After being kicked out of the room by Chen Yi-rong, Niu Yi-chen went to the film set to have the makeup artist do his makeup in preparation for filming.
The scenes filmed today were quite strange; they were scenes Niu Yichen had never seen in the TV series before. Basically, it involved Duan Tianya protecting Emperor Zhengde and confronting the assassin Wuhuan. Emperor Zhengde had several lines with Duan Tianya and Wuhuan, making it a significant scene within the larger drama.
Because this was a part that Niu Yichen had never seen before in the storyline, he took it very seriously. He exuded a powerful aura while acting, and even optimized his own lines, demonstrating his exceptional talent.
However, Li Yapeng, his "helper" in today's story and his "opponent" in today's drama, kept making mistakes. He couldn't complete even simple scenes, which greatly angered director Liu Zifu.
After a failed shoot, Liu Zifu, who had had two successful shoots in a row, finally lost his temper, jumped over, pointed at Niu Yichen, and started yelling at him.
"What's wrong with you? You were fine during filming before, how come you're so terrible today? With your trashy appearance, are you even a graduate of the Central Academy of Drama? Can't you even act?! Keep your dirty thoughts to yourself, who are you trying to impress with all this mess?"
The outburst of insults initially bewildered Niu Yichen. Because he had a cheat code, no matter how many times he failed, he could maintain his condition, and what Liu Zifu was cursing about had absolutely nothing to do with him.
But as you listen, you realize what's going on. The director is making a veiled attack! Needless to say, Niu Yichen dropped out of school midway, not even finishing junior high, while Li Yapeng graduated from the Central Academy of Drama.
As for the reason for the veiled criticism, Niu Yichen could understand it; Li Yapeng is someone you can't criticize right now. Just like Chen Yirong's current situation, Li Yapeng is also at the height of his popularity!
If we have to compare the current "hottest" celebrities with the young heartthrobs of the internet age, then they are "top influencers".
In 2004, Li Yapeng was in the same position as Lu Han, Cai Xukun, and Xiao Zhan when they were at the height of their popularity! He was just more professional as an actor and less controversial, but their outcomes were almost the same.
Like many top celebrities, Li Yapeng also failed the test of time. After his initial fame, he faded into obscurity within just a few years.
In some ways, Lu Han's path is quite similar to Li Yapeng's. Li Yapeng won over Faye Wong at the peak of his career and then gradually faded out of the entertainment industry. Lu Han, on the other hand, won over a "princess" at the peak of his career and then gradually faded out of the entertainment industry.
In the later stages of their relationship, the woman was always stronger than the man. After Faye Wong and Li Yapeng broke up, what will become of Lu Han and Guan Xiaotong's future? We'll have to wait and see!
...
Niu Yichen realized it was a veiled insult, and Li Yapeng, of course, also understood, his face immediately turning very ugly.
Despite his seemingly honest and simple appearance, Li Yapeng actually has a terrible temper and needs to be "coaxed." Liu Zifu's veiled and scathing remarks were already quite "excessive" for him. However, faced with such a verbally abusive director, Li Yapeng couldn't even retaliate; he could only stare at Niu Yichen as if he wanted to punch him.
As for Niu Yichen, after understanding the cause and effect, he was able to face Director Liu Zifu with equanimity. If it were an ordinary young person, even if they understood this, they would definitely feel resentful. However, Niu Yichen's mental age is already forty years old. He understands the difficulties of a middle-aged man like Liu Zifu, and putting himself in Liu's shoes, he won't hold a grudge.
As for Li Yapeng, if he dared to make a move, Niu Yichen would definitely cripple one of his kidneys.
Niu Yichen has now realized that Li Yapeng's lack of focus earlier was actually a deliberate attempt to disrupt his performance—Niu Yichen's acting was so good that Li Yapeng, as his co-star, felt a lot of pressure.
When acting opposite Niu Yichen, veteran actors like Liu Songren and Li Jianyi were fine. No matter what kind of performance he gave, they could handle it. In fact, when they got into it, they would even challenge Niu Yichen to a high-energy performance, sometimes leaving Niu Yichen unable to react.
Don't forget, Niu Yichen has 30 years of acting experience, plus the badge of "The Uncrowned King"! These two powerful attributes, combined with his own talent, make his acting skills extremely formidable.
