Chapter 112: On Set

Chapter 112: On Set

In the movie "Feather of Youth," Yin Pei's high school scenes are only a small part; in fact, the main plot focuses on his university life—where the poignant moments are just that brief segment.

In the following storyline, Yin Pei finds himself again with the help of Wang Zixiang and Qin Jinwei, and the three of them grow together.

In the script, Yin Pei is a character who appears carefree but is actually quite resilient. During the two months after graduating from high school and before entering university, he keeps thinking about what he can do.

Apart from badminton, he had never considered any other path. When it truly came to making a choice, he was at a loss.

A friend's words woke him up: "If you want to play, just keep playing."

"See how far you can push yourself. Don't think about the national team, don't think about world championships. From today, test your limits!"

"Badminton is free, and so are you!"

Just not making it to the national team doesn't mean you can't keep playing.

Even after an injury, Yin Pei's love for badminton remains.

Among the three, Qin Jinwei is the eldest and the most mature. She is focused on research, excelling in physics during high school, and naturally chose a physics-related major in university—a field some see as unsuitable for women, marriage, or future family care.

The last time she heard such remarks was when both Wang Zixiang and Yin Pei were present. Yin Pei punched the guy and threatened to do it again if they repeated it.

As she scolded them, Qin Jinwei was also happy to feel understood.

Yin Pei sometimes gets frustrated while playing. There are too many geniuses in the sports world, and even though he is one in a thousand, the national team still has countless talents he looks up to. And even within the national team, there are so many strong competitors worldwide.

When he feels anxious, his friends quietly support him.

Starting from university, even though they are not in the same school, Qin Jinwei and Wang Zixiang come to visit Yin Pei every weekend, helping him with rehab and training. Even when Yin Pei's career seemed over, the three still sought out the most professional doctors and turned to Yin Pei's former coaches for help.

Yin Pei’s luck started to turn—his physical condition was much stronger than most people assumed.

...

The actor Lu Xu has many scenes with Guo Yingyu and Hu Yan. In fact, the theme that ties together "Feather of Youth" from start to finish is the friendship between the three.

Although Hu Yan is signed under Ningshi Entertainment, he is not a flashy star. After "Feather of Youth" started filming, the three kept a low profile, with little hype and even fewer promotional materials sent to marketers.

Of course, this is because the crew was on a tight budget.

Lu Xu can usually tell the personalities of his co-stars. At least in his view, Guo Yingyu and Hu Yan are both easygoing and dedicated actors—not picky and very serious about their acting.

Among the films Lu Xu has acted in, "Feather of Youth" is one of the easier ones, which aligns with most audience's impressions of youth films. In their eyes, youth films don't require much acting skill.

But—capturing the energy of youth is not easy.

Not needing acting skills doesn't mean the characters can be dull.

For example, even in the easiest-to-shoot youth films, there are only a few classics, no more than in other genres.

At least in the "Feather of Youth" crew, there are no dull people.

Not long after, Lu Xu, Guo Yingyu, and Hu Yan were already discussing the script together.

"Feather of Youth" focuses on Yin Pei as the main character, with Wang Zixiang and Qin Jinwei as supporting roles. The script has no romantic subplot, mainly narrating the growth of the characters.

It wasn't until some time into filming that Lu Xu suddenly realized, "...I don't think I've ever played a role that involves falling in love."

"I have," Xu Wen reminded him. "Why can he, but I can't!"

"I don’t want to be your brother—I want to be your boyfriend!"

Lu Xu: "Change the channel! Right now!"

Xu Wen's delivery of this line was really off.

Sorry to all the fake sibling tropes out there!

"Didn’t Yu Wei end up single in the end?" Lu Xu couldn’t help but protest.

He just never dated!

Yu Wei is a bachelor, Qin Zhao died without a partner, Ji Xiuya is a love-crazed lunatic, Yu Yi is in prison, Jiang Lin... didn’t date in the series, and it seems he’s not planning to.

Yan Huan... Lu Xu still doesn’t know his identity; the screenwriter didn’t clarify.

Well, maybe they just didn’t have time to write it.

None of that matters—what matters is he’s playing a college guy, and this guy isn’t dating!

Xu Wen: "Tell the screenwriter to add a plot where you think she’s your sister, but she’s not, and you end up falling for her."

"You’re twisting your tongue so fast it’s practically drooling—reel it in."

Lu Xu: "...Why not just write in a badminton spirit?"

The agent came to the set this time, partly to check on Lu Xu and partly to tell him the lead role in the youth film 'Song of Tears,' which he passed on, had been cast.

"Is it someone I know?" Lu Xu raised an eyebrow.

Knowing Xu Wen, if it wasn’t someone he’d worked with, Xu Wen wouldn’t have bothered to mention it.

Lu Xu thought about it: "Qi Di?"

"Exactly!"

Zhang Che was blacklisted in the film industry—no crew wanted him as the lead, but Qi Di is different, after all, he has Liu Rennong's studio backing him.

