Chapter 8: Support
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The person's shout caught everyone's attention. Jiang Se wiped the water droplets on her chin away and caught her breath. Then, she heard the person, who had pulled her out of the water, talk to her, "Angel, he's calling you."
When Jiang Se heard this, she was slightly stunned. When she looked up, she saw the script supervisor waving at her with the megaphone in his hand.
"Yes, you. Come over here."
She was dripping wet. "Rescue Mission" was a huge production indeed. Even the costumes were high-quality ones, and the one she wore became extremely heavy after absorbing water. She wrung the water from the hem of her clothes. Her shoes were filled with water while the clothes stuck to her body. She left wet footprints behind her as she trudged heavily.
While the script supervisor was still looking at her, the person beside her gave her an envious nudge. "He's calling for you. Go. Maybe Director Zhang has taken a liking to you."
As Jiang Se quickly jogged over, the script supervisor appraised her. She had just fallen into the river and was not looking her best. However, she was still pretty and exuded an air that represented the invincibility of youth.
The script supervisor seemed surprised. When he took a closer look at Jiang Se, the impatience on his face somewhat toned down. "Come with me. Watch your mouth later. Just do whatever the director tells you to."
Jiang Se understood what he meant. As expected, it was Zhang Jingan who had called her over.
Although the sun hung high in the sky, Zhang Jingan and the others were sitting comfortably under the cool shades created by the beach parasols.
When Jiang Se followed the script supervisor, the people sitting there shifted their gazes to her. Even Liu Ye, who held the bottle of mineral water in his hand and had shades over his eyes, turned to look. The moment he saw her, he straightened up, lowered his shades, and gave her a cursory glance.
"She's here, Director Zhang."
From behind the camera, Zhang Jingan leaned his head sideways and looked at her. Lu Baobao had described this famous director as someone with international prestige. However, she thought that Zhang Jingan merely had average looks.
He was about 40 years old and he wore an ordinary dark blue short-sleeved shirt. His hair was parted at the side. His eyes were not sharp, but they exuded a pressure nonetheless.
With two influential individuals from the entertainment industry seated in the hot seat, had it been the real 17-year-old Jiang Se, she would have been beside herself with anxiety.
However, Jiang Se was standing straight. Zhang Jingan was slightly surprised to find that this young girl showed no signs of being intimidated in front of him. She was calm and stood upright. Her wet hair clung to her face while water droplets were still sliding down her cheeks. However, these did nothing to obscure her appeal.
She was standing in a small puddle of water now, but she did not seem servile or overbearing. There was no sign of her feeling ill at ease or awkward.
Her posture and expression told everyone that she came from a respectable family. While a person's experience and guts could be cultivated over time, bearing and charm could only be the product of a good upbringing.
After having noticed Jiang Se's fleeting figure from the camera, he caught a glimpse of her graceful figure from the screen. He did not expect to find her not just acceptable in terms of looks, but she was also beautiful upon closer inspection.
Zhang Jingan pointed at Jiang Se. He turned and directed the question to Liu Ye, "Liu Ye, what do you think?"
Liu Ye nodded with his lips curled upward in the faintest of smiles. "You really do have an eye for talent, Director Zhang."
In the entertainment industry where there was no shortage of beautiful ladies, Jiang Se's beauty surprised Liu Ye.
There was no triteness about her beauty. Her facial features seemed to be meticulously crafted from the finest jade. Even though Liu Ye knew that he would be working with Lu Bingbing and other famous actresses, when he saw Jiang Se, he felt as satisfied as eating a mouthful of ice cream in the midsummer heat.
However, beauty was by no means a guarantee of talent. After all, the entertainment industry had no shortage of beautiful faces. Looks were only an entrance pass into the industry. The success of an actor's career would depend on the opportunities they got.
Therefore, Liu Ye quickly regained his composure after the initial awe.
The executive director at the side was slightly surprised as well. He turned and asked the script supervisor in an undertone, "Who picked her?"
"Must've been Zhang Fan," the script supervisor replied in the same hushed tone.
"Director Zhang truly lives up to his name. We've been shooting for half a day and we didn't even notice a single person with such good potential."
The executive director made a mental note about this. Then, he turned around and tried to flatter Zhang Jingan, "As expected of you to notice her with a single glance."
"We'll have to see if she really has potential," Zhang Jingan replied indifferently.
Liu Ye straightened up as he gave Jiang Se an appraising look. "I remember that a beautiful actress is needed for the scene in Daqing Village. Have you found a candidate, Director Zhang?"
