Chapter 59
It was also fortunate that this movie had only started filming after Fang Shaoyi had been resting for almost a year. If this had been last year or even just a few months ago, the condition of his skin would’ve made it very difficult for him to portray such an immature, handsome youth. The previous two films had been very tough to film, especially Director Xin’s. Sand got blown into his face daily. Also, Fang Shaoyi didn’t care too much about skincare. If he had needed to immediately portray someone young after that, it would’ve been extremely tough to accomplish.
“While you were confirming the makeup look today, I glanced over and wow, you looked quite young.” The essence had already been heated up between his palms. Yuan Ye pressed his hands against Fang Shaoyi’s face, rubbing in circles to ma.s.sage the other’s skin.
Fang Shaoyi laid in his lap and closed his eyes to enjoy this adoring treatment. Yuan Ye had already booked a flight back. It was for next week. Then, there would be several weeks where he wouldn’t be able to visit the film set. The two of them had already gotten used to sticking to each other everyday. Thus, Fang Shaoyi acted extraordinarily childish and clingy the few days prior to Yuan Ye’s departure. Yuan Ye had originally wanted to discuss the script, but Fang Shaoyi held onto him and refused to let go. He was determined for the other to help him do skincare.
How could Yuan Ye handle this? What was a script and why did they need to discuss it? He set his things down and instantly washed his hands before carrying all the necessary bottles and containers over.
The condition of Fang Shaoyi’s skin was truly pretty great right now. He had been resting for so long, after all. Additionally, his romantic life and normal life were both going smoothly. Yuan Ye patted his fingers against Fang Shaoyi’s face to ma.s.sage it. He suddenly spoke up, “I think you might look younger than me.”
Fang Shaoyi cracked his eyes open to look at Yuan Ye. From this angle, the first thing he saw was Yuan Ye’s chin. He lifted a hand and stroked it before saying, “Shave your stubble.”
“I didn’t shave this morning,” Yuan Ye replied with a grin. “On purpose. I noticed that you’ve been looking pretty young recently. Thus, I’ve started acting older.”
“Why?” Fang Shaoyi c.o.c.ked an eyebrow.
Yuan Ye answered, “In order to seem older than you.”
Fang Shaoyi burst into laughter. “……What kind of goal is that?”
“Haha, I want to hear you call me ‘ge’ once,” Yuan Ye said.
This was entirely a kink of his. He had called Fang Shaoyi ge for over a decade. Recently, this silly idea had popped into his head. After sharing it, Yuan Ye couldn’t help bursting into laughter. “Something’s wrong with my brain.”
Fang Shaoyi ignored him. He left the other to dumbly laugh alone. When Yuan Ye finished laughing, he continued putting lotion on Fang Shaoyi. The longer he applied lotion, the more he found Fang Shaoyi’s face appealing. He lowered his head and bit the corner of Fang Shaoyi’s mouth.
Arriving on Director Wei’s film set was like coming home for Fang Shaoyi. He was very familiar with the entire crew. Everyone had a good understanding of each other too. Previously, he had been adamant about not taking the role. But now that he had, now that he had truly joined the crew, there weren’t so many excess things to think about. He needed to instantly get into character. Director Wei had discussed the plot with him once. After, they didn’t really talk about it much again. The two of them had similar perceptions of the character and also similar general outlooks on the plot. They only needed to focus on the details when they got there.
Director Wei told Fang Shaoyi to go sit for a bit under that old tree every day, to develop a relationship with it. He didn’t need to say anything; he just needed to sit by the roots of the tree.
One of the major reasons this village had been chosen to be the film set was because of this old paG.o.da tree that was several decades old. It was one of the most important settings of the movie. Additionally, it had really existed during that era and had experienced those unspeakable times with this village. It had also witnessed several different types and generations of people live their lives out. Each person had their own ideals.
While trying to find a location, the team in charge had taken over a hundred photos. Director Wei had been immediately taken with this village. Using Director Wei’s reasoning – filming a movie is like dating the plot – that was love at first sight.
Yuan Ye accompanied Fang Shaoyi in sitting there too. From dusk to nightfall, the two of them sat on the ground in their normal clothes. Perhaps neither would speak for a long time, or perhaps they would share a brief, quiet conversation. Sitting there daily would really cause one to feel different things towards this tree. Most of the time, when Fang Shaoyi sat under the tree, he was thinking about the movie and the man who had been stubborn his entire life. Following a long period of time, this would cause a sort of subliminal messaging. When he reached this tree, a strange sense of bitterness and sorrow would arise in his heart.
