Huayu 16: I Became the Dream-Fulfilling Master for Young Actresses

Looking at the girl's smiling face on the screen, Chen Xingzhou replied earnestly, "I'll keep my promise to you. I'll come see you in a while."

Tian Xiwei: [Brother Xingzhou, you're so handsome! You're now a star at Tongliang Middle School (๑❛ᴗ❛๑)]

All the girls in my class have a crush on you!

Chen Xingzhou was speechless. What's wrong with this girl?

Chen Xingzhou: [Go study hard, do you still want my surprise?]

Tian Xiwei: [Okay, so what's my surprise? Can I kiss you? (*^.^*)]

Chen Xingzhou: [Typing...]

Tian Xiwei: [Brother Xingzhou, I was wrong, I'll go study right away o(╥﹏╥)o]

After sending the message, Chen Xingzhou looked up and saw Wang Yanlin craning his neck to look at his phone.

However, he was very shrewd and knew how to navigate social situations, so he just glanced at him sideways.

After seeing that he had sent the message, Wang Yanlin jokingly asked, "How's it going, Commander Chen? Are the girls looking for you?"

Chen Xingzhou put away his phone, first shaking his head and then nodding, "I guess so."

Wang Yanlin smiled, put his arm around his shoulder, and said earnestly, "Brother, although I envy your good looks, don't use your face to mess around."

"I don't want to see the news one day saying, 'Chen Xingzhou, who plays Yan Xun, has been arrested.'"

Chen Xingzhou silently complained to himself.

It's more likely that he's been rumored to have illicit relationships with several female celebrities.

He then looked at Wang Yanlin and said, "Don't worry, I've always been a law-abiding citizen."

Wang Yanlin laughed and said, "Alright, let's go. The director said there's going to be a start-up banquet. We have to have a good meal, otherwise we'll probably be drained dry once filming starts."

"What kind of rubbish is that?" Chen Xingzhou muttered.

"Isn't that fitting?" Wang Yanlin retorted, his neck stiff with self-righteousness. "When I join the crew, it's all action scenes and all-nighters. It'll be hard to even get a proper meal. I'll be completely drained."

Hurry up, or even the braised pork knuckle will be gone!

Chen Xingzhou was amused by him, and the two walked arm in arm toward the banquet hall.

Upon entering, they saw that the main creative team's table was already mostly occupied. Wu Jinyuan saw the two of them and waved with a smile: "Xingzhou, Yanlin, come and sit over here."

As soon as Chen Xingzhou sat down in the empty seat, Zhao Liying, who was next to him, held up a glass of orange juice and smiled gently:

"Xingzhou, the release of the character photos today has successfully generated buzz for our show. You've done a great job."

"Sister Liying, you're too kind. It's the makeup artist who's really good; I'm just benefiting from her talent," Chen Xingzhou replied politely.

Li Qin, sitting opposite, nodded in agreement: "Many netizens are shipping Yan Xun and Yuan Chun's early scenes, which is putting some pressure on me now."

"Sister Lin, just act normally, I'll catch you," Chen Xingzhou replied calmly.

Li Lin looked up at Chen Xingzhou and smiled gently.

The group chatted and laughed at the table. The director briefly explained the filming arrangements, and the atmosphere at the opening banquet was lively and harmonious.

Wang Yanlin kept the atmosphere lively throughout the meal, toasting the director and pulling Chen Xingzhou to greet the seniors. The meal was a very enjoyable one.

……

A few days later.

Inside the palace walls of Hengdian World Studios, the filming location for "Princess Agents" was already filled with equipment.

The sounds of clapping boards, walkie-talkies, and shouts from the stage staff clearing the area mingled together, creating an atmosphere of intense tension.

Today's main focus is on the scenes between Yan Xun, Yuan Chun, and Yuwen Huai.

Chen Xingzhou had just changed into his princely robes, a moon-white brocade robe, when the makeup artist was fixing the stray hairs on his forehead.

"General Chen! Are you ready? I'm about to trip you up!"

A muffled voice echoed through the dressing room.

Looking in the mirror, Chen Xingzhou saw Wang Yanlin, dressed in the sinister makeup of Yuwen Huai, walking over with an ice cream in his hand.

Chen Xingzhou looked at his high-arched eyebrows and couldn't help but laugh, "Bring it on, or you'll get yelled at by the director for making mistakes and then blame the screenwriter for writing such a bad character."

