Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 306 First Encounter with My Darling

In the makeshift rest shed set up by the film crew, Li Xuejian and Liu Shishi, having nothing to do, decided to go over their lines together and get into character. The two have many scenes together in the movie.

Holding the script, the leading lady recited her lines with focused concentration and expressive delivery, her clear voice echoing around her.

Li Xuejian sensed Liu Shishi's focus and dedication, and after carefully considering her points, he began to offer earnest guidance:

"Shishi, in the early days, Ms. Yang was an innocent and romantic young girl, just like you are now, in the prime of her youth."

Therefore, the dialogue during this period should not have such a heavy burden; it can be lighter and give people a sense of youth and vitality.

The emotional changes of a character should be a gradual process, not something that happens all at once. The character's state of mind at different times must be revealed slowly.

The eldest sister, having learned her lesson, said: "Okay, I'll try again."

After speaking, she took a deep breath, readjusted herself, and spoke again. Her light and cheerful tone seemed to truly transport people into the world of that young girl.

"Ruzi can be taught."

Li Xuejian nodded slightly, his eyes showing approval. Liu Shishi's progress was remarkable, and the emotions displayed in her lines were very fitting for Ms. Yang's age.

It's clear that the young girl had done her homework before coming to the film crew and had studied the character's mindset, so she was able to quickly get into character with just a little guidance.

"Teacher Xuejian, Teacher Liu Shishi, I apologize for disturbing you."

A deep, resonant voice interrupted Li Xuejian and Liu Shishi. The two looked up and saw Liu Ye, the actor who played the leader, walking towards them with a smile on his face.

"Hello, Liu Ye." Li Xuejian didn't put on airs as a senior. He quickly stood up and stepped forward to shake hands, showing the humility and outstanding demeanor of an older generation artist.

Liu Shishi also stood to the side and greeted, "Hello, Teacher Liu Ye."

Liu Ye was flattered and quickly grasped Li Xuejian's outstretched hands with both hands, shook them vigorously, and nodded to Liu Shishi in acknowledgment.

After exchanging pleasantries, the three sat down in the small rest shed.

Liu Ye was in high spirits. Upon learning that the two were rehearsing, he quickly joined in and played the part of his "lover" and "father-in-law".

Li Xuejian's acting skills need no further introduction; he is widely recognized as the pinnacle of the entertainment industry. Over his decades-long career, he has created countless classic roles and won numerous awards.

Liu Ye is equally talented. He graduated from the Central Academy of Drama and won the Best Actor award at the 01 Golden Horse Awards. His acting skills are superb, and he exudes a powerful aura when playing a leader.

This was the first time Liu Shishi had acted opposite two award-winning actors at the same time. Facing the vivid and lifelike performances of Li Xuejian and Liu Ye, she felt as if she were facing the real Professor Yang and her leader in his youth.

The two veteran performers' precise control of the performance rhythm and their rich emotional expression made the lead actress feel very strained and overwhelmed.

Li Xuejian, with his keen eye, observed the changes in Liu Shishi's facial expressions and understood that she was doing her best to immerse herself in the role of Ms. Yang.

Feeling both admiration and concern, she took the initiative to say, "Let's stop for a moment."

Commander Liu let out a long breath, only then belatedly realizing that his palms were full of sweat. He couldn't help but marvel at the power of a movie star, the sense of oppression was truly strong.

"It's too hot, Shishi is covered in sweat. There's no rush to rehearse. Everyone is on the set for the first time, so let's get to know each other first."

Li Xuejian gestured for the two to sit down again and handed Liu Shishi a bottle of mineral water from the small table.

"Thank you, Teacher Li."

Li Xuejian asked with a warm smile, "Has Shishi studied acting before?"

"I used to study dance, and it was by chance that I became an actress. Later, I studied acting with the company's acting teacher and Zhang Songwen, the teacher in 'Lurking'. Everything else I learned was by myself."

Li Xuejian nodded slightly; Liu Shishi's situation was pretty much as he had guessed.

Actors who are self-taught often rely on this clumsy method of frantically immersing themselves in a role. Although it can help them quickly get into character, it is easy to get into character but difficult to get out of character. If they cannot adjust properly, there will be strong aftereffects.

Liu Shishi was quick-witted. With two film emperors in front of her, they were the best acting teachers. She sincerely said, "I hope you two will give me more guidance when we film in the future."

"Shishi, you're too kind. Let's learn from each other." Liu Ye didn't dare to be arrogant. In today's entertainment industry, it's all about who's more popular. Although he's a movie star, he really can't compare to this young girl in terms of popularity and fan base.

Li Xuejian, being of a superior status, did not need to worry about traffic or popularity like Liu Ye. He nodded and smiled, "Since we are father and daughter in the drama, feel free to ask me, your 'father,' if you have any questions in the future."

