Chapter 183 Good Relationships

Filming is a team effort. If an actor isn't in the right state and can't get the job done, then everyone else has to stay and wait for the actor to get into a better state.

This is the same as recording a TV show or attending a gala.

However, it's not quite the same. It's inevitable that actors will have off days; no actor can maintain peak performance all the time.

Therefore, filming delays are commonplace.

The two staff members' expressions of relief reminded Lu Yanhe of himself.

It's his first time acting, so it's understandable if he doesn't perform well. But what's understandable to him might affect other people's normal time to leave work and their rest.

This made Lu Yanhe feel uneasy and nervous.

Lu Yanhe observed the filming on set until noon. When the crew had gone to lunch, Lu Yanhe lined up to get his own boxed lunch. He also ran into Jiang Yuqian, Huang Kairen, and Wang Yunfan's assistants. When they saw Lu Yanhe in the line, they were quite surprised, seemingly not understanding why he was queuing up for a boxed lunch.

The surprised looks from those around him made Lu Yanhe feel like he was being pricked by needles.

Lu Yanhe thought to himself, "Here we go again."

This is the feeling of being looked at with incomprehension by others.

This is how it was when I took the bus to and from school every day, and this is how it is now when I line up to get my boxed lunch.

The way others see him is completely different from the reality he is.

He had no way of explaining why he wasn't as "superior" as they imagined.

Lu Yanhe took the boxed lunch and found an empty spot to eat by himself.

Without a table, he could only eat with his hands, a scene that was rather heartbreaking.

While they were eating, Jiang Yuqian's assistant suddenly came over and said, "Yan He, Sister Yuqian wants you to come to her car for dinner."

Lu Yanhe was taken aback.

Jiang Yuqian's assistant smiled at him and said, "Let's go."

Lu Yanhe immediately realized that the girl in front of him must have told Jiang Yuqian about him queuing up to get his lunchbox alone.

He didn't even know the little girl's name.

Hello, what should I call you?

"Luo Xiaoyu, you can just call me Xiaoyu." The other person's smile was full of energy, and she seemed to be a girl with a positive and optimistic spirit towards life.

Her energetic smile was very infectious, and it made Lu Yanhe smile too.

"Hello Xiaoyu," Lu Yanhe asked. "I'm going to eat in Sister Yuqian's car. Would it be inappropriate if someone saw me?"

Luo Xiaoyu said, "It's okay. Sister Yuqian never cares about what other people think. She asked me to call you, or she asked me if I had seen you this morning. She said she saw you on set this morning, but couldn't find you when she turned around."

Lu Yanhe said, "Oh, that's because I found a corner so as not to disturb others."

"You really think of others," Luo Xiaoyu said. "No wonder Sister Yuqian likes you."

Lu Yanhe was a little embarrassed and scratched his head, "Really?"

"Hmm." Luo Xiaoyu nodded. "You don't know, Sister Yuqian usually doesn't interact much with others, even artists from the same company, but Sister Yuqian seems to really like you."

Lu Yanhe turned to look around. Fortunately, there was no one else around, otherwise Luo Xiaoyu's words just now could easily have been misunderstood.

Having known Jiang Yuqian for so long, Lu Yanhe no longer mistakenly believes that Jiang Yuqian has any romantic feelings for him. He can sense that Jiang Yuqian truly treats him like a younger brother.

When a man treats a woman younger than himself like a younger sister, nine times out of ten he has ulterior motives. When a woman treats a man younger than herself like a younger brother, nine times out of ten she has no ulterior motives and genuinely treats him like a younger brother.

Lu Yanhe had already fully experienced this when he went out with Jiang Yuqian last time.

Jiang Yuqian has a motorhome parked next to the filming location for her to rest in.

There are tables and chairs inside, and even a refrigerator and a kitchen counter.

Jiang Yuqian was eating.

Lu Yanhe got into the car and respectfully greeted her as "Sister Yuqian".

"You're here. Sit down and eat with us," Jiang Yuqian said to him.

She wore a huge bib that looked completely out of place with her outfit.

