Chapter 20.1

Two days later, Su Qian, with her simple luggage and her only assistant Xu Ke, went to the film and television city.

The shooting cycle of this drama is not long, and her scenes, at most, would take just over two months. Working in such a high-intensity environment requires a lot of professional skills.

On the way, Xu Ke repeatedly instructed her to handle any issues that came up, and that she just needed to focus on acting.

Su Qian looked at her worried little face and found it somewhat amusing: “Are you trying to tell me not to cause trouble?”

Xu Ke, who was seen through, awkwardly started her triple denial: “I didn’t, I’m not, you’re overthinking.”

“I can assure you, I absolutely won’t cause trouble if no one provokes me.”

She was going to work, not to war. Now she has no status, no reputation, so of course, she has to take great care of her feathers.

Xu Ke breathed a sigh of relief: “I believe you can do what you say.”

But sometimes, the development of things is a mystery, what you fear is what you get.

The day after the opening ceremony, hundreds of people from the crew went to the hotel for dinner. When Su Qian went upstairs, she happened to meet Wang Qisheng and the male lead of this drama coming downstairs, so she took the initiative to greet them.

Director Wang nodded and said to the person next to him, “This is Su Qian. The first scene tomorrow will be shot by the two of you. You must cooperate well.”

“Let her NG fewer times first.” Liang Zhuo was indifferent, “Acting is not as simple as solving problems that even elementary school students can do.”

The scene was a bit awkward. Director Wang coughed lightly and said to Su Qian with a smile, “He’s just like that, don’t take it to heart. It will be better when you get familiar. You can ask him anything you don’t understand.”

Liang Zhuo: “Hey, why are you pulling me into this without asking?!”

“Director Wang, don’t worry. If I took the words of strangers to heart, wouldn’t I be too busy?” Su Qian smiled, “I’ll go up first, you guys carry on.”

Liang Zhuo was pricked lightly and let out an unhappy snort from his nose.

Wang Qisheng laughed at him, “What, you’re only allowed to mock others, but they can’t fight back?”

“No, I just hope she’s not all talk.”

Director Wang: “You always side with your loved ones and not reason, and you look at people with colored glasses. Just wait and see, Su Qian will definitely achieve an effect beyond your imagination.”

Liang Zhuo curled his lips, “Then let’s wait and see.”

—

The next morning at six o’clock, Su Qian got up and started to put on makeup. The shooting time was around eight o’clock. After finishing her makeup, there were still twenty minutes left, and Xu Ke brought over some buns and soy milk.

“Eat more, who knows when we can have lunch.”

Su Qian opened the paper bag and took a look, “Is it meat?”

“Yes, it’s delicious.” Xu Ke hesitated, “But Sister Qian, it seems like you don’t need to diet.”

Some actresses, in order to look good on camera, eat only a few celery sticks or an apple a day. They look glamorous on the outside, but in reality, they don’t even eat as well as beggars.

But it seems that Su Qian doesn’t have this kind of worry.

“Um… it’s really delicious.” She chewed on the meat bun, her eyes squinting happily, “No need, I don’t gain weight.”

“…”

Damn, this metabolism is sour.

.

After breakfast, Su Qian brushed her teeth again. When she came out of the bathroom, a woman stopped her.

“Su Qian, do you still remember me?”

The woman was cute and pretty, and somewhat familiar. Su Qian thought for a while, “Are you… 485?”

“Haha, yes, I’m the one who auditioned with you. My name is Zhang Pingting.”

Unexpectedly, Su Qian was somewhat happy. The fact that both of them, who improvised during the audition, were selected together was quite an achievement.

Su Qian: “I didn’t see you yesterday.”

“I had something to do yesterday, I just arrived today.”

The two chatted as they walked to the set.

In the morning, they were going to shoot the scenes of Su Qian and Liang Zhuo. Zhang Pinting’s role was a minor supporting character, she came so early to learn more.

She found a small stool to sit on and quietly watched the director instruct Su Qian and Liang Zhuo.

The first scene to be shot was a chase scene. In the 90s, when the wave of layoffs began, Su Qian’s character, due to her family’s inability to afford medical treatment, was forced to steal Liang Zhuo’s wallet on the street. After Liang Zhuo discovered this, he chased her all over the street, and intended to take her to the police station.

After the clapperboard was clapped, everyone immediately got into character.

Su Qian, with her disheveled hair and ragged clothes, was sneakily observing the passersby on the street.

Suddenly, a man in a shirt and trousers entered her line of sight. The man was buying water to drink on the side of the street, and after paying, he casually put his wallet in his trouser pocket. The corner of the black leather wallet was exposed, as if it was subtly beckoning her.

Su Qian swallowed, trying hard to hide the panic in her eyes, and nervously walked towards the man.

“Boss, how much is a bottle of mineral water?” she asked in a heavy local accent.

“Three yuan!”

“Three yuan…” She touched her tight pocket and walked away silently with her head down.

The boss spat at her weak figure, “Such a poor look!”

Liang Zhuo was among the first to start a business and had already accumulated some wealth. He looked down on the poor like Su Qian, and also the crude small shop owners.

He picked up the mineral water and turned to leave. The boss politely asked him to come again in the future, but Liang Zhuo was indifferent and did not respond.

He held the water at his side, and his other hand went into his trouser pocket, then suddenly stopped.

He turned his head, and the woman’s small body was almost drowned in the sea of people. Just then, she looked back, and then started running in a panic.

Liang Zhuo’s face darkened, “Stop right there!”

He lifted his leg and chased after her.

The end of this shot should be Su Qian being caught by Liang Zhuo, and twisted her arm to take her to the police station.

But on the way, Su Qian unexpectedly fell while running.

“CUT!” Wang Qisheng picked up the loudspeaker, “Su Qian, what’s going on?”

Su Qian propped herself up on the ground, endured the pain, and slowly got up, “I’m sorry, director, can we do it again?”

Liang Zhuo stood behind her, shaking the mineral water in his hand, “You can NG even with such a simple run? It seems the title of NG Queen is well-deserved!”

Su Qian seemed not to hear, walked past him, and returned to her original position.

In the play, after she and Liang Zhuo got to know each other, they started a business together. Later, they fell in love, and just when they were discussing marriage, their business went wrong. She took responsibility and was sent to prison, while Liang Zhuo married someone else a year later.

She couldn’t bear the blow in prison and ended her life by suicide. Liang Zhuo, however, was thriving outside, his business growing bigger and bigger. Every time he got drunk, he would call out the female lead’s name.

Later, the female lead realized that no matter which woman it was, they were all just passersby to Liang Zhuo. The only things he truly loved were himself and money. The female lead chose to divorce, took her child, and left. Liang Zhuo came to his senses and went to chase after them, but it seemed that he could no longer find their traces.

The final ending is that Liang Zhuo died in his own luxurious villa. Before his death, he was holding a crumpled, yellowed group photo in his hand, which was of his wife and child. When he took his last breath, his daughter was just walking out of a small supermarket, sweetly calling a man moving goods “Dad.”

Now, Su Qian feels that Liang Zhuo, with his annoying mouth, has truly embodied this lonely character.

In the second take, Su Qian completed the shot in one go.

After the director shouted “Cut!”, she immediately put away her expression and walked towards Xu Ke.

“Sister Qian, you’re so amazing! The sense of despair just now was really shocking!”

“Flatter me less.” Su Qian sat on the folding chair, and propped up her leg, “Hiss… go get me some band-aids.”