162: What's with the arrogance?

Shi Zhujie was acting hesitant, but the scenes still had to be filmed; he was like an abacus bead—he'd only move when pushed.

His skin must be itching for a scolding, Director Zhao thought. Does he only feel comfortable after getting chewed out?

Before going on set, Shi Zhujie's eyes were already red.

"You're a grown man, can you not act like this whenever something happens?" Shen Lian took the Assistant Director's megaphone, his voice loud enough for the entire set to hear. "Cry, cry, cry! You're going to cry away all your good luck!"

Everyone: "..."

Shi Zhujie took a deep breath. Seeing him standing at the designated spot, Director Zhao tentatively planned to try a take.

The opposing actress lay on the ground, playing the youngest daughter of the Dingyuan Marquis Household. The Young Marquis came rushing from the palace but still failed to stop the assassins. The rain washed away the blood, and his sister lay there lifelessly.

The Young Marquis's eyes were filled with despair and shock as he stumbled toward his sister. His heart and soul were shattered, and unable to catch his breath, he fell to his knees with a thud.

"There are no nails on the ground! Just kneel properly!" Shen Lian shouted through the megaphone. "I'm seriously fed up. Your costume is already soaked; are you still afraid of getting a little more mud on your knees? With this kind of explosive power, the kid next door whose toy was stolen acts better than you!"

Shi Zhujie endured the water pouring onto his face and retorted, "The water is too heavy."

"It's a rainstorm! The background is a rainstorm!" Shen Lian didn't give him any face at all. "Facial details will be dealt with separately; that's no excuse for you to just muddle through."

Director Zhao shifted his posture, once again trying hard to suppress the corners of his mouth.

To be fair, Shi Zhujie's crying was actually quite decent this time. Perhaps it was because he had never been criticized so publicly before—after all, Director Zhao usually just pulled him aside to talk. Once his emotions broke, a few of the shots were unexpectedly good.

"Eh?" Director Zhao sat up straight, pointing his rolled-up script at the screen as he said to Shen Lian, "In that part just now, the feeling of sadness in the close-up was there."

"It must be hard for you," Shen Lian replied. "To be satisfied with just a bit of feeling when it's otherwise this rotten."

Director Zhao: "..." Isn't that because he can't be compared to you?

Shi Zhujie overheard this. Since two more close-ups were needed for this segment anyway, when the camera pushed in again, his tears fell like rain, looking grief-stricken to the point of death.

The Assistant Director leaned in as if he'd seen a ghost. "He's had an epiphany?"

"He was blasted into it," Director Zhao whispered. "Did you see any pauses during those few minutes Shen Lian was scolding Shi Zhujie just now?"

Besides Shi Zhujie, there was another young man who had been squeezed into the cast. Nineteen years old, packaged from head to toe, he had debuted from a so-called "Idol Youth Training Camp." Because his company was promoting him, he was incredibly arrogant. How did that saying go? "Within three steps of a Crouching Dragon, there must be a Fledgling Phoenix."

His acting was even worse than Shi Zhujie's. He played a page with significant screen time, but his lines were beyond saving and would have to rely on post-production dubbing. Despite being "brothers in misfortune," the young man looked down on Shi Zhujie immensely.

Since the young man arrived, the two had clashed several times.

Now that Shi Zhujie was getting scolded, the young man was standing there laughing.

It would have been fine if he hadn't laughed, but his laughter reminded Shen Lian of the scene they filmed yesterday. The young man's Mandarin wasn't very standard, with some unintelligible accents. As soon as he opened his mouth, the words became a jumbled mess, which actually made Shen Lian forget his own lines.

"I don't even know how you can laugh," Shen Lian turned his fire on him. "You're the only person in the entire crew who needs dubbing. Can your lines improve even just a little bit? Every day you're either researching what to wear or what to eat—is that of any use?"

Director Zhao and the Assistant Director both took a step back. This wasn't right!

