The director starts by learning from the abilities of renowned directors.

Chapter 184 Filming

The Lushun Transistor Factory in Dalian City was the filming location for the campus scenes in the movie "Goodbye Mr. Loser".

"Once filming officially starts, everyone can go all out and make a ruckus. We've all been through our student days. Imagine if a boy and a girl were openly kissing in your old class, wouldn't you feel a pang of sympathy?"

Assistant director Wen Mu also stood in the "classroom" to give the actors instructions.

We have two kissing scenes to film today: one between Xia Luo and Ma Dongmei, and the other between Xia Luo and Qiu Ya.

The kissing scene between Xia Luo and Ma Dongmei will be cut into the end of the film. When Xia Luo wakes up from his "dream" and sees his wife Ma Dongmei, he realizes that he has really returned. He is overwhelmed with mixed feelings of joy and surprise, so he rushes up and kisses Ma Dongmei passionately.

The camera rotates around the two, then is blocked. When the kissing couple reappears in the frame, they are wearing school uniforms from their student days, and the scene has changed to a classroom.

Today's kissing scene is a scene where we switch to the kissing scene from the two of them during their student days.

The meaning represented by the camera lens may point to the fact that, in the original timeline, Charlotte once kissed Ma Dongmei in front of everyone in the classroom.

It could also simply represent Xia Luo's mindset. His obsession was that he had never kissed his goddess Qiu Ya. Only after kissing Qiu Ya in his dream did he realize that Ma Dongmei's kiss was what he truly wanted most.

Each viewer can have their own interpretation.

The kiss with Qiuya was absolutely amazing.

After kissing Qiuya, Qiuya was already lying on the table, but Xia Luo chased after her, hugged her, and continued to kiss her forcefully.

"Allen, when the director and Ma Li kiss later, you stand here, wide-eyed, and give off that silly, dumbfounded feeling that you want to get right up to their lips to see."

Wen Mu also stood in the spot where Shen Qing would stand after filming started, and pointed to where Ai Lun should stand, and said.

"Understood, Director Wen." Allen responded, walked to the spot Wen Mu had just pointed to, and then said, "Director Wen, it's not that I wish I could get right up to their lips to see, I wish I could be the director's kissing double."

"oh----"

There were many Happy Twist actors on set, and they all knew each other very well. As soon as they heard what Allen said, they immediately started making a fuss.

Not to be outdone, Ma Li retorted, "Come on, why don't you rehearse with the director first?"

"Let's go!" Airen pretended to be eager to try.

"Come on, come on!" Ma Li stepped forward and said.

"Ai Lun chickened out!" someone shouted at the scene.

Ai Lun laughed and said, "That's right, I did chicken out. You guys don't know how formidable Ma Li is. I wouldn't dare to mess with her."

""

Wen Mu then laughed and said, "This is getting interesting. This is the kind of lively atmosphere we want."

After discussing Ma Li's kissing scene, Wen Mu also talked about Wang Zhi's kissing scene.

"Song Yang, when we're filming the kissing scene between the director and Wang Zhi, pick up this book and slam it heavily on your desk, then climb onto the desk and start making a scene. You want to stand on the desk and watch the director and Wang Zhi kiss, understand?"

"Understood, Director Wen," Song Yang, who plays Zhang Yang, replied.

Ma Li said, "Director Wen, you talk to Ai Lun about the kissing scene between me and the director, and you talk to Song Yang about the kissing scene between Wang Zhi and the director. Director Wen, have you forgotten about me and Wang Zhi?"

Wen Mu laughed upon hearing this, "You two will be filming a scene with the director later. He'll just give you a little guidance and you'll know how to act."

Wang Zhi was also present at the moment, but Shen Qing had not yet arrived.

Wang Zhi felt a little nervous as she thought about the upcoming scenes.

She was originally a struggling actress with no acting opportunities. Suddenly, Jumei Entertainment approached her with various generous offers, and she ended up playing the third female lead in "Bad Genius" and the female lead in the "Ghost Blows Out the Light" series. Now she's playing the second female lead in "Goodbye Mr. Loser".

The Ghost Blows Out the Light series, in particular, is extremely popular, and the adaptations of the novels take several years to complete.

Securing leading roles in up to ten upcoming films might not seem like much to a top star, but for a relatively unknown actress like her, it couldn't be better.

This was Wang Zhi's first time filming in Shen Qing's production crew, and it was a kissing scene, so she couldn't help but be nervous.

The boss has been cultivating her so much, she can't let him down too much.

"The director is here."

It's unclear who made the announcement, but then Shen Qing finally arrived at the scene.

"How are the preparations going?" Shen Qing asked Wen Mu.

Wen Mu replied, "We've rehearsed both kissing scenes three times each, and we're ready to start filming anytime."

Shen Qing nodded and said, "Then let's start filming."

Wen Mu also brought out a megaphone and shouted, "This is a live shoot, all departments hurry up and get ready."

Ma Li then asked, "Director, how should we kiss?"

"Didn't Director Wen just teach that?"

"This is the only one that wasn't taught."

