Chapter 23
Chapter 17
Jiang Mingyue wished she could disappear on the spot to avoid people finding out that Fu Qian, this mentally ill man, had come to cause trouble because he was after her.
"Don't move, or the eyelashes will poke your eyes," the makeup artist kindly reminded him.
Jiang Mingyue's lips didn't move: "Don't worry, I won't move. I'm used to having makeup done."
The makeup artist twitched her eyebrows, disbelief flashing in her eyes. After applying the mascara, she deliberately used a small brush to apply a layer of cinnamon-colored eyeshadow to her lower eyelids.
The tough horsehair brush head rubbed against her lower eyelashes, making her eyelids itch, but Jiang Mingyue really didn't blink.
She turned her eyes upwards, creating a clear color separation between the whites of her eyes and her lower eyelids. This not only prevented her from being afraid of the brush head, but also made it easier for the makeup artist to further refine her eye makeup.
This is a very standard practice.
The disbelief in the makeup artist's eyes finally disappeared, and she smiled and praised, "You cooperated really well with the makeup. You've had many opportunities to wear makeup before."
This is a test.
Those who frequently use makeup artists but have no contact with the film and television industry are either moderately famous print models or wealthy young ladies who are often served by makeup artists when attending banquets.
Jiang Mingyue quickly deduced the makeup artist's purpose in inquiring—the makeup artist wanted to differentiate her treatment based on her identity.
Jiang Mingyue's family background is no secret. Even if she tries to pretend, as long as she doesn't want to reveal her true identity as the daughter of the Han family, the crew will definitely find out the truth in a few days that she is too poor to afford her mother's cancer treatment. So pretending to be a rich heiress won't work.
As for the lie that he is a famous print model, which can be exposed at any moment, it is meaningless.
Moreover, in order to protect her reputation, Jiang Mingyue could not reveal to the public that Xingying Entertainment intended to cultivate her as the company's rising star.
Currently, Jiang Mingyue has no external support to rely on.
So she cleverly said, "When I was a child, I often followed my mother around the performing arts troupe and would be dragged onto the stage to play a few small roles."
Although Jiang Mingyue has no advantage in terms of status or fame, she is a talented actress.
Young, beautiful, and talented actresses will eventually rise to the top. Even if they can't become the top actress in a company with powerful backers, they can at least climb to the second tier through their own abilities and never have to worry about acting opportunities for the rest of their lives.
Jiang Mingyue's words subtly hinted at why the school recommended her for the audition, and why the audition went so smoothly, securing her the role of the charming third female lead after just one meeting.
The makeup artist's attitude became even more amiable.
The makeup doesn't need to be fixed firmly on the actor's face during the fitting; it's enough to show the effect the crew needs. Normally, it only takes half an hour to do the makeup, but the makeup artist put extra effort into Jiang Mingyue's makeup, taking almost two hours before nodding in satisfaction.
Then, the makeup artist smiled warmly and handed Jiang Mingyue over to the costume designer, instructing, "Help her with her clothes; this is the young lady's first time on set."
The stylist agreed without turning around: "Don't worry, we'll definitely keep an eye on her while she wears this outfit. It's too complicated, and we're afraid of ruining it."
Jiang Mingyue followed the stylist into the cubicle and took off her trousers and short-sleeved cardigan.
A costume made of light gauze covered with layers of fur was immediately presented to Jiang Mingyue.
"Wear this white undershirt first, to avoid any wardrobe malfunctions." The stylist handed over a set of white clothes.
The top was a narrow-sleeved cross-collar, and the pants were lantern pants. There seemed to be nothing wrong with them, but as soon as the cold white clothes were placed in Jiang Mingyue's hands, she felt that the material was very heavy.
The fabric is heavy, which means it's incredibly thick, and it's summer now with temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius.
The costume for the third female lead in "Fire Fox" was borrowed from the crew of "Phoenix Soaring to the Nine Heavens" and modified with red fox fur strips. The female lead in "Phoenix Soaring to the Nine Heavens" wore this costume.
"Phoenix Soars to the Nine Heavens" was filmed in the summer, so the production team couldn't possibly choose heavy fabrics to make the female lead suffer. Even if they dared to do that, the female lead would never cooperate.
The origin of the inner garment that Jiang Mingyue is holding now is worth pondering.
Jiang Mingyue pretended not to notice anything amiss, smiled as she took the clothes, and put them on. She turned the hem out and then tucked it into her pants, making her flat stomach bulge. Then, with a look of complete ignorance, she asked, "After putting them on, do I need to tuck the hem into my pants?"
The costume designer rolled her eyes in exasperation, walked over, and helped Jiang Mingyue pull out the hem of her inner garment, tightening the ties. Then she put several other long tulle dresses in varying shades of red on her, adjusting the flowing skirts.
"Don't move, we're not finished dressing yet," the costume designer instructed, then turned and went out to find other accessories.
Jiang Mingyue immediately walked to the full-length mirror, lifted her outer shirt, and measured the length of her thick inner clothes against her body to make it easier to remember.
Hearing the noise, she lowered her hand and let her skirt fall naturally, pretending nothing had happened.
When the costume designer returned, he was carrying a fur collar, a leather belt, and a large tail consisting of three tails.
"Turn around, I'll attach the tail for you," the costume designer ordered without even looking at Jiang Mingyue.
As Jiang Mingyue turned around, she controlled the angle so that she could see the reflection of her entire outfit in the full-length mirror from the corner of her eye.
