Zhou Yun turned around and saw Song Chi dressed in ancient costume.
Song Chi’s features were more profound than ordinary people; simply put, his contours were more pronounced. This made his face appear more three-dimensional on camera. With the ancient costume, the advantages of his features were even more prominent. Without his bangs, the importance of his face shape and features increased significantly.
He stood just a meter away under the sunlight, his face bearing a smile, like a painting.
Zhou Yun looked at him with surprise and joy, asking, "Aren’t you filming?"
Song Chi replied, "I am filming ’Su Yan’. I heard you came and decided to come and see you. Why didn’t you go to the set?"
Zhou Yun said, "I wanted to check this place out first."
"Your courtyard," Song Chi smiled, "Let’s go in and take a look."
He stepped forward, crossing the threshold first.
Zhou Yun was somewhat surprised and asked, "Can we go in now?"
"Yes, it’s just a set for now. There’s nothing set up inside yet," Song Chi walked into the courtyard and, as he said, apart from a big tree, there was nothing, "After we finish shooting the scenes where I save you, the art team will come to arrange it according to the environment you will be living in later."
Zhou Yun understood and nodded.
No wonder the place looked a bit rudimentary.
In the script, Liu Rusu, after suffering a sudden severe illness and being diagnosed by the doctor hired by Ruyi Building as untreatable, was thrown out by Ruyi Building. He Mu learned of this and rented this small courtyard, curing her illness. The two lived here for some time until He Mu was spotted by Prince Cheng and went to work for him at Prince Cheng’s Mansion. Liu Rusu’s identity brought He Mu criticism, and she left without saying goodbye. Afterwards, He Mu bought the courtyard but never entered it again.
The story of this segment meant the courtyard’s setting indeed should be simple.
Zhou Yun observed the courtyard while imagining the story happening here, imagining herself lying on the bed, looking through the window at Song Chi’s silhouette bustling in the courtyard...
Imagining the air filled with the bitter taste of medicine and the scent of sunlight.
Imagining a snowy winter day, sitting with He Mu in the house, chatting by the stove at night.
Imagining a heavy downpour, the two sitting inside listening to the rain, with the rain sounding like drumbeats intensively echoing in their hearts.
Imagining Liu Rusu watching that man’s silhouette time and again, her emotions stirred, her heart in chaos, hesitant to step forward but pulling back a step or two out of caution.
"Song Chi, I really love the role of Liu Rusu, I truly do," Zhou Yun stood below the steps, looking towards the house, saying, "I’m so happy that you want me to play this role."
Song Chi smiled, saying, "Then play it well."
"Now I’m actually scared."
"Scared because I didn’t graduate from a professional school, scared my acting skills aren’t good enough yet, scared my experience isn’t rich enough, scared that I won’t portray Liu Rusu well, scared that when I look back, I’ll find I have not lived up to Liu Rusu or your trust," Zhou Yun said.
Song Chi shook his head.
"You are the most suitable person to play Liu Rusu."
"Why?" Zhou Yun asked.
Song Chi said, "I’ll be honest, don’t get mad."
Song Chi: "When I was reading the script, I found that Liu Rusu, although a supporting character, is not at all less challenging. Her life experiences, emotional changes, her talents and appearance, and her temperament and speech are too unique. There’s a lot of inner drama in her role, which needs to be conveyed through acting, not just dialogue. It’s not difficult to find an actress who looks like Liu Rusu, but to find one who embodies her spirit is difficult. Do you know when I started thinking about having you play Liu Rusu?"
"When?" Zhou Yun asked.
"That time, in Hainan, when you spoke to me," Song Chi said, "Have you noticed a habit in your speech?"
"What habit?" Zhou Yun asked.
"Often, what you really want to say is habitually hidden behind the words you speak. You don’t like to speak too directly, too clearly. I’m not saying you speak ambiguously, I mean that many of your words, those who don’t understand only hear the first layer of meaning, those who understand can ponder the second and third layers. Liu Rusu speaks just like that."
Song Chi, with his hands clasped behind his back, gazed seriously into Zhou Yun’s eyes.