Is This How the Entertainment Industry Works? (GL) - Chapter 6

Yan Zhen heard him and rubbed her eyes. A young girl from the crew ran over to adjust her contact lenses, whispering compliments as she worked. “You’re seriously amazing. I almost cried just now.”

Yan Zhen smiled. “It wasn’t that exaggerated, was it?”

The girl nodded. “It definitely was!”

Director Wang beckoned from his spot. “Come here.”

Yan Zhen ran over, and Lu Ming ran over too. A few crew members and assistants thought about it and all ran over as well.

Director Wang roared, “What are you all doing coming over here! Do you want to smother me to death!”

The group reluctantly backed away, leaving only Yan Zhen and Lu Ming. Director Wang played the footage back once.

He pointed at the screen. “Do you see any problems?”

Yan Zhen stared at the screen for a bit.

Lu Ming interjected, “Isn’t it great?”

Director Wang snapped, “Shut up!”

After the recording finished, Yan Zhen suddenly realized the problem. “I apologize. I stole the spotlight.”

This was like the rule in court where you shouldn’t speak first; you must wait for the Prime Minister or the General to speak before offering your opinion. Her acting was too sharp and attention-grabbing. If the lead actress didn’t perform well, she could easily be overshadowed by this opening scene, making the protagonist of the entire film unclear.

Director Wang sighed in admiration. “Not bad.”

Lu Ming protested. “What do you mean? Is acting too well also a problem?”

“Nonsense!” Director Wang hit Lu Ming’s head with the script, leaning in to say, “Have you ever seen a supporting actor better than the lead?”

Lu Ming shook her head.

“That’s the unspoken rule of this business. Reshoot!” Director Wang looked at Yan Zhen. “Tone down your intensity.”

They filmed two more takes, and the opening scene was finally finished.

Director Wang commented, “Your eyes are just too expressive. I hear that children in the mountains experience a lot. Do you have a particularly dramatic life, which is why your eyes are so full of emotion?”

Yan Zhen couldn’t tell if Director Wang was insulting or praising her. “I’m doing alright,” she replied. “Mostly just feeding chickens and eating chickens. Nothing else.”

“That’s a pretty easy life. If you have nothing to do, you can come find me in the city. I have three more films next year, and I can save a supporting role for you.”

As the two were chatting, a sudden loud noise erupted nearby. A crew member ran over frantically, shouting, “Director, Director, the mountain collapsed! The trees are falling too!”

“What?” Director Wang was stunned. “The mountain collapsed?”

“What do we do? Sister Han is still flying around in there.”

“What?!” Director Wang was so scared he nearly threw up his guts. “Then hurry up and save her!”

A group of people rushed toward the mountain. When they reached halfway, the shaking had stopped. A few assistants were sitting on the ground, crying, “Sister Han! Sister Han!”

Director Wang ran over and asked, “Where is Han Xiaomeng?”

“W-we don’t know.”

Director Wang spat blood. “Damn it, then what are you standing around for? Go find her!”

A few assistants quickly stood up, preparing to search in all directions.

Yan Zhen called out to them. “Wait a minute.”

Director Wang slapped his thigh. “Sister, it’s a matter of life and death! Whatever it is, talk about it later!”

Yan Zhen pointed to a small tumbler she was holding. The pointed end of the tumbler was pointing southeast. “She’s in the southeast direction.”

Director Wang: “Holy cow! You’re playing with a toy from Taobao at a time like this!” He waved his hand and told the assistants, “Go in all directions, north, south, east, and west! We can’t afford to have Han Xiaomeng’s face ruined.”

The group ran off, crying.

Only Lu Ming knew Yan Zhen was telling the truth. Lu Ming pulled Director Wang aside. “The young lady has real talent. Why don’t you listen to her and go southeast?”

“Bah! Don’t be superstitious,” Director Wang said. “What if she’s wrong?”

“She won’t be,” Lu Ming said, full of superstition. “You don’t know, but she can predict the future.” Lu Ming started talking about the cliff-jumping incident but realized now wasn’t the time for details. She quickly grabbed Director Wang and headed southeast.

Yan Zhen was already walking ahead, having gained some distance. Lu Ming pulled Director Wang to follow her. After a while, the three of them saw a large tree with sparse leaves and a thick trunk. A woman in a white dress was standing on top of it.

