Translator: Vian
Slightly edited: Vian (Please tell me if you find any mistakes, but it should be readable.)
Just like the rumors of her being amiable and approachable in the circle, this Film Empress had brought coffee and desserts for everyone when she just arrived at the "Black Clouds" crew, letting everyone enjoy and relax themselves.
Xia Muyan was the first big-name star to accept "Black Clouds" invitation and she was also the first one to enter the crew. The scenes she needs to film wasn't much, it was only one scene, but the scene was with other characters: She needed to pass by Rong Xu in a five seconds scene.
Although she is extremely famous in the circle now and was a Film Empress who has won many major awards, in front of Ling Xiao, Xia Muyan was still only a junior. Even when Ling Xiao was at the height of his career, Xia Muyan had only just entered the entertainment circle and was barely regarded as a popular, new emerging flower.
The scene in the script for Xia Muyan was that she once passed by Ling Xiao during the evening dinner party after an award ceremony. She was acting as herself, a little star who just entered the entertainment circle, but Ling Xiao had already won several Golden Melody Awards at the time. At only thirty years old, he was dearly loved by music fans all over the world. He was a music superstar.
In these short five seconds, aside from merely passing by, Xia Muyan also has to show her nervousness and reverence for her senior.
Director Liang explained the scene in detail to Xia Muyan as the shorter the time in the scene, the more it tests the actor's acting skills. Since she does not have that much time to show all details that reflect her nervousness and respect, she has to effectively use every second and every shot, even the expression in her eyes have to show it.
This kind of scene may have been a challenge for Yu Siyu, but for Xia Muyan, she already had about an eighty percent idea of her role after discussing it with Director Liang.
Director Liang smiled: "Even though the scene is only five seconds, we still needed you to delay your whole day's schedule."
Xia Muyan gently shook her head: "I never had the chance to meet Ling Xiao back then, but I also like his songs a lot. When He jie told me about this, I quickly agreed. To be able to appear in the movie is my pleasure. I have carefully gone over the scene yesterday, please don't worry Director Liang." Pausing, Xia Muyan couldn't help but turn around and look at the tall and straight figure not far away, staring for a long time before asking in a low voice: "I just didn't think that Qin Cheng… would be acting as the second male lead?"
Director Liang laughed: "I also didn't expect that Qin Cheng would come play the second male lead. But with him here, the crew is much more at ease."
Xia Muyan tacitly understood and nodded: "His acting skills are excellent."
When Director Liang heard this, he pretended to be mysterious and shook his head: "Not just that."
Xia Muyan looked at Director Liang confused, but Director Liang deliberately kept her in suspense and didn't continue.
Soon, the lighting group, props group, and cameras group were all ready, and the scene officially started.
Xia Muyan perfunctorily walked to her position and nodded to her assistant. She had just raised her head when she suddenly saw a slender and tall figure quickly flash pass her sight. When she realized, she turned to look towards that youth.
Her heart lurched and a name quickly flashed in Xia Muyan's mind: Rong Xu.
Xia Muyan had left Huaxia Entertainment four years ago to open her own studio, and often invested in films as the boss. Half a month ago, her manager had mentioned a name to her. She clearly remembered what her insightful and sly manager had said to her back then: "It could maybe be a coincidence for "Ambush" to be so popular. But in "Vie for Supremacy", it is definitely no coincidence for him to be even more popular than Ye Qiao. Muyan, Rong Xu is a newcomer with a lot of potential. If possible, I would like to bring him over while his potential has yet to be fully discovered by Huaxia Entertainment."
However, the matter ended with no results.
Xia Muyan's manager originally thought that a little second to third-tier star like Rong Xu who had only acted in two drama series would not be carefully guarded by Huaxia Entertainment and had wanted to poach him. They thought they had only needed to take out an ample amount of money and a better contract to easily lure him in.
But in reality, the higher-ups in Huaxia Entertainment seems to be paying very close attention to Rong Xu. The manager used a bit of their skills to discover that both of the Directors of the Actors Department and PR Department in Huaxia Entertainment seemed to have noticed "Ambush" and "Vie for Supremacy" popularity. Both had personally asked about Rong Xu's situation.
