NABC 79 Filming Abroad (Part 1)
79 Filming Abroad (Part 1)
Although Su Tong had been abroad before, he had only been to Japan and Singapore, which are relatively close to China.
The trip to Singapore was rather mundane. She went with her parents after graduating from high school, simply joining a tour group organized by a travel agency. It was a ten-day, nine-night trip for the three of them to Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. Although these kinds of tour groups usually involve shopping, fortunately, none of the three members of the Su family were shopaholics. They didn't buy a lot of things and still had a good time. However, the so-called ladyboys disappointed Su Tong, who had high expectations for ladyboy beauties at the time.
The trip to Japan took place during their university years. She was somewhat distraught due to a breakup, while Li Tian, already a junior, was arguing with Xiao Hansen about where they would settle down, whether to marry after graduation, and whether Li Tian would become a full-time housewife. Li Tian, a die-hard fan of Japanese anime, was quite eager to travel to Japan, while Su Tong simply wanted to travel somewhere to cheer herself up. The two of them readily agreed, each contributing all their savings from their three years of university, and persuaded a well-built couple from their department to join them for a trip to Japan. What impressed them most was that, although many passionate young people in China look down on the "little Japanese," the civility of Japanese citizens was truly high, far exceeding the average level in China, making even Su Tong and the others, who considered themselves fairly well-mannered, feel somewhat ashamed.
Arriving in Country A was a completely new experience for Su Tong, and her extreme beauty was also a completely new experience for the people of Country A. At 164cm, she was considered tall for an Asian woman, but in Country A, she appeared quite petite. Country A actresses like Petty Bright had seen many famously beautiful Asian actresses, and those actresses always wore carefully chosen glamorous gowns and the most appropriate makeup. But upon seeing Su Tong in person, they fully understood the difference. Su Tong's icy, snow-like beauty made many rough-looking men in Country A hesitant to approach her, while simultaneously harboring lustful desires, some even wanting to simply pull down their pants and have sex with her. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, even during breaks approved by Lin Lili, Su Tong wouldn't leave the familiar crew to explore the exotic scenery of Los Angeles.
"Cut! Everyone take a break." After filming one scene, Lin Lili called "Cut!" and all the moving cameras returned to their original positions. The optimistic photographers high-fived each other to celebrate the success of the morning's filming. The usually strict Lin Lili praised the two actors in English, "Although it's your first time working together, Petty and Lin Zhen's teamwork is indeed very good. Keep it up."
The scene we just filmed was because Fang Xinli was too concerned about things in our country, and in the movie, Fang Xinli and his girlfriend had their first argument.
Lin Zhen nodded and smiled. He spoke fluent American English and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Director Lin. But it's mainly because Petty's acting is so good that it was easy for me to cooperate."
Petty Bright tossed her long hair, instantly transforming from the intellectual and elegant demeanor of the female lead in the film back into her usual fiery and decisive movie star persona. She winked charmingly and said, "No, it's Mrs. Lin who's so charming that I don't even need to act; I can easily get into character. No wonder he's one of the top ten most charming men in the world. Even a beauty like me can't resist you."
After the laughter and conversation, everyone rested and ate. Lunch was ordered from a well-known Chinese restaurant that Lin Lili knew well. The various dishes were all quite tasty. The owners were a middle-aged couple whose parents had settled in Country A. Su Tong had been in Country A for almost two weeks. Under the deliberate care of Lin Zhen, who had studied in Country A during his youth, Su Tong had already enjoyed many delicious local delicacies, such as the Emperor's Pancakes from Spago, the incredibly tender smoked beef from Langer's, the secret-recipe lobster from Newport Seafood, the charcoal-grilled suckling pig from Eva'sle, and the Paleron stew with kumquat malt milk. His interest in Los Angeles cuisine had greatly diminished, and he was now starting to crave delicious Korean food. He looked forward to a hearty lunch of one meat dish and two vegetable dishes every day. Before coming to Country A, Su Tong thought it wouldn't be easy to find Korean food there, but after arriving, he realized that there were a lot of Chinese restaurants, including Sichuan, Hunan, and hot pot restaurants. However, most of them were quite expensive and the taste was only average.
Today, the delivery guys who came to deliver the food were three young local white boys, whom I had never seen before. They were eating burritos and came over to Su Tong, saying in her ear, "Oh my god, these little brats are here to see you again. They're all staring blankly at us, it's embarrassing."
Su Tong laughed too. When she first arrived in Country A, although she had a solid foundation in English, she still couldn't understand the locals unless they deliberately slowed down their speech to speak in long sentences. She also needed to organize her thoughts before speaking English. However, the environment always helps people improve, and now she can chat quite well. She jokingly replied, "Why don't you say which beautiful lady all the fans who come to the set every day to give gifts and visit the set are here to see?"
While Patty Bright's statement was exaggerated, it was indeed true. Previously, the food deliveries were handled by two Chinese boys studying abroad, but ever since they told the school about Su Tong, it was always unfamiliar boys from Country A who delivered the food. Once, seven people came, and they almost couldn't let them in. An Jing even remarked that those two Chinese boys were too cunning, using Su Tong's beauty to attract others to work for free while they themselves received wages without doing any work. Su Tong also sensed this. When the three boys came to distribute the lunchboxes, they kept staring at Su Tong, who was dressed in ancient costume from a drama. Only when Lin Zhen, who received her meal, smiled and said "thank you" did she seem to wake up from her daze and leave.
Su Tong should have gotten used to it by now, but she still felt that the one on the far right of the three boys was a bit strange. Although he was dressed casually and youthfully, and didn't look any older than the other two, there was something different about him. The way he looked at her was different from the amazed yet slightly lecherous looks his companions gave her; there was a different, indescribable feeling about him. However, there was no malice in his gaze, so Su Tong didn't think too much about it, only silently reminding herself to be more careful in a foreign country.
After dinner, Lin Zhen's assistant brought her a box of bulgarini goat milk ice cream. Ever since Su Tong returned to the set after her "disfigurement," Lin Zhen hadn't shown her any feelings or expressions beyond friendship. He simply continued to take good care of her, and Su Tong couldn't keep refusing him. She tried to reciprocate his kindness in the same way, returning the favor by bringing her food as many times as he did. The crew provided lunch and dinner, so Su Tong usually bought goat cheese and a handful of roasted, unsalted cocoa beans along with Lin Zhen's breakfast, blending them together to maximize the strong, pungent flavors. It tasted quite delicious.
The very next day, Su Tong received an invitation from the internationally renowned designer, Sylvain, to model and showcase his new season's collection. Not to mention Wang Lu, even Su Tong herself was a bit surprised. However, she currently had no interest in this, and the fashion industry in Country A was far more chaotic than the entertainment industry in China. After a little thought, she politely and firmly replied that afternoon, refusing the offer.
It was evening, Beijing time, after Su Tong finished her workday. After chatting with her parents for a while, Xie Chengjing's MSN message arrived almost every day at the same time, asking Su Tong as routinely: