Huayu: This top star doesn't play by the rules.

"Card!"

As director Jiang Jiajun's voice fell, Chen Chao also stopped quickly, maintaining the posture of waving a fan, his posture upright and without swaying, waiting for the director's next instruction. At this moment, the hem of his moon-white brocade robe gently fell down due to inertia.

"Okay, that's a good take." Director Jiang peeked out from behind the monitor, gave him a thumbs up, and said with unwavering appreciation and satisfaction, "Not bad, Chen Chao, your eyes and movements were spot on, one take and you're done."

Upon hearing Director Jiang's words, the staff on set were not surprised, because this was not the first time the director had praised Chen Chao. Now everyone knew that Chen Chao was Director Jiang's most promising newcomer, and with his talent, he truly had a bright future.

Of course, everyone was surprised when they first heard Director Jiang praise Chen Chao. After all, no one expected that this newcomer, who was filming for the first time, could grasp the character of Ouyang Ke so accurately, and even get it right in one take under the strict Director Jiang.

Chen Chao casually closed the folding fan, let out a long breath, stepped out of the set, smiled, nodded in the direction of the director, and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Although several scenes have already been filmed, he always worries that he might not do a good job or that something might go wrong every time he enters the set.

On the other side, at the assistant director's call, the crew's makeup artist had already jogged over to touch up his makeup. Taking advantage of this time, he closed his eyes and quickly reviewed his performance in his mind to see if there were any shortcomings that could be improved.

Ouyang Ke is a highly controversial character in Jin Yong's novels. As the young master of White Camel Mountain, he appears to be a dashing, skilled, and elegant gentleman, but in essence, he is a morally corrupt, lecherous, sinister, and ruthless villain.

If you act too forcefully, you'll come across as overly greasy and exaggerated. But if you act too restrained, you'll lose the character's unique characteristics. So, it's indeed quite difficult for newcomers to play this role well.

However, Chen Chao is no ordinary person. After referring to the portrayals of Ouyang Ke by his predecessors, he also figured out some of his own style.

The character Ouyang Ke, whom he portrays, appears to be a nonchalant nobleman on the surface, but his eyes hide malice and ruthlessness. With just one look, he has brought the character to life.

"Drink water." A familiar voice interrupted Chen Chao's thoughts. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw a bottle of mineral water and a straw almost touching his face.

After taking the bottled water, Chen Chao finally noticed Meng Ziyi standing very close to him. She was carrying a white shopping bag and her face was filled with undisguised admiration. "You're amazing! Except for the first two times, you've basically gotten it in one take every time after that."

"I remember you weren't supposed to have any scenes today? Instead of taking a proper rest, why are you back on set?" Chen Chao quickly unscrewed the mineral water bottle, inserted a straw, and chatted with Meng Ziyi while drinking water.

"I'm here to observe and learn!" In response to Chen Chao's question, Meng Ziyi puffed out her chest and said confidently, "Watching the wonderful performances of my seniors can help me improve my acting skills."

Raising an eyebrow, Chen Chao's gaze shifted to the white shopping bag she was carrying. "If you're just observing and learning, do you need to bring your own snacks?"

"These are the practice props I prepared!" Meng Ziyi said seriously, hiding the white shopping bag behind her back, but her somewhat unfocused eyes had already betrayed her.

Chen Chao shook his head with a smile and didn't expose her clumsy lie. After the makeup artist finished touching up her makeup, he followed her to the rest area.

Chen Xingxu, who was sitting in a chair with his head down reading the script, noticed the two of them coming over, looked up and greeted them, and then continued to bury himself in studying the script.

After sitting down next to Chen Chao, Meng Ziyi first took out an orange from the bag and tossed it to Chen Xingxu, then took out another one and quickly peeled it.

When he saw that she hadn't shared any oranges with him, Chen Chao instinctively wanted to complain, but the moment he opened his mouth, a segment of orange was quickly stuffed into his mouth, silencing him.

"It's sweet and sour, this orange tastes pretty good." Chen Chao nodded in satisfaction as he quickly chewed a few times, feeling the sweet and sour juice burst in his mouth.

"Hehe, if it tastes good, eat more." After hearing Chen Chao's praise, Meng Ziyi shook her head happily and then continued to feed him.

Watching the two of them interact without any regard for the lives of others, Chen Xingxu shook his head helplessly, quickly scanned his surroundings, and took on the role of a sentry.

After finishing the orange pulp that Meng Ziyi had fed him, Chen Chao seemed to remember something, turned to look at Chen Xingxu, and asked with some confusion, "Speaking of which, where did Yitong go?"

Seeing that the two had stopped, Chen Xingxu also looked away and said somewhat uncertainly, "She was just rehearsing her lines with the assistant director over there."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Yitong appeared from around the corner, clutching the script tightly in her hand. Although she still had her usual gentle smile on her face, her emotions seemed to be a little off.

"What's wrong?" Chen Chao asked before Li Yitong could even greet her after she walked up to them.

Taking a deep breath and calming herself down, Li Yitong lowered her voice and said, "I just ran into that guy Yang Xuwen."

Blinking, Meng Ziyi, seemingly oblivious to everything, looked puzzled. "And then?"

"He asked me if I was free in the afternoon, wanting to rehearse a scene with me." Li Yitong paused, her expression somewhat subtle. "He said he wanted to rehearse the scene of 'Huang Rong's first appearance in women's clothing' with me."

Upon hearing her words, Chen Chao and Chen Xingxu immediately understood.

That scene was an important one for Guo Jing and Huang Rong. Huang Rong changed back into women's clothing and appeared on a boat on the lake. Guo Jing was stunned when he saw her in women's clothing for the first time. Later, there were scenes such as Guo Jing holding her hand tightly.

According to the script, there's nothing wrong with this scene, but if the actors have impure intentions, the atmosphere of the scene can become extremely ambiguous and awkward, or even offensive.

"His eyes look strange?" Chen Xingxu rarely asked this question, his tone tinged with coldness.

Although Li Yitong did not answer, her slightly pursed lips said it all.