บท 8: 7. Entering a Drama
Lin FenXiang paused looking at the stunned Bai LiuYao's face.
"Hi?" Lin FenXiang offered, waving at her.
Snapping out of her shock, Bai LiuYao trotted over to him. Lin FenXiang scanned her with a cursory glance.
Bai LiuYao deserved to be a popular star after all. She was beautiful, undeniably so. Unfortunately for her, Lin FenXiang did not swing that way.
"Why are you here, FenXiang?" She asked again. He shrugged.
"I came with my brother."
"Oh," she nodded, holding her skirt gently as she walked back into the set. "I didn't think you'd be interested in this."
"I'm not, I just casually tagged along."
"Yeah, how do I look?" She asked, showing him her look.
Lin FenXiang pursed his lips, as he said, she was beautiful. Her long black hair fell gracefully up to her lower back and she wore a soft teal Chinese hanfu. Her makeup was natural but well done and her accessories were exquisite as well.
"Why are you wearing these?" he asked. "I mean what kind of drama are you guys filming?"
"Don't you know?" Bai LiuYao gaped in surprise. "It's a period drama, of course! Why else would I be wearing hanfu?"
"Period drama?" Lin FenXiang tilted his head to the side. "No wonder. You look great." He showed her a thumbs up.
"Thanks. I have to go, the shoot should start soon, it's being delayed for long enough anyway."
"Wait," he stopped her. "Why is it being delayed?"
"Why else? A newcomer pushed into the crew by an investor is playing big names for a while now," Bai LiuYao sneered. "Even I who've won the Best Leading Actress and Supporting Actress don't dare do that, not with Brother Lin and this Director."
"What do you mean 'Playing big names'?"
"How do I explain this?* Bai LiuYao wondered in confusion. "It's like, um, giving yourself too much importance. Going and coming whenever he wants to."
Lin FenXiang raised an eyebrow and nodded in understanding, "Must be new to fame."
"Exactly!" Bai LiuYao nodded and walked away with a swift wave of her hand.
Lin FenXiang shrugged and made his way towards Lin FengYuan, who seemed furious.
And Lin FenXiang could understand his anger.
Walking to his brother, Lin FenXiang asked, "Angry about the actor?"
"Yes- wait how do you know?"
Lin FenXiang pressed his lips into a thin line and answered. "Bai LiuYao filled me in. Apparently he's playing big names. Why don't you deal with him?"
He added, "The shooting hasn't started yet, I mean."
"We can't do that, Xiao Xiang. We've signed the contract with his company."
Lin FenXiang frowned, uneasily, he asked. "Can you show me the contract?"
Lin FengYuan paced back and forth as he nodded and asked Assistant Zhou to bring him a copy of the contract.
Lin FenXiang sat down beside a young man wearing a peaked cap and read through the contract.
As he kept reading, his frown deepened. He then read the contract again from the start. Repeating the action over and over again.
"Um," he cleared his throat. "Brother."
"Yes?"
"I think we can break the contract."
Lin FengYuan froze, "What? How?"
"This contract clearly states that delay in the shooting caused by Party B will not be tolerated and Party A has the right to rescind the contract without being held liable for it."
"What?" Lin FengYuan gaped, taking the contract from Lin FenXiang and read it himself.
"Um, brother who made the contract?"
"The legal department," Lin FengYuan paused. "And Zhou YiHan." His head snapped to Zhou YiHan, who was looking down.
"YiHan," he started. "Did you know something like this would happen?"
Zhou YiHan sighed, nodding as he spoke. "I did some background checks. Mr. Si did this kind of thing in the sets of his past projects as well. So keeping that in mind, I set these conditions for the contract." His eyes flashed as he pushed his glasses up.
Lin FenXiang bit back a smirk. He clapped his hands together. "Assist Zhou really thought this through."
Zhou YiHan looked away, "Thank you, Young Master."
"So now, I've a legitimate reason to take action against Mr. Si," Lin FengYuan smiled, taking out his phone, he quickly made a call.
"Hello, yes it's me brother," Lin FengYuan rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yes, I am in a fix of sorts."
"...Ah yes, thank you very much."
"YiHan," Lin FengYuan looked at his watch. "Rescind the contract and give back the investment that came with Mr. Si. We don't need it anymore. Also, increase the investment we have put in here, we've got a new investor."
"But, brother," Lin FenXiang said from where he was sitting. "What about the actor?"
"We'll handle that, Xiao Xiang don't worry, I've got this. We can't afford to delay this shooting anymore."
Lin FenXiang nodded docilely, inverdently glancing at his side, he saw the hands holding a thick bunch of pages, of the cap wearing man, trembling slightly.
Despite himself, he asked, "Are you all right mister?" The man nodded.
"Ye, yes," he answered thickly.
Lin FenXiang pursed his lips slightly. "Is that the script in your hand, Mr. Screenwriter?"
The man by his side looked up, startled. Belatedly, he nodded.
"Would you mind if I have a look at it?"
"Of, of course not."
Receiving the script, Lin FenXiang nodded, "Thank you. Can you tell me the role Mr. Si was going to play? It seems he is an important character to the plot."
"Ah," the screenwriter nodded, dazedly staring at the face in front of him. "Yes, yes, he's a very important part of the story."
He skimmed through the script and hummed, glancing at the screenwriter impassively, Lin FenXiang hummed, "Cross-country plot, will it be considered offensive?"
The screenwriter shook his head hurriedly, "Absolutely not, Kiyoshi has reason behind his every action, he's meant to be different from generic second male leads who are just some plot devices to bring male and female leads closer or to protect female leads."
"If you are sure," Lin FenXiang shrugged, reading the second male lead's part. His character seems familiar. Almost like how…
"Don't you think seeking vengeance for a dead family is cliché?" He asked.
"Life is—"
"—full of clichés. I get it," Lin FenXiang showed a shallow smile. "Sometimes it more dramatic than dramas. That's true."
"We'll," he added slowly. "Watanabe Kiyoshi is indeed an interesting character, alas, the right actor wasn't casted."
The screenwriter trembled again, watching as almost all the bigwigs of the crew sought their connections to cast an actor quickly.
"—No, the company had newcomers but their temperament isn't right." Lin FengYuan told the other side.
"—Brother Wang you really can't come?" Lin FenXiang could hear Bai LiuYao's voice in background. "You are overseas? Oh no problem then!"
"Why don't you try it out?" The screenwriter's feeble voice dragged him back to the reality.
"What?"
"I— I don't mean to offend you or anything of that sort Young Master Lin but honestly, Kyoshi is my favourite character of this story," the screenwriter fiddled with his fingers. "I don't want him ruined by some not good actor."
"And your solution is to ask me, a complete outsider, to play him?" Lin FenXiang asked incredulously.
"I know, I know you have no prior experience in acting, with no background whatsoever," the screenwriter waved his hands anxiously. "But, but of all the actors who came to audition for this role only Mr. Si felt remotely close to the character. Not even he was good enough, what he lacked was the temperament."
"Then why did you cast him in the first place?"
"We had no choice," the screenwriter bit his lips. "He was the last choice. But now seeing what he has led us to, that was a bad decision."
"And why do you think I should audition for this role, who even Mr. Si—a considerably good actor—is not qualified to play?"
"Because, because your temperament matches almost perfectly with Kyoshi!"
"What?" Lin FenXiang asked blankly.
"Yes," the screenwriter nodded. "You look and have the temperament of what I picture Watanabe Kiyoshi to be. So please, please can you give it a shot?" He joined his hands together in front of Lin FenXiang.
"Stop, stop," Lin FenXiang held his hands. "That's enough. There's no need to do this. I've never acted before, not in front of cameras. So don't be disappointed if I can't make it work."
"You'll do it? Really?" The screenwriter's eyes lit up as he stood up in excitement and ran of somewhere.
Lin FenXiang watched the excited man running away and sighed. He hadn't acted in front of cameras, that's true. But it wasn't as if he hadn't acted before.
In the upper classes of society, you had to act. You had to be proficient in reading people like open books. Drystan Meyer, too, was an actor. An actor of life.
The nobility were scary, extremely so. They could read you at a glance and to defend yourself against their prying eyes, you had to be an actor.
Acting was a part of the nature of people born in the nobility.
Drystan knew that very well and he, too, was an actor in his right, and there were very few people who could actually see through the surface level, through what he wanted them to see.
Not even Adrastus had been able to read him, see through his act, until he opened up to the man.
Lin FenXiang sighed again, reading Watanabe Kiyoshi's parts he frowned and remained silent.
Lin FengYuan wasn't happy. He couldn't find a replacement for Mr. Si. None of the actors available were acceptable for the Assistant Director of this project.
The Director wasn't here yet, he was a bigshot of the industry called special for this project by his company.
And now this mishap occurred.
Lin FengYuan sighed, rubbing his temple as he hung up on a call.
As soon as he turned around, he saw the Assistant Director striding over to him. The man's face did not look good.
