Peerless Beauty – Chapter 59

Game

Skills may not be good

The days in the film crew are dull and tedious; besides filming, it’s just waiting to film.

The schedule is constantly changing anytime and anywhere. Sometimes, scenes are scheduled for the morning, but upon arriving at the set, due to endless unexpected issues like weather, actors’ health, actors’ schedules, equipment, etc., the scenes are forced to be adjusted, and actors have to wait from morning until night.

To catch up with the shooting progress, they start early and finish late; staying up late is common. The extras have gotten used to bringing a small stool to the set, keeping their power banks fully charged, holding their phones, and waiting for the assistant director to call them on set. Sometimes, they wait the entire day.

A film crew is a small microcosm of society. Extras are the people at the bottom, followed by staff such as field workers and coordinators. Producers, directors, and leading actors are at the top of the food chain.

Most of the staff have a low cultural level; some joined the film crew right after graduating from high school. Although the salary in the crew is low, they provide food and accommodation, and they can travel all over the country with different teams.

Celebrities and big stars, they have seen many, able to post photos with many celebrities on their social media like WeChat Moments and Weibo.

They are the group with the greatest physical exertion; sometimes they finish work at 11 PM, and have to get up at 3 AM to set up the scene.

On the set, you can often see staff lying directly on the cement floor to rest.

The production department’s production manager is a leader from the publicity department, but it is just a nominal title, only appearing during the first two days of filming. During the actual shooting, the executive producer from Galaxy Culture Film and Television serves as the acting producer, and the production assistants below are responsible for running errands, reimbursements, and getting documents signed by the leaders.

Director Zhou Hongmao comes from a background as a teacher at a film academy. He has a good temper, does not put on airs, and during breaks, likes to hang out with the young people, teaching young actors performance techniques.

From top to bottom, it drives the entire crew’s atmosphere to become lively.

In a film crew with a good atmosphere, there aren’t many schemes and manipulations, and you can learn a lot.

But, just like in a hospital, there is a clear hierarchy and seniority-based order.

For example, makeup.

The order of makeup application has significant rules. Usually, the actors with the smallest roles are the first to be grabbed for makeup, while big stars and veteran actors can sleep until six or seven in the morning before getting their makeup done.

Lu Yinxi, being young and having low seniority, is often grabbed for makeup as early as four or five o’clock.

She and a few classmates formed a group to buy some recliners online. During rest times, they lie on the recliners like salted fish; those lacking energy catch up on sleep, while those full of energy play games.

Most of the time, Lu Yinxi catches up on sleep. Occasionally, she gets up to play a game, to wake up a bit and prepare for the upcoming shoot.

Tonight, they are filming a night scene. She has been waiting from one in the afternoon until seven in the evening, and the plan keeps changing.

The senior sister next to her, seeing her wake up, tossed her a bottle of canned coffee.

Coffee, Red Bull, and milk tea are the most common refreshing drinks on the set.

Lu Yinxi took it and said, “Thank you, senior sister. Which scene are we at now?”

“Group A is filming Xiao Yiheng’s open-heart surgery, where the patient is having massive bleeding and the hospital’s blood bank is insufficient; Group B is filming Lan Zhou driving to the blood center to get blood. They went to film on the road outside and haven’t come back yet.” The senior sister shook her phone and invited Lu Yinxi, “Junior sister, want to eat chicken?”

“Eat chicken” is a nickname for a shooting survival game.¹

Lu Yinxi took a big gulp of coffee and said, “The next scene in Group A is mine. I’m afraid if I’m suddenly called over, I’d have to leave the game and let my teammates down.”

Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, the assistant director came over to call her to the set.

She plays an oncologist whose father is on the operating table in thoracic surgery, experiencing massive bleeding. She has just finished donating blood and returned to the oncology ward, where she encounters a gastric cancer patient in hypovolemic shock² being transferred from the emergency department. She immediately begins resuscitation. In the end, the patient is saved, but her father permanently lies on the operating table, never to wake up again.

It is a rather tragic scene.

Two hours later, Lu Yinxi finished filming and came back, with the corners of her eyes red, her eye sockets swollen, and tears hanging on her eyelashes.

She was immersed in a mood of deep sadness. As she lowered her head, more tears fell.

