Watching Angie walk out of the dressing room, Yunjun Ye put aside her playful thoughts and picked up the script once more.
Having taken a stroll outside, Angie noticed that other supporting actor scenes were still being filmed. When she went to grab her script, she realized it wasn’t at hand and must have been taken into the dressing room earlier.
The moment Angie stepped inside, she discovered Yunjun Ye’s unusual state. The younger woman was sitting quietly in a daze or more accurately, in deep meditation. However, this scenario was unlike any previous occasion; Yunjun Ye’s entire soul seemed to have entered an entirely separate dimension, failing to register even when Angie walked in and picked up her script.
Has she entered her imaginative space again? Angie wondered.
Her hypothesis was validated the moment they appeared before the cameras once more.
Yunjun Ye’s capacity for situational and spatial imagination was extraordinarily powerful. Once the root cause of her block was identified, she required no rehearsal of blocking; she could resolve the problem within minutes.
When Angie had her veil lifted by the groom and looked up with a hint of bashful coyness, she was abruptly struck by the profound shift in Yunjun Ye’s gaze compared to the previous days.
The tenderness and devotion toward the beloved, alongside the awe-struck fascination, affection, excitement, and eagerness upon lifting the veil, were fully conveyed through her clear, limpid eyes.
Faced with such a gaze, Angie felt a flutter of panic inside it was far too authentic.
She lowered her eyelids slightly, not daring to meet such intense emotion head-on, and delivered a well-calibrated display of a bride’s shy modesty.
Although the off-camera murmurs and deliberately muffled chuckles of the crew members persisted, Yunjun Ye showed no further signs of breaking character into laughter, acting as though this were truly her own wedding ceremony unfolding before them.
Shot in a single continuous long take, Angie remained veiled for most of it, leaving all of Yunjun Ye’s facial expressions and physical actions to be captured entirely by the camera. From entrance to exit, it was done in one take.
Yin Yongquan sat before the monitor, watching the playback with satisfaction. The curve of his mouth grew steadily wider, and he cast frequent looks of approval at Yunjun Ye.
“This performance state is simply magical. Xiao Yu, you must be sure to maintain this.”
“Yes! I will,” Yunjun Ye replied with a slight, curved smile.
“Prepare the next set the bridal chamber,” Yin Yongquan shouted out. The crew members immediately scrambled to move cameras, lighting fixtures, and related equipment into the wedding room set.
The crew members were exceptionally excited, eagerly anticipating the opportunity to witness the sweet, intimate scenes of the two girls in the bridal chamber. Consequently, they worked with extra zeal, moving swiftly and efficiently.
Even though it was a relatively tame affair consisting of gentle conversation, a brief embrace, and a light kiss on the forehead, it was enough to send a thrill through them.
After all, this was the early 2000s. The internet was only just beginning to gain traction, home computers were still a rarity among the few, and entertainment news was scarce. Young people primarily socialized through online forums and bulletin board systems, engrossed in lively discussions, while television dramas and films dominated the entirety of people’s recreational lives. Intimate physical gestures between individuals of the same sex were strictly limited to friends holding hands, linking arms, or throwing an arm over a shoulder; who had ever witnessed two beautiful young women embracing and kissing in the capacity of a husband and wife?
Fortunately, societal attitudes at the time were not particularly progressive; otherwise, if the script had demanded a full embrace and a direct kiss, Angie might have flat-out refused to star in the television series.
Gazing at the predatory, wolf-like gleam in the eyes of the crew members, Angie pressed a hand to her forehead.
The artistic tradition of cross-dressing performances had a long history, meaning they were far from the first precedent. As professional actors, they naturally understood and accepted it with poise. While hugging, cuddling, and leaning against one another among young women was considered normal, enduring the scrutiny of so many burning gazes was a different matter entirely.
Having been raised with relatively traditional values, Angie still found herself feeling quite self-conscious.
Without leaving a trace, she glanced over at Yunjun Ye. True to form, that woman was lost in thought, contemplating her performance.
Forget it, why overthink things? The focal point of this scene rested squarely on Yunjun Ye; all she needed to do was provide smooth cooperation.
Given the state Yunjun Ye had displayed in the previous scene, carrying her own emotional momentum along within the framework of the scene would be entirely effortless.
Angie relaxed. A quiet sense of reassurance settled into her heart because she trusted Yunjun Ye she couldn’t quite put into words why, but she simply trusted her.
“Are you ready? Do you need a run-through?” Yin Yongquan called out toward the set.
Without answering verbally, Angie looked toward Yunjun Ye.
Yunjun Ye happened to raise her head at that moment, their eyes meeting directly.
For no discernible reason, Angie’s heartbeat quickened a fraction.
Isn’t it just a scene? After filming so many projects in the past, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve kissed other co-stars, yet this time I’m as nervous as if it were my screen first kiss. What a useless reaction, Angie scolded herself inwardly with quiet self-mockery.
