Facts have proved that in the face of absolute power, all threats and intimidation are paper tigers.
"I'm just...an extra."
When saying this, Yan Xiu's heart was actually very calm - if he still had a heart at this time.
Professional extras, also known as extras, appear in various film crews in film and television studios every day, waiting for the directors to summon them. They spend more time with the crew than the leading actors, but can only get a small role that is not important or even has no chance to show their faces.
The shining ones are the stars, and they are the dust around the stars.
Yan Xiu was born in a poor family. His father was a lazy gambler, and his mother was an illiterate barbarian woman who valued money over people. He was the eldest of many brothers and sisters. His parents could not afford to support so many children, so he dropped out of school early and went out to work. Because of his young age and low education, he suffered a lot when he first entered the society to find a job.
He has worked as a waiter, bath scrubber, brick mover, car washer, miner, housekeeper... He has done almost all jobs at the lowest level of society. For a while, he was deceived into doing pyramid schemes because he did not know his people well. After owing a lot of debts, he almost lost his life.
That was the most difficult period of his life. He was like a rat hiding from creditors every day, afraid to see the light of day, and had to regularly send money home to satisfy his increasingly greedy parents. When the pressure was the greatest, he even thought of jumping off the bridge and ending it all, but when he thought about how young he was and how he hadn't lived up to his life, he thought it was better to live a miserable life than to die. Maybe one day he could become a big shot.
So he spent his days in darkness holding on to the fantasy that "God will give me a great mission".
By chance, he was brought into the entertainment industry by a friend with whom he once worked.
...
...
"…We are temporarily in need of a young male actor who can show his face. Three hundred a day. Would you like to come?"
At that time, Yan Zheng was sitting on a park bench, worrying about where to find a job. His temporary residence was splashed with paint, his creditors brought a group of thugs to pick on him all day long, and the restaurant owner was afraid that he would cause trouble for the store, so he fired him. The landlord immediately threw his luggage onto the street, changed the lock on the door, and didn't even ask for this month's rent.
The moment he received the call, Yan Xiu didn't know whether the other party's words were true or false. He blurted out as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw: "Come! I'll be there right away!"
I left my luggage behind and took a taxi directly to the interview location.
On the way, he came to his senses and regretted his impulsiveness. He began to get nervous and worried that he had been cheated again. He couldn't help but call his friend who was a crew member in the crew: "...I have never been involved in this industry and have no experience at all. Why did you think of me?"
"Oh! It's a coincidence. I saw you posted on WeChat Moments that you were looking for a job. It just so happens that we are short of an extra. The director wants a good-looking young man with or without experience. It doesn't cost much and it's just a small role anyway."
Yan Xiu knew from his tone that he was being mean-spirited, and quickly said, "Anyway, thank you so much. I'll treat you to a meal when we get there..."
“There’s no need to rush about this. If you pass the interview, you’ll be an actor in the future. When you become a big star, making money will be as easy as drinking water. Don’t forget me, your brother, when the time comes. Hahahaha…”
Yan Xiu felt relieved. His appearance was one of his biggest advantages. Although he was not a "handsome guy", his facial features were regular and handsome.
Although he had never known much about the entertainment industry, he knew that there were very few ugly stars. So thinking this way, he still had a chance.
The interview was very successful. The director took a casual look at him and nodded, asking him to go find the screenwriter to ask for the script.
Is he going to be a big star soon?
Like every newcomer in the circle, he went to find the screenwriter with the excitement of becoming famous overnight. After reading the script, he realized that what they needed was a disfigured little eunuch who was also a mute, and appeared for less than three minutes in a 64-episode historical drama.
Yan Xiu is not stupid. Historical dramas are boring, and you can imagine what the ratings are like. What is the probability that a small character who appears for less than three minutes can be remembered?
Infinitely close to zero.
Yan Xiu felt as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water on his head, and he was completely stunned.
That year, he was twenty-one years old.
…
Although he appeared in the play for less than three minutes, he was not the leading actor after all. He was just a supporting role that needed to cooperate with the crew and other actors. These short three minutes were extended indefinitely, and Yan Xiu bent his back for a month before he was able to finish filming.
