I Became Famous in the Entertainment Industry with High Martial Arts Skills - Chapter 23

Chapter 23: The Start of Han River Crossing

After Ming Yang expressed her symbolic gratitude to the actors who failed the audition, she acted with her usual vigor, signaling her assistant to bring the car around and instructing Xie Ci to keep up.

The actors present, whether accepting of the result or feeling resentful, maintained an outward appearance of harmony and responded with smiles.

One failure didn’t mean there wouldn’t be a next time; they had all spent years struggling in the industry. While they felt regret, they weren’t about to lose their poise.

Mo Li drove the car, looking at the scrapes on Xie Ci’s arm with some heartache. He spoke up worriedly: “Xie Ci, do you really know how to ride a horse? This isn’t something to play around with.”

Xie Ci, however, was very calm: “I really do. Don’t worry.”

Ignoring the faint stinging on his forearm, Xie Ci felt a spark of excitement.

Before coming to this world, his constant companions day and night aside from the sword at his hip had been a snow-white horse. Recalling the past, Xie Ci couldn’t help but feel a sense of melancholy, as if he had lost something dear.

It was as if that world had become a dream, and only the dreamer remembered everything that had happened.

However, the thought of being able to experience the feeling of riding again soon made his face light up. His dimples appeared, and his eyes danced with anticipation.

Ming Yang’s car led the way, with Mo Li following behind several other vehicles. After nearly an hour, they arrived at an extremely spacious equestrian center.

Ming Yang and the other judges sat on a temporary bench at the edge of the field, wearing sun hats provided by the center.

Seeing that the choice for the second male lead was essentially settled, the judges relaxed, leaning back against their seats to watch Xie Ci’s upcoming performance.

Some film and television productions require actors to master riding skills, and strict directors even arrange specialized equestrian lessons.

They had seen Xie Ci’s resume and knew he was young and a newcomer. Judging by the attire of Xie Ci and his manager, he didn’t seem to have any major capital or background. They suspected his claim of knowing how to ride was just a pretext to avoid failing the audition.

Forget actual riding; even mounting the horse steadily would be considered a success.

It isn’t easy for minor actors to encounter such opportunities, so naturally, they nod to whatever the director asks. They just hadn’t expected Ming Yang to be a woman of action, wanting to verify Xie Ci’s words on the spot.

The group had a favorable impression of Xie Ci’s earlier performance. While they broke a sweat for him, they also prepared words to plead on his behalf should he fail.

“Director Ming, I’m ready.”

Xie Ci had changed into a crisp riding outfit, which made his stature appear even more upright.

A staff member led a horse over a tall, sturdy black stallion with a glossy, oily coat, clearly well-cared for.

It was near dusk now. The air at the equestrian center carried the fresh scent of plants intertwined with the unique smell of horses, looking quite serene under the soft light of the warm golden sky.

A flash of amazement crossed Ming Yang’s eyes. The youth before her looked the part in his riding gear, much better than she had anticipated.

“Safety first. The instructor will be by your side to ensure your protection.” Her eyes were critical. “Begin.”

Xie Ci walked to the side of the black horse and gently stroked its neck a few times. Then, without waiting for the instructor’s help, he vaulted onto the horse. His movements were practiced and fluid, without the slightest hesitation.

The instructor raised an eyebrow, seeing that Xie Ci had a solid foundation. He stepped back several paces to give the guest plenty of room to perform.

Xie Ci’s calves rested naturally against the horse’s flanks, his feet firmly in the stirrups and hands gripping the reins, looking perfectly at ease.

The judges, who had been ready to plead for him, widened their eyes. Watching the composed youth on horseback, they felt ashamed of their previous assumptions.

Xie Ci didn’t have time to worry about others’ thoughts. The familiar sensation beneath him made him feel as if he were once again a carefree swordsman traveling the world. His core exerted natural force, driving the obedient horse.

Clack, clack!

The rhythm of the hooves began to rise. Xie Ci’s relaxed calves tightened against the horse’s back, and his hips rose slightly. Using the stirrups as leverage, he rode steadily on the accelerating horse. His upper body barely swayed, and his posture was exceptionally beautiful.

In their field of vision, the slender youth showed no stage fright at all. His riding posture was actually more natural and uninhibited than that of the instructor beside him.

He rode faster and faster, leaving the dust kicked up by the hooves swirling behind him. Under the reflection of the setting sun, a golden light shimmered.

