Chapter 634: Three songs

"I beg you, I beg you, senior, I beg you."

Li Zhibai, like a short winter melon, grabbed the hem of the actor who played the Wine Sword Immortal, and followed him step by step, begging like a play.

People who were watching this scene on the scene couldn't help but show smiles on their faces when they saw Li Zhibai like this.

This big night scene was not filmed on location, but in the shed.

"The second move of the Sword Control Technique is enough for you to walk in the Jianghu and defeat all second-rate masters. I warn you, don't pull me again! Otherwise, I will cut your hand and foot tendons, so you can't eat or walk!"

Li Zhibai immediately let go, looking at him with a flattering and aggrieved expression.

The actor who played the Wine Sword Immortal, Zhou Zhao, although middle-aged, is still a very handsome middle-aged man.

He has thick eyebrows and big eyes, and his features are deep.

Zhou Zhao grabbed Li Zhibai's shoulder, "Go, accompany me to drink!"

"Okay, cut!"

Luo Yuzhong shouted with a smile.

He couldn't help but bring a smile to this scene.

This kind of handsome and playful picture of Li Xiaoyao is a lot in this drama, and Li Zhibai can act it very attractively.

Women think he is handsome, men want to accept him as a younger brother.

Unlike some similar scenes, some actors can act it like they are a bit mentally disabled.

Zhou Zhao let go of Li Zhibai's shoulder.

Li Zhibai twisted his neck.

"Director, why do I have to squat on the ground, dragging Zhao Ge's clothes, jumping like a stupid radish?" Li Zhibai was very speechless, "My thighs are sore."

Luo Yuzhong said: "Yanhe suggested it. Li Xiaoyao at this time is still a novice, a bit naive and ignorant. Of course, it is mainly the effect of acting like this, which is indeed more pleasing."

Li Zhibai sighed.

The next scene is the scene where Li Xiaoyao and the Wine Sword Immortal drink together.

In the original work, the two lay on a haystack.

Here, the prop team got them a big stone so they could lie on the stone.

The difference is not big. It's just that Lu Yanhe didn't note that this is a haystack in the script. The prop team decided that in this kind of forest, if the two of them want to lie down, a big stone that can accommodate them is more suitable according to their understanding of the script.

Besides this stone, there is moonlight.

In this night talk scene, the Wine Sword Immortal mentioned his "sorrow," and Li Xiaoyao also mentioned his "sorrow," each has sorrow, but the atmosphere is relaxed.

Li Xiaoyao's sorrow is a young man's sorrow, no need to ask, he will say it himself, melancholy and a bit light.

The Wine Sword Immortal's sorrow is the sorrow of a person who has come over. Even if he asks, he still wraps around a thousand intestines, and every word is not self-spoken, and the corners of his eyes and eyebrows are desolate.

Luo Yuzhong wants to film a kind of artistic conception of a young man and a person who has come over through this scene.

A scene, it may only be one minute in the drama.

But to film this scene, a lot of homework has to be done.

In this scene, Luo Yuzhong's focus is on the Wine Sword Immortal.

It took two takes to pass.

In the first take, Luo Yuzhong felt that Zhou Zhao wrote "regret and remorse of middle-aged people" directly on his face.

This won't work, it needs to be more heroic.

"The reason why worries are worries is because they are kept in the heart."

Luo Yuzhong emphasized to Zhou Zhao.

Then, the second take passed.

Almost nine-thirty in the evening, the scene was filmed, and work was finished.

Li Zhibai stretched, said goodbye to the director and the others, and prepared to go back.

Suddenly, Luo Yuzhong called him.

"Eh, Director, you are looking for me." Li Zhibai was a bit surprised.

Luo Yuzhong nodded.

"I have a friend, there is a project that wants to find you, he wants to talk to you face to face, he will come to the crew in two days, talk to him when the time comes, is it convenient?"

"Convenient, what is inconvenient about this." Li Zhibai nodded readily.

Luo Yuzhong: "I have known him for some years, and I have cooperated before, called Huang Keren, you should have heard of the *Flames in the Wind* he produced."

"Oh! I have seen this drama, it was very popular at the time." Li Zhibai nodded.

