Chapter 251: Set Constitution

Magic movements have specific requirements; you can tell from the stage magician's performance how to express one's movement characteristics to make it visually appealing.

Fang Hong explained to Duan Yihong and Xie Miao the movement traits each character needed to portray, then stopped.

This left Liu Tianxian confused; she tapped his arm beside her: "Didn't you forget something?"

"What?" Fang Hong looked puzzled.

"What about my character's movement traits? You told everyone else's, why not mine?" Liu Tianxian asked, puzzled.

In the past, this man would always teach her acting—everyone else's traits were explained, but never hers.

"Your current feeling is already perfect—beautiful, elegant, carrying your beauty with grace," Fang Hong said.

"What nonsense," Liu Tianxian thought he was teasing her and punched his chest lightly.

"I'm serious. Act freely, be as confident as you can. A woman's greatest beauty is confidence—only confidence can radiate your charm," Fang Hong explained.

"Oh, so that's it!"

Liu Tianxian had thought he was just teasing her—she'd misunderstood him.

She'd forgotten this man never joked with her about work, only privately.

She glanced around; others had glanced at the two out of curiosity, then looked away—no one would truly investigate what kind of relationship they had.

Those who rise to the level of actor in the entertainment industry rarely leak set gossip, unless it's truly out of control.

It's either self-leaked or exposed by paparazzi.

Soon, the crew prepared again; Fang Hong sat in the director's chair, with Chen Sicheng and Lu Yang seated beside him, learning.

Watch how the Principal goes full badass! Liu Tianxian stood behind Fang Hong, hands resting on his shoulders, watching Duan Yihong's performance on the monitor.

Duan Yihong stood before a floor-to-ceiling glass, staring straight at his reflection, fingers flipping cards with dazzling flair, while the camera rotated 360 degrees around him.

This rotation truly gave a dazzling effect.

Then Fang Hong directed: Camera 2 and Camera 3 switched shots continuously—sometimes cutting to Duan Yihong's hand details, sometimes to his face.

The playing cards flipped—this was showmanship, incredibly cool! His face remained expressionless, shadowed, obscuring full visibility, giving a mysterious aura.

Chen Sicheng and Lu Yang exchanged a glance—this shot captured all the dazzle and coolness, plus the lead's inherent aloofness.

It truly had that full-on badass, flashy, cool vibe.

Finally, Duan Yihong flipped one card—a Jack—transforming into an Ace, 画面定格.

It felt incredible! "If we add sound effects and voiceover—sound effects to enhance the feeling, voiceover to introduce the character's abilities—this segment will hold."

Fang Hong patted both their thighs and stood up: "That's a wrap. Next scene!"

The Principal is still awesome—he finished it in one take, while other assistant directors drag things out for hours, wasting time.

Mainly because they've never shot this kind of flashy scene before; they still cling to their old habits—realistic shooting methods.

After Fang Hong explained, they finally understood.

At this moment, the crew was packing gear and moving locations; people were carrying things outside, where it was scorching hot.

Liu Tianxian fanned herself with a fan, her hair fluttering in the wind: "You're actually pretty good at directing films. Why did you always say you couldn't direct?"

"I really can't direct that well," Fang Hong replied beside her.

"If you can't direct that well, why do you talk so confidently, with so many people listening to you and thinking you're right?" Liu Tianxian glanced sideways at him.

"Really?" Fang Hong didn't feel it was anything special.

He was used to people listening to his rambling, but he never thought he could direct films.

If he could direct, he'd have made art films and won awards! "Of course you can—you've got talent, otherwise your films wouldn't have been huge hits, with the market recognizing them," Liu Tianxian said firmly.

"It's all teamwork—I just clearly describe the visuals I want in my head to them," Fang Hong still didn't think he could direct.

He just copies—whatever image is in his head, he shoots it; sometimes he doesn't even bother changing it.

The only film he changed style and plot for was The Witch—it was slow, bloody, felt niche, so he changed it.

Those Years was just compressed, cutting out unnecessary content.

"Being able to bring your mental images to life, expressing what you want through visuals—that's talent too! Some people can't even copy well!" Liu Tianxian was flattering him anyway.

This man was too close to his own brilliance to see it—he always felt inferior to others.

She didn't know that in his past life, Fang Hong had never directed a film that reached the big screen; everything he shot now was copied from others, so naturally he didn't think it was his own talent.

But over these years, he'd written screenplays and storyboards day and night, drawn sketches day and night, and practiced with one film after another—he'd improved greatly.

Even if he'd been imitating for years, he was far beyond ordinary people! "You make it sound right," Fang Hong suddenly realized.

He realized his control over big films had strengthened—he once thought he couldn't make a film like The Legend of Hongmen.

Now, it felt like it was just… doable.

Shooting a project like Now You See Me felt natural, with no resistance.

Of course, the well-built team framework helped, but so did his own control—otherwise such a large crew wouldn't be this coordinated.

Liu Tianxian closed her fan and tapped his head: "You're so dumb."

"Aww, you've discovered all my strengths," Fang Hong wrapped his arm around her shoulders, grinning smugly.

Liu Tianxian looked at him, smiling gently.

These two leaning on each other didn't care about the setting—those who knew them thought it normal; those who didn't just glanced twice.

Mostly because they envied it—when would they ever get to be like the Principal, embracing a beauty while filming a scene?

Then their life would be complete! "Set Constitution Article One: No gossiping. Gossips will never be hired and will face legal liability," Lu Dabo lectured his crew on set rules.

No one dared speak up—work came first!

Once the assistant director confirmed the film's style, he knew exactly how to shoot, working from dawn till dusk.

Now they were shooting Liu Tianxian's escape scene in the water tank—her debut moment.