It was meant as a joke, but Sister Yi suddenly had a flash of inspiration. She stood up, bowed to Li Xuejian, and sweetly said, "Master, I hope you will take good care of me in the future."

Li Xuejian quickly stepped forward to help Miss Liu up: "You silly child, I'm going to give you a red envelope for doing this."

Liu Ye, who was watching closely from the side, saw that Li Xuejian not only did not refuse, but also looked at Liu Shishi with affection, clearly willing to accept this female disciple. He couldn't help but sigh at the wonderful things that happen by fate.

Liu Shishi was overjoyed to see that Li Xuejian did not refuse, and her eyes narrowed into crescent moons with happiness: "Master, it is inconvenient for the crew to hold the tea ceremony in a couple of days."

Upon hearing that the young girl wanted to offer tea and formally become his disciple, Li Xuejian knew that she was serious and genuinely wanted to become his apprentice.

He immediately pondered for a moment, remained silent for a while, and then solemnly replied, "It is fate, so I will accept you as my female disciple."

Upon hearing this, the eldest sister's face instantly lit up with a bright smile: "Thank you, Master, for being willing to take me on as your disciple."

Liu Ye also offered her blessings at the opportune moment: "Congratulations to Teacher Xuejian and Shishi. A good teacher and a good student, their story will surely become a legend in the entertainment industry."

Before they knew it, the sun had climbed to its zenith, and it was lunchtime. Liu Shishi had her assistant bring over boxed lunches, and the three of them sat down around a small table to eat together.

Li Xuejian was overjoyed to have accepted a new, exceptionally talented disciple, and became quite talkative, recounting his twenty-year acting career in detail:

"After acting in 'Aspiration,' I'm not bragging, but I really became a household name and a sensation across the country. My popularity was no less than that of Huang Xiaoming and Qiao Zhengyu today."

The eldest sister smiled and said, "I understand! Master, you were the most popular male star back then, with unparalleled charm. You must have had many female fans."

Li Xuejian said with a proud tone and a touch of reminiscence: "Of course, in our time, we all wrote letters. I received letters from female viewers all over the country every day."

Liu Shishi covered her mouth and chuckled, "It's a love letter, isn't it?"

"Girl, don't talk nonsense!" Li Xuejian blushed and quickly changed the subject: "The film 'Aspiration' won me the Best Actor Award at the 9th Golden Eagle Awards. After that, the movie 'Jiao YL' was released, and I won the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards for Best Actor."

Recounting his glorious achievements over the past twenty years, Li Xuejian looked back at the present and realized that his former glory had faded, causing him to sigh deeply. "Don't just talk about me, Shishi, tell your master about your situation too, so that we can understand each other."

Liu Shishi nodded obediently and began to recount her experiences, starting from her entry into the industry in October 2004, to signing with Tangren Media in 2005, and including the roles she had played.

Liu Ye was secretly shocked. This person's resources were amazing. He was only 23 years old and he had become so popular.

Li Xuejian was very experienced, and he could tell from his apprentice's words that Miss Liu had a powerful background. In the entertainment industry, people usually play roles based on their personalities.

But with Liu Shishi, it's the opposite. She plays roles that perfectly suit her personality, such as national school beauties and ideal women. These roles are almost all tailor-made to match her own temperament and image.

Upon hearing further, he learned that Liu Shishi had already established her own studio, signed artists, and invested in TV series and movies. Even with his extensive experience, he was extremely shocked. His little apprentice was heading straight for capital!

After a long pause, he slowly said to his female disciple, "Shishi, you really are thriving!"

After recounting her experiences over the past few years, Liu Shishi felt somewhat dazed, as if she were in a dream. She realized that she had become so capable without even realizing it!

After the two finished speaking, Liu Ye naturally had to share as well. After organizing his thoughts, he recounted his experiences over the years since graduating from the Central Academy of Drama.

After lunch, the crew returned to their busy work, with the actors' main task in the afternoon being makeup tests.

Liu Shishi arrived at the film crew's dressing room and changed into a student outfit from the Republican era, as requested by the stylist.

"Yuanyuan, Xiaoxia, how do I look in this outfit?"

In front of the dressing mirror, Sister Yi, dressed in a simple student uniform, resembled a traditional Chinese ink painting, her figure slender, delicate, and graceful.

Her simple clothes, navy blue skirt, and white stand-up collar shirt seemed to pull her back to an era full of stories.

Liu Shishi lifted her skirt slightly, slowly turned around, and examined her Republic-era look.

The two assistants kept praising it. "It's so beautiful!" "Very gorgeous."

"Teacher Liu, this outfit really suits you. It has a unique charm and perfectly showcases the elegance of female students from that era." The stylist next to her stared intently at Liu Shishi, as if admiring a masterpiece.

