SM Chapter 23
by VolareThat summer was also in the mountains, but the wind and rain weren’t as heavy as tonight. A layer of misty white air enveloped the mountain forest in the light rain and gentle breeze. The misty rain added a sense of mystery, making people couldn’t help but want to lift the veil and peek at the true face behind it.
There were quite a few scenes in the mountains, many of which were rain scenes. The “Raw” crew had already chosen the location half a year before the start of filming and entered the mountains before the rainy season.
At the beginning, they mainly filmed the important scenes of the main characters. Ye Lai worked diligently as a handyman and part-time assistant director on the set, running around every day without a moment to spare.
They had been filming for more than two months before entering the mountains, and Sheng Mingqian had long been accustomed to the little assistant who worked silently by his side, unafraid of hardship or fatigue. When entering the mountains, he didn’t even bring his own assistant, and called for Ye Lai for everything.
“Ye Lai, go find Screenwriter Wang Laoshi and tell him about a problem.”
Ye Lai ran over with props in his arms: “Okay, Director Sheng, I’ll go get him now.”
After saying that, he ran off again with the props. Sheng Mingqian called him: “Put the things down before you go, what’s the rush?”
Ye Lai took two steps, then turned back and put the things in his hand on the ground. He raised his arm and wiped the sweat from his forehead, causing the hair on his forehead to become disheveled, revealing his smooth, full forehead.
With his hair no longer covering his eyes, his smiling peach blossom eyes seemed to possess infinite gravity, capable of sucking people in. He looked at Sheng Mingqian: “Director Sheng, I’ll go now.”
“No need to run.” Ye Lai had already turned to leave, but Sheng Mingqian still saw those eyes flashing before him.
Ye Lai responded as he ran: “Got it.”
On the set, Sheng Mingqian’s voice was only heard when calling “Action!” and “Cut!” The rest of the time, he was using Ye Lai.
“Ye Lai, send this document to the stagehand’s room over there.”
“Ye Lai, go call those actors over. We’ll go over the scene and then start filming officially.”
“Ye Lai, come over here and rehearse the scene with him.”
When he couldn’t find Ye Lai, Sheng Mingqian looked around and called out: “Ye Lai, where’s Ye Lai? Someone go get Ye Lai for me, what’s he running around for…”
As soon as he shouted, half of the crew members passed it on one after another, urging Ye Lai to come over quickly, saying that Director Sheng was anxiously looking for him.
Even when they found him, it wasn’t anything important. Ye Lai was holding the storyboard, and Sheng Mingqian would just glance at it, take a look, and then let him go.
Ye Lai, being in the midst of it all, wasn’t aware of how frequently his name appeared on Sheng Mingqian’s lips. The assistant director of the crew made a suggestive joke with him: “Ye Lai, you’re too capable. Why don’t you just let Director Sheng take you in?”
The screenwriter chimed in from the side: “Take him in where? To Sheng Mingqian’s studio or Sheng Mingqian’s room?”
Sheng Mingqian, who had been sitting next to them with his back turned, smoking, shot them a look after hearing their words. The assistant director and screenwriter both raised their hands: “Director Sheng is angry. We won’t say it, we won’t say it. We shouldn’t joke about kids.”
It was just the few of them, anyway, and there were no outsiders. The assistant director, unafraid of death, added: “Director Sheng, Ye Lai is really good. Have you considered it?”
The speaker didn’t mean anything by it, but the listener took it to heart. Ye Lai lowered his head beside them, not daring to breathe, and two patches of pink quietly crept up his earlobes, then spread to the base of his neck.
At that time, everyone in the crew thought that Ye Lai had climbed onto a high branch and wouldn’t have to worry about not having roles to play in the future, judging by Sheng Mingqian’s attitude towards him.
Sometimes, actors who wanted to take leave would first go to Ye Lai to ask about it, to get a sense of the situation. If they heard that Director Sheng was in a good mood, they would muster up the courage to ask for leave. If they heard that Director Sheng was in a bad mood, they simply wouldn’t mention it.
