I Became Famous in the Entertainment Industry with High Martial Arts Skills - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: A Stunning Debut

Outside the 1:1 replica of the city walls, refugees in tattered clothes with numb expressions huddled together, pleading with the guarding soldiers to let them in.

The drizzle was like silk snakes, drilling into people’s bodies with a biting chill.

The male lead hunched his back, his hair as messy as a straw nest and his face smeared with grime. He was completely inconspicuous in the crowd. Just as he was provoked by the soldiers’ brutality and couldn’t help but want to strike, the second male lead, Wan Yuya, appeared in a carriage.

This was Xie Ci’s first scene in the drama and his first scene playing against the male lead.

Many people in the crew only knew he had trended on the hot search, but they didn’t know what other merits this newcomer had for the director to handpick him as the second lead.

Therefore, this scene received no less attention than the first episode; everyone was waiting to see Xie Ci’s performance.

Please don’t let him be a wooden beauty, they thought. With Director Ming’s explosive temper, even A-list actors had been scolded to tears.

Li Zhaobai lowered his head, also curious about Xie Ci’s acting level. Since his character and the second lead had a massive amount of scenes together, if Xie Ci’s acting was poor, it would hinder his own performance.

The camera crane moved, shifting focus from the bleak refugees to the figure on the carriage.

Xie Ci wore a navy blue robe. Hearing the commotion outside, he took an old umbrella from the carriage’s storage cabinet.

A corner of the elm carriage’s oilcloth curtain was lifted. An oil-paper umbrella unfurled, and with the movements of the person holding it, a face as white and smooth as a pearl was revealed.

The deep color of the robes further accentuated his fair skin. From a distance, the beauty was breathtaking.

The rain today wasn’t heavy enough, so the crew used artificial rain to create a dense drizzle, which felt just right under the gloomy sky.

Wan Yuya’s mother was a courtesan whose freedom had been bought. If she hadn’t been pregnant with him, she never would have crossed the threshold of the Suzhou Prefect’s manor.

Though they entered the gates, the mother and son lived like ghosts, receiving cold glitters from everyone in the manor. Even when going out, they used the lowest-spec sedan chairs.

The driver was Wan Yuya’s only servant, Zhu Qing. His aunt had seen how pitiful Zhu Qing was and gritted her teeth to pay for his father’s funeral. Since then, Zhu Qing had changed his name and followed Wan Yuya, this nominal illegitimate son, as a manservant.

“Young Master, why did you come out? It’s raining, and there are refugees all around. Please go back inside quickly.” Zhu Qing wore a straw raincoat, with rain dripping from the edges of his bamboo hat.

Wan Yuya refused, holding his umbrella: “I heard some noise in the carriage and came out because I was curious.”

The young master’s words carried a hint of youthful spirit as he peeked outside.

As the carriage passed the roadside refugees, Wan Yuya wanted to give some food from the carriage to a crying little girl, but he was stopped by Zhu Qing.

“Young Master, you can save one, but there are hundreds here!” Zhu Qing was over twenty and had grown up in the slums; he naturally knew more about the world than the young master raised in a secluded manor.

Wan Yuya was startled by his words, but his eyes still held a lingering pity. At that moment, he spotted the male lead, Gu Huaizhou, looking up from the crowd.

The umbrella shifted slightly. Looking at the brilliance in Xie Ci’s eyes, Li Zhaobai instinctively synchronized with the male lead’s inner thoughts in the script.

Self-deprecation, embarrassment.

“Cut—”

Ming Yang had originally worried that Xie Ci wouldn’t be able to keep up with Li Zhaobai’s acting, but now she was dissatisfied with Li Zhaobai’s performance.

“Zhaobai, you lowered your head too fast. The hatred in your eyes wasn’t shown.” She pointed to the script. “The male lead already knows the second lead is the child of the man who killed his father. When you perform, you need to restrain your emotions while still showing that desire for revenge.”

Li Zhaobai wiped his face and nodded heavily. “I understand, Director. Let’s go again.”

The onlookers looked at each other in surprise. They hadn’t expected the reason for the retake to be the male lead failing to match the newcomer’s energy, rather than the newcomer’s poor acting.

Not just Li Zhaobai even the cinematographer holding the camera was stunned by Xie Ci’s gaze just now.

It felt like a “white moonlight” [unattainable ideal], perfectly fitting the early character setting of the second lead.

A pure, harmless male version of a “white lotus,” the gentle young master raised in a secluded manor.

The second take passed in one go. In the last second before the male lead lowered his head, his eyes were filled with bone-deep hatred.

Subsequently, Wan Yuya had Zhu Qing stop the carriage and went down to ask Gu Huaizhou if he was willing to follow him as a servant.

