Ji Juntao was always efficient. He made a video call to Shang Yechu the next day at noon.
The moment Ji Juntao saw Shang Yechu's face, he was startled: "What's wrong with you? You look so pale!"
Shang Yechu's face was pale, and she looked exhausted. Her voice was filled with weariness: "I'm fine. Tell me about your matter first. Have you found an actor?"
"I suppose so," Ji Juntao said. "The roles of the parents and aunt aren't big, so the actors are easy to find. There are plenty of unemployed, unknown actors in the entertainment industry. I contacted a few artists who often act in rural dramas, and we finalized the casting in just a few words. Now, only the mute woman is left."
Shang Yechu pondered for a moment: "The 'Yun Qing Ji' production team does have a few actors who are quite good at playing madmen in the cold palace..."
“We can’t use people from ‘Yun Qing Ji’,” Ji Juntao said decisively. “Otherwise, people will guess that this matter is related to you. You don’t need to worry about this.”
"Okay." Shang Yechu stopped dwelling on the question. "What about the director? Who's the director?"
"I haven't found one yet." Ji Juntao's voice was also a little hoarse. She was busy running around and was no less busy than Shang Yechu. "I plan to fly to Beicheng tomorrow to check out the Beijing Academy of Drama."
"Beijing Academy of Drama?" Shang Yechu was taken aback. "Those top directors couldn't afford to hire us even if we sold ourselves. Have you gone mad from drinking coffee?"
Beijing Academy of Drama, China Film Academy, and Tianjin University of Arts are all top-tier art academies in China, renowned for their high academic standards and producing a large number of talented individuals for the cultural and entertainment industry. Many of the celebrities who have made a name for themselves in the entertainment industry are alumni of these three institutions. They can be considered the first, second, and third divisions of the Whampoa Military Academy of the arts.
I wonder how many great directors graduated from the Beijing Theatre Academy. What kind of resources does Qingping Entertainment have to fool them?
Ji Juntao waved his hand: "Who said I was going to invite those old guys? According to the regulations of Beijing Theatre Academy, every directing student must submit a mature directing work as proof of internship in order to graduate smoothly."
"Don't you know what college students are like? Every year there are a few chronic procrastinators who drag their feet until they can't even produce a decent short film. In the end, they have to extend their graduation."
Ji Juntao's calculations were working perfectly: "It's May now, graduation season is approaching. There must be a lot of students running around like headless flies, grabbing anyone they can get their hands on. Let's pick one of these headless flies, it won't cost much, and they'll thank us!"
"No businessman is without guile." Shang Yechu was relieved: "Alright. Go ahead and get busy. How's the press release going?"
“We’ve already started, and we’ll heat things up in a couple of days. Try to look as haggard as possible these next few days, like you’re constantly crying. Yi Tianzhao isn’t so easy to fool.” Ji Juntao tilted his head. “But you already look quite haggard. Keep it up.”
Shang Yechu nodded. The two discussed a few more details and then hung up the phone.
As soon as she hung up the phone, Shang Yechu eagerly lay back on the bed and closed her eyes.
"Gah—Gah—Gah—"
The low cawing of crows echoed in her mind, and Shang Yechu's eyelids twitched, but she ultimately did not open them.
In order to simulate Xiao Yue's living environment, Shang Ye Chu stopped having 103 force her to sleep and instead chose to fall asleep naturally.
"Gah—Gah—Gah—"
Without technological assistance, Shang Yechu's fragile sleep quality was immediately exposed. Even with her eyes closed, the cawing of crows continued to echo in her mind. It wasn't strong, nor was it particularly noisy, but it was ever-present, clinging to her meninges and refusing to leave.
Imagine someone sound asleep on a cool summer evening, suddenly awakened by a swarm of flies. With neither a fly swatter nor fly spray at hand, they can only endure the flies' persistent harassment. This is exactly how Shang Yechu felt all night.
Shang Yechu barely slept a wink for even a second. Even in her half-awake state, the cawing of crows never stopped, continuing to disturb her.
Shang Yechu, who never dreams, had nightmares all night last night.
First, there were Ji Ya and Shang Hongxuan's faces. Shang Hongxuan was sitting in the room smoking, with music from a short video playing in the background—the cawing of crows. The secondhand smoke made it hard for Shang Yechu to breathe. Ji Ya kept complaining, berating Shang Yechu for being such an unfilial daughter.
Ji Ya and Shang Hongxuan disappeared. Yang Huanyi's face appeared in her dream. Because of taking on multiple roles simultaneously, she ended up in the same situation as Yang Huanyi. The two were tied to a prison van, and the audience threw rotten eggs and vegetable leaves at them. A flock of crows flew overhead, cawing and dropping a string of bird droppings.
The scene of the public parade changed again, this time featuring Grandma Hu's face. The old woman lay in the coffin, her face pale, a strange smile on her lips. She had been dead for some time. Shang Yechu stared blankly at the coffin when a flock of crows suddenly swooped down, pecking at the old woman's remains.
Shang Yechu yelled and lunged forward to protect the old woman's body, but missed.
"!!!"
Shang Yechu opened her eyes in shock and found herself sitting up in a half-dream state, her face covered in cold sweat.
"Gah—Gah—Gah—"
For a fleeting moment, Shang Yechu could barely distinguish between reality and dream. It was 103 who broke the illusion:
"Did you have a nightmare? Do you want to stop?"
Shang Yechu took a deep breath and glanced at the gloomy sky outside the window.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
