One touch

After stepping out of his character, Renly stood still, savoring the moment.

As an actor, Renly's emotions were clearer and more direct than anyone else's. He knew that his performance just now had been somewhat excessive. The final gesture of shooting with his hand had carried too much provocation. Given the situation on set, it could easily have caused both Hobbs and Dominic to lose control. It was too theatrical, not in line with the script's rational setup.

In fact, Renly was also searching for the rhythm of performance in a commercial movie.

Artistic films demanded restraint, channeling emotions inward as much as possible and then releasing them at the right moment. The balance between restraint and release was crucial. Explosions were easy, but restraint was quite challenging. On the other hand, commercial movies required external display, minimizing emotional nuance and maximizing dramatic effects, intensifying confrontations.

Renly had considered gestures that would better suit Hobbs' style. Using his thumb to gesture a cutthroat motion seemed too gruesome, resembling the Joker from "The Dark Knight". Creating an action of cuffing his left hand with his right, too convoluted and simple, lacked the necessary force and was likely to be misunderstood by the audience. If he used harsh language, it was too straightforward and didn't match Hobbs' character; it might come across as theatrical and cheapen the tone.

In the end, Renly had two alternative poses. One was to close his left eye, aiming like a sniper at Dominic's forehead to show determination. The other was to form a gun with his fingers, aiming at his own temple and simulating pulling the trigger. The former seemed a bit too subtle, lacking obvious impact, so Renly chose the latter.

After the performance, Renly felt he might have gone overboard. He wasn't sure about the effect on the screen. Renly considered asking Justin to replay it so he could adjust if necessary...

"Get lost, Paul!" Vin's coarse voice cut sharply through the air, drilling into Renly's ears, interrupting his thoughts. Renly turned and saw the needle-point against the awn, Vin and Paul. Without hesitation, Renly walked briskly over. He knew Vin's target was him, always him. He couldn't let Paul take the blow for him.

Renly strode purposefully, his steps creating a breeze, fists clenched tightly. His body was poised, like a graceful yet lethal black panther ready to hunt.

"Vin!" Justin couldn't help but exclaim. Everyone on set collectively inhaled sharply. Vin was waving his fist, swinging it forcefully towards Paul.

No one had anticipated that Vin would really throw a punch, let alone without any warning. He raised his fist and struck, even Paul was taken aback. He tried to block, but the next moment, Paul's face turned astonished. Vin's fist lifted upward, colliding with Paul's hands. Then, his forearm shot out, using the force to push Paul aside.

His target wasn't Paul.

Caught off guard, Paul lost his balance and stumbled two steps back. Internally alarmed, he didn't have time to regain his footing before Vin, like a bullet fired from a gun, rushed forward, pouncing towards Renly who was behind him.

This time, Renly was fully prepared. Clenching his teeth, he swung his fist hard against Vin's chest. Simultaneously, Vin's fist struck Renly's chest with force. No flashy moves, no reduced strength to mask, no evasive dodges. Fist met fist, force against force, both exerting all their might in their blows.

Even in their extreme anger, neither of them lost their rationality. Their fists swung towards each other's faces, and the punches landed accurately and harshly on each other's chests. They both exerted all their might, carrying the momentum of their charge. The blows were stunning, accompanied by muffled groans, and both took a step back.

A dull thud reverberated within their chests, causing even onlookers to involuntarily wince in sympathy.

Renly planted his right foot on the ground and his left foot followed, stepping back by a large stride. He steadied himself, and at the same time, his left calf pushed him forward again. Vin's angry face immediately diminished in Renly's view.

Simultaneously, Vin raised his fist once more, but this time Renly ducked low, avoiding a direct confrontation. He used his shoulder to collide forcefully with Vin's chest, spun around, using his back to block Vin's follow-up attack. Then, using the force of his entire body, Renly shoved backwards, pushing Vin two steps back. Swiftly, Renly raised his leg, delivering a kick to Vin's leg, making him lose his footing entirely.

All this happened in a split second. One moment, Vin was facing off against Paul; the next, he was grappling with Renly in two rounds of intense, fierce blows. Fist met flesh, moves were sharp, there was no room for evasion, and the confrontation was direct!

In an instant, it clenched the throats of everyone present, silencing the entire scene!

What was even more astonishing, Renly was gaining the upper hand!

