The overall home style is warm and bright, full of traces of life, as if you just knocked on the door and stepped into an ordinary home.
The director said, "Unlike the last shoot, this one emphasizes a sense of everyday life. Treat this place like your own home, without any feeling of restraint or unfamiliarity. Most importantly, don't let others tell you're acting."
Su Huaiming nodded, indicating that he understood.
The director trusted Su Huaiming completely and made another request. "You're the only one in this house, but you need to convey the presence of another person. This is Qixi advertisement; you need to immerse the audience in an atmosphere of being loved."
The director realized he'd been too abstract, so he coughed and tentatively looked at Su Huaiming: "You understand what I mean, right?"
Su Huaiming pondered for a few seconds, then raised his voice slightly. "It's like showing off your love?"
Director: "... Very accurate."
Having received the director's approval, Su Huaiming was almost 80% certain what effect the director wanted.
Because of Su Huaiming's previous performance, the director had great confidence in him and started filming immediately.
As the camera zooms in, a soft pillow falls to the floor, the blanket is bulging, and the edges are slightly curled up, revealing fluffy hair.
Su Huaiming crawled out of bed, still sleepy, with red marks on his face from sleeping.
He casually ruffled his hair, his eyes slightly narrowed like a satisfied kitten, opened his arms, turned around, and hugged a bundle of blankets.
He looked surprised, leaned forward slightly, and peered towards the door.
Not seeing any familiar figures, Su Huaiming yawned, crawled out of bed, and walked barefoot onto the wooden floor towards the living room.
Various clothes were laid out on the sofa in the living room, and there were unfinished potato chips on the table. The place was full of life, but it didn't look cluttered.
After Su Huaiming entered the living room, he drank a glass of warm water, which made him feel more clear-headed.
He glanced towards the bathroom, a smile appearing in his eyes.
He didn't go forward, but turned around and hummed a song while frying eggs, his posture exceptionally lazy and relaxed.
Su Huaiming had never fried an egg before, so he could only bite the bullet and try to imitate him, but his movements were still clumsy. Just as Su Huaiming accidentally dropped half an eggshell into the pan, the director finally yelled "Cut!"
The staff immediately came over, took the iron pot from Su Huaiming, and saved him.
Su Huaiming breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards the director.
The director stared at him for three seconds, then suddenly exclaimed, "You must be very much in love with Mr. Fu."
Su Huaiming: "..."Where did you get that conclusion from?!
The director seemed to have guessed Su Huaiming's doubts and explained with a smile, "Although no one else appeared, I was still impressed. It must be because you and President Fu so loving that you acted so relaxed and natural."
These words left Su Huaiming speechless.
He could only manage a couple of dry laughs, tacitly accepting the statement.
The director took Su Huaiming to see the recorded footage, and Su Huaiming was so engrossed in it that he couldn't help but become smug.
He pointed to the scene where Su Huaiming crawled out from under the covers and praised, "Your performance in that scene was so 'wifely,' no wonder so many people online call you 'wife.'"
The assistant director quipped, "I also think this scene is particularly good. It's sure to trend on social media once the commercials air!"
Su Huaiming's lips twitched twice, and he couldn't help but look down at his hands.
He wasn't hiding, how could these two be chatting so enthusiastically right in front of him!
Hearing their comments and looking at himself on camera, Su Huaiming felt a little unfamiliar.
This is his daily routine after waking up, except he adds the action of turning around to hug someone.
If he were to tell others that he and Fu Jingfan had never shared a bed, probably no one would believe him.
Su Huaiming couldn't say that they were overthinking things, nor could he reveal too many details about his and Fu Jingfan's lives. He could only laugh awkwardly twice and become completely invisible.
The director was very satisfied with the details of the filming, praising Su Huaiming, the props team, and the cinematographer before finally mentioning his own contribution.
The assistant director was a shrewd one; he immediately started exchanging compliments with the director, while glancing at Su Huaiming every now and then, waiting for him to chime in.
Su Huaiming became a heartless flattery machine, and it took him a full ten minutes to calm the director, whose brain was pounding, down and allow them to begin a new phase of filming.
Su Huaiming's makeup remained unchanged, but he changed into a new everyday outfit: a simple white shirt and black pants underneath, paired with an autumnal trench coat that accentuated Su Huaiming tall and slender figure.
After a full hour's drive, they arrived in the suburbs, where the grass was as tall as a person and had a pale yellow hue.
It was nearing evening, and the sky was filled with orange sunset clouds, making the light much dimmer.
The director walked over and gave Su Huaiming a red velvet box.
Su Huaiming opened the box and saw that it contained a pair of silver rings.
Su Huaiming picked one up and saw three characters engraved on the inner band of the ring: SHM
He had a vague premonition of something and looked up at the director.
"These rings were custom-made for you and President Fu by the brand. There's only one pair in the world. When we're shooting later, you'll wear yours, and I'll focus on taking close-up shots of the ring."
Su Huaiming understood and nodded.
The director continued, "In a moment, you'll be moving through the grass, appearing quite relaxed and natural. Ten seconds later, I'll use special effects to erase the entire background, plunging you into complete darkness. Of course, this will only be shown in the final cut; reality will remain the same. But you need to show appropriate panic. Then a beam of light will shine on you, and you'll see a figure from behind. You'll run over excitedly and hug him."
"You hugged him?" Su Huaiming raised an eyebrow slightly. "Do I even have a partner?"
"Yes, he has a partner." The director's expression suddenly turned a little strange. He was about to continue speaking when he was called away by the assistant director.
After the director left in a hurry, the crew members surrounded Su Huaiming and helped him straighten his clothes.
