A real killer playing a villain; the guy surnamed Zhen in Detective, run!

Once the reading session transitioned to the actual dialogue, he adjusted his strategy.

The scene between the two was four pages long. Zhao Xiujie spoke without a script, almost twice as fast as normal, and replaced several keywords in the script on the spot with obscure financial jargon.

This is a rhythm-setting technique commonly used by experienced actors, specifically targeting newcomers who rely on rote memorization of lines. If the other person can't keep up, it can put them in an awkward and embarrassing situation on the spot.

After he finished speaking, he looked up, waiting to see Lu Yuan flip through the script.

Lu Yuan's script hasn't even had its cover changed since he sat down to write it.

The sixth brother put his paw on the edge of the table, and Lu Yuan gently pressed it back down.

Then he spoke.

He spoke very slowly. There were deliberate pauses between each word, but this slowness itself was a kind of pressure—Shen Yibai didn't need to rush; it was the person opposite him who should be anxious.

He took over all the jargon that Zhao Xiujie had changed, and even added a branch to the end of the original logic, like placing an extra piece on a chessboard without making a sound. By the time the opponent reacted, half of their escape route had been eliminated.

Zhao Xiujie followed up.

Lu Yuan tapped the table lightly with his right index finger.

despair.

With that one sound, Zhao Xiujie's line faltered for a fraction of a second.

Lu Yuan didn't wait and continued with his next sentence, glancing at the other person's face as if he were looking at a blank sheet of paper.

Zhao Xiujie's breathing became erratic. He tried to regain his rhythm and spoke again, his tongue slipping over the word "assets" and repeating it over and over. His face started to turn red from the base of his neck.

He tried to hold on, but then he bit his tongue while saying the next sentence.

No one spoke in the entire conference room.

The ballpoint pen in Su Qinghan's hand broke at a certain point. She held the two pieces in her palm, her eyes fixed on Lu Yuan, motionless.

-

The clock on the wall struck 12:30.

"Okay, let's rest first," came Su Qinghan's voice.

Lu Yuan's fingers left the table.

He picked up the thermos, turned around and gave Su Qinghan a smile, a little embarrassed:

"Director Su, has the lunchbox arrived? I can't really eat ribs, could you ask the production assistant to save me a chicken leg rice? The kind with two meat dishes and one vegetable dish."

Su Qinghan looked at him but didn't speak immediately.

"Yes." She paused. "I'll have someone ask."

Lu Yuan thanked him, tucked Lao Liu into his arms, and walked out with the thermos.

-

In a corner of the corridor, a blind spot not covered by security cameras, Lu Yuan squatted down and opened the lid of his lunchbox. It was chicken leg rice, with two meat dishes and one vegetable dish, prepared by the production assistant as requested, and she even added an extra sausage.

He was rummaging through things when footsteps came from the other end of the corridor.

The landing was even, with the right foot slightly heavier; it was a size 38 standard leather-soled shoe.

Jiang Yan stopped two steps to his side, her hands in her coat pockets.

"Mr. Lu is quite familiar with offshore money laundering." She paused. "Which channel did he use before?"

Lu Yuan placed his chopsticks next to the lunchbox, raised his head, and leaned forward slightly, shortening the distance between them.

Jiang Yan's shoulders tensed subconsciously.

Lu Yuan's voice was very low, only loud enough for the two of them to hear:

"Advisor Jiang, don't grip the Type 92 pistol so tightly. The snap on your side holster isn't locked properly. If you walk fast, it could easily discharge accidentally and injure the blood vessel on your inner thigh. Stopping the bleeding will be a problem."

He picked up his chopsticks again.

"Also, don't drag a poor extra who earns two hundred yuan a day into a transnational economic crime case. My background check is clean; you should know more about it than I do."

After finishing the last bite of the chicken leg, he closed the lunchbox, stood up, and Chong Jiangyan nodded, humming an off-key song as she walked to the end of the corridor.

The sixth brother's orange head poked out from his collar, and Chong Jiangyan yawned.

Jiang Yan stood still and glanced down at her side.

The snap fastener was indeed not locked properly.

......

The opening ceremony was very grand.

An offering table was set up at the entrance of Studio Five, with a golden pig, fruit, and three sticks of incense. The director, screenwriter, producer, and lead actors lined up and bowed. Zhao Xiujie stood in the center, his suit jacket buttoned all the way up, his profile perfectly angled, while eight cameras clicked away behind him.

Lu Yuan stood at the very edge. He was wearing sportswear, canvas shoes, and a thermos.

After the ceremony, each department began setting up and positioning their machines.

After yesterday's reading session, the production team's ecosystem has undergone a subtle shift. When the production assistant hands him water, he'll glance at Lu Yuan a couple more times, and the lighting technician will step aside to let him pass.

Zhao Xiujie's rest area was enclosed by a black cloth.

Intermittent lines of dialogue could be heard coming from inside. Interspersed among them was an unfamiliar middle-aged male voice giving instructions, his pronunciation heavily emphasized and his voice reminiscent of a theatrical play.

Lin Yue overheard a bit while passing by and reported back to Su Qinghan: "Zhao Xiujie invited Zhou Peiyuan from Beijing overnight."

Su Qinghan's hands never stopped turning the pages of the script.

Zhou Peiyuan, a professor at the Central Academy of Drama, is a recognized acting coach in the Chinese entertainment industry. He has mentored three Golden Rooster Award-winning actors and is known for his short-term, intensive training methods. It's said in the industry that if Professor Zhou is willing to work with someone, he can bring out the nuances of a wooden puppet in just three days.

Today's shoot was for the first major scene of the entire film. The male lead, Chu Tianxing, storms into Shen Yibai's private office to probe his opponent's intentions. It's the first time these two top hunters have clashed head-on. The script's emotional keywords are summed up in just four words: undercurrents.

The scene in Booth No. 5 has been transformed; the penthouse office of a financial elite has been meticulously constructed. A huge mural of the city skyline is adorning the floor-to-ceiling glass curtain wall, and the desks have been waxed three times. A row of incredibly realistic hardcover books sits atop the bookshelves.

When the stagehands found Lu Yuan, he was squatting next to the equipment box, chatting with the lady in charge of the boxed lunches.

Seeing that Lu Yuan had arrived, Su Qinghan handed him a storyboard. "Board meeting standoff. Zhao Xiujie, playing an investigative reporter, bursts into your office and confronts you about the financial fraud. Your mission is—"

"Sit still." Lu Yuan took the storyboard and glanced at it.

Su Qinghan raised an eyebrow.

"Shen Yibai won't stand up when someone kicks down his door on his own turf." Lu Yuan returned the panel. "Standing up means he considers the other person an opponent."

Su Qinghan stared at him for two seconds, then put the storyboard away and made a change on it.

"Go."