Chapter 3 (Ignite At a Touch)
Chapter 3 On the second day of Zhou Yining's arrival in Hengdian, the third male lead, Yu Yuanhang, also joined the crew.
The assistant director called her over and introduced them, "This is Yu Yuanhang. You two have quite a few scenes together, so get to know each other."
Yu Yuanhang debuted as a singer, but his music career didn't take off. He transitioned into acting two years ago, and last year, his role as the male lead in a historical drama propelled his career to new heights. His acting skills have become increasingly polished, and with his outstanding looks, he quickly rose to fame. Media outlets have speculated that he might very well be the next Ji Dongyang.
Yu Yuanhang extended his hand to Zhou Yining with a smile, saying, "Hello, I'm Yu Yuanhang."
Zhou Yining shook his hand, her eyes twinkling with mischief as she teased, "Sailing far and wide?"
Yu Yuanhang raised an eyebrow, "Yes, exactly."
The two exchanged smiles. Yu Yuanhang was in his mid-twenties, not much older than Zhou Yining, and young people tend to warm up to each other quickly.
That evening, Director Xu gathered several of the main cast in his room to discuss the script. Zhou Yining's scenes were mostly indoor shots, and she had no scheduled shoots in Hengdian. With no appointments and no agent, she was a free agent. Director Xu glanced at her and said, "You should come too, consider it a learning experience."
Zhou Yining followed along. She sat next to Zhou Wei, with Ji Dongyang directly across from her.
Because Ji Dongyang had joined the crew late, which had delayed the shooting schedule, his scenes would be shot intensively over the next few days.
Tonight was Ji Dongyang's turn to take the lead.
Zhou Yining's ears were filled with the deep, resonant sound of his voice. As she listened, she couldn't help but glance at his face. His expression was calm, and as he spoke, he made annotations on the script. His handwriting was strong and forceful, almost piercing through the paper. She found herself staring at his hands.
The fingers pressing on the paper were clean and long, but she knew that his palms were covered with the fine scars and roughness accumulated over the years.
Zhou Yining stared at the hand, lost in thought, and suddenly recalled the night of Zhou Jiahui's 18th birthday party four years ago. She was wearing a black, low-cut, high-slit dress with a large open back, a stark contrast to Zhou Jiahui's white princess dress. Her deliberately mature outfit made her look like a bad sister. The next moment, her foot suddenly caught on something. She tried to steady herself but ended up falling in front of everyone.
Back then, she was only 19 years old. No matter how mature she tried to appear, she was still just a young girl. Falling in public was embarrassing and wiped the pride from her face. Her cheeks began to flush with shame.
No one knew that at that moment, she was utterly at a loss.
The man closest to her bent down, grabbed her hand, and with his other hand on her waist, pulled her up from the cold floor. His hands were long and clean, but the palm that gripped her wrist was thick and rough, causing a sharp pain on her soft skin.
At that moment, she was extremely grateful to the man who had rescued her from the predicament. Just as she was about to look up, she heard the man's deep voice above her head, "You're exposed."
His voice was not too loud or too soft; those standing nearby could hear it. Someone let out a soft chuckle, "Yining dressed so sexy tonight, whether she's exposed or not, it's almost the same effect."
Someone else chimed in, "That's right, dressing so sexy, it's hard not to be exposed."
The teasing and mocking remarks came one after another.
The gratitude in her heart vanished. She looked up at the man and was stunned for a few seconds when she saw his face. She quickly shook off his hand, "It's none of your business."
That night, Zhou Yining's dislike for Ji Dongyang reached its peak. What right did a movie star have to attend this birthday party? Perhaps he meant well at the time, but it would have been better if he hadn't pulled her up. Why did he have to say such things to embarrass her?
Recalling the incident from years ago, Zhou Yining frowned, feeling a bit restless.
Just as she was about to find an excuse to leave, Director Xu spoke up, "That's it for tonight, everyone. Go back and get some rest."
