EFB Chapter 16: News of Filming Completion
Chapter 16: News of Filming Completion
For the next few days, Guan Shengbai enjoyed the most leisurely days he had had since joining the crew.
His role was already limited, with only a few group scenes where he served as a background character. The assistant director would occasionally remember him and schedule a scene for him, otherwise he would be left idle.
Guan Shengbai was happy to have some free time, and he would go to the film set every morning, even more punctual than the actors who had scenes to film.
Several young women in the production crew have become familiar with him, and sometimes they would bring him a cup of soy milk.
He didn't pick and choose, thanked them, and strolled to a corner of the set with his soy milk. He then sat down on the prop box and started watching others film.
It's strange, really.
Guan Shengbai had a minor disagreement with Guo Xiaosi from the very first day he joined the crew, and Guo Xiaosi also made things difficult for him behind his back.
This includes, but is not limited to, scheduling the most difficult and crucial scene in the first scene, having his call sheet frequently scheduled for the latest time slot, and repeatedly delaying the wrap-up date.
These little actions weren't very discreet; anyone in the crew with eyes could see them.
But Guan Shengbai didn't utter a single word.
I'll still wear the shoes I'm wearing, and I'll still film the movie.
When Guo Xiaosi shouted "One more take" from behind the monitor, he would do an even better take. When Guo shouted "Cut!", he would call it a day and leave.
From beginning to end, he neither complained nor tried to please, as if he was completely unaware of the subtle malice, or as if he was aware of it but didn't care at all.
Undoubtedly, this attitude made Guo Xiaosi very uncomfortable.
Especially after Guan Shengbai started spending every day on set watching him direct, that discomfort turned into an inexplicable anxiety.
For example, Guo Jingming is sitting in front of the monitor right now, holding a thermos cup in his hand, staring at the screen, but his peripheral vision is uncontrollably glancing to the right and behind him.
Behind him, Guan Shengbai was sitting with his legs crossed, holding a small notebook and occasionally scribbling down a few lines.
What is he writing down?
Guo Xiaosi's knuckles tightened on the thermos.
"Director Guo, the blocking for this shot—"
"Go by storyboard!"
Guo Xiaosi blurted out, his tone slightly more urgent than usual.
The executive director who asked the question paused for a moment, nodded, and turned to make the arrangements.
Guan Shengbai changed his posture on the prop box and wrote a few more words in his notebook.
Guo Xiaosi took a sip of the goji berry water and found that the water had gone cold.
This isn't the first time this has happened.
After returning from Kyoto, Guan Shengbai would occasionally "wander" around the film set.
When there were no scenes to film, he wouldn't go back to the hotel. Instead, he would wander around the various corners of the set, watching the lighting crew set up lights, the camera crew adjust camera positions, and the production crew lay out tracks.
After watching, I would move a small stool to the side or behind the monitor and sit quietly while Guo Jingming directed the film.
He didn't speak or move forward; he just sat in a spot that wasn't too far away, writing and drawing in his notebook.
When he occasionally looked up, his gaze, which passed over the edge of the monitor and landed on Guo Xiaosi, was quite indifferent.
There was neither the adoration that Guo Jingming was familiar with and enjoyed, nor any obvious hostility.
It's more like looking at some kind of experience pack...
And Guan Shengbai also used this opportunity to answer a question that had puzzled him for a long time—
That is, a well-known director with a somewhat despicable character, who likes to hide his daggers with a smile but is also shallow in his thinking, and who is not well-liked by either the industry or the audience.
How exactly did Guo Jingming manage to keep making a living despite being relentlessly criticized for over a decade?
To put it bluntly, it relies on a combination of "filters," "exquisitely beautiful set design and lighting," "petty-bourgeois twisted tragedy," and "handsome men and beautiful women with their beautiful bodies."
Simply put, it's poop wrapped in chocolate.
Guo Xiaosi felt extremely uncomfortable under Guan Shengbai's gaze.
At this moment, he outwardly maintained the airs of a director, but inwardly he was quite insecure.
Even after each scene was finished, he would secretly look at the director of photography's expression, afraid that the other person was thinking, "This layman is giving bad directions again."
