Chapter 8: No Stunt Double

Most of the film was shot on the film studio lot. The original plan was to rent a cruise ship at the port for filming, but summer and autumn were peak seasons for cruises, and the cost of chartering a ship was exorbitant. The filming schedule couldn’t be precisely calculated, and every day of delay would incur additional expenses.

Director Qiu was adept at controlling costs for indoor shoots. Before filming began, he found a local team in Lingang to build a replica of a cruise ship interior based on the original novel. The interior was built in a large open-air warehouse at the film studio, complete with a deck, banquet hall, and cabins. The warehouse had no roof, allowing for natural light in scenes that required a realistic feel. The entire ship interior was over twenty meters long and over ten meters high, all built with environmentally friendly materials, which were not only affordable but also recyclable after filming.

Li Siwei had already filmed many scenes with Lu Tong in this ship interior, but now most of them were scrapped.

The challenge of today’s scene was a one-minute-long continuous shot.

To create a sense of speed and immersion, the cameraman would follow the actors with a Steadicam. Li Peiyun, carrying his violin, would leave the ballroom and run through the ship’s corridors. When the ship suddenly rocked, Li Peiyun would stumble into an open engine room, where Liang Haisheng, shirtless, would catch him and his violin case.

So many actions needed to be completed in a single, uninterrupted Steadicam shot, which was quite difficult.

Director Qiu personally supervised the scene, and the area behind the monitor was crowded.

The lights were set, the exposure was measured, and the cameraman was in position.

Just before filming began, Director Qiu picked up the loudspeaker and called out to Li Siwei under the lights: “Siwei, get into character. This scene hinges on you; you have to lead your co-star.”

Li Siwei nodded to the director, indicating he was ready.

The cameraman started filming. Li Siwei quickly got into character, running along the ship’s corridor with his violin case. He reached a corner, turned, entered a dead end, turned around, passed the camera, continued running, and saw a slightly open door on one side.

A light sheen of sweat appeared on Li Siwei’s temples, his brow slightly furrowed. He didn’t stop, but the ship rocked, and he lost his balance. With a bang, Li Siwei pushed open the slightly ajar door.

The door swung open, the camera followed, and Yu Chuan, shirtless, was sitting in the engine room. The violin case on Li Siwei’s back slipped from his grip, and Yu Chuan quickly reacted, catching the case.

At the same time, Li Siwei bumped into Yu Chuan’s shoulder, and their eyes met.

Perhaps because it was early morning, Yu Chuan’s gaze was cold, just a brief glance over Li Siwei’s face.

“Cut!” Director Qiu’s voice suddenly came, interrupting the mood, and the camera pulled away.

“Yu Chuan, your eyes.” Director Qiu cleared his throat, seemingly searching for the right words. “Your eyes could be a bit brighter. This is the first time you see Li Peiyun. Express a bit of surprise and delight. Can you do that?”

This was the first time Li Siwei had seen Director Qiu so accommodating on set.

Everyone returned to their positions. After a few minutes of adjustments, filming resumed.

Li Siwei continued running through the ship’s corridor, but the scene was cut again during the moment of eye contact between him and Yu Chuan.

“Cut!” Director Qiu raised his hand to stop filming. “Better this time, but you two still lack chemistry. Siwei, when Yu Chuan puts his arm around your shoulder, lean into him a bit more. Your movements look a bit stiff now.”

Li Siwei nodded and turned to see Director Qiu walking over from behind the monitor.

Director Qiu stepped between them and put his arm around Li Siwei’s shoulder: “He’ll put his arm around you like this, and then you lean forward, so your shoulders touch. Understand?”

Li Siwei was held by the director’s arm and awkwardly leaned forward.

Yu Chuan stood to the side, arms crossed, watching.

“Yes, just like this.” Director Qiu released Li Siwei’s shoulder and patted his waist. “Haven’t you two rehearsed this scene? Take a twenty-minute break and go to the empty room next door to rehearse before we shoot again.”

Li Siwei took half a step back and looked at Yu Chuan. Yu Chuan’s gaze seemed to be fixed on his waist.

“Yu Chuan, you can discuss the script more with Siwei. He put in a lot of effort for this audition.” Director Qiu smiled at Yu Chuan, but the smile was somewhat ambiguous.

Yu Chuan simply nodded, his face expressionless.

Five minutes later, the door to the next room opened. Li Siwei followed Yu Chuan inside. He was about to find a chair to sit down when he heard a click. He turned around and saw Yu Chuan close and lock the door.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s too noisy outside.” Yu Chuan was still shirtless, wearing only a black leather jacket.

“Aren’t we rehearsing?”

