Chapter 27: A Perfect Jump

  After leaving the White Egret Hotel, Tang Xiaosheng did not immediately return home. He had previously told Little Dragon Girl that he was going out to film, and now that nothing had been filmed, he didn't know how to explain himself when he got back.

  He was just kicked in the chest by one of Xia Bai's bodyguards, spat out a mouthful of blood, and his chest was also bruised. His body didn't feel too comfortable and he should have gone to the hospital for a check-up. However, he didn't have much money on him at the moment, and hospitals were not a place he could afford, so he could only tough it out and hope that there was no serious injury.

  In fact, he had secretly circulated the "Reversal of Meridian Method" in his body several times, and after a round of circulation and dredging of the meridians throughout his body, the discomfort in his body was also alleviated.

  Afterwards, he didn't stay for long and went straight to Jinghua City Film and Television City.

  For the past two days, he couldn't find any plays to shoot and thought it was strange. Now he finally knows that Xia Bai was secretly sabotaging him from behind. The group heads in the film city were probably all bought off by Xia Bai. Tang Xiao Sheng decided to personally go to the film city to ask the crew if there are any plays available for shooting.

  He was somewhat sympathetic to Xia Bai's situation, after all, his fiancée Long Xiaoxue had been possessed by the soul of Little Dragon Girl, forcing him to call off their engagement, which was quite an unfortunate event.

  It wasn't until today that Tang Xiaosheng realized that Xia Bai was not a good person either, and he would really stop at nothing to achieve his goals. If Tang Xiaosheng hadn't just learned the acupoint technique from the "Nine Yin Scripture", he would have been beaten up badly today.

  When he arrived at the film and television city, it was already more than 4 pm. There are several crews shooting in the film and television city every day. He wandered around the film and television city, asking everywhere, but got nothing. Whether it's a urban drama or a costume drama, all crews temporarily don't need extras.

  Finally, Tang Xiaosheng found a crew that was filming an art film. He didn't have much hope at first and just went along for the ride.

  As a result, when he arrived on set, he found that the director was just looking for a stuntman.

  They were filming a scene of someone jumping off the building, and the content was simple: an athlete on the fourth floor rooftop was shot with a gun and then fell from the building into the swimming pool downstairs.

  As this film is not an action movie but a literary one, in this shot, what I mainly want to express is the aesthetic beauty of life art shown by gymnasts when they die in the air.

  This way, the requirements for actors are relatively high. Actors not only need to jump from the fourth floor but also need to show some natural and beautiful things during this falling process.

  To shoot this scene, the crew had already found five stuntmen to try out, but unfortunately, none of them met the requirements. Although these stuntmen could perform complex movements in the air, they were completely routine action movie moves, too stiff and not smooth enough, and very unnatural, far from the soft beauty and freedom that the director wanted.

  It's not easy to come across such an opportunity, and Tang Xiaosheng didn't want to miss it. He took the initiative to find the director of the crew, Zhang Zhizong, and recommended himself: "Director Zhang, can I give it a try?"

  Director Zhang Zhi-zong looked him up and down a few times, asking in a tone full of suspicion: "Are you a stunt actor?"

  Tang Xiaosheng said, "Not really, but I used to be a martial arts stunt double, and I have the confidence to complete the action you need. The effect you want to achieve mainly requires the actor to have excellent balance in the air, able to control his body freely, and show a free and natural state."

  After listening to his explanation, Director Zhang Zhi-zong's eyes lit up. Many stunt actors, although skilled, often lack a sense of performance artistry. Tang Xiao-sheng clearly has his own understanding of acting, which coincidentally aligns with the effect Director Zhang needs.

  "Go ahead and try." Director Zhang Zhitong thought for a moment before finally deciding to let this unfamiliar young man give it a shot.

  Under the guidance of director Zhang Zhitong, Tang Xiaosheng came to the rooftop of a four-story building. What he was about to perform was jumping from the fourth floor rooftop and landing in a swimming pool below.

  Due to the requirements of the movie plot, the actor was required to wear only one underpants. Tang Xiaosheng had no choice but to take off his outer clothes, leaving only a pair of red Panda brand underpants on his body.

  Recently, the cold air has been coming, and today's temperature is very low, already dropping to minus one degree. Standing on the rooftop with such a bare outfit, he couldn't help but shiver when the cold wind blew, and his whole body involuntarily trembled nonstop.

  "Actors ready!" The director downstairs shouted into a loudspeaker towards the rooftop.

  Tang Xiaosheng carefully walked to the edge of the rooftop on the fourth floor and waved down at the building, indicating that he was ready.

  Actually, standing at such a height, he still feels a bit apprehensive. Once bitten by a snake, for ten years afraid of the rope. Since being dropped from the air three months ago, he has had an inexplicable fear of aerial stunts. But since he finally has the opportunity to film, he doesn't want to let it go and can only grit his teeth and get on with it.

  He took a deep breath and stood at the edge of the rooftop for a while, finally calming down slightly.

