalgia.

“When Zilin was little, he was like a little monkey, getting into mischief all day long.”

“Even when he was in elementary school, he still wanted his parents to tell him fairy tales every night.

If they didn’t, he’d throw a tantrum and refuse to sleep.”

“Eighteen years ago, when Zilin was only nine, the family of three went to the aquarium to have fun, all happy and joyful.

But on the way back, they got into a car accident…”

Remembering the tragedy of that year, Zhu Qing’s voice was filled with deep sorrow.

“My sister and brother-in-law, the two of them, died on the spot protecting Zilin…”

“When I got the news and rushed to the hospital, Zilin was covered in blood, his eyes wide open, not even blinking, his whole person standing there in a daze, as if his soul had been sucked out…”

“I will never forget that sight for the rest of my life.”

“Zilin was basically raised by me after that, but no matter how I took care of him, he never went back to that clever, mischievous child he was before.

A little kid not even ten years old, he stopped smiling, stopped talking, his personality getting more and more withdrawn.”

These old memories were still vivid in Zhu Qing’s mind.

Sang Zhiyi listened intently, without saying a single word or uttering a syllable.

Instead, she moved closer to Zhu Qing, then gently reached out and softly placed her hand on Zhu Qing’s.

Transferring the warmth from her own hand, Sang Zhiyi gradually allowed Zhu Qing’s hand to unclench from its tight grip.

So that was how it was.

Sang Zhiyi had roughly understood why Yu Zilin had been so interested in her from their very first meeting.

Through earlier probing, Sang Zhiyi had already guessed that what had drawn Yu Zilin’s attention was her mermaid video.

The aquarium incident had certainly left an indelible impression on Yu Zilin’s heart.

Her mermaid performance had also taken place in an aquarium.

Moreover, Yu Zilin had enjoyed listening to fairy tales as a child, and “The Little Mermaid” was such a classic fairy tale that he surely would have heard it.

Putting these scattered clues together, it wasn’t difficult to understand how Yu Zilin had been attracted to her.

Besides, given Yu Zilin’s status and position, it wasn’t a big deal to act a little on a whim.

Zhu Qing finally composed herself.

She raised her hand to press the moisture from the corners of her eyes, looking both grateful and somewhat embarrassed toward Sang Zhiyi.

“…You must think I’m a fool.”

At her age, losing her composure like this in front of a young woman in her twenties…

But Sang Zhiyi acted as if she hadn’t noticed anything wrong with Zhu Qing at all.

She simply smiled sweetly and shifted the topic elsewhere.

Seeing Sang Zhiyi like this, how could Zhu Qing not understand?

Sang Zhiyi was deliberately pretending that nothing had happened, acting as if nothing was wrong, to save her from feeling uncomfortable.

Zhu Qing’s throat still had a few lingering sobs, but Sang Zhiyi’s heartwarming gesture made her unable to suppress a smile.

How could this little girl be so likable?

“Oh, Aunt Zhu,” Sang Zhiyi focused her attention on the new topic, “I have a new idea about the ending of Feast of the Prisoners.”

Being able to so easily invite Yu Zilin to make a film with her meant she owed Mr. Yu a favor.

She planned to repay that favor a little.

The main plot of Feast of the Prisoners was not actually very complicated.

The mermaid Chi Jun was trapped on land for some reason.

Together with a newly acquainted human, Shen Yehan, she experienced a series of almost magical adventures, and Chi Jun gradually fell in love with Shen Yehan.

Along the way, Chi Jun discovered that she had already known Shen Yehan long ago.

Ten years earlier, when Shen Yehan had encountered a shipwreck and was about to sink to the bottom of the sea, Chi Jun, from the deep ocean, had saved him.

To allow the human Shen Yehan to survive in the sea, Chi Jun had sacrificed her own memories, while the young boy Shen Yehan, then just a teenager, had sacrificed his heart.

When they met again ten years later, Shen Yehan did not know that Chi Jun had lost her memory.

He only thought she was pretending not to know him.

And if she could not return to the deep sea in time, Chi Jun had only one path: to fade away.

With misunderstandings and differences overlapping, despite everything they had been through, the two ultimately could not be together.

The sea was Shen Yehan’s cage, and the land was Chi Jun’s cage.

Humans and mermaids were never destined to have a good ending; they could only, in their brief encounter, do their best to bloom like brilliant fireworks.

That was the origin of the film’s title, Feast of the Prisoners.

The original ending of the story was poignant and beautiful: Chi Jun and Shen Yehan embraced as they sank into the sea, committing themselves to each other in death.

But after Sang Zhiyi’s communication with the creative team, it was changed to a slightly less tragic ending.

