Rebirth 02, the Celestial Being Told Me to Stop Pretending

Liu Yifei stood still.

She forced back her tears, turned around and walked back into the laundry shop set, standing in front of the sink and looking down at her hands.

ten minutes.

twenty minutes.

Thirty minutes.

Everyone knows this can't be rushed, and urging it won't help.

She still couldn't get into the zone by the time she finished work.

Lu Chen didn't say anything more. He glanced in Liu Yifei's direction and then picked up the megaphone to announce that work was done: "Come early tomorrow."

Liu Yifei turned around, looked up at him, and didn't say anything more.

As Liu Yifei's agent, Liu Xiaoli naturally joined the cast of "Black Coal, Thin Ice".

She lived in a guesthouse next to the film crew's location. Every morning at six o'clock, she would get up to go to the market to buy fresh ingredients, and then go back to her room to cook with an induction cooker.

Every day at noon and in the evening, they would deliver hot meals to the film crew, including braised pork ribs, sauerkraut and pork belly hot pot, and hot soup noodles.

The crew members were embarrassed at first, but they got used to it later.

Liu Xiaoli saw everything while filming this scene.

She stood outside the film set, wrapped in a thick cotton coat, her fingers gripping the handle of the thermos tightly.

Her heart ached as if something was squeezing it.

She watched her daughter standing there, her fingers trembling, struggling to hold back her tears.

She watched as her daughter turned and walked back to the sink, head down, motionless.

She wanted to go up to her daughter and comfort her, to hug her and say, "Let's stop filming and go home."

But she knew that Lu Chen was right, and that he was right too.

If we don't get over this hurdle today, my daughter will be even less able to handle more complex roles in the future.

Liu Xiaoli woke up at five o'clock the next morning.

She got up and went to the market to buy fresh pork ribs and vegetables, then went back to her room and used an induction cooker to make a pot of soup.

It was still dark.

Liu Xiaoli carried the thermos to the entrance of the film set and saw Liu Yifei already standing in front of the sink.

She wasn't wearing makeup or costume, and she was holding a piece of paper in her hand, which was a short biography of Wu Zhizhen, covered with dense notes.

"Lu Chen, I understand now," Liu Yifei said, her voice a little hoarse. "Wu Zhizhen is afraid. She's afraid of being seen through, so she's pretending to be cold. Lu Chen, let's do one more take."

"Okay." Lu Chen picked up the walkie-talkie. "Everyone, get ready. Action."

Liu Yifei stood in front of the sink, head down, washing clothes.

Her movements were a bit heavy, one stroke at a time, and her knuckles turned white.

His eyes showed an instinctive fear and avoidance.

Lu Chen watched from behind the monitor, his fingers lightly tapping his knee.

"This one is approved."

Liu Yifei stood still, showing neither excitement nor agitation.

Tears instantly fell, splashing into the sink and creating a small spray.

Lu Chen stood up and walked up to her.

"Why are you crying?"

"You're too fierce. You weren't like this when you filmed 'Chinese Paladin' before." Liu Yifei's voice was a little hoarse.

"If I'm not ruthless, you won't remember."

Liu Yifei looked up at him, tears still falling. "You're so annoying."

"I know," Lu Chen said, "but you acted very well, very well."

As he spoke, Lu Chen reached out his right thumb and wiped away the tears from the corner of her eye, then stared intently at her face.

"Don't cry, Liu Yifei. Do you know the difference between being an actor and being a star?"

Liu Yifei looked up and met his gaze.

"What's the difference? Aren't they all the same? The famous ones are called stars, and the unfamous ones are called actors."

Lu Chen was momentarily speechless. "You're right, but you're talking about the public's opinion, not the actor's own."

Liu Yifei, turning into a curious child, asked, "What does that mean?"

"Actors rely on professional skills, while celebrities rely on personal charm and exposure. Actors create characters, while celebrities generate buzz. Actors pursue the artistic quality of their work, while celebrities pursue maximizing commercial value. An actor's value is determined by their work, while a celebrity's value is determined by their fans and data."

