Chapter 12: Uninvited Guest and the Start of Filming

At 1:00 AM, Wei Jin returned home alone; as soon as he opened the door, he smelled alcohol.

At this moment, the sound of soft sobbing came from inside the room, as if someone were desperately trying to suppress it.

Wei Jin walked into the living room with caution, only to see a small figure curled up on the sofa; looking closely, it was his landlady, Gao Yuanyuan.

"Yuan Yuanjie, why are you here?"

"Hmm? Little Wei, you're back?"

Gao Yuanyuan's voice was somewhat hoarse, and her eyes were still a bit red.

"Uh, Yuan Yuanjie, are you alright?"

Wei Jin looked at the girl before him, tear-streaked and delicate, feeling somewhat at a loss.

"I'm fine, I just drank some alcohol, didn't want to go home, and didn't know where else to go."

Gao Yuanyuan's voice was low; it was clear that she was not in a good mood.

Wei Jin hurriedly poured a cup of hot water and handed it to her, saying, "Yuan Yuanjie, here, drink some water. Would you mind telling me what happened?"

Gao Yuanyuan looked at Wei Jin, her gaze somewhat unfocused.

"Do you think men are all unreliable? They forget the sweet nothings they once said in the blink of an eye."

It was a deep conversation for a shallow acquaintance, and Wei Jin didn't know how to answer this question, but he figured it must be a relationship issue; that was easy to handle.

Wei Jin immediately recalled Gao Yuanyuan's past love life from his previous life and understood the crux of the problem: it must be that her current boyfriend, Zhang Yadong, had been caught cheating.

Seeing that Wei Jin remained silent, Gao Yuanyuan couldn't help but continue to vent:

"Tell me, I'm so good, I had already forgiven him, yet he still doesn't know how to repent. It's happened several times already, and this time I caught him red-handed, yet he still wanted to defend that woman. Wuwu, am I really that pathetic?"

Speaking of her heartbreak, Gao Yuanyuan's emotions surged, and she couldn't help but cry.

Wei Jin was at a loss and could only sit down to comfort her: "Yuan Yuanjie, you are so wonderful; it's his loss that he doesn't know how to cherish you. Let's stop crying; you won't be pretty if you keep crying."

"Am I pretty? Then why does he still have to go out and mess around with other women?"

"Of course. Yuan Yuanjie, your beauty is above the aesthetic standards of most men in the country. Don't you know that your Zhou Zhiruo has already captured the hearts of thousands of men? Netizens all say that Zhang Wuji is blind."

If anyone said Gao Yuanyuan wasn't pretty, Wei Jin would truly think they were blind; she was a five-time Hupu Goddess, and to keep her, netizens even only let her take second place.

To be able to become the champion even at 40—to say she isn't pretty is probably to deny one's own aesthetic sense.

"Pfft, I don't know if Zhang Wuji is blind or not, but that Zhang Yadong is truly blind, hmph!"

Hearing Wei Jin's exaggerated statement, Gao Yuanyuan broke into laughter through her tears and took the opportunity to complain about the scumbag: "To think he dared to scold me for an old woman, it makes me so mad."

"Exactly, exactly. Our Yuan Yuanjie is so beautiful, and he doesn't know how to appreciate it. There are millions of men out there; if one doesn't work, we'll just swap him out. Yuan Yuanjie, don't lower yourself to the level of a scumbag."

Seeing that Gao Yuanyuan's mood had improved, Wei Jin naturally went along with what she said.

"Little Wei, you say I'm beautiful, so do you like this big sister?"

With the alcohol going to her head, Gao Yuanyuan grew bolder, turning her resentment toward the scumbag into flirting with the handsome young man before her.

"Uh, Yuan Yuanjie, you're drunk."

Wei Jin tried to change the subject.

"I knew you were just coaxing me; you men never say a word of truth."

"I like you, I like you, how could I not like you?"

Seeing that Gao Yuanyuan was about to start crying again, Wei Jin had no choice but to admit it; it wasn't really a lie—who doesn't like a beautiful woman?

"Then why are you sitting so far away from me? Come over and hold me."

Wei Jin felt that this woman was truly drunk and had even started acting spoiled. Little sister, do you know you're playing with fire?

