Chapter 184 - 30 Times

Although Chu Ziyu’s voice wasn’t loud, Qingyi was immediately stunned by his words. Blinking his eyes, Qingyi looked at Chu Qianqian with a somewhat apologetic expression and said, “Sorry, Qianqian. I just said that off the cuff. Don’t take it to heart. Actually, the meals provided by the film crew aren’t bad at all.”

Chu Qianqian hadn’t paid much attention to Qingyi’s comment in the first place. Hearing this, she merely smiled. Reflecting on the recent schedules of the two, she said regretfully, “There hasn’t been much time lately to cook for you two. But once the film crew gets into a steady groove, you’ll probably get some time off. Then, I’ll take you out for a proper break.”

At the mention of the word “time off,” Qingyi’s eyes widened in excitement, resembling a foodie spotting a beloved dish. His eyes sparkled with joy, “There’s such a thing as time off?”

“Yes.” Chu Qianqian recalled how Qingyi hadn’t spent much time with the previous film crew and wasn’t familiar with many things. She decided to explain further to the two of them. “Generally speaking, once the filming tasks get on track with a crew, as long as the release schedule isn’t extremely tight, the director usually gives actors some regular days off. It’s not a lot, but you can often count on having one day off a week.”

“After all, actors aren’t robots. High-intensity filming tasks can be quite grueling. If there’s no chance to rest at all, it’s impossible to sustain the workload over several months.”

“And unlike other actors in the film crew who may have overlapping schedules, you two are currently only working on Ling Xiao. You can fully concentrate on this one project. Because of this, Director Zhang will likely be a bit more lenient with you two, so getting some time off shouldn’t be an issue.”

“Oh~” Qingyi nodded thoughtfully. After a moment, he asked, “Does that mean if we perform really well, like with fewer NGs in a day, the actors can leave earlier?”

“Yes.” Chu Qianqian nodded with a smile. Judging from today’s performance by Qingyi and Chu Ziyu, they would probably be able to leave early. “The director usually has a general plan for how much footage needs to be shot each day. Unless the filming process goes exceptionally poorly-or exceptionally smoothly-most of the time, once actors wrap up their scenes for the day, they’re free to leave early.”

“Exceptionally smoothly? What does that mean?” This time, it was Chu Ziyu who spoke up. He still didn’t say much, but he was always sharp at catching key points.

“This refers to the rare days when all the actors are in excellent form, with almost no NGs for the entire day. Everything progresses so smoothly that the director feels relaxed and, to seize such rare opportunities, the Film Crew often decides to shoot scenes scheduled for the following day,” Chu Qianqian explained.

Suddenly, a gentle female voice interjected, “But situations like that are incredibly rare. It’s generally very difficult for actors to avoid NGs entirely. Even award-winning actors and actresses often encounter NGs while shooting films.”

Noticing that everyone was looking at her, Qi Yue smiled before finding a spot to sit down.

As Qi Yue sat, Chu Qianqian noticed a pink hot water bag in her arms. Embroidered on it were two cats-one black, one white-nuzzling each other’s foreheads. It was obvious at a glance that they were a pair of couple cats.

Remembering the pink hot water bag Chu Ziyu was holding earlier, Chu Qianqian instinctively glanced at him. She accidentally locked eyes with Chu Ziyu, who happened to be looking back at her at the same moment. Both froze in surprise, then quickly averted their gazes.

Suppressing the strange feeling stirring in her heart, Chu Qianqian subtly peeked at Chu Ziyu again. Seeing nothing unusual in his expression, the odd sensation within her lessened considerably.

“Good afternoon.”

Qi Yue chuckled and waved her hand, signaling for everyone to relax and drop the formalities. Hugging the hot water bag closer, she rubbed it against her cheek, sighed contentedly, and then said, “Director Zhang just asked me to let you know you need to head to the makeup artist in thirty minutes for touch-ups. There’s an action scene scheduled for the afternoon.”

“An action scene?” Chu Qianqian quickly flipped through her mental recollection of the script and realized there was indeed an action sequence coming up.

“Yes,” Qi Yue nodded reassuringly. “Don’t worry, it’s not a difficult one.” She hesitated for a moment, then added, “But… the filming might not go so smoothly.”

Seeing the puzzled expressions on their faces, Qi Yue pressed her lips together, refraining from elaborating further.

An hour later, Chu Qianqian and the others found out exactly why Qi Yue had predicted they might encounter problems during the shoot.

“I’m so, so sorry, Director Zhang-I swear I didn’t mean to mess up…”

The sobbing woman was none other than Fang Xue, Qingyi and Qi Yue’s scene partner for the action sequence. She was playing the evil cultivator, a role that required her to be ruthless and ferocious. However, Fang Xue-a fresh graduate from the film academy-was already on her tenth NG for the scene.

“I can’t even count how many times I’ve told you this already!” Director Zhang’s voice boomed with frustration. “Your character is a cold-hearted, ruthless evil cultivator! Upon unexpectedly spotting two promising targets, you’re supposed to exude excitement and malice. The key is malice-not childlike excitement! You’re not a fangirl meeting her idol!”

“I… I’m so sorry…” Fang Xue whimpered, tears streaming down her face.

“You…”

“Sorry, Director Zhang, I really didn’t mean to…”

Watching the familiar scene in front of her, Chu Qianqian handed the drinks to Qingyi and Chu Ziyu, letting out a helpless sigh. “She’s been crying for so long. How does she still not show any improvement?”

Qingyi wasn’t normally the type to mock others, but he was completely irritated by Fang Xue’s endless NGs. Unable to hold back, he muttered, “She’s not crying-she’s just whining. Is this woman some sort of whining monster?”

Chu Ziyu couldn’t help but laugh at the phrase “whining monster.” But knowing that his friends weren’t in the best mood, he quickly restrained his laughter and straightened his expression. “We can’t let her delay the filming schedule, can we?”

“Who knows?” Qingyi ran a frustrated hand through his hair, his usual smile nowhere to be found. As a fellow newcomer, he felt he shouldn’t be criticizing Fang Xue. But she had already NG’d ten times, and each time she got stuck at the exact same spot. No matter how many times Director Zhang gave her instructions, she never listened and kept making the same mistake. Worst of all, every time she got called out, she started her incessant whining, which was driving everyone crazy.

“An honors graduate from the film academy, and that’s her so-called acting? How did Director Zhang even agree to let her join the crew?”

“Relax,” a soothing female voice chimed in. Qi Yue took a sip of tea and said calmly, “Director Zhang’s patience isn’t infinite. If Fang Xue doesn’t improve after twenty takes, he can kick her out of the crew.”

Qingyi’s ears perked up, his eyes lighting up. “Twenty times?”

“Yep.” Qi Yue sipped her floral tea again, the warmth spreading through her stomach as a faint smile appeared in her eyes. “That’s one of Director Zhang’s rules. Any minor role like this-if the actor manages to NG twenty times in a row, they’re promptly shown the door.”