Chapter 113: Throwing Millions in Liu Tianxian

The two of them chatted and laughed on the way, then got into a car and arrived at Hong Kong's Sham Shui Po.

The film *The Genius Club* was shot here.

This movie doesn't need school premises—just a large hall, like an office building lobby, set up as various exam venues.

Laundry shops, apartments, mansions, cafés, even residential buildings—all these locations are already available here; you just rent them.

Although the female lead's family isn't wealthy, they're not poor enough to live in a slum.

Since Liu Tianxian's schedule is tight—she must return to the *Hongmen Banquet* set in June—she only has one month to shoot *The Genius Club*.

This is Fang Hong's fault for not planning ahead; he thought he'd shoot it in early January, but it got dragged all the way to May.

But this time is enough—the film's strength lies in editing and sound effects, i. e., post-production; the shooting requirements aren't high!

Just capture the feel of *Mission Impossible* and *A Better Tomorrow*.

Tension! Excitement! And Fang Hong's shooting team is increasingly mature—still his core elite squad: Wang Ran, Liu Yin, Li Anran—so the timeline is manageable.

They also added a second director: Wen Muye!

Wen Muye is an intern; coming here as second director eliminates the need to intern elsewhere.

One could say Fang Hong gives many people opportunities.

Moreover, Fang Hong even gave up the male lead role to Li An—since there's no romance, it doesn't matter.

He himself plays the male supporting role: the rich second-generation.

Sipping red wine, arm around a beauty, tossing a few million in Liu Tianxian's face—playing the rich kid who cheats on exams.

It's basically typecasting!

The male lead is too timid, too poor—he doesn't want to play him.

As for previously being the lead and now dropping to a supporting role, Fang Hong doesn't care about status—he doesn't take endorsements or act in others' films; why would he need status?

Acting for him is just something to do when he's bored, a shared hobby with Liu Tianxian.

If there's a kissing scene, he'll do it; if not, forget it!

If some actor's performance is weak or no suitable actor can be found, he steps in—but if the performance is good and the actor fits the role, he gives the chance to someone else.

That's how you build prestige and earn genuine trust.

If you're unwilling to nurture others or give up something, it won't last!

There's also the role of the female lead's father, played by Liang Jiahui—easier to find local actors in Hong Kong!

As long as the role suits him, he'll take any part, lead or supporting.

Actually, Liu Tianxian shouldn't act opposite such a powerful veteran actor—he'll obliterate her completely; it's a brutal contrast, and weaker acting would avoid this problem.

But there's no choice—she must go through it.

There's also a female supporting role, played by Zhao Xiaodao—the character is Fang Hong's girlfriend, a naive, sweet girl.

Playing a naive, sweet girl is Zhao Xiaodao's strength!

Zhao Xiaodao just left Huayi; Huayi loves digging up Yutu actors, so Yutu will promote the people Huayi can't make famous.

Zhao Xiaodao was actually a bit afraid; she agonized for a long time before deciding to take this film.

It was only because Chen Zhixi told her: "Come over, and you'll be a major-screen supporting actress—Huayi can't give you that; their circle is closed!"

She understood that perfectly, so she took it—she's a girl with strong will.

Actually, it was Fang Hong who said it—he knew Zhao Xiaodao was leaving Huayi this year.

This was also influenced by the *Standing Firm Battle*—Zhao Xiaodao never doubted Yutu's strength; she overestimated Yutu.

Without that *Standing Firm Battle*, people in the industry would look down on you, thinking you're just a low-budget filmmaker incapable of big productions.

And if you'd also offended Huayi, no one would associate with you.

But after the *Standing Firm Battle*, some people with no opportunities dared to take the risk.

After all, if you have no chance anyway, who cares if you're blacklisted! These are the main actors for *The Genius Club*; other supporting roles can be filled by random people.

Aside from those few actors, almost everyone else is familiar—Fang Hong won't even bother holding a meeting; once everyone arrives, they start shooting.

This film's exam-cheating plot can be divided into four scenes.

The first scene: the female lead helps the female supporting character cheat, earns recognition, enters the upper class, and begins helping rich second-generations cheat.

