Chapter 647

The cinematographer gave Liu Tianxian a close-up of her face, a close-up not present in the original.

Close-ups make the audience feel more immersed and sense the emotions the protagonist wants to convey, so protagonists on the big screen are often filmed with close-ups.

"You did pretty well, Liu Tianxian—your acting has improved compared to before," Wen Muye remarked, watching her performance on the monitor.

"Indeed, her progress these past few years has been significant," Liu Tianwang agreed.

He regularly watches performances by various actors and learns from them, so he's seen every one of Liu Tianxian's films.

Liu Tianxian has been very popular these past few years; her movie scripts are all of high quality, and her acting skills have clearly improved.

Liu Tianwang added again: "You need to work with a good director and a good crew, otherwise an actor can't reach their full potential. I used to be terrible too—until I met Du Qifeng, then it was like something finally clicked."

If Liu Tianxian hadn't met the Principal, the crew, and the script, she'd still be at that same level.

If Liu Tianwang hadn't met Du Qifeng, he'd still just be showing off his looks.

Zhang Yi said nothing, merely listened to their discussion and observed the performance to learn.

Zhao Xiaodao was also paying attention to Liu Tianxian's performance—it had more depth, since she herself had only just mastered playing the naive, sweet girl and her acting was still very raw.

She couldn't match Liu Tianxian's emotional investment.

In fact, Fang Hong had only taught Liu Tianxian how to use her body, not her inner state, because Fang Hong himself couldn't empathize—how could he teach her anything about inner feelings?

She had to discover it herself; whatever she personally felt, she should release it.

No one's inner insight can be identical to another's, and no one can truly empathize with another's pain; so while the body can be imitated, the inner self cannot.

Liu Tianxian thought of her unborn child—that longing became her emotional anchor.

Her mother and her husband were both with her, so there was no such deep longing.

Only an unborn child could evoke such longing.

At that moment, Fang Hong turned to look at Wen Muye, silently asking if it was enough—he could see the monitor more clearly.

Wen Muye gave an "OK!" gesture, signaling it was done.

"Alright, that's enough shooting," Fang Hong signaled the cinematographer to stop; they'd only shot this one clip, and it was uncertain whether it would be used in post-production.

Filming is like this—you shoot tons of possible and impossible footage, and only one or two hours might make it into the final cut.

The footage must also be distributed among other characters' scenes, maybe only a few dozen minutes total, while the actor's raw footage could fill several movies.

The crew, hearing the instruction, stopped what they were doing and prepared for the next scene.

"Not bad—you've got real life in it. You even know what the world looks like to someone with nearsightedness—have you experienced it?" Liu Tianxian stood up and handed her helmet to the Assistant.

She'd previously known nurses pulled out needles quickly, not slowly—but now she understood what the world looked like to a nearsighted person.

Nearby, the Assistant staff helped her take off the spacesuit; underneath, she wore a short-sleeved top and loose casual pants.

Since this scene wasn't inside the base but outside on "Mars," full protective gear was required for filming.

"Of course—unlike you, Miss Liu, who's never wanted for anything and knows nothing of the people's hardships," Fang Hong chuckled.

"Hey, who are you calling ignorant of the people's hardships?" Liu Tianxian tapped his chest with a small fist—quite firmly.

After filming ended, the crew relaxed, losing the earlier rigor; Liu Xiaoli stepped forward to help the staff remove Liu Tianxian's spacesuit.

After all, no one else knew her daughter was pregnant—she did, so her movements were inevitably more careful, more attentive.

Liu Tianwang and others gathered around: "Tianxian, you did great—I felt completely immersed watching you on the monitor. You're way stronger than before."

"Thank you for the praise, but I still need to work harder," Liu Tianxian replied humbly, then asked: "Hey, where are you guys up to in filming?"

"We're at the part where they come from Earth to Mars to rescue you—this is why we came over to rehearse with you," Liu Tianwang said.

"Great, then let's rehearse later," Liu Tianxian said.

Even though the launcher exploded, China's smartest people devised a rescue plan for her, provided technical support, and guided her to modify the Rover and the return capsule.

Six astronauts endured countless hardships, flying from Earth to Mars aboard an Earth-Mars shuttle.

This shuttle was designed to transport cargo, not land—it could only remain in orbit, so the protagonist had to fly up and rendezvous with it at the designated orbit, a process full of danger.

One misstep, and all previous efforts would be wasted.

That's roughly the situation—but Liu Tianxian had to drive 3,200 kilometers to reach the designated location.

So she dragged a pile of solar panels along with her, because the Rover's battery life was limited; she had to drive for a while, then stop to charge using the solar panels.

The process was complex and couldn't be shown directly in filming—it required editing and narrative continuity to be conveyed.

Everyone was filming their own parts separately; many didn't even know what they were doing, receiving only their own fragment of the script, not the full script.

As the group chatted, Fang Hong's phone suddenly rang; he signaled: "You guys talk—I'll take this call."

