Filming proceeded smoothly, and the second phase of filming became increasingly difficult with each scene.
"Card!"
After calling "cut" for the umpteenth time, Director He solemnly called the two actors over.
"You guys are in terrible form today! Haven't you gotten into the mood yet? Why does your performance look so detached and stiff?"
Su Yanxi made an apologetic gesture to the director: "I'm sorry, Director He, I really couldn't get the emotions right."
Chen Yongyan bowed deeply to Director He with a sense of apology: "I haven't been in good shape all day, and I feel like I can't get into character..."
In the original script, the protagonist played by Su Yanxi and the second male lead played by Cheng Zhuo had a very ambiguous and hazy romantic relationship. The two struggled and worked hard in Guangcheng and completed the first stage of their self-transformation. However, they were separated due to the trend of the times and, unaware of each other's situation, chose to go north to make a living one after the other.
The second phase was supposed to be Su Yanxi and Cheng Zhuo meeting in Beicheng, where they would be awkward with each other due to misunderstandings left over from their time in Guangcheng. After various events, they were fortunate enough to resolve their misunderstandings and fight side by side again. In a state of being more than friends but less than lovers, they each realized their life's value, thus highlighting the overall theme: the red flower is in full bloom.
To put it bluntly, the second male lead's biggest role in this drama is to push the protagonist's choices, help the protagonist when he is in trouble, and fill the gaps in the romantic storyline.
Now that Cheng Zhuo has gotten into trouble, the screenwriter has rewritten the script, killing off Cheng Zhuo's character and creating a new character for Chen Yongyan instead.
In the second phase, a new character will take over the role of the original second male lead and become the protagonist's new partner and new object of affection.
"You should know how important these scenes are, right?" The director was angry and anxious, waving his hands in front of his chest, and urgently asked the two important actors, "Tell me your understanding of this scene."
"Come on, Su Su, you're the lead actress, you go first."
Su Yanxi nervously picked up the script and, like a student being reprimanded, hesitantly explained his understanding.
"Hmm... I think these scenes are crucial in connecting the first and second phases. If 'I' can't express my heartache and reluctance towards 'Cheng Zhuo' first, then the subsequent acceptance and gradual acceptance will seem strange, and the character of 'I' will become very disjointed."
The original second male lead went astray and, before even reaching Beicheng to meet the protagonist, collapsed on the road due to revenge from his enemies. This rewritten ending bears a striking resemblance to Cheng Zhuo's real-life situation, demonstrating the screenwriter's masterful satire.
However, in the drama, Su Yanxi had to portray feelings of grief and regret. Only with grief could she accept the facts and transfer her feelings for the original second male lead to the new second male lead.
The new second male lead, Chen Yongyan, was even more nervous than Su Yanxi, to the point that his teeth were chattering: "I, I also think it serves as a connection. Although I don't know anything about the protagonist's past, when I learned of his death, out of humanity and empathy for separation and death, I still mourned with the protagonist."
Chen Yongyan was an outstanding student in school. Although he was not as good as Su Yanxi, who was one of the top students in the Central Academy of Film and Television, he would definitely be among the top ten in his class if a list were made.
"That's right." Director He Yu nodded, but his brows, furrowed with anxiety, remained furrowed. "But Xiao Yan, your performance should have more depth than Su Su's."
The director gave Chen Yongyan special training, providing him with a separate analysis of the character.
"At this stage, you already had a different kind of feeling for the protagonist. This feeling was like longing and admiration, and it was also somewhat ambiguous; neither you nor Su Su realized this different feeling at this time, but your body language revealed it."
"You and Susu need to think carefully about how to portray the subtle yet responsive layers of this period. You may not know the true nature of things, but the audience needs to know!"
"He has to discern from the details, such as your eyes and small gestures, that you two already had feelings for each other during this period. Without this groundwork, it would be difficult for the feeling of you being more than lovers to emerge later on."
Chapter 119
Chen Yongyan nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay. Shall we try again?"
"No need, let's stop here for today."
The director sighed and waved his hand, signaling the cameraman to turn off the camera for the time being.
"Your understanding of the characters and the plot is fine; the problem lies in emotional immersion. It's clear that you two aren't in good shape today. It might be because filming has been going on for too short a time, and you haven't worked out well enough with each other. There's a lack of chemistry between the characters, and what netizens often call 'CP chemistry'."
"As far as today's emotional scenes are concerned, I think you filmed them very poorly."
