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Chapter 31: Test Run

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The cigarette kept burning. Jiang Se lifted it and blew it, so the end of the cigarette shone brighter and burned faster.

She crushed the end of the cigarette on the windowsill and left it there.

“See, it’ll burn out even if you don’t smoke it.” Jiang Se glanced at the cigarette butt. She left it there on purpose since there must be somebody who would clean this up.

Dai Jia was slightly pale. Her lips were pursed, and she made no sound.

Jiang Se’s hand smelled like tobacco. She frowned and said, “Excuse me.”

She went to look for a toilet to wash the stink of the cigarette away from her hand. When she came out, Dai Jia was nowhere to be seen.

Jiang Se stayed outside for a while longer. When she went into the studio again, Hang Yuyi’s scenes had been completed. Gu Jiaer and the others were back on the previous set. They were ready to film Zhao Ruoyun’s and Gao Xiaoming’s scene again.

By the time they filmed Jiang Se’s character, it was already past eight o’clock at night.

Jiang Se’s makeup needed serious patching after a whole day. The makeup artist redid her makeup and styled her hair again.

The cameras and equipment were already in place inside the cabin set while the background actors had taken their seats. They were waiting for the director’s instructions to begin filming.

Gu Jiaer was talking to the scriptwriter softly. When Jiang Se and the group of actresses who portrayed air stewardesses came in, Gu Jiaer lifted his head to look.

The cabin was lit brightly and directors had the eye for beauty, thus Gu Jiaer noticed Jiang Se in a single glance.

“Who recruited her?” he could not help but ask.

Recently, there were many individuals in the “Pretense to Reality” cast who could easily become subjects of conversations. Besides the lead actors, Zhao Ruoyun and Hang Yuyi, the other individuals worthy of being a subject of a conversation were Dai Jia, who portrayed Hang Yuyi’s ex-girlfriend, and Jiang Se.

When the person next to Gu Jiaer saw him taking notice of Jiang Se, he could not help but move closer to him and answer him, “Didn’t you want to recruit some actors and actresses from the Film Academy the other day?”

The person recounted the series of events that day, especially about how Jiang Se had caught Sun Qiming’s eye during the audition. Then, he added, “I heard that Brother Sun asked her some questions. She knows French and has been with Zhang Jingan’s cast before, so he decided to go with her on the spot.”

Gu Jiaer gave Jiang Se another glance. He was skilled in shooting romantic and artistic movies. The first thought that came to his mind was that Jiang Se was suitable as a character in his film.

She wore the same navy uniform as the other air stewardesses around her, but her looks and bearing set her apart from the rest.

“Has she been in Zhang Jingan’s cast before?” Gu Jiaer looked on as the actresses filed in. His gaze lingered on Jiang Se again. Beside him, the stage manager said, “She was. I heard that she’s met Zhang Jingan and Liu Ye. Liu Ye even put in a good word for her back then.”

Jiang Se was indeed beautiful. She had a smallish, oval face and her jawline was exquisite. Her slanted eyes were flattering and were neutralized by her straight gaze and cool bearing.

At about 170 centimeters tall, she looked smart in her air stewardess’s uniform. The hem of her skirt reached her knees but could not cover her long legs which were straight and slender.

With that body and looks, it was no wonder that the best actor, Liu Ye, would have put in a good word for her.

Gu Jiaer gave Jiang Se yet another take. She did not seem to be nervous about the test run and appeared calm.

He shifted his gaze away from Jiang Se only after the cameras were in position. He considered it and called the script supervisor over. Then, he instructed softly, “When Zhao Ruoyun and Hang Yuyi come in, tell her to go.”

He pointed at Jiang Se. The script supervisor was perplexed at first, but he quickly understood what Gu Jiaer meant and grunted in acknowledgment.

The camera was trained on the cabin door. One of the two air stewardesses, who were supposed to greet the guests, was switched out by the script supervisor.

This was a rare opportunity for her to get some screen time. The lady barely had time to register the change when she saw the script supervisor telling Jiang Se to take her place. Her expression changed. She bit her lip but dared not say a word. However, when she looked at Jiang Se, she nearly cried.

Jiang Se was dumbfounded by the sudden change as well. The crew members had told her that she only had two lines in the film, so she did not know why she had to act in another scene.

“When the guests are boarding, just greet them with a smile, ‘Hello, welcome aboard’. That’s all.”

Since this line was not complicated, Jiang Se nodded, and the script supervisor hurried away. When the clapperboard clacked, the cameras outside focused on Hang Yuyi who was about to board the airplane.

His character, Zhou Rongshen, had just recently broken up with his girlfriend. However, his parents were pressuring him to get married. Feeling frustrated, he used his job as an excuse and was about to head to France.

He received a call from his parents right before he boarded the plane, thus he was held up for a moment, which did nothing to improve his mood.

Zhou Rongshen carried his work bag and boarded the plane with a cold expression.

The camera inside the cabin focused on the door. Gu Jiaer glanced at the screen. Beside the door, Jiang Se was standing in a standard posture. Most importantly, while the others around the camera were instinctively trying to look into the camera, including the other air stewardess beside her, Jiang Se was steady. It seemed as if she did not know that there was a camera there. Her gaze did not slide in its direction as well.

When Hang Yuyi walked through the cabin door, the lady beside her barely reacted when Jiang Se smiled and recited her lines.

“Hello, welcome on board.”

This simple line posed no difficulty for Jiang Se, and Gu Jiaer did not expect her to have any problems with it as well.

After all, no acting skills were needed here. All he needed was for her to heighten the aesthetics of this scene with her looks.

However, although Jiang Se played her role as the flower vase well, Hang Yuyi was the one who had a problem.

The instant Jiang Se recited her line, Hang Yuyi was taken aback. He instinctively looked up at her.

The extras behind him were supposed to board the plane as well. When Hang Yuyi stopped in his tracks, the people behind him walked into him, and the scene became slightly chaotic.

“Sorry.” Hang Yuyi snapped back to his senses. He raised a hand and apologized. Frowning, Gu Jiaer noticed that his whim had given them a small problem.

“Let’s try that again.” He waved his hand. He considered it and got the script supervisor take Jiang Se off from that particular scene.

She would have been a great flower vase by the door with those looks of hers. However, she was simply too eye-catching at the same time. Even Hang Yuyi, who had several years of experience in the entertainment industry, was stunned by her beauty and was caught off-guard. This would affect the progress of the filming. Jiang Se was switched out. This time, Hang Yuyi did not make the same mistake. He stuck to the script and boarded the plane. The female lead, Wang Qianqian, boarded the plane after him.

The cabin was quickly filled with passengers. When Miss Zhang, portrayed by Jiang Se, made her appearance, many of the passengers shifted their gaze toward her. She smiled and welcomed the guests in French before introducing the history of Paris.

Jiang Se did not have much screen time according to the script. When she was introducing Paris, the camera was supposed to be filming Zhao Ruoyun. However, when the cameraman wanted to pan away from her after the welcome note, Gu Jiaer made a gesture and stopped him.

She spoke about Paris with a smile while her tone was gentle. She had the unique charm of a Frenchwoman who balanced her haughtiness and romanticism well. Her lilting tone was pleasing to the ears. Gu Jiaer turned and told the executive director, “I think we can use the live audio when we film this scene later.”