Fang Dingyao couldn’t believe that both the male and female leads for Director Zhao’s production were not intended to be cast from the pool of newcomers. And how did she not know that Le Huo had also participated in the audition? How did he manage to secure such a coveted role without anyone noticing?
Fang Dingyao’s thoughts turned back to the party a few days ago. Although Xu Linshen hadn’t openly disclosed the relationship between Le Huo and himself, he was clearly integrating Le Huo into his circle and introducing him to his connections. That was a clear signal.
This turn of events left Fang Dingyao feeling a mix of surprise and frustration. It seemed that behind the scenes, there were movements and arrangements she wasn’t fully aware of. As she contemplated the situation, she knew she needed to strategize and plan accordingly to navigate this unexpected challenge.
From the perspective of Fang Dingyao, she feels that Xu Linshen’s support for Chu Yan has indeed been very generous. In less than a year of being in a relationship with Xu Linshen, Chu Yan has firmly established himself in the entertainment industry and even achieved his current level of success. This undoubtedly serves as strong evidence of Xue Linshen’s emotional and resourceful support.
She is beginning to worry that the appearance of Le Huo might potentially divert some opportunities in Chu Yan’s career. After all, last year, the company’s prime resources were almost entirely directed towards Chu Yan. Now that he has been successfully pushed to the forefront, the company cannot rely solely on him to generate income. Cultivating more new talents would undoubtedly be advantageous for the company.
Although it’s a harsh reality in the entertainment industry, Fang Dingyao can’t help but feel a bit of an odd emotion. She can’t shake the feeling that Xu Linshen’s support for Le Huo is almost like deliberately undermining Chu Yan.
Le Huo’s background, appearance, and on-screen role… they are almost like a second version of Chu Yan. But no matter who else replaces him, it shouldn’t evoke such a strong reaction.
—
Once the role was cast, the time for the promotional photoshoot came quickly. On that day, after finishing a shoot in the morning without even having time for a meal, Chu Yan headed straight to the set for the makeup and photoshoot.
Because the story is set in the Warlord era, the entire street where the photoshoot was taking place was imbued with the ambiance of a Republican-era town.
When Chu Yan arrived, the photography crew had already completed the promotional photoshoot for the leading actress and the second male lead. Due to scheduling conflicts, they had already left by the time Chu Yan arrived.
While getting his makeup and styling done in the dressing room, Chu Yan’s assistant, Cheng Yang, ordered some takeout for him. The makeup took about half an hour, and Chu Yan managed to finish his meal just in time.
Chu Yan was trying out two different outfits for the shoot: one was an early Republic-era gentleman’s suit, and the other was a revolutionary military uniform for later scenes.
When the first outfit was ready, Director Zhao’s eyes lit up. The tailored black waistcoat was paired with a white shirt, adorned with a burgundy bow tie at the collar. Chu Yan casually posed for a few shots with the photographer. The charismatic and unrestrained charm of Young Master Su, his character in the drama’s early scenes, came through vividly. It felt entirely natural, devoid of any greasiness or artificiality.
The photographer was also satisfied. Without much guidance, Chu Yan could easily find his own angle in front of the camera. This skill was likely honed through his experience in shooting fashion magazines. Many actors who lacked such experience might excel in dynamic performances, but they might lack a certain level of expressiveness when it came to static portrait shots like these character stills.
For example, the shots taken earlier for the female lead and male second lead were not as smooth as Chu Yan’s.
“Alright, that’s good. Let’s move on to the next set.”
As the second set of clothing was to be worn in a later period, the makeup artist gave Chu Yan a new makeup look that matched the character’s personality and image. Shadows and highlights were applied to emphasize the contours of his nose and face. His hairstyle was fixed back with hair gel, creating a retro-style quiff that showcased his handsome and elegant face. His high-bridged nose, deep-set eyes, and well-defined eyebrows added to his exquisite and graceful appearance.
