After the break, the second act began quickly.
Mu Yunyi finished his tea at the teahouse, discreetly collected some information, and then descended from the building. Unexpectedly, the female lead followed closely behind him, naively saying that she had nowhere to go.
A servant muttered on the side, irritated that he had only saved her once, and now she was clinging to him just because he looked good and kind. He thought it was quite troublesome!
To their surprise, Lingzhu, who overheard their conversation, seriously commented, “Well, he’s very good-looking.”
Both the servant and Mu Yunyi were taken aback.
Once they regained their composure, Mu Yunyi chuckled with his hand covering his lips.
The servant, annoyed, thought that if his master brought every beggar he met back home, their mansion would become a beggars’ den.
That was indeed a valid point.
Mu Yunyi had faced various problems due to his excessively kind nature throughout his eighteen years of life. His father and senior martial brothers often told him he was overly kind, and when they discussed this matter, the elders would simply smile and shake their heads in resignation.
However, what was wrong with being kind?
At least for Mu Yunyi at this moment, even if it meant encountering various problems, he was willing to embrace his kindness.
He sighed and said to Lingzhu with a smile, “Come with me.”
Lingzhu’s eyes lit up.
Mu Yunyi turned around again and walked forward. There was a faint smile on his lips. The servant, who was pushed aside by Lingzhu’s eager pursuit, grumbled as he followed them, engaged in a lively dispute with her.
They passed by numerous pedestrians: street vendors carrying their poles, restaurant waiters loudly soliciting customers, and horse-drawn carriages. Amid the crowd, there was a figure standing still, gazing up at the azure sky, next to a black-clad man with an icy and ancient aura.
He squinted his eyes, his breath as cold as snow preserved for millennia.
“Cut,” Director Yu Fei called out and then said indifferently, “Let’s reshoot, Xu Yuchuan, something doesn’t feel right.”
Xu Yuchuan was almost taken aback and asked stiffly, “What’s wrong?”
Yu Fei replied, “What were you thinking just now?”
Xu Yuchuan was thinking… This one scene was not enough for him to overshadow Xu Yin’s performance!
He glanced to the side. Xu Yin was standing still, reading the script, while Xue Ling, proactively approaching him, engaged in script discussions.
Xu Yuchuan felt somewhat jealous. Not only did Xu Yin steal the spotlight today, but he also wanted to create a CP (couple pairing) with Xue Ling. Although Xue Ling was known for being in trouble all the time, engaging in a CP pairing with her would generate some buzz. However, from yesterday until now, he hadn’t had a chance to say a word to Xue Ling.
Speaking of the script, there was an issue. Even though Xu Yuchuan played the role of the second male lead, from beginning to end, his character’s feelings for Lingzhu were a humble one-sided crush.
In the end, all of Lingzhu’s love was directed towards the Immortal Zizhu. Apart from that, while she had no romantic scenes with Mu Yunyi, there was a sense of familial affection between them. There was simply no room for Xu Yuchuan’s character to be a typical second male lead with ambiguous romantic feelings for the female lead.
Seeing that Xu Yuchuan was still lost in thought, Director Yu Fei frowned and said, “You haven’t thought about anything at all! This is the first time for Huyue to come to the mortal realm, the first time he’s experiencing the hustle and bustle and sunlight, and he just stands in the middle of the road trying to look cool?”
Xu Yuchuan suddenly snapped out of it, trembling slightly as he felt the gazes from all directions. He wished he could just disappear into the ground.
Yu Fei continued, “Do you think all you have to do for this scene is to stand still? Oh, playing a villain is just about applying heavy eye makeup, and portraying a character with a cold personality is as simple as acting cool? Any actor on set can do these things. Why must it be you, Xu Yuchuan?”
Yu Fei’s words were harsh, and Xu Yuchuan felt utterly embarrassed, unable to say anything more. He mumbled, “Director Yu, you could’ve just said it nicely, there’s no need—”
Yu Fei stared at him and said, “From the beginning until now, you’re the only one who’s been thinking about irrelevant things.”
Xu Yuchuan fell silent.
Yu Fei continued, “Instead of constantly observing others, start by examining yourself.”
Yu Fei’s gaze briefly passed over Xu Yin. Feeling exposed, Xu Yuchuan’s face turned red, and he dared not speak further.
He slinked away to the side, took another look at the script, prepared for a while, and ended up getting the scene blocked for the third time. Even though it was a straightforward scene, it took three takes to finally pass.
After completing his first scene, Xu Yuchuan became utterly withdrawn.
*
This production featured many martial arts scenes. During lunchtime, Yu Fei approached Xue Ling, Bai Hao, and Xu Yin, while Xu Yuchuan remained in his self-imposed seclusion. Yu Fei confessed, “We’re running low on budget, and I think you all should be aware of it.”