"Well, but after this drama, his luck was not very good, and the results of the dramas he made later were not very good," Luo Yuzhong said, "What is the situation of his new project, I don't know, just because he is an old acquaintance, entrust me to pull a line."

Li Zhibai nodded, "Okay, Director Luo, I will go to understand it myself."

Luo Yuzhong nodded.

What Li Zhibai didn't expect was that the project Zhou Keren came to find him for was another web drama adapted from Liu Jiazhen's novel of the same name.

*Nineteen Years of Crime Record*, this drama, can't say it went to the street, but it really didn't meet their expectations.

During this period, Li Zhibai almost didn't communicate with Liu Jiazhen, and he didn't know what to say.

It should be said that the adaptation luck of *Nineteen Years of Crime Record* might be very poor. The movie failed, and the reputation of the drama version is not very good.

Of course, this does not affect Liu Jiazhen's continued popularity among major film and television companies.

After all, he is the most popular writer in Chinese crime suspense novels at present. No one blames the failure of these two dramas on Liu Jiazhen, because the reputation of the novel is very high. You know, because of the high reputation of the novel, in fact, whether it is the movie version or the drama version, it was still quite expected by the market at the beginning.

Everyone said that as long as it is filmed well, with the story presented by the original novel, it will definitely be a big explosion work.

The result is naturally against the wishes.

Now another Liu Jiazhen novel adaptation drama came over...

Li Zhibai's first reaction was, would Liu Jiazhen still be willing to let him act?

After all, his performance in *Nineteen Years of Crime Record* was not bought by the audience.

Unlike Yan Liang, although the reputation of *Streaming Light* is not very good, his performance is praised by everyone.

Zhou Keren said: "Regarding the male lead of this drama, we actually asked Teacher Liu Jiazhen's opinion. Unexpectedly, the candidate he recommended was you, the same as I thought."

Li Zhibai was a bit surprised, asked: "Teacher Liu Jiazhen recommended me?" 【6

"Right," Zhou Keren said. "He said that the entire process of working with you on the drama version of *Nineteen Years of Crime Records* made him feel that you are a very suitable actor."

"He didn't recommend Lu Yanhe?" Li Zhibai was very clear on the fact that between him and Lu Yanhe, everyone would definitely choose Lu Yanhe first.

Zhou Keren shook his head and said, "Others did suggest looking for Lu Yanhe, but we read the script carefully. This is a suspense-investigation drama set in the Republican era. The male lead is a young master from a wealthy family who has an innate sense of justice but also carries some playboy habits. Within the entertainment industry, when benchmarking against this image, we all believe you are more suitable than Lu Yanhe."

The fact that Zhou Keren could state such practical reasons made Li Zhibai believe him by two parts.

Li Zhibai said, "You know, the market response to *Nineteen Years of Crime Records* wasn't very good, and there were some critical voices regarding my performance in it."

"I watched the drama, and I don't think it was your problem," Zhou Keren shook his head. "You just didn't have a good director to teach you how to play off an actor with good acting skills. As long as there wasn't a scene with Jiang Jun, you actually acted very well. As the villain, you should have been more rampant, more extroverted, and had those breakthroughs in human nature, hysteria, and unexpected moments in front of a police officer like Jiang Jun. But instead, at those times, those aspects were weakened. It's not that you didn't have it in you, it's just that no one helped you hold that direction."

These words struck directly into Li Zhibai's heart.

Regarding his own performance in *Nineteen Years*, he had actually been watching the drama himself and reflecting on why there were critical voices about his performance. Including the opinions raised by others before, he had been reflecting on them all. And the conclusion he reached himself was indeed exactly as Zhou Keren had said.

This gave Li Zhibai a slightly better impression of Zhou Keren.

At least on a professional level, Li Zhibai felt that Zhou Keren was someone who spoke the truth.

Li Zhibai had read the novel by Liu Jiazhen.

This novel by Liu Jiazhen is called *Mandarin Duck Patch*, which tells the story of a storyteller in a teahouse who is murdered, and how the case is finally solved by a wealthy young master named Zhou Fuzhi. In this story, there is a very key character: the storyteller's daughter, Su Jin. It was because Zhou Fuzhi fell in love with her at first sight that he began to pay attention to the case.

Li Zhibai asked, "Has this script already been written?"

