Chapter 277 Guest Appearance (11,000 words updated!)

Shi Xia is Shi Xia. Many people who couldn't reserve seats arrived in a steady stream, filling the aisles and back rows. That's the power of a great writer; even those who aren't literature majors know him, have read his works, are his readers, and want to hear him share his insights in person.

Lu Yanhe and Wang Xiao were both on-site as Shi Xia's liaisons, responsible for coordination.

Once Shi Xia took the stage and began speaking, their work came to a temporary halt.

Wang Xiao suddenly winked at Lu Yanhe, gesturing for Lu Yanhe to look in a certain direction.

Lu Yanhe was taken aback and looked in the direction Wang Xiao pointed.

Chen Siqi was sitting in the second row of the audience.

Lu Yanhe immediately laughed.

Chen Siqi didn't see him; instead, she was focused on listening to Shi Xia recounting his childhood memories.

Wang Xiao whispered to Lu Yanhe, "Did Editor-in-Chief Chen come all this way specifically for Teacher Shi Xia?"

Lu Yanhe could see the mocking look in Wang Xiao's eyes as soon as he turned his head.

He smiled, shook his head, and said, "Otherwise, why would I have come back specifically for you?"

Wang Xiao: "I haven't even greeted Editor-in-Chief Chen yet. You'll have to introduce me to him later. You've already given a presentation on 'Jump Up,' but Editor-in-Chief Chen hasn't come yet. In another year or two, I'll have to invite him over as well."

Lu Yanhe glanced at Wang Xiao helplessly, but did not refuse.

Wang Xiao, this senior, often talks nonsense and sometimes gives people the impression of being "unserious," but putting that aside, he is a person with outstanding comprehensive qualities in all aspects.

His ability to stand out at a university like Zhenhua and become a pillar of the Youth Association clearly indicates a bright future for him.

To some extent, he and Chen Siqi have a lot in common in terms of their ambition.

To win someone over, one can go to great lengths.

In order to get Lu Yanhe into the Youth Association, Wang Xiao repeatedly tried to persuade Lu Yanhe, just like Chen Siqi is now trying to persuade Shi Xia.

-

If Shi Xia comes to give a lecture, Miao Yue will definitely come to listen.

When Chen Shiqiu, her counselor, saw that man again, he realized that this was definitely not a simple matter.

Last time, Lu Yanhe said that the man was a producer who wanted to buy the film adaptation rights to one of Miao Yue's novels, which dispelled Chen Shiqiu's suspicions. However, several months later, when he saw him again by Miao Yue's side, Chen Shiqiu's radar as a counselor immediately went off.

The man who appeared next to Miao Yue today was none other than Liu Bige, who had been working with Miao Yue on the script for "Late Spring" recently.

Liu Bige came today also because of Shi Xia. He asked Miao Yue to help him make a reservation and managed to get a seat.

As soon as Shi Xia's lecture ended, Chen Shiqiu saw Miao Yue and Liu Bige preparing to leave together, and immediately followed them.

Today, right under his nose, he absolutely will not allow Miao Yue to foolishly follow Liu Bige out of school.

He pretended to be surprised in the corridor and called out to Miao Yue.

"Miao Yue, which college is this student from?" Chen Shiqiu asked with a smile.

Miao Yue looked at Chen Shiqiu in surprise and said, "Teacher Chen, isn't this the producer I told you about last time, the one who wanted to adapt my novel into a movie? Liu Bige."

Liu Bige extended his hand to shake hands with Chen Shiqiu.

"Hello, Teacher Chen, I am Liu Bige."

Chen Shiqiu shook hands with him, looked him over carefully, and said, "Producer Liu...? Is it appropriate for me to address you like that?"

"Do whatever you like, it's fine with you." Liu Bige smiled faintly.

Chen Shiqiu asked, "How's your film coming along?"

"We're still working on the script," Liu Bige said.

Chen Shiqiu nodded and looked at Miao Yue, "Miao Yue, were you also involved in the scriptwriting?"

Miao Yue nodded and said, "Yes, Teacher Chen, I'm also a screenwriter, and I write with him."

Chen Shiqiu was taken aback.

He hadn't expected that the script would actually be related to Miao Yue.

He originally wanted to ask Miao Yue, since the script has nothing to do with you, and the subsequent events after you sold your novel to them for adaptation into a movie have nothing to do with you, why are you still in such close contact with Liu Bige?

Chen Shiqiu was mainly worried that Miao Yue, a freshman girl, might be deceived by someone from outside the university.

