By linking my account to the check-in system, I became a leisurely traveler.

Chapter 42 More money is needed

Li Younan remained nonchalant and leisurely, looking around with interest. He wasn't in a hurry; he was there to experience life. The only downside was the rather hot weather.

He was only wearing a fitted short-sleeved shirt and shorts today. They hadn't received their supplies yet, and it would definitely be even hotter if they wore ancient clothes.

The ancient hairstyle made him feel stuffy, but once the style was done, it was inconvenient to move around. So, Li Younan looked like a guy who had traveled from ancient times, had stolen a modern person's clothes, and was looking around as if he had never seen the world before.

Just then, he heard the director and an actor talking in front of him. Seeing Li Younan looking in that direction, the lighting technician next to him chuckled and said, "See that? That's the female lead."

Li Younan hadn't paid attention to the entertainment industry for a long time. The youngest female celebrity he knew was Gulnazar, but she seemed to be in her mid-thirties. He couldn't recall the names of any of the male or female leads in this production.

Of course, it's also possible that the actors in the production were not famous to begin with.

Li Younan glanced in the direction of the female lead and saw an actress with makeup and styling, accompanied by someone who appeared to be her assistant, discussing something with the director.

Li Younan thought to himself, "The female lead is definitely different; she looks so much more refined." He looked around and saw that most of the extras and even those who only had a brief appearance in the foreground hadn't worn makeup, only styling. But that actress was different; she had a healthy complexion, and her styling was clearly several levels more sophisticated.

"Beauty is justice," a sentiment vividly portrayed in the TV series. Whether someone is a good person or not is simply determined by whether they are the most attractive. The female lead actress, with a disgruntled expression, muttered to the director. Li Younan thought to himself, "Isn't the director supposed to have supreme authority on set? How can an actress dare to challenge him? Is she defying the heavens?"

The lighting technician next to me said, "Our leading lady got the role by bringing her own investment."

Li Younan suddenly realized, "So that's how it is."

Then he heard the actress mutter, "A stunt double can act with me, but I don't accept any physical contact or intimate scenes." The director's tone also rose three degrees: "How can that be?" The actress, as if she didn't care, said: "That's your problem, I don't care."

Li Younan stroked his chin. "Are actors these days so unprofessional?"

The lighting technician said, "That's right, you can't just rely on your good looks to get into a production; this is what happens when you bring your own investment..."

Li Younan glanced at him and said, "I'm talking about the male lead."

However, it seems the director and actress have reached an agreement. The director came over with a megaphone: "All foreground actors, gather here!"

Under the director's direction, seven or eight people walked over, including Li Younan. The director, holding a megaphone, said, "We've encountered a small problem here today and need to find a stand-in actor temporarily." The director's gaze swept over the faces of Li Younan and the other seven or eight people, then pointed to a few of them, but not Li Younan, and said, "You guys can leave now."

Li Younan noticed that the guys who were called out, who were originally excited and trembling, suddenly deflated like punctured balloons.

Only three people remained at the scene.

The director said, "In terms of height and build, the three of you are the most suitable." As he spoke, the director's gaze lingered on Li Younan's face for a while longer.

Li Younan secretly glanced at the two guys next to him. Both of them were over 1.8 meters tall; one had a sexy mustache, and the other had freckles. The guy with the sexy mustache was as good-looking as him, while the guy with freckles was clearly slightly less handsome.

At this moment, the director looked at the man with the mustache and asked, "Could you shave your mustache later?"

The man with the mustache was taken aback at first, then nodded with a hint of heartache: "Okay."

The director nodded, then began to discuss the scene with a blank expression.

"Simply put, this scene is about the male lead jumping out from the shadows to save the damsel in distress."

The director said, "We need stunt doubles for three shots. The first shot is when the male lead comes out. Because our stunt double's physique is quite different from the male lead's, we won't be using one for this scene. But don't worry, when you come out, we have a professional action director who will design simple movements for you. The second shot is when you rescue the female lead who has fallen from her horse. Again, this shot won't show your faces. The third shot is when you've completed the rescue and quickly leave, keeping your good deed hidden. Understand?"