Shen Qing said, "That means we don't need to be taught. We can just let ourselves improvise and kiss to express the feeling of true love and happiness."

""

"understood."

A few minutes later.

With a command from assistant director Wen Muye, the scene was finally officially filmed.

Ma Li stood in front of the desk, her hair in a ponytail, wearing overalls, leaning slightly forward, already mentally prepared to be kissed.

Shen Qing decisively kissed him.

Actually, he didn't feel anything. He had been with too many women and was already desensitized. Moreover, most of his girlfriends were very beautiful, more beautiful than Ma Li. Ma Li was an actress that Shen Qing liked very much, but not in a romantic way. She wasn't particularly beautiful either, and Shen Qing didn't have any romantic feelings for her.

Shen Qing's kissing scene was professional, emotional, and without any flaws, but Ma Li burst out laughing.

The surrounding area was filled with "classmates" making a huge fuss.

Ai Lun, who plays the simpleton Chun, didn't cause any trouble, but he was too close to the two of them.

"I'm sorry, Director, Allen was too close, staring at our mouths. I just couldn't help it." Ma Li couldn't stop laughing as she explained to Shen Qing.

Ai Lun said, "That's how I'm supposed to act in this scene."

Wen Mu also said, "This scene really does look best when Alan is this close to the camera."

Shen Qing said, "All departments, get ready. Let's film one more time."

The second take wasn't good either, and as expected, Ma Li burst out laughing again.

It wasn't until the third take that we finally got it right.

Next, we'll film a kissing scene with Wang Zhi.

Shen Qing thought the kissing scene between Xia Luo and Qiu Ya was filmed so well. He remembered that when he was in the movie theater in the original timeline, he felt a sense of surprise yet also that it made perfect sense. It was truly amazing.

Charlotte thought he was in a dream, so he steeled himself and kissed the goddess he had longed for all his life. This is perfectly normal. If there were such a realistic dream, many people would probably do things they wouldn't dare to do in reality.

But then Qiuya was already crying on the table, and Xia Luo chased after her, hugged her, and continued to kiss her forcefully, which was really unexpected.

But thinking about it carefully, it makes perfect sense. It's all in a "dream," and there are no consequences. So why not just kiss the goddess once and call it a day? Of course, you should chase after her and kiss her again!

It was obvious that Wang Zhi was very nervous; a kissing scene took seven takes to get right.

She's not usually this good.

The first scene to be filmed in the afternoon was the one where Xia Luo jumps out of the window. This scene was no challenge for Shen Qing at all, and they got it right in one take.

Then there are scenes featuring Fan Wei as the principal and Li Ping as Xia Luo's mother.

Because Shen Qing had discussed this scene with Fan Wei during the audition, and Fan Wei already knew how to film it, Shen Qing simply gave Li Ping a brief explanation of the scene before filming began.

Li Ping made a mistake once out of two attempts.

No one else on set noticed Fan Wei's actions of wearing glasses and turning around; even Li Ping, who was acting opposite him, was unaware of the underlying meaning behind Fan Wei's design.

But that's okay. Actors often don't need to figure out exactly why they have to act a certain way in a scene.

Hitchcock once said that actors are animals.

The director just uses it; there's no need to explain to the actors why it was filmed that way. That's the director's job.

I remember a famous actor once discussing a character's motivations with Hitchcock, only to be met with a barrage of criticism. "That's not your concern. Just act as you're told. Don't overthink it. Cry when you're told to cry, laugh when you're told to laugh. You don't need to know why the character is crying or laughing."

The film crew wrapped up in the afternoon. That night, Shen Qing was in her director's suite, reviewing the day's shooting with each crew and discussing tomorrow's tasks. After everyone had left, Shen Qing was driven by her driver, Shen Lei, to another very secluded hotel nearby.

Gao Yuanyuan also came and stayed at a nice hotel near the film crew's hotel.

"Are you getting impatient?"

Shen Qing said after entering the room.

Gao Yuanyuan said, "Good food is never too late."

Shen Qing was stunned for a moment. Had he become a good meal?

Filming continued the following day.

Then Fan Bingbing came to visit the set.

I bought water and drinks for the film crew.

"Why are you visiting the set?"

"Because I'm not pregnant yet."

"what?"

"What do you mean 'huh'? Stop standing there, let's find a secluded room."

We need to find a secluded room.

She didn't want anyone on the set to hear her—Liu Tao and Hu Jun were examples of that; gossip about Ye Zhen in "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" had been circulating for years, and Shen Qing didn't want to become the protagonist in a similar story.

Shen Qing and Fan Bingbing made love once each at noon and in the evening. After that, Fan Bingbing left, and Shen Qing stayed with Gao Yuanyuan, who was staying at the hotel next door, that night.

Time flew by and it was September 24th.

It's been another week since "Bad Genius" surpassed 20 billion yuan at the box office. This week, "Bad Genius" earned a total of 9000 million yuan, bringing its cumulative domestic box office to 20.91 billion yuan.

It seems like breaking 21 billion won't be a problem, but that's about it; there won't be any bigger miracles.

