Leisurely Traveler with Check-in System

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Gotta Pay Extra

Li Younan still had a carefree and leisurely demeanor, looking around with interest. He was in no hurry, as he was here to experience life. The only downside was that the weather was indeed a bit too hot.

Today, he was only wearing a fitted short-sleeved shirt and shorts. They hadn’t received the props yet, and if he had to put on ancient costumes, he would definitely feel even hotter.

The ancient hairstyle made him feel sultry, but after completing the look, it was inconvenient to move recklessly. Thus, Li Younan looked like a guy who had traveled from ancient times, stealing modern clothes and looking around as if he’d never seen the world.

At this moment, he heard the director speaking with an actor in front. Seeing Li Younan gazing in that direction, the lighting technician next to him chuckled and said, ”See that? That’s the female lead.”

Li Younan hadn’t paid attention to the entertainment industry for a long time. The youngest female celebrity he knew was Guli Nazha, but she seemed to be in her thirties now, right? The male and female leads in this crew, he couldn’t name a single one.

Of course, it’s also possible because the crew’s actors are not famous at all.

Li Younan glanced in the direction of the female lead, seeing a makeup-done and styled actress, accompanied by someone who looked like an assistant, discussing something with the director.

Li Younan thought, the female lead is indeed different, obviously more refined. He looked around, whether it was the extras or the slightly more prominent supporting actors, most hadn’t put on makeup, only styling. That actress was different; she had a lively complexion and her styling was clearly a few notches higher.

Beauty stands as justice, vividly reflected in TV dramas. To identify whether a person is good, just see if they are the most good-looking one. The actress playing the female lead had a dissatisfied expression, muttering to the director. Li Younan thought, isn’t the director supposed to be of supreme status in the crew? How can there be actors daring to challenge the director? Turning tables?

The lighting technician said, ”Our female lead joined the crew with investment.”

Li Younan suddenly understood, oh, that’s why.

Then he heard the actress muttering, ”The stunt double can act with me, but I won’t accept any physical contact or intimate scenes.” The director’s tone became three points higher, ”How can this be?” The actress appeared fearless and nonchalant, ”That’s your business, I don’t care.”

Li Younan rubbed his chin, ”Are actors so unprofessional these days?”

The lighting technician said, ”Exactly, they can’t just rely on looks and investment to act like this...”

Li Younan glanced at him, saying, ”I was talking about the male lead.”

But it seemed that a consensus was reached between the director and the actress. The director held a loudspeaker and came over, ”All foreground actors come here to gather!”

Under the director’s arrangements, seven or eight people walked over, and Li Younan blended in among them. The director, holding the loudspeaker, said, ”Today there’s been a slight situation, and we need to temporarily find a stunt double.” The director’s gaze swept across the faces of seven or eight people, then pointed out a few, bypassing Li Younan, ”The few of you can disperse.”

Li Younan noticed that the guys who were pointed out initially had excited hearts and trembling hands and suddenly became deflated like balloons.

Only three people were left on the scene.

The director said, ”In terms of height and body type, the three of you fit well.” Meanwhile, the director’s gaze stayed a bit longer on Li Younan’s face.

Li Younan snuck a glance at the two guys beside him. Both were over 1.8 meters tall, one with a sexy moustache on his face, the other with pockmarks. The sexy moustache guy could rival him in looks, while the guy with pockmarks was clearly lesser.

At this point, the director looked at the moustache guy, ”Can you shave your moustache later?”

The moustache guy was stunned at first, painfully nodding, ”I can.”

The director nodded, then began explaining the scene expressionlessly.

”Simply put, this scene is where the male lead jumps out from the shadows as a hero to save the beauty.”

The director said, ”We need stunt doubles for three shots. The first shot is when the male lead appears; since our stunt double’s body type differs from the male lead, this scene won’t utilize the stunt double. However, rest assured, when you appear, we’ll have professional action guides to design simple actions for you. The second shot is you saving the female lead who’s falling from a horse; similarly, this shot cannot show your faces. The third shot is after you’ve completed the rescue, swiftly leaving, hiding your merits and name. Understand?”

