When Zhou Yun’s hair and makeup were nearly done, Song Chi came in.
"Brother Chi." Everyone in the makeup room greeted him in succession.
Even Li Chunhong stood up and exchanged a few pleasantries with Song Chi.
"You’ve gone to all this trouble making a trip here." Song Chi said.
Li Chunhong responded, "Why the wasted words? Since I’ve taken on the job, of course I’ll do my best. Otherwise, if others criticize the makeup in the drama, it’s my reputation that gets tarnished."
Song Chi burst out laughing.
He sat down beside Zhou Yun, glanced at her sideways, and asked, "What time did you wake up this morning?"
"Six o’clock. What about you?"
Song Chi suddenly yawned, still not fully awake, and said, "Just now, snoozed off on the car ride over. Last night ended too late."
Zhou Yun asked, "What time did you finish last night?"
"Filming went on until that late?" Zhou Yun was quite shocked.
Song Chi hummed in acknowledgment.
Zhou Yun thought, no wonder Song Chi was scheduled for makeup an hour later than her.
Putting on a headpiece, doing the hairstyle, Song Chi didn’t require makeup for his pure look, which actually saved a lot of time.
The assistant director hurried in and asked, "Is the makeup done yet? The director is asking."
"Song Chi’s will take a moment more, but Zhou Yun is all set."
"Zhou Yun, you come with me to the set first," the assistant director beckoned Zhou Yun.
"Then I’ll head over first."
At the set, everyone was busily attending to their respective prep work.
Kang Xin wasn’t idling but was in conversation with the photographer about the upcoming shots.
When Kang Xin spotted Zhou Yun, his gaze settled on her and didn’t shift, pondering something seriously.
Zhou Yun, not knowing what Kang Xin was thinking, called out nervously, "Director Kang."
Kang Xin shook his head and said, "The hair is too neat, it needs to be more disheveled."
Zhou Yun was taken aback.
The assistant director next to her said, "I’ll have the makeup artist come over and fix it right away."
After a while, Li Li came over.
He tinkered with Zhou Yun’s hair bun and rubbed a few spots with his fingertips, making the hair bun suddenly look a bit more voluminous, and deliberately tugged out some strands, especially at the forehead area.
A lock of hair fell down.
Kang Xin nodded, "That’s good."
Zhou Yun actually wanted to look in the mirror to see what she looked like now.
Even before filming had started, so many concerns had been raised about her look, this level of strictness starkly different from "Eighth Heartbeat" suddenly gave Zhou Yun a surge of excitement.
The set was bustling with people, almost twice as many as the set of "Eighth Heartbeat."
After "passing" Kang Xin’s "inspection," Zhou Yun was allowed to wait on the side.
Zheng Xiaojue moved a folding chair to a shaded spot and opened it up.
Zhou Yun sat down on the chair and read the script.
The scene to be shot in the morning was just one – where she gets found by He Mu and carried into the courtyard to be settled.
In the context of the film, it probably accounts for of ten to twenty minutes.
Liu Rusu was found by He Mu in a corner of an alley. When He Mu found her, she was curled up in the corner, in extremely poor condition. That’s why Kang Xin earlier mentioned that the hair and hair bun shouldn’t be so neat, it should be messier.
This alleyway was a specially constructed set. To make it look authentic, the entire walls were aged, and the floor tiles were made from dismantled old bluestone slabs.
"Zhou Yun!" Kang Xin called out to her.
Zhou Yun quickly got up and went over.
Kang Xin pointed to a corner in the alley and said, "Go over there and test the light."
Zhou Yun nodded, went over, and sat down directly in the corner.
She leaned against the stone wall.
A crane shot moves slowly closer from a distance.
Kang Xin sits ten meters away, watching the images on the monitor.
"The light is too bright," Kang Xin says into the walkie-talkie, "Dim it a bit. I want the natural light effect like we had at six-thirty, with the sun not yet risen."
The light and shadow within the lens can be adjusted.
Some films insist on using only natural light, but that’s too time-consuming. They need artificial lighting.
A film like "Heart Inquiry," with its numerous scenes, cannot be shot using natural light.
Zhou Yun isn’t sure if she should get into character at this moment, worried that starting too soon would drain her energy.
She had encountered this problem before while shooting "Eighth Heartbeat," where she became too emotionally invested during rehearsals, only to run out of steam when the actual filming began.
Then, Kang Xin’s voice is heard again.
"Good, this light is fine."
"Zhou Yun, we’ll start by shooting you alone, crouching in a corner. Make your posture more huddled, you’re sick now, driven out by others. You are hiding here, feeling a bit frightened, like a startled bird—seek out this feeling."
Zhou Yun rests her hands on her knees, burying her head between them, revealing only her eyes.
"Show a little more of your face, don’t bury it so deeply. You don’t have the strength for that, remember, even blinking feels tiring to you," Kang Xin instructs.
Zhou Yun thinks that she should have stayed up the night before, that would have been the perfect condition for her.
"Wait! Put some fine sweat on Zhou Yun’s forehead. She’s been enduring pain while being sick; there should be some sweat," Kang Xin says. "How has this been overlooked before?"
Zhou Yun thinks to herself, Kang Xin is indeed Kang Xin, even for a single shot, he has now made a second comment about her appearance.
Once everything is ready.
"Okay, get ready, all departments, three, two, one, action!"
The set falls silent.
Zhou Yun leans against the wall with no expression, her whole body curled up.
"Cut!" Kang Xin shouts after two seconds.
"Zhou Yun, you’re supposed to feel like you’re going to die, there should be no light in your eyes."
Realization dawns on Zhou Yun, and she immediately summons the emotion, awaiting death, waiting in agony...
Her gaze slowly diffuses, losing focus.
"Okay, departments ready... three, two, one, action!"
Silence descends again.
Suffering from a serious illness, discarded by Ruyi Building, at this moment, Liu Rusu has lost all hope.
Zhou Yun’s fingers suddenly clench tightly around her knees, her fingernails turning white.
Her eyes also start to redden.
Just when it seems she might cry, her grip suddenly loosens.
Her jaw also relaxes.
"Ok, not bad, Zhou Yun, let’s do another take."
Zhou Yun does another take.
"Not bad," Kang Xin praises again.
He asks, "Has Song Chi arrived?"
"He’s here." Song Chi walks over from the crowd.
Kang Xin says, "You’re up next."
Song Chi nods, saying, "I’m ready."
Kang Xin nods, "Go ahead."
For Song Chi, such a simple scene requires no further discussion.
As expected, as soon as filming starts, Song Chi becomes the anxious He Mu. He Mu, who knows that Liu Rusu has been forced out due to a sudden illness and is worried sick, searches for her frantically. Running, shaking his head, and looking around, the moment he sees Liu Rusu huddled in the corner, He Mu freezes for a second, then, as if awakening from a dream, reacts and rushes over.
"Liu Rusu?" He Mu squats in front of her and calls out.
Liu Rusu, upon seeing He Mu, is shocked for a long while, then with a feeble voice asks, "How did you get here?"