This was a statement, not a question, and Xu Yin and the others nodded in agreement.
“If we can’t do special effects well, it’s better to use them sparingly to avoid breaking the immersion,” Yu Fei emphasized. “So when you fight, make it look real.”
He gestured, and beside him stood a middle-aged man with a cheerful demeanor, the martial arts choreographer he had hired.
So, Xu Yin and the others began their days of filming and martial arts training side by side.
018: “I like this martial arts instructor.”
Xu Yin: “You can tell?”
Xu Yin estimated that with the current pace and intensity of filming, he probably didn’t have the extra energy to perform missions. However, the appearance of this martial arts instructor did bring a little excitement to 018, who had been feeling bored.
The original host had taken similar training courses before, but a single training session didn’t leave much muscle memory.
Fortunately, after doing random missions for so many days in a row, Xu Yin found it relatively easy to pick up these martial arts moves.
He picked up a sword and followed the martial arts instructor’s movements. The instructor was pleasantly surprised and asked, “Have you learned this before?”
Xu Yin smiled and replied, “Just some basics.”
His first martial arts scene was with Xu Yuchuan, so Xu Yuchuan was forcibly pulled out of his self-imposed seclusion. He rolled his eyes and said, “Pretentious.”
The martial arts instructor had both of them practice the choreography he had taught. Xu Yin glanced at Xu Yuchuan and nodded. Reluctantly, Xu Yuchuan picked up his prop sword.
Xu Yin swung his sword with precision, and Xu Yuchuan quickly blocked it, stumbling a bit with his footwork. The martial arts instructor furrowed his brow.
It seemed that Yu Fei’s scolding had left quite a psychological impact on Xu Yuchuan. He was now acutely aware of the martial arts instructor’s expression. With a start, he clenched his hands on the sword and earnestly practiced the choreography alongside Xu Yin.
Bai Hao and Xue Ling watched from the sidelines.
Xue Ling whispered, “Yin Ge’s movements look really good.”
Bai Hao, with a cold expression, nodded.
Xu Yin was still wearing his costume, all in white. His movements were graceful, his body moving effortlessly, and as he spun, his clothes and hair billowed. His grip on the sword was both strong and elegant, and his focused gaze on his opponent was evident. Each move showed his dedication, and even in a rehearsal, he fully immersed himself in the role.
He handled the movements with ease, performing them effortlessly.
However, Xu Yuchuan seemed either not to have paid enough attention earlier or to have naturally less agility in his limbs, as his response was somewhat sluggish, and executing the martial arts moves felt quite strenuous.
The Demon Lord, Huyue, was extremely skilled in martial arts, even surpassing Mu Yunyi subtly. With Xu Yuchuan’s current performance, it would definitely not suffice for the role in the drama. Unless Xu Yin cooperated with him to weaken their characters together, but Director Yu would certainly not agree to such an approach.
Xu Yin’s movements were too graceful. This was the way Mu Yunyi should have looked, the performance expected of the young master of Tayun Manor.
Xu Yuchuan really needed to practice his martial arts scenes.
The onlookers and Xu Yuchuan himself could feel it. He had even started panting, while Xu Yin remained calm.
Frustrated, Xu Yuchuan swung the sword and swept his foot.
“Watch out!”
The tripping move wasn’t part of the choreography. Xue Ling exclaimed in shock, and Bai Hao’s expression darkened.
Unexpectedly, Xu Yin leaped over, and the moment his foot touched the ground again, he quickly turned. Xu Yuchuan was left wide-eyed and barely had time to react before feeling a sharp pain in his wrist. The prop sword flew out of his hand, landing three or four meters away.
Xu Yin landed gracefully and looked at Xu Yuchuan.
Xu Yuchuan clutched his throbbing wrist, gasping in pain, and felt everyone’s eyes on him. He blurted out, “It was just a reflex!”
Xu Yin raised an eyebrow, “Funny, mine was too.”
Xu Yuchuan: “….” He couldn’t express how bitter he felt!
There was a moment of silence all around.
Xue Ling covered her mouth, her face turning red from excitement – so cool! So cool!
The martial arts instructor breathed a sigh of relief and cleared his throat, “Looks like you have some unorthodox training.”
Bai Hao relaxed, casting a cold glance at Xu Yuchuan.
Xu Yuchuan’s wrist was still hurting, and he could feel a bad premonition after sensing Bai Hao’s gaze.
… That evening, in a scene with Bai Hao, Xu Yuchuan was tortured fifteen times before finally getting through it. He was so overwhelmed that his eyes glazed over, and tears welled up.
He had been wrong, really wrong. He begged for mercy, whimpering!
*
The film crew started shooting for a week.
During this week, everyone was exhausted.
Filming itself was indeed tiring, but what made this production exceptionally draining was that Director Yu Fei had no intention of making a mediocre show just to appease the audience.
