usenovelgroup Chapter 53, No, that's more like it.
Chapter 53, No, that's more like it.
The chemistry between Gao Huan and Gulnazar during filming is getting better and better. Just how good is it?
Once, Lin Yufen watched a scene between two actors behind the monitor, remained silent for several seconds, then turned to the assistant director next to her and said, "These two people standing together, without saying a word, the audience can feel that there is something between them."
The assistant director nodded and added, "That kind of thing is called 'I'm serious.'"
Lin Yufen didn't reply, but nodded silently. From that day on, she raised her standards for all the actors in the crew who had scenes with Gao Huan.
Naturally, the male lead has already raised the bar to this level; if you can't keep up, the visuals won't look right.
Huang Mengying was the first to feel this pressure.
The character she plays, Meng Yiran, is Xiao Nai's suitor. The problem is—she has to like Xiao Nai.
If you like Xiao Nai, you have to act out the cautiousness of "I like you but you don't know" when facing Gao Huan, the resentment of "I knew you before your girlfriend", and the humility of "You chose her but I still can't let go".
Huang Mengying couldn't portray these emotions.
His acting skills in real life are quite good, but the two of them had no prior interaction. Her understanding of him was limited to "he is Gao Huan, very famous, very handsome, and a very good actor."
This understanding couldn't support Meng Yiran's complex feelings for Xiao Nai, which had accumulated over a long time, ranging from unrequited love to resentment.
Lin Yufen watched one of Huang Mengying's scenes, frowned behind the monitor, but didn't call for a stop, letting her finish.
Then she stood up and walked up to Gao Huan.
"Gao Huan, come here for a moment."
Gao Huan was watching the playback with Nazha when he heard the director call him. He put down his thermos and went over.
Lin Yufen pulled him aside, lowered her voice, and spoke in a casual tone, as if to say, "I have something to tell you, but don't overthink it."
"You saw Huang Mengying's performance, right?"
Gao Huan nodded.
"Her acting for you wasn't good enough."
Lin Yufen was very direct, "She's not familiar with you. Meng Yiran likes Xiao Nai, and that liking is based on solid reason; she's the school beauty, and she doesn't think she's inferior to Bei Weiwei."
But the way Huang Mengying looks at you now is the look of 'I'm looking at a big star,' not the look of 'I like you.'
Gao Huan remained silent, waiting for her to continue.
Lin Yufen glanced at him, the corners of her mouth curving slightly with a cunning, old fox-like slyness.
"So, you should get to know her better."
Gao Huan looked at her.
"How do you know me?"
"That's your problem." Lin Yufen patted his shoulder, turned and walked away, but stopped after a couple of steps, turned back and added, "Just don't make Nazha jealous."
Gao Huan stood there, watching Lin Yufen's retreating figure, a slight smile playing on his lips.
He walked back to the rest area, where Nazha was sitting in a folding chair flipping through a script. When she saw him return, she looked up.
"What did the director say to you?"
"Let me get to know Huang Mengying better."
Naza paused for a moment, looked up at him, her expression showing a wary "What did you say?" look.
"Familiar with what?"
"So familiar that the way Meng Yiran looks at Xiao Nai is no longer the 'I look at a big star' look."
Naza paused for two seconds, then lowered her head and continued flipping through the script.
"Then go ahead."
Her tone was as calm as possible, but Gao Huan could detect a subtle sourness beneath it, like vinegar, but not strong, just enough for him to smell.
He reached out and ruffled her hair.
"Are you unhappy?"
"I didn't." Nazha didn't even look up.
"Then don't bother looking at it, you're holding the script upside down."
Naza looked down and saw that it was indeed reversed.
Her face flushed red from the base of her neck, but she didn't admit it. She turned the script over and continued flipping through it, stubbornly saying, "I'm practicing reading the script backwards to train my brain."
Gao Huan looked at her, the corners of his mouth curving wider, but he didn't expose her.
……
After finishing work in the afternoon, Gao Huan went to find Huang Mengying.
She was sitting in the dressing room, removing her makeup.
The makeup artist wiped her face with cotton pads. Her eyes were closed, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she looked like a cat that had just taken a bath, languid and lazy.
Gao Huan knocked on the door frame.
Huang Mengying opened her eyes, saw him in the mirror, paused for a moment, and then sat up straight.
"Junior."
"Come find me after you remove your makeup; I'm in the RV."
Huang Mengying paused for a moment, then nodded, her expression showing a nervous "Did I do something wrong?"
Gao Huan didn't explain, and turned to leave.
Twenty-five minutes later, Huang Mengying knocked on the door of the RV.
Yangyang opened the door and stepped aside to let her in.
Inside the RV, Gao Huan sat on the sofa, a script spread out on the table in front of him, and a pen in his hand, writing something.
Seeing Huang Mengying come in, he put down his pen and pointed to the chair opposite him.
"sit."
Huang Mengying sat down, placed her hands on her knees, and straightened her back.
Today she was wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, her hair was down, and her face looked smaller after she put on makeup again. She had a pointed chin, big eyes, and dark brown pupils that looked like two polished amber pieces under the warm yellow light of the RV.
