The red heart

A person stood in front of the full-length mirror inside the tastefully decorated bedroom with muscular undertones and stared at their reflection in it. This person, a man, could only be described with the words handsome and elegant.

Tall stature, lean and well-proportioned body, not to mention the face that looked like it came right out of a fashion magazine– paired with the tuxedo suit that seemed tailored to suit him to perfection, he looked nothing short of a golden age beauty who would definitely make a good half of the female populace go gaga over him.

Yang Jingshen straightened the black-colored jacket of his tuxedo and smiled at his reflection in the mirror, feeling extremely pleased with himself and the world at large.

From the time when he started his career in the entertainment circle when he was a kid barely out of his teens up until this moment, he couldn't count how much blood, sweat, and tears he poured out to reach this point today; the ingratiating smiles and behaviors, the endless parties and drinking, long and draining hours of work not to mention the lack of private life. He didn't eat well, sleep well and play well either.

But, at the end of it all, here he was at a juncture that'd change the future for him without fail. For, Yang Jingshen is hundred percent– not two hundred percent sure that this film, 'The red heart' will be the turning point in his career.

Granted, the character he played in it was that of a villain– but such a perfect villain with so much historical and political depth that was. He wouldn't miss out on the chance to play this particular character, not even for the role of the male lead in the same movie.

The first moment he laid his eyes on the script, he knew that he gotta have this role for himself– that was how convinced Yang Jingshen was.

He briskly moved towards the chest of drawers in a corner of the room and opened one compartment to reveal the contents inside; some neatly stacked old bills and a photograph held securely inside a plain wooden frame.

It was a photo of a young woman who looked to be around thirty years old holding a little boy of maybe six or seven years closely by her side; the woman looked beautiful with a gentle smile adorning her face that was showing signs of fatigue, while the little boy who resembled a beautiful jade carving shyly leaned on her.

Even though the photo was already showing signs of age, it was easy to see the young child's dependence on the woman. And, if one looked closely, one could vaguely spot the resemblance between the woman in the photograph and the handsome young man who held it carefully in his hands with a soft smile playing about his lips.

Yang Jingshen lightly traced his finger over the glass covering of the photo before putting it back in its place inside the drawer, with a murmur of "goodbye"; to whom this farewell was really intended– probably only the one who uttered it knew clearly.

Opening the door of the room, he could see his agent pacing the corridor with a harried and impatient look on his face. Seeing him come out, the other man looked relieved and puzzled at the same time, which made for quite a weird expression on his somewhat ordinary face.

"Jingshen ah- if you don't hurry, we're gonna be late…"

Yang Jingshen shot a cursory glance at the other and adjusted his cufflinks lazily.

"I'm done here- we can go."

***

"The red heart" was a movie depicting the last civil war of the country and the struggles surrounding it between the ruling party of those times as well as the current ruling party. It was heavy with political and historical context, but this wasn't the only thing that made the movie so unique.

It was the story upon which the movie was based, the sentimental and patriotic feelings it could evoke within the breast of anyone who loved their motherland, as well as the characters designed based on real-time heroes.

The main and supporting leads were all in-depth and vivacious in their representations while the villains were three-dimensional and fully fleshed out. Especially Tang Weixu, a prominent commander of the opposition, whose character was played out by Yang Jingshen.

The movie was as authentic as you can get when compared with other historical movies littering the market, especially when considering the action-packed sequences; and even before it started screening, movie critics were predicting the huge success of the film.

'More importantly, Tang Weixu is such a celebrated villain– even in the much more bloody real history.'

The movie premiere was attended by many of the big names in the industry and some well-known departmental and political leaders as well; after all, "The red heart" was ultimately a movie exalting the party's victory and its subsequent rule and was made by a much-revered movie director. It would be a wonder if they didn't attend it.

Yang Jingshen stood with the rest of the cast on the stage, listening to the old director talking about how he first conceived the idea for this movie and the difficulties everyone faced while shooting.

And, as the actor playing a villainous but much-loved character, he had been accorded a spot of honor in the front row, right next to the first-tier actor playing the role of the second male lead.

Yang Jingshen honestly stood in his place while a smile graced his handsome face, which looked two parts polite, four parts gentle, and four parts heroic; a true personification of the character he was playing and the cameras could pick no fault, no matter from which angle they were aiming.

But, then again, Yang Jingshen had perfected how to smile in front of the cameras and he had had years of practice at this particular endeavor– enough not to make an amateur's mistake at least.

It was at this moment that he inadvertently glanced at the overhead decorations from the corner of his eyes; don't ask him why and don't ask him how. It was probably one of those intuitive things that humans experience in their lives and only once in a blue moon at that.

All in all, the outcome was that he pushed aside the actress starring as the female lead and the aging director aside -almost reflexively- while the heavy overhead assemblage fell on top of him, crushing him under its humungous weight.

Yang Jinghsen would later think back on what happened at this moment and blame himself endlessly. He could have pretended not to see how the decorations had come loose and were going to fall on top of their heads, and no one would have been the wiser! It wasn't like they were going to fall upon him anyway, right?

But no– he had to go and play the hero, and at this movie premier out of all the places! The only consolation he had was that he probably managed to save a celebrated film director, who was considered at the level of a national treasure– probably.

Because our Yang Jingshen, after being hit by the bulky weight of all those ornamental embellishments, promptly felt his vision go black without so much as time enough to form a single complete thought except for one dismayed Noooo! that resounded inside his head before that too was lost inside the sea of the all-encompassing darkness.

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A/N:

The first chapter is out and this will be only a foreshadowing for the story to come– a sort of prologue actually. Hope you guys enjoyed it!