Triangle
Today is Gu Zian’s last day of filming on the set.
Xia Zhitang found that Lin Jingming was in a very good mood all day and all the scenes went very smoothly.
Just as dusk fell, the last take was successfully completed. Lin Jingming picked up the megaphone and shouted, "Call it a day! Props team, bring out the champagne tower!"
The scene suddenly became lively, cakes and champagne were pushed up very quickly, and Gu Zian, who had not even taken off his makeup, was stuffed with two or three bouquets of flowers.
Gu Zian thanked everyone, handed the flowers in his arms to his assistant, took a bouquet of mixed flowers from his agent and handed it to Lin Jingming, thanking Lin Jingming for his guidance in a polite manner.
Without waiting for Lin Jingming to lecture him, he immediately snatched the huge pink rose from his agent's hand and ran towards Xia Zhitang with a smile.
"Sister, I chose this bouquet myself." Gu Zian hugged Xia Zhitang openly under the pretext of sending flowers as a farewell gift.
In the distance, Lin Jingming stuffed the flowers into the hands of the stagehand with a gloomy face, picked up the loud speaker and shouted, "Photographer! Take a picture of the wrap cake first!"
"I haven't taken a photo with my sister yet." Gu Zian complained in a low voice. He suddenly smiled, took Xia Zhitang's hand and rushed to the cake.
Gu Zian stuffed the plastic knife into Xia Zhitang's hand: "Sister, teach me how to cut the camera, and I will teach you how to cut the cake?"
Xia Zhitang held the exaggerated pink bouquet in one hand, while Gu Zian grabbed her wrist with both hands and cut the first piece of cake.
"Wait, I forgot to light the candle!" Lin Jingming squeezed in between the two of them with a candle.
He put twenty candles on the cake and said with an exaggerated professional smile, "Congratulations, Xiao Gu, for joining our crew for 12 days!"
Lin Jingming used a lighter to light the candle and almost burned Gu Zian's bangs.
"Congratulations to Xiao Gu on his successful graduation!" Lin Jingming deliberately emphasized the word "graduation".
While the stagehands were spreading the ribbons, Gu Zian slid over to Xia Zhitang and pulled out a USB drive: "This is a compilation of my growth stories. Thank you, sister..."
Lin Jingming appeared behind them without them noticing, snatched the USB drive and threw it to the lighting engineer, "This kind of behind-the-scenes footage should be enjoyed by everyone. It's perfect as KTV accompaniment tonight!"
Xia Zhitang raised his champagne glass and laughed, "You fell seven times on your first wire-hanging trip."
"The eighth time was personally guided by my sister!" Gu Zian took out his mobile phone and clicked on the saved video. In the video, Xia Zhitang was showing him how to exert force in the air, how the camera would move, and when Gu Zian should start the action.
Gu Zian was like a big, fluffy dog wagging its tail, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Xia Zhitang: "Sister, what you taught me is all valuable stuff! It's worth studying over and over again!"
Lin Jingming suddenly came over and said, "You need to study hard. Other directors don't have as good a temper as me."
Xia Zhitang couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Lin Jingming glared at Xia Zhitang and shouted, "Let's eat!"
The lighting technician suddenly turned off the lights. Xia Zhitang stepped on someone's foot in the dark and grabbed a tie while stumbling.
The spotlight suddenly lit up, illuminating Lin Jingming's collar that was pulled askew by her, and Gu Zian's hand holding the cake as he tried to attack Lin Jingming.
"Cheese!" When the photographer pressed the shutter, the cream cake was stuck on Lin Jingming's newly cut hair.
"I'm sorry, Director Lin!" Gu Zian helped Lin Jingming wipe the wiping cloth with a sad face. His assistant and agent also rushed over to help with a very stern look on their faces.
Amidst the chaos, Xia Zhitang looked at Lin Jingming, whose face was covered in cream and blackened, and couldn't help but hide her smile with the huge bouquet. Behind the pink roses, Xia Zhitang smiled with her eyebrows curved, and Gu Zian took the opportunity to turn around and wink at Xia Zhitang.
Lin Jingming seemed to have sensed something and turned to look for Xia Zhitang, who was so frightened that she took advantage of the chaos to sneak back to the hotel with the bouquet of flowers.
In the evening, Xia Zhitang had just finished washing up and unplugged the hair dryer when there was a knock on the door.
Through the cat's eye, Xia Zhitang saw Gu Zian standing at the door holding the script, squatting at the door with a listless look like an abandoned big dog.
