This director loves making friends.

Xie Fei is a man of strong emotions.

Instead of assigning Qin Keqing to a low-level position like a production assistant, he made her his temporary assistant, saying she would run errands for him.

To be honest, Qin Keqing was indeed a little surprised.

This assistant may be a private individual, but since it's connected to Xie Fei's profession and they happen to be filming a movie, could it be understood as the assistant director of "Woman Sesame Oil Maker"?

Although assistant directors are somewhat different from assistant directors, who are core members of the directing team, and may not be involved in on-site scheduling and shooting management, their responsibilities are closer to those of a secretary or producer coordinator, but they are certainly not at the bottom of the production team.

Startled, Qin Keqing quickly opened the system again to check if she had accidentally spent all her points.

Well, Qin Keqing was overthinking it. Even if he spent all his points, it wouldn't be enough to bind a second-level "friendship based on drinking and eating," let alone a sworn brotherhood.

The points I spent this time were totally worth it.

"I guess Director Xie Fei just liked me. I'm both refined and handsome, and he just happened to be short of an assistant. He probably made the decision without thinking too much about it."

Qin Keqing originally thought that her position as assistant was a private one.

Until he started "working", the production crew of "Woman Sesame Oil Maker" booked him a hotel room in the name of the film crew and kindly reminded him that if he wanted to get reimbursed for his food and drink expenses during the filming of "Woman Sesame Oil Maker", he should keep the official receipts...

Okay, Qin Keqing understood. He had done something similar in his previous life when he was in the film studio, except that most of the time he was the one reminding others.

Therefore, he is no longer a private assistant in name only.

As Qin Keqing had predicted, upon joining the film crew, her role as Xie Fei's assistant was not like that of other assistant directors or associate directors, where she was responsible for a specific aspect of the preparatory work.

Most of the time, he followed Xie Fei, who was his personal assistant in handling his life and making schedules.

However, the name tag the crew made for Qin Keqing still read "Assistant Director"—the crew wasn't stupid; as director Xie Fei's assistant, even if it was just a secretary role, they wouldn't just write "assistant" on his name tag.

"The Fragrant Soul Woman" is adapted from Zhou Daxin's novella "The Sesame Oil Mill by the Fragrant Soul Pond".

The story mainly tells of Xiang Ersao's impoverished childhood, during which she was raised as a child bride and married to a lame, alcoholic husband, leading to an extremely unhappy marriage.

Against this backdrop, Xiang Ersao made money running her sesame oil shop, and then used the money to buy a wife for her mentally disabled son...

The poor daughter-in-law endured hardship to become a mother-in-law, only to become the abuser herself.

Not long after Qin Keqing joined the crew, the film was almost ready, and the filming location was also determined. The original story takes place in Henan Province, but the filming location was chosen to be Baiyangdian in Xin'an, Hebei Province, which is about 150 kilometers away from Beijing.

The main roles for the film have been confirmed as Lei Kesheng, Siqin Gaowa, and Chen Baoguo. Only the role of Huanhuan, one of the female leads and the daughter-in-law bought by Xiang Ersao, remains to be decided.

Xie Fei originally wanted Gong Li to try out for the role of Huanhuan, but unfortunately, "The Story of Qiu Ju" was nominated for the main competition at the Venice Film Festival, and Gong Li went to Venice with Zhang Yimou ahead of time, not knowing when she would be able to return.

This left Xie Fei somewhat disappointed. When he was having a gathering with some friends, he brought up the matter and mentioned his requirements for the female lead: she had to look "delicate" and asked his friends if they knew anyone suitable.

Among these friends, Huang Jianzhong, who is also a director, recommended two candidates to him: one was Wu Yujuan, who, like Gong Li, was one of the "Five Golden Flowers" of the Central Academy of Drama, and the other was He Qing.

Huang Jianzhong had worked with both Wu Yujuan and He Qing, and felt that both of them looked "delicate" and their ages met the requirements.

After considering it, Xie Fei first asked Qin Keqing to contact Wu Yujuan and ask her to come and audition.

Of the so-called "Five Golden Flowers" of the Central Academy of Drama, apart from Gong Li, none of them have had very successful careers.

Qin Keqing had a complete file on Wu Yujuan, and someone from the crew had also told him a lot about Wu Yujuan. She was quite famous at that time because she was one of the "Five Golden Flowers" of the Central Academy of Drama, alongside Gong Li.

However, although Wu Yujuan is famous, she is also controversial.

As early as 1989, the year she graduated, Wu Yujuan was nominated for Best Actress at the 9th Golden Rooster Awards for her role in "The Price of Madness," and in 1991 she won Best Supporting Actress at the Hundred Flowers Awards for her role in "The Dragon Year Police Officer."

What makes Wu Yujuan controversial is the film "The Price of Madness," which was nominated for Best Actress at the Golden Rooster Awards.

In China during the 1980s, the prevailing ideology was still relatively conservative.

In the movie "The Price of Madness," the first five minutes feature a scene of women bathing in a public bathhouse. The entire five minutes consist of shots of many women, including the female lead, taking a bath.

The photo was taken just like that; apart from a little water vapor, there was no pixelation or obstruction.

The film invited many people to participate, but many actresses turned it down as soon as they heard that the role required nudity. Only Wu Yujuan, who was about to graduate from the Central Academy of Drama, accepted the role.