Guan Shengbai's indifferent gaze, however, appeared to him as a silent scrutiny.
Sometimes Guo Xiaosi felt like he could hear Guan Shengbai's voice echoing in his ears...
Is your direction correct?
What makes you think you deserve this position?
Do you even understand?
The most fatal flaw is that Guan Shengbai never offers any comment.
If he says anything, even if it's just pointing fingers and finding fault, Guo Jingming can use it as an excuse to "kick" him out of the film set.
But he didn't say anything, he just sat there watching, then looked down to take notes, and then continued watching.
This silence was like a mirror, forcing Guo Xiaosi to repeatedly examine himself in the mirror, making the thorn in his heart grow deeper and deeper.
Thinking this, Guo Xiaosi couldn't help but glance to his right rear again.
Guan Shengbai just looked up, and their eyes met in the air.
Guan Shengbai nodded to him, a slight smile playing on his lips, and then lowered his head to write a few words in his notebook.
Guo Xiaosi's smile froze on his face, his lips twitched, he turned back to stare at the monitor, and slammed his thermos on the table.
The young female stagehand next to her was startled by the noise. She glanced cautiously at the director and noticed that his expression was even more unpleasant than when Gu Li was yelling on the monitor.
In Guan Shengbai's vision, the semi-transparent panel in the void was emitting a faint light.
Name: Ding Chunqiu (Guo Xiaosi)
Destiny: Stealing Light and Mars
Relationship: Hostile
Favorability: -25%
Strategy completion rate: 55%
Damn it, this level of strategy has surpassed Yang Mi's...
Guan Shengbai looked down and casually drew a stick figure on his notebook, then drew an arrow pointing to a short, stocky little man, and then wrote a line of text next to it.
"-25 favorability, 55 strategy points, what kind of insanity is this?"
He closed his notebook expressionlessly, feeling a chill run down his spine.
This is now definitely in the horror genre.
He checked repeatedly and found that Guo Jingming's status bar did not contain any "love entanglement" marker.
The passive skill of the Maiden's Eye was not triggered.
But the level of strategy has skyrocketed.
The jump from 20% to 55% is much more dramatic than Yang Mi's slow and steady climb to 55% favorability curve, which took more than half a month to reach.
Guan Shengbai pinched the bridge of his nose, deciding not to think about it.
Overthinking can easily lead to nightmares.
Fortunately, apart from Guo Xiaosi being a ticking time bomb, Guan Shengbai's life on set was relatively comfortable.
His mahjong games with the "Tiny Times" actresses have become a regular after-work activity.
The initiator was naturally Xie Yilin.
This "Hold-Up Sister" plays a carefree and funny woman in the show, and her real-life personality is quite similar to her own.
She possesses a unique skill that Guan Shengbai still hasn't figured out.
No matter how many times the filming location was moved, how remote the new location was, or how late everyone finished work, she always managed to conjure up a mahjong table and a set of mahjong tiles within half an hour.
......
......
"That's talent, don't you understand?"
While shuffling cards, Hsieh Yi-lin said smugly, "When I was in Taiwan, I had a nickname: 'Queen of Gambling'."
"It's 'du hou' (堵后), the 'du' in 'blocking the mahjong table and refusing to get off.'"
Guo Caijie coldly added insult to injury.
Tonight's mahjong game was held in the prop room, but Yang Mi was absent from tonight's gathering.
She had just taken the past two days off to participate in a photoshoot for an endorsement.
On the table were several bags of snacks, several cans of beer, and a dish of peanuts that Xie Yilin had taken from the props department.
Four people sat around the mahjong table, each occupying one side, the clatter of the tiles filling the air.
"bump!"
Guo Biting reached out and picked up the cards Xie Yilin had just played, her movements much more nimble than when she first joined the crew.
She was lucky tonight, winning two hands in a row, and a rare relaxed smile appeared on her face.
"Bi Ting, you're getting better and better at fighting."
Guan Shengbai smiled and praised him.
Guo Biting's ears turned slightly red. She lowered her head to arrange the cards and whispered, "It's all thanks to Teacher Guan's excellent teaching."
