Hearing the director yelling 'stop', Lu Ze finally opened his eyes and looked at the idiot who had kicked him, . butHowever, he was rendered dumbfounded the next moment. Leather jacket, jeans, big leather boots...'Isn't this the f*cking main lead?'
He knew the main lead a bit; , as the latter had quite a bit of fame. In his earlier days, he was a member of an idol group in Hong Kong. Now, in his middle-age, he'd come to the mainland and gained fame in war movies.
However, this had nothing to do with Lu Ze. At this moment, he was only concerned with how the male lead was faring after taking the fall. If he were to be scarred, not to mention whether the male lead would hate him, the director would kill him first. In his two years of working at Hengdian, this was the first time Lu Ze he had come across such an incident, and it was terrifying. Not to mention two years, some extras didn't come across such a thing through their entire life!
"Long...Brother Long, are you alright? You didn't fall, did you?"
Lu Ze was somewhat losing his head in panic. There was nothing he could do! The other party's arms were really long. Thus, even if the other party had kicked him, he could only apologize with a flattering smile.
Seeing the male lead trip, the director and male lead's assistants also panicked. They all hurriedly rushed over and babbled on about his well-being, making sure that he was well and good. Seeing that he'd only scratched his knees, they let out a sigh of relief. Soon, the director's initial fright instantly turned into anger, and he exploded at Lu Ze.
"Who told you to lie there? Who the f*ck told you to lie there! Motherf*cker, do you know how much a war movie costs? Will you compensate me?"
As a child who had come out of the hills and was merely twenty-four-year-old, how could Lu Ze not be terrified? Never in his two years of filming here had he ever been singled out and cursed at by the director for a slip up. And the one time it happened, he had created such a big trouble for himself.
"Director I…"
"Motherf*cker, you what? Count yourself extremely lucky that brother Long didn't suffer any injury because of you! Otherwise, you think you could have continued to work at Hengdian? F*ck off! Change your clothes and get the f*ck out of here!"
The director's roar spewed a mouthful of saliva on Lu Ze's face. Furthermore, he conveniently sent a kick in Lu Ze's his direction, pushing him far away, having him change and leave.
Helpless? Certainly. Feeling wronged? Of course.
But, what can you could he do? Apart from accepting the reality, all you can he could do was to endure the grievances, welcome the next shoot, and continue playing as a dead extra.
"Brother Long, I'm sorry. It was my bad; , I'm really sorry.!"
Lu Ze still went to the other party and apologized. Even if he were not in the wrong, he could only take the blame on himself. He feared that a word from the guy would be enough for many people to create troubles for him. Being found half-dead after offending a lead role was not unheard of.
However, the guy never faced Lu Ze directly, not even a glance, nor did he say anything like 'It's alright.' Sitting on the stool under the umbrella held by his assistant, he leisurely sipped his iced coffee.
Even if Lu Ze's lying position was were not wrong, even if the male lead tripped on Lu Ze's his body due to his own mistake, it was still Lu Ze's his fault, because he should not have laid down there.
Changing his clothes, Lu Ze walked out of the shoot while the staff members and extras stared at him. Did their eyes have pity? Perhaps, but none of them spoke out for his cause.
Turning on the water tap by the roadside, he removed the mud and blood serum off his face. He then sat on the green belt and lifted his clothes, inspecting his abdomen. The area around his ribs that were kicked had turned purple. He felt a slight pain as he lightly rubbed it.
Letting the clothes fall down, he took out the last steamed bun, which had already turned cold. He opened the plastic bag and fiercely took a huge bite.
Crunch!
Tears unwittingly fell down.
After finishing his high-school, he dropped his studies and muddled in the society for six years. However, this was the first time he'd been wronged in this manner.
His tears fell on the steamed bun, seemingly adding a bit of salty flavor. Lu Ze took another bite, his tears falling more and more. In the end, he just remained seated on the green belt, amongst a group of extras, eating his bun while silently sobbing. He had his eyes covered with one arm, slowly wiping at his tears.
He hated it; he was not willing to accept! He thought about cursing at the director and fiercely spitting at the male lead to let out all the anger in his heart. However, he luckily didn't do so.
As he ate and cried, he merely vowed that there would be a day when he would be successful and stand on his own, and then he would completely destroy that director and male lead.
Destroy them completely!
However, that was something for later on when he succeeded. As far as the current him was concerned, he had nothing except the ability to play an old man even with the system.
