Chapter 181: Romance Across Time and Space

Translator: Lan Editor: Efydatia

In that scene, Cai Jing thought that Tan Yi was sincerely seeking shelter from him, so he invited Tan to his mansion for a tea drinking ceremony. Cai’s servant found Tan's hidden weapons though, and Tan was caught by the guards.

Cai dared not execute Tan without permission, as he was Princess Grace’s tutor. He just reported him to the emperor.

"Camera!" Li Jie began serving tea.

As soon as he picked up a cup from the tray, the director frowned. "Cut!" This was the most annoying word for an actor to hear.

The director couldn’t tell what Li Jie's fault was, but he got a strange feeling from his acting. Qin Guan knew where the problem lay though. After a long-term training with Teacher Rong, he had learned how to serve tea.

He held up his hand to break the deadlock. "May I try?"

"You’re good at serving tea? But of course, you were the high school prince!" Fang Pingping looked at Qin Guan in admiration. What an elegant boy!

With the director's permission, Qin Guan began right away.

Kneeling before the tea table, he cleaned his hands, looked at the tea leaves, and warmed the cups and pot. Then he poured boiling water into the dark red enamelled pottery, the Fair Cup, the Fragrance-Smelling Cup, and the Tea-Tasting Cup [1].

Next, he put the tea into the pot. His fingers were dancing around the tools, his long sleeves moving gracefully.

Afterwards, he washed the tea leaves and brewed the tea. His natural, smooth movements were like flowing water. After a short time, he whisked the leaves floating in the water with the pot lid for fear that they would influence the taste of the tea.

Finally, he poured the tea into the Fragrance-Smelling Cups and passed one of them to Li Jie with both hands, as the Chinese traditional courtesy dictated.

Everyone was staring at Qin Guan with an open mouth. He’s the perfect man! What will the leading actor do?

Li Jie was under great pressure. He was seeing stars before his eyes. He had to put up a desperate fight!

The director could only ask Li to copy Qin Guan's movements, not his style.

After several breaks, the scene was finished at last. Qin Guan's work that day was over. His next scene would be in two days.

Taking advantage of his spare time, Qin Guan decided to visit the studio of "Romance Across Time and Space", which was located in the suburbs of the capital. If he passed the audition, he could shuttle between the two studios. That was the advantage of being a supporting actor.

They arrived at the studio, but before Sister Xue could introduce herself, the assistant director pushed Qin Guan to try on his costume. Sweat was dripping down his face.

It was a romantic comedy in period costumes, but it was the first TV show to document different eras. Although the crew was somewhat tight on the money they spent on props and settings, the actors were pretty good. They were not the most renowned actors of the time, but they were really talented.

Because of their tight budget, the crew had to give each actor different roles. They didn't set strict standards on co-stars, as several of them were temporarily employed by idling agents.

Qin Guan's role was not an important one. He was just a villain, so the director didn’t pay any attention to him.

The dresser was excited though. Even Wan Hongjie, the actor who portrayed Zhu Di [2] and was sitting right beside him, was surprised.

Wan was supposed to be a handsome prince in the play, and he was used to being the most beautiful person on set.

When Qin Guan put on a black costume with golden silk embroidery and held up a sharp sword though, Wan felt like a pauper in his yellow dress. What a miserable life! The production is so stingy!

Qin Guan would play the commander of the imperial guard of the Ming Dynasty. When the two of them came out of the dressing room though, the whole crew was shocked.

"Is that the actor who’ll play Gao Fuming? He looks like a rising star."

"I know him! He played Yang Lianting. It was only for two episodes, but he impressed me quite a lot."

"Ha ha! It looks like the play is about a detective from the imperial guard and Zhu Di is the killer."

"Hush! The director is coming. We’ll know soon enough!"

The director took a long time to come. He paid no attention to Qin Guan, who was just a supporting actor. He was only hoping that he wouldn’t make any mistakes. Money was precious.

Qin Guan was not in the first scene, so he sat on a small stool, watching the other actors’ performances carefully.

That show was really funny! He had learned a lot from other actors, and he knew that a comedy was a trial for every actor.

Xu Zheng, the leading actor, was good at making others laugh with his serious expression and humorless attitude. He didn’t use exaggerated body language.

That was the secret of his success. After struggling for many years, he had finally won a prominent place among comedians. Not long afterwards, he would become a guarantee of box office success.

At the time, he was still a young man with a baby face though. His style was not quite developed yet. Unlike him, Zhang Ting, the heroine, had been born without any humor.

The director shouted "cut" many times, not because of mistakes in lines or acting, but because the actors and assistants couldn't control their laughter.

The director roared angrily, "Be serious! This is work!" Their laughter got louder as he shouted.

Qin Guan supported his belly with his sword as tears filled his eyes.

The director was fuming with impatience. He looked angrily at the actor who was laughing the loudest. Pointing at Qin Guan, he shouted, "Gao Fuming, your turn! What are you laughing about? Get ready!"

Translator's Thoughts

Lan Lan

[1] They are all parts of a tea set.

[2] Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)

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