Promptly gathering her composure, she wore a encouraging, faint smile at the corner of her lips.
Understanding the cue, Yunjun Ye nodded. “No need, let’s just roll.”
The mercury lamps flared to life. The young scholar approached from the dark night with steady strides, while the bride glanced up, her heart rippling slightly hesitant yet yearning, blooming like a rose dripping with morning dew.
Their gazes locked, and joy blossomed in both their hearts.
Clutching the hem of her gown, Angie waited quietly as the scholar stepped right up to her.
With refined courtesy, the scholar took the bride’s hand and led her to sit at the table. They drank the nuptial wine, exchanged thoughts on life and ideals, and once the bride grew completely relaxed, the scholar stood up, took the hand of the slightly flushed woman, and half-embraced, half-carried the beauty toward the edge of the bed. “My wife, the hour is late. Let us rest early!”
The bride lifted her gaze, casting a shy, bashful glance at the scholar before allowing herself to be guided toward the bedside.
Once again, their eyes met. The corners of their eyes and brows brimmed with lingering, deeply moving affection.
In close proximity and half-embraced, their breathing mingled.
Angie clearly heard the sound of her own heartbeat drumming like thunder. Yunjun Ye’s heartbeat was no less rapid; even the arm lightly supporting her was trembling slightly.
Plunged into brief darkness, her forehead brushed against a wave of warmth—soft in texture and carrying a faint, clean fragrance.
Angie distinctly felt that the patch of warmth was also marked by a slight tremor and suppressed respiration.
Yet this softness was so vastly different from that of a man; it carried the delicate purity and tenderness of a youthful girl, devoid of any raw desire, lingering for only a fleeting moment before parting.
The strange sensation abruptly magnified, crystallizing vividly in her mind. Angie realized that the spot touched by that softness was beginning to grow warm.
The sudden brush of softness and the instantaneous surge of accelerated heartbeat were exceptionally distinct. Angie felt as though she might combust at any second.
“Cut.”
Yunjun Ye released Angie, exhaled a heavy breath, and instantly sagged with the posture of someone about to collapse.
Angie also let out a long, drawn-out sigh. Her throat felt parched, and when she prepared to stand up and grab a drink of water, she discovered her legs had turned somewhat jelly-like.
Standing up unsteadily, she swept her gaze around the room. Several crew members remained frozen in a state of open-mouthed astonishment, while a few others beamed with brightly glowing excitement.
“That was acted so well! The intense affection and anticipation of a newlywed were completely captured so brilliant,” Irene bounced over to Yunjun Ye’s side and gave her back a playful poke.
“Your clothes are completely soaked!” Irene exclaimed in exaggerated shock, darting around behind Yunjun Ye.
“It’s hot,” Yunjun Ye tossed out those two words before walking toward the director.
Yin Yongquan was currently reviewing the playback. Yunjun Ye crowded in beside him, and right on the screen appeared Angie’s exquisite, blushing countenance. During the close-up moments earlier, she hadn’t dared to look directly, but seeing it now, the image was undeniably heart-captivating. She swallowed hard; the sensation of the light kiss pressed against Angie’s forehead still lingered on her lips.
The skin had been delicate and fragrant an entirely different texture from touching a man’s skin, especially when infused with raw emotion.
Yunjun Ye’s mind suddenly drifted into colorful territory, imagining the tactile sensation of that same tenderness upon other parts of that face, such as the crimson lips or the curve of the ear.
“Let’s take it from the top.” Yin Yongquan’s words abruptly reined in Yunjun Ye’s straying thoughts.
Cough. Her imagination truly was running wild.
She stared in disbelief at the replaying monitor footage.
“It can be done even better; I feel like it’s still slightly lacking,” Yin Yongquan pointed at the screen, specifically at Yunjun Ye’s slightly stiff kiss. “It was a bit too much like a dragonfly skimming the water.”
Yunjun Ye: ……
There were many brilliant directors like him: when a performance was average, he would guide you patiently and pass it if it was acceptable; but when your performance exceeded expectations, he would pursue perfection, striving to push the result as close as possible to the ideal vision in his mind.
Seeing that Yunjun Ye remained silent, Yin Yongquan continued, “In a normal bridal chamber scene between a male lead and female lead, we could incorporate deeper kisses or bed sequences. We can’t do that here, but the aesthetic beauty must be absolute. Can loving someone when you are finally about to possess them really be expressed by just a fleeting brush of the lips?”
At some point, Angie had also walked over behind the camera to watch quietly.
Yin Yongquan looked between the two of them and pressed on: “We need to flesh out the acting completely, leaving a larger space for lingering imagination so that the frame possesses greater tension and aesthetic appeal.”
Yunjun Ye nodded. With a sudden turn, she bumped straight into Angie standing right behind her.