The costume designer, as expected, didn't notice anything amiss. She took a half step forward, first draping the bright red fur collar over Jiang Mingyue's shoulders, then reminding her, "There are buttons inside the fur collar. Button them up on the front of your clothes."
After Jiang Mingyue did as instructed, the costume designer took out a leather cord about the length of a forearm and fastened it to the back of the fur collar. Then, after estimating the height of the enormous and heavy tail, the designer fastened it to the leather cord as well.
Finally, the dark red velvet shawl that had been left on the cabinet from the beginning was picked up by the costume designer. She first fastened the shawl, fur collar, and tail at the connecting button on the back, then patted Jiang Mingyue on the shoulder and commanded, "Turn around!"
"Why isn't the fur collar tied up?" The costume designer said with a look of disdain, immediately scolding her.
You didn't specify how it should be tied, so of course you can't just move it around.
Jiang Mingyue silently recited the words in her heart, but only showed an apologetic expression on her face without saying anything.
"Never mind, I'll do it myself." The stylist tugged at Jiang Mingyue, bringing her closer to him, then fastened the small buttons at the bottom of the shawl and fur collar together, and tied the leather cord at the bottom of the fur collar into a bow.
Finally, the costume designer brought out a palm-width dark red leather belt, fastened the leather cord and tail from the back, and then tied the entire dress around the waist from the front.
The clasps held the costume in place precisely, without revealing a single trace of excess flesh beneath the elaborate dress.
The costume designer scrutinized Jiang Mingyue from head to toe, then finally pursed her lips and reluctantly nodded: "The effect is not bad, the dress was altered quite successfully."
Undeterred, she pressed on, "What's your waist size?"
Jiang Mingyue: "About two feet."
"It's so small!" The costume designer's face immediately darkened with displeasure, and she changed her tone to urge, "Once you're dressed, go out and show Director Zhang and Director Liu how it looks."
"Okay, thank you." Jiang Mingyue still had a good-natured look, but when she turned her back to the costume designer, she immediately smiled.
At that time, the precision of cameras had not yet developed to the level it would later become, and the requirements for female actors' figures were not as demanding as they are in later years. However, reasonable exercise could help Jiang Mingyue sculpt more extreme lines. At the same weight, people who are good at exercising will always look thinner than those who rely solely on starvation.
Now Jiang Mingyue finally understands why this particularly fluffy and thick inner layer is so special.
—Not only to make Jiang Mingyue endure more hardship in the high temperature, but also to make her look bulky and have an unsightly figure, so as not to steal the press releases of other actresses "outshining" her!
Before filming even started, all sorts of bad ideas were already being used against her.
Jiang Mingyue's displeasure deepened.
She needs to use her brain and resolve the issue of this unbearably hot inner layer as soon as possible through a public approach.
*
"Director Zhang, I'm all dressed, what do you think?" Jiang Mingyue took a deep breath and shouted to the outside world.
Before the sound had even faded, she had already tiptoed out of the dressing room, exaggeratedly twisting her waist and swaying her hips, like a real, clumsy fox.
Jiang Mingyue deliberately circled around Zhang Xin's left side and returned to her right side.
The exaggerated movements effectively showcased the effect of the skirt swaying, and also clearly demonstrated whether the exaggeratedly large tail was appropriate.
Zhang Xin nodded, then turned to Director Liu and asked, "Director Liu, what do you think?"
Director Liu carefully looked Jiang Mingyue up and down, then frowned and pointed out flaws to the costume designer who had come over: "She looks even more bewitching at first glance. The tail is also a bit short; make it more fluffy and dye it a gradient color. The all-red color is too dull. Also, the makeup—Little Leon, come here and draw her eyeliner a bit longer, and add a cluster of red eyelashes at the outer corner of her eye."
The makeup artist, who was standing a little further away, immediately responded and pushed out the cosmetics. She first took out several pairs of red false eyelashes with subtle color differences and compared them to the outer corners of Jiang Mingyue's eyes. After agreeing on a true red with Director Liu, she applied them to Jiang Mingyue. Then, she used red eyeliner gel to draw a longer and darker eyeliner close to the false eyelashes, elongating her eye shape.
"Is this okay?" The makeup artist stopped.
Director Liu's brows were still furrowed as he instructed Jiang Mingyue, "Make a seductive expression, then make a silly expression for me to see."
Jiang Mingyue immediately lowered her eyelashes, put her hands on Zhang Xin's shoulders, and said in a coquettish voice, "My benefactor has given me food, and I have no way to repay him. I am willing to offer myself to him."
Her beautiful eyebrows and eyes captivated others, and her brown pupils seemed to shimmer with moisture.
Zhang Xin's eyes widened. She knew that Jiang Mingyue was using her to act out the scene of her first encounter with the male lead, and that she should cooperate by pushing her away. But when the girl's soft breath brushed against her cheek, Zhang Xin stood still, completely forgetting to refuse Jiang Mingyue's approach.
Before she could react, Jiang Mingyue had already released Zhang Xin, stumbled back two steps, and sat down on the ground.
Her full, red lips parted slightly, her brows furrowed a tiny bit, but her pupils contracted, as if she were facing an unbelievable situation. A silly air emanated from her delicate features, making everyone burst into laughter.
"Okay, that's perfect..."
Before Director Liu could finish praising her, a tall figure pushed past them and squeezed in front of Jiang Mingyue.
Fu Qian knelt on one knee, grasped Jiang Mingyue's outstretched hand (which she had extended to feign a fall), pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly, arrogantly declaring, "Mingyue, who bullied you? Tell me, and I'll get revenge for you!"
Jiang Mingyue: ...
An opportunity has presented itself?
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