***

After a full season’s worth of filming, in the early days of spring, Feast of the Prisoners finally welcomed its last scene.

The fireworks dimmed and disappeared after their most brilliant burst.

No matter how many regrets remained, Shen Yehan ultimately took Chi Jun to the seaside, sending her back to her true home.

This scene had no dialogue whatsoever, relying entirely on the eyes of the two leads to convey all kinds of emotions.

And Yu Zilin and Sang Zhiyi were, of course, masters of this.

Their close collaboration over several months had made them even more harmonious and close, and their eye contact now had far more romantic tenderness than at the beginning.

They involuntarily drew closer to each other, yet carefully maintained their distance.

They were like a deep pool on land and an abyss in the sea; with the slightest carelessness, they would drown each other.

Sang Zhiyi needed to change her makeup and costume midway.

When Chi Jun walked into the sea, she would transform back into her original mermaid form, leaving Shen Yehan with a figure that grew farther and farther away, increasingly blurred.

For the quality and authenticity of the shot, this scene was filmed at a real seaside.

A City was not coastal, so the crew had specifically traveled to a location on the southeastern coast.

Although it was already March in the south, the temperature was still not high.

Wearing such light clothes and filming in the water would be quite cold for Sang Zhiyi.

Sang Zhiyi was held in high regard within the Feast of the Prisoners crew.

Many staff members on set, including Song Ying, would specifically remind her to take care of herself, that this part could be filmed quickly, since it was just a silhouette and could be post-processed.

They didn’t even mention the possibility of using a body double.

Because they knew without thinking that given Sang Zhiyi’s dedication, she would definitely say, “Such a crucial scene needs to be done well,” and insist on doing it herself.

But when it came time to actually film, Sang Zhiyi still chose the approach most befitting Chi Jun.

She swam slowly, reluctantly, hesitantly, into the water, bit by bit moving farther away.

Yu Zilin stood at the shoreline, both feet submerged in the seawater, his gaze fixed on Sang Zhiyi.

For a moment, Yu Zilin almost broke character, frowning with concern about Sang Zhiyi’s condition.

Even though the crew had made ample safety preparations and emergency plans, was Sang Zhiyi really okay swimming such a long distance in such cold water, this realistically?

This was a first in Yu Zilin’s many years of acting career.

However, on the surface, Yu Zilin showed no sign of it, maintaining the expression proper to Shen Yehan.

Of course, one shouldn’t disturb an actor in character, but seeing Sang Zhiyi swim so far that her figure was no longer very clear, Song Ying couldn’t help wanting to shout “Cut.”

Just then, Sang Zhiyi’s body paused.

Then, she turned around and accelerated back.

Sang Zhiyi’s young assistant thought she had finished filming and was returning, so she picked up a towel and a thick coat to go meet her at the beach.

An experienced crew member pulled her back.

They could tell that Sang Zhiyi was still in character.

Sure enough, under Yu Zilin’s gaze, which held both surprise and disbelief tinged with nervousness, Sang Zhiyi smoothly and quickly dove into the water and headed straight for him.

Sang Zhiyi’s young assistant involuntarily gasped in a low voice.

“Sister Xiaoqian swims so flexibly and elegantly, just like a real mermaid!”

With a “whoosh,” Sang Zhiyi emerged from the sea not far from Yu Zilin.

The mermaid that burst out of the spray was breathtakingly beautiful, her glittering pearl and gem accessories and crystalline dewdrops shining in the sunlight.

But none of that could compare to Sang Zhiyi’s eyes.

Those beautiful eyes shimmered with brilliant light, carrying the purest joy and tenderness.

“Yehan!”

Sang Zhiyi called out, beaming.

“We will definitely see each other again!”

Sang Zhiyi tilted her head, a faint glimmer of tears seemingly flickering in her eyes.

“This time, I won’t forget you again!”

“Whoosh”!

The sea cooperated perfectly, sending in a wave that splashed and soaked the hem of Yu Zilin’s clothes.

When the tide receded, there was no trace of the mermaid before his eyes.

Yu Zilin stood in place, looking somewhat dazedly out at the sea, unable to snap out of it for a long time.

At this moment, his emotions almost perfectly overlapped with Shen Yehan’s.

Regret, reluctance, a faint ache in the heart.

The next second, Sang Zhiyi’s head popped out of the water.

With the incoming tide, she had simply leaned back and submerged herself completely in the sea.

Now that she could wrap up, Sang Zhiyi naturally hurried out of the cold water.

“Mr. Yu!”

Sang Zhiyi called out Yu Zilin’s name this time, her eyes full of smiles, no trace of tears remaining.

“Chi Jun has left, but I’ve returned!”

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