Chapter 83: Good Morning, Sir (6)
As soon as the director yelled "cut," the two lead actors, who had been lost in their infatuation, immediately snapped out of their roles and quickly released each other's embrace.
During this time, sensing Li Sishi's somewhat complicated gaze, Ling Chen raised his hand to his mouth as if to cover up and coughed lightly: "Excuse me, was it... a little too forceful?"
Who could blame him for launching such a sudden "attack"? He already had feelings for her and had been holding back his emotions, but after such a provocative test, he couldn't help himself...
This kind of situation, where actors get into character and are moved by emotions, is quite common. Experienced actors would usually finish filming first and then discuss it after the director yells "cut." In fact, many on-screen romances are sparked by such fleeting moments.
But this was Li Sishi's first time filming such a scene. Whether it was due to her talent or some other reason, she realized she was being too reserved, so she boldly... used cautious, proactive probing to elicit the passive response from her co-star and then take the initiative.
Consider the alternative plot design; this approach, unintentionally, is closer to the deep love and constant anxiety between the two characters.
"You know you used a little too much force?" Li Sishi rolled her eyes at him, frowning as she tidied her hair. "How old are you? Still pulling girls' hair like those little boys!"
Upon hearing this, Ling Chen subconsciously glanced at her slightly red lips and then at her long, black hair that he had ruffled.
"I'm sorry..." Ling Chen whispered another apology.
"Alright, it's acting. It's normal to get carried away and not control your strength when you're in the middle of it. I accept your apology and forgive you!" Li Sishi patted him on the shoulder generously.
This reaction left Ling Chen feeling somewhat bewildered—although logically this was the best outcome, seeing that Li Sishi seemed completely unconcerned about their "kiss," he felt a strange sense of loss, having just discovered his feelings for her…
So, is it that Li Sishi gets into and out of character very quickly, or is it that she lacks charm and is not attractive enough to the person in front of her?
However, there is no time for Ling Chen to think about it further, because this scene is considered a relatively important "core" part of the drama, marking the turning point in the relationship between the male and female leads. Therefore, Producer Xu, who is in charge of this drama, attaches great importance to it and even came to the set to check on the filming.
Unexpectedly, Li Sishi showed such talent and openness in her first acting role. Producer Xu was not only satisfied with his own judgment but also very pleased with the current filming progress. He quickly instructed the director to prepare for the next scene.
When there's no need to change sets, as long as the actors are in good spirits, they can quickly move on to the next scene. Therefore, after Li Sishi tidied her slightly messy hair with the help of the staff...
That is, another backup version of the performance began again in the early hours of the morning.
The dialogue didn't change much, only the final "kiss" was different: unlike before when Li Tiansheng couldn't help himself, this time he resolutely stopped just before touching Yi Sang's lips.
"I can't make the same mistake again..." This simple line reveals how the two crossed the line back then, which led to the difficult love story between the poor boy and the rich girl.
So this time, having "grown up," Li Tiansheng could no longer bear to let that tragic story repeat itself in front of the face he loved so deeply.
The kiss finally landed on Yi Sang's forehead, filled with boundless tenderness and affection. It was more subtle and restrained than the previous passionate kisses, and it emphasized the anxiety and trepidation of this love that felt like walking on thin ice.
The last thing the monitor showed was Li Tiansheng carrying Yi Sang back to his room, his back to her, a gesture of tenderness as if he were carrying the whole world on his back.
"Cut goodtake!"
After filming this panoramic shot, Li Sishi immediately opened her eyes and jumped off Ling Chen's back. It has to be said that most male celebrities nowadays have the energy and spirit to possess the strength and beauty of men. With broad shoulders, long legs, and strong arms, they can not only carry female celebrities but also hold male celebrities for a while without hesitation.
Unlike the increasingly sloppy entertainment industry that followed, where male celebrities became more and more "refined" with their narrow frames unable to fill out suits, and even lacking the strength to carry or hold a skinny female celebrity, yet complaining that she was too heavy for someone weighing less than 90 pounds, and publicly stating that she needed to lose weight...
After silently criticizing the future ecosystem in her mind, Li Sishi calmed herself down and then, together with Ling Chen, filmed a few more close-up shots to fulfill the secret that "Li Tiansheng" whispered while looking at his wife's sleeping face in this scene—
"Once I finish this 'project,' I'll get a promotion and a raise, and you won't have to worry about my job anymore, nor will you need to do any 'part-time work'..."
"That way you can try to take me to meet your daddy and mommy and get their forgiveness."
I won't be all alone anymore...
Because he was given a secret auditing mission by the company's big boss, even though his salary was the same as or even higher than when he was an actuary, a temporary high school teacher would definitely not have such a high salary.
