Chapter 286: Red and White Roses, Red and White Roses, Here...

After the grand celebration banquet, Li Sishi began preparing to join the cast of "Big City, Small Love" and complete her cameo role.

Meanwhile, Zhuang Menghua and Lu Yiting, seeing that the hype from the celebration banquet had died down, also began preparing to "retire"—winning an international award that no one had ever won before was certainly commendable, but using it as a reason to generate hype would eventually become tiresome.

Although there are those in this industry who can live off a single honor for their entire lives, they are not the type to become complacent and stagnant after a period of good fortune.

Therefore, the only way to achieve true glory is to constantly surpass oneself and break records.

Just like Li Sishi's "glorious" resume of two beauty pageant champions and two international beauty pageant top three finishers, even if she just sat on her beauty pageant achievements and did not strive for further progress, just by showing off these achievements, she could have landed many supporting roles as a decorative vase in big-budget movies with male leads. Not to mention that she was able to put aside her status as the top beauty pageant contestant in Hong Kong and steadily work her way up from television dramas to the film industry.

What's most commendable is that, apart from being relatively "strict" in choosing scripts, Li Sishi always takes her roles seriously, whether they are commercial or art films, and whether she plays the lead or supporting role. There have never been any negative rumors of her being opportunistic in this regard.

Knowing that Li Sishi was always quite "sensible," Lu Yiting felt at ease entrusting her to Cheng Hesheng's "Big City, Small Love" crew for the time being, and then went to attend to other matters.

Not to mention the plethora of script offers that came her way after Li Sishi won the Cannes Film Festival Best Actress award, which required careful selection; just the upcoming Hong Kong and overseas screenings of "Beauty on the High Platform" and the production of Li Sishi's new album were enough to keep Lu Yiting busy.

Now that Rong Juezhang, an exceptionally useful assistant, is no longer around to help, and Lu Yiting is reluctant to hand over Li Sishi, whose career is rapidly rising, to others, fearing that they might not be able to handle Li Sishi's affairs well and drag her down, Lu Yiting can only handle all the business herself—it's tiring, but the sense of fulfillment and satisfaction of watching her precious daughter gradually shine is also a unique kind of feeling.

Fortunately, Li Sishi is not only sensible but also very career-minded. She handles all her work simultaneously, juggling both the music and film industries without ever complaining of being tired, and even showing great promise.

Finding joy in it... well, no wonder such a two-way exchange can create miracles.

While Lu Yiting was busy working and happily marveling at meeting such a talented person, Cheng Hesheng, on the other hand, was overjoyed to see Li Sishi arrive as promised, bringing with her a generous gift—the newly crowned Cannes Best Actress award.

He was initially worried that this film, with its subject matter that was not very market-friendly, would be a box office failure. But now, looking at the lineup, his film has already attracted two international Best Actress winners, a superstar, and a Golden Horse Award winner. Just that alone is enough to generate a lot of buzz.

Even when making niche art films that go almost against popular tastes, Cheng Hesheng, who once nearly ruined his career due to box office failures, still focuses on pursuing his ideals while remembering to keep one foot firmly planted on the ground and establish a solid economic foundation.

In fact, there aren't many directors in Hong Kong who can completely let loose. Even Tang Mojing and Sheng Laoguai, two investors who always have suckers cleaning up their messes and who are both bankrupt accelerators and life slowdowns, have had a history of compromising with reality and "against their will" making some commercial films to cater to the market and recoup their losses...

There aren't many films throughout history that have achieved both critical acclaim and box office success. He has high hopes for his work but isn't overly confident, so he tries to find a balance between the two. Actors like Li Sishi and Ling Chen, who have both popularity and box office appeal and are also exceptionally well-suited to their roles, represent a part of that "balance" he has found.

Today, Li Sishi has three scenes scheduled, which are arranged in chronological order, from their meeting at dusk to the wedding banquet.

Finally, there were quiet conversations late at night.

The story unfolds in just three simple and brief scenes, depicting the life-changing moment for the second female lead, Fang Ning, who arrives alone from the distant city of Tianjin to the port city full of anticipation yet bewildered, only to marry her former lover with whom she now shares a stalemate.

Because it has been agreed with Cheng Hesheng that two songs in Li Sishi's new album will borrow some filming material from "Big City, Small Love", Cheng Hesheng will also help film some scenes that Li Sishi's new album needs after the performance required by the script is completed.

Although Shang Lanyu had other work today and wouldn't arrive until the evening's wedding banquet scene, the scenes needed for Li Sishi's new album mostly only required her help in the early morning—the two are not only old friends but also have a lot of rumors going on, so Cheng Hesheng doesn't have to worry about the male lead's cooperation at all...

Sure enough, when Cheng Hesheng asked him in the early morning, he agreed so readily that he even came up with his own reasons: "I promised him a long time ago."

May is going to help her out again, she hasn't had a suitable opportunity until now, and this is the perfect time to balance things out...

Seeing Ling Chen's naive and foolish appearance, as if he had been sold out and was even helping to count the money, Cheng Hesheng, who felt that he was more similar to the male lead "Wei Shaojun" in the play, nodded in satisfaction and then turned to inform Li Sishi.

When Li Sishi came out after changing into the white shirt dress needed for the scene, she immediately saw Ling Chen sitting on a small stool in the corner, engrossed in his studies. He had a movie script in his left hand and a music video script in his right, reading with great interest. He didn't even notice when Li Sishi quietly walked up to him.

