Chapter 20: One Doesn't Look Like Acting, One Acts Like They Aren't

On the set, the four actors including Qi Hui turned their heads in a daze, looking toward the director.

The executive director was just as confused as the four actors; what happened?

Facing the many puzzled looks, Director Jiang Wei pondered for a moment, scratched his head, pushed up the black-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, and said:

"It's nothing, let's keep filming."

Jiang Wei felt this scene was a bit off, but he couldn't put his finger on why.

Everyone was baffled by his reaction, but they didn't dwell on it and immediately continued filming.

Zu Feng, Wu Gang, and Feng Enhe, who were watching the scene, were equally puzzled; that shout just now had been quite intense, and they had thought something had gone wrong.

They hadn't expected it to fizzle out like this.

Zu Feng pursed his lips, feeling somewhat disappointed.

"Alright, continue," the executive director shouted. "The four actors, let's do that take again, we need to pick up some shots."

A scene is a single sequence; the dialogue and actions just now all counted as one scene, but close-ups needed to be added, so they had to do it again.

During filming, this is a very common occurrence.

The four actors including Qi Hui were in good form, made no mistakes, and quickly finished the scene.

Soon, the second scene began.

"Scene 178, first take, action!" the executive director shouted through his megaphone, and the clapperboard loader snapped the slate in front of the lens.

This scene was changed to an eating scene, with the four actors including Qi Hui eating the dumplings they had just wrapped.

The camera circled the dining table to film a wide shot, then gave each of the four actors a close-up to record their different expressions.

Xie Ruolin, played by Qi Hui, wore a smile, looking confident and in control, with a hint of imperceptible smugness.

He now knew everything about Yu Zecheng, while Yu Zecheng knew nothing about him.

Yu Zecheng, played by Sun Honglei, had no change in expression, focusing on eating his dumplings.

Meanwhile, Cui Ping, played by Yao Chen, and Mu Wanqiu, played by Zhu Jie, wore expressions of impatience and disgust.

"Yao Chen is acting well," Director Jiang Wei said with a chuckle, "but Zhu Jie is a bit lacking."

The character of Cui Ping couldn't stand Xie Ruolin, and she performed that hidden look of disgust very well.

Zhu Jie, on the other hand, was acting a bit unnaturally.

Of course, her shots were mainly from the back and side, so it didn't affect things, and Jiang Wei didn't call a cut.

"Yao Chen was never bad to begin with," Zu Feng laughed.

Wu Gang glanced over twice but didn't speak.

"Hehehe..." Feng Enhe smiled; one didn't look like they were acting, the other acted like they weren't.

Soon, the necessary shots were finished, and Qi Hui took a bite of a dumpling and began his lines.

He tilted his head slightly, looking at Yu Zecheng with a measuring gaze, and smiled: "We've been neighbors for so many days, yet I still don't know where Mr. Yu is employed?"

Yu Zecheng, played by Sun Honglei, paused slightly, holding a dumpling without speaking, his small eyes looking slightly downward at Mu Wanqiu.

Mu Wanqiu lowered her eyes and shook her head imperceptibly.

"Cut!" At this moment, the director called for a stop again.

Zhu Jie's body trembled slightly; it seemed she hadn't performed well.

She felt a bit helpless and prepared herself to be criticized.

The director shouted: "Xie Ruolin and Yu Zecheng, you two... um..."

He pondered how best to handle it.

Hearing this, Zhu Jie widened her eyes—it wasn't her problem?

"Did I mess up?" Sun Honglei also widened his small, squinty eyes and asked.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Wei said: "You all come over and take a look."

Immediately, the four actors including Qi Hui gathered around the monitor to review the scene.

Soon, they discovered the problem: in the footage, Yu Zecheng was cautious and somewhat timid.

And Xie Ruolin, played by Qi Hui, had a bit more sharpness in his casual conversation.

He didn't look like a businessman, but rather like a young, promising, overbearing CEO.

The problem was found: Qi Hui's acting was overshadowing the protagonist, Yu Zecheng.

In this scene, Xie Ruolin's aura was too strong, making Yu Zecheng look like a mere foil, completely reduced to a subordinate of Xie Ruolin.

This wouldn't do; a supporting character overshadowing the lead has a huge impact on the entire production.

Jiang Wei had noticed this issue in the previous scene, but since Xie Ruolin and Yu Zecheng didn't have any scenes together, he hadn't been sure.

Now that the two were acting opposite each other, the problem was fully exposed.

Not far away, Zu Feng sneered: "This kid isn't bad at stirring up trouble, but his professional skills are a bit lacking..."

