YA Ch125: Commercial Shooting (Extra)

Early in the morning, Ming Yan got up, opened the door, and didn’t see the four children, which was quite strange. 

Lu Yu, without opening his eyes, groggily said, “They’re probably sleeping.” 

Ming Yan, amused, tugged on his ear and said, “How can balloon people sleep?” 

These four little guys, once they’re put inside the balloon bodies, get so excited and run around everywhere. Usually, when you open the door in the morning, you’d definitely see four pairs of bright electronic eyes. Why is it so unusual today?

“Maybe they went into sleep mode and are playing in the extras,” Lu Yu opened his eyes, speaking in a nasal and sticky voice, “Come here, I’ll show you something nice.” 

Ming Yan raised an eyebrow suspiciously and leaned over to look, “You didn’t hide the kids under the blanket, did you?” 

Lu Yu gave a mysterious smile, lifted a corner of the blanket to show him, and as Ming Yan leaned in, he suddenly pulled him under the blanket: “Awoo, the blanket monster ate you!”

Ming Yan, caught off guard, was wrapped entirely inside the blanket: “Hahaha, stop messing around, get up, let me out, or I’ll bite you…” 

Lu Yu, being bitten and yelping, still wouldn’t let go, crawling in to wrestle with Ming Yan in the dark.

After a while of tumbling in the blanket, they both got up, and their hair was a complete mess. 

Lu Yu scratched his head, looked around the room, and found that the four little ones were in the study, playing mahjong on the screen. They were each drawing tiles in their smart brains, and the screen only displayed the discarded tiles. The four sides of the table even had proper chibi avatars marked. At that moment, the scholar avatar bounced, and the interface showed that Shen Ying had won.

Shen Ying smiled and said, “Thank you for letting me win.” 

The other three balloon people were floating motionless in the air. 

The scholar balloon held a folded fan as a baseball bat and went “thud thud thud” tapping each of their heads.

Lu Yu, alarmed, said, “Your betting stake for mahjong is this? Why not play for money?”

Shen Ying put away the fan and said, “We don’t have money.” 

They only had a few cents earned from games and didn’t want to gamble with it, preferring to get hit.

Lu Yu exaggeratedly patted each of their heads and said, “Oh dear, so pitiful, alright, today father will give you a chance to make some money.”

The four balloon bodies were secured in the back seat of the car, sitting one after another in a row. 

Lu Dongdong curiously looked around and slowly pulled out the tail that had been caught by the seatbelt, saying, “This is the first time I’ve sat in the family car with this perspective.” 

Normally, he was worn on the wrist.

Shen Baishui, full of reluctance, mentally attacked Lu Yu, who was driving, “Didn’t you already make money? Why are you still driving this junky car? It lowers my class. At least get a Rolls-Royce.”

Lu Yu, completely unfazed by his son’s disdain, said, “You’re so picky. Xiao Yuan is an emperor, and he doesn’t mind this car.”

The president balloon was so angry that his nose almost went crooked. Those two country bumpkins hadn’t even ridden in a tricycle, what would they know?

The two ancient ones indeed had no complaints. Shen Ying quietly said, “Modern society is truly convenient, just this car alone is much faster than a carriage.”

Hua Wenyuan agreed, “When we return to the New Dynasty, let’s build roads and hire some scientists, so we can develop steam engines sooner.”

Shen Ying smiled with his eyes curved, “Once we invent the steam engine, it’ll be the Industrial Revolution, and our feudal dynasty will be overthrown.”

Ming Yan, listening to the kids’ conversation, chuckled and asked Lu Yu, “Are you really going to let me and Lao Yang film this?”

Lu Yu shrugged, “No choice. If someone else films it and hears them talking about starting the Industrial Revolution, they might report it to the authorities.”

Today, they were going to film a commercial for the balloon kids. Originally, they hired a professional filming crew, but Lu Yu was worried these guys might slip up or leave some inappropriate footage. So he had Ming Yan, who liked photography, film it, and Lao Yang, an amateur editor, would do the rough cut to remove any suspicious parts before sending it to professionals for post-production.

When they arrived at the studio, Yang Chen saw the four balloon children and curiously looked at each of them: “Come here, let Uncle give you a hug.” 