The second scene: the female lead helps the rich second-generations cheat, proving her ability.

The third scene ramps up the difficulty—unexpected events occur, further showcasing the female lead's genius traits, her calmness under pressure, and her commanding presence.

The fourth scene is the most intense: cheating on the U. S. college entrance exam, the SAT.

The first three scenes are all setup for the fourth.

This film builds layer by layer, step by step, revealing the female lead's extraordinary abilities—all about how brilliant she is, how calmly she turns danger into safety.

It's practically tailor-made for Liu Tianxian!

The first scene: a bright office.

Liang Jiahui, as the father, brings Liu Tianxian, as his daughter, to Hong Kong's most elite private school.

This scene is simple: it establishes Liu Tianxian as a genius—no need to mention her perfect exam scores; she's champion in swimming, piano, everything.

A few clear, logical calculations convince the Principal to waive her tuition fees to secure her enrollment.

Basically, she's ridiculously intelligent! Liu Tianxian wears simple clothes, her hair always in a high ponytail, showing her clean, efficient demeanor.

This scene took several takes to complete; the crew moved to the next location.

Next, they filmed the scenes of Liu Tianxian and Zhao Xiaodao meeting and getting to know each other.

A genius and a dunce, a prodigy and a fool—natural chemistry sparks, and the first cheating scene is shot quickly.

In a bright office, acting coaches train extras, while crew members arrange desks.

"Xiaodao, your brain's not sharp; Feifei, you need presence—best to unleash it fully," Fang Hong gave his usual direction.

Calling her "Feifei" in public surprised some people—previously, they only used two-character names; clearly, progress is rapid.

On set, aside from a few people who looked surprised, everyone else was perfectly normal.

In fact, anyone who knew them could tell — Fang Hong liked Liu Tianxian. It was hardly a secret; he had never tried to hide it.

Liu Tianxian didn't care one way or the other. Let him call her whatever he wanted; she couldn't stop him anyway.

He used to call her "Xiao Feifei" in that sickeningly sweet way — just thinking about it gave her the shivers. "Got it, Director!" Zhao Xiaodao said she understood.

That was the character setting; it didn't actually mean she was dim-witted.

Only Liu Tianxian was a bit puzzled: "How should I project that kind of presence?"

"Presence comes from your ability. Just think of yourself as a top student, a super genius," Fang Hong said.

"You're being too abstract. Is there anything concrete — like how exactly to play it? Like before, you always told me how to act," Liu Tianxian said.

"This role doesn't need acting. Whatever you feel, just let it out — let it all out. Forget you're an actress, forget you're performing," Fang Hong said.

Liu Tianxian listened, thought it over, and still didn't quite get it.

"Acting requires your whole heart and soul. What the director just said is right — forget yourself, and enjoy living someone else's life," Liang Jiahui couldn't help chiming in from the side.

He only spoke up because he felt Fang Hong made sense. In truth, he himself had no method for acting either — he just felt something and let it out.

He rarely talked on the show about how he acted. He never shared his insights into performing — it was always other people analyzing him.

It's very simple: forget the original me, and throw myself into the character's me! This kind of acting has no technique, no insights — it's just that you've lived enough, experienced enough, and it comes naturally.

Wang Zhiwen also works this way!

Many actors work this way — you can't see any method, but their acting is just good.

Even they themselves don't know why they act so well!

Hearing Liang Jiahui say that, Liu Tianxian grew even more confused and looked to Fang Hong for help.

Before, this man had her follow technique to act; now there was no technique, and she had to forget herself to act. It felt like it was getting harder and harder!

"Let's shoot. Take your time and feel it out."

Seeing her like this, Fang Hong knew that with her IQ, she wouldn't get it for a while.

If one or two sentences could explain it, make her grasp it, open the door — then every traffic star would have become a talent.

Anyway, there were two assistant directors. When shooting, they didn't need to operate the camera themselves — they only had to keep a handle on the artistic side and guide the actresses' performances well.