Especially those from outside the school who are much older than Miao Yue.

Now that he has no legitimate reason to act, he can't say anything more.

Seeing that Chen Shiqiu was silent, Miao Yue said, "Teacher Chen, I'll see him out first."

"Okay, come back soon. I'll be checking your dorms at ten o'clock later," Chen Shiqiu said.

“Okay, Teacher Chen, I’ll drop him off at the school gate and come right back,” Miao Yue said.

"Then we'll be going now." Liu Bige glanced at Chen Shiqiu, nodded, and left with Miao Yue.

Chen Shiqiu's eyes narrowed instantly.

Was it just his imagination? Why did he feel that Liu Bige's last look just now seemed like a provocation?

“Teacher Chen.” Lu Yanhe’s voice sounded from behind him.

Chen Shiqiu turned around and saw Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi.

Although this was his first time meeting Chen Siqi in person, he had seen her photos online before.

Chen Siqi, who has appeared on the trending topics several times with Lu Yanhe, is now considered a minor celebrity due to her connection with the editor-in-chief of "Jump Up".

"Yan He, Si Qi," Chen Shiqiu greeted them.

Chen Siqi was a little surprised, "Teacher Chen knows me?"

Chen Shiqiu laughed, “Of course I know him, I’m a loyal reader of ‘Jump Up’.”

Chen Siqi smiled, flattered, and greeted him, "Hello, Teacher Chen."

Chen Shiqiu glanced at Lu Yanhe and asked, "Where is Siqi staying tonight?"

Chen Siqi said, "My flight is tonight, back to Jiangguang, so I have to go to the airport now."

Chen Shiqiu looked at her in surprise: "Going back so late?"

"Yes, I have class at eight o'clock tomorrow morning, so I have to rush back to class," Chen Siqi said. "I came today to see Teacher Shi Xia, and I just greeted him. Now that my mission is accomplished, I have to go back."

Lu Yanhe also said, "Teacher Chen, I need to ask you for leave tonight. I won't be sleeping in the dormitory tonight. I'm taking her to the airport, and I probably won't be back until midnight."

Chen Shiqiu nodded, "Okay, no problem."

-

"Teacher Shi Xia has been refusing to budge, is everything alright?" Lu Yanhe asked Chen Siqi.

"This is nothing yet. I'm prepared for a long haul," Chen Siqi said calmly. "No rush."

Lu Yanhe nodded, "I was worried that you were unhappy because Teacher Shi wouldn't budge."

“How could that be? You’ve been pestering such a great writer for half a year, and you expect him to give you his manuscript? How could that be possible? Everyone cherishes their reputation, and our magazine has only published a few issues.” Chen Siqi said, “Liu Jiazhen was willing to give us the manuscript because of your personal relationship with him and the efforts of Jiangyin Publishing House. Teacher Baduanjin was willing to give us the manuscript because we need each other. As for Teacher Shi Xia, what does he need from us? It’s entirely our need for him.”

Lu Yanhe asked, "Where is Teacher Baduanjin from? I haven't met him yet. If there's a chance, let's have a meal together."

Chen Siqi said, "He's not in Yuming. I'll arrange it when there's an opportunity."

Lu Yanhe nodded.

Chen Siqi then asked, "The show 'Idol Era' wants to place three advertisements in our magazine. Do you think that's appropriate?"

"What do you think?" Lu Yanhe asked.

Chen Siqi thought for a moment and said, "To be honest, I don't really want to add advertising pages to the magazine. Right now, we can make money just from the sales of our own works. But if we want to expand the magazine further, we still lack funds. To be honest, I also want to increase the manuscript fees on the current basis. As long as the manuscript fees are high enough, we will definitely not lack good authors to write good articles for us. I want all authors to know that the manuscript fees for 'Jump Up' are high, so that all authors will be willing to submit their articles to us."

“How about making it a separate ad page and inserting it into the magazine?” Lu Yanhe said. “That way, it won’t affect the magazine’s binding. Anyway, our magazines are all laminated, right? We don’t have to worry about the ad page falling out.”

Chen Siqi's eyes lit up instantly.

"That's acceptable."

Lu Yanhe said, "In the future, some brands should also place advertisements. As you said, if we don't accept these advertisements, we will lose a source of income. With this income, we can not only increase the authors' royalties, but also use it to do more planning and create better content for everyone."

