373: Chapter 373 Director, this doesn't make sense!

After filming this part, the crew changed sets to the "Guanghan Palace" to finish the scene where Erlang Shen accidentally breaks the Jade Tree after hearing Change say her heart "could no longer contain anyone else."

Change performed this segment quite well; although she looked young, her expression carried a hint of sorrow, looking exactly like someone who had been lonely for countless years.

Her expression was cold and aloof, her tone gentle, and when Yang Chan acted as a matchmaker for Erlang Shen, the rejection in Change's words did not make people feel any aversion toward her.

However, as expected, the unexpected happened—the simple shot of Change and Erlang Shen passing each other on the bridge, in Director Lin's eyes, still resulted in several NGs.

The backstory here is that Change knows Yang Jian is hiding behind the Jade Tree and has heard her rejection, and Yang Jian knows that Change knows he heard her reject him, but the various helplessness, misunderstandings, hidden bitterness, and pressures behind this could only continue to be shouldered.

This segment was pure Acting without Lines, relying entirely on the background music added in post-production.

The two first looked at each other from a distance, then walked closer and stopped. Just as they were about to brush past each other, Change glanced at Yang Jian, but the latter did not dare to meet her gaze; after they passed, Yang Jian looked back, but could only see Change's retreating figure; and when Yang Jian continued to walk away, Change looked back, but could only see Yang Jian's resolute retreating figure.

The key to this lies in the few exchanges of glances between the two.

After a few back-and-forth interactions, the audience would naturally feel deep regret for the missed connection between Yang Jian and Change.

As for what attitude Change held toward Yang Jian? Why did she look back? What did her looking back represent? Or rather, did Change have any feelings for Yang Jian at all?

Director Lin's thought was: It is the audience's business if they want to ship a couple; Change only loves Hou Yi.

Director Lin explained the scene very clearly: Change feels that Yang Jian is degrading himself; his former unruliness is gone, and his former compassion is nowhere to be seen. To put it nicely, he is the Judicial God; to put it bluntly, he is the running dog of the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother. Deep down, Change feels he is helping the tyrant, and she feels sorry for his Change. Moreover, because she cannot reciprocate his love, she, being kind-hearted, also feels guilt.

Gong Hui nodded: "Director, I understand."

However, when it came to actual filming.

"Cut!" Director Lin called an NG. "Gong Hui, your expression is wrong!"

Director Lin didn't call anyone else, but simply pulled Gong Hui to the monitor to re-watch the performance just now: "Don't you see what the problem is?"

"... Is something missing?"

Director Lin narrowed his eyes: "It's not that something is missing; it's that there is something extra."

"Huh?"

Director Lin was not as polite to others as he was to Lin Chuyan: "What 'huh'? Stop Acting like a lovesick fan! Please restrain yourself when you look at him. Even a fool can see you have feelings for him in your eyes, okay?"

Gong Hui said cautiously: "I feel that Change still has some feelings for Yang Jian..."

"... Go on, you speak, I'm listening."

Gong Hui was indeed young and childlike, so she spoke her mind: "Director, think about it. Change's husband has been dead for thousands of years. She has been alone in the Guanghan Palace for so many years, and in such a lonely situation, Erlang Shen just happens to like her..."

"So what? Just because someone likes her, she has to like them back? Zhu Bajie also likes her, why isn't she moved?"

"But..."

Director Lin glared: "But what?"

"But that's Lin Chuyan! Erlang Shen is so handsome, it would be strange if Change didn't like him! Even if she doesn't like him now, it's because he has changed, it doesn't mean she never liked him!" Gong Hui said righteously, "Director, this is not logical! It's very illogical!"

Director Lin: "..."

Gong Hui continued her output: "Director, I feel that Change definitely has feelings for Erlang Shen! The reason she acts like she doesn't like him is precisely because there is a misunderstanding between them. She thinks Erlang Shen has changed and become a stranger. Just like you said, she likes the Erlang Shen who had compassion but was also unruly. Seeing Erlang Shen become like this, she is even more pained than he is! I think the look in Change's eyes should be this kind of feeling!"

