I Rely on My Versatility to Reach the Top of the Entertainment Industry [Ancient Times to Modern] - Chapter 28

Concerned about the chair and the xun, Jing Yi woke up early the next day. After doing some exercises and seeing that it was 5:30, he went to ring Sheng Xiaguang’s doorbell.

The bell rang twice before the door opened.

Sheng Xiaguang, with messy bed hair and a dark expression, looked out: “It’s you?”

After speaking, he pressed his lips together as if swallowing back some words, then continued: “What do you want so early in the morning?”

“Good morning, Mr. Sheng. Sorry to disturb you. I’d like to swap our chairs back,” Jing Yi said with an apologetic smile. “Also, you took my xun yesterday.”

Sheng Xiaguang frowned, recalling last night’s events, and uncomfortably turned his face away. “Come in and get it yourself.”

With that, Sheng Xiaguang turned around and switched on the room light.

Jing Yi entered the room, placed Sheng Xiaguang’s chair properly, then went to look for the xun.

After searching around, he finally found it by the pillow.

It was a strange place to leave something, so Jing Yi couldn’t help glancing at Sheng Xiaguang, who was getting dressed nearby.

It was only then that Sheng Xiaguang remembered—after returning to his room yesterday, he’d felt the xun didn’t seem like the kind sold in stores, so he’d lain on the bed studying it for a while. He hadn’t expected to fall into a deep sleep, and being woken up this morning, he’d forgotten to put it away.

“What are you looking at? If you think it’s dirty, I’ll wash it for you.”

Shooting Jing Yi an annoyed glance, Sheng Xiaguang snatched the xun and went into the bathroom.

Before Jing Yi could protest, he was left standing there waiting.

As he waited, he heard Lu Yuzhi’s assistant speaking: “Boss, really, no one’s answering the door.”

Jing Yi hurried out.

“Mr. Lu, Mr. Jiang, I’m here.”

Seeing Jing Yi emerge from Sheng Xiaguang’s room, Lu Yuzhi’s brow furrowed slightly.

But he quickly masked this flicker of emotion and walked over to Jing Yi with a smile. “What are you doing here? We should go have breakfast.”

“Mr. Sheng accidentally brought the xun back yesterday, so I came to get it,” Jing Yi explained.

Just then, Sheng Xiaguang finished washing the xun and handed it to Jing Yi. Glancing outside, he noticed his own assistant had arrived too, and said, “We only rehearsed for half an hour yesterday. Wait for me to wash up, then we’ll have breakfast together and try to get into the mood again.”

Jing Yi nodded.

Lu Yuzhi immediately looked at Sheng Xiaguang.

Sheng Xiaguang was also eyeing Lu Yuzhi, a mischievous smirk tugging at his lips.

The two assistants standing at the door exchanged glances, both feeling perplexed.

Why did their respective singer/boss seem at odds? Logically, their circles hadn’t overlapped before, so there shouldn’t have been any chance for conflict!

Now that their circles were merging, and each remained a top figure in their own field, they couldn’t afford to let any negative rumors spread.

While the assistants were lost in their thoughts, Sheng Xiaguang finished his ablutions quickly, and the group headed to the hotel restaurant’s private room.

Breakfast was provided by the hotel in individual portions. The private room was reserved for the film crew during this period, so the meals were laid out on the table according to the crew’s requirements.

Additionally, some individuals had special requests, so the varieties differed slightly.

Jing Yi didn’t eat meat, so his breakfast consisted of a plain steamed bun and soy milk. He sat down in front of his meal and was about to start eating when someone suddenly sat on either side of him.

Jing Yi, biting into his bun, looked to his left and saw Lu Yuzhi, and to his right, Sheng Xiaguang.

Noticing Jing Yi’s cheeks puffing out with a mouthful of bun, Lu Yuzhi inserted a straw into the soy milk and handed it to him.

Jing Yi quickly swallowed the food in his mouth, thanked him, took a sip, and continued eating his bun.