Before he could finish, he suddenly noticed something unusual beside him.

Turning his head, he discovered it was Wu Gang who had leaned in.

"Mr. Wu?" Zu Feng instinctively took a step back.

"Hehe, you kid..." Wu Gang pointed at him and said to Zu Feng with a smile: "If that little Qi had come a few days earlier, maybe I could have played my part even better."

Zu Feng was puzzled: "Why does Mr. Wu say that?"

Wu Gang laughed: "Do you remember what the scene was a few days ago?"

"The one with Yuan Peilin, right?" Zu Feng said.

Yuan Peilin was a traitor in the story, whom his character Li Ya was responsible for protecting, but the protagonist Yu Zecheng found him through various clues, and in the end, the anti-traitor squad chopped off the traitor's head with a knife.

Of course, before being eliminated, the Yuan Peilin in the story betrayed his comrades several times, causing significant losses to the organization.

It made Lu Qiaoshan, played by Wu Gang, so envious he rolled on the floor.

It even featured Lu Qiaoshan's famous scene: [Am I that cheap?]

Wu Gang chuckled: "If that kid had come a few days earlier, I would have known how to better portray Lu Qiaoshan's jealousy toward Li Ya."

Hearing this, Zu Feng's expression stiffened; he immediately understood what Wu Gang meant.

"Is it that obvious?" Zu Feng instinctively touched his own face.

Feng Enhe smiled faintly: "Not obvious, it's just practically written on your face."

Zu Feng: "..."

By the dining table, Jiang Wei and the few actors including Qi Hui sat together, with several assistant directors standing behind them, thinking about how to solve this problem.

"Make him look uglier," Yao Chen said nonchalantly while peeling garlic.

Zhu Jie pursed her lips, her slender brows slightly furrowed; had Yao Chen failed to pull back her performance, bringing her character's disgust for Xie Ruolin into reality?

Jiang Wei, standing to the side, thought about it—that made sense.

"Get a Zhongshan suit and let's try it," Jiang Wei ordered. To make him look uglier while staying within the historical context and character setting, changing his clothes was the only way.

Xie Ruolin's attire was an exquisite off-white suit; perhaps changing to a coarse hemp Zhongshan suit would be better.

Soon, an assistant director brought over a blue Zhongshan suit, and upon seeing it, Qi Hui put it on directly.

And then... then Jiang Wei discovered that this didn't work either.

Qi Hui didn't look rustic in the Zhongshan suit; instead, he inexplicably gained an air of authority, his presence imposing, like a big boss riding in a Coaster bus.

Jiang Wei found that when facing Qi Hui, he couldn't say anything except to salute.

Seeing this, Sun Honglei couldn't help but frown.

He was the lead, and with Qi Hui stealing his thunder like this, he naturally wasn't very happy about it.

"How about changing his hairstyle and putting some glasses on him?" he suggested.

That was how he looked when he first joined the crew; back then, he had a short buzz cut and wore a short-sleeved shirt, looking exactly like Liu Huaqiang, the kind who would stab someone with a watermelon knife at any moment.

He didn't look like Yu Zecheng at all.

It was only later, after changing his hairstyle and putting on glasses, that he managed to change his look.

Hearing this, the director called over the hairstylist and gave Qi Hui a traitor-style center-part, and also made him wear a pair of tacky black-rimmed glasses.

But as soon as this image appeared, Jiang Wei and the others frowned.

Still no good.

He just looked like a refined and cultured student from the Republic of China era—elegant, scholarly, and handsome.

Wearing a suit, he was a student who had studied abroad.

Wearing a Zhongshan suit, he was a progressive student.

With this face, no matter how he dressed, he couldn't look ugly.

Jiang Wei was a bit distressed; Qi Hui's current situation was similar to Stephen Chow's—no one could act alongside him, everyone else just ended up playing supporting roles to him, as if he were the only protagonist.

Zhu Jie looked at Qi Hui with a beaming smile and didn't say anything; she thought he looked quite good.

"How about... I try stuttering?" Qi Hui thought for a moment and said.

Immediately, he asked the hairstylist for some hair gel and slicked his center-part back: "We've been... neighbors for so many days, yet I still... still don't know where Mr. Yu... Yu is employed?"

The expression was the same, and the lines were the same, but his aura was significantly weaker.

Jiang Wei's eyes lit up: "Not bad, that's the feeling!"

"Do you still think he's not good enough now?" Wu Gang asked with a wry smile, looking at Zu Feng.

Zu Feng gave a sheepish laugh, speechless.