IPCFS: Chapter 25 Part 1

Half a month later, the filming set.

Yao Chuan raised a loudspeaker and shouted, “Qingming, Ji Li, the two of you come here. This is the key point and I have to tell you carefully.”

Ji Li hurriedly handed the milk tea in his hand to Baozi and walked over.

He met Zhou Qingming, the actor who was playing the male lead. They nodded briefly and fell silent.

Since officially joining the crew, Ji Li, Xu Miaomiao and the others had become acquainted. However, he couldn’t talk much to this cold-natured Zhou Qingming.

Ji Li didn’t try to force this relationship.

In the script, Zhou Qingming played the male lead Xuan Ming. He had a confrontation with the villain Xie Yan played by Ji Li.

Xuan Ming was from a martial arts giant and his temperament was arrogant and cold. It was difficult to find a rival for his martial arts skills. Yet when he and Xie Yan met for the first time, the two of them fought to a tie and it was difficult to gain the upper hand.

Xie Yan was a warm person in front of outsiders. Since saving the female protagonist Xu Miaomiao, he got along very well with the rest of the group. It was only Xuan Ming who was always on the defensive at the sudden emergence of this ‘stranger.’

The next scene was the first clash between the two of them.

The protagonist and his group were eagerly chasing after the person behind the scenes. After solving two murders in a row, they found many clues about the villain. Xuan Ming contacted his sect for reinforcements and quickly eliminated the villain’s stronghold in Xiangyang.

Before the protagonist group could enjoy the joy of victory, the reversal came.

The ‘stronghold’ was simply a trap. At the same time, the villain took advantage of the lacking manpower in the Xuan family’s sect and slaughtered the Xuan family and their disciples.

By the time Xuan Ming and the others arrived, the Xuan family had become a sea of blood without any life.

All the opportunities were grasped well. There must be a traitor secretly sending a message.

In the sea of blood, Xuan Ming was controlled by deep hatred. He identified Xie Yan as the one who acted secretly and directly aimed his sword at the other person in public.

Yao Chuan tapped the script against his palm and said, “Qingming, you have to remember that your feelings for Xie Yan are very complicated.”

“You’ve always doubted his true identity and have been secretly wary of him but in your heart, you admire and agree with him. You implicitly hope that he is a truly credible person.”

Xuan Ming and Xie Yan were opposing characters, one bright and one dark. If it wasn’t for the situation, they might’ve been close friends.

“As a result, your entire family was slaughtered due to this ‘fluke psychology.’ The pain you have to show is double. It isn’t just hatred and disappointment in him but also the pain of being powerless when your family was destroyed.” 

Zhou Qingming nodded, his expression serious. “Director Yao, I understand.”

“Ji Li, what do you think of your next scene?” Yao Chuan didn’t talk directly about the scene but threw the question to him.

Ji Li saw that he was named and remained calm. “Deceptive acting, the male version of green tea.”

“Oh?” Yao Chuan heard this ‘demeaning’ statement and smiled.

On the side, Zhou Qingming frowned imperceptibly and removed his inquisitive gaze.

“Xie Yan is essentially a cold-blooded monster and the emotions of ordinary people can’t shake his heart.” Ji Li said. The massacre was Xie Yan’s veiled warning to Xuan Ming.

“In addition to slaughtering the Xuan family behind Xuan Ming, he also cut off people’s trust in Xuan Ming. Xuan Ming’s ‘rude and unreasonable’ sword can be used by him to make a fuss.”

“He is clearly the one who did the wrong thing but he pretended to be innocent and wronged. He used bitter tactics to make the female lead and the others speak to defend him. Isn’t this being a green tea?” Ji Li asked.

Yao Chuan laughed and patted him on the shoulder. “Okay. Then you should play the male version of a green tea to show me.”

Over the course of half a month, he gained an idea of Ji Li’s acting skills. Even if Ji Li acted as usual in the next scene, he wouldn’t lose the overall standard.

Zhou Qingming silently watched the interaction between the two people and his heartstrings tensed.

“Director, we’re all ready. You can try to run through the scene.” The production assistant said as he ran up.

“Okay.”

The actors tried the scene several times. Then 30 minutes later, everything was ready.

Yao Chuan sat in front of the monitor and shouted into the loudspeaker, “This is the last scene today. Everyone, give me some strength.”

The sound of filming starting rang through the set.

Inside the Xuan sect, the ground was covered with cold corpses and the smell of blood was blown by the wind. Xuan Ming knelt down in front of the corpses of his parents and let out a hoarse roar filled with depression and sorrowful pain.

His eyes were bloodshot but he couldn’t even shed a single tear.

Yao Chuan sat in front of the monitor and watched calmly.

Zhou Qingming entered the act very quickly. He was only 26 years old but his acting skills far exceeded many actors of the same age. Yet to tell the truth, he had been in crews for a while but his acting was unproductive and his progress was very limited.

All the ‘corpses’ were played by group actors and their wounds makeup took three or four hours in advance. This was visible to the naked eye.

Ji Li stood quietly by Zhou Qingming’s side and spoke in a low voice, “People can’t come back from the dead, Brother Ming. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Zhou Qingming trembled uncontrollably. The next second, he pulled out his sword and stabbed it into Ji Li’s abdomen. “Up to now, you still dare to pretend in front of me!”

The sword ‘stabbed’ in and the hidden blood bag immediately overflowed.

This sword was an improved prop and the blade had a retractable mechanism. This type of ‘pain’ could only rely on the actor’s own interpretation.

Suddenly, Ji Li’s figure trembled. Without relying on any makeup effect, the blue veins on his forehead bulged. He took a deep breath and held the blade, trying to resist the other person’s repeated stabs.

