Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

""How exactly can't you let go?"

"Just standing in front of Sun Mengyun makes me tense," Lu Dong hesitated.

"Do you like her?"

"No, how can that be when we've just met?" Lu Dong quickly waved his hand, "It's just that she looks pretty when she smiles, but I fear I won't perform well when acting with her."

"Have you ever been in a relationship?" asked a single dog.

"Had one before, but we broke up later."

"Oh, then try to channel the feeling you had when you first got physical with your ex-girlfriend," Xu Qingyan, putting theory into practice, gave a bit of guidance, "When you look at her, hold the gaze a bit longer, then pull back."

"Okay, Director Xu, I'll give it a try," Lu Dong nodded and walked away.

Xu Qingyan lay back in the chair, eyeing Lu Dong's departing figure, his brows slightly furrowed. Was it just a try? With that tone, would the afternoon shot work out?

The afternoon.

A few people huddled together, yet before Lu Dong could demonstrate his "try."

"This scene requires a sense of haziness, essentially a look in the eyes," Xu Qingyan spoke first, cutting off Lu Dong's attempt, "The main reason you can't shoot it is because you're too reserved."

"How about this, you two embrace first."

Upon hearing this, both Sun Mengyun and Lu Dong turned to look at Xu Qingyan.

"What?"

"Why are you looking at me, if you want to finish shooting early then just do it," Xu Qingyan glanced at the sky, reckoning that time would be tight in the afternoon, and urged again.

"Actors shouldn't be afraid of this, it's not even a kiss scene, just a hug," he added.

A crowd around them watched for enjoyment, and some started egging them on.

"Hurry up, don't waste time, everyone is waiting."

"Yeah, if we finish early we can end work early too, right?"

Lu Dong and Sun Mengyun exchanged looks, and finally, their eyes weren't so rigid anymore. Under everyone's gaze, a hint of shyness emerged between them.

The two approached and awkwardly hugged each other gently. Initially, blush and embarrassment were visibly etched on their faces, and their bodies were somewhat stiff, but eventually, they started to feel the emotion.

A tingling sensation at the bottom of their hearts, like electric shocks rippling through them.

Lu Dong's breath grew heavy slowly, his hands that loosely embraced Sun Mengyun felt hot and restless like red-hot irons. Sun Mengyun was not much better, hanging her head shyly.

"Alright! Remember that feeling just now!"

Xu Qingyan waved towards the direction of the photographer and called out.

"Follow up with the lighting, hurry up and let's hope to get it in one take."

No time was given to think it over, the camera angle was set. The natural light was properly set up with the less bright afternoon sun, completed with some artificial lighting.

The two returned to their room and faced each other again, with only five or six shots in total. Surrounded by an audience, their eyes fixed without blinking on the two standing before the camera.

In the room, light filtered through the smudged window paper, casting matte sunbeams.

Sun Mengyun, dressed in plain clothes, was rehearsing with Lu Dong, also in plain clothes. They were practicing the famous scene of Xue Pinggui and Wang Baochuan, moving their steps cautiously.

Both had light makeup for Peking Opera applied on their faces, their eyebrows delicately shaped. With a turn, their figures stopped, one looking up, the other slowly bowing their head.

Sun Mengyun's eyes were filled with rippling charm, beautifully striking. With a willowy figure, she moved with slight sways, embodying a young girl with ardent feelings poised to burst forth.

The white clothes were pure as tofu, and beneath the wide robe, Sun Mengyun's fair legs peeked out now and then.

Lu Dong was completely captivated, his face painted, forcibly blushing a light red. His hands steadied, his Adam's apple rolled for an instant, but he managed to hold it in.

He quietly looked on, his eyes filled with reserved and naive infatuation and excitement. His gaze lingered long and distant, then suddenly tightened.

"Good! That's a wrap! Let's keep another one!" Xu Qingyan signaled with a cut, clearing the toughest scene in one go!

A cheer erupted from those present, impressed.

The two actors relaxed, and confidence quickly returned to their smiles. A subtle epiphany bubbled up inside them, and they couldn't help but exchange another glance.

