Chapter 9: Sudden scandal
Translator: Aafkee
Proofreader: ChaiTea
After feeling a bit rueful towards the ridiculous hot search and being moved by his fans’ deep emotions for him, he decided to take some time to talk to his manager, Mei Fei, about him getting on the hot search.
For some unknown reason, he intentionally avoided talking about any details regarding that man from last night and only said that he helped a drunk person in passing.
Most likely because Mei Fei was busy with Bai Zhuzhen’s activities, she did not ask in detail either. She merely reminded Shen Yu to be more careful with his image as a celebrity and told him that she would sort out the issue of him getting on the hot search afterwards. Instead, she stressed about the casting audition again towards the end of the call.
“Zhong Simo’s auditions aren’t for any Tom, Dick or Harry. He doesn’t care about the actors and actresses’ fame but their acting skills must be up there. He considers it a personal insult if you take part in his audition as a total mess. I only got this opportunity because someone was trying to return me a favour. I remember that your acting is pretty decent. Remember to make ample preparations so as not to embarrass our company.”
“I understand, Ms Mei.”
Shen Yu ended the call and no longer spared another thought on the matter regarding him getting on the hot search. Mei Fei was a professional manager. Although her focus had never been on Shen Yu, she would definitely get the issue sorted out if she said she would, herself. Shen Yu never once thought that his accidental appearance as one of the hot searches would bring him any fame. He only wished that it would not cause any trouble.
“Brother Shen, do you want some water?”
Shen Yu could hear someone calling for him before he could keep his phone. He turned around to have a look, only to see the drama’s female lead, Wan Sheng, holding two bottles of water and asking him with a smile.
Wan Sheng was actually not really an actress but a decently popular influencer who used to be a streamer. She was quite pretty and she always had a lively and carefree image. This film, “The Pursuit of the Wind”, had a tight budget so the crew could not decide on a female lead until recently.
Shen Yu had a personality that did not allow him to warm up to others quickly, especially with the opposite sex. Wan Sheng had only joined the crew a couple of days ago and had barely spoken a few sentences with Shen Yu, so they were nowhere near being familiar with each other. However, since the lady had taken the initiative to express her good intentions, there was no way Shen Yu would brush her off in front of everyone else.
“Thank you, I was just about to take some water.” Shen Yu nodded at her politely to express his gratitude and reached out to take the bottle of water Wan Sheng offered. Uncertain whether he was overthinking, it felt like Wan Sheng had intentionally leaned forward the moment he touched the bottle of water. Shen Yu looked towards Wan Sheng but the latter merely maintained an enthusiastic and appropriate smile.
I must be overthinking it, thought Shen Yu as he shook his head and twisted open the bottle cap. Wan Sheng began speaking again before Shen Yu could take a sip from the bottle.
“Wow, the bottle cap is so tight, Brother Shen, can you give me a hand?”
Shen Yu glanced at Wan Sheng’s fair hand which was already flushed red from trying to uncap the bottle. He could only pass the bottle in his hand to Wan Sheng as he took the other bottle from her under her expectant gaze.
“Thank you, Brother Shen.” Wan Sheng uncapped the bottle straight away and took a mouthful, “I’m so thirsty.”
Shen Yu could only push down the feeling of strangeness in his heart as he took a few sips of water himself, “You can ask your assistant to prepare water for you beforehand the next time you’re thirsty.”
“Got it, you’re such a good person, Brother Shen.”
Shen Yu wondered if that was the legendary “nice guy” as he watched Wan Sheng’s retreating back, his brows creased. Wan Sheng had acted as per usual and was enthusiastic throughout but Shen Yu could not help but feel uneasiness all over when he interacted with her. It must have been because their auras were naturally at odds with each other. Thankfully, such a small matter would not affect his filming and He Qi’s main rivalling scenes in the drama were not with Jiu Yao either.
The episode got quickly thrown into the back of Shen Yu’s mind. After confirming that he was not needed for any reshoots, Shen Yu removed his makeup and drove back to his hotel. He had more important things to worry about at the moment, namely, Zhong Simo’s casting audition.
Shen Yu had always been a model student during his university days. He even passed his practical exams with pretty high scores which proved that his acting skills were actually worthy of praise in the eyes of the professionals. Unfortunately, the number of people who could become famous in the entertainment circle just with their acting alone was close to zero. Shen Yu, who was naturally slow to warm up, was not that lucky star.
He had been too dense and unknown to the public, but now that an opportunity was placed right in front of him, Shen Yu did not want to give it up just like that no matter what. Besides, there was no way an actor or actress did not have an ounce of ambition with regards to their acting career.
The piece of work that made a name for Zhong Simo, “Innocence”, was filmed during his student days. There were no conflicts in interests, it was a film that could best showcase his thoughts and logic. Zhong Simo himself had also mentioned several times during his interviews that “Innocence” was a piece of work that he was the most satisfied with. Shen Yu had watched that film many times. Along with the increase of his age, there would always be a new discovery or perception every time he watched it again. And this time, he decided to watch “Innocence” once more from a different perspective.
The young lady strained to carry the Buddhist statue and swung it towards the back of her stepfather’s head, the scene pushing the film into a small climax.
The Buddhist statue, which was supposed to be worshipped and symbolise purity, had become a weapon to hurt others. This was the first time the young lady had a chance to resist. She had seemingly lost her mind and her pair of eyes were red through and through. She smashed it over and over again robotically, her veins bulging and visible on her forehead as she sobbed indistinctly.
When the young lad finally caught his breath and hurried over to stop her, it was already too late.
The camera followed the Buddhist statue that fell onto the ground from the young lady’s hand, skipping over the stepfather whose skull was already exposed on the back of his head, as the statue rolled over to the corner of the walls and stopped.
And for the whole one plus minutes afterwards, the camera did not move anymore. It was fixed on the Buddhist statue’s face which was smiling benevolently and stained with blood. Only the young man’s and the young lady’s voices could be heard.
“H-He is dead. Police, we need to call the police.”
The young man’s voice was frenetic.
“Mr. Zhou, I’m scared. Will I end up in jail? Will everyone point their fingers at me and blame me? I… I-I…”
It was probably because she heard the word “police”, that the young lady’s voice was dyed with anxiety and hopelessness as she sobbed.
“Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. Let me think,” The young man finally remembered his duty as a teacher and forced himself to calm down as he tried his hardest to recall his vague knowledge of the law.
“You’re already over 14 years old and murder is considered one of the eight major crimes*, so you can’t be free from blame… No, this is reasonable self-defence, excessive self-defence…”
(T/N*: There are 8 major crimes in Chinese law: 1.) Intentional murder, 2.) Intentional assault, 3.) Rape, 4.) Robbery, 5.) Commit arson, 6.) Explosives, 7.) Smuggling and drugs, 8.) Circulating dangerous substances.)
“Mr. Zhou!” The young lady exclaimed suddenly when the young man was still mumbling anxiously to himself. Another loud thud from a heavy object was sounded before the screen became completely black.
Shen Yu pressed the pause button at that scene.
The way this shot was handled was very stereotypically “Zhong Simo’s style”. The shot was never focused on the characters when a conflict happened. Instead, the shot was completely facing another direction, unmoving. It seemed absurd and yet, the effect was outstanding.
This segment of the film had been singled out and analysed many times by various film reviewers. In the end, everyone unanimously agreed that the success of that scene was thanks to the enormous visual impact the blood-stained Buddhist statue brought to the viewers as the sounds from outside the shot could be heard but the characters could not be seen. The mental anxiety coincided perfectly with the atmosphere of that particular scene. In addition, the loud thud that sounded when the scene turned dark also left behind sufficient suspense. With the combination of these few points, the film perfectly reflected Zhong Simo’s exceptional talent.
Shen Yu initially thought that this answer alone was already perfect but now that he watched the film again from another perspective, he discovered a hint of difference. Other than showing off the director’s techniques, the displacement and stillness of the camera shots also seemed to have revealed a hint of the director or the cameraman’s pity and silent sorrow.
Was that what Zhong Simo was going for?
Shen Yu was so lost in his thoughts as he pondered over the film, only to be shocked out of his trance by the sudden ringing from his phone.
“Hello, Ms Mei.”
“Shen Yu, explain your relationship with that Wan Sheng right now.”
Mei Fei’s interrogation came right at him the moment he picked up the call. Wan Sheng… Shen Yu was startled as he recalled what happened at the filming set earlier this afternoon.
“We’re not related in any way. What happened, Ms Mei?”
Shen Yu could not help but speak quickly in times of urgency.
“Great, seems like you were taken advantage of because of your temporary popularity from appearing as one of the hot searches,” Mei Fei sucked in a breath and regained her calmness as she described the situation to Shen Yu, “There were 30 to 40 marketing accounts posting about your scandal with Wan Sheng online ten minutes ago. They even posted a picture and video. It’s probably going to start trending soon.”
“The other party has clearly prepared for this. What do you think we should do?”
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