It wasn’t easy to coax the sulking young master Ji this early in the morning. After Siyu chased him away to his own room, she went out with Chen Yue to the filming place.
The scene today would mainly star her and Xu Qingwan. The setting of the shooting was set prior to the collapse of the former royal family. Both of them would play sisters who didn’t get along well and were on bad terms. When Siyu recalled Xu Qingwan’s strange actions, she immediately had a headache.
If Xu Qingwan truly had an issue, what should she do…..
Her conflicted feelings lasted until the make-up artist applied makeup on Siyu. Aside from the big shots like Ji Lin, actors like her all shared one big make-up room. Siyu came too early. When she had changed into her costume, Xu Qingwan sauntered in late.
Maybe because there’s already doubt in her heart, when Siyu looked at Xu Qingwan again, she suddenly perceived that something was odd: In her comic, Xu Qingwan was a Simple Living Goddess and she rarely used cosmetics. When she just entered the entertainment circle, she was very cautious about everything. Later, when she encountered Ji Lin, he had been drawn in by this ignorant and pure appearance of hers. Since then, he had been protecting her. It can be said that except for being looked down upon by others for a period of time when she just entered the circle, Xu Qingwan’s path to stardom afterward was extremely smooth without encountering any major setbacks. [T/N: 清汤挂面的女神 – noodles in clear soup goddess, like the most basic noodles. So basically, a goddess who’s simple and content with an ordinary lifestyle with a down-to-earth vibe. I used the term Simple Living Goddess for short English term suggested by my fellow translator]
However, the Xu Qingwan right now had permed her hair into long waves and her face looked delicate from makeup. When she encountered the staff member, she could exchange greetings with ease. There was no ignorance shown on her face. Siyu looked at her and felt that this person didn’t seem like a girl around 18 who didn’t understand anything. Instead…. She seemed like a mature woman who already had accumulated a certain amount of life experience.
Perhaps Siyu’s gaze stayed far too long, Xu Qingwan soon noticed that Siyu was looking at her. She moved her feet and came over.
“Why did you come so early?” Xu Qingwan’s assistant followed behind with bags of food. With a signal from her eyes, the assistant hurriedly distributed the food to the people in the make-up room. Xu Qingwan loudly called out that it was her treat and then looked back at Siyu, “There will be several chasing scenes in a bit. You should eat something to fill up your stomach?”
Xu Qingwan said, all smiles Her expression was very natural, as if Siyu and her were friends who had known each other a long time
“No need, I had already eaten.” She had eaten two crab meat soup dumplings under Ji Lin’s firm supervision. She was currently full to the brim.
Xu Qingwan cocked her head as she glanced at Siyu, continuing with a smile, “Alright then. I hope we can have good cooperation today.”
When Xu Qingwan left, Chenyue leaned over Siyu’s ear and said, “Siyu-jie, what on earth did she come over for?”
The little assistant was wholeheartedly on Siyu’s side. The more she pondered about Xu Qingwan’s words, the more she felt that there was something wrong with them. However, she couldn’t pinpoint the issue. Thus, she could only quietly whisper, “Fortunately, Siyu-jie only has the first few scenes with her!”
Siyu couldn’t help laughing. However, soon, she couldn’t laugh.
The first scene was of Princess Yunhe, who Siyu was portraying, being bullied by the other princes and princesses in the imperial palace because of her feeble body and weakness. One of them even went as far as to maliciously push her into the pond. Afterwards, Xu Qingwan, acting as Yunmeng, would stand up and reprimand those little devils until they ran away. However, Yunmeng didn’t let people pull Yunhe up from the pond. Instead, she stood by the pond aloofly and ridiculed Yunhe’s cowardice.
“You are a royal princess, not a person from the lowest social strata. You couldn’t even fight back after being bullied. Do you deserve this kind of honor?” Xu Qingwan’s palace dress was more elegant and gorgeous than Siyu’s. She stood at the edge of the pond haughtily and looked down at the person who was shivering in the water. Her eyes were full of contempt and ridicule.
Siyu had genuinely fallen into the water. Of course, the pond was actually very shallow. The water was only waist-level if you stood in the pond. Moreover, it was summer. Even if someone soaked in the water, it wouldn’t be a big problem——However, that was the standard for ordinary people.
For Siyu, this highly experienced sickly person, soaking in cold water was no different from torture. She was new, so of course she would be embarrassed to immediately ask for a substitute. Therefore, she gritted her teeth and endured it. At any rate, the “soaking in the water” scene was very short. Once Xu Qingwan finished saying her lines, she could come out immediately.
Yet Xu Qingwan somehow made mistakes several times. Director Liang yelled, “Cut!” and asked with a frown, “Xu Qingwan, what’s the matter with you?”
Xu Qingwan stopped and looked at Director Liang with embarrassment, “I’m so sorry, Director Liang, I just think that…this scene is expressing Yunmeng’s hatred towards Yunhe for failing to meet expectations. Yunmeng is a person who dares to love and hate, so much so that she is even a bit ruthless and unbridled. If I just stand here and scold Yunhe, I do not think that it’s enough to fully show her personality.”
When shooting a scene, some actors prefer to improvise. Based on their own understanding of the character, they would add extra lines or actions that weren’t in the script. If they performed well, it could become a highlight. Director Liang wasn’t a person who rigidly adhered to form, so he said, “The feeling that you gave off during those previous takes weren’t up to par. Since that’s what you think, we’ll try once according to your ideas. Hurry up, Zhou Siyu has poor health. Don’t let her stay in the water for too long.”
Xu Qingwan immediately expressed that she understood.