Even though he anticipated being scolded by his father and elder brother upon returning home, Wan Yuya felt a mysterious affinity for the filthy male lead before him, as if there were some natural connection between them.

The male lead was precisely wondering how to infiltrate the Wan family. Hearing this, he immediately accepted with submissive gratitude. Amidst Zhu Qing’s dissatisfied mumbling, he sat outside the carriage and followed them back to the Wan manor.

After filming this scene, the crew’s photographer stopped Xie Ci. “Teacher Xie, Director Ming said she wants to use this look for the promotional photos. The room is next door.”

Xie Ci had seen the leads take their promotional photos yesterday, all using their debut looks.

Besides being a director, Ming Yang was also experienced in promotion. She had discussed with the team to release character stills of the core actors every Wednesday as a build-up before the Saturday broadcast.

This was to pique the audience’s interest and let them guess the plot based on the character styling.

Filming went very smoothly, finishing the first two episodes in less than eight days. Simultaneously, the official crew account announced the cast lineup.

On the morning of October 27th at 10:00 AM, the official Han River Crossing Weibo posted: “The clouds disperse and the mist fades, yet the cold river is hard to cross; the threads of fate, let us watch together.”

The post tagged the lead actors, the scriptwriter, and the director, and featured nine promotional photos.

The male and female leads’ photos used their debut looks under a willow tree simple civilian clothes that looked exceptionally refined on them.

Xie Ci’s photo featured him on the carriage, lifting the oilcloth curtain while holding an umbrella pure and gentle.

The second female lead Qiao Mingyue’s photo was set in a palace littered with corpses; she wore bright red palace robes, looking dazzling and sharp.

The other characters hadn’t appeared yet, so their promotional photos had solid-colored backgrounds. New photos would be taken based on their appearances later.

As soon as this Weibo was posted, it instantly hit number one on the hot search.

The comment section exploded, but the top-voted comments weren’t about anticipation; they were large-scale protests: “Snatching roles will be struck by lightning! Airdropped trash, get out of the crew!”

The accounts had solid black profile pictures, looking ominous, and the replying accounts were the same.

They were fans of the original second lead, Ye Ming.

Half a month ago, when news broke among top fans that Ye Ming had terminated his contract with Han River Crossing, they couldn’t believe it.

Their artist had posted his martial arts training records every month in the group for this role how could he suddenly terminate and leave?

It must be this Xie Ci using his background to snatch the role; I saw someone say he was a ‘resource car’ before!

Ye Ming’s fandom had gathered a lot of resentment. They had been squatting on the official Weibo, and seeing that the announced second lead really wasn’t their artist, it was like poking a hornet’s nest.

However, before they could besiege the post for more than a few minutes, Ye Ming himself reposted the Weibo: “Looking forward to the release of Han River Crossing…”

What followed was a series of official platitudes. Ye Ming’s manager urgently contacted the big fans, demanding they calm the fandom down.

Ye Ming had been kicked out by the investor for being a “third party” [homewrecker]. Out of respect for the company, Ming Yang had only insisted on termination and compensation without exposing the scandal.

What kind of personality did Ming Yang have?

If they provoked her and she released the real reason for the termination, Ye Ming could pack his bags and leave the industry to be a full-time homewrecker.

After about half an hour, the protest comments under the official Weibo were deleted, and Ye Ming’s repost was filled with fan encouragement and comfort.

Ye Ming slumped on the sofa, letting out a long sigh, feeling both fearful and resentful.

But the termination was his own fault; he didn’t dare provoke Ming Yang further and could only force a smile to appease his fans.

The bewildered “melon-eating” public was enjoying the drama in the comments when they saw the top comment deleted.

Before they could figure it out, the new top comment was a massive protest: “????? Qiao Mingyue is the second lead, supporting the junior Su Wu? Am I seeing this right!”

One “melon” after another—the audience was like badgers in a melon field, eating more and more greedily.

The announced actors reposted the Weibo one by one. Ming Yang watched the heat rise, feeling very satisfied.

A drama isn’t afraid of being scolded; it’s afraid of being ignored. When Qiao Mingyue agreed to play the second lead, she had already consented to the crew’s promotional plan.

As for Ye Ming…

She still felt irritated thinking about him. He couldn’t grasp the opportunity given to him. At least he was sensible enough to control his fans.

If he dared to delay her drama’s promotion, he wouldn’t need to work in the industry ever again.

“Release the trailer this afternoon to catch the wave of heat,” Ming Yang said, looking at the edited trailer on the computer.

At 6:00 PM, the official Han River Crossing Weibo released the first trailer.

The audience and fan groups, drawn by the bickering in the comments, clicked in ready for battle, but they were immediately captivated by the sound of breaking tea cups at the start of the video.

