Superstar's Development Diary
Chapter 126 I’m Curious Too

Chapter 126: Chapter 126 I’m Curious Too

Cheng Xiaohua: "Right, she’s righteous, known for sticking up for her friends. Some time ago, when a female celebrity got slandered online, a celebrity who was her friend, none of the other stars dared to speak up. Only Yang Xiaoqing did, and she even cursed out the trolls."

He Jinxia lowered her gaze, musing that people who are generally righteous often have a hint of hatred for evil. Could it be that Yang Xiaoqing looked down on the way Luo Sifang climbed up the ranks, which is why she didn’t get along with her?

Others might not have noticed, but He Jinxia, who had just been at the center of the turmoil, was keenly aware that the so-called good relationship between the two was only skin-deep. Privately, they probably didn’t think much of each other.

After pondering for a while, she said, "In the crew, keep an eye on Yang Xiaoqing and Luo Sifang for me."

Cheng Xiaohua blinked in surprise and asked, "Why, is there a problem with those two?"

He Jinxia shook her head, "I don’t know, it just feels off."

Cheng Xiaohua comforted her, "Alright, I’ll pay attention. Whether there’s an issue or not, you should stay out of it."

He Jinxia smiled, a sharp, shrewd gleam in her eyes, and said leisurely, "I’ve just gotten over an illness, and I’m weak. I need to rest up well; I can’t go anywhere."

Cheng Xiaohua immediately understood and praised, "That’s a good excuse!"

The next day, He Jinxia continued shooting the scene of her cooking that she had started the previous time.

Her expert knife skills, lighting the fire, flipping the wok, stir-frying... all flawlessly passed the test of the camera, and it was almost perfect in a single take.

These scenes required higher cooking skills but not as high a standard for facial expressions. As long as the cooking was good, a one-take scene wasn’t unusual.

The crew had actually prepared dishes in advance, so He Jinxia would only have to pretend to cook for a bit, then cut to the prepared food on the table.

Anyway, the cooking process would be edited out later, leaving only a few action shots. There was nothing wrong with doing it that way.

However, He Jinxia got into her groove while cooking, and ended up actually finishing the dishes. It was just a matter of a few minutes. Gu Qiao saw this and didn’t call cut, letting her do her thing.

As a result, by the time He Jinxia finished her morning cooking scenes, the whole set was filled with the delicious aroma, spreading for miles.

Now the crew could even save on the money for boxed lunches; they just needed to cook a big pot of rice and serve it with the dishes He Jinxia had made, and that would be their lunch.

Ha ha, of course, that was just a joke. The dishes He Jinxia cooked wouldn’t be enough for hundreds of people; they were only enough for the core group in the crew.

Luo Sifang, Luo Dingxin, Gu Runfei, Yang Xiaoqing, and even the director Gu Qiao all came over to join in the fun, eager to taste He Jinxia’s cooking.

Some dishes had gotten cold. No problem, just toss them back into the wok for a quick stir-fry, and there you have another bowl of steaming delicious dish.

Luo Dingxin couldn’t help but marvel as he ate, "Using the same wok, the same vegetables, the same ingredients, how come what Jinxia makes is so delicious? I tried making a simple stir-fried greens dish myself yesterday, but the flavor..."

Luo Dingxin couldn’t help but shake his head; it was not something to be flattered by!

Luo Sifang looked at He Jinxia, curiously asking, "Jinxia, did you specifically learn to cook?"

He Jinxia, who had a ready script in mind, admitted readily and naturally, "My mother is a very good cook, I’ve been learning since I was little."

Luo Sifang expressed envy, "Then your father is very fortunate."

He Jinxia looked down at her bowl and replied calmly, "I think so too."

Yang Xiaoqing spoke up at this point, jokingly teasing, "I wonder which guy will be lucky enough to marry Jinxia. He’s going to be blessed with great fortune!"

Luo Dingxin paused, and subconsciously looked up at He Jinxia, just in time to see that fleeting smile on her face, as warm as a ray of sunshine on a winter day.

By his ear, He Jinxia’s crisp reply came through—

"Actually, I’m quite curious too."

*

In the afternoon, right after He Jinxia finished filming the stir-fry scene, she hurried to the next outdoor scene at a different location in Film City.

The scene was about Su Qingwan going to the market alone to shop, where she happened to meet Ciming Jiayou by chance, laying the groundwork for the beginning of their mutual affection.

The most difficult part of this scene wasn’t the actors delivering inadequate emotions, but directing the extras to do their unique duties properly without collapsing the background of the scene.

With too many people, the scene becomes difficult to shoot. If there were only a few people, the director could correct small details one by one, but with a crowd, it’s much harder to manage.

Time is money, and the larger the scene, the more time-consuming it is to coordinate everything.

As the assistant director was arranging the extras, He Jinxia looked around and found a quiet corner to escape the sun.

Although it was getting colder, it didn’t mean the sun would disappear. No matter how gentle the winter sun was, it still carried ultraviolet rays that could cause a female star’s skin to age and lose its elasticity.

Soon, Luo Dingxin approached He Jinxia’s spot and struck up some idle chitchat.

"I forgot to ask you yesterday, how’s your health? Are you feeling better?"

He Jinxia nodded: "It’s better. It was just a fever. Once it went down, I was fine."

Luo Dingxin: "You still need to take good care of your health."

After a pause, he said softly, "In the crew, you need to learn how to slack off."

He Jinxia was momentarily startled and looked up at him, also speaking in a lowered voice, "How do you slack off?"

Luo Dingxin: "For the crew, it’s definitely best if the actor can finish shooting quickly, as it saves them more time. But for the actors, it’s about learning how to arrange rest periods appropriately amidst the intense filming."

He looked around and stepped a little closer to He Jinxia, continuing, "I’ve seen your acting, Jinxia. You’re very skilled and fast, sometimes not even needing any rest, going straight from one scene to the next.

Because you’re so efficient, the production team schedules your scenes back-to-back. If you can’t complete them, the crew might ask you to work overtime to finish the day’s quota of filming. You are—simply too hardworking!"

His eyes sparkled as he looked at He Jinxia: "It’s not about resting for a few minutes after each scene, but at least take a break after two or three scenes!"

He Jinxia paused again, frowning slightly, as she fell into thought.

In fact, Sheng Yan had taught her long ago to rest for a few minutes when switching between emotional states, to completely clear her mind, purge the previous emotions, and then immerse herself into new ones.

Now that Luo Dingxin had mentioned it, He Jinxia suddenly understood even more how important Sheng Yan’s advice on resting was. It was probably not only about effectively transitioning emotions, but also about preventing actors from becoming overly tired and overworked.

If the crew had a good day with the actors’ performances, they could film dozens of scenes. If the actor took a two- to three-minute break after each scene, that would add up to at least an hour of rest, which is the time an actor carves out from their busy filming schedule for rest.