Ch23 - Acting Together

Jiang Xiao was standing on a small boat in the center of the lake. Director Liu was adjusting his position for him. After watching the image on camera for a bit, he called for Liang Yu. “Why don’t you stand over there and take a shot?”

Typically, the crew would have several spare costumes for each character on set. This time, Liang Yu wore the costume for the male supporting lead. However, it didn’t fit him that well. He was too tall, so the sleeves and pant legs tended to appear a little short. Therefore, they simply decided to roll the sleeves up. It lended an entirely different kind of style to the entire outfit. 

Jiang Xiao got off the boat, and Liang Yu took his place. As soon as he appeared on camera, Director Liu couldn’t help but gasp.

Some people were simply born to show their faces to the world. Liang Yu was one such person.

He didn’t need anyone to tell him where to stand. After all, the boat was only so big. A lone boat. A single swordsman. As long as he was in the scene, this picture would magically come to life.

Jiang Xiao watched in earnest. He didn’t even notice that there was someone else behind him. Xu Jingzhe watched for a while. Then, he asked Director Liu, “Should I go up there as well?” 

Director Liu goaded him with a smile. “You can if you want to.”

Xu Jingzhe gently laughed. “Why wouldn’t I want to?”

He was still wearing the same costume from yesterday. He’d also taken off the gauze on his neck. A faint scratch could still be seen. One of the makeup artists wanted to help him cover it up, but she was stopped by the scriptwriting team.

“It looks good like this,” Director Liu said. “Just keep it like that.”

The rain wasn’t very heavy, falling in dribs and drabs. It was only a little annoying at best. Xu Jingzhe and the others didn’t have umbrellas. However, once he stepped onto the boat, the rain gradually started to become heavier.

Liang Yu flipped through the script a bit. He wasn’t familiar with the lines. Director Liu allowed them to do as they pleased. However, the boom mic was hovering right above them. It seemed that the director planned on recording the original audio.

The camera swept across Liang Yu’s face. His countenance was steadfast. His gaze was like falling rain. It slid over Xu Jingzhe’s neck and landed on Xu Jingzhe’s wound.

“I thought you wouldn’t be coming today.” The lines that Liang Yu spoke weren’t from the script. However, the rhythm, the pronunciation, it was all perfect for the given atmosphere. Xu Jingzhe had always felt that Liang Yu must have had stage play experience. Otherwise, it would be impossible for a guy without any professional training to be so good at reciting lines. 

Xu Jingzhe kept his expression calm. He replied, “I’m obviously going to come if you’re here.”

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Director Liu had the camera follow both of their faces. At the beginning, he was still explaining everything to Jiang Xiao. “Did you see that? Although the lines are complete nonsense, Liang Yu’s performance is still very good. Look at this. Even if your back is facing the camera, don’t assume that you can just slack off. Actors aren’t allowed to be lazy. You need to be able to respond to what your co-star is doing. If your co-star is hurting you or angering you, then you need to respond appropriately. Look at the details. Even his wig is acting along with him!” 

Jiang Xiao obviously cherished this rare opportunity. He watched the scene for a bit. He wanted to put his two cents in as well. “Mr. Xu is also really good at playing along. I heard that a lot of actors have a hard time acting with Mr. Liang for the first time.”

“Of course he’s good at it. He and Liang Yu are of the same nature. They’re both people within the play.” Director Liu laughed. His following description was a little abstract. “That’s not to say that they’re similar. They’re completely different. Xu Jingzhe’s that kind of lonely but resilient type, almost fragile. Do you know what the antonym of loneliness is?”

Jiang Xiao asked, “What is it?”

Director Liu: “It’s exuberance. Liang Yu is ‘exuberant’. In fact, he’s a little too exuberant. He burns others easily, so they aren’t able to match up to him. They get overwhelmed. However, this isn’t the case with Xu Jingzhe. Xu Jingzhe is a dead tree covered in moss. As soon as he comes in contact with Liang Yu, he’ll come alight but he won’t burn. As for Liang Yu, he’s like a drought that has finally met with rain.” Director Liu clicked his tongue and slapped his thigh. He sighed, “They’re a perfect match!” 

Director Liu hadn’t yelled “cut” so the “perfect match” standing on the boat had no choice but to continue to act. Liang Yu didn’t have much of a foundation regarding the script, so, towards the end, he was pretty much making up whatever he liked. Earlier, when the screenwriter was telling him about the script, he told him that they needed to make physical contact at the end. Liang Yu finished his line. Xu Jingzhe hadn’t even had time to react when Liang Yu suddenly stretched out his hand. He grasped Xu Jingzhe’s neck and pressed his thumb on Xu Jingzhe’s wound.

Xu Jingzhe: “…”

Liang Yu asked in a low voice, “Does it still hurt?”

Xu Jingzhe actually wasn’t too sure whether Liang Yu was acting or whether he was asking for real. He just replied instinctively, “It’s a small wound. It stopped hurting a long time ago.” 

Liang Yu didn’t speak. He tilted his head and leaned in for a closer look. There was no camera on the other side, so, from the camera’s angle, it looked as though Liang Yu was giving him a kiss.

