Chapter 65: Filming in Progress

Chapter 65: Filming in Progress

While Shao Yao's agent was observing Lu Xu, Lu Xu was also observing Shao Yao.

He always felt that this collaborator was different from what he had imagined.

After Su Yang's role was assigned to Shao Yao, Lu Xu had specifically looked into him. Shao Yao was young, and there wasn't much information available online, mostly related to his acting career, with no gossip or scandals, making him an actor with low visibility outside of his work.

Lu Xu guessed that Shao Yao must be a decent person.

The company Shao Yao belonged to, Mingniao Entertainment, was just a small firm. If there were any serious issues, they wouldn't have the resources to suppress them.

However...

Lu Xu noticed that the controversy surrounding Shao Yao's last project, "Nanxiangzi," seemed significant.

In "Nanxiangzi," Shao Yao co-starred with popular young actor Yan Qichen and rising actress Lin Ling. It was rumored that conflicts arose between Shao Yao and the other two during filming. By the time the promotional period began, Shao Yao was largely ignored, almost like a non-entity.

When the show aired, despite Yan Qichen and Shao Yao having similar screen time, the production team promoted Yan Qichen and Lin Ling as the official couple, leaving Shao Yao out of the spotlight entirely.

Lin Ling never said anything negative about Shao Yao, but lead actor Yan Qichen had many complaints, openly and subtly suggesting that there was a scene-stealer in the "Nanxiangzi" crew who liked to meddle with others' shooting methods.

The entertainment industry has never lacked for such scene-stealers. Some enjoy adding scenes, hoping that the director and writers will revolve around them, while others take on a paternalistic role, insisting that others follow their way of shooting, often testing others' abilities.

In his previous life, one of Lu Xu's actor seniors had encountered the latter type of scene-stealer.

His senior, transitioning from theater to television, had been in the industry for nearly fifty years, yet was pulled aside by a young actor to critique his performance, pointing out where it was lacking. During that period, his senior was almost driven to despair, feeling embarrassed to share the experience but unable to keep the frustration inside.

Later, he invited Lu Xu for dinner and vented for over half an hour. Lu Xu accompanied him, angrily denouncing the other party together.

Lu Xu glanced at Shao Yao standing behind his agent, unable to see how this person could direct others in acting.

However, some actors have one face in daily life and another during filming.

Lu Xu has always treated his co-stars as colleagues. If they get along, great; if not, he doesn’t push it, as long as they don’t put on a friendly face during filming only to trash their co-stars in the press once the show wraps.

This is what he fears the most.

Fortunately, since *The Noble Son*, Lu Xu hasn’t encountered such a co-star. From this perspective, his luck has been quite good.

Lu Xu quickly realized that Shao Yao must be the ultimate introvert.

After greeting the main creators of the crew, Shao Yao quietly stayed aside, keeping his head down and avoiding eye contact with everyone, especially with Lu Xu. Lu Xu felt he had always had good rapport with his co-stars, even with those he worked with earliest, like Yang Shu. They still kept in touch, and if they met at events, they’d always say hi to each other.

But today… he encountered a partner who dared not make eye contact with him.

“Have I ever wronged him? Or have I wronged anyone else from Mingniao Entertainment?” Lu Xu couldn’t help but discuss this issue with his agent.

“Not to my knowledge, no,” Xu Wen recalled the first time he saw Shao Yao. “He looks more intimidating than you.”

Lu Xu is over 1.8 meters tall, not short among male actors, but Shao Yao is even taller, with a sturdy build, the type who radiates an air of integrity just by standing there.

In *Voices of the Dead*, he plays Su Yang, a police officer, which suits him well.

“Maybe he’s just hard to get along with,” Xu Wen said. “But you don’t need to be afraid of him.”

Xu Wen believed that with Lu Xu’s personality, no one on the *Voices of the Dead* set could push him around.

Moreover, Shao Yao was only confirmed as an actor after Lu Xu had agreed to star in *Voices of the Dead*. Given Lu Xu’s current clout, the crew would naturally lean more on his input during filming, and once the show drops, they’d probably leverage Lu Xu’s name to nail down platforms and sponsorships.

Lu Xu didn’t mind the lead role, but in the *Corpse Whispers* production team, he was undoubtedly the top.

Lu Xu felt that his agent’s statement wasn’t quite right: “He shouldn’t be fierce.”

Perhaps his personality is just a bit peculiar.

...

After all the actors had gathered, Director Xu Yan and screenwriter Zhao Jincheng first held a brief meeting to introduce the general shooting process of *Corpse Whispers*.

This series is an anthology drama, with the main characters being Jiang Lin, Su Yang, and a few others responsible for solving cases, while other roles would vary depending on the case.

“The cooperation between the two of you is crucial,” Xu Yan looked at Lu Xu and Shao Yao, “I’ve read the character profiles of Jiang Lin and Su Yang. Your understanding of the roles is accurate, but there are some details you can further discuss with Teacher Zhao.”

Lu Xu nodded.

While Lu Xu just listened, Shao Yao opened a notebook and began jotting down what the director said.

Screenwriter Zhao Jincheng took out the script and discussed the points to pay attention to during the filming of Jiang Lin and Su Yang’s scenes. A few scenes were slightly more challenging, and Zhao Jincheng asked them to think about these more carefully after the meeting.

Lu Xu also pulled out his notebook.

