Chapter 182 - Guidance

Chu Ziyu was in fine form today, completing two scenes in a row on the first take. Although his acting still showed hints of inexperience, considering the fact that he had never participated in any film or television project before, Zhang Dong had to admit that his performance was nothing short of remarkable.

This level of brilliance became even more apparent when compared to other rookie actors on set. Take Mu An, for example, the actor playing Yun Zifei, the junior brother of Fu Zichu. While Mu An was already a relatively well-known young actor, his presence seemed slightly lacking in vitality when standing next to Chu Ziyu.

“Go, let Qi Yue know,” Zhang Dong said flatly, “Tell her to guide Chu Ziyu when she has the time. It doesn’t have to take too much effort-just a little help when they have scenes together will do. Chu Ziyu has natural talent. I hope he can make substantial progress in his acting over the next three months.”

Zhang Dong’s tone was calm, but the weight behind his words left Assistant Zhang quietly astonished. Having worked with Zhang Dong for years, it was the first time he’d seen the director hold a young actor in such high regard, even going so far as to ask an experienced performer in the film crew to guide him.

Knowing how decisive and efficient Zhang Dong’s working style was, Assistant Zhang did not delay. He immediately replied, “Understood, I’ll go talk to Qi Yue right now.”

“Me? Guide Chu Ziyu?” Qi Yue raised an eyebrow at the request, her tone lifting slightly in surprise. Clad in the sky-blue gauzy dress of Ye Qingxuan, her character, she was the epitome of elegance. Her jet-black hair was tied high with matching silk ribbons, leaving no trace of makeup on her face save for a turquoise beauty mark on her forehead. The overall look exuded a sense of refreshing simplicity.

However, with a single lift of her brow, the youthful vibrancy of her costume and styling gave way to the commanding presence of her natural aura. In an instant, she appeared more mature and captivating.

“Yes,” Assistant Zhang confirmed with a composed demeanor. “Director Zhang hopes you can mentor Chu Ziyu a bit during filming. He believes the young actor has great potential, and with your guidance, he could deliver even more surprises in the upcoming scenes.”

“And besides, you’ve always enjoyed going all out in your scenes with other actors. If Chu Ziyu improves, it might make your performances even more exhilarating.”

Though Assistant Zhang maintained a neutral tone, his carefully chosen words offered subtle praise for Qi Yue. Delivered with just the right touch, the comments felt neither excessive nor insincere.

As expected, Qi Yue’s expression softened upon hearing this. After a brief pause, she nodded and said, “Alright, I’ll do my best.”

The next scene featured a confrontation between Qi Yue and Qingyi, an encounter set in a quiet forest.

Ye Qingxuan hadn’t followed the others into the nearby village; she had stayed behind to enjoy a rare moment of leisure. As soon as Fu Zichu and the group disappeared from view, she began scouting for a nice, secluded spot to relax.

“Strange, I was sure I heard something earlier. Where could it be?” she murmured to herself as she wandered through the trees. She was referring to a small lake she had glimpsed from afar when they first landed in the area. Her insistence on staying behind to rest wasn’t entirely an act of rebellion; she’d been eyeing that lake in particular. Ever since leaving the sect, she hadn’t had the chance to bathe. Although cultivators weren’t affected by mundane dirt, vanity was still a natural part of her character. Right now, she wanted nothing more than a quiet place to refresh herself.

Suddenly, the sharp crack of a branch snapping broke the silence and caught her attention. Remembering her senior brother’s warning about the possibility of evil cultivators lurking in the area, Ye Qingxuan instinctively gripped the hilt of the sword at her waist. The relaxed expression on her face vanished, and a sharp vigilance took its place.

Following the direction of the sound, she carefully crept closer. Her breathing slowed as she moved, and the dense trees around her gradually gave way to more open space. The ground beneath her feet grew level. Her steps lightened as she took one final step forward-and her surroundings abruptly opened up.

She found herself in a small clearing, no more than a few dozen feet across. It was roughly circular in shape, and at its center was a lake with a diameter of about thirty feet. The water was clear enough to see straight to the bottom, though its level had clearly dropped over time. From the marks along one of the rocky walls of the lake, it was evident how much lower the waterline had sunk.

But it wasn’t the pristine lake that caught her attention-it was the boy crouched at its edge.

Judging by his frame, he seemed to be just a teenager. He was dressed in a rough linen shirt and pants of a dingy gray-brown, the fabric worn so thin in places that it was on the verge of tearing. Dirt and grime choked the cloth, making it nearly impossible to discern its original color. It looked like he had been lying or crawling on the ground for quite some time, as both he and his clothing bore smudges of soil and stains.

At that moment, the boy was intently focused on the activity in the water, seemingly unaware of Ye Qingxuan’s presence.

“Hey, who are you?” Ye Qingxuan called out.

“Splash-”

Two sounds overlapped-her question and the sharp noise of something hitting the water. Startled by her voice, the boy’s head snapped up, his expression momentarily alarmed before it dropped back down to the lake. The surface rippled now, a few droplets of displaced water scattering into the air. A lone set of rings circled outward from a point in the water, a clear sign that a fish had just leapt from the lake and disappeared beneath the surface.

The scene froze in awkward silence.

Even as headstrong as she could be, Ye Qingxuan quickly realized that she had interrupted something. Judging by the boy’s focus and the situation at hand, it was fairly obvious she had disrupted his attempt to catch a fish. Or perhaps “fishing” wasn’t even the right word to describe it. Taking in the boy’s patched and tattered clothing, she began to feel a twinge of guilt. She suspected now that the fish which had just managed to escape was probably going to be this boy’s meal for the day.

“You… I… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to just now.” While saying this, Ye Qingxuan made a point of looking directly into the boy’s eyes. This was something Fu Zichu had once told her-looking someone in the eye while speaking makes you seem more sincere.

Ye Qingxuan wasn’t sure how sincere it really made her appear, but every time she used this tactic to plead for forgiveness from her father or her senior brother, it worked remarkably well.

It was only now, as she focused on the boy, that she realized just how delicate his features were. Though his face was smudged with dirt and hollowed from hunger, his exceptional appearance was still evident. Especially his eyes-slightly confused, yet remarkably clear, as if they could speak.

Ye Qingxuan, who always assessed people by their looks first, couldn’t help but compare the boy’s features with others she knew. After some quick mental arithmetic, she concluded that only her father and her senior brother Fu Zichu could rival his looks. The corners of her lips curved up involuntarily as she said, “My name is Ye Qingxuan. What about you? What’s your name?”

The boy blinked, seemingly startled, and after a moment, hesitantly pointed at himself with his left hand. His voice, rough and scratchy like branches scraping together, sounded uncertain as he asked, “Me?”

“Yes!” Although she didn’t particularly like the hoarseness of his voice, Ye Qingxuan was still completely satisfied with the boy’s face. When she heard his question, she nodded enthusiastically and said, “Of course, you!”

“I… I’m Lin Su.”

“Cut!”

With the director’s shout, the cinematographers immediately captured and saved the final frame of the scene: the image of a smiling girl and a boy with a youthful face, locked in their first gaze at one another, immortalized in the camera’s lens.