Chapter 52: Silly Smile

The next day, on set.

"Yaaah!"

Dressed in a pink silk wide-sleeved robe, with a touch of red makeup accented by a gold base at the center of her brow, this version of Zhou Zhiruo made her entrance.

"A red dot between the brows, a red veil covering the face..." Seeing this, Zhang Yuan hummed a tune in his heart.

Almost everyone in the Emei Sect had a small mark like this between their brows; it was called "dotting red," or sometimes "cinnabar for wisdom."

Only Abbess Miejue's pattern was the most complex—interspersed with red and white, looking from a distance like a miniature Poké Ball.

This scene was the same as the opening day: the six major sects surrounding Bright Summit.

However, today was dedicated to action scenes.

Gao Yuanyuan picked up the Heaven Sword, gritted her teeth, and with a decisive thrust, stabbed it into Su Youpeng's left chest!

"Cut!" Lai Shuiqing called out. "That's a wrap on that one."

Gao Yuanyuan let out a heavy sigh of relief, then looked toward Zhang Yuan in the crowd and flashed him a peace sign.

To prepare for this scene, Zhang Yuan had stayed with her to practice for three hours last night. Even so, it took five takes today to get it right.

Gao Yuanyuan had no experience in period dramas, let alone a foundation in martial arts. For someone so "pure and simple," just trying to execute a few moves with standard form was already extremely difficult.

"Next scene, reaction shot. Everyone get ready. Actors to their positions."

It was time for Zhang Yuan to take the stage.

The content of this scene was to film the reactions of the members of the six major sects to Zhou Zhiruo wounding Zhang Wuji just now.

When watching a TV series, the event and the reaction are presented together, but during filming, they must be done piece by piece.

The main leads—Gao Yuanyuan, Su Youpeng, and Jia Jingwen—were not in this scene.

Logically, they could have gone aside to drink water and rest, but it wasn't just the three of them; many people were standing by to watch.

Watching whom?

Zhang Yuan, of course.

Having risen to fame in the crew on the first day by solving a major problem for the two directors, he had become even more of a celebrity during the welcome banquet.

These people were all very curious: just which great deity was Zhang Yuan?

For an actor, the most important thing is their performance on set. Social graces are important, but professionalism is paramount.

Thus, everyone wanted to see how Zhang Yuan would perform.

"The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, Scene 8, Shot 1, Take 1, ACTION!"

Shaolin, Wudang, Emei, Kunlun, Kongtong, Huashan.

The actors from the six major sects stood in three rows. Including the extras, there were about two hundred people—some holding weapons, some standing with hands behind their backs, others looking restless.

Zhang Yuan, playing Song Qingshu, stood in the front row, right in the center position.

His "center" position wasn't something fought for like the billing wars of modern idols; this was a legitimate arrangement by the director.

To his right were the Wudang members, to his left were the Shaolin group, and closest to him was Chen Xiuli, playing Xiao Zhao.

The assistant director stood before the crowd, making a mock gesture with a tree branch to represent Zhou Zhiruo's stabbing motion from the previous scene.

The Wudang actors widened their eyes, some even opening their mouths in shock.

The Shaolin actors nearby all lowered their heads, some with hands joined in prayer to show compassion.

Chen Xiuli, playing Xiao Zhao, was a veteran actress; she immediately displayed a look of panic and terror, her bright eyes appearing as if they could speak.

Everyone's performance followed the script perfectly, except for Zhang Yuan!

There was no terror on his face, no fear, no sadness, and no surprise.

He was smiling!

A sort of wicked grin that he couldn't quite suppress.

His reaction was completely contrary to everyone else's, and since he was standing right in the middle of the front row, his behavior was even more conspicuous.

"Is Zhang Yuan being an idiot?" Seeing this, Gao Yuanyuan nervously bit her nails. "He actually broke character and laughed!"

There were nearly two hundred extras in this single scene alone, with daily wages totaling tens of thousands, so the crew members were very tense, fearing that a mistake would lead to a retake and affect the schedule.

After all, the costs and losses were too high!

Gao Yuanyuan's eyes drifted toward Chen Xiuli, who was standing next to Zhang Yuan.

"He couldn't have lost it because he saw a beautiful woman, could he?"

Gao Yuanyuan's face immediately fell.

Having trained together previously and often practicing alone with him, plus his help at the dinner table, she actually had a fairly good impression of Zhang Yuan.

But it was only a friendly impression; she hadn't thought much of it.