Chen Siqi said, "My initial idea was to let self-media handle business deals so that the magazine itself could maintain the purity of its content. However, although the development of self-media is also good, there are many competitors. We missed the opportunity to develop self-media. If we want to stand out at this time, we need time and some opportunities. The magazine, on the other hand, is favored by many people because it is unique. The promotion of three issues of 'Idol Era' directly offered 600,000 yuan in advertising fees, which is something that self-media cannot compare to."

Lu Yanhe: "It's a good thing that magazines can make money, but not too much, lest it annoy readers. Don't be like some magazines where a third of the content is advertising."

Chen Siqi nodded: "Well, in short, I have set a few principles. First, all the back cover advertising pages will be used for our authors to promote and publicize their new books. If there are no new books to promote, they will not be used for advertising, even if they are left blank. Second, I want to increase the amount of space for articles in the magazine and leave as much space as possible for text content."

“That would be good,” Lu Yanhe said.

Chen Siqi: "I have signed cooperation agreements with several journalists who conduct in-depth interviews with people. In the future, we will publish an in-depth interview article with a person in each issue."

"Is the interview column finally going to go online?" Lu Yanhe said.

“Yes, it’s really hard to get good interviewers for personal interviews. Everyone has their own regular media partners,” Chen Siqi said. “Although print media has declined, the major online media outlets still need top-notch interviewers for personal interviews.”

"So how did you sign in this time?" Lu Yanhe asked.

Chen Siqi: "The high standard of payment for articles and travel expenses, of course, I think a very important reason why they finally agreed was that the feedback from the past few issues of 'Jump Up' has been very good, making it unique among commercial and literary magazines. They also saw the influence, so they agreed."

Lu Yanhe: "We still need to be strong enough ourselves before people will be willing to cooperate with us."

Chen Siqi nodded, "That's right. Many authors who were unwilling to contribute to us before have softened their stance. Especially with the high sales of the new novel in Liujia Town, many authors are tempted."

“Brother Jiazhen’s new novel is indeed very well written. Several of my celebrity friends are following the serialization. Sure enough, suspense novels like this are more likely to break down barriers, and readers of all ages enjoy reading them,” said Lu Yanhe.

Chen Siqi's eyes lit up, and she immediately said, "Then tell me, could we create a column for long novels in the magazine, a suspense column, a fantasy column, a romance column, an urban column, and even an innovation column specifically for long novels of the corresponding genres?"

Lu Yanhe asked in surprise, "You mean, to start five serials at the same time?"

“We can start a few at the same time, but this way we can also build our brand column. Think about it, if the novels serialized in our magazine become bestsellers after publication, then what’s there to worry about in not having authors willing to serialize in our magazine?” Chen Siqi’s eyes lit up as she spoke, shining like light bulbs even in the dimly lit carriage, her excitement evident. “We want to convey to everyone the standards for our ‘Jump Up’ magazine’s submissions, so that everyone gets the impression that novels serialized in our magazine are all good works.”

Lu Yanhe understood Chen Siqi's intention, nodded, and said, "If we can achieve that, that would be great."

Chen Siqi: "We have received a lot of good manuscripts, and the schedule has already been filled up for the July issue this year. I am thinking about whether to make this July issue into a summer special issue, with richer content. This special issue could be 300 or even 400 pages long. At the same time, we can also launch a new serialized novel in this special issue."

Lu Yanhe nodded.

A typical issue of a book is around 150 pages. To make it 300 or even 400 pages would be equivalent to two issues of a regular book.

This way, more articles can be published, and the authors won't have to wait.

After all, payment for manuscripts is only made after the manuscript is officially used.

-

April is a month of undercurrents.

"Jump Up" is advancing various new plans, commissioning articles, reviewing articles, and revising articles through brainstorming sessions with Chen Siqi and the editorial team.

While diligently completing his coursework, Lu Yanhe occasionally went out to shoot commercials and magazines, and he almost never appeared on trending topics again, disappearing from the bustling online world.

But he was still very busy with many things. For example, "City Travelogue" came to him again. Xin Zixing was very enthusiastic and wanted to invite Lu Yanhe back to record the next episode. Lu Yanhe did not refuse anything. Since he had time, he nodded, which made Xin Zixing breathe a sigh of relief.

As for the script for "Lost in Thailand," Jia Long is also working on it, looking for investors and a director. Lu Yanhe has met with Jia Long twice to discuss what kind of movie they want to make.

On the other hand, in "Miss Ning", He Han is still looking for his female lead, while Lu Yanhe has once again invited teacher He Shuyi to help him practice his lines and study the character.