"Bad Genius" tells the story of the SAT exam, which is taken by more than a million people worldwide every year. The film has a certain market in the world.

The combined box office revenue in Hong Kong and Taiwan was around 1.2 million, and the global rights were sold for 1500 million US dollars. These figures roughly account for the majority of the film's profits.

There is some revenue from copyrights, but it accounts for a very small percentage now.

Liu Yifei, Liu Shishi, and Yang Mi all visited the script set, but they came separately and never on the same day. Surprisingly, all three of them chatted very well with Wang Zhi.

It was as if the three of them hadn't come to see Shen Qing, but rather to see Wang Zhi.

"I didn't expect you and Wang Zhi to get along so well."

This is what Shen Qing asked Liu Yifei the day she came.

The result was a big eye roll from Liu Yifei.

"I can't give people the impression that I'm just here to visit you on set, can I? We haven't officially announced anything. Wang Zhi and I are both signed artists with Jumei Entertainment, and we have a very good relationship in private. It's normal for me to come and visit you on set."

"what?"

Shen Qing was a little surprised; she hadn't expected Liu Yifei to say that.

The subsequent characters Liu Shishi and Yang Mi conveyed a similar meaning.

If anyone asks, I'll just say I came to visit a friend on set. As for who that friend is, Wang Zhi, we're good friends in private, and it has nothing to do with director Shen Qing.

In August of this year, 360 launched its comprehensive search engine. The market had long suffered from Baidu's dominance, and many people had high expectations for 360's comprehensive search engine.

360 Search performed quite well in its early stages, quickly capturing nearly 10% of the search market share.

When Shen Qing was communicating with the executives of CiYuan Rhythm Company, they discussed the competition between Baidu and 360.

The company's executives are treating this as someone else's problem, and no one seems to realize that the real threat to Baidu isn't 360 Search or Sogou Search. Defeating Baidu in an area where Baidu has already achieved such great success isn't entirely impossible, but the probability is practically zero.

The real threat to Baidu, the one that has a real chance of defeating it, will definitely not be a new search engine, but something entirely new that can deliver a fatal blow in a way that is akin to a dimensional reduction attack.

As a time traveler, Shen Qing knew better than anyone that the real threats to Baidu in the future would be Douyin, AI, and Xiaohongshu.

Shen Qing will work on Douyin and AI in the future. As for Xiaohongshu, in Shen Qing's eyes, the nationwide check-in program he is currently developing is a combination of Toutiao and Xiaohongshu, and the predecessor of Douyin.

More precisely, the current nationwide check-in trend is an incomplete version of Toutiao and an upgraded version of Xiaohongshu. When it develops to the point where everything can be checked in, it will be a general interest recommendation model, which is already approaching the logic of Douyin.

When the content on the platform naturally evolves from "text and image check-ins" to "video check-ins," all you need to do is add a "shoot" button to the product and change the presentation of the content stream to a single-column immersive full-screen format, and you've got Douyin.

"Check-in" is the predecessor of Xiaohongshu's "product recommendation" feature. Check-in focuses on recording, while product recommendation focuses on recommending. Celebrity-endorsed items and store visits are equivalent to early Xiaohongshu notes; checking in at historical sites and restaurants are equivalent to travel guide notes; and the effects of ordinary people wearing clothes are equivalent to Xiaohongshu's real-life experience reviews. The "check-in for everyone" feature builds Xiaohongshu's core – a lifestyle decision-making search database formed by sharing real user experiences.

While Xiaohongshu's user profile is mainly young women, Quanmin Daka's user profile is more comprehensive. Quanmin Daka was designed for everyone from the beginning, covering men, women, young and old, and the content is also richer. That's why Shen Qing thinks Quanmin Daka is an upgraded version of Xiaohongshu.

Baidu's business model is essentially a closed loop from search to decision-making to consumption, and lifestyle consumption decisions—where to go, what to buy, and what to do—are its most efficient core areas for monetization.

If the "Everyone Checks In" platform could achieve a scale similar to Xiaohongshu in 2026, even if it's only in 2026, then...

With half its current size, Xiaohongshu has already become a massive portal for lifestyle decision-making. This will directly undermine its core competitiveness, cutting into the most profitable, frequently accessed, and core portion of Baidu search results.

This will divert some of Baidu's core user base. In the future, when netizens are researching "what" questions, they will still use Baidu. However, if they are researching "how" questions, then the "Quanmin Daka" (全民打卡) platform will play a crucial role.

In later years, Xiaohongshu's daily search volume reached 8 million, directly cutting into Baidu's most profitable area of ​​life decision-making and posing a huge threat to Baidu. Users are increasingly inclined to search for real user experiences on platforms such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu to help them make decisions.

The current trend of pre-installing the app "Quanmin Daka" is in full swing. As the number of users of "Quanmin Daka" reaches hundreds of millions and search engines such as Baidu face an increasingly serious crisis of trust, more and more users will choose to browse "Quanmin Daka" before making decisions, and look at other users' check-in records to help them decide where to go, what to buy, and what to do.

So, without anyone noticing, the nationwide check-in system will take away a piece of Baidu's most valuable market share.