Moreover, Rong Xu was not short of money. He turned out to be the Young Master of the Rong Family.
Thinking about this, Xia Muyan's slender eyebrows furrowed slightly. There was a peculiar feeling in her heart. She has not seen "Ambush" and neither has she seen "Vie for Supremacy", but for Rong Xu to have gained popularity so fast when he has only barely entered the circle, have no formal training, and was so young… it was to where it led to her thinking whether or not he went through the back door and was using money to enter the circle.
This thought only flashed through Xia Muyan's mind for an instant before she quickly threw it behind her and seriously looked ahead.
Three meters away, the makeup artist was wiping away the thin layer of sweat on his forehead and carefully applying his makeup. When everything was almost done, Rong Xu turned around to look. He suddenly found that Xia Muyan was staring at him, but he calmly smiled back at the other.
Xia Muyan lightly nodded towards him and returned a polite smile.
In the next moments, the sound of the clapper board sounded and the scene officially started!
___
The instant she heard the sound, Xia Muyan's expression immediately changed. Her makeup originally already made her appear very young but now, she only looked to be about twenty years old. She had also especially reigned in the steady temperament she had cultivated in these past years; her pace was a bit hurried, and her eyes were dodging here and there as she quickly walked ahead as she held a glass of red wine.
This was what was required in the script. The little newcomer Xia Muyan did not dare to look at her seniors' faces and could only speedily leave. Only till she passed by Ling Xiao's side did she quickly raise her head to look up at him, but at this time, Ling Xiao had already seen his best friend and perfect partner and was smiling as he walked towards him.
Everything went very smoothly. When Xia Muyan was only a steps distance away from Rong Xu, she had used the light aimed at the youth's figure, grabbing the opportunity to turn her head around to look up at him.
When her gaze just landed on this person, her whole person stopped.
The light colored hair appeared extremely soft on that elegant and beautiful face. The youth's eyelashes were very long, when he slightly widened his eyes, the thick and lively eyelashes seemed to softly flutter, hiding the pleasantly surprised and happy light in his bright pupils.
An aura that was gentle like the sea slowly spread from his person; Obviously, this person did not even look at you, but you would inexplicably feel that you would get along well with him. He is not curt, even if you talk to him right now, he would still smile at you, and gently listen to you.
In this instant, Xia Muyan's mind went blank for a moment, but with her exceptional acting skills, she still showed her loss and nervousness.
Loss because she missed the opportunity to talk to Ling Xiao, nervous because she suddenly saw her senior and a major superstar.
And the scene was over!
___
Xia Muyan's was worthy of Director Liang's trust, she did not disappoint him. This scene was over in an instant, Rong Xu's performance was very natural and smooth and was not much different from his performance the past two days so most of the crew members focused their attention on Xia Muyan.
"Xia Muyan's acting is so good, I almost thought that she really was a little star who just debuted."
"Obviously, she's a Film Empress! The world's best actresses compete for the Golden Phoenix's Best Actress Award every year, Xia Muyan is someone who managed to win one!"
Even Xia Muyan's assistant cheerfully laughed: "So simple, Xia jie, this is probably the easiest scene you've ever done?" The little assistant originally was going to go on, but upon seeing Xia Muyan's heavy expression, she quieted down and looked at her confused.
After she put on her jacket, Xia Muyan slowly turned around and with a complicated gaze, looked at the youth not far away. In her eyes, she saw that unfamiliar and beautiful youth receive the hot tea handed over by his manager and listening to him as he drank the tea. His expression was calm and gentle with a smile hanging on his lips, but there was none of the shocking feeling brought by the close contact from just now.
The feeling that she was completely suppressed, as if she had really turned into a small star.
Xia Muyan never thought that she would feel like her acting was suppressed by the other. Even if she was acting as a small star, she is not a small star; she has won the Best Actress Award. Although her reputation in the country can't compare to He Xinrou and Wen Xuan, she should not have been suppressed by a little second to third-tier star.
After a long time, Xia Muyan quietly asked: "Do you think there was something wrong with the scene just now?"
The little assistant was startled and subconsciously replied: "Something wrong? It was fine though?"
Xia Muyan was silent and didn't speak.
