Chapter 14
Tong Tianyao covered her right shoulder with her left hand, looked at the camera with panic on her face, and her wide-open eyes were filled with despair.
Suddenly, a hand reached into the camera and blocked her view.
The camera moves back, revealing Master Yizhu standing beside her.
Master Yizhu withdrew his hands, formed a complicated seal with both hands, and his robe and long hair immediately fluttered up.
He frowned slightly and held on, but finally spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backwards.
"Master—" Tong Tianyao cried out in grief.
At this time, Wenren Jian flew out from the side, his left hand resting on the back of Master Yizhu, and he turned around with the man and landed beside Tong Tianyao.
He gently placed Master Yizhu on the ground, withdrew his hand and drew a talisman in the air, then turned around and jumped up, raising the sword in his right hand and slashing towards the camera.
◆
"Card!"
Yan Dajiang called for a stop, then watched the playback on the monitors connected to the three cameras before looking up and giving a thumbs up.
"Okay, this one passed. Get ready for the next shot!"
Upon hearing this, the assistants and staff on standby rushed forward and untied the wire ropes for He Tong, Ye Yuze, and Liu Qing.
Ye Yuze took the wet wipes handed to him by Lingling and wiped his mouth. After the wire harness on his body was removed, he quickly walked to the dressing room to rinse his mouth.
Yan Dajiang walked over slowly and patted He Tong on the shoulder.
"Very good, very good. The expression is natural, the movements are graceful, and the emotions are all on point. Keep it up."
He Tong smiled and said, "Thank you, Director Yan, for the compliment."
Yan Dajiang sighed again, "I wish everyone could be as worry-free as you guys," and then walked away shaking his head.
He's the kind of director who gets his temper out loud, yelling at mistakes and lavishly praising good performances. The one who got scolded the most these days was Huang Ye, a complete newcomer, but everyone else got scolded to varying degrees, too. Even Liu Qing and Yang Hedong, two of the most popular young actors and actresses, weren't spared.
But when it comes to He Tong and Ye Yuze, Yan Dajiang has always been full of praise and has never been picky. Although he hasn't had to do a single NG because of them, the director's attitude inevitably aroused some jealousy.
Of course, Liu Qing was not among those jealous people.
She even gave him a subtle compliment: "Ever since I switched to the new wire rope, I feel like flying is much smoother than before. It's great to have Mr. Xiao Fang with me. This is all thanks to you guys."
He Tong also took the opportunity to remind him, "Safety always comes first. The props team is busy, and there may be occasional oversights. Sister Qing, you have a lot of wirework scenes, so it's best to have your own people check it before going on the wirework."
"You're right. I noticed that bodyguards were there to check and supervise your wirework, so I asked my agent to find a security officer who knows about this two days ago. He should be here today."
The two of them were talking as they walked to the rest area where they were waiting for the show. Ye Yuze just happened to come back from the dressing room.
As soon as he saw him, He Tong immediately walked over quickly and stuffed the thermos cup he had been holding in his hand into his hand.
"Brother, drink some ginger and sugar water quickly. Be careful not to catch a cold if you're being blown by a blower in the middle of winter."
Ye Yuze unscrewed the lid of the cup and drank slowly.
Liu Qing also sat nearby, drinking warm water, and added, "It's okay in the studio now, at least we have heating. It's going to be really tough when we go out to shoot after the New Year. It's freezing cold, and we have to shoot in the wind. We even have to hold ice cubes in our mouths beforehand to keep from breathing in our lines."
"Luckily, we have few exterior scenes and we only need to go to the one in the south. At least we don't have to suffer the pain of holding ice in our mouths."
"I'm in a terrible situation. I have to go north to shoot snow scenes later. But I have to thank Director Yan for not going when it was the coldest. At least it wasn't minus 20 or 30 in February."
As they were chatting, Fang Chen hurried over.
He glanced around first, then lowered his voice and said, "He Xiaotong, when did you get in touch with Director Liu? He just called me and told me to reserve your schedule from June to October next year for him. He even hurried me over to sign the contract."
"Director Liu?" He Tong was surprised. "Which Director Liu?"
"Liu Ke, the one who won the Golden Carp Best Director award last year."
He Tong understood: "I met him during the art exam. There was a question on the exam, and I think it was from his new book."
"What kind of luck do you have? Director Liu asked for four months straight. Could it be that you're the protagonist?"
"For a supporting role, I'd guess it's the second or third male lead. I've gotten to know Director Liu, and he has a habit of filming in sequence to help maintain emotional continuity for the actors. And for any named character, he'll insist on being with the crew throughout the entire shoot before wrapping up. He generally won't deliberately group together a single character's storyline. So the shoot takes quite a while."
"So what? Do you want to sign it? Or do you want to wait for the script first?"
He Tong touched his chin and said, "First, let's ask if there is a role suitable for Brother Ye."
Fang Chen rolled his eyes: "Are you still a baby who hasn't been weaned yet?"
Ye Yuze, who was looking at the tablet, said without raising his head: "Sign."
He Tong took the opportunity to come over and act coquettishly: "Then brother, you have to accompany me to film. Four months is a long time, I will be bored alone."
