Chapter 209: The Princess and the Pauper
Geniuses were the minority after all. Geniuses like Wen Yongwei had already surpassed ordinary people in many other aspects. People like her were extremely rare.
Luo Qi’s expectations were too high.
“Why don’t you try the dance rhythm?” Kang Cheng suggested.
Wen Yongwei immediately understood what was going on. She had been practicing dance since she was three years old, and it had been fifteen years since then. As a result, she was in good shape.
When she was dancing, she was very relaxed. If she were to immerse herself in the filming, would she really be worse than Shi Jin?
After thinking it through, she quickly found her composure. She stood up and walked over to Luo Qi’s side. “Director Luo, can I try again?”
“Alright, let’s get ready. Everyone, get ready!” He stood up and commanded the other staff members.
This time, Wen Yongwei’s performance was indeed different.
She walked over in a dance step and faced the morning sun. She washed her face, patted her cheeks, and woke up her skin. It was done in one go and synced perfectly with the dance. It was really beautiful.
Luo Qi excitedly nodded.
Wen Yongwei was done quickly this time. She continued to work hard, and soon, she had done all the scenes that Luo Qi needed.
She then proceeded to change into the outfit of a poor woman.
Shi Jin had also changed into the garb of an impoverished woman. Unlike the princess makeup, the impoverished woman’s makeup was worn out and her hair was not too well cared for. Her entire being looked very rough.
Such a crude look was testing to an artist’s facial features. If one was careless, they would just look ugly.
When Shi Jin came out, her makeup was rough and the foundation was three shades deeper, making her skin look dull.
As soon as she appeared, people could not recognize her. However, when she opened her eyes, the stars seemed to be reflected in them. They shone brightly and pushed away all the gloominess on her face.
This pair of eyes lit up her entire being. Luo Qi was pleasantly surprised.
This part of a poor woman was really not easy to film. No matter how they filmed it, it could easily lose its luster. At that time, they would be scolded by the company and would also be complained to by their managers and artistes.
Therefore, many directors would rather try an empty and beautiful scene rather than coming into contact with a soulful but unpleasant plot.
Luo Qi even complained that the plans for this advertisement were too difficult.
However, now that he saw Shi Jin appear in front of him, Luo Qi realized that no matter how difficult the content was, there was someone who could do it well.
Wen Yongwei was also done changing.
Under her dull makeup, she also felt like she was lost in the crowd. Fortunately, she was thin and tall, and the makeup artist had done her best to enhance the cleanness and transparency of her makeup with highlights. Only thanks to that did she look barely energetic. However, compared to Shi Jin, the difference was obvious.
Wen Yongwei could see the difference in ratings in Luo Qi’s eyes.
She didn’t know why Luo Qi was acting like this. Her makeup and Shi Jin’s were almost the same, and there was no difference in their height. Although she had wasted some time during the shoot, her final product was even better than Shi Jin’s. Why was Luo Qi looking at them like that?
Shi Jin had already closed her eyes, so Wen Yongwei and Kang Cheng naturally could not see her stunning talent.
Luo Qi really wanted to let Shi Jin film first, but he still asked politely, “Which of you wants to film first?”
Shi Jin happened to have something to do and was replying to someone.
Kang Cheng didn’t like her attitude towards work and said, “Let Wen Yongwei go first. Shi Jin still needs to learn.”
A few tutors followed Wen Yongwei around. This was a request from Kang Cheng and the Wen Family.
Seeing that Shi Jin was busy, Yao Jiahong didn’t object and let them go first.
This time, Wen Yongwei continued to dance. She danced very well, and her moves were becoming more and more harmonious. Her performance was even more impressive than before, and she was getting more and more into it, but Luo Qi made her stumble a few times.
“I didn’t jump anywhere, did I?” Wen Yongwei asked, feeling a little tired.
“It’s not that you didn’t dance right, but you danced too well. Your dancing posture is too dignified, as if you’ve been trained professionally. You’re a poor woman now, a poor woman shouldn’t move like this,” Luo Qi explained to her.
Wen Yongwei was momentarily unable to accept this. Couldn’t she dance well?
Wen Yongwei had to take a few more retakes before she was finally done with the shoot.
She felt uncomfortable. Why was Luo Qi treating her like this? When she had been dancing just now, he had been saying that she should do the same dance, or even better, but now he was picking on her?