On the side of "Late Spring", Liu Bige and Miao Yue had already written the first draft of the script and asked Lu Yanhe to read it first. After reading it, Lu Yanhe offered some of his own opinions, mainly focusing on the character he was going to play. Liu Bige and Miao Yue then used his opinions to make a second round of revisions.

Li Zhenzhen contacted Lu Yanhe to discuss the recording of the second season of "The Days of Youth".

When Lu Yanhe communicated with Chen Ziyan, his feedback was, "If it's the original cast, we'll continue recording; if it's not the original cast, then forget it."

He didn't want to experience another blistering incident.

These are all jobs related to Lu Yanhe, but the most attention-grabbing job that has nothing to do with Lu Yanhe is actually "Idol Era".

Lu Yanhe didn't know what the others were doing, but Chen Ziyan devoted a lot of time and energy to finding people to help her win the idol artist award, which was temporarily named the Tianxing Award.

To award an award, a committee is inevitably needed to handle various matters. This committee, in addition to the few people who spearhead this initiative, also includes several industry leaders who can smooth relationships between different levels and promote the award in various aspects.

Since Lu Yanhe has left the idol competition scene, this award won't have much impact on him, but it will be a big deal for Li Zhibai and Yan Liang.

Zhou Ping'an had heard about this rumor long ago.

Given his personality, how could he possibly want to see such a large piece of meat about to be cooked, only to have nothing to do with him?

Zhou Ping'an immediately found Vice President Ma.

Star Entertainment is one of the largest idol artist management companies in China, with hundreds of idol artists.

Their plans to create "Idol Era" and the Tianxing Awards are inseparable from Star Entertainment.

If Star Entertainment doesn't cooperate, then no matter what, the program and awards will be inferior.

As a result, when Zhou Ping'an arrived at the door of Vice President Ma's office, he was stopped by his secretary, who said that Chen Ziyan was inside talking to Vice President Ma.

Zhou Ping'an's eyes widened.

-

“Our Xingyu Entertainment has always invested a lot of resources in cultivating idol artists, which is because we are optimistic about the future market of this sector. Now, so many people are making a program like this to provide a fixed stage for idol artists and to establish an award to improve the status and attention of idol artists. If Xingyu Entertainment participates, there will be many benefits. Mr. Ma, you have been doing this for so many years, you must be able to see it, so I don’t need to elaborate.”

Chen Ziyan sat down in front of Vice President Ma and said, "This is going to be a trend. It's not that this award will create a trend, but the trend for idol artists has already emerged. It's just a matter of who can be the first to stand at the forefront of this trend and be the first to try it. President Ma, you're definitely going to be the first to try it, right?"

She looked at Vice President Ma and smiled sweetly.

...

How do you persuade someone?

Different people have different methods.

Some people look for others' weaknesses, while others look for others' interests and needs. Chen Ziyan's approach, however, is to start from the general trend and the overall environment, find a win-win point for both parties, and reason with them.

Lu Yanhe was also greatly influenced by Chen Ziyan in this respect.

Lu Yanhe originally thought that Chen Ziyan would be busy with this matter and would devote less attention to him.

Therefore, he didn't go looking for Chen Ziyan much.

To his surprise, even though Chen Ziyan was so busy, she was still helping him find acting jobs. At the end of April, she suddenly called him and said that she had gotten him a role in a movie, a cameo role, just one scene.

The film "Three Mountains" directed by Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong is a well-known art-house film director whose past films have been frequent winners of film festivals and awards.

Lu Yanhe received Chen Ziyan's call, but didn't ask any questions and went straight to the film set.

Lu Yanhe only realized when he arrived that although it was just one scene, it was quite difficult to act. He had to play a eccentric fortune teller.

Lu Yanhe looked at Wang Zhong, bewildered, and asked, "A fortune teller?"

Aren't fortune tellers usually portrayed as middle-aged or elderly? How did they manage to cast him?

Wang Zhong said, "In our play, we need a very young fortune teller to create a sense of contrast."

"Three Mountains" tells the story of three young people who go treasure hunting and encounter some inexplicable things along the way. In short, it is a concrete manifestation of concepts such as greed, anger, ignorance and delusion. The fortune teller played by Lu Yanhe is someone the three young people encounter suddenly when they run into a mountain temple on a rainy night.

This is a period drama. Lu Yanhe did not see the complete script, but only the fragments that Wang Zhong gave him.

