msmithbooks Chapter 42: A Thrilling Scene
Chapter 42: A Thrilling Scene
The next morning, Yan Danchen dragged Liu Yu out of bed.
She has no scenes today, and no scenes for the next two days, so she can focus on accompanying him to Jiuzhaigou.
She was wearing a red windbreaker and a white baseball cap, and she looked like a college student, not a female celebrity.
Autumn is the most beautiful time of year in Jiuzhaigou. The leaves on the mountains turn red and yellow, and their reflections in the water are like an oil painting.
Yan Danchen walked ahead of him, her steps light and quick like a little girl's. Liu Yu followed behind her, carrying her water bottle and camera, like a dutiful follower.
"Liu Yu, hurry up!" She stood on a small wooden bridge and waved to him.
"Coming, coming! Don't run, be careful not to fall." Liu Yu quickened his pace and walked over. She reached out and grabbed his hand, and the two stood side by side on the bridge looking at the water.
The water of Wuhua Lake is azure blue, so clear that you can see the dead trees and fish swimming at the bottom.
Yan Danchen rested her head on his shoulder, her hair brushing against his chin, tickling him.
"How about we come here once a year from now on?"
"each year?"
"Yes, every autumn. Jiuzhaigou in autumn is so beautiful, I don't want to come alone."
Liu Yu didn't say anything. He reached out and put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his embrace.
She snuggled against him, like a cat that had found its nest.
In three days, the two of them visited all the major attractions in Jiuzhaigou.
Five-Flower Lake, Mirror Lake, Long Lake, and Five-Colored Pool—each place is so beautiful it seems unreal.
Yan Danchen takes photos wherever she goes, and her camera has hundreds of photos, including landscapes, selfies, and group photos.
Her favorite photo was taken at Mirror Lake, where the water was so calm it resembled a mirror, reflecting the mountains and sky so clearly that it was impossible to tell which was real and which was not.
"I'm going to print this out and hang it at home," Yan Danchen said.
"Which wall should I hang it on?"
"Living room. The place you can see as soon as you enter the door."
"Then the guests will see it when they arrive, won't they?"
"So what if I saw it? I'm not a thief." She said this so casually that Liu Yu thought he was overthinking it.
.....
On the last day of October, Liu Yu and Yan Danchen went to the film set to watch the filming for a while before heading to Chengdu in the afternoon.
Filming "The Return of the Condor Heroes" was actually very tough, especially for the two lead actors.
Liu Yifei and Huang Xiaoming were either suspended by wires or soaking in water.
This is Jiuzhaigou in early winter, where the temperature has already dropped to single digits, and the water temperature is close to zero.
Standing on the shore, Liu Yu felt cold even in his down jacket. Watching the actors jump into the water again and again, he felt that some money was hard to earn.
"Several times, Huang Xiaoming and Liu Yifei were so cold that they lost all feeling in their hands and feet, and they just crawled out of the water on instinct." Yan Danchen stood next to Liu Yu, her voice very low, as if afraid of being overheard. "Once, when Liu Yifei came out of the water, her lips were all purple. Her mother was so anxious that she kept crying, but she didn't cry herself and said, 'It's okay, it's okay.'"
Liu Yu looked at Liu Yifei in the water. She was standing on the reef, wearing a white ancient costume. Her hair was wet and stuck to her face. She looked like a white plum blossom battered by wind and rain, thin but stubborn.
She was already quite thin, standing at 1.7 meters tall, and weighing less than 100 pounds.
Huang Xiaoming is similar. He specifically built up muscle and worked out to prepare for his role as Yang Guo, and now he's lost a lot of weight, making his jawline sharper than before.
Liu Yu heard Yan Danchen say that Huang Xiaoming's hands, waist, back, and legs were covered with bruises and bumps.
Liu Yifei wasn't in much better shape; she had bruises on her wrists and abrasions on her knees. The makeup artist had to cover up those injuries with concealer every day, otherwise they would be visible on camera.
