It was a stormy weather, thunder and lightning accompanied with its heavy rain made the night scary and gloomy.
"So, this is the character I'm ought to act out?" He Shun held the script in his hands. He carefully read the details of his character. He was one who acted in romantic scenes. It was the first time someone offered him the role of a sinister portrayal of a man.
It was a shock at first when the producers and writer approached him through his manager. He Shun had a face of innocence, and to say that he'd look good in a malicious character came to be quite unbelievable. Not only him, but his fans were also taken aback. Though, it was a challenge that He Shun was willing to undertake.
"That's right. The character is Luan Xie," He Shun nodded his head as a response. He had read the story of Luan Xie. The name itself meant like sin. Maybe that was what the writer was aiming for the name of a villainous character.
Luan Xie, middle born in royalty, had the greed of the throne. To surpass his brothers and claim the throne, he killed half of his family with trickery and betrayal.
He stabbed them in the back, feigned romance with his older brother's betrothed, and made her kill him to escape accusations.
Upon the day of the coronation, his younger brother, one who fell in love with a commoner, led a revolution. The subjects rebelled and attacked the kingdom all together, led by the youngest prince who got kicked out due to Luan Xie revealing his romance with a commoner.
The story ended with Luan Xie burning to death and the youngest prince claiming the throne with the commoner as his queen.
"Alright. I'll take a look at the script as well. You may leave," He Shun walked his manager out. He watched as his manager drove away. Sighing, he turned on his heels and walked back inside the house with the script still in his hands. It was a heck of a challenge for someone like He Shun, who never played such a role.
But He Shun couldn't let himself down. He just won the best actor of the year award with his films. That was enough to show He Shun was talented to play such roles. He looked at the new script that his manager had passed to him. He had to learn it whole for the next day to shoot. He cursed himself mentally. It was such a short time notice. His manager apparently forgot to pass him the script earlier on.
Maybe He Shun needed to burn the midnight oil now. An all-nighter was all He Shun could think about. He made his way to his room where he'd learn his dialogues. It was 11pm, and He Shun needed to join the set at 7am. It was tough.
Well, life was tough.
"Oh, ignominy of mankind, thou, the progeny of the King..." He Shun sighed. The language was hard to memorise. Luan Xie was a man of formal (more like Shakespeare) language, and He Shun... a man of curse words. For the third time, it was going to be tough to manage such a role.
How to even pronounce ignominy or progeny? He Shun was in for a rollercoaster ride. Luan Xie was a character of words, and He Shun didn't know those words at all. Time like this, ChatGPT came to help.
"Such a pain."
He Shun sighed in despair. He read the story of Luan Xie and found the guy extremely annoying and irritating. The latter's ways of living did not sit right with He Shun, but then again, he was an antagonist.
"Speak, ere I slay thee!" He Shun physically cringed. The language seemed to give a comedic relief rather than the impression of a serious situation. He wondered if the viewers would even understand the language.
He Shun decided to call the producer of the movie. He waited for a while before the producer answered his call, his voice groggy.
"Shun, it's so late. What do you want?"
He Shun sighed. "Luan Xie uses difficult words that can't be comprehended unless one really knows English. Do you really think we should go forward with the script?" He asked.
The producer, half sleepy, replied, "Change it as you like and let me sleep." He then proceeded to hang up.
He Shun stared at his blank phone for a while. Well, at least he could change the words into simpler English. He wouldn't bother himself to find the synonyms of each word. He'd just use ChatGPT once again and make the artificial intelligence literally translate the phrases into something understandable.
He Shun got to work. He took pictures of the pages and converted the texts into a pdf, and let ChatGPT do its work.
After a few minutes, it was all done. Satisfied with his work, He Shun copied the text to a pdf and then printed the pages out. The new script was now ready and set to be memorised.
Of course, a few changes needed to be done, but He Shun could improvise on the spot. As for the other actors, they could fend for themselves. He already sent an official message, with the producer agreeing with the changes in the script in the midst of his deep slumber.
He Shun now found it easier to learn his dialogues. He set himself in the living room, lounging on the couch with a cup of coffee as he read the script.
He Shun found the script to give more of a comedic relief rather than a suspenseful action regarding the behaviour of Luan Xie. To be fair, He Shun found his name to be a joke. It was funny.
All of a sudden, He Shun heard a crash in his bedroom. It was not something that could have been shrugged off as imagination. It was loud and clear to the ears.
He Shun grabbed his baseball bat and slowly walked to his room with precautions. He didn't make any noise with his steps. Whoever was in his room wouldn't get away so easily. The storm outside was not making it easier with its thunder.
Just before he was about to open the door, He Shun's phone rang, startling the actor so badly that he dropped the bat. He answered the call in a rush. It was the producer.
"What?" He Shun half whispered and half yelled. He hoped that the person had not heard his phone ringing. Otherwise, He Shun wouldn't be able to catch him.
"What did you send in the group chat?" It seemed that the producer was widely awake now. His voice did not seem sloppy as it was when He Shun called him before.
Before He Shun could answer, the producer cut in. "Forget that new script. It is too late to change it. I was talking in my sleep, it was my fault. We are going with the original one. Good night," he said and hung up again without giving He Shun an opportunity to retort back.
He Shun stared at his phone screen in shock. He went through so many troubles and wasted so much time just for it to be rejected in the end. He Shun put his phone back to his pocket. That was not the problem right now. The real problem was the one who was in He Shun's room.
Taking a deep breath, He Shun steadied his bat and burst in the room with the aim to scare the person. Whoever was in the room would not survive now. He Shun would not let him (or her, He Shun could not care less) run away. That person needed to know the consequences of breaking inside his house, even if it was a crazy fan.
However, he halted mid-way when he saw the person. The bat fell off his hand. His core shook as he felt himself shaking lightly. He cursed under his breath in surprise.
Lightning struck on a tree, quite far from the house but close enough to illuminate the room and the person's face slightly. Thunder roared, and He Shun's heart quickened its pace.