CH 93

".... Take advantage of your current emotions and let's do the final shot quickly."

Wen Li nodded, "Got it."

After a short break for the crew and equipment adjustments, Qiu Ping loudly called for all units to prepare.

"Alright, everyone, get ready. We're starting the shoot. Let's congratulate Teacher Wen on wrapping up her work after this final shot."

The staff responded in unison.

In Bin City, the outdoor temperature was several degrees below freezing. The indoor filming location they were in was a dungeon surrounded by stone blocks in a film and television city. There was no centralized heating system and the gaps between the stones were not tightly sealed to maintain the authenticity of the scene. The bone-chilling wind seeped into the room, despite the fires and small heating devices set up around. Everyone still bundled up in thick down jackets.

Wen Li's only thin cheongsam costume had long been ruined beyond recognition. She took a few deep breaths, mentally preparing herself, and mustered the courage to throw off the thick blanket covering her and lay down on the cold ground.

A makeup artist squatted beside her, applying "blood plasma" on her face and body.

Although Song Yan's fox fur coat couldn't compare to a down jacket, it at least provided some protection from the wind. Wen Li envied him and waved at him.

The man walked over and squatted in front of her. Wen Li grabbed a tuft of fur from his collar and rubbed it against her face, feeling comfortable.

Song Yan chuckled softly and placed a hand warmer on her belly. With his dry and warm hands, he helped her keep warm.

"Hold on."

Wen Li shivered from the cold, sniffled, and confidently made an "OK" gesture to him.

This scene was Wen Li's final scene, where Ye Yan and Ting Feng would part in death. It required intense emotions and a high level of dramatic tension. Qiu Ping scheduled this scene as the last one, hoping that she could fully immerse herself in the role after the previous buildup.

Dying in winter, in a cold and bloody dungeon, tattered and in extreme pain, utterly miserable and disheveled.

The production assistant raised the clapperboard, producing a crisp sound, and the final shot officially began.

This was not a comfortable shooting environment like in idol dramas. It posed great challenges to the actors' emotions and delivery of lines. Under extreme physical and mental strain, Wen Li closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them, tears flowed down her cheeks.

Her lips were dry, with dried bloodstains, and she struggled to part her lips, silently pleading with the man before her in despair.

The director and producer squinted their eyes, staring fixedly at the monitor, capturing every subtle change in the actors' expressions.

In this shot, Song Yan's despair and grief should be slightly lower than Wen Li's. Wen Li's emotions were more outwardly expressed because of the previous torture she endured. Her vocal cords were completely damaged, rendering her unable to speak, resulting in a silent, heartbreaking cry. Song Yan, on the other hand, leaned towards restraint. Due to the script's setting, he had to keep his emotions in check as there were eavesdroppers nearby. Even if he wanted to cry, he couldn't utter a sound. He was filled with anger and sorrow to the extreme but couldn't release it.

In the monitor, the man's chin trembled, his neck muscles repeatedly contracted, as if he too had been rendered voiceless by some poison. His gaze was full of sorrow, and the flickering light in the dungeon reflected in his eyes, not with tears and weeping, but with suppressed tears and overwhelming sadness.

These were two completely different ways of handling emotions—one dynamic and one restrained—both capturing the characters' traits perfectly.

When the gunshot sounded, signaling the end of the final shot, Qiu Ping rubbed his eyes, paused for a few seconds, then called out softly, "Cut!"

Wen Li clearly hadn't fully recovered from the intense emotions. After the last shot, she no longer felt the cold. She lay motionless on the ground, completely drained, tightly keeping her eyes shut, her chest rising and falling dramatically, and tears continued to flow.

Song Yan also couldn't snap out of it. He closed his eyes, lowered his head, and kept pinching his eyelids, his throat choked.

It was normal for actors to be caught up in their roles and find it challenging to detach themselves after performing such emotionally explosive scenes. The crew members wisely didn't disturb them, waiting for them to come back to reality.

The ground was freezing. Song Yan held Wen Li in his arms, comforting her.

Although it appeared that Song Yan was comforting her, Wen Li inexplicably felt that, as he held her, he was actually comforting himself.

The man seemed to be afraid of something, his breathing became rapid, and he tightly wrapped his arms around her, not loosening his grip at all, rendering her unable to move.

