The drama surrounding the breakup of Tan Zhen and He Xingzhou stirred up a commotion for a while but gradually subsided.
As a semi-invisible participant, Xiao Can gleaned some insights.
Unless it’s a matter of principle set in stone, all the discussions on the internet are just a passing storm. The netizens don’t have such good memories; their preferences and dislikes are short-lived. Once the next big thing comes along to grab their attention, the wind can easily change direction, and what was once criticized could turn into a meme people enjoy. Nothing is certain.
Occupying a wave of attention is never a bad thing. Suppose you attract a hundred people to watch, and out of those, eighty leave after making a couple of sarcastic comments. If one person among the remaining twenty becomes a fan, it’s not a loss.
When he explained this conclusion to Tan Zhen, Tan Zhen remained silent for a long time, saying, “Thank you, really.”
“Think about it, how much controversy has He Xingzhou stirred up over the years,” Xiao Can analyzed seriously, “People have long been used to it and become more tolerant of him. Instead of fading away, he’s become even more popular. Right?”
“He’s different. Most creative artists are considered successful if they can produce one or two highly popular songs in their lifetime,” Tan Zhen said, “Even if He Xingzhou were drowned in spit, his past achievements would be enough to build a monument. Look at how he’s been slacking off these past two years, only writing one song for us. He still earns money hand over fist. There’s no comparison.”
“No no no, besides raw talent, there’s one major difference between us and him,” Xiao Can said, “He simply doesn’t care! None of the external evaluations affect him in the slightest, his spirit is as hard as a diamond! That’s something we can learn from.”
“Have you learned it?” Tan Zhen asked.
“Uh… still working on it,” Xiao Can said, “My short-term goal is to not get affected by negative comments, and my long-term goal is to chat with him without getting angry.”
Tan Zhen keenly caught on to the key information, “You guys chat often?”
“Oc… occasionally,” Xiao Can said, “Just, just when I’m idle, I’ll give him a call or something.”
“Oh~” Tan Zhen’s tone was cryptic, “Just when you’re idle, huh?”
“Ah, I’m here,” Xiao Can cleared his throat, “Let’s talk later when I’m free!”
Tan Zhen didn’t suspect anything, “Okay, good luck!”
After hanging up, Cai Yawen, who was sitting beside him, spoke up, “There’s still about five minutes left.”
“Make some preparations,” Xiao Can took a deep breath, “I’m a bit nervous.”
Cai Yawen smiled, “Don’t worry, aren’t you supposed to learn from He Xingzhou?”
Xiao Can laughed along, “You’re right.”
The destination was a film and television city located in the suburbs.
After careful consideration, Xiao Can decided to take on that role.
During this period, there were indeed other invitations for film and television dramas, but most of them were of unknown quality and didn’t seem reliable. In comparison, although this role had few scenes and wasn’t prominent, it was still an opportunity if he could handle it well.
Before joining the crew, he had seriously considered the role he was going to play.
Referred to as the “fourth male lead,” but in fact, he didn’t have his own independent storyline. Most of the time, he served as a tool to adjust the atmosphere and propel the plot. In the middle and later stages, he made two big mistakes, which caused trouble for the third male lead—originally the role he was supposed to play. It was foreseeable that the third male lead would definitely have a high popularity, so the character he was going to play would inevitably be unpopular.
How to portray the character to avoid being disliked became a major challenge for Xiao Can.
Formal shooting had been going on for more than a week, but he hadn’t had any scenes yet. Among the main cast, he was the last one to join.
Before he came, he already knew the specific list of main characters.
The first protagonist was a female Omega, also the biggest star in the drama. Although she was already over thirty, because of her youthful appearance and current popularity, she could still easily portray a teenage role.
The second protagonist was a male Alpha, very young, even a year younger than Xiao Can. He was tall and handsome, with some acting experience, but this was his first time as a leading actor.
These two were a couple in the plot.
The role originally played by Xiao Can, the third male lead, was now given to a completely new actor, who was a genuine newcomer, only nineteen years old and still in school. By ordinary standards, his appearance was considered quite handsome and charming.
As for Xiao Can’s role, the original setting was actually a Beta. Such cross-gender performances were not uncommon, and Xiao Can was not the delicate type. Plus, the character itself didn’t have any emotional storyline, so deliberately blurring the lines of the second gender in the plot wouldn’t seem out of place.
Overall, the lineup of this drama consists of a well-known actor leading a group of newcomers, with Xiao Can being the most well-known among them, except for the female lead.
When Xiao Can arrived at the scene, rehearsals were underway, and he didn’t have a chance to greet his colleagues before being taken for makeup.
Sitting obediently in the makeup room, he noticed something was off.
“Is the makeup style different from the previous trial?” he asked the makeup artist.
“Yeah, the previous director thought it wasn’t close enough to the character, so it needs to be changed,” the makeup artist said.
Xiao Can felt puzzled but didn’t say much.