"Do you know why I called you over?" Gao Huan asked.
Huang Mengying thought for a moment, then said softly, "Is it because of my scene today?"
"Um."
Huang Mengying clenched her fingers on her knee.
"I know I didn't act well."
Gao Huan looked at her but didn't reply immediately.
He picked up the script on the table, turned to Meng Yiran's scenes, and pointed to a passage.
What was Meng Yiran's feeling when she first met Xiao Nai?
Huang Mengying looked at the script and thought about it.
"It should be...stunning? Like that feeling of 'Wow, there really are guys who look like this.'"
"and then?"
"Then... she started paying attention to him, realized she liked him, but didn't dare to say it."
Gao Huan nodded.
"So what do you think she likes about Xiao Nai?"
Huang Mengying thought for a moment.
"Handsome? Good at studying? Good at playing basketball? He has everything a campus heartthrob should have."
Gao Huan leaned back on the sofa and looked into her eyes.
"What you just said is written in books, in scripts, and in your head."
But Meng Yiran liked Xiao Nai not because she made a list of things like "handsome, good at studying, good at playing basketball" and then checked them off, and that's why she liked him.
Unlike your current thoughts and standards.
He spoke at a moderate pace, and every word was clear and distinct.
There is no reason for liking someone on campus.
Her heart races when she sees him. Her ears perk up when she hears his name.
She felt a pang of sadness when she saw him walking with Bei Weiwei.
Huang Mengying listened attentively, her eyes never blinking.
"When you're playing Meng Yiran, don't think about 'why she likes Xiao Nai,' but rather 'how she feels when she likes Xiao Nai.'"
Gao Huan paused here, then asked, "Have you ever liked anyone before?"
Huang Mengying seemed to be feigning shyness.
"Does high school count?"
"Of course it counts."
"Well... I used to like him."
"How does it feel?"
Huang Mengying thought for a moment, then lowered her voice.
"It's like... you'll secretly look at him during class, and when get out of class ends you'll pretend to pass by his classroom. When he talks to you, you'll get so nervous you can't speak, but when you get home at night you'll be so excited you can't sleep."
Gao Huan's lips curled up slightly.
"That's the feeling of Meng Yiran. In this drama, she is a girl who likes Xiao Nai."
Huang Mengying looked at him and slowly nodded.
"I think I... understand a little bit."
Gao Huan picked up the script on the table and turned to a scene between Meng Yiran and Xiao Nai.
"Come on, let's try it once. You read out your lines, you don't need to stand, you can just sit."
Huang Mengying took a deep breath, looked at the lines in the script, and began to speak.
"Xiao Nai, I...I like you."
Her voice trembled slightly, her eyes darted away, and she dared not look at Gao Huan. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, like butterfly wings struggling before the rain.
Gao Huan looked at her without saying a word.
He didn't recite Xiao Nai's lines; he just quietly looked at her, his eyes filled with a gentle, non-aggressive gaze.
But that gaze made Huang Mengying blush even more.
As Gao Huan slowly walked up to her, his face getting closer and closer, she saw amusement and probing in his eyes.
Huang Mengying took a deep breath and said softly, "Xiao Nai, I...I like you."
This time, her voice was more steady.
Her eyes met Gao Huan's, no longer darting away, but filled with a sense of relief that "I've said it" and a nervous anticipation of "How will you answer?"
Gao Huan nodded.
"This one is better than the version you made on set."
Huang Mengying breathed a sigh of relief, her tense state relaxing, and her shoulders slumped slightly.
"Thank you, junior."
Gao Huan didn't reply, he just looked at her lips.
Huang Mengying paused for a moment, then slowly nodded.
……
Over the next few days, Huang Mengying's progress surprised Lin Yufen.
It was as if "someone opened the door for her, and she started walking in on her own"—that kind of progress.
Her eyes were no longer empty. When she looked at Gao Huan, there was a complex emotion in her eyes that seemed to say, "I like you, but I know you won't choose me." It was as if the emotion had truly grown from her heart.
Lin Yufen watched a scene between Meng Yiran and Xiao Nai on the monitor, then turned to the assistant director and said, "This girl has finally figured it out."
……
The shooting schedule for this day was both ordinary and special; it was a scene between KO and Hao Mei.
In the original novel, KO is a hacker who was later recruited by Xiao Nai to work as a programmer at Zhiyi Technology. He is a good cook, doesn't talk much, but has an inexplicable and affectionate feeling towards Hao Mei that goes beyond brotherhood.
Before filming, Lin Yufen told the entire crew, "The scale of this scene is difficult to control."
Too many, and it won't pass the review;
If it's too short, the fans of the original work won't be satisfied.
You decide for yourselves.
KO is played by Zhang Bingbing.
When he stands in front of the camera, he is more expressive when he is not speaking than when he is speaking. There is something in his eyes, deep and still, like a deep pool of water.
The actor who plays Hao Mei is Li Xian.
He was wearing a white T-shirt, and when he smiled, his eyes curved into crescent moons. He was as sunny as a seashell just picked up from the beach.
