Chapter 492
"Teacher Zhou, are you done cleaning up already?!" Li Lingjiang looked away, rather surprised. He'd originally thought he could come over to help, but he'd never expected Zhou Xiao to have almost finished. Looking around, the only remaining work in this small studio was probably the work being done by Zhou Xiao's broom.
Zhou Xiao glanced at Li Ling who came in "dusty and exhausted", and when he heard the other party's voice unconsciously rising and the subconscious direction of his gaze, he handed over the broom in his hand almost without hesitation.
I'd come all the way here to help her. I couldn't let her feel like she'd come for nothing, could I? Even though the only thing left was the simple cleaning, Zhou Xiao still gave her a sense of participation. She'd just joined a new environment, so whatever she did, as long as it was something to do, was fine.
"Here, there's a broom right here," Zhou Xiao said with a smile. "It's just right that you're here. Let's finish cleaning quickly, then come back with me to the crew to pick out the camera!"
Cameras, a valuable asset to the production crew, couldn't have been shipped directly with the cheaper props. They were already transported to the nearly finished production warehouse and carefully guarded long before the actors' read-along.
Zhou Xiao's thoughtfulness made Li Ling, who was much older than her, feel a little embarrassed as she took the broom from her. She looked at the neatly arranged props around her, each in its proper place, and nodded heavily.
…
Inside the temporary dressing room.
Xia Qingxue, who was in charge of the costumes, was leaning against a large white wall. Through the wisps of smoke rising from the ironing in the room, she looked at the actors sitting in their seats who were being painted by the makeup artists, and she felt extremely satisfied.
While this official photoshoot centered around the intangible cultural heritage fish lantern, the costumes and styling weren't much different from the usual makeup. However, each look embodied the unique characteristics of the main characters. Since these were intended to be released at the start of filming, the styling wasn't too revealing.
The unending sobbing of the children outside made Xia Qingxue lean against the doorframe to take a look. Several young actors were hiding in the arms of their families, feeling aggrieved. One, with red eyes but no trace of tears, even met her gaze.
As expected of a child star, her wail was still so strong. Normally, the child stars Xia Qingxue had met before weren't this prone to crying, and were actually more cooperative than some other celebrities in the industry. But after all, children are sociable. If one starts crying, it's inevitable that all the children will follow suit.
After taking a casual glance, Xia Qingxue came to her senses and counted the little kids again. Then she searched the room for the missing doll with some confusion.
"Sister Xia, what are you looking at?" The makeup artist turned around and stopped what she was doing. She looked at Xia Qingxue, who was almost squeezing her head under their table to look for something, and expressed her deep doubt and confusion.
The child wasn't there! Neither was the agent! Xia Qingxue quickly checked in her mind and finally felt relieved. However, to dispel her doubts, she asked the makeup artist, "Is the makeup for the actress playing Su Ruoqing finished?"
"The painting is finished, but this kid is following—"
Before he could finish his words, there was a knock on the door. A tall, handsome young man with fine eyebrows was holding a child who clung to his hand tightly. It was the child actor Xia Qingxue had been looking for.
Following behind Ji Shao was Su Ruoqing's manager, who was grinning from ear to ear, circling around the two of them like an attentive little bee. If you didn't know, you'd think the child Ji Shao was holding was hers.
"Teacher Ji, your look is really nice!" The young assistant who was squatting on the side playing with his mobile phone raised his head when he heard the voice. Looking at the tall and strong Ji Shao who knocked on the door and came in, he couldn't help but turn his head to seek approval from his boss.
The new intangible cultural heritage blue print design looks like a dark denim jacket on Ji Shao, but a closer look reveals the intricate and beautiful pattern of the print.
The blue printed jacket is paired with a refreshing white round-neck cotton top, and the same color trousers and canvas shoes. What is a pure male college? This is a pure male college! It's as if Su Ruoqing, who just graduated from the book, was taken out of the script!
After looking at Ji Shao, I looked at the child he was holding. After the makeup artist's amazing work, I felt like they were a magnified version of the child. Especially the shadows the makeup artist had ingeniously added to the corners of the child's mouth, which looked like real dimples. It was really amazing!
"Thanks to the styling that the teacher gave me." Ji Shao, with a genuine dimple smile, looked at Xia Qingxue beside him, took the hand of the little actor and said with a smile, "Just now I seemed to hear Sister Xia looking for this little guy, so I brought him here on the way~"
This was the problem with not being on set for the final photos. Since only the original warehouse and the restroom weren't separated by transparent glass, everyone had to go to those two places to change. Fortunately, Zhou Xiao and Li Ling had gone to the film and television studio to pick up equipment, otherwise the actors who needed to change would have been stuck in a long line in the restroom.
