Her tone carried the commanding air of a superior, so naturally that Qian Yuan, who was used to controlling the scene, was unconsciously intimidated and stunned for a moment.
When he came to his senses, the young girl in a red ancient costume looked serious and had already entered her role.
Qian Yuan’s professionalism made him ignore the previous unpleasantness. He focused intently on the camera and shouted: “Action!”
“Cut!” Qian Yuan called out, “Very good, everyone worked hard. Wrap it up!”
Lin Xiaoman was still on the wire when everyone was already in a celebratory mood to get off work. Xiaobai came over with his phone, looking pleased: “Xiaoman, didn’t I say we wouldn’t waste time? If we hurry back now, we can still make tomorrow’s signing event.”
“No,” Lin Xiaoman said seriously.
Before Xiaobai could ask, she walked towards Qian Yuan.
“Director Qian, the camera position didn’t keep up. We need to reshoot.”
Her voice was neither loud nor soft, carrying an inherent commanding tone that everyone nearby could hear. The staff who were just quickly packing up suddenly froze and looked at the two of them.
Qian Yuan, who had already been annoyed by her commanding tone earlier, now felt embarrassed in front of everyone: “I said it’s fine, it’s fine.”
“I’m not satisfied,” Lin Xiaoman’s expression turned cold, making Qian Yuan’s heart skip a beat.
But he quickly reacted, feeling angry at being intimidated by a young girl: “Am I the director or are you? I’ve been making films for years, and no one has ever told me they’re not satisfied.”
“How many films have you directed?” Lin Xiaoman sneered, “What notable works do you have? Who do you think you are, being so arrogant without even having a single work?”
Qian Yuan was furious. Although he was now down on his luck and had to take on these commercial jobs, he was still someone who had won the Hua Si Award.
“I will have many works in the future, but you,” Lin Xiaoman raised her eyes, her bright eyes flashing with playful mockery, “will not.”
Her tone was confident, deeply convincing.
Qian Yuan’s face alternated between red and white. “A person who doesn’t even take responsibility for his own works, how could he shoot anything impressive?” Lin Xiaoman said.
Qian Yuan’s expression became even uglier. He prided himself on being underappreciated. After winning an award for his debut work, he thought he would become famous, but reality was cruel. The few films he made afterward went unnoticed.
Over the past few years, he had spent all his savings and could barely make a living. He could only rely on friends in the industry to take on some simple jobs to earn money, but deep down, he looked down on the work he was doing now.
He noticed the issue Lin Xiaoman mentioned but didn’t want to address it.
But Lin Xiaoman’s gaze, looking at him like trash, stung him.
“What kind of work is this?!” Qian Yuan shouted, “Don’t insult the word ‘work’!”
Lin Xiaoman’s eyes grew even colder: “Anything shot from your hands is your work!”
“This is just commercial garbage!” Qian Yuan became more agitated, “Don’t compare this to my works.”
“If it’s garbage, why did you take it? And if you took it, what right do you have to look down on it!” Lin Xiaoman didn’t want to argue with him and turned to the staff, “Although this advertisement might be seen as trash by many, if we’re doing it, I hope everyone can do their best. When people browse the webpage and think it’s trash, I want them to see that the production team put in effort, not that it’s a trashy production.”
She then bowed deeply to everyone present: “Thank you all for your hard work.”
The wall-climbing sound recordist decided to become a die-hard fan and quickly stepped forward: “That’s right, we must do our best. Even if it’s a trash advertisement, we can’t be called a trashy production!”
The young staff around nodded in agreement: “Exactly right.”
Xiao Bai tugged at Lin Xiaoman’s clothes, whispering: “Xiaoman, there’s no need to be so meticulous about this small ad, we still have—”
Before he could finish, Lin Xiaoman’s sharp look made him change his words: “Right, even if it’s trash, we’ll make it the most eye-catching, we’ll be champions!”
Although he had promised his girlfriend he’d finish work early to see her, seeing Lin Xiaoman’s enthusiasm made it impossible for him to leave.
Qian Yuan sat with a cold face, silently watching everyone start working again.
In his eyes, trash was trash. What difference was there? Everyone was just doing their job for money, as long as there were no mistakes. What right did Lin Xiaoman have to stand on the moral high ground and criticize others?!
Lin Xiaoman reviewed the camera setup with the cameraman again and returned to the green screen. At the cameraman’s signal, she leaped into the air and dove towards empty space.
After three attempts, Lin Xiaoman noticed some issues with the shot and communicated again with the cameraman. The young man looked a bit embarrassed, but Lin Xiaoman comforted him: “It’s a gradual process. After all, a single-shot take is not simple.”
Repeating over and over, though it was a simple action, sometimes the wind or the camera tracking was off. After dozens of takes, even those who had been supportive earlier started to show signs of impatience.
“It’s much better than before. It seems we’ll shoot it soon,” Lin Xiaoman smiled at everyone, “How about I buy some coffee and desserts to reward everyone?”
Everyone cheered. Lin Xiaoman asked them to recommend a shop and ordered coffee and desserts according to each person’s taste.
During the wait for the delivery, everyone shot a few more takes.
When the delivery arrived, the staff went to rest in the break room. Lin Xiaoman remained alone in the shooting area. While reviewing the footage, she discovered that dropping from a specific height felt best.
To master this feeling, she tried several more times with the help of the wire work staff.
Qian Yuan was still in the shooting area. He watched Lin Xiaoman repeat the take over and over, maintaining the brightest smile no matter how she landed. His cold expression gradually softened, and his gaze became much gentler.
He had met many celebrities, most of whom couldn’t endure hardship and would show a bad attitude after multiple takes. He never expected this young girl could persist until now.
Qian Yuan focused intently on Lin Xiaoman. Although he was reluctant to admit it, from certain angles, this person was very similar to his goddess Tang Feifei. Especially when glancing back mid-air, her face was pure and bright, striking directly at Qian Yuan’s heart.
He stood rooted to the spot, recalling a scene from one of his favorite actress’s works – a startling smile flying across the river surface. So similar to Tang Feifei.
Qian Yuan involuntarily stood up, his expression changing immediately. “Be careful—” he shouted in panic, but Lin Xiaoman fell straight down like a bird with broken wings.
By the time he ran to the platform, Lin Xiaoman lay on the mat, eyes closed, looking pained. “Are you okay?” Qian Yuan didn’t dare touch her and instructed those nearby, “Call an ambulance quickly.”
“No need,” Lin Xiaoman opened her eyes, her voice weak from pain, “I’m fine.”
“
“How can you be fine after falling from such a height?” Qian Yuan was unsure why the wire support had suddenly failed, but he knew she definitely needed to go to the hospital for a check-up.
“I’m really fine.”
When Lin Xiaoman first fell on the mat, she felt her entire body was shattered, too painful to move. But after a while, the pain slightly subsided, and she could barely sit up, so she quickly stopped Qian Yuan: “Let me finish shooting the advertisement.”
“You—” Qian Yuan couldn’t understand why she could push herself to this extent, finding it incomprehensible, “It’s just an advertisement, why?”