All three said they understood.

Li Younan glanced left and right, noticing the moustache guy and the pockmark guy’s breaths becoming thick and eyes eager, overly excited.

But Li Younan remained calm, even contemplating other side thoughts. Initially called for was a foreground actor, and suddenly changed to a stunt double. Possibly more scenes meant higher demands and more hassle.

Later, led by the on-site crew, the three went to find the action director and coach for a small interview.

This wasn’t an easy move to complete. One had to jump out from behind a fake mountain while perfectly avoiding camera shots of the face. Actually, achieving these two points isn’t difficult; the challenge is doing so and appearing... stylish!

The action director repeatedly emphasized, ”You must always remember you’re not representing yourself but the male lead! At this moment, you’re the male lead! If you jump out like a monkey, even if the camera doesn’t catch your face, it’s useless because it’s not stylish, got it?”

Everyone expressed understanding. Both the moustache guy and pockmark guy planned to exert their utmost effort to appear stylish, as now even villains must be stylish enough to disrupt people’s views.

The on-site action coach was extremely dedicated, demonstrating the entrance movements several times. The pockmark guy and moustache guy seriously began to comprehend, while Li Younan remained curious about everything, looking around.

Time was pressing, and choices had to be finalized before starting, with hairstyles redone, so there was little time for idle talk. The action director said, ”Let’s begin; camera teacher, please have a look.”

The cameraman nodded, preparing at the pre-established position.

The entire move was actually a sequence.

The first one up was the pockmark guy. His posture jumping out from behind the fake mountain was clearly seriously considered, thus uniquely ugly.

Li Younan saw the action director already holding his head.

When the pockmark guy eagerly looked towards the action director, the action director just weakly waved his hand, ”Next.”

The second one up was the moustache guy. Compared to the pockmark guy, the moustache guy seemed more tense. As he began sprinting, everything from footwork, body movement, to the camera positioning taught by the action coach was completely forgotten.

After he darted out, the action director directly stood up, looking towards the action stunt watching the scene.

But the stunt was too short, only 1.6 meters, a stark contrast to the tall and handsome male lead. Now, they could only think of ways to make him appear taller. These uninspiring extras truly couldn’t be relied upon.

The action coach whispered beside, ”Director, there’s still one more.” The action director casually waved his hand, ”Let him hurry up then.”

Li Younan leisurely came to the entry position. The action coach once again emphasized two principles beside him, ”One is to imagine yourself as the lead; don’t make the action vulgar. The second principle is to ensure your face doesn’t appear in the camera.”

Li Younan observed the fake mountain with his chin in hand, suddenly asking, ”As long as my face doesn’t appear in the camera, that’s fine, right?”

The action coach was immediately annoyed, ”Did I waste all my breath on you for nothing?”

Li Younan coughed, pointing at the fake mountain, ”Can I flip over here?”

The action coach was stunned, ”What do you mean flip over?”

Li Younan swiftly performed a stepping backflip, touching the fake mountain with his hand, seamlessly doing a parkour move, leaping cleanly over from behind the fake mountain.

To ensure his face didn’t get caught, upon landing, he executed another one-handed flip to stabilize his position.

The inertia made his clothes sway with the wind.

The action coach’s face instantly stiffened; huh, did something just fly by?

The nearby action director, zoning out, suddenly saw Li Younan flying out and slapped his thigh, ”It’s him! It’s him!”

Li Younan was again brought before the director. The director asked, ”Trained before? Okay, go change and redo your styling.”

After speaking, the director was ready to arrange other matters.

But Li Younan remained standing without moving. Thinking it over, he said, ”Director, I interviewed for a foreground actor.”

The director paused, ”Oh?”

Li Younan glanced at the price list on his phone and earnestly said, ”You want me as the lead’s stunt double...” He raised his head with sincere and clear eyes, ”You need to pay more!”