Although he became famous overnight, this fame was accompanied by controversy. In this day and age, it would be strange if there were no controversy.

Moreover, when this film was released in theaters, it was completely uncut, unlike the kind of film that is cut for domestic release but uncut for international film festivals.

Qin Keqing hadn't seen the two movies Wu Yujuan had filmed, but many people knew about the TV series she starred in last year, a co-production between mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

Qin Keqing also knew about this TV series; Yuan Ziyi in "The Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain" was played by Wu Yujuan.

When Qin Keqing first saw Wu Yujuan, he was surprised to find that the controversial actress was very beautiful even without makeup.

Wu Yujuan is a typical Eastern beauty, with a round face, full apple cheeks, clear and bright eyes, delicate nose, and an overall soft and sweet appearance.

She doesn't have Gong Li's cold and sharp edge; she's closer to the image of a classical Eastern beauty.

If a comparison must be made, Wu Yujuan and Tang Wei are somewhat similar in temperament, both possessing a slightly melancholic and artistic air, but she is more beautiful than Tang Wei.

Whether it was a misperception or not, Qin Keqing felt that Wu Yujuan's face had too much melancholy, as if she had unresolved worries.

However, this strong melancholy temperament is very fitting for Huanhuan in "Woman Sesame Oil Maker," which is the role Wu Yujuan auditioned for.

"Are you Ms. Wu Yujuan? I'm Qin Keqing, and I'm Director Xie Fei's assistant."

During this period, the term "teacher" was not yet widely used in mainland Chinese film and television production teams, nor was it applied to all actors and staff. It was more of a respectful title for senior actors and creators.

Young actresses like Wu Yujuan, who are only in their twenties, are usually addressed by their first names on set, but when they meet for the first time, they can add "comrade" to their names.

Sure enough, when she heard Qin Keqing address her as "teacher," Wu Yujuan nodded first, then quickly waved her hand.

"Assistant Qin, you can just call me by my name. Calling me 'teacher' is a bit too much; I don't deserve it."

After saying that, she reached up and tucked her long hair behind her ear, then smiled at Qin Keqing.

Wu Yujuan had a good first impression of Assistant Qin, who wore gold-rimmed glasses and had a strong scholarly air. He seemed honest, reliable, and young, and seemed easy to manage.

"Okay, come with me to the audition room first."

Qin Keqing smiled and looked at Wu Yujuan. She was indeed very beautiful, with a kind of girl-next-door "older sister" vibe.

After leading Wu Yujuan to the audition room, Qin Keqing prepared to leave and said, "Wait inside for a while. Director Xie is having a meeting with the cameraman and art director. I'll go call him."

In those days, crew members such as photographers and art directors were all addressed as "master," and it wasn't common to call them "teacher."

Wu Yujuan first looked around the empty audition room, then reached out and pulled Qin Keqing's arm as he was about to leave.

"Assistant Qin, I'm not in a hurry. Let's not disturb Director Xie's work. We can do the audition after the director and the others finish their meeting."

Wu Yujuan brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, smiled at Qin Keqing, and said, "Calling you Assistant Qin is a bit too formal. I'll just call you Keqing. We're both young, so it's more comfortable to call each other by our names."

"Okay, just call me Ke Qing."

"The name Keqing is nice. It's easy to pronounce and has a familiar and warm feel to it, as if I've heard it many times before."

Wu Yujuan repeated Qin Keqing's name several times before smiling and speaking.

Qin Keqing wasn't sure if Wu Yujuan hadn't thought of the name "Qin Keqing" or was just teasing her, so he looked at her and smiled as he reminded her, "Anyone who has read 'Dream of the Red Chamber' will know why this name sounds familiar."

"whee……"

Wu Yujuan lowered her head and smiled.

"I was too embarrassed to say it earlier, but your name isn't also one of those three characters, is it?"

She looked up at Qin Keqing, her big eyes blinking as if they could speak.

I've been waiting for you to ask!

"Qin in the pre-Qin period, Ke Ke in wood, Qing Qing Zhi Yuan in youth."

Qin Keqing looked at Wu Yujuan and explained with a smile, "My parents didn't have much education, so they consulted a lot of materials and ancient poetry collections before finally deciding on this name."

They wanted to use this name to tell me to uphold principles (Ke), strive for excellence with youth (Qing), inherit the weight of history (Qin), and create a brilliant future!

Wu Yujuan was clearly taken aback.

Is it because I haven't read enough books?

How could someone with little education come up with such a meaningful name?

I'm not well-educated, so don't try to fool me!

She looked Qin Keqing up and down again. He was wearing a well-tailored shirt with the cuffs rolled up, revealing his smooth forearms. A pair of thin-rimmed gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, which made his features look exceptionally gentle.

Clean, neat, refined, and full of scholarly air.

Wu Yujuan couldn't help but compare herself to her boyfriend, Jia Hongsheng.

Jia Hongsheng was her first love, whom she had dated since college. He used to be just as clean-cut and handsome, but ever since he started using drugs last year…

From the moment he got hooked on that stuff, Jia Hongsheng was like a completely different person, in terms of temperament, personality, and lifestyle.

Everything has changed.

It's like he's become a completely different person.

Ugh!

Wu Yujuan couldn't help but feel sad when this was mentioned.

Qin Keqing wondered if it was just her imagination, but she felt that Wu Yujuan's melancholy and artistic temperament seemed even stronger at this moment.