Chapter 448

"How does it feel to be filming for the first day?"

That evening, Lu Yan He took a few people to eat at Sister Jing's Private Kitchen, including Zhang Ruozhi and her mother, as well as her friend Liu Lingmeng.

Besides them, Chen Bige, Liu Bige, Xin Zixing, and Zhao Yuheng were also there.

Zhang Ruozhi smiled shyly and said, "It feels... okay."

"You acted very well," Xin Zixing said to Zhang Ruozhi with a smile, "Before watching you act today, I was a bit worried. You've never acted before, and I didn't know how you'd do. I thought it was very risky for Yan He to find a high school student in her second year to act. But after watching today, I know why Yan He chose you."

Zhang Ruozhi lowered her head, feeling a bit shy, and said in a low voice, "Thank you."

"However, at our current shooting pace, will we be able to finish in two weeks?" Xin Zixing asked directly, "Yan He, I didn't expect that you would be the one holding us all back."

She was actually saying this on purpose to help Zhang Ruozhi relax.

Lu Yan He said with a smile, "It's alright, the first few days of filming are meant for getting familiar with the characters and the shooting environment. The shooting speed will get faster as everyone becomes more familiar with the movie."

Zhao Yuheng said, "The summer scenes are all high school scenes, there aren't many of them. When I made the shooting plan, the two-week shooting time was actually on the long side. Even if we go over schedule, it doesn't matter. We signed a forty-day contract with the entire crew for this summer, Director, you can take your time."

"Reliable." Lu Yan He nodded, "However, there shouldn't be any problem finishing in two weeks."

Chen Bige was not on the shooting set today.

She went hiking in the mountains outside Jiangzhi City with her assistant.

She specifically chose not to go. On the first day of filming, she could anticipate that Lu Yan He, as a first-time director, and Zhang Ruozhi, as a first-time actress, would definitely be a bit at a loss on set.

If she had gone, it would likely have distracted them even more.

Hearing everyone say that although today's filming took longer than estimated, the situation was quite good, she let out a sigh of relief, quite pleasantly surprised.

"Yan He, I have to suspect that you really have some kind of luck protecting you," Chen Bige said, "I thought you guys would be in a rush on the first day of official filming."

"I invited so many big shots to help me hold the fort, and every department is running very smoothly, how could it be a rush?" Lu Yan He said to Chen Bige, "Sister Bige, it turns out you don't trust me that much."

Chen Bige: "That's right, if I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have agreed to be your leading actress. I even broke my own rule; 'Rouge' hadn't wrapped for long before I took on your movie."

Lu Yan He smiled and raised his glass to toast Chen Bige.

They were drinking local fruit wine tonight; the alcohol content wasn't high, and the taste was sweet and clear.

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Liu Lingmeng whispered in Zhang Ruozhi's ear: "Ruoruo, these stars don't feel any different from our parents in private."

Zhang Ruozhi whispered: "Yeah."

Liu Lingmeng looked thoughtful, "With your shy personality, they actually don't mind you."

"Ah?" Zhang Ruozhi looked at her best friend, "W-why would they mind me?"

Liu Lingmeng said: "Isn't it said that people with social anxiety can't survive in the entertainment industry?"

Zhang Ruozhi: "..."

Liu Lingmeng crossed her arms and hummed lightly, "However, people can change. Look at Lu Yan He when he first debuted, he was even more socially anxious than you."

Zhang Ruozhi: "Keep your voice down."

"They're chatting, they're not paying attention to us," Liu Lingmeng said while eating, "But I really didn't expect Director Liu Bige to be so handsome too."

Zhang Ruozhi: "Haven't you seen photos of Director Liu Bige online before?"

"I thought they were photoshopped," Liu Lingmeng said, "At the time, I even thought, why is this director, who isn't even an artist, photoshopped so excessively to make himself look so handsome?"

The two thought no one was paying attention to their conversation.

But Xin Zixing heard every word.

She couldn't help it and burst out laughing.

The two girls immediately looked over at her.

Xin Zixing immediately made a gesture of zipping her mouth shut.

On the second day of filming, Lu Yan He went to the makeup room at 8:00 AM to change into his school uniform.

The first scene to be filmed today was a continuation of yesterday's shoot: filming a few boys suddenly popping out from the doorway to tease the two Huai Jingshus on duty, then turning and running away after teasing them.

Lu Yan He specifically found those boys from Zhang Ruozhi's class to play these roles.

When he arrived on set, all departments were already in place.

He went to talk to the boys about the scene and let everyone rehearse.

Zhang Ruozhi was already sitting in the classroom.

