"Hahaha..." Director Zhu burst into laughter, "She is the spitting image of Shen Jingwan, this role was made for her!"
Director Zhu is a well-known film fanatic. In order to make a good film, he can stay in a cold place for several years to hone his skills. The crew members suffer terribly and when they come back after filming, they all look like refugees and are completely unrecognizable.
Fang Yuan knew his personality; once he had made up his mind about Xie Yuyao, he wouldn't give up easily: "Will your method work? Will she really go with our crew?"
Director Zhu narrowed his eyes and remained silent.
After spending the last two days together, he, who had seen countless people, knew very well that Xie Yuyao, though seemingly easygoing, was actually very opinionated, and he was no longer confident.
During the subsequent filming, Xie Yuyao stopped throwing tantrums. She calmed down and listened attentively to Director Zhu's guidance. As a national-level director, his few words of advice could save an actor a lot of trouble.
Xie Yuyao knew in her heart what a rare opportunity this was. Although she did not intend to pursue a career in acting, she cherished this opportunity.
Director Zhu added to the story: During the Republic of China era, a modern woman who returned from studying abroad pursued free love, but in order to save her father who was caught up in power struggles, she was forced to marry a powerful young military officer.
A proud and lively modern girl in a traditional, rule-bound mansion—the resulting conflicts are predictable.
Xie Yuyao, a person from a later era, came to this era full of constraints, and she has many things in common with the heroine in the story.
So she gradually got into character without realizing it, and was even able to discuss the character's inner thoughts when Director Zhu was explaining the scene, understanding the character better than anyone else.
The filming lasted for four days. That afternoon, with Director Zhu's announcement of "Cut!", Xie Yuyao sat down to remove her makeup.
Director Zhu walked over: "Yaoyao, how are you feeling today?"
Xie Yuyao said, "That's good. I have an idea for the next scene..."
"There's no next scene. Filming is over," Director Zhu said with a smile.
Xie Yuyao was stunned upon hearing this, and after a long while, she murmured, "Is it over?"
Director Zhu nodded, and at his command, the crew dismantled the camera equipment and sets one by one. As people went in and out, the ancient and luxurious atmosphere of the hall gradually disappeared, restoring it to its old appearance before it was contracted out.
Xie Yuyao stared blankly at the props from the film crew. She had gotten used to playing the role of Shen Jingwan these past few days, but now it had come to an abrupt end, leaving her feeling like she had a fishbone stuck in her throat.
As Director Zhu was thanking the captain for his cooperation over the past few days, he glanced at Xie Yuyao out of the corner of his eye, took in her expression, and smiled inscrutably.
"Then let's have dinner before you leave. You've been here for so many days, and our Qingshan Village hasn't properly entertained you yet," the brigade leader warmly invited.
Director Zhu smiled and declined, "Thank you for your kindness, but the actress for the female lead hasn't been decided yet. We need to rush back to the county town so that the actresses from the cultural troupe can audition again."
Upon hearing this, Xie Yuyao's heart stirred, and her gaze toward Director Zhu instantly became unfathomable.
The truth was revealed when the map was unrolled; it turned out that all of this was Director Zhu's scheme.
She wanted to see how the show would unfold.
Assistant Fang Yuan said, "I must say, the girl who led the dance in the cultural troupe last time was quite good; her looks and demeanor were both up to par."
Director Zhu nodded seriously: "Then let's try her again. She's a veteran actress, so her acting skills must be good."
Xie Yuyao pursed her lips, almost unable to suppress her laughter. Their back-and-forth banter was truly... too amusing.
Because of the excessive force, Xie Yuyao's cheeks turned red, and her eyes even welled up with a little saline solution.
Her pitiful appearance made people feel sorry for her being abandoned by the film crew.
"Yaoyao, come here." Director Zhu beckoned to her.
Xie Yuyao took a deep breath and slowly walked over.
Director Zhu then took out a thick envelope and said with a smile, "This is your payment for the past few days."
Xie Yuyao opened the envelope and saw a large pile of "Big Reunion" gifts inside, probably several hundred in total.
"!" Could it be that he's trying to take the material route, using sweet words and promises to win me over?
Director Zhu laughed and said, "What's with that weird expression? Don't you think it's enough?"
"No." Xie Yuyao stuffed the money back, unmoved.
Yao Qian couldn't help but say, "Actors at the film studio only get a ten-yuan stipend per day, but your earnings these past few days are higher than those of a veteran first-class actor. It's all thanks to Director Zhu himself..."
"Why are you saying so much? Just bring the things over," Director Zhu interrupted Yao Qian.
Before long, Xie Yuyao had a large file folder and a bag containing clothes in her hands.
The clothes bag contained her favorite cheongsam, while the document bag was full of photos and negatives from the past few days.
Looking at the photo, Xie Yuyao fell into a daze again.
Before leaving, Director Zhu didn't discuss filming with Xie Yuyao again, but just smiled and said he would send over the photos taken today.
Xie Yuyao watched the car disappear from sight and smiled inexplicably.
"Xie Wazi, what have you done now?" The captain, who knew her well, raised an eyebrow and asked.
"It's nothing, I just suddenly realized something. It was truly an extraordinary experience." Xie Yuyao said with emotion as she took the photos and clothes back to the educated youth compound.
In the following days, Xie Yuyao dreamed every night that she had traveled back to the Republic of China era and become the woman in the photograph.
When she is lucid, she often wonders what kind of life she would lead if she traveled back to the Republican era and became a woman like Shen Jingwan.
It's becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between the on-screen and off-screen worlds.
*
Director Zhu, who was far away in the county town, was also getting restless. In the past few days, he specially asked Director Qian of the county town's cultural troupe to recruit Xie Yuyao and take the opportunity to observe her condition.
However, the feedback that Director Qian brought back was that Xie Yuyao was stationed at the health center and was seeing patients and prescribing medicine for many people.
Director Zhu couldn't understand how she, an outsider without professional training, could so quickly detach herself from the role and return to her previous life and work.
Something's not right, something's very wrong!
Director Zhu closed his eyes slightly and went through Xie Yuyao's expression frame by frame as they left Qingshan Village after filming.
Not long after, he smiled rather helplessly.
"Director Zhu, what's on your mind?" Yao Qian asked, leaning closer.
Director Zhu smiled and shook his head: "Xie Yuyao saw through my intentions long ago. I was just waiting for her to take the bait. She's really something else!"
"Really?" Fang Yuan asked in surprise. "How did you figure that out? Besides, she hasn't made a move these past few days. Aren't you afraid we'll really not choose her and pick another girl to leave this place?"
"To be honest, she's too arrogant. Since she knows our intentions, she should just come to the county town and tell Director Zhu that she wants to play a role. Why force us to bow down first? What good does it do to offend the crew?" Yao Qian said contemptuously and sarcastically.
Director Zhu glanced at Yao Qian and scolded, "You can't say that. We planned this first, and we need her. You can't have this kind of thinking."
Yao Qian's face flushed red instantly, and she was so embarrassed and annoyed that she couldn't speak.
Director Zhu ignored her and instead instructed Fang Yuan: "Go and pick out a few gifts. We'll go to Qingshantun again tomorrow."
It truly became a case of three visits to the thatched cottage; hopefully, Xie Yuyao will "come out of seclusion" like in the classic story.
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