Xia Zhitang opened the door, and Gu Zian stood up and wagged his tail like a big dog seeing its master. "Sister, can you teach me how to cut a trailer again?"
"Editing class at 11:30? Didn't you drink enough of the wrap-up wine?"
Gu Zian smiled innocently and squeezed through the crack of the door with the bag in his hand.
"I brought some hangover tea." He shook the convenience store plastic bag.
Xia Zhitang kicked the dirty clothes off the carpet to make room for his seat. "Let's make it clear, I'll only teach you until half past twelve."
Gu Zian sat cross-legged on the carpet and pulled out his laptop from his bag. "Look, Sister, I used the matching editing you taught me for this transition..." He dragged the timeline, "Superimposing the flickering sword light and the gradually brightening candlelight. Doesn't it look like fate intertwined?"
Xia Zhitang said bitterly, "There are too many special effects, it looks like a cheap music video."
She tapped the progress bar and said, "Add an ambient sound effect here. The sound of rain gradually intensifies to match the heartbeat..."
Gu Zian suddenly hit the pause button: "I want to follow the crew to the next filming location." He bit his lower lip with his fangs, "I'll just be an intern script supervisor, and I'll take care of my own food and accommodation."
"Does your dad know?" Xia Zhitang turned off the video and looked at Gu Zian seriously.
Gu Zian lowered his head and said in a low voice, "I made a two-year bet with my family. If I fail by the end of the term, I will go back to manage the branch."
He suddenly looked up and smiled, saying, "Being an actor allows me to experience different lives. It's much more interesting than being a CEO."
"I need to discuss this with Mr. Cheng."
"Sister, are you calling now?" Gu Zian's eyes lit up. He smiled and took out his phone and handed it to Xia Zhitang, "I have his private number."
Xia Zhitang tapped his furry head with the script: "Waking up the investors at one in the morning? You might as well just quit the industry."
Gu Zian held his head in his hands, looking at Xia Zhitang innocently. Xia Zhitang unconsciously bit her lip. As if he had discovered something, Gu Zian suddenly leaned in and sniffed Xia Zhitang's freshly washed hair: "Is that coconut shampoo that sister uses?"
He stretched out his hand, his fingertips brushing against the ends of Xia Zhitang's hair that had passed over her shoulders, "With my mother..."
Xia Zhitang turned around and closed his laptop: "I'll give you an answer tomorrow morning."
"It's 1:07 now." Gu Zian pointed at the number on his phone, "It's tomorrow already."
Xia Zhitang grabbed his hoodie and dragged him towards the door: "If you keep making trouble, I'll use you as a pillow in Director Sailin's room!"
"Sister, please ask me early tomorrow morning!" Gu Zian held his bag and kept trying to grab the door frame.
Xia Zhitang nodded helplessly: "Go to bed early!"
"Good night, sister!" Gu Zian then smiled and walked out of the door.
The next day, Xia Zhitang was awakened by the frantic vibration of her phone on the bedside table. She groped in the dark and opened it. Cheng Shubai's laughter burst out before the screen lit up. "Director Xia, it's great! The young master of the Gu family wants to be your henchman?"
"It's 6:07 now." Xia Zhitang squinted at the time on his phone, "Are you staying up all night or getting up early?"
"We just signed a contract for an additional 10 million yuan investment from Gu Corporation." Cheng Shubai snapped his fingers. "Give him a title of assistant director at the end of the film. I'll send the contract tomorrow."
Xia Zhitang rubbed his sleep-deprived head and said, "Lin Jingming opened three bottles of champagne yesterday to celebrate the completion of filming."
"Old Lin, I'll take care of it." Cheng Shubai suddenly imitated Lin Jingming's yelling voice, "If we don't have enough script supervisors, hire ten more!"
He choked with laughter. "By the way, let him teach the newbies how to smash wine glasses. The instructional video can sell peripheral products."
Suddenly, there was a loud shouting outside the door. Xia Zhitang froze: "You did it?"
"The wake-up call for Lin Jingming has arrived." Cheng Shubai whistled, "Open the door and receive a surprise."
Xia Zhitang pushed open the door and saw a staff member pushing a food cart in the corridor shouting, "Director Cheng ordered Cantonese dim sum!"
Lin Jingming, who lived across the street, opened the door with his eyes wide open. With his messy hair on his head, he roared, "We're having a feast so early in the morning!"
Cheng Shubai's voice came out from Xia Zhitang's phone: "Lao Lin! I've assigned you a cup-throwing stand-in!"