Perhaps because Lu Yanhe's eyes were too shocked and confused, Jiang Yuqian took the initiative to explain: "These are the crew's clothes, and we don't want them to get dirty. We still have to film this afternoon."

So that's how it is.

Lu Yanhe nodded, "I've learned something."

Jiang Yuqian asked, "Were you watching us film all morning?"

"Mm." Lu Yanhe nodded.

How does it feel?

"I think you guys are all amazing. You can act on cue and switch between different states so quickly," Lu Yanhe said.

Jiang Yuqian glanced at him and asked, "So, between me and Li Qian, who do you think is a better actress?"

Lu Yanhe replied without hesitation, "Your acting is better."

"Why?" Jiang Yuqian actually pressed for an answer.

Lu Yanhe hesitated immediately.

It wasn't that what he said earlier was a lie, but rather that Lu Yanhe couldn't articulate it and found it difficult to offer an analytical explanation.

Jiang Yuqian's eyes crinkled with amusement. "Are you trying to fool me?"

"No, I just don't know how to put it." Lu Yanhe scratched his head awkwardly. "I just feel that your acting is more natural than hers. She acted very well, but it felt a bit... like she was deliberately being pretentious."

Jiang Yuqian rolled her eyes and laughed.

“You’re quite accurate in spotting her affected mannerisms. That’s just her style. There are all kinds of actors, it just depends on how you want to act,” Jiang Yuqian said. “Actually, there are also actors with a strong stage presence who can blend into the play very well without making it feel out of place. Li Qian just hasn’t mastered the craft yet, so she’s still a bit lacking.”

Lu Yanhe hummed in agreement.

Jiang Yuqian ate steamed sweet potatoes for lunch, along with shrimp and cauliflower.

Lu Yanhe was completely different; he ate boxed lunches provided by the production crew, consisting of two meat dishes and one vegetable dish, which were quite delicious.

Jiang Yuqian glanced at the chicken wing in Lu Yanhe's lunchbox several times.

Upon seeing this, Lu Yanhe asked, "Sister Yuqian, would you like some?"

He was about to put the chicken wing on Jiang Yuqian's plate when she shook her head as if facing a formidable enemy, saying, "No, don't give it to me! I can't eat it!"

Lu Yanhe didn't expect Jiang Yuqian to be so strict with him, refusing even a chicken wing in order to maintain her figure.

Luo Xiaoyu, sitting on the other side, was also enjoying her meal.

She ate the same boxed lunches that Lu Yanhe ate on set.

-

"Lu Yanhe also ate a boxed lunch?"

When Zhao Yuheng got Lei Shuangcheng his lunchbox, he casually mentioned that Lu Yanhe had been queuing up for lunchboxes. Lei Shuangcheng was immediately surprised and asked, "Did you get him the A set meal or something else?"

In the film crew, Package A was prepared for the director, main actors, and key figures in each department, while other ordinary staff members were prepared for Package B. The difference between the two packages was quite significant.

Zhao Yuheng said, "He was queuing up, so he probably got the B set meal."

Lei Shuangcheng glared at him and said, "You saw it all, and you still made them give him the B package? How pathetic! He's a pretty popular artist now, and you treat him like this."

Zhao Yuheng immediately protested, saying, "The main problem is that he's not on the call sheet right now, and no one prepared a portion for him."

Didn't he contact you yesterday to say he was coming to the event today?

"I've contacted them."

“You should have added me after I contacted you,” Lei Shuangcheng said. “You’ve been working for me for so long, and you still don’t have any sense of propriety.”

Zhao Yuheng had been following Lei Shuangcheng for a while and knew Lei Shuangcheng's personality. The more Lei Shuangcheng belittled you, the more he trusted you. He wasn't angry, just chuckled and said, "Then I'll be more careful later."

Lei Shuangcheng nodded: "I noticed he's been standing all morning. Find him a chair to sit on this afternoon."

“Okay.” Zhao Yuheng nodded readily, but couldn’t help asking with a puzzled look, “Brother Lei, Lu Yanhe is somewhat famous now, but he’s just a minor actor playing small supporting roles. Why are you so concerned about him?”

