Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 259 Ordinary Words and Phrases
Three days later, near Shichahai.

The crew of "The New Dragon and Phoenix" started working as soon as it was dawn. The sets had already been built and Zhang Guoli was dressed up, but the female lead, Chen Hong, was still nowhere to be seen.

Seeing that Zhang Guoli was a little anxious, Deng Jie, who played the Empress, comforted him, "What's the rush? There are only two scenes left today. We'll definitely wrap up filming this afternoon."

Zhang Guoli looked around and whispered, "I'm not worried about Chen Hong not coming; I'm worried that the audience won't like watching this drama."

"Probably not. Zhang Yan isn't a novice, and besides, isn't this plot quite interesting?"

"I'm afraid the audience won't accept it."

Zhang Guoli pointed to the script and said, "Look, the last two scenes even have English dialogue—if we're talking about foreign languages, it should be Portuguese."

"The female lead only speaks English, so naturally, the only thing she can teach Zhengde is English, and I think this part is quite romantic."

"romantic……"

Zhang Guoli was about to say something when he suddenly saw a Mercedes-Benz with its emblem on drive towards them. Some staff members went up to stop it, but it was quickly let go.

Zhang Guoli stared at the license plate and wondered, "Isn't this Li Chengru's car? What's he doing here? Did someone ask him to play a cameo role? How come I, as the director, didn't know?"

"Maybe it's Chen Hong or Zhang Yan..."

As Deng Jie was guessing, Chen Hong got out of the driver's seat and called out to them, "Sorry, I'm not used to driving this car, and I accidentally took the wrong turn."

Zhang Guoli and Deng Jie exchanged bewildered glances, wondering, "This should be Li Chengru's car, right? How come..."

"Now it's my car."

As Chen Hong walked toward the temporary costume tent, she explained, "The transfer procedures were completed yesterday, but I haven't had time to change the license plate yet—I didn't want to change it, but Zhang Yan insisted, and the price was indeed reasonable."

Mr. and Mrs. Zhang watched her enter the dressing room, and when they looked at the famous Mercedes-Benz W14 in Beijing, they were both a little dazed.

At this moment, Chen Hong suddenly poked her head out again: "By the way, Brother Zhang, I'll give you the keys to the Ford Tianba later. From now on, that Ford Tianba will be the company's car for you."

Zhang Guoli was a little flattered: "This...this isn't appropriate, is it?"

"Nothing inappropriate."

Chen Hong laughed and said, "My husband Zhang Yan said that the director is the most important asset of a film and television company. If you are respectable, then we can make our dreams come true with dignity."

Before Zhang Guoli could say anything more, she retreated back into the dressing room.

Deng Jie and Zhang Guoli exchanged another glance, then hurriedly went into the makeup booth. Deng Jie nodded to the new makeup artist, then leaned over to Chen Hong and asked, "What's going on with that car? Is Li Chengru getting a new car again?"

"Not at all."

Chen Hong whispered, "Actually, he just went bankrupt."

"what?!"

Deng Jie's mouth was practically big enough to fit a goose egg: "No way, isn't his job supposed to be making him rich? How could he suddenly go bankrupt?"

"I don't know the specifics, but it seems like they misappropriated funds to speculate in foreign exchange, and ended up losing everything. Now they're not only selling their car, but also their house. Zhang Yan and I even went to see it; it's right next to the Forbidden City."

However, we find parking difficult and strictly enforced nearby, so we're planning to buy a similar three-courtyard house in Xicheng and move all his rosewood furniture there—Zhang Yan is currently discussing this with him.”

Deng Jie was somewhat bewildered by this string of mundane words.

The new makeup artist's eyes lit up; she was already putting in a lot of effort, and now she unleashed her full power.

After Deng Jie realized what had happened, she chatted with Chen Hong for a few more minutes before going outside to tell Zhang Guoli what had happened.

Zhang Guoli sighed deeply after hearing this.

Ever since it opened in a prime location in 1990, it has always been the most prestigious shopping mall in Beijing. It is said to select its service staff according to the standards for selecting flight attendants, and there was even a news story about 5,000 girls applying for 100 job positions.

As a result, Li Chengru became one of the most famous billionaires in Beijing and was the envy of everyone in the entertainment industry.

