Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Jiang Mingyue pressed her temples, suppressing the urge to yell "Get out!" at Fu Qian. She spoke politely to Zhang Xin first, saying, "Director Zhang, please wait a moment. I need to say a few words to Fu Qian. I'll be right back."

Amidst the gossipy stares of onlookers, Jiang Mingyue walked up to Fu Qian and said earnestly, "Fu Qian, this role is the first opportunity I got through an audition. I even had to ask for leave from school to join the cast. I cherish this opportunity and really like this role. I appreciate your kindness, but I don't like using connections."

Fu Qian seemed not to have heard what Jiang Mingyue said at all, and directly retorted: "Fu's Group invested 30% in the project. If I like it, I can add more scenes for you if I want. You don't need to be shy."

Forget it, Fu Qian won't understand if I try to speak politely.

Jiang Mingyue decided to face reality.

She stopped smiling and chose a more direct way to refuse: "I don't need you to interfere with the roles I've already got. Also, I don't like spoiled brats who have no ability and can only rely on their families to show off."

After she finished speaking, she ignored Fu Qian and quickened her pace to return to Zhang Xin's side, whispering, "Alright, Fu Qian won't cause any more trouble."

Zhang Xin glanced back and asked with a smile, "Aren't you tempted? He seems quite sincere towards you."

sincere?

He might have some liking or even love, but such feelings were very rare. What he felt most was the hurt in his self-esteem after being rejected and his possessiveness in not wanting other men to have Jiang Mingyue.

Jiang Mingyue shook her head: "My parents taught me from a young age not to think about getting something for nothing. Besides, I love acting, and having a boyfriend or getting married would have too much of an impact on a female actress's career."

There are no precedents in China of wealthy housewives who don't need to support their families yet still act.

A female actress's marital status can also affect the ratings of a TV series.

Zhang Xin laughed after hearing this and nodded repeatedly: "That's right, there's no such thing as a free lunch. If you want to focus on acting, you must remember to stay away from those rich people who own real estate and resources."

Zhang Xin led Jiang Mingyue on a walk, chatting as they went, and soon arrived at the location where the professional wire-suspending equipment was placed.

Jiang Mingyue glanced at it a few times, puzzled, and asked, "Director Zhang, the script I received doesn't seem to have any scenes requiring wire work. Do I still need to learn how to do wire work?"

Zhang Xin's face lit up with joy. She glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then lowered her voice to remind him, "Director Liu thinks your portrayal of the third female lead, Hu Lili, is excellent. You've added back several scenes from the original novel, including Hu Lili dancing to seduce the male lead, the fight scene where she's caught and flees in panic, the scene where the female lead takes Hu Lili on horseback to find the male lead, and the scene where Hu Lili fights alongside the female lead."

"Practice as soon as possible. You have scenes to film first thing tomorrow morning, and Director Liu will definitely ask about your progress. If you can figure out the wire work and the choreography by tomorrow, you'll be fine for those two scenes."

This is indeed a rare opportunity to show off!

Jiang Mingyue's face lit up with joy upon hearing this, and she immediately promised, "I will definitely make the most of it."

With the incentive of swimming confirmed, Zhang Xin called out with satisfaction: "Old Li, come here—this is our new third female lead, Jiang Mingyue. She has a scene in a few days where she'll be suspended by wires. You can teach her how to use it first."

After explaining things to the staff, Zhang Xin then instructed Jiang Mingyue: "The dance teacher we booked will be here at four o'clock this afternoon. Remember to come back to the studio and learn from her."

Jiang Mingyue wrote down her afternoon's work in her notebook: "Okay, I've got it."

"I'm going to check out the set design. You stay here for now," Zhang Xin instructed, then left in two cars.

The staff came over, hoisted Jiang Mingyue into the air, and shouted at her, "Is this height okay? Use your muscles to straighten your body—yes, that's it, you're doing great."

From afar, Zhang Xin heard the sound, turned around, saw Jiang Mingyue on the wire, and nodded.

This young girl is indeed remarkable; she's a rough gem worth polishing.

The 6,000 yuan spent by their production team was extremely worthwhile.

Zhang Xin had a premonition that "Seven Stars Align" would receive a very good response after its release.

*

Wire work refers to attaching steel cables to an actor's body, allowing them to perform actions that defy the laws of physics in the air. In the film and television industry, it's frequently used for dance sequences or numerous performance scenes.

When suspended by wires, the wires are tied around the performer's waist to facilitate stability. However, being suspended by wires does not mean that the performer can easily complete the movements once the wires are tied on.

Wire work places extremely high demands on the performer's core strength.

Many new TV dramas these days become jokes whenever there are fight scenes. This is largely due to the fact that young male and female actors pursue thinness without properly building muscle. Even if they force themselves to complete the performance by hanging from wires, the final result is not aesthetically pleasing and is also a huge injury to the performers' bodies.

Being suspended by wires is a nightmare for many young actors.

After securing the safety measures, the harness operator reminded, "Are you ready? Let's raise it to a height of two meters to get used to it."

“Okay, come on.” Jiang Mingyue nodded.

The pressure was activated, and the track pulled the ultra-fine steel wire, which was only a few millimeters in diameter, slowly lifting Jiang Mingyue up.

The feeling of being suspended by wires was very strange, like being the female lead in "King Kong" and being grabbed by the waist by a monster. Fortunately, Jiang Mingyue had experienced many wire-suspended performances in her previous life and knew how to control her body to minimize the damage she would suffer.

She quickly tightened her core and stretched her body in mid-air.

After Jiang Mingyue got used to the feeling of her feet leaving the ground, she hummed the background music of "Dunhuang Music and Music Protector" softly. Her left leg hung down naturally, while her right leg slowly rose above her navel in an arc. Her two slender arms stretched backward, making a backhanded pipa-playing motion.

The girl's expression changed accordingly. Her long eyelashes drooped slightly, casting a natural shadow at the corners of her eyes, making the surging water in her eyes as deep and silent as the deep sea in the night.

After completing the movement, she lowered her right leg, which, together with her left leg, seemed to be stepping on a cloud, while her arms remained in the posture of embracing a pipa as they fell to her waist.

Ten slender fingers gently plucked at non-existent strings.

Then, as if she had grown tired of standing still, she shifted her weight to her left foot, and raised the pipa she had been holding above her head to pluck it.

A joyful expression appeared on Jiang Mingyue's face. Her fingers quickened their strumming of the strings. The next second, she suddenly exerted force, using the advantage of swinging in the air to leap across her legs and spin around once, then leap back to her original position.

The innocent and joyful expression on her face transformed into unrestrained indulgence, her alluring eyes radiating a honey-sweet temptation. She tossed aside the pipa, her hands forming delicate, orchid-like fingers, one hand returning to her chin, the other stretching out into the distance, as if extending an invitation to the onlookers, remaining motionless for a long time.

However, after the onlooker was provoked into reaching out to her, she stingily withdrew the signal she had sent.

Jiang Mingyue twisted and spun around in place, then drifted to another direction.

"Good!" The sudden shout of approval interrupted Jiang Mingyue's performance.