Seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune, I became a legend in the entertainment industry by avo

Chapter 189 Interacting with other actors in the crew

Zhang Qilin thought for a moment and said, "Yes."

"How far?"

"The rest is not about experience and training."

"Then what do we rely on?"

"Standing amidst true ruins, you naturally disappear."

Zhang Yi nodded and said nothing more.

He turned to look at the monitor, where the screen was replaying the footage of Zhang Qilin walking into the shed.

He pressed pause, and the image froze at the moment Zhang Qilin stood backlit.

Zhang stared at the frozen image on the monitor for a long time before slowly looking away: "Alright, go remove your makeup. You've worked hard today."

Zhang Qilin nodded and turned to walk towards the dressing room.

When I returned to the dressing room, the costume designer was still there.

He was squatting in the corner organizing a box of prop grenades when he heard the door open. He looked up and saw Zhang Qilin walking in fully equipped, and paused in his work.

"You're back?" The costume designer stood up, brushing the dust off her knees. "What did Director Zhang say?"

"It's alright," Zhang Qilin replied with a smile.

The stylist looked him up and down, seemed to want to say something, moved her lips but ultimately didn't say anything.

He simply walked over to Zhang Qilin and reached out to help him unfasten the scabbard at his waist.

But the moment his fingers touched the buckle, Zhang Qilin had already unfastened it himself, so fast that he didn't even see it.

"I can do it myself," Zhang Qilin said, placing the bayonet sheath on the shelf.

Then remove the water bottle cap and ammunition box —

Take each item off one by one and put each one back in its original place.

When he hung the coat back on the hanger, he made sure to smooth out the collar.

The costume designer stood by and watched, and that indescribable feeling welled up inside her again.

This person put it on with effortless grace, and took it off with the same ease.

Zhang Qilin put the last piece of equipment back in its place, picked up his jacket from the hanger and put it on. He turned around and nodded to the costume designer: "Costume designer, thank you for your hard work."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all," the costume designer quickly waved her hand.

He hadn't done anything, but Zhang Qilin's words made him feel a little embarrassed.

Zhang Qilin turned and left, while the costume designer stood there, staring at the closed door.

He glanced at the clock on the wall. From the moment Zhang Qilin entered until he left, the entire process of dressing and undressing took less than twenty minutes.

He shook his head, squatted down to continue sorting through the box of grenades, and muttered something only he could hear.

It was already dark when Zhang Qilin came out of the photography studio.

In January, it gets dark early in Nanjing.

The Shiqiu Film and Television Base covers a large area. There is a distance between the studio and the "Happiness Villa" living area. The crew arranged for electric vehicles to pick them up and drop them off, but Zhang Qilin did not ride them.

He wanted to take a walk.

Walking north along the road inside the base, passing through an empty area where sets haven't been built yet, you'll see the 50-acre outdoor filming location.

The entire scene was obscured by the darkness, but the outlines of the buildings constructed in the style of Nanjing in the 1930s were still faintly visible.

Happiness Villa is located right next to the filming location. The two small buildings are connected together, and the exterior walls are painted a warm yellow.

Although it's called a resort, it's actually a hotel where the film crew stays.

Built to four-star standards, the conditions aren't luxurious, but they're sufficient for an actor who will be on set for more than two months.

Zhang Qilin walked to the lobby entrance and checked in.

The receptionist smiled and handed me a room key: "Your room is 302, here is your room key."

Zhang Qilin accepted it: "Thank you."

He took his luggage and went upstairs.

The hallway was quiet, and the corridor lights were a warm yellow.

Zhang Qilin walked to the door of 302 and was about to swipe his card to enter when the door of 301 next door suddenly opened.

A dark-skinned, short-haired middle-aged man poked his head out, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

"Oh, new here?" The man looked him up and down.

Zhang Qilin recognized the other person.

Huang Haibo.

He's thinner than he looks on TV, and although his voice isn't loud, it's full of energy.

"Hello, Teacher Huang, I am Zhang Qilin, playing the role of Instructor Li," Zhang Qilin politely extended his hand.

"Don't call me teacher, just call me Brother Bo," Huang Haibo said, shaking hands with Zhang Qilin in a very familiar manner. "Did you just arrive today?"

"I arrived in the morning and went to try on makeup in the afternoon."

"How's it going? That gear is heavy, isn't it?" Huang Haibo grinned mischievously. Zhang Qilin smiled and replied, "It's alright, I don't feel it's that heavy."

Zhang Qilin's words startled Huang Haibo, who couldn't help but look Zhang Qilin up and down again.

He took the cigarette out of his mouth: "Don't force yourself, bro. I've tried that gear on; it weighs forty or fifty pounds. You think you don't feel it?"

Zhang Qilin said earnestly, "It really doesn't weigh much."

Huang Haibo put the cigarette back in his mouth and mumbled, "Fine, you've got guts. The restaurant's open for dinner, so put your things down and go eat."

Zhang Qilin responded and swiped his card to enter the room.

302 was a suite, much more spacious than he had expected.

Zhang Qilin put down his luggage, washed his face, and changed into clean clothes.

He went out the door and walked downstairs.

As he was walking downstairs, he heard a voice behind him say, "Hello."

Zhang Qilin turned around and saw a handsome boy.

Seeing Zhang Qilin stop, the boy quickly walked up to him and extended his hand: "I'm Dou Xiao, we met at the airport."

Zhang Qilin shook hands with Dou Xiao, thought for a moment, and remembered the tall man standing behind him when he last met Zhang Yimou at the airport.

He smiled and replied, "Oh, I remember now, you're in this film crew too?"

