
The director confessed he'd never filmed a BL before. What followed was a five-hour-long workshop of shame——just to figure out the sex scene angles.42Please respect copyright.PENANAofAv0rgucW
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The audition for Guiltbound went surprisingly well.
Though Jiang Zhilin and Shen Yanxing were both actors “recommended” by the clients, there was nothing second-rate about their performance.
Their timing, emotional shifts, even that elusive, barely-there tension—it all felt rehearsed to perfection,42Please respect copyright.PENANAlO0clk12cr
and yet, absurdly natural.
The director initially thought it was a fluke.42Please respect copyright.PENANAiDvW3B16xG
That is, until he asked:
“Have you two worked together before?”
The two men exchanged a glance.42Please respect copyright.PENANA0sNCsbCZ5F
It was like someone had poked a mutual wavelength.
Then they nodded.
“We’ve known each other since we were kids. Our families are close——childhood friends, basically.”
At that moment, the art lead snapped her notebook shut with a smack.
“I knew it!” she roared, like a prophecy had just come true.
“I told you! That whole ‘look and instantly understand’ thing?42Please respect copyright.PENANAVa0Tp7eeQ9
“That’s not acting. That’s telepathy!”
That day, the crew walked out of the audition on a total high.
For a brief moment, they thought the worst was behind them——42Please respect copyright.PENANA0EnQC8pXPz
the grueling prep, the mental breakdowns, the nightmare of pulling a shoot structure together in a single day.
But one day passed.42Please respect copyright.PENANAZkbLzcNJFN
And the go-ahead never came.
No call sheet.42Please respect copyright.PENANA3e7KPutEg5
No camera directions.42Please respect copyright.PENANAM28Nd5dYWh
No sign of a start.
Which is how this meeting came to be.
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Everyone was gathered around the conference table.
The director had his head bowed so low, he was practically face-down against the surface.42Please respect copyright.PENANAI0loNC834I
Hands on his lap. Completely still.42Please respect copyright.PENANAXb68S5tJIW
Deep in thought.42Please respect copyright.PENANA1ieCh4QiqO
And unmistakably, quietly, giving up.
The screenwriter cracked first. His voice was low, but clearly irritated.
"Sure, the client said we had full control——but that doesn’t mean we can afford to waste time." “What’s the holdup? Why haven’t we started?”
The art lead sipped her coffee through a straw, her tone laced with resentment.
“I’ve mentally played out this scene a million times——42Please respect copyright.PENANA7QBm0Fp9h7
and we still haven’t shot a thing!”
The manager added, calm but resigned:
“The boss has been blowing up Instagram Stories every single day. I think he’s on the verge of exploding.”
Still, the director didn’t look up.42Please respect copyright.PENANAUr8azFriYq
But his shoulders twitched.42Please respect copyright.PENANADN5d6pASwx
Like he was wavering. Or suppressing something.
Five seconds passed in silence.
Then, finally, he exhaled.
“I’ve never——” His voice was too soft. Barely a breeze.
“What?” The screenwriter frowned.
"Louder, please. We’re not the client!" the art lead said, deadpan.
The director finally looked up.42Please respect copyright.PENANA7d5VHRHjdP
Face flushed like he’d just run an 800-meter.42Please respect copyright.PENANApkwkbXaGby
Sweat on his brow. Eyes full of hesitation.42Please respect copyright.PENANAVcGjKpnqG0
Then suddenly—like he couldn’t hold it in anymore:
“I said——I’ve never filmed a BL before!!”
The air froze.42Please respect copyright.PENANAf1i29uvtU2
Time slowed to a crawl.
And then——
“Aaaaaugh!!!”
The director let out a cry of despair and slammed both hands over his face, words spilling out like a busted fire hydrant:
“I did so much research!”
“There are so many types of lube!42Please respect copyright.PENANAgJ9C9H0vGw
Saliva, Vaseline, body wash, actual lube—I couldn’t even pick one!”
“And the prep! The cleaning! The stretching!42Please respect copyright.PENANAJrTyrMe9Sd
The angles! The visuals! The audience expectations!!”
“I even downloaded entire SFX packs just to figure out if I should record the moaning live!!”
“And now what? I feel like I’ve been mentally corrupted,42Please respect copyright.PENANAGoVGYAPCwt
and I still don’t know how to shoot the damn scene!!”
He collapsed back onto the table, face fully pressed to the surface like he wanted to merge with it.
All that remained in the room was the ticking of the wall clock.
“So that’s what this is about…”
The screenwriter cleared her throat gently.
“To be fair, I didn’t write that part out in detail.42Please respect copyright.PENANAUM1S4YaEyQ
I kind of skipped over all the props…”
“There’s a big difference between writing it down and actually filming it,” the art lead muttered.
The manager nodded, voice calm and measured:
“What the audience wants isn’t just a sexy shot.42Please respect copyright.PENANA5XOpHfmPI5
It’s tension that feels real—something that makes the scene convincing.”
“Right now, the problem isn’t that you can’t shoot it.42Please respect copyright.PENANAamfD12oEfg
It’s that you don’t know how to make it both believable and beautiful.”
The director nodded again.42Please respect copyright.PENANAPSXtQcGUMR
Still didn’t lift his head.42Please respect copyright.PENANAaWGMG2arZB
But everyone understood.
This wasn’t some unspeakable shame.42Please respect copyright.PENANAQL1IwEeV1v
Just an honest admission from a creator42Please respect copyright.PENANAd5JZE2fmdR
facing a story he didn’t yet know how to handle.
And so began what would become42Please respect copyright.PENANAlh3YG2Z7f1
the most awkward—and most sincere—creative meeting in the history of the crew.
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They split up the research.
Analyzing what kinds of scenes wouldn’t overwhelm the actors,42Please respect copyright.PENANA9QlzmHmWJ3
what kind of movements could hold emotion without slipping into something pornographic.
Even the lighting——42Please respect copyright.PENANAq1RJ1afw6O
which angle to shoot from,42Please respect copyright.PENANAzFRfsXFVIN
to avoid making it all look like a cheap adult film.
The manager laid out a timeline.42Please respect copyright.PENANAwrc8xfouoE
The art lead sketched out framing options.42Please respect copyright.PENANAOozjqZhUnp
The screenwriter rewrote parts of the scene flow.42Please respect copyright.PENANArSng5hsWPd
The director took so many notes he went through three pen refills.
The meeting lasted five full hours.
When they finally walked out of the room——
The director looked pale, like he’d just crawled back from a war zone.
The manager’s expression was grim, like he’d just left a military briefing.
The screenwriter shook his head, dazed.42Please respect copyright.PENANAKbLFNgs787
“Why the hell are there so many names for these positions…?”
Only the art lead was positively glowing.42Please respect copyright.PENANAgOjEhdvxhq
Eyes bright, cheeks flushed—she looked downright radiant.
“This was a journey of self-discovery.” She let out a gentle sigh.
The others all quietly avoided her gaze.
The screenwriter made a mental note:
“Your face really does reflect your soul.” Turns out it’s true.
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