Was it because Shi Jin was around?
Noticing Wen Yongwei’s emotions, Kang Cheng said, “Luo Qi’s directing skills are average. Some of his requirements have always been weird. I’m used to it. Don’t take it to heart.”
He was an MV director himself, just like Luo Qi. Later on, he had felt that he had not had many breakthroughs in this line of work, so he had sought more opportunities.
Taking the initiative to volunteer to stay by Wen Yongwei’s side was also a new development in his career. Now that he had stepped out of the industry, he didn’t think much of Luo Qi.
Wen Yongwei smiled and said, “Director Luo has some requirements for the shoot, but I don’t think it’s a big deal. It’s all for work and the finished product. However, he only has requirements for me and not for Shi Jin. Isn’t that a little weird? I don’t have any other issues, I’m just a little confused. If I dance too well, I have to do it again. Is this a strict requirement for me or something else?”
Kang Cheng naturally didn’t like such double standards. He said, “Didn’t Luo Qi ask you to dance? Then, during the filming, Shi Jin should dance too.”
Wen Yongwei did not reply. That was exactly what she meant. She realized that Kang Cheng could understand her meaning very well. Or rather, his thoughts were often in line with hers.
It was rather convenient for her to have such a manager.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Shi Jin has never learned to dance before. It’ll be too troublesome to shoot like this.” Wen Yongwei shook her head.
Kang Cheng said indifferently, “She can learn. If Luo Qi has a request for you, he should have a request for everyone.”
He walked over to Luo Qi and made this request.
“Make Shi Jin dance too?” Luo Qi felt that there was no need. “They each have their own strengths. There’s no need for them to shoot the same scene.”
“The two advertisements are obviously shot differently, which is unfair. Why don’t we make Shi Jin give it a try? If it really doesn’t work out, it won’t affect anything.”
Luo Qi took a look at the clock. Because Shi Jin’s filming of the princess part had progressed very quickly, there was still plenty of time. Since that was the case, he really wanted to see how Shi Jin would do when she danced.
There was no harm in trying.
“Shi Jin, are you willing to try dancing for the commercial?” Luo Qi asked.
“Dance?”
Luo Qi quickly said, “It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to. It would be best if you were just willing to give it a try. Do you want to discuss it with your manager?”
Yao Jiahong was standing to one side. When he heard Luo Qi’s words, he naturally replied, “It’s up to Shi Jin.”
Yao Jiahong was no longer the same Yao Jiahong of the past. He only wanted to take care of the external affairs properly and make the right decisions for her.
Kang Cheng couldn’t help but feel that Yao Jiahong was being too perfunctory.
Wen Yongwei shook her head secretly. Her manager was more attentive than Shi Jin’s. It seemed like Yao Jiahong didn’t really like Shi Jin.
Shi Jin nodded and said, “Then let me try.”
“Alright, let’s start now,” Luo Qi nodded and said.
The filming started. Shi Jin stood before the camera and made a gesture.
Wen Yongwei and Kang Cheng could not help but watch.
Shi Jin began to move, jumping up and down with the rhythm. Her movements seemed crude, even unskilled. It was obvious that she had never studied dancing seriously.
Wen Yongwei was no longer interested. She was taking this opportunity to learn with her family. Kang Cheng also went over to Wen Yongwei’s side to record her learning.
Luo Qi, on the other hand, was pleasantly surprised. An impoverished woman should be doing something like that. She probably hadn’t learned dance before, so her movements definitely wouldn’t be too exquisite. However, this kind of passionate and primitive, natural dance steps were also characteristics that she would possess.
Now, it was no longer his camera that controlled Shi Jin. Instead, it was Shi Jin who controlled his camera, making him tirelessly move it and follow in her footsteps.
After filming the dance, Luo Qi felt extremely satisfied. “Let’s try to reshoot the princess’s scenes.”
Shi Jin did not object and changed into the princess costume again.
This time, she still had to dance while filming.
Without needing Luo Qi to say anything, her dance steps had already changed from the roughness from before, becoming elegant and calm, displaying the solemnity and exquisite manners of a princess.
In other words, the crude dance moves just now had not been because she did not know how to dance, but because she had deliberately danced to fit the persona.