Now, believing that Zhang Yuan was grinning foolishly because of Chen Xiuli, a burning fire called "indignation" rose in her heart.

"He never smiled like a fool when he looked at me!"

Beside her, Su Youpeng and Jia Jingwen were also stunned. How could this guy break character during his very first big scene? This was far too unprofessional.

"This man seems very capable in social graces and problem-solving, but he doesn't seem to have a knack for acting," Jia Jingwen thought to herself, her almond eyes darting around.

"Could he be a 'connection' hire, or perhaps a son of a wealthy family?"

Just as they were filled with doubt, Director Lai Shuiqing waved his hand to stop the scene.

"Cut!"

He then gave Zhang Yuan a thumbs-up.

"Zhang Yuan, that was brilliant!"

Lai Shuiqing would speak Cantonese whenever he got excited.

Zhang Yuan walked over with a smile. "Director Lai, was my smile too much?"

"No, it was just right." Lai Shuiqing patted his shoulder with a smile. "You have a good understanding of this character."

"Everyone else is worried, nervous, but you are secretly in love with Zhou Zhiruo and have realized her relationship with Zhang Wuji is unusual. Seeing her wound her romantic rival, of course, you should smile."

"Moreover, while everyone else is distressed, you are the only one smiling. That contrast works very well."

"To be able to think of that layer on your own is very impressive."

The character of Song Qingshu could be summarized in two words.

A simp!

A simp who ends up with nothing, even losing his life.

Uh... Beside them, Gao Yuanyuan's eyes widened. So he wasn't just grinning foolishly!

"What's wrong?" Zhang Yuan asked, noticing her strange expression.

"No, nothing. Zhang Yuan, you acted really well."

At least she didn't mock him immediately... Gao Yuanyuan looked at Zhang Yuan guiltily.

Su Youpeng and Jia Jingwen exchanged a glance and then curled their lips.

They hadn't expected that the smile was acted.

This Mainland guy seemed a lot more capable than they had imagined.

As Su Youpeng was thinking, Zhang Yuan approached him.

"Brother Youpeng, we have a fight scene together later. This is my first time filming martial arts; should we go aside and go through the moves first?"

"Sure." Su Youpeng's attitude toward Zhang Yuan was noticeably more enthusiastic than before.

A film crew is a small society; if you want others to respect you, you have to rely on your strength.

Before filming martial arts scenes, they almost always perform "choreography rehearsals." The martial arts director designs the moves, and the actors walk through them, starting with slow motion several times before fighting at normal speed during the actual shoot.

Of course, there are cases where they don't rehearse, but that requires both the attacker and defender to be trained martial artists—and masters at that.

For example, in the fight between Wu Jing and Zhen Zidan in *SPL: Sha Po Lang*, there was very little rehearsal; both had the foundation to actually fight.

But as a result, Wu Jing was injured, with a massive bruise under his ribs, nearly breaking a bone.

Therefore, rehearsal is half for aesthetics and convenience, and half for safety.

After spending about half an hour, the two of them went through all the moves of the scene.

"Zhang Yuan, don't be nervous during the walk-through later. If you feel something is wrong or if you forget a move, you can call stop. Don't be afraid; no one will blame you."

Su Youpeng was a good person, very friendly, and specifically looked out for Zhang Yuan.

He had said the same thing to Gao Yuanyuan before their scene, and yet she had still had several NGs.

He figured Zhang Yuan was a few years younger than Yuanyuan and had never done action scenes, so he was prepared for Zhang Yuan to NG.

"One you, one Zhu'er, that's enough..." After a while, Su Youpeng filmed a scene with Chen Xiuli first.

"Listen to that! Is that even human speech!" Zhang Yuan complained from the side. "Just two is enough."

Gao Yuanyuan grabbed a handful of melon seeds from his hand and nodded. "Indeed, Zhang Wuji is too much of a playboy. Stabbing him once was the right move."

*Ah, is that how it is? I was going to say he needs all four...*

Was it true that no one stopped Zhang Yuan from snacking on melon seeds on set every day?

Lai Shuiqing, who had also grabbed a handful from Zhang Yuan, directed the scene while snacking.

"Cut!"

"Next scene, Zhang Yuan, your fight scene with Youpeng."

Zhang Yuan straightened his clothes and stepped in front of the camera.

This scene featured Song Qingshu overextending himself for love, only to be easily defeated by Zhang Wuji.

This was also Zhang Yuan's first time attempting wirework.

The ropes were tied, the jacket was put on, and all that remained was to start filming...

(End of Chapter)