She flashed her middle finger at the tree.
The scene ended when the camera focused on her skirt that was made with animal skin and her hay-like messy hair.
“Your tree-climbing skills are pretty decent,” Liang Chen complimented as she approached Yan Huan. Liang Chen’s character was Yao Xiaoyu, a rather egoistic surgeon who was also considerably spoilt and willful yet professionally competent.
“You will have to climb the tree too,” Yan Huan replied as she dusted off her outfit. She was always confident in climbing trees. Moreover, she was only acting half-heartedly just now. Very soon, she would show off her true skills.
Liang Chen shrugged. “As you can see, I’m not that young anymore. How can they make me climb the tree?”
“A true actor should always sacrifice for arts.”
Fine. Liang Chen understood that she had no choice but to climb the tree, even if it was her first time ever.
When it was Liang Chen’s turn to climb the tree, she held on to the tree tightly and exerted her utmost strength, attempting to make her way up, but to no avail. She let go of the tree and tried again with her four limbs.
Director Jin was very pleased with the result as they did not fake their actions. They had higher expectations for this movie than White Fox. They screened and assessed each and every scene, repeating every shot that did not meet their standards and made sure that nothing was compromised.
When it was Yan Huan’s turn, she tidied her clothes and scaled the trunk of the tree in the blink of an eye, appearing at the top of the tree.
Director Jin gave Yan Huan a thumbs-up. By then, Yan Huan was already sitting on the branches of the tree and began to stretch her animal-skin skirt like a barbarian.
Doctor Yao, who was still standing on the ground, rolled her eyes at the barbaric girl on the top of the tree. Then, she approached the tree and attempted to climb it again. However, the result was similar to the previous attempt and she failed again. She was so upset to the extent that she left a bite mark on the trunk.
Soon, she spat it out, wondering why the bark was bitter.
In fact, neither of them should have the chance to interact with each other in the entirety of their lives. Unexpectedly, they were brought together. Now, they were sitting side by side, eating tree bark and drinking unfiltered water.
Fortunately, Yao Xiaoyu was a doctor and had learned about botany, albeit very briefly. She could identify many edible plants and organic material. Hence, they would climb up the tree and drink its nectar. The sweet nectar was enough to sustain them.
Of course, they were also bitten occasionally by venomous bugs in the woods and it was Doctor Yao’s forte to handle the bug bites.
“Do you think that we will have to stay here for the rest of our lives?” Yao Xiaoyu asked Shi Jia. “Without computers, air-conditioners nor even beds, we will live like savages.”
“I don’t know,” Shi Jia seemed depressed, the hay-like strands on her head drooping. Her shoes were worn out but she had no choice but to endure the discomfort.
Despite not being a fashionista, Shi Jia tried to keep herself looking decent and presentable at all times. Now, she could no longer be fussy about her outfit anymore. She only wished for something to cover herself with and a pair of high heels that would accompany her when her inevitable death comes.
“You should not be wearing heels.”
Yao Xiaoyu raised her foot, “You should wear flats instead.”
Shi Jia immediately stretched her leg to kick Yao Xiaoyu’s leg aside.
Their bickering did not stop as they continued to mock and tease each other until they were tired and fell asleep.
All of a sudden, their ears picked up a strange noise.
“It’s a bear!”
Shi Jia exclaimed as she sat upright.
“Can it be a lion?”
Just like Shi Jia, Yao Xiaoyu sat up in alert.
When they turned around, they saw neither a lion nor a bear. Instead, they saw a gigantic and grotesque monster.
“What should we do now?” asked Yao Xiaoyu helplessly.
Shi Jia shook her head and replied in a daze, “I don’t know.”
“Please figure something out,” Yao Xiaoyu’s mouth was trembling while her teeth were chattering.
“There is only one way,” Shi Jia spoke as she stared unseeingly into the distance, while the wind blew on her solemn face.
“What is it?”
“What else can it be? Run!” Within a fraction of a second, Shi Jia turned around and was ready to sprint away.
“Shi Jia, my knees are weak.”
Shi Jia pulled Yao Xiaoyu by her collar and dragged her forward.
The cameraman followed right behind them as the pair ran forward speedily.
“Speed up! Run faster!” Director Jin reminded them from the back, as though he was going to motivate them with a whip.
Yan Huan and Liang Chen had put in strenuous effort to keep up with the speed. Their thighs had no chance to rest. They had retaken this scene for more than 10 times.
After the tenth time, both of them were exhausted.
“I feel like I’ve just finished a full marathon.” Soaked in sweat, Liang Chen took a gulp of water. Yan Huan leaned on the wall, disregarding her sweat-drenched outfit.
Fortunately, she had joined the army previously and was deemed fit. She was even capable of climbing a tree, unlike Liang Chen, a lady who was forced to carry out such a physically demanding task without prior experience.
Yan Huan took a cup of water and drained it. Although she was worn out, her face appeared to be glowing. Besides, she seemed to have grown more muscular due to the very physically challenging scenes.
Liang Chen walked toward Yan Huan and gently patted her shoulder.
“You’re so fit.”
With a faint grin, Yan Huan replied, “I used to be a soldier.”
Knowing that she was no match for Yan Huan, Liang Chen shook the cup in her hand. She might not even pass the screening test even if she applied to join the military force. Yan Huan has such great stamina because she was once a soldier.
Yan Huan could even climb a tree easily. For Liang Chen, climbing a tree was a nightmare. It was not possible for a gentle lady like her to climb a tree without a stunt double.
Liang Chen rolled her sleeves up. Fine, let’s start climbing now.
She grabbed hold of the grooves in the tree and put in all her efforts to climb upward. Of course, she still had to be supervised by a professional choreographer. Nonetheless, Yan Huan and Liang Chen were both top-notch actresses. They would make sure to complete their filming regardless of the difficulty of the scene, even if it included climbing trees.
Frantically, Liang Chen began to learn how to climb a tree while Yan Huan prepared for her next scene. She was going to act like Tarzan and hang off a vine in midair.
First, the cast helped her up into the air. Then, she had to complete a full set of complicated actions. One of her tasks was to throw herself at a tree.
Furthermore, they required her to present a live action, not a mere act.
A deafening bang resonated as she crashed into the tree mercilessly with her back. Out of extreme agony, her body curled up, as if to protect itself. Cold sweat ran down her forehead and her face turned as pale as paper.
Despite the pain, she stood up and continued to film as this scene was supposed to be done in a single take. She had to fall off this tree and land on another tree.
Then, they would have the complete take.
The scene continued as she spun in the air and finally touched down on the ground. The entire scene took up a span of 50 seconds and was supposed to be one of the hardest scenes to film.
It took them a total of 20 takes to finally get one that met their strident expectations.