The two of them never complained on set; they went into the water when they needed to, did wire work when they needed to, and fought when they needed to.
An assistant came to treat the wound after work, and he was in so much pain that he grimaced, but he still went to work the next day.
...
Today's show is at Pearl Beach.
The scene to be filmed is the fight between Yang Guo, Xiaolongnu, and Li Mochou under the waterfall.
The waterfall at Pearl Beach is not as spectacular as the Nuorilang Waterfall, but the current is rapid and the rocks are slippery, making it dangerous to stand on, let alone do any action.
Meng Guangmei arrived early, dressed in a dark costume with a few strands of red dyed in her hair.
When Liu Yu saw her hairstyle, he couldn't help but think to himself: Li Mochou, why did you dye your hair like that? You're supposed to be a Taoist nun, but you've made yourself look like a non-mainstream person.
He didn't say it aloud, but it was Zhang Jizhong's aesthetic sense, and he, as an outsider, had no right to comment on it.
The action director first rehearses the positioning of three people off the field.
Huang Xiaoming, Liu Yifei, and Meng Guangmei stood in a row, listening to the action instructor demonstrate the moves.
"The current is quite strong, and there's a cliff behind us. You all need to be very careful when you're doing the stunts later. Don't force yourself if you can't do it; we'll use stunt doubles." Director Yu Min stood beside them, his tone very serious.
He wasn't trying to scare people. Although Pearl Shoal Waterfall isn't very high, the current is very rapid, and there are many rocks below. Falling in is no joke.
"Okay." The three agreed and stood on the rocks under the waterfall.
...
Liu Yu was standing on the shore when his right eyelid suddenly twitched.
Two sudden thuds are not a good sign.
He subconsciously turned his head to glance at Liu Yifei in the water.
Liu Yifei slipped.
"what!"
The girl screamed and fell into the water.
The current was very strong, and before she could stand up, she was swept away.
The assistant director next to her reacted quickly, taking a step forward and grabbing her wrist.
But the rock the assistant director was standing on was also unstable, and when she pulled him along, he also leaned forward.
The two people held each other and swayed in the water for a few moments, about to be swept away.
Liu Yu jumped off the bank. It was a soldier's instinct; seeing someone fall into the water, before he could even think, his body had already moved.
When he jumped, his knee hit the rocks on the shore, causing him to groan in pain, but he didn't care.
By the time Liu Yu swam over, Liu Yifei and the assistant director had already been swept several meters away.
Liu Yifei was still holding the assistant director's hand, but the assistant director's hand was almost slipping off the rocks.
Liu Yu swam over from behind, grabbed Liu Yifei's waist with one hand, and grabbed the assistant director's collar with the other.
He kicked the water with his legs, leaning back, his whole body like a fully drawn bow.
The shore was in complete chaos.
Yan Danchen's voice came from behind, shrill and unlike her usual tone, "Liu Yu, be careful!"
Liu Xiaoli's shouts grew louder, "Xixi! Xixi!"
Huang Xiaoming also went into the water, and several stuntmen followed suit.
The people on the shore threw two ropes over. One landed next to Liu Yu, but he couldn't reach it; the other landed in front of Huang Xiaoming, who grabbed it and handed it to Wu Xing.
The stuntmen pulled on the ropes, inching closer to Liu Yu.
The water is still flowing.
Liu Yu held Liu Yifei in his arms and felt her trembling. It wasn't from the cold, but from fear.
Her body was so light that Liu Yu felt she would be swept away if he loosened his grip even slightly.
He gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his arms.
The assistant director helped push him from the side, and the three of them struggled in the water like three fallen leaves swept away by the current.
We were almost at the edge of the cliff.
Liu Yu, in a fit of rage, pulled Liu Yifei into his arms, lowered his center of gravity, and kicked off the riverbed with all his might, propelling the three of them forward a short distance.
