Pure Snow Crown Chapter 2

Update? Update what?

"Did you hear anyone talking?" Ethan Jiang was so focused on the filming that was about to start in a few minutes that he didn't really understand what he heard. He just subconsciously asked the person next to him, "What percentage update?"

"No?" the man asked curiously.

Ethan Jiang thought he had misheard, and said "hmm" absentmindedly, ignoring the other party. He lowered his eyes, frowned, and quickly flipped through the script, and soon turned to the first scene he was going to perform.

This is the first time Lucas Shu meets the male protagonist Nathan Xia and the female protagonist Olivia Kong after fifteen years.

(...After the boat capsized, Nathan Xia and Olivia Kong were soaked. They were very angry and blamed each other. At this time, a distant sound of immortal music was heard.

The two of them looked in the direction of the sound, and saw surging reeds, lush green bamboos, a peaceful lake connected to the sky, and a small boat approaching from the sky and clouds, stepping on the golden waves. The person in the boat was dressed in a fluttering white robe, and his figure was like the green bamboo on the shore and the pine and cypress on the cliff. He was holding a jade flute, and the sobbing and distant sound came from there.

The memories hidden deep in his mind vaguely surfaced at this moment. Ethan Jiang tried his best to think about his original interpretation of the role. Unfortunately, ten minutes was too short. Before he could think of much, Director Zhang over there had already shouted "Actors, take your positions!"

Director Zhang's full name is Victor Zhang. He has a very strong personality and is always decisive when filming. He especially hates actors slowing down the filming progress due to their own problems. This may be related to the fact that when he started out, the crew was often short of funds and he always had to find ways to save money.

But there was no point in thinking about it now.

Ethan Jiang's fists were sweating, but he stood up calmly and walked towards the boat tied to the lake. The time he came back was too coincidental. Even if it was only one day earlier, he could prepare for the upcoming scene and perform much better---but in reality, there was only ten minutes!

With only ten minutes of preparation, can he really be ready and do it well?

While all kinds of thoughts were churning in his mind, Ethan Jiang had already stepped onto the boat.

All those turbulent emotions suddenly settled down at this moment. Ethan Jiang, who had been unremarkable compared to his peers and even juniors for many years, had long been accustomed to trying his best to fight for all the roles he could get.

The moment he took the props handed over by the staff, his expression had become calm and composed, and with the white clothes and jade flute, in just a blink of an eye, he seemed to have vaguely resembled Lucas Shu in the play.

The boat was pushed hard from behind by the staff and slowly slid into the water carrying Ethan Jiang.

Ethan Jiang held the jade flute in his hand, took a deep breath, and quickly directed his body to pose in various details that matched the character setting: a nonchalant yet gentle smile on the corners of his lips, his feet slightly turned outward, adding a bit of casualness and domineering to his stance... When the boat under his feet was about to slide out of the bamboo forest and into the camera range, he raised his hands and placed the jade flute horizontally on his lips...

At the same moment when the cold sound of the jade flute touched his lips, a very obvious mechanical "beep" sound rang in Ethan Jiang's mind, followed by a cold voice saying:

"Updated 100%."

"Preparation complete, officially open!"

What!?

Ethan Jiang was just stunned by the clear voice that suddenly appeared in his mind. He felt that his spirit was grabbed by an invisible hand out of thin air, and then all the scenery in his sight began to stretch and distort. Until a certain critical point, they suddenly stopped. Then, he found that the scenery around him was reshaped, and he was on the set again - no, not the set, there are no cameras here, and no signs of artificial arrangement.

But it was the real one - Ethan Jiang was speechless - the peaceful and remote paradise described in the novel with surging reeds and lush green bamboos!

That’s not all.

The voice that Ethan Jiang just heard maintained its tone as cold as the two poles of the earth and continued:

"Empathy program started, measuring host's mental energy."

"Measurement completed. The host's highest mental state is three minutes of normal support program operation."

"The empathy program is now operational."

When the last word fell, Ethan Jiang's mind swayed uncontrollably, and he heard the gurgling sound of the lake and the rustling sound of bamboo leaves when the wind blew. Among these natural sounds, there was also the quarreling voices of a man and a woman carried by the wind.

The female voice said: "If it weren't for you...how would I have..."

The male voice said: "You made it sound as if you were not on that boat and did not do anything... But women and villains are hard to raise!..."

The female voice was extremely angry: "Nathan Xia!---"

The people talking in the front are the protagonists Nathan Xia and Olivia Kong!

Ethan Jiang thought he should be surprised at this time, but in fact, he found that he was actually careless and indifferent... and underneath these emotions, there was a cold feeling always flowing in his heart.

It seemed as if something secret and vicious was sneering in his heart.

Too many cruel thoughts were running through his mind.

Another thought arose and grew, emitting a feeling that could not be more joyful because of the cruel thought, just as he easily captured his own dark emotions, but was unable to extricate himself from them---Across a clump of sparse bamboo, the two people were arguing happily. He listened for a long time, and finally smiled, stroked the jade flute in his palm with his fingers, and with a flick of his sleeves, the flute was against the corner of his lips.

Then, a slow flute sound began to sound. The melody was long, pleasant, yet lingering - just like his feelings at the moment.

