Chapter 211 Head-to-Head

“I think Lu Yanhe is really lucky now,” Luo Xiaoyu said sincerely. “He acted in ‘The Golden Era’ because of your recommendation, and now Director Luo Yuzhong has recommended him to the ‘Phoenix Terrace’ crew. To meet two such great directors right at the beginning of his acting career is something that other actors would only dream of.”

Jiang Yuqian nodded, not denying it. "Indeed, he is very lucky. However, Xiaoyu, you must remember one thing: whenever you hear someone attribute someone's success to good luck, you must consider whether they are saying it out of jealousy. Who doesn't rely on a bit of luck in their success? The key is whether you have the ability to support that luck."

She added, "Think about it, how many people recommend actors to Luo Yuzhong? Although my recommendation can get him to Director Luo Yuzhong, it can't make Director Luo Yuzhong disregard his acting skills, image, and situation and use him directly. It's the same with 'Phoenix Terrace.' It's common for directors to recommend actors to each other, but whether Director Chen Lingling ultimately uses Lu Yanhe depends on Lu Yanhe himself."

After listening to Jiang Yuqian's explanation, Luo Xiaoyu nodded seriously and said, "Sister Yuqian, now that you've explained it, I understand."

"But undeniably, he was lucky, and actually, I was lucky too." Jiang Yuqian smiled, as if remembering something. "Don't you find him interesting?"

"Interesting?" Luo Xiaoyu looked at Jiang Yuqian in shock. "He's not funny at all."

Does Lu Yanhe have two faces in front of Jiang Yuqian?

“No, what I mean is that he’s very different from the average artist, not so… conventional,” Jiang Yuqian said. “Have you ever seen an idol artist focus on his studies and get into Zhenhua High School? Have you ever seen an artist who immediately starts working on magazines and books right after finishing a film? Every move he makes is unconventional, which probably confuses everyone.”

Luo Xiaoyu chuckled awkwardly, "I saw some people online saying that Lu Yanhe is not doing his job properly, doing things haphazardly and without any real purpose."

"What do you think?"

"I think that he didn't neglect anything. He did a lot of things, but as an actor, he collaborated with director Luo Yuzhong. As an idol, his performance at last month's graduation gala was very popular and many people watched it. As a student, he was able to get into Zhenhua High School. I think that since he does each role very well, why do you care how he does it?" Luo Xiaoyu expressed her true feelings.

Jiang Yuqian nodded. "I agree with you. Think about it, who has the perseverance to do live streams of doing problems and reading for a whole year? If it weren't for the small group of fans he built up through this live stream, he would have completely collapsed online after this conflict with Ma Zhiyuan. The fans who helped him fight against Ma Zhiyuan weren't those netizens who were just watching the drama."

Jiang Yuqian's words revealed her appreciation for Lu Yanhe.

Luo Xiaoyu was thinking that if Lu Yanhe could get the rights to director Chen Lingling's "Phoenix Terrace", that would be really awesome.

This starting point will make many people extremely envious.

-

There are six people in the room, divided into three groups.

On one side are the producer and director of "Phoenix Terrace", on the other side are He Yingzi and Lang Xia, and on the other side are Chen Ziyan and Lu Yanhe.

At this moment, Lu Yanhe couldn't help but glance at Lang Xia several times, only to see him sitting next to He Yingzi, his hands on his lap, his expression unchanged, maintaining a smile, just like the kind of model student who is loved and cared for by the teachers in school.

After finishing her dumplings, Chen Lingling patted her belly contentedly and looked at the two young people with a big smile.

"I see some new faces again, and they're all very good-looking." Chen Lingling looked them over with satisfaction.

Chen Ziyan: "I had heard that Director Chen was preparing for this new film, but I never expected to have the opportunity to meet you."

"Sigh, it's been so long since I've seen you. I thought you had quit being a manager." Chen Lingling waved her hand, giving her a reproachful look. "Why are you managing newcomers again? Don't you think you're tired enough? You always have to put newcomers to work your butt on, don't you?"

"I had no choice. When I saw such a promising talent as Xiao Lu, I couldn't help but want to mentor him."

He Yingzi responded seamlessly, nodding as if she completely agreed with what Chen Ziyan had said.

