Chapter 92 Getting Rained On [VIP]

Chapter Summary: It's not that easy to catch a cold, is it?

In early September, the film crew had already traveled two-thirds of the way to their destination, Namtso Lake.

The dawn of victory seems to be just around the corner.

Although the journey was arduous, we also enjoyed many magnificent and breathtaking natural landscapes.

For example, along the way you will see lakes of all sizes that look like sapphires, mysterious ancient city ruins, colorful Gobi deserts, the world's highest mountain, and so on.

The film crew traveled to various filming locations.

The car drove along a flat asphalt road, with picturesque scenery outside the window, giving the feeling of traveling through an oil painting.

It was a wonderful shooting experience.

Minmin said, "Sister Zhizhi, this trip has really broadened my understanding of Tibet."

"The route we took was all paved roads, which were easy to travel on. We encountered several groups of tourists who were driving here. In particular, the accommodations were much better than I had imagined."

The tourism development is indeed quite good.

In areas where famous tourist attractions are located, most hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, and small eateries are available, and the accommodation conditions are not as bad as one might imagine.

Of course, there were several times as well.

Because of the remoteness of the filming location, they stayed in a small Tibetan village at the foot of the mountain. There was an unnamed inn run by Tibetans, but it was nothing more than an earthen house that could only provide shelter from the wind and rain.

Fortunately, the crew had prepared tents and sleeping bags, so we could sleep in the tents.

Minmin asked Muzhi what she found most difficult to overcome along the way.

Mu Zhi quickly replied, "You can't take a bath every day."

Minmin nodded repeatedly, she couldn't agree more.

After leaving a low-altitude area of ​​over 1,000 meters last week, the crew continued their journey, filming at locations ranging from over 3,000 meters above sea level to the current 4,500 meters above sea level.

Tonight, most of the film crew stayed near an ancient temple, one of the famous tourist attractions.

There is a Tibetan-style guesthouse located next to the lake.

Some staff members with weaker constitutions were worried about altitude sickness, and since the guesthouse couldn't accommodate so many people, they were dispersed to live in small villages at the foot of the mountain.

The film crew booked this inn and will stay here for a week to film scenes at the inn and the ancient temple.

Mu Zhi felt as if some of the scenes she and Asang filmed had overlapped across time and space.

For example, Asang and Youqu checked into this lakeside inn.

She and Tai Feng also moved in.

However, since she didn't share a room with the character, the production crew set aside a room specifically for filming in Asang's room.

There's a night shoot tonight.

Perhaps it's because they've adapted to the intensity of filming at high altitudes over the past three months.

Mu Zhi didn't feel sleepy and was in good spirits as she waited on the large balcony of the inn.

The temperature difference between day and night is large.

After Mu Zhi finished her makeup and styling for the role, she draped a thick blanket over herself and sat on a deck chair looking at the stars.

Minmin brought Muzhi a thermos cup containing glucose water.

After handing it to Mu Zhi, he sat down next to her.

Looking up at the stars with Mu Zhi, I exclaimed, "Sister Zhizhi, the night sky here is so beautiful."

"Yes, it's beautiful."

If it weren't for the night shoot, I wouldn't have the leisure to sit here and look at the stars.

Every day, I strive to get enough rest so I'm in good shape for filming the next morning.

Mu Zhi has developed the habit of going to bed early and waking up early, bidding farewell to the nightlife of the big city.

Looking at the Milky Way hanging in the sky, the twinkling stars seem so close, as if you could reach out and touch them, giving you the illusion that you can pluck the stars from the sky.

Mu Zhi took out her phone and took a picture of the starry sky.

Before filming "Countdown", she wouldn't post on her personal WeChat Moments for two months at a time.

I rarely post on WeChat Moments; my posts are practically never updated.

I've recently become a bit of a travel blogger.

I post on WeChat Moments once a week, and it might be a small wildflower on the grassland, a distant snow-capped mountain, a lake like a blue ribbon, or a colorful Gobi Desert...

When sharing, I only post a photo that I took casually.

