Chapter 281 Demonstration of Magic (7,000 words update!)

Although "The Seventeen Floors" only has twelve episodes, each episode is made to be forty minutes long. The series was filmed over a total of 65 days, with Lu Yanhe filming for 52 days.

According to the filming schedule, Lu Yanhe joined the crew at the end of June and finished filming in late August.

Of course, if everything goes smoothly during the filming of "The Seventeenth Floor" and there are no unexpected problems, Lu Yanhe's actual filming time may only be around forty days.

"The Seventeenth Floor" tells the story of a group of young people who participate in a treasure hunt and arrive at a building located on a deserted island. The building was built twenty years ago, but due to the mysterious death of its owner, construction was halted halfway through and the building has been abandoned ever since.

The treasure hunt game was launched on the dark web, and those who came here to accept the mission were all professional treasure hunters. However, when they stepped into this isolated building, they realized they had entered a real, deadly hunt. The building had been transformed by the mastermind into a large-scale escape room and trap-filled game, which was being streamed live on the dark web.

They must rely on their own ingenuity to find a way to escape from the building.

This is why they need to do movement training in advance.

Rather than having a female lead and a male lead, this drama is actually an ensemble piece, featuring seven treasure hunters, each with their own ulterior motives and skills. However, the story unfolds from the perspective of the female lead played by Chen Bige, and it is also the female lead played by Chen Bige who ultimately leads everyone to escape. Therefore, she is undoubtedly the leading lady.

Lu Yanhe's character is indeed the male lead in terms of screen time, second only to Chen Bige. However, if we're talking about his romantic storyline with the female lead, there's another male character with a significant role, though he dies later in the story.

Seven treasure hunters, seven main characters.

Chen Bige plays Li Meng, an orphan; Lu Yanhe plays Lian Cai, a genius with a cowlick; Li Yuefeng plays He Huaijin, a long-distance runner; Shen Yue plays Liu Mengna, a con artist; Jiang Jun plays Fatty Li, a retired soldier; Yan Zhimeng plays Wang the Poison Master; and Lin Chan plays Wang Nianping.

Of the seven actors, four are top-tier, currently popular actors.

Li Yuefeng was the one who recently jumped on Lu Yanhe's coattails, while Shen Yue is a currently very popular actress. The other three actors are also well-known, not unknowns.

The fact that such a cast could be assembled in a twelve-episode drama shows how much importance Beijing TV attaches to this series.

-

Li Yuefeng had been complaining on the way here.

“It’s not a difficult play, why bother with script readings?” Li Yuefeng complained to his agent. “It’s a play that relies heavily on post-production. Which actor in this kind of play can just do it casually?”

The agent said, "Who would object to Chen Bige's request?"

Li Yuefeng also shut his mouth when he heard the name Chen Bige.

"You know in your heart how much this TV series will boost your status. After this, no actress will be able to have a higher status than Chen Bige," the agent instructed. "Don't act tough in front of her. Just act honestly."

Li Yuefeng: "Of course I know, do you need to explain that?"

Agent: "You've been getting a bit cocky lately, I have to remind you."

“Where did I get cocky? Don’t talk nonsense,” Li Yuefeng said. “I was being very humble.”

"You're getting too cocky," the agent said bluntly. "After several hit dramas aired, look at you now, you don't even want to talk to people who aren't as famous as you."

Li Yuefeng: "They kept pestering me, what could I do? If I had to say a word to each of them, I wouldn't be able to do anything else all day."

"Anyway, don't flatter the powerful and belittle the weak," the agent cautioned. "I'm warning you, if you don't change your personality, you'll get into trouble sooner or later."

Li Yuefeng still looked somewhat unconvinced.

“We bought a bunch of press releases before and rode on Lu Yanhe’s popularity. This time, their attitude might not be good. Don’t take advantage of their kindness.”

Li Yuefeng scoffed and said, "I don't know him. Besides, isn't he the second lead in this show? If anyone should be rude, it should be me."

