"Stop! Sheng Xing Ze, you have to show the desire to have but can't obtain; an ambiguous expression, not the one where you've just caught your lover cheating on you!"\n
His consciousness slowly returned to him from the darkness, yet a loud roar exploded through his middle ear.
His field of vision had not recovered very well, it was like a drunk person waking up the next day, not knowing where he was. He saw a white light in front of him, like the neon lights at the nightlight district he had seen before he passed out at the bar.
Am I dreaming? He was not sure.
Sheng Xing Ze's last memory stopped at a glass of Sunset Mojito that the bartender passed to him. Under the dim light, the alcohol had a breathtaking orange-red color, just like what it was now---
The view in front of him started to regroup in orange-red blocks, the pixels were coming together for a clearer view, and a little increase in brightness; a middle-aged man wearing an orange half-sleeve shirt with an unhappy expression were in front of his view. The man was holding a big speaker in his hand and seemed to be walking up to him. When the man saw Sheng Xing Ze staring blankly at him, he felt his anger had reached a new level, but he did not dare to get angry at him, so he only shouted, "Ten minutes break!"
Dreaming of the filming set again? But he was sure that this was not the filming set that he had in his memory. Sheng Xing Ze subconsciously pinched his cheek; if this was really a dream, this pain was too real.
The director and the rest of the crew found random places around the set to take their break , suddenly there was a male voice speaking up in a mocking manner: "Sheng Xing Ze, if you don't want to act, then hurry up and withdraw from this movie, don't drag everyone down with you. If Lin Mu were here, we wouldn't be wasting our time with your many NGs."
This dream was too real...hold on? Lin Mu?
Sheng Xing Ze froze for a moment, this name was surprisingly familiar...he quietly glanced over to the person who just spoke, this kind of feature...
He tested out his guess: "Yuan Xiu?"
It seemed that his guess was correct, the other party snorted at him, "What this, the almighty master still remembers my name?"
Of course he remembered. No wonder he felt this sense of familiarity that he could not get rid of...wasn't this the danmei novel that he had read not too long ago? According to what other people had been calling him--
"Of course, if Senior Yuan can persuade the investors to change their minds, I would have no comment."
Sheng Xing Ze in the novel--coincidentally, the character has the same name and surname as his, that was why he paid more attention to the plot surrounding this character while reading this book. The original owner was a good-for-nothing kid, and an arrogant one at that; however, he was not an evil person, that was why such a small role like Yuan Xiu was able to bully him. Sheng Xing Ze picked up the script and deliberately made a loud clattering sound, "Only if Senior Yuan really has this ability."
Thanks to evil capitalism.
Seeing Yuan Xiu could not retort back, Sheng Xing Ze lowered his gaze.
Yuan Xiu could not be compared to the original owner who brought his own capital into the set. Networks and money were quite scarce for Yuan Xiu, plus he was not a smart person. He believed that Yuan Xiu was being challenged by Lin Mu, that was why he dared to say such words.
Well, the most interesting thing about people is that they are stupid and do not know it.
According to the storyline of that book, he was to play Su Jin Mu in this new movie, even though he was just a third male lead, this character was very well received by the audience; as long as the actor could provide a basic acting skill, he for sure would become popular.
Lin Mu had planned to use this role as a springboard for him to make a break in this entertainment circle; but, Sheng Xing Ze was faster by one step and snatched this away from him, it was normal for him to get all angry. With his chance stolen from him, Lin Mu personally called Yu Bai, the male lead of "Xing Lan," to say a few bad words about the original owner.
Yu Bai was Lin Mu's senior at the theater school and had a good impression of Lin Mu. Hearing Lin Mu's words, his impression of the original owner was at below zero from the beginning. After he joined the set, he did not like the original owner's personality and even let some bad rumors about the original owner circulating around.
Yu Bai was the Film Emperor with a wealthy background, he had both high status and talent. Because of him, the original owner was forced to withdraw from the entertainment circle due to various pressures.
Lin Mu was waiting for this moment. He hired a group of gangsters to beat the original owner to death. The original owner's parents were shocked when receiving the news, suddenly white-haired men sent the black-haired man off. Incidentally, the two of them died in a car accident.
The original owner was just a cannon fodder. Liu Mu obviously took back his role, then embarked on his road to become the most popular star in the entertainment circle.
Subtle and bloody...how was he able to read such a novel?
Sheng Xing Ze rubbed his forehead at the thought, but to other people it looked like he was having a hard time with the script and they broke into small whispers.
"Why join the set when you can't even act?"
In fact, the director was also having a headache with him entering their set. This money was very important for their movie. Otherwise, he would never let Sheng Xing Ze take on this role, as the saying goes some people are too willing to help you, but then you can't get rid of them. Even with a good editing team, Sheng Xing Ze's acting was beyond their ability...