During this period, he also guest-starred as other eunuchs, soldiers, eunuchs, beggars and other roles. He was like a brick in the crew, ready to move wherever he was needed.
Although they were all minor characters whose faces were not shown, this kind of role-playing "game" deeply attracted him.
He fell in love with acting.
It’s a pity that after he bent over for his first acting role, he never stood up again...because the roles he played afterwards were basically corpses.
Shot to death by arrows, falling from a building, poisoned to death, beheaded, torn apart by a chariot... the most tragic thing could happen. The red envelopes received to calm the nerves could fill a car.
Yan Xiu knew that he came from a humble background and had no background, so what he needed most to survive in this circle was connections, which was exactly what he lacked the most.
So he worked harder than anyone else.
The director disliked his accent, so he got up early every day to listen to the radio and learn standard Mandarin from the announcer.
He enrolled in classes at a nearby performing arts school to supplement his cultural knowledge.
I bought a lot of books and CDs related to acting, imitated the amazing acting skills of famous movie stars, and practiced in front of the mirror.
Day after day, year after year.
However, no director paid attention to his efforts, and without a company to support him, it was very difficult for him, a non-professional actor, to make a name for himself.
He had no such luck.
There is never a shortage of hard-working people in this world, but hard work does not necessarily lead to success, so successful people must be very lucky.
——"I'm sorry, the director has already chosen the fourth male role I told you about last time. I've made you work for nothing. I'll treat you to a meal some other day."
——"The investor added someone on short notice, what can we do? We can't offend the sponsor for a minor supporting role, should we still shoot this drama?"
——"What's the use of having good acting skills? Who told you not to have a face that can play the leading role?"
——"I'm so sorry, brother! My nephew also wanted that role, so I took the initiative to let him try it out. Who knew that the director liked him so much right away! Oh, it seems that your luck is really bad, brother. I will ask someone tomorrow to find out if there are any roles that can show your face..."
——"What's the point of being an extra for so many years? Look around this movie city, there are so many people who daydream like you, but there are not many who have been around for so many years and still haven't woken up like you. You are thirty-five, not twenty-five. Do you want to be an extra for the rest of your life?"
——"Look at you, you useless bear! Would I kill you if I asked you to accompany me for a drink? You really think you are so popular. Let me tell you, if you miss this opportunity, there will be no next time!"
…
The process of self-awareness awakening is a very painful thing, especially when you have a dream that you are extremely eager to realize, but in the process you realize that you are just an ordinary person and are powerless to change the status quo.
Most people in the world have ordinary lives. They are born ordinary, live boring lives, and die ordinary. Except for a few people you know, you will hardly leave any mark on this world. And after decades, when those who remember you turn into a handful of earth, your connection with this world will completely cease to exist.
After countless disappointments, Yan Xiu gradually realized that he was an ordinary person. Like most people in this world, he was a social animal on the surface, but deep down he was unwilling to be an ordinary person.
However, most office workers only struggle against their fate for a very short and even symbolic time, and then reluctantly submit to the arrangements of "fate".
After all, God has so many grandchildren, who remembers which one you are?
Yan Xiu sometimes feels that a person's fate is actually determined from the beginning. Some people seem to be born with better luck than others, born with a silver spoon in their mouths, and have a worry-free life. The only question in their dictionary is "do you want to?", not "can you?".
Some people are born in the mud, surrounded by the stench of decay. Even if they struggle to break out of the earth, they will grow up to be a rotten wood that is difficult to carve.
"Aspirations are high as the sky, but life is thin as paper."
——This is probably the kind of person he is talking about.
Then death seemed to become a very easy thing.
It was the night of the Dragon Boat Festival three years ago, and everyone who had a family went home to celebrate the festival. Yan Xiu's family would only call him when they were short of money. On weekdays, they seemed to have disappeared. They would not let their eldest son go back during the holidays, as if he was an emotionless ATM machine that only spit out money.
