Chapter 9
Today's filming location is still the hospital. In the afternoon, Yu Miaomiao and Jiang Chengyi have scenes to film. The two of them arrived at a hotel near the hospital early in the morning to try on clothes and get their hair and makeup done.
The promotional video features a more everyday setting, and the costume designer chose a casual outfit for Yu Miaomiao.
However, it's a bit big, so you'll need to take measurements to alter the size of the garment.
When measuring her waist, the stylist exclaimed in amazement as she looked at the measurements on the measuring tape, "My goodness, your waist is so tiny!"
Then she exclaimed in amazement:
"Your wrists are so thin! I can wrap my fingers around them and there's still a joint left!"
"Wow, those legs are so long! What proportions!"
Yu Miaomiao was so annoyed by the noise that she wished she could turn into a cat so she could cover her ears and block out the noise.
At the same time, she was also puzzled. As an agile predator, isn't it normal for a cat to be a little thin and have long legs?
After changing clothes, it was time for makeup. The makeup artist was a refined young man, who was also very talkative.
"You have to wear makeup to look good on camera. No matter how natural a celebrity's skin looks, they're always wearing makeup. How could an average person have such good skin without makeup!"
"Little sister, what shade of foundation do you usually use?"
"I don't wear makeup."
"You're kidding, you're wearing makeup now~"
The makeup artist pulled out a makeup remover wipe, saying, "Let me remove your makeup first."
He wiped Yu Miaomiao's face with makeup remover wipes and screamed when he saw the clean wipes.
"You didn't wear foundation? No way!"
Two minutes later, the makeup artist was applying makeup while feeling envious.
"Little sister, your skin is in such good condition. We can just apply a little base and some blush."
After the makeup was done, the stylist gave Yu Miaomiao a high ponytail hairstyle, saying it would make her look more lively and youthful, which would better fit the character's personality.
After completing the entire styling, Yu Miaomiao felt uncomfortable all over. The clothes were too tight, and her face felt stuffy, as if something was wrapped around it.
She glanced at the dressing table beside her; Jiang Chengyi's hair and makeup were almost finished, and the makeup artist was applying loose powder. She was full of amazement.
"Brother, doing your makeup is the easiest job for me. I just need to apply a foundation one shade darker."
When the two arrived, the cat's solo scene had just been filmed, and the props were being rearranged on set.
The director explained the scene to the two actors, "Chengyi, you'll go first. The first shot is about giving a cat an injection. You'll be holding the cat, and you need to show your heartache on your face."
During the actual filming, the golden shaded kitten immediately stood up warily as soon as it was placed in Jiang Cheng's arms.
The owner tried to comfort the cat, but the director felt that this fear was more in line with the cat's state when getting a shot, so filming continued.
The take was filmed quickly, and the director praised, "Good, very natural. Keep this in mind, let's do another take."
Jiang Cheng nodded and sat back down in his original seat.
The scenes that Yu Miaomiao needs to film are a bit more complicated.
The character she plays adopts a stray tabby cat and takes it to the vet for a checkup and vaccinations. The wild cat, still very much in the wild, resists fiercely, escapes from the protagonist's arms, and even scratches her.
But the filming got stuck as soon as it started.
"Miaomiao, you need to show obvious heartache and pity."
The director explained the character's emotions to her in detail: "You originally adopted this cat out of compassion. When you saw its wounds and illness during the examination, you should be very heartbroken. This emotion should be reflected in your expression."
“Like this.” The chubby director’s expression changed, and the emotion in his eyes seemed to overflow.
"Don't be afraid, you will get better."
Actually, I was just looking at the camera.
"I'll give it a try."
Yu Miaomiao returned to the scene, hugged the tabby cat that the makeup artist had made look terrible, frowned like the director, and recited her lines in a dry manner.
You will get better.
"Stop, stop, stop!"
The director looked distressed. "Miao Miao, you don't look like you're feeling sorry for her, you look like you're looking at your father's killer!"
Filming was paused again.
The director gave another on-site lesson, but with little effect.
Filming had to be stopped in the end, and the director announced that everyone should take a half-hour break and find a lot of relevant videos for Yu Miaomiao to study.
Yu Miaomiao clicked on the first video, which showed a heartbroken woman crying out, "No, don't leave me, don't go!"
Her facial expression was exaggerated, almost crumpled into a ball.
She clicked on the next one, and the woman in ancient costume touched the bloodied chest of the man in front of her, saying, "Why did you have to go to such lengths for me..."
Her eyes were brimming with tears, her lips were slightly bitten, and she was filled with sorrow.
Yu Miaomiao summarized the commonalities and then tried to imitate them, lowering her eyelids, pursing her lips, and wrinkling her nose.
Picking up my phone, I can't say there's no improvement; it's gone from looking at my father's killer to looking at a pile of dog poop.
She tried adding a lip-biting motion, and well, it looked like she stepped in dog poop.
After watching several videos, Yu Miaomiao's facial muscles almost cramped up, and the expressions she made were still not satisfactory.
She turned off her phone and, for the first time, fell into self-doubt.
Why is acting so difficult, or does she just have no talent at all?
Yu Miaomiao didn't allow herself to be dejected for too long. After a moment, she cheered herself up and encouraged herself.
Even without talent, she can achieve her goals through hard work.
Why can Jiang Chengyi do it, but she can't?
With that in mind, she reopened the video and began to learn and try.
Heartache...heartache...what kind of feeling is this?
Is it the eyebrows drooping, the lips trembling, or the bridge of the nose wrinkling?
She raised her eyebrows like the character in the video.
"The amplitude is too small."
