After the afternoon episode, everyone took a rest and took advantage of this time to make up for their lack of sleep.
On these dog days of summer, if they decided to film in the afternoon, neither the actors nor the staff could bear the sweltering heat. Therefore, they would only start filming after two oâclock and the two hours they didnât film in between was made up by filming extra in the morning. If there was a morning scene, Ji Qinghuai and the others had to wake up and do their makeup and costumes before dawn to keep up with the shooting schedule.
In the lounge, Ji Qinghuai was almost wilting from the afternoon heat. He wanted to drink some iced water to cool himself down but Luo Yi was staying by his side and he couldnât even hold the cup of iced water, let alone drink it.
On the day they joined the film crew, Qin Lang deliberately reminded Luo Yi to watch over Ji Qinghuai, fearing that he wouldnât be able to control his urge to eat cold things. Luo Yi didnât know the reason behind Qin Langâs instructions and he also didnât dare to ask. Ji Qinghuai drinking even a sip of iced water was comparable to thieving.
Looking at his young assistantâs conscientiousness, Ji Qinghuai gave up the idea of causing trouble for Luo Yi. Everyone was doing it for his own good, so he should just bear it.
He took a sip of herbal tea and turned to look at Xie Yan who was sitting next to him.
Compared to Ji Qinghuai, who was always active and restless, Xie Yan was the complete opposite of him. At this moment, Xie Yan had lowered his head and was reading Ji Qinghuaiâs script intently. Ji Qinghuai didnât hear any sounds from Xie Yan apart from the sound of pages being flipped.
It had been a while since he last took on a movie role. The script had been studied many times by him and there were lots of annotations scribbled on it. While reading the script itself, Xie Yan was also reading through his annotations.
Xie Yan had yet to figure out what kind of character Ji Qinghuaiâs role was. However, judging from the notes alone, he could tell that Ji Qinghuai had put in painstaking efforts to understand the character from the inside out. There were some small details and psychological characteristics that were difficult to detect from only the script, yet Ji Qinghuai had listed all of them, completely grasping the essence of his role.
Xie Yan closed the script booklet and looked up to meet Ji Qinghuaiâs eyes. It wasnât a coincidence, Ji Qinghuai had been watching Xie Yan the entire time and Xie Yan was aware but he just kept silent.
He returned the script to Ji Qinghuai, âThe plot is very good.â
Ji Qinghuai took it and put the script aside, âMr Xie likes watching martial arts?â
âEn,â Xie Yan said. âI prefer it to all those idol dramas.â
Ji Qinghuai couldnât help laughing. In recent years, the quality of film and television dramas was indeed not as up to par as before. The storyline was often not logical and some parts of the plot were like jokes.
From the end of the New Year to the present day, âTibetan Warrior Pavilionâ was Ji Qinghuaiâs first work this year. Before he joined âTibetan Warrior Pavilionâ, he had read a lot of other scripts but he had no interest in them and ultimately picked âTibetan Warrior Pavilionâ.
Although Xiao Siyuan was the second male lead and the pay was not that high, Ji Qinghuai felt that it was rare to come across a character he liked. It didnât matter whether it was the protagonist or not, he didnât care.
Luo Yi yawned and leaned aside while holding a bottle of ice water, looking like he wanted to sleep. Seeing this, Ji Qinghuai turned to Xie Yan and asked, âMr Xie, do you want to rest in my room?â
âNo need,â Xie Yan replied. âI want to stay and watch you act.â
Ji Qinghuai: â!â
Ji Qinghuai felt that Xie Yanâs attitude towards him was different from before.
Xie Yan had always been lukewarm to him from the very beginning. He thought it was because he was mischievous and had annoyed Xie Yan, but when he thought about it again, it was probably because of his bad reputation which lowered Xie Yanâs impression of him. Now that Xie Yan was suddenly taking the initiative to approach him, Ji Qinghuai was more surprised than happy.
Does Xie Yan know that he is the cat?
Ji Qinghuai was in a dilemma. He tentatively probed, âIs there something you came here for?â
âThere is indeed something.â
Xie Yan thought, I brought you medicine along the way.
But Xie Yan didnât plan to hand over the medicine to Ji Qinghuai yet. He wanted to find out if Ji Qinghuai was the silver gradient cat that had run away.