This scene had many extras, since it was performance-based and needed atmosphere; Liu Tianxian had to appear in a bikini, but due to Fang Hong's selfishness, he'd draped her in a strapless chiffon dress down to her knees.

He hadn't even admired it himself—how could he let others see her reveal?

The scene was set in a factory converted into a filming location.

At this moment, Fang Hong was inspecting the water tank equipment; it was said the original film's female lead nearly drowned, so caution was required.

He looked at the water in the tank and asked, "What kind of water is this?"

"It's purified water, meeting drinking standards," said the crew member.

How extravagant—such a large tank of water, enough for someone to swim in, and they're using purified water.

But it didn't matter; they had money! Fang Hong asked again: "How long would it take to drain all this water?"

"Very quickly—just a few seconds. Just press the drain button," the crew member explained.

Fang Hong nodded; if an emergency arose, the water in the tank could be drained rapidly.

He picked up the thick iron chain, studying it—it was the prop to bind Liu Tianxian, meant to lock her hands and feet, after which she would escape.

"How's it going? Can we start shooting?" Liu Tianxian tapped him on the shoulder from behind.

Fang Hong turned and saw Liu Tianxian in a gauzy dress, looking ethereal; he took her hand and gestured for her to spin.

"What are you doing?" Liu Tianxian spun around.

Fang Hong glanced at her—thankfully, it wasn't transparent—and said, "First time seeing you in a dress. Let me admire it."

"I wear dresses all the time!" Liu Tianxian said.

"Do you?" Fang Hong thought back.

"When I attend events, I always wear dresses," Liu Tianxian said.

"That doesn't count—it's for others to see," Fang Hong muttered.

Liu Tianxian smiled, thinking it was true; she noticed the iron chain in his hand: "What's this for?"

"To lock you up."

Fang Hong crouched down and locked her feet: "Try to break free."

Liu Tianxian lifted one foot and pulled upward—it felt heavy, and she couldn't break free; she tried pulling her feet apart, still couldn't break free.

"Sister Fei, just use your foot to scrape the chain at your ankle—it'll open," a crew member pointed out.

Liu Tianxian followed the instruction, scraping the chain at her ankle with her foot; the chain unlocked and clattered to the ground.

"So simple," she found it strange.

"The chain is real, but connected by magnets. If danger arises, just scrape your ankle—the chain releases and you'll float up immediately," Fang Hong explained clearly, to ensure her safety.

"Got it!" Liu Tianxian nodded.

"How long can you hold your breath underwater?" Fang Hong asked.

"I'm not sure—I've never timed it—but I think I can manage a minute!" Liu Tianxian estimated.

That's long enough.

"If something goes wrong and you can't hold it, give me a signal—don't force it," Fang Hong warned.

"I know."

Liu Tianxian knew he was thinking of her safety; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so thorough—coming specifically to inspect the water tank and props.

After some communication, everything was ready; filming began.

This scene was not shot by Fang Hong, but by Lu Yang—he only oversaw the artistic direction.

When everything was ready, filming began.

The crowd erupted in noise; Liu Tianxian stood atop the water tank, her hands and feet bound by iron chains, with a tank of piranhas above her head.

If she failed to unlock the chains on her hands and feet within sixty seconds, the piranhas above her would tip down and devour her.

After the rules were explained, with a "Bang!" Liu Tianxian plunged into the water.

Everything went smoothly at first—within ten seconds, she unlocked the chains on her hands, then quickly sank to free her feet, but found the chains jammed.

She pulled hard but couldn't lift them; the chains were stuck and she couldn't surface, while time ticked away second by second.

With no other option, she pounded on the glass for help.

"Crack!" Lu Yang shouted into his walkie-talkie.

The noisy environment instantly fell silent.

Crew members pulled at Liu Tianxian, but couldn't haul her up; she merely leaned against the tank's edge, listening to the director's instructions, her head dripping wet.

"Tianxian, you need to show desperation—the desperation of a life hanging by a thread," Lu Yang said.

"Yes, Director, I'll try!" Liu Tianxian glanced at Fang Hong.

Fang Hong gave her an encouraging look.

From the moment she entered the water, filming resumed; extras resumed their wild, noisy gestures.

Liu Tianxian freed her hands, then moved to unlock her feet—this time, it took her longer.

Seconds ticked by; apart from the extras, the director and crew watched in silence.

Liu Tianxian waited until she was nearly out of breath, feeling the sensation of drowning, before she began pounding on the glass.

Lu Yang watched the monitor but gave no signal—he felt it wasn't enough; she needed to be more desperate, more desperately on the brink of death.

Liu Tianxian held her breath and pounded harder on the glass.

Fang Hong glanced at his watch—he felt this was taking too long.

Just as Liu Tianxian could no longer hold her breath and swallowed several mouthfuls of water, Lu Yang signaled for the extras to smash the glass.

The extras, already waiting, raised large mallets and slammed them against the tank with a "Boom—".

But the glass didn't break; the tank showed no movement.

Liu Tianxian pulled back slightly, recognizing the cue; she swallowed more water, then yanked hard on the iron chain around her feet.

She surged to the surface—just as the "time" hit exactly "60 seconds"—and the piranhas tipped down, crashing into the tank onto Liu Tianxian.

Liu Tianxian struggled—and the water in the tank instantly turned to blood, gushing out.

The shooting ended here; actually, it ended when Liu Tianxian was slammed into the water tank.

What follows is a special effect—when the bloody water surges, Liu Tianxian isn't inside!

Fang Hong grabbed a towel and rushed over to wrap Liu Tianxian's body in it.

"Cough! Cough! Cough!" Liu Tianxian was still choking on water.

"Why didn't you say anything? You didn't even signal," Fang Hong said.

"I wanted it to be more realistic."

"It's just a performance—is it really necessary?"

(End of Chapter)