Chapter 6
The script was changed at the last minute, and all the original arrangements had to be overturned and rearranged.
The next morning, He Tong and Ye Yuze arrived at the set and got a new shooting schedule from the assistant director, whose eyes were red from staying up all night. Yu Zheng, who had also stayed up most of the night, was on the set personally supervising the lighting adjustments and the light substitute's movements.
He Tong asked, "Is Director Yu okay? I see he has really dark circles under his eyes."
The assistant director chuckled and said, "It's okay. The script can be changed back. Old Yu is very excited."
He Tong quickly scanned the schedule and said, "Let's try to finish work early today. Everyone's been working so hard this morning. I'll have my assistant buy some drinks and snacks to reward everyone later."
The assistant director thanked him, and after the two of them had gone to the dressing room, he scratched his head and muttered quietly, "Hey, doesn't that kid's profile say he's 18? He doesn't act like one at all."
The stage manager, who was busy nearby, overheard this and said, "He offered 30 million right away yesterday. Maybe his family has been training him since he was young? Anyway, we're paying for the job, and he seems generous. At least he won't have a hard time for the next two months."
"Yes, he's much better than the one from yesterday."
After saying that, the assistant director shook his head and went back to work.
The play we rehearsed today is about the protagonist, the painter, being spotted and followed by the second male lead as soon as he enters the town.
It wasn't difficult to shoot, but it was very time-consuming and laborious. There were four scene changes, each requiring two or three camera positions, meaning two or three rehearsals. Most of the time was spent on scene changes and lighting, leaving the actors relatively relaxed.
When He Tong and Ye Yuze finished putting on their makeup, Yu Zheng came over and gave them a brief introduction to the play.
Yu Zheng said to Ye Yuze, "Bai Ruyun's eagerness to find a place to commit suicide has calmed down after traveling for a while, but deep down he still longs for death. This is the biggest difference between him and ordinary tourists, and we need to show that feeling."
Then he turned to He Tong and said, "You are a source of irritation to Bai Ruyun. When you saw Bai Ruyun, the first thing you noticed was not him as a person, but his bag, clothes, shoes, and other symbols of money. Because Bai Ruyun was determined to die, he was actually not very receptive to external information. But he sensed something was wrong in the last two scenes. This was because your overly strong gaze stimulated him. The medium shot from the side in the third scene was to highlight this point."
The two nodded, stood up and went out with Yu Zheng.
The first scene is at the entrance of the town.
The first shot shows Ye Yuze entering from outside the frame, walking down the town's only cobblestone path. The camera only captures his back. He Tonghui walks past Ye Yuze, hinting at the beginning of their intertwined destinies.
The two of them walked through the positions first, determined the time for the intersection, and then officially started filming.
The clapperboard hits.
Yu Zheng looked at the images on the monitor.
He Tong sat sideways on a small stool, his body slightly bent, one hand resting on his knee, the other slowly stroking the coarse porcelain tea bowl on the low table. The camera only caught a hint of his chin from above, not his full face.
Ye Yuze walked into the camera. At first, the camera was half blocked by his backpack, but as he walked in, the clear back of him with the backpack on his back gradually emerged.
After Ye Yuze walked past He Tong, He Tong put his hand that was touching the tea bowl on the table, exerted a little force, and stood up.
He walked past Ye Yuze. In the camera, one could see his hands waving casually, partially covering his backpack.
At this moment, the hand accidentally rubbed the high-quality backpack.
He Tong walked out of the camera, and Ye Yuze continued to move forward, revealing his entire back in the camera.
The road was narrow, and a few elderly people and children lined the streets, dutifully portraying a "boring afternoon." Ye Yuze walked forward without turning, even when a small dog suddenly ran over and circled around him, he simply lowered his head slightly, his pace unchanged.
Yu Zheng called out "Cut".
He carefully watched the replay twice, then said to the two people who came over, "Very good. This one passed."
He Tong was close by and had just watched the second replay. He laughed and said, "The puppy did a great job adding to his own drama."
Yu Zheng patted his shoulder. "That rubbing of your hand was quite a stroke of genius. Okay, let's go to the next scene. Let's take a frontal shot of Yu Ze."
The shoot went smoothly and after lunch, only three scenes of the last scene remained.
Yu Zheng continued to comment on the play: "Maintain the state of the previous scene. Yu Ze's emotions should continue to be doubtful, not vigilant. The close-up shots of He Tong should bring out a sense of calculation."
The two men took their positions and the clapperboard started clapping.
Ye Yuze emerged from the small restaurant, turned aside, and continued walking. A blurry figure flickered in the mirror. He took a few steps, then stopped, half-turned to look at the camera, his brow furrowed slightly, his head tilted slightly. After a moment, his brow relaxed, his fingers gripping the backpack strap gently rubbed it, and he turned back to continue walking.
The cameraman slowly moved the camera to the back of Ye Yuze Zheng, and continued to move horizontally until He Tong, who was leaning against the wall, was captured in the frame.
"Card!"
After Yu Zheng finished shouting, two staff members who had been prepared immediately came forward with reflectors to provide lighting. The cameraman changed the camera and came to the designated position to shoot a close-up of the body.
The clapperboard rang again.
He Tong stared at the camera intently, his dark eyes seemed to contain a little moisture, causing the light reflected by the reflector to shake a little.