Lin Jingming rushed over and snatched the phone: "You fucking..."
"Gu Group has made additional investment." Cheng Shubai immediately switched to a serious tone, "From today on, Gu Zian will be your new assistant director."
In the corridor filled with the aroma of shrimp dumplings, Xia Zhitang silently took two steps back and watched Lin Jingming raise his hand and smash her cell phone at the food cart.
While Xia Zhitang was pondering how to report her phone's damage, a martial artist acting as a temporary food delivery driver caught her phone, which was flying in the air, in a steamer. Her phone dangled on the osmanthus cake in the steamer, stubbornly alive.
"Add three more explosion scenes!" Lin Jingming roared, "Don't newbies love to learn? Let them explode to their heart's content!"
Cheng Shubai's voice drifted out from the osmanthus cake: "Remember to issue an invoice, Mr. Gu will reimburse you."
The sound of Lin Jingming closing the door responded to Cheng Shubai.
Xia Zhitang silently picked up his phone, which was stained with osmanthus cake. He thought to himself, what a special day.
In the end, Gu Zian was content to become a member of the group. Because of his hard work and generous salary, he became even more popular than when he was an actor.
On the other side, Lin Jingming's roars became more frequent than before.
Xia Zhitang looked at Gu Zian, who was mingling with the directors with a vibrant smile on his face, and thought to himself, "What a special young man."
While Xia Zhitang was inspecting the railcar, Lin Jingming suddenly slammed his ice cream cone against the console. "That brat's running the blasting crew like they're a circus." He stared at Gu Zian, who was helping the lighting engineer carry a reflector in the distance. "He's really got some madness going on."
Xia Zhitang kicked the stuck pulley of the railcar away: "At least they didn't damage the equipment."
Lin Jingming squinted at him and said, "Back then, when you were learning three-point lighting, you broke three diffusers, and now you're acting like a model teacher."
"Sister! Is the filter for Unit 3 ND0.6 correct?"
"Switch to 0.9!" Xia Zhitang shouted without even looking up, "Increase the backlight by two levels!"
The stage manager slowly pushed a two-meter-high prop past the control console, and a huge shadow covered Xia Zhitang.
Lin Jingming suddenly came over and said, "You used to follow me around like this, asking questions." His hot breath touched Xia Zhitang's ear. "Now you're being more arrogant."
"Who doesn't like good students?" Xia Zhitang held up the script to block Lin Jingming's face. "It's better than teaching a blockhead."
Lin Jingming chuckled, reached out and pulled Xia Zhitang's wrist, which was holding the script, and gently stroked it. "Yeah, who wouldn't like it?"
Lin Jingming's low voice was like a feather gently brushing against Xia Zhitang's heart.
When Gu Zian trotted over with the filter in his arms, Xia Zhitang stared blankly at the crumpled script in his hand.
"Sister is right, 0.9 is better for capturing the layers of clouds!"
Xia Zhitang looked up and saw the beads of sweat on Gu Zian's forehead sparkling under the lights of the crew, and his mood inexplicably improved.
Lin Jingming suddenly patted the empty equipment box next to him and said, "Go and wipe the track car three times!"
"Can you teach me how to operate the jib after you finish cleaning it?" Gu Zian's eyes suddenly lit up. "I promise..."
"Wipe it first!" Lin Jingming threw the rag over, "Remember to wipe the seams between the wheels!"
Gu Zian suddenly turned and looked at Xia Zhitang.
Xia Zhitang nodded and assured: "I wiped it before."
Gu Zian gave Xia Zhitang a bright smile and ran quickly towards the rail car.
Lin Jingming rolled his eyes and walked closer to Xia Zhitang: "That's called cultivating a sense of camera!"
Lin Jingming suddenly leaned over and leaned closer to the monitor: "Just like now..." He reached out and turned up the contrast, "The dark details are ten times better than those of the good kid you taught."
Gu Zian waved a rag in the distance and shouted, "Can the railcar be disassembled for maintenance?"
"If you tear it down, you'll have to pay ten!" Lin Jingming yelled, then turned around and sneered, "Just like you back then, you're so impatient."
Someone suddenly turned on the blower, blowing up the notice in Xia Zhitang's hand.
She quickly pressed the edge of the paper, looked at the faded red string around her wrist and said softly, "Director Lin should be proud to have taught another me."
Lin Jingming squinted at her and said, "One of them is enough to shorten my lifespan by ten years."
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