Two of Them Lied About Their Height

"You need to read the script, but you can't rely on it alone. You need your own interpretation..."

Zhao Guangbin had far less authority than Yu Min or Zhao Jian, but that was exactly why he was more willing to talk actors through a scene bit by bit.

Even Liu Yifei came over to listen closely.

She had reportedly been unable to find the camera positions when she acted in The Story of a Noble Family, and a male actor she worked with had complained about her.

Yet in just a year or two, with only two or three productions under her belt, she had become adept at many aspects of acting.

She clearly worked hard to learn.

"...Understand? To give the performance layers, you need to hold back a little."

Zhao Guangbin patted Shen Qi on the shoulder.

He was Zhang Jizhong's chief administrator. From shooting schedules and budgets down to whether the crew's boxed lunches were too salty or too sweet, the real authority rested in his hands.

The horse had nearly injured Huang Xiaoming. If anyone started assigning blame, it could land on Zhao Guangbin.

Besides, Shen Qi was an actor he had brought in through auditions.

So he was willing to spend more time on him.

"Director, the way you put it really opened my eyes. Let me try again!"

Shen Qi nodded repeatedly.

"All right. Get ready. We'll shoot it right away."

Zhao Guangbin nodded in satisfaction and went back to sit behind his monitor.

"Did you really understand?"

Liu Yifei asked quietly.

"Huh?"

Shen Qi hadn't expected her to speak to him first, much less ask that.

"I didn't understand."

Liu Yifei looked a little lost.

"That's okay. I didn't understand either, but I did get the part where he said to 'hold back a little.'"

Shen Qi summoned the Magic Book inside his sleeve.

He had done more than understand it. He had learned how to do it.

When they started again, Shen Qi held much more back in his gaze.

Of course, it still carried an infatuated look, and Liu Yifei grew a little embarrassed under it.

Shu Chang had called her earlier and said she would find a handsome guy to help her act in the "deflowering scene."

That way, she would feel less resistant to it.

The moment Liu Yifei heard that reasoning, her face turned crimson.

What kind of nonsense was that?

Still, Shu Chang's ridiculous words inevitably got to her.

When she first saw Shen Qi, she felt awkward and even wanted to keep her distance.

Then Shen Qi risked his life to save someone.

After that, everyone, Liu Yifei included, admired him immensely.

Who wouldn't want someone to come to their rescue like that when they were in danger?

Shen Qi was a good man.

Too bad he had auditioned for the role of the Dragon Rider.

"Cut. That was very good."

Zhao Guangbin was pleased. Shen Qi really was worthy of being the actor he had cast.

Next, Little Dragon Maiden left the scene.

Holding the vial of antidote she had given him, Zhen Zhibing gazed at it tenderly and even brought it to his nose for a sniff.

This part was crucial.

The guys at the dinner table had talked it over with Shen Qi.

Zhen Zhibing was a rapist. There was no washing away that fact.

Without major changes to the script, all Shen Qi could do was try to make the audience dislike him a little less.

That meant he couldn't play him too sleazily.

And sniffing something a girl had given him was a textbook sleazy move.

Everyone had offered an opinion.

The head of lighting said he could make the lighting more beautiful.

The cinematographer said he could flatter the shot with his camera angles.

The head of props suggested Shen Qi show a touch of sorrow.

He was tormented by love, after all...

Love could begin before you knew it and grow too deep to escape.

And sure enough, Shen Qi had found the right approach.

Sitting behind the monitor, Zhao Guangbin watched Shen Qi improvise this part, the corner of his mouth twitching.

That's not sleazy enough!

He could have corrected Shen Qi.

Who taught you to play him like that?

What, you think Zhen Zhibing can redeem himself?

But he said nothing.

As before, none of it would affect the big picture.

Zhen Zhibing had very few scenes.

Once he assaulted Little Dragon Maiden, there would be no redeeming him.

The scene where Zhen Zhibing assaulted Little Dragon Maiden was Shen Qi's most important scene.

But because of scheduling, he had to wait a little longer.

First they shot the scene where he and Zhao Zhijing came upon Little Dragon Maiden and Yang Guo practicing martial arts.

It was the same scene he had performed at his audition.

"How's Shen Qi doing?"

Yu Min came over from Unit A to direct this segment himself.

He first asked how Shen Qi had been doing.

"He's a talented actor and takes his work seriously."

Zhao Guangbin had a very good impression of Shen Qi.

"I've heard a few things about him. When he's on set, he's either helping the props or stunt teams, or watching and learning."

Although Yu Min could only oversee one unit's filming at a time, as chief director, he kept a close eye on the entire production, from the scenes to the actors.

