Chapter 208

Most importantly, his grasp of the entire story had deepened to a new level.

How to more perfectly mobilize the emotions of the original film to achieve better results was clear in Xu Can's mind.

As an assistant director, Wen Wen Muye had originally doubted Xu Can's directing ability.

He was a director trained at the Beijing Film Academy, a master's graduate from the directing department, and could be counted as a true academic.

Xu Can's acting might be world-class, but the works he had independently directed so far were only Iron Man and La La Land.

One musical film, one commercial blockbuster.

Regarding the filming of serious subjects, perhaps he would not dig deep or fine enough.

The design of every shot, every detail, the micro-expressions of every actor; any slight change could bring about a completely different effect.

However, after following Xu Can for a few days of filming, Wen Wen Muye's eyes were truly opened.

There were directors like Edward Yang who were detail maniacs, others like Ang Lee who were good at capturing subtle human emotions, and still others like Coppola who were good at using simple cinematic language to shape ensemble characters.

A formally trained student who frequently analyzed films was very familiar with the characteristics of every director.

But Xu Can was simply a genius who seemed to integrate the strengths of all schools, gathering the best into one.

The decades of skill of those masters were used by Xu Can with effortless ease.

His understanding of every shot simply left Wen Wen Muye in awe!

The sentence he said most often was: "Huh? Can it be shot like that?"

When Xu Can appeared on screen himself, he would carefully break down the upcoming shots for Wen Wen Muye so he could grasp them better on the monitor.

Wen Wen Muye even felt like he was attending a lecture from a mentor, dreaming back to campus.

Xu Can was so young; did he start directing since he was in the womb?

He clearly debuted as Spider-Man!

In short, under Xu Can's perfect performance, "Dying to Survive" wrapped up at light speed after just over two months of filming.

Before leaving, Xu Can went to see Song Qian again; this was the last time the two would discuss the script.

"What are your plans afterwards?"

"I don't know. Just return to my original life, occasionally acting in films."

Song Qian's smile held a sense of loss and helplessness, as if a trip had ended and she was about to return home to face reality.

Xu Can originally wanted to say something to comfort her, but he found it meaningless.

After all, she was not a naive young girl just out of the nest; saying some nice but useless nonsense would only make her feel worse.

It was better to simply feel this moment, then continue facing the original life afterwards.

Xu Can just tightened his grip a bit, transmitting more warmth to her.

Song Qian seemed to quite like this feeling; she leaned gently against Xu Can's chest, closed her eyes, and felt the beating of his young heart.

In a certain instant, it felt as if she herself had returned to her girlhood days.

Back in Los Santos, the person picking him up was not the assistant Vanessa.

Emma Stone, due to missing him too much, came to pick him up personally.

Also, Taylor Swift had thought of the same thing and planned to drive over, but Xu Can quickly dissuaded her.

Xu Can did not want to experience the battlefield of the last time again; he had flown for over ten hours and just wanted to go back and lie flat.

Stone Sister acted like a spy making contact, hiding herself completely with large sunglasses and a baseball cap.

Having played Gwen, Mia in "La La Land", and Bella in "Twilight", she was currently a hot first-line female star.

If she did not want to see Xu Can at the very first moment, she would not have taken such a risk to come out.

As for Xu Can, he did not need to disguise himself too much.

Just wearing a pair of sunglasses, he then activated his acting attributes: the neighbor boy Peter Parker, the low-profile killer John Wick, or just an ordinary medicine seller named Cheng Yong...

Once in the acting state, even experienced paparazzi would find it hard to discover Xu Can in the crowd, even if Xu Can was standing right in their face.

Moreover, relying on his super vision and sensing, Xu Can could sweep a glance over the airport and pull out all the paparazzi hiding in the dark.

He could completely avoid the gaze of all paparazzi, meet Stone Sister openly, and even kiss in public without any issue.

"Miss me?"

"What do you think? Go back and let you feel the power of longing properly."

"So Dirty, Stop it!" Stone Sister coquettishly said, "There are people in the car."

Xu Can sat in the passenger seat and only then discovered a familiar face in the back row, awkwardly listening to the two flirt.

"Hey, long time no see."

"Hey, Kristen, long time no see."

Kristen Stewart?

"During this time when you were away, KK often came to play with me; sometimes we even slept together, chatting until midnight."

"Wait, What?"

Xu Can's expression immediately became strange.

He knew Kristen Stewart's intentions; was this a kind of stealing the home?

This little girl Kristen proudly raised her eyebrows at him.

Xu Can glared back fiercely.

Just wait; I'll deal with you when we get back!

They drove straight to Stone Sister's villa; she had bought a two-story small house not far from Shanzhuang, which was quite warm and cozy.

Stone Sister stated that this was Xu Can's harbor, and he was the master of the house here.

After entering the room, Stone Sister still wanted Xu Can to take a bath and rest early.

"You go first. I've been on the plane too long—I need to handle some emails."

"Alright, I'll go wash up. You keep KK company for a bit."

As Stone Sister stepped into the bathroom, Xu Can shoved Kristin against the wall.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean nothing. I'm just hanging out with a friend—isn't that normal?" Kristin lifted her chin proudly.

"Did you do anything strange?" Xu Can's gaze was sharp.

Perhaps it was John Wick's aura—Kristin instantly grew flustered.

"No, we just had a normal chat. Emma hasn't noticed anything yet."

"Better be."

"How can you be so domineering? You already have Taylor—why won't you leave Emma alone?"

Kristin mustered her last shred of courage to demand.

"I already told you last time… it's none of your business."

Xu Can leaned close to her ear and spoke in a low voice.

He'd originally intended to warn her: don't think being a woman and having some connection to him gives you license to act however you want.

But Kristin's entire body trembled, her ears turning instantly crimson.

Huh?

What kind of reaction is this?

Still, she smelled nice—probably Chanel's limited-edition gardenia perfume.

Xu Can couldn't help inhaling again. Just as he was about to let her go, Kristin suddenly wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him fiercely.

Emma Stone, already soaking in the bathtub, had worried that Xu Can and Kristin didn't know each other well and might feel awkward talking.

She planned to finish bathing quickly and come out.

Soon after, Emma noticed the water surface rippling—not caused by her.

"Huh? Why does it feel like something's shaking? Probably just my imagination."

After her bath, Emma stepped out wearing a robe and entered the living room.

Xu Can was focused on his laptop, while Kristin watched TV—the show playing was the recently popular "The Big Bang Theory."

Kristin had a high laugh threshold—she hadn't laughed once, and her face was flushed, as if she'd just exercised.

"They really aren't close—the atmosphere is weird. My bad."

Stone Sister smiled awkwardly.

"KK, baby, let's play Dou Dizhu?"

They'd always played Texas Hold'em, but under Xu Can's influence, both Taylor and Stone Sister had quickly fallen for the Eastern game of Dou Dizhu.