"You can think of this fortune teller as someone who's a bit eccentric and mentally unstable. During a famine, there's nothing to do, so he takes over the fortune telling business from his father," Wang Zhong said. "Don't portray it realistically, I don't want that kind of thing. The whole movie has a fantasy concept. This fortune teller tells the fortunes of three young people, predicting that they will face many hardships and bloodshed, which terrifies them. That's the function he serves."

The script that Lu Yanhe took on the spot.

In this part, the fortune teller is indeed acting strangely, sometimes saying he wants money, and other times saying that since they met by chance, he will give the three young people a free fortune telling. During the fortune telling, his expression becomes more and more shocked, because the fortunes of the three young people are all more bloody than the other.

The divination result frightened even the fortune teller, who felt he had encountered some extremely wicked person. He screamed and rushed out of the temple, disappearing into the heavy rain.

Judging from the script, he is a very stereotypical character.

Lu Yanhe didn't know whether Wang Zhong had asked him to play this cameo role, or whether Chen Ziyan had introduced him because she knew he was looking for someone.

However, given Lu Yanhe's current fame, his cameo appearance in a movie is essentially a favor to someone.

Wang Zhong was also quite polite to Lu Yanhe.

This director has been directing for over ten years, but his output is not high; he has only made five films in the past, and this is his sixth.

Every film is an art film, with the highest box office reaching only 12 million. This film, "Three Mountains," is clearly not a commercial film either, and is still a story full of contemplation and allegory.

Lu Yanhe met with three young actors: Chen Jiang, Sui Fangran, and Wang Lu.

These three young actors were all a few years older than him, but they were all very young. After chatting with them, he found out that they had all graduated just a year or two ago.

This was also their first time working with Wang Zhong.

For newcomers with no fame, starring in Wang Zhong's film is a rare opportunity. Even if the box office is not high, he is still a well-known art film director.

The three of them were quite enthusiastic towards Lu Yanhe, but some of them didn't know how to talk to him and seemed a little reserved.

At that moment, Lu Yanhe instantly understood what Teacher Shi Xia meant when he said, "I am most afraid of making others feel awkward because of me."

Lu Yanhe didn't have the experience to immediately integrate with everyone. After sitting and chatting for a while, Wang Zhong suddenly came to find Lu Yanhe again, so they left first.

Wang Zhong said, "I saw a scene you filmed in 'Phoenix Terrace,' where you roar and vent your anger at Lang Xia after your true identity is exposed. I think it had the energy I had in mind. That scene was full of hatred and hysteria. Here, I want a feeling of not being able to see the illusion of the world clearly, and still trying to figure out the truth from others. The more unrealistic you are, the more this scene will resemble a dream of three young people. I especially hope that this scene is like a nightmare for one person. When the scene ends, everyone wakes up with a start, still feeling lingering fear."

Lu Yanhe nodded and said okay.

He added, "But director, when do I start filming? I need some time to sort things out. My mind is a mess right now, and I haven't made any preparations."

Wang Chong asked, "How long will it take you?"

Lu Yanhe said, "Give me at least half a day."

“Okay,” Wang Zhong said. “I’ll find someone to take you to get your hair and makeup done first. We’ll talk again after that.”

Lu Yanhe nodded.

Wang Zhong then left again.

Lu Yanhe was led to the dressing room to get his hair and makeup done.

The appearance of a fortune teller.

The styling was done very quickly; he wore a tattered long gown and dusty cloth shoes, all specially distressed.

After Lu Yanhe changed into the new outfit, he looked in the mirror and, to be honest, it was a very unkempt look.

He smeared some ash on his face and deliberately messed up his hair.

Lu Yanhe wasn't unable to accept his terrible image, but he just felt something was off.

Even if a young fortune teller stays overnight in a mountain temple, he doesn't need to look disheveled and like a beggar, does he?

Lu Yanhe asked the stylist, "Can this hairstyle be changed?"

The stylist shook his head and said, "These were all pre-arranged."

Lu Yanhe looked at himself in the mirror again and still felt that something was wrong.

He had Zou Dong take a picture of himself before going to find Wang Zhong.

"Director, I'm not very satisfied with this look," he said frankly.

Wang Zhong was taken aback, then pursed his lips. "I know this look is a bit ugly. Actually, I—"

“It’s not that I find it ugly or dirty, that doesn’t matter.” Lu Yanhe shook his head and said, “I just feel that it doesn’t convince me enough.”

"Not convincing enough?" Wang Zhong looked at him with suspicion.

Lu Yanhe said, "My look is obviously a tacky, poorly designed look. It's not unique at all. You can see similar looks in many movies and TV shows."

