I don't know if Xie Zhao's words worked, but when taking photos the next day, Cheng Yaoyao didn't lose her temper anymore. She learned to listen to the director's instructions. Director Rong was a national-level director, and his few words of advice could save an actor from many years of detours.
Cheng Yaoyao didn't know how rare the opportunity before her was. She just remembered Xie Zhao's words: do your best.
Director Rong is indeed a good director. He not only let Cheng Yaoyao take photos, but also narrated the story for her - a modern girl who studied at a women's school in Peking was forced to marry a military officer to save her father. The conflicts and repression between the lively and proud modern girl and the old and well-behaved family can be imagined.
As Cheng Yaoyao gradually got into the role, Director Rong's tone became more and more severe, and his requirements became more and more stringent, criticizing her several times in public. A group of people watched Cheng Yaoyao being scolded. During the filming, the director had the most power, and Grandma Xie and Xie Fei could only watch.
Cheng Yaoyao is a person who likes to take things as they come. The more aggressive the director is, the more she refuses to admit defeat. One shot took a whole day to finish, and it was not until dark that the filming was completed. Cheng Yaoyao was wearing a thin satin cheongsam, and her hands and feet were frozen.
Grandma Xie and Xie Fei quickly boiled a pot of ginger soup and let Cheng Yaoyao take a hot bath. While massaging Cheng Yaoyao's frozen arms, Grandma Xie sighed and said, "Poor thing. Yaoyao, how about we stop filming?"
Cheng Yaoyao spoke through the mist with a nasal tone: "Xie Zhao hasn't come back yet..."
"I don't know what Zhao'er has been busy with in the city these days. He hasn't come back yet." Grandma Xie said, "Yaoyao, grandma will make you some ginger soup. Drink it after you take a bath, okay?"
Cheng Yaoyao nodded and lay listlessly on the edge of the bucket. The lake blue satin cheongsam was hanging behind the door, gleaming faintly in the dim light. She was immersed in the story that Director Rong told her again, and her expression gradually became dazed.
What you think about during the day will come to you at night. Cheng Yaoyao dreamed of the girl again. She went to her fiancé's house alone, carrying a box. As a "debt collateral", she stood in the main hall and was looked at by the ladies. The picky and jealous eyes focused on her and looked at her inch by inch.
The face was stunningly beautiful, the eyes were bright, the young and plump body was like a juicy peach, even the fingertips were pink and flawless. However, her strange clothes and curled hair became the breakthrough point for attack.
The girl changed into a light green satin cheongsam, her long curly hair draped over her shoulders, and she knelt straight in the middle of the yard. The yard was filled with the smell of burning fabrics, and the crackling sound of the beautiful and exquisite dress gradually turned into a pile of charcoal in the fire. The servants stood in the corridor and whispered to each other, watching this scene.
From afternoon to late night, dew seeped out of the bluestone slabs, and the cold air penetrated into the worn knees. The girl's lips were pale, and she stubbornly straightened her back.
The sound of military boots stomping on the ground came closer and closer, and a man walked in from outside the moon cave. The girl didn't want others to see her wolfish appearance, so she lowered her eyes and looked at the blue brick floor. Suddenly, a pair of black military boots appeared in her sight.
The rough whip was pressed against her chin and raised: "Who are you?"
The man was wearing a military uniform and was very tall and straight. The girl tried to look up, but she heard the servant calling out, "Third Master, it's the Third Master who's back!"
The lights in the yard were immediately lit, and servants were running back and forth in the corridor like a revolving lantern, shouting one after another: "The Third Master is back! The Third Master is back!"
The "third master" put away his whip, took off his cloak and threw it to the servant who came to meet him, and turned around and said, "No need to kneel, stand up."
…
That lens was polished out. All the staff stared at Cheng Yaoyao with shining eyes: Cheng Yaoyao's progress is visible to the naked eye, and her acting skills are secondary. As the director said, Cheng Yaoyao is a living Shen Jiqiu, and this role belongs to her!
The filming lasted for three full days. That afternoon, with the director's "over" call, Cheng Yaoyao hurriedly sat down on a chair to rest while the makeup artist helped her fix her hair. Cheng Yaoyao said to the mirror, "Loosen it a little here, yes, make the hairpin crooked."
Director Rong came over and said, "Yaoyao."
Cheng Yaoyao said: "Director, I have an idea for the next shot, which is..."
Director Rong smiled and said, "All the shots have been taken. It's over."
Cheng Yaoyao was stunned for a moment, as if waking up from a dream: "Is this the end?"
Director Rong acted with great force. With one order, everyone dismantled the machines and scenery one by one. People came and went, moving the antiques in the living room. The ancient and rich atmosphere gradually disappeared, and the house returned to its deserted and old appearance.
Director Rong shook hands with Grandma Xie gratefully and said with a smile, "It's over. I'm sorry for all the hard work these past few days and for disturbing you, old lady."
Grandma Xie shook hands with Director Rong uncomfortably and said with a smile, "It's because you don't mind."
Cheng Yaoyao looked stunned, staring at the dismantled camera in a daze. In the past few days, she had already gotten used to being pointed at by the camera, and also got used to playing the role of Shen Jiqiu.
Director Rong took in her expression, smiled mysteriously, and declined Grandma Xie's offer to keep her for dinner, saying, "We still have to go back to the guesthouse to pack our things and negatives. We'll leave tomorrow."
Grandma Xie was surprised and said, "You're leaving so soon? We haven't treated you well yet."
Most of these workers from the city were young people with lively personalities and wide knowledge. They often chatted with Grandma Xie and Xie Fei and gave them White Rabbit candies from Shanghai. During these few days of getting along, Grandma Xie had already liked these young people and had been planning to invite them to have a meal.