Chen Yongyan lowered his head in frustration: "I'm sorry, Director."
As the lead actress, Su Yanxi not only has to shoulder the responsibility of boosting viewership ratings, but also share the pressure with her fellow actors.
He stepped forward and sincerely apologized to Director He: "I'm sorry, Director He, we will find a way to work things out again."
"No need to apologize. You guys should hurry up and figure it out. If you're not in the right state of mind, the result won't be good. You're all actors who are good at immersing yourselves in emotions. You lack technique but are full of emotion. When you find the right emotion, you can film very quickly."
"Use the afternoon and evening to rehearse again; go over each other's lines and see where the problems are. Tomorrow, at the same time, for the same scene, we'll try to get it right in one take."
Su Yanxi and Chen Yongyan both nodded in agreement.
Two inexperienced newcomers, carrying their scripts, avoided the noisy crew and found a quiet shady spot next to the film set, where they sat down side by side to rehearse their lines.
"I'm sorry, Brother Yanxi, I always feel like I've dragged you down." Chen Yongyan said in a low voice, his face full of apology.
Su Yanxi waved her hand dismissively: "It's nothing. As an actor, who can avoid being scolded by the director while filming? It's normal, you'll get used to it."
Even so, Chen Yongyan was still embarrassed and asked with a blush, "Did you encounter similar problems when you were filming scenes with senior Cheng Zhuo before?"
Su Yanxi noticed Chen Yongyan's low spirits and unease. He wanted to say a few words of comfort, but after careful consideration, he decided to tell the truth.
"I haven't encountered that before. In the previous phase, there weren't many emotionally nuanced scenes between the characters; the focus was more on driving the plot forward and the personality conflicts between the characters. Overall, the filming went very smoothly."
"I see..." Chen Yongyan was even more dejected.
"But Cheng Zhuo is different from us. Cheng Zhuo has a wealth of experience in filming, has produced a lot of works along the way, and is also a technical actor who is good at using techniques to quickly get into character."
"Although the director always says that his acting is a bit stiff and formulaic, the advantage is that he is very stable and there are no times when his emotions are not good, which leads to a poor performance."
Because of Cheng Zhuo's extensive experience, Su Yanxi was always able to get into the right emotions when acting opposite him.
Besides Cheng Zhuo, Xiang Mingyue and Qi Xiang'an are also this type of "skill-based actors". Their level is fixed and their performance is steady. Good is good and bad is bad. Unlike emotional actors who go up and down, they do not spend a lot of time getting into the role and finding the character's emotions.
"Don't be too discouraged. This isn't your problem; it's a matter of experience gap." Su Yanxi patted Chen Yongyan's shoulder kindly, comforting him with the demeanor of a senior brother. "If we practice our scenes well and pick up the skills and experience, we'll definitely be better than those experienced actors."
Encouraged, Chen Yongyan rallied his spirits and rehearsed his lines with Su Yanxi.
As the director said, once they found the right state of mind, their performances became incredibly smooth.
Both Su Yanxi and Chen Yongyan immersed themselves in their roles, revealing genuine emotions as they became deeply involved. Chen Yongyan, in particular, became increasingly skilled with each rehearsal, almost becoming one with the character.
Without deviating from the script, Chen Yongyan naturally designed many clever little actions that enriched the performance and deepened the character's image.
"I think you designed that gesture of putting your arm around my shoulder very well."
Su Yanxi unabashedly placed Chen Yongyan's hand on her left shoulder, then used her right hand to touch the back of Chen Yongyan's hand.
“You put your arm around my shoulder, and then I touch your hand like this. In this way, we have a physical interaction, and small details can make the performance more layered.”
Chen Yongyan nodded in agreement, put his arm around Su Yanxi's shoulder, and their eyes met.
"Should we include some eye contact here? After I've expressed my sympathy and empathy for your sadness, shouldn't you look up at me while you're crying?"
Su Yanxi stared intently at Chen Yongyan, the two exchanging glances as if exchanging a secret.
"My intuition tells me: there should be one. But if there's a scene of exchanging glances here, what's the point?"
"What kind of emotions should we convey to the audience when we make eye contact?"
"Gratitude?" Chen Yongyan tried to analyze, "It should be gratitude, right? Your deceased friend did something wrong and died suddenly without anyone caring, and was even despised by everyone; you dare not express your grief to others, but you can sit in front of me and cry freely, and you can still get my empathy."
