Huayu: Reborn in 97, transferring to the Central Academy of Drama's star-studded class

Wang Jiawei finally called, saying that Jiang Lai could join the film crew for shooting.

After greeting Andy Lau, the two agreed to meet again after filming was finished, and Jiang Lai returned to the film set.

It's still that old tenement building, and the same renovated floors.

The staff were setting up the lights and camera positions, while Wang Jiawei sat behind the monitor, flipping through the script.

"Director, I'm here." Jiang Lai walked over.

Wang Jiawei looked up, took out the script from his hand and handed it to Jiang Lai, "You should familiarize yourself with the lines first."

Jiang Lai nodded and walked over to the side to look through the pages.

The scene to be filmed wasn't the part where Jiang came to audition that day, but rather a conversation with Tony Leung. The most ridiculous thing is that he doesn't need to appear on screen; there isn't even a shot of his back.

Jiang Lai pursed his lips, feeling that he could have filmed this without even having to come himself.

Despite thinking this way, he still studied the script seriously. Although he knew the plot, it was a different feeling when it was actually his turn to act in it.

There's a saying online that Chinese people are unparalleled in their ability to express regret in their creative works, far surpassing other countries.

The film "In the Mood for Love" is a classic in this respect.

What kind of story does it tell? It's probably the story of a fellow traveler.

Tony Leung plays Zhou Muyun, who moves into an apartment with his wife. Coincidentally, Maggie Cheung plays Su Lizhen, who also moves into the same apartment with her husband, and the two families become neighbors.

As time went on, Zhou Muyun and Su Lizhen discovered a cruel secret.

Their respective partners secretly got together.

At first, Zhou Muyun and Su Lizhen were drawn to each other because of their similar experiences, as if they had found kindred spirits. To put it bluntly, they were both unwilling to accept being cheated on and sought some comfort.

The two were playing a role-playing game in perfect harmony. Well, not the kind of game that everyone likes to play, but rather imitating each other's cheating partners, trying to figure out why their loved ones were cheating.

Then, as they continued acting, their fake relationship became real, and they unknowingly developed genuine feelings for each other.

If Li An had taken the picture, the two of them would probably have slept together, but Wang Jiawei insisted on keeping their feelings hidden. He made sure they both understood that they liked each other, but he suppressed those feelings.

The movie's English title is "In the Mood for Love," which translates to "immersed in love."

It's enough that two people have loved each other; nothing else needs to happen, and no outcome is required.

It is precisely this restraint of wanting to say something but holding back, and the regret of wanting to wait for the end, that makes this cryptic film rank among the best in film history, and it has been a hit both domestically and internationally.

Jiang Lai plays the husband who cheated on Zhang Manyu.

As he read the script, he thought to himself, "If I had a wife like Maggie Cheung, wouldn't I be busy every day? Cough cough, how would I have time to cheat?"

Soon after, they were about to start filming. Jiang Lai and Tony Leung went into a room and nodded to each other politely.

Jiang Lai entered the room, and Liang Chaowei stood outside the door, his head down as if he was gathering his emotions.

The script supervisor ran over with the clapperboard, "Scene 278, first time!"

"Snapped!"

"Action!"

Wait a minute? How many shows?

Jiang Lai was still in a daze when Tony Leung started reciting his lines, "I'm so sorry to have asked you to bring a rice cooker from so far away."

Jiang Lai snapped out of his daze and quickly began to speak, "It was nothing, no need to be so polite."

Tony Leung paused for a moment, then asked, "I haven't paid you yet. How much is the rice cooker?"

Jiang Lai casually replied, "Your wife is already mine."

Tony Leung's expression changed slightly; his brow furrowed briefly before relaxing, as if he were trying to maintain a calm facade. "Is that so?"

"Didn't she tell you?" Jiang Lai's voice was natural, as if he had asked casually.

Tony Leung lowered his head, his gaze falling on the ground. "She's been working the night shift lately, and I was already asleep when she got back."