The protagonist of this movie is Bai Xing Lan, the top pharmacist, who gets severely poisoned. When he cannot find the antidote, he has found Su Jin Mu who has a special physique and he wants to cite him as an antidote. Since Su Jin Mu is raised by him, Bai Xing Lan does not have a heart to take his own apprentice as his medicine. On the other hand, Su Jin Mu's affection for his teacher gradually changes its form as he grows older. Right now, they were about to film the scene where Su Jin Mu discovers the ambiguous interaction between the main male lead, Yu Bai and the main female lead. Although he is unwilling, he decides to let go of his feelings.
This scene was not difficult; before being transmigrated, he was also a film emperor. After many years in the entertainment industry, he finally climbed to the top position. Acting was like an instinct to him. Taking in a deep breath, Sheng Xing Ze quickly adopted Su Jin Mu's emotions, his whole person's aura changed in an instant.
"Get into position! Everyone gets into your place!"
The director called everyone into their place with a loudspeaker, and at this time Sheng Xing Ze was no longer a talentless actor, he was now Su Jin Mu.
The last shot was Su Jin Mu's determination to seal his feelings for his teacher forever.
In the deep corridor, the childish young man in white clothes hides in the corner, looking at the person he admired smiles gently with another person; biting his lower lip, his hold on the wall gradually tightens but then he slowly lets go; his desire in those eyes finally comes to an end.
The young boy has no expression on his face, but it makes people feel that he covers himself in a hard shell, yet fragile.
He just watches his teacher drifting away from him, even when Bai Xing Lan's figure is long gone, his body is not moving.
There was a moment of silence all around, even the lightning engineer felt his emotion was being affected by this. Everyone seemed to see the young man coming out of the script, standing in front of them, silently begging his teacher to look at him again--
Please look at me.
"Amazing! That was amazing!" The director woke out of his daze, looking at the monitor in excitement, each frame with Sheng Xing Ze in it was perfect with no flaw, "you're a good seedling actor! Keep this up!" He hugged Sheng Xing Ze's shoulder as if he had found his treasure chest.
At first, he was forced to choose Sheng Xing Ze, even though Lin Mu's acting skill was not superior, at least the other would be able to provide an achievable acting with basic lines. In contrast, Sheng Xing Ze was a walking beauty with no talent. However, he was now extremely grateful for the decision he made.
"That look just now was absolutely stunning, a close-up when editing..."
Zhang Chao, the director, was still talking to him nonstop, Sheng Xing Ze smiled modestly from time to time, "It was all thanked to the director's good instructions, earlier your words helped me better understand the character's emotions and thinkings...Just that, there are some dialogues I still don't understand, may I ask for your guidance with them?"
The director naturally agreed to assist people who love to learn, without hesitation he said, "Come with me...I'll tell you more about this character while we eat..."
Sheng Xing Ze smiled a little; this face of his was actually very good-looking, he is pure Chinese, yet he has features of a mixed blood. No one could help but look at such an exquisite face. It was a pity that the original owner was such an arrogant child with a quick hot temper that made people feel uncomfortable around him. Not to mention his temperament and taste in fashion, it did not matter how expensive the brand is, he could manage to make them look cheap.
However, now this body had a new soul, his temperament also had made a drastic change.
"With that say, shall we go out to eat? I know a nice hotel [1] nearby and has already asked my assistant to make a reservation," he took the opportunity to give a signaling gesture to his assistant, "I don't know if Director Zhang is willing to accept this invitation?"
His assistant Mi Hu Qiu was a little dumbfound, what hotel? How could there be a hotel in this remote area? But due to his professionalism, he did not show any sign of surprise on his face, instead he went out pretending to make a phone call. The director understood that Sheng Xing Ze wanted to talk with him in private to create a good relationship, "No need, no need, we're on a short schedule, so lunchtime is not that long, we can just eat lunch at the set."
This young master brought his own capital into the set, how was it possible that he was trying to make good relationships with others? Then, it must be someone dared to go against him? Zhang Chao smiled bitterly, "Young Master Zheng, is there something you are unhappy with?"
He questioned himself, was it because he shouted at him out of his impatience just now? So the young master was being annoyed?
Other people had gone on their way when the director let everyone be on lunch break, so now there were only the two of them here. Obviously, this was a convenient place to talk, "Director Zhang, you think that I'm here about your words earlier?" Sheng Xing Ze gave out a small chuckle, "How can I, it was my fault and I'm not a little child who is getting angry over little things. But, I dare to ask, Yuan Xiu...who arranged for him to be in the set?"
---
Note:
[1] Most hotels in China serve food for their non-guest customers, it's like a restaurant attached to the hotel on the first floor, or sometimes in a private room. So it's normal for people to book a reservation for a private party or important meeting at a hotel to talk about business.