The doubt in the judges’ eyes had long since vanished, replaced entirely by fascination. All that remained in their hearts was admiration.

Finally, Xie Ci galloped back to the starting point. With a sharp pull on the reins, the black horse seemed to understand his mind, flexibly tossing its head and rearing its hooves before coming to a steady stop dozens of meters from the group.

Xie Ci dismounted and pressed his cheek against the obedient animal. The horse’s clear pupils reflected his face, which carried a touch of reluctance to leave.

Ming Yang took off her sun hat, revealing a smile of 100% satisfaction toward Xie Ci for the first time.

“Excellent. We’ll shoot the promotional photos the day after tomorrow,” Ming Yang said with a smile. “Wan Yuya is yours.”

In the dressing room, Mo Li circled Xie Ci like a sparrow, his eyes full of worship.

“I never would have guessed! You were hiding this skill! I’ve been charmed you have to take responsibility for me!” He acted coyly, playing the part of a little fanboy.

Xie Ci had just finished changing his trousers. The thin layer of sweat covering his upper body made him look particularly luminous.

Amused by Mo Li’s antics, Xie Ci spoke unhesitatingly in “scumbag speak”: “If I had to take responsibility for everyone charmed by me, I’d be much too busy.”

“Hmph, I don’t care. You have to take responsibility for me first!”

Mo Li stood with his hands on his hips. His bossy manner made Xie Ci burst into laughter.

When he received the news that Xie Ci had passed the audition, Ji Xiuheng had just finished work and arrived home.

With a ding-dong, the doorbell rang.

“Coming.” Mo Li was still in his room in a class. Xie Ci had just finished a shower and his hair wasn’t dry yet. Hearing the knock, he put down his phone and got up to open the door.

“Brother Ji? What are you doing here?”

Droplets of water from the hair at his temples slid down his cheek. Ji Xiuheng smiled and handed over the bruise ointment in his hand.

“I asked a friend, and they said Director Ming’s drama has a lot of action scenes; you might end up with bruises.” His gaze was gentle. “This is an ointment I used to use often. You might find it useful while filming.”

Xie Ci took the ointment and pushed the door open to invite Ji Xiuheng in. “Brother Ji, I’m sorry to trouble you to come all this way for something so small. I don’t even know how to thank you.”

Ji Xiuheng’s gentle expression turned a bit more serious: “How can this be considered a small matter? If you don’t pay attention now, you’ll suffer for it later.”

Seeing Xie Ci’s face still carrying the mist from the shower, he added: “Of course, it’s best if you don’t need it at all.”

Xie Ci nodded, “I understand.”

His eyes were moist, clearly overwhelmed by such meticulous kindness. His gratitude was mixed with a bit of embarrassment.

Everything Xie Ci was too embarrassed to say, his cat-like eyes told Ji Xiuheng.

Ming Yang was a woman of action. Combined with the fact that the second casting call had delayed things, she had Xie Ci sign the contract as soon as they left the equestrian center.

Around 9:00 PM, the scripts for the first six episodes were sent to Xie Ci’s phone.

Mo Li had just finished his class. After a quick shower, he huddled next to Xie Ci on the sofa. “Who was it? I thought I heard someone talking at the door.”

“Brother Ji came to deliver bruise ointment. He didn’t come in; we just chatted for a few minutes at the door.”

The box of ointment was still on the coffee table a palm-sized oval container that faintly emitted a medicinal fragrance.

“Movie King Ji was here?! If I’d known, I would have asked the teacher for a leave!” Mo Li wailed, feeling it was a great pity to have missed the chance to get closer to him.

“I was also a bit excited when I first got the script, so I sent him the news that I passed the audition.” Xie Ci handed a dry towel to Mo Li. “I didn’t expect him to make a special trip…”

For some reason, looking at Xie Ci and the ointment on the table, a bold idea sprouted in Mo Li’s mind.

Shaking his head, he quickly dispersed the suspicion and was instead drawn to the script on the phone.

“Whoa, this schedule is too tight. Filming starts the day after tomorrow?” Mo Li frowned as he looked at the timeline on his phone.

Xie Ci also felt the time was quite pressed. He was still reading the script before going to bed.

On the desk in his room, a new notebook was filled with dense notes on his understanding of the second male lead’s character.

Unlike the extensive location shooting of Diving Abyss, most of the filming for Han River Crossing was concentrated in fixed locations such as palaces and manors. Location scenes were not particularly numerous.