Who would have thought that in just three short years, fortunes would turn around and a new generation would replace the old?

Finally, Zhang Guoli hesitated and asked, "Do you think I should take that car?"

"Why shouldn't you take it? It's not for you, it's just for you to use."

"But I'm always feeling uneasy."

"If we mess it up, we can just return the car."

The couple whispered to each other for a while, when Zhang Guoli suddenly felt something was wrong: "It's been over an hour, why aren't they out yet?" "Maybe the new makeup artist isn't very skilled yet."

Deng Jie glanced at the makeup studio and said, "Let's wait a little longer, there aren't many scenes left anyway."

And so, we waited for another half hour.

Chen Hong then stepped out of the tent, and the entire filming set was stunned the moment they saw her.

Deng Jie was the first to react. She secretly pinched Zhang Guoli, then went up to him and praised, "Your makeup today is absolutely stunning. Even Xi Shi reincarnated couldn't compare."

The scene we're filming today is about Li Fengjie, who has accidentally fallen into the water and suffered a miscarriage. She stands by the water, looking pale and sickly, when Emperor Zhengde discovers her and mistakenly believes she is about to drown herself.

Normally, looking haggard would make someone look worse than usual, but Chen Hong's appearance, while showing signs of illness and haggardness, actually made her look even more beautiful.

It is no exaggeration to say that Xi Shi held her heart in her hands.

Chen Hong was very satisfied with her outfit today, but she couldn't help but feel a little regretful—if Zhang Yan had invited Mao Geping earlier, she would definitely have been even more outstanding on camera.

After receiving praise from most of the crew, Chen Hong finally stood by the lake.

They first filmed a few seconds of close-up shots of the woman standing alone by the water, and then Emperor Zhengde, played by Zhang Guoli, rushed over in a flurry, surrounded by several eunuchs.

Seeing his beloved concubine standing by the pool, he instinctively wanted to call out, but he quickly held back and waved for the eunuchs to stay put.

Then he walked carefully to 'Sister Li Feng' and took her hand.

Li Fengjie turned around subconsciously, and Zhengde said to her affectionately, "If you jump, I jump!"

Emperor Zhengde fell into the water on his way to meet the Portuguese delegation. The plot had already been foreshadowed by Li Fengjie teaching Emperor Zhengde English, so this scene was not abrupt.

Li Fengjie burst into laughter, and her previously sickly and haggard appearance suddenly became as radiant as a summer flower.

Then she gazed affectionately at Emperor Zhengde.

"Don't leave me."

Emperor Zhengde held her hand tightly and said in a trembling voice, "Wherever you go, I will go. Even if it's the underworld, I will go with you!"

"Huzhao..."

Hearing this, Li Fengjie was naturally deeply moved.

Just as the two were spontaneously kissing [it was a trick shot], Li Fengjie suddenly looked at the pendant on her chest with a puzzled expression.

Zhengde also lowered his head in surprise.

[This scene shows the pendant suddenly glowing and enveloping the two people; special effects will need to be added in post-production.]

"Click~"

Deng Jie called for a stop, then gave a thumbs-up and said, "That part was really good, it'll definitely make those girls swoon!"

"really?"

Zhang Guoli, carrying the dragon robe, strode over and began operating the monitor.

Although monitors for filming have existed for a long time, they are still a novelty in China. Zhang Yan took into account that this was Zhang Guoli's first time directing, so he specially rented one from Hong Kong Island at a high price, so that Zhang Guoli could make timely adjustments.

Although the image isn't very clear, the general composition and colors are still present.

After watching the replay, Zhang Guoli had to admit that Zhang Yan was indeed quite skilled.

Half lake, half embankment, a concubine as beautiful as a fairy, an emperor who loves beauty more than his country, plus that English sentence that looks a bit awkward in the script.

The lake surface that was presented was surprisingly captivating.

Just ...

"Could we find a boat?"

He pointed to the screen and said to Deng Jie, "I think this scene would be even more impactful if it were moved to the bow of the ship."

So the production team was busy again, using their connections at the Beijing Film Studio to coordinate a flower boat, and then recreated the previous scene on it.

"If you jump, I jump!"

(End of this chapter)