That woman was Han Xiaomeng.

When Director Wang saw her, he cursed silently. Did we really find her in the southeast? Was it just luck? Then he shouted, “Xiaomeng, Xiaomeng, come down! What’s wrong with you?”

Han Xiaomeng’s mental state had completely broken down. Nothing had gone right since she started filming this movie. First, someone deliberately cut her wire. Then, someone gave her a lunchbox with animal organs inside. The costume for her role was a high-quality but dirt-stained Republican-era qipao. Now, while filming in the mountains, there was a sudden landslide that nearly killed her. Luckily, she quickly climbed a tree. But climbing up was easy; climbing down was hard.

Han Xiaomeng cried with suppressed anger, finally breaking down into a shout, “What kind of terrible film crew is this?! I quit! Someone else can play the role!”

Director Wang continued to shout, “Just come down first!”

Han Xiaomeng yelled, “Can’t you see I can’t get down!”

Yan Zhen walked around the trunk twice, then jumped up. When she reached the fork in the branches, she extended her hand. “Come.”

Han Xiaomeng had given up. She figured she would either die waiting up there or die falling down with this person; the result was the same, so she might as well try. She grabbed Yan Zhen’s hand and started to climb down. Yan Zhen immediately wrapped her arm around Han Xiaomeng’s waist and jumped down.

After they landed, the large tree suddenly collapsed.

The sound of a camera shutter was heard nearby. Director Wang followed the sound and saw his photographer.

“What time is it, and you’re still taking pictures?” Director Wang asked.

“It’s just so beautiful,” the photographer said. She looked at the image in her lens: a black figure leaping down from the tree like a graceful black panther, holding a human girl in her arms. What a visually compelling photograph. After adjusting the screen for a while, she uploaded the photo to her personal website.

Two seconds after she posted it, Han Xiaomeng stormed over and gave both of them a fierce tongue-lashing. Then, still complaining, she walked down the small mountain.

“You bastards! Damn it, I’m never leaving Guangjiao again! If I ever go outside the city again, I’m a pig!”

The commotion was so loud that the crew next door heard it and started to gossip.

“Did the lead actress next door go on strike?”

“Looks like a landslide happened during filming. And a few days ago, the cliff-jumping scene had problems. I wouldn’t be able to take it either.”

“That’s rough. They must have offended the mountain god,” an older crew member said.

Zhao Baoshang heard the superstitious talk, and a slightly awkward-looking smiling face floated through her mind. She let out an annoyed, not-too-loud huff, and the area around her immediately fell silent.

Yan Zhen returned home and fed the chickens. The roosters were fat and strong. Their loud crowing during the day could ward off ghosts and spirits, and Yan Zhen was very satisfied.

That evening, a city person came to their house and asked if they could buy a chicken from her mother. Her mother scolded him. “Buying a chicken so late at night is inappropriate.”

The person said, “I can’t help it. Our boss needs it urgently.”

Her mother had no choice but to grab a chicken from the coop, asking, “What are you going to use it for?”

“A sacrifice to the heavens!” the person said. “The feng shui hasn’t been good lately.”

Yan Zhen walked out and saw that the person was from Director Wang’s film crew. She said, “It’s no use buying a rooster for a sacrifice. What you’ve offended is not an ordinary thing.”

What else could it be? The chicken buyer couldn’t figure it out, and the more he thought, the more scared he became. He paid the money, took the chicken coop, and quickly ran off.

Her mother was worried. “If word gets out that the feng shui is bad, won’t it reflect poorly on our village?”

Yan Zhen said, “It might.”

“That’s what you get for talking nonsense,” her mother said worriedly. “Xiaozhen, follow him and take a look.”

Yan Zhen nodded and went out to follow him. After a while, she lost track of him. The film set was dark after the lights were turned off, and there were no signs of life. Yan Zhen remembered that this group was staying at the motel. She started to walk back, and halfway there, she saw a shimmering light by the river and a red glow flickering faintly.

Yan Zhen saw someone squatting by the river. When she got closer, she saw it was Zhao Baoshang, staring at a few red fish in the water. Meeting the Eldest Princess made Yan Zhen very happy. She walked over to greet her. “What a coincidence.”

Zhao Baoshang looked up at Yan Zhen, and her face immediately darkened.

