Actresses

Chapter 69 Makeup

"Then I think you guys could shoot one with a bit of a costume change element. Exactly! Shoot it with two cameras, just change the makeup and costume a little, that might be more exciting," Song Lin suggested.

"No problem." He Yuran readily agreed. "I'll have the company edit it, but you have to tell me how to film it."

Song Lin became even more excited. "Sister Ran, wait a moment, I'll find a template now."

"This is utterly ridiculous." Li Luoan sat down with a cold face, then looked up at He Yuran and said, "Shouldn't you be leaving already?"

He Yuran ignored her, but with a pained expression, she deliberately acted coquettishly towards Song Lin, saying, "Look, she's so scary. She chased me away. Whether I can get the video on Douyin later depends on your persuasion. Zhi Qiu is too old to manage."

The people next to them were laughing so hard their stomachs hurt.

He Yuran was a master at using this kind of trick to manipulate younger girls; the only difference was whether she was willing or not. Song Lin, as expected, fell for it, holding He Yuran's hand and gently patting it, comforting her, "Sis, it's okay! Don't be sad, I also want to see you two make short videos. We both want to!"

He Yuran deliberately made a show of weakness, then sat down to the side looking aggrieved, thinking to herself with a smug smile, "It's all yours now, little one."

Song Lin turned around and walked over, twirling Li Luoan's arm.

Li Luoan frowned and pushed her hand away. "Don't give me that!"

"Oh, Sister Luo'an, you already promised me, and you've done the hardest things. What's the big deal about shooting a short video? You two worked together on so many scenes back then..."

"Not many games."

"Okay, okay, there aren't many, and short videos don't take much time! Just think of it as doing it for me."

Li Luoan's expression remained cold. "I've already done so much for you today."

"I'll help you all the way. There's no happier CP fan in the world than me. Please grant my wish."

Li Luoan sighed. "I don't want to make short videos, and I don't like posting them. If people see them online, they'll start gossiping again."

He Yuran exclaimed, "Oh dear! I'm completely washed up now, and you haven't been in the public eye for years. Who would care if we made a short video together? Besides, you don't act like a celebrity at all. You take yourself so seriously, how are you any different from a celebrity?"

Song Lin, still unwilling to give up, clung to Li Luo'an's arm, fanning the flames from the side. "It'll only be a short shoot, ten minutes at most, very quick! I found the simplest template, you can learn it at a glance."

"I really can't do anything with you two," Li Luoan sighed helplessly.

Song Lin beamed and turned back to give He Yuran an OK sign.

As if infected by the joy, He Yuran suddenly felt a sense of relief and happiness. She even felt that she had come today just to shoot this short video. She even had a competitive spirit; no matter how the data turned out, it had to look good.

While Song Lin was choosing a template, He Yuran popped up in the work group.

"Is Xuanxuan there?"

I'm not afraid of anything else in the middle of the night, but I'm afraid of my boss suddenly calling me.

Xuanxuan quickly logged on and asked, "Boss, I'm here!"

"I might need you to process a few video clips in a bit; I need to post them on Douyin. It's not complicated. I'll send you the template and background music to take a look first."

"Okay, okay, boss!"

After arranging everyone, He Yuran called out to Song Lin, "The editing is ready."

"Great! I was wondering who to ask for a haircut."

Li Luoan said irritably, "Big stars have their own teams, why do you need to worry about this?"

He Yuran even raised her voice, "So, Teacher Song, now you know who you should like more, right?"

Song Lin turned around and smiled sweetly. "Sister Ran, you're so kind."

The words "Sister Ran" brought He Yuran a strange sense of peace. This was the first time anyone had called her that in this setting today.

Actually, He Yuran didn't like being called "teacher" all the time. She only felt truly valued when others called her "Sister Ran." Suddenly, she was overcome with emotion. What was Jiahe doing right now? Oh well. She felt a little annoyed again.

I don't know if I should get angry with Shi Jiahe about that interview.

Thinking of Shi Jiahe, He Yuran's feelings were somewhat complicated. Actually, she should have been invited to this occasion. If Shi Jiahe were here, it would definitely be more interesting, and she would have more to talk about with young people like Song Lin. Having someone she knew by her side would be much better, He Yuran belatedly realized.

"Shall we begin now?" Song Lin asked from the side.

He Yuran looked blankly lost in thought, while Li Luoan still appeared unwilling.

Song Lin took their silence as tacit agreement and immediately found the demo video to explain. "For the first shot, the two of you need to walk into the frame from opposite corners, look at the camera, and then make eye contact. For the second shot, you need to change your clothes. Luo'an will walk out from behind Ran, and then you two need to have different expressions. Luo'an must have this, with the corners of her mouth turned up, giving off a scheming smile, while Ran needs to have a firm look in her eyes, an expression of confidence."

He Yuran exclaimed, "Oh dear! I have to change clothes? What kind of clothes?"

Li Luoan stroked his chin, thinking for a moment. "I think we should change the first shot. Instead of coming out from either side of the screen, we should start by standing side by side facing each other, and then I hide behind Teacher He. In the second shot, I should come out from behind her, and then switch to this expression. That would create a sense of loop."

He Yuran chimed in, "Yes, that's much better. Walking from both corners wastes half a second, which is unnecessary."