Director Liu still hadn’t called “cut”.

“Are you hungry?” Liang Yu suddenly asked. His breath brushed against Xu Jingzhe’s neck. It tickled a bit. This utterance would also have been recorded by the microphone, but the person in question didn’t seem to care. “You haven’t had lunch yet, right? Let’s go eat first.”

From beginning to end, the topic of conversation had jumped around too fast. Xu Jingzhe hadn’t even had time to come out of the play when he heard Director Liu yell, “Cut!” 

Everyone around them laughed. Some people even started teasing them, “Mr. Liang feels sorry for Mr. Xu.”

Several staff members braved the rain and helped the two of them back to shore. Liang Yu went to change his clothes first. Xu Jingzhe’s wig was covered with a towel. The makeup artist helped touch up his makeup.

Jiang Xiao greeted him, “Mr. Xu.”

Xu Jingzhe smiled and said, “Did you get all that? I’ll be counting on you to perform well.” 

Jiang Xiao wouldn’t dare perform poorly. He blushed and said, “I will definitely learn from Mr. Liang.”

“You don’t need to learn that much.” Xu Jingzhe pushed down a smile. He was rather earnest. “You are you. He is him. The two of you are completely different.”

Zhu Xiaoxiao walked over with a hot boxed lunch. As she was setting up the food, she also helped him change out of his wet robe.

“Mr. Liang ordered all of the dishes.” She emphasized once more, “You have to eat rice. Mr. Liang said so. It’s only natural for you to lose weight when filming. It’s a lot of pressure. You can’t afford to lose any more weight.” 

In the eyes of others, Liang Yu may be a little controlling, but Xu Jingzhe didn’t seem to mind. He had a strange method of relieving pressure. Essentially, once he was under someone else’s management, he actually found himself able to relax better.

When Liang Yu returned, Xu Jingzhe had already finished half a bowl of rice. His overall mood and condition were much better than the previous two days. He looked very relaxed. He even had the spare energy to enjoy the rain, enjoy the scenery as he was eating.

Liang Yu sat down across from him.

He’d changed his clothes. He’d also removed his makeup and undone his hair. He looked clean. Due to his black and white outfit, he looked like a black and white painting within an endless expanse of lush green. 

Xu Jingzhe admired both him and the scenery. He asked, “Are you really not going to sleep? Aren’t you tired?”

Liang Yu pointed his chin at him. “I’ll wait until you get off work.” He asked back, “Are you still cold when you sleep?”

Xu Jingzhe shook his head. “I’m not cold anymore.”

Liang Yu: “There are still a few more things on the way. They’ll be here by tonight. If there’s anything you want, just let me know.” 

Xu Jingzhe smiled and said, “You’ve already prepared enough. I have nothing else to ask for.”

The mattress and blankets were the only thing that was changed. Xu Jingzhe’s new pajamas had also been brought by Liang Yu. After meeting up with Liang Yu, Xu Jingzhe’s mental state seemed to have relaxed entirely. He’d been a little out of it towards the latter half of the night. Now that he thought about it, he wasn’t actually quite sure about what Liang Yu had done.

All he remembered was that he seemed to have been carried to bed by Liang Yu. His face had been pressed against the other’s chin. He seemed to have complained, “Your stubble is too scratchy.”

Liang Yu’s chin was clean-shaven at the moment. Xu Jingzhe felt a little anxious when he thought about how Liang Yu hadn’t slept all night. Not only had he not slept, he also spent all morning guiding a newcomer. He was already looking forward to getting off of work. 

Later, Xu Jingzhe and Jiang Xiao stepped back onto the boat. It was still raining. However, Director Liu kept yelling “cut”.

“Jiang Xiao, what are you so nervous about?” Director Liu shouted into a loudspeaker. “You’re here to interrogate him, not to beg him for his support. You’re demanding to know why your senior brother saved that woman! Where is that woman?!”

Luo Yaoye had been filming on Set B. She’d already finished filming, so she came over to check out Xu Jingzhe. When she got there, she placed both hands in front of Liang Yu. It was as if she were a primary school student showing her teacher her homework.

Xu Jingzhe was full of energy. His desire to get off work early was practically written all over his face. The more pressure that Jiang Xiao felt, the more Jiang Xiao struggled. It was especially worrying for their filming progress. 

“You don’t need to focus too much on how Liang Yu acted,” Xu Jingzhe comforted him. “Just act the way that you want to act. Relax a bit.”

Jiang Xiao hummed in response. He still hadn’t gotten the right feeling yet. Xu Jingzhe was on the other side, getting his hair and makeup touched up. Luo Yaoye was rather shocked when she found out that Liang Yu came to give acting tips.

She couldn’t help but ask, “Since when were you this nice?”

Liang Yu’s expression didn’t look too good. Luo Yaoye didn’t know whether he was just getting impatient or whether he was actually angry. He bluntly responded, “I just want filming to end so that I can go to sleep with Xu Jingzhe.” 

Luo Yaoye: “…?”

She secretly thought to herself, “Is it okay for you to be talking about your private affairs as a couple in front of an innocent girl like me!?”