Sister Sa was also utterly astonished.
Although she had witnessed Jiang Ling’s highlight moments before, experiencing the overwhelming impact firsthand on set nearly took her breath away.
It was akin to seeing news reports of a devastating car accident on television; no matter how the anchor described it, it could never be as sensorially stimulating as witnessing it live.
Guan Suyī applauded, "Excellent. For the role of Li Shengnan, you are the only one."
Her gaze on Jiang Ling grew brighter, and she smiled, "Go get your makeup done. Your male lead, Jin Shiyí, will be here any moment!"
"Okay!"
Jiang Ling nodded and turned to head towards the makeup room.
"Wait—" Guan Suyī suddenly called out to her.
Jiang Ling turned back, "Director Guan, is there anything else?"
"I want to tell you something in advance. 'The Romance of the Jade Bow in the Sea of Clouds' has two female leads. One is the Li Shengnan you're playing, and the other is Gu Zhihuá. These two female leads come from different backgrounds and have distinct personalities. Gu Zhihuá, from a prestigious orthodox sect, will have relatively more refined and meticulous makeup and costumes. As for you, I plan for you to appear without makeup until the grand finale when Li Shengnan poisons Gu Zhihuá, forcing Li Shengnan to marry her. Do you have any issues with that?"
Hearing this, Jiang Ling chuckled, "No problem!"
Even if Guan Suyī hadn't said so, she had already planned to appear without makeup.
After all, Li Shengnan was a demonic woman from an unorthodox background. She had suffered immense changes before birth and lived a turbulent life from childhood. Naturally, she wouldn't have enjoyed the pampered life of a sheltered young lady, being a meticulously groomed “piggy girl.”
The appropriate makeup and styling to match the character was a fundamental requirement in filmmaking.
However, this simple requirement was now rarely met by film crews.
To highlight the exquisite beauty of the young idols, male and female leads, various filters were applied, smoothing out skin to the point where even the wrinkles of old men and women disappeared.
Thousands of shots were meticulously retouched, much to the despair of the retouching artists.
Jiang Ling was also extremely disgusted by this.
Flawless, smooth, fair skin did not equate to handsomeness. An actor’s attractiveness should not be imprisoned by lethal filters and ten-level smoothing, losing its natural beauty.
Appearing without makeup would perfectly accentuate Li Shengnan’s authentic wild beauty.
Mr. Lu Xun once said, "Tragedy is the destruction of beautiful things for people to see."
When the finale arrives, after Li Shengnan marries Jin Shiyí, she would then appear with the most beautiful makeup and styling, fully showcasing her personal tragic beauty.
They say heroes think alike!
Guan Suyī saw the sparkle in Jiang Ling’s eyes and realized they shared the same thoughts. She patted Jiang Ling’s shoulder with a smile, "Go change your clothes!"
Jiang Ling nodded and followed Xiao Xú to the makeup room.
Guan Suyī watched her receding figure, her eyes filled with depth.
Although she had had no prior dealings with Jiang Ling, she had often heard industry peers complain about the abysmal acting skills and terrible character of those young idols, male and female.
Especially the popular traffic star Jiang Ling from Huohua Media, who was a veritable industry cancer, bringing bad luck to anyone who collaborated with her.
This was also why she had been so resistant when Xiao Xú mentioned Jiang Ling earlier.
But when she saw Jiang Ling’s portrayal of Zhao Hede, she was instantly stunned.
Out of curiosity, she had intercepted and watched clips from Jiang Ling's previous works.