Is This How the Entertainment Industry Works? (GL) - Chapter 4

She handed the script to Yan Zhen.

Yan Zhen flipped it open. Lu Ming pointed to a name in the supporting cast list and said, “This is the one: Huo Lu.”

Yan Zhen was still hesitating.

Lu Ming pleaded, “Help me out. There are only so many people in this village. The director said that if the box office is high, he’ll build a railway through the mountains.”

That was a good deed that would accumulate merit.

But will the box office for this movie really be high?

Yan Zhen thought it over and said, “Alright then.”

The two of them sat down to look at the script. Lu Ming, already familiar with it, flipped to the synopsis to introduce it to Yan Zhen.

The story was about a woman kidnapped and sold into the mountains. After struggling in despair, she eventually becomes honored as the “Most Beautiful Rural Teacher.”

This kidnapped woman was the female lead. She was originally a daughter of a wealthy family, but after taking root in the deep mountains, she gradually assimilated. Years later, when her biological mother finds her, the lead refuses to leave. Instead, she conspires with outsiders to embezzle money from her own parents to help the poor children in the mountains—a story intended to “move the heavens, the earth, and the whole world.”

Yan Zhen asked, “Why do I find this plot a bit… strange?”

Lu Ming replied, “Don’t worry about that. A script that makes money is a good script.”

Then she highlighted the key points: Huo Lu is the female lead’s mother. Her character is a cold-faced career woman. The only time she shows emotion is when she loses her daughter—crying her heart out. From then on, her deliberate indifference becomes a mask for a fragile, “break-at-a-touch” despair.

The role didn’t require many expressions. Playing a “paralyzed face” seemed quite convenient; Yan Zhen felt she could handle it.

She told Lu Ming, “I can do this.”

“That’s great!” Lu Ming nodded.

The two walked to the film set. Director Wang poked his head out from behind a blue curtain and saw Yan Zhen.

He asked Lu Ming, “This is the supporting actress you found? The delivery girl?”

“Yes!” Lu Ming smiled. “My newly-recognized good sister.”

Director Wang was incredulous. His small eyes looked Yan Zhen up and down, failing to find a single spark of star quality.

“Fine, let’s try a scene,” Director Wang said. He picked a segment where Huo Lu argues with her ex-husband. “Just this one. I’ll play the ex-husband. Try reading the lines to me.”

Yan Zhen glanced at it and closed the script.

“No need for the script?” Director Wang asked.

Yan Zhen shook her head. Then, she suddenly shouted in a low, deep voice: “Enough.”

Her voice lacked power; Director Wang shook his head.

Then, Yan Zhen shouted again: “Enough!!”

Director Wang jumped, startled. He quickly took a sip of tea to calm his nerves.

The script only called for one “Enough.” But by shouting it twice, the effect was completely different: the first suppressed cry represented pain, while the second explosion represented fury.

Brilliant!

This girl is something else.

Director Wang gulped more water and continued watching.

Half a second later, Yan Zhen slowly raised her eyes. They seemed like ordinary eyes, but if one looked closely, there was a murderous intent within them—intent that quickly dissipated, leaving only a stifled rage that couldn’t be vented.

Lu Ming, standing behind the director, couldn’t help but shout: “Calm down…”

That was exactly the ex-husband’s next line in the script. Yan Zhen had pushed the plot forward using only a look.

That was enough for the audition. Short and powerful.

Director Wang said with satisfaction, “I didn’t expect to find such a good seedling in the mountains. Tell you what—come on Wednesday morning to film. Remember to study the script and memorize your lines.”

Yan Zhen snapped out of character instantly. “Okay.”

Director Wang scurried off to the neighboring set to find some meat to eat.

Lu Ming stood there, touching her own face, feeling a bit of a “slap” to her ego. “I thought you said you couldn’t act?”

Yan Zhen replied, “I just said I’d never done it. And that just now… wasn’t really acting.”

It was more like being herself. In the Imperial Palace, she often had to act—playing the villain, the loyal official, or whatever the Emperor wanted to see. After a long time, these personas merged into her bones, becoming a sort of instinct.

She had only said four words just now; Yan Zhen wasn’t entirely confident about what she could achieve when the cameras actually started rolling.

After recovering from the shock, Lu Ming took Yan Zhen on a tour of their filming base. It wasn’t large, but there were many props.

Near the foot of the mountain were several stone tablets. Lu Ming stepped over them carelessly.

“Careful,” Yan Zhen said.

Lu Ming looked back. “Don’t worry, just two small stones. They won’t trip me.”

Yan Zhen corrected her: “I’m not worried about you; I’m worried about the stones.”

Lu Ming sighed. “So I’m worth less than two stones?”

Yan Zhen asked, “Do you know what those stones are?”

“What? Fossils? Meteorites?”

Yan Zhen shook her head. “They are someone’s ancestral graves.”

Lu Ming felt a sudden chill down her spine. The way she looked at the mountain changed instantly. “Is this whole mountain a graveyard?”

“Not quite,” Yan Zhen shook her head. “In short, as long as you are respectful, these spirits won’t harm you.”