Huang Xiaoming and the stuntmen grabbed the assistant director's arm, and the two of them pulled him over like in a tug-of-war.
Using the momentum, Liu Yu carried Liu Yifei towards the shore.
The moment Liu Yu stepped onto the riverbed, he realized his legs were trembling.
He lifted Liu Yifei up a little, and she leaned on his shoulder, her heart pounding so hard she could feel it through her soaked clothes.
Liu Yu gently patted her back, like he was coaxing a child.
"It's alright, it's alright."
Liu Yifei didn't cry. She lifted her head from Liu Yu's shoulder, her face covered in water droplets, indistinguishable between waterfall water and tears.
Her eyes were large, and now they were wide open, with a bewildered look of relief in her pupils.
She looked at him, her lips moved slightly, and her voice was very soft.
"Director Liu, I'm fine. Are you alright?"
Liu Yu was stunned for a moment.
A certain part of my heart was gently touched; it wasn't a flutter of the heart, but a pang of heartache.
"I'm fine."
The people on the shore helped Liu Yifei aboard.
Liu Xiaoli hugged her daughter tightly, her whole body trembling, her lips quivering so she couldn't utter a complete sentence.
Liu Yifei smiled as her mother hugged her, and patted her mother's back, "Mom, I'm fine, I'm not hurt."
Liu Xiaoli released her daughter, looked her up and down to make sure she was really alright, and then tears streamed down her face.
Director Yu Min rushed over, her face pale.
"I'm so sorry, it's our fault for not taking proper safety measures."
Zhang Jizhong also ran over, his big beard twitching. "It's good that everyone is alright, it's good that everyone is alright. We'll stop filming at this location and reassess the safety plan."
Liu Yu was soaked to the bone. Yan Danchen ran over with a blanket, wrapped it around him, and complained, her voice trembling with tears.
"Are you crazy? Don't you know how cold the water is? You're still injured!"
"I'm fine."
"You always say that."
As soon as she finished speaking, tears started falling. Liu Yu wanted to reach out and wipe her tears, but he realized that his hands were also wet. He hesitated for a moment, but still reached out and rubbed her face with his thumb.
Liu Yu turned around and looked at Zhang Jizhong and Yu Min.
His tone wasn't harsh, but "Producer Zhang, Director Yu, I'll say something that might be hard to hear. Being submerged in water like this in this weather is too much for the actors' bodies. Liu Yifei is already thin, and look at her now—her lips are purple. And that wig—it's several pounds heavier when it's wet; her small frame can't handle it. The wires are the same; every time they're pulled down, they're stuck in the same spot, and she already has bruises on her waist. She'll be riddled with health problems after this film is finished."
Zhang Jizhong was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"You're right. I'll have the props team modify the headgear, and the wire work will be adjusted as well."
Liu Yu glanced at Liu Yifei again. She was wrapped in a blanket and being led towards the tent by Liu Xiaoli.
After taking a few steps, she turned around and her eyes met Liu Yu's.
She smiled slightly at him, then turned and followed her mother.
Huang Xiaoming stood to the side, his whole body soaked, and his assistant was drying his hair with a towel.
He looked at Liu Yu and said, "Director Liu, you must have trained in martial arts."
"I served in the military for two years."
Huang Xiaoming gave a thumbs up, "No wonder."
Liu Yu followed Yan Danchen back to the tent and changed his clothes.
Huang Xiaoming lent him a set of sportswear. He was a size smaller than Liu Yu, so the clothes were a bit tight on him, but it was better than being wet.
Yan Danchen stood beside him, watching him change clothes, without looking away.
"Why are you being so stubborn?" she muttered.
"It wasn't about showing off; it was instinct. When I saw someone fall into the water, my body just moved on its own."
"Can you change this instinct of yours?"
"It can't be changed. It's something I inherited from my military service."
She sighed, walked over, turned up his collar, zipped up his zipper, and straightened the wrinkles on his shoulders.