Yes ah, the scene was fine, both of them performed very well. That was to say, Rong Xu acted just like a long-time famous major superstar and she had really became a young and inexperienced newcomer.
This youth was very peculiar.
***
In the afternoon, Xia Muyan didn't leave immediately but instead chatted with a few old friends in the crew for a while. Another famous female star arrived at the crew in the afternoon, but this time, she had a scene by herself, not with others. She just needed to finish her three seconds scene with Camera Group B and she would be considered done.
Before promising to leave with her good friend, Xia Muyan left Camera Group B and prepared to go to the main filming studio to find Qin Cheng and Director Liang to say goodbye. She went to the gate of the main filming studio and looked around for a while before spotting Qin Cheng.
Just as she was about to speak up, Xia Muyan's voice was blocked in her throat. Her beautiful almond eyes slowly widen, Xia Muyan watched as Qin Cheng walked step by step in front of Rong Xu and appeared to be saying something, making Rong Xu smile and nod. Although Qin Cheng still had no expression, his cold face seemed to have softened a bit.
Not long after, they turned around and walked towards the lounge.
Xia Muyan watched as the two men left together. She wanted to speak, but she could only open her mouth, unable to say a single word. After a moment, Xia Muyan hid the perplexed gaze in her eyes and pulled aside a crew member. Smiling softly, she asked: "How come I do not see Qin Cheng? May I ask if you know where Qin Cheng is?"
The male crew member never thought that Xia Muyan would actually talk to him! He was so excited that he kept on nodding and hurried looked around for a while in the studio. After seeing that he couldn't find him, he said: "Qin Shen… Qin Cheng probably went to the lounge to practice with Rong Xu."
Xia Muyan's hand tightened. In the next second, she smiled again and asked: "Practice?"
The crew member nodded: "Yes, Qin Shen always practiced with Rong Xu these past two days and taking care of him."
After the other left, the smile on Xia Muyan's face slowly disappeared. She blankly stared at the lounge's closed door, only when her assistant come to call her to leave did she follow her assistant to the parking lot.
When they were about to reach the parking lot, Xia Muyan asked: "What do you think… happened to Qin Cheng?"
The little assistant straightforwardly answered: "Didn't you say so before Xia jie? Although the person is a bit cold, he's not a bad person." The little assistant silently added a sentence in her heart: Of course he can't be a bad person, otherwise, how could you secretly like him?
Xia Muyan's footsteps slowly came to a stop, she murmured to herself aloud: "Yes, he's not a bad person, it's just that his character is a bit cold. Maybe… he actually likes to help others and I just don't know? En, it must be like this."
The little assistant confusedly asked: "What did you just say Xia jie?"
Xia Muyan shook her head and said: "Let's go, Ah Qin is probably impatiently waiting for us. Let's hurry back to the city."
The first famous star to come to "Black Clouds", Xia Muyan, finished her scene just like this.
***
In the following month, more and more famous stars arrived at S-City's Film City one by one and silently filmed their guest appearances in the movie. Among them, there was China's three times Best Actress winner, Wen Xuan, UK's most famous rock band leader, James, the beauty who is hailed the national treasure of France, Cécile, and China's currently most famous singer, Chu Qi.
The majority of the famous stars were acting as themselves when doing their scenes. However, there are also many stars, such as Chu Qi, who appeared as a street performer and sung the songs in Ling Xiao's last album when his new album was about to be released.
But without exception, these famous stars' scenes were extremely pitiful.
Even Wen Xuan, who had the longest scene, had only about thirty seconds of screen time and it was even said that her scene would be shown on the TV, making it the legendary screen-seption. When Ling Xiao was talking with his manager, the TV was on, and playing on the screen was an extremely moving romance scene Wen Xuan just filmed.
In just the span of one month, more than eighty famous stars had arrived in the "Black Clouds" crew and there would be at least two of those star present everyday. However, not every star would go to the main studio, many would hurriedly leave after doing their scenes in Camera Groups B and C.
But there were also many big coffee seats who would come to the main studio to say hello to Director Liang and Qin Cheng.
They were especially surprised when they saw Qin Cheng. Wen Xuan even jokingly look at her old friend strangely, repeatedly peeking at the other before knowingly saying: "I heard that you're playing the second male lead? When are you killed, you need me to send you a yajing red envelope?"