Ji Qinghuai looked at Xie Yan speaking seriously and was relieved that Xie Yan had come here for a reason.
He had wondered why Xie Yan would make a special trip just to see him, it turns out he stopped by for something.
Ji Qinghuai pouted but was secretly relieved.
At two oâclock in the afternoon, the lounge gradually became noisy as the staff began to prepare for the afternoon shooting. The young girl in charge of costumes came over to help Ji Qinghuai put on the remaining two coats. With the multiple layers of cloth stacked over him, Ji Qinghuai couldnât stop his sweat from pouring out.
Ji Qinghuai kept fanning himself continuously, feeling that he was going to be baked alive. He looked at Xie Yan who was still sitting quietly as if the thirty-degree Celsius heat didnât affect him at all.
Ji Qinghuai wondered out aloud, âMr Xie, arenât you hot?â
Xie Yanâs face was calm, âThe heart is calm, naturally I am cool as well.â
Ji Qinghuai: ââŚâ
He should fan his wind.
The makeup artist came over to apply makeup for Ji Qinghuai and once everything was ready, the shooting began.
Ji Qinghuai who was still smoking wanted to shut himself in an ice cellar. When the camera focused on him, his unrestrained temperament disappeared immediately, replaced by the gloominess and calmness of Xiao Siyuan. Xie Yan looked at Ji Qinghuai and took this scene into his eyes.
His speed of getting into character is quite fast.
Xiao Siyuan had no scene worthy of sympathy and he had never blackened because of an incident. From beginning to end, he was the biggest villain. He knew exactly what he wanted and he was not tied down by familial ties, fully devoting himself to his career.
In this scene, Ji Qinghuai had no lines. He needed to use his expressions to convey Xiao Siyuanâs state of mind at this time. Whether it was sorrow or joy, it could only be expressed with eyes and expressions. This was a test of the actorâs acting skills, a little exaggeration or restraint could ruin the mood of the scene.
Ji Qinghuai was a film emperor who reached his current position using his strength. His acting skills had been polished for years so he was extremely confident.
On the camera, Ji Qinghuai was leaning on the soft sofa with eyes closed while listening to his subordinate report news to him. After his subordinate was finished, Ji Qinghuai waved his lazily to dismiss the subordinate and slowly opened his eyes once the footsteps disappeared.
He got up, picked up the teacup on the table, and gently shook it with his hand. There was water inside filled up halfway, shaking back and forth against the wall of the cup, but it didnât spill over the rim. Ji Qinghuai looked down and smiled slowly.
The cup tilted, and the tea inside couldnât wait to gush out but not a single drop fell onto the ground. Ji Qinghuai laughed, his eyes filled with the pleasure of controlling everything and playing everyone in his palms.
When he raised his eyes, murderous intentions flowed from all directions.
âCut!â Huang Minghai looked at Ji Qinghuai in surprise. He was very satisfied with this scene. He cast admiring glances at Ji Qinghuai, âThe improvisation done with the teacup was excellent!â
In the script, there was nothing about holding the cup and twirling it, but Ji Qinghuai had improvised when he saw the half-filled teacup.
Ji Qinghuai felt that the scene would be somewhat lacking if there were only expressions to convey the feeling. By using the teacup, he wanted to increase the depth of the scene by reflecting the heart of Xiao Siyuan and enriching the sense of hierarchy between him and his subordinates.
At that time, he didnât know if it would be possible to add such a moment but he wanted to give it a try. Now it seems that his bet was a success.
Huang Minghai struck while the iron was still hot and took a few more shots that all passed.
Leaving the camera, Ji Qinghuai instantly pulled himself out of his character. Everyone who watched the scene just now praised him one after another for his skills.
But among those who praised him, there was no Xie Yan.
Ji Qinghuai suddenly thought of the sentence he had said last time, âHis acting... Itâs so-so.â
Ji Qinghuai thought for a while, walked to Xie Yanâs side and asked casually, âHow was my acting just now?â
Xie Yan had watched Ji Qinghuaiâs filming throughout the entire process and naturally replied, âThe acting skills of the film emperor, naturally canât be criticised.â
Upon hearing his words, Ji Qinghuai gave Xie Yan an insincere smile.
So you also have two faces ahâŚ
Merry Christmas everyone! Hope yaâall spend a good time with the people around you