The next day, filming for '49' continued.
Yuan Chuan You arrived at the set, which was located at a school. His scenes for the day were with Kurokawa Akane; they had about two scenes to perform together.
"Good morning, Yuan Chuan-san."
Kurokawa Akane greeted Yuan Chuan You politely with a smile on her face.
She had, of course, attended the crew's party yesterday, but due to her low status and few scenes, Kurokawa Akane could only stay quietly in a corner. When the party ended, she didn't find a chance to speak with Yuan Chuan You.
However, she had scenes with Yuan Chuan You this morning, so the girl planned to arrive early to rehearse with him and, while she was at it, ask for some acting advice.
"Good morning, Kurokawa-san."
Yuan Chuan You sensed Kurokawa Akane's diligence, so his tone became very gentle. "Our scene is coming up soon. Would you like to run lines together first, Kurokawa-san?"
"Mm-hmm."
The two found a corner of the set and began a basic run-through of their lines, trying to find the right emotions.
Yuan Chuan You's acting was more than adequate, and Kurokawa Akane was also quite good, so their rehearsal went very smoothly.
Just as they were both immersed in the story, they failed to notice a certain black-haired girl walking toward them.
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Having not slept well, Sakurajima Mai was in a bit of a bad mood that morning.
There were two reasons she hadn't slept well. One was because of Yuan Chuan You's 'grand proclamation' in front of the vending machine last night, which had sparked some strange ideas in her mind.
The other was the manuscript Yuan Chuan You had lent her. Although the writing style and expression were rather unpolished, as a top student who read a great deal, Sakurajima Mai found the story very interesting.
So she wanted to find Yuan Chuan You to talk about it right away, but when she arrived on set today, she immediately spotted the man and woman in the corner.
Approaching slowly, the girl understood what they were doing.
They were rehearsing lines, yes, but weren't they standing a little too close?
Sakurajima Mai leaned against a pillar in a corner of the set, her arms crossed, her fingertips unconsciously tapping her arm.
"Let's go again. Kurokawa-san, your tone could be a bit more lively."
She heard Yuan Chuan You say to Kurokawa Akane in a low voice.
"After all, [Yamada Marina] and [Inoue Satoshi] are childhood friends. When they talk, they wouldn't worry at all about saving face."
"Okay."
Kurokawa Akane looked at the young man, who was just a short distance away. Her cheeks flushed slightly, but as a professional stage actress, her work ethic was very serious.
After listening for over ten minutes, Sakurajima Mai found herself growing even more irritated.
"Um, could Yuan Chuan-san and Kurokawa-san please get ready for the next scene? We're about to start filming."
A little while later, a production assistant finally came over to call for them.
"Alright."
"Got it."
Having finished their rehearsal, Yuan Chuan You finally noticed Sakurajima Mai standing off to the side.
But when he looked over, he saw the girl suddenly turn her head away with a stern expression, showing no intention of greeting him.
What's up with her?
The bewildered young man went to the filming location with Kurokawa Akane. Director Asano gave Yuan Chuan You a special nod; he already considered the young man a highlight of the show and was treating every one of his shoots with the utmost seriousness.
Today's scene involved Yuan Chuan You, playing [Inoue Satoshi], and Kurokawa Akane, playing [Yamada Marina], discovering various oddities about the male lead, [Kagami Dan]. After all, his father's soul was now in his body, a truth the two of them were unaware of as they discussed the matter.
"Ready..."
"Action!"
In the shot, the plot slowly unfolded.
In a corner of the school campus, Yuan Chuan You stood by a railing, looking seriously at the blue-haired girl before him.
"Marina, have you noticed that Dan has been a little off lately?"
"Satoshi, you think so too?"
Kurokawa Akane propped her delicate chin on her small hand. She leaned closer to her childhood friend, a thoughtful look appearing on her face.
"Yeah. The guy's famously terrible at sports, but he actually played basketball in PE yesterday. He even went one-on-one with Kitagawa-senpai. How is that possible?"
Yuan Chuan You had a deep understanding of [Inoue Satoshi]'s character profile; his every move perfectly matched the image of a frivolous high school boy.
"Yeah... could it be related to the car accident Dan had?"
Kurokawa Akane thought for a moment, her delicate brows knitting slightly.
"It's possible, but can a car accident really change someone that much?"
Yuan Chuan You's face was somber as he thought. He rested a hand on the railing, rubbing it gently, a look of confusion flickering in his eyes. Even without speaking, others could see his mind at work.
Behind the set, Director Asano stared intently at the monitor, completely still.
Although this scene was just a transitional segment in the drama, Yuan Chuan You's performance was still brilliant. He didn't need many lines to effortlessly draw the audience into the plot.
From the audience's perspective, they know that [Kagami Dan]'s father's soul is inside his body. However, seeing the confusion and bewilderment expressed by the other characters in the drama gives them a stronger sense of control.
This is one of the satisfying aspects of watching a TV drama.
In the shot, the story continued.
After Yuan Chuan You posed his rhetorical question, it was Kurokawa Akane's turn, as [Yamada Marina], to make a loud declaration that she would investigate the cause of the problem with [Inoue Satoshi].
"Satoshi, let's investigate the truth behind this together!"
The girl clenched her small hands into fists, a sparkling light appearing in her eyes. She looked full of fighting spirit.
Overall, there was nothing wrong with this performance, but Yuan Chuan You, standing very close to her, suddenly felt a sense of dissonance.
For instance, as she delivered this line, Kurokawa Akane's toes unconsciously shifted slightly, and her other hand made a small, bracing motion, seemingly to help her deliver the more forceful line more smoothly.
It was a bit like a stage actor.
They typically get used to using exaggerated body language for character portrayal. But in a youth school drama, when a high school student makes a gesture like that, it feels out of place.
Although it was just a tiny, subtle movement, the fully focused Director Asano still saw it through the monitor.
The next second, he shouted the line every actor dreads.
"Cut!"
"What was that, Kurokawa-san?"
"Huh?"
Kurokawa Akane, who had been completely absorbed in her performance just a moment ago, flinched at the director's gruff voice. As she turned around anxiously, Yuan Chuan You's gentle voice sounded in her ear.
"Kurokawa-san, there was a small issue with your performance just now. I'll explain it to you after the director is finished."
"...Okay."
The girl hummed softly in reply. The sharp anxiety that had flared up when the director interrupted was instantly soothed.
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