Yan Yan - Chapter 22

Chapter 22 – Hostel

‘Hmph… It really is an evil capitalist!’

Su Yan didn’t reply to Bai Xingfan’s message, and Bai Xingfan also didn’t message her again.

Two weeks passed in a hurry, and in the blink of an eye, it was mid-May, and it was time for Su Yan to join the crew.

The new drama was a costume drama called “West Tower Watching the Moon,” which was going to be filmed in the film and television city of Yuantang City for a full three months. So Su Yan had to leave her home for three months. As Su Yan couldn’t drive, she had to take the high-speed rail to Yuantang City and then take a taxi to the film and television city.

She had already made an appointment with the director’s assistant to meet at the east gate of the film and television city at 5:00 p.m. on May 15th, and then the assistant would lead her to the hotel where the crew lived.

Su Yan arrived at 4.30 PM at the agreed place and sent a WeChat message to the director’s assistant to inform him that she had arrived, but the assistant didn’t reply to her. So she had to stand under the scorching sun because there was no shelter around her. After standing there for a while, Su Yan couldn’t bear the heat anymore, so she dragged her suitcase and found a milk tea shop nearby.

One hour later, the milk tea was almost finished, but the assistant still hadn’t replied to her. Su Yan had no choice but to send him another message. [Mr. Yang, I have arrived at the east gate. Where are you now?]

This time, the assistant, surnamed Yang, finally replied. [I’m busy; what’s the fuss?]

Seeing the message, Su Yan felt very frustrated, but she couldn’t do anything at all. She was away from her home, and her family was not here for her. What was more, she was just a small screenwriter without any background. So she had to bear the trouble for now.

Gritting her teeth, she swallowed her anger and replied. [Sorry, I didn’t know you were busy.]

The director’s assistant played the “I won’t reply to you” game with her again and kept her waiting in the milk tea shop for a while. At 6:30 in the afternoon, he sent her a WeChat message. [I’m coming to find you now.]

Su Yan’s temper had been worn down. After receiving the message, she sighed helplessly, pulled her suitcase out, and left the milk tea shop.

Afterward, she had to wait outside the east gate for another ten minutes because the assistant surnamed Yang came later.

The first thing Surnamed Yang did was express his dissatisfaction, saying, “Why did you bring so many things?”

Su Yan already rolled her eyes to the sky in her heart, but she didn’t show that, and she just replied politely, “I’m a screenwriter and I want to live with the crew, so I have a lot of personal belongings.”

The assistant Yang, became more and more arrogant, as if his position were not that of a small assistant but that of a big director. “Are you here to work or enjoy? Do you think you are a great screenwriter?” he scolded Su Yan.

‘What’s your problem? You are scolding me as you have to keep my luggage on your head.’ Su Yan scolded him in her heart. “Yes, you are right; I will pay attention next time,” she said, showing a timid look.

Assistant Yang was satisfied with Su Yan’s reply. “Come with me.”

“Oh.” Su Yan immediately followed him with the suitcase.

Nowadays, this film and television city could be regarded as one of the popular tourist attractions in Yuantang City, so there were many places to stay in the city, from high-end five-star hotels to small and inconspicuous B&Bs. Su Yan originally thought that the lodging place assigned to her by the crew must be in the film and television city, but who knew that the assistant Yang didn’t lead her towards the city but walked southward along the street outside the east gate?

Su Yan pulled the suitcase and walked a few steps quickly, barely keeping up with the assistant’s fast pace. “Well, Mr. Yang, don’t the staff of our crew live in the film and television city?”

Assistant Yang stopped immediately and stared at Su Yan speechlessly. “What are you thinking? The room inside is so expensive. Why should we arrange a place for you there? Who do you think you are?”

Su Yan: “……”

Su Yan felt uneasy after listening to such harsh words. Although it was said that all people were born equal and had to be treated equally, in the entertainment industry, it was very different. No matter whether that person was an actor, a screenwriter, a director, or a person of any position, as long as he or she was an unknown newcomer, he or she was an inferior person, and others could easily trample on him or her.

Su Yan had been in this industry for two or three years, so she knew in her heart that she was now an inferior person—a small guy in the crew—so others wouldn’t give her any value or respect.

Assistant Yang didn’t even give her a chance to speak again and then stepped forward. Su Yan looked at the back of the assistant, gritted her teeth hard, swallowed the bad breath in her heart, then pulled up the suitcase again and desperately chased after the assistant’s footsteps.

Su Yan wanted to fight against this assistant, but she knew the reality. As she was just a small screenwriter without a baker, she would suffer in the end. If she offended people who should not be offended, her career and future would be over. Before gaining a foothold in the entertainment industry, she had to learn a lot. So this would be a great opportunity for her.