"Yes, that's how I felt when I first saw Xiaoxia. For us agents, encountering a particularly captivating talent is like an actor finding a great script. We want to fight for it no matter how difficult it is."

Huang Cheng: "Why are you two still the same as before, still so at odds?"

Chen Ziyan glanced at He Yingzi and smiled faintly, "Brother Huang, this is hardly a confrontation."

“Yes, healthy competition,” He Yingzi nodded.

Huang Cheng knew these two people too well; he knew that neither of them would give in to the other.

He asked, "Yan He just finished filming 'The Golden Era,' right?"

"Yes," Lu Yanhe nodded in reply, "It just wrapped up filming not long ago."

"Xiao Lu is really a very hardworking artist." He Yingzi immediately praised, "He just finished filming 'The Golden Era' and started making e-books with his classmates. You can't believe how energetic young people are."

He does nothing productive all day.

Chen Ziyan shot her a sharp glare, her smile as sweet as honey, "Young people do whatever they want, they are indeed more energetic than us. However, Xiaoxia has been in the industry for so long, why haven't you made any moves lately?"

Are you just sitting at home picking your toes with boundless energy?

He Yingzi smiled and said, "He has been taking acting classes to build a foundation for himself. Sharpening your axe won't delay your work. Only by mastering the basics can you avoid stage fright during performances."

Like Lu Yanhe, he does things haphazardly, without any focus whatsoever as an actor.

Chen Ziyan nodded, "Indeed, Xiao Lu seriously hired two acting teachers to take lessons before filming 'The Golden Era,' which is why he was able to receive praise from Director Luo during the filming of 'The Golden Era.' To be honest, I was worried that Xiao Lu, who is not a professionally trained actor, would cause all sorts of problems and mess things up on set. It was a pleasant surprise. Director Luo said that Xiao Lu has a talent for acting."

Did Lang Xia receive such praise from director Luo Yuzhong?

...

Lu Yanhe experienced the most realistic clash of swords and shadows.

It's really pointless to engage in verbal sparring, but we can't avoid it.

This is Chen Ziyan's motto: never admit defeat in a situation like this.

The two of them talked back and forth, and in the end, Huang Cheng had to step in to smooth things over.

“We know that Lu Yanhe and Lang Xia are both promising talents, otherwise we wouldn’t have invited you here.” Huang Cheng felt that he couldn’t keep them in suspense any longer, otherwise he wouldn’t be surprised if the two women started fighting, since they had actually fought before.

“This time, we invited Lu Yanhe and Lang Xia to play two roles: a young prince and a bodyguard who will later turn evil,” Huang Cheng said. “Director Chen wanted to use fresh faces, so he specifically asked his friends to recommend them. You don’t have to compete for the same role.”

He Yingzi: "..."

Chen Ziyan was speechless.

"Brother Huang, are you deliberately teasing us?"

"Haha, it's mainly because I haven't seen you two in a long time, and I kind of miss the way you used to argue."

Chen Lingling nodded and said, "I also want to see you two argue."

Chen Ziyan: "...So it turns out you two didn't come here to pick actors, but to watch He Yingzi and me act."

Huang Cheng said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't explain it clearly at the beginning."

Suddenly the competition was over, and Chen Ziyan and He Yingzi exchanged a glance and decided to give up.

Chen Lingling said, "However, both of you need to join the crew early to learn some etiquette."

“No problem, Director Chen, whatever you need us to do, we’ll cooperate.” He Yingzi immediately replied.

-

Lu Yanhe, however, found it difficult to fully cooperate.

"Sister Ziyan, I still have to go to school later, what should I do?" Lu Yanhe was worried that his class schedule would affect filming.

Chen Ziyan: "You don't need to worry about that. I will negotiate and communicate with them. I will talk to them about this after your official class schedule is released. I didn't expect that Chen Lingling would take a liking to both of you at the same time and even play two roles at the same time."

Is there a problem with this?

"The problem lies with He Yingzi. Her most common tactic is marketing, stepping on others to get ahead. If you act with Lang Xia, there will be a lot of trouble later."

Lu Yanhe laughed and said, "I believe in Sister Ziyan."

"I hope He Yingzi can learn from this experience and stop using those tricks. Nowadays, audiences prefer to see actors create on-screen couples rather than fights between them."

"Creating a CP? With Lang Xia?" Lu Yanhe's face turned green. "Sister Ziyan, please let me go."

