"Really. I am so sorry to hear that," Shen Jingwei said, resisting the urge to throw the author next to him a side glance.
"Ah, it's fine," Lang Yuxuan sighed. With a soft smile lacing his lips, he then batted his eyelashes while looking up at Yan Renzhong's face.
"Senior Yan said that the role is too difficult for me to play. After all, I have only made my debut a month ago."
"A month ago," Shen Jingwei repeated. "Is this your first acting job, then?"
"Yes," Lang Yuxuan beamed at him and Lu Shui both. "I am so lucky to be considered for such a wonderful drama."
Lucky, eh?
That was the understatement of the year.
New actors typically began their careers with small roles, often limited to brief appearances or a few lines of dialogue.
Lang Yuxuan must have some very powerful support.
"By chance, did you sign with CNC Studio?" Shen Jingwei could not help but ask.
"That is correct. Senior Yan is my mentor."
Shen Jingwei's gaze slowly wandered toward Yan Renzhong.
Very good, Yan Renzhong, he simmered beneath the surface. I am glad that you have become proficient at taking care of others.
"Emperor Yan is so capable," Shen Jingwei was unable to hide the sharp undertone when he spoke next. "I am surprised that you did not get to play Xie Jianyu in the end."
"You are my choice to play Xie Jianyu," Lu Shui interjected while winking at Shen Jingwei. "You will do a marvelous job, Little Shen."
Yan Renzhong's left eye twitched slightly when he heard Lu Shui referring to Shen Jingwei as "Little Shen"*. When did they become so familiar with each other, anyway?
"Jingwei."
For the first time in three years, Yan Renzhong spoke his name. A flutter of surprise stirred in Shen Jingwei's chest.
"Yes, Emperor Yan?"
"..."
Shen Jingwei bit into his lower lip in regret. Coming from others, the nickname was a cherished term of endearment, used to express admiration and adoration.
Coming from him, it was dripping with mockery, carrying with it the bitterness of unresolved animosities.
"Can we talk? Just the two of us?"
Lu Shui and Lang Yuxuan looked at each other.
"Author, I have some questions about Liu Wenyuan. Can we discuss a little bit?"
"Of course, let's grab some cheese cubes and talk over there."
The two people walked away in a hurry, leaving Shen Jingwei at Yan Renzhong's mercy.
"It has been a while," Yan Renzhong said. "How are you?"
Shen Jingwei exhaled slowly.
"Let's skip the small talk and go straight to the point."
Yan Renzhong gave him a curt nod in agreement.
"Alright. I am playing the protagonist in this drama, and you the male lead."
"I understand as much."
Heck, he understood more than Yan Renzhong thought! He read the damn novel, all 500 chapters of them!
"You and I... are playing a couple of lovers, who will go on to get married and have children with each other."
Shen Jingwei could sense blood coming up his throat.
What was the point of saying it out loud, again?
"Yes," he forced himself to agree nonetheless.
Yan Renzhong pinned him with a stare.
"We have unresolved issues from the past. I hope you won't let them affect your and my performance in the drama. Act the professional you are supposed to be."
"..."
"And don't call me 'Emperor Yan' anymore."
Yan Renzhong left after delivering one blow after another, not even waiting to see if Shen Jingwei succumbed to his injuries or not.
What?
Whattt?
Whattttttttt?
Lu Shui returned a while later to find Shen Jingwei crackling and burning brightly like a summer bonfire, his anger a consuming inferno. The air around him shimmered with the heat of his rage, and his eyes held the dangerous glint of a wildfire.
"Li... Little Shen, everything alright?" Lu Shui asked carefully.
"Yes!" Shen Jingwei snapped. His burning eyes fixed Lu Shui's shaky figure as he spoke further, "Author, I am going to give my 200% for this drama. I am going to deliver such wondrous performance that people are going to talk about it for decades to come!"
Lu Shui didn't know what happened, but she happily clapped in response.
"Yay~! I am counting on you, Little Shen!"
Once the cast lineup had been decided, CNC Studio launched a Weibo account for "Dance Of The Dragons". The list was introduced formally in the first post, earning 10k likes within a day.
Most comments were, understandably, directed toward Yan Renzhong.
But a Weibo user, nicknamed "Supreme Spearmaster", actually wrote, "I look forward to seeing Shen Jingwei's performance."
Seeing this one comment, Zhu Dongyi, Shen Jingwei's long-suffering manager forwarded it to his protégé, hoping to boost his spirit before the drama shooting began.
When Shen Jingwei received it, he was in the middle of packing his necessities for the next two weeks.
The crew was departing for their first shooting location the following day.
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Author's note :
*For those who do not read a lot of Chinese novels, let this author explain something about nicknames.
Take Shen Jingwei for example.
Those who only know him in passing will call him Mr. Shen, but the familiar ones will usually call him Little Shen (Xiao Shen) or Old Shen (Lao Shen) or Big Brother Shen (Shen-Ge, Shen Dage) depending on their relationship with each other.
So when Shen Jingwei called Zhu Dongyi "Old Zhu", it did not necessarily mean that Zhu Dongyi was old. It just meant that they were familiar with each other. Otherwise, why would Zhu Dongyi threaten Shen Jingwei with his own life, LOL.