After the first round of auditions selected fifty contestants for immediate advancement, Chi Yan took the initiative to contact Yu Jingming.
In the auditions, there were a hundred contestants. Ninety of them received advancement cards directly from the judges, while the remaining ten would be chosen through audience voting. With fifty contestants already advancing, it meant that more than half of the selection process was complete, and she couldn’t delay any longer.
“Director Yu, are you currently filming on set? I’d like to visit your crew.”
Yu Jingming replied at noon. He was easygoing and quickly agreed.
“Sure, come over. We’re at Hengjiang Film City. Call me when you arrive at the entrance, and I’ll have someone pick you up.”
Chi Yan knew that Hengjiang Film City was located in the outskirts of the city. In her past life, she had visited it many times.
After informing her mother, she took a taxi there.
Upon arriving, Chi Yan called Yu Jingming to let him know she was there. Then, she glanced around the area.
Hengjiang Film City had only been built recently, so all the buildings were still new. However, there weren’t as many street vendors as in her past life.
Unlike Hengdian, which had a greater variety of sets, Hengjiang was known for its vast scale, making it ideal for shooting grand, majestic scenes.
She wondered what kind of production Yu Jingming was working on.
Before she could think further, a crew member ran up to her.
“Are you Miss Chi? Director Yu sent me to escort you.”
“Let’s go.”
Chi Yan followed the staff member inside, glancing at the scenery along the way. Everything looked almost exactly as she remembered. But soon, they arrived at the filming site, and she retracted her gaze.
“Miss Chi, please wait here for a moment. Director Yu is currently busy and can’t step away yet. I have some other tasks to attend to, so I’ll leave you here for now.”
Chi Yan nodded and found a spot to observe the film crew.
Yu Jingming was directing a historical drama, using the ancient street set in Hengjiang Film City. The costumes looked lavish, suggesting the production wasn’t short on funding.
Watching the lead actors struggle through multiple takes, Chi Yan suddenly recalled which film this was.
It was Yu Jingming’s first palace intrigue movie. Since he had recently won an award, he had managed to secure several major investments. He had poured all the funds into costumes and props, casting entirely new actors. When it was finally released, the film had become a minor hit.
Chi Yan thought that choosing Yu Jingming’s team during the Actors’ Journey competition might bring her an unexpected advantage.
The male and female leads’ acting was a bit unpolished, which made Chi Yan feel nostalgic. She knew both of them in her past life but hadn’t realized how raw they had been at the start of their careers.
She had watched this film before. The plot revolved around a childhood sweetheart couple who were deeply in love. However, their relationship soured due to power struggles over the throne and the empire. In the end, the emperor died, their son inherited the throne, and the empress spent the rest of her life alone in the palace until her death. It was a bittersweet tragedy.
Right now, they were filming the part where the male lead, now the emperor, was taking new concubines.
The female lead had once made a promise with him—“One lifetime, one couple, forever.” Upon learning that he was selecting concubines, she immediately sought him out to plead with him to retract the decree.
Yu Jingming had already shot multiple takes but remained dissatisfied.
“Take a break. Try to get into the right mindset again,” he finally said.
Though he called for a break, his eyes never left the monitor.
Chi Yan thought to herself, So Director Yu has been a workaholic from the very start.
Not wanting to waste time, she walked straight toward Yu Jingming.
“Director Yu.”
Hearing her voice, Yu Jingming finally tore his eyes away from the monitor.
“Oh, Chi Yan! Would you be interested in playing a role in my film?”
Chi Yan was pleasantly surprised. She had thought she wouldn’t receive any offers until after Actors’ Journey, but Yu Jingming was offering her an opportunity right now.
“What role, Director Yu?” she asked curiously, though she was also slightly concerned. The cast in her past life had performed well—who was she replacing?
“A princess sent for a political marriage.”
Chi Yan was even more surprised. If she remembered correctly, there had been no such character in this film.
Yu Jingming continued, “I haven’t found a suitable actress for the role, but after watching your performance in the audition, I think you’d be perfect. I need you to bring that same energy.”
Now she understood.
“Director Yu, do I need to audition for the role?”
Yu Jingming gave her a strange look. “You’re not even going to ask about the pay?”
“If I can work with you ahead of time, it’ll give me a significant advantage in Actors’ Journey.”
Yu Jingming chuckled. “Alright, looks like I picked the right person. But your salary will only be at the standard rate for an extra.”
Chi Yan considered it and decided it was acceptable. She agreed on the spot.
With that, the matter was settled.
The lead actors were both friendly. Upon hearing that a new member had joined the crew, they immediately invited Chi Yan to share some desserts with them.
The female lead, Qiu Sisi, greeted Chi Yan warmly and even asked for her contact information, adding her to the production group chat.
Qiu Sisi: Welcome to the team! ☀️☀️
Not to be outdone, the male lead, Ou Yang, also chimed in.
