Chapter 14: Art Springs from Life

After finishing his makeup, Zhou Le went to take photos.

Zhou Le used to really enjoy being photographed—not selfies, but having others take pictures of him. Every day he could admire his own handsome reflection in the mirror, but when others took photos, it meant that others could also see his charming face every day.

At first, Zhou Le was immersed in the novelty and excitement of the photo shoot, but as it went on, he gradually felt exhausted. Every adjustment of angle and every nuance of expression felt like a grueling battle. He had never imagined photography could be so mentally taxing.

Finally, the shoot was over, and Zhou Le felt as if he was once again enveloped in an invisible constraint. The sensation of regaining freedom only to be overwhelmed by the "classroom atmosphere" left him somewhat helpless.

Bored, Zhou Le began flipping through the script. Initially, the script he received portrayed his character as a Taiwanese person, but after signing the contract, it was changed to reflect his true background. His father was from Guangdong, his mother from Jiangsu, but both had long settled in Beijing, so he held Beijing residency. However, due to the difficulty of buying property in Beijing, they had always rented, until an unexpected death occurred.

Thus, the revised script incorporated some dialects from Jiangsu and Guangdong.

Soon after, Qiao Shan plopped down beside Zhou Le. They had already talked quite a bit about Zhou Le’s past experiences.

“Le’er, do you watch the Three Kingdoms?” Qiao Shan asked.

“Yeah, I used to love it. I also played a lot of related games—Dynasty Warriors, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and especially Three Kingdoms Kill. That was my favorite,” Zhou Le replied.

“Haha, Nazha just said she filmed a show called Martial God Zhao Zilong last year, which is now airing on Hunan TV. It got me thinking—it’s been a while since I watched the Three Kingdoms. Maybe I’ll watch it again sometime, especially since I sometimes perform skits; watching more can’t hurt.”

“That’s true. But Shan-ge, have you noticed how their names reflect their ambitions?” Zhou Le said.

“How so?” Qiao Shan asked.

“For example, Liu Bei’s sons—Liu Feng and Liu Chan—together their names form ‘Feng Chan’ (封禅),” Zhou Le explained.

“Seems about right,” Qiao Shan said.

“And then Sun Ce and Sun Quan, together ‘Quan Ce’ (权策),” Zhou Le continued.

A smile appeared on Qiao Shan’s face. “That’s actually pretty interesting. What about the old Cao family?”

“There are many members of the Cao family, and to capture them all, you’d include Cao Cao, Cao Pi, Cao Zhen, Cao Shuang, Cao Ang...” Zhou Le listed.

Qiao Shan began to piece the names together in his mind: “Cao Pi Zhen Shuang Ang...”

“???” Zhou Le looked puzzled.

“No, you...” Qiao Shan laughed.

Zhou Le shrugged. “Don’t blame me. Those names were given by the Caos themselves; I have nothing to do with it.”

Just then, Nazha came over. “What are you guys talking about?”

“Talking about the Three Kingdoms,” Zhou Le replied with a smile.

Qiao Shan quickly added, “Yeah, I said my favorite is Lord Guan.” Then he put his arm around Zhou Le’s shoulder. “Your turn, Le’er. Who’s your favorite?”

“I like Diao Chan the most,” Zhou Le answered.

Guli Nazha blinked in surprise.

Qiao Shan was equally stunned.

Since Qiao Shan had talked with Nazha before, he knew she played Diao Chan in Martial God Zhao Zilong.

“Wait, have you watched it?” Qiao Shan asked.

“Watched what?” Zhou Le was puzzled.

“Nazha’s show, Martial God Zhao Zilong.”

Zhou Le glanced at Guli Nazha, thinking if he nodded, he might get caught if she asked for details. So he honestly shook his head.

“No.”

“Then why did you say Diao Chan?”

Zhou Le said, “It was just an instinctive thought: ‘Where is my Diao Chan?’”

The next moment, Guli Nazha and Qiao Shan spoke simultaneously: “Isn’t she right here?”

But Nazha meant herself, while Qiao Shan patted Zhou Le’s waist.

Zhou Le was baffled.

Nazha was equally confused.

Nazha instantly caught the meaning. “Shan-ge, you’re such a pervert!” She blushed and quickly ran away.

Qiao Shan protested, “What did I say? Why am I the only pervert here? What about you?”

Zhou Le laughed. “Shan-ge, handsome guys aren’t called perverts, that’s called being witty and humorous.”

“No? Am I not handsome?”

“Shan-ge, I mean her taste in men is terrible...”

“I agree.”

...

Not long after, Da Peng returned, his hand bandaged and having received an injection.