After everything was said and done, the two had once worked together in "Musheng" and were good friends for many years. In a rare moment of amusement, Qin Cheng raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Wen Xuan, saying in a light tone: "I heard you're the female lead of a drama series. How can Director Liang be assured with you acting in the drama, oh right, it was a drama series within the movie."
Wen Xuan: "..."
Rong Xu: "..."
Before meeting this top Film Empress, Rong Xu never thought he(QC) would be this kind of person!
Seventeen years ago when Wen Xuan just debuted, she acted in three drama series. Unlike the Queen of Ratings, Tang Menglan, her three dramas were horrible. And they were even the extremely trashy and crude kind. Wen Xuan clearly performed very well, but the drama's ratings just weren't high. She was then known as the Poison of Ratings.
Later, Wen Xuan acted in a low-budget movie and instantly became famous!
The drama series' rating wasn't good, but the box office for movies was as high as the sky. Ever since then, Wen Xuan never acted in a drama series again, but the box office for the films she took were all higher than the next one and even brought her capital internationally.
After working on "Musheng" with Qin Cheng, Wen Xuan reached the peak of her career. In the second year, she won the Berlin Award for Best Actress and a few years later, she won the Golden Phoenix Award and Oscar Award for Best Actress.
Originally, Wen Xuan wanted to tease Qin Cheng but didn't expect that she would be ridiculed back a hundred times over by him instead, exposing her bloody wounds from her earlier years once again. She no longer paid attention to this poisonous and cold man and turned her gaze to Rong Xu who was standing at the side. A sparkling light quickly flashed through her eyes, but before she even saw him clearly, Qin Cheng motionlessly moved to the side, blocking Rong Xu's body.
Wen Xuan was startled and looked up at Qin Cheng.
Qin Cheng looked down at her and in an indifferent tone, said: "You already finished your scene, you should leave now. It will be dark soon if you don't return to the city early."
Wen Xuan wanted to say something but a crew member suddenly entered the lounge. She immediately returned to her aloof expression, said goodbye to Qin Cheng, and turned around to leave.
Waiting till Wen Xuan completely left the lounge, Qin Cheng then turned around to glance at Rong Xu. It was fine if it was just a glance, but this glance suddenly met the youth's gaze!
After more than a month of working together, Rong Xu's relationship with his landlord improved. The two would often come to the lounge to practice, and the female lead, Yu Siyu, would also sometimes join in as well as the third female lead, Luo Xiaoqing, who sneaks in.
But most of the time, it was only the two of them.
Rong Xu has never met such a complicated person like Qin Cheng. If he(RX) says that he's indifferent, he would kindly help him practice and let him rent his apartment. But he says he's friendly, it's hard for the two to chat like they're old friends. A cold and detached aura always hovered over the other's person, seeming to reject people from a thousand miles away.
The cold and cool man had his gaze lowered while the youth looked up, staring at him.
This continued for who knows how long and the tip of Qin Cheng's ears slowly turned red. Finally unable to bear it any longer, he calmly asked: "What is it?"
Rong Xu didn't discover that the other's ears were gradually reddening. After knowing each other for so long, he already slowly come to regard the other as his friend. Perhaps there were some words that weren't easy to say before, but now, he can bluntly voice it out loud. Therefore, he helplessly smiled and asked: "…Just now, how come you suddenly did that?" Suddenly blocked in front of him?
A light flashed across Qin Cheng's eyes, but his tone was calm as he answered: "Wen Xuan likes younger boys."
Rong Xu: "..."
Wen Xuan who just left "Black Clouds": "Achoo!"
Qin Cheng's gaze was deep and profound, his voice firm, and his tone steady as he continued: "She likes little fresh meats at your age. Before, she flirted with two young stars in the circle." After a pause, Qin Cheng asked: "Or it is that you like her?"
Rong Xu: "…No." But something still feels wrong…
Qin Cheng, however, nodded and his lips motionlessly curved up: "Then that's good."
Rong Xu: "..."
A few years later, when Wen Xuan and Rong Xu have already worked together in several films and became close friends, she accidentally learned about a certain someone's evaluation of her today. This three times winner Film Empress who was regarded as the Queen of the Royal Sisters was angered till her nose almost went crooked and was about to rush over to fight a certain someone.