"Our emotional connection made you feel included, so for a moment you felt grateful to me?"
“That makes sense.” Su Yanxi took out an erasable pen and made notes on the script. “I’ll write this down for now. When I have time, I’ll ask Sister Tong to help me record a segment and see how it goes.”
Two actors, deeply immersed in their roles, were earnestly rehearsing their lines and engaging in flirtatious interactions under the shady trees, completely absorbed in the script and scene, unaware that their behavior was inappropriate.
In a more secluded corner, several telephoto lenses were flashing a terrifying light.
"Very good!"
Amidst the rapid clicking of camera shutters, an excited female voice suddenly rang out.
Chapter 120
"They're so sweet! This set of photos is sure to go viral!"
“I also think it can go viral!” another equally excited male voice chimed in. “I knew it! ‘Zhuo Xi’ is fake, ‘Yan hope’ is the real one!”
"When I get back, I'll edit the photos I took the night before last and combine them with today's pictures to make a nine-grid long image, so everyone can see—my CP is real!"
Su Yanxi and Chen Yongyan's scene together only lasted until evening. After evening, the weather turned cool, and the two packed up their scripts, notes, and pens, and returned to the hotel together.
After figuring out the script, Su Yanxi felt incredibly relaxed. Compared to the carefree state of mind that had allowed him to spend the whole day easily, the sense of liberation he felt after solving the problem brought him even greater joy.
He hummed a cheerful tune, first putting his phone, which had run out of battery, on the bedside table to charge, then taking a bath towel, pajamas, and a mud mask before going into the bathroom to run a bath.
Without a maid to take care of him while he was away, taking a bath in the bathtub was quite a hassle. Therefore, Su Yanxi hadn't used the bathtub in the hotel where the film crew was located since he joined the crew. Since he was in the mood today, he put on a face mask and took a long bath in the bathroom.
After soaking for almost an hour, until she was nearly red and mushy, Su Yanxi finally got out of the bath, dressed, and dried her hair as she emerged from the bathroom.
The bathroom was so soundproofed that he couldn't hear anything outside at all. It wasn't until he came out of the bathroom that he heard the familiar Christmas carols and bells.
With the mindset that "there's no rush to answer my husband's call," Su Yanxi leisurely walked to the bedside table and slowly pressed the answer button.
"Hello, honey?"
Su Yanxi naturally assumed that she should greet her husband, who was her closest relative, in the most natural tone.
Have you had dinner yet?
However, Su Yanxi's response was not her husband's usual affectionate, puppy-dog-like bark, but a stern voice tinged with anger—
"Open the door."
Bie Yunzong seemed to be extremely angry, and her words sounded like they were being squeezed out from between her teeth.
"I'm outside the door."
Startled by her husband's sudden outburst of anger, Su Yanxi asked him in bewilderment, "What's wrong? Why are you suddenly—"
Before he could finish his question, Bie Yunzong had already hung up the phone. Listening to the dial tone, Su Yanxi was suddenly filled with confusion and fear.
Bie Yunzong always respected and cared for him, and treated him with care in every detail. Every time they talked on the phone, Bie Yunzong would wait anxiously, while Su Yanxi would hang up without hesitation.
Bie Yunzong explained to Su Yanxi that the busy tone of the dial tone was unpleasant to hear, and sometimes it made people feel very disappointed—always feeling empty inside.
He didn't want his beloved wife to hear the dial tone. He said he would handle the disappointment of being hung up on alone.
But this time, Bie Yunzong hung up the phone first?
Su Yanxi's heart leaped into his throat, sensing that something urgent had happened. After hanging up, he took a closer look and, good heavens, he had nearly twenty missed calls—all from Bie Yunzong!
Just moments ago, Su Yanxi was on high alert, but now he immediately sounded the alarm! He dropped the towel he was using to dry his hair and hurriedly went to open the door for Bie Yunzong.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw Bie Yunzong with a dark face, asking him in an unfriendly tone.
"So slow?" Bie Yunzong entered the room rudely and slammed the door shut behind him. "What are you doing?"
The heavy sound of the door closing made Su Yanxi involuntarily shudder. He stammered, "I...I was taking a shower. Honey, why are you—"
"bath?"
Bie Yunzong gave a strange laugh without saying a word, pressed Su Yanxi against the wall, and trapped the beauty between his arms in a wall-slamming position.