"Go ahead," Liu Tianxian assumed he had something urgent.

Fang Hong stepped away from the group and saw the caller was Fan Xiaopang—a number he'd saved long ago.

Back then, Fan Xiaopang had made a lot of money for Yutu, so they were business partners, and he'd saved her number.

Now they were still partners—she was invited as a Variety guest or for other events and award ceremonies.

"Principal, your temper's been pretty bad lately!" Fan Xiaopang said with a teasing tone.

"What makes you say that?" Fang Hong held the phone to his ear.

"I'll cut to the chase—Da Heiniu is my boyfriend, you know that. You suddenly kicked him off your Variety show, and now his bet is impossible to fulfill."

Fang Hong asked: "Who did he sign the bet with?"

"Hua Yi," Fan Xiaopang replied.

"I don't get it—if your boyfriend's already left Hua Yi, why are you still bound by that contract? Is that company really that good?" Fang Hong feigned confusion.

"Sometimes, as celebrities, we're not entirely free—we need certain resources," Fan Xiaopang offered a partial explanation.

In truth, there was no reason—it was just too much money, too tempting. Anyone would give in.

Simple: your boss offers you one hundred million upfront, and says, with your ability, you must earn back X amount over the next few years—would you accept?

The temptation of getting paid upfront—who can resist?

"Let me be clear—I'm not targeting Da Heiniu. I'm targeting Hua Yi. You shouldn't have signed that bet at all. If you did, I'm sorry—but that's the truth."

Of course, he waited until the other side signed before launching his counterattack, timing it perfectly.

Once signed, there's expenditure, there's a transaction.

"So you're not targeting anyone else—just my boyfriend? Isn't that a bit unfair?" Fan Xiaopang said.

The Principal wasn't targeting anyone else—just Da Heiniu.

"This matter has only just begun; it's far from over. Tell Da Heiniu to endure it—just ride through this phase. After all, he's already made plenty in the past couple of years. Let him take this hit for me—I won't let him down."

Fang Hong spoke beautifully, but his real aim was to make these stars bear the brunt against Huayi.

All of you, endure it—he wants Huayi dead!

This left Fan Xiaopang with nothing to say; indeed, Da Heiniu had made a fortune from Run Brother over the past couple of years.

"Principal, how long will this last?" she asked.

"I don't know. It depends on how long Huayi can hold out—and how long I can hold out. Whoever collapses first, this ends." Fang Hong spoke casually.

But Fan Xiaopang's heart trembled—this was the Principal's iron will: at all costs, Huayi must die.

"Is that really necessary?" she said.

"Yes, very necessary. From 2008 to 2015—that's how many years? Seven, right? Seven years, my husband and I have waited to settle accounts with Huayi." Fang Hong still spoke lightly.

Hearing his words, Fan Xiaopang began to feel fear—they were all about to be dragged into this titanic struggle.

In the battle between Huayi and Yutu, no one in this circle could escape.

"Huayi's already moving away from film. You've coexisted peacefully for a long time," Fan Xiaopang tried to reason.

If the Principal continued like this, she feared her project "I Am Not Pan Golden Lotus Awards" would be blocked, its funding restricted.

"Moving away from film is just their bigger ambition without the greater ability. No conflict means Yutu has grown strong. If I were still weak, do you believe Huayi wouldn't be trying to kill me today?" Fang Hong said.

That was true—when he was weak, Huayi had harassed him at every turn, targeted him relentlessly.

Only after years of fighting, after Huayi kept losing and crushed the Wangs' will to fight, did things quiet down.

Otherwise, Huayi was never this reasonable.

Back then, when they blacklisted Liu Tianxian and flooded the internet with dirt on him, how long did that last? Years. Why weren't they so reasonable then?

It was only Yutu's rise that calmed things down—otherwise, it would still be going on, and it still is, just not as openly as before.

"Principal, if you do this, all of us will be affected—we'll all suffer," Fan Xiaopang voiced her concern.

Not just Da Heiniu and her—every single star in this circle would suffer.

This is how titans fight—the common folk get crushed, forced to endure.

"I said it: you endure it. You all must bear it. If you can't even handle this, why should I give you benefits? You're not Huayi's artists anymore—why care about him?" Fang Hong said.

His stance was simple: he didn't care which side you stood on, or which company you belonged to—everyone had to bear it for him.

If you can't endure it, you become cannon fodder—that's your fate.

Whoever endures longest wins. Whoever endures longest becomes the boss of this village.

They talked for a long time. Fang Hong's resolve was firm—not something Fan Xiaopang could sway with a few words.

And her boyfriend could only be the sacrifice.

Not just her—many others would become sacrifices too.

Liu Tianxian knew about this. Liu Xiaoli knew too. The mother and daughter had not opposed her man's actions—it was years of accumulated resentment, now due for settlement.

In truth, Liu Tianxian was angry too. For all these years, her husband had repeatedly targeted Huayi—and she had never stopped him.

(End of Chapter)