94: Pass! Very good!

The Director looked helpless, shaking his head, "Then I'll just say something randomly."

As he spoke, he walked to where she had been standing, angled at 45 degrees to the camera, his eyes narrowed, and a cold sneer on his lips.

"You want me to be cold and alluring, yet also frivolous and cheap."

He sang, slowly turning towards the camera, his eyebrows slightly raised, and the smile on his lips growing wider.

"Pfft!" Yue Qingzhu quickly closed her mouth, trying hard to suppress her laughter.

The Director's stubbled face, combined with his expression and the lyrics, was truly an eyesore.

But he was indeed much better than her, though not as miraculous as he claimed.

The Director finished singing two lines and walked over.

Yue Qingzhu crossed her arms and pouted, "I don't think you conveyed much enthusiasm to the camera either."

Director Cai sighed, "Because my appearance doesn't fit, and I'm not a singer, so I can't fully grasp a work that aligns with your feelings. Teacher Yue, don't blame me for having high standards; I just want to make a good video. How about this, you try to get a feel for it again, and we'll do another take."

Next, the Director acted very seriously, looking utterly helpless.

Yue Qingzhu felt that she was being made to look very amateurish and was dragging them down. Feeling uncomfortable, she could only repeatedly chant a calming mantra: "He's the useless one; he must be sighing about his own ineptitude..."

Amidst the Director's constant calls of 'cut' and sighs, the morning quickly passed.

At noon, she lay half-reclined in the seat of her nanny van, like a frost-bitten eggplant, wrapped tightly in a blanket, curled into a ball.

She felt like a novelist—Kafka.

Kafka once said that his greatest ability was to lie still, and any suffering could defeat him.

As soon as she reclined the chair, she heard her assistant's voice from behind her, "Sister Qingzhu, didn't Teacher Chen tell you to chant a calming mantra?"

Yue Qingzhu turned over, tugging at He Yuanyuan's clothes, "Then you chant it for me."

"Alright, alright. Let me think," He Yuanyuan pondered for a moment, her eyes lighting up, "You're sensitive, so..."

She blinked, a little aggrieved, "So what?"

"So you're suitable to be an emperor!"

Yue Qingzhu covered her mouth and laughed, "Where did you hear that?"

"I heard Teacher Chen say it when he was advising his assistant."

"What a great mindset," Yue Qingzhu sighed softly, looking out the window.

She envied Chen Fang so much; how could he not be so internally conflicted?

...

In the afternoon, Yue Qingzhu went to the company to check on the progress of the post-production audio for "flammable and explosive." In the evening, she returned home, practiced her expressions in front of the mirror, and then went into her study to research songwriting.

At eleven o'clock at night, the curtain of night fell low.

She turned off the bedroom light and walked to the window, wanting to breathe in some fresh air.

Suddenly, she noticed that the living room lights were on at Chen Fang's house, diagonally behind her villa. Soon, the second floor also lit up.

Yue Qingzhu sat on the chair by the window, her hands clasped, leaning forward to bury her chin in her arms, blinking as she looked towards the lit house.

Huh? He couldn't have just returned from the Opera House, could he?

Yue Qingzhu's fingers unconsciously tightened, and a wave of apology and unease surged in her heart.

He seemed to be working so hard. What if she didn't perform well tomorrow?

Yue Qingzhu felt a chill seeping through the glass, touched her arm, got up, and burrowed into her covers, curling into a ball, clutching the corner of the quilt.

After a moment of daze, she buried her face in her pillow.

Never mind, Chen Fang himself was right; it's about reciprocating. If he showed a look of disdain, then she would, in her heart, like she complained about Director Cai, disdain him back.

...

The next morning.

Yue Qingzhu put on light makeup and stood for a while in front of the colorful little dresses in her walk-in closet, stroking them reluctantly a few times.

These were good for wearing at home, but for going out, she needed to look a bit more formidable.

She patted her favorite light yellow dress, "You stay put, I'll wear you when I get home."

With that, she walked to the black and white wardrobe nearby, took out a few pieces of clothing, and changed. She tucked a silk shirt into nine-point trousers and layered an ivory casual suit over it. Then she used a pearl hairpin to pin back the wisps of hair on her forehead.

Finally, she put on a pair of sunglasses and nodded with satisfaction at her reflection in the mirror.

Good enough, no one should bother her with idle chatter now.

Let's go!

At 7 o'clock, Yue Qingzhu arrived at the Opera House.