With an adequate budget, the filming process could be less challenging, but given the budget constraints, the team had to put in extra effort to make the series captivating. The main difference was the degree of exhaustion among the crew members.
Every day, after finishing their scenes, the actors sought out the martial arts instructor.
Xue Ling barely drank water and seized any opportunity to learn, even asking the cameramen for guidance.
Bai Hao was continuously studying the script and discussing it with Director Yu Fei whenever he had the chance.
Xu Yin had many martial arts scenes in the early stages of the production and decided to focus a lot of his energy on perfecting these. He even sought guidance from Bai Hao, who seemed to be more willing to help than he’d expected, despite his constant grumpy demeanor.
As for Xu Yuchuan, he felt like he was participating in a transformation show rather than acting. This week had turned him inside out, leaving him with no energy for scheming. He wore a serene smile every day, playing the role of a little brother.
What happened within the film crew remained unknown to the outside world until a week after the shoot started when the official announcement was posted on social media.
The list of main characters had been somewhat leaked earlier, and everyone knew that the original fourth male role broke his leg and had to be replaced. However, they didn’t know who the replacement was, and frankly, they weren’t that interested.
Especially the fans of the original work, who remained quite indifferent.
With the exception of Bai Hao, the female lead’s acting skills had been criticized, and other actors were virtually unknown. What was there to look forward to in a series like this?
Before the official announcement, fans of the original work had little activity in their social media groups.
[Not interested. They can announce however they want. It’s not related to the original story.]
[I’ll only check it out if they replace Xue Ling.]
[It pains my heart just thinking about which monster will play my A-Yi…]
However, at exactly 8 PM, the official Weibo account of “Chaos Pearl” released the official announcement and character posters.
In the “Chaos Pearl” fan group, a surprising comment appeared:
[No, seriously, I checked out the character posters, and they look pretty good. Everyone should go take a look, really!!!]
This Weibo post ignited curiosity, suspicion, and also drew the attention of those who had remained indifferent, as they thought, “out of sight, out of mind.”
However, a little after nine o’clock, the “Chaos Pearl Official Announcement” quietly climbed up the trending topics. Many people suddenly realized that things might not be as they had originally thought, so they quickly clicked on the trending topic to investigate.
The first trending topic was the official Weibo post from “Chaos Pearl,” which included several character posters.
The first poster featured the Immortal Zizhu.
In this character poster, Bai Hao portrayed the Immortal Zizhu’s appearance after descending to the mortal world. He transformed into the elusive and elegant master of the Yingyue Palace, dressed in a silver and gold brocade robe. His long hair was casually tied behind his back, exuding a lazy and carefree charm.
He held a sword in his right hand, the tip of the sword touching the ground. His phoenix-like eyes stared directly at the camera with an expressionless face, emitting a faint coolness.
The second poster showcased Ling Zhu.
She had her back to the camera, draped in a vibrant red robe, with her waterfall-like black hair scattered behind her.
As she turned around, her beautiful eyes carried a hint of innocence from her recent arrival in the mortal world, mixed with an innate calmness and indifference hidden deep within her heart. Her expression was pure and intriguing.
The third poster featured Huyue.
He sat by the window, one leg bent, with his right hand resting on his knee, fingertips gripping a jug of wine.
His face was stern, and his gaze was fierce, like a lone wolf standing on the edge of a cliff, treading on blood, so cold that no one dared to approach him.
The fourth poster showcased another major antagonist, Dao Tian Immortal, who initially assassinated the Immortal Zizhu. This character was played by a seasoned actor, portraying a formidable and menacing figure with a menacing air that shouldn’t belong to a celestial being.
The first four posters had a somewhat cold tone, collectively evoking a feeling of indifference.
However, the tone took a complete turn with the fifth poster.
In the image, a young man had gentle eyes, and even the curve at the corner of his eyes seemed to carry a slight hint of a smile.
Dressed in white with a sword at his side and a jade hairpin adorned with a crown, every detail seamlessly integrated with his own temperament, forming a harmonious whole. Only the words “gentle as jade” could describe him.
He stood beneath a tree, smiling at the camera as if he were a clear spring, crystal clear and warm as sunlight.
In the comments section, aside from fan comments at the top, further down, the tone of the comments became quite peculiar.
[??? It was surprisingly good, I’m shocked!]
[How do I put this? Xue Ling has stunned me…]
[Well, this is different from what I imagined (in a positive way).]
[Damn, Bai Hao looks so handsome!!! Xue Ling is gorgeous, Xu Yuchuan is not bad either, and the actor playing Mu Yunyi, Xu Yin! Oh my, oh my, oh my!!! This photo is amazing! I wonder how the series will turn out when it’s officially released!!]
[Surprisingly satisfied as a Mu Yunyi fan… this young man’s aura fits quite well!]
