The backdrop can also be propped up.

Chapter 296 Are you asleep yet?

Qin Hanyue had just finished coaxing her chubby calico cat to sleep when she saw the shop assistant enter her workspace.

The shop assistant said there was a TV crew outside and they hoped to come in and film.

Qin Hanyue wasn't really keen on agreeing—a group of internet celebrities who claimed to be spreading Chinese culture had come before, and their passionate speech had moved her, so she readily lent them the Hanfu from her shop without asking for a deposit.

As a result, after the influencer team borrowed Qin Hanyue's Hanfu, they returned it filthy, with many tears, and several pieces were missing, along with some of the accessories that were supposed to be sent with it.

Qin Hanyue tried to communicate with the team, hoping that the influencer team would compensate her, but the influencer team gave a perfunctory apology.

Qin Hanyue then connected with the internet celebrity during a live stream and asked why the internet celebrity had ruined her Hanfu and returned it in such a terrible state. Unexpectedly, the internet celebrity's fans came in droves to scold her.

For three consecutive months, Qin Hanyue engaged in a war of words with the internet celebrity and his fans. The conflict ended with the internet celebrity's fans being verbally abused by Qin Hanyue, the internet celebrity being slapped hard by the melon strips made by Qin Hanyue, and finally, the internet celebrity reluctantly apologizing.

Therefore, Qin Hanyue did not have much affection for these teams.

So Qin Hanyue decided to talk to the team in person to make things clear—because if the store clerk went to explain, the team members might not listen.

After leaving the studio, Qin Hanyue indeed saw two women standing inside the shop looking at Hanfu. The older one looked to be in her fifties, and the younger one looked to be in her early twenties.

Qin Hanyue stopped and was about to start her prepared speech when she saw the younger woman raise her head.

Upon seeing the young woman's face, Qin Hanyue's prepared explanation suddenly stopped in her throat—wasn't this the girl who helped her catch the cat?

"Ah, it's you." The person in front of her had just helped her catch her chubby, elusive cat a couple of days ago, so Qin Hanyue was too embarrassed to give Sen Ouling a hard time.

"Hello, how's your cat?" Sen Ouling stood up and greeted the shop owner who owned a very disobedient calico cat.

"That cat is fine, tough and resilient, but it's just angry with me." Qin Hanyue responded to Sen Ouling's question, and then began to consider how to start the conversation with Sen Ouling.

Seeing that Qin Hanyue did not speak, Sen Ouling repeated his request: "We are guests invited by the program team of Qiyan Life. Today is our final day. Since the theme of our gala is martial arts and modern style, Teacher Wei and I chose martial arts style. So we thought we would come to this store to see if there are any Song Dynasty Hanfu that meet our requirements."

"Since we are recording a program, it would be best to let the cameramen in."

After listening to Sen Ouling's request, Qin Hanyue struggled with her own thoughts before finally agreeing: "You can come in and take pictures, but you can't touch the clothes we're displaying."

With the shop owner's permission, several photographers came in, carefully avoiding touching the clothes hanging on the racks, and filmed the store.

"You want Song Dynasty Hanfu, right? Come this way with me." Qin Hanyue said, leading Sen Ouling and Wei Qingchun in one direction. "Have you thought about what style you want?"

“We don’t know much about Hanfu,” Sen Ouling and Qin Hanyue discussed, “so we need recommendations from professionals.”

"Okay, sure." Qin Hanyue nodded, then asked, "What do you need this Hanfu for?"

“Oh, it’s for filming,” Wei Qingchun said. “I want to act in a short drama.”

"A short martial arts drama... set in the Song Dynasty... Do you two have any roles? That would make it easier for me to pick out clothes for you." Qin Hanyue said as she took out various kinds of Song Dynasty Hanfu.

Looking at all the different kinds of clothes, Sen Oling felt that she really should consider a role.

These narrow-sleeved skirts are probably more suitable for characters with high mobility, like female warriors or assassins. Sen Ouling thought to herself, "These multi-layered skirts aren't really suitable for movement; they're more for characters with less movement, like healers." She continued, "I need to think about what kind of role I'll be playing, and whether she'll be very mobile or not."

Wei Qingchun didn't think too much about it; she listened with great interest to Qin Hanyue talk about the various Song Dynasty Hanfu and their status and uses in ancient times.

"These are the most common types. If you were to act in a short drama, which one would be most suitable for your role?" Qin Hanyue said, licking her dry lips and swallowing to moisten her throat after speaking for a long time.

"Oh my, they're all pretty good-looking," Wei Qingchun looked at the clothes in the hands of the shop assistant and Qin Hanyue several times, finally fixing her eyes on the dark green outer garment hanging in Qin Hanyue's left hand.

