In the entertainment industry, everyone has been reborn, but who will be their servant?

Chapter 118 A Special Pride

After the initial excitement, the crew still had to film, but this became a topic of conversation among people, as everyone knew that President Xuan had a relative working on the set.

This couldn't be kept secret. They already knew about the Olympic bid, but since they weren't celebrities, they wouldn't have deliberately spread it outside.

They're filming Tang Yan's scene now, a scene where she's forcibly carried away by a Japanese soldier who's taken off his pants.

This scene mainly depicts the bestial acts committed by the Japanese army after entering Nanjing.

Fan Wei, Wang Chuanjun, and Tsukagoshi Hirotaka were seen riding in a military vehicle, slowly making their way through the dilapidated streets.

On both sides of the street, some Japanese soldiers were carrying prisoners of war, while others were looting valuables.

Just then, a woman ran out of Guanyin Alley. It was Tang Yan, disheveled and with messy hair, followed by a Japanese soldier whose pants were half-fallen down.

"Brother Guanghai, help me, help me!" Tang Yan grabbed Fan Wei and begged for help.

It was obvious that the two knew each other. Fan Wei's expression changed repeatedly, and he could only turn his head away and pretend that he did not know her. Then Tang Yan was carried away by the Japanese soldiers.

Behind the monitor, Liu Yifei held a copy of "An Actor Prepares." She came to visit the set not only to watch Qin Xuan film, but also to pass the time by reading.

She glanced at the filming location and then at the monitor screen, a look of pity crossing her face. This was too beastly, but she didn't say anything, knowing it was just filming.

"Look at the details of Teacher Fan's expressions. His face changed again and again, and the details were handled with great nuance. When he first looked at that woman, he looked surprised, then he looked reluctant, and finally he turned his head away as if he didn't know her. In just a few seconds, he changed three different expressions," Qin Xuan said to Liu Yifei, pointing to the monitor.

"Really?" Liu Yifei was so focused on the filming that she didn't notice Teacher Fan's expression.

"Of course, look closely at his expression." Qin Xuan played back the scene for her, in slow motion.

This is a very professional monitor with built-in storage that supports playback, something many older monitors don't yet support.

Liu Yifei watched Fan Wei act carefully, and saw that Fan Wei went from being unintentional at the beginning to being indifferent at the end. In just a short while, he was able to portray that expression.

"Look at Wang Chuanjun, his expression is one of reluctance, his brows are furrowed, while Ito, who plays the Japanese soldier, looks disgusted. Their performances are consistent with their respective characters," Qin Xuan explained to her.

"Yes!" Liu Yifei nodded silently.

"Look at Tang Yan, she's not good enough. Her expression is a bit wooden, she doesn't have that sense of despair. Compared to you, she's definitely inferior," Qin Xuan said.

Liu Yifei, who had been watching and listening attentively, felt something was off. She frowned and slapped him, saying, "You're saying my acting is bad, right!"

"Did I say that?" Qin Xuan pretended to have forgotten.

"I told you, you criticized Tang Yan's acting as bad, and then you said that I could be just as good as you. Doesn't that mean my acting is bad?" Liu Yifei heard it clearly.

"Did I really say that?" Qin Xuan seemed to have forgotten that he had just said it offhand.

"Really, don't try to fool me, I have a very good memory." Liu Yifei glared at him.

"Then it's my fault for bringing you along," Qin Xuan said with a smile.

"Screw you, I could play that role just as well!" Liu Yifei said, head held high, with a defiant spirit.

"Then give it a try!" Qin Xuan looked at her.

"Just try it."

Liu Yifei put on a serious expression, then opened her mouth wide as if to shout, but no sound came out. Her features scrunched up, and she moved her limbs haphazardly as if she were acting.

She sat on a stool, crawling around like a crab.

"How about it?" Liu Yifei's tone became more forceful, as if to say, "If you don't answer well, I'll kill you."

"Look at me!"

Qin Xuan was unsure how to respond, so he had no choice but to cover for her.

He quickly got into the zone, his face flushed red before fading, his cheek muscles tensed, and veins bulged on his forehead.

Liu Yifei stared at him, and he seemed to genuinely feel a sense of despair, but she didn't shout or scream.

"You can start by shouting that you're in the zone, and then combine that with your previous body language to come out. That way you can pass the test." Qin Xuan returned to normal.

"I didn't realize you could act." Liu Yifei was quite surprised, as if this person could do everything.

"What director can't act? How can someone who can't act direct?" Qin Xuan said, standing up and shouting, "Cut!"

Upon hearing the shout, filming stopped, and the staff didn't move either, indicating that filming was still going to continue. Only Tang Yan, who had been carried away, returned, and the "Japanese soldier" who had taken off his pants put them back on.

"Director, am I alright?" Tang Yan asked.

"Not desperate enough. You need to look more desperate and scream more desperately when the Japanese soldiers carry you away." Qin Xuan walked to a car.

Fan Wei and Wang Chuanjun were both in the car.

"Then what should we do?" Tang Yan didn't quite understand.

"Let Yifei demonstrate for you, she knows how." Qin Xuan looked at Liu Yifei.

"Me?!" Liu Yifei was talking to Zhang Linke about his camera, which looked quite high-end.

She was quite surprised by what Qin Xuan said.

“Yes, the demonstration you gave me just now was very good. Demonstrate it for Tang Yan as well,” Qin Xuan said.

