Once the actors were in full makeup and in position.
"Action!"
With the director's command, filming officially began.
Within the film and television base, in the meticulously arranged ancient-style set, the atmosphere instantly became tense and somber.
Mu Xing, holding a gleaming longsword, moved with agile grace, like a startled swan.
She portrayed the righteous female sword immortal, relentlessly pursuing the traces of the demonic cult, with vivid perfection; her swordplay was sharp and every move exuded a heroic spirit that rivaled any man!
Meanwhile, Lu Cheng, playing the assassin, moved with a ghostly, elusive grace, like a phantom in the dark night.
He always managed, in the blink of an eye, to narrowly evade Mu Xing's every deadly and fierce attack from an extremely tricky angle.
Their chase scene unfolded amidst pavilions and towers, flying over eaves and scaling walls, twisting and turning.
One pursued with fierce determination, the other escaped with calm composure.
The highly dramatic scene made Director Wang, the director watching the monitor, nod repeatedly, his eyes gleaming.
"Good! Excellent! This is what a battle between masters feels like!"
...According to the script, at the end of this chase scene, Mu Xing was supposed to stab the assassin in the shoulder, injuring him, and then the assassin would flee in a desperate, disheveled state.
However, just as Mu Xing leaped down from a high place, her longsword whistling sharply through the air as she thrust it towards Lu Cheng!
His eyes revealed a hint of playful mockery.
As the sword's edge drew closer, he did not react as per the script, by being "too slow to dodge" and getting his shoulder injured.
Instead, he made a move that caught everyone present, including Mu Xing, completely off guard!
He sharply sidestepped, avoiding the deadly sword edge by an almost impossible angle, a near miss!
At the same time, he flicked his wrist, extending two slender fingers with lightning speed!
He precisely, and with incredible accuracy, clamped down on the rapidly thrusting sword blade!
Then, Lu Cheng's fingers simply exerted a slight force!
Mu Xing immediately felt an irresistible, immense power emanating from the sword blade, numbing her tiger's mouth and making her unable to hold onto her longsword!
The prop longsword was thus casually clamped and thrown away by the assassin… landing with a "clank" on the ground not far away!
...Losing her grip was not the only problem; Mu Xing, who had been charging forward due to her thrusting motion, lost her balance.
She gasped, and her petite body uncontrollably lunged forward!
Just as she thought she was about to make intimate contact with the cold, hard ground.
Lu Cheng took a step forward in response.
But he did not act like a clichéd hero saving the damsel, reaching out to steady her or pull her into his embrace.
Instead, he extended his other arm and, with a "bang," braced it directly against the wall behind her!
A perfectly executed, heart-pounding "wall-slam" pose was thus formed!
Mu Xing was completely enveloped by his tall and imposing figure within the small corner of the wall.
The distance between them was incredibly close!
She could clearly see the aggressive gaze in his eyes beneath the reflective silver mask... She could even smell his unique scent, exuding a masculine aura... Mu Xing's heart, in that instant, was unexpectedly flustered.
Her mind, moreover, was a complete blank!
The script, the lines, everything was forgotten in that moment!
She could only stare blankly into those eyes, feeling her cheeks uncontrollably, furiously burning!
...In front of the monitor, everyone was dumbfounded!
The first to react, surprisingly, was the assistant director.
He nudged Director Wang, who was staring in wide-eyed amazement beside him, and whispered a reminder:
"Director, this isn't in the script, what are they acting? You should call 'cut'!"
Director Wang stared at the screen, at the scene with its immense visual impact and ambiguous tension.
He saw Mu Xing's shy and flustered expression, her flushed cheeks, her evasive gaze—it was the very picture of "a young girl in love"!
He slapped his thigh, his eyes suddenly lighting up with understanding!
He seemed to comprehend something!
This wasn't a rich young master coming to act; he was clearly here for her.
If he called "cut" now?
Wouldn't that be going against the boss? He wasn't that clueless!
"Cut what cut! Keep filming! Keep filming for me!"
"This is a stroke of genius! This CP chemistry! This chemical reaction!"
"Isn't this a hundred times better than that original crappy script?!"
Not only did he not call "cut," but he excitedly signaled the cameramen at each position to quickly zoom in!
To get a 360-degree, dead-angle-free close-up of the expressions and gazes of these two "genius actors"!
...Ultimately, it was Mu Xing, having recovered her senses, who couldn't stand the heart-pounding, ambiguous atmosphere any longer.
She had never made such a move with anyone in her life... not even during filming had she had such an experience!
She suddenly reached out, pushed away the "damn assassin" in front of her, and, blushing, angrily shouted towards the director's direction:
"Stop! Director! This scene isn't supposed to be acted like this!"
Filming was thus forcibly interrupted.
Mu Xing took small, hurried steps, striding angrily to the director, pointing at Lu Cheng, who was still leaning against the wall, quietly observing everything, and demanded:
"Director! The script clearly says I injure him, how can he..."
Before the director could speak, Sister Wang, the screenwriter who knew Lu Cheng's identity, had already approached with a beaming smile.
"Oh, my beautiful Mu Xing, you're still too young!"
"Let me tell you, this... ahem, this new teacher, he changed it well! He changed it really, really well!"
"Right now, the internet is all about this kind of 'love-hate, good-evil CP' vibe!"
"Think about it, the beautiful sword immortal of the righteous path, and that mysterious assassin who is both good and evil, with a complicated emotional entanglement between them—how much more appealing is that?!"
"It makes the character relationships much richer and more three-dimensional than the original simple fighting and killing!"
The director immediately nodded repeatedly, echoing the screenwriter's words.
"Exactly, exactly! Sister Wang is right! Act it just like that! I think the effect is excellent! It has a great feel to it!"
...Mu Xing looked at these two, the director and screenwriter, who had suddenly "switched sides" and completely abandoned her, and was so angry she couldn't utter a word.
If the script could be changed so casually, then what did all her previous efforts count for?
But she was, after all, just a small actress, who had worked hard step by step to reach this point, only barely securing the role of the second female lead. How dared she argue with the director and screenwriter... She suddenly turned her head, her beautiful eyes practically spitting fire, and glared fiercely at the culprit, secretly calculating in her heart...
"I can't argue with the director."
"But surely I can out-act you!"
"This sword, I will definitely strike!"
And the man, as if sensing her gaze, slightly tilted his head towards her.