56: Ah Nong, stop now.

"Brother, here's an apple for you. I've peeled it," Shu Chang said, handing a peeled apple to Li Xiuwu.

"Only Chang Chang is good to me," Li Xiuwu said as he took the apple and took a bite.

"Hmph, flatterer," Liu Yifei whispered to the side. She broke the orange she had peeled in half, stuffed one half into Shu Chang's hand, and crossly ate the other half herself.

Shu Chang looked at the orange in her hand, then at Liu Yifei and Li Xiuwu, and smiled with her lips pursed.

On the other side, Liu Xiaoli was chatting with Lin Qian.

"Assistant Lin, I'll have to trouble you to look after Xiuwu's work in the future. He's still young and might not consider everything thoroughly."

"You're too kind, Auntie Liu. This is part of my job. Although Mr. Li is young, he handles things very methodically," Lin Qian said in a gentle and humble voice.

Liu Xiaoli wanted to find out more about Lin Qian, but Lin Qian's answers were always watertight, making her sense even more how extraordinary he was.

When the set finished for the night, Liu Xiaoli called her home in Wuhan. She already considered Li Xiuwu one of her own children and felt she had to keep an eye out for him.

In the Chinese Paladin crew, Guo Fan became the busiest person.

The cinematography team laid tracks and pushed cranes, the props team moved equipment and set up scenes, the lighting team set up lights, and the logistics team delivered lunch boxes. Zhou Xiaowen even had him organize the script continuity logs.

He did everything without a single complaint. Instead, his eyes were always bright as he observed the crew's operations during breaks in his work.

He discovered that filming wasn't as simple as he had thought; it wasn't just about sitting in front of a monitor and giving orders.

As he worked with each department and organized the logs, he noticed that almost every department operated independently.

By the time filming was more than halfway through, Zhou Xiaowen stopped letting him run around and had him specifically represent him in communicating with various departments.

Zhou Xiaowen found that this kid was very well-spoken, good at gaining people's favor, and very persuasive.

Initially, he hadn't paid much attention to this well-connected newcomer. From day one, Zhou Xiaowen knew that Guo Fan knew nothing about film crews, but he was diligent, eager to learn, and quick-witted.

He spoke with clear logic and was excellent at communication. He even proposed several practical suggestions. Gradually, Zhou Xiaowen began to take him seriously and would occasionally give him some pointers.

"Cinematic language isn't just about capturing the image. You have to think about why the shot is framed this way and what meaning it's trying to convey to the audience," Zhou Xiaowen said to Guo Fan, who was following him while they adjusted camera positions.

Guo Fan only half-understood but couldn't quite figure it out, so he noted it down in his notebook.

Seeing how serious he was, Zhou Xiaowen added, "You must master cinematography and lighting. A director who doesn't understand these two is just a muddlehead."

"I understand, Director Zhou. I'll learn as much as I can from everyone."

Guo Fan was arranged by Zhou Xiaowen to find the costume department and coordinate the wardrobe for the next scene.

Zhou Xiaowen looked at Li Xiuwu: "He has talent and is willing to work hard. He's a real talent."

"Since Teacher Zhou thinks highly of him, please teach him well. It might become a great story in the future," Li Xiuwu said with a smile.

Zhou Xiaowen nodded and didn't refuse.

"Is there something else?" Zhou Xiaowen asked, seeing Li Xiuwu still standing there.

"A little something, about the public opinion regarding Chinese Paladin," Li Xiuwu stated his purpose for seeking out Zhou Xiaowen.

"What, is the war of words still not over?" Zhou Xiaowen had only paid attention when the controversy first erupted and hadn't bothered with it since.

Based on his experience, it shouldn't have lasted long.

"Tangren stopped long ago, but the mutual mud-slinging continues."

Zhou Xiaowen looked at Li Xiuwu, feeling like he couldn't understand those words. What did he mean by "Tangren stopped long ago, but the mutual mud-slinging continues"?

"Director Zhou, don't worry about that. The company wants some behind-the-scenes footage to use for promotion."

After Wang Cheng took over Golden Culture, he decided on a slight adjustment in style. They couldn't just keep trading accusations.

They could easily edit some bloopers and outtakes from the set to use for promotion.

For example, Li Xiuwu practicing an action scene repeatedly until late at night, or Liu Yifei soaking in cold water for half an hour.

Or Zhou Xiaowen and the creative team arguing endlessly over a detail in a scene.

As long as it didn't affect filming, Zhou Xiaowen didn't care about work outside the set and had someone give Li Xiuwu a copy of the on-site recordings.

"This is too much!" Cai Yinong slammed the table. In front of her was a newspaper discussing the Chinese Paladin crew and how difficult their filming was.

