Chapter 29: Doesn’t Look Like You’re Acting? I Don’t Think You Are.

Wu Jing was so startled that he reached out and grabbed Zhou Le’s hand.

"Don't you dare! We're in public. None of us want to be hauled off to the police station the moment we step off the plane, and we’d definitely end up trending on social media if that happened."

Zhou Le stopped what he was doing. "I was just joking..."

Wu Jing was momentarily speechless.

Zhou Le paused, looking puzzled. "What? Was my acting not convincing enough?" He glanced at his interface; the system had indeed granted him two experience points.

Wu Jing said seriously, "No, I didn't think you were acting at all."

The three of them had cheerful, extroverted personalities, so they chatted constantly throughout the journey, never feeling bored except during their brief rest periods. After a layover, they finally arrived at their destination thirty hours later.

Upon arrival, they were met by a transport team and immediately headed to their vehicle.

"Whoa, this car looks sturdy," Zhou Le remarked, admiring the heavily modified Toyota Land Cruiser.

"You bet it is. I had this specially sourced. It's not just bulletproof; it’s blast-proof too."

"That intense?"

"It has to be. You can't feel secure in a place like this otherwise," Wu Jing said with a touch of pride.

However, shortly after they left the airport, Zhou Le noticed a pickup truck carrying several Black men following them. It stayed behind them through several turns.

"Brother Jing, are we being followed?" Zhou Le felt a bit anxious.

Wu Jing glanced out the rear window and laughed. "It's fine. We hired them."

"Armed..."

Before Zhou Le could finish, Wu Jing interrupted, "Don't put it like that. We call them 'bodyguards'."

"Understood."

Throughout the journey, Zhou Le’s heart kept pounding. Since the filming location was not in the capital, they passed through many areas where locals stood openly with guns, watching them pass by. While he felt a chill down his spine, his eyes burned with excitement.

"Brother Jing, can I try out those guns later? The real ones—the ones that fire actual bullets?"

Wu Jing was stunned. "Fire what?"

"Real bullets," Zhou Le repeated.

A strange look crossed Wu Jing’s eyes. "Sure. I’ll arrange it for you. You can fire as many real bullets as you want."

Yu Qian chuckled from the side. "Son, you’ve hit the nail right on our Director Wu’s heart with that one."

Zhou Le realized what he meant.

He still played dumb and asked, "Does Brother Jing like playing with real guns and firing live ammo too?"

Wu Jing laughed and nodded. "Exactly right."

Earlier on the plane, Wu Jing had outlined how the shooting would proceed. They would start with the urban scenes, which required the appearance of the convenience store owner played by Yu Qian. There was a crucial action sequence there as well.

Once the group arrived at the hotel, Wu Jing immediately called all the lead actors together.

Zhou Le recognized Celina Jade; she had appeared in *Wolf Warrior* previously. She was very tall and possessed a striking, exotic beauty.

"Hello, Teacher Zhou. Director Wu Jing has told me about you. He said you're an outstanding actor with four billion in personal box office revenue."

Zhou Le shook her hand, glanced at Wu Jing, then smiled calmly. "It’s not worth mentioning. I’ve only ever played minor roles."

Celina Jade did not underestimate him. Having worked with Wu Jing back in 2007 but spending her time abroad since 2012, she wasn't very familiar with the domestic industry and assumed Zhou Le was just being modest. After all, achieving four billion at his age was extraordinary.

"Teacher Zhou is too modest. I look forward to learning from you."

Zhou Le nodded. "Let's learn from each other. But Teacher Celina, you are the senior, so I should be the one learning from you."

Celina Jade smiled, a hint of admiration in her eyes. The composure, the grace, and the humility—Zhou Le displayed them all perfectly. Wu Jing watched on, keeping his thoughts to himself.

Next was Wu Gang. Zhou Le didn't have much of an impression of the veteran actor, but after a friendly conversation, Wu Jing said, "Teacher Wu has a vast body of work. He’s always been low-key, but he's going to be a huge star starting next year. He just finished an anti-corruption drama. With that scale and that cast, it’s going to be a massive hit once it airs."

Wu Gang smiled. "Not at all, Director Wu is too kind. I’m just making a living."

Zhou Le looked at him for a long time. "Teacher Wu, did you play Wu Zixu?"

"You've seen that? That show must be older than you! And I look quite different now compared to then."

Zhou Le shook his head. "I really did watch it. I found it when I was bored in college looking for old dramas. You look different, but I remembered your name from the credits. When Director Wu said you’d done many roles, it suddenly clicked. Honestly, your performance had a profound impact on me. Aside from Director Wu, you are the reason I became an actor."

Wu Gang happily shook Zhou Le’s hand again. "Then that is my honor."

Just then, a small, dark figure appeared beside Zhou Le.

"Come on, say hello to Uncle Zhou Le."

"Hello, Uncle Zhou Le."

The little boy spoke, and Zhou Le was startled. The boy’s Mandarin was so perfect, it sounded strangely familiar.

"Where are you from?"

"I’m from Taiyuan, Shanxi."

Zhou Le was dumbfounded. "You’re from Taiyuan? Then where am I from? Can you speak the Taiyuan dialect?"

The little boy nodded. "Nay dao le, huoji zhenshi Taiyuan de mo." (Look here, buddy, are you really from Taiyuan?)

Zhou Le: "???"

He never imagined the boy could speak the Taiyuan dialect even more natively than he could. This kid—dark as midnight—was actually his fellow townsman?

"Oh right, Uncle, my hometown is Nigeria, but I moved to Taiyuan with my mom when I was little."

Zhou Le felt like he was in a dream, but the truth was right in front of him.

After meeting the rest of the crew, Zhou Le returned to his room to rest and overcome his jet lag.

After a day of rest, Yu Qian began filming. The requirement was to get it right in one take, as resetting the blood packs and costumes would be a hassle. Wu Jing had the hardest job, with the most strenuous action, requiring long breaks after each take.

By comparison, Zhou Le had it easy, spending his time chatting with Celina Jade or the little boy. Zhou Le felt calling him "Little Black" was impolite, so he asked curiously, "What is your real name?"

"Kennedy."

Zhou Le instinctively looked at the boy's head. "No, I mean your original name."

"Oh, my name is Nwachukwu Kennedy Chukwubuke."

Zhou Le: "..."

"Fine, Little Black. But how come you don't talk to the locals?"

Little Black shook his head. "I don't understand what they're saying."

Zhou Le was confused. "Aren't they speaking English, too?"

"Uncle, I’m only in the third grade."

Zhou Le slapped his forehead. He had forgotten; the kid was receiving a domestic Chinese education, so his native language was Mandarin.