Suddenly, he heard Liu Bige ask: "Where's Bao Wenliang?"

Lu Yan He turned back to look.

Wu Zhou said to Liu Bige: "Brother Bao... hasn't come yet."

Liu Bige: "What's going on with him not coming yet?"

Wu Zhou had a hesitant look on his face.

Liu Bige took out his phone and made a call.

But it seemed no one answered the phone either.

Lu Yan He withdrew his gaze and continued to talk to the others about the scene.

Since Liu Bige was handling it, he didn't need to intervene.

However, even after this scene was successfully filmed, Bao Wenliang still hadn't appeared.

The whole thing was filmed by Wu Zhou with one camera; there was no dual-camera setup, so they had to film Zhang Ruozhi's reaction first, then film the scene with the boys at the door, requiring the actors to perform several more times.

Of course, the actors didn't mind—they were all acting for the first time and were excited.

Especially the boys, who were clearly in the restless stage of puberty and were excited about everything. This was filming a movie—they never imagined that they had just run into a coffee shop, and how did they suddenly end up in a movie?

It wasn't until nearly noon that Bao Wenliang arrived in a hurry.

Liu Bige's face darkened immediately, and he asked: "What's going on with you?"

Bao Wenliang's face was full of apologies, "Sorry, Director Bige, I wasn't feeling well this morning and went to the hospital."

Liu Bige's gaze swept over Bao Wenliang's hair, which clearly looked like he had just crawled out of bed.

Bao Wenliang also realized something, raised his hand to smooth his hair, gave a silly laugh, and said, "I was in a rush to leave this morning and forgot to comb my hair. I was thinking of finishing up early and getting back to the crew."

Liu Bige: "Did you know there was filming this morning?"

"I... I knew." Bao Wenliang nodded.

"Since you knew there was filming this morning, even if you weren't feeling well, couldn't you have asked the crew for leave in advance?" Liu Bige said, "Have you forgotten even this basic rule?"

Liu Bige said this in front of everyone, not giving Bao Wenliang any face at all.

Bao Wenliang wanted to explain himself a bit more, but after seeing Liu Bige's stern expression, he mumbled a few times, and in the end, didn't speak, honestly admitting his mistake.

At noon, everyone went to the school cafeteria to eat together.

The crew had signed a contract directly with the school cafeteria, asking them to provide three meals a day for the crew.

This was also convenient.

Hiring a chef locally to cook for the dozens of people in the crew earned more than usual, and it wasn't as exhausting as cooking for thousands of students, so the chef was happy to take such a job.

Xin Zixing was in charge of the crew's logistics, and conditions in all aspects were very well handled. Generally speaking, the person in charge of logistics for a crew is always the most trusted person. Because this is where the most under-the-table dealings can happen, and where the most profit can be skimmed. How it's handled really depends on the person.

For Lu Yan He, the only person around him who could do this was Xin Zixing. Only she could be trusted, had experience, and wouldn't make mistakes.

Xin Zixing was just as Lu Yan He expected; food, clothing, housing, and transportation were all handled perfectly, without any flaws.

Eating in the cafeteria was self-service; everyone used trays and served their own food.

Lu Yan He and Zhang Ruozhi's meals were made separately, one of a kind. It wasn't to eat better or highlight their importance as protagonists, but because Lu Yan He required it; they had to have low oil and low salt, and the choice of dishes had to control calories so that both of them could maintain the best state.

One of the most important professional ethics for an actor on set is to maintain their state and be ready at any time.

The camera cannot be fooled.

If your eyes are even slightly tired, the camera will magnify it infinitely.

"Old Bao, you were scolded pretty hard by Liu Bige today." The people who drank together last night sat at one table, and Bao Wenliang was teased by those at the same table.

Bao Wenliang's table was quite far from Lu Yan He's table, so whatever was said wouldn't reach that side.

However, he still looked in Liu Bige's direction with apprehension before spitting at the person who had just teased him, saying: "If it weren't for you guys forcing me to drink yesterday, I wouldn't have been unable to get up today."

"Give it a rest, you were the one who insisted on drinking yesterday, we couldn't stop you even if we tried."

Bao Wenliang: "Less nonsense."

"Liu Bige is too much, you're the number one cameraman for this movie, and he didn't give you any face at all. I feel cold just watching it."

Bao Wenliang waved his hand and said, "Liu Bige was actually speaking up for me."

"You're really funny, he scolded you to pieces, and you say he was speaking up for you."

"He scolded me, so others wouldn't have anything to say. Did you see Lu Yan He say anything to me?" Bao Wenliang said with a look of certainty, "You guys really don't understand."

