Chapter 58
Five-thirty in the morning, a time for sweet dreams, was shattered by the sound of a door being knocked on.
“Open the door, open the door! I know you’re still sleeping, but if you can film, you can’t sleep in.” Xiang Huaimeng was like a loudspeaker, chattering so much that even Chen Nian next to her felt her ears ache.
A moment later, Ji Fengxue opened the door. “Morning.”
“Morning.” Xiang Huaimeng greeted her, then strode into the room and began shaking Xia Linxia wildly. “Get up, hurry! Or I’ll strip you naked and hang you on the city wall, don’t believe me? Then do you believe I’ll call your brother?”
Xia Linxia sat up abruptly from her near-death sleep.
Seeing this, Ji Fengxue and Chen Nian exchanged a glance, likely understanding why these two hadn’t caused any trouble yet. It was probably only Xia Linxia who could tolerate such a loud agent, and only Xiang Huaimeng who dared to treat her this way.
What a curse, they both sighed.
Half an hour later, the two of them hurried to the set to get their makeup done. After breakfast, they began their work for the day.
Today’s filming was divided into two groups. Group A was responsible for the scene where Xia Linxia and Qiu Xingzhou meet, directed by Chen Lianjie. Group B, led by the assistant director, was filming some scenes for Ji Fengxue that needed reshoots, such as the scenes in the brothel, which would be edited into the final film later.
Before filming began, Xia Linxia and Qiu Xingzhou stood in a corner rehearsing their lines. After a few rounds, both of them couldn’t help but look at each other more.
Qiu Xingzhou: “How did you improve so much?”
Xia Linxia: “Did you secretly find a tutor?”
They both asked each other at the same time.
Qiu Xingzhou shook his head and chuckled, “What tutor? I just put in some extra effort because I wanted to transform. You’re the one who secretly found a tutor, right?”
Xia Linxia raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, aren’t you green with envy?”
“Of course,” Qiu Xingzhou laughed. “I’ll ask Teacher Ji for advice another day. She’ll definitely be very enthusiastic about guiding us.”
“You can’t,” Xia Linxia blurted out, then felt it was unreasonable and added, “Teacher Ji is very busy. Don’t disturb her rest.”
“I know that, of course.”
Today’s scene was mainly about the first meeting between Lu Ke and Cheng Youwei.
Inside the yamen, a tall and slender figure stood in the center. Magistrate Lu dismissed his attendants and poured tea for the constable from the capital. After discussing matters, they decided that Cheng Youwei would pose as a yamen runner in the yamen to avoid alerting the enemy.
After concluding their important business, Magistrate Lu took him to his residence, where he would live with others in the yamen’s backyard.
As the two walked towards the backyard, Cheng Youwei’s ears twitched at a corner. He keenly looked to his right and saw a young woman eavesdropping while leaning against the wall. They caught her red-handed, which was quite embarrassing.
The woman rolled her eyes, then suddenly rushed over and bumped into him, dramatically falling to the ground. “Oh, my waist isn’t working anymore, it hurts so much, it hurts, it hurts.”
“Miss, are you alright?” a maidservant ran out from behind a flower bush, supporting the woman with tears streaming down her face. “Who injured you so severely? You must catch him.”
Cheng Youwei: “…”
Magistrate Lu: “Cough.”
Lu Ke rubbed her backside and stood up, lowering her head. “Father, who is this?”
Magistrate Lu looked up at the sky. “He’s the new yamen runner.”
“Oh, I see.” Lu Ke raised her head, glanced at Cheng Youwei, and her eyes lit up. “He’s so handsome! Father, I like him! Let him follow me!”
Lu Ke shamelessly pestered her father for a long time. Magistrate Lu firmly refused, but unexpectedly, Cheng Youwei, who had been silent, nodded.
Thus, the people of Wuyi Town discovered that in addition to the little maidservant who was always by her side, Miss Lu had gained a handsome attendant.
“Cut.” Chen Lianjie called out.
Xia Linxia and Qiu Xingzhou simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief, their heads covered in sweat. This scene had been filmed from morning until noon. Their newfound confidence was once again shattered.
Especially after being called over by Chen Lianjie for personal instruction, they realized that Director Chen had been lenient on the first day of filming. Today’s Director Chen was the true embodiment of a devil, pointing out their flaws one by one, his voice rising and falling, showing no mercy.
The two of them were like dejected eggplants, not even enjoying their lunch. They quickly ate a few bites and then hid in a corner to rehearse their lines. This time, their fighting spirit was clearly not as high as it was in the morning.
At this moment, Group B’s filming was completed, and the other group returned for lunch.
Qiu Xingzhou nudged her arm and tilted his chin in a certain direction. “Look, Director Chen and Teacher Ji are chatting so happily. When can we be this excellent?”
