Meng Ziqiu came to pick them up from school on Thursday night. If nothing unexpected happens, the two of them will have to stay at the film studio for the next two days.
Hearing this, Meng Liangchen didn't want to go home anymore. "Then I won't go back this week. It's more convenient at school."
Meng Ziqiu thought for a moment and didn't object, "That works too."
"It's getting late, you guys should go now, I'm going to evening self-study."
"Remember to take your medicine if you're not feeling well," Xu Qian reminded him.
"Yes, yes, yes." Why did Meng Liangchen feel like everyone treated him like a child?
Not long after Xu Qian and Meng Ziqiu drove away, Meng Liangchen, who was walking back, suddenly sneezed. His nose was incredibly itchy. Remembering something, he took out a green brocade pouch from his coat, ate a red one, and then a black one. The itching stopped immediately.
Xiao Qing, seeing him wasting such precious resources, was at a loss for words. In the past, countless people would have been desperate for these pills, but to him they were as cheap as cabbages.
On Friday morning, Xu Qian still changed into his stunt double early and rushed to the film studio. Even stunt doubles need to have professional ethics.
The new job that Miss Xiang introduced to him this time was a proper stunt double. The film crew's studio was right next to where he had worked as a body double before, very close, only a few minutes away.
The director's surname was Wen, and he was a kind-looking fat man, but Xu Qian quickly dismissed the idea.
"Cut, cut, cut! How many times have I told you? Can't you walk properly? Do you have to get out of the camera's view? Is this funny? A whole bunch of people are here to swipe their cards for you?"
The actress who was named was extremely embarrassed. Judging from her behavior, she must be a newcomer with connections, but those connections are probably not very stable.
"Calm down, calm down, Director Wen, have a taste of this year's West Lake Longjing tea!" The speaker sounded like an assistant to an actress.
Director Wen completely ignored him. "What's there to drink! I'm already furious with her! Lack of experience is fine, but if you can't learn no matter how you're taught, then you have no talent and you're just not suited for this job!"
The assistant's expression wasn't good either. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he closed it and decided to just listen to the scolding.
Xiaomai waited a while before stepping forward to explain her identity, and also pushed Xu Qian out from behind her.
"...A stunt double?" Director Wen glanced at Xu Qian several times, his expression still sour. "He's one of your newcomers, isn't he? It's a waste for someone with that face to be a stunt double." After saying that, he gestured to the assistant director behind him, "'Mr. Mei' is retiring, so let's use him."
"Oh dear, Director Wen, you've misunderstood! We're not here to ask for roles!" Xiaomai explained naively.
Director Wen glanced at Xiao Mai again. She refused roles that were offered to her and insisted on being a stunt double. Is this person crazy?
Xu Qian had no choice but to step forward and say seriously, "Director Wen, I really am a stunt double. I was introduced to you by Miss Fei Fei."
Upon hearing the name 'Xiang Feifei,' Director Wen seemed to recall something, and the assistant director next to him added, 'The company's original stunt double left, and Director Xiang said this is the new one.'
Director Wen then looked at the new stunt double with a serious expression and said, "Since you were introduced by Director Xiang, let's get started. It's getting late, so we'll stop filming scene 33. We'll wait until she can move around without being on camera before she comes back. Let's film scene 17 of the fight scenes first. Where's Lao Liu (the martial arts director)? Have him come over—"
The martial arts director was a man in his forties. Although he wasn't very tall, he had a very upright posture and looked like a veteran.
During a break in the set setup, Xu Qian went through the action sequences with the martial arts director. The role he needed to stunt double for was the second male lead in the drama, a young general stationed on the border. He was skilled with a gun and agile, especially in the upcoming 17 scenes, where the requirements for smoothness and camera work were very strict. Several stunt doubles had been tried, but none of them were quite right, which is why the project was delayed again and again.
Xu Qian himself had a Tian Ce ship, so he was extremely skilled with guns, and he could execute the action choreographed by the martial arts director with ease.
Director Wen had been watching the situation closely and also saw Xu Qian's gun-wielding posture. He finally felt a little comforted. He wanted a fruitful day instead of wasting time like this every day.
It wasn't until noon that Xu Qian's 17th scene was officially announced to begin filming.
The young general paused, then lifted his right foot, a gust of wind raising clouds of dust. A sharp blade flashed towards the figure behind him. The man in black was startled; in the blink of an eye, his sword had already pierced forward. At that moment, a flash of white light appeared—
This is a long take, without editing. Whether it's offense or defense, it can be summed up in two words—smooth.
...
For scene 17, Xu Qian filmed for the entire afternoon, and Director Wen didn't announce the end until 8 pm. If Director Wen had a blank face before they arrived, he was all smiles when he left, looking quite amiable.
Before leaving, Director Wen called Xu Qian back, his eyes crinkling with laughter, "You're a good young man, are you interested in acting? I happen to need a teacher!"
Xu Qian hesitated for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry, Director Wen, I can't act. I'm afraid I'll take up your time."
“Hey,” Director Wen waved his hand, “I’ve already asked Director Xiang. Don’t you have beautiful handwriting? This role is basically background. Although you can show your face, you don’t have many lines. Just treat it as writing a few words.”
"...Then thank you, Director Wen." Xu Qian only agreed after hearing "Director Xiang," since he could still write a few words.
Given that Xu Qian had other filming commitments the next day, the two tentatively scheduled their shoot for the morning after tomorrow.
After saying goodbye to Xiaomai, Xu Qian and Meng Ziqiu returned to the car. They had been busy all day, but hadn't earned a single penny.
"...They said they'd make the payment next week." Xu Qian leaned back in his chair, his expression indifferent.
Meng Ziqiu glanced at it and said, "Next week it is, there's no escaping it anyway, let's go eat first!"
"Still eating?" Xu Qian glanced at him. Didn't they already have a meal on set?
"Can that be called a meal? There wasn't even any meat!" Meng Ziqiu said, indicating that he was still hungry.
Xu Qian vaguely remembered that there were five pieces of braised pork, but never mind, he'd eat whatever he wanted. "Let's go, the usual place, it's on me."
"Alright!" Meng Ziqiu laughed immediately.
...
While enjoying hotpot, Meng Ziqiu couldn't resist provoking his younger brother, sending him photo after photo. He was practically the epitome of 'courting death'.
Although Xu Qian felt helpless, he didn't stop them. What if this was just a bit of fun between the two brothers?
While taking pictures, Meng Ziqiu accidentally included Xu Qian on the other side. Putting everything else aside, his brother's red lips (from eating hot pot) and white teeth are such a waste that he's not in the entertainment industry.
"Right, bro?!"
"...Huh?" Xu Qian had no idea that Meng Ziqiu had just been talking about him.
"Ah, it's nothing! Let's keep eating!" Meng Ziqiu also realized the problem.
"Oh," Xu Qian glanced at the table and said, "the shrimp paste is gone."
"Ah, that's all? Then order some more!" Meng Ziqiu squinted, demonstrating what it means to be 'completely obedient'.
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