Bai Lu got scammed, but I became a superstar through e-commerce.

On the first day of filming the short film, Qingxiao stood behind the monitor, looking at Bai Lu in the camera lens.

The male actor Chen Yu found was named Fang Yi, whom he met at a short film screening.

The young man is clean-cut, his acting skills are considered decent in the industry, and he really likes the character Gu Nian.

On the day he came for the audition, Bai Lu and he rehearsed a scene together.

In the snack street and milk tea shop, Lin Xiao pushed a table full of grilled skewers in front of Gu Nian and said, "Eat."

Fang Yi portrayed the character's cowardly yet rebellious nature very well.

Chen Yu immediately said, "Okay, he's the one."

But problems arose on the very first day of filming.

The first scene is an interior shot, at the entrance of a budget hotel.

The plot is simple: after Lin Xiao faints and wakes up, she calls Gu Nian and orders him to "come to me immediately and explain things to me in person."

Gu Nian really arrived, standing at the hotel entrance, at a loss for what to do.

According to the script, Lin Xiao should stride up to him, stare into his eyes, and ask in an interrogative tone, "Did you do anything to me yesterday?"

That's all there is to it.

Chen Yu called "Cut" three times.

Bai Lu walked up to Fang Yi, opened his mouth, and then stopped.

She knew how to say that line. Lin Xiao was arrogant and ruthless. She should look the boy in front of her up and down and corner him with her gaze.

But looking at Fang Yi's clean but unfamiliar face, she felt that something was off.

It's not Fang Yi's problem, it's hers.

Her gaze drifted for half a second before landing on a spot less than three meters behind Fang Yi.

Qingxiao stood there, holding the hot coffee that Sister Su had just brought over, waiting to see her performance.

"Something's not right." Chen Yu peeked out from behind the monitor. "Miss Bai, the way Lin Xiao looked at Gu Nian was the kind of look that seemed to see right through you. The way you looked at her just now was like you were sizing up a stranger."

Bai Lu did not respond.

She took a deep breath, looked down at the ground for a long time, then looked up at Fang Yi and said, "Could you stand back a little?"

Fang Yi took a step back.

Bai Lu still felt something was wrong.

Chen Yu began to sense that something was wrong.

He rolled up the script, tapped it on his knee, and looked away from the monitor, past Bai Lu, and onto Qing Xiao, who was standing not far away, clinking his cup of hot coffee with Sister Su.

"President Qing," Chen Yu stood up and placed the script next to the monitor, "why don't you give it a try?"

Qingxiao turned his head and looked at him.

Bai Lu also turned her head, her expression changing from confusion to a subtle shift.

His eyebrows rose slightly, a glint flashed in his eyes, and his lips pursed as if he was holding back something.

"I'll do it?" Qingxiao pointed to himself.

"You'll be rehearsing this scene with Miss Bai." Chen Yu sat back behind the monitor, putting his headphones back on. "The character Gu Nian is very similar to you. A freshman, an engineering student, a homebody, and honest. Fang Yi's acting is fine, but Miss Bai and he are missing something."

He paused for a moment.

"She lacks an aura that she can trust."

Bai Lu quickly shifted her gaze from Qing Xiao, looking at the ground, the tips of her ears turning slightly red.

Qingxiao walked up to Bailu and stopped.

He was half a head taller than Fang Yi and had broader shoulders, but their temperaments were completely different.

Fang Yi possessed a clean, timid quality untouched by the harsh realities of society, while Qing Xiao exuded a steadfast honesty that had settled after carrying hundreds of sacks of cloth.

When he stood there without saying a word, he looked like a tree.

Bai Lu looked at the tree and realized that he no longer needed to act.

When Lin Xiao saw Gu Nian, she was calm, and her heartbeat was steady.

When Fang Yi stood in front of her, her heart was pounding wildly, in an awkwardly chaotic way.

But when Qingxiao stood in front of her, she didn't need to put in any effort to "trust" him, because she already trusted him.

She believed he wouldn't do anything to her when he helped her to the hotel, and that he would be at a loss and squat by her side waiting when she fainted.

This trust is something Fang Yi couldn't fake.

Chen Yu hadn't even called "start" yet.

He simply looked at the monitor and had the two people stand still.

The camera zoomed in, and he leaned back in his chair. Even through the screen, you could sense Bai Lu's suddenly calmed aura.

"That's the feeling," Chen Yu said in a low voice into the intercom, "Prepare to turn it on."

Bai Lu closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them.

She strode up to Qingxiao and stopped.

Her gaze swept from his face to his feet, then back to his face, like a knife cutting across him.

She extended her index finger and touched Qingxiao's chest.

