Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Rome, Italy.
As soon as Si Huang and Yu Xi got off the plane, a special group from the filming crew of “The Fang of Time” picked them up.
They rode in an SUV driven by the crew, passing the filming location.
Filming for “The Fang of Time” had already begun, and fortunately, Si Huang wasn’t the male lead, so her lateness wasn’t a big deal. But she was in such a hurry today because she couldn’t wait any longer.
Due to the time difference, it was still daytime in Rome, and the sun was still very strong in the afternoon.
When Si Huang arrived, director Xiao Jin and others were still filming a scene where the male lead was walking out of the slums.
The male lead was a newcomer actor, and he appeared to be of mixed race, with the smooth facial features of an East Asian and the sculpted features of a Westerner. His skin was a dark bronze, his thick black eyebrows resembled those of a wild man, and his eyes were a striking dark gold. Combined with his tall, muscular physique, he exuded a wild, leopard-like charm.
He looked to be around twenty-three or twenty-four years old, and while filming, he exuded the naivety of someone from a small town, his golden eyes sparkling with curiosity, joy, and the fearless courage of a calf.
This man named Lei Qie had never appeared in the entertainment industry before; it was clear that Xiao Jin was deliberately promoting him, and this script could be said to have been tailor-made for Lei Qie.
The female lead was a foreign actress, not particularly beautiful, but she radiated a gentle aura rarely seen in Western women, intellectual and charming.
Si Huang remembered her name was Vivian, a cute and easy-to-remember name.
“Darling, you’re here!” The burly foreign man, Finn, rushed over to Si Huang like a big cat smelling fish.
Si Huang smiled at him, “Sorry I’m a little late.”
“It’s alright, it’s alright.” Finn waved his hands repeatedly, laughing loudly, “I know what you’ve been doing lately. Being chosen as Ace’s partner means you’re really amazing.”
Si Huang smiled without saying a word.
Finn’s excitement remained undiminished. “I know you and Ace shot a photoshoot about gods and demons, and I even secretly saw some of your negatives. It was really great, absolutely fantastic! Since you can even portray gods and demons so well, you’ll definitely surprise us this time, right?”
“Really? Definitely,” Si Huang replied.
Finn nodded repeatedly in satisfaction at this, until Xiao Jin glared at him. Only then did Finn lower his voice and gesture for Si Huang to come over and watch the filming.
Si Huang watched for a while. Currently, the scene shows the male lead entering the big city and being scorned and robbed. He’s arguing with someone, and it’s about to escalate into a fight.
“A natural performance?”
Finn snapped his fingers. “That’s right. Keep watching, the real highlight is yet to come.”
Indeed, it was the highlight—
Lei Qie looked genuinely enraged, completely different from the naive and innocent young man he was at the beginning. His golden pupils gleamed with a predatory light, and his aura surged.
The four extras in front of him were startled, instantly forgetting all the moves they had been taught by the martial arts instructor, and the shoot was canceled.
Xiao Jin seemed to have anticipated this situation, paused for a moment, and then called out to Lei Qie, “Tone it down a bit.”
Lei Qie gave an “Oh,” his expression somewhat impatient. Compared to his acting persona, he seemed to have a bad temper in his everyday life, exuding a nonchalant air.
He twisted his neck and suddenly met Si Huang’s gaze. His golden pupils flashed with a cold, intelligent light, and then he gave Si Huang a disdainful, provocative smile.
Even if that smile was charming, it wouldn’t leave a good impression on the person being provoked.
“This means he thinks highly of you,” Finn, who was standing next to him, also noticed Lei Qie’s provocation. He thus explained to Si Huang, “He wouldn’t even bother to look at someone he truly dislikes, for example…” He didn’t finish his sentence, gesturing with his chin to make Si Huang look in another direction.
Standing in the direction he indicated was Le Xian.
Le Xian was now in costume, her makeup complete, waiting for his first appearance— a chance encounter— after the male lead’s street brawl scene.
“That’s Si Huang,” Lei Qie muttered softly as the makeup artist touched up his makeup on set.
The makeup artist heard him and smiled, “Yes.” She couldn’t help but glance in Si Huang’s direction, softly remarking, “He’s really young, but he already has the aura of a big star.”
“The aura of a big star is being late?” Lei Qie scoffed.
The makeup artist chuckled, “He’s so busy, he doesn’t even have time for university classes. But last time, it was reported that he was second in the entire grade in the mock exam.”
“Tsk, second.”
“His score was the same as the first place, but his attendance rate was too low, so he was placed second.”
“Who cares about first or second place? If he dares to do a NG when acting with me, heh.”
The makeup artist looked at Lei Qie’s malicious smirk and thought: Is this what they call same-sex repulsion? Indeed, Si Huang is just too outstanding, making ordinary guys tremble in fear and equally outstanding men feel threatened.