There was also a video online of Liu Yifei and Li Xiuwu getting married—the beautiful imagery made countless people smile sweetly.

Many people thought it was a real wedding video of Li Xiuwu and Liu Yifei. Who wouldn't offer their blessings to such a handsome man and beautiful woman?

Public attention had shifted away from Tangren's questioning, and there was even a faint dissatisfaction toward Tangren.

Anyone would get annoyed if the same thing was brought up repeatedly for a month.

What made Cai Yinong angry was her realization that her public questioning wasn't working. Instead, the other side had used it to hype themselves up, so she stopped immediately.

But the media didn't stop. Golden Culture was spending its own money, pretending to be Tangren and arguing with themselves.

Rumors were already circulating online that Tangren was cooperating with Golden Culture to intentionally hype things up, a claim many people believed.

"Cooperating my ass! Fuck! Does Golden Culture have too much money to burn?" Cai Yinong cursed. Every time Golden Culture made a move, they just threw money at it, which she loathed.

Li Guoli sat opposite her and sighed, "Yinong, stop now. The media outlets out there are all paid for by Golden Culture."

He was also speechless. Where did this Golden Culture come from? Whenever they hit a problem, they just threw money at it, spending it like water. It was simply unreasonable.

"Is that so? I'm not afraid!" Cai Yinong sneered. "Don't worry about it; I'll handle it."

Li Guoli looked at Cai Yinong's somewhat neurotic face and shook his head. "My crew's preparations are finished. Filming starts the day after tomorrow. I'm heading to Hengdian today."

He walked out, but when he reached the door, he turned back to Cai Yinong. "I'm warning you, the other side's background is unknown. Everything must stay within the rules."

After Li Guoli left, the expression on Cai Yinong's face gradually softened as she thought of a countermeasure.

She instructed her assistant, "Go find a few reliable people to sneak into Hengdian. I want to know exactly what their crew is filming every day, especially... if anything very unusual happens."

...In the Chinese Paladin crew, the scenes in the Demon Locking Pagoda were the highlight. Since there was no suitable location, the crew had built the set in advance. The interior was eerie and grand. Li Xiaoyao, Zhao Linger, and Character Name experienced life and death here.

[Detection: Host is performing Triple Cultivation. Illusion Cultivation Aura activated. Charm Aura activated.]

All three were suspended by wires. The Demon Locking Pagoda was collapsing, and while the three were escaping, a crisis suddenly appeared—the Sword Stele that suppressed the pagoda came crashing down.

"Go, quickly!" Shu Chang was the first to notice, pushing Li Xiaoyao and Zhao Linger out with a palm strike.

Suspended by her wire, Shu Chang performed the motion of being hit by falling rocks and then slowly descended.

"Close-up!" Zhou Xiaowen stood up. Shen Xinghao was already pushing the camera, focusing on Shu Chang's face. As she fell, she still looked at Li Xiaoyao with a complex gaze—filled with love, reluctance, relief, affection for Li Xiaoyao, and apology toward Linger.

"I don't owe you anymore," her heart seemed to say.

"Yueru!" Li Xiuwu and Zhao Linger cried out at the same time.

Both tried to save Character Name, but the Demon Locking Pagoda collapsed with a roar, burying everything in the ruins.

"Cut!"

"That's a wrap on that scene." After Zhou Xiaowen called it, he slumped into his chair and took a deep breath.

Even without a real collapsing Demon Locking Pagoda, the acting of the three made it feel as if one were actually there, experiencing a life-and-death parting.

The set was quiet for a few seconds, and many female staff members were secretly wiping away tears.

Even some male staff members felt a sense of sadness. They had filmed this story together and witnessed the relationship between Character Name and Li Xiaoyao, as if they had seen a slice of life.

Shu Chang climbed up from the mat, her eyes also red. Liu Yifei ran over and hugged her, her voice choking up. "Chang Chang, you acted so well... I, I almost thought you really..."

Li Xiuwu also walked over and gently patted Shu Chang's shoulder. "Great job, Chang Chang. You were amazing."

Shu Chang shook her head and squeezed out a smile. "I'm fine, it's just... my heart feels a bit heavy."

After finishing for the night, Li Xiuwu specifically had Lin Qian buy a lot of desserts to share with everyone in the crew, providing a bit of relief for the team after filming such heavy scenes consecutively.

Liu Yifei and Shu Chang huddled together eating pastries, whispering to each other.

Shu Chang's filming was finished; she was about to leave the crew and return to school.

Li Xiuwu sat not far away, watching the two chatting. With the heavy scenes of the past two days and the imminent departure, the faces of the two young sisters were tinged with the sorrow of parting.