Dou Xiao nodded, smiling brightly: "Yes, it's quite a coincidence to meet you here again. I play a soldier in the play."

"That's quite a coincidence."

The two walked toward the restaurant while talking.

The restaurant is self-service; the film crew has booked the entire place, and there are already quite a few people inside.

As soon as Zhang Qilin and his companion entered, they heard someone calling their names.

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw Huang Haibo sitting with some other people at a large round table by the window.

Those people sitting at that table were all familiar faces to viewers in front of their televisions.

Huang Haibo called out to him, "Come sit down after you're done."

Zhang Qilin nodded, and together with Dou Xiao, they took the food and sat down at Huang Haibo's table.

Huang Haibo took the initiative to introduce them: "Qin Hao, Nie Yuan, Gao Hu, and Lai Xi, you will all work side by side in the play and take care of each other. This is Zhang Qilin, who plays Instructor Li. He just arrived on set today and went to try on his makeup this afternoon."

Several people greeted Zhang Qilin, and he responded to each of them.

After Zhang Qilin sat down, Huang Haibo spoke up again, "Everyone has tried on that gear, but this brother says it's not heavy."

The people at the table all turned to look at Zhang Qilin.

Nie Yuanzheng, who was drinking soup, looked up when he heard this and sized him up: "Forty or fifty pounds of stuff, don't you feel anything?"

Zhang Qilin smiled and said, "I spent two months in the army before, so I'm used to it."

There was a moment of silence on the table.

Nie Yuan's hand, holding the soup bowl, froze in mid-air. He stared at Zhang Qilin for two seconds: "Two months? Director Zhang arranged it?"

"Yes," Zhang Qilin replied briefly.

Huang Haibo stubbed out his cigarette and asked curiously, "What kind of training did you do in the army? I also tried it when I was filming 'The Indelible Number,' but it was still very heavy."

"We've practiced all the basics," Zhang Qilin said, "including drills, physical fitness, tactical maneuvers, weapon assembly and disassembly, and weighted cross-country running."

"How much weight are you carrying?"

"Thirty kilograms, ten kilometers a day."

The table fell silent again.

Dou Xiaogang held a piece of pork rib he had just picked up to his mouth, staring blankly at Zhang Qilin for a long while before finally saying, "—Every day?"

Zhang Qilin nodded, offering no further explanation.

Nie Yuan became interested: "Which unit?"

"A special operations unit."

Nie Yuan, who had briefly served in the military, nodded: "Carrying 30 kilograms of weight for 10 kilometers was just a daily routine there."

"Daily routine?" Huang Haibo's voice rose half an octave. "Back then, I'd almost collapse after running five kilometers with a backpack."

.

Gao Hu sat opposite him without saying much, but his eyes kept looking at Zhang Qilin.

Qin Hao put down his chopsticks and finally spoke: "So what did Director Zhang say during your makeup test?"

Zhang Qilin thought for a moment and said, "He said it's okay."

Qin Hao's lips twitched slightly, it was hard to tell if it was a smile or not: "Director Zhang, three words are already too many when praising someone."

Lai happy had been listening with a smile, but couldn't help but interject, "So, after two months of training in the army, you think our filming later on will be a piece of cake?"

Zhang Qilin shook his head: "It's different. Military training is for survival."

Upon hearing this, Huang Haibo slammed his hand on the table and said, "That makes sense. Lai happy, listen to this. This is a wise person."

Everyone at the table laughed.

After laughing, Huang Haibo took out a cigarette and lit it: "Well, this meal was worth it. We got a real expert. When you're filming those street fighting scenes, you'll have to bring us ordinary folks along."

Just then, another group of people entered the restaurant.

They were all young women, of varying heights and weights.

They walked in chatting and laughing, attracting many people to look up.

Huang Haibo gestured with his chin in that direction: "Those ladies are our Thirteen Beauties."

Zhang Qilin looked over.

The girl walking at the front was tall with long hair, and she was talking to the person next to her with her head down.

"That's Ni Ni, she plays Yu Mo," Nie Yuan whispered from the side. "Director Zhang spent more than half a year casting her. Before that, nobody knew what role she would play. They only gave her the script after signing a confidentiality agreement."

Ni Ni seemed to sense the gazes directed at her and looked up.

Her gaze swept over the male actors, finally landing on Zhang Qilin's face, where she paused for a second.

Zhang Qilin did not dodge, but nodded slightly as a greeting.

Ni Ni nodded as well.

"The one with short hair next to her is Zhang Xinyi, playing Shujuan. She's only fifteen," Huang Haibo continued. "And the one in the red sweater is Li Chun, playing a top courtesan on the Qinhuai River—"

Dou Xiao asked in a low voice, "Do they also have to train?"

“Training,” Nie Yuan said, “the way she walks and the tone of her voice were all taught by a teacher. After all, she was a woman from the banks of the Qinhuai River in the 1930s, which is different from now.”

Huang Haibo stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and stretched. "Alright, let's not talk about them anymore. If we keep talking, people will think we're gossiping about something behind their backs. Let's go back and rest after we finish eating. We have training tomorrow."

The people at the table got up and left.

Over the next few days, Zhang Qilin and the other actors underwent training with special forces instructors hired by the production team.

Zhang Qilin didn't stand out much; he always followed the crowd.

Huang Haibo asked him privately, "You've really trained before?"

Zhang Qilin smiled but didn't reply.

A few days later, the remaining actors who played soldiers in the training corps joined the crew.

Zhang Qilin recognized those faces from the Beijing People's Art Theatre.

Zhang Yimou gathered everyone together and announced only one thing: "Tomorrow, the war scenes will begin filming."