QKYJ - 5

It was already autumn when they joined the crew. Ding Yaocai couldn’t accompany her often, so she arranged an assistant for her.

They greeted each other politely.

Perhaps wanting to get closer, the assistant enthusiastically asked about her progress with the senior executive’s young master. It was truly hitting a raw nerve, no wonder the leadership didn’t take her complaints seriously. The whole company probably thought her refusal was ignorant. Shen Zhi was embarrassed and could only offer a silent smile, deflecting the conversation.

When she actively went to greet them, there were other people around the director. Besides the screenwriter, another group consisted of the actress playing the female lead and her team.

“You’re here,” the director, grasping at a straw, immediately called her over. But instead of talking to her directly, he continued the previous argument, “…changing the script now will affect other actors. Shen Zhi, don’t you agree?”

In just a few sentences, Shen Zhi, who had just joined the conversation, already understood the general situation.

She wasn’t foolish enough to take on such a hot potato: “What?”

Whether an actor or not, as long as one lives in this world, playing dumb is a practical and convenient essential skill.

So is escaping.

Shen Zhi smiled and said, “You all discuss the important matters first; I’ll come back in a bit.”

The atmosphere of the current situation was so bad that staying would lead to involvement. The female lead demanded script changes, whether adding scenes or removing troublesome ones, other characters would surely suffer. Moreover, Shen Zhi had already familiarized herself with the script so many times. Not changing it was, of course, her wish.

However, this was not something she could achieve just by wishing.

Instead of staying there and trying to stop a chariot with a mantis’s arm, ultimately getting a black mark, it was better to use the thirty-six stratagems and make a run for it. But then someone unseasonably offered a cigarette, disrupting her rhythm.

“Many people have read this script, and we’ve revised it many times and put in a lot of effort to get it approved. This time, we’ve prepared very seriously in all aspects. If we add scenes like this, everything will have to be changed later. All the effort we bothered so many experts to put in would go to waste,” the producer said good-naturedly.

Sensing that the other party was unwilling to compromise, the agent took it upon himself to try to negotiate: “If we don’t change the script, we could film more individual shots…”

The director said, “That would still require re-communication.”

The actress complained to her agent, “Scenes, I want more scenes.”

Once again, they reached a deadlock.

Shen Zhi took a step back.

Then another step back.

She intended to leave silently, but her back suddenly met with an obstruction, as if hitting a wall. Shen Zhi heard a sound like a blade unsheathing, and a light yet decisive voice said, “Do we need to change anything?”

She recognized that voice.

Before she could turn around, he added, “Isn’t this a breach of contract?”

Shen Zhi looked up along the sound, meeting Shen He’s downward gaze.

The weather was already cool, but he was only wearing a thin t-shirt and jeans, loose and casual, young and carefree.

They didn’t speak.

Someone beside him seemed to tell him it wasn’t. He coolly admitted, “It’s not? That’s still a lot of trouble.”

That’s Shen He.

He likes to make clear statements, doesn’t care about right or wrong, and his only standard is himself. He is accustomed to going all out for things he approves of, and once he deems something meaningless, he will unhesitatingly find ways to discard it. He is ruthless, highly efficient, and prone to making enemies.

That’s why she didn’t get along with him.

Another round of discussion.

If Shen Zhi could previously bide her time, this time she was even more inclined to flee. She turned around, directly facing Shen He. First, she tried to avoid him by going left, but he also moved left; then she tried to detour right, and he also leaned right. In short, he completely blocked her path.

Shen Zhi said, “Hello.”

Shen He said, “Hello.”

And then nothing else.

________________________________________

If Shen Zhi was one step ahead of her classmates in the marathon of an acting career, then it could be said that Shen He was one and a half steps ahead of everyone else.

His grades weren’t the best; at most, he was the one who gave teachers the most headaches. But that didn’t mean everything.

Before graduation, they had few opportunities to interact, and their social circles hardly overlapped. Staring at each other, their eyes grew colder and colder.

Before a Mount Everest could freeze between the two, the director timely chased after them and greeted them: “Little Shen!”

“Yes.”

“I’m here.”

Two responses echoed simultaneously, and both Shen He and Shen Zhi looked in the same direction.

The director spoke with a straight face: “Already chatting? You old classmates are so close!”

Close my ass.

The director said, “Aren’t you happy to be acting together?”

Oh, absolutely thrilled.

The director said, “You must act well.”

At that remark, all previous emotions vanished.

Shen He said, “I will work hard, thank you.”

Shen Zhi reined in her smile and replied, “I hope not to cause you any trouble.”

When Ding Yaocai informed her about the male lead change, Shen Zhi seemed to be going over her script, completely ignoring it. The original actor had gotten into a drunk driving accident, causing a huge scandal, and whether he could make a comeback was another matter.

In the end, the script wasn’t significantly altered.

Shen Zhi was drinking a slimming smoothie and reading Walden when she asked, “The male lead won’t be changed again?”

The assistant said, “Probably not.”

“That’s good.”

Shen Zhi said.

Since they first met, Shen Zhi has given the impression of being down-to-earth and easy to get along with. However, as soon as Shen He appeared, their chemistry was clearly disharmonious. Others couldn’t tell, but her assistant, who spent every day with her, knew clearly.

The assistant said, “I thought you two didn’t get along.”

“It’s average,” Shen Zhi replied. “But it’s not good for a TV series to keep changing leads. Besides, if it’s Shen He, it will definitely save a lot of trouble.”

After saying that, she lowered her head again and turned a page of her book. The chair was high, so she could gently swing her legs.

