Soon, the second scene proved to Yang Huanyi that it was not her imagination.
The second scene is a duel between Yang Huanyi and Li Yi, which was filmed in a dimly lit corridor outside the interrogation room.
After exchanging a couple of lines with Li Yi, Yang Huanyi immediately experienced the same feeling of being completely unresponsive when acting with Wei Yize.
Li Yi knew his lines by heart—that was his only redeeming quality, slightly better than Wei Yize's. Aside from that, he was utterly useless.
Yang Huanyi regained her touch as a homeroom teacher. Unlike her lecture to Wei Yize, Li Yi seemed to be reciting a text to Yang Huanyi. The text was titled "Suspicious Aspects of Courtesan Mianmian".
Yang Huanyi didn't know how she finished filming the scene. All she knew was that after filming it, she felt completely drained.
Yi Tianzhao sat behind the monitor, his brows furrowed.
The chemistry in this scene seems to have ended along with Shang Yechu's fate. At least between the male and female leads, Xie An and Xiao Fengque, Yi Tianzhao didn't see any chemistry. He only noticed that Xie An seemed to be memorizing a script, while Xiao Fengque seemed quite exhausted.
Yang Huanyi's performance today was very poor—it could even be described as perfunctory. Yi Tianzhao had long been dissatisfied with this.
During the first scene, Yang Huanyi forgot his lines, and it was the actor surnamed Ye and Li Yi who salvaged it. Although his performance was so-so, Yi Tianzhao thought that it was normal for him to be in a bad state after coming from another film crew, so he kept quiet.
In this scene, Yang Huanyi's fatigue and weariness are almost undisguised. Due to the light makeup, the signs of her age are clearly exposed under the highly precise digital lens; and the impatience in Yang Huanyi's eyes and her overly relaxed body movements make her seem less like a young girl burdened with a deep-seated hatred and more like a corporate slave who has lost all will to live.
That's the cruelty of the camera: a three-point flaw can be magnified to ten, and a five-point flaw to thirty. Films demand quality, but they can't be like idol dramas with ten layers of soft-focus filters. Yi Tianzhao was already starting to get a headache.
As for Li Yi, needless to say—in Yi Tianzhao's eyes, he wasn't even acting. Yi Tianzhao planned to cut the entire scene into a long shot in post-production, only keeping their voices.
Li Yi really doesn't take praise well. Yi Tianzhao thought to himself, "That actor surnamed Ye is still the most comfortable to film with. His acting skills and on-the-spot reaction ability are simply every director's dream daddy."
Yi Tianzhao wanted to reshoot the scene, but after she yelled "cut," Yang Huanyi immediately went to her assistant to get an ice pack to put on her eyes and lay down on a recliner on set.
After so many years in the entertainment industry, if Yi Tianzhao couldn't even understand this basic body language, then he wouldn't be fit to stay in this business.
Yang Huanyi's meaning was very clear: I don't want to film anymore, let's take a break, let's leave it at that.
Although director Yi Tianzhao was a big name, Yang Huanyi was the real boss on set, and she was the subordinate. Therefore, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and keep this clause.
After resting, Yang Huanyi, Shang Yechu, and Li Yi quickly finished filming the last take of this scene—the one where Mianmian's psychological defenses crumbled, and she confessed the truth to Xiao Fengque.
Now Yang Huanyi was absolutely certain that this courtesan's acting skills were truly excellent.
Yang Huanyi took a few precious moments to observe Shang Yechu. During the filming, Shang Yechu was very quiet and reserved. She sat there on a small stool, looking like an unremarkable, pretty girl.
Even that thin silk dress and magnolia-colored brocade robe lost their luster after filming ended, looking like just two tattered burlap sacks.
Shang Yechu's walking posture was very proper—yes, Yang Huanyi looked at him several times before confirming this rarely used word to describe a person's walking posture. The other person walked with an almost austere uprightness, without twisting his waist or swaying his hips, without any unnecessary small movements, and rarely looking around.
Yang Huanyi even noticed that Shang Yechu would sometimes unconsciously hunch his shoulders, appearing to be somewhat habitually reserved—even self-conscious.
Judging from her appearance off-screen, Shang Yechu seems more suited to playing the female lead who has been bullied for a long time in a low-budget campus movie, rather than a seasoned courtesan.
However, as soon as she was in front of the camera, Shang Yechu's serious, dignified, and cautious demeanor completely disappeared.
In the footage, her waist swayed like a water snake; even the slightest sway exuded a seductive air. Her hands were always idly moving, striking poses, either fiddling with her hair or intentionally or unintentionally displaying her smooth, white nails.
Even her pursed lips were completely different from when she was silent—the courtesan always pursed her lips slightly, looking as if she was ready to sell her smiles at any moment.
This courtesan was constantly flaunting her captivating beauty. Even in the interrogation room, she was restless, her eyes darting around.
The simple-colored robe, when worn by her, seemed to possess a subtle beauty that made the flower even more vibrant.
Some might find Shang Yechu's portrayal too vulgar, seductive, and gaudy, but Yang Huanyi had already seen all the scenes involving this courtesan after rehearsing the first scene. Shang Yechu's character, the courtesan, had done something wrong and now needed to use her charm and obfuscation to cover up her misdeeds with Xiao Fengque and Xie An.
That's why she kept flirting with the two men. Shang Yechu's performance, to be precise, is a play within a play—Shang Yechu is using her acting skills to play the courtesan, while the courtesan is also using her acting skills to play a "woman of the night in the public's impression."
Recalling Shang Yechu's on-the-spot reaction when she forgot her lines in the first scene, Yang Huanyi sighed softly to herself.
Talented people emerge in every generation.
Yang Huanyi even considered whether she should lend a hand and give the other person a promotion, but she was too busy lately.
Never mind, let's talk about it another time.
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