Once she nestled into the warm and broad embrace, Wen Li couldn't care less about being able to move. Her entire tense body instantly relaxed and she cried even louder.

Qiu Ping chuckled and joked with the others, "If you didn't know any better, you'd think Song Yan was bullying his own wife."

Wen Li tightly clenched the clothes on Song Yan's body. Although her mind had turned into a mush from crying, as soon as she heard the director's words, she immediately spoke while sobbing, "How could he possibly bully me..."

Song Yan was taken aback and chuckled, "You're silly. Director Qiu was joking."

Wen Li stared at him with teary eyes, momentarily confused, "Huh?"

What did she just say instinctively?

Qiu Ping laughed so hard that his shoulders shook, "Seems like Mrs. Song has sharp ears. Alright, now we all know your husband would never dare to bully you."

The previously heavy and oppressive atmosphere on the set suddenly changed. All the staff members burst into laughter, and a few bold young ones even shouted, "Teacher Wen is giving us dog food."

With the final shot completed, the production team prepared a small wrap-up celebration for Wen Li in the evening.

"You haven't eaten in vain during these few months, and I haven't made a mistake in choosing you," Qiu Ping raised his glass to Wen Li, tilted his head back, and downed the entire cup of wine, laughing heartily, "And Old Zhou hasn't made a mistake either."

The screenwriter, Old Zhou, said with a hint of pride, "I told you, I wouldn't disappoint you."

Basking in the praises from the director, screenwriter, and most of the staff who had seen the footage, Wen Li proudly held her glass and didn't forget to thank Song Yan.

"Teacher Song, I toast to you."

Song Yan seemed a bit surprised that she wanted to drink with him, but quickly caught on and raised his glass to her.

"You did so well in the last scene. I wasn't even this excited before. I have to thank you," Wen Li sincerely expressed her gratitude, "It was a pleasant collaboration."

Song Yan smiled and clinked his glass with hers, "Thank you too, it was a pleasant collaboration."

As the couple exchanged pleasantries, the onlookers clicked their tongues in admiration.

While Wen Li's gratitude to Song Yan was genuine, Song Yan's thanks to Wen Li wasn't just a formality either.

She had made such rapid progress, and during the last scene in the afternoon, she had stirred his emotions.

Song Yan remembered Wen Li's unintentionally words she had said on that couples variety show last year.

―Him being alive in this world is the greatest surprise for me.

He seemed to understand the meaning behind those words.

He was grateful they lived in peaceful times. Although they had waited for a long time, they were finally able to reunite properly.

——

Wen Li had relatively fewer scenes compared to the other four leads, so she was the first to wrap up filming.

However, the other three leads, including Song Yan, had also wrapped up gradually in the weeks after she left the set.

The production team chose to shoot the film during the coldest months in Bin City. By the time they finally finished, it was already the beginning of spring according.

[Ice City] went from pre-production last year to wrapping up early this year. After a lengthy post-production and submission for review, it finally started its official promotion and release in the first half of this year.

As a patriotic spy war film, [Ice City] had a natural advantage in its promotion compared to other commercial films and garnered extremely high attention.

This transformation of Wen Li's career was grand and significant. From last year until now, she hadn't joined any new projects in the film and television industry. If she successfully carried her role on the screen, it meant that she would have more diverse choices in the types of scripts she could select for future projects, no longer limited to idol dramas alone.

If not, at most, she would be mocked by netizens for her failure, but her position as an A-list celebrity would remain intact. When she returned to the realm of idol dramas, she would still have various S-level scripts to choose from.

The consequence would be that it would become even harder for her to secure top-tier film resources like [Ice City] in the future.

Wen Li and her team didn't want to miss this excellent opportunity for transformation. Therefore, before the movie's release, everyone invested their energy and focus into the promotion of [Ice City].

During this period, she traveled to many cities with the production team for promotions. The promotional efforts also deliberately capitalized on the popularity of her on-screen pairing with Song Yan. Even before the film's release, the official social media accounts started sharing numerous stills and behind-the-scenes materials. Additionally, the other two lead actors were highly acclaimed veteran actors. With such meticulous promotion, the official opening of the movie's ticket pre-sales channel coincided with the summer season. The estimated pre-sales box office figures on major film review websites had already surpassed the historical pre-sales of all big screen movies in recent years.