The agent also has a headache dealing with artists like Li Yuefeng who are overconfident and blindly optimistic.

However, he was just lucky.

A rising star whose momentum is rapidly approaching that of a top-tier actor is someone no agent would give up on.

-

Lu Yanhe arrived at the hotel booked by the film crew at noon.

By the end of June, the sun was already showing signs of going mad, as if it wouldn't stop until it scorched everyone senseless.

Chen Ziyan and Lu Yanhe got out of the car and happened to run into Jiang Jun, who played the retired soldier Fatty Li, at the hotel entrance.

Jiang Jun is a veteran actor, 42 years old this year, and has been acting for almost 20 years. He is the kind of actor whose face is recognized by the audience, but whose name is not widely known.

"Teacher Jiang." Chen Ziyan walked forward with a smile, and turned back to greet Lu Yanhe, "Little Lu, come and say hello to Teacher Jiang."

Lu Yanhe quickly followed and respectfully greeted Teacher Jiang.

Despite the sweltering heat, Jiang Jun was still holding a thermos in his hand.

He's a bit muscular and looks somewhat fierce when he's not smiling, but he's quite kind when he smiles.

"Little Lu, we've finally met! Let's keep in touch!" Jiang Jun's words revealed him to be a straightforward and generous person. He patted Lu Yanhe on the shoulder.

Lu Yanhe smiled brightly and said, "Okay, please give me your guidance, Teacher Jiang."

"I wouldn't call it giving advice. You've been nominated for the Honghe Award, while I've never even won one," Jiang Jun laughed heartily.

Chen Ziyan said, "You are the uncrowned king, I think the reason they didn't nominate you is because of this title. The judges felt that not nominating you wouldn't affect you."

"Absolutely not! Let whoever wants to be the uncrowned king be it. Hurry up and nominate me!" Jiang Jun laughed loudly.

The key point is that he seems very open-minded about not being nominated. He says he minds, but he doesn't mind joking about it at all.

Chen Ziyan asked, "How is your health, sister-in-law?"

Jiang Jun: "It's still the same as before. There's nothing we can do. There's no way to cure it completely. We can only keep it in place."

"Where's Xiao Zhuang?"

“He’s still in school.” Jiang Jun said, looking at Lu Yanhe. “Oh, if only Lu Yanhe were my son. Zhenhua, tsk tsk, that brat finally got into a university, and I had to beat him with a stick to get him out of there.”

Lu Yanhe: "..."

Chen Ziyan laughed twice. "Xiao Zhuang is smart, good-looking, and has a good heart. He will have a bright future. You really have too high expectations. He's such a good kid. If you don't like him in the future, send him to me. I watched him grow up. Even if you don't like him, I will."

Jiang Jun immediately replied, "That's right. The first day I deliver it, my wife kicks me out of the house."

Chen Ziyan burst into laughter again.

-

Chen Ziyan and Jiang Jun seem to have an exceptionally good relationship.

After Jiang Jun left, Lu Yanhe asked Chen Ziyan curiously, "Sister Ziyan, were you very familiar with that Teacher Jiang from earlier?"

“We’re very close. He helped me when I first entered the industry, and we’ve kept in touch ever since,” Chen Ziyan said. “He’s a true uncrowned king. He used to act in a lot of stage plays, and in recent years he’s acted in more film and television dramas. However, they’ve all been minor supporting roles, so he hasn’t won any significant awards. It’s a pity, though. With his abilities, he should have received higher honors.”

Did you recommend this show?

Chen Ziyan nodded, "Yes, when I read the script, I felt that this role was suitable for him, so I recommended him to the production team."

Lu Yanhe: "It seems that Teacher Jiang is really a good person."

Chen Ziyan: "If there are any opportunities in the future, please keep an eye out for good opportunities for him. He is indeed a good actor."

Lu Yanhe was very surprised and said, "I'm just a small-time actor. How could I be qualified to give Teacher Jiang a good opportunity?"

