Life on the film crew was fast-paced, and in the blink of an eye, a month and a half had passed.
The temperature gradually dropped, which was excellent news for Yi Xing and his team, as they no longer had to worry about developing heat rash.
Every day after filming, they would be drenched in sweat, their clothes completely sticking to their bodies, making them incredibly uncomfortable.
Now that the weather was cooler, they could at least feel much more comfortable.
During this period, Yi Xing was almost always on set.
If he had a scene, he would film it; if not, he would watch from the side, occasionally discussing issues with the director from an audience's perspective.
Under Director Jiang's guidance and his own hard work, his acting skills had improved significantly, especially his line delivery.
He usually spoke quite fast, which was a severe drawback when filming.
One or two lines were fine, but long passages were impossible.
To overcome this, he put in a lot of effort, asking others how to practice lines.
He would wake up early in the morning, open the window, and practice, striving for every word to be clear, accurate, and delivered at a moderate pace.
Hard work pays off.
In the subsequent filming stages, Director Jiang rarely found fault with his line delivery.
Any issues were usually with his eye acting or body language.
He remembered his personal record of being 'cut' eight times.
Director Jiang's livid face was still vivid in his memory; he was thoroughly scolded, even to the point of hearing words like, 'If you can film, film.
If you can't, I'll replace you,' which showed just how angry he was.
It was that scolding that seemed to flip a switch in him.
He never again had consecutive 'cuts' for several takes; almost every take was completed within five attempts.
Today, Yi Xing followed an assistant director to a bamboo forest.
This scene was for his solo part.
The backstory was that he had learned his mother, Bao Xiruo, had been forcibly taken by Wanyan Honglie, the man he had called 'father' for eighteen years, and made his consort.
Upon learning this news, Yang Kang was furious and ran to the bamboo forest in the outskirts to vent, while also practicing the Nine Yin White Bone Claw he had learned from Mei Chaofeng.
They were part of the outdoor filming team, while Director Jiang was filming the main storyline.
"Do you still remember the choreography the martial arts instructor taught you yesterday?"
"I remember."
"Good, let's not delay.
Let's try to finish early."
The assistant director waited until Yi Xing stood in the middle of the bamboo forest and shouted, "3, 2, 1, Action!"
As the filming began, Yi Xing quickly got into character, his expression filled with resentment as he stared at everything in front of him.
Yang Kang swung his arms in the bamboo forest, one palm strike after another, quickly breaking a bamboo stalk.
Seeing that he had vented enough, he looked up at the sky and questioned loudly.
"Why?
Heaven, why do you play tricks on me!"
"Eighteen years, I've been deceived for eighteen years!
I've acknowledged a thief as my father for eighteen years!
Why, why exactly!"
The more he spoke, the more agitated he became, and with a powerful claw strike, he severed a distant bamboo stalk.
"OK, cut.
Let's do another take.
Your emotions can be even more agitated, and your expression can show more hatred.
You've been deceived for eighteen years!"
Yi Xing listened to the assistant director, took a deep breath, and quickly adjusted his state.
In his mind, he once again intensified Yang Kang's anger, pain, and unwillingness after learning the truth, fully immersing himself in the character's emotions.
"Very good, that's the feeling.
Hold it!
Action!"
Five minutes later, the assistant director looked at the scene on the monitor and nodded in satisfaction, shouting to the person standing not far away, "Yi Xing, come and look at your performance.
Don't you think it's much better than before?"
Yi Xing hadn't come out of character yet.
When he heard someone call him, he walked over, his eyes bloodshot, seemingly still immersed in the performance.
This startled the other person, who immediately stood up from his chair.
"Please wait a moment.
Calm down first.
Come, do it with me, inhale, exhale..."
Under the director's guidance, he gradually emerged from that state, his eyes becoming much clearer.
He said somewhat apologetically, "I'm sorry, Director, I was too immersed just now and couldn't recover immediately."
"Getting too deep into a role is a common thing.
It shows you have a profound understanding of the character.
Come, let's look at your performance just now."
Both looked at the monitor simultaneously, where Yi Xing's recent performance appeared.
It had to be said, it was indeed much better than the first take, better showcasing Yang Kang's inner state at the time.
"Was that really me acting?"
"Of course.
Alright, that's a wrap.
We should head back."
At this point, the outdoor filming team officially concluded.
The assistant director returned to the main set and immediately handed the footage to Director Jiang, who was resting, to show him Yi Xing's performance.
The final decision still rested with Director Jiang; if he thought it wasn't good enough, they would need to reshoot it.
"Okay, this take is good.
Where's Yi Xing?
Why didn't he come with you all?"
"He was too deep in character just now.
I told him to go back to the hotel to rest and come over in the afternoon."
"Alright, let him rest well."
After changing clothes and returning to the hotel, Yi Xing took a refreshing shower in the bathroom, feeling much better.
He put on the clothes he had prepared earlier, collapsed onto the bed, picked up his phone, found Ju Jingyi, and sent her a message.
That's right, ever since joining the film crew, he and Ju Jingyi had been in contact almost every few days.
Sometimes he would reach out first, and other times she would, sharing interesting anecdotes from their daily lives.
"Yi Xing: This morning's filming is over."
"Ju Jingyi: Why did you finish so early today?
Don't you usually finish at least by midday?"
"Yi Xing: No choice, I acted too well, so the director let me go back to rest early."
"Ju Jingyi: You'd better be telling the truth."
"Yi Xing: I never lie."
Yi Xing chuckled to himself after sending this message.
That's right, how could a scholar's actions be called lying?
At most, it was 'bluffing,' and being able to bluff others into believing him was a skill in itself.
"Ju Jingyi: Tell me, were you secretly laughing when you sent that message?"
"Yi Xing: ???"
"Yi Xing: No, did you put a monitor on me?
How do you know I'm laughing!"
Seeing the reply from the other side, Ju Jingyi's face showed a triumphant smile.
She knew Yi Xing too well; she didn't even need to guess his little schemes to know what he was thinking.
"Ju Jingyi: Hehe, I won't tell you!
You can guess slowly!
I'm going to practice dancing.
I'll talk to you after I'm done."
Well, until now, their relationship was still in the 'friends' stage, with no further intentions.
They treated each other as good friends, sharing their daily lives, and were both fully focused on their careers, with no time for other matters.
(When it reaches 200,000 words, I'll do a book review, and I might need to change the book title.
Does anyone, any naming expert, have any suggestions!
Sorry, I confess, I'm terrible at naming!)