Shooting began again! The scene's plot: at the midterm exam site, Zhao Xiaodao — the sweet-but-dim type — had forgotten the exam questions Liu Tianxian had taught her beforehand, and was frantic.

Liu Tianxian, to bail her out, switched on cheat mode.

The shoot went smoothly on set — none of that tense, thrilling feel. What they wanted was simply Liu Tianxian's unflappable presence.

They'd shoot this scene a few more times to let Liu Tianxian figure it out for herself. Other people's words could only point her in a direction — they couldn't put it into words.

Still, she was clever too. With a little guidance, if she tried to step into the shoes of a top student, then when trouble came she'd calmly defuse the crisis. Following that line of thinking would be right on the mark.

This scene wrapped quickly! In the next part of the plot, Liu Tianxian helps Zhao Xiaodao defuse the crisis, and the two of them grow closer.

So Zhao Xiaodao brought Liu Tianxian to meet her rich second-generation boyfriend — and it was time for Fang Hong to appear.

Night. A high-end hotel swimming pool — rented for the occasion.

There stood Fang Hong, bare-chested in the pool, a glass of red wine in one hand, the other arm around Zhao Xiaodao in her spaghetti-strap dress.

What a life — what a sight.

Liu Tianxian watched, feeling a strange pang inside, but since it was acting, she held it in for now.

She had reason to suspect this man had deliberately chosen a supporting role instead of the lead.

She herself sat at the pool's edge, wearing a spaghetti-strap dress — the amusement-park kind, not the beach kind — with a bathrobe thrown over it, to avoid showing too much.

"I hear you study brilliantly — nothing ever stumps you. I've always wanted a friend like you," Fang Hong said, sipping his red wine and looking at Liu Tianxian as he delivered his line.

"You already have plenty of friends," Liu Tianxian said, pulling herself together. This was acting.

"But none of them would lend me an eraser (to cheat with)," Fang Hong said with a half-smile.

Liu Tianxian's expression slowly changed. She looked at Zhao Xiaodao, who was so embarrassed she sank her head underwater.

She had told Fang Hong the secret of their cheating! "What do you want?" Liu Tianxian said, forcing herself to stay calm.

It was the same as having leverage in the other party's hands. If the school found out she'd cheated, they'd strip her of many qualifications.

"A top student like you wouldn't understand — students like us also hope for good grades."

Fang Hong said this, then turned to Zhao Xiaodao with a smile: "My dad said if I pass the exam, he'll buy me a Ferrari. Want one?"

Zhao Xiaodao, starry-eyed, nodded at once.

Liu Tianxian stayed silent — she still didn't know what this rich kid was after.

"I know we don't really know each other yet. If you help me cheat, I'll give you five thousand yuan per person," Fang Hong said.

"Per person?" Liu Tianxian was tempted.

One casual glass of wine for him was a month's wages for her dad.

"Right. I have five friends," Fang Hong said.

Liu Tianxian hesitated: "What if the teacher finds out?"

"We won't say anything. We just want to graduate smoothly. Five thousand per subject."

Fang Hong paused mid-sentence and asked Zhao Xiaodao: "How many subjects do we take, again?"

The look of a hopeless student was plain as day — he didn't even know how many subjects he was taking.

"Excluding P. E., thirteen subjects in total!" Zhao Xiaodao said.

"Thirteen subjects, five people, one exam."

"325,000 yuan!"

Liu Tianxian blurted out the number.

At this point the plot officially kicked off!

From here on, the plot has Liu Tianxian helping the rich kid cheat, and Fang Hong's character serves as the link between her and the rich kid.

It also serves to push the plot along, push the female lead to cheat, and create dramatic conflict—otherwise it has no real purpose.

However, this scene wasn't filmed in one take, because Liu Tianxian kept making mistakes, as if her mind were elsewhere.

Fang Hong asked her what was going on.

She snapped, "What business is it of yours?"

She was curt and cold with this man, yet with everyone else she still wore that easy-going, approachable look.

Fang Hong was baffled—it's just acting a scene, isn't it? When you have to act intimate with someone else, does that count as scolding her? (End of chapter)