She originally planned to post on Weibo as a way to share with her fans, but some tourists and fans saw her photos and deduced where she was filming, so they came to watch the filming, which caused some inconvenience.

So I chose to post it on WeChat Moments.

Actually, this event doesn't quite fit Mu Zhi's image. Someone as aloof as her doesn't seem like someone who would be keen on sharing these little moments of life.

Perhaps it was somewhat influenced by Asang.

Asang likes to record all the little joys she encounters on this journey.

During the filming, the signal was not very stable, so Mu Zhi rarely checked her phone while waiting. She would just take some casual photos of the scenery and post them on WeChat Moments when the signal was back on track.

This was one of the few times she had a break after work, aside from reading scripts and talking to her agent on the phone.

After taking the photos of the starry sky, Mu Zhi didn't even edit them before posting them directly on her WeChat Moments.

Just as I was about to exit the WeChat app, I received a notification that someone had liked my post.

The profile picture was a starry sky, and I realized it was my boss's WeChat profile picture.

Upon clicking, I discovered that the other person had unliked my post.

Then other friends liked the post, and Zhou Jingzhu and Ning Yao left comments below.

One minute later, the boss gave it another thumbs up.

Mu Zhi: ? I accidentally liked it, and I immediately unliked it after realizing it. Then I saw that she replied to Zhou Jingzhu's comment below.

[Zhou Jingzhu] Zhizhi, you finally have a message! Reply: [smiley face]

I think she saw the like.

So you quickly added a like? That's weird.

Tai Feng arrived on set, and the two were about to rehearse their lines. Mu Zhi put her phone away, not taking the small matter to heart.

Mid-September.

The film crew shot in a county town at the highest altitude in northern Tibet.

Director Wan Zhou experienced altitude sickness and nearly fainted due to exhaustion, but was fortunately supported by his assistant director and assistant.

They immediately called in the private doctor who was traveling with the director to examine him.

The news of the director's illness spread quickly throughout the entire crew, leaving everyone feeling lost and many staff members worried about the upcoming filming.

Mu Zhi and Tai Feng went to see Director Wan Zhou.

The doctor had the staff bring over the oxygen cylinders from the car and set up a nasal cannula oxygen device for Director Wan Zhou to alleviate his altitude sickness.

The accompanying doctor told me about Director Wan Zhou's condition. The gist of it was that he was old and his immune system wasn't very strong. In addition, he probably hadn't rested well, and the altitude here was high, so he experienced some discomfort.

After receiving oxygen, director Wan Zhou recovered somewhat and lay on a recliner, sighing and making self-deprecating remarks.

"I've been to Tibet several times already."

"I came here last summer and again this April to scout out the location myself..."

He said he was in good health and never expected to experience altitude sickness.

At the script reading session.

Mu Zhi recalled that the director had mentioned that "Countdown" had been in the works for several years, but later, Director Wan Zhou's health deteriorated, which dampened his enthusiasm for making the film.

The project was shelved.

Two years ago, the decision was made to restart this film project.

It's because he refuses to accept getting old, he doesn't want to accept getting old.

"Notify all departments to hurry up and finish filming the last scene. Everyone, call it a day."

Mu Zhi said, "Director Wan, your health is important. You need to rest more."

The people present all cast surprised glances at Mu Zhi, somewhat not expecting her to dare to speak up and advise Wan Zhou.

The assistant director had worked with Wan Zhou several times and they were old friends.

He also echoed Mu Zhi's words, advising Director Wan Zhou to go back to the hotel to rest, and leave the rest to him.

Wan Zhou didn't want his earlier commotion to disturb everyone's peace of mind.

He waved his hand to indicate, "It's just a minor illness, nothing to worry about."

He insisted on directing the final scene himself and instructed others to continue filming as planned.

Mu Zhi wanted to continue persuading him, but saw Tai Feng beside her give her a look that signaled to stop.

After walking aside.

Tai Feng said to Mu Zhi, "Director Wan is very stubborn; no one can persuade him."

