However, Xia Liang had morized all his lines after reading them just once, so when Ling Xiang went upstairs, she found him already asleep in her bed.
It seems I was worrying for nothing. Nothing's going to happen...
For so reason, she felt a little disappointed to find him asleep.
...
The next day, Xia Liang and Ling Xiang arrived at the set on ti. All of the scenes scheduled for the day were Xia Liang's; neither Yi Fei nor Wen Bin had any parts. But the two of them showed up anyway, extrely curious to see the acting skills of the perforr whom the great director Cao Yi had praised so fervently.
The first few scenes were set on the streets. The buildings on the Hengdian set were all in the architectural style of the Republic of China period, and a crowd of extras was hired to play various pedestrians. Once all the actors had their makeup done and costus on, filming began. The first scene depicted the male lead, played by Xia Liang, making his first public appearance after returning from studying abroad. This scene included several magic sequences.
Before filming started, Cao Yi had asked Xia Liang how he planned to perform the magic in the movie and whether he needed props or post-production editing. Xia Liang had expressed his desire to perform all the magic tricks himself, even providing his own chanisms. He assured the director that he could perfectly execute the tricks described in the screenplay. Cao Yi had complete trust in Xia Liang's magic. Since Xia Liang could handle the magic segnts himself without anyone else needing to worry, Cao Yi was more than happy.
"Is the cara ready?"
"Ready!"
"What about the extras?"
"Ready, too!"
"Everything's all set? Xia Liang, have you prepared your Magic Props?"
"Yes, they're ready."
"OK... action!"
...
The story began in Mingguo. Xia Liang, in makeup and carrying his magic case, walked slowly down the street. At the director's signal, the cara zood in for a close-up of his face.
As he walked past the entrance of Wangfeng Lou, Xia Liang saw a crowd watching Boss Chen perform the "Eight Immortals Retrieving Fruit" trick. The man was claiming that whoever could replicate his trick would be rewarded with gold. Boss Chen placed so walnuts into a golden bowl, covered it, and gave it a few shakes. When he lifted the cover, the walnuts had disappeared, prompting the onlookers to applaud and cheer. Then, Boss Chen covered the bowl again, shook it, and upon lifting the cover, the walnuts had reappeared.
"Amazing! Brilliant!" the surrounding crowd exclaid.
"How about it? Can anyone here replicate my trick?" Boss Chen asked proudly.
At that mont, Xia Liang raised his hand and shouted, "May I give it a try?"
"Co, co, co!" Boss Chen beckoned with a welcoming smile. "Let's all witness this gentleman's skill!"
Xia Liang stepped forward, took off his hat, set down his case, then picked up the golden bowl and placed the walnuts inside. Copying the boss's actions, he covered the bowl and gave it a few shakes. A miracle occurred. The sound of water ca from the bowl, and several drops even splashed out.
"This... there's water in the bowl! What's going on?" one of the onlookers exclaid in surprise.
Xia Liang looked at the spectator and made a motion as if to throw water, causing the man to dodge hastily. However, no water ca out of the bowl; instead, a dove flew out. According to the script, this dove was supposed to leave droppings on Boss Chen's forehead. Although Xia Liang could actually make that happen, such an effect was best left to post-production.
Even though there were no actual droppings, the actors had to react as if there were. The actor playing Boss Chen, a true veteran, touched his forehead in befuddlent and then inspected his hand. "This... this... bird droppings??"
Xia Liang offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry, this dove is just too naughty."
The surrounding crowd burst into laughter at his words. Just then, soone shouted loudly, "Boss! He broke your trick, so shouldn't you pay up? You promised gold!"
"Well..." Clearly, Boss Chen was reluctant to pay. He had assud no one could replicate his trick, but his attempt to show off had backfired spectacularly, with Xia Liang making him eat his words.
At that point, a quick-witted shop assistant shouted, "He made the walnuts disappear, but he hasn't brought them back! That ans he hasn't completed the trick!"
Seizing the opportunity, Boss Chen quickly added, "That's right! Let's be reasonable, folks! The walnuts have yet to reappear!"
Seeing that Boss Chen was trying to weasel out of paying, the crowd scoffed in response. But Boss Chen had a thick skin and, despite the ridicule, persisted in demanding that Xia Liang make the walnuts return.
"Young man! Make the walnuts co back! Show him what you can do and shut him up for good!" a man in the crowd yelled.
"Everyone, please be patient," Xia Liang said with a smile. "The walnuts are on Boss Chen."
As he spoke, Xia Liang reached out and ran his hand over Boss Chen's clothes. A walnut suddenly appeared in his hand. He reached out again, and a second walnut materialized. When Xia Liang moved to produce a third, Boss Chen quickly stopped him—after all, being felt up by another man was not a pleasant experience.
"Alright, that's enough, young man... I'm convinced..." Boss Chen said, reluctantly picking up a plate of gold pieces from the table and handing it to Xia Liang.
Xia Liang smiled. "The gold isn't necessary."
Hearing this, Boss Chen quickly replied, "How can I let you leave empty-handed?" As he said this, however, he placed the gold back on the table, still obviously unwilling to part with it. "Sir, may I be so bold as to ask your na and from what school of magic you hail?"
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