Chapter 136 A Reconciliation on Set

Both of them had originally intended to find the director to change the script, but when they both stood up and saw each other at the same time, they both gave up the idea simultaneously—why should I show weakness in front of you?

Maria Sharapova was the first to sit down, and Chen Yingxiong followed suit.

Only their expressions were somewhat indignant.

It was no wonder—they were enemies before, and now they suddenly had to act as a couple. One really had to admire the screenwriter's imagination…

Could it be that the screenwriter had this idea after seeing the entertainment gossip of the past few days?

If that were the case… Chen Yingxiong might strangle him.

Both stubbornly refused to go to the director, unwilling to show weakness or bow their heads in front of each other.

But the director took the initiative to approach them.

He went to Maria Sharapova first. There was no other way; she was the world's number one female tennis star, the highest-paid female athlete, and famous abroad.

Maria Sharapova certainly wouldn't miss this opportunity to protest to the director: "Why do we have to play a couple in this commercial?"

The director found the question strange. What was wrong with playing a couple? The commercial was even called "Couple Episode," so what else could they be?

"Can it be changed?" Maria Sharapova secretly asked the director.

The director put on a bitter face and complained: "That won't work. This idea has been brewing for a long time, and I've already done the storyboard. The shooting time is only one day, and it will be on TV in a week… Changing it would be too late…"

Maria Sharapova frowned.

She looked down at the script again, not noticing the cunning smile that flashed across the director's lips.

The director, of course, knew about Maria Sharapova and Chen Yingxiong's relationship. The media had spent days hyping up the story until everyone knew about it, so how could he not know?

The couple concept for this commercial was actually influenced by the gossip news. The director thought it was a perfect opportunity to leverage the situation to promote the product brand. Putting the two rumored lovers together in an advertisement, how many news media outlets would become voluntary promoters of this commercial?!

There was no better opportunity than this, and of course, he couldn't allow the two leads to change the script without permission.

Seeing Maria Sharapova looking at the script, the director said to her, "Take your time to study it. I'll go talk to the other one…"

With that, he got up and walked toward Chen Yingxiong.

Chen Yingxiong was complaining to Dracula: "This is too much of a coincidence, isn't it? It's so coincidental that it doesn't seem like a coincidence!"

Dracula could only shake his head: "It really is a coincidence…"

Just then, the director walked over. "Hi, Yingxiong."

They had greeted the director before coming in, so there was no need for introductions this time.

"Hi, Director. This script…" Chen Yingxiong picked up the script and handed it to the director.

The director lowered his head and pretended to flip through it, then returned it to Chen Yingxiong with a puzzled look: "What's wrong with the script?"

"Playing a couple… uh." Chen Yingxiong didn't know how to explain to the person in front of him. "I've never had a girlfriend before, I have no experience. I'm afraid I can't act out that feeling…"

Dracula was drinking water next to him, and when he heard Chen Yingxiong's words, he almost spat the water out. It took him a long time to hold the water back in his nose, which resulted in him choking and coughing.

Chen Yingxiong turned his head and glared at his agent for not giving him face at this critical moment.

The director also looked at the somewhat embarrassed Dracula.

"It's okay, just treat her as the woman you like… If you haven't had a girlfriend, you must have had a dream lover, right? Just be like that…"

The director advised.

Don't joke around! Who doesn't know that you, Yingxiong, are a famous nightclub prince in St. Petersburg? How could we let you be fooled by such a clumsy excuse?

The essence of this advertisement isn't in the script at all! It's in your scandal! Leveraging the situation! Leveraging the situation! This is the most brilliant promotion!

The director had always been proud of himself for coming up with such a wonderful way to leverage the situation to promote Clear Shampoo's new product, so how could he allow the two of them to change the script?

As for whether Chen Yingxiong and Maria Sharapova were really a couple, he didn't really care. As long as there was this scandal, that was enough.

But now it seemed… These two were so nervous; could they really be a couple? Otherwise, why would they be so afraid of playing a couple? Were they afraid that their true feelings would be revealed during the performance, and then the sharp-eyed viewers would discover the clues when the advertisement aired?

The director didn't care. He wasn't their guardian, although he was surprised that Maria Sharapova and Chen Yingxiong, whose status was so different, were actually a couple. But did that have anything to do with him?

After reassuring the two of them, he turned around and left, starting to communicate with his assistants to confirm how the preparations were going.

After Maria Sharapova realized that she couldn't change the director's original intention, she could only bury herself in studying the script to see what was going on—until now, the two of them had only seen the title "Couple Episode" and immediately protested, but they didn't know what kind of couple they were supposed to be.