Amid their physical confrontation, Renly, leveraging his height advantage, subtly gained a slight upper hand in the first exchange. Then, exploiting his leg length advantage in close-quarters combat, he managed to transform his previously modest advantage into a substantial lead!

Watching Vin retreat, everyone present wore expressions of disbelief!

True, it was just a couple of moves. In the grand scheme of things, gaining an advantage with only two moves was insignificant. And yes, it was just a brief engagement between two individuals, lasting only moments. The subsequent prolonged combat's outcome remained uncertain. And granted, Renly's advantage in the absolute strength confrontation might be eroded. And certainly, this was just a brief encounter. Once Vin adapted to Renly's nimbleness, the dynamics might change...

But! However, Renly had the upper hand. This was a concrete fact, with no excuses, unfolding before their eyes!

First, he had achieved dominance in the performance, and now he had gained the upper hand in the physical confrontation. Complete defeat, an utter rout! Vin was retreating step by step in the confrontation with Renly, virtually unable to hold his ground. It was beyond astonishing, beyond imagination, how the spectators were thunderstruck.

Vin had completely lost his cool, paying no heed to his brief disadvantage. He had breached all boundaries of shame and humiliation, his mind now a void, incapable of rational thought. Attack! Attack again! That was his sole thought. So after planting his feet firmly, he swung his fist and charged again.

"What are you doing!" A reprimanding voice rang out, but Vin couldn't hear it anymore. He surged forward.

Renly clenched his fist, his palms slightly damp from sweat. Yet his focus was razor-sharp, unaffected by the brief advantage he'd gained earlier. He fixed his gaze on Vin, fully prepared to strike back at any moment.

However, at this moment, a group of four or five people rushed out, swarming Vin, pushing him away just before his second confrontation with Renly. "Let go! Let go!" Vin flailed his limbs and roared desperately, like a wounded lion refusing to surrender. His vigorous struggles made the four people around him exceedingly awkward; they almost lost their grip.

"Vin f*cking Diesel! Are you insane?" A stern voice echoed. A slightly plump figure in a well-fitted suit walked over, positioning themselves between Vin and Renly, cutting off their visual exchange. This finally helped Vin regain some semblance of rationality.

The newcomer was Neal H. Moritz.

Neal turned his head to glance at Renly on the other side. Paul and the others had already positioned themselves beside Renly, extending their hands to hold him back. But Renly seemed to have regained his composure; he stood still, his gaze sharp, fixed on Vin. There was no relaxation in his posture, nor any hint of a rush to escalate things.

"I don't care what happened!" Neal glared fiercely at Renly, then turned to look at Vin. The person who had lost his sanity was the one needing reprimanding. "But all of you need to calm down!" Vin opened his mouth to retort, but Neal shook his head firmly, resolutely stating, "I don't care! I said it, so shut up! Stay quiet! Show some restraint! Whatever issues you have, even if your woman has been sleeping around with others, I demand that you shut up! Shut the hell up!"

Neal's sharp voice reverberated through the studio, emanating an air of authority that brooked no contradiction. This finally settled Vin down somewhat, and the commotion in the scene subsided. Neal surveyed the surroundings, then issued a stern warning, "You better shut your mouths and watch what you say. If any media gets wind of what happened here just now, believe me, I will make you understand the meaning of utter ruin!"

The entire place was dead silent; no one dared to meet Neal's gaze.

After his declaration, Neal turned his gaze back to Vin and Renly. His tone turned taut, and the controlled anger was palpable. "You have ten minutes. Ten minutes from now, meet me in the trailers outside! Damn it! If there's even the slightest issue with the shoot, I promise you, I'll personally terminate your Hollywood careers!"

The filming of "Fast 5" had experienced far too many setbacks. If today's news got out, the subsequent negative impact would be unimaginable. For Neal, he couldn't afford for this project to fail. He rejected any possibility of it turning into a time bomb that could jeopardize the project!

Renly was baffled. Ten minutes, what were they supposed to do in ten minutes?

Before he could ponder further, he caught sight of Andy's figure, accompanied by Nathan. Renly suddenly understood.

He turned his head and indeed, Vin's agent had appeared on the scene, not just that, but also Paul's agent, who walked over with a concerned expression.

Renly smiled at Paul. As soon as Paul had lost his balance earlier, he had rushed over and stood by his side. Renly used his eyes to signal to Paul, "I'm okay." Paul then headed towards his own agent. As Renly stood there, Andy and Nathan approached.

"Jesus Christ, you're not hurt, are you?"