Chapter 72

Qin Yun's words made the director pause, but before he could speak, Chen He's voice came from behind.

"Brother Qin, if you want to act, come to me—I'll get the director to give you a small supporting role so you can satisfy your acting itch."

Qin Yun turned to look at Chen He; though they were meeting for the first time, neither was the type to be shy or reserved.

"He Ge, you're also in Hengdian? If I'd known, I'd have reached out to you sooner."

"Haha, it's not too late now," Chen He said, glancing at the director. "Director Lu, you've got good eyesight—right off the bat, you saw Brother Qin looks great on camera."

The director stared in surprise—he'd just learned from Xie Fei that Qin Yun was merely a tourist dabbling for fun, yet here he was, acquainted with Chen He. Though Chen He was an actor and he a director, his original plan to cut costs vanished instantly.

He said to Qin Yun: "Of course, this role was originally meant for a freelance extra, paid five thousand. I'll give you ten thousand—how's that?"

Qin Yun nodded immediately: "No problem. I don't care how much or how little the money is."

The director internally grumbled: You weren't saying that when you were demanding a raise just now.

After securing the role, he chatted casually with Chen He, agreed to visit him after his shoot, and Chen He left right away.

Then, Xie Fei pulled Qin Yun aside to go over the scene.

This time was completely different from before—he had three lines, all short, but each had to be delivered at different moments during the fight, which still required some skill from the actor.

Fortunately, this role didn't demand acting ability—it was all about the martial arts choreography.

"First, the female lead throws a hidden weapon, then you reach out to catch it, stand up, and say: 'How bold!' Then the female lead lunges at the villain, you draw your sword and fight her—this part will be arranged later by the action director. During the fight, you must say to the villain: 'Brother Zhu, retreat quickly.' Then the female lead stabs you through the heart—you spit blood, eyes bulging, and say: 'I… I can't accept this.'"

Hearing this idiotic plot, Qin Yun was speechless. He looked at Xie Fei: "Are Huashan Sect disciples really this weak? They get killed by the female lead in three moves?"

He thought it'd take at least half a day—turns out it's no better than the background extras.

But three lines and some moves for ten thousand? Clearly, the entertainment industry's money is easy to make—easier than his livestreaming.

Xie Fei shrugged, his tone far more courteous than when dealing with ordinary extras: "Can't help it—the script's designed this way. We can't have you all fighting until heaven and earth collapse."

Qin Yun just fell silent—it was fine if it was simple. Even if he knew nothing about acting, he understood that if a fight scene dragged on, it'd take forever to shoot, since props had to be reset each time.

Then he was taken away again—this time with Zhao Liying.

"Hey, what's your name? Why does He Ge call you Brother Qin?" Zhao Liying felt a curious itch.

"I'm Qin Yun, a livestreamer. He Ge's a top donor in my stream. 'Brother Qin'? Just a joke." Qin Yun didn't hide it—he said it outright.

"Livestreamer?" Zhao Liying realized. "Douyin?"

"Yeah."

Zhao Liying knew Chen He loved gaming and even owned an esports team; she guessed Qin Yun was probably a gaming streamer too, and her interest faded instantly.

This scene had already been rehearsed by Zhao Liying with the original actor; she came along now just to rehearse again with Qin Yun.

No room for improvisation—every movement was rigidly fixed under the action director and action coach. In short, it was a set routine—no matter how many times they repeated it, it was always identical.

Qin Yun's martial skills allowed him to memorize the entire sequence after watching the action coach perform it just once.

"Let's try it first—no rush, take it step by step."

The action coach was also quite polite.

Qin Yun waved his hand, sword in hand: "No need. Just go ahead."

Zhao Liying frowned, thinking: Show-off. Let me expose your bluff. Thinking this, she lunged at Qin Yun with her sword—but Qin Yun saw her motion and knew it was pure showmanship, zero combat ability.

Following the action director's instructions, he didn't improvise—he simply followed the routine and stepped forward.

Zhao Liying started slow, but when she realized Qin Yun could keep up, she sped up instantly. Qin Yun matched her pace immediately; for a moment, their exchange looked genuinely back-and-forth—until he was finally stabbed through.

The action director and action coach walked over, both faces filled with shock.

They'd only demonstrated the sequence once—but Qin Yun executed it with flawless fluidity. There was no doubt—he possessed real martial skill; otherwise, he couldn't have done it this way.

Only someone with genuine martial ability and real combat experience could handle these routines so effortlessly, without the slightest hesitation.

"Impressive. Brother, what do you train?"

The action coach bowed with a martial salute.

"Just messing around," Qin Yun brushed it off casually.

Zhao Liying was stunned—she'd spent years training this, yet he'd mastered it after one look? How was that possible?

But the evidence was right before her eyes—she couldn't deny it.

Yet…

"Qin Yun, was your expression when you got stabbed real?" Zhao Liying asked.

Qin Yun blinked: "What? Is it that convincing? That painful? I guess I've got a talent for acting."

Action director, action coach, Zhao Liying: (⊙_⊙)//

Alright, now the problem was this: he was a complete acting novice with zero experience. Even though the scene didn't require expression or skill, the final death shot was a close-up—and he needed to show something.