To the sound of the flute, the small boat jumped out of the bamboo forest and reeds, and he met Nathan Xia and Olivia Kong.

He smiled faintly, greeted politely, communicated in a relaxed and natural manner, and slowly and methodically suppressed, concealed, and whitewashed the beast in his heart...until the most appropriate time, he opened the cage and drank his fill of blood and despair.

He is Lucas Shu.

"time up."

The cold voice sounded again without any warning.

The brief weightlessness woke Ethan Jiang up from his trance. His body stiffened and he reflexively turned his head slightly to look around. He found that he was still on the set, surrounded by crowded staff and the filming equipment were all placed where they should be.

What happened just now? What was the voice that suddenly appeared in his mind? What did he experience?

Ethan Jiang now has a lot of questions in his mind, but compared to these questions, he also feels another extreme excitement!

Such excitement almost turned into a raging fire, burning directly from his body, boiling the blood flowing in his veins---he knew how to act later! He knew how to best interpret Lucas Shu! He almost couldn't wait---he had never understood any character he played so empathetically!

He was almost 100% sure that he could play this role well!

Ethan Jiang clenched his fists excitedly, but they relaxed naturally in a moment.

He maintained the same posture as before, with his feet slightly apart and level with his shoulders. This posture was very natural and relaxed for him, but his posture made people feel as upright as pine and bamboo, which was just right for Lucas Shu's identity.

He casually lifted his sleeves, and the wide sleeves drew a perfect semicircle in the air. His jade flute was already across his lips, his thin lips were lightly pursed, and his eyelids were slightly drooped, looking like a handsome young man in this world.

After a moment, Ethan Jiang curled his lips and smiled.

Director Victor Zhang watched the performance of this scene from the side.

When he saw Ethan Jiang appear, he was stunned at first, then he straightened up in his director's chair with a look of surprise.

Nowadays, when making TV series and movies, the one who really decides everything is the producer, not the director. The director has to consider how to make the film well, while the producer has to consider more, such as how to attract investment, how to balance the relationship between investors, and how to meet the requirements of each investor. Ethan Jiang, who plays Lucas Shu, is one of the requirements of the investors for Victor Zhang.

An idol of the new generation, with an okay face but mediocre acting skills, but at least he has a good-looking face and he has just debuted so far so the audience is still quite interested in him. This is Victor Zhang’s entire impression of Ethan Jiang.

All in all, it's just so-so. There's nothing to look forward to, but it's not disgusting either. Among several choices, this one is the tallest among the short ones, like a general among the ants.

With this psychological foundation, Victor Zhang guided Ethan Jiang in a friendly manner to perform according to his previous level and ideas - the two previous roles were villains, and villains always have something in common, so it is easier for the actors to grasp the direction, and the crew's filming can also proceed smoothly.

It was precisely because of this thought that Victor Zhang never expected that as soon as this little actor appeared in his first scene, he revealed some very different spirit.

He immediately paid attention, and then watched carefully, and saw that Ethan Jiang was already acting opposite the male and female protagonists who played Nathan Xia and Olivia Kong.

Ethan Jiang had already taken his boat to the center of the lake. Without any obstruction, the two groups of people had come face to face.

But Ethan Jiang, who was playing the flute with his eyelids slightly lowered, did not immediately show his surprise at seeing the two people falling into the water. He tilted his face, pressed the flute hole with his slender white fingers, and glanced forward, seemingly affectionate and yet ruthless, just like this, passing over the two people, the two living people standing over there seemed to be no different from plants, insects and birds, not worth a glance.

Well done, this noble young man has such great style!

Victor Zhang cheered in his heart.

But this carelessness did not last long. After just a few breaths, Ethan Jiang's eyes swept over the two again. This time, he seemed to realize what he had just seen. He puffed up his eyes slightly and said with surprise:

"Did you two just fall into the water...? There are few people here, and I thought I was seeing things."

Without waiting for the two people on the lake island to speak, he put away his jade flute and happily invited them: "I will stay here for a month or so, and my residence is not far away. Why don't you two follow me over there, change clothes and chat a little?"

After saying this, he waited for the responses from the two people on the lake with a smile on his face. Soon he seemed to have gotten his answers, and the smile on his lips deepened and seemed to be distorted.

This time the micro-expression changed quickly, but Victor Zhang, who was watching carefully nearby, still saw it all. He was a little stunned for a moment.

At this time Ethan Jiang said loudly: "It's not far. I'll lead the way in front. You two should follow closely."

After saying this, he turned around and led the way. At the moment he turned around, he naturally put his hands behind his back, raised his chin slightly, and fixed his eyes on the sky in front of him.

In a moment, his eyes narrowed, his smile deepened, and his gentleness gradually turned into something meaningful.

Victor Zhang, who was watching this last moment, felt his heart, which had been lifted up, suddenly got stuck in the middle, neither going up nor down, and he felt an anxious feeling like a cat scratching his heart.

He pondered it for a moment, feeling a little regretful, but this was already a rare outstanding shot after shooting all morning, so he slapped his thigh and said loudly: "Okay, this one passed!"

While speaking, he couldn't help but feel excited, and thought with some doubt: This little guy, his acting skills were obviously very rough before, how come he suddenly became so smart in just a few days?