Li Yapeng is 33 years old this year. He officially entered the industry in 1992 and has only 12 years of experience. His talent in acting is only average. How could he possibly compare with Niu Yichen?
Under normal circumstances, Niu Yichen would be more reserved when facing these 'minor roles,' but today's scenes were not originally in the TV series, forcing Niu Yichen to take them seriously. As a result, Li Yapeng standing next to him was like someone wearing a passerby hat; if he didn't speak, no one would notice him at all.
Li Yapeng is a top leading man, how could he possibly show weakness in front of a supporting actor or a junior? But in a normal acting role, he simply couldn't overpower the other actor, so he could only resort to such underhanded means to achieve a balance.
Unfortunately, Niu Yichen had a cheat code, so even with constant interruptions, his performance remained flawless. If it were an ordinary actor, being interrupted like this repeatedly would probably have made it impossible for him to even get into character!
...
After venting his anger for a while, Liu Zifu finally let it all out, took a breath, and said, "That's enough! Let's rest for a bit! We'll film again later!"
Li Yapeng snorted and asked his assistant to pour him a glass of water.
A short while later, another production assistant ran over and said to Liu Zifu, "Director Liu, Director Deng said that Liu Yapeng needs to film a few scenes first. I wonder if you could let him go for a bit?"
There's only one director in the crew, Deng Yancheng, the chief director! When the chief director speaks, can he, as an assistant director, say no?
"Go! Go!" Liu Zifu waved his hand helplessly.
The stagehand then took Li Yapeng and left.
"Sigh!" Liu Zifu sighed, walked over and patted Niu Yichen on the shoulder, saying, "Yichen! I apologize to you, I didn't mean to scold you just now!"
"I can tell!" Yi Chen laughed. "Anyway, it's all in the past, so let's not bring it up again. Let's think about how to proceed with the filming!"
"What's the point of filming now?" Liu Zifu said with a wry smile. "Even your opponent has been borrowed. What's the point of filming anymore? We might as well disband!"
"Please don't!" Niu Yichen laughed. "Weren't you going to add more scenes for me? Where did you get to?"
"I really want to add it for you, but it's not up to me!" Liu Zifu meant it sincerely. In just two days, he had become extremely fond of Niu Yichen. He frankly said, "Let me be clear! Even if I film your scenes, the director might not use them!"
Niu Yichen patted him on the shoulder, "But if we don't film it, the director will definitely not use it, right?"
"You're right!"
Liu Zifu gave Niu Yichen a strange look, nodded, picked up the script and said, "Anyway, the crew is just sitting around doing nothing, so let's see where we're going to add more scenes for you!"
Niu Yichen said bluntly, "Is that even a question? It's all about martial arts! Who doesn't dream of being a martial arts hero?"
...
After discussing for a while, Liu Zifu took the script and left. He wanted to ask the action director and the accompanying screenwriter if they could add any scenes and how.
This process may take about an hour, so the rest of the crew temporarily disbanded.
Given Liu Zifu's personality, he believes in repaying kindness tenfold. Even if Niu Yichen was scolded by him for no reason for so long, he would still do his best to help him.
After Liu Zifu left, Niu Yichen didn't want to wait there, so he followed Li Yapeng to see what scenes he was going to film.
After going over there to watch, I found that they were filming another high-flying martial arts scene, with people suspended by wires and flying around in the air.
"Tsk tsk!" Niu Yichen couldn't help but shake his head. This was just asking for trouble! If the filming over there had gone well, Director Liu Zifu might not have let them come over so readily. Their scenes were mostly dialogue scenes, much easier than this.
Just as Niu Yichen was watching the excitement, a female voice suddenly came from beside him.
What are you doing here?
Looking back, I saw Gao Yuanyuan wearing a costume from the opera "Willow Catkins Fluttering in the Wind".
Niu Yichen glanced at her and said, "Thanks to your 'Tianya', our group has finished filming today!"
"That's it?" Gao Yuanyuan gave him a mocking laugh and said, "I saw it all just now. I wonder who it was that the director was yelling at!"
"Hmph! Anyway, they're definitely not insulting me!"
"whispering sound!"
After a moment of silence, Gao Yuanyuan nudged Niu Yichen with her katana and asked, "Didn't you go back to your room last night?"
"What's it to you?"
