Substitute Lover [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 42

Jiang Cha was deeply engrossed in the script, her expression slightly tense. After a moment, she sighed softly:

“Let’s talk about the variety show later.”

If Ji Fan doesn’t go, how could she go? Could it be with Director Song?

That would be too absurd.

She thought Director Song could be a director, a mentor, someone she respected and was grateful for, but that was far from the feeling of a lover. The feeling of truly liking someone has nothing to do with beauty or ugliness, poverty or wealth, or whether her personality is likable.

As long as there’s a feeling, a heartbeat, that’s enough.

“Liking” is a very subtle feeling. Knowing the other person’s shortcomings, knowing that she has a lot of flaws, but being able to accept them, not being disgusted at all, and even finding them cute.

That’s pretty much “liking”.

Imperfect, but that’s just “having feelings.”

“Let me know when you’ve thought it over,” Yang Yan said with a smile. “I’m waiting for your answer.”

Jiang Cha nodded.

Jiang Cha went over the lines a few more times in her head, and the field manager knocked on the door: “It’s about to start.”

Jiang Cha adjusted her costume in front of the mirror.

Yang Yan looked at her with satisfaction.

In early spring, the cold sunlight shone through the window, and the mirror had a cold and transparent texture.

A long white silk qipao, her figure graceful and slender.

The person in the mirror had fair skin, a straight nose, and pale, almost cold-looking lips. Her snow-white cheeks had a warm, slightly flushed texture. Her pointed chin was slightly lifted, and her white eyelids held a faint blush, as if shy.

“Okay,” Yang Yan said, “Go, do well.”

The lights on the set were adjusted, and all the staff were ready.

Song Baiwei said, “Action.”

The clapperboard operator clapped the board.

The clapperboard was an acrylic board with information like scene number, shot type, camera angle, and scene, mainly to help the editor find shots later. A movie has thousands of shots, and without clapping, it would be a mess, because movies are not shot in the order of performance. In addition, it can also facilitate the “synchronization of sound and image” in post-production when the sound and image of the movie are recorded separately.

In this scene, a Kuomintang official suspected that there was an insider in the organization, so he gathered a few of his subordinates in this manor to interrogate them.

The old actor who played Qin Xiu, the army general, stood there, and in a second, he was in character.

The candlelight on the chandelier flickered slightly, and the atmosphere became eerie and mysterious.

Qin Xiu gently stroked the green jade ring on his finger, a hint of a smile at the corner of his eye, and a flash of coldness in his eyes: “If the ghost doesn’t show itself, no one can leave here alive.”

As soon as these words were said, the camera zoomed in, giving Jiang Cha a close-up shot.

Song Baiwei, the assistant director, and the producer gathered around, watching the monitor screen together.

Under Jiang Cha’s slender eyebrows, her eyelids drooped indifferently, but her cherry-like red lips curved slightly, revealing a coquettish smile, full of sarcasm: “A ghost? Where did the ghost come from? It’s so late, I want to go home.”

Her voice was soft and seductive.

General Qin Xiu stared at her with eagle-like eyes.

Jiang Cha covered her mouth, then couldn’t help but laugh a few times, her laughter echoing in the empty meeting hall.

She raised her eyes, her pupils were clear and bright, and she looked at General Qin Xiu with a playful smile, as if watching a farce.

She perfectly concealed her momentary guilt as the “insider.”

In the office.

“Amazing.”

The producer slapped the table, full of admiration.

“My goodness,” the assistant director sighed in amazement, “Jiang Cha’s acting is really good. How did she do it?”

Song Baiwei smiled lightly, “She’s always been good.”

She could have achieved this effect a few years ago, it’s a pity.

She missed that opportunity.

She just needed someone to guide her. Since the last director didn’t dig her out, then this time, she would do it.

She wanted to help Jiang Cha, and besides her own selfishness, she was also truly reluctant.

She couldn’t bear to see such a talented girl slowly being buried.

After this scene, there was another one, a confrontation between Jiang Cha and Luo Yan in the old house.

Perhaps because Luo Yan’s role as the older sister was not that prominent, and it was not easy to stand out, when Luo Yan and Jiang Cha faced off, her momentum was actually somewhat suppressed.

The producer stroked his chin and pondered for a moment, saying, “Well, I hope she can keep it up. I’ve seen too many actors whose acting skills fluctuate. The important thing is stability, and it’s impossible to have an extraordinary performance every time.”

