I really didn't intend to make a living based on my looks.

As soon as it was light, the film crew had already set up an offering table in the square of the scenic area.

The red velvet cloth was laid out flat, and the statue of Guan Yu was placed upright in the center, with the incense burner, red candles, and three sticks of incense arranged in order.

There were only three offerings: apples, oranges, and dragon fruit.

There was no roast suckling pig, no fancy displays; Kong Sheng's style was quite pragmatic.

Moreover, he didn't like standing in the center position. The production manager called for all departments to line up, with the producer, production manager, director, lead actors, main creative team, and representatives from each department arranged in order according to industry norms.

Kong Sheng was pushed to the front row, but he took a half step back, letting Hou Hongliang stand in the middle.

Jiang Chen stood in the row of main actors, with Yang Mi on his left and Chen Weiting on his right.

The last time he attended a launch ceremony was last July. He stood at the very back of the crowd, not even touching the edge of the front row.

This time, he finally got to stand in the front row.

Yang Mi was wearing a white dress, sunglasses pushed up to her head, and her little mouth kept chattering in his ear.

"Not bad, little brother, you've already got it all figured out in just a few months, and you're on par with your older sister here!"

Jiang Chen stared blankly ahead. "Mimi, what are you saying? How can you say we're on equal footing? Haven't you always been on top?"

Yang Mi: "..."

That bastard's mouth is even more venomous than hers, and he drives so fast that sometimes she can't even react...

The auspicious time has arrived.

The production manager called out "Offer incense," and everyone stepped forward in turn.

After the group of big shots finished their turn, it was the lead actors' turn. Jiang Chen and Yang Mi stepped forward side by side, each took three incense sticks, lit them, bowed to the four directions, and inserted them into the incense burner.

Jiang Chen's movements were very standard, neither hurried nor slow. Yang Mi was half a beat faster than him. After inserting the incense, she took a step back and accidentally stepped on his foot.

He whispered "I'm sorry," but there was no remorse in his voice.

After the group photo, we got right to work.

The dressing room was in complete chaos.

Jiang Chen sat in front of the mirror as the makeup artist applied his base makeup, drew his eyebrows, and put on a wig.

The makeup and styling for fantasy dramas are much more complicated than for regular dramas, and it's very time-consuming to do.

Just applying a matte base makeup that matches the lighting requires multiple layers and repeated setting to prevent it from looking oily and fake on camera.

To create Baili Tusu's high and sharp eyebrows, the makeup artist had to repeatedly compare the angle of the brow peaks and even finely adjust the curve of the eyeliner, for fear of losing the character's cold and aloof demeanor.

The most time-consuming part was the ancient costume headdress. The glue was applied to fit the hairline, the hair was combed and styled into a half-up, half-down look, and the stray hairs on the forehead had to be styled one by one to make them look natural. This one part alone took nearly an hour and a half.

Once the base makeup, eyebrows, eyes, and headpiece are all finished, putting on the costume is even more troublesome.

The inner garment and the outer robe, a long robe interwoven with black and navy blue, were layered one on top of another. The embroidered patterns on the collar and cuffs were thick and stiff. Just the stylist spent another twenty minutes working on the complete set of accessories, such as tightening the wide waist belt and hanging the Burning Sword.

It took Jiang Chen almost two hours from sitting in the makeup chair to completely changing her look, and her back was a little stiff when she stood up.

However, the effect was quite good when he came out.

As soon as the dressing room door opened, the two female stagehands who were chatting over coffee in the hallway simultaneously fell silent, their eyes glued to him, unable to look away.

A young woman from the costume department was carrying a stack of costumes when she passed by. She tilted her head and stared at them for several seconds, almost bumping into a pillar.

What a handsome young man!

His dark robe accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist, while the dark blue embroidered patterns shimmered faintly in the light. The Burning Sword hung at his waist, its tassel dangling and swaying gently with his steps.

Her long hair, half-tied and half-loose, hung down her shoulders, and a few wisps of hair in front of her forehead were blown by the wind in the corridor, revealing her forehead and her slightly upturned eyebrows.

So handsome! Absolutely so handsome!

Yang Zi, who has a bowl-cut fringe, watched with shining eyes!

My own Xiao Chenzi is still the most handsome. Those so-called "Four Beauties of Tianya" are just a bunch of worthless bastards, not even worthy of carrying my Xiao Chenzi's shoes!

In the first scene, Baili Tusu practices his sword on the summit of Kunlun Mountain.

There are no lines, no scenes with other actors, only action.

The scene was set on the hillside behind the Qin Palace. The crew laid out a bluestone path and built stone pillars and a sword platform in advance.

Martial arts instructor Chen Weitao stood next to Jiang Chen, demonstrating the moves to him.

The four movements—starting stance, turning, thrusting the sword, and sheathing the sword—must be performed in one smooth motion.

Jiang Chen practiced more than a dozen times, gradually improving his movements from stiff to fluid, before Chen Weitao finally nodded in approval.

Kong Sheng sat behind the monitor and called out, "Start."

Jiang Chen stood holding his sword, a corner of his robe fluttering in the wind.

He began, the tip of his sword tracing an arc, then turned, his robes fluttering, thrusting his sword straight, his gaze sharp, before sheathing it cleanly and swiftly.

Kong Sheng stared at the monitor but didn't call for a halt.

After a few seconds, he picked up the walkie-talkie and said "over".

There was a moment of silence, then someone whispered, "One take."

Jiang Chen sheathed his sword and stood there catching his breath.

Filming has finally begun...

Filming fantasy dramas is much more troublesome than filming urban dramas; just the wire work alone is enough to cause a lot of trouble.

With a steel wire around their waist, a person is suspended seven or eight meters in the air, swaying in the wind, yet still forced to strike a pose with flowing robes and an ethereal air.

When Jiang Chen was hoisted up for the first time, he spun around twice in the air and almost crashed into the light fixture next to him. Kong Sheng shouted from below, "Hold on! Hold on!"

Jiang Chen was speechless. "Steady my ass, you try coming up here yourself."

In July, the ground temperature in Hengdian was 40 degrees Celsius. Even wearing a short-sleeved shirt felt too heavy. He was wrapped in three layers of costumes, with a thick belt tightly around his waist, and the wig was so thick that his hairline was almost suffocating.

When filming an outdoor scene, sweat would stream down your neck, and your costume would get wet and dry repeatedly. When you took it off and wrung it out at the end of the day, you could wring out a puddle of water.

Most importantly, although he's the male lead, he doesn't have a management company, an agent, or an assistant...

But Jiang Chen wasn't just messing around; he had Zi Mei!

"Purple Girl, water."

"Purple Sister, the fan."

"Purple Girl, why is the coffee hot? Are you trying to scald me to death?"

Yang Zi, sporting a silly-looking bowl cut fringe, is practically numb from being bossed around so much!

On the first day, they were running around enthusiastically, but on the second day, they started rolling their eyes like crazy, and on the third day, they simply quit and went on strike.

"Don't you have hands? I'm a child star, and you actually want me to be your assistant? How dare you!"

"You audacious servant, have you forgotten who arranged your audition?"

"Tch... I'm already on set, what are you going to do about kicking me out? I'm not putting up with this anymore!"

She flung the towel she was using to wipe her sweat directly at Jiang Chen's face, giggled, and ran off, her bowl-cut bangs fluttering wildly in the wind...

Jiang Chen slumped in the lounge chair, watching her retreating figure, and sighed helplessly.

Just as she finished sighing, Yang Mi strolled over, gloating, "Your little maid ran away?"

"There's a strike."

"Now you know how good your older sister is, right?"