I Became Famous in the Entertainment Industry with High Martial Arts Skills - Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Stirring the Heartstrings

After episode five finished airing, the bullet comments had already reached a boiling point.

“What does this mean? Isn’t Wan Yuya a member of the Wan family? Why is he calling the male lead ‘Brother’?”

“I can’t take this; how did my CP turn into siblings (sadness)…”

“The transition scenes in the drama are so natural, not abrupt at all.”

“Can these broken ads just end? I want to watch episode six!”

While the audience response was enthusiastic, the filming situation within the crew was also in full swing.

Shen Fang brought the contract from the investors to the set for Ming Yang, stopping by to check on the progress.

“The broadcast results are even better than previously estimated. The company intends to increase the investment,” Shen Fang said with a smile, sitting on a stool next to Ming Yang to watch the monitor together.

On the monitor, the female lead Gu Liu, played by Su Wu, was pure-hearted. On her way to the capital to find the male lead Gu Huaizhou, she was deceived by an old woman. After some maneuvering and struggle relying on threatening suicide and singing in a teahouse to earn money she barely managed to stabilize the family that “bought” her, avoiding becoming a wife to their dim-witted son.

This is the benefit of a drama that films while airing; it allows for timely adjustments to the subsequent plot based on audience reactions. Casting out one hook after another, they could firmly reel the audience in.

As the plot lines of each character intertwined more and more, the main leads were basically all filming in Group A. Ming Yang monitored the progress every day, looking quite haggard.

Ming Yang rolled her eyes. “When I wanted more investment before, the company pushed and shoved. Now that they see the heat rising, hmph…”

Shen Fang handed over a thermos filled with lotus seed and silver ear fungus soup, offering some counsel: “Sigh, those people in the company won’t release the hawk until they see the rabbit. Let’s not fall out with money.”

Ming Yang naturally understood this logic; she snorted and took the thermos.

The crew was currently filming episode ten. By this point, the male lead, female lead, and second female lead are all in the capital, while the exiled second male lead whose family was ruined has also entered the capital, becoming a henchman under the Sixth Prince.

The plot threaded the fates of every character together. In the scenes filmed these past few days, basically every episode involved a life-and-death legal case. The male lead, highly appreciated by the old Emperor, stepped into the imperial court in his own right, beginning the next step of his revenge plan.

“Scene twenty-nine, take four, the first time!” the assistant director shouted through a large red megaphone.

In the center of a specially constructed wine house, Gu Liu forced a smile on the stage. The song rising from her throat was as sweet and clear as an oriole.

The family that bought her was watching from below the stage. It wasn’t that Gu Liu hadn’t tried to escape, but she had been tricked into pressing her thumbprint onto a deed of sale while unconscious. Having run away from home and knowing no martial arts, it was now impossible for her to fly away even if she had wings.

Su Wu’s acting wasn’t exceptionally good among the young starlets, but crying scenes were her strength. Under the lens, those apricot eyes brimmed with tears, the timing handled just right, expressing the heroine’s inner grief and helplessness.

In an elegant private room on the second floor of the wine house, a tall man was kneeling on the ground, speaking with his head lowered.

“Master Wan, that fellow has confessed. Do you think we should…” His posture was very low, completely lacking his usual arrogance.

“The person is useless to keep. Find a pretext to clean him up.”

The man called Master Wan leaned against a rosewood beauty couch, not even opening his eyes as he spoke. The kneeling man acknowledged and silently retreated out the door.

He didn’t know where His Highness had brought this Master Wan from; the man had the face of a Bodhisattva, yet when he made a move, he was more ruthless than those who were used to the sight of blood.

The soft tune in the hall was interrupted, replaced by a burst of panicked female screams. On the monitor, Wan Yuya, played by Xie Ci, lifted his thin eyelids, his hibiscus-like face showing a hint of irritability.

Under the close-up lens, in those cat-like eyes with slightly upturned lashes, the gaze was like undissolvable thick ink dark and cold.

“Yo, Xiao Xie’s eye-acting here is quite good.”