"Don't you even know who his agent is? Chen Ziyan! With this big shot backing him up, Lu Yanhe is guaranteed to be a top-tier actor within three years," Lei Shuangcheng said. "Do you think it's better to befriend him before he gains popularity, or wait until he's famous and a top actor before you start fawning over him?"

Zhao Yuheng was very surprised and said, "I really didn't expect you to think so highly of him."

"Why don't you call me brother, instead of me calling you brother?"

Zhao Yuheng chuckled and said, "You'll always be my brother."

-

After leaving Lei Shuangcheng's office, Zhao Yuheng immediately went to find the people in charge of logistics and gave them some instructions.

Zhao Yuheng represents Lei Shuangcheng.

The more trivial the matter, the more suspicious and gossipy it becomes, as Lu Yanhe is given this explanation.

Cao Yong was taken aback when he heard the news.

"Does Zhao Yuheng value Lu Yanhe that much?"

"yes."

"Then why did he even make me come to me for the shuttle bus schedule? Why not just arrange a private car for him?"

"Who knows, but it seems that Lu Yanhe is not simple. Even Zhao Yuheng specifically told us to prepare a better lunch for him."

"He's a popular celebrity, okay? Is there any celebrity more amazing than him? He scored 657 on the college entrance exam." This is another father with a child.

-

A film crew consists of more than just directors, cinematographers, and lighting technicians; it also includes the most ordinary drivers, production assistants, and laborers.

A film crew is like a small world, with the imperial court above and the underworld below.

The news spread quickly, reaching everyone in the production crew in less than half a day.

When Lu Yanhe got out of Jiang Yuqian's car, someone saw him and called out "Yanhe" with an even more enthusiastic smile than in the morning.

Lu Yanhe entered the shed and wandered around curiously by himself.

His actions have puzzled many people, who don't know what he's doing.

Lu Yanhe mainly had nowhere to go. It was lunchtime, and the crew was resting. Director Luo Yuzhong had a habit of taking a lunch break, so he had nothing to do.

"Xiao Lu, what are you doing loitering around here?" Huang Kairen asked curiously as he passed by a shelf and saw Lu Yanhe wandering between the shelves.

Lu Yanhe had no choice but to offer an explanation.

When Huang Kairen heard that he had nowhere to go at noon, he simply waved and said, "Come with me, just rest in my car. For something this small, you should have come to me earlier."

Lu Yanhe felt embarrassed and said, "It's okay, Brother Ren. You still have filming this afternoon, so you should rest. I won't bother you anymore."

"Don't bother me, I'm not taking a nap at noon anyway," Huang Kairen said. "Don't be shy, come on in."

As a result, after getting out of Jiang Yuqian's car, she got into Huang Kairen's car.

-

Li Qian's RV was right next to the two of them, so she could see what was happening outside.

After seeing Huang Kairen take Lu Yanhe into his car, Li Qian pouted somewhat dejectedly.

"Why did Huang Kairen also bring Lu Yanhe into his car?" Li Qian frowned.

The assistant remained silent.

Li Qian has more important things to take care of right now. This matter made her a little unhappy, but she quickly put it aside.

She asked her assistant, "How did my performance this morning compare to Jiang Yuqian's?"

The assistant immediately said, "Your performance was much more powerful. She was too focused on micro-expressions and details, and you overshadowed her."

Li Qian smiled with satisfaction and said, "I knew it. Although I'm not as famous as her, my acting skills are just as good."

The assistant said, "She's much better than her."

Li Qian: "In this 'Golden Era,' my character is quite appealing. She's bold in love and hate, and her stance is somewhat ambiguous in the early stages. She seems to be Guan Zhu's rival, and the two of them fight fiercely. But at a crucial moment, she holds firm to her principles, helps Guan Zhu, and becomes Guan Zhu's best friend. This kind of character reversal will definitely be discussed by many people when the show airs. We must do a good job of promotion and grasp the promotional points."

"Okay." The assistant nodded. "I've got it. I'll send it to the company's PR department later."

