The corridor was quiet for a while before someone spoke.
One of the extras was the first to come to her senses. She looked down to pick up her phone, muttering, "What did I just say...? I forgot."
Another extra chimed in, "You might not think he looks good in period costume."
"I didn't say that! That was what the stage manager said!"
The stagehand stood to the side, the power cord still dangling from his shoulder. He swallowed hard, his voice a little dry:
"I take it back. I take back what I just said."
The actor playing the bodyguard leaned against the wall with his mouth open, and it took several seconds for him to close it.
He had originally intended to find fault, but now only one thought remained in his mind: This is fucking gorgeous.
He muttered something to himself:
"I just said that period dramas might not be able to pull it off... my ass!"
Actor Zhou stood at the other end of the corridor, staring blankly in Cheng Che's direction.
She was just telling Ning Qing, "You look good in Hyundai clothes, but you might not be able to pull it off in period costumes."
As she watched the man in the black brocade robe approach, her mind went blank, and all the words she had just spoken were washed away.
She swallowed subconsciously, then turned to Ning Qing and spoke.
"Teacher Ning Qing," her voice suddenly changed tone, becoming soft and delicate, with the last syllable rising in pitch, "What kind of girl do you think Teacher Cheng likes?"
Ning Qing was looking at Cheng Che when those words pulled her back to reality.
She glanced at Actor Zhou, her expression complex.
The Actor Zhou just said "not everyone can pull off a period drama role" now sounds like a completely different person.
And what question did she ask?
What type of girl does Cheng Che like?
Ning Qing felt a wave of nausea wash over her.
She didn't reply, but just glanced at Actor Zhou before turning back to look at Cheng Che.
Actor Zhou didn't get a reply, but he wasn't annoyed. He continued talking to himself:
"What does he usually like? What brand of water does he drink? Does he have any hobbies? I need to find out."
Ning Qing sighed inwardly.
At the other end of the corridor, the director, producer, and Qin Lie walked in from outside. They had originally wanted to check on the makeup progress, but as soon as they entered, they found the corridor quiet, with everyone looking in one direction.
Director Zhou paused for a moment, then followed the gaze.
He saw Cheng Che.
Wearing a black brocade robe and a silver crown to bind his hair, he stood at the end of the corridor.
The light shone on him, making him look as if he had been cut out of an ancient painting, even the curves of his clothes were just right.
Director Zhou's eyes lit up immediately.
He turned to the Producer Fang beside him and said, "This look alone is enough to make him a star."
Producer Fang nodded, his expression full of surprise. "I originally thought the school uniform in Youth Here ' was already amazing, but now it seems that his period dramas are his absolute masterpiece."
Qin Lie stood to the side, smiled, and said nothing.
Cheng Che walked over, stopped in front of Director Zhou, and asked, " Director Zhou, should we change the styling?"
Director Zhou stared at him for two seconds, then waved his hand. "No need to change it. Leave it like this."
He turned around and called out to the assistant director, "Call all the main actors and important supporting actors over for a group photo. Now."
The assistant director responded and ran off.
Everyone arrived quickly.
Cheng Che stood in the middle, with Ning Qing beside him.
Director Zhou asked them to move closer together. Cheng Che's sleeve brushed against Ning Qing's skirt, and Ning Qing froze for a moment, her ears turning red.
The photographer called out from the front, "Teacher Ning Qing, smile!"
Ning Qing pursed her lips, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.
Cheng Che glanced at her sideways, then turned back to look at the camera.
The shutter clicked a few times.
"Okay." The photographer glanced down at the photo and nodded in satisfaction.
Director Zhou walked over, glanced at the photo, and then said:
"We'll take two separate sets of stills of Cheng Che and Ning Qing. We'll move to the next scene to shoot."
The two were led to a shed next door, set against an antique-style study, with writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, and an open scroll on the table.
Cheng Che sat behind his desk, and Ning Qing stood beside him.
The photographer adjusted the lighting and then had them look at each other.
Ning Qing turned to look at him.
Cheng Che also turned to look at her.
The two people were about two steps apart, one sitting and the other standing.
Ning Qing glanced at him, then her gaze shifted downwards, landing on his shoulder line, and the tips of her ears turned red again.
