Chapter 264: Arrogant and Spoiled – You, as 'May…'
Although he behaves like a mischievous monkey in his daily life when filming is not in progress, the moment the director yells "A," this jumpy monkey instantly transforms into a wealthy young master...
"Do you like it here?" Looking at his girlfriend, who was stunned by the magnificent villa's decor, the male protagonist "Lester," played by Rong Juezhang, leaned against the wall, a glass of red wine in his hand exuding a hazy dreamlike atmosphere.
"I love it, I love it so much, I can't love it any more!" Kitty's repeated, increasingly enthusiastic responses revealed her boundless affection for this outrageously luxurious villa. "Is this your home?"
"No." The red wine was slowly placed on the table beside him, and the rich, fragrant voice, like the wine itself, lingered in the air, "It's 'our' home..."
All the words filled with surprise, doubt, and joy were swallowed. Kitty, the female protagonist, stared wide-eyed, and then closed her eyes in rapture before those deep, smiling eyes so close to hers.
“Cut! Goodtake—” Guan Chenfan shouted while gesturing, then gestured for the two to return to their original positions and film another shot from a different angle.
This scene depicts the male lead taking the female lead to the villa where he plans to get married after confirming their relationship. He then uses sweet words, kisses, and hugs to coax the naive girl into agreeing to his marriage proposal. As a result, Rong Juezhang, who has played various scumbag roles since his debut, portrays this character with great ease, as if every glance and gesture carries a seductive meaning.
However, his demeanor was too "innocent." If one didn't know the scumbag nature of this character, an ordinary, naive girl could easily be deceived by this handsome, rich, and gentlemanly young man.
Li Sishi touched up her lip makeup while looking at Rong Juezhang: "Not bad, you really are a professional loser."
"Hey, I was just acting according to the script, you don't have to say that about me, do you?" Rong Juezhang retorted with a smirk, then couldn't help but sigh at his character, "But he really is quite a 'loser,' a man in his fifties still deceiving innocent young girls..."
"Age is not a problem, appearance is the key," Li Sishi commented.
“That’s true. If someone my age can still look like this, it’s not difficult to deceive some naive young girls…” Rong Juezhang nodded in agreement.
"You're still trying to become famous with just a little bit of talent, and you get all high and mighty after a few compliments..." Li Sishi watched his back-and-forth behavior, sometimes criticizing the character and sometimes thinking he acted well, and couldn't help but say.
"Anyway, you're definitely going to be a 'loser,' it's just a matter of how you get rid of that 'loser.'" Rong Juezhang pointed to a certain part of the script, "You'll have a lot of scenes to fill later."
“So what if I’ve been through this before?” Li Sishi shrugged and made a double entendre that probably only she could understand—the female protagonist’s journey from the joy of her wedding to the despair of “losing favor” in this script was not only fabricated, but much of it was taken from her own past life’s experiences.
Others may think she's "acting," but in reality, she's often just "replaying old tricks."
After the "high platform" was built, the female protagonist Kitty, played by Li Sishi, was presented in a magical realism style for a long time.
This is to depict her being trapped in a small, seemingly glamorous but actually cramped space.
What's most terrifying is that the female protagonist gradually adapts to everything she wasn't used to, and then finds it very difficult to leave or stay—just like the rare yet terrifying thing called "marriage," once you step into it, the consequences are often unimaginable.
Of course, while this magical realism style sometimes requires a lot of money for special effects, the fact that most of the plot takes place in the villa and focuses on the transformation and confrontation between the male and female protagonists makes this movie particularly economical.
The initial beauty pageant and the wedding ceremony after accepting the proposal were both large-scale events, so these two scenes were filmed later. Now, Li Sishi is waiting for the tall display platform to be completed before she and Rong Juezhang continue filming this large part of their scenes together.
After changing into a more glamorous dress than the previous girlish one, Kitty, played by Li Sishi, looked up at the high platform that had suddenly appeared on the living room wall. The exquisite and intricate carvings on it resembled a framed oil painting, waiting for the "person in the painting" to arrive.
"What is this?" Kitty, who had become a wealthy fiancée, asked curiously.
“This is the display stand I use to showcase the ‘treasures’ I’ve collected.” Lester, the male protagonist played by Rong Juezhang, chuckled and then gestured for Kitty to look at a small ladder next to the tall display stand. “Come on up and give it a try.”
"What?" Kitty looked at her fiancé in confusion upon hearing this.