His palms dripped with blood, making people startled when they saw it.

“Xuan Ming, what do you mean?”

His teeth trembled and his manner of speaking was airy.

A staff member’s heart was in his throat. “What should we do? I think Teacher Ji Li seems to be in a lot of pain.”

Yao Chuan didn’t speak but he agreed in his heart. Ji Li’s control of his lines had reached the point of perfection. It was so refined that even the vibrato was clearly articulated.

The filming continued. On the main monitor. Xu Miaomiao and the other three ran up and surrounded the two people.

Xu Miaomiao stared at the man’s blood-stained white clothes and then looked at the out of control Zhou Qingming. “Are you crazy? Xie Yan has been staying with us the whole time!”

“Shut up! You are still standing up for him at this time?” Zhou Qingming yelled at her.

His eyes were furious and his entire body was full of killing intent. He looked like a demon who had come from hell. His aura was appalling.

In fact, the two people were just revealing their feelings.

Facing her lover’s sudden outburst, Xu Miaomiao was stunned for a second and her eyes turned red. “What do you mean by I am helping him talk? Do I have to watch you kill innocent people?”

“No, the sword is too deep. We must draw it out quickly to stop the bleeding.” Wen Yu, a male supporting actor, checked the injury and said, “Xie Yan, can you hold on?”

“It’s fine. Xuan Ming just misunderstood me.” Ji Li gave a weak, forced smile to the group but he took advantage of the situation to secretly give strength to the hand holding the blade of the sword.

The blade sank another half an inch and the already bleeding wound was aggravated.

Xie Yan preemptively made a pained sound and blood spilled from his mouth. This act fell into the eyes of the group and became Xuan Ming’s act of indiscriminate killing to vent his anger.

Xu Miamiao was shocked. “Xuan Ming! Stop it!”

Wen Yu grabbed Zhou Qingming by the shoulder. “Brother Xuan Ming, calm down first! If you go any further then you will really kill him!”

“So from the very beginning, you thought I approached you on purpose?” Ji Li gritted his teeth imperceptibly as he met Zhou Qingming’s cold eyes.

It wasn’t enough.

This was far from enough.

The next second, he stepped forward and allowed the sword to pierce him deeper. “Now that something went wrong, you can… freely cut me?”

At night, Ji Li’s eyes were soaked with water and light, giving him a fragile sense of weakness. His lips were stained with blood and the sweat on his forehead stuck to his messy hair. It gave him a contradictory sense of beauty and misery.

“Xie Yan definitely didn’t do it!” One staff member was dazzled by beauty and cried out, “F*k, why isn’t the main protagonist stopping? He is dying!”

Someone whispered, “It’s over. I know this is a drama but I got an inexplicable thrill just watching Ji Li cough up blood!”

Another person answered, “Me too, me too!”

The filming continued.

“It is painful to bear a deep blood feud but are you the only one in the world? How are you a role model for young chivalry? You are so irrational! How can you convince everyone?” Ji Li asked in a weak tone that contained a sense of incitement.

Zhou Qingming stared at Ji Li in front of him in a daze for a few seconds before reacting quickly. The pain and contradiction in his eyes increased.

The hand holding the sword trembled but he stepped back and gritted his teeth. “Don’t pretend!”

Ji Li took advantage of this to stumble twice. He deliberately held his breath and crashed into the heroine’s arms.

“Xie Yan!” Xu Miaomiao’s group of three immediately supported Ji Li and surrounded him anxiously.

Zhou Qingming seemed to be abandoned. He looked at Xie Yan surrounded by the crowd and smiled miserably. Then he left the house alone, carrying his parents’ bodies.

“Cut!” Yao Chuan made a quick decision. “Ji Li, you are the background board on that side. Don’t deviate from your position. Qingming, we will take some close-up shots!”

Everyone cooperated. 10 minutes later, Yao Chuan was satisfied with the completion of the work.

Ji Li got up from the ground and sincerely praised Zhou Qingming. “You just acted very well.”

Zhou Qingming saw his smile and his gaze slightly changed. “…You’re not bad either.”

Once he was done, he walked quickly toward his lounge.

Ji Li frowned slightly at his unexpectedly cold face. Baozi and the staff members quickly walked up to him and took off his props and equipment.

“Brother Ji, what’s wrong with you?” Baozi was keenly aware of his emotions.

“Say, do you think Zhou Qingming misunderstood me?” Ji Li asked quietly.

Baozi hadn’t noticed this at all. “No? He just might not be out of the scene yet.”

Ji Li wanted to say something when he saw Yu Fuya approaching. She shouted, “Everyone is working hard! Our Ji Li has booked a dining car and is giving everyone free meals tonight!”

It was late at night. The staff members who had been tired from working all afternoon heard this and immediately cheered.

Yu Fuya greeted Yao Chuan before approaching her own artist.

“Sister Yu.”

Ji Li and Baozi called out at the same time.

Yu Fuya glanced at Ji Li’s condition and asked with a smile, “Are you tired?”

“I’m fine.” Ji Li sighed as he looked at the dining car on the perimeter of the set. “Sister Yu, I haven’t made money yet. How many times have you paid for me out of your own pocket?”

The contract termination with Dream Media had been going on for a few days but fortunately, Yu Fuya came out in person to negotiate and narrowly solved it. Even the millions in termination fees were advanced by her out of her own pocket.

“We don’t need to talk about these superficial polite things. This is called a precision investment. You can pay me back when you have money in the future.” Yu Fuya gestured. “Let’s go. You and Baozi should eat first.”

Ji Li laughed. “Okay.”

The other person was right. Cooperation was complementing each other. He would one day repay it with his own money.

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