Su Huaiming looked at the pair of rings in his hands and had a vague premonition of something. When he looked up, he saw a familiar figure in the crowd.
Su Huaiming's pupils trembled slightly, his eyes widening in disbelief. "That, that's Fu Jingfan?"
The staff member paused, looked in the direction Su Huaiming was pointing, and after a few seconds of stunned silence, said in surprise, "Teacher Su recognized him after just one glance!"
Su Huaiming was shaken and speechless with surprise, only able to nod awkwardly.
How did the brand manage to get Fu Jingfan to act alongside him?!
Fu Jingfan lacks nothing, and almost nothing can move him. He is usually mysterious and does not accept public interviews, but this time he took the initiative to show up and shoot an advertisement with him in a high-profile manner.
This is so unlike Fu Jingfan's style. Could it be... that he took the wrong medicine?
After the staff tidied up his clothes, Su Huaiming couldn't suppress his curiosity and walked over to Fu Jingfan.
Fu Jingfan stood alone behind the car, only half of his body visible. There was no one around; all the staff were busy with their own tasks.
Su Huaiming found it strange.
Logically, if Fu Jingfan had appeared, the director and main cast would have surrounded him long ago. Why were they ignoring Fu Jingfan like this?
Was it his request?
Su Huaiming was full of questions. He quickly stepped forward and whispered Fu Jingfan's name.
Fu Jingfan still didn't move, Su Huaiming simply walked around the car and stood in front of Fu Jingfan.
When he saw Fu Jingfan's appearance clearly, Su Huaiming was struck dumb, his expression froze, and he stood rooted to the ground.
No wonder their backs looked so similar; the director did indeed hire Fu Jingfan and they filmed together.
However, to be precise, they hired Fu Jingfan...
Life-sized standee.
Chapter 37
"..."
Su Huaiming never expected the director to be such a genius, to come up with such an idea!
You'd better explain it to him clearly!!
Su Huaiming coughed, awkwardly covering his face with his hand. Seeing that no one was around, he breathed a sigh of relief, pretended that nothing had happened, put his hands in his pockets, and quickly walked past the cardboard cutout.
It's no wonder he misread it.
It was nearing evening, and the light was dim. Fu Jingfan's life-size cardboard cutout was placed behind the car, its silhouette almost identical to the real person.
The director had given him two more wedding rings beforehand, which was a psychological suggestion. He saw Fu Jingfan's back in the distance, which made him suspect that he had really come.
Su Huaiming returned to the original spot as if nothing had happened, as if he had never noticed the human-shaped standee.
After the director finished discussing the filming details with someone, he had the crew bring over the cardboard cutout and casually placed it in front of Su Huaiming.
Su Huaiming and Fu Jingfan's life-size cardboard cutouts faced each other, and he couldn't help but think of what had just happened, his expression becoming uncontrollably stiff.
The director keenly noticed this, and after a few seconds of stunned silence, his expression immediately turned panicked.
"I'm sorry, it was my oversight; I didn't ask for your opinion beforehand."
Upon hearing this, Su Huaiming looked at the director in surprise, completely bewildered.
There was no one around at the time, how could the director have known about this?!
The two looked like they were in a competition, their expressions increasingly grim, the atmosphere seemingly frozen, making those nearby tremble with fear, thinking a showdown between big shots was about to unfold.
After a full half minute of stalemate, both the director and Su Huaiming couldn't take it anymore.
"It was a misunderstanding. It was too dark at the time, and my eyesight isn't very good, which is why I made that mistake."
"Although it was only a shadow, it still infringed on Mr. Fu's portrait rights. I should have communicated with him beforehand."
Their words overlapped, not a single word of theirs was the same.
What the heck???
The director and Su Huaiming met eyes, both with big question marks above their heads, looking completely bewildered, neither understanding what the other was saying.
Su Huaiming was the first to react, giving a dry laugh and saying, "Director, so you were worried about this? I'm not Fu Jingfan, so I can't give you an answer. But it depends on how you use this cardboard cutout."
The director quickly explained, "In the final cut of the advertisement, neither President Fu his life-size standee will appear on screen; you'll only see his shadow on the ground. I assure you, it has no identifying significance. Actually, we could have just used any shadow, but considering your deep relationship with President Fu and the fact that you have matching rings, we used a life-size standee of President Fu. Frankly, this was my oversight; I didn't communicate with you beforehand. If you wish to pursue legal action against me..."
The director gritted his teeth and said, forcing a smile, "I will take responsibility."
The director saw the deep relationship between Su Huaiming and President Fu and wanted to capitalize on the hype, but he was also well aware of the significance of an advertisement to Fu Jingfan. That's why he took a different approach and created a life-size standee of Fu Jingfan, only showing his shadow in the final advertisement.
There shouldn't be any problem, but Fu Jingfan has a powerful background and a high status. People like him are very particular, and even if he only appears in the background, it will make them unhappy. The director realized the risk at this point and hurriedly apologized to Su Huaiming.
Seeing the director's devastated expression, Su Huaiming wanted to offer words of comfort, but he couldn't make decisions for Fu Jingfan, nor could he ask Fu Jingfan about such matters. After thinking for a few seconds, he suggested, "If only an unrecognizable shadow appears, probably no one will recognize Fu Jingfan. In that case, it's better to be safe and use a different shadow."
Seeing that Su Huaiming didn't seem to care, the director breathed a long sigh of relief, looked at Su Huaiming gratefully, and quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, the cardboard cutout President Fu; it doesn't capture his handsome back view. We should just use a better-looking one..."
At this point, the director realized his mistake and quickly tried to salvage the situation, "What I meant was that President Fu his shadow is the most handsome. No one could be more handsome than him!"