Chapter 87: Stalling The Shoot
Li Xinze looked at Xuan Xia for a good while before he slowly nodded and agreed to Xuan Xia’s request.
But in his heart, he thought, this is a bit tricky. When doing the work summary tonight, how should he report to get it done?
Before this trip, Mr. Qin had given him two tasks. Pay attention to Miss Xuan’s safety, and ensure Miss Xuan has a comfortable and worry-free time.
Now he hadn’t completed either one.
Meanwhile, Lu Mindan plopped down on her resting chair, preparing for the afternoon waiting area.
Unlike small roles where they have to find their own resting spots in the waiting area, Lu Mindan and several lead actors have an exclusive resting area.
As soon as she sat down, she asked her assistant for her mobile phone and busily edited quite a few messages. Amid the message interactions, she soon felt the film set was a bit hot.
So without even looking up, she instructed her assistant: “It’s so hot, fan me some air.”
The fat girl immediately took a small fan from her bag and handed it to her. “Sister Dan, here.”
Lu Mindan glanced at the fan handed in front of her, paused for two seconds, then half-turned her head, her line of sight slanting upward toward her assistant.
Because of her makeup, looking at people from this angle was particularly intimidating, and the assistant was so startled that she panicked and cautiously asked: “What’s wrong, Sister Dan?”
“I told you to fan me, didn’t you understand? Do I have to do everything myself? Are you the assistant, or am I?”
Lu Mindan’s words grew colder and colder, at least to the assistant, it was completely comparable to the lowest air conditioner temperature.
The assistant froze for a moment, then hurriedly did as told without delay.
But even with the cool breeze blowing, Lu Mindan wasn’t relieved of her inner irritation. She looked at her assistant discontentedly again. “I’m a grown person, and you prepare such a tiny fan for me. Do you think I can cool off like this?”
Assistant: “…”
Although she knew Lu Mindan was just looking for trouble, the assistant still braced herself and replied: “Sister Dan, too much cold air isn’t good. Be careful or you’ll have a headache later.”
“And you’re wearing contact lenses, so you can’t blow too much wind, or your eyes will feel uncomfortable later, which will affect filming.”
Because this issue had happened several times before, and Director Pan had criticized her twice over it.
But Director Pan’s words weren’t harsh, and Lu Mindan felt that wearing contact lenses made her eyes look better and more vibrant, so she outwardly agreed but inwardly ignored Director Pan’s advice.
Hearing this, Lu Mindan was so angry her eyes nearly bulged out.
The mobile phone in her hand almost got smashed at her assistant. “Can’t you talk properly? If you can’t, then shut up!”
The assistant quickly shut her mouth.
But Lu Mindan was still dissatisfied and yelled at her assistant again. “Where’s the fan? Are you trying to heat me to death?”
The assistant hurriedly moved the fan closer to Lu Mindan. The next second, Lu Mindan yelled again. This time she didn’t have time to scold her assistant because the wind was blowing so hard she couldn’t keep her eyes open.
“Eye drops!”
The assistant hurriedly grabbed the eye drops.
A female actor who had been watching the spectacle for a while couldn’t hold back anymore and burst out laughing.
“Sister Dan is so dedicated, getting into character already.”
Lu Mindan ignored her.
The speaker was the female fourth lead Ni Feifei in the drama. Originally, Ni Feifei had vied for the female third lead, but she didn’t beat out Lu Mindan. After joining the crew, the two had been in a state of mutual dislike.
Lu Mindan ignored her, but Ni Feifei didn’t feel embarrassed and continued to taunt without missing any opportunity: “I heard Sister Dan’s company’s newcomer joined the crew. Is that the one waiting over there?”
“No wonder Sister Dan is so dedicated. Turns out she’s setting an example for her junior. Then I’m looking forward to Sister Dan nailing it in one take, so I can see her junior’s acting skills sooner.”
Lu Mindan was annoyed by Ni Feifei’s deliberate mentions of “junior” in every sentence, which reminded her of how Xuan Xia had just provoked her the same way. People she disliked really did have similarities.
But before she could think of a retort, she first realized the arrangement on the filming schedule. After her scenes, it would be Jiang Feng and Xuan Xia’s turn.
She suddenly smiled and turned to Ni Feifei. “Yeah, thanks for reminding me.”
The other raised an eyebrow, but Lu Mindan turned her head back after speaking and didn’t start bickering with her like usual.
Ni Feifei eyed her for a moment, finally ending the inconclusive exchange with a disdainful “tch.”
As the supporting actors’ scenes passed one by one, it soon came to Lu Mindan’s scenes.
Today, Lu Mindan’s scenes were just a few everyday ones. Normally, she wouldn’t just nail them in one take, but definitely within three.
But today there were clearly many issues. The first scene took several takes without passing, and Director Pan frowned, looking at Lu Mindan as if he wanted to say something but held back.
This shouldn’t be.
Lu Mindan actively apologized to the staff on set, then earnestly asked Director Pan for a bit more time to adjust.
“Alright, rest for fifteen minutes first.”
Once Director Pan spoke, the staff on set relaxed. Except for set workers and makeup artists who still had work, those without tasks hurried outside for some fresh air.
Lu Mindan returned to her resting chair and raised her hand. Her assistant immediately understood and handed her the water cup to moisten her throat.
Ni Feifei, who had watched the NG scenes for a while, exaggeratedly yawned. “What play is Sister Dan performing?”
Lu Mindan leisurely moistened her throat before replying, “Can’t my state be off?”
Ni Feifei laughed as if she’d heard a joke. “Didn’t Sister Dan get into state early? How can your state be off now?”
She added: “Finding state is easy. Sister Dan, just imagine your scene partner as your assistant. Guaranteed your acting skills will be so brilliant that Director Pan will praise highly.”
But Lu Mindan ignored her, her line of sight drifting toward where Xuan Xia was sitting, the corner of her mouth curving up.
She thought to herself, newcomers in the waiting area sometimes wait all day with makeup on and still don’t get their turn—it’s common. Who doesn’t start on the bench?
As for not finding her state in these scenes, that’s even more normal. She wasn’t worried about upsetting Director Pan at all. Once she performed well tomorrow, Director Pan naturally wouldn’t remember her mistakes today.
She took another sip of water and asked her assistant: “Didn’t they say there was a media visit? Why haven’t they come?”
“Huh? You’re waiting for the media visit?” Ni Feifei, who was openly eavesdropping, burst out laughing. “Don’t you know today’s interviews are only for the male and female leads one and two? You’re not waiting for the media to come over here to the film set, are you?”
Ni Feifei seemed to be saying, you’re just the female third lead, and you want to hog media interviews?
Lu Mindan: “…”
She glared fiercely at her assistant, blaming her for not explaining clearly.
The assistant felt extremely innocent.
***
Yang Wanxiu had been with Lu Mindan for a while now, and just from watching her fail to pass a scene, she could tell she was deliberately dragging it out to affect Xuan Xia’s state.
After hearing Yang Wanxiu’s analysis, Xuan Xia was utterly baffled. “Dragging the scene? Her constant fails are on purpose?”
Yang Wanxiu nodded glumly.
“Is she crazy?”