She did flirt with two young fresh meats but she also flirted with men four or five years older than her okay!
Do you dare to explain everything clearly? Do you dare!!!
***
With the guest coffee seats finishing their scenes one by one, "Black Clouds" filming was also getting closer to finishing.
This film does not tell a particularly complicated story. It was nothing more than a story of a plain and ordinary person being discovered, entering the entertainment circle, experiencing low points and hardships, and with his own efforts and talents, he becomes the Music King.
The final scene of the movie would narrate about Ling Xiao's final song before his death. This song was the last song written by Ling Xiao before his condition deteriorated, but it was never released. He has exhausted himself to write this song before his death and had handed it over to his manager to safeguard. When "Black Clouds" started its filming, the manager handed the song over to the crew.
The song would be sung in the movie.
Originally, Director Liang wanted to invite Chu Qi to sing the song, but as the filming progressed, he suddenly went to find Rong Xu one day and solemnly asked: "Do you have the confidence to sing "Lost Wings"?"
The youth was slightly stunned: ""Lost Wings"?"
Director Liang smiled and nodded: "En, if we have you sing it, it would be more in line with the movie's requirements. What do you think, Rong Xu, are you confident?"
After being surprised for a moment, the corner of Rong's lip raised, revealing a gentle smile: "I will try my best, Director Liang."
Director Liang laughed out loud: "You can't just try your best, what I want is perfection."
The youth thought for a moment, his distinct eyebrows slightly knitted and he helplessly sighed: "Would you like me to help you invite Chu Qi back?"
Director Liang slapped the youth's back, appearing to be joking around, causing the unguarded Rong Xu take a few steps forward. Without waiting for Rong Xu to steady himself, Director Liang's serious and imposing voice sounded next to his ear: "Sing this song well, it would be a great help… for your future."
After a short silence, Rong Xu gently smiled: "Yes, thank you, Director Liang."
***
All the way till now, the "Black Clouds" crew has already finished filming the majority of the film, but new of the cast was still not made public!
It started filming for more than a month, but aside from the actors and crew members, no one knew the specific list of actors in the movie. Numerous reporters have stayed in S-City's Film City for over fifty days, but don't even talk about the actor's information, even the big coffee seats who came to guest star all hurriedly came and went, never showing their faces.
If it's said that the reporters anxious enough for their head to burst into fire, then the fans online were even more anxious like ants in a burning pan.
Ling Xiao passed away three years ago, but his songs transcended through time and space, staying with the fans forever. People who liked him would always like him, whenever they hear his songs, they would miss him even more; those who have never heard of his songs before would also be attracted to his music, eventually becoming his fan.
One has to know, there are still more than two hundred million fans on Ling Xiao's Weibo!
In the beginning, when the "Black Clouds" crew didn't disclose any information, they could still hold their breath. However, as time went by and seeing that the movie was about to be premiered in a few months but they don't even know who was going to play their Music God, every one of them was anxious to death.
But no matter how they went to ask the crew's official Weibo, even if they were spamming, the crew didn't react at all. Therefore, today, the fans finally had no choice but to resort to guessing.
[I think it might be Liu Zhen ah? Liu Zhen's singing is very good and he even tried acting in a drama series last year. The results were quite good!]
[Impossible, isn't Liu Zhen on a concert tour currently, he definitely doesn't have the time, it's not him.]
[I think it's definitely Jiao Jingshan! Isn't Jiao Jingshan not working on anything lately? His appearance is similar to Xiaoxiao, his age is just right and his acting is also good. He even sang the theme song for his drama series before! It's definitely him!]
The netizen's guesses ranged from music idols to popular young stars. They even guessed to Jiao Jingshan and Ling Zhen, but they never got to a conclusion. It wasn't that no one had guess Rong Xu, it's just that the person who guessed him merely placed him on the list of "young stars at the right age" along with a dozen other names.
And these actors who were currently filming are naturally unaware. That evening, Luo Xiaoqing, the third female lead, finished all her scenes and was officially done.