He took a slow, deep breath, and the cigarette butt in his mouth gradually became brighter.
Then, he half-lowered his eyelashes and exhaled smoke from his mouth and nose. The smoke slowly spread out, covering most of his face.
Yu Zheng looked at the blurry picture on the monitor and couldn't help but clench his fists.
"Ka! Very good!"
He Tong immediately reached out to take off the cigarette, patted his chest and started coughing.
Yu Zheng laughed out loud: "You don't know how to smoke?"
He Tong coughed for a while before raising his head, his eyes a little wet.
"Not really."
Ye Yuze was standing aside with the water in his hand and handed it over.
He Tong took the water and took two sips, then said with a smile, "Brother Ye really cares about me. When you finish filming, let's go eat some double-skin milk. Lingling said there's a restaurant that's really good."
"Yize needs to control his sugar intake. No double skin milk, only black coffee." Yu Zheng ruthlessly rejected He Tong's proposal.
He Tong sat down aside and let the makeup artist remove his makeup on the spot.
Lingling came over and whispered, "Young Boss, I've sneaked a peek at Director Yu's monitor several times. The footage is truly beautiful. Once today's scene is released, it's sure to become a hugely popular cutscene for the CP, enough to write several short essays about."
Makeup artist Xiaoyu chuckled upon hearing this: "Lingling, you're really imaginative. If that's the case, won't the future scenes be even more interesting? There wasn't any direct interaction between the two of them in today's scene."
"Hey, there are so many ways to support a couple." Lingling waved her hand. "Love that can't be achieved, waiting silently. The look in the eyes of others is calculation, but in the eyes of couple fans it's love and care. That's the feeling we want."
"What does it feel like?"
A male voice interrupted. Lingling turned around and saw that it was Fang Chen. She quickly stuck out her tongue and shrank aside with Xiaoyu, who had just finished removing He Tong's makeup.
"Second brother is here." He Tong smiled.
"He Xiaotong, you are really capable. You cause trouble for me as soon as you come." Fang Chen sat down on the seat next to him.
"This is Yuehua's fault for letting such a clueless idiot come here."
"Am I talking about that idiot? I'm talking about this script!" Fang Chen rolled his eyes. "You didn't act out the touching Chinese guy, but replaced him with this guy who can't tell good from evil. Is that fun?"
He Tong squinted at him and said, "Second brother, do you still want this film to win an award?"
"Okay, okay, it's just that I, a common person, don't understand your genius art films." Fang Chen sighed.
"Is that stupid thing resolved?"
"Don't worry, the boss personally called and talked to Yuehua's CEO. They don't need to get angry over a nameless, 18th-tier player. They should terminate the contract and withdraw their investment. I guess they weren't very optimistic about this project in the first place, so they agreed so readily."
"Isn't it that he's some director's new favorite and no one's sticking up for him?"
"Well." Fang Chen sneered. "If this were a serious relationship, maybe they would come to chat with me. But he's just a bunny, how can a director have the time to ask about everything?"
After saying that, Fang Chen suddenly moved closer and lowered his voice before adding, "By the way, I just heard you guys talking about a couple. Are you planning to create a couple with Yu Ze?"
He Tong continued to look at him with the same eyes as if he cared for a fool: "We debuted in the same film, from the same studio, and will continue to work together in the future. Do we still need to hype this CP?"
Fang Chen touched his nose: "I don't mind. Bundling CPs is actually more convenient for the company. As long as you keep operating, the stickiness of CP fans is very high. So, can Yu Ze agree? Does he know what CP is?"
He Tonggao smiled deeply: "He will agree to me."
After the filming, He Tong and Ye Yuze went to the snack street outside the studio.
It is summer vacation now, and some tourists come here to travel, so this street is quite lively.
The two of them sat under a parasol outside a shop, one drinking double-skin milk and the other black coffee, a strange harmony of white and black. The four bodyguards at the next table were a bit intimidating, so no one dared approach this corner, making it unusually quiet.
He Tongxian drank a few sips of double skin milk from the bowl and praised it: "It's really good."
Then he scooped up a spoonful and held it in front of Ye Yuze: "Brother, can you have a taste secretly?"
Ye Yuze stared at it, raised his phone, and saw a WeChat message from Yu Zheng just sent: Eat a bite, come back and run a kilometer!
He Tong smiled and took back the spoon and put it in his mouth: "Director Yu is watching so closely."
"After receiving the script, his expectations for this film have become even higher." Ye Yuze put his phone away and took a sip of his coffee. "Originally, he might have just hoped for a successful transition and a smooth entry into the film industry. Now, he's probably really going for an award."
"Okay, I won't hold you back. Director Yu, if you work hard, maybe I can even win you a Best Actor award."
Ye Yuze chuckled and changed the subject: "When can we check the results of Yan Chuan?"
"The 20th, it's almost here." He Tong smiled, "Brother, have you thought about the reward for me?"
"Don't you have this idea already? Tell me." Ye Yuze replied calmly.
Since he had been seen through, He Tong didn't hesitate and said directly: "Actually, it doesn't matter whether there is a reward or not. The main thing is that my second brother said that he considered our future development and felt that it would be best to promote us as a CP. So..."
He Tong blinked and put on an innocent look: "He asked me to convince you to agree to do business with me."
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