[Author's Note]
❤ Happy birthday Zhang Zhe Han! ❤
Leading up to the one year anniversary of the Shan He Ling premiere, I spent a few weeks going through and organizing all of my videos and photos from behind the scenes (over 7 000 media files in total), in chronological order of filming. Through that process, I saw how their interactions changed and I got to put all those behind the scenes touches, looks and quotes into (my) perspective. That's when I made the final leap into writing this fiction.
However, the emphasis is on fiction. Though it may be based on the clips and quotes that we have seen and heard, this is my delulu land version of how the two of them met, became friends and fell in love.
Yes−I do have (almost) all the shooting notifications that Shan He Ling for each day of filming. Yes−this will be in chronological order as best as I have been able to piece it all together. Yes−I will try and get this down to the detail of all the lip reading in the clips that are out there.
However, this is 100% fiction and all the references to behind the scenes clips and quotes are all interpreted by me with a strong bias that they are a couple. Please don't read this if this is something that makes you uncomfortable and please don't interpret this as truth in any way shape or form.
Also−I want to put in a few disclaimers. The first is that I have no knowledge on how the production and filming of a drama (or anything else) works so this is me guessing for most of it. In addition, I do not speak Chinese so I will use others translations of what is being said in clips and others interpretations such as lip reading. I will try and be as true to the clips as possible, but there may be discrepancies. I am a perfectionist, so if you find any faults or have other translations of clips, please tell me.
⊂ (▀▿▀) つ❤
[FEBRUARY 2020]
Zhang Zhe Han had just wrapped up his latest costume drama and gotten used to wearing normal clothes again, when someone from the production team of a new costume drama reached out to his studio. The drama was called 'Shan He Ling' (1) and was the television adaptation of a novel by the popular online writer Priest. Apparently, the production company Youku had purchased the television rights to a few of her novels, and this was the first one off the shelf and into production.
The producer, Ma Tao, had expressed a desire to cast him in of one of the two male leading roles. That's right—this was a danmei drama (2). Something that Zhang Zhe Han hadn't even considered or been considered for previously. Not that it actually mattered to him, as long as the script was good.
The two criteria for the male leads were simple. One—being between the age of twenty seven and twenty nine, and two—unmarried, preferably without a girlfriend. And usually when they said 'preferably' it meant 'most definitely'.
The first requirement was simply due to the fact that this was a story of mutual redemption. The two male protagonist each had their life experience, which too young actors may not be able to grasp nor convey in the way that was required to carry this story and convince the audience. Or at least not to the degree that the production team envisioned and that the fans would be expecting.
However, the last requirement had sparked a controversy amongst netizens to the point where Youku had launched a poll and blatantly asked the general public 'Will the actors' love life affect your mood in following the drama?'. The four choices of response ranged from 'Yes, I will stop watching' to 'No, I don't care'. In the end, the general public agreed that they should be single and for obvious reasons—they wanted to be able to ship the couple in the drama.
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Silver Linings
FanfictionThe two criteria for the male leads were simple. One-being between the age of twenty seven and twenty nine, and two-unmarried, preferably without a girlfriend. And usually when they said 'preferably' it meant 'most definitely'. The first requirement...
