Chapter 144: Red Bellyband

Hearing this commotion, the assistant director ran over, opening his mouth with a string of curses.

Various organs flew all over the sky.

Compared to him, Li Luo was already considered a refined person!

The position of assistant director isn't simple; it requires helping the director coordinate the work of the entire crew, and without a bit of temper, it's impossible to suppress things. Under his roaring curses, let alone the people who were watching just now,

even the martial artists who fell into the room lowered their heads and left hurriedly.

Generally, when filming relatively revealing scenes,

there will be corresponding clearing of the set.

Normally, except for personnel involved in the filming, everyone else must leave; just now, only the two directors and the cameraman were in the room.

Now that a few people popped up to watch the curiosity,

let alone Li Luo, the assistant director was also furious.

"Brother Luo."

After scolding the people away, the assistant director changed his face instantly, his angry expression switching to a smile.

In the end, it was still his failure to watch the people.

He was also afraid of being blamed.

"Hmm."

Nodding, Li Luo walked into the room.

Naturally, the few people inside heard the scolding, but Hu Minkai and Ma Yucheng didn't take it to heart; cursing on set is the norm, and if everything were harmonious, it would be easy to have big problems.

It was highly likely they were trying to scam the capital's money and run.

As for Tong Lei, sitting on the bed,

she was naturally happy to have someone stand up for her.

But thinking of yesterday's events, she quickly put on a straight face again, not even looking at Li Luo as he walked in.

"Get ready."

Hu Minkai signaled the cameraman to get close to the bed: "Next, film Li Rongrong committing suicide with the sword."

This plot,

actually fits logic quite well.

Ancient women valued their reputation extremely highly; her pants and clothes were torn by Yuwen Zhiji, revealing large swaths of spring scenery, which was no different from being humiliated, so Li Rongrong, in shame and despair,

would make such a move.

After all, her family and parents had already been beheaded and displayed, so dying was a relief.

After Tong Lei got ready,

Hu Minkai waved his arm, signaling to start filming.

This girl's acting is indeed good; she first bit her lip, looked out in despair, her eyes moved down, and she bent over to grab the broken sword that had fallen to the side of the bed.

Without a word, she stabbed it toward her stomach.

"Ah~~~"

Tong Lei not only let out a sad cry but also raised her chin high.

The cameraman moved forward.

The lens shot her face, giving her a big close-up.

At this time, it could only be a close-up; don't look at how miserable Tong Lei's performance was, the prop sword was only pressing against the quilt on her body.

You can't look closely, or it's easy to reveal the trick.

"One more take."

Hu Minkai scratched his chin and shook his head: "I feel the emotions are a bit off."

"For example?"

Letting go of the hilt, Tong Lei looked at the director.

She felt she acted quite well, but since the director had a request, filming another take was no big deal; she just didn't know what emotion he wanted her to express.

This question stumped Hu Minkai.

But for a moment,

he couldn't say what it was either.

"Smile."

Li Luo, who was watching from the side, suddenly popped out a sentence.

"Smile?"

Tong Lei frowned.

If she remembered correctly, she was committing suicide!

Despite feeling unhappy with Li Luo, she still cast a questioning look; in terms of acting, she could feel that this guy was indeed stronger than her, so maybe he had a good suggestion.

"Not necessarily a smile."

Weighing the golden mace in his hand, Li Luo thought slightly: "But when the final close-up comes, your face can't be too twisted; there needs to be a moment of relaxation or relief."

"Li Rongrong's inner heart is very painful and desperate."

"Her family was beheaded, she was left alone in the world, and she was humiliated by Yuwen Zhiji."

"The previous performance is fine."

He looked at the director and continued to analyze the character's inner heart: "But in the end, I think we need a bit of relaxed emotion. In Li Rongrong's situation, ending it all like this is actually a relief for her."

"Pa~"

Hu Minkai slapped his thigh hard: "That's right, it should be like this. Tong Lei, do it again according to this emotion."

These few words hit his heart.

Actually, the bystander sees clearly.

Many things are tangled, and the person involved can feel something is wrong but can't explain what it is.

Having someone point it out, everything becomes clear.

The performance was repeated again; it was about the same at the beginning, but when it came to the end, Tong Lei relaxed her tightly furrowed brows as Li Luo said, with a hint of a smile on her face.

The act of suicide and the smile on her face formed a strong conflict.

