Filming begins

A handsome young man always drew attention, and everyone who saw him looked impressed.

When Lili saw him, words were unnecessary. A thumbs-up said it all. "Absolutely stunning!"

Yan Ningke was bashful for once. "Hehe."

Lili burst out laughing. He looked pretty sharp, but she hadn't expected him to be such a goofy boy underneath.

She first took him to Zheng De for a look. Once he confirmed everything was fine, she took Yan Ningke to the hotel next door to collect his room key.

"You don't have any scenes today. You can read the script in your room or hang around the set, whichever you like. The call sheet will be sent to you tonight."

Lili handed him a badge. "Meals are served next to the wardrobe, makeup, and props area. If you don't want a boxed meal, there are plenty of restaurants outside. It's up to you. Just remember not to miss mealtimes."

Yan Ningke had no assistant, and he wasn't a big enough name for the production to assign him one. Perhaps she simply took a liking to him, because Lili couldn't help giving him a few extra reminders.

"Don't wander off at night. Remember to come to me if you need anything."

Yan Ningke nodded obediently. "Got it. I won't wander off. I'll stay with the crew."

No woman could resist an adorable puppy-like boy.

Resisting the urge to reach out and touch him, Lili hurried away.

Yan Ningke first went to his room to put down his things. The little room was only a dozen or so square meters, with barely enough space for a bed, and the bathroom was pitifully small.

Still, he was already more than satisfied. After all, the basement he had slept in before was much smaller than this, and the conditions were poor too.

After putting away his clothes, he sent Shao Ke a message to say he had arrived safely, then took his script and headed to the set.

He didn't care at all whether Shao Ke replied.

It was the process he enjoyed.

He went nowhere else that afternoon, finding a corner to sit in and immerse himself in the script.

The role he would play covered a business bigwig's entrepreneurial journey in his youth.

His time working as a real estate agent had taught him a great deal, so the bigwig often looked back on it later in life.

Yan Ningke would be acting in those flashbacks.

There weren't many scenes, but they were grueling enough.

That was Yan Ningke's somber conclusion after reading the script.

After collecting and eating his boxed meal, he returned to the hotel while the crew continued filming night scenes.

At ten that evening, Zheng De finished shooting the last scene and suddenly thought of Yan Ningke.

While he was still wondering why Yan Ningke hadn't come to ask him about his scenes, the young man himself was already lying in bed, fast asleep.

He had no idea someone was still thinking about him, nor did he know his phone had chimed once.

Before the sun had fully risen, the crew was already bustling about.

Feeling refreshed, Yan Ningke collected a cup of soy milk and three steamed buns, then squatted on the curb and wolfed down his breakfast.

When he finished, the food felt a little stuck in his throat, so he fetched another cup of soy milk and ambled toward the makeup room with it in his hands.

His scene was the second one, but he wasn't familiar with the filming process and wanted to learn a little on set.

As luck would have it, the young woman doing his makeup was the one he had previously joked about hiring as his personal makeup artist.

"Oh my, it's been a little while. How did you get even more handsome?"

Yan Ningke winked playfully and said with a smile, "You've gotten prettier too!"

Wen Dile beamed. "Still such a sweet talker."

Yan Ningke looked earnest. "I'm telling the truth!"

"Pfft. All right, enough teasing. I'll make sure you're the best-looking boy on set today."

Being the best-looking was out of the question. He would be lucky not to end up looking dusty and drab.

The first scene featured the male and female leads on a morning jog. It wasn't complicated, and Yan Ningke wasn't there to watch their acting. He mainly paid attention to their marks and the camera.

As soon as it ended, someone shouted across the set, "The agent! Where's the guy playing the agent?"

Yan Ningke raised his hand. "Coming!"

Other people's first scene was an easy little jog and a few lines of dialogue, and that was that.

Yan Ningke's first scene was climbing stairs.

Thirteen floors, twice.

Zheng De glanced at him. "I'm not doing this to put you through the wringer. If you don't actually climb those stairs, everything afterward will be fake. Only by truly experiencing it can you play this role well."

Yan Ningke nodded earnestly. "Understood."

"All right. If you understand, let's begin."

The setup was that a client in the residential complex wanted to sell a property. To secure the listing, the male lead had to fight for the opportunity even though a power outage had put the elevator out of service.

Because if he didn't close a deal soon, he would be fired.

So he had to give it everything he had.

Thirteen floors meant twenty-six there and back.

Standing before the stairs, Yan Ningke still felt a little daunted. That was only human, even though he had experienced something like this before.

While working part-time as a food delivery rider in college, the highest he had climbed was twenty-one floors, only to be criticized for delivering late.

"Ready, action!"

As the voice over the walkie-talkie fell silent, Yan Ningke hesitated. Whatever crossed his mind, his expression turned resolute again.

He silently counted to three, then strode up the stairs.

The third floor, the fifth, the seventh.

Large beads of sweat streamed down his face, and his legs began to feel heavy. By the last two floors, he even needed both hands to haul himself up by the railing.

Only when he reached the final step did Yan Ningke let his strength go and drop onto the floor, gasping for breath.

The fabric of his white short-sleeved shirt clung uncomfortably to his body.

He turned to glance at the door, then pinched the front of his shirt and fanned himself with it.

When he finally felt a little energy return, Yan Ningke braced his hands against his legs and struggled to stand.

Just as he was about to step forward and knock, he backed up two steps instead, took tissues from his backpack, and carefully wiped all the sweat from his face and neck.

In the director's tent, Zheng De stared unblinkingly at the monitor.

After steadying his breathing, Yan Ningke reached out and knocked.

"Hello, ma'am. I'm an agent with Love Far Real Estate. My name is Xu Kaicheng."

The veteran actress took the business card from his hand and hesitated. "Oh, what is it?"

Yan Ningke broke into an eager smile. "Well, I heard you're looking to sell your property. Is that right? I..."

"Oh, no need. I've already contacted someone."

Before he could finish, she cut him off and moved to close the door.

Yan Ningke hurriedly stopped her. "Ma'am, please wait. This is some information about our company. You could take a look first and learn a little more."

Just as the veteran actress was about to take it, shouting came from inside. "What are you doing? Can't you hear the child's been crying all this time?"

"Grandma, I'm thirsty! I want watermelon!"

The veteran actress said, "I know. Stop shouting. The water and power are out. Where am I supposed to buy you any?"

She turned back, looking thoroughly irritated, and pushed Yan Ningke away. "I don't need it. Just go. I've got enough on my hands!"

With that, she slammed the door shut.

Yan Ningke's bright smile instantly fell, and his straight back slumped, his whole body steeped in dejection.

He trudged down a flight of stairs, then looked up at the apartment door. Suddenly rallying his spirits, he hurried downstairs.

"Good! Cut!"

Yan Ningke leaned against the wall with his hands braced on his legs and slowly let out a breath.

Last time, he had played a supporting role in a production. This time, he was the lead in a scene, with all the cameras revolving around him.

And he was playing the younger version of a well-known actor's character. The pressure was considerable.

Only Yan Ningke and the camera operator were in the stairwell. Just a few seconds later, the camera operator received word through his earpiece and passed it along to him. "Mr. Yan, that take's good!"