Rebirth Starting as a Stock Market Enthusiast

Chapter 144 Zhou Wei

"It's still not eye-catching enough..." he muttered to himself. "I need to add a twist or a conflict..."

""

The office was quiet, with only the sound of keyboards clicking and the hum of the air conditioner.

Suddenly, he slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "I've got it!"

He immediately dialed Zhou Jiahui's number: "Jiahui, I think the copy needs to be revised."

"How should we change it?" Zhou Jiahui's voice sounded tired.

"We need to add a bit of contrast."

"Contrast?"

"Yes, let Teacher Song Ting lead the children in doing puzzles, but during the process, the children always steal potato chips." Qin Ziyi's speech became faster and faster. "When a child steals a chip, the parent will give them another one. This way, not only can we achieve the effect that Brother Fei wants, but the process will also be full of childlike fun and surprises."

After a moment of silence, Zhou Jiahui said, "This...this is good! I'll revise it right away."

The sound of keyboard typing came from the other end of the phone: "Okay, I'll revise it again."

The next day, in the classroom of Sunflower Kindergarten, sunlight streamed in through the windows, making the whole classroom warm and cozy. The walls were covered with the children's handicrafts, colorful and full of childlike fun.

Qin Ziyi sat on a small chair with a simple table in front of him, and a camera and a notebook next to him.

He rubbed his temples. He had already interviewed seven or eight people, but either their acting was too exaggerated or their appearance did not meet the requirements.

"Next," he called out, somewhat annoyed.

The door was pushed open, and a father and daughter entered.

The man was probably in his early thirties, wearing a simple T-shirt and jeans. He had a tall and upright figure and was estimated to be over 1.8 meters tall.

The little girl, about five or six years old, with two braids, stood quietly beside the man's legs, her hands tightly gripping the hem of her father's clothes.

"Hello," Qin Ziyi said, looking them over. "Why don't you introduce yourselves first?"

The man nodded: "My name is Zhou Wei, and this is my daughter, Xiaoyu."

Xiaoyu looked up at her father, then looked down again to pick at her fingernails.

Seeing his daughter's reaction, Zhou Wei paused, then added, "Her mother passed away last year from illness..."

"Do you have any prior acting experience?" Qin Ziyi asked.

Zhou Wei shook his head: "I've never officially acted, but I used to work as a stunt double in Hengdian." He paused, "I filmed some fight scenes and action sequences."

"A stunt double?" Qin Ziyi became interested. "Does he know kung fu?"

"I practiced Sanda and Wushu for a few years," Zhou Wei said casually. "But I stopped going later to take care of my child."

Xiaoyu suddenly tugged at her father's sleeve: "Dad..."

"What's wrong?" Zhou Wei squatted down and asked.

"I want to drink water," Xiaoyu said softly.

Zhou Wei took a water bottle out of his bag and handed it to her, saying, "Here, have a drink." Then he said to Qin Ziyi, "Excuse me..."

"It's alright." Qin Ziyi watched Xiaoyu obediently drink her water. "How old are you, little one?"

"Five years old," Zhou Wei replied.

"Do you have any special talents?" Qin Ziyi asked the little girl.

Xiaoyu shook her head: "I can draw..."

"How about you draw a picture for your uncle?" Qin Ziyi took out paper and pen. "Draw your dad."

Xiaoyu took the pen and began to draw, her movements serious and focused. Zhou Wei watched his daughter draw, his eyes tender: "After her mother left, she became very quiet...and didn't talk much."

"He died in a car accident last year," Zhou Wei said in a low voice, "leaving Xiaoyu and me to depend on each other."

Qin Ziyi nodded: "Would you like to try being in front of the camera? Shall we shoot a simple clip to try?"

Zhou Wei nodded: "Okay."

Qin Ziyi had the assistant director read her lines: "You play a father who has just come home from get off work and finds his daughter secretly crying..."

After filming began, Zhou Wei became noticeably nervous, and his movements were slightly stiff. "Dad's back..." His tone was a bit flat when he recited his lines, but his eyes conveyed a mix of exhaustion and tenderness. He portrayed the image of a father who was tired after get off work but tried his best to keep smiling in front of his children very realistically.

Xiaoyu's reaction was natural—she saw her father come home and immediately ran over to hug his leg, crying, "Daddy!"

"Stop!" Qin Ziyi shouted, "That's enough!"

He watched the playback: although the acting was slightly raw, it was natural and realistic; and Xiaoyu's performance was completely natural, conveying a very real and touching feeling of dependence mixed with shyness.

"Okay!" Qin Ziyi closed his notebook. "You guys are the ones!"

Zhou Wei was stunned for a moment: "Really? I...can we really do this?"

"That's right!" Qin Ziyi stood up and shook his hand. "We'll meet here again at two o'clock this afternoon."

2 PM, Sunflower Kindergarten Activity Room.

Wang Kai and two photographers had already set up the venue. Two cameras were mounted at different angles, and the lighting was just right, making the entire event room look like a professional photography studio.

A huge white canvas was laid out on the ground, and next to it were more than a dozen boxes of various flavors of Kobi potato chips, with the opened chips piled up into a small mountain.

Song Ting, dressed in a gentle beige knitted dress, had already become friends with several children in her class and was quietly instructing them on how to cooperate later.

Qin Ziyi was explaining the final details to Zhou Wei.

"Wei-ge, don't be nervous later." Qin Ziyi patted his shoulder. "Just think of it as playing a game with Xiaoyu, the more natural the better."

Zhou Wei nodded, but his clenched fists betrayed his nervousness.

As someone who works as an extra and stuntman, he's used to falling and rolling around in front of the camera. Asking him to act in such a delicate parent-child scene is even more difficult than being suspended by wires.

"Action!"

With Qin Ziyi's command, filming officially began.

Song Ting led the children to sit around the drawing board and gently guided them: "Children, today we'll use the best potato chips to create a picture to give to our parents, okay?"

"Okay!" the children replied in their childish voices.

The camera then switches to Zhou Wei and Xiao Yu.

According to the script, Zhou Wei should pick up a potato chip, smile and say to Xiaoyu, "Xiaoyu, look, Daddy will put together a star for you."

But Zhou Wei's hands were shaking a little. He picked up a potato chip with too much force, and "crack" he crushed half of it.

"Card!"

Qin Ziyi frowned and called for a stop.

He walked over to Zhou Wei and lowered his voice: "Brother Wei, relax, just play with your daughter, don't take the camera seriously."

Zhou Wei took a deep breath and nodded.

The second shoot begins.

The situation didn't improve much; Zhou Wei's expressions and actions still showed signs of "acting."

Qin Ziyi's brows furrowed into a knot.

Damn, did I misjudge him? This guy has terrible camera presence.

Just as Qin Ziyi was about to call "cut" for the third time, Xiaoyu, who had been quietly staying next to Zhou Wei, secretly reached out her little hand, quickly grabbed a chip from the pile of potato chips, and stuffed it into her mouth in a flash. Then, with her cheeks puffed out, she pretended to look at the drawing board as if nothing had happened.