All three of them explained it clearly.

Li Younan looked left and right. The breathing of the mustachioed man and the pockmarked man became a little rough, and their eyes were eager and excited.

Li Younan remained calm, even harboring other ulterior motives. He had been promised a background actor role, but suddenly he was relegated to a stunt double. More screen time likely meant higher demands and more complications.

Afterwards, led by the stagehand, the three of them went to the set to find the action director and action choreographer, which was also a small interview.

This wasn't an easy move to pull off. You had to leap out from behind the artificial hill while perfectly avoiding the camera's view of your face. Actually, those two things weren't difficult in themselves; the challenge was doing them in a way that made you look... cool! The action director repeatedly emphasized, "You all need to remember, you're not representing yourselves, you're representing the male lead! At this moment, you are the male lead! If you just dart out like monkeys, even if the camera doesn't capture your faces, it's useless, because it's not cool, understand?"

Everyone agreed. Both Beard Guy and Pockmarked Guy were determined to put in their best effort to look handsome, after all, this is an era where even villains have to be so handsome that they shake people's moral compass.

The on-site action director was very dedicated, demonstrating the entrance moves to the three of them several times. Pockmarked Brother and Bearded Brother had already begun to seriously study the movements, while Li Younan maintained his usual curious expression, looking around curiously.

Time was tight; the cast needed to be finalized before filming began, and the costumes had to be redone, so there wasn't much time for idle chatter. The action director said, "Let's get started. Cinematographer, take a look."

The cameraman nodded and got ready at the pre-set camera position.

Going out is actually a whole set of actions.

The first one to appear was Brother Ma. The way he darted out from behind the artificial hill showed that he had thought it through carefully, which made his ugliness unique.

Li Younan saw that the action director was holding his forehead.

When Brother Ma looked at the action director with excitement, the action director just waved his hand weakly: "Next."

The second to go on stage was Beard Guy. Compared to Pockmarked Guy, Beard Guy seemed much more nervous. Once he started sprinting, he completely forgot the footwork, body movements, and camera positions that the action director had taught him.

After he rushed out, the action director stood up and looked at the stuntman who was watching the commotion.

The stunt double is just too short, only 1.6 meters tall, a far cry from the tall and handsome image of the male lead. Now we can only try to make him appear taller in the film. These unremarkable extras are definitely not worth relying on.

The action director whispered, "Director, there's one more." The action director waved his hand dismissively and said, "Have him get on stage quickly."

Li Younan leisurely walked to the entrance. The action director emphasized two principles to him: "One is to always imagine yourself as the main character and not to make your movements look sleazy; the second principle is to never expose your face in the camera."

Li Younan stroked his chin as he examined the artificial hill, then suddenly asked, "As long as my face isn't in the camera's view, it's fine, right?"

The action director was immediately annoyed: "I've been talking to you for ages, and it's like casting pearls before swine!"

Li Younan coughed, pointed to the nail mountain, and said, "Can I climb over from here?"

The action director paused for a moment, then asked, "What do you mean by 'flipping over'?"

Li Younan performed a quick somersault, tapped his hand on the artificial hill, and with a clean and crisp parkour move, leaped over the hill.

To ensure that her face wasn't captured by the camera, she did a one-handed somersault upon landing, adjusting her angle to land steadily.

Inertia causes the clothes to sway in the wind.

The action director's face froze instantly. Wait, what just passed by?

While the action director was distracted, he suddenly saw Li Younan fly out and slapped his thigh: "That's him! That's him!"

Li Younan was brought before the director again. The director asked, "You've trained before? Okay, go change your clothes and get your styling redone."

After finishing his speech, the director prepared to go and arrange other things.

But Li Younan stood still. He thought for a moment and said, "Director, I'm auditioning for a foreground actor."

The director paused for a moment, then said, "Oh?"

Li Younan looked at the price list on his phone and said seriously, "If you want me to be the lead actor's stunt double..." He looked up, his eyes sincere and clear: "You'll have to pay more!"

(End of this chapter)