Xia Linxia glanced over and happened to see Ji Fengxue looking their way. She quickly lowered her head, feeling disappointed in herself and somewhat ashamed, and said dejectedly, “Go back to reciting your lines. Be careful not to get scolded again.”
Ji Fengxue frowned slightly when she saw Xia Linxia looking her way and then quickly lowering her head.
“Fengxue, go take a look at Linxia and the two of them,” Director Chen said, following her gaze and smiling. “I just criticized them, they must be feeling sad and dejected right now.”
Ji Fengxue understood. “Okay, can I see the clips they just acted?”
Meanwhile, Xia Linxia and Qiu Xingzhou were still reciting their lines. They had memorized them thoroughly, but the more they recited, the more agitated they became, their tone growing irritable. Angrily, Xia Linxia placed the script on a stool beside her and buried her head, refusing to pay attention.
Suddenly, a hand gently touched her head, as if to comfort her, stroking her rhythmically. Her anxious emotions were miraculously soothed.
She only revealed half her face from her arms and looked up at the person, unsure of what to say, so she simply remained silent.
Ji Fengxue looked at her, her expression conveying “I’m not saying it, but I’m very wronged,” and couldn’t help but curve her lips. She then picked up the script, sat on the stool, and asked, “What was Lu Ke’s childhood like?”
Xia Linxia was stunned for a moment, then looked up and sat up straight, muttering, “How would I know? The script doesn’t say. It only mentions that she grew up with her father from a young age, so she must have lost her mother early.”
Ji Fengxue then asked Qiu Xingzhou, who was opposite her, “What about Cheng Youwei’s childhood? Do you know?”
Qiu Xingzhou shook his head; the answer was the same, the script didn’t say.
Ji Fengxue was not surprised by their answers. She tapped her fingers on the table and slowly said, “Our acting methods are generally divided into two types: the performance school and the experiential school. Actors in the performance school can accurately grasp expressions, movements, and emotions. When they reach the peak of their skill, every glance from them is a performance, a textbook-level performance.”
Xia Linxia and Qiu Xingzhou couldn’t help but sit up straighter, their expressions becoming serious.
“This is usually for professional actors. Because of repeated practice every day, we can develop conditioned reflexes and achieve a passing score, not to the point of being unbearable. However, this type also has its drawbacks, which is being too limited. The expression is mediocre. Once all the technical aspects are mastered, it’s difficult to achieve explosive performances.”
“Neither of you are from a professional acting background, so it’s difficult to achieve this in one step. Therefore, the second type is more suitable for you, which is the experiential school. Start from the character herself, experience her life, perceive her joys and sorrows, understand her emotional choices. You are merely the shell of the character, and the character is driving you to make every choice. When emotions reach their peak, it’s easier to achieve a groundbreaking performance than for actors in the performance school,” Ji Fengxue said.
Xia Linxia was a little confused. “But aren’t we playing characters now?”
Ji Fengxue countered, “Where do your expressions and emotional changes come from? From the crying and laughing written in the script? But there are many ways to express crying and laughing. The script won’t specify the emotional changes, so which way should you choose to perform with layers?”
Xia Linxia was bewildered. It was the first time someone had told her not to act according to the script, and she had never thought about this problem before. Her crying and laughing were visible emotions; where were the layers?
“Moreover, your expressions are too exaggerated. You must know that the big screen focuses on details. Your face might occupy the entire screen, so every move, even every breath, is magnified in front of the audience. Every emotional transition must be natural and accurate to avoid breaking the immersion. Because you have been acting in television for a long time, you need slightly exaggerated expressions and movements to attract the audience’s attention, so it’s normal to have difficulty transitioning at first.”
After saying this, Ji Fengxue returned to the script itself and asked the stunned duo, “Do you understand Lu Ke and Cheng Youwei?”
“Yes,” Xia Linxia blurted out. “I’ve read this script eight hundred times!”
“Then why don’t you know what her childhood was like?”
Xia Linxia was immediately speechless, realizing the question had circled back to the beginning.
Qiu Xingzhou, however, seemed to have gained some insight and asked, “Do we need to explore the characters ourselves?”
Ji Fengxue gave him an appreciative look. Qiu Xingzhou proudly swung his leg, but Xia Linxia stepped on his foot.
“Lu Ke lost her mother at a young age. What were her feelings towards her father? Her greatest desire was to become an official; what was her fundamental motivation? She treated the townspeople kindly; what was the reason for that?” Ji Fengxue asked a series of questions.
Xia Linxia had previously thought that Lu Ke’s personality was innate. After thinking for a moment, she tried to analyze, “Perhaps she depended on her father, so she hoped her father could live the rest of his life without worry. That’s why she punished evil and helped her father solve these matters in town? Becoming an official was to help her father?”