Yet the character image instantly became three-dimensional.

Without any doubt, the second take passed directly.

Next,

the cameraman moved back.

Li Luo pounced forward with the two maces in one hand, and the other hand supported the other party's smooth back, shouting anxiously at Li Rongrong, who was raising the sword to commit suicide.

The latter closed her eyes tightly.

Her body swayed powerlessly with Li Luo's movements.

The blood at the corner of her mouth, the red bellyband on her body, plus her pretty face.

Made people feel pity just by looking at her.

And gave rise to indignation at Yuwen Zhiji's actions.

Bringing in hatred here made it satisfying when Qin Shubao killed him with one mace later.

"OK, that's it!"

The director's voice rang out; Li Luo stopped his movements, his gaze wandering freely on the bellyband; what was the point of looking from the outside? It was only interesting when you got close.

How come he didn't notice before?

It looked so good for a woman to wear a bellyband; it was so moist.

"Let go."

Tong Lei twisted her body and pushed his hand away without ceremony.

This little look made Li Luo grin in his heart.

It turned out she was jealous!

He let go without changing his expression and stood up to walk to the side; Tong Lei's assistant also brought her clothes to drape over her.

Next, the scene changed; it was actually the same place, but after the staff tidied up, it would change from the room where Li Rongrong was humiliated to the place where she was recuperating.

Just change a table and slightly rearrange the layout.

And it would be done.

While the staff was busy, the actors also waited in the rest area for the scene change to be completed.

"What's wrong with you?"

With no one around, Li Luo scratched Tong Lei's waist with his fingers.

He wanted to ask what he already knew.

"Don't touch me."

Tong Lei not only hugged her chest with both hands but also turned her head away, her tone crisp and filled with anger.

Since filming started today, she had been like this.

Li Luo didn't indulge her either.

He took out a cigar slowly, cut it, lit it, and then opened the thick script to familiarize himself with the lines for the next scene.

Smoke rolled continuously, hitting the crumpled script.

The reason why character emotions can be grasped accurately is by reading it over and over again.

This requires hard work.

Women, you know, are easily provoked when you pay attention to them.

If you stop paying attention to them,

their attitude softens quickly instead.

Seeing Li Luo ignoring her and smoking his cigar comfortably, Tong Lei slapped the script angrily: "What happened yesterday? I called you, and you didn't answer."

"I went to your room to look, and you weren't there."

"Busy."

Li Luo bit his cigar and mumbled a reply, pushing her hand away at the same time.

"Busy with what?"

Tong Lei gritted her teeth and asked repeatedly.

Fan Bingbing's appearance gave her a full sense of crisis.

When she spoke,

her heart was sour.

Li Luo glanced at her and continued flipping through the script.

He couldn't follow the other party's rhythm, or she would easily get carried away; their relationship was close enough, but it had always been a tacit state, and they had never mentioned anything like boyfriend and girlfriend.

"Fine."

Tong Lei took a deep breath and found a step down for herself: "I'm not interfering with your freedom; I'm worried about you!"

"I couldn't find you late at night; who knows if there would be any accidents."

"I know you care about me."

Li Luo laughed and flipped a page, his lies coming out easily: "I went back to Beijing last night for a banquet; Fan Bingbing was organizing a party for her manager and wanted to sign me to Huayi."

"I had a hard time pushing it away."

Three parts true, seven parts false; he even believed what he said himself.

"Huayi, Wang Jinghua?"

Tong Lei's urgent words blurted out, and she asked with wide eyes: "Pushed it away? Why?"

Even without the glory of later generations,

as of now,

the powerful Huayi was already an undisputed big company in the circle, with many signed artists and continuous movie investments; others might not know, but Tong Lei herself wanted to sign but couldn't.

This guy actually pushed it away.

Being interrupted like this,

she also forgot what she was struggling with just now, or rather, forced herself to forget.

"No reason."

Li Luo shrugged and said solemnly: "I just felt the timing wasn't right; let's talk about it when it's appropriate later."

"Makes sense."

Tong Lei looked at him with envy and sighed lightly: "With your current situation, it's the agency begging to sign you; not only the signing term, but even the profit-sharing ratio is negotiable."

"Unlike us who look glamorous, but actually earn so little."

This was true.

The signing term for newcomer actors like them is extremely long, and the profit-sharing ratio they get is extremely low.

Many times it's 30/70.