Perhaps to appease Qiao Mingyue’s fans, the first scene of the trailer featured her character, the princess sent for a political marriage, killing her husband with a sword, then faking an accidental fire and fainting in the blazing palace.

The “Little Moons” [her fans] had their protest comments ready, but they were stunned into silence by their idol’s brand-new style.

“OMG…” “OMG +1…” “She looks so different from her previous roles. So crazy, so cold and beautiful! I love it!”

The Little Moons were used to their “Sister” playing kind and beautiful leads; seeing her domineering and ruthless side for the first time, they were so charmed they couldn’t move, throwing their protests to the wind.

If their idol’s new character was this compelling, they could reluctantly accept her playing a second lead once.

After all, it was Director Ming’s crew, and their “Sister” was still the biggest star in the group!

The fans quickly comforted themselves and began cheering for Qiao Mingyue in the comments, even overshadowing the main leads.

In the trailer: The rain drizzled. The firelight faded from the screen. On a muddy road, the lens followed the male lead’s gaze in his wretched refugee state.

Hooves “clattered.” A light brown oil-paper umbrella was opened. Raindrops blurred the lens, and from under the umbrella, a pure and beautiful face emerged.

The comments halted for a few seconds before filling the entire screen.

“Ahhh, so beautiful!” “My god, is this the second lead?” “The drama hasn’t even aired and I’m already ‘fragrant’ convinced. This face is eye-candy even as a ‘vase’ token beauty; I’ll gladly accept a ‘resource car’!” “This is too ‘white moonlight,’ he looks so pure!” “The crew officially announced the actors; stop talking about resources. This guy trended for being a Good Citizen!”

“I know, I know! He’s the hottie who took down that 200-pound man with a knife!” “I know too! That video searching for the Good Citizen is still pinned on the Wanyue Police Bureau’s official account.” “Whoa, a ‘violent beauty.’ Since when did the domestic entertainment industry have this type?”

Many passersby who came to see the trailer recognized Xie Ci from the hot search of his bravery, possessing a natural favorable impression. Seeing people scolding him, they grabbed their keyboards and started battling them.

In the roughly three-minute trailer, almost all key characters appeared. As the biggest draw for the early stage, the second female lead had the most screen time nearly half.

From catching her husband’s infidelity to the ruthless kill and subsequent framing, then self-harming to play the victim and return to her country in just one minute, every frame was brilliant.

The male lead also switched from a bullied refugee to a first-class powerful official in court, making the audience curious about what happened along the way.

However, although the second male lead, Xie Ci, only had two clips of a few seconds each, he tugged at the audience’s heartstrings more than the previous two.

The reason: the contrast was simply too strong.

When he first appeared, Xie Ci smiled lightly under the umbrella the image of a pure young master in a carriage was exceptionally moving.

But just a few scenes later, he appeared in blood-stained white robes with a cold expression, standing in a prison personally carrying out an execution a ruthless beauty.

Simply two extremes.

Ming Yang had piqued the audience’s appetite perfectly. The trailer was suggestive but not explicit, making the audience even more curious about the specific plot of Han River Crossing.

The fans stopped fighting, and the public stopped gossiping; everyone was clamoring for the drama to air immediately.

At 8:00 PM, Ji Xiuheng, who hadn’t posted on Weibo for months, went online to repost the trailer.

Caption: “The cold river is hard to cross but must be crossed; looking forward to Director Ming’s Han River Crossing.”

With this Weibo, the already soaring heat of the Han River Crossing crew skyrocketed.

Ming Yang was still monitoring the editing. Seeing this Weibo, she called Ji Xiuheng in surprise: “It seems you think highly of this drama, helping with the promotion yourself.”

In the rearview mirror, the corners of Ji Xiuheng’s mouth turned up: “I saw the trailer. The quality is excellent. Sister Ming, if you’re looking for investment for your next one, remember to bring me along.”

These words went straight to Ming Yang’s heart.

“Hahahaha, don’t worry, I definitely won’t let you lose money.” Ming Yang laughed heartily and hung up after a few more words.

After several maneuvers by the crew, the netizens’ desire to watch Han River Crossing reached its peak, with reservations successfully breaking the seven million mark.

As long as the plot remained strong, Han River Crossing was essentially guaranteed to be the annual champion.

The actors ate and lived at the set, while the staff worked overtime to film and edit, all waiting for the reaction after the first two episodes aired.

At 7:30 PM on November 8th, less than two weeks after the trailer was released, the first two episodes of Han River Crossing premiered on Mango TV’s golden time slot and the Lemon Video app.

Xie Ci was still filming at the base. Ji Xiuheng sat alone on the sofa in his spacious living room.

A guzheng melody rang out, bringing with it a sense of historical weight.

On the TV screen, the opening sequence of Han River Crossing began to play.

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