Later on, Yuan Ye stopped sitting there next to him. He was scared that Fang Shaoyi would get distracted after seeing him. He started sitting on the tree; sometimes he also laid down. It was spring. The paG.o.da tree’s leaves were still quite spa.r.s.e. Green shoots had just started sprouting from the branches. It was the best time to lay in the tree, close one’s eyes, and nap. He didn’t have so many sad emotions to discover. He also didn’t need to discover them.
The first scene Fang Shaoyi shot for this movie was under this tree. It was a very important scene between the male and female leads, Kong Chen and Bai Ru. It was also the first scene under the tree after the two main characters got to know each other. Previously, the other male actor had already filmed this scene. It was a very simple scene and had lasted two days. Everything that could be said had already been said. Thus, there was no need to remind the female actress of anything again before filming. They could directly start rolling the cameras.
Because this was the first scene, Yuan Ye was more or less a bit nervous. Actors couldn’t spend too long away from set. When they did, they would slowly fall out of practice. He pulled up a stool and sat down next to the director to look into the monitor. He really liked watching Fang Shaoyi through the monitor. This was probably related to the fact Yuan Ye also liked taking pictures. He always felt like the world looked different through a square little screen. But when the clapperboard clapped shut, Yuan Ye was no longer nervous.
Fang Shaoyi had always been very fast at getting into character. The director yelled action into his walkie-talkie. The entire set fell silent. This entire process only took one to two seconds, but Fang Shaoyi’s gaze had already changed. When the clapper boy finished reading out the take number and clapped the clapperboard, Fang Shaoyi had entirely become the immature and reckless youth in the movie. His eyes were very bright.
The aspect ratios on the monitoring screen were the same as those on the big screen in movie auditoriums. This was necessary for the director to be able to most accurately view the effects of his adjustments. On the screen, Kong Chen called Bai Ru to a halt, then reached out and grabbed the bucket of rocks from out of her hands. Bai Ru made a sound of protest. Before she could react, the wooden bucket had already ended up in the other’s hands. Kong Chen had used a bit too much strength. One stone bounced out of the bucket and landed on his foot. Bai Ru hadn’t even gotten the “thank you” out when she noticed that Kong Chen had been hit on the foot. She was a bit hesitant. “You…”
On the screen, Kong Chen smiled. Largely unbothered, he shook his head and asked, “It’s nothing. Why are you carrying these rocks?”
Girls were always a bit uncomfortable when speaking with members of the opposite s.e.x in this manner. She was a few steps away from Kong Chen. She slightly lowered her head. There was a thin sheen of sweat on her forehead while her face was bright red. She replied, “The day before yesterday, it rained, which ruined the seedlings. I’m preparing some rocks to hold down the cloth for when it rains again.”
Bai Ru didn’t speak very loudly, but her voice was quite pleasant. It was very bright.
Kong Chen asked again, “How come they made you carry these yourself? Where are the others?”
Bai Ru didn’t answer. She gently shook her head.
Even though she didn’t say anything, Kong Chen still understood. Regardless of the time period, those too eye catching would always be mistreated due to jealousy. Bai Ru was too pretty. She was also naive and honest. Among the female educated youths who had come to this village, she was always bullied.
At that time, the two of them hadn’t been too familiar with each other. Kong Chen didn’t say anything else. Only, while the two of them remained silent, Bai Ru glanced up at him. He flashed her a crisp smile in response. It was more blinding than the spring sun.
Fang Shaoyi was too good at smiling. Yuan Ye had fallen for the sixteen year old Fang Shaoyi because of that striking smile in his movie. This time, Fang Shaoyi’s smiling face caused Yuan Ye to feel slightly dazed once more. This wasn’t Fang Shaoyi – it was clearly a gentle youth who wore his heart on his sleeve. Forget Bai Ru. Whose heart wouldn’t start beating faster because of such a brilliantly transparent youth?
As expected from Wei Hua, a director Yuan Ye had liked for many years. This scene was too beautiful. It was spring. The sunlight was perfect; the trees were just starting to shoot off new branches. Two clean faces. The initial encounter of two souls. From the monitor, vitality and youth seeped through.
After filming this take, the director yelled cut. Yuan Ye turned his head over and asked, “Was that okay, Leader?”
The stone on the foot had been an accident. Originally, the stone was supposed to fall onto the ground. But the director hadn’t yelled cut and Fang Shaoyi hadn’t looked like he intended to stop. He had finished acting out the scene. The director didn’t say that this take was bad. When the two actors walked over, the director only said, “Let’s try another take in a bit.”
