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The warrior with the long braids was evidently more nervous acting with Ai Mi than with Kyle.
He did not do any flips when getting on the wall, his arms were a bit stiff, and he held his weapon as far as possible away from Ai Mi.
Ai Mi raised her little feet and kicked the warrior’s waist without any words (The warrior had to intentionally lower his body because she did not raise her feet high enough). After the warrior tumbled down the wall, Ai Mi did not say her a.s.signed lines.
“Director, that scene could be re-shot! I should do a better kick!”
I was not sure if it was due to the fact that I was present, but she shouted to the director in Chinese, then she repeated herself in English.
The director watched the replay from behind the screen, then he nodded at Ai Mi.
The long braided warrior got off the safety mat and did not dare have any complaints. He stood in front of Ai Mi once more, he had a very stable footing, much more stable than Ai Mi, but he looked a bit tired.
Ai Mi suddenly screamed angrily at Auntie Ren: “It’s too hard to kick his waist. I want to first kick his knees, then his head!”
Auntie Ren frowned and started to discuss with the director. They were able to satisfy Ai Mi and altered the movements after obtaining the warrior’s permission.
This time, the warrior was forced to kneel after being kicked in the knees. Then, after receiving a strike to his helmet, he did a 180° revolving spin and landed forcefully on the safety mat.
I did not expect Ai Mi to still not say her line. She only clasped her chin and said aloud:
“If I use a bit more force, and he falls a bit more miserably, wouldn’t that make me look more impressive?”
She once again proposed her suggestion to the director and asked for the scene to be re-shot. She even asked for the warrior to perform a 360° revolving spin so it would display the mighty power of her character.
Auntie Ren already had enough before the director was even able to say anything; she ran over and argued with Ai Mi for quite a while. First, she criticized Ai Mi for causing unnecessary trouble, then she said dangerous maneuvers had to be performed with steel wire, but finally it was the warrior who stepped out and stopped their quarrel. His English was not great, and he only said a couple of sentences. I was too far and could not hear clearly, but he probably said he does not need steel wire and told them to stop fighting over him.
A metallic sound resounded as Ai Mi’s shoes made contact with the warrior’s helmet. The long braids warrior used all his effort and did a 360° spin. He was planning to land on two his feet off camera, but the weight of his armor threw him off and he fell onto the mat.
Based on Ai Mi’s expression, she was very satisfied with the scene. But just as she was about to say her line, her face turned red, and instead she said:
“I…. I think I blinked, re-shoot! Let’s re-shoot the scene!”
When did you blink! Your eyes were wide open from start to finish! You probably forgot your line! You probably forgot your line because you were too focused on watching the warrior fall! You clearly forgot your line yet, you would not admit it, and everyone has to shoot the scene again.
It seems the long braids warrior sprained his waist when he fell. When he heard Ai Mi call for a re-shoot, he could only clench his teeth and get up from the mat. Because he had a full-helmet, I could not see his dispirited and helpless expression.
Seeing as Auntie Ren was about to erupt with anger, I shouted at Ai Mi who was still standing on the wall:
“Hey! Enough! Peng TouSi won’t come back sooner even if you abuse others!”
Ai Mi stared at me fiercely, “Who said I wanted Peng TouSi to come back! I hope that d.a.m.n h.o.m.o never comes back!”
Ai Mi usually only speaks English on set, even if the other member was Auntie Ren or an Oriental actor. The worse your English, the faster she would speak to make a fool of you. Everyone was astonished when they saw Ai Mi speak Chinese. On top of that, I was brought on the set by Auntie Ren’s daughter, but I was able to have relations with two completely incompatible families, so that made my ident.i.ty even more incomprehensible.
“How did you meet this d.a.m.n brat?” Auntie Ren went straight to the point and asked.
Xiao Qin held her face while acting embarra.s.sed: “Why would a mom call their own daughter a d.a.m.n brat~~~ Ye Lin cla.s.smate and I were destined to be together!”
Auntie Ren had enough of her daughter’s foolishness and pointed at Ai Mi: “I’m referring to the golden-haired one!!!”
I could only play dumb with Auntie Ren and say Xiao Qin and I helped Ai Mi buy some water when her car broke down, then we gradually became friends. It seems like Auntie Ren did not really believe us, but she did not investigate any further.
