Chapter 537: Chapter 537
The furor over the whip technique continued to ferment within the film crew, and although Director Wilson had expressly forbidden disturbing her, He Jinxia encountered crew members and actors staging serendipitous meetings with her from the second day she arrived, every day thereafter.
As if these encounters weren’t enough, she soon noticed they began carrying small items, things of little value, perhaps carefully prepared lunches, or some novel trinkets.
He Jinxia found herself unable to refuse as they always had various reasons and excuses to give her these gifts.
Through Cheng Xiaohua acting as a go-between, almost everyone in the crew knew that they were too old to learn Chinese Martial Arts, yet that didn’t stop them from admiring He Jinxia.
According to Cheng Xiaohua, He Jinxia’s reputation within the crew could rival that of their imagined superheroes.
Because of this, He Jinxia felt nothing but embarrassment; she had no choice but to be as unassuming as possible—other than when she was on set, she would spend her remaining time in the dance studio.
It took a good while before the astonishment she had sparked finally subsided.
In China, mastery of the whip technique was not particularly remarkable; there were many who could split bricks with a palm strike or shatter stones with their chests, feats far more impressive than hers.
However, since the crew had merely heard about these things and hadn’t actually visited China or sought out the sacred sites of Martial Arts, they were astounded by He Jinxia’s display with the whip that day.
Of course, it also had something to do with the compelling nature of her whip performance.
What He Jinxia didn’t know was that her whip dance had been filmed by some crew members, and they had intended to upload it online but were stopped by the director, who forbade any such posting.
Director Wilson repeatedly reviewed the footage for a long time, feeling that He Jinxia resembled the female lead in one of his friend’s imaginations, and thus, he specifically took the video to visit that friend, taking a whole day for it.
As for the final outcome, even Wilson did not know, as his friend never confirmed anything.
Perhaps because of this, Wilson never mentioned the matter to He Jinxia.
In the crew, when He Jinxia had finished shooting all the dramatic scenes by February, she had also learned two dances.
She only needed to learn two more and showcase them properly on camera, and then her role in "High School Musical" would be finished.
Ola finished her dramatic scenes on the same day she did, but her scenes were more demanding; sometimes she had to shoot throughout the night to keep up with schedules, leaving her no time to practice dancing.
While He Jinxia effortlessly coordinated with other actors in front of the camera, Ola was still struggling in the dance studio, not wanting to be a burden on the crew.
On February 3rd, just after He Jinxia had completed a solo ballet performance in front of the camera, and heard the director call "cut," she allowed her body to relax against the wall, breathing heavily for a moment.
A crew member rushed in from the outside, urgently whispering something to the director, causing his expression to turn solemn before he quickly stood up and walked out.
The rest of the crew looked at each other in bewilderment, unsure of what had occurred.
About ten minutes later, news slowly began to spread. Cheng Xiaohua received the message, returning with a grave expression to tell Jinxia:
"Ola fainted in the dance studio and has been taken to the hospital. The doctors diagnosed her with stress, frequent all-nighters, and even mild malnutrition."
He Jinxia paused, softly nodding, "Ola has indeed been under a lot of stress lately."
Cheng Xiaohua, "There’s no way around it, the entire crew is waiting for her to learn the dances so they can continue working."
Even for He Jinxia, in her latter interactions, all the dance scenes required her to dance opposite Ola, so after her solo dance was captured, she too had to wait for Ola.
He Jinxia thought for a moment and said, "Ola has a natural talent for dance and graduated from a specialized dance academy, so remembering dances quickly isn’t hard for her.
But she needs time. Ola’s stress is too high, affecting her physical and mental state. If her spirit isn’t fully engaged, her efficiency in learning dances decreases."
Cheng Xiaohua nodded. "Exactly, everyone understands the logic, but time waits for no one!"
The film crew had to finish shooting by mid-March and then send it off for post-production editing and special effects. He Jinxia had heard from Director Wilson that he wanted to release it on May 1, aiming for Huaxia’s golden week.
That left only a month and a half for post-production.
Compared to some major films, the post-production time was way too short, and the quality could very likely be compromised.
Wilson understood this, which was why he wanted to speed up the filming process to wrap up earlier. This resulted in all the actors feeling a great deal of pressure.
It wasn’t just Ola who had issues; other actors in the crew were somewhat anxious too.
He Jinxia was an exception.
She had filmed in Huaxia before, where there were no weekly days off and the schedule was even more rushed than abroad, so she was quite used to this frenetic atmosphere.
In the crew, she was the one waiting for her scenes to be shot, rather than the scenes waiting for her.
He Jinxia: "Can I go see Ola?"
Cheng Xiaohua shook her head. "Director Wilson is worried that if the news leaks, it could be exploited by those with ulterior motives. He sealed off Ola’s news right away. I asked several people, and none of them know which hospital she is in."
There were several hospitals nearby the set, and it would take too much time to ask each one. Hearing this, He Jinxia gave up on visiting Ola and slightly regretfully said, "I have to fly back to Huaxia tomorrow. It looks like I won’t get to see Ola."
The Spring Festival in Huaxia is a major holiday, and He Jinxia had asked Director Wilson for leave well in advance, a total of seven days so she could return to the crew after the sixth day of the new year. Thɪs chapter is updated by novel⁂fire.net
Since He Jinxia’s situation was special and the director trusted her not to fall behind, he was willing to approve the full seven days all at once.
If it were someone else, getting even three days would be good.
At night, He Jinxia returned to the hotel to pack her bags and received a call from Luo You.
"Director Liu has already set the start date for the movie. It will begin shooting in mid-March, which aligns perfectly with your schedule, but it means your itinerary will be tight, and you won’t have time to rest."
He Jinxia didn’t mind that: "In the ’High School Musical’ crew, my role isn’t exhausting, and there’s plenty of downtime. I can handle it."
Luo You made an acknowledging sound but still said, "Before the shooting starts, I will take you to the hospital for a check-up. If your health isn’t good, I will ask the director to postpone the shooting. We still have time, so don’t push yourself too hard."
He Jinxia muttered, "But good roles don’t wait for anyone!"
Luo You: "That’s why you need to take good care of your health, exercise every day, sleep early, and maintain a good routine. A strong body is your best asset."
He Jinxia responded obediently, "Okay, Mommy Luo."