  "Attention all departments, 3-2-1-A!"

  With Director Zhang Zhi-zong's order, Tang Xiao-sheng bent his knees and sprang up into the air, leaping from the fourth floor rooftop, plummeting downwards, doing a few somersaults in mid-air before landing with a "splash" into the swimming pool below.

  Before long, he came out of the swimming pool, wiped his face and walked towards the director, asking: "Director Zhang, how's it?"

  Director Zhang Zhizong shook his head, pointing to the replayed footage on the monitor and said: "When falling in the air, the limbs are still a bit stiff and not fully relaxed, there is no beauty at all." After a pause, he turned around and said, "However, compared to the previous few actors, you have done very well. Go find the drama department and get 100 yuan, just say I gave it to you."

  "Director Zhang, I want to try again." Tang Xiaosheng said seriously.

  Director Zhang Zhi-zong was taken aback, probably not expecting the young man to be so persistent. He said: "Young man, acting should know when to stop, don't overdo it. Besides, this shot is quite dangerous, I think..."

  "Don't worry, Director Zhang, I've got it under control. I'm confident that I can do this action even better, please give me another chance." Tang Xiaosheng said with full confidence.

  Director Zhang Zhi actually wanted to film this shot well, after listening to him say that, he thought for a moment and agreed: "Okay, try again, be careful yourself."

  Tang Xiaosheng is so confident because he has already found his own problems from the replay footage. The main reasons why the previous actions were not done well are twofold:

  Due to the low temperature of the weather, his body was stiff, and his movements could not be stretched naturally.

  He didn't find balance and direction in the air, so his movements looked chaotic and unnatural.

  And he has already found solutions to both problems.

  When he stood on the rooftop of the fourth floor again, Tang Xiaosheng secretly activated the "Reversal Pulse Method", and a warm current began to flow through his body, warming him up in no time. His limbs also became much more agile.

  After his body was thoroughly activated, he waved at the director downstairs, indicating that everything was ready.

  "Alright, all departments attention again, 3-2-1-A!"

  As soon as the words fell, Tang Xiaosheng jumped up and flew off the rooftop. His body was falling down while rotating in mid-air due to inertia.

  While his body was flipping, due to the effect of "Reversal Meridian Method", the meridians in his body also rotated with it. When his body flipped a few times, the meridians would rotate to the corresponding position.

  One of the wonders of "Reversing Meridian Method" is that it can adjust the meridians in the human body, allowing people to quickly adapt to new postures. For example, when the human body is inverted, as long as the "Reversing Meridian Method" is activated, the meridians will be adjusted to a position corresponding to the inversion, so that although the person is inverted, they feel no different from standing upright.

  Similarly, when Tang Xiaosheng's body flips in the air, due to the effect of "Reversal Pulse Method", the pulse will rotate with it, constantly adjusting its position, thus quickly adapting to changes in posture. In other words, no matter what state the body is in, it has a perfect balance like standing upright.

  It was for this reason that Tang Xiaosheng was able to control his body with great ease while flipping in the air, and his limbs were able to perform various movements at will.

  Plop!

  After drawing a beautiful arc in the air, Tang Xiaosheng dove into the pool again. Before he could even come out of the pool, he faintly heard a burst of applause coming from afar.

  When he swam to the side of the pool, he saw almost all the staff in the crew applauding for him. Seeing this scene, he was delighted and thought that his last jump was not bad.

  After getting out of the swimming pool, he found Director Zhang Zhitong and asked: "Director Zhang, is this jump okay?"

  At this time, Director Zhang Zhi-zong stared intently at the monitor, and after a moment, his face showed an expression of surprise and exclaimed: "A perfect jump!"

  Then he turned his head and carefully sized up Tang Xiaosheng for a few moments, saying, "Young man, were you a gymnast before? Your sense of balance in the air is extremely good, very rare."

  Upon hearing the director's confirmation, Tang Xiaosheng was overjoyed in his heart. However, he also knew that he was able to complete this action mainly because he had learned the "Reversal Meridian Method".

  "Young man, you're quite skilled. Our crew is in need of a stunt actor right now, if you're interested, you can stay." The director seemed to appreciate Tang Xiaosheng's performance just now and proposed this actively.

  "Of course I'm interested."

  "Alright then, leave me your contact information, if there's a chance, I'll look for you."

  Afterwards, Tang Xiaosheng put on his clothes and received 500 yuan, which was the salary for that one jump. Actually, the original salary for this action was only 300 yuan, but the director thought his performance was very satisfactory, so he added another 200 yuan.

  After receiving the money, it was already after 8 pm. Tang Xiaosheng didn't linger and rode his second-hand bicycle to leave the film city, hurrying back home.

  Although it's been less than a day since I left Xiaolongnü and Guo Xiang, I already miss them terribly.

  The road home was relatively smooth, but after riding for about half an hour, when he passed by Heping Road, a loud explosion suddenly came from under the bicycle.

  Bang!

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