He still only needed one take.
Just now, when Li Xiang had performed his set of Body Techniques—grand and sweeping, a perfect blend of hard and soft, with clean, decisive flips and maneuvers—it was like something out of an action blockbuster. As Jiang Cai'Er filmed, she was screaming internally, 'Brother Xiang is so amazing!' Her sparkling eyes were filled with adoration, and she felt completely light-headed.
In that state, she had assumed she'd done a poor job and would definitely need a second take. But as it turned out, her performance had been unexpectedly god-tier. The finished footage was so good it could be used without any editing at all!
Then again, it wasn't as if they could have filmed a second take anyway. The moment the morning Sun rose, casting out ten thousand rays of golden light, lasted for only a brief window. Afterward, the Sun would be higher in the sky, the light would be too bright, and the effect wouldn't be nearly as good.
Another take would have likely captured only ordinary, blazing sunlight, not the stunning effect of the red sun suspended in the sky, bursting with golden light.
"If faith had a color, it would have to be China Red."
After some discussion, the two of them chose this caption. It was quite fitting for the occasion.
They were both very confident that this video was sure to become another viral hit.
First, it was piggybacking on the popularity of the National Day holiday, a time of nationwide celebration—this was "heavenly timing." Second, with the Mountain God Temple nearby, the sunrise over the eastern mountaintop provided an absolutely beautiful backdrop—this was "geographical advantage." And third, Li Xiang's "Red Flag Dance" was something no ordinary person could perform.
After all, he was an Extraordinary Being. The Body Techniques he performed were subtle and profound, containing many intricacies. Some of the effects he produced were comparable to CGI.
Even if an ordinary person filmed something and added special effects in post-production, it couldn't match the realism of his seamless performance.
And with the gentle, pure, and naturally talented Jiang Cai'Er handling the filming, it was a perfect harmony. Both of them delivered a god-tier performance—this was "human harmony."
With "heavenly timing," "geographical advantage," and "human harmony" all in place, how could it not go viral?
"Brother Xiang, we might even break thirty thousand followers with this one!" Jiang Cai'Er said with high spirits, raising her elegant eyebrows.
"Let's hope so," Li Xiang said with a smile, then gestured for Jiang Cai'Er to head down the mountain. "Come over for lunch. I'll make you something delicious."
Jiang Cai'Er had put in so much effort, so Li Xiang felt he had to thank her properly. Perhaps she didn't need it, but he wanted to show his appreciation.
"Okay, okay! I'll come help you out," Jiang Cai'Er said. The thought of bustling around the kitchen with Li Xiang immediately brought the term "CP" to her mind.
The two started down the mountain. As the saying goes, "climbing up is hard, but going down is easy." The descent was much more relaxed. Jiang Cai'Er was like a cheerful oriole, skipping ahead and humming a pleasant little tune. Li Xiang followed behind her, carrying the large flag. He gazed at her pretty silhouette, his thoughts adrift.
In his past life, after the Apocalypse had descended, the entire Li Family Village was wiped out. Jiang Cai'Er had also perished. Li Xiang had returned to look for her, but not even her bones remained.
'Little Sister Cai'Er, don't worry,' Li Xiang vowed silently in his heart. 'In this life, I will definitely protect you.'
The two of them chatted and joked on their way down. When they passed Jiang Cai'Er's house, she popped inside to tell her mother she wouldn't be home for lunch. She said she was eating at Brother Xiang's place and that he would be helping her with her homework.
To sell the story that she was going there to study, she even made a point of grabbing her schoolbag.
Li Xiang also chatted with Aunt Jiang for a bit. Jiang Jianguo, however, had gone into the county town early that morning to buy some things and wasn't back yet.
Because the two families were close, Aunt Jiang didn't stand on ceremony with Li Xiang. She just pressed an Autumn Moon Pear into each of their hands.
Li Xiang put his in his pocket without eating it. He was about to return the national flag and worried the juice might stain it.
When they reached Village Chief Li Jinyu's house, the old chief was out front chopping firewood. Li Xiang detached the national flag from the pole, folded it neatly, and handed it back to him.
"I saw that flag video you two filmed. It's great!" the old village chief said, giving him a thumbs-up. "You young folks are full of ideas. I even gave it a like!"
'Whoa, that fast?'
Li Xiang was taken aback.
The scenery on the way down had been picturesque and a beautiful girl had been by his side. He'd been so engrossed in chatting with Cai'Er that he hadn't even looked at his phone.
The old village chief chuckled. "Lots of people in the village already know about it. They've all followed and left comments. Open up TikTok and see for yourself if you don't believe me!"
"Brother Xiang, quick, open it and take a look!" Jiang Cai'Er was even more eager than Li Xiang, practically jumping up and down.
Li Xiang pulled out his phone and opened the app. 'Holy crap.' It had been less than half an hour since they started down the mountain, and it was still early in the morning, but the video had already broken a thousand comments.
They weren't all from the village, either. There were also many comments from his followers. Its popularity had already far surpassed Cai'Er's "Miss Qing Shui" and transition videos from yesterday.
"This Red Flag Dance is so cool! So awesome! Does Brother Xiang have a background in martial arts? This doesn't look like CGI," one fan commented.
Someone replied, "Exactly. Even if you add CGI in post, you still need to perform the moves. Otherwise, why would actors need so many stunt doubles when filming?"
Someone posted a screenshot of Li Xiang's back view: "I'm about the same height as you, and you can't see the face anyway. I'm borrowing this to show off and say it's me. It's too awesome, haha!"
Li Xiang, of course, didn't mind. In fact, he felt quite honored.
Another fan left a comment asking, "Was it that pretty girl from the Miao Family who filmed this for you again? The camera work looks very similar! No offense, but the visual quality of your previous videos was total garbage."
Jiang Cai'Er was very interested in that comment and replied to it with a photo of her and Li Xiang together on the mountain.
Instantly, her reply was like a stone cast into a calm lake, creating a thousand ripples. Many people cried out, "Stop with the PDA!"
"Damn, I just woke up and I'm already being force-fed this PDA! This is too much!"
"You two seem to be in high spirits, getting up so early to... you know... a man and a woman all alone in the middle of nowhere."
That comment was too vulgar to even look at, so they ignored it.
The old village chief clapped Li Xiang on the shoulder and said encouragingly, "You're a good kid. What's even rarer is your willingness to come back to this backwater village. When I retire, I want you to take over as village chief!"
Li Xiang replied humbly, "I'm too young. I'm afraid I won't be able to command everyone's respect."
The old village chief chuckled. "Don't you worry, everyone likes you very much!" He had always been worried about not having a suitable successor. Now that Li Xiang had returned, he saw hope.
Jiang Cai'Er chirped happily, "Yay! Brother Xiang is going to be the village chief!"
Li Xiang shot her a look. Nothing was set in stone yet.
In truth, everyone had already heard that Li Xiang had quit his big-city job to return home, take up farming, and post videos online.
It was just that, before, no one had thought much of it.
After all, was becoming an influencer really that easy?
But now, to their surprise, the number of followers on Li Xiang's account was skyrocketing. It was on the verge of breaking thirty thousand, and his venture was becoming quite a success. This was a real eye-opener for everyone and had become a major topic of conversation around the village.