Chapter 263: The Hidden Gems of the Music World Are All Right Beside You...
"What document substitute?" At this hour, his attention wasn't on him, and he didn't hear clearly. Subconsciously, he asked in surprise, based on what he thought was the term, "You need this?"
The "stunt double" industry has a long history, starting with "stunt doubles" who are responsible for action scenes and high-difficulty stunts for actors, to "body doubles" who appeared later to speed up the filming process and shoot full-view or back-view scenes for the lead actors, and "body doubles" who replace big-name artists who do not want to perform nude scenes. All of them are types of stunt doubles that have emerged for filming.
Although there are rumors that some artists who are unwilling to endure hardship use stunt doubles not only for action scenes but also for dialogue scenes to avoid being lazy or to film multiple projects at once, Rong Juezhang has a history of performing his own action scenes. Now that he is only filming in this production crew, where would he need a dialogue double?
Most importantly, Ling Chen was also very self-aware: given Rong Juezhang's level of acting skills in dramatic scenes, he was clearly still some distance away from this senior and idol...
Furthermore, even if the height difference between the two can be compensated for through some shooting techniques, their body shapes are still different—Rong Juezhang is slender with a southern build, while he is tall and slender with a northern build.
Seeing Ling Chen's bewildered expression, Li Sishi, upon understanding which "stand-in" Rong Juezhang was referring to, immediately said with a wry smile, "Don't mind him. He's been arguing with me lately because of the difference in our costumes. What a vain man!"
"You, the beneficiary, are not allowed to make sarcastic remarks here!" Rong Juezhang glared angrily at Li Sishi, then looked towards Ling Chen, "Sigh, it's true that different people have different fates..."
“So that’s the reason…” Ling Chen nodded thoughtfully, then explained to Li Sishi, “As far as I know, Lester’s problem isn’t just about being vain; there’s a backstory to it.”
"Oh? What's the background?" Li Sishi asked curiously.
In the early hours of the morning, Lester silently asked Rong Juezhang with her eyes, and only after receiving his approval did she continue: "You should also know that Lester's path in the entertainment industry was not very smooth at the beginning, right?"
“Hmm, I know. It’s a well-known ‘newcomer warning’ in Hong Kong’s entertainment industry—even Rong Juezhang had to endure it for eight years. What new radish are you?” Li Sishi immediately chimed in.
From the change of dynasties to the Republic of China in modern times, the rules governing clothing gradually relaxed. As a result, wealthy people in the Cantonese region began to wear fur coats, which were once something they could only afford to buy but had no right to wear.
There was a white wool coat that was so finely shredded that it resembled extremely finely cut radish shreds, so it was called "Fine Radish Peel." Later, through misinterpretation, it gradually became a slang term used to insult someone who likes to show off and is self-important, like "Fresh Radish Peel."
So, the phrase "你什么新鲜萝卜皮" roughly means the same as "你算老几" or "你根葱" in Mandarin.
Fortunately, Rong Juezhang now holds a high position in the industry and has good interpersonal relationships; otherwise, such a sarcastic analogy would inevitably make him a target of resentment from many shallow newcomers.
"Because his early career in the entertainment industry wasn't very smooth, Lester had to obtain most of his stage costumes and costumes through various means, and often even made them himself." Ling Chen sighed. "His father is a suit tycoon, quite famous in the menswear manufacturing industry, but his son still had to make his own stage costumes and costumes..."
"Oh, I see. Is that why you're so sensitive to words like 'performance costume' and 'drama costume'?" Li Sishi looked at Rong Juezhang.
"Perhaps because this represents a dark period in his life, and that's also one of the factors that gave him the perseverance and ambition to work hard," Ling Chen added.
"Back then, Lester also used his example to encourage me, making me understand that no matter how much external things change, as long as the inner self remains unchanged, there will always be a day when the storm passes and the sun shines again..."
"Actually, there's no need to make me sound so noble. I'd be more than happy to get a few nice outfits at public expense without spending my own money..." Rong Juezhang's words shattered the atmosphere, and then, faced with the speechless looks from Li Sishi and Ling Chen, he slammed his hand on the table and stood up again. "I didn't say anything wrong—the whole world knows I'm not very good at budgeting! If I have the chance, I'll definitely save money wherever I can!"
"Then why do you go around giving away all the things people praise you for?" Li Sishi was even more speechless.
“Saving money and being generous are two different things!” Rong Juezhang said with a self-righteous expression.
"Never mind, never mind..." Seeing that neither of them could argue with this mischievous monkey, Ling Chen quickly pulled Li Sishi, who was about to speak, back down. "Weren't we talking about the stand-in? I still have some time to stand in for what?"