“That’s possible. Having a father as a motivation is also a good emotional starting point,” Ji Fengxue said with a smile and a nod.
Xia Linxia immediately felt like she had received a gold star from her kindergarten teacher and smiled sheepishly.
“Or perhaps, her deceased mother was an ambitious and talented woman, but she couldn’t become an official and could only be a wife and raise children. Before she died, she still had unfulfilled dreams, so Lu Ke wanted to fulfill her mother’s last wish?” Ji Fengxue proposed another hypothesis.
Xia Linxia’s eyes widened. “It can be like this?! I didn’t think of that.”
“Just because the script doesn’t say doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. As long as you give the character an emotional starting point, and then carefully observe her attitude and thoughts towards those around her, you can roughly understand the emotions and choices the character makes,” Ji Fengxue said with a smile. “There is only one character, but there are thousands of actors. What kind of Lu Ke will you portray?”
Xia Linxia was stunned for a moment. She carefully imagined Lu Ke’s childhood in her mind and found a vague white figure appearing in her mind. That little girl listened to her mother’s dying wishes, watched her father wake up early and sleep late, and seemed to grow up overnight, becoming the kind and righteous daughter of the magistrate that people spoke of. On several occasions at the crossroads of good and evil, she always maintained her original intention.
She felt both heartache and relief.
How lucky she was to be able to play such a good girl as Lu Ke.
Seeing Xia Linxia’s dazed expression for a moment, Ji Fengxue nodded with satisfaction. She then looked at Qiu Xingzhou. “What about you?”
Qiu Xingzhou nodded excitedly. “I think it’s great! Thank you!”
“You’re welcome.” Ji Fengxue glanced at Xia Linxia and said playfully, “Since Xiaxia is your father, I have an obligation to take care of you.”
Qiu Xingzhou: “…” These two were colluding to take advantage of him!
Xia Linxia laughed until her body bent over and gave Ji Fengxue a thumbs-up.
As soon as filming resumed in the afternoon, Xia Linxia and Qiu Xingzhou both went to Director Chen Lianjie and proposed to reshoot the scene they had finally passed in the morning. Then, they went to massage Magistrate Wang Yuan’s back to apologize.
During the first reshoot, Director Chen suddenly noticed a change in the two of them, a change in their eyes.
When Lu Ke recklessly caused trouble and apologized to Magistrate Lu, in addition to the coquettishness written in the original script, there was a hint of protectiveness in her eyes, making people want to explore what she wanted to protect.
Qiu Xingzhou also had a similar change. His expression was no longer tense. When he looked at the troublemaking Lu Ke, his eyes trembled, as if recalling something, before he blurted out his agreement to Lu Ke’s unreasonable request.
“Not bad, you two have opened your minds after a meal,” Magistrate Wang said, looking at the two young people with satisfaction. His bad mood, caused by the frequent NGs, had also vanished. “Work hard, the future belongs to you.”
The two also received a thumbs-up from Director Chen, making them extremely happy. They scanned the crowd and saw Ji Fengxue walking next to the director, talking. Unsure of what she said, both the director and she looked over. Xia Linxia grinned at them.
“What were you saying to them?” Director Chen asked with a smile.
“Just a few pointers. You taught me that too,” Ji Fengxue said humbly. “I was lucky to have your personal guidance back then, which saved me a lot of detours.”
Chen Lianjie laughed heartily. With the filming starting these past two days, he had been too busy with many things to go and talk to the actors individually.
Xia Linxia took two steps forward, wanting to thank Ji Fengxue for her guidance, but saw the woman in red standing out from the crowd, taking a bread from Chen Nian, chatting and laughing with the director, and taking a bite.
The scene felt incongruous, but Xia Linxia couldn’t help but feel a pang in her heart.
Ji Fengxue hadn’t even eaten lunch yet because she was explaining the scenes to them.
She quickened her pace, about to walk towards her, when the assistant director of Group B called for everyone to move to another location to film.
Ji Fengxue turned and left with the extras. Halfway there, she suddenly turned back, her eyes meeting Xia Linxia’s. The corner of her mouth curved slightly, her brow arched, and the faint eyeliner at the corner of her eye extended the softness in her gaze. Then, that eye slowly blinked.
Ji Fengxue gave her a “K” gesture.
Xia Linxia clutched her chest.
“What’s wrong?” Qiu Xingzhou asked as he walked over.
Xia Linxia looked at her retreating back and asked with difficulty, “Do you know how powerful it is when someone who never flirts suddenly flirts?”
“I know.”
“You know nothing.”
“That’s how my partner seduced me,” Qiu Xingzhou smiled ambiguously at her. “What, did Teacher Ji seduce you? Are you feeling butterflies, your heart racing, and still wanting more?”
Xia Linxia: “!”
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