So far, except for a few coffee seats who have not yet come to the crew, only Rong Xu, Yu Siyu, and Qin Cheng have not finished filming all their scenes. However, tomorrow was the day Qin Cheng will be done. He technically would be done, but aside from the previous few outdoor scenes that need to be retaken, his last scene would him lying in the morgue, acting out the last glance Gu Mingxiu gave to the world.
Eight years ago, this talented and unorthodox lyricist died in an accident at the age of forty-four.
When he was seventeen, Gu Mingxiu covered the Heavens when he debuted with the song "Amidst the Fragrant", becoming one of the most popular lyricists in the music world.
But this was not to say that Gu Mingxiu can only write these 'unexpected and shocking' lyrics.
The love songs he wrote can lead people to shed silent tears; his songs of nostalgia can bring people back to those past years. He had produced lyrics for many genres. At the age of twenty-seven, he reached the peak of his life, writing the lyrics of more than a thousand songs. Afterwards, he was quiet for a few years. When he appeared in front of the world again, his and Ling Xiao's names were always tied together.
Ling Xiao composed the music, Gu Mingxiu wrote the lyrics.
They worked together flawlessly, let the two to break through their limits and achieve a new height in the respective careers.
Gu Mingxiu's death was too sudden. Ever since then, Ling Xiao was still as famous as ever, but he rarely releases new songs. In a few more years, Ling Xiao suffered from a terminal illness and didn't survive long before he passed away, as if to follow his best friend.
What was in the past was no longer obtainable, Rong Xu's main scenes tomorrow was to "go to the mortuary to see his best friend's corpse" and "suddenly becoming ill". Qin Cheng's part was even simpler. After tomorrow, he would be officially done and can leave the crew.
However, that night, Rong Xu had just finished filming his last scene and looked up when he saw He Xinrou.
During this period, He Xinrou would come to the crew from time to time. If there was any problem within the crew, she would help solve it; if there was any doubt about Rong Xu or Yu Siyu, she would also give her answer—— because she is the one who was still alive that understood Ling Xiao the best.
___
The last scene today was an argument between Ling Xiao and Gu Mingxiu.
Ling Xiao would compose the song, but he would also sometimes participate in writing the lyrics. The two had a quarrel over the lyrics, but Ling Xiao would never get angry. He would just bite his lips, clearly rebuking the other, but he couldn't even apeak out a single word.
After the two men had a cold war for five minutes, Gu Mingxiu lightly laughed once and asked: "How old are you?"
The low laughter echoed in the studio. Gu Mingxiu threw the lyrics in his hand to the front, the papers scattering on the ground in front of Ling Xiao. Under Qin Cheng's interpretation, this unbridled and unruly lyricist leaned his cheek on one hand, his voice lazily saying: "Child, I'm asking how old are you."
Ling Xiao really couldn't stand to stay here any longer and decisively left a single sentence "I'll be leaving first" before turning around to leave.
Behind him, Gu Mingxiu looked at his back with a cold smile. His long hair fell over his eyes, causing the pair of pitch black phoenix eyes to appear even deeper.
At this time, Gu Mingxiu was already forty-four and Ling Xiao was thirty-six. But even if the makeup artist deliberately added on a few lines at the corner of Qin Cheng's eyes, the traces of the years on this face was pitifully little.
From his first appearance to now, the Gu Mingxiu Qin Cheng acted was always like an unrestrained and wanton ruffian whose dress and manner was slovenly, but his every glance was sexy and charming, appearing extremely handsome.
This scene NG-ed twice when filming.
It wasn't because Rong Xu didn't perform well or that Qin Cheng had a problem, but instead because Director Liang wanted to find a more suitable angle and better lighting.
Because this was Gu Mingxiu's last appearance in front of the audience. The next time he appears, it would be an ice cold body.
When Rong Xu read through this scene in the script, he felt that this scene was very dramatic. But when he mentioned it, Luo Zhentao told him in surprise: "Gu Mingxiu really did die like this. I heard that one day he and Ling Xiao argued about the lyrics late into the night and Ling Xiao first went back. The next morning, Gu Mingxiu took the new reconsidered lyrics to Ling Xiao's house but had a car accident in the middle of the road and died on the spot."