In the midsummer morning, seeing Jing Yi eating so plainly without even an egg for breakfast, Xiaguang, adhering to the principle of maintaining a friendly relationship, pushed the egg toward Jing Yi.

“Here, have the egg.”

Jing Yi shook his head and refused, “I don’t eat eggs, thank you.”

Xiaguang frowned, “Since we’re trying to get into character, Xie Qiyun wouldn’t refuse something offered by a friend, right?”

Jing Yi looked at the egg with a troubled expression, thought for a moment, and then pushed it toward Lu Yuzhi, “Then could Mr. Lu help me eat it? I really can’t have it, thank you so much.”

Lu Yuzhi chuckled lightly, “Jing Yi, I’ve been eating vegetarian with you lately, remember?”

He passed the egg to Xiao Jiang.

The egg had been passed around three people, and Xiaguang’s expression grew increasingly displeased.

The two assistants sitting nearby exchanged glances again and silently continued their meal.

After breakfast, they arrived at the film set just after 6 a.m.

The day’s shooting schedule was delivered: Lu Yuzhi had fewer scenes, while most were Jing Yi’s.

In the morning, Jing Yi was to film the bamboo forest first encounter and accompanying walk scenes with Xiaguang, followed by the finale scenes of the drama. Both scenes were set in the bamboo forest, with the latter requiring the use of the wire rig set up for this location.

The bamboo forest first encounter scene had been rehearsed the previous day and went smoothly.

The highlight was the finale.

The folk prince Li Ran had returned to claim his heritage, and Hua Xiangrong’s conspiracy to seize court power through the imperial consorts was exposed.

After evading the pursuit of the royal shadow guards, he fled to the bamboo forest, where he encountered Xie Qiyun, sent by Li Ran to capture Hua Xiangrong.

Yan Zi was responsible for holding off Ling Xuan here, while the main focus was on Hua Xiangrong and Xie Qiyun.

However, because Xie Qiyun held some pity for Ling Xuan, he had no intention of taking her life.

Thus, under Ling Xuan’s suicidal attacks to protect her master, he temporarily withdrew his offensive, planning to hold her and spin in the air once before landing.

Since wire work was required, actors with wire scenes had to first rehearse their movement sequences using the rig to ensure no mistakes during actual filming.

Lu Yuzhi, being very experienced, completed his rehearsal in one take.

Jing Yi was initially unaccustomed to being suspended in the air but quickly grasped the technique. With a foundation in light-footed martial arts, he executed movements like stepping on bamboo tips and using momentum to flip perfectly.

The action director laughed nearby, “If wuxia dramas had a few more actors like Jing Yi, I’d be out of a job.”

Gu Guochang agreed wholeheartedly, “This kid really is a natural wuxia actor. It’s just a pity he’s a bit naive. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been deceived by that previous entertainment company and trapped by a contract like that.”

“True,” the action director nodded repeatedly.

Xiaguang stood on the ground, looking up at the figure whose robes fluttered gracefully among the bamboo grove.

—He plays musical instruments and has martial arts foundations. His previous image really might have been because he was too naive.

At this moment, Xiaguang genuinely felt a twinge of guilt for how he had treated Jing Yi before.

Seeing Xiaguang staring intently at Jing Yi, Lu Yuzhi frowned.

As soon as Jing Yi came down, Lu Yuzhi was the first to hand him a bottle of water.

Jing Yi took it and drank, his eyes sparkling as he asked, “Mr. Lu, were my movements okay?”

Lu Yuzhi shook his head with a smile, “The movements were perfect. I’m just worried I might not keep up.”

“Don’t worry.” Jing Yi glanced up at the nearly invisible wire lines in the air, then looked at Lu Yuzhi with sympathy, “You’ve had to film tied up with this before—it must have been really hard.”

Modern people don’t specially temper their bodies, let alone have internal energy for protection.

Being suspended and swung around like this would inevitably cause injuries.

Hearing Jing Yi’s concern, a faint trace of emotion flickered in Lu Yuzhi’s amber eyes.