Hearing this, Lu Ming remembered something and was suddenly terrified: I almost fell to my death off that cliff the other day. Was it because I didn’t respect someone’s ancestors?

God, that was close.

Lu Ming hurried back and bowed to the stone tablets. Looking down, she couldn’t help but think how dilapidated they looked.

Rounding the mountain, they reached the base of another film crew. Yan Zhen recognized it as the place where she had delivered food for the first time. Inside, people were practicing swordplay. The sound of metal clashing—clang, clang, clang—echoed through the air.

Yan Zhen asked in wonder, “What kind of movie is that?”

“That’s a big-budget production called The General’s Command,” Lu Ming explained. “A magical story about a cross-dressing female general and a Queen fighting to the death.”

Lu Ming pointed to a poster at the entrance. “Zhao Baoshang and Xu Fengmei are the two leads. It’s been hyped up like crazy even before release. Our crew chose this village just to ride on their coattails.”

“Zhao Baoshang? Xu Fengmei?” The names sounded familiar to Yan Zhen.

“Yeah, one veteran Movie Queen and one rising Movie Queen,” Lu Ming said. She paused for a moment as a thought struck her. “Actually, your voice sounds a lot like Xu Fengmei’s.”

“Really? I’ve never heard her,” Yan Zhen said.

“It only sounded like her for a second. Now that I’m listening, it doesn’t anymore,” Lu Ming shook her head.

As they discussed voices, three or four people walked out of the other studio, chatting loudly.

A gruff voice asked, “Where’s Zhao Baoshang? Where is Little Zhao?!”

A refined voice replied, “Xu Fengmei just arrived. She probably went out to find her.”

“Damn, doesn’t she know the next scene is hers?”

“What can you do? She’s rich—and a Movie Queen. Just bear with it.”

The complainer immediately went silent.

Lu Ming whispered to Yan Zhen, “Hear that? Those are the two Movie Queens.”

Yan Zhen nodded.

“Zhao Baoshang is a ‘Second-Generation Rich.’ Her family has endless money, but she’s a huge fan of Xu Fengmei. She threw a ton of money into picking the best resources and won the Movie Queen title earlier this year,” Lu Ming gossiped.

Yan Zhen wasn’t very interested.

“Also,” Lu Ming lowered her voice, “I heard Xu Fengmei is Zhao Baoshang’s savior.”

“Interesting,” Yan Zhen said with a smile. “Looking at the characters in her name and her ‘Official’ aura, Xu Fengmei doesn’t look like the type of person who saves people.”

“You can calculate that too?” Lu Ming was amazed. “But everyone knows about it.”

Yan Zhen’s curiosity was piqued. “How did she save her?”

Lu Ming said, “Zhao Baoshang went missing a year ago. Xu Fengmei braved a hail of bullets to bring her back. Ever since then, Zhao Baoshang has been devoted to her, giving her whatever she asks for.”

This story sounded familiar. Yan Zhen racked her brain for a long time but could only recall the person she had rescued the previous night and that face so similar to the Eldest Princess.

She began to smile.

Seeing Yan Zhen’s smile, Lu Ming was momentarily dazzled. She’s just a sun-darkened, simple girl, so why does her smile have such an extraordinary charm?

Lu Ming asked curiously, “What are you thinking about? You’re smiling so happily.”

Yan Zhen engaged in some serious nonsense: “I thought of an old classmate.”

Lu Ming’s interest was piqued. “There are schools around here? I’ve been here for days and haven’t seen a single one.”

“There are, they’re just small.” Yan Zhen pointed to a gully not far away. “And a bit far. There’s one over there: three classes for primary school, two for middle school.”

“What about high school?” Lu Ming asked.

“High school is by another river gully.” Yan Zhen looked around but couldn’t see any obvious buildings, so she just pointed randomly for Lu Ming.

“Why aren’t you in class?” Lu Ming asked.

“The high school teacher caught malaria a while ago and went back to the city,” Yan Zhen said. “And then we had no more teachers.”

Lu Ming sighed. “Life is so tragic here.”

Yan Zhen said, “It is. But once I make some money, things will get better.”

Lu Ming patted Yan Zhen on the shoulder. “Young lady, you’ve got spirit!”

She tucked the script into Yan Zhen’s pocket and advised, “Study it well. Director Wang looks kind, but he’s actually very fierce.”

Yan Zhen nodded.

“And the other actors are real troublemakers. If you don’t act well, you’ll definitely get scolded.”

Yan Zhen nodded again. Lu Ming gave her a gentle push. “I’m done with my instructions. You can go now.”

Yan Zhen patted the script. “Alright, I’m off.”

The sun was fierce, making the air feel scorched. Sweat soaked through Yan Zhen’s back, making her feel damp and uncomfortable.

She took a few steps toward home, only to unexpectedly run into Zhao Baoshang again.

Author’s Note:

Zhao Baoshang: Who! Who’s talking behind my back again!

Yan Zhen (nervous): Don’t be afraid, Eldest Princess! I’m not a good person! (Wait…)