Chapter 121 Selfish Motives
The first script reading began at 9:00 AM.
To maintain her good condition, Xia Mian only drank a cup of Italian coffee early in the morning. Her face was firm and full of collagen even without makeup. Jiang Chun couldn't resist pinching it.
Tan Jingcheng, who had just come in, happened to see this and asked curiously, "Jiang Jiang, what are you doing?"
Jiang Chun smiled like an aunt: "Xia is too naive, she couldn't resist reaching out her hand to him."
Tan Jingcheng paused for a moment: "Yes, Xia's appearance is also particularly good."
"Really? I was in such a hurry last time that I didn't even see him," Jiang Chun joked. "Qingyun, what if I accidentally fall in love with Moyu?"
Qingyun is Tan Jingcheng's name in the play. Tan Jingcheng's smile froze on his lips. Jiang Chun was only focused on pinching Xia Mian and didn't see it.
At this moment, Gao Yifeng slapped the table: "Stop fooling around, sit down."
Jiang Chun stuck out her tongue and returned to Gao Yifeng's side.
Tan Jingcheng lowered his head, sat down, and his eyes, half-hidden by his bangs, were filled with dark clouds.
Script reading, also known as script group reading, means that the actors do not need to perform. They just sit together and read their own lines from their scripts.
This is a simple way to rehearse together. Through script readings, everyone gets a preliminary understanding of their co-stars. The crew exchanging ideas and discussing together also provides new perspectives on interpreting the characters.
Tan Jingcheng and Jiang Chun are both veteran actors who have participated in many study sessions. They are very familiar with the process and performed very well. Gao Yifeng smiled and was obviously very satisfied.
When they got to Xia Mian, Gao Yifeng frowned before he even spoke.
Mo Yu's first scene takes place in the mountains, where the main plot revolves around chasing down an elder of the Jade Floating Sect. No, "chasing down" might not be the most accurate term; it's more like a brutal massacre.
The elder ran ahead, and Mo Yu chased after him. When he caught up, he would slash the elder with his sword, then let him go and continue the chase.
Later, the elder couldn't take it anymore and begged Mo Yu to give him a quick death, but Mo Yu said some extremely cruel things.
As a supporting character, Mo Yu wasn't given much screen time. He had few lines, but every single one was crucial. His entrance line, in particular, was designed to immediately convey his cruel and insane demonic image to the audience.
Gao Yifeng attached great importance to Mo Yu's appearance. This line was successful, and Mo Yu's character was established.
Since the elder was only a guest star and did not need to attend the study session, the assistant director was to deliver the lines. However, Gao Yifeng suddenly changed his mind and gestured to the assistant director with his eyes that he would do it himself.
He cleared his throat, and his voice immediately became weak, angry, and aged: "Demon, I'm unlucky to have fallen into your hands today. I'm not running away anymore, just give me a quick death!"
After reading it, he stared intently at Xia Mian. The director's appearance, physique, and other external qualities were not as good as the actors', but his acting skills were definitely no worse.
Xia Mian remained calm and smiled, then, as if she had seen something interesting, asked in a light voice, "Exhilarating? What do you mean by exhilarating?"
He paused, then slowed his speech, lowered his tone, and his low, hoarse voice sent chills down one's spine: "Is it more satisfying to cut off one of your arms, or to slowly slit your throat and let you witness your own blood soaking your clothes? Why didn't Father and Mother tell me?"
When he spoke the last two sentences, his tone was bewildered, as if he had never truly experienced the taste of pleasure.
Upon hearing this line, both Gao Yifeng and Tan Jingcheng showed some surprise. Xia Mian's performance wasn't outstanding, but it was definitely up to par.
Gao Yifeng straightened up and continued acting: "Hahaha, that's right, a person covered in blood certainly doesn't know what pleasure is. Demons, go to hell!"
