Chapter Fourteen
Filming for "Snow Abyss" commenced amidst much fanfare, and the release of the opening ceremony photos quickly generated considerable buzz online. Because it's an original script, only a synopsis could be shared, which certainly whetted the audience's appetite.
Some say Su Xian's cool and heroic demeanor is perfect for playing an assassin; others say Su Xian has never tried period dramas before and might flop; still others say that given Shu Ying's reputation, if Su Xian performs normally, the drama will be a hit, and if he performs exceptionally well, he might even be nominated for the Golden Deer Award.
Qingqing stayed with Su Xian on set. During breaks, Qingqing would tell her about online comments, just for fun. For the first 20 days of filming, Su Xian stayed in the mountains of Jiangsu Province where the film studio was located, shooting on location. Filming on location as much as possible would avoid the artificiality of special effects; this was Director Xu's habit.
Su Xuan's intensive training laid a solid foundation, and except for a few high-difficulty moves that required a stunt double, she performed all the other action scenes herself. Action director Qian was very satisfied with this, and even occasionally advised her to switch tracks and consider pursuing an action-drama route.
The final few days of filming in the mountains featured a major scene: Xue was being hunted by a master while investigating the truth behind her family's wrongful conviction. Fortunately, Xue's master arrived in time, and the two fought their way out, but the master was seriously injured and died.
The fight scenes between Xue and many others, as well as the fight scenes between Xue and her master, took several days to film. Every day, she was suspended by wires, performing flying kicks and sword strikes. Sometimes she even had to lie on the ground and be dragged around by the extras, inevitably suffering some minor injuries and pains. However, when she saw the playback on the monitor, Su Xian felt an indescribable sense of fulfillment.
The last scene filmed was Xue's master's farewell to her on his deathbed. On this day, Xue lost the most important person in her life besides her family.
Director Xu stood under the shade of a tree, holding the script and explaining the scene. "Later, Xue, you help Master up from the ground, let her lean on you, and then Master says her lines." Director Xu quickly read from the script: "Xiao Xue, will you regret being brought back to the organization by me in the first place?"
"Then after Xue finished her lines, and her master died, you hugged her and started crying."
"Director Xu, what do you think is a good way to cry?"
"Be more emotional."
"But Xue is inherently strong and reserved, and I'm not sure if this kind of overly expressive emotion is suitable for her."
Director Xu shook his head. "You two are the only female assassins in the organization, and your relationship with her is already closer than that of a mother and daughter. Moreover, it's quite difficult to convey emotions in a restrained emotional scene."
"How about I try both? Director Xu, please tell me which one works better."
“I can cooperate with anything,” Chen Jun said, looking at Director Xu.
"Alright, get ready." Director Xu walked towards the monitor.
"Should we get into the mood first?" Chen Jun and Su Xian walked side by side.
Chen Jun wasn't one to put on airs as a senior, so Su Xian got along quite well with her.
"It's alright, I should be able to get into the swing of things."
"Today was the most relaxing; I could just lie down. Director Xu found a really good location; the scenery is beautiful."
Su Xian looked up, and the towering mountains were covered in green. The bamboo forest was where they had filmed action scenes a few days ago, and today's filming location was not far from the lake. Although it was midday, the mountains and water made it a bit cooler than the city. Indeed, as Chen Jun had said, lying here was quite comfortable, provided one ignored the several circles of extras lying around her feet, resembling "corpses."
Chen Jun lay down on the gravel road. "Okay, 3, 2, 1, start." Su Xuan stumbled over to Chen Jun's side.
Because of the prolonged fighting, Xue was also seriously injured, lost her footing, and fell to the ground.
"Master!" she trembled as she carefully lifted her master's blood-stained body and let her lean against her lap.
"Xiaoxue," the master said weakly.
"Master! I'll take you to Chen Le. He can definitely cure you." Xue's eyes were red. She tried to lift her master's hand to his shoulder, but her master coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"No..." Blood gushed from Master's mouth, and Xue hurriedly reached out to wipe it away, but the more she wiped, the more blood flowed.
"Xiaoxue, do you regret coming back to Wangchuan Pavilion with me? It was so... so painful."
"No!" Xue shook her head vigorously. "If you hadn't taught me these skills, I would have died long ago. How could I have had the chance to take revenge?"
The master's lips trembled, as if he wanted to laugh. "Xiaoxue, life isn't just about revenge. Look more at the people around you." The master raised his hand, wanting to touch Xue's face, but he only raised it halfway before letting it fall heavily.
"Remember to take good care of yourself..."
When she was 6 years old, her wet nurse took her away from the mansion. On the way, they encountered robbers, but fortunately, her master saved her. She grew up with her master, who was stern and never smiled, but always took care of her silently. He would apply medicine to her when she was injured, teach her how to handle her first period, teach her to wrap her chest with strips of cloth, and teach her to wear men's clothing.
Her family had long been destroyed, and her master's courtyard was the place she cherished most; it was her home.