Fortunately, Shen Lian's attacks weren't indiscriminate. His statements of fact were so precise and his roasting so rigorous that you couldn't argue back.

Director Zhao thought they would be filming until ten at night, but they wrapped up at seven.

Shen Lian's performance was as stable as ever. He put in his full effort, aiming for a "vivid" portrayal. But as soon as the staff shouted "Cut," he was like a debt collector, chasing after people for their debts.

Everyone thought Shen Lian had reached his limit after the progress had been delayed for so long.

Even some of the more careless staff members began to take things seriously.

Because everyone discovered that Teacher Shen's mouth was just like that of the elegant assistant who had been by his side a few days ago—once he really started roasting you, he would definitely make you break down.

Shen Lian didn't eat the boxed meals; he brought in a portion of Braised Chicken from outside.

Just as he reached the entrance, he heard Jiang You shout, "Teacher Shen, be careful!"

Shen Lian turned his head and saw "Sang Biao" standing three meters away.

Sang Biao was one of the stray dogs in the film city. If kicked out, it would dig its own hole to get back in. A local yellow dog, it was quite fierce and notorious for bullying the weak while fearing the strong. It wouldn't provoke imposing men, but when it encountered someone thinner or a Young Girl, it would always chase them barking, demanding food or just trying to scare them.

Jiang You had fallen victim to it before, surrendering the ham sausage she had just bought.

The yellow dog was now baring its teeth, staring fiercely at the Braised Chicken in Shen Lian's hand with a clear objective.

Director Zhao hurriedly said, "Someone, grab something and drive it away!"

Shen Lian suddenly walked toward the yellow dog.

Then, without any hesitation, he delivered two slaps in quick succession. He didn't hold back, and the slaps landed with a crisp "pa-pa" sound.

The yellow dog gave a "yipe," its ferocity gone, replaced only by terror. It turned around and scrambled away.

"What's there to be arrogant about?" Shen Lian said indifferently.

Everyone: "..."

The destined splendor crew was exceptionally quiet and smooth over the next two days. The atmosphere was quiet, and the progress was smooth. After all, if you didn't cooperate, you could expect Teacher Shen to come over with his megaphone to "serve" you.

Jiang You sent a long string of messages to Sun Binghe on her phone.

The summary was: he scolded this person, he scolded that person, and he even slapped a passing dog twice.

Sun Binghe: "?"

As expected of Teacher Shen!

"Shen Lian, Shen Lian," Director Zhao found Shen Lian that evening. "How about I give you two days off?"

Shen Lian frowned. "I'm not finished filming."

"I know!" Director Zhao nodded repeatedly. "What I mean is, you should relax a bit."

Shen Lian: "I don't have any pressure."

I do, Director Zhao thought, but he said comfortingly, "Don't you have any friends? Go hang out and have some fun?"

Shen Lian's gaze softened. "I do."

"Then go, go," Director Zhao said as he walked out. "Have fun for a day. If you can come back tomorrow night, do so; if not, then the morning after. No rush."

Shen Lian didn't stand on ceremony. He changed his clothes, gave Jiang You the day off as well, drove her home first, and then rushed back to his own house.

However, aside from Aunt Fen, he didn't see Chu Yilan at home.

Shen Lian frowned; Chu Yilan should have been off work by this time.

Without hesitation, he first called Chu Yilan, but the call didn't go through. Then he contacted Yang Bin.

"Hello, Assistant Yang, where's Yilan?"

Yang Bin paused. "Teacher Shen isn't filming?"

"Yeah, I'm home," Shen Lian said. "It's not like I've been sold to the production crew; I do have some free time."

Yang Bin sensed the questioning tone and hurriedly said, "I'll come and pick you up."

Shen Lian thought Chu Yilan had gone to some banquet. After meeting up with Yang Bin and driving for twenty minutes, the scenery outside gradually became monotonous and desolate. Shen Lian recognized one of the signs; this was the road leading to the cemetery.