Sheng Mingqian not only taught Ye Lai how to act, but also taught him how to direct, sometimes asking him to share his thoughts after filming a scene.
After a period of time, Ye Lai’s thinking when looking at scripts was also different. He broke away from the fixed mindset and could look at the people and events in the story from different perspectives.
It was also at that time that he learned a term from Sheng Mingqian: karma.
Karma, karma, karma is not empty, sow the cause and reap the effect.
It was just that Ye Lai didn’t expect at that time that in the many years that followed, he and Sheng Mingqian would never escape these two words, but would instead be trapped in karma, unable to extricate themselves.
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Finally, it was time for Ye Lai’s scene. Sheng Mingqian had a disagreement with the screenwriter again. The two of them held their own opinions, and neither was convinced, nor could they convince the other. The two argued for a long time, and the filming for that day dragged on from morning to afternoon.
Just as the cameraman said that the light would be gone if they didn’t film, Ye Lai suggested that they film two versions first and discuss them later.
The two of them finally stopped arguing, and Sheng Mingqian filmed two versions. In the end, he and the screenwriter simultaneously came up with a better way to film it. The two of them changed a plot point in the script the next day, adding several scenes to make the plot conflict more obvious.
What was added were several rain scenes, in which several teenagers made a bet in the mountain forest. When they encountered danger, Chi Wen, played by Ye Lai, was abandoned by his companions. Chi Wen got lost in the mountain forest alone and took three days to walk out of the rainforest.
Those rain scenes were filmed in a mountain depression. After filming the big scene with five people, only Ye Lai’s own scenes remained.
Ye Lai stood in the rain for a long time, but still didn’t achieve the effect Sheng Mingqian wanted. The heavy rain stopped and started again. Sheng Mingqian required the rain streaks and lighting effects before and after the shot to be consistent.
After three NGs in the heavy rain, everyone was wearing raincoats and rain boots and was getting impatient. Sheng Mingqian’s scolding grew louder each time.
“Ye Lai, how many times have I told you? Your expression just now wasn’t right. Three days, can you feel the despair of three days?”
“It’s raining so hard, are you going to make a dozen crew members waste their time with you here? How many times have I explained the plot to you?”
The more he scolded, the more nervous Ye Lai became. He could only keep bowing and apologizing to the other crew members who were with him. The last time he filmed, his emotions were right, but his lines were wrong.
After the fifth NG, Sheng Mingqian threw the script in his hand away, yanked off the rain hat on his head and ran over. The heavy rain landed on Sheng Mingqian’s shoulders, splashing water. In a matter of seconds, streams of water flowed down Sheng Mingqian’s hair.
“Can you film or not? If you can’t film, say so early. Do I really have to leave you alone in the mountains for three days before you can find the feeling of despair and hatred?”
Ye Lai’s heart was pounding. He lowered his head and listened to the scolding: “Director Sheng, I’ll try to find the feeling again. I can film, I can film, please don’t replace me, okay?”
In the heavy rain, the clothes on Ye Lai’s body were long soaked through. The thin clothes and pants clung tightly to his body, becoming semi-transparent. Through the clothes, one could see the outline of his body. The two raised points on his chest pressed against the fabric, and his thin shoulders were constantly trembling. His eyes were also being rained on, so he could only open a slit, and the rain on his face blurred his features.
The lighting equipment was placed next to him. Sheng Mingqian stared at Ye Lai’s face through the light and suddenly stopped scolding. His voice also became smaller: “Who told you I was going to replace you?”
After Sheng Mingqian finished speaking, he turned his head and waved his hand: “No filming today. Wrap it up, wrap it up. Go back and rest. We’ll continue filming this scene next rainy day.”
The crew members received the order and began to collect the equipment, grumbling non-stop. Someone ran over to hold an umbrella for Sheng Mingqian, but Sheng Mingqian directly threw it to Ye Lai.