But it would also bring some more worries, she added in her mind.

Reality cruelly told her that worrying about others was less important than considering herself first.

________________________________________

After the start-up ceremony, the young master drove his car onto the set.

Even Shen Zhi, with her good temper, wished for a meteor shower to smash his trendy sports car into a crater, so he could never bother her again.

On set, Shen Zhi simply used the excuse of needing to study the script to decline meeting him.

The first scenes to be filmed were those after the second female lead and male lead broke up, and the male lead used the female lead’s family connections to climb the social ladder.

Shen Zhi’s character held mixed feelings of love and hate for Shen He’s character. On one hand, she was filled with anger from being abandoned, yet on the other, she yearned for him to return to her, eventually becoming heartbroken.

She and Shen He met downstairs.

She went to throw out some trash and turned to find him staring at her. Just as she asked, “What’s wrong?”, she heard him reply, “That car is pretty cool.”

For several seconds, Shen Zhi realized he was talking about the sports car she wished would be smashed.

He simply understood nothing.

Suddenly, a feeling of hostility surged again.

She glared at him.

The passing assistant director caught this scene and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Already so in character before filming even started.”

Their shooting progressed smoothly.

Although the female lead actress was funded to join the crew, her own abilities didn’t really hold things back.

________________________________________

Afterward, they filmed the earlier scenes.

The reason for this was also for the actors’ benefit. The parts they filmed first had fewer emotional scenes and were easier to act. Once they were familiar, filming intimate shots would feel more natural.

Shen Zhi and Shen He’s characters were set as childhood sweethearts from the same village.

Shen Zhi had her hair braided, wore ill-fitting clothes, and her makeup was almost bare-faced. She stood in the mud house, reading the script while letting the makeup artist tinker with her. The window suddenly rattled, and looking up, she saw a familiar face.

“That’s enough,” someone beside her said.

Shen Zhi softly said, “Thank you for your hard work,” put down the script, and went out with her hands in her pockets. “What are you doing?” she intentionally asked in a rural accent.

Shen He had also been styled, becoming a simple yet clean rural youth.

“Came to check on you,” he replied in kind.

Another uninvited guest appeared from the crowd. Shen Zhi didn’t recognize him, but the person had already introduced himself simply. It was Shen He’s agent, who had come to urge Shen He to look at a new script.

Still filming this one, and already another one lined up. Isn’t that too rushed?

Shen Zhi wondered.

However, Shen He responded indifferently, “We’ll see.”

That didn’t sound like his usual self.

Shen He, who always had boundless passion for acting, shouldn’t be like this.

Shen Zhi silently sensed something.

________________________________________

The scene with just the two of them wasn’t difficult; it was done in one take.

The scene in the TV series, which was a two-hour car ride away, was actually filmed right next door. After changing locations, the actress playing the female lead also arrived late. She had several assistants with her, and her agent often accompanied her, showing no signs of being a newcomer.

In contrast, Shen He and Shen Zhi were much more relaxed.

They were stretching, standing on the polished floor of the station hall, imitating Yuzuru Hanyu and Mao Asada. Several staff members couldn’t help but laugh. Some even found it interesting and kept filming, thinking it might be cut into a promotional clip later.

In truth, neither of them had a particularly playful personality.

As soon as the camera crew left, their expressions immediately fell.

Everyone dispersed, and the script supervisor hadn’t come for the handover yet, so Shen He and Shen Zhi continued to run lines.

This was an emotional drama.

It was perfectly normal for the main characters to have scenes with physical contact.

They would kiss. In real shots. However, since it wasn’t a romantic idol drama, the kisses didn’t need to be overly exaggerated. Shen He and Shen Zhi were both professionally trained actors, so they naturally didn’t think much of it.

Shen Zhi was originally spaced out when she accidentally saw Shen He muttering and rehearsing something repeatedly. She walked over and couldn’t help but kick him. He turned around and directly asked her, “How do we kiss to make it look better?”

Shen Zhi paused, immediately becoming serious, and asked, “Where’s the camera?”

“If it’s here?” Shen He indicated a direction.

Shen Zhi walked over, and Shen He remained still. Her hand lightly touched his chest, and his outstretched hand hung perfectly in the air, hinting at their future emotional storyline. The next scene to be filmed involved a passionate farewell kiss, the last kiss between the two characters before their hearts drifted apart.

Shen He and Shen Zhi moved infinitely closer. Just as their lips were about to touch, Shen Zhi stopped, and Shen He turned his head to ask the director nearby, “How was it?”

“Did my eyes close too fast?” Shen Zhi said.

Even seemingly effortless scenes on TV can involve meticulous planning during filming.

They tried again, both their faces filled with a youthful, deep affection, love and uneasiness intertwined, accidentally brushing each other’s lips.

Even so, neither showed any signs of discomfort and continued to deliver their lines.

That day, there was no night shoot, and they finished early. Shen Zhi was hungry and went to buy food with her assistant. Just as she picked a cup of spicy hot pot, she ran into Shen He.

Shen He was holding an ice cream bar in his mouth and only paid after he had already opened the packaging.

The assistant appropriately left, and the two stood at the entrance, seemingly losing all connection outside of the play, each eating their own food.

Shen Zhi lowered her head, picking at the knotted seaweed at the bottom of her cup.

Shen He suddenly asked, “Was your first kiss with me?”

Shen Zhi nearly choked.

Shen He, however, was very composed.

Without waiting for her answer, he said to himself, “Mine was with you.”