[I stared at the fifth photo for ten minutes…]
[Who is this person named Xu Yin? I’ve never seen him before. He has an incredible presence.]
[I’ve been yearning for A-Yi since primary school. I was initially skeptical about this series, considering it doesn’t have as much popularity as other IPs, and I wasn’t very satisfied with the initial cast. However, the character posters turned out quite well… A-Yi is just as I imagined, really good.]
Of course, there were some discordant voices:
[Just a few photos, who knows what the series will be like when it’s officially released.]
[Emmm, Xue Ling has always been beautiful, but her acting is really bad. What can you tell from just one photo (don’t argue with me, I’m just being honest).]
[As a passerby, I must say that while Xue Ling was terrible in her last series, her character posters this time look completely different. It seems like there’s something to look forward to.]
[I checked out the previous works of Xu Yuchuan and Xu Yin, and I couldn’t help but laugh.]
[I looked through Xu Yin’s previous acting roles, and you’ll probably all be disappointed. The photos look great, but once he starts acting, he’s completely forgettable, no presence at all. (facepalm)]
Among these comments were some casual onlookers and a few haters, especially those who were fans of Ruan Qingning. Some of them created anonymous accounts to express their dissatisfaction.
Ruan Qingning had previously complained on Weibo about breaking his leg, and some fans even believed that his role had been taken over by another newcomer from the same company. Despite the fact that Ruan Qingning had injured himself while partying and was replaced due to his own actions, his fans somehow felt that their idol had been wronged and “blacklisted”!
However, no matter how much negativity was expressed, the power of these character posters in attracting fans was undeniably strong.
After the release of the character posters, the number of followers for these actors on Weibo began to soar, especially for Xu Yin. As soon as the character posters were revealed, he gained a large number of female fans. They rushed to his Weibo and discovered that he had very few followers. They realized that they might be the first wave of new fans for this hidden gem. Excitedly, they started scrolling through his past Weibo posts, continuously sharing, commenting, and liking them.
Up until this point, everything seemed to be following the normal progression of events for a series that might become a dark horse.
However, at 10 o’clock, the situation suddenly took a bizarre turn.
The catalyst for this change was a couple of big fans of Xue Ling.
A-Zi: [Damn, that guy who plays Mu Yunyi, Xu Yin, looks exactly like the guy I met on the street a month ago, the one who climbed a tree to rescue a cat! How is this possible??]
Comments:
[?]
[Is that the type of guy he is? Well, he does look handsome. How could A-Zi not ask for his WeChat back then?]
[I’ve fallen for him again!]
A-Zi: [No… what I mean is, the guy I met looks exactly like the one playing Mu Yunyi, Xu Yin! It’s him in person, I’m sure of it, even his smile is identical!!! Holy Sh*t!!!]
The situation had taken an unexpected turn, leaving many people surprised and intrigued.
This time, the comment section was filled with [???????]
A few minutes later, another big fan responded under A-Zi’s comment.
Weiwei: […So, do you remember when I discussed with you that one day I was robbed on my way home, and a young man helped me… I’m sure, that young man indeed looks exactly like this guy named Xu Yin…]
A-Zi: […]
Weiwei: […]
Others: […]
When the two of them discussed this before, they were uncertain if they had encountered the same person because they didn’t have any photos for comparison. It seemed too coincidental if it were the same person, which felt somewhat unrealistic. Others who read it may have chuckled but didn’t take this little incident too seriously.
However, now that A-Zi and Weiwei were certain they had encountered the same person, it was unexpectedly surprising.
What’s even more unexpected is that some of Xue Ling’s fans saw other Weibo posts on trending topics and brought them over.
[Hey, I think I’ve seen this guy named Xu Yin on Shijin Street before. He looks really handsome, so I couldn’t help but look a little longer when I passed by. He seemed to be rescuing a little dog at the time, which was surrounded by a few aggressive dogs. This guy just went over and barked once, scaring away those bad dogs. So adorable!]
[?? I think I’ve seen Xu Yin jogging on Shijin Street. Does he also live in City C?]
[My mom said she almost got hit by a car that ran a red light the other day, and the person who saved her looks exactly like Xu Yin. She just called out when she saw this photo on my phone.. (Picture)]
[Ah, this… I almost fell into an uncovered manhole on Shijin Street on my way home from evening self-study. A young man helped me… it seems like it was Xu Yin.]
…
At this moment, Xue Ling’s fans were collectively shocked internally: Wait, this handsome guy does a good deed on Shijin Street every day?!
Xue Ling had a large fanbase, many fans, haters, and followed marketing accounts. Therefore, this incident quickly spread beyond their fan community.
Before 11 o’clock, “Xu Yin’s Daily Good Deeds” became a strange trending topic on the tail end of the hot searches.