Li Qian was feeling quite pleased with herself when she suddenly remembered something, sighed, and said, "If only I were more famous. 'True Crossroads' rejected me outright. They had to choose between Zhang Lan and Jiang Yuqian, and I didn't even get a chance to audition."

The assistant said, "Sisi, don't be anxious. They've been through the same stage as you. When they were your age, they weren't as famous as you."

Hearing her assistant's words, Li Qian felt a little relieved.

-

"Did Li Qian say anything nasty to you last night?"

As soon as he got in the car, Huang Kairen asked a probing question.

Actually, he and Jiang Yuqian heard it when they were standing at the door.

Lu Yanhe shook his head and said, "No, what's wrong?"

Huang Kairen gave a wry smile and said, "I have to apologize to you. It was my fault for using you as a shield yesterday. If Li Qian said anything nasty to you, she was probably taking it out on you."

Lu Yanhe was extremely surprised.

He didn't expect Huang Kairen to apologize to him on his own initiative.

This really surprised him.

Especially compared to the one from this morning, she paled in comparison.

Huang Kairen said, "You should have noticed it by now."

"Hmm." Lu Yanhe nodded, then smiled and said, "Brother Ren, Li Qian likes you. If you don't like her, you can just reject her. Why are you dragging this out?"

"She never told me she liked me. It would be so awkward if I suddenly said that," Huang Kairen said helplessly. "There must be quite a few girls who like you. Are you going to go around telling them one by one that you don't like them and that they shouldn't like you anymore?"

Lu Yanhe imagined the scene and instantly felt the same way.

“Then I think I’m mentally challenged,” he said with a laugh.

Huang Kairen: "You know that too."

He took out his script, glanced at it, and asked, "When will your film start shooting?"

"About a week later," Lu Yanhe said.

Huang Kairen was somewhat surprised, "Then why did you join the crew so early?"

Lu Yanhe: "Because this is my first time acting, I wanted to come to the set to learn first."

Huang Kairen looked surprised and somewhat admiring, gave him a thumbs up, and said, "You're amazing. This kind of learning spirit is truly worthy of being a top student."

Then he remembered something and said, "If there's anything you don't understand, just ask me."

"Okay, thank you, Brother Ren." Lu Yanhe nodded with a smile.

"Don't thank me, consider it my way of thanking you for being my shield yesterday."

-

In the afternoon, the filming took place in a different studio. The scene between Huang Kairen and Jiang Yuqian was filmed, while the scene between Li Qian and Wang Yunfan was filmed in another studio by assistant director He Xun.

The amount of filming for a TV series is too large. If it's not split into two groups, the filming time will be extended by at least one-third, and the production cost will be too high.

Lu Yanhe was surprised to find a chair marked with his name suddenly appearing on the scene, placed in the row behind the director's seat.

Lu Yanhe was flattered and wanted to ask someone who had arranged it, but he couldn't find anyone to ask.

It was only at this moment that he had the chance to meet Luo Yuzhong.

"Little Lu's here." Luo Yuzhong nodded to him. "When did you arrive?"

"morning."

Luo Yuzhong nodded, asked no more questions, and went to talk to others about the rest of the filming.

Lu Yanhe sat silently in the back, observing everything.

This observation lasted for a week.

The people at "The Golden Age" were stunned.

It's not uncommon for an artist to maintain this learning attitude for two or three days, but it's rare to maintain it for a week.

Lu Yanhe was always there, from morning till night.

He also had a small notebook in his hand, and he would take notes from time to time.

This scene left many people bewildered.

I've never seen an actor act like this before.

When Li Qian heard about it, she sarcastically remarked behind his back, "He acts like he's sitting in a classroom taking notes."

Lu Yanhe also heard the discussions and doubts of the people around him.

He didn't care about anything.

Everyone has their own way of becoming familiar with an industry. Actors actually have a lot of technical skills on set, such as finding the camera and coordinating with each other. It's not that you can become a gifted actor that others talk about just by being in the right mood or having a stroke of genius.

All naturally gifted actors know how to subtly capture the camera's attention.

