101: provocative

The weather was getting hotter and hotter; Li Xiuwu finished a scene, walked back drenched in sweat, and took the wet towel handed to him by Yang Xue.

"Thank you, Senior."

He took a cold drink from the cooler, took a few gulps, and finally felt a bit better.

Static acting, shallow movements and techniques—there was zero sense of accomplishment in the performance, and filming this TV series made him feel a bit depressed.

Yang Xue smiled but didn't say anything; she could sense that for Li Xiuwu, acting was just a game—if it was fun, he put his heart into it; if it wasn't, he got bored.

He was mature, yet carried a sense of cynicism.

She sat down and looked at her script.

Li Xiuwu leaned over to look at her script, getting very close to her, and could smell the fragrance on her cheeks as he breathed.

"Your plot has changed again."

"Ah."

Yang Xue let out a soft exclamation; Li Xiuwu's voice had sounded right in her ear, giving her a start, and she whipped her head around, almost kissing Li Xiuwu on the face.

"You scared me."

Yang Xue's face turned red, and she swatted Li Xiuwu with her script.

"I didn't mean to."

Li Xiuwu apologized immediately, sat down to the side as if nothing had happened, and placed his cold drink on the table.

"But your character's persona in the script is getting more and more fleshed out; if we keep filming like this, it should be called the Jiang Yuyan legend."

"Is it really that exaggerated?"

Yang Xue was indeed drawn in by Li Xiuwu's topic, thinking about the scenes she had filmed recently.

Li Xiuwu found filming this show frustrating, but he also discovered the advantage of this type of production: whoever acted well would get more scenes added by the Director when the script was revised.

This was extremely difficult because there was no on-site audio recording, no long takes for you to showcase your performance, and filming was basically done in one take.

Therefore, actors had to grasp the essence of their characters within an extremely short time and display it through fragmented shots.

Yang Xue's performance was soft yet had a bit of an edge, and her eyes were very expressive; she was also diligent—even though the script changed frequently, she still insisted on reading it every day, studying the plot and the character's mindset.

Her outstanding performance made the Director more inclined to add scenes for her when revising the script.

As for Li Xiuwu, he had given up; if not for his professional ethics, he would have wanted to quit, as he felt there was zero joy in filming.

Under the breeze of the water-misting fan, the heat on Li Xiuwu's body dissipated, and he picked up the book on the table.

"Our great talent Li isn't studying acting, but computers instead."

Just as Li Xiuwu picked up the book, he heard someone teasing him.

He looked up and saw Fan Bingbing approaching with an Apple platter.

"Sister Bingbing, what delicious food are you bringing me this time?"

"Sister Hua just came by and brought me some Apple; I'm sharing it with everyone."

Fan Bingbing placed the Apple platter on the table.

Li Xiuwu picked up a toothpick from the Apple platter and speared a piece of watermelon.

"So sweet; my Sister Bingbing really knows how to take care of people."

Li Xiuwu ate the Apple while turning his head to look at her.

Fan Bingbing slapped his shoulder: "Not as sweet as your mouth."

She pulled out a chair and sat down, facing the fan, and casually pulled at her collar to let the wind blow inside, not standing on ceremony at all.

"When has Sister Bingbing tasted it?"

Fan Bingbing was very easygoing, and the two of them were very open when chatting.

Fan Bingbing rolled her eyes at Li Xiuwu.

"There's some plum juice brewed by my Brother Pan in the cooler; do you want to try some?"

Li Xiuwu ate the Apple and also shared the food he had brought.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

Fan Bingbing took out a disposable cup, opened the cooler, and poured herself a cup; as the cold, sweet-and-sour drink went down her throat, she comfortably narrowed her eyes.

"Brother Pan's skills are too good; Yang Xue, you have a cup too."

Fan Bingbing poured a cup for Yang Xue, who was beside her.

"You really know how to enjoy yourself."

She sighed and said, as actors, they all had to listen to the Director's arrangements when filming.