It's a slump (deliberately misspelled), and the marketing is down.

In his previous life, Lu Chen never understood why Yang, who had stinky feet, could be marketed so well. She had no talent or acting skills, and she was already 40 years old but still marketed herself as a young girl every day.

Do you know you're almost menopausal?

Lu Chen neither understood nor respected them, so they never collaborated.

And the sentence that left the deepest impression on me was, "Wait a minute, wlgn."

"Good actors often become stars, but stars can not necessarily become good actors."

"Can you tell me whether you want to be a star or an actor right now?"

When Liu Yifei heard him ask that, she wrinkled her cute hump nose and said, "Who do you think you are? Of course I want to be an actress. I also have artistic pursuits, okay?"

"Wow, that's amazing. But this road will be tiring."

Liu Yifei was amused by his exaggerated tone and pinched his side playfully, "I'm not afraid at all, okay?"

"As expected of you, I knew I hadn't misjudged you."

With tears still clinging to her eyes, Liu Yifei couldn't help but smile after hearing Lu Chen's encouragement. She turned around and walked back to the dressing room with light steps.

Wang Yan leaned closer and whispered, "Brother Lu, wasn't yesterday a bit too harsh? I think if you just explained the scene properly, Yifei would understand."

"I can't be ruthless. I can say it once or twice, but I can't say it forever. Her acting skills are still a little lacking. If I'm not ruthless, she won't be able to get into character."

"Xiao Lu, why don't you rest for a bit? I've made some soup, let everyone have some to warm up."

Lu Chen turned around and saw Liu Xiaoli coming over, accompanied by two stagehands carrying a bucket of soup.

"Auntie, you're up so early today." Turning around, she picked up the megaphone again. "Ten-minute break. Aunt Liu has made some soup for everyone. Have a hot drink before you get back to work."

"Wow, that's great!"

"Long live Aunt Liu!"

"Aunt Liu, your cooking is amazing," Liao Fan said, gnawing on a rib.

Liu Xiaoli smiled and said, "You guys work so hard filming, you need to eat something good." She then took a thermos from her bag and handed it to Lu Chen.

"Xiao Lu, these are freshly made dumplings. Here, have a taste. They're filled with sauerkraut and pork."

"That's great, I've been craving this for ages." Lu Chen didn't stand on ceremony, took the insulated box, opened it, and started eating.

Just then, Wang Yan suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Oh my, Director Lu is treating me to a special meal, letting me try some dumplings made by Aunt Liu." As she spoke, she reached out with her chopsticks to put dumplings into the insulated container.

Lu Chen slapped away the chopsticks that were being offered to him.

"Get out, get out, I don't have enough to eat yet."

"Brother Lu, you've changed. Have you forgotten that the dumplings you ate when we were filming 'Stone' in Chongqing were bought by me?" Wang Yan said with a resentful look.

"How can that be the same?" Lu Chen glanced at Wang Yan, but his left hand protected the insulated box even more tightly.

"Look at this guy, he's even possessive of his food while he's eating. I'm really impressed," Wang Yan said, turning to the group of people drinking soup.

Everyone just smiled and no one dared to respond.

Whether at the company or on set, only this head butler dares to joke with Lu Chen like that.

Liu Xiaoli was also very happy to see the two bickering, covering her mouth with a smile on her face.

"You two, don't fight over it, haha. Auntie will make you even more tomorrow."

She was genuinely happy.

She had worked with several film crews, but this was the first time she felt that Lu Chen's film crew was different from others.

The atmosphere is different, and so is the creative environment.

There were no more of the petty, underhanded incidents we had encountered before.

Male and female actors are not allowed to have contact alone at night; a third person must be present, except for him and Xiao Liu.

A separate smoking area was set up on set, and smoking was not allowed on set, especially in front of female actors and staff. Violators would be dismissed.

Of course, no one dared to break the rules, because Lu Chen and Ning Hao always smoked in the designated smoking area.

Oh, Ning Hao didn't stay long before leaving to continue preparing for his new movie.