Lu Yanhe learned a lot from Huang Kairen and Jiang Yuqian.

Huang Kairen's acting is a bit too "serious." His emotional outbursts and expressiveness are not as strong as Jiang Yuqian's, but he is the kind of actor with solid basic skills and experience. He fills this gap with lines and details in his performance, and in the end, he is equally infectious.

Lu Yanhe observed for several days and gradually became familiar with the different performance styles of different people.

They are all actors, but their acting styles are different, and each person has their own unique style.

This surprised Lu Yanhe.

This also indirectly demonstrates just how strong the cast of "The Golden Era" is.

Luo Yuzhong still selects actors based on their suitability for the role, and each actor has similarities to the character.

While Lu Yanhe was pleasantly surprised, he also felt a little pressure.

With everyone under so much pressure, won't he be completely overshadowed when he performs?

As the time for his acting approached, Lu Yanhe nervously chattered on and on in the group chat for a long time.

Li Zhibai and Yan Liang initially encouraged him and cheered him on, but Lu Yanhe couldn't shake off his nervousness. Li Zhibai got impatient and snapped at him: "Stop talking nonsense. Whether you stick your neck out or not, you'll get stabbed anyway. At worst, you can just come back and sing if you mess up. It's not like you can't sing."

Li Zhibai spoke impatiently, but inadvertently gave Lu Yanhe a shot in the arm.

That's true. If all else fails, you could become a singer. Even if you don't become a huge star, you can still get some gigs, right? Then you can use your song library sparingly, release one song a year, and manage it well. That should be enough to support yourself.

Lu Yanhe's tension immediately eased a lot.

He realized that all his nervousness stemmed from the fact that he had treated acting as the last path in his career as an artist.

If this path proves he's not suited to be an actor, then he won't have much confidence in the entertainment industry.

"Then how about..." Lu Yanhe thought, "Switch to behind-the-scenes work? Become a producer?"

"Yan He, the director is calling you." Luo Yuzhong's assistant, Mo Zhi, came over.

Lu Yanhe quickly stopped his wishful thinking about a way out and went to see Luo Yuzhong.

Luo Yuzhong said to Lu Yanhe, "We're going to film your scenes with Yuqian tomorrow. We're going to film on location. Have you familiarized yourself with the script?"

“I’m familiar with it now.” Lu Yanhe nodded.

Luo Yuzhong nodded and said, "You'll get used to it."

That's all they said.

With filming nearing its end, Lu Yanhe went to the restroom, preparing to return to the hotel later.

Just as I entered the cubicle, two people came in from outside.

"We're going to film at Nanhe University tomorrow. I heard they only managed to schedule five days this time, which is giving the director a bit of a headache."

"Five days? Didn't they say we were going to film nine days there?" another person immediately asked in a surprised voice.

"Yes, but they only agreed to five days, so we don't know if we can finish filming smoothly."

"Well, I think that's unlikely. All the scenes filmed at Nanhe are between Lu Yanhe and Jiang Yuqian. Isn't this Lu Yanhe's first time acting? He's never studied acting before. Director Luo has high standards, so I doubt Lu Yanhe will be able to meet Director Luo's requirements."

"Tsk, that's true. Lu Yanhe is the only actor in this show who has never acted before. We don't know the specifics yet."

...

Lu Yanhe stood in the cubicle, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

It turns out that everyone privately doesn't think much of him.

However, after thinking it over, Lu Yanhe felt that their thoughts were quite normal.

I guess I'll just have to work hard myself.

Lu Yanhe thought to himself, no matter what else, at least I must not let myself down.

After leaving the restroom, Lu Yanhe boarded the shuttle bus back to the hotel.

The driver was Cao Yong.

These past few days, Lu Yanhe has frequently traveled between the hotel and the film set in his car.

Lu Yanhe greeted him and found a seat.

Everyone else was used to seeing him on this bus.

If you know someone, greet them; if you don't, exchange a glance.

As Lu Yanhe gazed at the vast night sky flowing past the car window, his palms became sweaty.

(End of this chapter)