Su Yang also had no experience with fighting scenes. Although the martial arts director had taken them through practice beforehand, they still had to do the actual filming themselves on the rooftop, which was a bit nerve-wracking.
"Adjust your emotions, don't be nervous. Just jog a few steps and jump onto the foam mats on the other side!"
It sounded simple but was not easy to execute. They jumped over and over again but could not meet Director Yao's expectations. They had to start over.
"Cut! This take was good, we got it!"
The two were relieved that they could finally get back on the ground for now.
As soon as he got down, Su Yang pointed at Qin Wei's legs and asked her, "Are your legs okay?"
Qin Wei moved them around and said a simple "I'm fine" to him before going to rest with Li Liang.
Li Liang was also a bit worried. She had just watched Qin Wei jump back and forth from the rooftop repeatedly. Although there were foam mats below to cushion the impact, she had stumbled quite a few times when landing, even falling hard once before Su Yang caught her.
"Sis, are your legs really okay..."
"I'm fine."
Qin Wei rubbed her knees, then showed her palm to her assistant.
"Where's my milk tea?"
Li Liang obediently took out a cup of milk tea from the thermal bag, poked a straw in, and handed it to Qin Wei. "I got this for you, with ice and less sugar, and pearl boba."
The last few days, Shen Qingqing had specifically told Li Liang that buying some milk tea for her to drink after action scenes wasn't going overboard. But she still had to drink more water and herbal drinks to prevent heat stroke.
Qin Wei livened up as soon as she got this milk tea. She took a sip and finally felt like she had returned to the world.
Li Liang fanned Qin Wei with a small fan to cool her down. It was 39°C today and the poor girl was still dressed in layers and layers of costumes. She must be about to die of heat at this point.
After a 10 minute break, they continued filming. Still on the rooftop.
When they got back up this time, neither was as nervous as before. Before starting, Qin Wei even asked him:
"Does your waist hurt? I feel shooting action scenes really takes a toll on the waist..."
Su Yang rubbed his waist with both hands.
"I think I can still hang in there for a bit..."
When the director shouted action, the two continued with the previous scene. They steadily landed on the opposite rooftop in a cool and composed manner, then rushed forward.
The pursuers behind closely followed without letting up. The leads exchanged a look, then jumped down from the rooftop.
Next up were the chase scenes in the marketplace. Weaving through the dense crowds after each other. Director Yao chose an aerial shot to capture one of the takes. He set the path beforehand since the lighting was ideal now. He decided to prioritize filming this shot first...
It took nearly 3 hours to film the scenes across a few locations. By the time they finished, the sun was setting. With the drastic changes in ambient light, they decided to call it a day for outdoor shooting...
"It's a wrap! Thank you everyone!"
Su Yang looked at his swollen and red wrist. Accidents were common during fights and he was new at this. Getting banged up and bruised was inevitable, so he didn't make a sound even though he was injured.
Qin Wei was no better off either. Her forehead got hit by one of the extras wielding a prop knife hilt, leaving a red mark instantly, now turned into an obvious bruise.
"Are you okay? Should we go to the hospital?"
As Su Yang spoke, he lifted her hair to check the severity of her injury.
Qin Wei felt an inexplicable irritation and couldn't help but frown. She lifted her hand to swat his away and took half a step back.
"I hate people touching my head the most."
She then felt a tinge of regret. He was her friend and co-star. Of course he came over out of concern after seeing her get hit.
"I mean..."
"It's fine."
Su Yang wasn't upset. Seeing it was just exterior damage, he turned to Li Liang and said:
"If she feels dizzy, nauseous, or any discomfort, please bring her to the hospital immediately. It could be a concussion."
Li Liang was scared stiff after hearing that.
"Just to be safe, let's go to the hospital now and get her checked out before I feel assured..."
Qin Wei couldn't be bothered and tried to reassure her:
"No need to keep going to hospitals for every tiny thing. Each visit ends up becoming news. Either 'Minor Injury Attention-Seeking, Wasting Medical Resources' or 'Wealthy Companion's Prenatal Checkup'. Having to clarify afterwards is 'Wasting Societal Resources'."