Shen Fang had been busy haggling with investors and basically hadn’t come to the set. Seeing Xie Ci’s performance today, she raised her eyebrows and smiled at Ming Yang.

Ming Yang leaned back against her chair. “It’s just so-so. The young man’s acting is okay.”

Shen Fang didn’t buy it. “Oh, come on. You’re satisfied to death and yet you’re playing it low-key.”

She also had the new script pages written by Song Ling. She remembered that after episode seven, the second male lead Wan Yuya was brought back to the capital by the Sixth Prince’s men. There was a lot of suffering in between being beaten, threatened, and even fed some secret medicine later on.

Shen Fang hadn’t read many pages at the time before feeling her hair stand on end, and she had casually tossed the script into the cabinet. Seeing it at the set today, the pure and kind Young Master Wan from the first six episodes had completely turned into a different person. Xie Ci’s gaze just now had even given her a start.

Ming Yang’s face was full of satisfaction with Xie Ci. A few days ago, they filmed the scene of Wan Yuya riding a horse to raid the manor of a Ministry of Revenue official; Xie Ci’s movements were clean and sharp, looking stunning on camera.

Inside the wine house used for filming, several fill lights were set up around, making it brightly lit.

On the stage in the first-floor hall, Gu Liu was being dragged off by a group of people. The family that bought her saw that the leader of this group was a young master from a capital official’s family; they took the silver and left, completely disregarding Gu Liu’s fate.

The surrounding diners discussed it but didn’t dare step forward. Gu Liu’s eyes grew more and more hopeless. If she had known this would be her end, she should have listened to her father and learned some martial arts for protection; now she was at the mercy of others.

The male actor playing the silkpants young master looked disdainful. “You’re already on a stage selling songs, why pretend to be a chaste woman? Serve this Young Master well, and there will be plenty of silver for you.”

His words were disgusting and base. Gu Liu’s tears flowed freely, and after struggling in vain, she cried out loudly.

With a clatter, a white porcelain teacup smashed at the silkpants’ feet. Pieces of porcelain shattered everywhere, and scalding tea water splashed directly onto his face, making him cry out in pain.

Before he could even curse, he saw Wan Yuya on the second floor. His face turned white instantly, and he ran upstairs with a fawning smile.

“Oh, so it’s Master Wan after all…”

Xiao Ya held Xie Ci’s thick coat, waiting outside the filming area. As soon as the assistant director shouted “cut,” she ran to Xie Ci’s side and draped the coat over him.

It was almost December now, and the weather was getting colder, but the time in the drama was approaching early summer. The actors’ costumes were very thin. Xie Ci was wrapped up like a “zongzi” [sticky rice dumpling], sitting in a corner clutching a hand warmer.

In this scene, the second male lead, who has already joined the Sixth Prince’s camp, is conducting business at the wine house but saves the female lead, who was forced into singing by a twist of fate and brings her back to his manor.

Xiao Ya asked with some confusion: “Hasn’t the second lead already ‘blackened’ at this point? Why would he still save the heroine?”

In the scenes Xie Ci filmed for episodes seven and eight, the second lead watched the Wan family members he had known since childhood die before him one by one, and even Zhu Qing, who had accompanied him the longest, died a tragic death. His whole being seemed to be shattered.

In the early stage, the second lead was pure-hearted to the point of being a bit foolish even a cowardly character. If not handled well, he could easily attract hate. But the Wan Yuya played by Xie Ci was particularly pitiable; the audience’s reaction to his weakness remained at the level of “grieving that iron cannot become steel.”

This kind of “white moonlight” saint-like role, if acted well, attracts many fans. Xiao Ya could already imagine how much pity Wan Yuya would receive from the audience when episodes seven and eight aired.

As Xie Ci’s assistant, when she saw Wan Yuya being tormented to a breakdown, she almost couldn’t hold back her tears. She didn’t dare think about how much those viewers who liked Wan Yuya would suffer seeing the character endure such pain.

She still remembered that after those scenes were filmed, Xie Ci looked like he had been fished out of water; his forehead and neck were covered in sweat, and his voice was shouted hoarse.