It was laughter again, seeing joy and sentiment in the other's eyes.

Neither of them was new to the camera, each having some acting experience. Logically, shooting a music video as a background extra should be a simple, small project.

To talk about needing expressive eyes, let alone a full face shot, was considered surprising.

Yet, against all expectations, today they had collided with such a project. And they did more than merely complete a scene; they vaguely felt their acting skills had advanced.

It's a bit absurd to say, considering this was just a small music video shoot.

From the director down to the person who handled the props, it seemed nobody treated the project as just a small music video. Despite the small budget, they were all earnest and dedicated.

The style was quirky yet somehow fitting and reasonable.

"Just... just finished shooting?" Shen Jinyue didn't understand but was greatly impressed, "Xu Qingyan is amazing, what did he do? It seemed like they just hugged and..."

Pei Muchan didn't respond but the more she watched Xu Qingyan from a distance, the brighter her eyes shone. Usually, he was either writing songs or slacking off.

Rarely did she see him take something so seriously and show off a talent she had never seen before.

How... how can he shoot so well?

The afternoon passed quickly, and Pei Muchan didn't have the heart to think too much. The little bit of excitement she felt was almost shattered by Xu Qingyan's repeated "Cut!"

She was almost unable to hold it together, not expecting the pressure to shift onto her.

Director Xu was somewhat strict, so strict that she even thought about getting back at him privately. After swallowing her frustration repeatedly, she finally got through the shoot smoothly.

And by then, night had fallen.

He glanced at the footage they had completed. There was one more scene to shoot tomorrow, but it required a change of location. Guessing it wouldn't be a big problem, he gathered everyone to check the equipment before announcing that they could disperse.

On the way back to the hotel, Xu Qingyan's face was etched with fatigue. No matter how much they rushed, in the end, they would need at least two days to complete the shots.

Tomorrow was Tuesday, with editing on Wednesday and Thursday, and the music video needed to be finished by Friday.

Exhausted from a day's work, everyone in the small crew was dead tired. They casually ate some dinner, and those who had scenes tomorrow went back to their rooms to rest.

Xu Qingyan was doing the accounts, silently calculating the expenses of these few days.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

He got up to open it and found Pei Muchan and Shen Jinyue together. Both seemed to have taken a shower, their bodies emitting the same scent.

Pei Muchan always brought her personal toiletry set when she went out, a scent Xu Qingyan was extremely familiar with because he'd used it before.

"What's up? Visiting rooms?" he stepped aside to let them in.

"Ah, no, Sister Pei just said she wanted to check on you!" Shen Jinyue pulled a face, huffed, and said, "Why were you so fierce today, you looked so sullen?"

Xu Qingyan let the two women into the room, closed the door behind them, and got up to prepare some tea.

"I wasn't being fierce." Experience new tales on empire

"If I wasn't that serious, how could we accelerate the progress? To say we completed four-fifths of the shoot in one day is crazy enough, even getting a few shots done was speeding things up tremendously."

"I was wrong, about today I mean. I apologize to you."

Pei Muchan wasn't actually angry, maybe a bit in the afternoon when she was scolded rather harshly. But after a whole day of shooting, there was no way she could really be mad at him.

"You did nothing wrong, there's no need to apologize."

Shen Jinyue looked from one to the other, not understanding the riddle they were speaking in. One minute they were angry, and the next they weren't; it was baffling.

Then she started to feel irritated, brooding silently for a while and realizing no one was paying her any attention.

... It irked her even more.

Xu Qingyan and Pei Muchan discussed tomorrow's shoot; they reckoned it would go a bit over budget, and the total cost for the whole music video would probably be around 350,000 yuan.

It was a mere trifle for top celebrities, but for them at the moment, it was about cutting costs where they could and spending where necessary.

Next day, Tuesday.

The directors' team of "I am the Singer King" released explosive news that Lin Wanzhou, the singer who won first place last episode, had withdrawn from the competition citing health reasons!

Health reasons... the classic excuse.