Xue's eyes were blank, as if she hadn't yet grasped that her master was gone, yet large tears streamed down her face. She was unwilling, unwilling to accept that her old grudges remained unresolved while new hatred was added. But then she remembered that her master always hoped she would forget her hatred, even his last words were a reminder that she would never hear her master speak again.
Xue murmured softly, "Master, you are not only my master, but also my mother." She lifted her master's hand and placed it against her face. Xue sobbed in pain, tears streaming down her dirty face.
"Card!"
Chen Jun sat up from Su Xian's lap, hugged her, and gently patted her back. The surrounding noise and the touch on her back roused Su Xian, but she couldn't stop her tears. Someone handed her a piece of paper, which Su Xian used to cover her face. She sat on the ground for a while before she calmed down.
When Su Xian looked up again, Qingqing was standing beside him with an umbrella, and Chen Jun was still there with him.
"It was quite a demanding scene. If you feel better, let's go watch the playback."
Su Xian nodded, helped Qingqing stand up, and Director Xu, who was sitting in front of the monitor, said directly when he saw them coming over: "This take is very good, it's done."
Director Xu surprisingly didn't ask for a different shot anymore; the footage from before appeared on the monitor.
"Director, look at that expression in his eyes, it's so perfect! He switched between sadness, pain, and struggle so well. And that line, 'Master, my mother,' was added just right. I almost opened my eyes."
"You should be the director, you've got all the talking done." Although Director Xu is mild-mannered, this was the first time he'd joked like this, so it seems this comment really pleased him.
"I only felt compelled to speak after hearing Director Xu say that Xue and her master's relationship was more like that of a mother and daughter."
"Alright, let's go back and rest early today, and get ready to go into the shed tomorrow."
Finally, they could leave the mountains. Qingqing was the happiest, because she could finally leave the simple three-star guesthouse. While packing her luggage, Qingqing couldn't help but hum a song. Su Xian was happy too, but her happiness came more from the director's affirmation. The sense of accomplishment that her work brought her was irreplaceable.
After a few hours' drive, Su Xuan and Qing Qing returned to their rented apartment in the film studio. After taking a shower, Su Xuan lay in bed replying to messages.
Zhang Zhiran complained that her parents were arranging blind dates for her, so she wanted to run away to the film studio to avoid the limelight. Su Xian told her she could come, but his schedule was full and he didn't have much time to spend with her.
When her phone vibrated again, Su Xian thought it was Zhi Ran's reply, but it turned out to be a message from Lin Zhiyuan. If there was anything different in the past 20 days, it was Lin Zhiyuan's daily greetings. The day her plane landed at the film studio, Su Xian received his first message.
"Actually, I'm the one who should apologize for making you think I was just playing around. But as I just said, I'm very serious about you. You might think, how serious can it be after only meeting a few times? But what I want to say is that love has nothing to do with how long you've known each other. I hope you'll give me a chance so we can get to know each other better."
Su Xian didn't reply at the time. She didn't know what method Lin Zhiyuan would use to improve their understanding of each other, but her question was soon answered.
Every day after that, Lin Zhiyuan would send her messages, sometimes several, telling her which of her TV dramas he had watched and what his thoughts were; sometimes he would talk about his experiences or what he had done that day; sometimes he might be too busy to send her a simple greeting.
Su Xian read every single one of their messages. Although she never replied, the feeling of being remembered made her smile when she thought about it late at night. Moreover, she felt as if there was someone else who had accompanied her through the years, from her youthful days to her maturity, and he had appreciated her every step of the way.
Su Xuan opened Lin Zhiyuan's message:
"It must be evening where you are now. I wonder if you've finished work yet? I just arrived in New York today and finished a meeting with Banker. It's raining here. I wonder what the weather is like where you are."
"Watching pedestrians on the street with umbrellas, I remembered a time when I was a child and I was naughty. I held up a big parasol and tried to jump from the second floor. Luckily, the maid found me in time. My mother was very angry and punished me by not letting me eat dinner. Later, my sister took advantage of everyone being asleep at night and stole some bread and milk from the kitchen for me."
Su Xian curled her lips. He was indeed very mischievous. Wouldn't he break a bone if he jumped from the second floor?
"As for my sister, I'll tell you about her another day. Also, if it doesn't rain, could you check the moon for me tonight? Goodnight, Lin."
Su Xian got out of bed, walked to the window, and pulled back the curtains, but she didn't see the moon. She then went to the living room balcony and looked at the sky, but still nothing, except for one window she hadn't looked through.
Su Xian went to Qingqing's room and knocked on the door. Qingqing opened the door for her, slipping on her slippers.
"What's wrong, Sister Xiaoxian?"
Su Xian walked to the window of her bedroom and drew back the curtains. A crescent moon, like a smiling face, adorned the night sky.
"What are you looking at?" Qingqing walked over and looked up, mimicking her.
"Look at the moon."
"Is this part of tomorrow's night show?" Qingqing frowned, looking puzzled.
Su Xian patted her shoulder with a smile, then walked briskly back to her room, turned off the light, and went to sleep.
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