Assistant Quan, who was standing guard beside her at midnight, wanted to speak, but after Li Sishi raised her finger to signal him to be quiet, his gaze swept back and forth between the two of them through the door, which was also a "very tactful" way of simply washing his hands of the matter...

However, although Li Sishi had crept over so quietly, she didn't have the kind of perverse pleasure of startling people. While Cheng Hesheng was still coordinating lighting and street scene framing with the staff, she stood leisurely next to the small stool until dawn when she suddenly looked up as if sensing something...

Haha, your hairstyle is so... cute!

Seeing that his once stylish side-parted hair had been replaced by a much shorter buzz cut, Li Sishi couldn't help but cover her mouth.

It was clear she had changed "so silly" to "so cute" halfway through, and Lingchen could only explain with a wry smile, "I thought the male lead, a young man from mainland China, should have his hair cut shorter..."

When I visited Li Sishi's set, filming hadn't officially started yet, so he hadn't changed his look. Later, during a scene rehearsal, he suddenly got inspiration and cut his hair. Li Sishi was already busy filming and going to Cannes to compete for awards, so we just missed each other perfectly.

"And the director thought my suggestion was good, so he let me change my hairstyle." Ling Chen shook her head as she spoke, adding, "Actually, according to the director's idea, the female lead, Lü Yao, should also have cut her hair short, which was more fashionable at the time. However, Maggie also had to shoot commercials while filming this movie, so she had to keep her long hair..."

Hearing him change his address for Shang Lanyu from "Miss Shang Lanyu" to "Maggie," Li Sishi nodded thoughtfully: It seems that Shang Lanyu has been working hard to improve his acting skills during this time.

After all, it was a rare opportunity to be paired with Cheng Hesheng, who is very good at teaching actors, and Shang Lanyu, who is very good at provoking her fellow actors. After this "baptism" in the early morning, he should be able to take another step forward.

I don't know when she faced Shang Lanyu

What kind of sparks will fly...?

Thinking this, Li Sishi's gaze couldn't help but return to Ling Chen: Perfect, let's practice with Ling Chen, who may have changed a bit.

Her first scene in the film was one that, as I recall, was not in the final cut—though I don't know if it was because some scenes were added at the last minute because she was cast as the second female lead, or if this part of the footage was not used for various reasons.

If it's the former, it would give her more opportunities to perform, but she would also need to be more careful in evaluating the whole situation; if it's the latter, then it's a fairly normal situation in filming.

It's not surprising that for this kind of subject matter and script, several minutes or even more than ten minutes of scenes are cut when it reaches other channels. Some less core or more "borderline" content is easily cut by the ruthless editors during editing.

Based on the above factors, Li Sishi valued her first appearance, which lasted less than a minute: although her one-minute scene seemed to have the potential to be ruthlessly cut later, if she could perform well enough, and given Cheng Hesheng's high regard for the second female lead as a "shadow heroine," at least in the Hong Kong version, her scene shouldn't be easily cut...

Second female lead "Fang Ning"

She was a girl studying dance in Tianjin. Judging from the living standards of that era, even if she wasn't from a wealthy family, she must have been a well-off young lady from a modest family.

Therefore, for Li Sishi's first appearance, the stylist created a somewhat "simple and rustic yet classic" look for her, based on the character's personality. She wore a simple white dress, and with just a glance, she resembled the pure and delicate white rose of her hometown, which she longed for countless times in her dreams.

This scene continues the storyline after the male and female leads quarreled on the street and lost contact. Using montage, it shows two separate storylines: the female lead, Lü Yao, got together with the second male lead, Tiger, while the male lead, Wei Shaojun, resumed his correspondence with his fiancée, the second female lead, Fang Ning.

From the lengthy discourse when he first arrived in the port city to the unspeakable words after falling into a mistake with Lü Yao, and now back to the long discourse filled with longing, the interwoven scenes, the bicycle that gradually rusts because it no longer carries the heroine Lü Yao through the bustling city, the letters sent one after another, and the monologues interspersed among them, all hint at the passage of time.

The story continues until the male protagonist's monologue reaches the line, "This is my last letter, because you're coming to Hong Kong next month."

The interwoven scene lingers outside the bustling train station, where the white rose from her hometown awaits her arrival in the port city to marry her fiancé.

Looking back at that once-familiar yet now somewhat unfamiliar figure in the crowd, a smile warmed the entire early winter.

Looking at the scene before him, Cheng Hesheng smiled with satisfaction: it was precisely because the white roses of his hometown were such an unforgettable dream that the male protagonist was so hesitant between the two.

A red rose that shares joys and sorrows, weathering storms hand in hand; a white rose that once represented ideals and remains beautiful to this day…

It's partly due to my personality, and partly due to the cruel twist of fate.

Whether in the play or in real life, choosing one of the two is an incredibly difficult decision—but in the play, it is ultimately dramatic, as the person in the play doesn't need to struggle with the decision; external factors have already chosen one for them, and the outcome is set in stone.

The expressions and emotions in her eyes were so satisfying and cooperative at this moment. After the first take was perfect, when they were shooting the second take to make it even better, Cheng Hesheng even cut Li Sishi's only line, "I'm here."

They glanced back, smiled, and embraced. Finally, their long figures turned into pure black silhouettes in the twilight, etched in a corner of the bright red and gold wedding invitation, becoming a symbol of lovers.

Then, above the gold-engraved characters “台启”, the two characters “吕遥” were solemnly written.

A wedding invitation was written, and a clever transition was completed at the same time.

The red and white roses in the play and the red and white roses in the song have met by chance at this moment.