His temperament is the complete opposite of Zhang Bingbing's—one is reserved, the other is outgoing; one is cold, the other is warm.
The two of them standing together create a scene that's inherently dramatic.
The first scene is when KO meets Hao Mei for the first time.
In the cafeteria, KO was eating in a corner when Hao Mei came over with his tray and casually sat down opposite him.
"Hey, are you new here?"
KO looked up at him, said nothing, and continued eating.
Hao Mei didn't seem to mind and continued, "What's your name?"
KO glanced at him again, but still didn't say anything.
Hao Mei scratched his head and laughed. "Can't you talk properly?"
KO put down his chopsticks, looked into his eyes, and said two words.
"meeting."
It was just two words, but the look in his eyes was off.
Zhang Bingbing portrayed that feeling of "love at first sight" very well.
There was something in his eyes, but he didn't let it spill out. He just left it there, like a glass of water that was full but didn't overflow. You felt tense just looking at it, afraid that it would spill, but it just didn't.
Li County's acting skills are also very good.
Hao Mei was glanced at by KO, paused for a moment, and then laughed, a carefree laugh, but his ears turned red.
The subtle detail of "not saying anything but doing things his own way" made Nazha, who was watching from the side, tug at Gao Huan's sleeve.
"Brother Huan, come and see."
Gao Huan was reading the script when Nazha pulled him behind the monitor.
The second scene is KO and Hao Mei's chance encounter at a restaurant outside the school.
Hao Mei and her friends came to eat and found that the food tasted exactly the same as the cafeteria food. They rushed to the kitchen and saw KO wearing a chef's uniform, stirring the wok.
"What are you doing here?" Hao Mei asked, his eyes wide.
KO glanced at him, poured the food from the pot into a plate, and said in a flat tone as if he were saying that the weather was nice today.
"work to earn a living."
"You're such a good cook?"
KO didn't answer, but handed him the plate and said, "Try it."
Hao Mei picked up her chopsticks, took a bite, chewed it twice, and her eyes lit up.
"Delicious! Better than the cafeteria food!"
KO's lips twitched slightly, the curve was so small that it was barely noticeable unless you looked closely.
But Hao Mei saw it and laughed without a care in the world.
"You laughed! You actually laughed!"
KO turned around and continued cooking, but the tips of her ears were red.
Naza squatted in front of the monitor, completely absorbed in watching it.
She tugged at Gao Huan's sleeve and whispered, "Brother Huan, look at the way KO looked at Hao Mei, wasn't it...?"
She thought for a moment but couldn't find the right words.
Gao Huan finished speaking for her.
"It's liking."
Naza turned her head to look at him, her eyes shining.
"You think so too?"
"It wasn't in the script, but Zhang Bingbing brought it to life."
Naza couldn't help but whisper, "This is too bold, too sweet!"
Gao Huan stood behind her, watching Zhang Bingbing and Li Xian's performance on the monitor, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Yangyang Jin also joined in at some point, squatting down next to Nazha. The three of them lined up like three cats perched on a wall, watching the monitor.
In the next scene, Lin Yufen didn't yell "cut" for a long time.
There was a long silence behind the monitor before she spoke.
"Let's do it one more time."
The four words were spoken calmly, but Gao Huan strongly suspected that the director was hesitant about whether to add fuel to the fire.
Zhang Bingbing and Li Xian walked down from in front of the camera, one in front of the other, a few steps apart.
Li Xian walked in front, and Zhang Bingbing walked behind, but Zhang Bingbing's gaze was always fixed on the back of Li Xian's head, as if an invisible thread was pulling him along.
Naza looked at the two people, then suddenly stood on tiptoe and whispered in Gao Huan's ear.
"Brother Huan."
"Um."
"Watching their performance, I suddenly felt a sense of relief."
Gao Huan turned his head and looked at her.
"What's there to be thankful for?"
Naza's lips brushed against his ear, her voice as soft as a feather, her warm breath caressing his earlobe.
"It's good that you don't like men."
Gao Huan was stunned for a moment, then the corners of his mouth slowly curled up.
He reached out and gently patted her waist.
You're overthinking it.
Naza shrank back slightly, then smiled, her eyes curving into two crescent moons.
She touched the ground with her tiptoes, but didn't step back. She stood next to him, her shoulder against his arm.
Yangyang Jin was still squatting in front of the monitor, immersed in the atmosphere of the K-Mo CP, muttering, "This is too good to ship, I need to go back and write fanfiction."
Gao Huan glanced at her.
"Sister Yangyang, you're the agent."
"A manager is a girl too, and it's perfectly natural for girls to ship couples."
Yangyang Jin spoke with righteous indignation.
Gao Huan shook his head and said nothing more.
Naza linked arms with him, and the two walked back. After a few steps, she suddenly stopped and turned to look at him.
"Huan-ge, tell me, if one day you find out you like men, will you tell me?"
Gao Huan looked at her and thought for a moment.
"Won't."
Why?
"Because that day will never come."
Naza paused for a moment, then laughed, her laughter even wider than before, her eyes sparkling like shattered stars.
"That's more like it."
She took his arm, and her steps were a little lighter than before.