When Zhang Jingan heard this, he frowned.
Everyone's jaws dropped in shock when they heard Liu Ye's words.
They clearly knew that the Best Actor wanted to help this newcomer out. The gazes the others shot Jiang Se immediately changed. They felt that this young girl was simply very lucky.
Since she had earned the recommendation of the award-winning Best Actor Liu Ye, Zhang Jingan would most likely agree with it.
Jiang Se did not know about the film in Daqing Village that Liu Ye mentioned. However, the others were aware of it. There were not many characters involved in that film, but every character had significant parts. It was a far cry from the extras who died the moment they appeared.
Moreover, Zhang Jingan was highly experienced in directing movies. Although he did not produce many films, every single one of his products was internationally acclaimed. If Jiang Se could play a character in one of his films, she would be starting on a high in the entertainment industry. Her possibilities would be endless.
Liu Ye found no fault with his suggestion. Despite Zhang Jingan being a famous director of international prestige, he was not making an outrageous request. It was highly possible for Zhang Jingan to give his assent.
However, to everyone's surprise, Zhang Jingan frowned, muttered to himself for a while, and said, "We'll see."
He neither rejected nor agreed to this.
Liu Ye's shades concealed his look. However, he lived up to his title as the best actor. He was still wearing a faint smile as if nothing had happened.
"You're right."
"The Jianghua Group intends to invest another $100 million."
This was clearly not news in the entertainment industry. At least, when Jiang Se heard this, the people around her did not look surprised.
Zhang Jingan waved his hand. He was gesturing for the script supervisor to give Jiang Se a change of costume and come back.
When Jiang Se turned to leave, the award-winning Best Actor sitting in the chair swept his gaze up and down her body. He shifted his gaze away silently and said with a smile, "It looks like the Jianghua Group is determined to win with 'Rescue Mission' this time." His words were clearly layered.
When Jiang Se heard the name "Jianghua Group", she seemed vaguely distracted. Then, in the next moment, Zhang Jingan asked, "Do you know about Zhongnan Industries?"
The script supervisor was already leading Jiang Se away from the beach parasol, so they were now several meters away from Zhang Jingan and the others. However, when Zhang Jingan asked this question, she stopped in her tracks and her body tensed.
"Do you mean the Feng family's Zhongnan Industries from Hong Kong?" Liu Ye asked.
Zhang Jingan replied softly, "Mm-hmm."
Chapter 9: Connections
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
At that moment, Jiang Se's heart surged. She felt light-headed and nearly lost control of herself. The script supervisor took two steps forward, but when he noticed that she was not following, he turned around to look at her. When he saw that she was just standing there, he took it that she was trying to cling to Liu Ye and land a good character among the cast.
Throughout his years with the production team, he had seen his fair shares of tricks. Sometimes, the actors were better at their trade in real life than on screen.
Appearing to look down on her, he script supervisor urged her on, "You coming?"
If Zhang Jingan had agreed to Liu Ye's request moments ago, he might have been more polite to Jiang Se.
However, the famous director had turned Liu Ye down. What kind of person was Liu Ye like? After hitting a snag for the first time, he would not attempt it twice even if he fancied this beautiful newcomer.
Jiang Se pursed her lips. She finally noticed that she was shaking under the hot sun. She wondered if it was due to her drenched clothes. She shuffled her feet with difficulty and could faintly catch what Zhang Jingan was saying.
"It's said that the Feng family of Zhongnan Industries has a daughter. She's now in the imperial capital with the person calling the shots in Zhongnan Industries. He's close with… in the capital. I heard that the heir to the Jianghua Group is interested in her. Rather than saying that the Jianghua Group is determined to win with this film, it's more likely that this Miss Feng…"
"Miss Feng?"
The news came from Zhang Jingan's mouth. It was impossible for the famous director to speak about baseless things, so there was a high possibility that this was true.
The script supervisor was still hurrying Jiang Se along. She followed him to the temporary makeup room in a daze.
This time, because of Zhang Jingan's personal nomination, the makeup artist did not ignore her like this morning. Instead, the makeup artist brought a new set of costumes and personally accompanied her behind the curtains of the makeshift changing room.
The makeup artist was a young lady. She helped Jiang Se remove her soggy and heavy clothes, revealing the body of a young girl with only her lingerie on.