Chen Ziyan rolled her eyes at him and said, "You have far more opportunities to meet people than he does, so don't underestimate yourself."

Lu Yanhe: "..."

-

We met at 2 PM.

Lian Bei, the director of "The Seventeen Floors", is in his early thirties, which is quite young among directors. However, his previous film "The Hundred-Year-Old Chronicle" was a huge hit, which propelled him into the ranks of top-tier directors.

This time, "The Seventeen Floors" was personally invited by Jiang Lan, the deputy director of Beijing TV.

Jiang Lan, the producer and executive producer of this drama, did not come today.

Hu Siwei, the producer sent from Beijing and Taiwan, is in charge.

In a large conference room, there was an oval table. Lu Yanhe entered carrying his script and a water glass.

He was among the first to arrive; before him were only Lin Chan and Yan Zhimeng.

Both of them are in their twenties and have been acting since college, and are quite well-known.

Lin Chan was chatting and laughing with Yan Zhimeng when they saw Lu Yanhe come in, and both of them stood up.

"Sister Chan, Brother Meng." Lu Yanhe quickened his pace to greet the two people. "Hello, I am Lu Yanhe."

"Hello, hello." Lin Chan's voice was somewhat delicate.

Yan Zhimeng also seems to have a rather reserved personality.

The three of them exchanged pleasantries for a while before Jiang Jun came over.

"What are you three kids talking about?" Jiang Jun naturally came over and joined their conversation.

"This is my first time meeting Sister Chan and Brother Meng, so I'll introduce myself," Lu Yanhe said with a smile.

Jiang Jun slapped Lu Yanhe on the shoulder, "You're really something, being trained by Chen Ziyan. You're so enthusiastic."

Lu Yanhe smiled.

Yan Zhimeng and Lin Chan clearly already knew Jiang Jun, and they greeted him as Teacher Jiang, their posture becoming even more obedient.

Jiang Jun pointed at Yan Zhimeng and said, "Little Lu, you probably don't know this, but this person is a hidden master."

"Huh?" Lu Yanhe looked at Yan Zhimeng in surprise.

“He is a proper martial arts practitioner, having studied martial arts for over ten years,” Jiang Jun told Lu Yanhe.

Lu Yanhe looked at Yan Zhimeng in surprise.

Yan Zhimeng looked very young, with thick eyebrows and big eyes; he was a handsome young man who exuded righteousness. After being praised by Jiang Jun, his cheeks seemed to flush slightly with embarrassment.

"Brother Meng is so amazing!"

But Lu Yanhe frowned upon thinking about it again. Yan Zhimeng played the role of Wang Dushi in "The Seventeenth Floor," a character who wins by intelligence but is not very good at physical combat, especially in physical or competitive levels, where he is always the one who drags the team down.

Why would someone like that play the role of a drug addict instead of the athlete role played by Li Yuefeng?

That character is the second most capable fighter in the entire film.

The most skilled fighter is Li Meng, played by Chen Bige.

-

People gradually arrived, and at 2:10, everyone was present and no one was late.

Lian Bei introduced himself to everyone, then introduced the play, and finally introduced the main actors present one by one.

Aside from Li Yuefeng and Shen Yue, Lu Yanhe had spoken to all the other actors in private and knew them.

Shen Yue was a girl who seemed a bit arrogant. Lu Yanhe hadn't even spoken to her yet, but he could already sense her arrogance.

As for Li Yuefeng... he gave Lu Yanhe the feeling of being inexplicably pretentious.

Every time Lian Bei talks about his expectations for the drama and his requirements for quality, Li Yuefeng nods in agreement with a serious expression, his face full of sincerity, and says, "We are all people who pursue art."

At that moment, Lu Yanhe felt inexplicably embarrassed.

He happened to make eye contact with Yan Zhimeng at that moment.

Yan Zhimeng sat directly opposite him.

Yan Zhimeng probably couldn't hold back either, and actually raised his hand to cover his mouth.

