Chapter 44: Stubborn Old Tian

Cao Yang had something on his mind, so he arrived at the set early in the morning. Sitting in the director's chair, he frequently glanced outside.

When Yu Feihong finally arrived, Cao Yang felt a brief wave of nervousness. He couldn't help staring at her, eager to see if there were any noticeable changes.

As people greeted her, Yu Feihong smiled and nodded in acknowledgment. She even took the initiative to greet Old Tian and Liu Ye, and offered words of gratitude to Wu Qihua.

She was still that gentle, amiable, and understanding older sisterly figure.

However, while she chatted and laughed with everyone around her, she hadn't paid any attention to Cao Yang so far.

Had she gotten angry after he scolded her so many times yesterday?

Well, as long as there were no accidents, everything was fine.

She certainly looked normal enough.

Cao Yang was now feeling a mixture of anticipation and anxiety. He anticipated that the character immersion experience would be useful, yet he feared it might be too effective. With two trials—no, three altogether now—who knew if there would be any lingering side effects?

They resumed yesterday's shooting.

Wu Qihua, playing the abusive husband, took a bite of rice, picked up some vegetables with his chopsticks, and said, "Why are you so happy? Stop smiling and eat."

The corners of Yu Feihong's lips ticked up slightly. She lowered her head, then raised it again. The smile on her face was less prominent, but her large eyes were brimming with tenderness and affection. Her emotional shift was progressive yet entirely natural.

She nodded, took a small mouthful of rice, and chewed slowly. Her expression, while suppressing a burst of excitement, still retained a hint of bashfulness.

"Cut!"

Cao Yang called out, unable to stop himself from glancing over at Old Tian.

Old Tian looked back with an expression of sheer astonishment.

Could this really be the same Yu Feihong who had continuously NGed during this exact scene yesterday?

Every single twitch of her brow, every smile, and every gesture seemed capable of speech, clearly conveying the exact emotional nuances she intended.

Old Tian's eyes were practically glowing, as if he had stumbled upon something extraordinary.

"That's a wrap for this shot. Prepare for the next one."

Next came the true test of acting prowess.

The camera would capture the two of them eating from an overhead angle directly above Wu Qihua, with the lens pointing straight down at Yu Feihong's face to intentionally create an eerie atmosphere.

"Attention everyone, action."

The clapper loader held up the slate displaying the scene and take numbers in front of the camera before snapping it shut with a sharp crack.

Wu Qihua said, "It's really strange. Ever since yesterday, I've had this feeling like someone else is here with us."

This time, Yu Feihong gave that same slight lift to the corners of her lips. Instead of lowering her head to control her expression as she had in the previous take, she simply pushed the plate slightly forward, gazing past Wu Qihua as if silently urging him: *You eat!*

What should have been a chilling, eerie shot was imbued with three parts affection, five parts creepiness, and two parts a sense of domestic bliss.

"Cut!"

"Moving on."

Even minor cast members like Dong Xuan and the others couldn't help whispering among themselves.

"Why do I feel like Sister Feihong has turned into a completely different person? Yesterday, no matter how we shot those two scenes, we couldn't get them right. Today, she nailed both in a single take?"

"Did the director lower his standards?"

"Girl, how is that possible? Yesterday when Sister Feihong acted, she was stuck in a state of pure anger. Just now, that shot gave me goosebumps, but it wasn't terrifying—it just made me feel so sorry for her, though I can't explain why."

"Yeah, I felt the exact same way. I heard Director Cao gave Sister Feihong some private tutoring again. Director Cao is truly amazing!"

"Totally. I'm just realizing how incredible Director Cao is. Look at Liu Ye and now Yu Feihong; their acting skills have been guided by Director Cao to an almost divine level."

"I wish Director Cao would coach my acting sometime."

"Me too, me too. I want Director Cao to guide me as well."

"I'm so envious of Yu Feihong."

"Me too."

...

