Sweet Nothings (2/5)

"Cut!"

Director Zhou Hao finally called cut, then jumped up in excitement. "That shot was incredible, absolutely incredible—better than I imagined."

Everyone else started applauding as well.

For the most classic and demanding scene involving an animal actor in the entire film to be executed so perfectly in a single take, everyone clapped with delight.

The applause was for Little Red Date.

"Instructor Jiang, please check how Little Red Date's injury is." Ah Wang said anxiously to Jiang Hao.

Jiang Hao examined the wound on Little Red Date's neck. It was not serious. Crimson Horse was originally a Blood-Sweating Horse, and Blood-Sweating Horses had relatively thin skin. Their necks sweated easily when they ran, and with the scrape from a small stone, it looked as though there was a lot of blood. In truth, it was only a shallow cut.

"A little ointment will do." Jiang Hao had Little Red Date's trainer, Little Cao, treat it.

When Director Zhou saw the wound on Little Red Date's neck, he thought for a moment and said, "Keep that injury. It needs to appear in the next few scenes—the more realistic it looks, the better. A wounded hero looks more like a hero, doesn't he? Look at those Hollywood action stars. Which one of them isn't injured? That's what moves the audience and makes it feel real."

"That's true." Jiang Hao agreed with Zhou Hao.

At dinner, Zhou Hao sat with Jiang Hao and said excitedly, "Once filming is done, I plan to submit it to all the major film festivals. Our plot may be a little melodramatic, but with Little Red Date's performance, it might really win something. Once we come back, we'll release it domestically under the banner of China's first film starring an animal. The box office might even take