Isn’t money good?

Chapter 29

After lunch, Yan Shiqiu and Ji Yunnian’s first scene together began.

Considering that Yan Shiqiu’s acting might not keep up with Ji Yunnian’s, this scene was originally planned to be composed of several shots. However, after Chen Hangsheng watched their scene work in the morning, he made a bold decision and changed it to a single long take.

During post-production, this entire scene would be placed in Chu Yuexuan’s flashback sequence, and it would be here that An Mo’s character would be introduced.

An Mo died in the past, before the story timeline began. All his appearances were tied to memories.

Most of them were Chu Yuexuan’s memories.

Before filming, except for those who were busy shooting and couldn’t get away, all the other actors had gathered.

The morning scene where Yan Shiqiu and Ji Yunnian had their dialogue duel had become the talk of the crew, spreading to everyone’s ears and arousing universal curiosity.

Really that impressive?

Wasn’t that an exaggeration?

How was that possible?

Hah.

…

Everyone had their own thoughts, but their bodies were honest as they came to the Group B set to become spectators.

Fu Baiqing had been baking in the sun all morning at Group A and was looking rather wilted. He shuffled over to Yan Shiqiu’s side like a dehydrated cabbage and encouraged him weakly, “Try not to get yelled at!”

Seeing his condition and hearing his words, Yan Shiqiu guessed he had received the “newcomer treatment” and patted his shoulder consolingly, “It’s okay, it’s just the beginning. You’ll get used to it.”

Fu Baiqing looked horrified, “Get used to being yelled at? No thanks!”

Before today, he had never been yelled at!

“…No.” Yan Shiqiu looked at him with pity, “I mean you’ll gradually get used to the filming rhythm, blocking, camera work, and your acting will improve too.”

Fu Baiqing patted his chest, “You scared me to death.”

“So being an actor is really tiring. I thought it would be easy. The celebrities my friends manage seem very relaxed. I was deceived.” He smacked his lips, feeling quite dejected.

Yan Shiqiu flexed his fingers, his tone calm, “Actually, every profession is difficult. No job is easy, it’s just that the effort and rewards are different.”

He paused, choosing his words carefully, “As for those your friends manage, they’re probably just ‘celebrities’ who make money with their faces.”

“That’s true.” Fu Baiqing nodded.

Just then, the assistant director came over to call Yan Shiqiu to prepare. Yan Shiqiu handed his small fan to Fu Baiqing, “I’m off.”

Fu Baiqing waved, “Good luck!”

Yan Shiqiu walked up to Chen Hangsheng, who glanced at him and only gave a few brief instructions before waving him to wait at the predetermined position.

Chen Hangsheng looked at the monitor for a while, then signaled to the script supervisor nearby.

The script supervisor stepped forward with the slate, “Action—”

Yan Shiqiu ran from the corridor, the camera following his movement. The wind machine blew his robes and hair as his brows relaxed, light reflected in his eyes, joy overflowing from his expression.

He ran all the way from the corridor to the study, pushing open the study door without pause and striding inside.

The camera followed Yan Shiqiu’s perspective into the study, where Ji Yunnian’s An Mo was bent over examining case files. Sunlight streamed through the window beside him, falling on his head. He was bathed in light.

He slowly raised his head, and the plaque reading “Clear Conscience” above him also came into frame.

“Your Highness?” An Mo looked somewhat surprised, “How did you leave the palace?”

Chu Yuexuan walked up to him, still slightly out of breath, “I heard you had returned, so I hurried to find you. I’ve saved up many questions to ask you – I couldn’t wait for you to enter the palace.”

An Mo smiled, “More questions about agriculture?”

He stood up, walking out from behind the desk, and handed Chu Yuexuan a long box, “This is a gift I brought for you.”

Chu Yuexuan accepted it, his eyes brightening, “May I open it?”

“Of course.”

Chu Yuexuan carefully lifted the lid bit by bit. When he saw the rice stalks lying quietly inside, his eyes filled with surprise as he looked up at An Mo.

An Mo said with a smile, “You were always curious about what the rice stalks described in books actually looked like.”

“Mm.” Chu Yuexuan carefully took the rice stalks from the box, cradling them in his palms and studying them earnestly.

“They’re beautiful.” He said in admiration.

An Mo watched him with gentle eyes and softly hummed in agreement.