She hadn’t communicated with Luo Qi in detail, but she had grasped his wishes.
Even though an advertisement would last no more than a few seconds at most, and could even be edited into a mere ten seconds, Shi Jin had thoroughly understood the character and the creativity of it.
“Very good!” Luo Qi gave her a thumbs up.
However, this made things a little difficult. Shi Jin did not have a part where she was supposed to dance, but had performed very well. The part where she danced was so good that it was hard to part with it.
It was just a short 10-20 seconds, and Luo Qi needed to edit it. He really couldn’t bear to.
After Shi Jin finished filming, she sat down to rest and waited for the crew to change scenes. Next, she would be filming a scene of a poor girl turning into a princess.
The original idea of the advertisement had been that one of them would play the princess, while the other would play the poor girl. Now that Kang Cheng had requested a change, the two of them would each play the poor girl and the princess. They had to show how much they cared for themselves. Any girl could be a princess.
Wen Yongwei was listening to a teacher’s lecture. When she saw that Shi Jin had finished filming, she took the initiative to suggest, “Shi Jin, come with me to listen to the class for a while. Teacher Gong is a top-notch teacher from the Imperial Capital and also the best math teacher in First High School. He already retired this year, so he has time to follow me and tutor me.”
Shi Jin raised her head. She had already done the secret test that Ji Huan had found for her. There had been no problem when she did it, so she naturally did not need to listen to a teacher’s lecture anymore.
She said calmly, “There’s no need. You can listen alone.”
Wen Yongwei remained silent.
Teacher Gong took a look at Shi Jin and started analyzing the questions for Wen Yongwei.
Kang Cheng stood to one side drinking coffee.
A staff member mumbled, “I don’t think Shi Jin understands what Wen Yongwei is saying. After all, she only scored 540 points in the mock exam.”
The staff member’s words were not malicious. It was just casual gossip, but everyone looked up at him. He suddenly realized that he seemed to have exposed some great secret and quickly ran off.
Shi Jin quickly retracted her gaze and continued to look at the thing in her hand.
She was reading the “Ancient Flower Collection” book that she had painstakingly obtained, casually flipping through it.
After looking at it for a while, she remembered her father’s leg injury. She took out a small notebook and scribbled some acupuncture notes in it.
Shi Jin and Wen Yongwei only looked up when Luo Qi asked them to start filming again.
The shoot went on until the afternoon.
The shooting of the advertisement was considered complete, but there was still another shoot tomorrow.
At night, the filming crew naturally had to send out the behind-the-scenes footage to stir up hype.
Luo Qi asked for the opinions of the managers on both sides to choose the highlights that needed to be released. Yao Jiahong felt that Shi Jin’s scenes were good, so he chose the ones that Luo Qi praised the most.
On the other hand, Kang Cheng had carefully selected the part where Princess Wen Yongwei had danced.
Grace skincare products were posted on both the official Weibo and some public accounts.
Wen Yongwei and Shi Jin shared their own posts.
Their fans were already eagerly waiting.
As both of them were in their third year of high school, their exposure was actually not high. Meng Shaoheng, who was in third place, and Gu Qinghua, who was in fourth place, had already released a demo for a new song and had done five interviews and three Saturday variety shows.
On the other hand, Wen Yongwei and Shi Jin had to reduce their workload because they had to prepare for their college entrance exams. So it wasn’t easy for them to finally get a viral post. The fans were already looking forward to more.
Wen Yongwei’s performance as a princess was indeed very good. After the fans saw it, they continuously showered her with love. “Little Yongwei is really amazing. As expected of a girl who has fifteen years of dancing experience!”
“This waist, this dance, it’s really amazing! It’s too beautiful!”
“Wow. What kind of beauty is this? She’s top-notch in everything. So jealous!”
“Is it possible to dance so well and look so beautiful just by using Grace’s face cream? If so, I’ll dedicate my whole life to using it!”
“Hahaha, you must be dreaming. If Grace could manage one-tenth of that, I’d be willing to contribute my entire wallet.”
“I can’t do it anymore. I want to have a daughter. I must make her learn to dance.”
“Should I say that I’ve already flooded the chat a dozen times?”
“Looking at this video, I’m really envious.”
On Shi Jin’s side, they posted a video of a poor woman dancing.