"Isn't you the most precious 'treasure' I've ever collected?" Lester's smile deepened in response to Kitty's puzzled look.
A little embarrassed by the compliments, Kitty slowly climbed the ladder to the tall display stand. Then, with the help of her fiancé Lester, she faced the living room, her legs dangling down and her skirt trailing behind her. Against the backdrop of the exquisite and intricate carvings on the wall behind her, she truly looked like a large, life-sized lifelike doll on a display shelf.
Looking down at her fiancé Lester's amazed gaze, Kitty's already slightly flushed face turned even redder.
Upon realizing this, he reached out and gently took Kitty's hand, as if coaxing a cute little kitten that had just arrived and was still a bit shy—the cautiousness and affection in his eyes became even more charming in the close-up shot.
If you didn't know the truth, you might really think that the male protagonist was head over heels in love with the female protagonist, which is why he "humbly placed her in a high position" and wanted to show the world this treasure that he had finally obtained.
"I will show you to everyone, my most beautiful treasure—my wife." He placed a light kiss on Kitty's hand, his deep, rich voice like a fine wine buried deep within, carrying a captivating allure that intoxicates even without the wine itself, slowly eroding the little remaining rationality of the naive girl.
Skipping the wedding banquet presentation, the two begin their most intense on-screen interaction.
The honeymoon period is undoubtedly the sweetest time. The male protagonist coaxes Kitty, who has become his wife, to stay on the high display stand as much as possible. He also has his desk placed on the other side of the living room wall opposite the display stand, claiming that "he can always look up and see his most beautiful treasure safely in front of him."
Aside from wanting to keep the female lead Kitty on the high platform, the male lead, as a husband, is truly romantic and charming. Every day, he sends his beautiful wife flowers, jewelry, bags, and all the kinds of gifts that normal women would like. Of course, most of these "gifts" are genuine items privately sponsored by Madam Li, while a small portion are from Li Sishi and Rong Juezhang's personal collections.
Thus, during filming, Rong Juezhang's "differential treatment" became apparent again—he was extremely careful with the private donations from Madam Li; he was relatively relaxed and casual with Li Sishi's private collection; but when it came to his own personal collection, he was completely at his mercy...
"Drop it without fear, it's very hard, it won't break!"
Rong Juezhang had essentially reserved his personal stash for the scene where the female lead angrily throws away gifts, picking them up and waving them around.
Li Sishi, please don't be polite.
"How about we use mine instead?"
Although she and her cousin usually bicker and tease each other like they're from a past life, Li Sishi is actually the kind of person who can mess with her own things however she wants, but tries to cherish other people's things.
Therefore, despite Rong Juezhang's "enthusiastic greeting," she hesitated to make a move.
“What’s there to worry about? Since I can provide it, I won’t care about how it ends.” Rong Juezhang practically climbed up to shove the item into her arms.
"So it will still break if it falls, right?" Li Sishi immediately caught the "loophole" in his words.
Rong Juezhang was speechless for a moment, his lips trembled twice, and finally he gave that classic response: "You and Attorney Li are really related, talking to you is such a pain in the ass!"
"Please just listen to me!" Li Sishi immediately seized the opportunity, "This play was staged for me, so any losses should be borne by me."
"I don't care, I'm the older brother!" Rong Juezhang immediately started to argue, skillfully making fun of Li Sishi's English name again, "As 'MayMay,' you can't climb on your older brother's head!"
“Excuse me, although I’m not exactly ‘climbing’ on your head, I’m practically ‘sitting’ on your head.” Sitting on the high platform, Li Sishi retorted condescendingly.
"Have you two finished arguing? I had ten layers of soft padding laid out over there. Unless you miss, it's unlikely to break, okay?" Guan Chenfan watched the two handsome young man and beautiful young woman arguing like bratty kids, feeling utterly exhausted.
What kind of weird stuff did he get? I thought the two of them worked together very well on set, so the relationship between these cousins should be very good and close. But I didn't expect that although they were very "close" on set, the two cousins off set were even more troublesome than when he found Pei Yansang and Rong Juezhang, these two famously mischievous friends, to co-star in "Rouge Box"!
"It's settled very quickly, just give us one more minute!" Taking advantage of Guan Chenfan's rare good temper among Hong Kong's directors, Rong Juezhang and Li Sishi, those two guys who knew how to bully the weak and fear the strong, immediately became arrogant...
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