Yan Xiu was carrying a bottle of wine, walking drunkenly in the deserted alley. Although this place was close to the film and television city, it was also the most inconspicuous place in the ancient city because everyone living here was homeless like him.
The phone kept buzzing, he took it out of his trouser pocket, stood under the dim street light, squinted to read the message. Everyone in the extras group sent holiday red envelopes with blessings, and many people @ him. Yan Xiu rubbed his eyes hard and sent a red envelope to fit the occasion. He never offended people over trivial matters——
[Happy Dragon Boat Festival]
Putting away his phone, Yan Xiu sighed, rubbed his face, and continued walking in the dark alley.
Happy Dragon Boat Festival.
He is not well at all.
A stray dog that appeared out of nowhere followed him with a grunt. This little creature with a keen sense of smell probably smelled something and kept circling around his feet and he couldn't kick it away.
"Go away, there is nothing here that you want to eat."
“Woof woof woof!”
"Don't make me angry so late at night, get out of here!"
“Woof woof woof!”
“…”
Later he remembered that the stray dog was the one he often fed on his way home. It suddenly appeared not because it smelled the food on him, but because it knew that he was about to die based on its animal instinct.
The next accident was something Yan Xiu could never have expected.
A desperate robber suddenly rushed out from the corner with red eyes, stabbed him dozens of times, stole his mobile phone and wallet, and fled.
There was no thrilling fighting scene in the whole process. Yan Xiu's brain, which was anesthetized by alcohol, was simply unable to support him in making such a difficult move as fighting back. He just stood there stupidly and got stabbed, with only the puppy's heart-wrenching roar during the whole process.
In the end, Yan Xiu lay there, gasping for breath like a dying fish. The dozen or so holes on his body caused by the knife were like a dozen faucets. Blood poured out of his body, flowing on the bluestone road. There was so much blood... He had never bled so much before.
Gradually, he felt cold all over. He felt the puppy licking his face, and the damp fishy smell occupied his sense of smell.
For a moment, he thought he was still filming.
He is the best at playing dead people.
He imagined that if he became famous, his death would be like "the famous movie star Yan Xiu passed away unfortunately one night, and millions of fans cried bitterly."
But he was just an inconspicuous extra, and the news would only introduce him as "the deceased Yan", an unlucky guy who was born in an ordinary family and died in an accident.
His mind had never been so clear as it was at this moment. He was filled with pain, unwillingness, and resentment... His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the brightest star in the sky.
Then he died.
…
…
…
Yan Xiu thought his new master was interested in his life, so he had to honestly tell him about his life experiences. While answering the other party's questions, he nervously looked at Jing Cheng's face.
Jing Cheng always thought that he was a reasonable person, unless the person he was being reasonable with was not a human.
So after listening to the other party's story of deep hatred, Jing Cheng did not have any special reaction. This disappointed Yan Xiu, who had been observing him. He thought that such a young Taoist priest should be kind-hearted, but it seemed that he had met a heart of stone.
Yan Xiu lowered his head silently.
Little did Jing Cheng know that there were too many unlucky people in this world. All the evil spirits he had dealt with had a miserable life, even he himself was one of them. In the eyes of people who had experienced greater suffering, Yan Xiu's life was so dull that it was almost not worth mentioning.
“Death is not the end.”
A mysterious smile appeared on Jing Cheng's lips. Under Yan Xiu's incredulous "gaze", he slightly opened his lips:
"Do you know how to resurrect a dead body?"
-----
The author has something to say:
I feel this chapter is a bit heavy, so I'll write an irrelevant little drama:
After the resurrection of the dead——
Yan Xiu: Thank you, Master Tianshi, for making my dream come true. I will sacrifice my life for you and live up to your reputation.
Jing Cheng waved his hand humbly: It’s just a small matter.
Many years later——
Yan Xiu, who lived in a rented house and ate bread, burst into tears: It's really hard to make money!
Jing Cheng stared at the text message notification on his mobile phone about the huge amount of money that had just been transferred (Chapter 95), and thought: Making money is really easy!
Happy Dragon Boat Festival! Leave a comment on this chapter to receive a red envelope~
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