As he reached to hug Shen Ying, who looked the most well-behaved, he hadn’t even touched him before a plunger arrow hit him squarely on the forehead with a “thud.”

Five minutes later, Lao Yang, with his head covered in bumps, squatted on the ground, handing out red envelopes to each of the balloon kids.

Ming Yan came over and told them, “No bullying Uncle.”

“It wasn’t like that,” Hua Wenyuan righteously defended, while Lu Dongdong silently put away the small fork he had used to poke Lao Yang’s bald head.

After adjusting the scenery and lighting, the shoot began.

They started with individual shots, followed by group shots of the three balloons together. Shen Ying only had a solo shot because the scholar balloon wasn’t being released yet.

Lu Yu pointed at the president balloon and said, “Qianqian, you go first, you’ve got experience.”

As the domineering CEO of the modern world, Shen Baishui often appeared in financial news in his own world, filming various magazine covers. He had much more experience than the two ancient people and a certain fish. CEO Shen floated out arrogantly, confidently finding the right spot, folding his arms in a successful person’s pose. 

Lu Yu glanced at the script in his hand and guided, “The script calls for you to act like President Shen handling business affairs. Qianqian, link up with Uncle Yang’s computer and follow the props after they are composited.”

The principle was similar to broadcasting the weather—standing in front of a green screen, gesturing, while the computer displayed the person with constantly changing weather scenes. However, the smart balloon connecting to the computer could accurately track the location of the composited props, making it even easier than for a weather presenter.

Shen Baishui complained, “You didn’t even buy real props; using composited ones is so low-class.”

Despite his complaints, President Shen still diligently filmed the commercial, miming signing a contract in front of the camera. Hua Wenyuan, off to the side, imitated his second brother’s successful person’s pose with crossed arms.

Shen Ying secretly laughed, using his fan to poke Hua Wenyuan’s waist, trying to stop him from causing trouble. However, the President balloon had already seen Hua Wenyuan’s actions and slammed the table, scolding him, “Lao San!”

Ming Yan, behind the camera, said, “Very good, very handsome!” 

President Shen instantly floated up proudly, lifting his chubby chin. Indeed, an angry President was the most charismatic.

Ming Yan pushed the camera, doing a circular shot around him, then filmed a slow-motion capture sequence. Over there, Lao Yang glanced at the composited scene and gave a thumbs up.

Next, it was Lu Dongdong’s turn.

The scene in the computer changed from an office to the vast ocean. Above the raging waves, the God of the Seven Seas raised his little trident. Lu Yu guided from the side, “Do a monster battle here.”

On Lao Yang’s compositing screen, a round ball appeared with the word “monster” written on it. 

The merman balloon flicked his glowing, shiny tail and solemnly said, “Ice of the deep sea, shatter!”

The President balloon mocked from the side, “So melodramatic.”

The merman balloon ignored his talkative second brother and said to Lu Yu, “Dad, there needs to be a scene where the monster shatters here.”

“Alright, Father will make a note,” Lu Yu responded with a smile, turning to Lao Yang and saying, “Hey, you make a note of that.”

Lao Yang: “…” Resigned, he clattered away at the keyboard, adding a “shatter here” label on the ball-shaped monster image.

Ming Yan gently said, “Dongdong, lift your trident for a close-up.”

Dongdong raised his little trident. Hua Wenyuan copied him, lifting a little plunger. 

As soon as Ming Yan said “OK,” the merman balloon rushed over, using his trident to block Hua Wenyuan, not forgetting to slap President Shen with his tail along the way. Hua Wenyuan raised his bow to parry, and the two began sparring back and forth.

The camera kept rolling, and Ming Yan smiled as he filmed them fighting.

Shen Ying quietly floated nearby, and the second brother floated over, instigating, “Aren’t you going to stop them?”

The scholar balloon opened his fan and fanned himself with a smile, “When brothers fight, it’s not for outsiders to intervene. Only parents or other brothers can step in.” After saying this, he lightly fanned President Shen twice.

President balloon: “…I’m not going to be a parent to those two babies.” He quietly floated further away, afraid that the small breeze would blow him into the battlefield and lead to the tragedy of a two-on-one beating.