Filming continued into the afternoon.

The dog named Lili was only comforted and not punished because, according to analysis, it was startled by the firecrackers set off at the opening ceremony.

“This afternoon, we’ll shoot the opening scenes and those fundraising shots. Teacher Fan, Brother Liu, Brother Long, Yiming, Yunhe, Ranan, and Lusi, start preparing—go get your makeup and styling done. I’ll come over soon to explain,” Zhou Le said, watching nearby.

Teacher Fan was Fan Wei, once a golden partner of Zhao Benshan.

But the surgeon who gave Fan a double eyelid surgery in the story was Liu Yijun, former guitarist of the Tang Dynasty band, who joined and left twice and was once named “China’s Greatest Guitarist” by SPIN magazine.

He was a true veteran in the history of Chinese rock.

The warehouse manager responsible for the thermal underwear was Long Long, who had formed the Baojia Street No. 43 band with Wang Feng, later joined Zang Tianshuo’s band, and co-founded the avant-garde, improvisational band "Uncertain" with Dou Wei. Later, he founded the folk record label “13th Month” with musician Lu Zhongqiang.

He then formed the “Tuanjiehu Band” and joined Lao Lang’s band as music director.

Later, he served as music director for various music shows and concerts and ran his own company.

After a while, a young girl suddenly ran from nearby the set.

Wearing a nurse’s uniform that perfectly outlined her slender waist, with a delicate nurse’s cap on her head, a few playful strands of hair peeking from under the brim, her face was charming and sweet. As she approached, Zhou Le noticed her eyes—bright and clear like a spring, and when she smiled, they curved like they held stars.

Whether from running or heat, her cheeks flushed as she shyly and purely stood before Zhou Le and said in a crisp voice, “Hello, Brother Zhou Le, my name is Zhao Lusi.”

Her voice was soft and sweet, her appearance natural and unrefined in its sweetness.

Zhou Le recalled seeing her briefly on a variety show, but she hadn’t appeared much.

In the drama, she was a guest star playing a young nurse.

“Hello, I’m Zhou Le. What can I do for you?” Zhou Le asked curiously.

“Well, Brother Zhou Le, since I’m playing a nurse, I practiced a lot before but I’m not sure if it’s good enough. I wanted to ask Director Da Peng, but he’s busy. Then I planned to ask Shan-ge, but Director Da Peng said he had to leave early and would only return at night for night scenes, so he told me to find you.”

“Find me? To help you with your acting?”

“Yes, no lines, mostly expressions and eye contact.”

Zhou Le nodded willingly.

“Alright, let’s start.”

During the process, Zhou Le realized the role wasn’t difficult; it mainly involved using eyes and minimal lines.

But honestly, Zhao Lusi’s acting was plain, lacking any highlight. Even as an outsider, it was obvious.

Zhou Le suspected she must have some background or was a sponsored newcomer; otherwise, he couldn’t understand why Da Peng valued her.

Yet, since she came to him, and Zhou Le had never coached anyone in acting before, he decided to help.

“I think you still don’t understand the character.”

“First, you’re a nurse in a plastic surgery hospital, which is mostly private, so service is important. But when you’re removing the bandages from Teacher Fan, your expression has to be nervous and serious, your movements slow. Otherwise, you might accidentally pull off his eyelid. Not to mention the pool of blood—that would really hurt.”

Hearing this, Zhao Lusi shivered.

Imagining the scene gave her goosebumps.

“But when he opens his eyes, how do you feel? You must be happy because the patient wasn’t harmed on your watch. So you smile, but don’t show your teeth. When you and he make eye contact, then you show your teeth. I’ll explain why later.”

“In the corridor, you don’t need to say much, just stand properly and watch Teacher Fan’s performance. You’re doing fine.”

“Finally, when you get on the hot air balloon, you look down. Understand? You’ve never seen this before, so you wear a smile of happiness, your eyes fixed straight ahead... The reason you’re happy is because you’re ‘kept’ by a big shot. A nurse with a few thousand a month is kept—or rather, becomes the boss’s little wife—and thus experiences wealth and glory. So you must look happy.”

Zhou Le spoke while demonstrating.

Zhao Lusi’s eyes lit up, admiringly saying, “Wow, it really seems much better. Brother Zhou Le, you understand the role so well.”

Zhou Le glanced at the slightly increased experience points on his system panel, then shook his head.

“It’s not that I understand the role. I’ve just seen this scene in real life.”

He really had.

Not long after joining the company, because of his strong education and abilities, he apprenticed directly under the project manager.

Afterward, he had often driven the project manager on late-night errands.

Though it was always with different women, their expressions were basically the same.