"Yes, it has already been written," Zhou Keren said. "If there is anything you are dissatisfied with, you can bring it up, and we will study how to change it, but we very much hope that you can star in this drama."

Li Zhibai asked, "Then for the role of Su Jin, have you decided on anyone? Who are you planning to get to play her?"

Zhou Keren said, "We wanted to invite Jiang Yuqian to play it, but the script was sent over, and we haven't received an answer from her side yet."

Li Zhibai was stunned.

What a coincidence?

"Although this drama is adapted from Liu Jiazhen's novel and the original book has many fans, it is, after all, a suspense drama."

He Heng said to Jiang Yuqian, "You have already promised Liu Zhijiang that you would film his costume suspense drama. If you take on another one, your schedule will be completely full, and you won't be able to continue pursuing your international path next year."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuqian, who had been somewhat tempted because the script for *Mandarin Duck Patch* was quite good, now began to feel hesitant and doubtful in her heart.

"Furthermore, this drama is male-lead-centric, and the female lead is only the second lead. At your current stage, it is not suitable to take on second-lead roles; we need to stabilize your status first," He Heng said.

Jiang Yuqian pondered for a moment and said, "Then let's turn it down."

He Heng nodded.

She said, "This year you filmed two dramas, *Mysterious Ghost Shadow* and *Perfect Truth*, both of which will be released next year. Plus *Phone* at the end of this year, filming Liu Zhijiang's drama next year will be enough. If it's not a movie, let's not take on anything else for the time being."

Jiang Yuqian asked, "Sister Heng, what do you think of the movie *Phone*?"

"Not bad," He Heng nodded. "Just as Yan He said, it's a very commercial subject for a movie, and the buzz will definitely be huge. However, it's probably hard to compete for awards; this isn't the kind of subject matter that awards like."

Jiang Yuqian nodded.

He Heng said, "However, the distribution rights for this movie in Thailand and South Korea have already been sold. I will strive to have the distributors in these two places hold promotional activities. We must insist on following this internationalization path. So far, no other female star in the industry has been able to replicate your path; you are the most successful one. The two new global endorsements for high-end luxury brands this year were basically all because they valued your achievements in this area."

Jiang Yuqian had truly utilized the heat brought to her by *Squid Game* to the extreme.

In the year and a half that followed, relying on the heat brought by that drama and the strong promotion from various partners, Jiang Yuqian appeared in various global events. Relying on the Hollywood big-budget action film *Mysterious Ghost Shadow* and the French director's series *Perfect Truth*, she kept brushing up her expectations in everyone's hearts, making major partners believe in her future stardom, constantly giving her resources and support, making her the most shining female star of the year.

Of course, half of this was achieved through her own hard work.

Almost no days off all year, appearing at an average of three public events every month to maintain exposure. Even when filming on set, there was a lot of "stock" released during this period to maintain exposure and heat.

It can be said that in terms of status, Jiang Yuqian might not have truly ascended from the original first-tier lineup of popular female stars that included Zhang Lan.

But in terms of stardom and heat, Jiang Yuqian firmly left that group of people behind this year.

Especially those two new global high-end luxury endorsements this year, which allowed her to firmly sit in the top chair among the current batch of popular female stars.

Except for top-tier big names like Chen Bige, whose status has reached another level and who no longer compete with others on Mount Hua, no one could challenge her edge at this time.

He Heng suddenly thought of something and said to Jiang Yuqian, "You and Li Zhibai... you must keep things confidential. Every time you go to meet him, you must let me know so I can take the necessary measures. Otherwise, once this matter is exposed, if nothing else, Li Zhibai's fans will definitely launch a large-scale attack on you. At this critical juncture, if your image suffers even a slight crisis, the trust many partners have in you will be discounted."

Jiang Yuqian nodded.

A very important point in her ability to maintain her current stardom is that major partners are willing to give her resources, invitations to various top-tier events are sent to her, and work that can boost her status and reputation is also prioritized for her.

If it were suddenly exposed that she was dating a top-tier young actor, public opinion would be secondary; this matter would cause some people who had just started working with her to question her.

The resources in everyone's hands are not abundant enough to be given away as favors. People are willing to give them to her now because they are "buying stock," hoping that after pushing her to a higher position, she will come back to support them.

