novelraw Chapter 109: Buying a Fine Horse in the Eastern Market
Chapter 109: Buying a Fine Horse in the Eastern Market
The scene was over.
But behind the monitor, Wei Song stared fixedly at the screen, forgetting to call "CUT."
Jiang Ci and Zhao Yingfei also maintained their final pose from the scene—their hands clasped, their gazes locked—as if time had been frozen.
Until a faint *clatter* sounded from the distance.
A stagehand, too tense, had accidentally knocked over some prop.
Only this sound finally shattered the solidified air.
Behind the monitor, Huang Shengqiu, who had been standing motionless, slowly took off his glasses.
He did not applaud; that would be too frivolous.
He turned and looked at Wei Song beside him with an extremely complex gaze.
He looked for a full three seconds.Finally, he gave him a solemn, slow nod.
This nod was worth more than a thousand praises.
It was the highest tribute from an acting fanatic who had been immersed in drama his whole life to another god-level performance.
Wei Song seemed to be awakened by this nod, jolting out of his trance.
He grabbed the walkie-talkie, practically shouting.
"Cut! Good!"
"Everyone, take a ten-minute break!"
With the order given, the entire crew seemed to start breathing again.
Jiang Ci released Zhao Yingfei's hand.
He gave her a polite nod of acknowledgment, a signal of stepping out of character.
Then he turned and walked alone towards the rest area in the corner.
Zhao Yingfei stood where she was, watching his solitary back, not moving for a moment.
Just then, a figure rushed past Wei Song like a gust of wind.
It was the Producer sent by Evergreen Entertainment.
His eyes were now shining, his face alight with a mix of fanaticism and greedy excitement.
What he saw was not art.
It was commercial value measurable in hundreds of millions.
"Incredible! Director Wei! Absolutely incredible!"
The Producer excitedly rushed to Wei Song's side, grabbing his arm, his words somewhat incoherent.
"Promotion plan! I'll have my team draft an exclusive 'Hegemon's Love' CP promotion plan right away!"
"Use that scene we just shot! It'll definitely be a hit!"
The ecstasy born of art on Wei Song's face cooled the instant he heard the words "CP promotion."
It cooled completely and utterly.
He lowered his eyes, looking at the Producer's face twisted with excitement, his own expression becoming exactly like Xiang Yu's on the day of the Mass Grave.
Cold. Indifferent.
"I disagree."
Wei Song directly cut off the Producer's subsequent torrent of ideas.
His voice wasn't loud, but every word was exceptionally firm.
"My film doesn't need this kind of cheap marketing."
The Producer's smile froze on his face.
"Cheap marketing?"
He was choked by Wei Song's words, his face instantly turning ugly.
"Director Wei, I'm doing this for the good of the film!"
His volume involuntarily rose.
"A six-billion project! Do you really expect to rely on that vague word-of-mouth to slowly ferment? Can the market wait that long?"
He shook off Wei Song's arm and began to expound on his "blockbuster logic" that had been validated by the market countless times.
"Today's audience eats this up! We release some ambiguous behind-the-scenes interaction clips now, buy trending topics, hype the topic 'Jiang Ci and Zhao Yingfei Too Deeply Immersed in Their Roles'!"
"I guarantee, by the time the film premieres, their CP fanbase will be at least several hundred thousand strong! That's box office revenue!"
Wei Song looked at him coldly.
As if looking at a raving lunatic.
"You are insulting their performance."
"Insulting?" The Producer seemed to have heard the biggest joke. "I'm helping them! Helping this film! Art needs to eat too, Director Wei!"
Huang Shengqiu, who happened to be passing by, stopped.
He adjusted his glasses and asked leisurely.
"Oh?"
"Are you asking them to keep performing 'The Farewell My Concubine,' or to perform 'Romeo and Juliet'?"
Huang Shengqiu's question instantly pierced the Producer's fanatical fantasy.
He turned sharply and only then saw Huang Shengqiu, and beside him, Liu Hanyu, whose face was equally placid.
Two heavyweight figures.
"Teacher Huang, you misunderstand, that's not what I meant."
The arrogance on the Producer's face instantly vanished, quickly replaced by an ingratiating smile as he tried to explain.
"I'm planning for the film's commercial prospects."
Huang Shengqiu paid no heed to his explanation.
He directly turned his head and said to Wei Song.
"Director Wei, there's still a scene where Fan Zeng advises Xiang Yu not to divide the fiefdoms. I think it's important."
"I'd like to run lines with Jiang Ci in advance tonight, find a quieter place."
His words seemed to be discussing the script.
On the other side, Liu Hanyu immediately chimed in.
"Right, and also the psychological game between Zhang Liang and Xiang Yu before the Hongmen Feast needs to be discussed in advance."
He glanced around and added.
"It's too noisy here, affects the creative process."
The two veteran actors played off each other.
Seemingly discussing the script, they actually expressed their stance with crystal clarity.
We are here to create, not to cooperate with your marketing schemes.
The Producer's face flushed red then paled, awkwardly rooted to the spot, unsure whether to leave or stay.
Finally, it was Wei Song who glanced at him.
That glance was light, but carried immense weight.
"The young actors performed well because they have talent, and it's the crew's good fortune."
"Don't stir up nonsense, lest you become a laughingstock."
With things said to this extent, even if the Producer had the thickest skin, he couldn't stay.
He gave a couple of forced, resentful dry laughs and slunk away.
In the corner, Jiang Ci was drinking water with his head down, seemingly oblivious to the dispute over there.
But the corner of his eye had already taken in everything.
He just couldn't be bothered to care.
He knew very well that for an actor, the most powerful response was always the next scene.
Not a war of words.
He sat in the corner, alone, reviewing the scene they had just shot.
Zhao Yingfei's reaction had indeed exceeded his expectations.
He originally thought she was just a "connection hire" exceptionally gifted in dance.
He never expected that after a single scene together, the reactions she gave would turn out to be surprisingly effective.
She wasn't crushed by his "inhuman" aura.
Instead, she supported him, and in doing so, elevated his own performance, in a more sophisticated way.
"You are in sorrow."
That line truly was a stroke of genius.
It precisely defined Xiang Yu's core at that moment.
Just as he was still savoring the various details of that scene, a figure walked up to him.
It was Zhao Yingfei.
She had also changed out of her costume, wearing a simple white down jacket, holding a thermos cup in her hands.
"Teacher Jiang Ci."
"The call sheet for tomorrow is out."
She walked up to Jiang Ci and spoke naturally, without the lingering affection from the scene, only the calmness between colleagues.
"In the morning, it's mainly Teacher Qin Feng's scenes. Liu Bang bypasses the main forces and leads troops to attack Xianyang."
Jiang Ci nodded.
Zhao Yingfei continued, "Director Wei said if the morning shoot goes smoothly tomorrow, we should film our scene in the afternoon."
She paused.
"Yu Ji and Xiang Yu. Their first meeting."
Jiang Ci's movements halted slightly.
First meeting?
That should be the scene in the entire film where these two characters are the most untainted by worldly dust.
Zhao Yingfei seemed to sense his question and proactively explained the plot of that scene.
"Young Xiang Yu is at the Wuzhong market, getting into a dispute with a local tycoon over a black steed no one could tame."
"Then, he meets Yu Ji, who has come to the market to buy supplies."
After saying this, she looked at Jiang Ci quietly, finally adding softly.
"Love at first sight."