Jiang Se was young, and her body was still awkward in certain places. The lumps on her chest were covered in an old-fashioned bra that had been washed many times. However, she was blessed by heaven with her snow-white and translucent skin. Even her awkward curves seemed alluring.
Heaven seemed to have blessed her with preferential treatment. Aside from her beautiful face, she had a nubile body that tapered to a slender waist from under her breasts. It would have been possible to grab her entire waist with two hands.
"So beautiful."
The makeup artist sighed in awe. Her skin that was screaming youth was moist and full. However, there was a mark on her left shoulder. That was not the most serious part. There was also an angry bruise the size of a woman's fist on her chest, and it was starting to turn into an ugly purple.
Her fair skin set a stark contrast to these injuries of her. The makeup artist glanced at them. "Are you hurt?"
Jiang Se looked at her chest. She touched the bruised patch and drew a sharp breath.
She had seen the mark on her shoulder before this. She must have gotten it when the Japanese soldier actor slashed her with the knife prop during the first filming. Nevertheless, it should be gone within two days.
However, the mark on her chest would likely linger on for much longer. As she remembered the explosive force of the squib, she could not help but rub it while bearing the pain. She nodded.
"I'm alright."
She was not as squeamish as the makeup artist had thought. The makeup artist regarded her with mild surprise before quickly saying, "It looks serious."
After saying that, she lifted the curtain and went out, but she returned with a mist spray in no time. "It's normal for someone to get hurt while filming. This helps disperse the bruise, reduce swelling, and eases the pain. Try it."
Jiang Se nodded and took it as she thanked her. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it." The woman smiled. She took a small towel and dried her hair.
"I'm Sandy. Director Zhang is someone who'll perfect something that's already outstanding. The scene you guys were shot in might only be a minor part, but since Director Zhang has seen it, judging by his character, he'll want it to be the best."
Sandy toweled Jiang Se's hair dry and helped her blow dry her wet bra. The extras could not be compared to the celebrities in the cast who had dedicated caretakers tending to their every need. Extras such as Jiang Se had no choice but to put their wet lingerie back on.
"I saw one of the managers bringing some guns over. I've been in the industry for quite some time now, and it's uncommon to see most of the extras using real rifles. I heard that it's thanks to the Jianghua Group's investment. Through the Jianghua Group's connections, they rented some guns from the military. Ordinary people couldn't have done it. Only Director Zhang can pull it off." Sandy helped Jiang Se put on another costume. After asking about the size of her feet, she fetched a pair of shoes from the rack.
"However, dedicated personnel look after the firearms. There's only gunpowder in them and no rounds. So, the effects will be lifelike, but nobody will get hurt," Sandy said, stealing a glance at the bruise on Jiang Se's chest.
"Your bruise was caused by a squib. Usually, the squibs nowadays can't harm anyone. If you get the amount right, it won't hurt even if it's detonated on your palm," she explained the knowledge of the film production universe to Jiang Se with a smile. She clearly meant this as a favor to Jiang Se.
"But there are drawbacks. Sometimes, there are inexperienced extras who don't feel the pain even after the explosives go off, so they can't make pained expressions." When she said this, she helped Jiang Se with the trousers and the shoes before continuing.
"I guess the famous director asked them to increase the load on purpose. He might've wanted a realistic film."
Jiang Se managed a smile. She thanked her for her kindness and processed what Sandy had unintentionally let slip.
"That was also my first time seeing an actual gun, and it was pointed at me! I was scared out of my wits back there." Jiang Se suppressed her urge to shiver and acted as if she was trying to make small talk when she was actually trying to get more out of Sandy.
"The firearms were rented from the military?"
Sandy nodded. "Do you think I was lying?"
"Will the military do that?" Jiang Se managed a smile when she asked her question.
"My dear girl, if you have the money and the connection, there's nothing you can't do. There's much more to this industry than meets the eye. Moreover, it's the Jianghua Group we're talking about!"
Sandy picked at her lacquer-covered nails.
"Connections and contacts."
When Jiang Se saw her in that state, she knew that she would not be able to get anything else out of her. She suddenly felt a chill that came from under her feet. She wrapped her arms around herself, pursed her lips, and said no more.
The others might not know about the Jianghua Group, but she knew it well.
Before she was reborn as Jiang Se, her parents were interested in dealing with the Jianghua Group.
Following her parents' orders, she had a meal with the Jianghua Group heir. They wanted her to have a blind date with the young master of the Jianghua Group so that there would be a high possibility for an alliance by marriage in the future.
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