Wang Yanlin patted his chest confidently: "Of course! I'll show you what the ultimate villain really is!"

Just as he was about to speak again, he saw Li Lin walking over, lifting the hem of her pink palace dress.

She had already finished Yuan Chun's princess makeup, with pearl hairpins in her hair, her eyebrows and eyes were delicate and pretty, and she was holding the script in her hand.

Seeing the two of them, she smiled and said, "You're both here! Perfect, shall we go over the lines again? I'm always worried that this scene won't turn out well, or that I won't get the tone and delivery right."

A hint of trepidation flickered in her eyes. This scene was about Yuan Chun protecting Yan Xun in front of Yuwen Huai.

If you're not careful, you can easily turn Yuan Chun's spoiled nature into tyranny, and her infatuation into being love-struck.

Chen Xingzhou noticed her concerns, took the script, and pointed to the line she had marked:

"Sister Lin, when you say that later, you don't need to deliberately use a harsh tone, and you don't need to act like you're baring your teeth and claws at Yuwen Huai."

It's meant to give off the feeling of "being afraid that Yan Xun will be wronged, so she grits her teeth and stands in front of him," with a bit of a young girl trying to appear calm.

Li Qin nodded repeatedly: "Yes! That's what I was struggling with. I was always afraid that if I acted too weakly, I wouldn't have enough presence, and if I acted too strongly, I wouldn't be likable. Now that you mention it, I understand."

After the two chatted for a while longer, the assistant director ran over, smiling and calling out, "Are you three ready? We're about to start filming!"

"Here it comes!" Wang Yanlin stuffed the last bite of ice cream into his mouth, his playful grin disappearing.

With a frown, Yuwen Huai sensed something was amiss.

He patted Chen Xingzhou on the shoulder and said, "General Chen, come on, get into character!"

The three followed the assistant director to the film set, where the other actors were already in place.

The production assistants were doing a final check on the positions of the pitch-pot and the table. Director Wu Jinyuan, sitting behind the monitor, gave them an "OK" sign.

Once everyone was in front of the marked camera position, the production assistant walked up to the camera with the clapperboard and shouted:

"Scene 30 of 'Princess Agents,' the first live-action shoot, Action!"

The crisp sound of the clapperboard fell, and the entire venue instantly fell silent.

In the scene, the Five Talented Men of Chang'an sit around a pavilion on Qujiang Pool, playing the game of pitch-pot.

Niu Junfeng, who plays Yuan Song, raised his hand to throw an arrow, but it grazed the mouth of the pot and missed, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

Wang Yanlin leaned back in his chair and chuckled. With a casual flick of his wrist, the arrow nestled steadily into the flask. He then looked at Chen Xingzhou: "Young Master Yan Xun is a nobleman of Yanbei, unparalleled in riding and archery. Why not show us your skills?"

Chen Xingzhou smiled faintly, took the arrow and threw it lightly, deliberately letting it miss the pot.

The laughter around them grew louder. Wang Yanlin curled his lip and said, "Pretending to be something you're not, playing dumb to fool others."

The voice just fell.

With a crisp "thud," an arrow pierced the pitch-pot.

Li Qin pulled back the veil covering her head, lifted her skirt, and walked slowly forward, a hint of petulant anger in her eyes:

"Yuwen Huai, whose bad reputation are you spreading now?"

She walked to Chen Xingzhou's side and stood there, glaring at Wang Yanlin: "That arrow just now was thrown by me. If you're so capable, why don't you have a contest with me?"

Chen Xingzhou turned his head to look at her, touched her wrist, and whispered comforting words.

"Utterly defiant."

Li Qin turned to look at him, her anger subsiding slightly, and whispered, "I just can't stand him talking about you."

As she spoke, she took another arrow and handed it to Chen Xingzhou, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "Brother Yan Xun, play a game with me and let him see."

Chen Xingzhou took the arrow and gently supported her wrist to help her adjust her posture: "Relax, just aim at the mouth of the pot."

Feeling the warmth on his wrist, Li Lin's ears grew slightly hot. He raised his hand as instructed, and the arrow entered the flask once more.

Seeing this, Wang Yanlin's face darkened, and he reluctantly shut his mouth.

Behind the monitor, Wu Jinyuan shouted with satisfaction into the walkie-talkie, "Cut! The emotion is right! One take!"