Bab 7: That Was Amazing
Why was Hua Luo the antagonist when one could clearly tell that Lin Xijin was the white lotus flower in this film and stole Hua Luo's boyfriend?
Elena knew that she wasn't one to complain as she had no power to change the roles and plot of the drama. She wiped that thought from her mind and continued to study the script.
Elena wasn't in a mood to eat or do anything else today, and she studied the script for the whole day. She had thought that she was doing everything right, but after hearing the director's comments, she realized that she was far from being a good actress.
That night, she stayed up until 6 A.M. watching other actors talk about how they film crying scenes. Tomorrow, the first scene they were going to film was the scene when Lichen breaks up with Hua Luo. Hua Luo has to express her sadness through tears, and Elena knew that this was gonna be tough for her.
She was able to squeeze in one hour of sleep before she had to wake up and travel to the filming location. They were filming in an apartment today. The location wasn't too far away so they left at 8 A.M.
At 9 A.M., Elena and Mila arrived at the apartment. They said hello to the director before going to get dressed. The director complimented Elena's makeup and told her to try her best today. This didn't encourage her but instead made her feel more nervous.
Before filming began, both Elena and Zhang Bing were studying their scripts. Neither of them wanted to forget their lines, which was the worst mistake an actor could make. As the director began explaining the scene, Su Yan showed up. There were still five scenes to film before she had a part in a scene. It was obvious, at least to Elena, that she was here to make fun of her and make everything worse when Elena failed to act properly.
"Is everyone ready? Let's get started."
Before starting, Zhang Bing smiled at Elena and told her that she could do it.
"Original Sweet, Scene 35, Take 1."
It was 8:30 A.M. on the highest floor of the LIQuan Company building. Lu Chenjun sat in his seat with his eyes closed. He hadn't slept for over four hours in the days of the past week. He heard a knock at the door and opened his eyes.
"Come in."
Fang Shi walked in, his eyes glued to the floor. His boss had been in a bad mood for the past week, and he didn't want to be the victim of Mr. Lu's horrible temper.
"Mr. Lu, it is already the third day of filming for the drama, Original Sweet. We should go take a look around the set and say hello to the director."
Lu Chenjun looked up with his cold, piercing eyes, and said, "Does it look like I have time for that?"
Fang Shi felt a shiver run up his spine and quickly looked back down to the ground.
"It wouldn't take a long time, sir. Also, Miss Su Yan is playing the first female lead in the drama. The lady you told me to investigate, Jin Yinghui, also has a role in the drama."
Lu Chenjun slowly looked up from his computer. "Jin Yinghui?"
"Yes sir, and also Su Yan."
Lu Chenjun stood up and said, "This shouldn't take over 30 minutes."
"Yessir."
"Original Sweet, Scene 35, Take 1."
This scene started as Lichen tells Hua Luo that he wants to break up. Elena looks up in confusion, and Lichen stands up to walk away. So far so good. The first take was going well. . . Elena may have finally figured it out. . . We won't have to switch the second female lead now. . . The crying should start now.
Elena fell down onto the floor and she had to completely break down now. . . except she didn't. She was holding something back, and the tears didn't look sad enough.
"Cut! Cut! Cut! That was so good. Jin Yinghui, can you do this or not?"
Elena wiped her tears from her eyes, and begged, "Please give me one more chance. If I can't do this in three takes, you don't have to kick me out, I will leave by myself."
The director took a long look at Elena. "Okay, rest for five minutes. We will start filming again in five minutes."
Everyone looked angry at Elena as they went to go take a break. Elena slumped down onto the couch in the filming apartment and closed her eyes. She heard footsteps get louder and louder. She opened her eyes and found Zhang Bing in front of her.
"Here, drink this water."
Elena smiled and took the water from Zhang Bing. He looked side to side as if he was expecting something. Finally, he sat down next to Elena.
"You know, I am a beginner too. I didn't know how to act too, but someone told me something that changed how I looked at acting. You want to know?"
Elena closed the water bottle and looked at Zhang Bing.
"Why would you ask me if I wanted to know if you are already planning to tell me?"
Zhang Bing laughed and stood up, "I can always not tell you."
Elena pulled on his jacket, and looked up helplessly, "Please tell me."
Zhang Bing raised one eyebrow and sat back down. "This person told me that every single scene from a drama or film has to come from a certain experience or moment in real life. If you could make these connections with your own life, it would be much easier to act it out. You understand?"
Elena thought about this and nodded. Zhang Bing patted her shoulders and left.
Elena thought about what connections she could make. What did Hua Luo feel like when Qin Lichen left her? Betrayed. Sad.
"Let's get started again. Everyone back into position."
Before starting, the director took one hard look at Elena before saying, "You have two more tries to prove yourself."
From behind, Su Yan whispered, "Why waste the time? Even if she had twenty tries, she wouldn't be able to do it."
"Original Sweet. Scene 35. Take 2."
Once again, everything went well at the beginning of the scene. Qin Lichen had left, and Hua Luo had to start crying now.
Elena thought of when her mom had thrown out of her house. She wasn't Elena anymore. She was Jin Yinghui, the 18-year-old Jin Yinghui. She didn't collapse as the script said to. She stood there looking at the door, frozen in place. Her eyes remained in shock, the sadness still hadn't reached her brain.
The director was ready to call cut when Jin Yinghui began to move. She slowly stumbled towards the door, her eyes becoming red. Her hand brushed through the doorknob, and she looked as if she was going to turn it. Her body gave in, as she fell down, leaning against the door. The sadness was completely shown through her eyes now.
The director slowly put down the clapperboard, his eyes back on the screen. The entire filming crew was silent as they watched Hua Luo. A single tear rolled down her cheek, and another one quickly followed. She slammed her fists on the ground, but her mouth couldn't make any noise. She took deep breaths as tears rolled down her cheeks one by one.
Everyone on set was immersed into watching Hua Luo, and even the director forgot to call cut. Not until the cameraman turned around and reminded the director it was time to call cut did the director come back to reality.
"Cut."
Elena slowly looked up and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"Was that good enough?" She asked, her voice filled with sadness.
"That. . . that was amazing! Jin Yinghui, why didn't you show your acting skills earlier. I almost cried watching you. You have amazing talent, Yinghui, keep working hard."
Director Xin was known for his strictness in the film industry and he rarely complimented actors. Elena gave him a weak smile and she slowly walked out of the apartment room.
As she walked out, everyone stared at her, some with admiration and some with jealousy and hatred. The "some with jealousy and hatred" consisted of only one person, Su Yan.
Behind all the cameras and the filming crew, Lu Chenjun's gaze followed Elena as she walked into the makeup room. He had arrived just as they started filming, and had seen Elena's acting. Her acting was so moving and genuine that he had to wonder if she was really acting?
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