Chapter 495: Two and a Half Years—Worth It!!!

When the Blooming Flowers opening theme played, Re Ba suddenly pointed her phone camera at the TV screen: "Wow! This ink‑wash transition is amazing!"

In the video, Wang Anyu suddenly exclaimed, "Wait! Why is this shot tilted? The characters are out of frame!"

"That's Wang Dao's signature tilted composition," Lin Mo took over, pointing at the screen and explaining, "Look at Hu Ge walking into the Peace Hotel in this shot; the neon reflections on the glass deliberately dim the faces, and this lighting treatment is for..."

"To convey the characters' inner confusion!" Re Ba blurted out, causing everyone to laugh.

Lin Mo nodded and laughed, "Exactly, this cyan primary palette combined with a rainy‑night setting actually turns Mo Du into Xiang Jiang..."

As they were speaking, Xin Zhilei's Boss's Wife made her entrance.

When Xin Zhilei's Boss's Wife appeared, the whole frame instantly acquired an oil‑painting‑like texture.

She leaned diagonally at the stair corner, backlight pouring from above, coating her silhouette with a hazy golden edge.

The cigarette held between her fingertips curled up blue smoke; under the top light it formed a slender, crisp light column, like a floating thread, dividing the frame into two halves of interwoven light and shadow.

Her face hid in shadow, only her red lips faintly glimmered in the dark, while the smoke drifted slowly within the beam, as if time itself were frozen.

The camera trembled slightly, the light and shadow swaying gently with her breath; the whole scene felt both lazy and dangerous, as if in the next instant she would lift her eyes from the shadows, those story‑laden eyes staring straight at the audience.

Re Ba held her breath, whispering, "This is just too beautiful... Sister Xin, this shot is incredible!"

Likewise, everyone else who saw the shot immediately exclaimed how beautiful and amazing it was!

Including...

Even Xin Zhilei herself was a bit surprised: "Wow, when we filmed it, I had no idea the effect would be this incredible..."

At this point, a professional needed to explain.

Lin Mo laughed, "Wang Jiawei is best at this half‑hidden, half‑revealed aesthetic, making her expression unclear yet prompting even more curiosity!"

Qin Lan couldn't help teasing, "Xin Xin, this one shot could be spliced into every classic beauty montage in film and TV!"

Wang Anyu gasped, "The lighting, the smoke, the composition... No wonder it took two and a half years to film!"

At that moment, Xin Zhilei on the TV screen exhaled a slow puff of smoke; the haze dispersed in the beam, the frame dimmed, leaving only the lingering trace of her red lips.

Re Ba said excitedly, "Sister Xin, this shot alone will make you famous! Seriously, the lighting, the atmosphere—perfect! Two and a half years was worth it!"

Xin Zhilei, on the other side of the video, laughed with eyes crescent‑shaped: "Come on, I was almost collapsing while filming this shot; I tweaked the light‑and‑smoke pose dozens of times!"

"Over twenty times?!" Zhao Zhaoyi widened his eyes, "Wang Dao is too ruthless!"

"That's nothing~" Xin Zhilei waved her hand.

Actually.

She wanted to say that this is the norm in the Blooming Flowers production.

Lin Mo suddenly interjected, "But it's this kind of obsession that creates classics. Look at the direction of the smoke in this shot..." He pointed at the frozen frame on the TV, "Every wisp of smoke is meticulously designed, just like Zhang Manyu's cheongsam in In the Mood for Love—seemingly casual but actually precisely calculated."

At that moment, the TV showed Hu Ge and Xin Zhilei's opposing scene; they brushed past each other in dim lighting, and in slow motion the details of their fluttering hair were crystal clear.

"Incredible..." Re Ba murmured, "This texture—if you claimed it was a movie, people would actually believe it."

Lin Mo nodded, "Wang Jiawei treats a TV drama like a film; every shot burns money, but..." He smiled at Xin Zhilei on the video, "Now it seems that spending was worth it."

As they spoke, Weibo suddenly popped up a notification: #Xin Zhilei Blooming Flowers# had surged to fifth on trending, followed by a "Boom" character.

"Sister Xin! You're on trending!" Zhao Zhaoyi shouted, thrusting his phone screen toward the camera.

Xin Zhilei was momentarily stunned, then laughed with a toothy grin, "Is that real? Let me see... 'Xin Zhilei Fragmented‑Beauty'? What kind of entry is that!"

Qin Lan immediately followed, "What a great entry! That shot of you standing in the smoke is perfectly fragile and gorgeous!"

Re Ba suddenly thought of something, turned to Lin Mo and asked, "Honey, do you think Wang Dao might recruit Sister Xin for a movie because of this shot?"

Lin Mo laughed, rubbing her head, "How would I know? I'm not Wang Dao~!"

Amid the laughter, the Blooming Flowers ending theme slowly played on the TV.

Three minutes later, #BloomingFlowersMovieQuality# shot straight to first place on trending, and Xin Zhilei's classic smoke shot began spreading wildly across major platforms...

"WTF! I could loop this shot a hundred times! Xin Zhilei's looks are god‑level!"

"Now that's a real actor! One shot gives me goosebumps!"

"Mainly because Wang Jiawei is so skilled! This lighting and composition—every frame could be a wallpaper!"

"Who gets it, fam! This shot reminds me of Zhang Manyu in In the Mood for Love!"

"The drama's quality is so high!"

"I feel many movies don't reach this level of quality!"

"No wonder it's Wang Jiawei—awesome!"

"This drama will definitely blow up, I told you!"

"......"

On Weibo, netizens went wild discussing the Blooming Flowers drama.

Countless industry insiders are also watching the drama's broadcast.

Having only watched the first episode...

No, just a few of the early shots...

They can already be certain this drama will go viral and become a massive hit!

As Blooming Flowers continues to air hotly, its influence grows like a rolling snowball.

Three days after the premiere, related topics already dominated the trending lists on all major platforms:

#Hu Ge#A Bao#Boom!

#Xin Zhilei#Li Li#Boom!

#Wang Jiawei's Mo Du Under the Lens#Hot!

Hu Ge's acting was once again elevated to the altar, and Xin Zhilei, thanks to the smoke shot, achieved god‑like status in a single battle.

The most exaggerated thing is that the location of the Peace Hotel scene—situated on Mo Du's The Bund—became a viral check‑in spot overnight.

That's how it was.

When Xin Zhilei was filming before, she often complained about the slow shooting progress and being repeatedly called back for reshoots.

But...

After Blooming Flowers aired.

Her tone shifted, and she kept praising how beautifully Wang Jiawei had shot her scenes.

Everyone in the group was teasing her.

Qin Lan was the first to speak up in the group: 'Ay yoy, weren't some people constantly complaining in the group about being called back for reshoots? How did you change your tune now?'

Zhao Zhaoyi immediately chimed in: 'Exactly! I remember someone saying they never wanted to smell cigars again in this life; now they might be worshiping cigars?'

Re Ba was the harshest, directly sending a previous voice clip of Xin Zhilei: 'This lousy shot has been taken over thirty times; I'm about to turn into an ashtray!' After the voice clip, she also attached a '【True Fragrance Warning】' emoji sticker.