Somehow, Rong Xu felt his heart stopped for an instant. After a long while, he smiled: "So that turned out to be the case… life really is more dramatic than movies."
After this scene was filmed, Qin Cheng first went to remove his makeup and Rong Xu was being encouraged by Director Liang about tomorrow's scene. When he returned to his chair, he saw that He Xinrou has been standing there the whole time.
Seeing Rong Xu look at her, He Xinrou was slightly dazed but then slowly removed her sunglasses, revealing her reddened eyes.
There have been countless viewers who praised He Xinrou's eyes, saying that this pair of eyes are full of emotions. Even if they just gave you a regular glance, you would feel that the gaze is bright and clear, and able to touch even the coldest of hearts. But right now, this pair of eyes cannot be said to be containing a brilliant light, but was instead containing tears.
Rong Xu was a bit stunned. He looked at He Xinrou and without waiting for him to speak up, He Xinrou first smiled and nodded at him: "You acted very well."
Rong Xu gave a small smile and nodded back: "Thank you, He jie."
After this pleasantry was over, the two remained silent for a long while. He Xinrou didn't leave, appearing to want to say something. Rong Xu patiently waited there, his lips raised to a small smile.
It's unknown after how long, but He Xinrou softly sighed, and in a quiet voice, said: "Biographic movies can never be filmed strictly according to facts, there would always be some artistic elements added. As the male lead, Rong Xu, what do you think of this script… do you think it's written well?"
***
At the same time, in a high-ranked club in B-City.
A handsome young man was playing cards with his friends in a private room when he suddenly heard an exaggerated laughter coming near the door: "Yo, isn't it Han Yanghao? Its been about a year since we last met? How are you lately… oh that's right, "Ambush" has very good ratings and is still frequently talked about now, so popular ah."
Hearing the word "Ambush", Han Yanghao felt a thorn poking at his heart. He quickly turned around to look.
Sure enough, it turned out to be his long-time rival!
Han Yanghao coldly smiled: "You're the male lead of "The Summer's Truth", that novel adaption is much more popular ah, how can I dare to compare with you. How's it been Ling Zhen, have you been receiving so many role offers that you're hands are going numb? I really envy you ah."
Ling Zhen's face went stiff and his handsome face quickly flashed an ugly expression.
In the next moment, Han Yanghao's circle of friends ridiculed: "Did "Summer's" rating finally reached 0.3?"
As they weren't people in the entertainment circle, another one of those friends laughed out loud unrestrained: "I remember it was 0.21? It's not bad, the lowest ratings can't even reach 0.2."
"Hahahaha!"
Han Yanghao was still able to hold back his anger slightly. His friends outside of the circle already started sarcastically retorting, but he merely secretly laughed with his head down, continuing to play cards. He didn't say anything, but he has already cursed Ling Zhen a hundred times over in his heart.
Han Yanghao's and Ling Zhen's position in the circle was very similar as the two debuted at around the same time. In the past year or two, Han Yanghao's standing has always been worse than Ling Zhen and he gradually built up resentment towards him. But now with "Ambush", Han Yanghao was about to return to his first-tier status while Ling Zhen's reputation fell sharply and was scolded senseless by the fans because of "The Summer's Truth".
Listening to these people's sarcasm and seeing Han Yanghao's deliberately holding back his laughter, Ling Zhen was infuriated by this attack on his weak point, but held back the flood of curses about to rush out of his mouth.
He softly laughed once, and casually said: "True ah, how can I compare to Han ge. I just randomly worked on a drama, our Han ge is the incredible one. The drama he's in has a bunch of new scenes of the second male lead for him to act with. A bunch of Film Emperors and Empresses would go play second to him(RX), but he(RX) would play second to Han ge, isn't that great."
Han Yanghao's immediatedly stopped messing with the cards, his whole person freezing.
The author has something to say:
Rong Xu: Time is fleeting, the years come and go…
Qin Orangeorange: If I'm going to be playing an uncle, it should be a handsome uncle!
Fuwa: Oh, so sleepy ah…
Readers: Ah, there's still more updates today ah, really want to sent Fuwa a blade ah…
[Four people who aren't on the same page]
Translator's Addition
Vian: So tired ah… how much more till this chapter is done…?
[Four Five people who aren't on the same page]