When Lu Yanhe saw him like this, he almost couldn't hold back and immediately lowered his head.

The two of them didn't even dare to make eye contact, for fear of bursting into laughter.

This wasn't his first time filming, so Lu Yanhe wasn't as nervous or worried about joining a film crew as he had been before.

After introductions and getting to know each other, everyone began to go through the script.

Lu Yanhe had participated in script readings before, but unlike this time, there were several days before filming officially started, during which everyone sat together to read the script.

Everyone started from the first episode and went through it one by one.

Lian Bei would occasionally interrupt them to offer his own thoughts and opinions.

Even Chen Bige would be interrupted by Lian Bei to offer his own opinion.

This made Lu Yanhe quite admire Lian Bei. After all, it was Chen Bige; would an ordinary director dare to do this? Of course, a director has to do this. No matter how big a star an actor is, once they're on your set, they're under the director's control. Chen Bige clearly understood this principle very well. She refuted and explained Lian Bei's opinion, but there was no unpleasantness.

This creative atmosphere surprised Lu Yanhe quite a bit.

The most distinctive feature of the character played by Lu Yanhe is his ahoge (cowlick). He's not actually stupid or dull-witted, but rather his personality makes him react rather slowly.

Lu Yanhe was unsure for a moment, worried that he might easily portray someone as mentally challenged.

Lian Bei said, "Yan He, the character Lian Cai that you played has a very high IQ. He is a genius. He is just limited by his introverted personality, which makes it difficult for him to express many of his reactions immediately. For example, when you read your lines, he should have his own rhythm. He is very clear about every word he wants to say. He just has a little difficulty expressing it normally."

Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "Director, I know what you mean, but I'm a little unsure how to handle it. I feel like I'm making his lines sound like an idiot."

“He really does look like a fool,” Lian Bei said with a laugh.

Chen Bige said, "You can go and watch some movies and TV shows about geniuses to see how others portray them."

Geniuses always have something special about them.

Many different types of geniuses have been depicted in movies and TV series.

In this script, Lian Cai is a character with exceptionally high intelligence, a gentle and kind personality, but a flaw in his communication skills. The reason he is a "cowlick" is because he knows he cannot express himself fluently, so he often chooses not to express himself, which makes him appear as a "cowlick" in the eyes of others.

Lu Yanhe had done a lot of homework beforehand, including referring to the genius characters in other films and TV dramas, as Chen Bige mentioned, but so far he still hasn't found a performance state that he can completely believe in and enter.

He didn't waste too much time on his own and continued working on the script.

Some problems cannot be solved right now.

He wants to solve it himself.

This face-to-face script reading also helps actors better understand the script and the relationships between the characters.

-

That evening, Jiang Lan appeared.

She arranged a restaurant and took everyone out for dinner.

The total investment in "The Seventeenth Floor" exceeded 200 million yuan, with more than a third of it used to build various escape room scenes and game production for the seventeenth floor building. The goal was to create a high-quality and realistic visual effect in the overall world view, rather than a cheap feeling of full-screen game effects.

The actors' salaries were not high, after all, there were only twelve episodes. Chen Bige, who received the highest salary, only received 2 million yuan per episode, which was far below her market price. Lu Yanhe was even lower, receiving 200,000 yuan per episode, which was even less than Li Yuefeng.

There was no way around it; although Lu Yanhe was the male lead, Li Yuefeng was already a rising star with three hit dramas under his belt, more experienced than Lu Yanhe, and more recognized by investors and television stations.

Of course, this is also why Chen Ziyan doesn't care much about the salary. Otherwise, given Lu Yanhe's current fame, she could easily negotiate a higher fee. It's just that the contract was signed too early; if it had been signed after "The Golden Era" aired, the price would definitely be different.

Like Chen Ziyan, Lu Yanhe didn't care much about the temporary pay.

