Ling Zhenfei was originally very curious about filming, so he kept watching to see how it was done.
But the actor playing Li Yuetong's boss was particularly disappointing. Despite only having two scenes — one where he supports Li Yuetong and another where he leaves — this actor was terrible and performed very poorly.
Gu Tian lost his temper on the spot: "Who did you find for this role? What are you even doing? Are you only good at taking money? Get this actor out of here immediately."
Typically, directors don't have great tempers, especially big directors like Gu Tian, who have even worse tempers.
Seeing Gu Tian angry, the assistant director immediately chased the actor away.
Gu Tian shouted to the people around, "Is there any actor available?"
The assistant director felt embarrassed because there were no extra actors since this was an indoor shoot, and no additional actors were prepared.
"Director, please wait. There are probably many actors waiting outside; I'll go find one and be right back."
The assistant director, fearing the director's anger, quickly ran outside, leaving Gu Tian fuming as he threw his headset to the ground.
"It's you people picking the wrong actors, wasting time! Look at this, what kind of actor have you chosen? Now we have to wait again."
"Director, perhaps we can switch to the next scene?"
Gu Tian, full of anger, said, "Do you think switching scenes doesn't cost money? Do you know how much actors are paid now? How much do we have left for changing sets?"
The director stood up and paced back and forth on set, clearly furious.
Li Yuetong was also helpless, but with filming halted, she could only stand beside Ling Zhenfei.
"Director Gu has quite a temper," Ling Zhenfei remarked.
"Yes, this is the good side. Sometimes he throws things," Li Yuetong whispered.
"Has he ever scolded you?" Ling Zhenfei asked.
"If my performance is bad, I get scolded just the same," Li Yuetong said, sticking out her tongue.
As the two spoke in hushed tones, Gu Tian noticed them.
Gu Tian glanced at them and was about to get angry when he suddenly noticed something and walked towards Ling Zhenfei.
"Divine Doctor Ling."
"Director Gu?"
Gu Tian sized up Ling Zhenfei and said, "You're too handsome, but whatever, it's you. Save the day."
Ling Zhenfei was taken aback: "What do you mean?"
Li Yuetong exclaimed, "You want Big Brother Ling to play the manager?"
Gu Tian laughed and said, "Why not?"
Li Yuetong laughed too, "It's fine, but Big Brother Ling is too handsome and too young."
Gu Tian said, "Who said a manager has to be old and unattractive? If I say it's fine, it's fine."
Ling Zhenfei helplessly said, "Director, are you kidding me? I've never acted before."
Gu Tian replied, "It's actually very simple. You're a Divine Doctor in the medical field; everything is interconnected. It's so simple that I can't understand why someone couldn't perform well."
"Alright, I'll give it a try, but don't scold me," Ling Zhenfei said with a smile.
"Then it's settled, costume department, get him changed."
Once Gu Tian mentioned a costume change, someone quickly brought a suit to Ling Zhenfei. He found a spot to change, and the suit fit perfectly.
Ling Zhenfei picked up the script and glanced through it; indeed, it was very simple, though there was one section with slightly more lines.
Basically, it was about Li Yuetong being bullied at the company, the manager taking a stand to reprimand those people and delivering some grand principles, but ended up offending the people behind the scenes and getting fired along with Ling Zhenfei.
With Ling Zhenfei's current prowess, memorizing these lines was a breeze.
After just a glance, Ling Zhenfei quickly memorized all the lines.
"Brother Ling, how's it going? Can you remember?" Gu Tian came over to ask Ling Zhenfei.
Ling Zhenfei smiled and said, "Memorizing the lines is easy; I'm just worried I might not perform well. Aren't you pushing me into this?"
Gu Tian laughed and said, "Honestly, your image doesn't match the manager at all, but I believe in your charisma. If you're not in a hurry to leave, I'll definitely give you a role with more lines."
Ling Zhenfei was taken aback because this wasn't the first time someone mentioned that his charisma was unique. People had already said that in the film city.
"Alright, then I appreciate Director Gu's kindness. I'll try my best to play this role, but I'm not sure how I should act."
Gu Tian said, "It's actually very simple. You're the company's manager now. Your employee has received unfair treatment, so you step in to help Li Yuetong. It's that simple.
I don't know if you've ever been a manager, but you must have been a boss, right? If someone in your company bullies your employees, shouldn't you step in?"
Ling Zhenfei nodded: "That's right, that's how it should be. I'll just play myself then."
Gu Tian laughed and said, "Exactly. Every good actor should immerse themselves in their character. That's the way to perform well."
At this point, everything was ready, and Ling Zhenfei had changed clothes and arrived at the designated spot.
Filming TV isn't like acting in a play, where this actor says this line and that one says the next. Because of camera angles, after you finish your line, it might be a minute before the next actor speaks.
That's what makes TV difficult, but Ling Zhenfei had already figured everything out, so he knew exactly what to do.
Gu Tian shouted to everyone, "All departments ready; let's try to get this in one take, understood? Action."
After announcing the start, filming began. First, it was the scene where the girl played by Li Yuetong was ostracized by company staff, with several people even teaming up to try and push her down.
At this moment, Ling Zhenfei appeared and caught Li Yuetong just as she was about to fall.
Gu Tian shouted from the side, "Create some sparks between you two, look into each other's eyes with affectionate expressions."
Ling Zhenfei caught Li Yuetong, and as their eyes met, he could see a hint of fear in her eyes, which was what a good actor should project.
But besides the fear, Ling Zhenfei also saw a trace of warmth, a hint of admiration, and even something he couldn't quite decipher.
"Good, keep it up. Yuetong's gaze is spot on, and Zhenfei, not bad; hang in there. Camera two, zoom in, do I have to teach you that?"
Ling Zhenfei held his ground, knowing that without his Northern Spiritual Energy, he might not have been able to sustain it.
"Alright, we can move on to the next step. Male actor, start your lines. You need to convey the steadiness of a manager with just a hint of anger."
Gu Tian was indeed a good director; he explained which tone to use for each line and what expression should accompany each line to every actor in advance.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.