When the military uniform was put on, several makeup artists and crew members in the dressing room looked up and stared at Chu Yan’s face for several seconds before slowly regaining their composure. They couldn’t help but think that the fans’ descriptions of “unprecedented beauty” were indeed quite accurate… almost to the point where they couldn’t resist taking out their phones to capture the moment!
The tailored and waist-fitted military uniform fulfilled every woman’s grandest fantasy of a man’s physical strength. The fitted double-breasted buttons and padded shoulders highlighted his exceptional body proportions. His posture was upright, his shoulders were broad, his waist was narrow, and his long legs were both straight and slender. He exuded a powerful presence, emitting a hormone-like aura with every move he made, as if it were free of charge!
Repressed yet elegant, cold yet sharp—he was undeniably captivating!
Director Zhao couldn’t help but admire, “He exudes a strong spirit.” He had originally been concerned that Chu Yan might not be able to carry off the military uniform, but now it seemed unnecessary worry.
He even had a faint feeling that if Chu Yan could maintain the same level he showed during the audition, this role might also gain some popularity along with the drama.
After the completion of the official photoshoot, the production team of “Thunderstruck” quickly released an announcement on their official Weibo account, tagging the official Weibo accounts of the main cast.
Naturally, Director Zhao’s new drama attracted attention on its own, but with the release of the official photos of the main cast, it sparked a lively discussion online.
One of the main points of discussion was that Director Zhao had chosen an unknown newcomer for the male lead role in his new drama, and the esteemed “Hundred Flowers Emperor” was actually going to be paired with him!
The male second lead of the drama, Lang Cen, who had worked with Director Zhao twice before, played a role where he initially fought side by side with the protagonist, but later became the antagonist, a political rival to the male lead, due to various reasons.
In reality, this drama could be seen as an ensemble cast rather than focusing solely on the male lead. The character development for the male lead, male second lead, and male third lead was all rich and well-rounded. However, the perspective primarily revolved around the male lead, and his role was relatively more substantial.
After Director Zhao explained the casting choice in a Weibo post, Lang Cen’s fans gradually accepted the fact. After all, it was well-known that Director Zhao didn’t prioritize an actor’s fame, and many newcomers had risen to stardom through his productions.
Another significant point was that once Chu Yan’s official character stills were released and shared by his studio, they immediately sparked massive online interest.
In terms of ranking, Chu Yan came after the male second lead, Lang Cen. His character stills consisted of only two images—one depicting him as the young master in the early Republican era, and the other showing him as a revolutionary officer in the later period.
Within just two hours of its release, Chu Yan’s character stills Weibo post had garnered more search traffic than the hashtag #LeHuo, Male Lead of “Thunderstruck”# and had climbed to the top spot on the trending searches.
In the photo, the man stands against the backdrop of an ancient and picturesque cobblestone alley. As he looked directly at you through the photograph, you could almost feel the vibrant vitality of the Republican era hidden in the depths of his eyes.
—The screen got dirty; let me lick it, sob sob, forgive me for being uncultured, I only know how to scream!
—The first time seeing my brother in military uniform, what kind of divine appearance is this, brother worked hard descending to the mortal world, and this military uniform look turns 360 degrees like a storm, crying and blowing up!
—Actually, I don’t like Zhong Yu, but there’s a phrase… really well-dressed and well-composed, Black fans, stop mocking for the sake of mocking, it’s quite awkward… as long as he doesn’t cause trouble in the future and behaves like a proper vase, I’ll be eating his looks, the paper-thin military officer in my mind now has a tangible form… this real appearance is truly admirable…
Of course, there were also many netizens who expressed doubts about Chu Yan being cast in Director Zhao’s new drama, after all, Chu Yan’s eye-catching acting skills have deeply rooted themselves in the hearts of the audience.
Many people said that if Chu Yan is in the drama, they’ll drop it, and even long-time fans of Director Zhao expressed disappointment, feeling that he is succumbing to the market by choosing popularity just for the sake of a shortcut to a trending drama.