He ruffled Jing Yi’s hair as Gu Guochang began directing everyone to rehearse the scene where Xie Qiyun spins while holding Ling Xuan.

Wang Yiyue was already prepared, and Jing Yi had also repositioned himself.

Using wire rigs is very dangerous. During ascent and descent, the operators need full concentration, and actors must be particularly careful. If any single link fails, accidents can happen.

Fang Zexuan had previously fractured his leg precisely because he missed the landing spot while on wires.

“This time is about getting the feel. If it doesn’t work, you’ll separate,” said the experienced Gu Guochang, advising the two actors. “Safety first.”

Wang Yiyue nodded and smiled at Jing Yi. “Sorry to trouble you later.”

Jing Yi shook his head. “It’s fine. Senior, you’re working hard too.”

Lifted by the wire rigs, the two rose into the air. Jing Yi assumed a light-footed posture, silently apologizing as he approached Wang Yiyue.

Wang Yiyue was positioned in a horizontal fall. When Jing Yi scooped her up horizontally, she suddenly grabbed him too, frowning and crying out, “My foot, my foot, it hurts!”

As she shouted, she began twisting her body.

They were already in close contact, and with her twisting, there was excessive physical contact. Jing Yi had to try his best to avoid touching Wang Yiyue.

“It hurts so much! You… let me go!” Wang Yiyue’s cries grew louder. The wire operators below, sensing something wrong, panicked.

With Fang Zexuan’s previous accident fresh in their minds, Wang Yiyue’s wailing was like a bomb, throwing the staff into disarray.

One of them, recalling how a colleague had previously been investigated by police for possible negligence, accidentally pressed the rapid descent button for Wang Yiyue’s wire.

Wang Yiyue began plummeting downward.

Now Wang Yiyue was truly panicked.

Her original plan had been to use their shared wire scene to fake a foot cramp. She had people arranged below to take photos that could later be circulated to frame Jing Yi for harassing a female co-star.

She never expected her own wire would malfunction!

Terrified, Wang Yiyue closed her eyes.

However, her rapid descent suddenly stopped.

Wang Yiyue opened her eyes, her dazed mind feeling as if struck by something.

Hanging mid-air was the white-robed swordsman, his handsome face full of concern, gripping her steel cable in his bare hand!

The wire operators had by now readjusted the machinery. Feeling the cable in his hand slowly descending, Jing Yi confirmed the rig was properly adjusted before completely releasing his grip.

Wang Yiyue gently landed on the ground, where rushing staff helped remove her harness.

Jing Yi also landed safely. Lu Yuzhi, frowning, opened Jing Yi’s palm.

Xia Shengguang, who had also rushed to Jing Yi’s side, snorted coldly, his tone extremely displeased. “Are you stupid? How could you grab a wire cable with your bare…”

His words trailed off as Xia Shengguang stared wide-eyed at Jing Yi’s unmarked, pale palm.

“Does it hurt?” Lu Yuzhi’s amber eyes were filled with worry.

Jing Yi shook his head.

With his mastery of Iron Sand Palm supplemented by internal energy, his palms wouldn’t sustain any injury.

“Is Senior Wang injured?” Jing Yi said as he went to check on Wang Yiyue on the other side.

Wang Yiyue was still completely dazed.

Hearing Jing Yi’s words of concern, she blankly looked past the people around her toward Jing Yi.

Earlier, Fang Zexuan had been on an indoor wire rig when he missed his landing point and fractured his leg directly. Hers was outdoors, and she was lying flat—if she had landed on her back, she might have been knocked unconscious or even killed.

Wang Yiyue seemed to finally snap out of it, taking deep, ragged breaths.

After a long while, amid the continuous questioning from those around her, Wang Yiyue shouted, “Shut up!”

Her assistant and manager were stunned by her outburst.

But Wang Yiyue began wailing loudly. As she cried, she wiped her tears and directly said to Gu Guochang, “Director Gu, I’m not filming anymore. Let’s terminate the contract.”