She is an experiential actor, drawing on past similar experiences and emotions when acting.

Her father, Lu Ming, passed away when she was very young.

Lu Ming was an oncologist. Compared to surgeons like Gu Mingyu, the internal medicine department had more stable working hours, so he was usually the one who took her out to play, washed her clothes, cooked for her, and even when he was on night duty, he wouldn’t leave her home alone but would take her to the department. He would write medical records while she sat quietly beside him, drawing on paper.

She has been left-handed since she was a child. Gu Mingyu would see her using her left hand to hold a spoon while eating and would tap the back of her hand with chopsticks, trying to make her switch to her right hand. But Lu Ming would bring out literature saying that being left-handed is normal and shouldn’t be forcibly corrected as it could affect the child’s mental health. He would then comfort her by patting her head, saying, “Don’t be afraid, you don’t need to change. If anyone says you are abnormal in the future, just come home and tell dad. Dad will reason with them.”

When she was five years old, there was an earthquake in a certain city. Lu Ming was dispatched to support the disaster area. Before leaving, he made a solemn promise that when he returned, he would take her to the zoo to see tigers, pandas, and deer…

But he broke his promise; she never saw him come home again.

He worked tirelessly day and night in the disaster area and ultimately died at his post due to exhaustion.

That year, Gu Mingyu was exhausted both physically and mentally. She was busy with work, further studies, and striving for promotions. She had no time for her and sent her to the countryside to be raised by her grandmother.

People in the countryside were quite superstitious. Seeing her use her left hand, they would point and say she was abnormal. The teacher would hit her palm with a bamboo board to make her change. Various aunts and uncles would gossip, saying that left-handed people bring bad luck to their relatives. They speculated that she might have caused her father’s death because she was left-handed, which was why Gu Mingyu sent her to the countryside. They would even joke, saying, “Your mom found you a new dad and gave you a little brother, she doesn’t want you anymore.”

She thought about how Gu Mingyu used to tap the back of her hand with chopstick tips when she was a child and believed the gossip. Holding back her tears, she practiced writing and eating with her right hand.

Actually, being hit on the palm, being laughed at by classmates, and being gossiped about by relatives didn’t matter; it only made her a little sad. She was just afraid that Gu Mingyu would truly dislike her and abandon her because she was left-handed.

Lu Yinxi wiped the tears from her face. The senior sister next to her saw her pitiful expression and hurriedly handed her a tissue. Just as she was about to say something to comfort her, someone came over to call the senior sister to get ready for the scene. The senior sister patted her on the shoulder and said, “Snap out of it. Tomorrow night, the senior brothers and sisters will take you out for a special meal. The Sichuan restaurant at the south street corner is really delicious.”

Lu Yinxi nodded with red-rimmed eyes and smiled, saying, “Thank you, senior sister. Go quickly, or they’ll rush you later.”

The senior sister hurried off to wait for her part. Lu Yinxi sat silently on the recliner for a long time, then took out her phone and opened the game.

There are many ways for actors to snap out of a role: some rely on food, some on travel, and some on changing their appearance.

After finishing a film, Lu Yinxi also usually takes a trip for a period of time. But when she needs to snap out of negative emotions on set after completing a scene, she generally relies on playing games.

This method of diverting attention was something she learned from a senior on set during her first time filming. Many techniques of cursing without using foul language were also learned from games.

After finishing a round, Lu Yinxi’s mood had calmed down considerably.

She twisted open a bottle of coffee and took a few gulps.

Coffee, Red Bull, and milk tea are the most common refreshing drinks on set.

The phone screen popped up with a game invitation, and Lu Yinxi took a closer look—it was sent by Zhang Yue.

She accepted the invitation and typed: 【Brother Zhang, so free? Sneaking in some game time? [Surprised emoji]】

Zhang Yue: 【Shh, on night duty, can’t say I’m free! There’s a duty doctor covering, and your cousin is here too. [Nose-picking emoji]】

The superstitious aspect of hospitals is that when on night duty, you must never say it’s a calm or free evening. Once said, nine times out of ten, it will turn into a restless night.

