Since this was an outdoor shoot, Xing Yu had the freedom to roam around while others were filming. She was not set to be filmed for at least another hour, so Xing Yu found a nice, quiet place a little distance away from where most of the filming and preparations were taking place.
The shoot today took place in a real palace. With the big budget, the crew was able to gain permission as well as afford the rent needed to shoot at this historical site.
Xing Yu was walking around and spotted a nice pavilion by a lake. There was nature all around and as she approached the structure, she couldn't help but feel at peace. The realistic set really helped to set the mood and was something that helped everyone get into character even more easily.
Standing in the middle of the pavilion, she closed her eyes and visualised the scene she was going to be in once more.
In Scarlet Moon, the female lead was a noble woman living within palace grounds with her minister father.
Her main love interest was the ostracised and hated 4th Prince, who had been prophesied to bring calamity to the nation.
After a series of betrayals and fights, the female lead's Father eventually managed to become king. However, he was not a good king. In fact, he drowned himself in luxury and greed, and was ruthless towards the people. To the female lead, he was even worse, often sending her to other ministers to play with. He basically used her as his personal tool to gain more influence.
The scene Xing Yu would act in was when the 4th Prince led an army of dissatisfied soldiers as well as commoners against the minister.
Xing Yu was lucky enough that she managed to clinch a role that actually included lines. During the scene where the 4th Prince was about to kill the minister, he had told the minister that he would led him off if the people agreed.
The once proud minister had cling onto the legs of the nearest person, and that person happened to be the commoner that Xing Yu was playing.
She was the daughter of a man who got struck down and killed when he couldn't afford to pay taxes. She had never appeared before this, and her father's death had never been mentioned prior to this scene.
The scriptwriter had cleverly written it this way, as to the Minister, they were so insignificant that they simply didn't exist in his world. But when she appeared, it would be the first time the voice of the people was truly heard, and the first time they'd be seen. It was a way to truly show that the once insignificant commoner now held power, a way to show the difference in the minister's way of ruling and the 4th prince's way of ruling.
Xing Yu couldn't help but feel impressed by the amazing scriptwriting. Although the costumes and direction of the film were equally as important, Xing Yu believed that a good script was the foundation of all great films. Every single detail was well thought out, and she was ridiculously happy to be able to bring such an amazing story to life.
She started rehearsing her lines, and got into character immediately.
"I AM YING YUE!" Declared Xing Yu, as she stared down at her feet, imagining the minister there. Her usually soft and elegant voice held a much more guttural sound. She sounded crude but raw, and her tone was one filled with indignation.
That was the first thing her character says, in response to the minister repeatedly calling her 'you'. Her character would give herself an identity, and it was meant to be an empowering moment for the common people.
"You step on so many of us that you can't keep count, but now you want us to spare your life? WE MAY NOT BE EDUCATED, BUT WE ARE NO FOOLS!" Xing Yu's voice started rising in volume bit by bit, and a swirl of emotions could be heard. Anger at the evil man grovelling at her feet; sorrow, at the reminder of her father's pathetic death. But above all, she held power. It was as if all the unheard cries of the common people had slowly built up, collecting, collecting, collecting... until it exploded and rushed forth like a flood, unable to be stopped.
Taking a deep breath, she yelled out her remaining lines, condemning the minister to his fate.
"YOU MAY NOT REMEMBER, BUT WE, THE PEOPLE, WILL NEVER FORGET! KILL HIM."
And this point, the scene would finally reach its climax where all the commoners would start chanting for the minister to be slain. The 4th Prince would oblige, and the scene would end.
Too immersed in her own acting, Xing Yu took a few minutes to snap out of it. She had just been standing there, here eyes welling up with tears of redemption as she finally got revenge for her father.
When she checked her cellphone for the time, she realised that an hour had already past. She had been practising her part so many times that she completely lost track of time.
Hurriedly, she rushed back to the set.
Unbeknownst to her, her entire session had been seen by a figure that stood just a tiny distance away from the pavilion.
Mo Rui Han had arrived a little while ago only to find that the makeup artists were still busy with the other actors' makeup. As he wasn't one to make a fuss or demand to be attended to first— or rather, he simply didn't care— he had left to take a look around the set first when he came across Xing Yu. He was about to walk away when he saw that someone else around, until she started saying her lines.
He hadn't been able to see her face as her back was facing him the whole time, but just her voice alone pierced through him and caught his attention. He had stood there, immobile, silently observing her performance.
Inside, he was incredibly impressed by how well the person performed. With just her voice, he could imagine the entire scene taking place. With just a lift of her arm, he felt his spirit rise. However, his face remained stoic. Although Rui Han as an actor was amazingly expressive, outside of his roles, he was almost always wearing a blank expression. He's been like this since young, but his coldness was made worse by his role as CEO of Feng Yi Corporation. It was a giant conglomerate with its legs in almost every industry, and naturally, the entertainment industry was one of them. His position required him to deal with all sorts of people, and he learnt that it was best to not show them any emotions.
It was only when Xing Yu turned to leave and Rui Han finally caught sight of her face that the calm expression slipped off his face.
As she was in a hurry, Xing Yu didn't bother to stop and greet the man. She barely even noticed him, and definitely didn't realise that it was the famous Mo Rui Han.
However, Rui Han was extremely affected by her, so much so that even after she left, he was still rooted to his spot.
Her face flashed across his mind a thousand times. It was seared into his memory. He wondered for a split second if he had perhaps seen wrongly, but that feeling immediately disappeared. His heart was beating so hard that he could hear the beating in his ears. His heart knew. Even under all that makeup, he knew. He would never make a mistake.
He was still in shock when his assistant ran towards him, breaking him out of his thoughts.
"President, it's going to be your turn soon! We need to hurry back!"
Almost instantaneously, Rui Han schooled his expression into his usual neutral look. Despite his calm exterior, inside, his feelings were a raging storm.
His heart pounded incredibly fast. In his mind, the image of the same beautiful face flashed by many times, each time just slightly different...
He had found her at last.