Wang Zhong pondered for a moment and said, "It is indeed very cliché. So what are your thoughts?"

Lu Yanhe said, "First, there's the hair. To be honest, this is a young fortune teller. No matter how mystical a fortune teller is, he wouldn't make himself look like a beggar. I know you want to show that during times of famine and war, I, as a fortune teller, also lived a precarious life, so everything was terrible. Could we express this in another way? For example, I could just comb my hair into a normal bun, instead of this messy look like I've been fleeing for seven or eight years. But the bun looks like it's been tossed around for days, all fluffy and about to fall apart. For example, these two smears of ash on my face. It's okay if someone puts something on my face, but if someone gets something on their face, they'll subconsciously wipe it off with their clothes. I'll make the marks thinner and less noticeable. Even a beggar would make sure their face is clean."

Wang Chong stared at Lu Yanhe in silence.

“You said before that this scene should be filmed like a nightmare. If I’m portrayed as a fortune teller who looks like a beggar, how can those three people believe the divination I give?” Lu Yanhe said. “I’m a fortune teller who was forced to hide in this mountain temple at night during a year of famine. I’m a bit disheveled, but not destitute. When I meet those three, I talk incoherently about the bloodshed they are destined for, ask them for money, and then give them a divination and a way to avert it. That’s the only logical way to make sense. Otherwise, if I’m already in such a bad situation, why would I say that we’re just strangers and that I’ll give them a divination even if they don’t give me money?”

Wang Zhong looked at Lu Yanhe in surprise and remained silent for a long time.

What Lu Yanhe said was indeed unexpected for Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong has directed five films and worked with many actors. Many of these actors would try to figure out their own ideas and then share them with him. Among them were some actors who were particularly fond of thinking things through, which gave Wang Zhong a real headache.

What surprised Wang Zhong was that in just two short hours, Lu Yanhe had gained a basic understanding of the character from the current fragmented script and established his own basic understanding of the character.

Chen Lingling had told Wang Zhong that Lu Yanhe was a young man with great acting talent. As long as you broke down the play and explained it to him clearly, he could understand and absorb it in the shortest amount of time and then perform it.

That's why Wang Zhong invited Lu Yanhe when he suddenly thought of this scene.

To be precise, he first thought of the three people encountering a fortune teller in a temple, being terrified by the fortune teller's divination, and creating a connection between the preceding and following events. Then, he suddenly thought of Lu Yanhe and wrote this part of the script based on Lu Yanhe's age.

Therefore, Lu Yanhe's appearance in the film was all designed on the spot and was indeed rather rough.

Wang Zhong understood Lu Yanhe's idea and agreed with it, saying, "Let's change it as you said."

Lu Yanhe added, "There's another thing, Director, this outfit is too clean."

"Clean?" Wang Zhong was taken aback, his gaze falling on Lu Yanhe. The jacket he was wearing was already dusty and gray. How could it be clean?

“It’s all dust, no signs of wear or stains,” Lu Yanhe said. “If you think it’s okay, I can take care of it myself.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhong glanced at Lu Yanhe in surprise and nodded.

-

"I heard that Wang Zhong asked Lu Yanhe to play a cameo role in his movie."

Huang Cheng spoke to Chen Lingling about the crew of "Phoenix Terrace," which was still filming.

Upon hearing this, Chen Lingling nodded. "Would Lu Yanhe be willing to make a cameo appearance?"

"Chen Ziyan agreed immediately." Huang Cheng smiled. "Because Lu Yanhe has to attend classes, he doesn't take on leading roles during the school year. At most, he takes on minor supporting roles or even cameos. If this news gets out, Lu Yanhe will probably have a ton of acting opportunities."

Which production team wouldn't want to snatch up an actor who could clearly choose leading roles in the market but is now willing to play supporting roles or guest appearances?

Chen Lingling said, "It will be good for him to take on more roles. He has talent, but his technique is terrible. More acting experience will help him quickly find his own acting style."

Huang Cheng asked curiously, "You have high expectations for Lu Yanhe?"

"Among the young actors in our production, he is the most promising," Chen Lingling said frankly. "Other actors, even if they act well, are only moderately good. His acting style is completely different from that of the academic school. In the past ten years of film and television, you can't find another guard with such a resolute yet profound gaze. He is a guard, but he is more than just a guard. This complex layering is extremely rare."

Huang Cheng nodded and said, "Many actors who become famous can't escape the constraints of playing themselves no matter what role they play, while many actors see every role as both a character and themselves."

