48: Chapter 48 Leaping onto the Horse [

"I'm free tomorrow afternoon, what about you?" Wang Churan asked.

Yu Liang had just finished two consecutive days of heavy scenes, and tomorrow he only had two or three scattered shots left, which was practically a whole day off.

"I'm probably free all day tomorrow," he thought for a moment and replied.

"Great, then let's meet tomorrow afternoon."

---

The next day, Yu Liang finished his scenes for the day early in the morning. After removing his makeup and changing into casual clothes, he headed straight to the joy of life set.

This time, he had learned his lesson.

After arriving at the perimeter of the Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden, he didn't rush in, but instead sent a message to Guo Qilin. A short while later, Guo Qilin's car drove out and picked him up, taking him inside.

"Yu Liang is here." Director Sun Hao saw him coming over and greeted him with a smile.

Yu Liang walked over to the monitor, glanced at the screen, and asked, "Director, which scene are you filming?"

On the screen, Zhang Ruoyun was holding a large flag, standing on the roof of a carriage.

"We're reaching the final stages of filming, so we're seeing what needs to be revised or reshot to patch things up," Sun Hao said.

Yu Liang nodded. Based on the scene, he quickly realized this was the part where Fan Xian was on a diplomatic mission to Northern Qi, and as the delegation entered the capital, Shen Zhong, the Commander of the Northern Qi Brocade Guard, deliberately allowed the commoners to provoke them by throwing eggs.

In the original novel, Fan Xian's reaction was to endure it silently, watching coldly without dodging or cursing, planning to settle the score once they entered the city. There was no scene of him jumping onto the carriage roof to plant a flag.

However, the director and Screenwriter Wang Juan felt that in order to better fit Fan Xian's sharp and arrogant persona, they decided to reshoot a scene where Fan Xian directly challenged Northern Qi.

The added footage involved Fan Xian planting a flag on the carriage roof, defeating three generals in a row, going head-to-head with the ninth-grade master He Daoren, and then leaping from the carriage roof to land on horseback, all to provoke them.

Because it was an improvised scene, Zhang Ruoyun hadn't prepared in advance, so he was inevitably a bit awkward during filming.

Especially the continuous movement of leaping onto the horse after the final fight; he shot it several times, but Sun Hao always felt it was missing something.

"How about... you give it a try?" Sun Hao looked at Yu Liang.

He was thinking that if all else failed, he would have Yu Liang fill in for Zhang Ruoyun.

The two were about the same height, and as for their appearance, Yu Liang was actually a bit better than Zhang Ruoyun.

But since it was a stunt double, as long as they edited it well in post-production and it didn't look obvious, it would be fine.

Yu Liang thought for a moment and said, "That doesn't seem right."

"Don't worry, we'll pay you for it," Sun Hao said bluntly.

"That's not what I meant..." Yu Liang didn't expect Sun Hao to be so direct.

Even Martial Arts Director Li Lei, who was standing nearby, chimed in: "Just do the scene. A stunt is a stunt, whoever does it."

"Forget it, I'd rather help Brother Ruoyun break down the movements." Yu Liang didn't want to do something that would make him stand out but offend others.

"That works too." Director Sun Hao nodded.

Yu Liang was wearing casual clothes, so his movements were naturally more agile than they would be in a costume.

He stretched his muscles, had the staff hook him up to the wires, and after a few tries, his movements quickly became fluid.

Jumping up, turning, and landing on horseback—this sequence wasn't difficult for Yu Liang, but he didn't choose to do it all in one go.

He even almost "slipped" off the horse once.

This made Wang Churan, who was chatting with Li Qin and Zhao Ke in the resting area, worry, and she ran over.

Li Qin and Zhao Ke followed closely behind.

And Martial Arts Director Li Lei, who also had a martial arts background, shook his head with a smile after seeing Yu Liang's "performance." This kid—this wasn't a demonstration; it was pure social savvy.

