171: Chapter 171 Everyone's a disaster, except her who failed one round.

"Now, I announce that the movie 'goodbye mr. loser' has officially begun filming!"

Holding the megaphone, Jiang Fan's voice drowned out all the background noise on set.

There were no long-winded speeches; the red cloth was lifted, and the camera covers were unveiled.

Over fifty crew members quickly dispersed and took their positions.

Director Ning Yuan pulled over a folding chair in front of the monitor, sat down with a swagger, and slapped the headphones onto his head.

The first scene after the cameras rolled—to save face at a classmate's wedding, Xia Luo has his brother-in-law drive a maserati in circles outside the hotel.

"All departments, in position," Director Ning Yuan said, staring at the screen. "Camera dolly test. Lower camera two by another two inches."

"Scene one, take one, Action!"

The clapperboard snapped shut with a loud clack.

An engine roared.

A silver maserati drove into the frame, passing through the hotel's two automatic barriers and driving unhurriedly into the courtyard.

Standing at the gatehouse was a minor actor in a security uniform, a peripheral member of the Mahua Theater Troupe.

This scene had no lines and relied entirely on reactions to carry it.

As the car approached, the security guard straightened his back, picked up his parking sign, flashed a professional, standard eight-tooth smile, and deftly made a "please" gesture with his right hand.

The car didn't slow down at all, slipping right past his eyes.

With his hand still raised in the air, the guard's smile slowly faded.

He lowered the sign slightly, his eyelids drooping as he stared at the receding taillights for a couple of seconds.

What is this idiot doing?

The maserati continued its loop, circling the fountain and arriving at the main entrance of the hotel's main building.

Under the porch stood a young bellboy in a bright red livery and a top hat.

Seeing the luxury car from afar, he hurriedly went down the steps, wiped his white-gloved hands on his trousers, and positioned his right hand at the height of the car door handle, ready to open it.

The car still didn't stop.

The car body slid right past his fingertips.

The bellboy's smile froze on his face. His hand hung in the air before slowly retracting into his sleeve.

Utterly bewildered, he watched the sports car round the flowerbed and continue driving, completely unable to fathom what the driver was trying to do.

Sitting behind the monitor, Director Ning Yuan took off one side of his headphones and turned to look at Jiang Fan.

"Subtle acting with a natural sense of comedy. These two actors are pretty good."

The camera followed the maserati.

Passing the security booth for the second time, the guard froze for a moment when he saw the car coming back.

He raised his parking sign and squeezed out a smile out of reflex, though his smile was now tinged with confusion.

The car passed by again.

The third lap.

When the sound of the engine approached, the guard didn't even bother to look.

There was no smile, no gesture, and his eyes were filled with nothing but impatience.

He rolled his eyes and watched the silver sports car drift past him.

Inside the car, the Mahua actor playing Xia Luo's brother-in-law looked thoroughly annoyed, slapping the steering wheel twice.

"I say, Brother-in-law, that's enough! I need to get back right away! Today is my girlfriend's sixtieth birthday, and she doesn't even know I took the car out!"

"Pfft—"

The crew had already read the script, but when this line came out of his mouth with that expression, several people on set still couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Cut!" Director Ning Yuan snapped, glaring at the crew member who had laughed.

"Watch it next time. Let's do a safety take, then prepare for the next shot."

The car parked back in its original spot. Next was the main event—Xia Luo getting out of the car.

Shen Feng stood on the sidelines, straightening his chicken-feather suit.

Sister Yue held a small spray bottle, spritzing water onto his hair to help style it into that deliberately slicked-back, greasy look.

"All departments, get ready! Action!"

Under the guard's nearly numb gaze, the maserati finally came to a slow stop right in front of the hotel's main entrance.

Coincidentally, several actors playing Xia Luo's old classmates walked out of the hotel lobby, chatting and laughing.

Shen Feng's eyes lit up, and he quickly patted his brother-in-law's shoulder. "Stop, stop, stop... the car."

The brother-in-law rolled his eyes at him, but still got out of the car and respectfully opened the door for Shen Feng.

Shen Feng emerged from the car.

At this moment, his spine was straight as a ramrod, his chin was tilted slightly upward, and his eyes gleamed with the smugness of "I've finally made it."

He truly carried himself like a billionaire success story.

Seeing him crawl out of a maserati, his classmates all froze in their tracks.

"Xia Luo? Xia Luo! Hahaha, you've done pretty well for yourself!" The actor playing Zhang Yang walked up, sizing him up with an exaggerated tone.

Da Chun grinned foolishly. "I was just wondering whose car was driving around in circles so many times."

Shen Feng was bubbling with joy inside, but he still had to keep up appearances. He waved his hand and said, "Long time no see."

Seeing his task complete, the brother-in-law closed the car door and started the engine, preparing to leave.

Nobody noticed that the hem of Shen Feng's borrowed suit, which he wore just to show off, was caught in the door seam.

As the car started to move...

Shen Feng stumbled, dragged forward a couple of steps.

The successful-man aura he had painstakingly built up just now shattered completely.

"Hey, hey, hey! Brother-in-law! Stop! Stop the car!"

He shouted in a panic, his body being dragged forward.

"Cut!"

Director Ning Yuan called out, "Pass."

Before his voice could even settle, the set erupted.

Everyone in the crew—lighting, stagehands, makeup, props—burst into the laughter they had been holding back the entire time.

There was no helping it; Shen Feng's pathetic look just now was simply too perfect.

Sister Yue stood on the sidelines with her arms crossed, pursing her lips. "Not bad, Brother Feng. You've got skills."

Lun Zi slapped his thigh from behind. "I told you, that face of his was born to play a loser!"

Shen Feng climbed up from the ground, brushed the dust off his trousers, and flipped Lun Zi off.

Director Ning Yuan scanned the staff on set who were still wiping away tears. He pursed his lips for a couple of seconds but couldn't hold it, letting his mouth twitch into a smile.

He turned his head to look at Jiang Fan.

Jiang Fan was sipping water from his thermos, his expression very relaxed.

"Even though we've only shot two scenes," Director Ning Yuan lowered his voice, "these guys' sense of rhythm is even better than I expected."

Jiang Fan didn't reply, simply screwing the cap back onto his thermos.

He didn't need Director Ning Yuan's validation.

In his previous life, this movie grossed 1.4 billion at the box office, catapulting Shen Feng from the theater stage to the status of a multi-billion-dollar box office king.

Over the next three days.

The crew focused on filming the scenes inside the hotel.

Shen Feng's performance was frighteningly stable.

Basically, every scene was passed in two or three takes, and the most difficult one didn't exceed five.

Director Ning Yuan was notoriously strict; any performance that could get a "pass" from him was of high quality.

Sister Yue was even more formidable.

In the scene where Ma Dongmei chases Xia Luo with a kitchen cleaver, she nailed it in a single take.

As Director Ning Yuan watched the playback behind the monitor, he tapped his fingers on his knee, turned to Jiang Fan, and said, "This woman has a ruthless streak. I like it."

The character Da Chun, played by Lun Zi, was simple-minded with a touch of silliness.

A Zheng's portrayal of Yuan Hua was even more brilliant—when reciting "the poem he had once written for Xia Luo," he used an extremely serious yet utterly absurd tone, delivering a result that was even better than expected.

The efficiency of the entire crew was driven up by Shen Feng.

With the lead actors in top form, the supporting cast performed brilliantly, and even the stagehands moved props twice as fast as the first couple of days.

The only one who got stuck was Lu Wanqing.