His voice was very soft, as if he were explaining something, or as if he were talking to himself.

"Working in a hotel is indeed very hard," Jiang said.

Tony Leung forced a smile and said, "Yes."

"Cut! Let's start again." Wong Kar-wai called for a stop.

Jiang Lai and Liang Chaowei exchanged a glance and had no choice but to start over.

"I'm so sorry to have asked you to bring a rice cooker from all this way."

"It was nothing, don't mention it."

......

"Click!"

"No, start over."

"Click!"

"One more."

The script supervisor came up and clapped the clapperboard again and again, and the two performed the scene repeatedly.

Jiang Lai was unsure whether it was his problem or Liang Chaowei's, and Wang Jiawei wouldn't say anything either, just kept calling for a stop and starting over.

He was puzzled that he, a nobody, was being tortured.

Jiang Lai lost count of how many times they had to do it. Every time they called "stop," Liang Chaowei's face darkened, and he became quite irritable towards the end.

Then Wang Jiawei said he would take a break.

Jiang Lai ran up to Zhang Manyu and whispered, "Sister Manyu, was my acting bad?"

Maggie Cheung laughed, "How could it be your problem if you don't even show your face? It's Wai-jai; the director felt his emotions were off."

Jiang looked at Tony Leung, who was standing on the sidelines with a cigarette between his fingers, head down, seemingly lost in thought. He looked extremely tired and dejected.

"That's how directors are when they make films. They like to tinker with things. You'll get used to it," Maggie Cheung whispered to Jiang Lai.

Jiang Lai's ears felt itchy from the heat, and he unconsciously turned to look at it.

She was wearing a dark green, low-cut cheongsam today, her hair was styled in an updo, revealing her fair neck, and she was so beautiful that it was impossible to look away.

"And besides, we've been filming this movie for a year already," she continued.

Jiang Lai was stunned. "A year?"

"Yes," Maggie Cheung nodded, "filming started at the end of last year."

Jiang Lai was speechless.

He used to spend several months on set when filming, which he already thought was a long time, but he didn't expect this film crew to be even more extreme, filming for more than a year.

"Directors often do this when making movies. Sometimes they shoot for several years, and sometimes they shoot footage for several months, but in the end, they might only use a few minutes of footage."

Jiang Lai finally understood why there were so many scenes. A typical movie only has around a hundred scenes, maybe a little over a hundred at most, but this one was almost three hundred.

At this moment, Wang Jiawei walked over to Liang Chaowei, said a few words to him, and Liang Chaowei nodded, took a deep breath, put out his cigarette, and walked back.

"One more take," Wong Kar-wai said.

Jiang Lai waved goodbye to Zhang Manyu and ran towards the room.

This time, Tony Leung's performance was noticeably better, with more subtle expressions, a slightly furrowed brow, evasive eyes, and a faint, bitter smile at the corner of his mouth.

Jiang Lai was puzzled as to what kind of pep talk Sunglasses Wong had given him.

"Cut! Passed."

Wong Kar-wai nodded in satisfaction.

Tony Leung seemed to have been drained of all his energy, and he slumped into a chair, closed his eyes, and let out a long breath.

After that, Jiang Lai had no more scenes. He stayed with the crew until evening before preparing to return to his hotel.

"Come on, wait a minute." Maggie Cheung jogged up to catch up.

Jiang Lai stood still and waited for the other person to come over. "What's wrong, Sister Manyu?"

"We're done working. Do you want to come play mahjong with us?"

"Playing mahjong?" Jiang Lai blinked.

"Yes, I've invited a few friends. Do you want to come?" Zhang Manyu said with a smile.

Jiang Lai thought about it and figured that going back to the hotel would be boring anyway, so he might as well play some mahjong.

"Okay, Sister Manyu, who are they?"

"Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui, Carina Lau are all there, but that guy Wei-zai isn't going."

Jiang Lai was stunned. Who?