…

Just like the feeling everyone had when watching Ji Yunnian act in the morning, during this afternoon scene, everyone watching couldn’t help but hold their breath and dared not move, afraid of disturbing them.

Those who had originally heard that “Yan Shiqiu acts well and can keep up with Ji Yunnian’s pace” but didn’t believe it in their hearts completely changed their impression. They admitted it. Yan Shiqiu truly had talent.

Xie Zhaoli and He Qian stood beside Chen Hangsheng the entire time, watching the monitor with him.

What appeared on the monitor was the camera feed.

After lighting and color correction, the scene in the lens was very beautiful, and the interplay of light and shadow was very meaningful. For instance, when Yan Shiqiu pushed open the study door and the camera followed him in, you could see the study’s color tone was dark, but as Yan Shiqiu stepped inside and walked toward the desk, it gradually brightened, with Ji Yunnian sitting in bright light.

The camera itself was a language that could express much.

The study’s dark tone blocked the light, which was a metaphor for the darkness of officialdom, while the area where Ji Yunnian sat was brightly lit with sunlight streaming in, indicating both that An Mo was Yan Shiqiu’s guiding light and that An Mo was a beam of light in the dark officialdom, representing justice.

Xie Zhaoli and He Qian got goosebumps watching.

“They act so well.” Xie Zhaoli sighed.

He Qian nodded, her gaze still fixed on the monitor, “They’re comparing themselves to each other, evenly matched, while also enjoying performing opposite scenes with one another.”

Chen Hangsheng was very satisfied with his bold casting and keen eye, saying, “In a few years, Yan Shiqiu might be the next Ji Yunnian.”

Xie Zhaoli nodded, “Yan Shiqiu will become famous.”

Although He Qian didn’t speak, she agreed in her heart.

Chen Hangsheng didn’t call for a retake, meaning this scene was also completed in one take.

Today, very few people could achieve “one take”, including Yan Shiqiu, there were only four people total. The other three were Ji Yunnian, Shen Lishan, and Liu Lan.

Two Best Actor winners and one Best Actress winner.

So Yan Shiqiu’s “one take” had extremely high value.

Back at the rest area, Yan Shiqiu took water from Zhou Yu and drank an entire cup in one gulp.

Zhou Yu was stunned, “Brother Yan, were you that thirsty?”

“Not thirsty, excited.”

First, because he hadn’t worn costume and stood in front of cameras in a long time, and second, because his scene partner was Ji Yunnian.

Unlike the morning’s pure dialogue sparring, when they faced each other with cameras following them, that joy and exhilaration of meeting a worthy opponent was incomparable.

The act of performing was pure happiness and enjoyment.

Even after finishing, the muscles and nerves in his body could still feel that excitement.

So exhilarating.

“Very good.” Liu Xi said, sitting nearby sucking on a lollipop. After speaking, she casually pointed at several actors gathered not far away and directly disparaged them, “Much better than them.”

Yan Shiqiu: “?”

“What’s wrong with them?” Liu Xi wouldn’t criticize others for no reason.

Liu Xi pointed to her ear, “I heard them talking bad about you.”

After seeing that Su Yu was among them, Yan Shiqiu had guessed as much. However, he didn’t mind and nodded casually, “Oh.”

“You’re not angry?” Liu Xi asked him.

“Not angry.” Yan Shiqiu winked at her, “The fact that they can only huddle together and gossip behind my back is satisfying enough. Plus, the better I perform, the angrier they get. Watching them make themselves angry, isn’t that fun?”

Liu Xi looked at him for a while, then suddenly smiled, “I really do like your personality.”

Yan Shiqiu said, “My honor.”

Before filming his second scene with Ji Yunnian, Yan Shiqiu had a scene with Su Yu. Su Yu played the Sixth Prince, a “naive fool” without courage or strategy but greedy for power.

To be fair, Su Yu wasn’t bad looking, and his costume appearance was attractive. However, standing next to Yan Shiqiu, he was completely overshadowed, his skin tone appearing more than a shade darker.

The lighting crew quietly discussed how to balance their skin tones so the difference wouldn’t be too obvious. In the end, they had no choice but to call the makeup artist to powder Su Yu’s face.

Su Yu was absolutely disgusted.

If looks could kill, he would have murdered Yan Shiqiu dozens of times already.

Yan Shiqiu received Su Yu’s “murderous glares” and felt quite innocent. What did it have to do with him that he was naturally photogenic?

