Chapter 13: Humans are never content
Translator: Aafkee
Proofreader: ChaiTea
Night time came late in the summer, but it came nonetheless.
Shen Yu looked “Innocence” over once more and found some interview videos of Zhong Simo. And when he realised he was hungry, it was already eight at night.
He picked up the phone that had been muted before and was about to go out to get some food when his phone’s screen lit up, and he saw dozens of missed calls from an unknown number.
Shen Yu frowned. Only acquaintances knew his number, and any work-related calls would go through his manager, Mei Fei. And there was no way for anyone ordinary to know his number. But looking at how this person had called him over ten times at one go, it sure looked like what a crazy fan would do. Could it be that his information was leaked?
Just when Shen Yu was feeling puzzled, that number called again. Shen Yu turned up the volume, and the phone in his hand made an annoying sound from the vibration. He hesitated for a few seconds before deciding to accept the call after pressing the record button. Once bitten, twice shy. It was time for him to be more careful.
“Hello?”
No one spoke on the other end of the line, yet it was extremely noisy, as if the other party was in a busy bar. Sounds of wine glasses clinking mixed with laughter formed seemingly chaotic background noise.
“Hello, are you there?” Yu Shen asked again. Finally, a dazed female voice sounded from the other end of the line.
“B-Brother Shen, hehe.”
“Wan Sheng?” Hearing the voice, Shen Yu asked uncertainly.
“Brother Shen, it’s so unfair. How can they treat me like this? It’s unfair, so unfair!”
Wan Sheng murmured to herself, repeating those few words over and over again as if she was delirious. Shen Yu did not know what had happened to her, nor did he want to know.
“You’re drunk. You should tell your manager to take you home. It’s not safe to be out and about this late into the night.” Shen Yu was going to put down the phone after saying that, but Wan Sheng suddenly raised her volume and began to sputter.
“Brother Shen, wait! Don’t you find it unfair?”
Shen Yu’s hand, which was holding the phone, paused. Wan Sheng continued quickly.
“I’m 21 years old this year, young and pretty. I want to become famous, earn money, act in movies. What wrong did I do?” Her voice sounded like a strange mixture of crying and laughing.
“All of them thought I was in the wrong; they won’t let me succeed. The examiner of the art school just won’t let me get into the film academy. Those crews just won’t let me act in their film, and the management companies wouldn’t sign me. What else could I have done other than letting them use me as a plaything?” Wan Sheng was probably completely smashed as she began to question Shen Yu in a daze.
“I don’t want this either. None of them treated me as a human being. I could only stay by their side until they were tired of me before I needed to change to another one. And in the end, it became a problem.”
“Those women are prettier than I am and smarter than I am. They can do and get whatever they want with the money they get from their parents. And me? I can only degrade myself by exchanging for what I want. Why is there such a big difference between humans? Based on what?”
“Brother Shen,” Wan Sheng laughed suddenly, “Do you know how hopeless I feel whenever I look at you? A graduate from a professional academy, a pretty good-looking appearance and yet, you’re nothing even though you’re almost 30. I’m scared. I don’t want to be like you. I can’t let my youth go to waste just like this. I absolutely can’t.”
Wan Sheng’s voice lowered and turned into a plead.
“Brother Shen, you understand, don’t you? How painful it is to have no popularity. Help me. Please help me. We can help each other by creating a hot topic around us. There’s still room for operation. You can find the person you saved that night and make yourself the hot search again. Helping me is also helping yourself. I can even cooperate and act as if there’s something between us, too.”
Shen Yu did not utter a single word until he heard this and sighed deeply. He found Wan Sheng lamentable but also hateful.
“I don’t know why there’s such a big difference between people either. Call your manager and ask them to pick you up. Don’t get into trouble outside at this hour.”
Shen Yu hung up the phone after finishing his sentence and blocked Wan Sheng’s number right after. He saved the recorded phone call, locked it with a password, and sat on his bed, unmoving for a long while.
Shen Yu did not quite understand why there was such a big difference between people.
There were many financial backers in the industry who would go for young and old, female or male. Shen Yu had also encountered such people when he signed for a company in the year he graduated.
That day, the air in the room was very stuffy. Shen Yu and several other newbies followed their manager to meet their boss. Shen Yu could not remember how much he drank, what he ate, or how many people he met. The only thing he remembered was him being in a daze, with someone hugging him secretly and stroking him along his waistline.