Song Baiwei just smiled lightly, “She will be able to maintain it.”

The assistant director simply smiled at the monitor, fairly satisfied.

There weren’t many NGs in these few takes, which even surprised Jiang Cha herself. She felt that Song Baiwei was really good at guiding her. If it hadn’t been for the guidance she received that morning, she would still be in a clueless, luck-based state.

She couldn’t help but feel grateful. Taking advantage of the break, she specially bought a basket of fruit and took it to her office.

“Why is Xiao Jiang so polite?”

Jiang Cha said softly, “Thank you, Director Song, for your guidance.”

Song Baiwei looked at her in surprise and laughed, “Isn’t it my job as a director to guide actors in filming?”

“You’re especially patient,” Jiang Cha bit her lip, feeling embarrassed, “You know, my foundation isn’t solid, and my acting isn’t that good.”

Song Baiwei simply shook her head, “Your acting has improved a lot. Don’t rush, take your time.”

“En,” Jiang Cha nodded.

“Actually, the more important thing is your positioning of yourself.”

Song Baiwei said softly, “If you just treat acting as a job to make money and don’t care about anything else, then what you did before was really nothing.” She paused, then continued, “But do you have a higher goal? Do you have a bigger goal?”

Song Baiwei looked at her seriously, “Your demands on yourself determine your upper limit. The rest, just get a little closer, and one day you will achieve it.”

Jiang Cha lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering, feeling a sense of enlightenment.

Her red lips curved up, her eyes pure and bright, “Thank you, Director Song.”

“You called me Director again,” Song Baiwei couldn’t help but laugh, “Really, are you really treating yourself as a student? We’re not that different in age.”

Jiang Cha was slightly embarrassed, her cheeks slightly flushed.

The filming process was orderly.

In the past, Jiang Cha felt a little intimidated when she saw Luo Yan, and her back would stiffen. But now, as they got along slowly, she didn’t feel as uncomfortable.

Without the relationship with Ji Fan, Luo Yan was just her senior.

Besides, the other party didn’t seem to intend to target her everywhere, but her gaze was always a bit strange, as if examining, or prying. Perhaps because Jiang Cha deliberately avoided her, they didn’t interact much, and they had nothing else to talk about besides acting.

Since she told Ji Fan that day that she didn’t want to see her, the other party really didn’t come to the set as often.

Jiang Cha had a peaceful time.

That’s exactly what she wanted.

With no more eyes watching her while filming, she relaxed a lot and performed very naturally. The number of NGs also gradually decreased.

However, there were also some unusual changes in the crew.

For example, the most fierce and powerful producer, with a fierce voice, could make the wall dust fall with a shout, and he could scold a young actor to tears. Even big stars like Luo Yan had been scolded by him, but Jiang Cha had never been scolded by him once.

For example, the crew started adding extra meals from time to time, and even relaxed the pace of filming.

There was a little more rest time, no longer as hectic as before, filming all day long. The pace slowed down, giving Jiang Cha more preparation time outside of filming.

Jiang Cha could understand why they had more rest time. Perhaps the actors were gradually getting into the state, so the producer was not in a hurry.

But what she couldn’t understand was why there were extra meals every day?

Jiang Cha had acted in so many dramas, and she had been in both poor and rich crews, but no crew had such a sumptuous meal.

Originally, breakfast was just white porridge, eggs, and buns, but now there were some other things added, like Cantonese-style dim sum, siu mai, and shrimp dumplings. Breakfast had extra food, and lunch was also luxurious, with a variety of dishes and good taste.

“Extra meal again?”

Jiang Cha looked at the extra dragon bone soup in confusion.

The staff joked with a smile:

“Isn’t that because Ms. Ji is afraid you won’t eat well?”

Jiang Cha didn’t say anything.

She wasn’t that narcissistic.

It was probably because the finance department had allocated more funds to the crew’s food.

Ji Fan didn’t like her anyway, it was just a little guilt, plus a little possessiveness. But this kind of feeling that isn’t really a feeling will gradually fade away. When she’s not guilty anymore and doesn’t want to possess her so much, the two of them will just go their separate ways, and it’s fine.

The weather got hotter and hotter, and Ji Fan still slept on the sofa.

At night, she would only occasionally turn over and make a noise, and she no longer came over and got close, wanting to do something like she did that night.

It seemed that since Jiang Cha ignored her, she didn’t plan to take the initiative to come over and be annoying.