“Just you wait and see!”
Dong Rui was defiant, and Dong Haisheng loved nothing more than seeing him proven wrong.
With a wave of his hand, the assistant director brought up Jiang Ling’s scene – a turn and glance that was destined to be legendary.
Dong Rui held his breath, ready.
But when he saw Jiang Ling’s expression, he was caught off guard, unable to cope, and froze.
Amateurs watch for the spectacle, while professionals look for the skill.
Watching the footage, acting as if he were there, he could appreciate the depth of Jiang Ling’s “one glance, ten thousand years” more than any observer.
Her gaze seemed soft and calm, yet it was a turbulent sea, like crashing waves, one overwhelming the other.
Without a single spoken line, just a five-second turn and glance, she conveyed the entire life of Hailong, a tragically fated, peerless beauty.
What terrifying expressiveness!
Were eyes like those… truly capable of being acted?
Dong Rui was stunned, his heart filled with immense shock.
“Well? Can you handle this scene?” Dong Haisheng asked with a smile.
Dong Rui sighed, “I’m convinced!”
Despite his prior estimation of Jiang Ling’s talent, he was still deeply shaken this time.
He, the acclaimed Best Actor, who had achieved fame at a young age and was renowned in the industry.
Yet, he couldn’t even match the glance of a girl more than ten years his junior.
If word got out, he’d be laughed to death.
Dong Haisheng scoffed, “Now you know what ‘there’s always someone better’ means. Don’t get arrogant just because you have a bit of talent. In front of true acting masters, you’ve still got a long way to go. Learn diligently. If you could act like Jiang Ling, even at just fifty to sixty percent of her level, all the domestic awards would be yours for the taking.”
Dong Rui nodded thoughtfully, a look of shame on his face.
This time, he was truly struck. He had thought his own skills were enough to dominate the industry.
Now, seeing the prowess Jiang Ling displayed, he realized how much room for improvement he still had.
After a moment of silence, he tugged at the corner of his mouth and said softly, “Uncle, thank you!”
“You rascal!”
Dong Haisheng patted his shoulder with satisfaction and said, “Let’s shoot. If you can’t get it in one take, do it twice; if not twice, do it thrice. No matter what, you have to nail this scene!”
“Yes!” Dong Rui vowed through gritted teeth.
Because Jiang Ling’s turn and glance had reached the highest realm of artistic performance,
Facing such an expression, Dong Rui felt a sense of insurmountable awe.
After more than twenty retakes, he finally managed to somewhat match the scene.
Just this single flashback segment took him an entire afternoon to film, leaving him physically and mentally exhausted, nearly to the point of collapse.
“Here, have some water!”
Dong Haisheng tossed him a bottle of mineral water.
Dong Rui unscrewed the cap and guzzled down more than half the bottle.
He said with a touch of dejection, “Comparing people makes you so angry. Jiang Ling is so much younger than me, how can her acting be so amazing? She goes all out from the start. Without some real skill, you really can’t handle it.”
Dong Haisheng laughed, “Anyone who can crush you in acting is definitely a true master. And I’m lucky to have caught Jiang Ling in her prime. If it were two years ago, when she was still at Spark Media, if she acted like this, I would have been so angry I’d have died on the spot!”
“Heh, the dramas Jiang Ling filmed before were indeed hard to watch. For the past two years, there have been rumors circulating that her terrible acting was just an act, something she had to do to escape Spark Media’s exploitation. Do you believe that?”