"Then she still thinks he harmed tens of thousands of people in Nan County?"

"That's why this kind of love in Change's heart seems even heavier."

Director Lin: Why does this actually sound quite reasonable? No! To put it bluntly, isn't it just because Lin Chuyan is handsome... Acting like a fan, and finding so many excuses for herself?

However, Director Lin was willing to listen to reason. After being told this by Gong Hui, he felt that nothing is absolute, and it didn't necessarily have to be portrayed as resolute.

Since he cast Lin Chuyan, there was no need to film strictly according to his own script; making slight Changes wasn't impossible, and this way the emotional handling wouldn't seem too abrupt.

Besides, as long as things weren't spelled out clearly, just based on a look... as the saying goes, how the audience interprets it is the audience's business.

"How about this, let's not define her feelings as 'like' or 'dislike.' Change appreciates qualities like Yang Jian's kindness and justice, and she also sympathizes with his experiences over the years, but it is also true that her heart is tied to Hou Yi, which makes her more rational when dealing with emotions. Plus, her current misunderstanding of Yang Jian... if we only understand it as 'like or dislike,' that's a bit superficial."

Gong Hui nodded vigorously.

Thus, the filming of this segment began to go smoothly.

The look in Yang Jian's eyes was naturally filled with deep affection, but also carried an unspeakable pain, and this pain, which was not understood by everyone, transformed into deep loneliness... This complex emotion was expressed vividly by him.

The look in Change's eyes also began to carry emotion, only this emotion was mixed with confusion. She turned back and saw Yang Jian's resolute retreating figure; this feeling of watching the other person walk into the abyss only deepened her pain.

"Cut! This take is good."

Lin Chuyan ran to the monitor to watch it once, nodded, and didn't say anything, only thinking silently in his heart: It's over, the 'Jian-Change' shippers are probably going to overpower the 'Jian-Heart' shippers.

In the following days, Lin Chuyan gradually became proficient in the basic usage of the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear.

"Grip the handle tightly with five fingers, with your thumb locked on the end of the handle to keep the blade stable." Master Huang slightly adjusted Lin Chuyan's posture, "Just remember one thing: when you use it, it must be clean and crisp. The key point is that the force must be consistent throughout the movement."

At first, he practiced basic movements like chopping, and later Master Huang slowly added lifting, stabbing, and blocking movements.

Once Lin Chuyan could perform them decently, he started increasing the intensity.

"Next is turning and jumping while holding it." Master Huang personally demonstrated these two movements and continued to state the key points, "What is the key? Two points."

"First, because this is fighting, whether it's turning or jumping, your eyes must not drift; they must always be locked on the target so that it looks 'real'."

"Second, pay attention to body coordination, so that the fighting looks good. Looking good is very important."

Lin Chuyan summarized it: "It needs to look powerful, and the posture shouldn't be ugly. Right?"

"Right, right."

After learning a few basic movements, Master Huang started on combo moves.

"I'll break it down. First, a bow-stance chop, followed by a quick turn, then a lifting strike, and finally ending with a jump-and-chop."

"Note, when turning, use your waist strength well; when lifting, keep your wrists flexible, don't hold them stiffly; when jumping and chopping, concentrate all your strength on the tip of the blade."

Lin Chuyan practiced according to what Master Huang said and felt... it wasn't that hard?

Master Huang patted his shoulder: "I said, you have a good foundation. The Fangcun Sword Technique I taught you before wasn't practiced in vain. At the very least, you have muscle memory for some force-generating techniques. Besides, this thing really isn't hard; what's hard isn't the entry, but mastering it—that's what you need to study well."

Lin Chuyan successfully extracted the keyword: "Mastering it? How do I master it? Master Huang, I want to learn that!"