When he took on this role, he hadn't had a single drama airing yet, and nobody knew how the audience would react to his performance. If Xu Bantian hadn't caused such a huge mess, and if it weren't for the need to smooth things over for Chen Ziyan, Lu Yanhe, given his status at the time, wouldn't have gotten such a top-tier (second lead) role in an S+ drama.

-

Drinking is inevitable at these kinds of dinner parties, but Lu Yanhe is now very clear that he will only drink a maximum of two ounces and will not drink any more.

He only takes a small sip of wine no matter who he's drinking with.

Fortunately, so far, he has not encountered anyone at the dinner table who has a bad drinking habit and forces him to drink.

However, just as there are people like Lu Yanhe who don't really like drinking, there are also people who love drinking.

Li Yuefeng held his wine glass in a circle, then occasionally toasted the director.

The director also seemed to enjoy drinking, and his enthusiasm grew as he drank more.

Jiang Jun is the oldest among them.

After having a few drinks, he started talking to everyone about his feelings.

When they reached Lu Yanhe, Jiang Jun became even more sincere.

“Well, I’m not doing well. At this age, all my peers have made it big, but I’m still playing some minor roles. I’m not very capable, but if there’s anything I can do to help you, I definitely will.” Jiang Jun held Lu Yanhe’s hand. “My son is about your age, and I look at you just like I look at my own son.”

"Teacher Jiang, Sister Ziyan told me that you are a teacher I should learn from. She said that no matter how famous you are, it's useless when it comes to acting. I'm not from a professional acting background and I haven't received any professional training in acting. Please give me more guidance."

Lu Yanhe acted like a junior in front of Jiang Jun, showing him the utmost respect.

Jiang Jun naturally felt Lu Yanhe's respect for him.

He felt a little lost for a moment.

Even the most impulsive minds can have moments of clarity.

Jiang Jun, having been in the entertainment industry for so many years, can certainly tell whether someone's respect for him is genuine or feigned.

Jiang Jun never expected to feel such sincere respect from Lu Yanhe.

After all, Jiang Jun had seen many young people who became famous overnight, and they all went through a period of arrogance and disdain for others.

The politeness and propriety displayed during this period are merely a facade under the guise of social etiquette.

Jiang Jun never expected to feel genuine respect from these people.

He's not a big star; in this profit-driven entertainment industry, he has nothing to be respected for.

Just like Li Yuefeng, when Jiang Jun spoke to him, he could clearly sense that Li Yuefeng was being perfunctory.

Li Yuefeng spent the entire evening trying to get closer to Lian Bei and Chen Bige, hoping to build a good relationship with them; anyone with eyes could see that.

As for the others, Li Yuefeng clearly didn't take them seriously, or rather, they weren't in the category he felt was worth spending time befriending.

Lu Yanhe and Jiang Jun chatted for a while, mainly about the play.

“I’m a bit out of rhythm. I’m aware of the problems the director pointed out to me, but I can’t find a way to solve them,” Lu Yanhe said. “I don’t know how to make people feel that I’m not playing a fool, but a highly intelligent genius with a speech impediment.”

Jiang Jun said earnestly, "Actually, Bi Ge is right. When you don't know how to act, you should find the way of acting that you think is closest to the character you imagine, imitate it first, and then add or subtract from it."

Lu Yanhe said, "Won't this make my performance too similar to others?"

Jiang Jun shook his head and said, "A thousand readers will have a thousand Hamlets in their hearts. The same action will have different effects when performed by different actors. Besides, you certainly won't choose to copy it exactly. You have to incorporate your own understanding. You just need to find a way to get into that role first. Once you find your own rhythm, you can naturally put the previous ones aside."

Lu Yanhe thought about it seriously and said, "I have to try it first. I'm not very confident right now."

Jiang Jun nodded, "Giving it a try is the right thing to do, Yan He. You have to understand that no actor is fully confident before acting. Because no one knows how a role will turn out before you start acting. It's normal to be unsure. If you are confident, it means your imagination of the role is only so shallow."