Perhaps if he had continued to endure it, he could have signed successfully into that big company; or if he was a bit more open, maybe he could still get better resources; or if he snuggled in the arms of that person, he would become popular in an instant. But Shen Yu was flustered and could only feel his cold sweat. He almost forgot how he actually got up from the seat, how he tried so hard to make up for the ruined atmosphere by smiling, and how he made excuses to escape from the room.
That night, the 21-year-old Shen Yu walked down the street, step by step, not knowing where to go, feeling helpless and even afraid.
How could he not be afraid? He was afraid that his career as an actor would all be ruined by how tactless he was that day, afraid of being blocked out from resources and opportunities, afraid that he would not be able to act, afraid that all of his four years of hard work in the academy would go to waste, afraid of becoming his parents’ burden. And yet, he would never look back because more important than anything were the principles which Shen Yu would never violate.
Naturally, Shen Yu’s opportunity to sign a contract with that company was out of the question. Perhaps the boss had no time to care about a disobedient, little actor. The revenge Shen Yu imagined would land upon him never came. In the end, he signed with a small company and acted for six years without much popularity. Thinking back, Shen Yu only felt that he was extremely lucky.
When humans get overly greedy, they lose their bottom line and will eventually pay for it.
The next morning, Shen Yu arrived at the filming set as per normal and, unsurprisingly, did not see Wan Sheng. Judging from how much she drank last night, she was probably still hung over.
Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, instead of starting the filming, He Caicai gathered everyone and held a group meeting.
“There’s three important news I want to announce in this meeting. We’re on a pretty tight schedule and everyone is busy, so I’ll keep it short.” Adorning a serious expression, He Caicai actually looked a bit like an actual investor.
“Due to health issues, Wan Sheng resigned from the film last night so we will need to reshoot all of her scenes. But since she had only just joined us not too long ago, the workload should not be too much.”
Everyone was shocked the moment He Caicai made the announcement. They began exchanging glances and whispering to one another. How much delay and resources would it cost the crew if they were to change the female lead on such short notice after they had already started filming? Most of them were already wondering why Wan Sheng resigned and glanced at Shen Yu secretly as their minds ran wild.
Shen Yu did not care about those glances. Instead, he looked at He Caicai strangely. If what Wan Sheng said last night were true, this film would be her final chance. There was no way Wan Sheng would choose to give up.
He Caicai noticed Shen Yu’s gaze and smiled triumphantly at him. She continued, ignoring the crew’s discussion.
“As for the second news, it’s a good one. That is: our male lead, Cui Ke, has ended his promotions early and will be joining the crew at the latest by tomorrow.”
That was indeed a piece of good news. Hearing that, many felt much better from their heavy mood from learning about Wan Sheng’s departure.
Cui Ke was the male lead in this film. He debuted through a talent show in the first half of the year and was just at the peak of his popularity. Although his acting skills were mediocre, he was able to attract popularity. Despite what it seemed, He Caicai could not disregard the practical side of making a film and had to rely on someone with certain levels of popularity to ensure the film’s success.
There are always two sides to a coin. Although Cui Ke had previously asked for half a month of holiday in advance due to his previous promotions, he could now join the crew early and compensate for the time lost from Wan Sheng’s departure.
“But who are we asking to play the role of Jiu Yao, Miss He?” Someone raised the key question. The female lead was chosen after careful consideration. Now that Wan Sheng was gone, who would replace her?
“And that, is the third news I’m going to announce.” He Caicai squinted and smiled, “I gave it a thought last night. I have decided not to find another female lead to save time and cost. Instead, I will play that role. What do you guys think?”
The crowd fell into temporary silence.
“What? I’m not ugly, at the very least. It’s a film I’ve invested in. Why can’t I act in it?” He Caicai asked, despite knowing the reason why.
“Erm, Miss He, do you know how to act?” Shen Yu could already feel a headache brewing.
“Don’t worry. I do know where I stand.” He Caicai paused, creating suspense, before she smiled and explained, “Of course, I can’t act in normal circumstances. But ‘the Pursuit of the Wind’ is my work. Jiu Yao is a character I have created, so her personality is already pretty similar to mine. I do have a bit of confidence acting as her.”
“Of course, I’ll revise the script to reduce Jiu Yao’s lines without changing the main storyline and distribute those lines to Nie Biao and He Qi. I’ll make fewer mistakes if I have less to act. Desperate time calls for desperate measures; we can only work with what we have. Who knows? Maybe it’ll even end up being better than the original script.”
There was a vital characteristic of the crew: He Caicai was the only investor in the film. As long she made up her mind, it was not really up to the others to oppose her, so that idea was decided.
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