"Hey. Did you do anything to me yesterday?"

Her voice was cold and hard, with a downward tone at the end, carrying a sense of oppression that forbade lying.

Qingxiao's face flushed red instantly, and he was somewhat at a loss. His lips moved, but his voice was dry.

"No...no, really no."

Bai Lu's lips curled up slightly, then quickly suppressed it.

She withdrew her finger, turned and took two steps, then suddenly looked back.

"Come here right now and explain yourself to me."

Qingxiao stood rooted to the spot, his feet feeling as if they were nailed to the ground.

"Cut," Chen Yu called out, then smiled.

He took off his headphones and watched the playback on the monitor.

Bai Lu walked over and stood behind him, also staring at the screen.

Fang Yi peeked into the corridor, then looked away, giving Chen Yu a thumbs-up from afar.

"This part is over," Chen Yu said. "President Qing, if any agency sees this footage of yours, the boss of SUNSA will probably have to change careers."

During the subsequent filming, Fang Yi stood aside and watched two takes. He then approached Chen Yu and said, "Director Chen, considering the role of President Qing, you're more suitable than me."

He spoke very sincerely.

He and Bai Lu were always polite and courteous to each other, but when Qing Xiao stood in front of the camera, Bai Lu relaxed completely.

Chen Yu did not hesitate for long.

He shook hands with Fang Yi and said he would definitely look for him next time there was a suitable role.

Then he pulled Qingxiao aside and asked only one question: "You wrote this script yourself, you know it best, are you willing to take it?"

And so, Qingxiao became Gu Nian.

The first major outdoor event. By the river, Lin Xiao pushed Gu Nian into the water.

In early winter in Hangzhou, the wind along the river is very cold.

Sunlight streamed through the bare branches of the trees, falling onto the water and shattering into patches of silver.

The river wasn't deep, but the water temperature was very low, and the staff standing on the bank were all wearing thin down jackets.

Qingxiao stood by the river, wearing the navy blue hooded sweatshirt that Gu Nian had worn, confirming the positioning with Chen Yu.

Bai Lu stood next to him, wearing Lin Xiao's khaki trench coat, with her hands in her pockets.

Her gaze remained fixed on the river, her lips pressed tightly together.

"Qingxiao." Her voice was a little muffled.

"Um?"

"The river water is too cold." She didn't look at him, just stared at the water. "Are you sure you want to really push?"

"Of course it has to be a real push." ​​Qingxiao took off the hood of his hoodie and stretched his shoulders. "A fake push will be obvious to the audience. Chen Yu said this take has to be a wide shot, no cuts."

"But..." Bai Lu bit her lip, "You're only wearing a hoodie, you'll definitely freeze to death if you go down there."

"Freezing for a bit won't kill you."

Bai Lu did not respond.

Her hands clenched and unclenched in her pockets, clenched and unclenched again.

Chen Yu shouted "Ready" from behind the monitor, and Qing Xiao walked to the designated position and stood still.

Bai Lu stood to his side and slightly behind him, took his hand out of his trench coat pocket, and made a pushing motion.

But her hand remained suspended in mid-air, never touching his back.

"Cut." Chen Yu peeked out from behind the monitor. "Miss Bai, you pushed a person, not air. Lin Xiao didn't really want to hurt Gu Nian in this scene, but she just wanted to push her for real. This contradiction is the core of the script's capricious and willful nature; the action must be real, and the push must be ruthless."

"Received." After Bai Lu finished speaking, he took a deep breath, moved his fingers, and stood back at his position.

After several attempts, Bai Lu still couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Cut." This time it was Qingxiao who called out. He turned around and looked at Bai Lu. "You didn't even touch me. Are you trying to tickle me?"

"Idiot, I'm afraid you'll be cold!" Bai Lu's voice rose.

"How long I stay in the water depends on when you push me; the longer you dawdle, the colder I get."

"You..." Bai Lu gritted her teeth in anger, "Aren't you afraid that if I push you, you'll lose your balance and hit your head on a rock at the bottom of the river, getting a concussion? Or that you'll get a leg cramp and won't be able to swim back up?"

"The river is less than 1.2 meters deep." Qingxiao looked down into her eyes. "Bai Mengyan, you're an actress under my management now. The first rule for actors is: when the director yells 'action,' you start acting. Don't try to bargain with the director. Didn't you hear what Chen Yu just said? The movements must be realistic, and the blows must be ruthless. Are you hesitating like this to make everyone wait for you? Are you even capable of doing this?"

"Can you even become a professional actor? If not, go back and pack your bags as soon as possible, don't waste everyone's time."

Qingxiao started using reverse psychology.