“This one is nice,” Wei Qingchun said, reaching out to gently lift the sleeve of the dark green long gown. “The fabric is also very comfortable.”

“This one suits you very well,” Qin Hanyue said, immediately picking out the dark green long gown when she saw Wei Qingchun’s interest in it. “Not only does the color match your temperament, but look, it’s also embroidered with pine and crane patterns…”

"It symbolizes prestige and longevity, I know that, the meaning is quite good." Wei Qingchun looked at the outer garment and became more and more satisfied.

Upon seeing that the older customer had taken an interest in the dark green outer garment, the shop assistant immediately picked out a beige inner layer, took all the other clothes from Qin Hanyue's hands except for the dark green outer garment, and handed the beige inner layer to Qin Hanyue.

Qin Hanyue saw that the shop assistant was very sensible and brought her a beige inner layer. She nodded to the shop assistant to show her approval, and then continued to promote the product to Wei Qingchun.

Qin Hanyue continued talking, and finally, she could sense that Wei Qingchun really wanted to buy these two pieces of clothing.

Just when Qin Hanyue felt confident, she heard Wei Qingchun say to Sen Ouling, "Xiao Sen, do you have any ideas about that short drama?"

Qin Hanyue's mind went blank for a moment, as if a thunderbolt had struck her ears—she had been so focused on selling to the older man that she had forgotten to pay attention to the younger one, and the younger one had even helped her catch a cat a couple of days ago.

Qin Hanyue looked nervously at Sen Ouling—what if the clothes she was selling didn't match the roles they wanted to play? Wouldn't all her words have been for nothing?

"Hmm, I haven't decided yet." Sen Ouling noticed that Wei Qingchun was talking to her, and shifted her gaze from the Hanfu to Wei Qingchun's face. "I'm mainly thinking about a short play for the two of us, what we can act out."

"It's just a short play for two, so it doesn't need to be too complicated. But we need to clearly explain the relationship between the characters we play in the shortest amount of time, and tell a complete little story with a beginning and an end." As Wei Qingchun spoke, she picked up a Hanfu hanging on a clothes rack and compared it to Sen Ouling to see which color would suit Sen Ouling best.

“We’ve already decided on the historical setting: the Song Dynasty.” Wei Qingchun was holding a navy blue skirt, but she felt that the color was a bit too somber for Sen Ouling, so she changed into a blue-green top.

"What did the Song Dynasty have? Give me a few examples," Wei Qingchun suddenly asked.

“Uh… the release of military power over a cup of wine, the unification of the south, the Liao, Jin, Western Xia and Song standing side by side, the Jingkang Incident… I haven’t read a book in a long time, I’ve forgotten all the knowledge.” Sen Ouling frowned, looking a little embarrassed. When Wei Qingchun pressed the clothes against her body, she obediently opened her arms, letting herself be a clothes hanger.

“Okay, that’s the background.” Wei Qingchun hung the blue-green shirt back on the hanger and picked out a light pink one to compare with Sen Ouling. “We need to pick one or a few of these events and convey this background in the fewest words possible.”

"However, time is tight, so let's choose the most common one, the Jingkang Incident. What do you think would happen after the Jingkang Incident?"

“After the Jingkang Incident…the political situation was turbulent because both emperors were abducted…” Sen Ouling began to think.

“Okay, of course we can’t explain such a big background in just a few tens of minutes, so we should start with the most common direction.” Wei Qingchun continued to guide Sen Ouling’s thinking.

“The most common direction…the common people!” Sen Ouling had a clue.

“Yes, start with the common people, and the next step is to showcase martial arts.” Wei Qingchun put the light pink shirt back, saw a veil hanging on it, took one down, and put it on Sen Ouling’s head.

“If we’re talking about embodying martial arts, then the most direct way is through martial arts sects,” Sen Ouling said, expressing his idea. “The two of us could play the roles of master and disciple within a martial arts sect.”

"Oh, right. Here, which of these two outfits do you like?" Wei Qingchun said, taking out a bamboo-green top and the light pink top she had just put back.

“Hmm…” Sen Ouling’s gaze shifted, and she saw that the shop owner was holding a dark green outer garment and a beige inner garment, so she decisively said, “This bamboo green one.”

“Okay, now we’re both wearing green.” Wei Qingchun put the light pink jacket back while taking the dark green coat she had her eye on from the shop owner.

"Sometimes you can decide what kind of role you want to play based on the color of your clothes," Wei Qingchun said, gesturing to the two green outfits in her hands. "What kind of role do you think these two outfits would suit?"

“Hmm… a reclusive master, and…” Sen Ouling looked at the two green clothes and instantly thought of the plants on the mountain in summer, “a healer.”