Guan Shengbai did teach her a few moves.
When this girl first entered the mahjong game, she was incredibly inexperienced. Her movements when touching the tiles were hesitant, as if she was afraid of breaking them.
Guan Shengbai sat to her left and casually pointed out a few tips on how to get a winning hand. To his surprise, she learned them quickly.
"Hey, Teacher Guan~"
Xie Yilin drew out her words, her eyes darting between Guan Shengbai and Guo Biting.
"When will you teach me? I've lost so much these past few days I'm practically broke."
"Is that a technical problem? That's a problem with the gambling rules."
Guo Caijie mercilessly exposed his arrogance, saying, "Every time he loses, he refuses to leave the table, but when he wins, he runs away faster than a rabbit."
"I didn't!"
"Who won a game the night before last and immediately said they wanted to go to sleep?"
"That's because I'm sleepy!"
"How come you weren't sleepy after losing twelve hands last night?"
Guan Shengbai leaned back in his chair, listening to the women bickering back and forth, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curved up.
This kind of atmosphere is truly rare.
In his past life, he had seen plenty of fake friendships in the entertainment industry, with many actresses being inseparable on screen but never speaking to each other off screen.
But when these people get together, although they each have their own little thoughts, the lively and cheerful atmosphere can't be faked.
He casually picked up a card and played it without even looking at it.
I don't know if it was good luck or just being distracted, but he had a good run of luck tonight.
In no time at all, the chips in front of him had piled up into a small stack.
"By the way! Have you guys noticed that the atmosphere on set has been a bit off these past few days?"
Hsieh Yi-lin has once again raised a new topic.
"What's wrong?"
Guan Shengbai was rather curious.
"that is......"
Xie Yilin habitually lowered her voice, her upper body almost slumped over the mahjong table.
"Has Mimi been taking a lot of time off these past few days?"
Upon hearing this, Guo Caijie paused in her hand as she touched the cards, and Guo Biting also looked up.
"Didn't you read the notice?"
Seeing that she had successfully attracted everyone's attention, Xie Yilin's expression became even more beaming.
"Mimi took two days off last week and three more this week."
She's the leading lady, and she has the most screen time in the entire cast.
With her absent, Guo Jingming had to move all the supporting roles' scenes to the front of the screen, causing the production coordinator to revise the call sheet every day, and the production crew was nearly driven mad.
Guo Caijie put the card she drew back into her hand, her tone indifferent: "She has an endorsement to film, it's a normal business activity."
"Endorsements are normal, of course, but—"
Xie Yilin changed the subject abruptly, her eyes darting around.
"I heard it's because she's having a falling out with Huanrui. You know, Mimi's contract is about to expire, she wants to leave, but Huanrui doesn't want to let her go, so they're at an impasse."
Guan Shengbai picked up his teacup, took a sip, and showed no expression.
Yang Mi has indeed been extremely busy lately.
He saw her less and less on set. Occasionally, when they bumped into each other in the corridor, she was always in a hurry, with thicker and thicker concealer under her eyes, and her phone was ringing incessantly.
But he didn't ask any further questions.
Because he understands better than Xie Yilin what Yang Mi is facing now.
At this point, her contract dispute with Huanrui is just the beginning.
The real battle is the betting agreement she and Zeng Jia are going to work on over the next few years.
"And one more thing—"
Seeing that Guan Shengbai didn't react much, Xie Yilin steered the conversation in another direction.
"Have you guys noticed Ko Ching-teng?"
"What's wrong with him?"
Guo Biting rarely took the initiative to ask a question, but after asking, she subconsciously glanced at Guan Shengbai.
"His condition has been terrible lately."
As Xie Yilin spoke, she picked up a beer can and took a big gulp. "You guys remember that scene he had with Caijie the day before yesterday, the one where they were arguing in the coffee shop, right?"
"Of course I remember."
Guo Caijie coldly replied, her tone carrying a hint of barely suppressed displeasure, "We filmed one take eleven times."
"Yes, yes, yes! Eleven times!"
Xie Yilin got all excited, "And do you know why he keeps making mistakes?"