The advertisement's content was very simple, just the small details of flirting between a boyfriend and girlfriend. The woman flicks her head in front of the man, her long hair rises, and a fragrance wafts over, making the man look intoxicated. He reaches out and gently caresses her hair, only to find that it is as smooth as silk and he can't hold onto it at all, slipping easily through his fingers. He looks at his girlfriend in surprise, and the woman turns back and smiles at him, saying, "Today, I used Clear Smooth Series Shampoo!"

Then comes the product introduction, which is a matter of computer animation.

At the end of the advertisement, it returns to the couple, with the woman snuggling in the man's arms, and the man sniffing the woman's hair with the tip of his nose. They both look happy.

Looking happy…

Maria Sharapova gritted her teeth.

To have me snuggle in that damned bastard's arms… and have to look happy… I can't do it!

Snuggling in my arms?

Chen Yingxiong frowned.

To have me hug such an ugly woman and smell her hair, I won't do it! Who knows how much pungent perfume she's sprayed on!

Dracula watched Chen Yingxiong's anxious and unwilling face, and leisurely crossed his legs next to him, drinking coffee. It seemed like it was none of his business—but it really wasn't his business. He, the agent, couldn't control the player's private life.

But they didn't have time to find the director to give their opinions. The assistant director and the production assistant each found Maria Sharapova and Chen Yingxiong and asked them to wash their hair.

"Wash my hair?" Chen Yingxiong was a little surprised. "I just washed my hair before I came out…"

He thought that today was the day of the advertisement shoot, so of course he had to have a good image, so he specially took a bath and washed his hair, and also shaved his beard. He looked youthful and radiant.

Maria Sharapova, who was passing by him, couldn't help but chuckle when she heard Chen Yingxiong's foolish question. She had already worked with Clear Shampoo before, and it wasn't her first time shooting a shampoo advertisement, so she naturally knew the process.

Since it was a shampoo advertisement, if you don't wash your hair until it's radiant, shiny, and unusually smooth, how can you show the power of the shampoo in front of the camera? Those celebrities in the advertisements show off their flowing hair, but they are definitely not like that usually. It's all done temporarily on the set.

Chen Yingxiong knew that he was being ridiculed by Maria Sharapova. He glared at Maria Sharapova, who was sneering at him, but didn't say anything, and followed the production assistant to the place to wash his hair—the two of them happened to be sitting side by side.

Maria Sharapova squinted her eyes and tilted her head, not looking at Chen Yingxiong, and Chen Yingxiong also turned his face away, not looking at Maria Sharapova.

The assistant director sighed in his heart when he saw the emotions expressed by these two people: What a terrible idea the director came up with… Your idea is good, but look at the emotions expressed by these two people, how can they play the feeling of a couple well? If they act like they are each other's mortal enemies in the advertisement, who would believe that they have any ambiguous relationship!

He was in a particularly difficult situation now, because he was responsible for explaining the scene to the actors, but how could he tell these two star enemies to "act like a couple"?

"That…" He planned to talk to the two of them.

"I know, acting as a couple, I know!" Maria Sharapova waved her hand impatiently, obviously not wanting to listen to the assistant director anymore.

"I'm fine too. Don't worry." Chen Yingxiong smiled.

Looking at his fake smile, the assistant director muttered in his heart: I'd be surprised if I wasn't worried!

He had no choice but to hope that these two people had some professionalism.

But he forgot that these two people were professional athletes, not professional actors…

"Cut!"

"Cut!"

"Cut, cut!"

"Cut, cut, cut!"

"Cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut!"

…

"Cut…"

The director didn't know how many times he had yelled "cut." This shout was weak and powerless—his throat was hoarse.

In front of the camera, neither Maria Sharapova nor Chen Yingxiong could show their best state. They didn't look like a couple at all. It was rare for a shot to be filmed twenty times, and the key shots were even more stuck. Either Maria Sharapova's smile was too fake, or Chen Yingxiong had a miserable look on his face.

This bumpy road made the entire crew dare to be angry but not speak out. It was finally the last shot—Maria Sharapova nestled in Chen Yingxiong's arms, Chen Yingxiong lowered his head and smelled her hair, holding a strand of hair in his hand. Chen Yingxiong made a deep expression, while Maria Sharapova looked up, closed her eyes, and looked happy.

Now, neither of them could produce the feeling that the director wanted.

The director turned his head and looked at the painful expressions on the faces of the photographer, lighting technician, and other staff, and had to shake his head: "Take a fifteen-minute break!"

