
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.40Please respect copyright.PENANAQHwDKouByV
40Please respect copyright.PENANAodTWOBMRyK
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,40Please respect copyright.PENANAh2zuRTmssV
and yet, absurdly natural.
The director initially thought it was a fluke.40Please respect copyright.PENANAHs4L5d27uV
That is, until he asked:
“Have you two worked together before?”
The two men exchanged a glance.40Please respect copyright.PENANAql9RCTRaS2
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?40Please respect copyright.PENANAtUsUEmZIZh
“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——40Please respect copyright.PENANAKjrdRphQft
the grueling prep, the mental breakdowns, the nightmare of pulling a shoot structure together in a single day.
But one day passed.40Please respect copyright.PENANAaz9iTMnQGp
And the go-ahead never came.
No call sheet.40Please respect copyright.PENANAJvu3BOWW84
No camera directions.40Please respect copyright.PENANAoI4HsWvdyS
No sign of a start.
Which is how this meeting came to be.
40Please respect copyright.PENANAZLmbe35P45
40Please respect copyright.PENANABMUIsMsEB4
Everyone was gathered around the conference table.
The director had his head bowed so low, he was practically face-down against the surface.40Please respect copyright.PENANADpoDviSDPy
Hands on his lap. Completely still.40Please respect copyright.PENANAKyJEaA4rX0
Deep in thought.40Please respect copyright.PENANAIjuain8KGx
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——40Please respect copyright.PENANAlyfvEoQr33
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.40Please respect copyright.PENANADek4MZvEIp
But his shoulders twitched.40Please respect copyright.PENANAQVurmIUjcv
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.40Please respect copyright.PENANAonxv87Fd4L
Face flushed like he’d just run an 800-meter.40Please respect copyright.PENANAw629lBsZyC
Sweat on his brow. Eyes full of hesitation.40Please respect copyright.PENANA489UxlXl6U
Then suddenly—like he couldn’t hold it in anymore:
“I said——I’ve never filmed a BL before!!”
The air froze.40Please respect copyright.PENANA0JgYYUaYd5
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!40Please respect copyright.PENANAVqyDLRsp3q
Saliva, Vaseline, body wash, actual lube—I couldn’t even pick one!”
“And the prep! The cleaning! The stretching!40Please respect copyright.PENANA9eOsDL5ISA
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,40Please respect copyright.PENANAJvhSBSSc5n
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.40Please respect copyright.PENANATyCYqrxMwv
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.40Please respect copyright.PENANA9VtF2IwULh
It’s tension that feels real—something that makes the scene convincing.”
“Right now, the problem isn’t that you can’t shoot it.40Please respect copyright.PENANA5NItm9CbCh
It’s that you don’t know how to make it both believable and beautiful.”
The director nodded again.40Please respect copyright.PENANA0otow4rhLd
Still didn’t lift his head.40Please respect copyright.PENANApBOY64IWRw
But everyone understood.
This wasn’t some unspeakable shame.40Please respect copyright.PENANAS2cKTc2Msw
Just an honest admission from a creator40Please respect copyright.PENANAEn4pbxVrgI
facing a story he didn’t yet know how to handle.
And so began what would become40Please respect copyright.PENANA1kJ4blCnk7
the most awkward—and most sincere—creative meeting in the history of the crew.
40Please respect copyright.PENANAOYr4HFFUn8
40Please respect copyright.PENANAbGJdz9pQaI
They split up the research.
Analyzing what kinds of scenes wouldn’t overwhelm the actors,40Please respect copyright.PENANA7vzpGc5JEF
what kind of movements could hold emotion without slipping into something pornographic.
Even the lighting——40Please respect copyright.PENANAaAHf0uQegw
which angle to shoot from,40Please respect copyright.PENANADN20P6HgBW
to avoid making it all look like a cheap adult film.
The manager laid out a timeline.40Please respect copyright.PENANA6BvreQy7gJ
The art lead sketched out framing options.40Please respect copyright.PENANAr5Wf9j0zZD
The screenwriter rewrote parts of the scene flow.40Please respect copyright.PENANAH0OeS6uy6J
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.40Please respect copyright.PENANAtkqia3il8K
“Why the hell are there so many names for these positions…?”
Only the art lead was positively glowing.40Please respect copyright.PENANAkldFlnJUsW
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.
ns216.73.216.79da2