diymy Chapter 58, Decision
Chapter 58, Decision
The Dove brand's China team arrived in Paris a day early.
The creative director, surnamed E, is a woman in her early forties with short hair. She wears a sharp black suit jacket and speaks at a rapid pace, like a machine gun, but every word she utters hits the nail on the head.
Last year, Dove's infamous "GG" (Gross Chocolate) campaign, which was ridiculed by the entire internet, and Kim Soo-hyun and G.E.M.'s "Chocolate and music go better together on rainy days," were the mess left by her ex. This year, she took over the project with a burning desire to turn things around.
"Teacher Gao Huan, thank you for your hard work."
General Manager E walked over and shook hands with a polite smile. "For this location shoot, we hired the best local filming team in France. The camera positions, lighting, and sound recording are all set up to movie standards."
Gao Huan took her hand and nodded.
"Thank you for your trouble, General Manager E."
Standing next to General E was a French woman in her forties with short hair, wearing a dark gray cashmere coat and a silk scarf around her neck. She looked elegant and capable.
Her name is Sylvie. She is a French cultural consultant and director hired by the brand, responsible for location coordination, local resource integration, and filming.
Sylvie doesn't speak Chinese very well, but she is fluent in English.
She smiled at Gao Huan and said in French-accented English, "Welcome to Paris, Mr. Gao."
"Thank you," Gao Huan replied in English.
Sylvie's gaze lingered on his face for a second longer before shifting away and beginning to whisper with General Manager E to finalize the filming location.
……
At 2 PM, the GG photoshoot officially began.
The female lead is Zhang Ruonan.
This was decided a few days ago; the female lead for the Dove GG campaign has been changed from Yang Ying to Zhang Ruonan.
Gao Huan used the promotional song for "Confession Balloon" plus a new song "Pink Planet" as a bargaining chip, pushing Zhang Ruonan, who had no commercial exposure experience, into this position.
Chen Duling was in Paris for tourism and was accompanying Gao Huan.
Or rather, it's to keep a promise made on the last day.
She stood outside the filming location, wearing a light pink down jacket, her hair slightly disheveled by the river breeze.
Her gaze fell on Zhang Ruonan, the girl in the white dress who was standing next to the wrought iron bench on the riverbank, where a makeup artist was touching up her makeup.
Zhang Ruonan's skin was so white that it had a translucent quality under the hazy Parisian sunlight.
Her features weren't stunning, but they were clean and smooth, like a piece of mutton fat jade that had been washed by water for a long time—warm, delicate, and not flashy.
At this moment, she pursed her lips slightly, her fingers gripping the hem of her skirt, trying her best to appear less nervous.
Sylvie stood behind the monitor, glanced at Zhang Ruonan, and said something in French to General Manager E.
Yangyang Jin translated for Gao Huan: "She said that the girl's face is very Eastern, but not in a stereotypical way. It's very comfortable."
Gao Huan smiled and nodded.
Zhang Ruonan walked to the set, where there was an iron bench covered with a light gray blanket, and several boxes of Dove chocolates on the table next to it.
The backdrop is the Seine River, its surface shimmering in the sunlight, with the Parisian skyline visible in the distance.
Because the brand had cleaned the riverbank beforehand, the riverbank within the camera's view looked very clean, even a bit romantic.
The director yelled "Action!"
Zhang Ruonan picked up a Dove chocolate and tore open the packaging.
The sound of the wrapping paper being torn was captured by the microphone; it was crisp, like crushing a dry leaf in autumn.
She lowered her head, took a small bite of chocolate, pursed her lips slightly when they touched the chocolate, and then chewed slowly.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, her eyelashes trembled gently, and her expression changed from "I'm eating" to "This is so delicious," and then from "So delicious" to "I'm so happy."
That smile wasn't an act; she was thinking about the moment she first met Gao Huan.
Her eyes unconsciously drifted behind the monitor and glanced at Gao Huan standing there.
It was just a glance, so quick that no one noticed.
But the smile deepened, the corners of the mouth curved wider, and a very shallow dimple appeared on the cheek.
Sylvie watched from behind the monitor without saying a word. After a few seconds, she picked up the walkie-talkie and spoke a sentence in French.
Yangyang Jin translated for Gao Huan: "She said there was something in this girl's eyes; she must be thinking of someone she likes."
Chen Duling, standing on the outside, also saw that smile.
Her fingers clenched slightly.
She is not a fool.
She noticed something was off about Zhang Ruonan's gaze towards Gao Huan. She was all too familiar with that look, because she herself had looked at Gao Huan with that same expression.
It was a "I like you" gaze, cautious, filled with adoration and timidity.
She turned her head and looked at Gao Huan standing behind the monitor.
His gaze remained fixed on the monitor, his expression unchanged, but she noticed a very faint curve at the corner of his mouth.
Chen Duling's heart skipped a beat.
She recalled what Gao Huan had said to her on the set of "The Left Ear".
"There are still about two weeks until filming wraps up, so we can have two weeks of dating."
That was October 10, 2014.
The two-week agreement, starting from that day, is now in its final 15 days.
Later, filming wrapped up, people dispersed, and the promise became a memory without a stamp.
She didn't know how much space that memory occupied in his heart, but she knew that in her heart, that space had never been made.
Now, he has a new girl by his side.
He signed her to his studio.
He made her drop out of school and apply to the Beijing Film Academy.
He had her shoot Dove chocolates, giving her an opportunity that no newcomer would even dare to dream of.
When these thoughts exploded in Chen Duling's mind, her heart skipped a beat, and her nails dug into her palms.
It didn't hurt, but I felt even more tense inside.
She took a deep breath and suppressed those emotions.
Her face was expressionless, like a pond ruffled by the wind, the ripples still spreading, but almost calm.
But she made a decision.
……
Two hours later, Zhang Ruonan's ASMRGG video was completed in three takes.
Sylvie was very satisfied with the first method; the second and third methods were backups.
When she walked down from the set, she looked like she had just been pulled out of the water, with a kind of exhaustion that said, "I finally made it through."
Yangyang Jin handed her a bottle of water, which she took, unscrewed the cap, and took a big gulp.
"Xiao Zhang, your shot just now was very good," Yangyang Jin said.
"Thank you, Sister Yangyang."
Zhang Ruonan's voice was soft, but sincere.
Her gaze unconsciously drifted towards Gao Huan.
Gao Huan was discussing tomorrow's filming schedule with General Manager E and didn't look at her.
She looked away, lowered her head, and stared at the water bottle in her hand.
A thin layer of water droplets condensed on the bottle, trickling down her fingers.
Chen Duling's photoshoot will be tomorrow. It's not a Dove photoshoot; it's a print shoot for a brand that Gao Huan helped her find. It has nothing to do with Dove.
She doesn't need to film anything today.
Sylvie suggested that Gao Huan and Chen Duling take a stroll along the Seine to get familiar with the atmosphere of Paris, and also let Chen Duling relax so that she would be in better condition for filming tomorrow.
Gao Huan glanced at Chen Duling. "Let's go."
Chen Duling glanced at Zhang Ruonan, then followed Gao Huan outside.
Zhang Ruonan stood there, still holding the bottle of water in her hand.
Yangyang Jin walked over and patted her on the shoulder.
"Xiao Zhang, you should go back to the hotel and rest. You don't have any scenes to film tomorrow, so you can sleep in."
Zhang Ruonan nodded and smiled.
That smile was perfect, the curve of the corners of the mouth was just right, not too much or too little, like a smile that had been precisely calculated in the subconscious.
Yangyang Jin saw it all but said nothing.
……