Luckily, at that moment, Ming Yan spoke up, “Alright, alright, stop fighting, it’s Xiao Yuan’s turn to shoot.”

Lu Yu swiftly grabbed the merman balloon, tucking him under his arm. With no opponent, Hua Wenyuan put down his weapon and casually stood under the lights to start filming the commercial.

Hua Wenyuan filmed a very cool scene of shooting a hawk with a bow. His short little arms pulled back the bowstring, and in the special effects, a triangular shape labeled “hawk” flew by. The little plunger he shot hit the center of the triangle.

After finishing the shoot, Shen Ying tapped his palm with the handle of his fan, clapping as if he were applauding, and praised, “Your Majesty’s heroic demeanor is undiminished. Though you shot at nothing, you still had the air of Hou Yi shooting down the nine suns.”

Hua Wenyuan, overjoyed, modestly said, “It was just a mere triangular hawk, nothing compared to the nine suns. You flatter me.”

Lu Yu twitched his lips. This three-headed, short-armed, short-legged figure, shooting plungers—where was the heroic aura of Hou Yi?

Shen Baishui couldn’t take it anymore, grumbling from the side, “Were you a bootlicker before? That was way too over the top!”

The scholar balloon, with utmost seriousness, said, “Before I was sent out, I was a censor. I reported corrupt officials to the emperor and impeached wicked ministers. I was the most upright and righteous.”

CEO Shen: “…”

Hua Wenyuan couldn’t hold back his laughter, his entire balloon shaking.

Ming Yan didn’t comment on the kids’ argument. Once they had quarreled enough, they continued shooting, filming Shen Ying in a completely different style as “The Scholar Wearing a Flower.” The little scholar stood in a peach blossom forest, reciting poetry and plucking a flower to adorn his cap, exuding an unspeakable elegance.

The merman balloon, still tucked under Lu Yu’s arm, flicked his tail and said, “Dad, this style is different from the three of us.”

Lu Yu scratched the little merman’s head, “Of course it’s different. He’s a scholar, and you guys are brutes.”

After finishing the individual shots, it was time for the three brothers to shoot their collaborative skit.

Lu Dongdong suggested shooting a warm scene of the eldest brother educating the two younger ones; Shen Baishui suggested filming an inspirational series about the eldest and youngest working for President Shen; Hua Wenyuan proposed filming a grand scene of him ascending the throne as emperor, with his two brothers bowing in submission.

“We’re going to shoot the fable about the three monks having no water to drink,” Lu Yu rejected all the suggestions and used his trump card before the three balloons could protest: “I’m the one paying the ad fees, so what I say goes.”

The three brothers reluctantly filmed a boring scene about “Dongdong turning off the light.” Dongdong told Xiao Bai to turn off the light, Xiao Bai told Xiao Yuan to turn off the light, and Xiao Yuan shot the merman balloon, making Dongdong turn off the light.

The simple plot ended there, fully showcasing the fish tail, the CEO’s hand, and the little bow and arrow.

“Cut! Very good!” Ming Yan made a gesture to indicate the end.

In the next second, the merman balloon flicked off the plunger on his tail and scolded the second brother, “If this were at home, when I called you, you should have gone. Got it?”

President Shen disdainfully said, “When the variety show airs, I’ll be the rich balloon. Whoever does the work gets a dollar.”

Hua Wenyuan floated over to Shen Ying and whispered, “Sir, do you have any plan for this?”

Shen Ying shook his fan and loudly said, “Your Majesty should accept the task. From then on, you’ll have control over all the appliances at home.”

Lu Dongdong: “!!!”

Shen Baishui: “???”

Later, when the editor received the rough cut, they saw a blooper at the end with no image, only the voices of the eldest and second brothers being friendly.

Merman balloon: “Fine, as the eldest, I’ll take on more responsibility.”

President balloon: “No, I’ll buy out control of the appliances at home. Let me handle it.”

Editor: “These lines are quite interesting. It wraps up on a positive work note. Sounds really clever.”

Lu Yu: “…Yes, clearly, you can tell who’s the smartest in this family.”