Yan Zhen sidled up next to Zhao Baoshang. “What are you doing out so late?”

Zhao Baoshang poked the river surface with a tree branch. “Looking at the fish.”

Yan Zhen crouched down to look with her. The fish were red carp, which are said to bring good luck. Yan Zhen asked, “Are you hungry for fish?”

Zhao Baoshang frowned. “Why would I want to eat a few ugly fish?”

“Then why are you staring at them?” Yan Zhen asked, puzzled.

“I have nothing else to do,” Zhao Baoshang said. Her voice was cold, and with the equally cold moonlight, she truly looked like an otherworldly immortal.

Yan Zhen then noticed that Zhao Baoshang was wearing an ancient costume. Her long red skirt dragged on the ground, and Yan Zhen helped lift it up.

Zhao Baoshang jumped up like a startled cat. “What are you doing!”

Yan Zhen said worriedly, “Your skirt was touching the ground.”

Zhao Baoshang deliberately sat on the ground and said, “It’s just a cheap skirt. It doesn’t matter.”

“Did you just finish filming?” Yan Zhen asked.

Zhao Baoshang didn’t answer.

“Were you yelled at again?” Yan Zhen said with a cheerful smile. “That outfit is the female general’s everyday wear. It looks like you were filming a later scene, probably when the Empress discovers the General’s true identity and hosts a banquet for her in the separate residence?”

Zhao Baoshang asked, “Did you read the script?”

“No,” Yan Zhen said. “But folk stories are all the same, written like this.”

“You seem to have read a lot.”

“I guess so,” Yan Zhen said with a smile. “What part are you having trouble acting?”

“Hmph. Why would I tell you?”

Yan Zhen said, “I can help you.”

Zhao Baoshang scoffed. “With another Six-Yao reading?”

“I mean with the acting,” Yan Zhen said. “The process of filming a scene involves a long build-up of anticipation. I wouldn’t use a divination to spoil that anticipation.”

The moon was high in the sky. After the dark clouds dispersed, the night sky was clear, and patches of stars twinkled.

“That sounds nice,” Zhao Baoshang said. “I can’t act any of the scenes they want me to do. I’ve never been a general, so how can I act like one?”

Yan Zhen was a little confused. “The female general and the Empress are in love. I thought you would be able to get into the role easily since you’re working with Xu Fengmei.”

Zhao Baoshang was speechless for a long time. Not just Yan Zhen, but almost everyone in the crew thought she would be an acting prodigy in this role. But in reality, she had realized her feelings for Xu Fengmei weren’t love; they were likely just gratitude. When Xu Fengmei had first saved her, she had secretly vowed that this person would be the one she protected for life. But as time passed, her feelings faded. People change so easily, Zhao Baoshang thought, feeling terrible about herself.

She threw the script on the ground. The pages of the script scattered. Yan Zhen picked it up and flipped through a few pages. It was densely marked with notes. A gust of wind blew, closing the book.

Yan Zhen knew what she had to do. She suddenly recited a line. “General!”

The word “General” was forceful and impactful.

Zhao Baoshang immediately realized that the word wasn’t a casual address; it was a line spoken by the Empress when she was about to win a game of chess against the General. It was the first time anyone had rehearsed with her. Zhao Baoshang suppressed her confusing feelings and responded with her line.

“It is a good move, but still too far from the General.”

The Empress said, “How do you know which General I’m calling?”

The General closed her eyes and was silent.

The Empress’s fingers trembled. She placed a piece and smiled. “General.”

The General sat sideways on the ground, placed a piece of her own, and replied, “Regardless of which General, all are in desperate straits. Surrounded by enemies and without support, even a single pawn can spell the General’s demise.”

As she spoke, the red chiffon of her skirt was lifted by the wind, covering half her face, leaving only her resolute yet fragile eyes visible. The Empress met those eyes and finally lowered her gaze, saying “General” again. The word was desolate and heartbreaking.

A carp in the river leaped up and splashed back into the water with a plop.

Zhao Baoshang was abruptly jolted back to reality.

Author’s Note:

Zhao Baoshang (after snapping back to reality): Where is my Empress?

Yan Zhen: ??? Princess, wake up! You’re a princess, not a general! You don’t have an Empress! Isn’t having me enough!!

Zhao Baoshang: Enough! You wild little darling!