Seeing Ji Shao acting like he had walked out of a script, Xia Qingxue couldn't listen to anything else at this moment. She just walked around Ji Shao several times.
Ji Shao was a little confused at first, but when he remembered that the clothes he was wearing were designed by Teacher Xia, he stretched out his arms to cooperate with the other party to see the effect, but he still had a "little pendant" hanging on his hand that he was reluctant to let go.
Like the intangible cultural heritage fish lanterns featured in this photoshoot, the blue printed fabric also originates from Licheng. This is similar to the situation with Ji Shao's original participation in "Business Simulator": intangible cultural heritage, like brands, needs exposure. From the local self-promoted list of intangible cultural heritage, the first thing that caught the costume team's attention was naturally the local fabrics.
Xia Qingxue was heartbroken. Why couldn't Ji Shao be a girl? She and Sister Zhuang had put so much effort into designing blue print dresses and skirts, and now Ji Shao could easily pique her desire to buy just a coat, let alone women's clothing and bags.
Only by building healthy demand can more people be attracted to the study of intangible cultural heritage. To further promote local intangible cultural heritage, the two provided a broader market for fabrics from the perspective of purchasing power. However, this wasn't a regrettable situation; they could simply add some neutral clothing for Ji Shao to wear.
What's wrong with women's clothing? Many male artists in the circle also like to wear women's clothes! Although she doesn't understand where their confidence comes from, Xia Qingxue feels that Ji Shao has nothing to worry about!
…
About half an hour later, when Ji Shao and Song Xiao stepped into the studio to prepare for shooting, their eyes, like everyone else who had entered the room before, were fixed on the intangible cultural heritage fish lantern hanging in the air of the studio.
The large red fish "suspended" in mid-air was incredibly agile, its vibrant colors silently inviting everyone in the room to enter this vibrant world of fantasy. The initially dull space was quickly filled with this vibrant energy. When one's gaze fell upon the fish's scales, the first impression was a remarkable degree of realism and exquisiteness.
"Wow, is this the fish lantern we want to promote?" Song Xiao's mouth grew almost bigger than an egg.
The reason is simple: only when you see this vibrant light up close, feeling the impact of this massive fish lantern, over a meter long, can you truly understand why it would be so regrettable if this technology were lost. This awe-inspiring feeling cannot be truly felt through a screen.
Ji Shao, standing by, remained silent, looking at the fish lantern so close to him. For some reason, he wanted to reach out and touch it. Perhaps it was out of curiosity, or perhaps it was the momentary excitement of getting into character...
At a distance of two or three centimeters, Ji Shao's outstretched hand froze in place. Through the exquisitely painted craftsmanship, he could even feel a touch of warmth from his palm.
No, this has temperature!
"This...this fish lantern has candles inside?" Ji Shao subconsciously turned his head and looked at Zhou Xiao with some surprise.
How on earth was it possible to catch everyone's attention in such a bright space with just a few lit candles?
Beyond the intricate beauty of the fish lanterns themselves, the warm yellow candlelight filtering through the cotton fabric also illuminates the entire studio. The late November sky already has a hint of winter, but from the moment I stand around these fish lanterns, all I can feel is a deep warmth, joy, and novelty.
"It's a candle, isn't it magical?" Zhou Xiao reached out and touched the flexible fish lantern. Feeling the touch, her heart felt as sweet as drinking honey. Everyone's praise for the fish lantern seemed to touch her heart.
As for the reason...
Since they were all old friends, Zhou Xiao was very generous in sharing her joy with everyone. She carefully turned the fish lantern hanging in the air and pointed to a dimly visible area on the back, excitedly saying, "Look, what is this!"
Ji Shao took a step forward cooperatively. Even Song Xiao, who was standing beside him, curiously put his arm around Ji Shao's shoulder and looked at the area. It was a piece of fish scales with golden edges painted with orange-red paint. With the help of the incandescent light above and the warm yellow fish lamp, the two of them could see a line of neatly written small characters on it -
"Presented to Zhou Xiao on November 30, 2025"
“!!!”
“!!!”
"Teacher Zhou, how did you get it?" "Is this a gift from Master Jiang to you?"
The two people asked the question almost at the same time, making Zhou Xiao laugh a little. She first put the fish lantern back in its place, then said with a little pride, "Of course, this is a gift from Master Jiang!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