The fan in the meeting room whirred, causing the pages to rustle. Lu Xu and Shao Yao quietly took notes without saying a word.

The silence made Zhao Jincheng glance silently at Xu Yan.

The director shrugged, indicating he hadn’t seen anything like this before.

*Corpse Whispers* is a commercially oriented series, with not very high demands on the actors. What supports the show is a series of bizarre and strange cases. Although Jiang Lin and Su Yang are central characters throughout the series, the focus of *Corpse Whispers* remains on solving mysteries, bringing the perpetrators to justice, and ensuring the deceased rest in peace.

However, the默契 performance of Lu Xu and Shao Yao reassured the director.

No matter what, these two at least showed a serious attitude toward their roles.

Lu Xu achieved fame at a young age, with awards and high ratings, while Shao Yao had rumors of being a diva. However, Xu Yan feared most those actors who were irresponsible toward their roles; no matter how smooth or well-tempered such people were, Xu Yan found it hard to like them.

As an actor, delivering a good performance is paramount; emotional intelligence and smoothness are merely embellishments.

After Xu Yan and Zhao Jincheng left, Lu Xu and Shao Yao remained in the meeting room, reviewing the script. After a while, Lu Xu erased some notes he had made earlier. He then heard a gentle knock on the door, and someone placed a bottle of water in front of him.

"Thank you," Lu Xu looked up and thanked Shao Yao.

"You're welcome."

The conversation ended there, and silence fell over the meeting room once again.

It was a strange atmosphere.

...

Lu Xu's first scene in the "Whispers of the Dead" production involved a case where the S City Criminal Investigation Team received a report that a fisherman had caught part of a corpse in Central Lake.

This summer, S City had just experienced a drought, causing the water level to be much lower than usual. If not for this, the body, which was weighed down with fishing nets and stones at the bottom of the lake, might never have been discovered.

The criminal investigation team captain, upon hearing the news, sprang into action and, as expected, saw Jiang Lin among the onlookers.

In murder cases, his appearance rate is 80%, and in violent crimes, it's 100%.

Seeing him, the team captain felt like his hair was about to fall out.

It is often said that among the common folk, there are extraordinary individuals, but the city of S had no desire for someone like Jiang Lin.

Whenever he appeared, a brutal and deranged murder would inevitably follow, either a series of killings or an encounter with a perpetrator in extreme psychological turmoil, ultimately plunging the entire city into terror.

The head of the criminal investigation team once suspected a connection between Jiang Lin and these killers, or that he was involved in one of the murders. However, after thorough investigations, it was clear that Jiang Lin was innocent. He was simply born with a heightened sensitivity to crime and... somewhat unlucky.

He often provided inspiration for solving stalled cases, while simultaneously putting himself in danger.

To protect Jiang Lin, the criminal investigation unit assigned Su Yang to accompany him. Su Yang would serve as a human shield when danger arose, while on a daily basis, Jiang Lin would provide clues and Su Yang would handle the investigations.

The makeup and costume design for the "Whispers from the Dead" production were quite ordinary. Lu Xu appeared in the crowd in a T-shirt and slippers, looking carefree and casual.

The production team did not give him any special filters; his hair was just casually cut. With his tousled hair, Lu Xu looked like a street loafer as he made his appearance.

This was the image of the character Jiang Lin.

One could say this was the least refined role Lu Xu had played so far.

If not for his ability to understand the voices of the dead, Jiang Lin would just be an ordinary citizen.

On the very first day of filming, everyone on the set of "Whispers from the Dead," from the director and cinematographer to the makeup artist, knew that Lu Xu was not a difficult person to work with—he sat quietly, allowing the makeup artist to style his hair without uttering a word.

Considering he had a shampoo endorsement deal, this was noteworthy.

The makeup artist had encountered similar situations before: an actor signed a contract for a shampoo brand but couldn't display his lustrous black hair due to the script's requirements, leading to a scene where the actor caused a commotion on set, accusing the production of causing him to breach his contract. In the end, the screenwriter had to alter that part of the script.

The makeup artist didn't know the specifics of Lu Xu's contract, but he didn't think the situation was as severe as the other actor claimed. Almost every big-name actor in the industry had endorsements; did signing a cosmetics ad mean they couldn't play unattractive roles?

Wouldn't it be deceptive if their makeup remained flawless during scenes involving fire or rain?

No matter what, as long as Lu Xu doesn't cause trouble, the stylist feels relieved.

For Lu Xu, this scene is quite easy to shoot; it's just a matter of chatting with the detective captain and showing a look of apology to Su Yang when he arrives—any situation involving Jiang Lin means overtime for Su Yang.

It's Lu Xu's first time working with Shao Yao, but there's no sense of unfamiliarity between them in this scene.

Su Yang nods at Jiang Lin without a word. Though not naturally cheerful, his presence exudes a sense of stability for the character.

Without much dialogue, their rapport is evident from their expressions alone.

In the next moment, Jiang Lin "hears" the voice of the corpse.

His nonchalant expression freezes; he hears a piercing scream, as if it has crawled out of hell.

Then come the pleas for mercy, the cries of children and mothers, and the chaotic sound of footsteps.

There are also the caws of crows and the calls of vendors offering to trade old phones for kitchen knives or stainless steel basins.

A trace of pity flashes across Jiang Lin's face; though he is laid-back, he cannot remain indifferent to a murder.