"He's eager to learn. Ms. Li Mingqi really enjoys teaching him."

Even Zhao Guangbin had to admire Shen Qi.

Li Mingqi had very few scenes in Jiuzhaigou, and hers had been filmed first. She should have finished and left by now.

But Shen Qi had somehow kept the elderly actress there for three extra days.

"He's good-looking and works hard..."

Yu Min sounded impressed too.

"Luck matters too. There's no telling whether he'll make it."

Zhao Guangbin saw it differently.

These days, talent alone didn't make someone famous.

As a casting director, he saw that more clearly than most.

Whenever a major project got off the ground, it became a battleground for competing interests.

Without connections, you couldn't even get a seat at the table.

"All right, none of that's our concern. Let's get ready and start shooting. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can sleep!"

Yu Min pulled his coat tighter around himself.

By late October, nighttime temperatures in Jiuzhaigou had dropped below ten degrees Celsius.

After the slate was clapped, Shen Qi exchanged insults with Zhao Zhijing, fought him, and finally disturbed Yang Guo and Little Dragon Maiden's practice.

At first, they didn't know Yang Guo and Little Dragon Maiden were practicing martial arts.

Zhao Zhijing cursed them as a shameless couple.

Zhen Zhibing, as played by Shen Qi, looked at Little Dragon Maiden with concern instead.

Yang Guo fought Zhao Zhijing and won with the Jade Maiden Sword Technique, forcing Zhao Zhijing and Zhen Zhibing to swear they would never tell anyone what had happened that day.

Shen Qi had read the original novel of The Condor. In this part, it said, "(Yin Zhiping) held his left palm upright and swung the sword in his right hand, cutting off the little finger and ring finger of his left hand."

In other words, he was missing two fingers.

Which raised a question.

How had that gone unnoticed when he assaulted Little Dragon Maiden?

Apparently, even brilliant authors made mistakes.

This version of the TV series left out the severed fingers. Swearing to the heavens was enough, which saved Shen Qi a lot of trouble.

It was also Shen Qi's first day filming with Huang Xiaoming.

Everyone awkwardly noticed an obvious height difference between Huang Xiaoming, who claimed to be 179 centimeters tall, and Shen Qi, whose profile also listed him as 179.

Liu Naiyi, who claimed to be 178 centimeters, stood right between them in height.

Clearly, with the three of them standing together, at least two had lied about their height.

Yu Min paused filming this part.

After a quick discussion with Huang Xiaoming, he had a solution.

It was simple: put two centimeters of lift under Huang Xiaoming's feet, redo his topknot to add another two centimeters, and have the cinematographer choose a different angle.

That way, the height difference between Huang Xiaoming and the other two wouldn't be so stark.

At least it wouldn't show on the monitor.

Shen Qi breathed a sigh of relief.

He had already braced himself to film in a half squat.

This was better, really.

Nobody had to feel awkward.

It couldn't be helped. Everyone in show business lied about their height.

Someone who was 173 centimeters would claim 178 or 179.

Someone who was 183 would claim 179 instead.

Shen Qi was nearly ten centimeters taller than Huang Xiaoming.

What could Huang Xiaoming do about that?

Besides, he owed Shen Qi a huge favor, so he couldn't even bring himself to get angry.

After filming this part, Shen Qi entered another long stretch of waiting.

He even waited long enough for Chen Zihan to arrive.

Quite a few other actors arrived too.

Everyone was curious about Shen Qi as Zhen Zhibing.

But once they thought about what Zhen Zhibing had done, it was hard for them to feel much affection for him.

So Shen Qi had a lot more peace and quiet on this production.

Only Chen Zihan regularly came to hang out with him.

"Thanks..."

Chen Zihan put on the coat Shen Qi handed her, still shivering a little.

She had only just come out of the water.

"The coat's getting wet."

Shen Qi reminded her. He had been wearing it moments earlier.

It wasn't that Shen Qi had gone out of his way to look after her.

Chen Zihan had asked him for help.

She had asked him to warm her coat.

Shen Qi would wear it first, then give it back when Chen Zihan came out of the water.

It was the same idea as warming someone's bed for them.

"What, was I supposed to strip naked in front of you and change into dry clothes?"

Chen Zihan sighed in comfort.

Shen Qi gave off so much warmth.

Too bad he wasn't her boyfriend. Otherwise, she could have hugged him to keep warm.

"I didn't say that." Shen Qi was at a loss for words. "You could change in the tent."

"Too much trouble. I have to go back in soon..."

Chen Zihan figured she had it pretty good already.

It wasn't often she found a guy who gave off this much heat.