Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

"Heart-fluttering?"

Pei Muchan paused for a moment, glanced at him, and said nothing. It wasn't the right time to say anything; instinctively, she wanted to avoid this embarrassing topic.

"What are you guys talking about?" Shen Jinyue came over.

Xu Qingyan looked at Shen Jinyue. It took a lot of effort to maintain his director's composure, which was almost shaken. He suppressed the urge to bicker with her and coughed.

"We're discussing serious matters. We didn't manage to shoot the 'heart-fluttering' look scene."

"Heart-fluttering?" Shen Jinyue's pink bun wobbled, always somehow drawing his attention, "Like this... I think I've seen it, should it be like this?"

With that, Shen Jinyue clomped over to Xu Qingyan, flashing him a cheeky look.

Xu Qingyan: "....."

"Not right?" Shen Jinyue asked.

"Do you have some misunderstanding about 'heart-fluttering'?" He glanced at her pink hair and then abruptly changed the subject, "Why did you decide to dye it pink?"

"Oh, that. It's because I'm a Sailor Moon!"

"Sailor..." He pulled out his phone to search, then took another look at Shen Jinyue, silently stood up, and left, "You guys sit first, I need some air."

Shen Jinyue: "....."

It was mealtime, so shooting couldn't continue.

Taking advantage of everyone's break time, Xu Qingyan sat back in the director's chair. Without minding the high temperature around, he turned on a fan and started to brainstorm with pen and paper.

It looked like it would rain tomorrow. If they couldn't finish shooting today, it'd be troublesome, and they could only make up by shooting some fragmented scenes.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps. Thinking it was Pei Muchan, he turned around and found it was the actress Sun Mengyun instead. The door was open with the monitor placed at the entrance.

There was no need to avoid suspicion. People were resting in the courtyard, their glances casually drifting over. This included the young male actor Lu Dong, whose eyes were almost fixed on this direction.

"Director Xu." Sun Mengyun stopped two meters away from him, a neither far nor close safe distance, "I think I've got some idea of how to act."

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingyan was somewhat dazed and observed Sun Mengyun.

"Let's hear it."

There was no set standard on how to shoot a look that conveyed heart-fluttering.

Xu Qingyan was a complete outsider in the industry, drawing experiences from his mental library of films and shows.

When dealing with two young actors, he based his instructions strictly on technique. For instance, have your eyes look distant before gradually focusing closer – this bit of guidance went incredibly smoothly.

Yet, when applying the same approach to young adult actors, it didn't work as well.

He remembered the look Pei Muchan gave him at noon, and recollected the twists and turns from the romance variety show, then, almost enlightened, he vaguely found a direction for filming.

But having an idea didn't mean he wanted to suppress the actors' own interpretation. The difficulty was just this one 'heart-fluttering' scene; the rest were mostly wide shots where a passable expression and demeanor would suffice.

"I can imagine the feelings of having a first love, wanting to look and then holding back a bit, but still unable to stop wanting to look," Sun Mengyun explained and even demonstrated.

Her eyes sparkled, transforming her entirely in an instant.

"Great!" Xu Qingyan applauded; that was the right flavor.

He hadn't expected a run-of-the-mill MV actress to ponder over her role. Even though this was just a simple music video with no dialogue, she treated it seriously.

With a proper attitude, she was indeed a promising talent.

Sun Mengyun blushed with delight, it was evident she truly loved acting.
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"Thank you, Director!"

He smiled and looked up, "Have you been thinking about this since mealtime?"

"Yes," Sun Mengyun replied, looking down.

"Hmm, not bad. With your earnest dedication to studying, you're sure to succeed," Xu Qingyan praised without reservation, giving compliments when someone is passionate about acting.

In any case, it's better than offering more money.

But judging by Sun Mengyun's reaction, perhaps because of Xu Qingyan's demonstrated skills that morning, she already considered him a serious director, merely lesser-known.

Receiving praise from a lesser-known director like Xu Qingyan seemed to make her happier than getting more money.

"Yes!"

In the distance, Pei Muchan leaned against the doorway, her gaze passing over the dilapidated courtyard. Watching the actress leave with a deep bow of gratitude, she couldn't help but lower her eyes.

"What were they talking about just now?" Shen Jinyue popped up beside her.

"Don't know, they were probably discussing the scene," she responded indifferently.

"Oh~, Director Xu is really amazing," Shen Jinyue, who didn't get the roundabout talk, said it as it was, "He was worse than me at writing songs a couple of months ago, but now he seems to know everything."

"Yes," Pei Muchan agreed, her gaze downcast, not revealing what was on her mind.

"Pei Jie, do you think..." Shen Jinyue looked at the people in the distance, then suddenly cocked her head, "Sun Mengyun hasn't fallen for him, has she?"

"Ah?" Pei Muchan was startled, turning to look at Shen Jinyue, "Why... why would you think that?"

"Heart-fluttering. Sun Mengyun had to perform a heart-fluttering expression, right?" Shen Jinyue sported a look of solving mysteries, chuckling, "She surely needs to have a crush on someone handsome."

"Although Xu Qingyan is annoying and mean, he looks a bit better than that blockhead."

Listening to her naive and twisted logic, Pei Muchan was somewhat dumbfounded. But then she thought about how Shen Jinyue would naturally think like that, and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Hmm, it's probably not what you think."

"Isn't it?"

"Moon, have you ever liked anyone?" she asked.

"Someone I like?" Shen Jinyue slowly shook her head, a glint of confusion in her eyes, "I don't think so, I've never thought about that kind of thing."

Over there.

No sooner had Sun Mengyun left than Lu Dong approached Xu Qingyan, a tall figure standing there.

"What is it?" Xu Qingyan asked again.

"Nothing... Director Xu, I just wanted to ask about acting," Lu Dong scratched his head, looking somewhat simple-minded, "I always feel like I can't let go."