Afterwards, Yu Liang broke down the movements and demonstrated/explained them step-by-step to Zhang Ruoyun.

Zhang Ruoyun stood in place and tried it a few times. The first few movements were fine, but the high-difficulty move of leaping onto the horse at the end—while he could demonstrate it on the ground—was not easy to execute perfectly once he actually had to stand on the carriage roof and fly up on wires.

"How about we leave this move for post-production instead of doing it in one take?" Director Sun Hao suggested, now feeling that the difficulty of the leap onto the horse was indeed a bit high.

Seeing this, Yu Liang said, "I think this sequence could be adjusted."

The director and Zhang Ruoyun looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"After fighting from the carriage roof and then leaping to stand on the horse, it's hard to control the force, and it's easy to spook the horse. Plus, the overall presentation of this move might not look that good."

Yu Liang gestured, "If we change it to leaping from the roof and sitting directly on the horse, the movement would be much smoother and safer."

He paused and added, "Fan Xian is on a mission to Northern Qi; fighting back in public when provoked is a move that already establishes his character."

"After defeating the experts, landing smoothly on the horse and riding off with composure looks more relaxed than standing stiffly on the horse, and it won't look like he's trying too hard."

Sun Hao listened and nodded thoughtfully.

Yu Liang made sense. Whether in terms of action logic or character temperament, this adjustment was more logical.

"Alright, let's try it exactly as Teacher Yu Liang suggested." Sun Hao made the call and gave instructions to the various groups on set.

Zhang Ruoyun smiled and patted Yu Liang on the shoulder, feeling even more favorably toward him.

"Brother, demonstrate it for me one more time," he said. "And let the director put this part in the behind-the-scenes footage."

Quid pro quo; the intention was self-evident.

Seeing that the lead actor Zhang Ruoyun had said so, Sun Hao nodded: "Teacher Yu Liang, then please run through the version of the action you just designed one more time."

Yu Liang was hooked back onto the wires and stood on the carriage roof again.

This time, his gaze inadvertently swept downward.

Wang Churan, Zhao Ke, and Li Qin were standing nearby watching. Summer attire was inherently cool, especially on Zhao Ke and Li Qin, who were wearing V-neck tops that slightly revealed their cleavage.

Looking down from above, Yu Liang had a clear view of everything.

Summer was already prone to making one hot and bothered; his Adam's apple bobbed, and he couldn't help but get a reaction.

To avoid being noticed by everyone, Yu Liang cast one last lingering glance before leaping down onto the horse.

He landed perfectly.

The horse couldn't help but let out a low whinny: "Have you ever had your spine poked?"

"Great!"

Zhang Ruoyun took the lead in applauding, and a round of applause broke out around them.

"Teacher Yu Liang's design for this part is so cool!" a staff member couldn't help but exclaim. "Did you notice the way he focused his gaze before jumping? It was full of character."

Sun Hao also nodded with satisfaction.

This version of the action was indeed much better than the original design.

"Alright, let's officially start filming now." He picked up the megaphone. "Teacher Ruoyun, follow Teacher Yu Liang's demonstration. Everyone else without a filming task, please disperse."

Zhao Ke, Li Qin, and the others walked back to the resting area and couldn't help but praise Yu Liang.

"Yu Liang, that movement you just did was really cool," Li Qin said.

"Especially the part where you flew onto the horse," Zhao Ke agreed, then gave Yu Liang a meaningful look.

"By the way, where is Ms. Xiaoran?" Yu Liang couldn't help but ask, feeling like he hadn't seen her for a few days.

Zhao Ke said, "Ms. Xiaoran asked for leave these past few days to attend the Huading Awards."

Yu Liang nodded. No wonder.

Just like that, Yu Liang chatted with Li Qin and Zhao Ke for a while longer.

As for Wang Churan, after finishing her reshoots, she hurried back to the dressing room.

And when she came back out, Yu Liang's eyes lit up instantly—the little girl had actually changed into a JK uniform!