Liu Xi propped up her face and asked what he was thinking about, her expression a bit mischievous.

Yan Shiqiu instantly switched to a smile and said seriously, “What can I do about being naturally beautiful?”

Liu Xi: “?”

She glanced at Su Yu and immediately understood, “If you actually said that to him, he’d faint from anger on the spot.”

She chuckled a few more times and shook her head, “Your talent for annoying people surpasses even Yunnian’s.”

Yan Shiqiu smiled sweetly and made a peace sign, tilting his head cutely.

A few minutes later, filming began.

This scene had almost no difficulty in terms of performance. It was just the Sixth Prince punishing eunuchs and palace maids, wanting to kill them, and Chu Yuexuan saving them.

However, barely two minutes into shooting, Su Yu forgot his lines.

They reshot once, and he overacted while scolding the eunuchs and palace maids, leading to another NG.

On the third retake, they finally got to Yan Shiqiu’s entrance, but the moment he met Yan Shiqiu’s eyes, his presence instantly weakened pathetically, as if he were about to bow down and call him “Your Highness.”

“Cut! Cut! Cut!” Chen Hangsheng was furious, “Su Yu, what are you doing? You’re playing a prince, a prince! Do you understand? You’re acting like a eunuch here!”

Su Yu was too embarrassed to lift his head after being scolded.

Chen Hangsheng exhaled heavily and said sternly, “One more time.”

Su Yu was a proper academy graduate, now a junior in college. He had signed with a talent agency in his freshman year and filmed his first TV drama. Since then, he had played male leads in web dramas and second male leads in romantic dramas. His resources weren’t bad, but he just couldn’t be promoted to stardom and had never had a big breakthrough.

He did have acting skills. During the morning shoot, he basically got through scenes in two or three takes.

However, right now, he really couldn’t do it.

Especially after the third retake, his mental state clearly collapsed, and he got progressively worse, becoming unwatchable.

Within fifteen minutes, they had reshot eight times. The ninth take continued to NG, and Chen Hangsheng didn’t even want to get angry anymore. With a dark face, he said, “Stop, stop, stop. Su Yu, go rest. We’ll save this scene for tomorrow. Lu Sihan, get ready. We’ll shoot your scene in ten minutes.”

Su Yu slunk away dejectedly, his assistant following him carefully, not daring to speak.

He snapped viciously, “Can’t you get me a bottle of water!”

Hearing the scolding, Yan Shiqiu looked over and saw him gripping his assistant’s wrist, causing him to frown involuntarily.

Su Yu noticed his gaze, glared back, then pulled his assistant away with large strides.

Yan Shiqiu pressed his lips together.

Suddenly, a cup of milk tea appeared in his field of vision. He turned his head and saw Ji Yunnian.

?

What was this about?

“For me?” Yan Shiqiu hesitated for a few seconds before asking.

Ji Yunnian asked back, “Who else?”

“I wouldn’t dare assume, after all, our relationship isn’t that good.” Yan Shiqiu took the milk tea, inserted the straw, and took a satisfying big sip, his mood instantly improving considerably.

“Thank you.” He said.

“Now our relationship isn’t good again?” Ji Yunnian reminded him, “A few days ago, you said we were quite familiar.”

“That was conversational technique.” Yan Shiqiu said, “Following your topic to lead into what I wanted to say.”

Ji Yunnian glanced at him, “Should I praise you for being clever?”

Yan Shiqiu wasn’t modest at all, “Yes, praise me more. I love hearing honest words.”

Ji Yunnian said sarcastically, “Is your face made of city walls?”

“Ancient city walls? I get it, you’re praising my classical beauty.” Yan Shiqiu said earnestly while biting his straw, “I hadn’t thought of that aspect. You’ve found another advantage of mine, thanks.”

Ji Yunnian: “…”

Yan Shiqiu’s lips curved in a smile, “Speaking of which, where did the milk tea come from?”

“I had my agent order it, afternoon tea for everyone.”

“Oh.”

Standing on his toes to relax, Yan Shiqiu looked around, confirming no one was nearby and their conversation couldn’t be overheard, then spoke, “I want to ask you something. You must tell me the truth.”

“Tell me what it is first.” Ji Yunnian didn’t agree directly.

Yan Shiqiu looked up, staring straight at him, “The trending topic that night at the press conference, did you orchestrate it?“