Unexpectedly, Rong Juezhang was still thinking about this in the early hours of the morning. He immediately gave him a half-smile and adopted a riddle-like posture: "Forget it, you missed your chance."
"Huh?" Ling Chen was undoubtedly even more confused now, subconsciously...
He looked towards Li Sishi.
Li Sishi waved her hand: "Don't worry about him, he's just joking with you. In any way and in any sense, he doesn't need any 'stand-in'."
"I always feel like I've missed something... I was a little lost in the early morning, but when I saw Rong Juezhang holding an egg tart in one hand and a script in the other talking to the director, I didn't want to rashly join them in discussing serious matters, so I could only look back at Li Sishi."
After all, his original intention was to come here, to this girl in front of him.
Taking advantage of the little time left, Li Sishi casually changed the subject: "You've been filming 'Big City, Small Love' with Ms. Shang Lanyu recently, right? How's it going?"
"She's really amazing. I've been trying my best to keep up with her... It would be a lie to say I didn't feel a lot of pressure acting opposite a senior actress whose acting skills are already close to the pinnacle."
But aside from the issue of acting skills, it was Shang Lanyu's other entanglement with him that made him feel extremely troubled...
"Really? I really want to see it as soon as I get the chance. Alas, I can't get away right now... If she weren't so busy with work, Li Sishi would really like to go to the set of 'Big City, Small Love' every day and watch Shang Lanyu's performance live. "Miss Shang Lanyu is also one of my idols."
After all, she was often compared to Shang Lanyu in newspapers and magazines in her previous life, and was even called "Shang Lanyu clone" - of course, this title was used by haters to criticize her acting skills as stiff and out of place as the early, undeveloped Shang Lanyu. After all, they were both runners-up in the Miss Hong Kong pageant, and there was a 10-year difference between them.
The only difference is that one of them had a breakthrough and immediately went on a meteoric rise to become a Best Actress; while the other chose to retire from the entertainment industry early to get married, wasting the high expectations that so many people had for her when she debuted.
Although she never actually met Shang Lanyu in either of her two lifetimes, Li Sishi's feelings for Shang Lanyu, which ranged from love and hate to acceptance and respect, could almost be said to have permeated both her past and present lives.
"How come you have so many idols!" Rong Juezhang shouted at Li Sishi, looking up. "I'm right next to you, and you still dare to have your eyes on other people? You're such a fickle person! You like so many!"
"What's wrong with liking many idols? It's not like we're husband and wife with a contract!" Li Sishi turned around and shouted back.
"There should be an opportunity then, after all, Miss Shang... is actually quite looking forward to meeting you." Ling Chen hesitated for a moment, but ultimately said this.
They came out.
Although Shang Lanyu's "expectation" was purposeful—after failing to get anything good from him, Shang Lanyu somehow learned about a rumor about Li Sishi.
Rumor has it that Li Sishi managed to invite Huang Qianyan, a soulful singer, to be a guest at her concert, and the concert was quite well-received.
So, when Shang Lanyu, who had been passionate about singing since her beauty pageant days, heard the news, Ling Chen, who witnessed it firsthand, could only say that he was trying not to exaggerate—her eyes lit up...
But what about the vocal qualities of Shang Lanyu, this "hidden gem of the music scene"?
To put it simply, he's already one of the few male singers with a deep bass voice these days, and Shang Lanyu, being a woman, can sing even lower...
The most frequently used theme song in the movie "Big City, Small Love" is "Sweet Love Song," a classic hit by Yun Ni-jun, the queen of sweet songs from Taiwan. Shang Lan-yu, whose Mandarin, singing skills, and vocal quality are all somewhat lacking, bravely took on the challenge of covering this song.
After silently listening to the old smoker's version of "Sweet Love Song," he couldn't quite bring himself to give a serious evaluation based on his music theory knowledge—because Shang Lanyu's tolerance for singing was vastly different from her tolerance for acting, and to be honest, it might make her cry...
Seeing Li Sishi's expectant expression, Ling Chen hesitated for a while before finally deciding to postpone revealing the "terrible truth" until after Li Sishi joined the crew.
"Alright, alright, it's almost time. Thank you for visiting the set today." Li Sishi gently nudged him.
Although she had previously expressed her hope that he wouldn't deliberately find opportunities to visit the set, he had already come, and even brought afternoon tea, so she couldn't very well just rudely send him away. Therefore, she took the opportunity to chat with Lingchen for a while.
Great! Shang Lanyu also has a "good feeling" towards her. When she goes to the "Big City, Small Love" crew to film, she should be able to gain a lot!
As Li Sishi watched Ling Chen's departing figure, she thought to herself with a smug satisfaction.
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