Director Rong smiled and said, "We can't delay any longer. We didn't find a suitable role for Cheng Yaoyao this time, so we had to go back and let the actresses we had previously tried again."
Cheng Yaoyao, who had been silent all this time, suddenly pricked up his ears.
I only heard the secretary say, "The Zhang Xue from last time was pretty good, and she wasn't much worse than Yaoyao in appearance."
Cheng Yaoyao's hair stood on end, and he wanted to go up and scratch his mouth! The director clearly said that she was the most suitable Shen Jiqiu! But Director Rong nodded seriously and said, "Let's try Zhang Xue again. She is a first-class actress and her acting skills are impeccable."
Cheng Yaoyao was so angry that she looked like a pufferfish. She pretended not to care and secretly looked at the director. As long as... as long as the director invited her again, she would consider it!
Director Rong suddenly said, "Yaoyao, come here."
As expected! Cheng Yaoyao walked over reservedly: "What's the matter?"
Director Rong took out an envelope and said with a smile, "This is your pay."
"!!!" Cheng Yaoyao opened it and saw a large stack of balls, estimated to be about two hundred in number.
Director Rong laughed and said, "What's that expression on your face? Do you think it's too little?"
Cheng Yaoyao stuffed the money back, looking uninterested. The secretary couldn't help but say, "The actors in the film studio only get eight yuan a day as allowance, but your income these days is higher than that of first-class actors. It's our director himself..."
Director Rong interrupted the secretary and said, "Hurry up and bring me the gift I prepared."
Director Rong prepared gifts for Xie's family and Cheng Yaoyao, and even Qiangqiang got a big bag of Guiwei dried fish. After repeated refusals, Grandma Xie finally accepted it and packed a lot of mushroom sauce and dried goods made by Cheng Yaoyao for them.
Before leaving, the director did not mention the filming to Cheng Yaoyao again, but only promised with a smile that he would send photos to Cheng Yaoyao. Grandma Xie and Xie Fei reluctantly sent them to the gate, and only returned after watching the car disappear from sight.
The small courtyard, which had been bustling for several days, was now deserted. What happened in the past few days was an extremely wonderful experience for Xie Fei, who never left her house. Grandma Xie was also happy - she saw the Xie family of the past in the background.
Only Cheng Yaoyao was unusually quiet. She was still wearing the cheongsam that the director had given her as a gift. She sat alone in the hall for a long time, looking at the white-gold sunlight on the ground, in a trance. Many years ago, the resentful feelings of Cheng Yaoyao in the deep palace had not yet left her, making her feel inexplicably melancholy.
At this time, Cheng Yaoyao didn't know that her situation was called "immersion in the role". She had dreamed of that girl every night for the past few days, and she couldn't tell the difference between the role and reality.
But at this time, Xie Zhao was not with her. It was not until dark that Xie Zhao came back from outside, feeling cold.
Grandma Xie packed up her things and was about to go back to the house when she saw Xie Zhao coming back. She said, "Zhao, you're finally back. Have you eaten? The rice is still hot in the pot."
Xie Zhao said: "I have eaten, where is my sister?"
Grandma Xie pointed to Cheng Yaoyao's room and said, "He's in the room. He hasn't had dinner yet. I don't know what's wrong with him. Let's go check him out."
The lights were on in the room. Cheng Yaoyao was lying on the quilt. She hadn't changed her clothes. She was still wearing the same lake blue satin cheongsam. This color was very attractive, and it made Cheng Yaoyao's skin look as white as snow. When she heard Xie Zhao coming in, she hid her face in the quilt.
Xie Zhao teased, "Are you crying secretly?"
Cheng Yaoyao immediately raised his head. Xie Zhao's smile suddenly froze, and he watched tears rolling down her peach blossom eyes. Xie Zhao hurriedly picked her up and held her in his arms to warm her: "What's wrong? Who bullied you?"
Cheng Yaoyao hadn't cried at first, but when she heard Xie Zhao's concerned voice, tears started to roll out one after another: "Xie Zhao, sob, sob, sob..."
Cheng Yaoyao buried her face in Xie Zhao's warm chest, whimpering like a wronged kitten. She had been holding it in for the whole day, unwilling to show her weakness in front of the director and the others, and also didn't want to let Grandma Xie and Xie Fei know. As soon as she saw Xie Zhao, she forgot everything, and cried and sobbed as she complained about her grievances.
Xie Zhao understood, feeling distressed and amused. He opened the bag he brought back, pulled out the soft blanket inside, wrapped Cheng Yaoyao in it, and hugged her: "Sister, you have been wronged."
"It's clearly...it's clearly said that I acted well, why did they let someone else play the role..." Cheng Yaoyao hiccuped while crying and let Xie Zhao wipe the tears from her cheeks.
Xie Zhao paused in his wiping motion and reminded, "You were the one who refused first."
Cheng Yaoyao cried even louder after hearing this: "I didn't know the script at that time! I don't care, I want to play Shen Jiqiu..."
Xie Zhao rocked her like coaxing a child: "Okay, this role belongs to my sister, don't let anyone else take it."
Cheng Yaoyao was extremely sad and shook his head: "The director left and said... they also said they would find someone else to play the role."
"Don't cry." Xie Zhao said, "Wipe your tears, you will definitely be able to act."
"Really...really?" Xie Zhao had a kind of power that made people trust him involuntarily. Cheng Yaoyao looked at him with red eyes and tried not to cry.
Xie Zhao's tall nose gently brushed against hers: "I promise."
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