"Hurry up. If you don't agree, it means you don't like me, you're lying to me, and you're a scumbag."

Gao Yuanyuan was completely letting herself go under the influence of alcohol.

Wei Jin was also in a bind—how did he get linked to being a scumbag? He moved his body accordingly and gently pulled Gao Yuanyuan into his arms. Leaning against the man's chest, Gao Yuanyuan stopped teasing and just whispered to Wei Jin about her tortuous love life.

Not long after, Wei Jin's ears were at peace; the beauty in his arms had already fallen asleep.

That night, Wei Jin and Gao Yuanyuan slept in each other's arms on the sofa.

When Wei Jin woke up in the morning, Gao Yuanyuan was nowhere to be seen. He shook his head, pulled himself together, and prepared to start a new day.

The copyright fee for the second installment had already arrived, totaling 350,000, which was more than he had imagined.

The sales of the physical book *Sword Snow Stride* were soaring, and it had sold like crazy during the National Day holiday.

In addition, there was good news regarding the songs; the ringtone download volume was climbing steadily, and the situation was looking great.

The preparations for the film crew were also proceeding in an orderly manner, and Wei Jin felt that everything was ready.

Time flew by, and on the 19th, the film crew officially started shooting.

On the set, one could see Teacher Jiang Wei acting as the Producer, busy with the placement of various props, the arrangement of cameras, and the testing of lights; he was busy beyond measure for a moment.

Wei Jin and Qin Hao were discussing their understanding of the script and the key points of character portrayal.

It must be said that Qin Hao was truly a pure actor; in order to enter the character early, he laid his own wardrobe flat on the ground.

He slept in the wardrobe for several nights, attempting to immerse himself in the emotions, empty his mind, and awaken his subconscious to the greatest extent.

To ensure the smooth operation of the film crew, Jiang Wei invited a senior from the Director Department to be the assistant director, and several seniors from the Photography Department also came to help with the camera work, among whom was Ning Hao.

At this time, Ning Hao had already directed two films but had not yet become famous. Jiang Wei told him that this film was intended to sprint for the Berlin International Film Festival, so he volunteered to come and learn.

The script supervisor was in place, the lights were in place, and the equipment was in place. As Wei Jin held the megaphone, he shouted:

"Action."

*Buried* officially began filming! Qin Hao lay inside the coffin, and Wei Jin observed through the internal camera.

The coffin was a special prop made in advance, thicker than a regular coffin so that it would look more realistic when the lead actor pushed with all his might; furthermore, it was designed to allow the camera to rotate 360 degrees around the lead actor while filming.

The best effect for this film would be a single continuous shot, with the actor performing in one go without the camera cutting.

This was difficult and was Wei Jin's ideal scenario, but reality often did not allow for it.

After several NG takes, Qin Hao buried his head in the water; he wanted to use this method to quickly enter that state.

Cerebral hypoxia, anxiety, fear, panic, entanglement. The oxygen inside the coffin was running lower and lower; suffocation, dizziness—in the limited time available, Qin Hao needed to act out everything, and perhaps the Experience School was more suitable for this occasion.

For the coffin used in filming, after communicating with Qin Hao, he chose one that was airtight, striving for realism.

Wei Jin specifically hired emergency personnel to stay on set, precisely for fear of accidents occurring during filming.

Pale-faced and drenched in sweat, Qin Hao walked over and smiled, "Director, I want to try again."

"Good."

The filming process was monotonous. It was Wei Jin's first time as a director, and he was somewhat nervous; watching the footage on the monitor, he compared it again and again with the images in his mind.

"Is this kid really a first-time director?"

Ning Hao asked Jiang Wei with some surprise.

"He looks very seasoned; the shots are just like they are in his head."

"This might just be genius; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to write a script like this, or even have considered the issues of censorship."

Jiang Wei was also greatly surprised. He had originally thought Wei Jin just had good ideas, and to avoid damaging his confidence, he had even specifically invited a few experienced assistant directors and cinematographers to oversee things.

As it turned out, the kid was impossibly seasoned, making him worry for nothing.

A newbie author writing a book for the first time, kneeling to beg for follows, catch-up reads, and recommendations. Thank you, everyone.

(End of this chapter)