CHAPTER 494: CHAPTER 383: THE NEW CREW (PART 4)

"What’s all this modesty?" Song Chi said, "Here’s a toast to you for ultimately taking on this film and offering me the greatest support. Director Kang, if you ever need me, just give me a call, and I will not refuse."

"Enough with flattery, I’m getting old, how long can I keep it up? All of you, in fact, are not bad, you’re good actors. Don’t forget to take on more projects like ’Heart Inquiry’ in the future, so you can go a long way. That includes you, Zhou Yun. You’ve been lucky, winning an award with just one film, but don’t get lost in it. There’s still a long road ahead."

Listening to Kang Xin’s advice, Zhou Yun nodded and stepped forward to embrace him.

"Thank you, Director. Without your guidance, I couldn’t have learned so quickly. I have great respect and love for you. Like Song Chi, if you need me, just call me any time."

Kang Xin patted Zhou Yun’s shoulder, "Work hard and keep pushing forward. The future belongs to the young. Strive to go international and show the world our Chinese film and television works."

Zhou Yun nodded and said, "Director Kang, even the longest-living turtle eventually reaches its end, but with our efforts, please continue to lead us forward."

Kang Xin smiled.

The meal was enjoyable for all guests.

"What a great era we’re living in now. You young people probably can’t imagine it, but back in the day when we shot a film, we didn’t have all these machines and equipment. The entire crew had only one camera — for close-ups, long shots, extreme close-ups, everything was shot by this one cameraman. So we had to rely on the actors performing over and over again; one scene could take half a day." As Kang Xin reminisced, he said with a laugh, "Now it’s so much better, with all kinds of equipment and a full range of professions, the division of labor is detailed. Actors just need to do their acting job, without worrying about anything else. Don’t go astray; just keep going steadily like this."

These words touched Zhou Yun’s heart and moved him.

Looking at Su Yan, he saw she was also listening intently.

Everyone left happily.

On the way home, Zhou Yun said to Song Chi, "It’s really not easy. Hearing Director Kang talk about the filming conditions back then, people in this industry really suffered a lot."

"Yeah." Song Chi, holding Zhou Yun’s hand and walking in the snow, "Do you know why I insisted on having Director Kang direct this film?"

"Because he’s Kang Xin."

"Of course, that’s one reason. But the most important point is I hardly hear any critique about my acting anymore. No matter how I perform, even when I myself feel it’s somewhat perfunctory, they still say I’m good. I really want to improve, so only directors like Kang Xin, who regard the work more important than anything, would continue to point out where I’m not doing good enough, where I need to be better."

Zhou Yun asked in surprise, "Really?"

"Mhm." Song Chi nodded, "Sadly, not many directors dare to tell me the truth now."

"Sigh, it’s true. After all, at your level, in most cases, you’re the most influential person on set, whether it’s the producer or the investor, they all defer to you. Even the directors don’t dare to offend you."

The two got into the car.

"I’m preparing to join the cast tomorrow."

"Alright, I’ll take you there."

"You free to do that?"

"No problem, ’Heart Inquiry’ is on track now, I don’t need to stay here for anything." Song Chi said, "Besides, it’ll be good for me to meet Director Xue Qin."

"She really has a temper, I’m giving you a heads-up."

"I know, I’ve heard you mention it countless times."

"And you still want to meet her?"

"If she’s a talented director, what does it matter if she has a bad temper?" Song Chi said.

Zhou Yun laughed.

In some ways, she was just like Song Chi.

So, the next day, Song Chi accompanied Zhou Yun to the film set to meet Xue Qin.

But they didn’t expect to accidentally witness Xue Qin in the midst of a temper tantrum.

Xue Qin was furious over the set design for the test shots scheduled for tomorrow, her tone sharp and critical. "Please, can you use your brains a bit? The place I’m shooting is supposed to be lived in by real people, not just for show. Why have you stacked so many cans so neatly? Are you setting up a supermarket for people to look at the shelves? Your homes are this clean, not even a table that’s losing paint? And does this room look like a couple’s place? It’s all full of women’s things. Where’s the man’s stuff?"

Xue Qin’s words spewed out as rapid as machine-gun fire.

Zhou Yun and Song Chi exchanged a look.

Zhou Yun whispered, "Now you know I wasn’t joking with you."

The person in charge of set design hung his head low, scolded by Xue Qin like a grandson, a tall man over 1.8 meters tall, kept nodding in agreement.

"Why is this so unprofessional?" Xue Qin slammed photos of the set onto the table, turned to look out the window, hands on hips, taking deep breaths.

"We’ll go fix it right now."

The person hurriedly grabbed their things and left.

Zhou Yun and Song Chi stood at the door, quickly stepping aside.

After the person left, Zhou Yun gestured with her eyes to Song Chi: Should we go in now?

She didn’t really want to be part of that bad luck.

Song Chi gestured with his eyes: Let’s wait a while.

So the two of them didn’t enter the room and walked away.

On the American side, the rental house scenes were set up inside a studio, prepared for indoor shooting, and then after that, they would fly to the United States to shoot the outdoor scenes. This could save on costs.

Zhou Yun and others walked past the studio, and by one set, the man who was just scolded bloody by Xue Qin was loudly instructing his subordinates to make modifications and adjustments.

"This indeed doesn’t look like it’s been lived in for a long time," Song Chi commented.

Zhou Yun sighed, "I don’t know why, but there always seem to be plenty of issues with set design, even though everyone has followed so many crews and should have a wealth of experience."

Song Chi: "That’s not necessarily true; every crew has different requirements, and to be honest, if this set were in a regular film, it would definitely pass muster."

The two were talking when suddenly someone called out Zhou Yun’s name.

"Zhou Yun."

It was Zhang Mo, the male actor playing her boyfriend Zhong Qiulai in the film.

"Hey, when did you get here?" Zhou Yun looked at him with surprise and asked.

"Yesterday. Ah, Song Chi is here too." Zhang Mo was pleased to see Song Chi and shook hands with him, "Are you going to make a cameo in this film?"

Song Chi shook his head and said, "I’m just here to drop her off."

"Zhang Mo," Zhou Yun introduced him to Song Chi, "plays my boyfriend in the film."

Upon hearing this, Song Chi’s eyebrows shot up.

Zhang Mo laughed heartily, emphasizing, "Just in the film, in the film."

"When are you leaving? If you’re free, how about we get a drink together tonight?" Zhang Mo asked Song Chi.

Song Chi replied, "I have to go in half an hour, let’s drink together another time."

Zhang Mo nodded, "The director was just asking when you’d get here. Have you met the director yet?"

Zhou Yun shook her head, "I was just planning to see her, but I didn’t go in because she was in a rage."

"Ah, probably mad about the set design again," said Zhang Mo. "I heard her go off on it this morning."

"Yes."

"Director Kang must be pretty annoyed too. The original set design team bailed last minute, didn’t show up, so a new team had to be found quickly. All the previous preparations were for nothing, and everything had to be adjusted from scratch," Zhang Mo explained.

Zhou Yun was surprised and asked, "Bailed? Why did they bail?"

"I heard they were snagged by another crew offering a higher price."

"No wonder," Zhou Yun suddenly realized, "I thought it was strange why the set wasn’t ready even the day before filming."