Filming Begins Immediately: Zhao Kuangyin

With free time on his hands, Zhang Yang didn't mind giving Nazha a lesson.

"In this industry, you either need to be famous, have seniority, or have connections and money."

"Without those, you either endure the grind, wait for your chance to become famous, or give in to unspoken rules in exchange for opportunities and connections."

"Although I'm a Tangren artist, I'm not valued. Otherwise, I wouldn't be reporting to the set without my own agent, and those production assistants and script supervisors are the first to judge people and treat them accordingly."

"Think carefully, when we were on the set of A Forest of Experts, it was Old Hu who led us to visit the director and producer. Dong Xuan and Qiu Ze, they weren't exactly welcoming to us, only giving Hu Ge some face."

"Qi Wei and Tang Yan are easy to get along with because I have a history with them; we're practically friends."

"But in this crew, I'm just an obscure, unvalued actor from Tangren, an eighteenth-tier celebrity."

"No one is deliberately causing trouble or giving us the cold shoulder, and that's only because we're artists from a major company."

"Visiting the director and lead actors is fine, but timing is crucial; you can't just barge in."

"."

Since he accepted the job of mentoring, Zhang Yang intended to fulfill his duties diligently.

The film set was a workplace, and even more complex than a typical one, filled with all sorts of scheming.

"On set, you should speak less and do more, listen more, observe more, and think more," Zhang Yang instructed.

"Oh," Nazha replied, a thoughtful expression on her face.

At that moment, a commotion could be heard from outside the makeup room.

A mature woman with an estimated 80% attractiveness score pushed the door open, a hint of impatience on her face as she yawned.

She had clearly been woken up from a nap to work, and her mood was unlikely to be pleasant.

"Hello, sister. I'll be troubling you next," Zhang Yang said, immediately getting up to greet her.

On set, makeup artists were among the most important people not to offend.

If they were unhappy with you and deliberately gave you makeup that highlighted your flaws, you'd have nowhere to cry when the audience mocked you once the show aired.

"It's fine, it's all part of my job." You don't hit a smiling face, and besides, Zhang Yang was quite handsome, so the makeup artist's morning grumpiness subsided significantly.

"What should I call you, sister?" Zhang Yang asked, pulling out a pre-prepared red envelope and handing it over.

The makeup artist's irritation vanished instantly, and she even felt fortunate to have landed a good gig. She took the red envelope, saying, "No need to be so formal, just call me Sister Sun."

"Alright, Sister Sun. You don't look much older than me, and you're already a makeup artist on The Legend of Dugu set. You must be very skilled," Zhang Yang said with a feigned expression of relief.

Nazha:?

This woman clearly looked like she was approaching thirty.

"You guessed wrong," Sister Sun couldn't suppress a smile. "I'm already thirty-three."

"Really?" Zhang Yang stared intently at Sister Sun's face, shaking his head in admiration. "I can't tell at all. Do you have some secret skincare recipe?"

"I don't really do much skincare. Maybe it's just good makeup application," Sister Sun replied with a smile.

"That's incredible," Zhang Yang beamed. "I'm so lucky."

Sister Sun, pleased by the compliment, looked Zhang Yang up and down. "Do you have your own understanding of the character you're playing? What kind of style are you aiming for?"

Nazha's eyes lit up beside him, thinking, Learned something new.

According to what Zhang Yang had told her on the way, most crews would just focus on the basics, and only main characters or those with connections would get special character design.

For supporting roles and extras, the makeup and styling just needed to be passable; sometimes, they were even deliberately made to look unattractive to highlight the main characters.

Sister Sun asking Zhang Yang about his desired feel meant she was willing to design his character's look.

Exchanging a small red envelope and a few kind words for such a benefit was clearly a good deal.

"Sister Sun, I do have a few ideas," Zhang Yang said, not being overly modest at this moment. "I'm playing Zhao Kuangyin, the Song Dynasty founder from 'Founders of the Song Dynasty.' A great man, renowned for his military achievements, who conquered the land and ruled the country."

"The story is set in an earlier period. I want him to have a heroic and imposing aura, but also possess elegance."