So over the past few months, he could only save a portion and give the rest to his wife for household expenses, which led his wife to worry about insufficient family funds and secretly take on part-time jobs outside.
It's adorably foolish—it's incredible that his young wife would falsify accounts right under the noses of actuaries, mathematical professionals.
After this part of the plot brings some of the male and female protagonists' secrets into the open, Li Tiansheng, Yi Sang, Sun Xinru, and A Ken temporarily form an alliance and walk the path that each of their roles and identities should take in their daily lives.
Although the love letter incident has not yet been fully investigated, Yi Sang no longer takes it too seriously. On the contrary, taking advantage of this unexpected opportunity to relive campus life and start a new chapter in her life is her main goal now.
As her studies deepened, Yi Sang realized that her old methods were no longer suitable for the current teaching level, so she decisively remarried Li Tiansheng.
He was asked to tutor him in his spare time.
Li Tiansheng was on a secret mission and naturally couldn't spare so much time to tutor his wife again. Besides, they had developed feelings for each other because of tutoring, so he wanted to follow his wife's wishes and let her take this unexpected opportunity to experience a new school life without him...
He said it that way and thought it that way, but seeing his wife get tutoring in humanities from Sun Xinru after being rejected by him, and then go to Gu Zhancai for tutoring in science... this made him a little angry.
Don't be fooled by the fact that Gu Zhancai is a distant nephew of the school director who snatched Ken's interview. He is also a capable returnee from overseas. He just came back and is not familiar with the environment of Hong Kong, so the director arranged for him to come here to gain experience.
Therefore, such a young and exceptionally talented new teacher, who still harbors boundless aspirations for the teaching profession, would naturally have an extraordinary fondness for a student like Yi Sang, who is already quite outstanding and willing to strive for even greater heights—especially in a Band 3 high school where almost everyone is giving up, Yi Sang is practically a pure white lotus rising from the mud...
Once again, he convinced himself that he wasn't jealous, but rather annoyed that Yi Sang had disrupted his plan to get close to Gu Zhancai and extract information. In the end, Li Tiansheng could only take the initiative to tell Yi Sang that he would try his best to make time for her.
Xi's proposal.
The problem now is that Yi Sang has a "new love" in Gu Zhancai, and it seems that she doesn't really want him, her "old love" anymore!
Li Tiansheng was often annoyed by this, and later he had no choice but to settle for second best and join in if he couldn't beat them: under the pretense of doing what was best for Yi Sang, a top student, he joined the study group that tutored Yi Sang and her friends with the consent of Gu Zhancai, who was unaware of the inside story...
Because of Yi Sang's "leading by example", the school's learning atmosphere has improved significantly recently. Then, Yi Sang formed a study group with herself and her good friend Tong Tong as the leaders, and with the help of the teachers, they made up for their lessons.
In this part of the plot, Li Sishi worked with the teachers of Zeng Dingbao Su School to compile a lot of learning techniques that incorporated the latest teaching information and the TV series plot. She thought that after the TV series was broadcast, she could use the gimmick of "Top Ten Scholars' Private Classroom" to reduce parents' prejudice against the TV series.
That's right, it's "prejudice".
TBL doesn't produce many youth dramas, but because they always choose popular celebrities among young people, and because they use completely different filming techniques and storylines from previous business dramas and housewife dramas, they were phenomenal dramas that ignited a craze among young people in Hong Kong every time they were released, before the rise of Taiwanese idol dramas.
Conversely, parents don't want their children, who are still in school, to reduce their study time to watch TV dramas—unless the children are watching educational channels or programs.
Li Sishi deliberately proposed such plot changes and was able to gain the unanimous approval of the producer and director, undoubtedly for this reason: most young people who like to watch dramas have average grades, and some of them simply don't like to study. When this drama airs, it will attract them to watch the drama and affect their academic performance, and parents will definitely send a lot of complaint letters to the TV station.
Even after modifying the characters of the male and female leads, which might attract a group of parents who are moved by the tragic story of a poor couple, the plot points that resonate with younger audiences are still likely to spark controversy.
The Hong Kong people's tendency to complain is deeply ingrained in their bones. They will complain about even the most trivial matters, making them even more difficult to deal with than the argumentative people of the internet age.
At this point, something more eye-catching is needed to grab most of the attention.
By leveraging Li Sishi's status as a top-scoring student, the show aims to spread learning techniques. If some students actually learn something from it and improve their grades even slightly, the show will not only become a favorite among parents and a hit in DVD stores, but it will also give adults who make youth dramas a sense of satisfaction in providing teenagers with some "adult experience" through the show.
At an age when we are observing the world with a sense of wonder and ignorance, a good work of art can change a person's life.
This is also the true motivation behind these filmmakers taking on such a challenging task—to create a work that completely contradicts the tastes and preferences of the current era.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