"Mm." Chen Lingling nodded.

She rubbed her temples and said, "Is Lu Yanhe unable to act in the drama that's currently in pre-production?"

"Are you talking about 'Blood Jade'?" Huang Cheng asked.

Chen Lingling nodded.

"I guess he can't act in it. 'Blood Jade' has more than fifty episodes, and Lu Yanhe doesn't have the time to act in it."

"It's a pity, his image, acting skills and the feeling of the character were very fitting." Chen Lingling only felt a slight regret.

At her level, there are very few times when she absolutely has to work with a particular actor.

Huang Cheng was quite surprised.

"Do you value Lu Yanhe so much? You even planned to cast him in a drama like 'Blood Jade' without even having him audition."

“What’s the point of auditioning for actors I’ve already worked with? We’re already very familiar with each other,” Chen Lingling said.

-

Lu Yanhe was unaware that he had missed out on a male lead role in a drama directed by Chen Lingling due to filming schedule issues.

He was sitting on a bus, going up the mountain with the film crew.

The crew wanted to film this scene in the temple on location, so they specifically found a temple in the mountains to film this scene tonight.

Lu Yanhe sat in the middle, while Chen Jiang, Sui Fangran, and Wang Lu sat in the last row.

The car wound its way along the mountain road for about half an hour. Lu Yanhe felt nauseous, dizzy, and wanted to vomit.

I'm carsick.

When they arrived at their destination, Lu Yanhe got out of the car, his face was pale, and his stomach was churning. He struggled for a long time before he managed to hold back from vomiting.

It was already evening.

It doesn't look like it'll rain tonight.

The film crew prepared a rain truck.

This place is quite desolate; it really is an abandoned temple.

The temple wasn't large, and the art team hurriedly went in to set up.

This is a flat area halfway up the mountain, with a cliff just a few steps ahead.

Lu Yanhe walked to the side and looked down into the distance, where he could see a mountain village in the distance.

As evening approached and the sun set, the wind blew particularly fiercely.

After standing for a while, he suddenly sneezed.

He quickly turned around and went into the temple.

-

Wang Zhong is discussing camera positions with the photography crew.

Lu Yanhe didn't go over, but instead wandered around on his own.

The temple wasn't very big, about the size of two pavilions. There was a porcelain statue about half a meter tall, but it was impossible to identify what deity it represented. The incense had been burned for a long time, and there was a layer of ash on the incense burner in front of it.

It was probably because he was actually in this kind of real scene that Lu Yanhe really felt a sense of desolation and hardship.

He didn't talk to anyone; he started getting into the zone by himself.

The script didn't describe the fortune teller much, and Wang Zhong didn't say anything about it.

Lu Yanhe began to construct his own biography.

This is what He Shuyi taught him.

"When you play a character, you have a backstory, and everything you do has a source, so no matter how chaotic things get, the character's logic remains intact."

Lu Yanhe went to a corner of the temple, faced the wall, and closed his eyes.

-

Chen Jiang, Sui Fangran, and Wang Lu were sitting together, and when they saw Lu Yanhe "facing the wall in repentance," they all looked puzzled, wondering what he was doing.

Although Lu Yanhe is younger than them, he is much more famous.

Therefore, all three of them were quite nervous in front of Lu Yanhe.

That person is a popular star who was just nominated for the Red River Award; they are not even in the same league as these actors.

Even though the three of them are the main actors, and Lu Yanhe is just a guest actor.

"What is he doing?" Sui Fangran asked in a low voice.

Chen Jiang and Wang Lu both shook their heads.

Sui Fangran said, "I don't know how he will act."

Chen Jiang said, "His acting skills are very good. Have you watched 'The Golden Era'?"

"After watching it, I can't imagine how he would play this Taoist priest," Wang Lu said.

Sui Fangran: "I didn't know how to act. The director just gave me a page of paper, and I didn't have many lines."

Wang Lu smiled wryly and said, "That's just the director's style. I guess we'll be working late tonight."

Chen Jiang sighed: "I'm used to it."

Sui Fangran thought to herself, "Lu Yanhe is all alone there. Why don't I go and say hello to him and have a chat?"

She walked over to Lu Yanhe's side, and when she saw Lu Yanhe's profile, she was suddenly stunned by what she saw.

Lu Yanhe closed his eyes tightly, clenched his jaw, and tears streamed down his face.

"Are you alright?" Sui Fangran couldn't help but ask, looking at him with concern.

Lu Yanhe seemed startled. He suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Sui Fangran with a blank expression.