Lu Yanhe immediately laughed.

He nodded. "I understand."

-

Chen Bige came over to Lu Yanhe, put an arm around his shoulder, and whispered, "How are your two scripts coming along?"

Lu Yanhe said, "The first draft is finished, but I'm still revising it. It's not very presentable yet."

Chen Bige nodded: "No rush, take your time, I won't rush you."

Lu Yanhe couldn't help but laugh.

The more you get to know Chen Bige, the more you realize she's actually a bit "carefree".

She didn't have the airs of a movie queen or top star that I imagined. In fact, when she's in full charisma, she gives people the feeling that the whole world is at her feet.

Lu Yanhe imagined Chen Bige as a strong, independent woman, but in private, Chen Bige gave him the impression of being a very easygoing and carefree woman.

However, Lu Yanhe also knew that this was because of Chen Ziyan, so Chen Bige treated him as a junior brother and acted much more casually in front of him.

Chen Bige added, "If you have any questions or doubts about acting, you can come to me. Putting aside everything else, I have many more years of experience than you."

Lu Yanhe nodded.

"Yes, thank you, Sister Bige."

Chen Bige: "I met Wang Zhong yesterday. He showed me a clip of you making a cameo appearance in his play. Everyone was here just now, so I didn't say anything. You're playing a genius with a speech impediment. I think you could refer to the rhythm of your speech in 'Three Mountains,' which is like rain, sometimes rapid, sometimes slow. I feel that you're currently trying to build a psychological framework that matches your understanding of the character. But in reality, if you can't change your appearance first and create the feeling of a high-IQ genius, it's very, very difficult to play this kind of role based on conviction. It's not an emotional drama; it's all about technique."

Chen Bige's words made Lu Yanhe thoughtful.

-

That night, after returning home, Lu Yanhe lay in bed, carefully recalling what Jiang Jun and Chen Bige had said to him.

If you think about it carefully, they all mentioned a common point: you have to start by creating some distinctive features from the appearance.

This "appearance" definitely doesn't refer to facial features, but rather to the outward appearance and physical characteristics.

"Three Mountains"?

Lu Yanhe never expected that Chen Bige would suggest that he refer to his acting style in "Three Mountains".

In "Three Mountains," he played a fortune teller who was somewhat abnormal and had difficulty communicating with people normally...

Difficulty communicating normally with others!

Lu Yanhe suddenly sat up in bed.

Yes, even Cai doesn't completely avoid communicating with others; rather, she has difficulty communicating normally with people!

Why did he always portray Lien Tsai as a fool who couldn't speak properly and was afraid to look people in the eye?

In that instant, Lu Yanhe realized where his problem lay.

He rationally knew that Lian Cai was just a genius with a speech impediment, but emotionally he regarded him as a genius who was somewhat abnormal, or even showed signs of intellectual disability.

Thus, he was torn between high intelligence and intellectual disability, a contradiction that he could never seem to resolve.

Lu Yanhe suddenly became excited, turned on the light, took out the script, and read it all over again.

Those lines with unclear punctuation and those scenes with unclear rhythm suddenly all had a vague structure, as if there was a direction to study.

-

Lu Yanhe completely deleted all the little actions and details he had previously added to himself.

He is a normal person who can speak normally, react normally, and interact with people normally.

Lu Yanhe decided to do only one thing. Under normal circumstances, he would not speak. But when he did speak, his speech would not keep up with the speed of his thoughts, making his tone of voice somewhat hurried and annoyed. His eyes and expressions would also change at this moment, becoming hurried and annoyed, as if he was sulking.

After deciding on this course of action, he took it to communicate with Lian Bei.

"Director, what do you think of my acting?" Lu Yanhe asked.

After listening to Lu Yanhe's explanation, Lian Bei looked at him with some surprise.

Instead of rushing to a judgment, he said, "Let's see how it goes when we rehearse."

Lu Yanhe nodded and said okay.

(End of this chapter)