Chapter 37: When a Younger Man Doesn’t Call You “Sis,” His Intentions May Be a Little Wild
Page (1/3)
Liu Shishi flipped open the “Wuxia Edition” and asked curiously, “You write martial arts novels too?”
Shen Yan casually explained, “Just to make a living…”
“What?”
“To earn some royalties!”
“Wow, a serialized magazine piece? You just get published like that?”
“The formula for wuxia novels is fixed. There are basically five core themes: revenge, treasure hunting, power struggles, chivalry, and love entanglements… Blend these elements well, and you become a master!”
“And what about Jin Yong’s novels?”
“You’ve acted in ‘The Legend of the Condor Heroes,’ right? Let’s use that as an example. ‘Condor Heroes’ contains revenge, treasure hunting, power struggles, and chivalry…”
“…Revenge for what?”
“For Guo Jing’s father’s murder… Why did Guo Jing leave the desert to head south to the Central Plains? It was to attend the martial arts contest at the Drunken Immortal Tower and, of course, to seek revenge!”
“And the treasure hunting?”
“The ‘Nine Yin Manual,’ of course…”
Liu Shishi pondered for a moment: “…That really fits…”
“Since the formula’s set, the rest is just filling in the story…”
“Well, I still wouldn’t write it well!”
“…My writing isn’t bad. Last year, I went to Beijing hoping to be an actor, but I had no connections—no agency, no contacts with troupe leaders. Forget about acting; I didn’t even know how to audition for a crew. After six months, I was down to just 500 yuan. With no other options, I thought, why not write to earn some money?”
“So, what’s ‘Lotus Pavilion’ about?”
“…It’s the story of a retired martial artist who returns to the jianghu due to some conflicts…”
“…Is there a full version?”
“Not yet. You can wait until the serialization finishes, then I’ll upload it online…”
“Oh.” Liu Shishi put down the magazine, then suddenly remembered: “Let me ask you something.”
“What?”
“You seem to really like Teacher Dai Chunrong?”
Shen Yan nodded, “My grandmother likes her… I’ve talked with her a few times and quite like her too. The elder has a grand vision—just a few casual pointers from her are incredibly helpful!”
“She mentors you?”
“Yeah, I ask her questions, and she tells me…”
“Then why not ask Teacher Chen Xiuwen?”
Shen Yan replied, “…Chen’s acting technique is the Hong Kong style, which is quite different from the mainland’s…”
Liu Shishi was surprised, “Different?”
Page (2/3)
“Of course it is. Even Teacher Lau Chung Yan’s style differs from ours… Their expressions are often exaggerated.”
“Really?”
Shen Yan explained, “I asked Teacher Dai Chunrong, and she said it’s an exaggerated style of acting… Because ‘The Weaving Maiden’ is a historical romance drama, they need the audience to quickly distinguish characters and get drawn into the story…”
Liu Shishi nodded, then raised her eyebrows: “…So, what do you think of my acting?”
“I’ve never actually seen you act!”
Liu Shishi said, “There’s a scene of mine tomorrow, come watch it!”
“Okay…” Shen Yan suddenly remembered something, “I’m going to rehearse with Junmi… Want to come?”
“Why do you call her Junmi but call me Shishi?”
What reason could there be?
You don’t call older girls ‘sister’ if you’re younger; maybe there’s some hidden feeling!
Of course, Shen Yan didn’t say this outright and instead made an excuse: “…Junmi is from Taiwan, and you’re not!”
“…”
Liu Shishi muttered something under her breath, then went with him to find Zhang Junmi…
…
Actually, Shen Yan always felt Liu Shishi lacked sexual tension…
But maybe it was just his own sinful thoughts, always wanting to get a little advantage…
Though only a little…
After all, knowing she’s the wife of Longliqi made it quite thrilling!
As for Zhang Junmi…
Shen Yan clearly sensed she was under a lot of pressure—the only Taiwanese person on the whole crew.
Moreover, it was obvious she wasn’t quite used to the shooting pace…
Mainland productions give you the script, and the rest is up to the actors. Professional actors are expected to prepare everything.
So one moment everyone is laughing and joking, the next the script supervisor claps the slate and shouts “Action!” and everyone immediately gets into character…
Also, the actors she worked with were all top-notch…
The kind where emotions just come naturally.
In Taiwan, because they shoot and broadcast simultaneously, the crew never rests; everyone is busy rehearsing scenes…
No judgment on good or bad, but after being used to the Taiwanese style, coming to the mainland to shoot is indeed uncomfortable…
Oh, she later appeared on a show and said something like, “I was chatting and laughing with my co-actor, but as soon as the scene started, they burst into tears. I was shocked by their professional immersion and said, ‘At that moment, I thought, Taiwan cannot lose! We have to show our professionalism too…’”
That clip was dug up…
Page (3/3)
And she was almost boycotted!
Well, she’s already heavily boycotted—her six-episode role in “Female Psychologist” was cut.
After cross-strait policies tightened, this was an inevitable outcome with no gray area left.
Oh, Shen Yan’s rehearsing with her was purely professional…
He really had no intention of hitting on anyone…
After all, he was too busy—after filming each day, he had to prepare chapters for “The Supreme One” at the hotel, at least three chapters…
Plus “You Fei” still needed writing!
Besides, he had to watch a lot of movies—that was an assignment from Ji Xiang, his acting coach—to study films frame by frame…
This meant repeatedly watching and rewinding, analyzing and recording what he saw and summarized.
He had to document each shot’s content, staging, camera movement, framing, editing, sound, image, pacing, acting, camera angles, and then write a summary.
Thirty films were assigned…
Mostly European!
Films by Godard, Ken Loach, Carlos Saura, Andrzej Wajda, Ingmar Bergman…
And then write a report.
He now took three days to finish one movie!
As for his mindset…
At first, he was a bit dismissive—after all, these were old classics; film technology and basic shooting techniques had long since evolved.
Then he watched Godard’s “The 400 Blows” and was somewhat moved…
How to put it? It’s one of the pioneering films of the French New Wave, alongside “Breathless.” Shen Yan knew their names but had never watched them…
New Wave meant arty, obscure, and boring, meaning not very watchable!
But after “The 400 Blows,” he truly felt he had underestimated the master…
The title comes from a French saying: A mischievous child must receive 400 blows to eliminate misfortune, expel demons, and become a healthy, obedient child.
It’s a brutal coming-of-age story!
This film isn’t artsy at all; although it’s slightly less entertaining than the Italian neorealist classic “Bicycle Thieves,” “The 400 Blows” shows the audience that film needn’t be art or a commodity—it can just be a fun little toy!
Quite interesting.
However, lately Shishi kept pestering him to read the follow-up to “Lotus Pavilion”…
She’d already read all the serialized parts…