Sui Fangran: "Are you feeling unwell?"

Everyone saw that Lu Yanhe got carsick earlier.

Lu Yanhe shook his head and said, "It's nothing."

Sui Fangran pointed to the tears on Lu Yanhe's face, "What's this?"

Lu Yanhe was taken aback. He touched his face and realized why Sui Fangran was looking at him so strangely.

"Oh, I was just thinking about why the character I'm playing is a fortune teller, and also a bit eccentric and mentally unstable, thinking all sorts of things, and I couldn't help but cry," he said.

Sui Fangran looked even more bewildered.

Lu Yanhe didn't explain in detail to her, shook his head and said, "I'll make some more preparations."

Sui Fangran then realized that Lu Yanhe was getting into character for filming.

She nodded, her face full of shock, and went back to find Chen Jiang and Wang Lu, telling them what had just happened.

"It was terrifying." Sui Fangran was completely shocked and at a loss. "He was facing the wall all by himself, with his eyes closed, silently shedding tears. I was stunned."

The other two were also bewildered after hearing Sui Fangran's description.

stupid.

At this moment, Wang Zhong also saw Lu Yanhe's appearance.

Lu Yanhe stopped crying. He just stayed alone, staring blankly with unfocused eyes.

This state is somewhat "disheartened" and "disappointed".

This was certainly not Lu Yanhe's usual state. Wang Zhong had been working in the art film industry for over a decade and was very knowledgeable; he knew this was an actor getting into character and finding their groove. Despite his experience, he was still somewhat surprised to see Lu Yanhe like this.

Wang Zhong has persisted in the field of art films for so many years, not because he has no opportunity to direct commercial films, nor for any other reason, but because he is a very self-centered director who loves his own way of expression.

Actually, his works are not the kind of dull and unspeakable art films; strictly speaking, they are very much auteur-driven.

It's like he was filming and suddenly wrote another scene, and then he had to find actors and locations to film it.

How could a film crew be so capricious?

But Wang Zhong insisted on filming this scene; he had no choice but to.

He had no idea how Lu Yanhe had orchestrated this whole charade for him.

He doesn't like to communicate with the actors in advance. For him, filming is usually just about setting up the camera, turning it on, and letting the actors keep acting. He especially likes the actors to improvise on set.

Wang Zhong only wrote a rough outline of this scene.

He knew very well what kind of feeling the scene should convey, but he didn't have a detailed idea of ​​exactly what it should look like.

I wrote a simple script snippet and handed it to the actors.

The focus of this scene is actually on Lu Yanhe.

Normally, the rhythm of the drama is led by the character Lu Yanhe.

Wang Zhong called over several actors.

Lu Yanhe seemed to wake from a dream and came over, but he was still in a weak state.

Wang Zhong: "I don't have anything to say about how to act this scene later. I'm not the kind of director who has very specific requirements for how you speak or walk. Chen Jiang, you know my habits. Yan He, this is your first time acting with me. After we start filming, just act according to your own ideas. Anyway, we're only filming this one scene tonight, so you can try it however you want. We'll do a few takes. You can tell me any ideas you have. But there's only one thing: I must capture the feeling I want, that nightmare feeling that's between reality and nothingness."

Lu Yanhe nodded.

Chen Jiang and the other two nodded.

Lu Yanhe said, "Director, I've added some details to my character. Would you like to hear them?"

“No need, just make sure you know what you’re doing, but I don’t want anything extra,” Wang Zhong said. “The key point of this scene is that you tell fortunes and scare them, it’s really that simple.”

Lu Yanhe nodded, indicating that he understood.

As night fell, candles were lit one by one, the surroundings were enveloped in darkness, the wind whispered, and the atmosphere instantly became lively.

All the work groups had withdrawn, leaving only Lu Yanhe in the temple.

The camera is supposed to start by filming three young people coming in from outside.

Lu Yanhe sat alone in the temple, a fire burning in front of him. The firelight illuminated his face, which was clearly very young, but his eyes were lifeless and his face was numb, as if he were withered and desolate, as if even the firelight could not awaken any light in his eyes.

Everyone stood outside the temple and saw this scene from afar. They didn't say anything to each other, but they all felt a chill run down their spines.

"It's so cold." Sui Fangran stood between the two of them, looking at Lu Yanhe inside the temple, shivering as she whispered.

"It looks kind of scary," Wang Lu said.

Even Wang Zhong, who was sitting behind the monitor, was shocked by what the camera captured.

(End of this chapter)