Jiang Yuqian said to He Heng, "Sister Heng, don't worry, we will be very careful, and besides, we don't have much time to meet anyway."

He Heng: "It's better to be safe than sorry. Both you and he are targets closely watched by the media and paparazzi; one moment of carelessness and you'll be secretly photographed."

Jiang Yuqian nodded.

"I will definitely be careful."

For any star who has reached such a position, maintaining it is not something that can be done easily. It is not that simple.

Jiang Yuqian had experienced the stage of going downhill and was almost unstable in her position, falling out of the first tier. Fortunately, at a critical moment, *Squid Game* allowed her to surpass her former peak and reach a higher point.

She would not give all this up.

"You refused?" Li Zhibai asked with some surprise.

"Yeah," Jiang Yuqian asked, "What's wrong? Sister Heng was right about the drama *Mandarin Duck Patch*; it's not very suitable for me right now, so I turned it down. What's wrong?"

Li Zhibai: "N-nothing."

Although he said nothing, the disappointment in his tone could not be hidden.

Jiang Yuqian said, "You sound very disappointed. What exactly is the matter?"

"Because this drama... came to me to play the male lead. I originally thought I could act in it with you," Li Zhibai said.

Jiang Yuqian: "Ah? Really? They came to you?"

"Yes," Li Zhibai sighed, "Forget it, it's fine. Since you turned it down, you turned it down."

"If I had known, I would have thought about it more."

"No need, your agent wasn't wrong. It's actually better for you to act in a female-lead-centric drama where you are the first lead right now."

"It's mainly because I've already accepted Liu Zhijiang's drama, which is also a costume suspense subject, so it's a bit of a clash," Jiang Yuqian said. "I also don't find it good to act in two dramas of similar types all at once."

"Yeah," Li Zhibai nodded.

Just as they were chatting, someone came to knock on the door, saying outside that it was time for Li Zhibai's scene.

Li Zhibai could only hang up the phone in a hurry and go out.

Today was still the scene with the Wine Sword Immortal.

Li Zhibai was actually quite shocked.

For a drama like *Chinese Paladin*, with such a large scale and so many scenes, if it were any other crew, it would definitely be split into A and B units to film, or even A, B, and C units, with several joint directors filming together.

Generally speaking, the chief director might not even be on set for a third of the scenes.

However, Luo Yuzhong insisted on being on set himself to helm every single scene. The B unit was only responsible for filming some empty shots and doing reshoots of substandard shots of extras in large scenes.

In the dramas Li Zhibai had filmed before, he had rarely encountered a director who filmed from beginning to end like this.

Being able to have every major scene filmed by him was already very rare.

No wonder the quality of Luo Yuzhong's dramas had never gone down. His dramas might not all be explosive hits, but there had never been a failure that made people's jaws drop.

As soon as Li Zhibai went over, Luo Yuzhong told him about the scene they were about to film.

Just as they were talking, Lu Yanhe came over.

He was holding a portable CD player and a pair of headphones.

Luo Yuzhong, Li Zhibai, and the others all looked at what he was holding with some confusion.

"What is this?"

Lu Yanhe said, "I wrote a few songs for *Chinese Paladin* and prepared to use them as theme songs and OSTs. I just had someone finish them, so I brought them over for you to listen to."

But there was only one pair of headphones.

So, they could only listen one by one.

Lu Yanhe gave them to Luo Yuzhong first.

During this time, Li Zhibai asked in a low voice, "When did you write these songs?"

"Before joining the crew. They took a little time to produce this music," Lu Yanhe said. "There are two songs in there that I'm planning to have you sing."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhibai's eyes lit up.

"Yo, another song for me to sing!"

Lu Yanhe smiled and nodded.

What they were listening to now was pure music, with no one singing.

After listening, Luo Yuzhong gave Lu Yanhe a thumbs up.

"It works, it's the feeling I wanted."

"I was still worried that you would think these songs were too pop-music-oriented."

"This drama itself is an idol drama wearing the coat of a serious drama, so this kind of pop-music-feeling track is just right," Luo Yuzhong said. "What are the names of these tracks?"

"*June Rain*."

"*Always Very Quiet*."

"*Kill, Break, Wolf*."