The handle of the umbrella fell into Ye Lai’s hand. He was still immersed in the emotions of the previous filming and didn’t react. He didn’t grab it firmly, and the umbrella rolled out of his hand onto the ground, blown by the wind and rolled down the grassy slope a few times.
Ye Lai heard a sigh mixed in with the sound of the rain. He didn’t know if it was his imagination. When he looked up to find the source of the sigh, Sheng Mingqian had already run two steps to help him pick up the umbrella, held it over his head, and half pulled, half dragged him back.
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It was summer vacation, and the accommodation conditions in the mountains were limited. There were no guesthouses or hotels, so the crew directly rented the faculty and staff dormitory of a local school. Everyone lived in the faculty dormitory.
Although it was a faculty and staff dormitory, it wasn’t much better than a student dormitory. There were more men than women in the crew, so everyone gave the dormitories with private bathrooms to the women. The men all used the public bathhouse and restrooms in the building.
Having been rained on for so long, Ye Lai was covered in mud and broken grass leaves. There were also a few burrs on his clothes. He really wanted to take a hot shower, but he didn’t want to use the public bathhouse with the others, so he didn’t come out after returning to the dormitory. He wanted to wait until they were all done before going.
The past few days when he didn’t have any scenes, he hadn’t been rained on, so he just took a basin of hot water and wiped his body in the dormitory before going to sleep. Tonight, he definitely wouldn’t be able to sleep without washing.
Ye Lai first wiped the water off his hair and body, then changed into a dry set of clothes.
Just as he finished changing, there was a knock on the door. Ye Lai went to open the door, and Sheng Mingqian stood outside with a dark face. Sheng Mingqian hadn’t changed his clothes either, and his hair was still sticking to his face.
“Ming…” Ye Lai called out one word and stopped. He didn’t say the “Qian” part, but changed his mind and called him “Director Sheng,” asking him softly what was wrong.
“Did you take a shower?” Sheng Mingqian asked.
“Not yet, I’ll wash after they’re done.”
Ye Lai only opened a crack in the door. Sheng Mingqian stood outside the door, and as the two of them spoke, the crew members passing by in the hallway kept glancing over at them. Sheng Mingqian looked back, and the people who were looking this way ran off again.
“Take your change of clothes and toiletries and come with me,” Sheng Mingqian said.
“Director Sheng, where are we going?”
“To take a shower.”
“Director Sheng, I don’t want to wash with them, I can just go later.”
Sheng Mingqian lowered his brows: “It’s not the public bathhouse, hurry up and pack your things.”
Ye Lai was stunned for a moment after hearing this. He didn’t ask any more questions and obediently turned around and went in to start packing.
Sheng Mingqian also followed Ye Lai in, took a look around his dormitory, casually pulled out a chair from beside the desk and sat down, watching Ye Lai pack.
Because Sheng Mingqian was watching the whole time, Ye Lai’s mind was blank, and he couldn’t do anything right. He rummaged around in the dormitory, grabbing laundry detergent instead of shampoo, shower gel instead of floral water, and a dirty towel that he had just used to wipe mud for his change of clothes. The change of clothes was still hanging on the balcony and hadn’t dried yet.
When he was carrying the bag and holding the washbasin, walking to Sheng Mingqian and saying that he was ready and they could go, Sheng Mingqian didn’t move. He raised his chin and glanced at his things, then stared straight at him without saying anything.
Ye Lai was wearing slippers, his toes hooking the soles of the slippers. He didn’t know what was wrong, but he braced himself and asked: “What’s wrong, Director Sheng?”
Sheng Mingqian stood up and pointed to the laundry detergent and floral water in his bag: “What are you going to do with laundry detergent and floral water?”
Only then did Ye Lai lower his head and look at what he had packed. When he saw exactly what he had packed, he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. His face turned red all at once, and he stammered, unable to say a complete sentence. He repacked his things and then followed Sheng Mingqian out.