CH 152

A Serious Story (1) – unedited

‘Something that you want, but can never have…’

‘Was the role itself unattainable? Or did the character he was supposed to play have an unattainable dream?’

Bai Qi’s heartbeat became erratic as he suddenly realized the potential meaning behind all this.

“Would you like to give it a go?” Xi Chengyun asked.

They exited the car park and gently slowed down at the slow-speed zone. Bai Qi winded down the window and enjoyed the gentle breeze. “Mn, I’ll give it a try.”

“Great,” Xi Chengyun said with a smile.

There were many directors in the entertainment industry with the surname of “Zheng”. However, when one mentioned “Director Zheng”, a particular person usually came to mind.

The man found success at a young age. He’d directed a diverse range of movies, from martial arts to secret agent movies and comedy shows which explored human nature and societal norms… Every piece he’s directed received widespread adoration; he could be considered a God among men.

The only issue was that he didn’t direct many films at once. A film directed by him is only broadcasted once every three to four years. Countless actors and actresses longed to work with him, but simply couldn’t get the chance to do so.

Xi Chengyun has worked with him twice.

The two movies were shot when Director Zheng had first changed his directing style. Thus, the success from both the films are attributable to the both of them, and not the director alone.

Just as they were about to alight from the car, Bai Qi asked in a small voice, “There were rumors going around that you and Director Zheng aren’t on speaking terms, and would never work with each other again…”

“Indeed, Zheng Ming isn’t a very likable man,” Xi Chengyun replied.

Bai Qi looked at him in shock.

Xi Chengyun rarely commented on others. The public viewed him as an absolute gentleman, a gentleman who wouldn’t even swear.

However…

When he gave it a good thought, it did seem like Xi Chengyun had long let his guard down in front of him, showing him a side of himself that the public never knew of.

Xi Chengyun didn’t know what was going on in Bai Qi’s mind. When he alighted from the car, he walked to the other side of the car and opened the passenger’s seat. He then bent down and leaned over him to unbuckle his seat belt.

Bai Qi controlled his thoughts and placed one hand on the door frame. Then, he saw Xi Chengyun stretching a hand towards him.

There weren’t any cameras around.

So, just from that act alone, something insignificant turned into one that was of importance.

Bai Qi placed his hand in Xi Chengyun’s and Xi Chengyun proceeded to hold it tightly as he escorted Bai Qi out of the car.

Immediately, a valet came to ask if they needed assistance with parking their car.

Xi Chengyun tossed his car keys to him and proceeded to enter the private restaurant.

“Aren’t we meeting Director Zheng?” Bai Qi didn’t understand what was going on.

“Mn, we are meeting him here,” Xi Chengyun replied.

The audition wasn’t in a hotel or on set, but instead, it was in a private restaurant. It was clear that Xi-laoshi and Director Zheng had quite a good relationship that was on a personal level.

Bai Qi blinked a few times as he walked and soon, he saw Director Zheng sitting in a private room —

The man was dressed in a red sweater and white long pants, and he had his hair tied up. He sat there nonchalantly, looking even more beautiful than a woman. There was a menu next to his hand, however, he didn’t flip through it. Instead, he was focused on the drawing he was making on his notebook.

When he heard the sound of their arrival, he immediately looked up, stood up, and said, “Here, sit.”

Director Zheng usually wore a mask and sunglasses whenever he attended public events. He looked half-dead most of the time. As described by the netizens, the host of every event Director Zheng attended seemed to have dragged him out from a hospital room moments ago.

This was the first time Bai Qi had seen the man. ‘Oh, so this is what he looks like.’

Director Zheng and Bai Qi looked at each other.

Xi Chengyun stood behind him and blinked slowly. “Zheng Ming.”

After hearing his name, he stopped staring and greeted them. “Good day to you, brother and sister.” “I’ve brought the script with me. Shall I let Xi-laoshi explain it to you? Ah, forget it, I’ll do it myself…”

Just then, he looked up at Xi Chengyun. He quickly changed his mind and said, “Well, maybe it’ll be better if Xi-laoshi were to do it.”

Director Zheng passed the script to them before he took a seat and waved the menu in his hand. “I’ll order something. Brother, sister, is there anything you dislike?”

“Nope, but Xi-laoshi doesn’t eat garlic,” Bai Qi said.

Director Zheng paused.  He inquisitively looked at Bai Qi before he said, “Mn, I don’t eat garlic either.”

Xi Chengyun imperceptibly furrowed his brows. For a millisecond, he truly regretted bringing Bai Qi along.

However, out of all the famous directors he knew of, Zheng Ming was the most suitable to work with.

Bai Qi didn’t really pay much attention to them. Instead, he looked down and read through the script attentively. The script is very long, and there was no way he could finish it within the span of this meal.

No wonder Zheng Ming wanted Xi-laoshi to explain the script to Bai Qi.

“This is a suspenseful movie set in the Tang dynasty.” Xi Chengyun poured him a cup of tea before he continued, “It tells the story of a main character who embarks on a journey to avenge the death of her family. She was born into a wealthy family, however, her entire household was sentenced to death, and her fiance was also killed along his way back to the capital city. She harbors this vengeance within her as she slowly uncovers the truth of the past.”

A movie with a strong female lead!

What a breath of fresh air!

There weren’t many movies in China with strong female protagonists.

This caught Bai Qi’s interest. He hurriedly asked, “Mhm, and what role will I be playing?”

Director Zheng covered his smile with a tea cup. “You’ll be playing the brother of the female protagonist who grew up in a Buddist temple. He was very weak at birth, so his family brought him up as a girl to avoid early death.”

Bai Qi was puzzled. Ah, oh no, this is outrageous.

Bai Qi turned to Xi Chengyun. “What about Xi-ge? What role will he be playing?”

Director Zheng’s smile grew bigger as he said, “Let’s hear it from Xi-laoshi.”

Xi Chengyun had no change of expression as he calmly said, “The protagonist’s fiance.”

‘Wow, the relationships in this movie are so messy!’

Bai Qi took a sip of the tea before he suddenly recalled, “Didn’t her fiance die on his way back to the capital city? So, Xi-ge will barely appear in the movie?”

“Certainly not. He’s actually the main antagonist,” Director Zheng explained.

“Oh, so he faked his death?” Bai Qi, who had watched countless movies and dramas, promptly made a good guess.

Director Zheng nodded.