However, these doubts were quickly overshadowed by the new wave of praising comments. For a moment, online debates were ongoing, but with a flip of Chu Yan’s Weibo, he gained tens of thousands of new followers.
After a busy day, Chu Yan didn’t have time to check his Weibo. He quickly finished washing up and was ready to sleep.
The 2333 system had observed him being involved with both sides of the main character for two consecutive months, and his attitude was not very enthusiastic. It couldn’t help but feel a bit impatient.
[Host, what’s your plan? Why aren’t you in a hurry?]
[Why hurry? Xu Linshen is much more anxious than I am.] When he was playing the cannon fodder scum gong, it was quite obvious how Xu Linshen showed disdain after becoming disabled. Later on, there was the ambiguous relationship with Yu Fei. He behaved despicably without any mercy, completely and thoroughly.
But Xu Linshen’s current support for Le Huo is simply to prove to him, “I could support you back then, and now I can support someone else.” It’s plain revenge, and who can’t see through it?
And this revenge precisely shows that Xu Linshen still hasn’t let go of him.
However, scum comes in different degrees. Chu Yan felt that being scum was one thing, but after being retaliated against, going back and begging for forgiveness in a submissive manner was the lowest and most undignified approach, and it could easily ruin his character image.
[But besides seeking forgiveness, I can’t think of any other way for the male lead to forgive you. After all, it was because of you, Host, that his legs became disabled.]
Chu Yan smiled: [Exactly, so now he’s viewing our past relationship from the perspective of a victim. What I need to do now is change this dynamic.]
The system listened in confusion, unable to fully comprehend.
Chu Yan doesn’t need him to understand, after all, the key to this world lies in the studio fire incident.
At that time, his attitude towards Xulin Shen began to change while playing the cannon fodder scum gong, and all of these changes occurred after that incident. In the original work, his role as the cannon fodder scum gong naturally could be understood as disdain and ingratitude, but now since whitewashing is needed, it can be completely explained from a different perspective regarding his actions.
—
The city was shrouded in a vast curtain of rain, enveloped in a hazy mist. Neon lights twisted through the rain, flickering unpredictably.
Leaning against the back seat of the car, Xu Linshen couldn’t conceal the fatigue on his face.
The car passed over an elevated bridge, the driver observing the road conditions while also glancing at Xu Linshen’s expression through the rearview mirror. After some consideration, he spoke, “Mr. Xu, Second Young Master called this morning and asked if you have time this Saturday evening. He would like to have dinner with you and the old master.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Linshen furrowed his brows. If he remembered correctly, Ye Jingyun should still be filming at a movie set in City M recently.
After a moment of contemplation, Xu Linshen spoke in a deliberate and unhurried manner, “I believe… I need to remind you once again that our XU family doesn’t have any Second Young Master.”
His voice carried a balanced tone, yet accompanied by the rhythmic sound of raindrops against the window, it sent an unmistakable shiver down one’s spine.
The driver was momentarily taken aback, realizing that he had just touched upon Xu Linshen’s taboo. Since his legs became disabled half a year ago, Xu Linshen’s temperament has gradually turned peculiar. It used to be manageable, but over the past two months, it has become increasingly gloomy and unpredictable.
As a long-time driver for the Xu family, he was privy to many of the undisclosed secrets of the prestigious household. Officially, the Xu family only had one heir, the eldest son. However, few knew that Xu Linshen had a half-brother from the same father but a different mother.
Despite not being acknowledged by the Xu family and posing no threat to Xu Linshen’s inheritance position, his half-brother had always been treated kindly by him.
However, as everyone knew, even blood brothers could have strained relationships, let alone half-siblings.
The driver wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, cautioning himself not to blurt out the wrong words again.
Just then, his phone rang, and Xu Linshen picked it up to glance at the caller ID—it was Director Zhao.
The voice on the other end came through the receiver, “Mr. Xu, this weekend, we’re hosting a kickoff banquet for ‘Thunderstruck’ at Jiaye Manor. Would you be able to grace us with your presence?”
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