Chapter 38 Joining the Group [VIP]

Chapter Summary: News of filming commencing has gone viral and is trending on social media.

"Yes, the flight is tomorrow afternoon."

Liu Cai: "After the talent show ended, you were the first among our 101 trainees to go into acting. That's brave! Keep it up!"

Zhou Jingzhu encouraged her, "Zhizhi, this role you've taken is an incredibly good opportunity for idols who came from talent shows and want to act. Once you're on set, no matter how difficult it gets, you must persevere!"

The film and television industry doesn't really respect idols who transition to acting.

As a new idol with no acting experience, taking on the lead role in a top-tier drama series on an S-level platform, everyone thought it would be extremely difficult for Mu Zhi to portray the character well.

Mu Zhi knew that Zhou Jingzhu and Liu Cai were worried about her because they were concerned that she might be scolded by the director for her poor acting skills after joining the crew, and that she might not be able to handle the pressure.

He said nonchalantly, "Most idols who transition into acting get criticized for not acting well. It's normal for actors to be questioned or criticized if they don't perform their roles well. If I don't act well either, it's only right that the audience criticizes me."

It means there's no need to worry about yourself.

After failing the audition for "The Legend of the Flying Immortal," Mu Zhi stumbled into taking on the role in "The Bell Ringer," marking the first step in her acting career—a very fortunate turn of events.

Zhou Jingzhu and Liu Caijian showed no signs of pre-production anxiety on their faces; they appeared very calm and confident about the upcoming filming experience.

They were relieved.

Next, it was Mu Zhi's turn to ask Zhou Jingzhu and Liu Cai about their plans.

"Is Five Flowers' girl group schedule coming to an end? What are your plans for your individual entertainment careers?"

The question hit the nail on the head, directly addressing the problems facing Zhou Jingzhu and Liu Cai.

Since their debut more than a month ago, the Five Flowers girl group has been busy with various schedules while their popularity is still high.

But next, the five members will be busy with their own schedules.

Actually, the show "Chasing the Light" was quite popular during its broadcast.

The Five Flowers girl group seems to be very popular.

However, judging from the feedback on their appearances on variety shows, magazine shoots, and commercial performances after they were formed, they were only slightly better than the girl groups from the previous two seasons.

There are still not many idol stages in China.

Our aspirations and lofty ambitions must be grounded in reality.

Every member had to admit that Five Flowers girl group could only last for 2 or 3 years at most, and would not escape the same fate as the previous groups, disbanding.

So, before the group disbands, they have to busy themselves paving their own way while still in the group.

For example, Lü E. Although she has been criticized by group fans for having the worst individual skills, she will be starting filming next month, and the popularity from the talent show has helped her secure a dual female lead role in her new drama. Currently, Lü E's personal future plan seems the clearest: acting.

Liu Cai scratched her chin, thought for a moment, and then replied, "I love the stage, I love music, I love dancing. I don't want to think that far ahead. For the next few years, I'll focus on being an idol. The company has booked me for several solo variety shows, and I'm also preparing a solo single..."

Zhou Jingzhu said, "The company's positioning and plans for me will focus on developing in the fashion industry, shooting magazines, participating in fashion events, going to shows, and similar to Cai Cai, I will also release a solo single and appear on variety shows..."

At this point, he smiled mysteriously and said, "He might even secretly have a relationship or something."

Mu Zhi and Liu Cai took Zhou Jingzhu's words as a joke and didn't take them to heart.

At the end of the party.

The three clinked glasses.

Zhou Jingzhu: "A toast to dreams, and I hope that all of our dreams can come true!"

Liu Cai: "I wish everyone a smooth career and a bright future."

"Zhizhi, what about you?"

Mu Zhi: "Respect for the future."

The next afternoon.

Mu Zhi, her assistant Minmin, and her agent Shang Jian flew to Hengcheng and checked into the hotel arranged by the film crew.

Early the next morning.

Compared to the high-profile launch of the first film, the reshoot of "The Bell Ringer" was much more low-key, with a simpler ceremony.

There was no official announcement made online that day.

However, as an S-level project on the Green Apple platform, the news of "The Bell Ringer" being remade could not be kept secret.

It was quickly exposed online.

The hashtag #ReshootingTheRingingRecord# trended high on social media.

This sparked a lot of discussion.

After attending the opening ceremony, Mu Zhi went to the makeup room on set for her personal makeup and styling.

While the makeup artist was doing her ancient costume hairstyle, Mu Zhi was surfing the internet on her phone. She clicked on the trending topic #ReshootingTheRingingRecord# to check netizens' comments.

The drama "The Bell Ringer" became widely known because of Tu Qingqing's affair and divorce from Lan Cheng. Many netizens are familiar with it.

Upon seeing the news of the reshoots, my biggest curiosity is who will play the female lead.

The news broke that Mu Zhilai would play the female lead, leaving many people puzzled.

Who is Mu Zhi?

"That idol who participated in 'Chasing the Light' and then withdrew from the competition but never debuted?"

"Idol is playing the female lead in 'The Bell Ringer'?"

"Isn't this supposed to be a major production by the platform? Why did they cast an idol in it? Has the director gone mad?"

"Although Tu Qingqing has retired from the entertainment industry, replacing the female lead with an idol who didn't even make it into a group is such a huge drop in popularity. Is the production team just giving up?"

......

Most netizens expressed their incomprehension at the casting of Mu Zhi as the female lead in "The Bell Ringer," speculating that the reshoots of "The Bell Ringer" led to insufficient funding, so they simply pulled in an idol to play the role.

There have even been some negative comments, implying that Mu Zhi has hooked up with some powerful company and become a kept woman by some bigwig, which is why she is being heavily promoted. Otherwise, how could a newcomer have the ability to land the lead role in this drama?

