"..."
Xia Qing looked somewhat uncomfortable. She had not expected Fang Ning to speak so bluntly or to be so shameless.
She was only a bottom-tier actress. There were plenty of well-connected actresses like Fang Ning who landed roles through improper means.
She believed that within a few days, once Fang Ning acted opposite her and was completely outclassed, everyone would know she was nothing but a well-connected actress.
Director Wang would also regret choosing Fang Ning instead of her.
At that thought, Xia Qing quickly regained her composure and found an excuse to leave.
She would set Fang Ning aside for now. Her current target was Ji Xiangchen. She had come to this production-
Precisely in the hope of developing a relationship with Ji Xiangchen, who was that man's younger brother.
She hoped to get to know Ji Xiangchen during this time so that when she got together with Ji Xiangnian, Ji Xiangchen would accept her.
At the thought of that man, Xia Qing's eyes softened. She believed that as long as she persisted, she would win his heart one day.
Thinking this, Xia Qing felt her mood lighten.
Her gaze kept moving as she searched for Ji Xiangchen.
Chapter 15
Ji Xiangchen and Fang Ning were filming.
Today's scene in "Great Chen Dynasty" involved the Zhao siblings being pursued by enemies on their way to the capital to lodge a complaint before the emperor. The older sister was killed protecting her younger brother and ultimately died in his arms.
This was originally Fang Ning's very last scene, but because some actors had yet to join the production, they could only film the later scenes first.
Ji Xiangchen wore coarse ancient-style linen clothes and a wig, with his hair tied back. Stripped of his usual aloof, unapproachable air, his overall look was youthful, with a roguish edge.
He also wore a sword at his waist as a weapon, looking every bit like a chivalrous young hero from a television drama.
Compared with yesterday, Fang Ning's makeup was somewhat more subdued.
The two took their places, and the cameras were quickly readied as well.
Three or four cameras followed them from different angles.
On camera, the older sister, Zhao Yue'er, played by Fang Ning, and the younger brother, Zhao Yan, played by Ji Xiangchen, sat at the front of the carriage.
After days of driving the carriage and fleeing, both were exhausted and in poor condition.
Fang Ning's lashes fluttered, her head slightly lowered. Her pretty face was veiled in a thick, indissoluble sorrow, as though something weighed heavily on her mind. She looked melancholy and fragile, with Zhao Yue'er's worries about the future and her reckless younger brother written all over her face.
On camera, Fang Ning's skin looked good. Her makeup was not too heavy, leaving her looking serene and sweet, with rosy lips and white teeth.
But the makeup conveying her exhaustion added a heartbreaking fragility to that serene, sweet face.
The camera operators were all drawn to Fang Ning's face and instinctively kept their cameras trained closely on it.
After yesterday's scenes, Fang Ning's acting had improved considerably. She gently raised her head and met her younger brother's worried gaze.
She immediately reined in the look in her eyes to prevent her younger brother from noticing anything, neither too early nor too late, but at exactly the right moment.
The two on camera exchanged a few lines of everyday dialogue expressing concern for each other as family.
Then they moved on to filming the pursuit scene.
In the story, Zhao Yue'er knew no martial arts and could only rely on her younger brother, Zhao Yan, to protect her.
At the end, when her younger brother had driven off almost all the enemies and an enemy hidden in the shadows launched a sneak attack-
Zhao Yue'er darted forward without hesitation and took the sword strike for her younger brother.
Just as Ji Xiangchen finished all his fight choreography, Fang Ning timed her move to the situation and ran over to act as a human shield.
The cold sword plunged into that frail body, and the life that had been so vibrant only moments before was suddenly at death's door.
Seeing this, her younger brother, Zhao Yan, completely broke down. With one fierce swing of his sword, he felled the enemy.
He laid his older sister down properly. Even in the moments before her death, her younger brother remained her greatest concern. She shakily reached out, her eyes fixed entirely on him, trying to imprint his image in her mind forever:
"A-Yan, when your sister is gone, you must keep living well, do you understand? Your sister will always be by your..."
Before she could finish, her hand fell limply, and her eyes slowly closed.
He looked at Fang Ning's chest, stained red, and her pale, lifeless face. She looked as though she had truly died.
As soon as that thought surfaced-
Something in Ji Xiangchen's mind suddenly snapped. He suddenly found it a little hard to tell whether this was reality or a scene, and he could no longer distinguish whether he was Ji Xiangchen or Zhao Yan.
The young man's cold expression began to twist, and tears fell one after another like beans as he cried out in anguish, "Sis! Don't die!"
Ji Xiangchen's cry was so grief-stricken that it did not sound acted; instead, it sounded real.
Gradually, that loud, heart-rending cry suddenly became low and suppressed.
"Sis! Zhao Yue'er! Wake up! ..."
Lying on the ground with her eyes closed, Fang Ning felt that Ji Xiangchen's heart-rending cries were far too forceful.
Although this was acting, and Ji Xiangchen was putting particular effort into his performance!
Still, she wanted to say: I'm only acting. I'm not actually dead! You don't need to cry your heart out like that!
"Cut!"
This scene was finished very quickly, without any NGs or reshoots. They got it in one take.
The director, seated nearby, could not help clapping and cheering. That was a genuine outpouring of emotion!!
What did a genuine outpouring of emotion look like? This was it!!
While the crew tidied things up, the director walked over to Ji Xiangchen. "Xiangchen, I knew I was right about you! Look at your performance. Anyone who knew would know you were filming, but anyone who didn't would think you really were mourning, as though your older sister had actually died!"
"It seemed like acting, but it actually didn't look acted at all!"
"Fang Ning, you did well too. The way you died and your handling of the details before death were excellent. It didn't look acted, as though you had really died. Very good, very good!"