Smoking a cigarette, his mind calmed down a lot. Upon noticing the surrounding gazes, he felt that he'd really lost face.
"Give me a cigarette. Here, have a drink."
Hearing the sound, Lu Ze turned his head and saw Liu Le standing beside him. The latter suddenly sat down and reached out for a cigarette.
"Oh, brother Le, here!" He took out a cigarette and lit it for Liu Le. The latter took a puff and handed a bottle of Sprite to Lu Ze.
"Thanks, brother Le!" Lu Ze took the sprite bottle with a thanks and put it aside. However, he was not too willing to talk.
"Little brother, how old are you this year?"
"Twenty four."
"Twenty four? Married?"
"Uh..no. Twenty four...it's is a bit early."
"Twenty four is not early. I married at nineteen and had a son at twenty one, haha.", Liu Le soliloquized. Seeing that Lu Ze was still silent, he took another puff and said, "You did the right thing today. You didn't get angry and showed endurance. Very good, I knew that I was not wrong about you. However, I don't have a choice either, or I'd be out of here. You...I can see that your time in Hengdian isn't short. You ought to know what we do here, right?"
"I know, brother Le."
'What they do here'? This is was exactly what they do did here!! Supporting characters, extras, or collies. Lu Lie can could be considered a bit more powerful- the leader of the coolies, whose job was to find coolies for the production team and had to rely on the production team to make his living. To speak frankly, he wasn't worth shit. If they said that they didn't need yousomeone, you he could only change profession or starve to death.
"As long as you know. ,,,I've a wife and kids to raise. , and I don't dare to get involved in this matter. Actually, I've been paying attention to you for a while. At my work calls, I can see that you're quick on your feet, and you didn't make mistakes. Thus, I like to pick you. You know that if something happens during the shooting, I'll also be scolded, right?"
"Thanks, brother Le! I must treat you today, or I don't know how else to thank you."
Lu Ze realized in that moment why he would always be picked by Liu Le and couldn't help but feel gratitude in his heart. Although he was only trying to find sensible people to save himself from trouble, he'd the other had allowed you him to make money; the money entering your his pockets was real.
"Haha, then it's settled. I'll find you tonight for dinner. My wife and children eat early, and all I get is cold food. Today, we will eat heartily."
"Of course!"
After joking, Liu Le again turned somewhat serious, "You know that I'm raising specials. Although I like you kid, do you know the reason why I haven't pulled you in my troupe?"
Lu Ze thought for a moment but didn't come up with anything, so he shook his head, "I...don't know."
"You, kid, are tall, look handsome and vibrant, and are even quick-witted during the shoot. All this is very good, but there is one problem. -You don't have anything special. There are a lot of tall guys like you, handsome...iIf you were really that handsome, you'd have been pulled in the circle long ago. Hengdian has no lack of quick-witted people either. Thus, you have no special trait!"
"No special trait?"
"Right. Have a look at the members of my troupe. For example, say fatty…If the production team needs fatties, they look for my people, no? My troupe also has grandpas and grandmas, and also a few foreigners. These are specials with rigid demands in some plays. But, what about you? Are you fat? Are you old? Are you a foreigner? Therefore, among the group of extras, you have no superiority! You tell me, am I not right?"
Lu Ze thought for a moment and realized that it was indeed the case. For example, the second fatty's troupe was the same. He'd a group of beautiful women. Wouldn't the production team of a little urbanstic play look for his people?
Liu Le extinguished the cigarette with his feet and said, "Therefore, I always thought what kind of role you would play in the troupe? Although it seems like you could act in many roles, it would be the same if I pulled people from the street. So, I was hesitating. But, looking at how you faced the problem today and your temperament, I wish to pull you in. No other reason, but just because I went through these affairs when I started in Hengdian too. We're too similar."
Lu Ze's mood suddenly rose. Somebody was willing to take him in when he'd fallen to rock bottom. This was a debt of kindness!
"Brother Le, you...want to pull me in your troupe?"
"F*ck, what of it? I was a bit afraid of trouble before. Having you onboard or letting you go doesn't make much of a difference to me. If you follow me, I'll lead you, and you'll work hard for me. If something like today happens again, I can't take you in. I wouldn't even dare to care for you. If you want to follow me willingly, then follow me.. The choice up to you."
"Brother Le...I do!" A smile appeared on Lu Ze's face. He knew that he'd met a big shot. Even if this big shot himself was not anything special himself, his connections were certainly better than himself. He'd much better ability to lead him in Heng Ddian. He was truly grateful.
"…"