Song Lin immediately nodded in agreement, "No problem! I think this is even better. Let's take a look at the styling then, do we need makeup?"

Li Luo'an looked somewhat displeased. "Sigh, it's getting more and more complicated. It's just shooting a short video; talking about the camera angles is fine, but does the makeup and styling have to be so meticulous?"

He Yuran said, "What do you think? A short video that's only a few seconds long actually involves a lot of work behind the scenes. I think for the first shot, we'll both be without makeup and dressed casually at home, and then for the second shot, we'll be fully made up. What do you think?"

"Then I don't think we can film it. Makeup takes time. Especially for you." Li Luoan said, turning to look at Song Lin. "How about we just forget about it? Since you're so particular, the effect won't be good if we rush the shoot."

At that moment, a girl next to me suddenly raised her hand timidly and said, "I can do makeup. I bring my own makeup for some commercial shoots."

According to Song Lin, this is a Douyin influencer with over 200 million followers.

He Yuran clicked her tongue in amazement, then carefully examined the other person's bone structure. Sure enough, even without makeup, their appearance was outstanding. The people present today are truly a hidden force of geniuses.

She turned to look at Li Luoan and thought to herself, "What a jerk. He looks so carefree, but he's actually very eager to make friends."

Without further ado, let's film the scene with her bare face first. During the shoot, He Yuran felt she and Li Luoan had some chemistry, and the other person hadn't lost awareness of the camera. They only needed to film three or four takes, and each take turned out quite well.

Then came the makeup session.

Both actresses have very good skin, so they don't need heavy concealer; a light makeup is enough. The makeup artist simply tied Li Luo'an's hair up and added a few natural curls to He Yuran's hair. This would better create a contrast between their modern looks, since a period costume makeover was impossible. He Yuran has a mature, sophisticated look, which already creates a contrast with the more delicate Li Luo'an in the same shot. Further stylistic differentiation through hairstyles and expressions would make the contrast even stronger.

Then the makeup artist took out all the cosmetics that Li Luoan had at home and applied foundation, eyebrows and eye makeup to both of them, and finally contoured and highlighted them. It only took a little over half an hour in total.

He Yuran exclaimed, "It's one thing to do makeup so late at night, but I didn't expect it to be so quick. Give me your contact information, and I'll contact you if I need any quick makeup tutorials in the future."

The girl smiled without saying anything, probably implying that she didn't do this full-time, but she gave He Yuran some face and didn't say it directly.

He Yuran looked at the girl and smiled, "In any case, I think it's fate that you're here today."

She seemed to be saying this to herself as well. As for Li Luoan, he could listen or not, it was up to him.

And the girl smiled sweetly again.

Amidst laughter and chatter, the makeup was finished, and then came the styling. Without a doubt, everything had to be taken from Li Luoan's wardrobe.

Standing in front of Li Luoan's wardrobe, He Yuran felt as if she were peering into someone's heart, or rather, as if she were witnessing the development of Li Luoan's personality over the years. From these clothes, she seemed to see how a young girl became a woman with character.

However, Li Luoan clearly didn't seem very happy.

After all, the bedroom is one of the most private places a person can access, and the wardrobe is something only they can touch. Even He Yuran wouldn't want to show it to others easily. Besides, the two weren't exactly close friends in the past, and they hadn't seen each other for several years.

So He Yuran took the initiative to ask, "Can I take a closer look? I'd like to pick one or two that I like."

Li Luoan looked a little embarrassed, but still agreed.

Knowing that she wasn't feeling well, He Yuran added, "Don't worry, I won't rummage through it."

"...It's not something to worry about," Li Luoan said sullenly.

He Yuran gave her a grateful smile. Li Luoan was somewhat affected by this and managed to force a slightly cheerful expression, at least she didn't seem so miserable anymore.

"That's right! Cheer up, we're going to film some beautiful videos later."

"It sounds disgusting... I hate these adjectives, like 'beautiful' and 'fair-skinned'," Li Luoan said, shaking his head.

He Yuran ignored her and instead scanned the wardrobe.

For an actress, Li Luoan doesn't own many clothes; two closets are enough to hold them all. Moreover, the layout is very clear. Hats have a dedicated area, trousers are neatly folded, and the hanging area contains a few carefully selected shirts and hoodies, along with some coats. He Yuran specifically looked at them and noticed that each coat was designer and branded; the clothes in this closet must have undergone many rounds of selection before being chosen.

However, judging from the traces of taking things, Li Luoan usually wears no more than ten sets of clothes, which is considered very simple for an actor.

He Yuran thought that if she didn't have social obligations and wasn't a celebrity, she wouldn't worry about being photographed, and she probably would only need to change her outfits three or five times a day. It seems that Li Luoan pays considerable attention to her daily image.

He Yuran finally picked out two items. One was a casual trench coat with a fitted waist, which she kept for herself. The other was an oversized suit jacket, which she handed to Li Luoan.

"Wear this, and wear a white shirt underneath."

Li Luoan frowned and said, "Then what about your lining? Aren't you going to pick one out? Don't worry about me minding. I can wash it."

He Yuran raised an eyebrow and whispered in Li Luoan's ear, "I don't need to wear anything underneath."

At almost the same time, Song Lin next to him let out a piercing scream.