Chen Ziyan couldn't stop laughing.

"You know what, creating a couple on screen really does make people popular quickly."

"I'd rather not be famous," Lu Yanhe said.

Chen Ziyan: "It's not necessarily about you creating a CP with Lang Xia. You will definitely have your own romantic storyline in the play, and you can create a CP with your romantic partner."

Lu Yanhe was still somewhat resistant and shook his head, "Sister Ziyan, please let me go."

"Why don't you want to stir-fry it?" Chen Ziyan asked.

Lu Yanhe honestly admitted, "I have someone I like."

"Oh, that young girl Chen Siqi?" Chen Ziyan asked.

Lu Yanhe nodded.

Chen Ziyan: "Okay, let's not deliberately hype it up. But you're an actress, and you'll be acting in a lot of romance dramas in the future. Many actresses will also play your love interests, just like Jiang Yuqian before. I guarantee you, when 'The Golden Era' airs, many people will suspect that you and Jiang Yuqian developed feelings for each other on set, especially the part where you two are in love. I've already seen it. I don't know how popular it will be, but there will definitely be CP fans for the two of you. When we cooperate with the production team for promotion, we'll definitely encounter a lot of issues related to this."

Lu Yanhe: "As long as I don't deliberately create a CP (couple pairing) with people, I don't care what others think."

"Just wait and see how He Yingzi will generate buzz for Lang Xia."

-

Why did you want them both to come together?

After everyone had left, Huang Cheng finally asked Chen Lingling the question that had been bothering him.

Chen Lingling said, "The two characters they are going to play are originally at odds, with a strong sense of competition between them. I want to see their instinctive reactions in this situation by having them come together without knowing the truth and mistakenly believe that the other is a competitor."

"Did you find anything?" Huang Cheng asked.

Chen Lingling nodded, "These two people must not get along."

She flashed a bright smile and said, "These two will probably have a lot of chemistry when they film together."

Huang Cheng: "Aren't you afraid they'll lose control? Chen Ziyan and He Yingzi got into a fight over a billing order before. They did lose control when they faced each other."

Chen Lingling shook her head and said, "Neither of them are the male lead this time, so what's the point of arguing about who gets top billing?"

"That's not necessarily true. He Yingzi might compromise a little when working with others, but it's absolutely impossible with Chen Ziyan. She wouldn't lose out at all."

"If they fight over billing order, then tell them that whoever signs the contract first will have a higher billing order."

-

Lu Yanhe went for a makeup trial three days later.

This was Lu Yanhe's first time dressing in ancient costume.

He played a guard, who was heroic and upright, full of valor.

As soon as he came out in his makeup, he immediately drew gasps of amazement from those around him.

Chen Ziyan also took a photo, nodded, and said, "Your ancient costume look is very good."

Lu Yanhe glanced at himself in the mirror and saw that he was indeed a young and dashing man, wearing a helmet and exuding the spirited air of a young general.

However, he was not a general; he played the role of a guard.

However, while everyone else was satisfied, Chen Lingling glanced at his appearance and immediately shook her head, saying, "This one is too handsome, too handsome. I want to give people a slightly shabby feeling, so that at first glance, this person is a spirited young general, but in reality, he is just a guard in the mansion."

Upon hearing this, the stylist thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll add a distressed effect to the sleeves and hem."

“Yes, that’s a good idea.” Chen Lingling nodded. “Yan He, you need to know that the guard you’re playing is extremely proud yet extremely insecure. So, when you’re portraying this character, you need to be more stubborn, rather than the confident one.”

Lu Yanhe nodded.

Chen Lingling looked Lu Yanhe up and down, gave her feedback, nodded, and said with satisfaction, "He's just like I imagined."

Lu Yanhe didn't know which aspect Chen Lingling was referring to.

Chen Lingling said, "The biggest difference between acting in period dramas and modern dramas is the rhythm of speech. You need to prepare yourself in advance. Your words and actions cannot be the same as modern people. There are strict rules and regulations and different social statuses. People of different statuses have different words and actions. These are things you need to learn when you join the crew in advance. I have hired instructors for you all."

"Thank you, director," Lu Yanhe said.

I've been hit by this. I never imagined that typing 4,000 words would take more than ten hours. My fingers are so weak, it's unbearable.

(End of this chapter)