Alongside positive promotional marketing, there would undoubtedly be negative news and backlash.

Whether this negative news stemmed from conflicts between the film's production company and investors or from rivalries involving the director, screenwriter, or even the lead actors due to conflicting interests, remained unknown.

A few days before the official start of ticket pre-sales, an anonymous answer on a Q&A platform was reposted on Weibo by a marketing account.

「What are some unbelievable but true scandals in the entertainment industry?」

New Answer:「There's one scandal that, once exposed, would cause half of the CP circles in the entertainment industry to collapse.

This celebrity couple is actually in a contractual marriage. They had planned to divorce last year, but before they could do so, they appeared on a popular variety show and gained significant benefits from their CP image. Moreover, the male lead helped the female lead secure a top-tier movie role that her own team might not have been able to obtain in her lifetime. In the end, for their own interests, they reached a new agreement and didn't proceed with the divorce.」

——

「Update: The movie is about to be released. Now, it remains to be seen if the female lead is really pushing for it forcefully. If she can't handle it and ends up causing a flop in both box office and reputation, the male lead's reputation might also suffer. They might even break up in anger, and then, the CP fans can expect a collective collapse.」

This exposé had such strong implications that it immediately started trending on Weibo as soon as it was reposted.

「Salt Grain?」

「I just got into this fandom and you're telling me that Salt Grain is actually a contractual couple?」

「No way! I've rewatched the second season of 'In This World With You' multiple times, especially the final episode. I think they're genuinely sweet together! If it's really fake, it would be a total disappointment. Hollywood owes Salt Grain an Oscar.」

Rumors about Song Yan and Wen Li being a contractual couple had been circulating even before the first season of [In This World With You] aired last year. However, at that time, they didn't have many photos together, let alone actively promote their loving relationship. There were so many fake celebrity marriages in the entertainment industry that even if they were indeed a contractual couple, it wouldn't be surprising.

But in the explosive second season of [In This World With You], Salt Grain solidified their relationship as childhood sweethearts, attracting countless fans over the past year, including a significant number of overseas viewers in East Asia. Recently, when it was announced that [In This World With You] planned to have a third season, although the couple would not be returning, they still recorded a promotional video for the new season.

Therefore, the scandal of the "contractual couple" being exposed now had a far greater negative impact than last year.

It's evident that this exposé was strategically timed and intentionally amplified.

There was a mix of criticism towards both the male and female leads, and the film [Ice City] received malicious reviews even before its release.

「Hehe, a single grain of rat feces can ruin the whole pot of soup.」

「If Wen Li is in it, I'm already giving it one star.」

The film production team and the artists responded swiftly. Even before public opinion could truly ferment, they had already taken the most rapid and timely public relations actions.

Meanwhile, [Ice City] held advance screenings in selected cities across the country as part of its promotional activities.

On the first day of the advance screenings, a post appeared on a movie forum.

「I bought tickets for the advance screening of 'Ice City' and am now preparing to enter the theater. I'm going for the three renowned actors and actress, but I don't have high expectations for Wen Li. I admire her for her performance in idol dramas, but on the big screen... emmmm... Anyway, my brothers, wait for my feedback after I finish watching it. If it's really bad, I'll take the hit for you, so you won't waste your money.」

「Waiting for OP's feedback.」

「Thanks, OP. May you live a peaceful life.」

After two hours, the first screening of the film was over, and the people in the forum who were waiting for the OP's feedback started urging.

「OP!!! Where are you!!!」

「OP, say something!!!」

Just as they were calling for the OP in the forum, the OP, who had been absent for nearly three hours, finally responded.

「I'm the OP. I'm back, guys. I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself.」

「What does that mean?」

「Is the movie really that bad? Did you leave early without finishing it?」

The OP resurfaced again:「It's quite embarrassing to say, but this nearly 30-year-old man almost cried his eyes out. I take back what I said earlier about Wen Li. I love her. Even though she's already married, I still want to call her my wife and be her loyal fan.」

The OP's sudden change in attitude towards Wen Li caught the forum members waiting for feedback off guard.

「?」

「OP, did someone hack your account?」