Even though his double standards caused a stir, the audience that follows online gossip is small, and they forget fast. He’s too much of a liability for big productions, but he can handle smaller projects.

Besides, Qi Di's acting is not bad.

Xu Wen brought up the idea of 'Song of Tears' and 'Feather of Youth' going head-to-head: "After all, they are both youth films."

Hearing this, Lu Xu shook his head calmly: "They’re not in the same league."

"Even though they’re both labeled as youth films, they’re entirely different—the audience will see that right away."

Lu Xu isn’t scared of going up against other productions.

He’s been through this kind of thing countless times since his debut.

...

"Ahhh—Lu Xu, take this, it’s burning my hands!" The moment Lu Xu arrived at the studio, Hu Yan thrust a hot, steaming pancake into his hands. It smelled amazing, and even though it was scorching, Lu Xu took a big bite anyway.

The rolled pancakes near the set are incredibly fragrant—stuffed with pork tenderloin, shredded potatoes, and a rich sauce—they’ve become Lu Xu’s go-to snack while filming 'Feather of Youth.'

As soon as he arrived in the morning, he hunkered down with Hu Yan to eat some flatbread. After finishing the flatbread, they wiped their hands clean and took out the script to go over today’s lines.

Their scripts were packed with notes.

When Guo Yingyu came over after getting enough sleep, Hu Yan handed her a meatless one, as her face tends to swell in the morning, which Guo Yingyu absolutely hated.

She no longer wanted to get Lu Xu's autograph!

Would you believe it? After waking up, Lu Xu’s skin looked better than hers!

Ugh, the nerve!

Lu Xu ate way more than she did!

More importantly, in the film *Feather of Youth*, Yin Pei needed to look muscular, so during filming, Lu Xu could eat to his heart’s content!

During the Dragon Boat Festival, Lu Xu alone ate two hefty meat-stuffed zongzi!

Those were specialties from the director's hometown, the kind packed with meat and bursting with flavor. Guo Yingyu even dreamt about those zongzi that night, but she didn’t dare to eat them.

She suspected that the crew’s vibes were off; otherwise, how had she managed to pack on four whole pounds since joining the crew?

Or was it something in the air?

In any case, she gained weight, and she hated Lu Xu.

Guo Yingyu gnawed on the flatbread, seething, even thought about munching on a big green onion to clear the air around those two.

After she finished eating, she joined the group to run lines.

Today’s scene was a breeze, but before the shoot, Feng Rui made a request to the actors, hoping they could bring more energy to the scene.

This was Yin Pei’s comeback scene.

To be precise, Yin Pei hadn’t officially returned to the professional arena at this time, but he’d started dipping his toes back into competition. Many people knew about his injury and that he hadn’t been selected for the national team.

Therefore, in this match, no one believed in Yin Pei, except for Wang Zixiang and Qin Jinwei.

His opponent had faced Yin Pei before and had always been defeated by him. This time, when Yin Pei returned to the court, the opponent’s words dripped with mockery.

At first, Yin Pei indeed struggled.

He tried to ignore the injury, but the past injury cast a shadow over his heart. Although there were no issues during training, once he started competing, he worried that his legs might tear again.

The first game started with a score of 1 to 7, and Yin Pei’s condition was worrying.

But in the middle of the game, he suddenly realized.

“It can't be worse than never being able to play again!”

—He had thought about this possibility when he was first injured.

So he chased from 1 to 7 to 9 to 14, and then to 17 to 17. The opponent targeted his injured area, and Yin Pei lost the first game 19 to 21.

But from the second game, he had regained his touch and his love for badminton.

He played boldly and openly, moving even more actively than before his injury. Even luck seemed to be on his side—two consecutive shots that the opponent thought were out of bounds were actually in.

Yin Pei played with increasing confidence, his body felt light as a feather, like he could take flight. The audience outside the court could feel his joy at that moment.

He was drenched in sweat, yet he was brimming with excitement and joy, his energy electrifying the entire court!

21 to 17!

21 to 14!

He clinched two straight games!

As the final ball landed and the court score changed to 21 to 14, Yin Pei leaped and cheered across the court, holding his racket.

His fingers were still tightly gripping the racket, but the nervous trembling from his high school training days was nowhere to be seen.

The racket pointed to the sky, and the next moment it pointed to his friends watching him from outside the court.

Wang Zixiang and Qin Jinwei had tears in their eyes.

This time, it was still Yin Pei who did not cry.

His face lit up with the brightest smile, like the most intense sunlight. He was smiling, running, throwing his arms wide open, rushing towards his friends, and embracing them tightly.

He had made it!

He was back!

The trio embraced tightly, and Yin Pei even scooped up Wang Zixiang and twirled him around. At this moment, his joy was contagious!

Outside the set, Feng Rui stood frozen, taking in the scene.

Lu Xu really... could infect others when acting sad, and he could do the same when acting happy.

Perhaps because, at this moment, he had fully embodied the character?