Chapter 20: Wrap

Hearing this, Wu Yuchen let out a faint smile; he admitted he’d been a bit harsh today, but everything was for the sake of filming.

After observing Jiang Qin’s state at the time, he couldn’t let her slip away—his judgment proved correct: the footage turned out excellent and highly efficient.

Today, all of Jiang Qin’s scenes were finished; only one final shot remained—the ruins in the ravine. Tomorrow, he’d just need to bring Duan Long, the lead actor.

That meant saving at least one full day: no need to bring the bus or extras tomorrow, and they’d saved a lot of film stock too.

Every bit saved was money—at least a few thousand yuan!

Wu Yuchen shook his head; though he felt a twinge of guilt, the most important thing now was to finish the film well: “Just one more scene tomorrow. Let’s push hard and set up the ruins.”

Lao Jia smiled and said:

“Don’t worry—we still have plenty of film stock. Tomorrow’s shot’s got enough room for you to NG till you’re satisfied!”

Whether Lao Jia, Wu Fat, or Chen Er, all of them had watched Wu Yuchen, this rookie director, command a crew of dozens with seamless precision these past few days—they were genuinely impressed, and had learned a great deal: they’d seen firsthand how a film crew truly operated, and gained invaluable insight.

Wu Yuchen had stubbornly pushed Jiang Qin to keep performing, and they all saw she was perfectly in character then—but none of them dared to say they could’ve held her to it under such raw emotion, especially with such a beautiful woman shedding tears so tenderly; most men wouldn’t have had the heart. Yet Wu Yuchen, for the sake of filming, had done it.

The film’s smooth progress owes everything to Wu Yuchen as director—they couldn’t help but admire him.

…

Wu Yuchen placed special importance on the final scene: the lead actor standing before the ruins, giving that strange smile after hearing the police say all aboard the bus had perished—this smile would spark endless speculation, elevating the entire short film’s tone and depth.

Their crew obviously couldn’t afford a wrecked bus, so they found a wasteland beneath a bridge, scattered some debris, and burned the earth black. To shoot this scene, they’d even brought in a police officer.

One of the crew guys had called his dad in the police force, who’d even driven over in a patrol car.

In the shot, a police officer’s radio crackled:

“Confirm vehicle type and license plate.”

“A01, B2 calling—we see Bus 44.”

“Just confirmed—all passengers and driver are dead.”

“Cut! Thank you so much, officers!”

“Haha, rare chance to experience filming!”

After seeing the police off, they moved to capture Duan Long’s smile standing before the ruins.

Before shooting, Duan Long came to ask Wu Yuchen: “Director, how should I smile? Any specific direction?”

“Smile however you feel. Not too bright—just a sunlit smile.”

Wu Yuchen had no clear requirement for this smile—it was all instinct. He just needed one that gave him a feeling.

“Cut! Again.”

“Cut! Try a different one!”

“Cut! Adjust and try again.”

They shot this smile dozens of times, taking nearly two hours, exhausting nearly every variation Duan Long could offer.

Three versions stood out to Wu Yuchen—he planned to test them all during editing, linking them to the preceding scenes to see which worked best.

“Cut! Wrap!”

Hearing Wu Yuchen’s words, everyone sighed in relief. Though they’d only filmed for three days, their nerves had been taut the whole time—now, the tension could finally ease.

Wu Yuchen clapped his hands:

“Thank you all for your hard work and dedication these past days. Go home and rest well tonight.

You all know our budget situation—there won’t be a wrap party for now. If we still have funds left after post-production, we’ll throw you a proper wrap banquet!”

Everyone laughed and said it was fine—the film’s completion mattered most.

Lao Jia came over and asked: “Director Wu, we bought eight reels—you used seven, one left. Should we return it?”

Wu Yuchen thought for a moment: “Keep it for now. We’ll return it later if we run short on cash.”

This shoot’s film-to-take ratio reached 6. something to one—decent enough. Mainly because Huang Lei gave him five thousand yuan, he wanted to perfect it, so he shot a bit more; otherwise, he could’ve kept it under 5:1.

So far, they’d spent sixteen thousand yuan—ten thousand just on film stock. Though many pieces of equipment were borrowed, some couldn’t be, so they had to rent or buy them, plus miscellaneous expenses, and that’s how they reached this total.

For post-production, he estimated another ten thousand yuan at minimum. If funds allowed, he’d produce several master reels.

Afternoon, Jingying.

“So fast? Was filming smooth?” Huang Lei stared at Wu Yuchen in surprise.

He’d expected three days to be optimistic—five would’ve been fine. Not just for a rookie, even many veteran directors often went over schedule and budget.

“Filming went fairly well, but…”

Wu Yuchen recounted the entire process, including his clash with Jiang Qin, leaving nothing out.

“You, you, you—how could you be so ruthless!

If the boys at school found out, they’d probably beat you up!”

Huang Lei pointed at Wu Yuchen, laughing and scolding—but from a director’s perspective, he admired him even more.

To Huang Lei, this wasn’t a big deal at all—only their crew was all newcomers. Veteran actors would’ve just laughed it off.

Huang Lei knew clearly: Wu Yuchen’s decision under those circumstances was the right one. Miss that spontaneous state, and it’d be nearly impossible to recapture it in such a short time.

“I can’t help you with this. Go apologize to her yourself tomorrow!”

Huang Lei chuckled—he had no intention of meddling in such trivial matters. He was actually looking forward to seeing his student squirm.

When the film was done, Wu Yuchen would apologize to Jiang Qin—whether she accepted it or not, he didn’t care. He never planned to pursue her anyway. He wasn’t some dog who lost his legs at the sight of beauty.

Wu Yuchen’s focus now was almost entirely on his career and making money—women were secondary. With money and a career, beautiful women in the entertainment industry would throw themselves at him—he didn’t need to rush.

“Senior brother, I didn’t come to talk about that. Developing, editing…” Wu Yuchen reminded Huang Lei.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten. Come with me!” Huang Lei stood up and gestured for Wu Yuchen to follow.