Liu Shishi nodded in satisfaction, and while the stylist wasn't looking, she whispered to her assistant, "Take a picture secretly later and send it to me. I want Mr. Song to see it."

Jiang Yuanyuan understood immediately, gave an OK sign, and secretly took out her phone to capture the stunning moment of the top star.

Back in the morning rest shed, Liu Shishi changed her clothes and returned to the spot to continue asking her master for advice on acting techniques.

Li Xuejian was always responsive to requests and patiently answered all their questions.

As Liu Shishi listened to her master analyze the character's psychology, she would occasionally lower her head and ponder. Suddenly, the laughter of her two assistants interrupted her train of thought.

Her immersive mood was shattered, and the eldest sister frowned, looking at the two of them with displeasure: "Yuanyuan, Xiaoxia, what are you laughing at?"

Lin Xia quickly explained, "I'm sorry, Senior Sister. Yuan Yuan and I were just talking about Huang Xiaoming's new girlfriend. Her acting is so bad that Andy Lau disliked her. We didn't realize we were bothering you."

Liu Shishi was quite surprised to hear this: "Huang Xiaoming's girlfriend?"

Jiang Yuanyuan added, "Yes, her name is Yang Ying. Huang Xiaoming personally brought her to the film set this morning. She was acting opposite Andy Lau just now, and her acting was terrible. Even the director couldn't do anything about her. A lot of people from the film crew went to watch."

Liu Shishi became curious. How bad must his acting be to make even the usually good-tempered Andy Lau look down on him?

With this thought in mind, I decided to go and join in the fun and see Huang Xiaoming's girlfriend.

Seeing the girl's eyes darting around, Li Xuejian knew perfectly well that she had already set her mind on something. He himself was also curious to see what kind of actress could make even a superstar sigh and a director helpless.
"Let's balance work and rest, and go take a look together."

As the two assistants led the way, they introduced the scene with gossipy expressions: "Andy Lau plays a general, and Angelababy plays the general's concubine. It's a farewell scene, and both of them need to shed tears to show their reluctance to part, but Angelababy just can't cry."

"This shouldn't be too difficult, right?" Liu Shishi felt confident that she could do it; she had no problem with crying scenes.

The group soon arrived at a photography studio, where a number of people were already gathered around. Liu Shishi even saw several familiar faces.

After nodding in acknowledgment, the actress leaned out and looked into the studio, where she saw the famous Andy Lau standing there with a look of utter despair.

Director Huang Jianxin was sweating profusely and was speaking urgently to a young woman on set.

Liu Shishi thought to herself that this woman must be Yang Ying, Huang Xiaoming's girlfriend, whom the assistant had mentioned.

Upon closer inspection, the girl was indeed extremely beautiful, with delicate features; she was a charming and lovely woman.

On set, the director was already hoarse from talking, but seeing Yang Ying's bewildered look, he knew he was wasting his breath.

Andy Lau's expression gradually shifted from initial patience to speechlessness. This was the first time he had encountered an actress who couldn't even cry. She was like a block of wood, no matter what you said, she just maintained a calm and composed demeanor.

"Director, how about we film this scene when she's about to cry?" Andy Lau was at his wit's end. After so many takes, he had almost run out of tears. He had even used tear gas, but not a single tear came out.

Huang Jianxin felt that this couldn't go on any longer, so he gritted his teeth and used his trump card: "Stagehand, go get a bottle of eye drops."

A short while later, the production assistant returned to the studio with eye drops.

The director hurriedly ordered, "What are you standing there for? Quickly put the drops on Yang Ying!"

Liu Dehua was stunned by what he saw, but he was still comforting himself. With the extra tools, Yang Ying would definitely cry. He could finish filming this scene sooner and he wouldn't have to suffer so much.

The production assistant carefully applied eye drops to Yang Ying, who seemed to be trying hard to get into character. Seeing this, Huang Jianxin thought that if nothing unexpected happened, they should be able to finish filming this scene smoothly.

But an unexpected thing still happened: even after using eye drops, Yang Ying still couldn't cry!
"Drip it again, drip it a few more times!" The director scratched his head in frustration, looking extremely annoyed.

After one, two, three, or four attempts, half a bottle of eye drops was quickly used up, but Yang Ying's tears still hadn't disappeared.

Huang Jianxin looked at the nearly empty eye drops bottle in his hand and sighed, "Yang Ying, you've absorbed all the essence of these eye drops!"

After saying that, Director Huang himself was so angry at the absurd scene that he laughed. He wished he could personally take action and "bring tears" to the other party!
Hearing the director's humorous remark, Liu Shishi, who had been watching with great interest from the sidelines, couldn't help but burst into laughter.

(End of this chapter)