That 30 is the part the actor gets.

Of course, the ratio isn't fixed; as the signing term increases and the status rises, the share will gradually increase. There's no other way; the vast majority of newcomer actors can't access resources on their own.

This is the price that must be paid.

Only after having achievements will there be capital for negotiation.

"Each has its own benefits."

Li Luo rubbed her shoulder and comforted her softly: "Actually, this drama is quite good; after it airs, your opportunities will definitely increase, unlike me, who doesn't even know what drama to film next year."

"I don't know what drama you'll film next year."

Tong Lei no longer resisted but twisted his waist hard: "Just like I don't want to know where you went last night."

The male lead complaining about having no dramas to film made her teeth itch with anger.

She definitely couldn't ask about last night's events in detail, so Tong Lei simply vented her resentment together.

"Heaven and earth are my conscience."

Li Luo felt his eyebrows jump from the twisting and said innocently: "I didn't do anything last night; if you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you."

"How to prove it?"

Tong Lei answered very decisively.

"How about this~"

Li Luo coughed lightly and showed his white teeth: "You're still wearing that bellyband, right? How about letting me play Yuwen Zhiji tonight?"

How else could he prove it?

Using actual actions to express it was the most direct and effective way.

These words made Tong Lei's eyes glow; she scratched the back of her neck unobtrusively.

Her fingers slid along, hooking the collar and pulling it down.

On her fair neck, the red strap of the bellyband was particularly dazzling.

The scene of Yuwen Zhiji humiliating Li Rongrong

was able to be performed in its entirety after changing to another place at night.

Li Luo also completely conquered Tong Lei with his rock-solid acting; the latter no longer dared to suspect what he had done last night, only begging for mercy repeatedly, not caring about anything else.

Time came to mid-August.

Tong Lei wrapped up.

Without much lingering, she resolutely rushed to the next crew.

Before a role becomes popular, actors can only stumble around like this, not knowing when the day of success will be.

Li Luo also spared a day.

Returned to Beijing to shoot commercials.

Compared to *An Ta*, *Seven Wolves*' filming work appeared particularly relaxed.

After all, it was business menswear, so there was no need to toss around; Li Luo only needed to be a good clothes rack; the video shooting in the morning, plus a print advertisement in the afternoon, was easily settled.

Working for a day, he earned back over a dozen high-end suits.

These were all customized according to his body size; although the price was not cheap, the brand also gave the clothes to him, and even small items like leather shoes, shirts, belts, etc., were all ready.

It could be considered making a small fortune.

After dealing with some small matters, Li Luo rushed back to Zhuozhou to continue filming.

End of August.

After nearly four months of filming, *Legend of the Sui and Tang Heroes* officially wrapped up.

"Good."

"Wrap up."

Hu Minkai shouted loudly, and everyone on set cheered.

Exposed to the scorching sun for months.

After many twists and turns, the project was finally completed smoothly; he didn't know what the effect would be after airing, but as of now, it was absolutely a moment worth celebrating.

"Pa~~~ Bang, bang!!!"

Li Sipin first lit the firecrackers, then set off the thunderous firecrackers.

The entire set was exploded with crackling sounds, red paper flying everywhere, and the smell of gunpowder made him feel a sense of relief in his heart, determined to sweep away the bad luck of this period.

The thunderous sounds exploded, and the hot-tempered investor found Li Luo and walked over with big strides.

"Congratulations, President Li, wishing for high ratings."

Li Luo laughed heartily and arched his hands to congratulate him.

"Everyone is the same."

Li Si Lin patted his shoulder heavily and said with satisfaction, "I'm red, and you're red too. You've worked hard during this time. I'll put it on the line here: I'll still look for you to act in the next play, and you must not refuse when the time comes."

Whether an actor has tried their best and what the presented effect is like.

Experienced investors can still tell. At the very least, Li Luo's performance made him very satisfied.

"That goes without saying."

In this setting, Li Luo had no way to say anything else.

"Good, I just like this straightforwardness of yours!"

Li Si Lin laughed loudly again. He took the briefcase handed over by the assistant behind him and stuffed it into Li Luo's hand: "Brother Li keeps his word. I won't let you work in vain during this time. Let's go, let's go, let's go drink!"

Treading on the firecracker debris all over the ground.

Li Luo weighed the heavy briefcase and walked toward the business minibus with the other party with a smile.