"You were invited by Lu Yan He to help, would he dare to scold you over such a small matter? Old Bao, if he really scolded you, could you endure it?"

"Damn it, I was late on the surface, otherwise should I have retorted? Are you trying to lead me into a trap?" Bao Wenliang said with a laugh.

"Didn't you say last night yourself? Not much money, too much trouble," others laughed, "What do you think of this movie 'Love Letter'? Can it succeed?"

"Just a pretentious love story, it won't succeed at all." Someone laughed.

"It's only because it's Lu Yan He filming this; if you changed it to someone else, who would come?"

"Indeed, and they say it's not an art film. I look at those lines in the script, they're pretentious as hell."

"Maybe it's because we forty-year-olds are already outdated."

"Anyway, we're just here to get paid and work. Whether it succeeds or not has nothing to do with us, and it doesn't affect us getting paid."

"That's the truth."

Wu Zhou, sitting at the next table, heard these words and ate silently.

In this industry, there really are many such "old slickers."

Not everyone working in the entertainment industry is an idealist who hopes to film a good movie.

Nor is it like what is described in many movies and novels, where everyone can be inspired to work hard.

The reality is that only a very small number of people work driven by "making a good movie," while the vast majority, just like people in other industries, are just working with the mentality of an employee. Some even slack off whenever they can—

People like Bao Wenliang are like the older middle-management in a company; they have some seniority and some capital, so they think quite highly of themselves. If you say he's no good, he has his skills. If you say he's very capable, that's not quite it either. At forty, he's already an old slicker, and the fact that he's still doing frontline camerawork as a regular cameraman is enough to explain a lot of things.

Wu Zhou didn't look up to this approach, but Bao Wenliang had more seniority and better skills than him. In the camera industry, he was just a rookie who had only been in the business for a few years, while Bao Wenliang was already an old hand. When it comes to skills, heart doesn't matter. The spirit of the Foolish Old Man moving mountains is moving, but it can't compare to a heartless bomb.

Wu Zhou himself attached great importance to the filming of this movie.

The movie "Love Letter" would definitely be a movie that attracts attention in the industry.

For a cameraman with limited experience like him, participating as a member of the second camera team in a movie written, directed, and starring Lu Yan He, with Chen Bige as the lead, was a very significant highlight for his resume.

Wu Zhou also knew that this was a special opportunity given to him by Liu Bige. When filming "Late Spring," he was just a camera assistant, not even a credited cameraman on the crew, only appearing as a member of the camera team in the credits. He cherished this opportunity very much.

After getting familiar with the set for a few days, Lu Yan He gradually adapted to this rhythm.

He focused all his attention on the crew's work, and apart from that, he didn't care about anything else. He didn't need to be distracted by his studies at school, and there was no other work to occupy his mind. Although tired, his spirit was very high.

Lu Yan He realized that what he had been doing before might have been a bit too scattered. Managing everything, one person having to be split into several parts to do things, one brain having to be cut into different areas to deal with different things.

Now, being able to focus on doing just one thing actually made him feel relaxed and happy.

When Chen Ziyan brought Tu Song and Wen Minglan to visit the set, she clearly felt that Lu Yan He's state was different—very tired, but very spirited.

This seemingly contradictory set of words appeared on Lu Yan He, but it didn't feel out of place at all.

Tu Song asked: "Sister Ziyan, is there really no theme song or interlude in this movie that I can sing?"

Chen Ziyan looked at him helplessly, "How many times have I told you? If there's a suitable opportunity, of course I'll recommend you, but if there's no suitable opportunity, a forced melon won't be sweet."

Tu Song: "I'm not trying to force it, but there must be many people looking for Lu Yan He, I'm just afraid of being beaten to the punch by others."

Chen Ziyan: "Are you telling me you're afraid of being beaten to the punch by others? Have you forgotten that besides being your agent, I'm also Lu Yan He's agent?"

Tu Song: "Ah... I forgot."

Chen Ziyan: "Don't say this in front of Lu Yan He, he's already tired enough filming the movie, don't add to his troubles."

"I'm going to sing for him, how does that become adding to his troubles?" Tu Song was dissatisfied, "Sister Ziyan, you're so biased."

"Know your place." Chen Ziyan slanted a look at him, "If you were making an album and Lu Yan He insisted on asking you for a chance to film an MV, would you be annoyed?"

Tu Song was shocked, "If Lu Yan He is willing to film an MV for me, why would I be annoyed? Am I sick to be annoyed?"

Chen Ziyan: "... What if it were the Lu Yan He before his third year of high school?"

Tu Song was stunned.

His expression changed.

"I..."