Ai Mi shouted at me with resent when she saw me talking to her rival:
“Manservant, what are you doing? Who said you could end your conversation with me? Only the master can end the conversation!” She pointed at the long braids warrior who was walking with a slight cripple, “Do you want to get kicked like him!?”
I thought it was about time to fix Ai Mi’s childish att.i.tude. Ai ShuQiao taught her to be an unlikable person in another aspect. The older brother will take responsibility and fix the mother’s mistakes!
The first objective was to make Ai Mi realize even minor characters are real people, not replaceable toys.
Thus I yelled at her: “Fine! You can kick me if the director agrees! My body is strong enough that I won’t be afraid of getting kicked, but I’m not sure if your tiny feet would be able to handle it.”
Ai Mi immediately got into it when she heard me mock her. She shouted at the director while gesturing towards me.
Auntie Ren was soon called over by the director. When she returned, she glanced at me with a complicated expression, then she pointed at two staff members who were covered in dust:
“This is your chance, follow them to change your clothes.”
“Change my clothes? Why would I change my clothes?” I still did not understand her meaning.
” (*^__^*) Hehe…” Xiao Qin interrupted, “Ai Mi told the director that she wanted to temporarily switch you on to trample you. The director asked about your situation and he said he would give it a shot!”
Huh? Why is this American director so casual?! I am only a normal audience member, why would you let me act based only on the words of the lead actor? Or is it because Auntie Ren said some favorable things about me?
Auntie Ren glared at her talkative daughter. Xiao Qin immediately covered her mouth with both her hands and stared innocently towards the sky.
“Ye Lin, it’s not anything special, the director has a condition. When you go up there later, you don’t need to wear a helmet.”
“Ah? Why! Even though Ai Mi is weak, it would still hurt if she kicks me straight on my head!”
“No reason, it’s just that the director feels it would be a pity if we covered up your appearance with a helmet. Later when you’re on the wall, make your appearance look fiercer, understand? All celebrities need a supporting actor, for example, in order to make a beautiful girl even more beautiful, we should put her next to a beast!”
What the f.u.c.k! So the only favorable points you said about me was my appearance?! Does my appearance fit the criteria of what Americans look for when they cast Orientals? It’s just like the j.a.panese war films where they want the j.a.ps to be uglier and fiercer! So is it common practice for people of any country to make themselves look better while making other races look worse?
I asked Auntie Ren with a serious face: “Will. I. Get. Paid?”
Auntie Ren looked down on me when I immediately asked for money, and she replied in a bad mood:
“You’ll get paid the normal salary for a minor character! You also have one scream as your line. If the scream is not cut out in the final edit, you will get a certain percentage of the profits in the future —— can you not only look at what’s directly in front of you?”
d.a.m.n, why do you have to be so serious? I don’t really care about the scream, it would be good to get some additional income from places other than the online store so I can return the 20k back to Ai ShuQiao. It would also be fantastic if I could torture some American viewers with my screams.
I was brought to the changing room by two unsmiling costumers. They changed me into a suit of appropriate golden armor like changing a saddle for a horse, and I understood how difficult it was for the actors.
The armor itself was not heavy, but it was difficult moving my joints. It felt like wearing a s.p.a.cesuit and I need some time to get used to it. I can’t even fathom how difficult it would be to do a front flip in this armor.
They actually did not give me a helmet. Instead, I was given a pair of mouth guards to prevent Ai Mi from accidentally knocking out my teeth.
“Puff out your cheeks a bit when you get kicked.” Auntie Ren told me before I got on set. “It looks like her shoes have a lot of gems, but it’s all soft. It doesn’t hurt when kicked but be careful to not get kicked in the eyes, understand?”
Although she did not have an enthusiastic tone, but I was a bit touched since she reminded me to not get injured.
“Thank you…”
“No need to thank me.” Auntie Ren’s face sank, “I wouldn’t even care if you were dead or alive if it wasn’t for my daughter.”
But then she added: “When you come down from the wall, try to jump higher, not further. The protective pad absorbs the momentum very well, but the surface is a bit rough. If you go too fast, you are likely to sc.r.a.pe off your skin.”
I had a warm feeling in my heart, and at the same time, I felt it was not a big deal to sc.r.a.pe off some skin. Another reason why I was going on camera was to let Ai Mi understand even minor actors will get tired and will be hurt when injured. How would I be able to change someone who has been distorted by Ai ShuQiao for 12 years without a bit of sacrifice?