No one cheered, and many people simply sat down on the ground. They originally thought it would be a very easy and pleasant job, but who would have thought that these were the most difficult hours they had ever experienced? It was estimated that if everything went smoothly, it would be done in two hours, which was still a conservative estimate. The problem was with Chen Yingxiong, a rookie newcomer who had never had any acting experience. Maria Sharapova had filmed countless advertisements, so she was familiar with this aspect and there was nothing to worry about.

Who would have thought that Maria Sharapova's state was also so bad today, which made the filming so difficult.

Chen Yingxiong and Maria Sharapova went straight back to their respective areas to sit down and rest, ignoring each other, and their faces were even more unsightly than before the shooting.

The director was confused now. If he thought that the two of them wanted to change the script to cover up their true relationship before, now the director didn't think so. If they were really a couple, but showed a bitter and hateful attitude in front of everyone, then it could only mean that these two were too good at acting! It was a waste to film advertisements; they should go for the Academy Awards.

Did this couple quarrel last night? Was their sex life not harmonious?

The director shook his head and threw away these wild thoughts. He felt that he still had to communicate with the two of them, otherwise, the advertisement couldn't be filmed, the task wouldn't be completed, and the pay would be affected.

He stood up and frowned, looking at the male and female leads, one on the far east side of the studio and the other on the far west side of the studio.

How could he talk like this?

He first walked to Maria Sharapova: "We should have a good talk, Maria." He said to Maria Sharapova with a serious face.

Who is the biggest on the set? The director is the biggest!

Maria Sharapova still understood this principle, and she nodded.

"Very good, come with me." The director waved his hand, signaling Maria Sharapova to follow.

Seeing the director walking towards Chen Yingxiong, Maria Sharapova hesitated for a moment, but still followed—she must not show weakness in front of this kid!

Born in the days of winter and spring transition, Maria Sharapova has both the gentleness of spring and the stubbornness of winter. She is unwilling to admit defeat easily, just like she is on the tennis court.

The director walked up to Chen Yingxiong: "If you still want to go home early, then let's talk alone."

Chen Yingxiong's gaze passed over the director and saw Maria Sharapova walking over. Chen Yingxiong, who was also unwilling to admit defeat, didn't want to show weakness in front of a woman, and he stood up: "No problem."

"Very good, let's have a three-person talk—I don't care what's going on between the two of you…" The director pointed at Chen Yingxiong and Maria Sharapova. "Now it's work! I hope you can have some professional spirit! You are both professional players, and you have both achieved success in your respective fields. I don't need to tell you such a simple principle, right?"

The director's face was full of anger. He had been tortured by these two people all afternoon, and even a clay figure would have a temper, let alone him? What's more, he also had to consider his team. So many people were angry, and if he didn't stand up for them, how would these people cooperate with him in the future?

In fact, Chen Yingxiong and Maria Sharapova both knew that continuing to fight like this was not good for others and was a waste of time, but they just couldn't save face.

After saying these words, the director stood up and left. He also knew that these two were not ordinary people and always had some temper and valued face. It was probably inconvenient for them to communicate if he was standing here…

Although he really wanted to eavesdrop on what gossip there was between these two.

After the director left, the two were still sitting face to face, but they didn't say a word.

Chen Yingxiong glanced at the camera, where there was only the background now. The lights were dimmed a lot, and all the staff were resting.

Maria Sharapova also tried to find a place to look at to distract herself.

But who told her that the place she was facing was a dark wall… there was nothing there!

She couldn't just stare at the wall in a daze, could she?

Her gaze naturally shifted to Chen Yingxiong.

The other party was staring at the studio behind her diagonally.

Looking at this person, she suddenly thought of her first meeting with him, not in that bedroom, but in the bar. This was the first time they met that she had intentionally or unintentionally ignored.

That day, the negative emotions she had accumulated for a long time had become so great that they were about to suffocate her, and there was no one around her who she could confide in to her heart's content.

She chose to go to the bar to get drunk and drown her sorrows.

There, she met Chen Yingxiong for the first time, holding a glass of wine, looking lonely and planning to find a girl to spend the long night with him.

She could even remember their opening remarks, that… tasteless "doggerel."

It was really strange. She got drunk, forgot many things, and didn't even remember how she got from the bar to Yingxiong's apartment, but she still clearly remembered these things.

If it weren't for that inexplicable quarrel, her impression of Chen Yingxiong should be okay, a cheerful and lively young man, and most importantly… at that time, when she was depressed, there was such a person appearing in front of her with a glass of wine, and he tried to make her happy in every possible way.

What a good person, why did it end up like this in the end?

Maria Sharapova stared at Chen Yingxiong blankly.