"All we can do is try to get the scenes we're filming in a bit in one take and wrap up as soon as possible."

Mu Zhi: "...Okay."

The following day, we headed to the next filming location.

The altitude is several hundred meters lower.

But director Wan Zhou still carried an oxygen tank.

In fact, oxygen therapy can lead to dependence.

Being in a high-altitude area and having filming duties every day, it's difficult to take a break from the busy work and get proper rest. As a result, altitude sickness symptoms are unlikely to subside or disappear within two or three days.

Late September.

The crew of "Countdown" entered a nature reserve in northern Tibet.

The scene that Mu Zhi auditioned for will be filmed here: the navigation went the wrong way, and Asang and Youqu drove into the no-man's-land.

The film crew chose to shoot in remote areas.

Looking at the scene before her, Mu Zhi saw a pristine desert landscape, vast, desolate, and barren.

Tai Feng: "This is the highest plateau in the world, with extremely harsh climate and living conditions."

Minmin asked a little fearfully, "I heard that brown bears and wolf packs can be found in uninhabited areas?"

Tai Feng nodded: "However, Tibet is very large. If we are not in the area we are filming in, or deep in the uninhabited areas, we will not encounter the brown bears and wolf packs you are worried about."

"Also, it is not allowed to cross uninhabited areas without permission."

Judging from Tai Feng's tone, Mu Zhi wondered if he had crossed the no-man's-land. What a brave warrior!

Since filming began for "Countdown," among the main cast including Mu Zhi and the actors making guest appearances, only Tai Feng remained completely unaffected throughout the entire process.

No wonder he's a traveler who's been all over the world; he's in great physical condition.

Mu Zhi and Tai Feng had only briefly worked together before filming this scene, and after three and a half months, they officially started filming, having already established a good rapport.

The scenes involving talking in the car to set up navigation, realizing they were on the wrong route and getting out of the car, finding a signal, and the two arguing about water were all filmed smoothly for the first two days.

By the third day.

As the filming progressed, Asang walked away alone with her luggage. Youqu was still angry, regretting that his unintentional words had hurt Asang's feelings. He wanted to apologize but didn't know how to start. He also thought that if he and Asang separated like this, wouldn't it be a good thing? He could stop deceiving her and wouldn't have to suffer from his conscience anymore.

After Asang left, Youqu regained his senses and realized that it was very dangerous for a young girl like Asang to be traveling alone in the no-man's-land, so he quickly went after her.

The film crew has set up the shooting location properly, and all departments are ready.

The script supervisor had just struck the clapperboard.

Mu Zhi got into character, pulling her suitcase for only two steps.

The weather, which had been sunny and clear just moments before, suddenly turned into a thunderstorm.

Director Wan Zhou has been on oxygen for the past week and his reactions are a bit slow. When he saw Tai Feng pulling Mu Zhi into the car to avoid the rain, he quickly shouted "Cut!"

On-site staff immediately began "rescue" the equipment...

If filming in another location, Tai Feng might have acted like Mu Zhi, driven by his professionalism as an actor and immersed in the character's emotions, not taking the initiative to break character until the director yelled "cut," just like a soldier charging into battle who would never retreat without the general's order.

However, it's different in high-altitude areas.

From the moment it started raining to the moment I got on the bus, it only took a dozen seconds.

Tai Feng pulled Mu Zhi into the car to avoid the rain. He touched his coat and found it was soaked, but luckily the T-shirt he was wearing underneath wasn't too wet.

I glanced at Mu Zhi; her long hair was eight or nine-tenths wet. Asang hadn't worn a coat when she got off the bus, and after arguing with You Qu, she sadly dragged her suitcase away.

So Mu Zhi was almost completely soaked.

Tai Feng looked away, frowned, and pointed to the back seat, reminding, "There's a blanket in the back seat, hurry up and wipe yourself down."

"lest......"

Before she could even utter the word "cold," Mu Zhi sneezed.

Mu Zhi also had a bad feeling: It's not that easy to catch a cold, is it?