"Okay." The photographer pressed the shutter, taking seven or eight shots in quick succession. "Teacher Ning Qing, take half a step back. Teacher Cheng, tilt your head slightly and look at her."
Cheng Che tilted his head slightly, his gaze rising from the bottom to the top. Ning Qing took half a step back, her skirt brushing against the corner of the table.
The photographer took a few more pictures, then packed up his equipment, satisfied.
After taking the stills, Cheng Che went back to the dressing room to change back into Hyundai clothes.
When he came out, several female extras and makeup assistants were waiting in the hallway. When they saw that he had changed back into jeans and a hoodie, one of them sighed.
"Period costumes look better," an extra whispered.
"You look good in Hyundai clothes too," another person chimed in.
"But the aura is different in period dramas."
I feel more approachable in Hyundai clothes.
One of the bolder female extras fantasized, "If only I could snatch Cheng Che home and have him change clothes for me every day."
Someone next to her shoved her. "You little hussy, are you crazy?"
Lunch was arranged by the production team at a restaurant next to the film set. Two tables were set up, and Director Zhou, Producer Fang, Cheng Che, Ning Qing, Zhao Yiming, and several main supporting actors were all there.
Director Zhou sat in the main seat, Cheng Che sat to his right.
When the dishes were served, Director Zhou turned to chat with Cheng Che about the script for a few minutes. Cheng Che responded to each question and occasionally asked a few questions on his own initiative.
The afternoon session was a script reading in a conference room on set.
About twenty people sat on either side of the long table, with Cheng Che sitting next to Director Zhou.
Director Zhou flipped through the script in his hand, then looked at Cheng Che: " Teacher Cheng, could you first tell me your understanding of the character Shen Che?"
Cheng Che opened the script, found the page with the character biographies, looked down at it for a few seconds, and then looked up.
The character of Shen Che can be divided into three stages.
The first stage is right after I transmigrated there; I was a hostage in a small country, living under someone else's roof.
At this stage, Shen Che appears to be a coward, always bowing his head to people and never daring to speak loudly.
But deep down he is a Hyundai, with Hyundai thinking and self-respect.
He couldn't let anyone see it, so he had to suppress everything. During this stage, his lines were restrained; he'd only say half of what he meant, swallowing the rest.
"The second stage was when he began to make his moves in the imperial court. During this stage Shen Che had figured out who around him could be used and who needed to be guarded against. On the surface, he was still a coward, but he began to consciously dig traps for people when he spoke. His lines began to have double meanings; what you heard on the surface was one thing, but upon closer examination, it was quite another."
"The third stage was after he came to power."
At this stage, Shen Che stopped pretending, but he didn't revert to the ordinary high school student he was before his transmigration. He became colder and more composed than before. He had fewer lines, but each sentence carried more weight. He stopped rambling and spoke only one sentence at a time.
Cheng Che's understanding was met with nods of agreement from many people.
Director Zhou nodded. "Then read a passage from the first stage."
Cheng Che cleared his throat and glanced down at the script.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty believes this matter is inappropriate." His voice was low and his speech was slow. When he said "Your Majesty," there was a slight tremor in his voice, as if he were speaking while kneeling on the ground, and he had to think through each word in his mind before daring to utter it.
After a pause, he added, "But I am foolish and ignorant; I leave everything to Your Majesty's wise judgment."
He pronounced "sacred judgment" very lightly, as if afraid that if he said it too heavily, someone would find fault with him.
Director Zhou didn't say anything, his eyes were full of admiration.
Even the veteran actors were astonished; these lines... could it be that they've acted in plays before?
"The third stage," he said.
Cheng Che glanced down at the script again, turned to the next page, and found Shen Che's lines after he took power.
"This is inappropriate." His voice was a notch lower than before, his pace normal, even carrying a hint of authority. "If Your Majesty insists on proceeding, I will not stop you. But I will make this clear: if it succeeds, it will be Your Majesty's achievement. If it fails, I will clean up the mess."
A moment of silence fell over the meeting room.
Then they all clapped and praised.
Director Zhou chuckled and said with satisfaction, "Alright, next up is the female lead, Ning Qing."