Chen Yingxiong actually felt very uncomfortable now, because he had been staring at the studio for several minutes, and his neck was almost stiff—he couldn't turn back, he felt Maria Sharapova was staring at him.

What was this woman doing…

Chen Yingxiong cursed in his heart.

If he were to turn back, he would definitely make eye contact with Maria Sharapova—how embarrassing would that be!

So he could only maintain this posture, pretending that he had been staring at the studio in a daze. The problem was that it was fine to pretend to be profound for a minute, but it would be a burden to be in a daze for a few minutes…

How would he know that Maria Sharapova was staring at Chen Yingxiong in a daze, thinking of her first meeting with him?

To say that the reason for the quarrel the next day was actually because of her—if she could have opened the quilt first to see herself, there might not have been so many misunderstandings.

She was too impulsive at that time and blamed the person in front of her…

And she was also the number one player in women's tennis, but she was still so childish, it was really unreasonable…

Maria Sharapova wasn't the kind of unreasonable person. In the end, this matter was caused by her misunderstanding of Chen Yingxiong from the beginning.

She also thought of the scene where Chen Yingxiong blocked the bedroom door that day, angrily demanding her apology.

She really owed him an apology…

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but open her mouth and call out: "That…"

Chen Yingxiong first glanced at her.

"…I'm sorry…"

Maria Sharapova's voice was as thin as a mosquito's hum, and Chen Yingxiong didn't hear it clearly for a moment. He turned his head to look at her, a little puzzled.

"I mean… I'm sorry!" Since she had already said it, Maria Sharapova simply went all out and said loudly, "I misunderstood you, I apologize to you."

Chen Yingxiong looked at Maria Sharapova with a surprised expression. He didn't expect that he would hear such a主动示弱(zhudong shiruo, proactively show weakness) from this big star…

His initial plan was that if Maria Sharapova was tough with him to the end, then he would also be tough with her, letting her know if he was incompetent.

Who would have thought that the other party would suddenly soften…

Chen Yingxiong was a person who was receptive to soft approaches but not hard ones. If you were hard with him, he would be hard to the end unless you could break him. If it came to being tough, Chen Yingxiong had many ways to defeat the other party. But facing the suddenly softened Maria Sharapova, he didn't know what to do.

Yes, he was at a loss.

"Uh…"

Saying "I'm sorry" actually made Maria Sharapova suddenly feel relieved, and she could look at the boy in front of her without any burden. The expression on his face changed wonderfully in a very short time. Panic, surprise, bewilderment… and a hint of shyness!

God testified that Maria Sharapova really saw a shy expression on Chen Yingxiong's face!

When she accused him of being a hooligan and quarreled with him, he didn't feel any guilt! But now, he was actually shy!

Maria Sharapova suddenly felt that the boy in front of her was very interesting.

Chen Yingxiong realized that Maria Sharapova was indeed apologizing to him!

Since the girl had taken the initiative to apologize, he, as a man, couldn't be too petty, could he?

Besides, it was just a few arguments, and the other party didn't really do anything to him…

So he tried to make the smile on his face look more natural and said, "Forget it, I was also wrong in this matter… If my attitude could have been better… But I'm just like this, sometimes when I get impatient, I get easily agitated… Don't take it to heart. Also, I said you, uh, you are…"

Maria Sharapova knew what he was going to say and quickly stopped him: "You don't have to repeat that again!"

Chen Yingxiong was amused by her anxious appearance, and he didn't say the last words.

When Maria Sharapova saw Chen Yingxiong smile, she realized that her performance just now was a little… that. So she also laughed, a little embarrassed.

Chen Yingxiong took the initiative to extend his hand to Maria Sharapova: "Let's shake hands."

Maria Sharapova held the other party's hand.

This was actually the first time she had consciously had physical contact with the other party. In the bar that time, she was too drunk and didn't remember if she had had any physical contact with Chen Yingxiong.

Chen Yingxiong was the same.

The palm of the hand he was gently holding wasn't soft, and there were even some calluses, which must have been worn out by holding the tennis racket and swinging it for a long time.

The director, hiding in the shadows, saw the two people holding hands and finally smiled.

Okay, the real highlight of this promotion is about to begin!

There was no need to wait until the advertisement was released. He had so many acquaintances in the media circle. Those entertainment reporters certainly wouldn't know that Maria Sharapova and Chen Yingxiong had cooperated to film a Clear Shampoo advertisement, right?

At that time… hehe.

He wouldn't have to spend too much on advertising, but he could achieve amazing results!

This was the real advertisement!

What was the point of filming an advertisement?

Being able to get the entire society, news media, and fans involved and promote the product brand was the greatest advertisement!