Even Su Yang couldn't help laughing after hearing that.
"I've got an advantage over you. No one would spread rumors about me going for prenatal checks. But I have been falsely rumored before to have 'Shocking News! Certain Upcoming Actor's Chaotic Private Life, Midnight Hospital Visit'. Took me several reads to realize they were talking about me."
"Pfft. Whose private life isn't chaotic?"
Qin Wei no longer cared much about stuff like this. Feeling hungry now, she wanted dinner. Supporting herself on Li Liang, she headed towards the trailers...
...
"So where is my trailer?"
When she arrived at the rest area, Qin Wei only just discovered the crew had not arranged a trailer for her to rest in.
"It was Teacher Qiao's decision."
The staff smiled apologetically to her.
After getting injured during the fight scene, exhausted, hungry and sore all over, without even a place to rest, Qin Wei was on the verge of a breakdown. She cursed loudly:
"Qiao Sixiao, you f*cker..."
The trailer door opened and Qiao Sixiao stood at the entrance looking at her:
"Please, continue."
Qin Wei blinked innocently, looking elsewhere like she had no clue what was happening, and asked Li Liang:
"Sh*t, I'm so tired. Do I still have scenes tonight?"
"Yeah...one scene, not many shots though."
Qiao Sixiao asked: "Done with your tantrum?"
Qin Wei said softly: "You were scolding me this morning too..."
...
Qin Wei got on board. Li Liang looked awkwardly at Qiao Sixiao's assistant Xiao Wang, forcing a smile:
"This is...kind of awkward...My sister is just too tired today...lost her temper..."
Xiao Wang was nonchalant about this. Eager to reassure Li Liang, he said:
"No need to feel awkward. This is how they always are. They didn't even start a shouting match today so it's pretty mild...If you had seen their hour-long back-and-forth verbal battles in the past, you'd feel that in life, no hardship is insurmountable."
Li Liang: "......"
...
"So I'm not even worthy of a place to rest? Just because I pissed you off, you're abusing your authority and bullying me because my family didn't invest, is that it?!"
Sitting on the sofa, Qin Wei was truly so angry she was about to cry.
Qiao Sixiao ignored her and took an ice pack from the mini fridge on her own. She wrapped it in a towel and put it on Qin Wei's head, then took out a first-aid kit and sat across from her, asking:
"Where else are you hurt?"
"The trailer..."
Qin Wei still held the ice pack against her head, continuing to show her displeasure.
"I saw you were sleeping perfectly fine leaning your forehead against that bed frame yesterday. Feel free to continue resting there to save production costs."
Qiao Sixiao said impatiently and asked again:
"Hurry up and tell me where you're injured."
Qin Wei tried reasoning with her:
"If you want to cut costs then do it out of your own pocket, okay? Sacrifice and dedication are personal virtues, not an excuse for you to offer up your teammate as a sacrificial lamb to the gods..."
Qiao Sixiao was out of patience. "Just take your clothes off. I'll examine your injuries myself since you refuse to say even after all this questioning. More annoying than a dog."
"No, no don't. I'm not hurt, just bumped my head a little. Please spare me the trouble."
"There's no way you're not injured after your first fight scene. For my first, I fractured my ribs but still continued filming while getting it treated. Injuries are just daily occurrences during fights. Nothing to be ashamed of."
"Well your father here is exceptionally gifted. Agile and nimble. So no injuries whatsoever."
"..."
Qiao Sixiao had to rush off for her own scenes so she didn't bother with Qin Wei anymore. But she left all the medical supplies on the table. After she left, Qin Wei pulled up her pants. Her legs were covered in bruises but it was mostly superficial. Her right knee was a little red and swollen though.
Still, they were minor compared to Su Yang's sprained wrist.
And Qiao Sixiao even said this stuff was routine. If she made a fuss asking Qin Wei to tend to her minor injuries, it would be too humiliating.
She picked up the analgesic spray and gave her legs a few spritzes. Then she happily skipped off to find Li Liang and continue working!
