Chapter 86: Titanic Wraps Filming

At 5:30 in the morning, as a fish-belly white dawn broke in the east, Xiang Fei stared at the footage just captured on the monitor, his brows knitted tight: "It's not desperate enough! I need to see a true state of near death!" He turned and shouted at the floor manager, "Lower the water temperature by another 0.5 degrees!"

The head of the props department wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: "Director, we're already near the human limit..."

"Exactly!" Xiang Fei cut him off. "That is the limit the victims of the Titanic faced!"

Cheng Long suddenly leaped from the water, grabbing a floating rope: "Director! Let me add an action sequence!" Before anyone could respond, he had already completed a set of high-difficulty rope stunts on the water's surface. This improvised performance left the entire crew dumbfounded; even Xiang Fei couldn't help but applaud.

"Cut! Perfect!" Xiang Fei rarely smiled. "But Ah Long, you stole the protagonist's spotlight; we can't use this take."

Zhao Zhao Yazhi, wrapped in a blanket by medical staff with lips turning purple, shook her head when her assistant urged her to rest: "One more take... I can do better..." During the thirteenth take, she suddenly improvised an action of tucking a necklace into a child's hand, a detail that made Xiang Fei's eyes light up.

"Sister Zhi," Xiang Fei said, personally handing her a cup of hot ginger tea, "that move you just made is worth a million at the box office."

While filming the shot of the violin sinking to the bottom, all of Zhang Zhang Guorong's strings suddenly snapped. This accident, however, created a classic image—the strings drifting slowly through the water like a final dance of life. Xiang Fei jumped up excitedly: "That's it! This is the accidental realism I wanted!"

Mei Mei Yanfang swam over and gently took Zhang Zhang Guorong's icy hand: "Leslie, your music... will forever remain..."

As Lin Lin Zhengying filmed his descent to the seabed, he suddenly pulled a yellow talisman from his Daoist robe and ignited it in the freezing water. This unscripted move caused an uproar on set. "Director, this is what 'water and fire in harmony' truly means..." he smiled weakly. Xiang Fei immediately ordered the cameraman: "Close-up! Get a close-up, now!"

While filming his underwater sinking scene, Qian Qian Xiaohao suddenly suffered severe convulsions. Just as the medical staff rushed forward, Xiang Fei stopped them: "Wait three more seconds... just three..." The camera captured Qian Qian Xiaohao's most authentic expression of nearing death; this frame would later become the movie poster.

When Qian Qian Xiaohao was pulled ashore, Xiang Fei grasped his hand and said: "That expression you just gave is worth a Golden Statue Award."

During the rescue scene, Zhang Min's right leg cramped even more severely, yet she insisted on performing without a stunt double: "The audience will be able to tell..." By the time Xiang Fei finally called "Pass," she could no longer stand and had to be carried out of the water by two crew members.

At 7:00 AM, the sun had fully risen, yet Xiang Fei ordered the lighting team: "Block out all the sunlight! I want the darkness before dawn!" The crew had no choice but to erect massive black cloths, plunging the entire pool back into darkness.

"Final take!" Xiang Fei shouted through a megaphone. "I want to see true despair in everyone's eyes! Remember, this isn't acting; this is life and death!"

All the actors submerged once more into the near-freezing water. This time, there were no complaints, no retreats. Cheng Long and Hung Kam-po exchanged a smile before sinking together; Zhao Zhao Yazhi lifted the child high above the waves; Zhang Zhang Guorong released his violin, allowing himself to sink into the abyss...

"Cut! Perfect! That's a wrap!" Xiang Fei's voice trembled for the first time. He removed his glasses and wiped the corners of his eyes.

When Li Guoming of Shaw Brothers Studio received the latest photos from the set, the teacup in his hand dropped to the floor. "They... actually achieved the impossible..." he murmured to himself.

Looking at the actors' purple lips and bloodshot eyes in the photographs, Fang Fang Yihua said softly: "This is not a movie; it is art forged with life."

Inside the medical tent, Zhang Zhang Guorong was rubbing Mei Mei Yanfang's frozen fingers; Cheng Long and Hung Kam-po had fallen asleep leaning against each other; Zhao Zhao Yazhi was still softly comforting the frightened child actor...

In the distance, Xiang Fei stood alone by the pool, gazing at the now-calm water. The assistant director approached: "Director, shall we start dismantling the set?"

Xiang Fei shook his head: "Wait a little longer... let this moment linger a bit more..."