Niu Yichen was not polite to Gao Yuanyuan at all, firstly because he was no longer interested in completing Gao Yuanyuan's task, and secondly because he didn't think Gao Yuanyuan was that beautiful now!
A thousand people have a thousand Hamlets in their eyes. In Niu Yichen's opinion, Gao Yuanyuan only looks good 10 years later, after her temperament has improved. At this time, Gao Yuanyuan is still too immature, and her eyes and mouth often show some 'sharpness' that makes people feel unfriendly.
"You…" Gao Yuanyuan picked up her samurai sword and tapped Niu Yichen on the head with a "Tie!"
"What are you doing?" Niu Yichen covered his head and glared at her angrily.
Gao Yuanyuan asked, "Did you go to see Chen Yirong last night?"
Her nonchalant attitude only fueled Niu Yichen's anger, leaving him with nowhere to vent. He could only say irritably, "It's perfectly normal for me to go see my royal sister. We still have a lot of scenes to film! Discussing the script is perfectly normal!"
"Hmph! You little brat, calling her 'little sister'?" Gao Yuanyuan said sarcastically, "She's eight years older than you!"
Niu Yichen glanced at her sideways, "Aren't you the same?"
Gao Yuanyuan's face turned pale with anger. Although she was the one who brought up the age issue first, it still made people want to lash out when it was applied to her.
But just as Gao Yuanyuan was about to take out her katana to strike Niu Yichen again, Niu Yichen suddenly sensed danger. He looked up abruptly and saw a round object rapidly falling from the sky, heading straight towards him and Gao Yuanyuan. Without thinking, he rushed forward, grabbed Gao Yuanyuan, and rolled away to the side.
With a loud "clang," the object fell, landing squarely on the spot where Gao Yuanyuan had just been standing. It turned out to be a pulley made of refined iron. If Niu Yichen hadn't tackled Gao Yuanyuan to the side, the consequences of that blow would have been unimaginable.
"What are you doing!" Gao Yuanyuan didn't see what was happening because she was being 'attacked' by Niu Yichen. She turned over and broke free from his arms, then slapped him across the face.
"He's being a hooligan on set!"
With a "smack!", a clear five-finger mark appeared on Niu Yichen's face. Gao Yuanyuan vented all the grievances she had just suffered.
"I'm being a pervert?" Niu Yichen covered his face, pointed to the side, and said angrily, "If it weren't for me, this pervert, you'd probably be dead!"
Gao Yuanyuan stared blankly at the rollers on the ground. Before she could say anything, she heard panicked shouts coming from the film crew. A group of people rushed over like chickens seeing food.
"Why..."
"careful!"
...
Niu Yichen quickly pulled Gao Yuanyuan up and moved her aside to make way for her.
A moment later, the director picked up a megaphone and shouted, "Make way! Make way! Let the doctor come over! Everyone stop crowding! Get the doctor over here!"
Startled, Gao Yuanyuan grabbed Niu Yichen's arm and moved closer to him, asking with lingering fear, "What happened? Did something fall and hit someone?"
Seeing Gao Yuanyuan's pale face and feeling her submissive attitude, Niu Yichen's anger vanished instantly. He said, "No one was hit, but I did see someone fall from up there! It was someone from our crew!"
So, you were just saying Gao Yuanyuan wasn't pretty?
--man!
Who is it?
"Judging by the clothes, he looks like a man!"
Before long, the unfortunate man's identity was confirmed. The one who fell was Li Yapeng, the male lead initially cast for the series, playing Duan Tianya!
Upon learning this, Niu Yichen couldn't help but feel a little smug. "Serves you right for trying to outsmart me earlier; now look what happened, you've come here and fallen flat on your face!"
As for the pulley that just fell down, it was a part from the wire rig.
Gao Yuanyuan went up and kicked the pulley to test its weight, realizing that she had truly walked through the gates of hell today.
"Thank you!" Gao Yuanyuan held Niu Yichen's hand, her previous disdain gone, her face full of gratitude.
Niu Yichen said, "It's okay! Maybe you wouldn't have been in any trouble anyway!"
He wouldn't take credit for this, because Li Yapeng had already suffered a back injury in the original film crew, which is normal, while Gao Yuanyuan emerged unscathed without any news of her injury. Now, standing here almost getting beaten up, she might actually have been implicated by Niu Yichen because she came to cause trouble for him.