After walking for nearly half an hour, the assistant, surnamed Yang, stopped in front of a small hotel. Then he took out a key from his pocket and said, “Here, go in by yourself; I have to leave beforehand. By the way, join the group at nine o’clock tomorrow morning; don’t be late; be late; money will be deducted.”

As soon as Su Yan took the key, Assistant Yang hurriedly walked up the road. He seemed to be very busy.

Su Yan immediately ran after the assistant a few steps and hurriedly asked, “Mr. Yang, do all the people in our film crew live in this hotel?”

The assistant turned and looked at Su Yan, gave a mocking laugh, and said, “What do you think? Don’t you know the difference between you and other big stars? Who are they, and who are you?”

Su Yan was really angry this time, but she had to suppress her emotions. “No, I didn’t mean that. I just want to ask whether any other people from our crew live here.

Assistant Yang: “There are a few field workers and extras.”

Su Yan: “…”

From the director’s assistant’s behaviour, Su Yan could understand that her position as a screenwriter was very low in the director’s heart. If it were not for Teacher Li’s recommendation, the director would never let her join the crew. But now, even if she joined the group, her status was dispensable.

“Is there anything else you need to ask?” Mr. Yang asked angrily.

Su Yan immediately asked, “Do I have a room by myself or with others?”

The surname Yang: “Don’t worry about it, a single room. Director Wu also specifically told me to give you an independent room to create a creative environment.”

Su Yan: “Oh, that’s really sweet.”

Assistant Yang: “Don’t think that the crew should treat you better. You will get the treatment that you deserve. Ok. Any more questions?”

Su Yan shook her head aggrievedly and muttered, “No more.”

Then the assistant, Yang, turned and left. Sy Yan rolled her eyes and looked down at the key in her hand.

This key was really rudimentary—so rudimentary that it didn’t even have a key ring. Instead, the key and the door card were connected by a yellow rubber band. The card was not big. It was made of a transparent plastic shell, and the surface had turned slightly yellow. The room number was written with a blue ballpoint pen: 306.

Su Yan sighed, feeling a little hopeless in her heart. It was not difficult to guess how simple the room was just because of the configuration of this key.

‘Why can’t I pay for a room in a better hotel?’ An idea came to Su Yan’s mind, but after pondering for a while, she understood that it would affect Teacher Li’s good name if the director got angry. So she could only endure this time.

Su Yan looked up at the small hotel in front of her, gritted her teeth again, and dragged her suitcase to the hotel gate.

After opening the transparent plastic curtain, the first thing that caught Su Yan’s eye was a counter painted with yellow paint. Behind the counter was a middle-aged woman with curly hair wearing a khaki polka-dot skirt. She was watching a TV drama on a mobile phone without earphones while eating melon seeds. Feeling someone was coming in, the woman lazily raised her eyelids. “The film crew or yourself?”

Su Yan: “The film crew, 306.”

The woman lowered her eyelids again and pouted her chin towards the hotel staircase.

From the woman’s attitude, Su Yan understood that she didn’t want to help her with her luggage, so she dragged her suitcase and walked towards the stairs.

The 28-inch large suitcase plus a heavy travel bag—it took a lot of effort to carry the things up to the third floor, and she was sweating profusely and panting halfway. After standing at the stairs for a while, Su Yan began to drag her suitcase and search for her room in the corridor.

Before opening the door, she took a deep breath. Although she was mentally prepared, she was still shocked by the appearance of the room when she turned on the light—there were no windows, the walls were damp and yellowed, and several places were peeled off. There was even a green mould in one corner of the room, and the concrete floor had several cracks. The bed sheets were white, but they had turned yellow over the years, and there was a musty smell in the room. A simple folding table was placed in the corner of the room, and a blue plastic chair was placed in front of the table.

Su Yan stood at the door in a daze for a long time before accepting the reality in despair.

She kept her suitcase in the room and went out to search for a supermarket. After walking for a few minutes, she found a small supermarket. Then she bought a bunch of cleaning tools, detergents, and disinfectants. After returning to the room again, she started cleaning, mainly the bed. After all, it was the place to sleep at night. She took off the bed sheets and pillowcases and replaced them with her own that she brought from home. After tidying up the bed, she went to tidy up the bathroom, cleaned the sink and toilet carefully, and then put the hand sanitizer next to the sink and put a disposable seat on the toilet.

When she was away from home, the accommodation environment affected her mood very much, so she didn’t sleep well that night, and she got up early the next day and left the hotel before 7:30. After eating breakfast from a small shop, she finally entered the set before nine o’clock in the morning.

On the first day of filming, the entire crew was not late, and the filming started on time at nine o’clock. Luckily, the first day of filming went smoothly; neither the actors nor the director expressed their intention to change the script, so it gave Su Yan the illusion that everything was going well until the next morning when the second female lead entered the group with her own screenwriter.

End of chapter 22

Have a nice day!