Chapter 253 - 215: Rising Phase: 51

Words : 1332 Updated : Sep 27th, 2025

Chapter 253: Chapter 215: Rising Phase: 51 Wen Bing scratched his head, then bit his lip. "Um... it’s me, but I won’t be on camera, just my voice," Wen Bing said. "The camera’s perspective is that of this man." Zhou Yun smiled. She nodded and said, "Okay, I’ll act." "There’s not much pay for the role," Wen Bing said uneasily. "This film has a total production budget of only two million." "Okay, just give whatever you think is appropriate," Zhou Yun said. "Director Wen, you’ve caught a good time." If they had been signing the contract during their previous discussion, Zhou Yun could not have said "just give whatever you think is appropriate," because He Yong would not agree, the company would not agree. Not anymore. She now had greater autonomy. However, when Zhou Lan heard about it, she widened her eyes and questioned: "Zhou Yun, the matter of your pay must be discussed with me before agreeing to anyone else!" Zhou Yun said, "Sister Lan, I really like this play, I want to film this movie." "I know, but I am your agent, and I should be the one to communicate all these things with them, even if you are willing to perform without a fee, you should discuss with me first," Zhou Lan insisted. "I understand." "I’m not blaming you for agreeing to perform for a low fee for others, but regardless, this is my responsibility, and I should handle this matter," Zhou Lan said. "In the future, you will make more friends with producers and directors, and you will have more personal relationships, and receive more invitations through these relationships. You can accept any you want, but you have to communicate with me first, and not just me, in the future you will build up a bigger team, there will be people who specialize in reading scripts for you, selecting scripts, and there will be people who specialize in communicating contracts, with each person performing their own role." Zhou Yun realized the seriousness of the problem. "I understand." "For the matter of pay, I will negotiate with them, and I promise you, I will absolutely not refuse anyone on the grounds of the payment without your consent," Zhou Lan said. "Remember what I told you about what path you’ll take in the future? I have it in mind." "I know, I’ve always trusted you." The two looked at each other and smiled. - - Zhou Yun got the complete script for "Life." The whole script was like a prose poem. Actually, there were no major plot twists and turns, it was essentially the dialogues between two people and the performance of one person. Of course, there were other actors’ parts in the middle, but those were fleeting, merely accessories in the life of the female protagonist. The woman named He Yun that Zhou Yun was set to portray occupied ninety percent of the screen time. After the contract was reviewed, it was signed. On April 20th, Zhou Yun brought Zheng Xiaojue to join the team. This was an even more modest production crew than the one for "Eighth Heartbeat." Wen Bing was responsible for directing and filming alone. There were only about ten people in the whole crew. Of course, this movie didn’t need a big team. Even the main filming location for the movie was Wen Bing’s own apartment. The production company rented five apartments in this building to provide for other crew members to live in. It was inconvenient for Zhou Yun to live in this apartment building, after all, it wasn’t a high-end neighborhood with management as good as Zhou Yun’s own, and her celebrity status would bring her a lot of troubles, so the production company booked her a room in a star-rated hotel ten minutes away by car. Zhou Yun could go back to her own apartment to rest, and if the shoot ended late, she could also rest at the hotel. The conditions were quite basic, but Zhou Yun didn’t mind. But what surprised Zhou Yun was that the crew didn’t even hire a makeup artist or costume designer. Wen Bing said to Zhou Yun, "I hope you appear in front of the camera just as you are in daily life, especially when at home, no need for makeup, bare-faced is fine." Zhou Yun readily accepted upon hearing this. "Okay, no problem." Wen Bing added, "For the clothes, just wear your own. We have limited funds, so put together a few outfits based on your own understanding, and I’ll take a look." Zhou Yun agreed. Wen Bing scratched his head and said, "The budget for the whole play is limited, we have to figure out a lot of things on our own, but fortunately, there are no places in this play that require a lot of money." Zhou Yun thought to herself, no wonder it’s only twenty days of shooting. If it took any longer, there wouldn’t be enough funds to support it. But twenty days were indeed enough. There really weren’t many scenes, each one was full of monologues or dialogues. There weren’t many specialized scenes or set changes, most of the shooting was done in Wen Bing’s apartment. The play was essentially about the very everyday story that revolves around He Yun, the character Zhou Yun was set to portray, and her imagined boyfriend who still exists beside her. It wasn’t hard to act. It wasn’t that kind of very complex, very profound, highly life-experienced character. It’s a state that most women have experienced. Liking someone, still liking that person, arguing, happiness, disheartenment, and eventually waking up from the dream, realizing that the person was just a figment of her imagination. From a dramatic standpoint, it was a story without many ups and downs. But what Zhou Yun didn’t expect was that on the first day of filming, Wen Bing plainly said, "Just perform as you wish, as if it’s real life, and I’ll grab the shots with the camera." Zhou Yun was shocked. "What about the lines?" Zhou Yun said, "Am I just talking to myself?" "I’ll read lines with you," Wen Bing said. This was a filming method Zhou Yun had never experienced before, nor had she ever heard of. Zhou Yun didn’t know how to act. Because Wen Bing simply did not call "cut." It was the first time Zhou Yun felt so lost in front of the camera. Wen Bing didn’t expect Zhou Yun to be unable to get into the role. "Why?" he asked. Zhou Yun said, "I have no idea how to act, it feels very forced, and as I act, I would end up laughing myself out of the scene, completely distrusting the situation I’m in." Wen Bing frowned in thought. "Sorry, director, I have indeed never filmed this way before," Zhou Yun stroked her hair, "Maybe, I might need to talk to you more, right now I completely don’t understand what you’re looking for." "I don’t want any particular effect," Wen Bing said gloomily. Hearing Wen Bing say this, Zhou Yun was slightly moved. "Director, can we talk?" Zhou Yun said, "Actually, we don’t understand each other right now, and under such circumstances, it’s hard for us to trust each other." Wen Bing grabbed a bottle of wine and said, "Let’s drink." Zhou Yun smiled, nodded, and said, "Okay." The two sat down on the sofa. "You’ve read the script, what do you think this movie is about?" Wen Bing picked up a glass of wine, but instead of clinking with Zhou Yun, he just took a sip himself. Zhou Yun pondered and said, "I don’t know, after reading the script, it actually felt a bit like something was lodged in my heart, uncomfortable, realizing that the person who has always been living by my side has long left me, I—me, as the reader or the future audience, felt a sudden and uncomfortable epiphany, especially when He Yun said the last sentence."

Chapter 253 - 215: Rising Phase: 51

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