Hearing Chu Feiliang say this, Zhang Nanchuan had the camera crew rewind the tape.
Although it wasn’t an official take, the camera following the main actors was running almost twenty-four hours a day. It could provide a lot of material for the post-production team to use for promotional purposes.
Because it was just a test shot, the recorded footage naturally couldn’t compare to something filmed from a professional angle that could be used directly as a finished product. But Zhang Nanchuan was a director, after all. He knew how to look for what he wanted.
After a careful look, he discovered the same problem as Chu Feiliang and nodded. “Indeed, if she’s just pushed down directly, it makes Wen Mou seem too weak. It doesn’t give her a home ground where she can shine.”
And it was also too sloppy.
The action director on the side naturally couldn’t stay idle. He diligently followed Zhang Nanchuan’s request and began trying out movements with the team.
One person, delicate as a willow in the wind, and another, tall and sturdy. When this pair came together to replicate the take Rong Guang and Chu Feiliang had just done, it made all the onlookers bend over with laughter.
Finally, one of the directors playing Wen Mou’s role decided to throw caution to the wind. He picked up a nearby rag and waved it with a shy and timid air, “How hateful~”
Rong Guang watched from the side, expressionless, thinking that if she had to do that move… she would rather just charge forward and perish together with Ji Ying!
After settling on the changes, Rong Guang and Chu Feiliang tried it two more times before finally confirming the new movements.
During the mid-session break, Shi Xiaoyun looked at Chu Feiliang, who was reading her script, and smiled as she gestured toward Rong Guang eating a late-night snack not far away. “I’m telling you, you didn’t hold back at all during filming. Weren’t you worried the little one couldn’t handle it?”
Chu Feiliang scoffed, tossed the script onto the makeup table, and stretched. “This is nothing.”
“Nothing?” Shi Xiaoyun shook her head in shock, unable to resist saying, “You’re just too vicious. Don’t you know that when you pushed Rong Guang onto the bed, the little girls watching nearby were so excited their legs went soft, and they just kept wanting to kneel?”
“You’re exaggerating, Sister Shi.” This time, Chu Feiliang genuinely laughed, as if imagining the scene, and shook her head.
After saying it, Shi Xiaoyun also found it a bit funny. She waved her hand and continued to fix Chu Feiliang’s costume. “It might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s not far off. A few of them looked like they wanted to press their faces against the screen. If Director Zhang wasn’t watching, your film set would have turned into a fan meet.”
Chu Feiliang paused, then said, “A fan meet…” Shi Xiaoyun didn’t hear clearly. She looked at her in the mirror and raised her head with a “Hm?”
Chu Feiliang leaned back, her gaze drifting inconspicuously from the mirror to the three little ones huddled together eating. She said, “What is a fan meet like?”
“Haven’t you been to quite a few?” Shi Xiaoyun was surprised.
Chu Feiliang rested her chin on her hand and said nonchalantly, “I’ve been to quite a few. It’s a pity the organizers were idiots and saved the one I like for the very end. It didn’t make much difference whether I saw her or not.”
Shi Xiaoyun subconsciously glanced back.
The little girl bearing the title of ‘the one I like’ was currently struggling with a cola chicken wing in her bowl, using both her hands and mouth, her face greasy from eating.
And next to her, two other little ones were practically drooling, their eyes almost glowing green.
Chacha asked eagerly, “Is it good? Is it good? By the time I ran back, this was the only one left!”
“It’s delicious!” Rong Guang finally managed to split the chicken wing in two. She gave the side she had bitten to herself and the larger piece to Chacha, saying, “The meat is stewed so tender, you can just suck it and it’ll all come off.”
Chacha licked her lips, her expression of longing undisguised.
“I won’t eat it, you eat it,” Chacha said. “You still have to support me, and earning money is hard work. You eat.”
Rong Guang unhesitatingly stuffed it into her mouth.
The moment her taste buds were hit, Chacha swallowed frantically several times.
Ye Zi lovingly stroked Chacha’s hair, staring at the meat in her mouth, and said eagerly, “Chacha baby, be good. You’re still growing.”
The meat was already in her mouth, so there was no reason to refuse it again.
Chacha thought for a moment, then used her chopsticks to split the remaining piece, giving half of the tenderly stewed chicken to Ye Zi. “Coconut, let’s eat together—let’s toast…”
Rong Guang had already finished her piece, leaving only a shiny chicken bone in her hand.
Chacha, unfazed, raised the chicken wing high and said, “Let’s toast with the bones!”
Rong Guang burst out laughing, raised her bone with the other two, and clinked them together in mid-air.
Shi Xiaoyun retracted her gaze. When she looked in the mirror, she realized that at some point, she had broken into a wide smile.
Seeing herself like this, she was taken aback for a moment, then gently tapped the corner of her eye.
After a while, she sighed and smiled again, saying, “I think I’m starting to understand what you’re thinking now.”
Chu Feiliang’s lips curved as she leaned back. Her face showed some fatigue, but her spirits seemed high. Her eyes watched the three kids in the mirror, and the warm smile never left her face.
Jiang Ruyi had been waiting on set for an entire day.
She couldn’t sleep from morning till night, worried it would affect the shoot. And ever since Jiang Yuan was fired and sent away, the people in the production services department seemed to have received orders to deliberately keep their distance from her.