The day before the official start of filming, Ming Yang sent messages to the key actors and the production team to organize a table read.

However, that morning, Xie Ci, who had arrived early, unexpectedly ran into an acquaintance.

“Sister Mingyue?”

Xie Ci greeted the woman approaching him with some surprise.

Qiao Mingyue’s voice was exceptionally affectionate: “Xiao Xie! What do you think? Are you surprised to see me?”

She was wearing sunglasses, and her aura was much stronger than it had been on the set of Diving Abyss.

Director Ming Yang walked over from beside her, looking at the two with a bit of wariness: “Miss Qiao is willing to come play the second female lead, which adds a lot of brilliance to our crew.”

Wary or not, Ming Yang’s compliment was well-said, making Qiao Mingyue who had been a bit uncomfortable much happier.

If she hadn’t seen that the character of the second female lead was truly brilliant, she naturally wouldn’t have been willing to lower her status to play a second lead.

Just thinking about the fans, she could imagine the uproar on social media after the cast was officially announced.

During the conversation, the male lead Li Zhaobai and female lead Su Wu arrived at the set, joining the other crew members.

Li Zhaobai had distinctive monolid eyes that gave off an uninhibited, cold aura when he looked at people. Su Wu had soft features a standard classical beauty.

The former played Gu Huaizhou, a “Dragon Aotian” style male lead who hides his identity to avenge his family’s massacre. The latter played Gu Liu, the daughter of the male lead’s father’s friend, who grew up with the male lead while he was pretending to be her brother who died young. They were childhood sweethearts.

Xie Ci had finished the script last night. He knew the two would have a conflict early on over the male lead’s identity, which would prompt him to leave home and go to the capital to start his path of revenge.

He sat next to the male lead. Beside him was the third male lead, the ultimate villain of the drama the Sixth Prince with a powerful maternal clan, played by Yan Feng, who won a Best Supporting Actor nomination last year. His facial features were extremely sharp; like Li Zhaobai, he had a very distinctive style.

The table read was more about letting the actors get to know each other to ensure a unified understanding of the drama’s core and to establish character relationships.

Aside from the newly joined Xie Ci and Qiao Mingyue, the other actors had trained together for several months and were already very familiar. Under the guidance of the director and scriptwriter Song Ling, everyone went through the script for the first six episodes page by page.

The weather cooperated; the first day of filming happened to be a rainy day.

The male lead, Gu Huaizhou, unexpectedly learns of his true identity. Facing the pleas of his adoptive father and the female lead Gu Liu to stay, he resolutely kneels to bid them farewell and leaves home in the cold, rainy autumn night, embarking on the path to avenge his family.

The first episode mainly covers the background story, with scenes concentrated on the early interactions between the leads and the second female lead’s parts. There were no scenes for Xie Ci.

Despite this, he arrived at the set on time, bringing his own small stool to sit to the side.

Li Zhaobai had a natural advantage in playing this kind of rebellious male lead, especially in the eye-acting of the scene where he kneels to leave home the transition between reluctance and resolve was handled perfectly.

Su Wu’s acting as the female lead was also noteworthy. Her shy blossoming of feelings and the conflicted expression of whether to tell the male lead the truth were performed very vividly.

Xie Ci observed from the sidelines, sitting there for the entire day.

The crew arranged for the core actors to stay at a hotel next to the base. Mo Li stayed with Xie Ci in a suite.

Having completed his usual workout, Xie Ci wiped the sweat from his forehead. The television in the room was playing a classic political drama featuring many veteran actors.

The rain continued, and the next day the sky was dark. Ink-colored clouds shielded the sky, without a hint of sunlight.

At this point, after leaving home and heading north to blend in with the refugees, the male lead disguises himself as a fleeing famine victim. Seeing a soldier push a seriously ill old man at the city gate, he can’t help but want to step forward, but the soldier kills the man by mistake.

Each episode of Han River Crossing is forty minutes long, with an emotional highlight every eight minutes on average. The plot closely follows the main line, and even the crew members couldn’t help but be curious about the subsequent developments.

Xie Ci makes his appearance at the end of the second episode. Holding a small umbrella, he peeks out from his family’s carriage, spotting the male lead in the crowd at a glance and taking him in as his servant.

Ming Yang’s expression was serious as she sat behind the monitor staring at the screen.

The bells on the carriage chimed “qiang-qiang,” playing the prologue to the first meeting of the male lead and the second male lead along with the continuous drizzle.

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