Yu Miaomiao looked up and saw Jiang Cheng standing in front of her, watching her expression.
She warily turned off the video and stepped back to create distance between them. "How much?"
"The arch of the eyebrows should be raised a little higher."
She furrowed her brow slightly, looked at her phone, and sure enough, her expression bore a striking resemblance to the character in the video.
Yu Miaomiao immediately asked, "Anything else?"
She looked at Jiang Chengyi with focused eyes, full of a thirst for knowledge, showing none of the wariness and unfamiliarity she had shown earlier.
Jiang Chengyi remained silent for a moment before offering his guidance.
"The key to expressing sympathy lies in the eyebrows, nose, and lips. You need to control the movement of these areas, otherwise it can easily turn into a different expression."
Yu Miaomiao didn't want to praise Jiang Chengyi as a good teacher, but she had to admit that he spoke much better than the director.
She didn't understand how to express herself.
How would you feel if your cat lay on top of you covered in wounds?
But she knew how to behave:
"Tighten your chin, clench your teeth, and raise your eyebrows a little higher."
Under Jiang Chengyi's guidance, Yu Miaomiao was able to express "feeling sorry" more clearly.
"The emotions aren't strong enough." She looked at it again and again, still not quite satisfied.
"Let me see."
Teacher Jiang closed the distance and carefully examined Yu Miaomiao's face, her phoenix eyes scanning every detail until she found the flaw.
"Make the nasolabial folds deeper."
Nasolabial folds?
"here."
Jiang Cheng lightly tapped a spot below the other person's eye.
"is that so?"
Yu Miaomiao wore a perfectly standard expression of heartache, her large, glassy eyes fixed on Jiang Chengyi.
Her eyes welled up with tears, and the girl blinked. Her long, straight eyelashes brushed against his fingers, causing a slight tickle.
It was mid-afternoon, and bright sunlight streamed in through the window.
Perhaps because they were too close, Jiang Cheng observed that Yu Miaomiao's eyes were actually a deep green, but they appeared black in the dim light and as dark as a deep lake in the sunlight.
He could almost see his own reflection in the lake, a reflection that filled the entire lake.
"Very standard."
Jiang Chengyi casually withdrew his finger.
-
Yu Miaomiao performed very well in the next few scenes.
The director was delighted and repeatedly said, "You've finally figured it out."
As evening fell and work was finished, Yu Miaomiao hesitated for a moment before walking towards Jiang Chengyi.
He voiced the question that had been lingering in his mind: "Why...why did you help me today?"
She has a lot of scenes to film today, and the emotions she needs to portray include not only heartache, but also shock, warmth, sadness, and so on.
Jiang Chengyi helped guide and adjusted him for every new emotion.
Jiang Chengyi is reading the script.
Upon hearing this, he simply said, "We're all colleagues; isn't it normal to help each other?"
"You are definitely not that kind of person."
Yu Miaomiao saw through Jiang Chengyi's perfunctory attitude.
During the days she infiltrated Jiang Cheng's family, she heard them ruthlessly reject various requests from classmates and thesis team members countless times.
This includes, but is not limited to, helping with attendance tracking, lending homework, and buying things for others.
In short, Jiang Chengyi rejected all unreasonable and time-wasting requests.
That's why Yu Miaomiao always adds a string of reasons when asking him to help her pick up a package.
“And,” she said, giving a second reason, “you should hate me.”
Just as Yu Miaomiao dislikes Jiang Chengyi, Jiang Chengyi should naturally dislike Yu Miaomiao.
Besides not sealing the windows or spaying/neutering their cats, they also never have a nice expression, are arrogant, cold, and speak bluntly, never considering other people's feelings.
She was well aware of her shortcomings, but never thought about changing them, because no one needed her to change.
She believes that she can get what she wants through hard work.
There's no need to waste time using insincere politeness and attitude to cover things up.
Yu Miaomiao felt that smiling at others was a very humiliating thing.
Jiang Chengyi didn't answer, abruptly changing the subject.
"When Director Zhang was explaining the scene to you, you must have been quite confused."
Although it was a question, it was made with certainty.
"I have absolutely no idea how to get into a scene, experience emotions, empathize, or immerse myself in it."
She remained expressionless, only her slightly raised eyebrows betraying her shock.
What the other person said was entirely her mental state while listening to Director Zhang explain the play.
Jiang Chengyi added, "Actually, we are quite similar in some ways."
He held up the script, and Yu Miaomiao then noticed that all the words marked on it were related to emotions.
[Happy][Shocked][Confused][Anticipated]
These words were accompanied by dense annotations: orbicularis oculi, nasal alae, depressor anguli oris, mentalis, levator labii superioris...
She understood somewhat. "You're like that too."
Yes and no.
Jiang Cheng shook his head, but did not offer any further explanation.
"I taught myself human anatomy and facial motion coding systems to deal with certain situations."
Yu Miaomiao wanted to ask more questions, but stopped herself from speaking.
Why should I care so much about other people's affairs? What's the point?
No.
She answered herself.
She wasn't interested at all in why Jiang Chengyi knew these things, or what "yes or no" meant.
"I want to test whether my learning outcomes are applicable to people in the same situation."
"That's why I'm helping you."
"It looks like a success."
"So that's how it is."
"……Thanks."
Yu Miaomiao responded dryly, her stiff thank you sounding like it was being squeezed out from between her teeth, mumbled and unclear.
But Jiang Chengyi still heard it, and he closed the script and stood up.
The setting sun slanted in through the window, gilding his silhouette with a golden edge.
"You're welcome."
He chuckled.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