“I don’t know what pleasure is, but I do know what pain and suffering are.” Xia Mian narrowed her eyes and said slowly, word by word, “Pain and suffering.” After saying that, she severed the other person’s hands and feet, gouged out the other person’s eyeballs, and left the person on the spot to slowly wait for death in extreme pain.
This kid's acting skills are surprisingly good, and his tone, intonation, and rhythm of speech are very much like Mo Yu's. Compared to the link Tan Jingcheng shared with him, he's like a completely different person.
Gao Yifeng couldn't find any fault with it, and was even a little happy.
He and Xia Mian had no irreconcilable conflicts. If Xia Mian's acting was decent and her attitude was professional, he would not cause her any more trouble.
Who would turn down money?
"Next, we'll move on to Qingyun," Gao Yifeng gestured to Tan Jingcheng.
Under the table, Tan Jingcheng clenched his fists tightly, though he didn't show it on his face, immediately getting into focus.
Xia Mian secretly breathed a sigh of relief as he safely delivered one of the most important lines. Actually, he had almost failed to keep up with Gao Yifeng's line, but his acting coach had emphasized this line beforehand, and coupled with his repeated study of Mo Yu's character biography and deep understanding of the character, he was able to deliver the line thanks to his strong muscle memory. He really had to thank Zheng Qiming for that.
However, Gao Yifeng's performance just now made him look at the other party in a new light. This director's professional ethics may not be great, but his professional skills are truly excellent.
The beginning is always the hardest. With continuous refinement and improvement, the script readings gradually improved, and soon, the two reading sessions were successfully completed. It was time for Xia Mian to return to Beijing.
Out of courtesy, it's best to say goodbye to the director before leaving the set. After the meeting, Xia Mian called out to Gao Yifeng, "Director Gao."
"What's wrong, Xia?" After these past few days, Gao Yifeng's tone towards Xia Mian was much more amiable.
"Something came up at home, so I have to go home tonight and come back the day after tomorrow morning."
Gao Yifeng's brows furrowed instantly: "I've said it before, the film set isn't a market, you can't just leave whenever you want."
On the day of the meet-and-greet, Xia Mian specifically asked Jiang Chun, who said that everyone could leave before filming started, as she also had work to do. Why could others leave the set, but he couldn't?
But this cannot be said; to say it would be tantamount to betraying Jiang Chun.
"Director Gao, do you have any work arrangements for me tomorrow? If not," Xia Mian tried to explain, "my return to Beijing doesn't seem to affect the operation of the film crew."
Gao Yifeng waved his hand: "Okay, then you can go."
Upon hearing this, Xia Mian actually turned and left.
"Where did he go?" Tan Jingcheng asked, seeing his retreating figure.
"They said they had something to do at home and needed to go back."
"Director Gao, please don't be angry. Young people these days are all like this. They do whatever they want and never put their work first. When I was his age and just started acting, I never left the crew during their holidays. I would stay on set and ask the director, the screenwriter, and the veteran actors to help me with my scenes. A young idol like him can go anywhere with just his face, and with a big shot backing him, he doesn't respect anyone."
After two script readings, Gao Yifeng realized that Xia Mian was a promising talent and wanted to keep him in the crew so he could learn from veteran actors in his spare time. However, he soon discovered that Xia Mian was so unstable and couldn't endure any hardship.
The initial goodwill that had just begun to develop vanished completely.
Xia Mian didn't care what Gao Yifeng thought or pay attention to; he was already on the plane home.
Xu Ning's birthday party is tomorrow night. He has to pick out gifts, take care of his skin, do his hair and makeup, choose a dress... In short, there are so many things to do, so he gritted his teeth and bought a red-eye flight ticket.
Besides that, he also had a little selfish motive. The sooner he got back, the sooner he could see Zhou Pingchuan.
It should be 1 a.m. when he arrives at Longxi. I wonder what Zhou Pingchuan's reaction will be when he sees him.
Surprised? Afraid?
Oh, and he could try a thrilling seduction, like cosplaying as a male ghost or something; Zhou Pingchuan might actually like that...
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