After explaining the issue to the director, he dumped the task: "Liying, you handle him. You've got half an hour. We start shooting in thirty minutes."

…

In a brothel room, Qin Yun and Zhao Liying sat facing each other.

Qin Yun now knew his acting was terrible—he felt awkward.

"Give me a shocked expression," Zhao Liying sighed. She could've easily refused, but for some reason, she'd agreed.

Qin Yun nodded. A shocked expression—he could do that. Making him cry might be hard, but looking shocked? Easy.

He thought for a moment, then widened his eyes and opened his mouth.

"…………"

The room fell silent.

Zhao Liying rubbed her forehead: "Where did you learn that?"

"Not… good?" Qin Yun grew uncertain.

"Forget it. You're not an actor—I'll just teach you the expression you need when I stab you. Simpler that way."

"Alright, I'll go with what you say."

Although Zhao Liying wasn't formally trained, after years of hard work her acting was decent enough; teaching an amateur to make a single expression was still very simple.

"First, the instant I'm stabbed by you, what's your first reaction?"

"It hurts!"

"It's being stunned — disbelief at being killed, not simple pain."

"Doesn't it hurt?" Qin Yun figured that being stabbed would definitely trigger a nerve response first — how could it be stunned?

"For you, the moment you're stabbed by me is a physiological freeze-frame. You don't need to make any expression, just delay the reaction in your eyes."

Following Zhao Liying's explanation and personal demonstration, Qin Yun gradually got the hang of the technique. In half an hour he only had to memorize a few steps and movements — still simple.

It was just that deliberate action didn't look as natural to him.

And he was only an extra, not some major character — a close-up shot and then he was gone; otherwise this kind of performance definitely wouldn't pass. But then again, it's a TV drama, so the demands on extras would be a bit lower.

Soon, progress moved to the formal shoot.

Qin Yun handed his phone to Assistant Director Xie Fei: "When we film later, no matter if it's an NG or not, can Director Xie record the whole thing for me? I want to keep it as a memento."

Xie Fei said no problem.

Then Qin Yun got his styling redone and changed costume. Before long, the entire brothel began clearing out — everything was ready.

Then he saw a crew member holding up a black-and-white board with a string of numbers written on it, not knowing what it meant.

He watched the crew member press the board down hard, and the director's side immediately shouted: "Action!"

Filming officially began.

Qin Yun was now sitting beside the villainous supporting male. In front of the stage, ordinary brothel courtesans performed first, and in a spot he couldn't see, Xiao Zhan sat on the second floor.

After shooting started, Qin Yun only then realized that TV dramas were actually filmed in bits and pieces, not one continuous large segment in one go. In just that short while, the black-and-white clapperboard had clapped a dozen or so times, and the number sequence on it had changed four times.

By his understanding, that number sequence should mean shots — meaning four shots had already been filmed.

After a while, the top courtesan Zhao Liying came out. Qin Yun perked up, knowing his part was coming. He was currently holding a flying dagger in his hand — when the time came and Zhao Liying pretended to throw the flying dagger, he'd just do his little act and this shot would be done.

*Snap—! *

Qin Yun's right hand appeared in front of the villain, a flying dagger pinched between his fingers. He gave a cold laugh: "What nerve."

"You villain, die!"

Zhao Liying was now rigged with wires, soaring through the air to stab at the villain. As a bodyguard, Qin Yun immediately went up to meet her. Following what they'd rehearsed at the start, Qin Yun called out: "Brother Zhu, fall back quickly," and then fought with Zhao Liying.

And this fight process was broken into scattered pieces, nothing like the smooth flow he'd imagined at first. He felt that filming like this, not knowing martial arts seemed fine too — it was all just splicing shots together anyway.

*Pfft—! *

Qin Yun took a sword to the chest. He kept the formula in mind — one, stunned; two, shaken; three, pain. But Zhao Liying, watching Qin Yun perform, suddenly went "pfft" and broke character laughing.

"CUT!"

Zhao Liying quickly apologized: "Sorry, sorry about that."

The director said nothing — NGs during filming were normal. But he'd originally thought that Qin Yun, whom he'd expected to need several takes, was fine; the problem was with the female lead instead. Go figure.

Qin Yun looked at the blood pack on his chest and felt a bit speechless.

Zhao Liying whispered: "Don't blame me — seeing your expression just made me want to laugh."

"Big sis, hold it in a bit. I don't want to do it again."

"I won't, don't worry. I'm a professional — no matter how funny it is I won't laugh, unless I can't hold it in."

"…"

In the end, this single shot took four takes to pass. A prompt smoothly appeared on Qin Yun's panel, reminding him that one-fifth was complete.

His first-ever brush with the screen — successfully wrapped.

Qin Yun took his ten thousand and left. Filming here still had to continue, but he and Xie Fei exchanged contact info. Xie Fei said if he was in Hengdian and there were suitable roles, and he still wanted to try them, he'd reach out — even earning a few bucks was fine.

As for Zhao Liying, during their private tutoring session they'd already exchanged contact info.

After changing clothes, Qin Yun saw it was still early in the day, so he planned to go check out Chen He's film crew. If he could squeeze in as a background extra, that'd be good too.