Fang Shaoyi didn’t ask any other questions. He nodded and replied, “Okay.”
The next take, Fang Shaoyi reigned in his emotions a bit. The female actress followed his lead. After, when he released his emotions once more, the female actress did the same again. Fang Shaoyi was very good at leading his costars. In actuality, it was very easy for other actors to act alongside him. Director Wei didn’t say that anything was wrong with these takes, which meant that they were all fine. He only wanted to see if the effect would be better given different methods of performance. This was the reason why Fang Shaoyi was giving him different portrayals each time. This was an understanding between the two of them: without the other having to say too much, Fang Shaoyi could understand what the director meant.
The actress was named Qiao Shiyu. After the first day of filming, she bowed to Fang Shaoyi and said, “Teacher Fang has worked hard.”
Fang Shaoyi made to help her up. He didn’t actually touch her. He told her, “You don’t need to be so polite all the time. You’re very good at acting.”
Qiao Shiyu rubbed her hands, smiled, and said, “Actually, I’m super nervous.”
“There’s no need to be. All will come in time.” After saying this, Fang Shaoyi headed in Yuan Ye’s direction.
The little girl was too young. She was a complete rookie. The first movie she was acting in was Director Wei’s movie. And, her costar was Fang Shaoyi. It could be said that she had gotten a fast ride to the top. However, these fast rides were very stressful for rookies. Not all of them could withstand the pressure. They needed to be polite and careful around each new person. Everything about this industry was brand new to them.
Yuan Ye had watched the entire day of filming. Now, he was emotionally and physically satiated. This was probably because he personally liked these types of stories more. He also had rose-colored gla.s.ses on when it came to Director Wei. The satisfaction he felt from a day of watching was something he had never experienced on Jiang Linchuan’s set. This wasn’t because Jiang Linchuan’s movie was bad – only, dark humor was always a bit nonsensical. In comparison, Yuan Ye liked the more traditional styles better.
When Fang Shaoyi walked over, Yuan Ye gave him a thumbs up. He sincerely complimented, “Awesome.”
Fang Shaoyi shook his head and laughed. He scolded, “The director’s right next to you. He hasn’t even said anything yet, but you’ve already started lavishing praise?”
“Ah.” Yuan Ye looked at the director. While grinning, he asked, “Am I wrong, Director?”
The director looked back at Yuan Ye. He smiled too, then asked, “Well, you’ve already praised him. What else can I say?”
In actuality, they were only joking around. Fang Shaoyi was Director Wei’s go-to actor. He definitely approved of him a lot. The rarest quality about Fang Shaoyi was that even after so many years of collaboration, he still often surprised people with his acting skills. He didn’t have a set style. If you gave him a character and gave him enough time to understand this character, he would give you a great performance. This sounded easy, but was actually very difficult. He hadn’t stuffed himself into a certain box. With each film, he always emptied himself out first before refilling himself in.
Ji Xiaotao brought gifts for everyone after arriving on set. Xiaotao ge had spent so many years alongside Fang Shaoyi. He was very good at getting along with everyone everywhere. a.s.sistants also had different rankings. He was among the best of the best. After being ordered around by Geng Jinwei for a year at the company, he was finally allowed to come on set again. He felt like his entire soul had been freed.
Now that he was here, Yuan Ye needed to leave soon. As such, Ji Xiaotao cheekily asked Yuan Ye, “Ye ge, will you still find me annoying if I chat with you? Do you need any information about my ge? Pictures? Whether or not he’s had any inappropriate social interactions with the young people on set?”
Yuan Ye’s head already hurt listening to him drone on and on now. He said, “If you dare to send me anything, I’m definitely going to block you.”
Fang Shaoyi added, “Your Ye ge had a lot of business to attend to when he gets back. Don’t send him random things when you’re bored.”
“Un, okay.” The two of them had reconciled, so Ji Xiaotao wasn’t as determined to send these things anymore. He was already extremely calm. He even told Yuan Ye, “But when you can’t contact my ge, you’ll still have to reach out to me.”
Yuan Ye smiled and raised an eyebrow. “I can’t call him? We call each other every night and flirt, you know.”
“Phone s.e.x partners?” Ji Xiaotao expressionlessly asked. “Filming movies and writing scripts is so tiring. You guys still have so much energy?”
“Get the f.u.c.k out!” Yuan Ye kicked him. Ji Xiaotao cheerily ran off.