Living in a county town, starting as a stock market maker...

The next morning, the company's core members arrived, and the atmosphere in the office was a bit strange.

Wang Min, Qi Hong, and Xu Jing all sensed something was wrong from Gu Ming's short and urgent phone call last night.

Xiao Tong sat on the sofa in the corner, her eyes red and swollen, her face pale.

She was wearing a large coat and was shivering slightly.

Without saying a word, Gu Ming connected the recorder to the speaker and pressed play.

The melody of "The Sky Over Hegang" resonated in the office for the first time in its entirety.

"...The sky over Hegang feels a bit empty."

"It can hold my dreams, but it can't hold my poverty."

After the song finished playing, the office became extremely quiet.

Qi Hong and Xu Jing, both experienced technicians, were stunned.

"Boss, this..." Qi Hong began, his voice a little dry.

"Today, we'll shoot its music video."

Gu Ming stood up and looked at Xiao Tong.

"You're the only female lead."

He walked up to Xiao Tong and squatted down.

"Xiao Tong, look at me. I know what happened last night, and I know you're feeling terrible right now."

Xiao Tong's tears welled up again.

"But believe me, none of this will be in vain."

"Today, you will express this feeling of discomfort in front of the camera."

"You don't need to act. You are who you are right now. We won't call the police or file a lawsuit."

"We need a better way to respond to this."

"We want to sing your story to all the young people in this city who are just as lost and struggling as you. This is your story, and it is also their story."

Looking into Gu Ming's eyes, Xiao Tong's chaotic heart surprisingly calmed down.

She nodded vigorously.

"it is good."

Half an hour later, the company's convoy set off.

The filming location was the Hegang No. 3 Mine Children's Primary School, which Gu Ming had chosen long ago. It was a school that had been abandoned for almost ten years.

Everything here is still stuck in the 1990s.

The teaching building is made of red bricks, and a large section of the plaster has peeled off, exposing the cement.

The basketball hoops on the playground were rusty, and the nets were nowhere to be found.

The track was overgrown with grass, and the white starting line could still be barely seen.

This place is dilapidated and old, but it matches the song "The Sky Over Hegang" perfectly.

The team began setting up the venue.

Qi Hong led the aerial photography team to debug the drones, while Xu Jing set up tracks and lights in the classroom.

Gu Ming led Xiao Tong as they walked slowly through the campus.

He was either teaching her how to act or chatting with her.

They talked about going to school when they were young, the pain of straining their ligaments during their first dance practice, and their anxiety when they first came to Hegang.

He wanted Xiao Tong to transform the discomfort she felt last night into an indescribable feeling.

Just when everything was ready and filming was about to begin, two uninvited guests arrived at the school gate.

Li Li and her best friend, Zhao Na.

"Oh, who do we have here with such a big entourage? Oh, it's Director Gu filming some big production again?"

Zhao Na's strange voice could be heard from a distance.

She had clearly dressed up specially today, wearing a Chanel-style suit, carrying a bag, and wearing heavy makeup.

She was brought here by Li Li.

Li Li heard that the school was going to organize extracurricular activities, so she was asked to come and see this abandoned primary school.

She was scared to be alone, so she dragged Zhao Na along.

When Zhao Na heard that Gu Ming's company might also be located here, she immediately became interested.

She still remembered being ignored by Gu Ming at the restaurant last time.

She wanted to see what this pretentious guy was really up to.

But when she walked into the campus and saw the scene, the sarcastic words she had prepared suddenly got stuck in her throat.

Is this...is this a video being filmed?

She saw a drone flying in the sky, bigger than her washbasin.

Tracks were laid in the classroom corridor, like something out of a movie.

There were also a bunch of lights and reflectors she couldn't name, and busy staff members in uniform.

This isn't just shooting a short video, it's like a whole movie crew!

Zhao Na felt a mix of bitterness and unease.

On what grounds?

How could this man she looked down on manage to put on such a professional show?

Unwilling to give up, she cleared her throat and continued in a sour tone:

"Tsk tsk, quite the spectacle. I wonder if the final product will be the same as last time, getting a torrent of abuse online?"

She deliberately brought up the time she messed up while imitating someone, trying to provoke Gu Ming.

But Gu Ming didn't even glance at her.

He was intently watching the monitor, giving instructions to Qi Hong via walkie-talkie.

"Old Qi, for the first aerial shot, start from outside the school gate, fly low over the playground, then pull up and hover over the top of the teaching building, give me a panoramic view from above."

"receive."

With a hum, the large drone slowly rose into the air.

Gu Ming seemed not to hear Zhao Na's words at all; all his attention was focused on his creative work.

Gu Ming's complete ignoring of her made her feel worse than if she had been scolded.

She felt like a clown jumping around, and no one even bothered to lift their eyelids.

"Attention all departments! Scene 1, Shot 1 of the music video, get ready!"

The script supervisor slammed the clapperboard, and filming officially began.

Xiao Tong, wearing a faded old school uniform, sat alone in the empty classroom.

Sunlight streamed through the gray glass window, casting dappled shadows on her.

Her eyes were vacant as she stared at the gray sky outside the window, tears silently streaming down her face.

"Cut! Great! Keep it up!"

Gu Ming's voice rang out on the set.

He walked over to Xiao Tong, handed her a bottle of water, and whispered something to her.

Zhao Na stood at a distance, watching with eyes reddened with jealousy.

She saw that, under Gu Ming's guidance, the dancing girl was a completely different person in front of the camera.

That kind of vulnerability and stubbornness, with a somewhat indescribable feeling, seems to tell a story in every look and gesture.

How is that possible?

Zhao Na couldn't understand it. Just a few days ago, she thought Xiao Tong was just an ordinary girl with pretty features.

Why does she seem like a completely different person under Gu Ming's lens?

Filming is proceeding efficiently.

In the corridors, on the playground, on the rooftop... Gu Ming calmly directed dozens of people.

His instructions were always clear, and every shot was taken with great thought.

Zhao Na stood aside, her initial desire to see the joke turn into shock, and then into numbness.

She felt like she didn't belong here at all.

Her usual pride in her social skills seemed particularly laughable compared to the genuine ability of the person in front of her.

She realized that she and Gu Ming were from completely different worlds.

The last scene was filmed on the school's rooftop.

The sun was setting, and the sky was orange-red.

Xiao Tong stood on the edge of the rooftop, the wind blowing through her thin clothes and long hair.

"Old Qi! Get ready!"

Gu Ming shouted into the walkie-talkie.

"The drone descends vertically from high altitude, quickly! It stops abruptly five meters above Xiao Tong's head, then the camera slowly zooms in for a close-up of her face!"

This shot was both difficult and dangerous to film.

Zhao Na's heart was in her throat.

The drone roared down from the sky and plunged straight down!

Just as it was about to hit Xiao Tong, the machine came to a steady stop.

The camera focused on Xiao Tong's tear-streaked face.

She slowly raised her head, facing the wind, and looked at the sky that was about to turn black.

His eyes held confusion and resentment, but even more so, a spirit of never giving up.

In front of the monitor, Li Li covered her mouth, stunned by what she saw.

Zhao Na stared blankly at the face on the screen, then at the man directing in the sunset.

For the first time, she felt the gap between herself and them so clearly.

That kind of gap is called talent, something she can never reach in her entire life.

At that moment, all the sense of superiority she had felt vanished.

"Cut! That's a wrap!"