They shot the remaining few scenes. Yu Feihong acted as though possessed by the spirit of drama itself; regardless of the setting, as long as her scene partner didn't make a mistake, she nailed every single shot in one take.

The veteran crew members who had previously worked on films with Cao Yang couldn't help being reminded of Li Xiaoran and her "One-Take Li" moniker.

Back then, Li Xiaoran had been just like this, operating as if she had turned on a cheat code. No matter the scenario, the moment she stood before the camera, it was as if the character in the script had sprung to life. It didn't look like acting at all.

"Cut. Moving on."

In just about an hour, they had finished all the shots delayed from yesterday. At this rate, they might not even need to work overtime today to catch up with the schedule.

With the villa sequences completely wrapped up, it was time to move to a new location.

Yu Feihong walked over to Cao Yang with apparent casualness, running a hand through her hair. Seeing him look up, she raised her chin slightly, speaking in the tone of a child who had scored a hundred on a test and was dying to show off.

"Well? Was my performance all right?"

"Not bad."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Hmph!"

With a toss of her head and her shoulders back, Yu Feihong walked away.

Cao Yang was left feeling slightly bewildered. Was she coming over to brag to me? Since when did we get this close?

Scarcely had Yu Feihong departed when Old Tian sauntered over, linking his arm with Cao Yang's and talking as they walked.

"Haven't you noticed? After your explanation yesterday, even someone as dense as Yu Feihong was able to completely transform her acting once she understood the plot. Tell me, what if I organize your theories and we promote them widely? How does that sound?"

"Terrible!"

The word escaped Cao Yang's lips instantly.

Tian Zhuangzhuang looked at him in puzzlement before a lightbulb seemed to go off in his head. "Ah, are you worried others will steal your method so you won't be able to—ah, understood, understood."

Understood my foot!

Old Tian, you're an established master director; you can't afford to be this dim-witted!

If simply explaining a script to actors before shooting could guarantee brilliant performances... well, that was obviously impossible.

While casting actors with strong acting chops and comprehension skills, and walking them through the script beforehand to align them with the director's vision, could indeed yield a great film,

that was merely a possibility, not an absolute guarantee. There were far too many limiting conditions.

"Senior Brother, have you ever considered what happens if the director's own understanding of the script is flawed from the start?"

Cao Yang sighed and bluntly stated, "Let me put it plainly: what if the director is an idiot? Are the actors supposed to listen to some fool babbling nonsense, follow their misguided directions, and end up churning out a piece of trash?"

Old Tian fell silent. To be fair, there certainly were plenty of such foolish directors around.

Just as they were nearing their destination, Old Tian suddenly piped up, "Even though there are still many issues to be resolved, I still maintain that your method is worth promoting."

Cao Yang paused for a moment before letting out a sudden laugh. "Senior Brother, your ban is about to be lifted. Once you're cleared, why don't you direct a film using this exact method and see how it turns out?"

"Alright."

Promote it? As if that were possible!

If someone genuinely wanted to craft a fine arthouse film, dedicating several months exclusively to rehearsing with actors might be feasible.

However, next year *Hero* would be released, and domestic commercial cinema would sprout like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. It would gradually take root, experience a period of wild growth, and eventually flood the entire market.

Consequently, the market would expand exponentially, feeding right back into commercial filmmaking.

The entire entertainment industry would become a swirling vortex of turbid water and chaotic phenomena, steeped in impatience and superficiality.

Tell me, which commercial movie could possibly afford to have a director spend months doing nothing but coaching the cast on their scenes?

Did commercial cinema even require exceptional acting from its actors?

As long as the audience wasn't pulled out of the experience by awkward performances, it was generally considered good enough.

In fact, during this phase of wild expansion, actors didn't even need acting skills. As long as they were famous enough, had enough fans, and could generate hype, they could land the lead role.

These were things Old Tian could never foresee, no matter how hard he racked his brains.