"Yeah." Ye Yuze responded and continued to say to Fang Chen, "Let's see if they still want to invest. Our studio will invest some money."
"Needless to say? Director Liu has never lost money since he started making movies. It doesn't matter how much profit he makes. As soon as he starts filming, there are tons of investors holding their money and begging him to take it. I don't know if it will be our turn. Why haven't I heard about his preparations before... Then I'll go now."
Fang Chen muttered a little worriedly, stood up, waved his hand, and hurried away.
Liu Qing, who was standing next to him, was secretly shocked when she heard this.
Although she took the initiative to move aside to avoid suspicion, the place was so small that she could still hear some of it. She also knew that this matter must have been a done deal, otherwise Fang Chen would not have said it here.
Who is Liu Ke? He's a money-making machine in the film industry! He started making films in his early thirties, initially pursuing standard commercial productions. Each film was more expensive than the last, yet each one also generated more revenue, propelling countless actors to stardom. Anyone who played a major role in one of his films saw their commercial value double upon release.
A few years ago, Liu Ke, probably feeling he'd made enough money and was looking for fame, turned his attention to award-winning films. His last film, which he worked on for over a year, won him both the Golden Carp Award for Best Director and the Golden Carp Award for Best Actor. Now that he's started filming, not only are investors begging for money, but actors are vying for roles, with even unpaid guest appearances being accepted with eagerness.
Such a big director would actually take the initiative to find He Tong, a newcomer who didn't even have a single film to act in? Liu Qing almost wondered if she was hallucinating.
At the same time, she discovered something else that completely overturned her perception. From the conversation between the three of them, it sounded like He Tong was the one who had the final say in film coordination, Ye Yuze was the one who had the final say in investment, and Fang Chen was more of an executor.
Liu Qing inconspicuously glanced at the two people who were looking at the tablet together with their heads pressed together, and in her mind she raised their importance again.
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On the way back from filming that day, Lingling showed He Tong another Weibo post.
It was a short Reuters video from the crew, showing Yan Dajiang scolding a minor supporting role, with the caption "#天尧电视# Director Yan is very strict."
He Tong: "No V, are you a fan?"
Lingling: "I'm not sure. I searched on Kuaishou and Douyin and found the same video, but it didn't get much traffic. There were only a few fans saying they felt sorry for their brother. But the person isn't very famous and doesn't have many fans."
"Let's pass it on to the producer and see if the crew wants to deal with it."
Lingling lowered her head while working, then said, "By the way, you two haven't been active for a few days, and your Tongze fans are crying out for more. If you have time, can you post another one?"
Ye Yuze: "Are you a fan of Tongze?"
"Oh, it's you CP fans. They named your CP 'Yu Zi Tong Ze', and your names together just happen to be a reference to that line in the poem. So CP fans call themselves Tong Ze fans."
Xiao Zheng said with some concern, "But wouldn't it be bad to open too frequently? I'm afraid it might annoy passersby."
Lingling smiled, "It's okay. The initial buzz was thanks to the makeup photos, plus the crew bought trending searches, and a lot of people from the company shared the welcome post. Now, as long as you don't use the crew's topics to capitalize on the hype, no one will see it. The last post the young boss posted didn't really make much of a splash; it was just fans commenting on the post and in the super chat. It's time to post more often, which helps to solidify your fanbase."
He Tong praised Lingling in his heart and said, "Okay, I'll think about what to post later."
Ye Yuze: "I have already sent it."
Hearing this, the three of them looked at him in surprise, then lowered their heads and opened Weibo at the same time.
He Tong quickly clicked on Ye Yuze's homepage and saw the latest message that had just been sent.
@叶与泽V: I need to blow dry my hair while filming today, so @贺同V prepared some ginger syrup for me. It's a little spicy.
There were several comments immediately below.
[Oh my god, I'm also a warm-hearted person, the kind that feels warm after eating.] [There's something wrong with you upstairs!]
[It's cold in the winter, Master Ze, please take care of yourself. Thank you, Tongzi, for sending me warmth.] [I want to drink Tongtong's ginger sugar water, too. Even if it's spicy, it's worth it.]
[Sisters, we need to see the essence through the surface! They both have assistants, so why did it take Zezai's assistant to prepare the ginger syrup for him?] [Madam upstairs, here's the pen! Hurry up!]
He Tong was so happy that he almost burst into joy, but he kept a reserved expression on his face.
He first took out the thermos and took a photo, then liked Ye Yuze's Weibo post. Instead of forwarding it, he posted a comment below.
[He Tong V: This is my first time making ginger syrup, I have no experience. Does anyone know how much ginger to put in 400ml? See picture] Lingling was surprised: "Little boss, did you really make the ginger syrup?"
He Tong blinked innocently: "I want to develop my cooking skills. The housekeeper suggested that I start by making sugar water, so I made ginger sugar water."
Lingling: “…”
He Tong went to pester Ye Yuze again: "Brother, is it really spicy?"
Ye Yuze nodded: "Just put one less piece next time."
Lingling: I suspect you two aren't just doing business, you're really just feeding me some dog food! Madam, the one who sees the essence through phenomena, please let me, your unqualified assistant, follow you, orz.
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