Upon entering, she saw a mirrored corridor set up on the stage. Camera tracks were installed on both sides of the mirrored corridor, and Chen Fang was standing behind a camera, gesturing to the cameraman and lighting technician, seemingly discussing lighting.

Yue Qingzhu walked over, "Chen Fang... Director Chen, good morning."

In the production team, she still had to call him Director, to avoid anyone challenging his authority.

Chen Fang looked at her, nodding slightly in greeting, "Good morning, Teacher Yue. Please go get your styling done first. We'll start at 9 o'clock according to the schedule."

With that, Chen Fang looked at the stagehand, "Please take Teacher Yue to the dressing room."

Yue Qingzhu nodded and followed the assistant towards the lounge. As she reached the corner, she looked back and saw Chen Fang pointing at the mirrored corridor, chattering away to the Director about something.

Yue Qingzhu scrutinized him. Although he was dressed casually, he exuded an aura that kept people at a distance. She felt a little envious; how did he cultivate that aura?

If she had that kind of aura, she wouldn't have to rely on cool-toned clothes and could style herself however she wanted, right?

She suppressed her curiosity and envy, averted her gaze, and walked towards the backstage area.

...

Two hours later.

Yue Qingzhu walked to the entrance of the mirrored corridor wearing a silk satin dress, looking at herself in the mirror.

The main color of this dress was white, but the very edge of the skirt was red, like flames spreading upwards. The dress was cinched at the waist, and the skirt reached the floor.

When she walked, the skirt swayed, like dancing flames.

Chen Fang walked beside her, pointing to a light white line on the floor in the middle of the mirrored corridor, "Teacher Yue, in a moment, you'll walk forward along this line, just pretend you're out shopping, walk slowly, look left and right. Just imagine you're shopping and you pass by a reflective glass, and you check yourself out."

Yue Qingzhu hummed in acknowledgment.

She was familiar with this. Whenever she went out and encountered a mirror or glass that reflected her, she would check herself out. Each time, she worried that the owner would notice, so she'd glance quickly and then look away.

"What about the expression and movements?"

"We're not filming expressions now."

"Oh," Yue Qingzhu mumbled, feeling it sounded unconfident, then added coldly, "Mm, no problem."

With that, she held up her skirt and walked to the entrance of the mirrored corridor, glancing at Chen Fang, secretly thinking: Walking? Is it that simple? You said this, so don't complain later if I lack emotion.

Chen Fang walked back behind the monitor, "Action."

Yue Qingzhu held up her dress and walked forward, imagining she was shopping, looking at herself in the mirror.

Yue Qingzhu couldn't help but curve her lips.

Whenever she looked in the mirror while shopping, she felt incredibly charming, and now was no exception!

She followed the route to the end.

"OK, cut! Excellent."

Yue Qingzhu was slightly stunned.

Cut?

Not 'cut,' not 'hold for safety,' but 'cut,' and 'excellent'?

Aren't you being too casual?

As she stood there in a daze, she saw Chen Fang get up and walk to her side, pointing to a mark on the ground and saying, "Next shot, Teacher Yue, you face the mirror and stand at that white dot. We'll shoot a shot for one line of lyrics."

...

After a few segments, the team moved to the white backdrop backstage.

Chen Fang stood beside her, "Teacher Yue, the Assistant Director will tell you some news, and you just react to it."

Yue Qingzhu nodded slowly, "Do I need to sing?"

"No, we're currently shooting the prelude, where different images appear on each mirror within a space of shattered glass. This footage might also be used for later lyric visuals."

"Okay."

Chen Fang sat back behind the monitor, and the Assistant Director walked to the side and began reading jokes, social news, actions of outlaws, and entertainment industry gossip.

"A young couple secretly got their marriage certificate. Three years into their marriage, the husband's uncle discovered, 'Why does this girl look so familiar? I always have a sense of déjà vu.' An investigation revealed that the girl was actually his illegitimate daughter. Well, lovers finally became siblings."

"A man wrote a letter to his wife while serving time in prison. When the police inspected it, they uncovered a shocking secret: there were firearms in his family's field. The police immediately went to search, even deploying an excavator, but ultimately found nothing. The police returned to the prison to interrogate the man, who confessed: 'My elderly parents fell ill, and I didn't want my wife to be too tired, so I wanted you to help replant the land.'"

"Yesterday, the newly debuted idol Sun Han..."