Huayu: From "Good Fortune Across the Sky" to becoming a top star

Zhang Yimou's work schedule has been extremely packed during this period.

The "Yanjing Eight Minutes" segment at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the PyeongChang Paralympic Games, the post-production work on the film "Shadow," and the preparations for the cultural performance at the Qingdao SCO Summit... several major events overlapped.

He also plans to compete for the Berlin Film Festival in February 2019 with "One Second", so he often only sleeps three or four hours a day recently.

But once on set, he remained energetic every day, truly a model worker among great directors.

Jiang Xun and Zhou Dongyu's visit to the set did not disrupt his rhythm.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the crew continued working.

They're filming Zhang Yi's scenes now. It's the opening scene of the movie, where Zhang Yi is walking in the desert, rushing to see a film reel.

Under the scorching sun, Zhang Yi, wearing a tattered cotton-padded coat, trudged across the sand dunes, his steps uneven.

Inside the tent, Zhang Yimou stared at the monitor, occasionally turning his head to exchange a few words with Zhou Dongyu. Jiang Xun, being an outsider, was left to "go wherever it's cool."

He chose to stay in a corner of the tent with Liu Haochun.

Outside the tent, there was endless yellow sand and scorching sun. Inside the tent, although there was no sun, it was unbearably hot and stuffy.

Jiang Xun wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at Liu Haochun, who was looking down at the script beside him.

"Haocun, when will you be filming your movie?"

"It's still early, it might be next week." Liu Haochun looked up from the script and gave him a well-behaved smile.

"Aren't you hot wearing so many layers?"

"The director said this would help me get into character better."

Reversing the Heavenly Gang. Given your relationship, shouldn't he listen to you?

"Can you show me the script?" Jiang Xun moved closer to her.

Liu Haochun took a deep breath, put down the script, turned her head and looked straight at him: "Brother Jiang Xun, I am already eighteen years old. You don't need to talk to me like you're coaxing a child."

These words left Jiang Xun speechless for a moment.

He scratched his nose. With her makeup, Liu Haochun did look very young; it felt like he could pick her up with one hand.

So without realizing it, I treated her like a child. But thinking about it carefully, Jiang Xun was only a few months older than her.

"Let me see!" Jiang Xun changed his tone and stretched out his hand with a righteous air.

"This... the director won't allow it." Liu Haochun glanced at Zhang Yimou sitting in front of him, lowered his voice, and tilted his head slightly towards Jiang Xun.

"The Imperial Advisor's script, huh? I'm curious." Jiang Xun tilted his head as well. "Only heaven and earth know, you and I know."

"Alright then," Liu Haochun reluctantly agreed.

There was even a hint of a child giving in when an adult pesters them for a toy.

Then she moved her small chair closer to Jiang Xun, placing it perfectly between Jiang Xun and Zhang Yimou.

It's strangely cute.

Jiang Xun took the script, opened it, and saw that Liu Haochun's understanding of the character was written in red.

The handwriting is neat and beautiful, and each annotation is written carefully, showing that a lot of effort has been put into it.

Relying on his previous life's experience reading novels, he skimmed through the pages and finished reading very quickly.

The original script for this movie differed significantly from the version that was later released, with many explicit scenes being cut.

"What do you think of this script?" Liu Haochun raised his chin slightly, his tone carrying a hint of pride.

"It's alright." Jiang Xun handed the script back to her.

"It's alright?"

"It's alright."

Liu Haochun pursed his lips: "Didn't you understand the script? Let me explain it to you again."

"No one understands scripts better than me."

Liu Haochun stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly felt extremely resentful.

She waited several years for this movie, putting in countless hours of effort and dedication, controlling her diet every day, repeatedly studying the character, and practicing her expressions in front of the mirror again and again.

"Is the movie you're going to make, 'Better Days,' really good?"

"Not bad, better than yours."

Liu Haochun paused for a moment, then couldn't help but cover his mouth and chuckle softly.

She wasn't angry anymore; instead, she gave Jiang Xun a nickname in her mind—"Not Bad Bro."

"Then let me see your script." She stretched out her hand, tilted her head back, and spoke with a hint of arrogance.

"Add me on WeChat, and I'll send you the electronic version." Jiang Xun said, opening WeChat, displaying the QR code, and handing it to her.

"Is this... alright? Aren't scripts usually kept secret?"

Although Liu Haochun said that, his actions betrayed him. He took out his phone, scanned the QR code, and added the friend.

"Of course, every script is a company secret, its confidentiality level is only one level lower than that of a college entrance exam paper."

Jiang Xun boasts without thinking; he's never even taken the college entrance exam, and he's heard that the exam papers are top-secret.

"But I trust your character. You won't spread rumors and cause me to lose the male lead, will you?"

"Of course not! I'll delete it after I read it, and I absolutely won't let anyone else see it or tell anyone else."

"Then you have to go to the cinema to support me when the movie is released."

"We've booked the entire venue!"

Jiang Xun gave her an OK sign.

Outside the tent, the drama in the desert continues.

Just then, a staff member rushed in in a panic.

"Director, a sandstorm is coming!"

Zhang Yimou frowned, got up and went outside to check the sky.

In the distance, yellow sand swirled, a vast expanse of yellow, pressing in menacingly towards them.

He picked up the walkie-talkie: "Stop filming, let Zhang Yi rest first, everyone else protect the equipment and be careful."

The walkie-talkie immediately crackled with a series of buzzing sounds: "Received! Received, Mr. Zhang Yi!"

The sandstorm came quickly and soon hit the film crew.

The tent was also blown about by the wind, bulging with large bulges, almost being overturned.

Jiang Xun wasn't idle either; he went out with the others to help set up the tents.

Liu Haochun also squinted and ran out to help.

"Don't come out, or the wind will blow you away again," Jiang Xun shouted to Liu Haochun.

"Looking down on people? I'm strong too!" Liu Haochun raised her sweet voice several octaves without any politeness.

"Okay, okay, you're awesome."

After a long while, the wind gradually weakened.

When everyone returned to the tent, the huge sun had completely disappeared.

The effect Zhang Yimou wanted for this scene was the scorching sun, the air distorted by the heat, and Zhang Yi's resolute loneliness as he walked alone in the desert.

"When will the sun come out?" He looked up at the sky, his brows furrowed.

The stagehand replied, "It'll probably be a while. The sandstorm has passed, but the sky hasn't completely cleared up yet."

In the distance, the desert is still filled with yellow sand.

"Then let's wait."

After waiting for a long time, although the sandstorm gradually subsided, the sun still showed no sign of coming out, and an anxious atmosphere immediately settled in the tent.

Not right.

Jiang Xun had seen "One Second". He recalled carefully that in the original movie, Zhang Yi did not appear under the scorching sun in the opening scene, but under a sandstorm.

Think no more.

He stood up and walked towards Zhang Yimou.

"Director Zhang," he said, squatting down beside Zhang Yimou.

"Mm," Zhang Yimou responded.

"Why not let Zhang Yi try filming in a sandstorm? He walked into a sandstorm alone just to see his daughter on screen for that one second. This process of confronting nature might be more powerful and moving when filmed."

After Jiang Xun finished speaking, Zhang Yimou thought for a few seconds, and then his eyes became brighter and brighter.

"That makes sense," he nodded. "We can give it a try."

He then picked up the walkie-talkie: "Tell Teacher Zhang Yi to get ready and try filming a scene in the sandstorm."

"Received, received."