Lu Yinxi’s attention was caught by the latter part of the message and she asked: 【What is she doing?】

Zhang Yue: 【Making a PPT, next week we are going abroad with Deputy Director (VP) Hu to attend an academic conference.】

Lu Yinxi had heard about this from Jian Qing, so she didn’t ask more and instead reacted: 【You invited me to play, but if there are patients and consultations to handle, wouldn’t you be AFK and ruin the game for me?】

Zhang Yue: 【That’s why I invited familiar people to team up! You, Mingming, Sister Wen Qian, all have good conscience, won’t ruin the game for strangers. [Nose-picking emoji]】

Only ruin it for familiar people.

Lu Yinxi: 【!!!】

Zhang Yue kept trying to form a team but only managed to get four people. He regularly ruined the game for his teammates, and over time, no one was willing to play with him anymore.

He looked around and, gathering his courage, asked Jian Qing, who was making a PPT next to him: “Senior sister? Want to play a game?”

“No,” Jian Qing coldly refused and even asked, “Got time to play games? Have you finished writing your research proposal? Send it to me for review once it’s done.”

Zhang Yue: “Don’t be like that, we need to balance work and rest. I’ve been on duty for 14 hours straight, no energy to write a thesis. Come on, senior sister, relax a bit, just one round. Mingming, Sister Wen Qian, and Xiaolu are all in. Let’s have a virtual team-building session.”

Hearing the latter part, Jian Qing swallowed the sarcastic remark she was about to make and asked him: “What game?”

Zhang Yue handed his phone to Jian Qing, pulled open a drawer, and took out an old phone: “Honor of Kings, senior sister, you play on my account, I’ll use my secondary account. Wait a few minutes, I need to update this phone.”

On the other side, Lu Yinxi, unaware that Zhang Yue’s account was now being operated by someone else, continued typing: 【Why is your senior sister also on duty at the hospital today? Are there many critical patients in your department today?】

Her game ID was “Frost Bear Climbs Tree,” easily recognizable.

Jian Qing observed the interface and replied using Zhang Yue’s phone: 【Overtime, making a PPT. Not many.】

Lu Yinxi saw these words and was momentarily stunned.

This concise language style, could it be…

She tentatively asked: 【What did you have for dinner tonight?】

Zhang Yue likes spicy and flavorful food, while Jian Qing prefers mild flavors.

Jian Qing saw the message and didn’t respond immediately, then asked Zhang Yue in a calm voice: “You chat with her about what you had for dinner?”

Zhang Yue was still dealing with the game update and turned his head when he heard this: “When did I ever chat about dinner? Hasn’t she seen what I eat for dinner over the past two months? Isn’t it just alternating between boiled fish slices, boiled meat slices, spicy hot pot, and spicy mixed vegetables…”

Jian Qing raised her hand to stop Zhang Yue from listing the dishes and replied to Lu Yinxi: 【Boiled fish slices.】

Seeing the reply, Lu Yinxi thought to herself, it seems it was just an illusion earlier.

How could she think it was Jian Qing…

She never plays games…

Lu Yinxi shook her head, laughed at herself, and continued typing: 【Did you get anyone else for the team? Maybe ask your senior sister if she wants to play. Although she hasn’t played before and might not be very good, with my skills, I can definitely carry her. [Cool emoji]】

Jian Qing saw the phrase “not very good at playing” and was silent for a moment. Using Zhang Yue’s phone, she replied: 【…】

Lu Yinxi said: 【Anyway, it’s not ranked, just a casual game for fun. Just go ask her, you tell her I’m in, she might come to play, but you can’t tell her these words are from me, okay?】

Not being able to see her in person, playing a game with her online is also great.

Jian Qing continued to reply using Zhang Yue’s account: 【Okay, I won’t tell her.】

Lu Yinxi put on her headphones, walked to a less crowded place, coughed a few times, and cleared her throat, getting ready to speak once the microphone was on.

In the game interface’s team, soon an account joined, the ID was “Iron-Blooded Real Man.”

Lu Yinxi looked at that ID and thought this doesn’t seem like Jian Qing’s style…

Zhang Yue finished updating, logged in with his secondary account, entered the team, and said over the team voice chat: “Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone, this is my secondary account, my primary account is being played by my senior sister. We’re all familiar people, everyone turn on your mics and talk!”

1. Eat chicken: A nickname for the shooting survival game known as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG).
2. Hypovolemic shock: A condition caused by severe blood loss leading to inadequate blood flow to organs.