Zhou Wei said, "Oh, it's already past 11, time really flies."
Only then did Zhou Yining realize that three hours had passed? Had she been daydreaming for that long?
Everyone gathered their scripts, and Zhou Yining also stood up, following the others out of Director Xu's room.
Zhou Wei came over and asked with a smile, "First time participating in a script discussion? How do you feel?"
Zhou Yining didn't have the heart to admit that she hadn't really been paying attention. She nodded with a straight face, "It was okay."
Zhou Wei looked at Ji Dongyang and joked, "Dong Ge is the most serious when he explains the script, and he can really draw you into the character. Since you have a lot of scenes with him, when it's your turn to shoot, you can ask him for advice. But he's very strict, so you'll have to withstand the pressure."
Zhou Yining didn't even think before she refused, "No need, I'll just learn from Sister Wei. After all, you're the movie queen!"
Zhou Wei didn't expect Zhou Yining to be so dismissive of Ji Dongyang. Usually, newcomers would be eager to get close to him. She looked at Ji Dongyang, who glanced at Zhou Yining and said in a flat tone, "I can't teach her."
Zhou Wei was even more surprised. Although Ji Dongyang was cold, he was usually quite accommodating to newcomers. As long as they were humble, he would give them some pointers.
With that, Ji Dongyang turned and left.
Zhou Yining was stunned for a few seconds, then smiled and waved goodbye to everyone, "I'm going back to my room too, everyone get some rest."
The two left one after the other. Someone asked Zhou Wei curiously, "Do they know each other?"
Zhou Wei thought for a moment, "Didn't they say they had met a few times? They should know each other."
Not only do they know each other, but they also seem to have a mutual dislike.
The world is a bit chaotic, and she's starting to feel like she can't keep up.
...
Zhou Yining and Ji Dongyang both joined the crew later, so their rooms were on different floors from the others. The two entered the elevator at the same time.
It was late at night, and the elevator was empty except for the two of them.
Zhou Yining was wearing flat shoes that day, with a height of 166 cm, while Ji Dongyang was 186 cm tall. Standing together, she looked even more petite and delicate.
She stared at the rising numbers on the elevator, glancing at the man with his hands in his pockets, and asked casually, "Why did you say you can't teach me? Is it because you don't want to?"
Ji Dongyang didn't expect her to start a conversation. Normally, she would call him "Dong Ge" with a smile in front of others, but when they were alone, the look in her eyes was disdainful.
Having been an actor for so many years, he was good at observing people's expressions. He could see through her little emotions at a glance.
He suddenly chuckled, "You don't respect me, so how can I teach you?"
Zhou Yining looked up, and he was looking down at her. She looked away, "You're right, I don't respect you, and I don't want you to teach me."
Ji Dongyang looked straight ahead, "I heard you escaped from a marriage to come here. I don't know how you got into the crew, but I advise you, if you're here just to play around, you'd better tell Director Xu sooner rather than later, so there won't be any trouble finding an actor later."
Recently, the large-scale historical drama 'Legend of Mingfei', invested by Xingyu Film and Television, is also filming in Hengdian. Xingyu and Huachen have always been competitors. The new owner of Xingyu, Ke Teng, is making a strong move, and several actors have been poached from the 'Tai’ping Dynasty' crew, constantly disrupting the shooting schedule.
"Ding—"
The elevator door opened.
Zhou Yining's floor arrived. She stepped out and turned to look at him, standing on the elevator threshold.
The elevator stopped running, and she faced Ji Dongyang, frowning, "How did you know I escaped from a marriage?"
Ji Dongyang's expression remained unchanged, "That's not the point."
Zhou Yining raised her chin, "Then what is the point?"
Ji Dongyang, "The point is that you will affect the entire crew's shooting schedule."
Zhou Yining, "..."
She gritted her teeth, completely provoked, and angrily retorted, "Don't worry, I definitely won't hold you back!"
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