On the film set, the lights were in place, and the camera was ready to roll.
Li Jing stood in the center, looking at the crowd and equipment not far away, feeling inexplicably tense and uncomfortable.
Indeed, practicing in private and actually filming feels completely different.
Faced with so many cameras and gazes, anyone would feel somewhat uneasy.
Fortunately, Yang Xiaoxiu had mentioned this issue to Li Jing before. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, quickly adjusting his state.
The surrounding staff also noticed Li Jing’s state, showing varied expressions.
Some had skeptical looks, some whispered softly, while others, like Wen Lan, instinctively furrowed their brows slightly. Only Yang Xiaoxiu stood in the distance, hands clenched tightly together, secretly wishing Li Jing well.
"Xiaoxiu, could you please bring over that bench?"
Yang Xiaoxiu was just about to watch Li Jing act when she heard a voice from a props team member behind her. She quickly turned around and responded, taking one last look at Li Jing on set before turning to fetch the bench.
On set, Li Jing gradually steadied his racing heartbeat, his mind repeatedly recalling the lines and expressions he had practiced over the past two days, as well as the details Yang Xiaoxiu had instructed, flashing through his mind like a movie.
Steady your mindset, immerse into the role, I am Jiangnan...
Li Jing closed his eyes, silently encouraging himself. The familiar feeling from the past two days finally returned to his consciousness.
At this moment, Director Wen, seeing everything ready from behind the monitor, finally picked up the walkie-talkie and said in a deep voice, "Action!"
As soon as the words were spoken, Li Jing instantly stepped into his role.
The tension and unease in his eyes transformed into the relaxation and confidence the character required.
Looking at the actress busy by the lathe, Li Jing seemed to be in a 90s state-owned factory. He slightly raised the corners of his mouth, played with an apple in his hand, leaned against a nearby machine, crossed his arms, and teased with a grin:
"You, you’re machine, once you start busying, you can’t stop..."
As the actors began their performance, all the staff performed their duties diligently.
Behind the monitor, the initially worried Wen Lan showed a trace of surprise in her eyes the moment Li Jing spoke, slightly widening her eyes, and even leaned forward in her seat.
Watching Li Jing’s natural actions and lines on the monitor, Wen Lan stared intently at the screen, feeling unexpected, and her expression kept changing.
Her gaze shifted from initial worry to a hint of surprise, and finally transformed into astonishment and delight.
Before she could speak, Liu Shou, who had been watching the monitor with a thermos cup, couldn’t help but speak softly: "Wen Lan, this President Li doesn’t seem like a newcomer..."
Upon hearing this, Wen Lan didn’t respond and kept her eyes fixed on the monitor screen, squinting as if trying to see every detail of Li Jing’s performance clearly.
On set, the staff, who initially thought Wen Lan would call "cut" early, finally realized something was amiss when they didn’t hear Wen Lan’s voice for a long time.
Li Jing, whom everyone worried about, performed much more professionally than anyone expected.
Some even felt that Li Jing’s proficiency in lines and acting surpassed that of the third female lead actress acting opposite him.
Soon after, Wen Lan’s serious voice came through the walkie-talkie.
The staff felt an inexplicable sense of relief after hearing it. It was the first time they hoped so much for Wen Lan to stop the scene.
It wasn’t that they wanted Li Jing to be reprimanded by Wen Lan, but his exceptional performance left them no time for surprise or reaction, so they had to keep a tight grip on their emotions, forcibly suppressing their astonishment.
Now that Wen Lan stopped the filming, everyone finally had a chance to breathe, but they didn’t immediately discuss Li Jing’s acting. Instead, they all turned and looked at Wen Lan, who was walking out of the tent used for monitoring.
Before expressing their opinions, they wanted to see Wen Lan’s attitude toward Li Jing’s performance.
After calling cut, Wen Lan was the first to walk onto the set, looking at Li Jing and the actress. Surprisingly, her gaze did not settle on Li Jing, but she frowned at the actress and said sternly, "You know there was a problem with your positioning earlier, right?"
"Sorry, Director Wen."
The actress seemed aware of her mistake. When pointed out, she didn’t argue and immediately bowed her head to apologize.
Wen Lan didn’t accept this gesture and said displeasedly, "You shouldn’t apologize to me; you should apologize to President Li. His state was excellent just now. If it weren’t for your utterly incorrect positioning, I wouldn’t have stopped the scene; I wanted you to finish it in one go."
Upon hearing this, the actress blushed with shame.
She hadn’t expected the scene to go so smoothly without being stopped, leading to her becoming somewhat lax and unstable later on.
She thought that Li Jing’s first line would likely cause Wen Lan to stop the scene, but until Li Jing had performed most of the scene without a mishap, it was she herself who faltered.
Thinking about this, she, a professional actress, felt increasingly embarrassed and ashamed, and could only apologize to Li Jing once more.
Seeing the situation becoming serious, Li Jing waved it off with a smile: "It’s alright, let’s do it again, just don’t make the same mistake next time."
Hearing this, the actress looked gratefully at Li Jing, but Wen Lan frowned and said: "Do you realize how rare your state was just now? Sometimes when actors are interrupted while in a state, they can’t reach that state again for the entire day.
Moreover, you’re not a professional actor. Even I think it’s a pity for this state to be broken."
Seeing Wen Lan’s dissatisfied gaze again directed at the actress, who was frightened and dared not speak, Li Jing smiled and said: "Director Wen, don’t be so serious.
Besides, I did so well just now; isn’t there any praise or compliment for me?"
Seeing the teasing expression on his face, Wen Lan knew being angry was useless, so she rolled her eyes slightly and said, "Your performance was indeed impressive; it’s clear you’ve worked hard. I hope you can maintain this level in a moment."
Wen Lan gave Li Jing one last look, said no more, then turned to give the actress a few more serious instructions before heading back to the monitor tent.
Returning to her seat, Wen Lan looked at the monitor screen in front of her.
Once everything was ready, she picked up the walkie-talkie and said to begin, and all the actors and staff immediately resumed filming.
This time, after watching the monitor for a while, Wen Lan slightly widened her eyes, a look of surprise flashing in her eyes, and Liu Shou, behind her, directly exclaimed in surprise:
"President Li’s acting isn’t bad, huh? He managed to get into character again."