Mu Zhi's fans were pleasantly surprised by this unexpected good news.

Unexpectedly, my idol has been quietly working on something big. After failing the audition for "The Legend of the Flying Immortal," he immediately joined the cast of "The Bell Ringer," and filming started today!

Although the official Weibo account has remained silent and has not made any official announcement, some marketing accounts have posted blurry photos of the filming commencement ceremony, confirming that the idol has joined the cast.

Fans happily celebrated with a giveaway in the supertopic...

Mu Zhi saw some netizens and some haters making pessimistic comments about her:

"Regardless of whether 'The Bell Ringer' uses green screen technology or reshoots the female lead's scenes, casting an idol in it is enough to get rid of it immediately."

"Which unsuspecting investor was tricked into taking over the production? Their investment is going to go down the drain!"

"The most pitiful ones are probably the other lead actors. They had to make time to reshoot scenes with an idol. I feel sorry for them."

"I heard it's been downgraded from S to A. This little idol, Mu Zhi, dragged down the show's rating."

......

Aside from fans, netizens and haters alike are not optimistic about Mu Zhi playing the female lead in "The Bell Ringer". They feel that if the drama is broadcast smoothly, they can wait and see the joke.

Despite the widespread ridicule, it also brought Mu Zhi a lot of attention and popularity, gaining her over 10,000 followers.

That morning, taking advantage of the high level of popularity on the day of filming, the lipstick endorsed by Mu Zhi was officially announced, which was a double celebration for fans. The limited edition of 30,000 lipsticks was sold out in one go.

As Shang Jian looked at the solid data, Mu Zhi, who had just changed into her costume and was all made up, came out.

Like a figure in a painting, her appearance, temperament, and aura are all striking.

On the day of the makeup fitting, Shang Jian did not accompany Mu Zhi.

This is the first time I've seen the character's appearance in the show, and I'm amazed.

She sighed inwardly again: Mu Zhi had truly undergone a complete transformation compared to before. A beautiful vase had been infused with a soul; her superior looks were radiant, making her even more dazzling.

Based on his experience managing many artists, he sees this as a rare talent with great potential.

But Mu Zhi was disobedient to begin with, and praising her might make her arrogant.

Shang Jian didn't give any outward reaction to the online discussions about Mu Zhi.

"For celebrities, being famous even when they're infamous is still being famous."

"You fought for this role yourself, so now that you're on set, just do your best."

"I have other things to do right now, I'll come visit the set when I have more free time later."

After making a brief appearance at the opening ceremony of "The Bell Ringer", Shang Jian had to rush to the airport.

This was a pre-arranged flight itinerary; I was flying to Yazhou to participate in the second public performance of my boy band.

Next, Lin Xuan's starring role in "The Legend of the Flying Fairy" will also begin filming.

Shang Jian's schedule was very full, and he didn't have much time to visit Mu Zhi on set.

Mu Zhi nodded and said, "Okay, I understand." She didn't react any further.

For her, it didn't matter whether Shang Jian, her agent, was with the crew or not.

After their makeup and styling were done, Mu Zhi and Min Min headed to the film set together.

After walking for a few minutes, I arrived at the filming location of "The Bell Ringer".

A scene set up inside a green greenhouse.

Ning Yao, who plays the male lead, was dressed up and arrived at the scene.

Upon seeing Mu Zhi, she greeted her warmly and proactively: "Teacher Xiao Zhi, you are very suitable for the role of A Ying."

Mu Zhi: Teacher Xiao Zhi? What a strange way to address me.

"Hello, Ning Yushan."

They were calling out the name of the character Ning Yao was playing.

The two had worked together on "Chasing the Light" and had also met at the script reading session, so they were not strangers.

Ning Yao's attitude towards cooperating with Mu Zhi was very friendly.

"Director Xu showed me your audition performance, and it was great. Plus, we had some great chemistry when we collaborated on the song 'Beautiful Woman,' so I'm really looking forward to this collaboration. Good luck!"

"If you need any help, feel free to ask me."

"Okay, thank you, Teacher Ning."

After greeting Ning Yao, Mu Zhi greeted the other actors one by one.

Filming hasn't started yet, so we need to wait on set.

Mu Zhi calmly found a place to sit down and opened the script to review the scenes to be filmed today.

Assistant Minmin whispered, "Sister Zhizhi, Teacher Ning Yao is a very nice person, but why do I feel that the other actors... are a bit cold?"

It wasn't the kind of coldness you show to strangers you don't know well.

Instead, it was a subtle emotional examination, tinged with a hint of disdain.

When Minmin went to get Muzhi a thermos, she passed by the actors playing the second male and female leads and saw them standing together, scrolling through their phones and talking.

I vaguely heard two sentences.

"...She's just an idol, how good can her acting skills be?"

"It takes the time of two movies to film one movie, with little to no pay, and we're even playing supporting roles to an idol. Sigh, don't you think we actors who had to reshoot are the ones who got the short end of the stick?"

Mu Zhi had just turned a page of the script when she heard Minmin's words, but she didn't stop: "It's normal."

Ning Yao chose to believe and trust director Xu Tao's choice because he had met her and knew her to some extent.

The other actors probably shared similar thoughts with netizens online.

Some people didn't show it on their faces, while others were too lazy to hide it. Mu Zhi knew their subjective impression of her: a little idol who participated in a talent show but failed to debut.

They doubted her acting skills and whether she had the ability to play the role.

They even lost faith in the work itself.

These are all perfectly normal thoughts.

All Mu Zhi can do is let her acting skills speak for themselves; that's the best proof.