The four extras were called aside for some psychological counseling and a few more instructions before filming continued.
This time there were no more NGs, and the one-on-four fight was a one-sided affair.
Although the fight wasn’t particularly exciting, Lei Qie’s charm alone made up for the shortcomings. It seems that when this scene would be shown later, most viewers won’t focus on the fighting techniques, but rather on Lei Qie’s wild and sexy appearance, and his expansive movements, leaping over a meter-high wall with amazing gasps.
“Cut.” Xiao Jin felt it was about time. “Let’s go offstage and rest for a bit.”
The four extras walked offstage, grimacing and clicking their tongues. From their rolled-up sleeves, you could see the bruises on their arms. It seemed they had been seriously injured when Lei Qi threw them during filming.
Xiao Jin glared coldly at Lei Qi.
The latter still acted as if it was none of his business.
Xiao Jin seemed helpless about this and could only instruct his assistant to send over some wound medicine and to make sure the food he ordered for the afternoon was prepared well.
After the assistant left obediently, Xiao Jin put his headphones on the table before turning to look at Si Huang and calling out to her.
“Director Xiao.” Si Huang walked up to him.
Xiao Jin looked at her face, noticing the young man’s clear eyes and smooth skin. If he hadn’t noticed that Yu Xi next to him looked unwell, unable to hide his weariness, Xiao Jin would never have guessed that Si Huang had taken a long-haul flight overnight and hadn’t rested.
“Go to the hotel and rest first, it’s not your turn to film yet.”
Si Huang opened her mouth to speak, but a voice rang out before her, “Being late is one thing, but going to rest first? Xiao Jin, how come I never knew you were so kind-hearted?”
“Why are you being so nosy?” Xiao Jin glared at Lei Qie, who had somehow appeared.
Lei Qie retorted, “I just can’t stand him, okay?”
Xiao Jin knew this guy’s personality all too well; the more you tried to reason with him, the more he’d do the opposite.
“You go ahead,” Xiao Jin said to Si Huang again, not wanting to argue with Lei Qie.
Si Huang didn’t move. “Lei Qie is right, I was indeed the last one to arrive.”
Returning to someone else’s film crew after more than half a year was different from filming Du Xiaoguang’s endless breakdown. This was a movie, and she wasn’t even the lead. Arriving several days late was bound to raise suspicions of diva-like behavior.
In this situation, not taking the initiative to accept the other party’s difficulties would only sow a seed of resentment within the crew. They still had over two months to go, and Si Huang didn’t want any more trouble.
“I know your situation. You’ve been on a plane for most of the day, and it’s like you haven’t slept all day. What else can you do but rest?” Xiao Jin’s words weren’t just for Si Huang, but also for everyone else.
Most of the staff around them showed understanding.
“If you’re afraid of hard work, why be an actor? You might as well be a rich young master,” Lei Qie insisted on contradicting him.
Xiao Jin’s face hardened as he was about to reprimand him, but Si Huang spoke up, “If it’s not too much trouble, could we film one of my scenes first? After that, I can finally get some sleep.”
Xiao Jin looked at her, “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Si Huang smiled, “I reviewed the script before coming here, and I’m confident I can handle my role well.”
Xiao Jin looked at her for a few seconds before saying, “Since you say so, then let’s do it this way.”
After saying that, he instructed the makeup artist and stylist in the crew to take Si Huang to get her hair and makeup done, while stopping Lei Qie who was about to speak, “Why are you always targeting him?”
Lei Qie grinned, “I can’t stand his pretentious attitude.”
“What do you mean pretentious? He’s just genuinely well-mannered.”
“Hehe.” Lei Qie seemed to have heard an amusing joke, “You really think he’s a goody-two-shoes? Don’t joke around, let me tell you, this kid…”
“What?” Xiao Jin was intrigued by his deliberate suspense.
Lei Qie leaned closer to Xiao Jin, slowly lowering his voice, “He’s definitely seen blood.”
“Who hasn’t seen blood?” Xiao Jin’s face tightened.
Lei Qie scoffed, “Stop pretending. You know what I mean. When I say ‘seen blood,’ I mean this kid has killed someone. Even if he hasn’t killed anyone personally, he’s definitely indirectly caused someone’s death! Do you still think he’s a good boy?”
Xiao Jin didn’t speak, remaining silent for two or three seconds before pushing Lei Qie, “You’ve rested enough, let’s go shoot the next scene.”
Lei Qie shrugged indifferently, walking towards the filming location where preparations were already underway, looking at Le Xian, who had already taken the stage and was standing there smiling at him.
“Tsk.” Lei Qie muttered to himself in a very low voice, “A wolf in sheep’s clothing is much more interesting than a real sheep.”
“Lei Qie, hurry up!” Xiao Jin urged.
Only Xiao Jin could get Lei Qie to move; the latter still looked impatient, but his pace quickened considerably.
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