"What is it?" He asked when the Assistant Director came near him.
"Young Master Lin wants to audition for Watanabe Kiyoshi's role."
"What?" Lin FengYuan asked blankly. "He wants to do what?"
"He wants to act," Assistant Director sighed. "He wants to fill the vacancy of Mr. Si."
Lin FengYuan pursed his lips tightly, sighing he answered. "Even though this character is nothing to joke about let him try. If it's too bad we'll reject him, I'm sure he'll understand. Xiao Xiang is smart."
"If you say so," the Assistant Director grumbled away.
By the next three hours, the shooting members were invited into the hall for Lin FenXiang's audition.
"The Director isn't here for the time being," Assistant Director spoke with a slight frown. "I hope Young Master Lin doesn't mind."
"Not at all," Lin FenXiang shook his head as he read the script. "It's not as if my audition is so important that Director has to be here."
Assistant Director nodded slightly pleased and walked away to the panel where Lin FengYuan, the screenwriter and another AD sat.
"You'll be called soon, so be prepared." Bai LiuYao whispered to him as she sat across Lin FenXiang watching him.
"I feel like you've changed."
"Hm?" Lin FenXiang looked up from the script, slightly surprised.
"Don't look at me like that! I'm an actor, it's my job to observe people, their body language, mannerism and all if I want to make the character alive."
"Oh."
"Lin FenXiang!" One of the set workers called him.
"Good luck!" Bai LiuYao said.
"Thank you."
Lin FenXiang strode to the makeshift stage and bowed to the judging panel.
"Young Master Lin," the Assistant Director looked at him. "You want to audition for the second male lead's role, Watanabe Kiyoshi, am I right?"
"Absolutely."
"Then let's get started. Act out Scene 15, where Watanabe Kiyoshi and the female lead are talking to each other about the impending war."
Lin FenXiang nodded, closed his eyes, took a deep breath and sat on the stage, crossing his legs.
"Liu TianYa," he said, looking at the floor ahead of him as if he was looking at something. In a deep, mellow voice he continued. "It's inevitable, you know it too."
Faintly glancing at his side with hooded eyes, he smiled slightly. His aura made the people watching fall silent.
"Liu Dynasty," he sighed, moving his fingers in the air, as though strumming some chords. "Will embroil in war soon. The man," he paused, now looking turning his head to the side, gloomily. "You consort with, is not someone you should."
He fell silent, his eyes flashing with something foreign. Then he opened again.
"He is the neighbouring country's prince, what do you mean I'm worried needlessly?"
Silence.
"Enough, Liu TianYa," he suddenly become agitated. "I was just trying to warn you. But if you don't want to listen then fine, no need to speak of past." His voice deepened with suppressed anger.
Standing upright, he strode way from his earlier spot as if walking away from the female lead.
"Words hurt worse than swords can," Lin FenXiang looked over his shoulder. "Bear that in mind, Your Highness."
Lin FenXiang let the a deep silence settle in the hall before breaking out of the character. Sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, he looked at the judges.
"How was it, sir?"
As his words broke through the thick silence, an applause sounded from the door before the Assistant Director could reply.
"Brilliant," the newcomer smiled joyfully. "For a person with no background in acting, this was beyond brilliant! I almost thought I was looking at a living Watanabe Kiyoshi."
Everyone, including Lin FengYuan, stood up.
"Director Peng?" Lin FengYuan walked to the man with a respectful attitude.
Director Peng—Peng TianJun—laughed apologetically. "I'm sorry President Lin, this old man was late. I was stuck due to some personal matters."
Lin FengYuan nodded, "None of that, Director. I understand."
"By the way, who is this young man?" Peng TianJun asked, turning his attention to Lin FenXiang.
"This is my younger brother, sir. He wanted to try for the second male lead's role since the original actor was unable to come due to some issues."
"I see, Lin family is really endowed with exceptional talents. Not only third Young Master Lin was an army official but also has talent for acting."
Lin FenXiang nodded, seemingly embarrassed. "You are overstating it, Director." His attitude was neither too humble nor too arrogant.
"Ahaha!" Director Peng clapped his back. "I like you. We'll get along."
"Thank you, Director."
"Uh, so does that mean it's decided that Young Master Lin will play Watanabe Kiyoshi's role?" Assistant Director asked, unsure.
"Do you doubt it, Lao Lu?"
"No, of course not sir!"
"In that case," Peng TianJun smiled at Lin FenXiang. "Welcome to the crew, Young Master Lin. I'll polish a diamond in rough like you."
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