"What kind of enjoyment is this? There's zero sense of accomplishment in filming this show; if it weren't for the fact that I couldn't bear to leave you two sisters, I would have run away long ago."

Li Xiuwu complained about this show; even in the harsh environment of the a deadly secret snowy mountains, he had never complained.

"Pah, you brat, you've got some nerve."

Fan Bingbing swatted Li Xiuwu with her fan.

After chatting for a while, Fan Bingbing also took out her own script to read.

The Director pursued speed in filming; if a take was performed repeatedly and still wasn't good, he would just move on to the next shot.

Everyone's performance was under this kind of high pressure, because if the performance wasn't good, it meant this shot would likely not be used, and in the later editing, one's scenes would be reduced.

"Damn, it's hot as hell."

Dicky Cheung finished a shot, wiped his sweat with a towel, and walked over to Nicholas Tse.

He took the water handed over by his assistant; in this weather, the water was warm. After taking a few gulps, he saw the plum juice being taken out of the cooler opposite, and his heart immediately became irritated.

This Mainlander actually didn't bring any over to him.

He had been coming to the mainland to film for a few years, and every time he joined a crew, there were mainland actors bringing him things and sucking up to him.

Li Xiuwu, a mainland newcomer, actually ignored him; if this weren't the Director's crew, he would have already blown up.

Dicky Cheung couldn't help but look over; there were the two most beautiful actresses in the crew beside Li Xiuwu, chatting and laughing.

The misting fan sprayed out a fine mist, which refracted seven-colored light under the sun, looking refreshing just by watching it.

"That's what you call filming; we're just grinding our lives away."

He gulped down another mouthful of water; his voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough for the people nearby to hear.

Nicholas Tse didn't respond, his eyes looking in Li Xiuwu's direction, somewhat gloomy.

More accurately, his gaze was fixed on Yang Xue; this woman gave him a special feeling, like a delicate yet strong little white flower.

His pursuit, which had always been successful, had failed in front of her; his identity as a Hong Kong Artist and his family background had all lost their effect.

He had twice taken the initiative to ask Yang Xue to run lines, but Yang Xue would say she needed to find the Director to confirm if today's script had been changed, and then turn around and sit beside Li Xiuwu.

Just at this moment, a crew member carrying props passed by and crashed into Li Xiuwu's parasol, causing it to shake.

Pan Lei appeared immediately, helping to support the prop, and said at the same time: "Be careful."

His tone was steady, carrying an unquestionable authority.

This was originally a small matter, but it seemed to touch a nerve in Dicky Cheung, who suddenly spoke up, as if talking to himself, yet his voice was very loud, allowing everyone around to hear.

"Some artists don't have much talent, but their airs are full-blown; they bring assistants and can bully staff members at will. Those who don't know better would think they came to the crew to be a master."

Nicholas Tse immediately understood, his gloomy face instantly revealing a hint of a smile: "Maybe they think they are a talented young master, holding a book and putting on airs, letting others wait on them."

As the two voices fell, the set suddenly quieted down; many staff members stopped their work, their eyes glancing obscurely between the two sides.

Staff members who had participated in crews with Hong Kong Artists wore strange expressions, curious about how Li Xiuwu would respond.

Most crew members generally didn't think well of Li Xiuwu; in the past two years, there had been many such conflicts in various crews, and basically, it was the mainland artists who suffered.

Yang Xue looked up and looked across, especially at Nicholas Tse's gaze; it made her feel that she had caused trouble for Li Xiuwu, and she looked at Li Xiuwu with worry.

Li Xiuwu put down the book, looked up, and noticed two faces filled with sarcasm and disdain.

"Which grandson didn't tighten his belt and let his two balls hang out?"

The weather was hot, and Li Xiuwu was also feeling irritable; being provoked, his temper flared up too.

"If you're just a useless thing, keep it well hidden, so you don't stink up the place."

As soon as he opened his mouth, everyone was dumbfounded; many people looked at Li Xiuwu in shock, not expecting him to be so tough.