Ou Yang: Welcome, new teammate! 🌹🌹
Chi Yan laughed at the two leads acting like children and immediately replied: “Thank you. 😊”
“Alright, alright, stop chatting and get ready to start filming again.” Yu Jingming saw that the break had gone on long enough and began urging everyone to get back to work.
“Chi Yan, you don’t have any other plans today, do you? Go find the makeup artist and get your makeup done, then have the stylist put together an outfit for you. We need to take a character photo for the movie’s promotion.”
Chi Yan immediately responded, “Got it.”
She was well aware of Yu Jingming’s impulsive nature. Deciding on the spot to have her take a character photo was exactly the kind of thing he would do.
After discussing with the stylist, Chi Yan, with the help of a crew member, changed into the costume of the foreign princess.
It was early May, so the weather wasn’t too hot yet. But if it were ten days later, she would be sweating in this outfit.
One thing worth mentioning was how exquisite the costume was, even though the princess character might not have much screen time. No wonder the film received such high praise after its release.
The stylist reminded her, “This outfit cost quite a bit. Be careful while wearing it.”
“Alright,” Chi Yan agreed, then asked, “Director Yu is really willing to invest. This costume must have taken a lot of effort to make, right?”
“When the production team was casting, aside from the male and female leads, the character Yu cared most about was this foreign princess. He did a lot of research, consulted experts, and put a lot of thought into the costume. But no matter how many people auditioned, he didn’t pick anyone. He insisted on quality over quantity, and everyone thought the money spent on this costume would go to waste.”
Chi Yan chuckled. “Well, I’d better perform well then. If I don’t meet Director Yu’s expectations, I’ll be in trouble.”
The stylist laughed and led her to the makeup room.
The makeup room was right next to the dressing room, but it was much larger. The walls were covered in mirrors, and long tables lined the walls, filled with an assortment of makeup products. A few extras were getting their makeup done.
“All the actors do their makeup here, even the leads,” the stylist explained. “Sometimes, a scene requires over a hundred extras. To make things more efficient, Director Yu had this space set up to be quite spacious.”
Chi Yan nodded in understanding.
The stylist called over a senior makeup artist to do Chi Yan’s makeup.
“Director Yu said to keep it light and make it look lively,” the stylist instructed.
The makeup artist nodded and motioned for Chi Yan to sit down.
“Seeing you, I feel like the princess from the script has come to life,” the makeup artist said as she worked. “You’re so beautiful—I barely need to do anything.”
Chi Yan smiled at her reflection in the mirror. “You flatter me.”
Chi Yan’s skin was in great condition, so the makeup artist finished in less than an hour.
“Doing your makeup was so easy. Now we just need to put on the forehead tassel and earrings.”
“Okay.” Chi Yan waited as the makeup artist carefully placed the forehead ornament on her. She then put on the earrings herself.
The makeup artist gasped in amazement. “If you told me you just came from the grasslands, I’d believe you! This suits you so well. Director Yu really has a good eye.”
Chi Yan looked at herself in the mirror and thought so too. In her past life, her agent mostly booked her for modern dramas, with very few historical roles—let alone one in an ethnic costume. Wearing this for the first time, she really felt the difference.
“Young lady, give me your autograph,” the makeup artist suddenly said, pulling out a notebook and a pen. “I have a feeling you’re going to be famous.”
Chi Yan chuckled. “I’ll take that as a good omen.”
She took the pen and signed her name in bold, elegant strokes.
“Wow, your handwriting is beautiful! Even better than some big celebrities’! It looks like you’ve practiced a lot.”
Chi Yan thought to herself, Well, I did spend years signing autographs in my past life—it’d be embarrassing if I weren’t good at it by now.
After chatting with the makeup artists for a bit, she said goodbye and went to find Yu Jingming.
Seeing her in costume, Yu Jingming immediately paused filming and said, “Not bad, this is exactly the look I wanted. I’ll have a photographer take you to the Henghai grasslands for the shoot.”
“Not the photography studio?” Chi Yan asked, a little surprised. Henghai Film City had the facilities for that.
“Of course not. The more realistic, the better,” Yu Jingming replied. “Just move around naturally. Be lively and cheerful.”
Chi Yan had never encountered such an approach before. She hesitated before asking, “You’re not going to oversee the shoot? What if the results aren’t good?”
“Try it out first. If it doesn’t work, I’ll step in,” Yu Jingming said. “I have faith in the actors I pick.”
So, Chi Yan followed the photographer to the grasslands in Henghai Film City.
The field stretched endlessly, not like the neatly trimmed patches of grass in a park, but more like a real prairie.
This area had been specially designed to resemble a vast grassland, complete with yurts and ceremonial totems in the distance. The only downside was that the grass was a bit too short.
The photographer reassured her, “Don’t worry, we’ll enhance the grass in post-production and blur the background. It won’t be an issue.”
He was experienced in working with newcomers. Stepping back a few paces, he instructed, “You need to learn how to find the camera. Let’s take a few test shots first.”
