As soon as Li Zhicheng had the props in place, Xiao He officially began filming.

Originally, everyone was worried that Xiao He wouldn't adapt to the camera or be able to keep up with the other two actors' performances, but Xiao He remained steady from beginning to end, even completely immersing himself in the role.

The “Zhu Lao San” he portrayed was ruthless and had a chilling aura; his movements while butchering pig leg bones seemed as if he were butchering human bones, a complete reincarnation of the murderer himself, sending shivers down everyone's spines.

On the contrary, influenced by Xiao He's presence, Liu Zehang, who played the second brother, made several NGs and was scolded severely by Hou Rongxuan.

Now, no one dared to treat Xiao He as an ordinary amateur anymore.

It was reasonable to suspect, this was the real murderer!

The next day, Xiao He went to the back lot to film the campus bullying scenes.

To Xiao He's surprise, the actress playing the victim, “Wu Xiao Hua,” was none other than Li Hanyue, who had been talking with Li Zhicheng yesterday.

At this moment, Li Hanyue had already changed into a worn-out school uniform, and her face was extremely pale, making her truly look like a pitiful, bullied little white flower, stirring people's compassion.

And in the plot, her portrayal of “Wu Xiao Hua” was indeed very pitiful; not only did she suffer severe campus bullying, but she was also dragged to a corner of the campus by that beast, Zhu Lao San, and raped, and finally, she was chopped up and fed to pigs by Zhu Lao San.

What concerned Xiao He even more was that Li Zhicheng seemed to treat her unusually.

Did she have some secret?

Harboring doubts, Xiao He proactively struck up a conversation with her.

Li Hanyue herself was very talkative, a very cheerful girl. After getting to know her, Xiao He learned that Li Hanyue was the same age as him, also a senior in college this year, majoring in performing arts at Shanghai Theatre Academy, and was specifically scouted by Director Hou to play this important role.

Xiao He did not find anything strange in her words.

This was strange...

“Xiao He, Li Hanyue, come over and get ready!”

Hou Rongxuan said, motioning for unrelated personnel around to disperse.

Looking at the suddenly empty set, Xiao He, who had not felt much reality before, suddenly remembered the upcoming plot, and his pressure doubled.

Oh no, this time he really had to play a “beast.”

But he didn't know how!

Xiao He began to panic and feel anxious.

He had a ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) premonition that Director Hou would definitely be furious with him today.

Sure enough, Xiao He was NGing all morning.

“Cut, cut, cut! Xiao He, what kind of acting is that, you stinky brat? You're supposed to drag her to the small forest! Not drag her to bury a corpse, what kind of look is that?”

“Cut! Expression, expression! Where's your expression? With that look, who are you trying to kill?”

“Stop, stop! Are you acting out a dismemberment scene?!”

After Hou Rongxuan roared several times, he felt his blood pressure rising, so he quickly told everyone to take a break, and while smoking, he called Xiao He over.

Xiao He, knowing he was in the wrong, walked over with his head down: “Sorry, Director Hou.”

Hou Rongxuan exhaled smoke with a complex expression, staring at Xiao He in silence for a long time before finally letting out a long sigh: “It's fine, I was too impatient. Seeing that your usual acting is very good, I didn't think about giving you psychological counseling beforehand. It's my problem too.”

Although Li Hanyue was the victim, she had received professional training and had a certain psychological foundation. Plus, Xiao He was even more nervous than her, so she wasn't nervous at all. She smiled and comforted Xiao He: “It's okay, for an amateur with no foundation to be able to do this, it's already very good.”

Xiao He didn't expect to be comforted by the “victim” girl. His face flushed; he really wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

Hou Rongxuan didn't think Xiao He was being overly sensitive. He took another puff of his cigarette and said, “The focus of this scene is entirely on the character of ‘Zhu Lao San.’ Your current situation doesn't meet the standard.”

Xiao He could only continue to apologize: “Sorry, Director.”

Hou Rongxuan sighed, his voice faint: “Sometimes I really wonder if you've been secretly hiding a few lives from us.”

Desire? Sorry, none at all, only the urge to kill.

Xiao He: “...”

“Forget it, let's take a break first. I'll find another way.” Hou Rongxuan waved his hand helplessly.

Xiao He also breathed a sigh of relief.

So, in the following days, Xiao He continued to follow the crew to film the slaughterhouse scenes.

To Hou Rongxuan's satisfaction, Xiao He performed very well in his other scenes. The coldness and cruelty he was required to show were almost always done in one take, completely without Hou Rongxuan having to worry.

And Xiao He was also very satisfied. The character of Zhu Lao San hardly did anything humane every day, constantly bullying classmates on campus, threatening and intimidating competitors of his family's slaughterhouse, and then engaging in peeping, robbing the weak... Although these were very fragmented scenes, they might not even be edited into the final cut when officially released, but they were still different forms of criminal behavior, which could earn him points. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Although only performance segments recognized by the director could count towards points, and other repeatedly performed criminal acts could not, Xiao He was now able to gain a small amount of points every day. These days were truly becoming more and more “promising.”

At the same time, due to Xiao He's excellent performance, several actors who often acted with him showed friendliness and closeness towards him. Li Hanyue even proactively lent Xiao He her notes from her university acting classes, while Liu Zehang, driven crazy by NGs, privately asked Xiao He how to release killing intent.

Xiao He, who passively released killing intent: “Uh... do you believe me if I say it's a talent?”

Liu Zehang's face was full of disbelief: “Nickname, what do you think?”

Xiao He spread his hands: “Then I have no choice.”

If he asked him, he really couldn't teach him anything!

...

During his time filming with the crew, Xiao He also secretly observed the man named Li Zhicheng.

He was really suspicious!

Normally, he was like an old ox, burying himself in work, diligent and capable, and always had a smiling, good-natured look towards others. But according to Xiao He's observations, among everyone Li Zhicheng interacted with, he was especially enthusiastic only towards Li Hanyue.

He liked to chat a few more words when delivering water, and when he wasn't working, he would watch Li Hanyue film. But to say he had a problem, even Li Hanyue herself probably hadn't noticed anything unusual.

After all, in the entire crew, perhaps only Xiao He would continuously observe Li Zhicheng's position and behavior. Everyone else was busy with their own affairs; who would care about an ordinary staff member?

If it weren't for the passive skill's reminder, Xiao He probably wouldn't have gone to watch Li Zhicheng with the answer in mind.

But the problem was, how to make this answer public without implicating himself?

-

“Little Teacher Li, your package was delivered to the door here. I just saw it and brought it over for you—”

Li Zhicheng said, placing Li Hanyue's package on the table.

Li Hanyue was a bit surprised, then awkwardly thanked him: “Oh, I forgot to change the address when I selected it, how did it get sent here—thank you, Li Zhicheng.”

Li Zhicheng looked at Li Hanyue, moved his lips, and just as he was about to say something, Xiao He immediately rotated his rolling chair and slid next to Li Hanyue: “Little Teacher Li, quickly help me see how to act this script in a bit—”

“Eh? Okay—”

Their conversation instantly interrupted the topic Li Zhicheng was about to bring up.

And Xiao He, as if courting death, looked up and glanced sideways at Li Zhicheng: “Li Zhicheng, do you have anything else?”

Li Zhicheng stared coldly at Xiao He, his palm unconsciously clenching slowly, then he pretended as if nothing was wrong, smiled, shook his head, and quietly turned to leave.