After finishing the core filming of Yu Huatian,
all that was left were the dialogue scenes for the extras.
These scenes weren’t considered particularly important.
So Xu Ke simply decided to play the role of the hands-off boss, delegating full responsibility for these scenes to Director Zhang Zhiliang.
He himself then walked out from the crowd to find Jiang Nian.
Jiang Nian was at that moment apologizing to the extra from earlier.
After all, he had been acting midway when he suddenly improvised, having the guy act as a human chair for him.
Although it was all for the movie, the humiliation caused was undeniable.
So right after the filming finished, he immediately went to find the person, offering both apologies and compensation.
This kind of attitude not only left the other person pleasantly surprised and looking astonished,
but also made the other extras watch in amazement.
Because in their experience, a big actor like Jiang Nian would never treat extras like them as real people.
Forget apologizing or offering compensation.
If they made these big actors uncomfortable while serving as a human chair, they’d probably end up getting yelled at afterwards.
Jiang Nian being so humble was truly a first for them.
This inevitably made the others feel quite favorable towards him.
Some even secretly regretted it, thinking to themselves, why wasn’t it them who got to be the human chair?
Not only would they get paid afterwards, but this big actor would also apologize to them, and maybe, because of that one scene, they’d even get a close-up in the film.
Wouldn’t that be freaking awesome?!
But unfortunately, the scene was already finished, and no matter how much they regretted it, it was useless.
As for Xu Ke, he stood off to the side, watching how Jiang Nian handled the situation, and nodded approvingly.
Then, once Jiang Nian was done dealing with it, he walked over and asked, “So, Teacher Jiang, did you enjoy filming that scene?”
Jiang Nian smiled and nodded, “I enjoyed it, I freaking enjoyed it a lot!”
At that moment, he suddenly understood why those veteran actors were so demanding about scripts.
It wasn’t just because of how profitable a good show could be, or how influential a role could be.
More importantly, it was the feeling you got while acting!
This feeling was hard to describe.
To put it nicely, you could call it a joy that haunts your dreams, something hard to find anywhere else in the world.
To put it bluntly, it was more gripping than [a certain substance] and more satisfying than [a certain physical pleasure]*.
Once you’ve experienced it, you can never give it up!
Hearing Jiang Nian give such high praise,
Xu Ke smiled.
Because Jiang Nian finding the scene so enjoyable was the greatest affirmation of the script itself.
Seeing him get so happy just from a few words from Jiang Nian,
Li Lianjie, who had come along, couldn’t help but nudge him: “Hey, hey, Director Xu, the main thing, the main thing.”
“Oh, oh, right.”
Xu Ke snapped out of it, sat down next to Jiang Nian, organized his thoughts, and said, “Um, Teacher Jiang, if I remember correctly, there were no props used in today’s scene, right?”
Jiang Nian replied noncommittally, “Right, no props were used. Why?”
“Well, could I ask, since there were no props on set, how did you create those special effects during the filming?”
Xu Ke looked utterly baffled.
He knew Jiang Nian was skilled in martial arts.
On the first day of filming, he had shattered a sword.
Later, without even wearing a wire, he leaped straight up onto a wooden scaffold.
But what happened just now was just too absurd.
Shattering stone slabs, smashing wooden chairs into pieces.
If he hadn’t pinched himself earlier, he would have wondered if he was dreaming.
Hearing this, Jiang Nian waved his hand dismissively, “Ah, it’s nothing. You know I’m a martial artist, right.”
“Right.”
“So, as a martial artist, it’s perfectly normal for me to have a few tricks up my sleeve, isn’t it.”
“Hmm?”
Xu Ke’s mouth twitched.
He looked at Jiang Nian and finally understood what it meant to lie through your teeth.
Come on, buddy, you call that a little trick?
If you had just shattered the stone slab and kicked out some pebbles, they wouldn’t have said anything.
After all, theoretically, that’s basically the same principle as using a hidden weapon.
Given that Jiang Nian is a martial artist, and such a skilled one at that,
doing something that seems incredible to outsiders like them isn’t entirely impossible.
But the problem is, besides those pebbles,
you, Jiang Nian, also gave a gentle push right in front of all of them, knocked down those completely unrelated chairs, and even made one explode!
Is that something a martial artist can do?
Is that just a little trick?
“Teacher Jiang, do you think we’re fools?”
Xu Ke’s mouth twitched as he asked.
Jiang Nian shook his head: “No, I don’t.”
“Then why are you making up such a clumsy lie?”
“Hey, I don’t like the way you’re putting that. What do you mean, a clumsy lie? Let me ask you, let me ask you, what do you think the reason is?”
“Well…” Xu Ke was momentarily stumped. After thinking for a while, he said, “I don’t know, but I’m sure it’s not as simple as you say.”
“See, you can’t explain it either. If you ask me, Director Xu, you’re just overthinking things. How many simple or complicated things are there in this world? You’re too superstitious, you need to believe in science!”
Having said that, Jiang Nian finished his cigarette, patted Xu Ke’s shoulder earnestly, then channeled his inner energy, took a stride spanning four or five meters, and left the place entirely.
Leaving Xu Ke sitting there, mulling over Jiang Nian’s words over and over again.
Wondering, maybe he was overthinking it?
Seeing him looking so puzzled, Li Lianjie hesitated for a moment, then spoke somewhat uncertainly: “Director Xu… if I remember correctly, weren’t you the one asking Teacher Jiang the questions? How come, in the middle of questioning him, it suddenly turned into him questioning you?”
As soon as he said that,
“???”
Xu Ke suddenly snapped out of it.
Right! How did they suddenly switch roles like that, with Jiang Nian interrogating him?
Zhou Xun, standing nearby, also added fuel to the fire: “Besides, you two talked so much, but the only useful answer Teacher Jiang gave was that these were just his little tricks. He didn’t say anything else. Director Xu, what exactly did you even ask?”
“Oh, for crying out loud!”
As soon as she said that, Xu Ke suddenly realized he had been led around by the nose by Jiang Nian from the very beginning.
So he abruptly stood up, trying to find Jiang Nian.
But Jiang Nian had long since run off; there was no finding him.
This made Xu Ke so angry he started cursing loudly,
accusing Jiang Nian of being dishonorable, of coming to trick and ambush an old man like him!
——-
“Dinglingling—”
“Dinglingling—”
At 2 PM in Beijing Jiahang.
The rapid ringing of a mobile phone woke up Yang Mi, who was taking a nap.
Her eyes bleary with sleep, she glanced at the caller ID: Jiang Nian.
So she gave a soft “Mm,” answered the phone, put it to her ear, and said lazily, “Hello, Jiang Nian? What’s up?”
She heard Jiang Nian speak in a low, serious tone: “Mi Jie, let me ask you something. Have I been blacklisted by Liu Kai in the industry?”
“Hmm?”
As soon as he said that, Yang Mi uttered a soft sound of surprise.
She instinctively repeated Jiang Nian’s words in her mind.
Then, snapping fully awake, her spirits lifted: “What do you mean?”