Considering his own appearance, Zhang Yang felt he could be styled like Zhao Zilong in white robes.

"Understood. Let's find the feel first, and we'll finalize the look once we're happy, making changes if anything feels off," Sister Sun said, gesturing for Zhang Yang to sit down and taking out her tools to begin.

She first put a wig cap on Zhang Yang, then found a suitable wig, which, combined with his handsome features, gave him the air of a young master.

Zhang Yang closed his eyes, occasionally chatting with Sister Sun, maintaining a good sense of proportion and rhythm, and speaking humorously.

As they chatted, Sister Sun shared a lot of gossip circulating on set, such as the ambiguous relationship between Lin Ziwei and Wallace Huo, the apparent rivalry between Yan Yikuan and Wallace Huo, the fact that Assistant Director Liu was sent by Hunan TV, and that a certain production assistant was the director's brother-in-law.

Most people would just treat this gossip as entertainment, but for Zhang Yang, who would be filming on set for a while, it was crucial intelligence that could help him avoid inadvertently offending anyone.

Learned again, Nazha thought, her admiration for Zhang Yang growing.

She had assumed Zhang Yang's friendly approach to Sister Sun was just to secure better character design and styling. She hadn't expected him to gather so much information during their conversation.

For instance, the news about Yan Yikuan and Wallace Huo's rivalry was very important.

As a student from Shanghai Theatre Academy, Zhang Yang could use this connection to approach the male lead, Yan Yikuan, his senior student, and build rapport.

Zhang Yang also had some acquaintance with Wallace Huo and could reach out to him, potentially also befriending Lin Ziwei.

However, with Yan Yikuan and Wallace Huo being at odds, the matter of building relationships needed careful consideration.

"Do less talking, more doing. Listen, watch, and think more." Nazha kept this sentence firmly in mind.

Zhang Yang didn't know what Nazha was thinking, and continued to subtly extract the information he wanted from Sister Sun.

About half an hour later, Sister Sun nodded with satisfaction, "All done."

Zhang Yang opened his eyes and saw a different person in the mirror.

His pale skin had turned a light bronze, making him look healthy and masculine.

His thick eyebrows had been expertly shaped, giving him a vibrant look. His neck had also been treated to make his jawline more defined.

Simply put, his features were now distinctly rugged, masking Zhang Yang's handsome beauty and adding a touch of heroic spirit. He had transformed from a pretty boy into a half-tough guy, from a refined scholar into a young general.

"What do you think?" Zhang Yang suddenly looked at Nazha.

Nazha hid her phone and instinctively averted her gaze. "Super handsome."

Zhang Yang smiled at Sister Sun, "Even my new assistant here thinks it's good, Sister Sun, your skills are truly unmatched."

Sister Sun's face showed a bit of pride. "My skills are second to none on set. Even those exclusive makeup artists for the main actors, I don't think they're that amazing."

"A'Yang, you're also lucky. This drama is nearing its wrap-up, and many actors are leaving the crew. The art department's makeup artist just stayed behind for me."

Zhang Yang also felt he was quite lucky; Sister Sun's makeup skills were indeed top-notch.

There was no need for further trials; his look was finalized.

After another half hour or so, his makeup was completely done, and he had changed into the costume provided by the crew.

With his look finalized, Zhang Yang immediately found the script supervisor and coordinator. Seeing his appearance, their faces clearly showed surprise, and their attitude was very good.

The coordinator took him directly to the director. The afternoon's shoot had already begun, and it was currently a break time. Several key cast members who were filming today happened to be present.

Upon hearing that Zhang Yang was the actor playing Zhao Kuangyin, everyone's gaze fell upon him.

"In terms of appearance, it's better than the previous one," the director Liang Xin Quan thought, satisfied.

The connection pushed by Tangren wasn't entirely useless.

However, he was also a bit troubled because Zhang Yang's appearance was too good, which might lead to a certain outcome.

Just then, Lin Ziwei's voice reached his ears, "Director, let this actor film the scenes with me first and test his acting skills."

Liang Xin Quan: "..."

Is that really about testing his acting skills?