Tang Yan looked puzzled. Was Liu Yifei demonstrating for her? Liu Yifei's acting skills aren't much better than hers!
However, she didn't say anything; she just went along with whatever the director said.

Fan Wei and Wang Chuanjun's gazes and expressions were also a bit peculiar. Liu Yifei was demonstrating; what was President Xuan thinking? They knew Liu Yifei's level; her previous film, "The Forbidden Kingdom," was heavily criticized.

"No, I'm not very good at it." Liu Yifei scratched her neck, feeling a little uneasy.

Her demonstration just now wasn't good enough, was it? This man's demonstration was clearly much better, so how could she possibly demonstrate it?

And this man only did it once.

Despite her apparent ease and lack of inhibitions in front of Qin Xuan, she felt completely insecure in front of so many actors, including veteran actor Fan Wei.

"It's alright, I think it's fine." Qin Xuan gestured with his eyes, indicating to do it the way he had just done.

Liu Yifei was in a bit of a dilemma. Seeing Fan Wei, Wang Chuanjun, and others looking at her curiously, and Tang Yan also looking on expectantly, she felt caught in a bind.

"I don't know if it will work, you can take a look." She gave a heads-up first.

"It's okay, I'll learn from it." Tang Yan still has emotional intelligence.

The others remained silent, all looking on with curiosity, wanting to see if Liu Yifei was truly capable.

Liu Yifei put on a serious expression, thought about Qin Xuan's appearance and words just now, and after a moment of preparation, opened her mouth and shouted, "Ahhh!"

Shouting is about entering that state, which is difficult to achieve by simply making facial expressions. Shouting can stimulate that state in a person.

Immediately, her facial muscles tensed, veins bulged, as if she had exerted too much force, and her face twitched.

Tang Yan stared wide-eyed, somewhat surprised, as if the performance was better than her own.

Am I really not as good as Liu Yifei?
"Not bad, not bad, that's good. You've captured that feeling of despair. If you just tone down your facial expressions, it'll be perfect," Fan Wei said from the side.

"Keep your features under control" is a nice way of saying it; a less nice way of saying it is "Don't let your features fly off the rails."

Wang Chuanjun didn't say anything, but he also thought it was acceptable. He secretly compared it with his own performance and thought they were about the same. It's hard to compare acting skills.

Others also felt there wasn't much of a problem; the girl did have some acting skills.

However, most people are just watching the show; they can't judge acting skills, they just think Liu Yifei is pretty and Tang Yan is pretty too.

They didn't know that Qin Xuan had specifically taught them this; if she hadn't been taught, she probably wouldn't have been able to perform it on her own.

"Just act like Yifei, and I'll film a close-up of you," Qin Xuan said to Tang Yan.

"Okay!" Tang Yan indicated that she understood, then looked at Liu Yifei and said, "Thank you!"

"It's alright, it's alright!" Liu Yifei waved her hand politely. She knew the answer before she knew what to do; if she didn't know the answer, she really wouldn't have any clue.

I feel a little unworthy of this title, but the feeling of being a teacher is still quite nice.

No wonder so many people want to be directors.

"Let's do it again. All departments, get to your positions," Qin Xuan ordered.

The two returned to the director's monitor. Liu Yifei calmed herself down and said, "You're really something, you scared me to death."

"Just let you show off a bit. Maybe when you teach others in the future, they'll call you Teacher Liu," Qin Xuan said casually.

"No way, I can't take that." Liu Yifei firmly refused, knowing that it would leak out sooner or later.

I know my own level!
Qin Xuan leaned closer and lowered his voice, saying, "Let me tell you, even if you don't act well, I'll say you did well. I'm the director, and I have the right to interpret the rules."

"You're twisting the truth, aren't you afraid of getting beaten up?" Liu Yifei said with a smile, secretly pleased by his words. She asked curiously, "Is Tang Yan's role a cameo? Will she have more scenes later?"

"Yes, they went crazy later on," Qin Xuan said.

"That was quite a challenge for her; first she was in despair, and then she went insane."

Liu Yifei, with her peculiar way of thinking, said enviously, "I still really want to play a madwoman."

Qin Xuan looked at her suspiciously.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm telling the truth," Liu Yifei said earnestly.

"You should have said so earlier! If you had, I would have let you play this role," Qin Xuan said.

"You didn't say I was going to make a cameo appearance or play a supporting role, so how would I know?"

"I'll make sure to correct my mistake next time."

"It's your problem."

The two chatted there. After that scene was filmed, they took a break and then filmed in another location.

The crew members also sat together to rest.

Qin Xuan was still sitting behind the monitor with Liu Yifei. The two hadn't seen each other for so long and had a lot to talk about. Now they were talking about other things. He said, "You're not coming here for any cultural activities?"

"Yes! There's a gala called 'A Century of Dreams Fulfilled, Welcoming the 2008 Olympics' on July 29th, and then the Olympics will be over. It'll be a temporary break, and I can finally get some rest." Liu Yifei perked up when she talked about resting.

She has been very busy these past few months, traveling all over the country, participating in various activities and cultural performances. Wherever she goes, she becomes the center of attention, with shouts constantly erupting around her.

However, her popularity has increased, and fans are especially proud to see her participate in official events.

She even went on a crazy online argument with the haters: "I'm on the Olympic cultural performance, aren't you angry?"
(End of this chapter)