“The character of Wan Yuya becomes more complex the later it gets,” Xie Ci said, taking a sip of warm water. “Once it involves matters related to power, he becomes particularly cold-hearted. But to him, saving the heroine right now is just a matter of a single word. Furthermore, using this power is a part of his self-validation.”

After episode six, every time Song Ling released a script, she organized a read-through where the leads had to discuss their insights into the characters and plot. Xiao Ya’s heart broke into pieces listening; when she saw Yan Feng who was currently filming she wanted to rush in and give the Sixth Prince a beating.

Looking at Xiao Ya, whose eyes almost sparked with fire, Xie Ci smiled and took out his phone to unlock the screen. In the chat box, the message Ji Xiuheng replied to an hour ago sat lonely on the screen. Xie Ci rubbed his fingers warm and sent a reply.

Ding—, the special notification sound rang out.

“Brother Ji, I just finished my scenes. Filming ended early tonight, so I can go home and rest for a night.”

A simple sentence, yet it stirred the heartstrings of the person who saw the message.

“Boss?” Zhou Mo was startled by Ji Xiuheng, who suddenly stood up.

“Drive me home. I’ll look at these documents tomorrow.” Ji Xiuheng picked up his phone and turned to walk toward the door.

Zhou Mo, not knowing why, organized the documents and placed them on the desk before following him out. Strange, didn’t he say he wanted to refine the investment project Sister Tian mentioned today? Why is he suddenly going home?

Zhou Mo drove from the driver’s seat, feeling that his boss’s mood had suddenly become very good; even his movements getting into the car were much lighter. When the car stopped downstairs at the complex, Ji Xiuheng went straight to the kitchen upon entering his home.

Opening the fridge door, it was clean and clear. Not even an egg.

Ji Xiuheng pursed his lips and used his phone to call Zhou Mo: “Xiao Zhou, go to the supermarket and help me buy some groceries. I’ll send the specifics to your phone.”

Zhou Mo had just driven out of the complex. Seeing the boss’s message, before he could even sigh, he was dazzled by the 5,000 yuan transfer below.

Men die for wealth—he died a worthy death!

Zhou Mo went upstairs to knock on the door happily, delivering the packaged fresh vegetables to his “God of Wealth,” thoughtfully including several basic seasonings. Sure enough, the gaze the boss cast toward him was extremely kind.

“There’s a script for an idol drama handed over; they say we can take the first billing,” Mo Li said, gripping the steering wheel.

Xie Ci hesitated; he actually couldn’t quite accept filming intimate romantic scenes yet. Even though he had become familiar with the rules of this world and had gradually come to like his new profession, in his heart, he still preferred filming ancient costume dramas with martial arts plots like Diving Abyss and Han River Crossing.

Mo Li saw through his thoughts and said with a smile: “I guessed you wouldn’t want it, so I declined. Filming too many of those dramas brings no benefit; instead, it consumes popularity.”

Xie Ci nodded in agreement, remembering Ji Xiuheng once said that an actor should focus most on the quality of the work and shouldn’t waste energy on the market’s “fast-food” dramas. Filming too many is a form of damage to one’s acting.

Upon reaching downstairs, Mo Li didn’t follow Xie Ci home. “Xiao Ci, I have a dinner party to attend tonight. I heard the Marketing Director of Swordsman of the World will be there; I’ll go scout out the situation for the spokesperson role.”

Xie Ci put the bag of snacks Xiao Ya gave him into the car. “If you drink, book a hotel room nearby.”

Mo Li nodded with a smile. After seeing Xie Ci go upstairs, he drove out of the complex. In the past, he couldn’t get a seat at a table even by handing out business cards everywhere. Now that his friend was doing well on his own, he, as the manager, naturally couldn’t drag him down; every connection he could clear was one more path forward.

On the television in the center of the living room, episode six of Han River Crossing was being screencasted. Wan Yuya was being shoved into the ranks of those having their homes raided, his expression wretched, his face covered in dust and grime.

With a ding-dong, a knock sounded at the door.

Ji Xiuheng opened the door; the beauty on the screen had just happened to appear at his doorway.

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