Because he forgets his lyrics seven or eight times out of ten!
He spent the entire morning trying to memorize those few lines, but he couldn't. Finally, Guo Xiaosi had someone write the lines on a teleprompter, and only then could he barely manage to get them right.
"His face doesn't look like he has a bad memory."
Guo Biting added in a low voice, but the meaning behind her words was quite subtle.
Guan Shengbai lowered his eyelashes, knowing the reason better than anyone else.
Ko Ching-teng's grumpy appearance is probably not due to a bad memory, but rather an inability to concentrate.
A decline in memory and concentration is a standard symptom for cultivators after ascension, coupled with the ashen complexion on his face that he couldn't hide no matter what he did...
This guy is probably getting more and more involved.
Yang Mi is busy with her studio, Ke Jingteng is speeding down a hill, and Guo Xiaosi is secretly competing with Chai Zhiping.
Guan Shengbai saw all of this, but it didn't concern him much.
His scenes are about to wrap up, and he'll soon be able to extricate himself from the quagmire of "Tiny Times".
As for how far these "Tiny Times" actresses can go...
Guan Shengbai glanced discreetly at the women at the card table.
Few people who make a name for themselves in the entertainment industry are easy to deal with.
Each of them will have their own destiny, their own tribulations, and their own good fortune.
"bump!"
Guo Biting suddenly reached out and picked up the nine of bamboo that Guan Shengbai had casually knocked away.
When she looked up at him, her eyes flickered slightly, and something was hidden in that misty gaze.
Guan Shengbai didn't look closely, but simply raised his hand and made a "please go ahead" gesture, with his signature gentle smile on his lips.
As the mahjong game was nearing its end, Guan Shengbai's phone vibrated.
He took it out and glanced at it; it was a message from the production team's coordinator.
"Teacher Guan, I've sent you the schedule for the next two days. The filming time is tomorrow at 2 PM."
Guan Shengbai opened the call sheet and scanned it all at once.
Xi Cheng's last scene is in a bar.
There are no lines, only eye contact and a few close-ups of gloomy back views.
The script reads: "Xi Cheng slumped against the wall like a lump of mud."
That's quite fitting for the way a minor character exits the scene.
Guan Shengbai stared at the line of text for a few seconds, a slight smile playing on his lips.
His role as Xi Cheng is his only remaining presence in this film.
Guan Shengbai put away his phone and clasped his hands in a fist salute to the other three people at the card table.
"I just received the news, so I have to say goodbye in advance. I will officially wrap up filming the day after tomorrow. I'll treat you all to dinner another day."
Guo Biting stopped touching the cards and looked up at Guan Shengbai.
Guo Caijie, who was arranging the cards, trembled slightly and even forgot to urge Guo Biting to play her card.
"ah?!"
Xie Yilin's mouth formed a big "O" in surprise, "Filming wrapped up so quickly?!"
"It's not fast, it's been dragging on for quite a while."
Guan Shengbai shrugged, his tone as relaxed as if he had finally unloaded some burden.
Guo Caijie lowered her eyelashes and slowly typed out the "ten thousand"s side by side in her hand, her voice indifferent and devoid of emotion: "Congratulations."
Congratulations!
Xie Yilin also shouted.
Guo Biting just stared at the cards in her hand, not playing them for a long time.
With the date for Guan Shengbai's filming to wrap up confirmed, the previously cheerful atmosphere turned somewhat strange.
Finally, Guan Shengbai tactfully ended the night's mahjong game by saying, "There's an early show tomorrow morning."
He didn't linger, stood up, dusted off imaginary dust from his pants, waved to the group with a smile, and turned to leave the prop room.
The door closed gently behind me.
Xie Yilin glanced cautiously at the two women beside her.
"So... shall we still play?"
Guo Caijie slammed the cards in her hand onto the table and glanced at Guo Biting next to her out of the corner of her eye, seemingly with a hidden meaning.
"We're one short, how can we play?"
Guo Biting stared blankly at the cards in her hand without saying a word, her nose slightly red, and as she blinked, she seemed to have made up her mind.