It wasn’t exactly ostracism, but even the most basic nodding acquaintanceship was gone. They were completely indifferent when they saw her.
All day, she sat under a small tent, exposed to the wind and sun. Her makeup table was a temporary setup, and no one checked on her. The set was so hectic that there wasn’t even a single person to talk to her!
“Sister Ruyi.” Her new little assistant had been waiting with her for even longer than she had. “Why don’t you get some sleep…?”
“I can’t sleep.” Jiang Ruyi gritted her teeth and looked at her reflection in the mirror.
The weather today wasn’t cool, and the sweat was practically melting the makeup off her face.
To maintain her best state, she had to touch up her makeup constantly, lest she be unable to film due to her appearance, allowing someone else to be slotted in. Then her entire day of waiting would be for nothing.
So, throughout the day, as her makeup oxidized, she had no time to remove it and could only keep reapplying. The layers of foundation on her face made it look rough and cakey.
The assistant said, “Oh,” and gave her a speechless look.
After a moment, she said, “The next scene is still Teacher Chu and Rong Guang’s. The director seems to be addicted to filming them; they’ve been scheduled for the past few days. Should I go ask the second unit to see if we can get our scene in?”
“We’re not going to the second unit.” Jiang Ruyi bit her lip. “It has to be Director Zhang’s unit. I’ll wait no matter how long it takes. The second unit director is only good at filming large-scale scenes. His cinematography has nothing to do with me. It has to be Director Zhang’s unit.”
Only with Zhang Nanchuan could she display her greatest strengths.
The assistant nodded and looked around. “Then I’ll go get the makeup removal supplies, and we can reapply it. You’ve had your makeup on for over ten hours today. Let’s take it off and redo it. We can wait a bit longer. Their scene will take at least another two hours to shoot.”
Jiang Ruyi stood up and looked distantly at the filming site. In the end, she slumped back into her chair, her eyes filled with resentment.
She thought for a moment, then said, “When you go to the makeup room to get the things, if you see Mao Xiaosong, tell him to come see me.”
“Mao Xiaosong? Teacher Mao from the makeup room?” The assistant was stunned. “Isn’t he mainly in charge of Teacher Chu’s makeup design? Can he come to our side?”
Those words nearly made Jiang Ruyi choke!
If Jiang Yuan were still here, would she have had to wait this long!
This industry truly was one that fawned over the powerful and trampled on the weak. How long had it been? The winds had already changed direction!
After a long moment, she slapped her assistant in a fit of anger. Her hand landed heavily on the assistant’s arm, instantly leaving a red mark. “Just go and get him when I tell you to! Do you think he can actually do Chu Feiliang’s makeup just by staying with her? He’s just a gofer, someone who carries bags and hands things to Shi Xiaoyun!”
The assistant’s eyes instantly turned red, tears welling up, but she still nodded meekly. “I understand.”
Rong Guang stood there, rubbing her hands together.
Chu Feiliang glanced at the clothes she was wearing and frowned. “Cold?”
Rong Guang shook her head, looking a bit puzzled. “It’s not cold, actually it’s quite warm. I just don’t know why, but I feel like I’m shivering a little.”
Chacha stood on her tiptoes and touched Rong Guang’s forehead.
However, her hands were also ice-cold. Not only did she fail to get any useful information, but she actually made Rong Guang shiver again.
“Put on your jacket,” Chu Feiliang said to Rong Guang. “It’s only in the teens tonight, and you’re just wearing a costume. Who else would be cold if not you?”
Rong Guang dazedly accepted the jacket Chu Feiliang had just taken off, which was still warm with her body heat. “You…”
“It’s my solo shot now, I can’t wear it.” Chu Feiliang gave her a smile, then carefully sized up Rong Guang’s height. A mischievous smile appeared on her face as she said, “I remember your clothes are all size S. Put it on and let me see just how big it is on you.”
Rong Guang paused.
Then she couldn’t help but step back a little, observing the height difference between herself and Chu Feiliang.
After a long moment, her face flushed bright red as she said, “I… I can still grow taller.”
She hadn’t paid much attention to her own profile sheet, so she didn’t know what height was written on it.
But in her past life, her height had eventually settled at 166 cm. Coupled with her body proportions, she looked very tall and slender—after all, the most common reason she went viral in her past life was her figure, and her legs.
Unfortunately, historical dramas didn’t give her many opportunities to show off her legs.
Otherwise, she might have had a chance to deliberately stroll around in front of Chu Feiliang, just so she could get a better look.
At this thought, Rong Guang felt a little embarrassed again and lowered her head to look at her toes.
Chu Feiliang was holding out her arms for the stylist to change her costume’s outer robe. Hearing this, she smiled and reached out to measure above Rong Guang’s head, saying, “Mm, let me see.”
Rong Guang carefully, secretly, stood on her tiptoes.
When her palm touched the soft hair, Chu Feiliang paused.
Looking down and seeing the little girl’s sparkling eyes and slightly unsteady body, she finally curled her hand into a fist and slowly pulled it back.
Then she said with a smile, “The room for growth is indeed quite large.”
Rong Guang nodded, her face red, her eyes so moist they looked like they were about to drip water.
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