Yu Chuan ignored him, his gaze sweeping down from the top of Li Siwei’s head. Li Siwei felt uncomfortable and avoided his gaze.

“Just say what you want to say.” Li Siwei glanced at the clock on the wall. “We have to go back in twenty minutes.”

There was a table behind them. Yu Chuan leaned against it with one hand.

“Director Qiu already explained it clearly. There’s nothing to rehearse.” Yu Chuan tapped a line in the script with his finger.

Li Siwei looked up at him: “Want to act it out again? I’m afraid you won’t be able to get into character.”

Yu Chuan looked at him and took off his leather jacket: “Of course.”

His tall and strong figure looked even more intimidating in the dim light. Li Siwei stepped back half a pace.

About half a minute later, he got back into character, following the script, taking a step forward and bumping into Yu Chuan’s shoulder. Yu Chuan didn’t flinch, meeting the impact, then reaching out and putting his arm around Li Siwei’s shoulder, pulling them close.

Their breaths mingled, their necks almost intertwined.

According to the script, Yu Chuan should speak next.

But he remained silent in the dim light. Li Siwei reminded him: “Your line.”

Yu Chuan pressed his palm against the back of Li Siwei’s neck, not letting go, almost pushing Li Siwei into his arms.

“So familiar with the lines. Did you film this scene with Lu Tong?”

“What?” Li Siwei didn’t expect him to ask this. He raised his hand to push him away, but couldn’t budge him.

“Which scene did you film with him?”

Li Siwei didn’t understand what he wanted to ask: “Why, does it have anything to do with you?”

Yu Chuan seemed angered by his slightly dismissive tone: “I’m the new male lead. Naturally, I have the right to know your progress.”

Li Siwei looked at him for a few seconds and chuckled: “We filmed more than half of it.”

He knew he was lying, but if it could make Yu Chuan uncomfortable, he was happy to tell a small lie.

Yu Chuan was silent for two seconds, almost whispering in Li Siwei’s ear: “Really? Did you film the bed scene too?”

Li Siwei looked at him: “Of course.”

“How bad was your performance that he resigned after filming the bed scene with you?” Yu Chuan released his arms, putting half a meter’s distance between them.

Li Siwei didn’t bother responding to his unreasonable sarcasm: “People aim higher. He had a better opportunity, so it’s normal for him to leave.”

“So, was it Qiu Yaoming?” Yu Chuan suddenly asked.

“What are you talking about?” Li Siwei didn’t understand.

“Don’t you know what I’m talking about?” Yu Chuan looked down at him.

“Yu Chuan, I don’t want to play guessing games with you. If you don’t want to rehearse, we can go out now. Don’t waste everyone’s time.”

Yu Chuan nudged Li Siwei’s shoulder with his knuckles. Li Siwei lost his balance and almost fell backwards.

“You’re bruised like this, and no one in the production dares to say anything. Is it because that person is the director? Did Lu Tong suddenly resign because of Qiu Yaoming?” He questioned in a low voice.

The dim rehearsal room was unlit, with only a narrow skylight letting in a sliver of light. The light fell between them, dividing the space into two distinct parts.

Li Siwei stood in the darkness, took a deep breath, his eyes sharp as a blade: “Yu Chuan, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t judge others by your own standards. I’m not as disgusting as your circle.”

Yu Chuan took another half step forward, half of his face illuminated, half hidden in shadow. He grabbed Li Siwei by the collar: “Our circle? What circle am I in?”

Li Siwei tried to pry his fingers open, and they were locked in a stalemate.

Until there was a knock on the locked door. Knock, knock, knock.

“Is anyone in there?” The stagehand’s voice, followed by the sound of the doorknob turning, but to no avail.

The stagehand called out again: “Who locked the door? There are props inside!”

The stalemate ended, and they separated. Yu Chuan flicked his wrist and strode over to open the door. The room was brightly lit.

The stagehand outside, seeing Yu Chuan suddenly emerge, froze, forgetting to even greet him.

Just as the stagehand was about to enter to retrieve the props, another person came out.

Li Siwei walked out in front of Yu Chuan, leaving him only a departing back.

“What’s going on…” The stagehand muttered before entering. “The lights weren’t even on in here.”

Back on set, the makeup artist touched up Li Siwei’s makeup.

“Hey, why is your collar wrinkled?” The makeup artist called over the costume assistant who was waiting on standby.

Li Siwei took off his shirt and handed it over: “Sorry, I was just scratched by a dog.”

The costume assistant looked shocked: “There are dogs on set?”

Li Siwei nodded: “A wild dog, tall and strong.”

Yu Chuan strode past him without stopping.