After the makeup session, he looked at himself in the mirror. The design was completely different from before, but overall, there wasn’t much difference in feeling, though he didn’t understand what the director was fussing about.
Shortly after, the director arrived.
After exchanging greetings, the director frowned and looked Xiao Can up and down, shaking his head, “Still not good.”
Xiao Can didn’t know what the problem was and didn’t dare to express his opinion casually, so he just listened obediently.
The director turned to the makeup artist and continued, “It’s delicate, but it needs to be rougher.”
The makeup artist hesitated but finally nodded, “Okay, let’s try.”
The director was busy and soon left, leaving the makeup artist sighing at Xiao Can.
Xiao Can awkwardly smiled at him, “It’s okay; just do it.”
The makeup artist carefully examined his face and sighed after a moment, “They shouldn’t have changed the role in the first place.”
Xiao Can vaguely guessed his meaning.
The kid who snatched his role was probably originally a candidate for Male Supporting Role Four. With Xiao Can’s current appearance, the Omega, it should fit the role well.
After a series of struggles until midnight, Xiao Can’s makeup changed several times. Despite his naturally excellent skin, it was starting to itch.
Simply uglifying wasn’t difficult, but the problem was that the character wasn’t meant to be ugly. The setting described him as “average-looking” and “approachable,” but with Xiao Can’s face, it was hard to achieve that average look.
In the end, the version they settled on gave him thick, split-ended eyebrows and a protruding mole at the corner of his mouth, looking strangely comical.
Before removing the makeup, Xiao Can deliberately took a selfie sighing and posted it on his friend circle with restricted visibility.
The group wasn’t large, consisting mainly of a few close friends and He Xingzhou.
Originally, he intended to send it directly to He Xingzhou. He wanted to see how this person would react to seeing him dressed up as an ugly character. However, he felt a bit guilty and worried that sending a deliberate selfie might seem ambiguous, revealing his intentions.
Upon arriving at the accommodation arranged by the crew, he received several comments.
Those who didn’t know about the filming were laughing, but Tan Zhen and Mu Nianwen, who understood the situation, seemed rather speechless.
After taking a shower, Xiao Can walked out of the bathroom and found a missed call on his phone from He Xingzhou.
He opened the notification list, and He Xingzhou had commented five minutes ago: “Good-looking and ugly again, what’s going on?”
Xiao Can didn’t reply directly but opened their conversation window and sent a message.
- It’s my makeup for this drama.
As he expected, the ringtone sounded again soon after.
“Is it for the plot or is this how the character is?” He Xingzhou asked.
“This is how the character is,” Xiao Can said, “I’m the comic relief.”
“Why did they cast you for this? Why did you agree?” He Xingzhou criticized mercilessly over the phone, “Did the director lose his mind when casting? This drama is definitely going to fail. Stop filming and leave as soon as possible.”
“It’s not that unreliable,” Xiao Can said, “Do you know Hua Linling? She’s the lead in this drama. The Alpha who acts opposite her is also very popular and handsome.”
“Who?” He Xingzhou asked.
“You don’t even know Hua Linling?!” Xiao Can was surprised, “She’s very popular!”
“Who asked about her,” He Xingzhou said, “Which handsome Alpha?”
“Oh… his name is Luo Yinan, you probably haven’t heard of him,” Xiao Can said, “Did you watch last year’s popular drama ‘Xiang Xiang Yu Xie’? He played Zhang Ergong in it, the rich young master.”
“… No impression,” He Xingzhou said.
“Did you watch ‘The Fifth Season’?” Xiao Can asked again, “He was in it—”
He Xingzhou interrupted him, “Are you close with him? You seem to know a lot about him.”
“No, we’ve never even met,” Xiao Can said, “I just looked it up because I happened to have watched those two dramas recently.”
He Xingzhou remained silent.
“What? Do you remember now?” Xiao Can asked.
“Do you have scenes with him?” He Xingzhou asked.
“Yeah, quite a few, so I looked it up,” Xiao Can said, “Our characters are very close friends.”
He Xingzhou fell silent again.
“Hey? Are you listening?” Xiao Can asked.
“That’s it? Pretty average,” He Xingzhou seemed to have searched for a while, “Your appreciation for Alphas isn’t that high.”
Xiao Can, tired from the day, was a bit slow in his thinking, but now he finally sensed something strange, “Are you jealous because I said he’s handsome?”
“What jealousy?” He Xingzhou said, “I’m criticizing your taste.”
If it were someone else, Xiao Can would have just laughed it off. But facing He Xingzhou, not arguing felt uncomfortable.
“I think you’re just jealous because he’s more handsome than you,” he said.
“What? More handsome than me? Him?” He Xingzhou reacted strongly, “Are you serious?”
“Why are you so worked up?” Xiao Can teased, “Do you Alphas have such strong animosity towards the same sex?”
He Xingzhou remained silent.
Xiao Can felt inexplicably uneasy, but he didn’t hold back in his speech: “What’s wrong? You wouldn’t be that petty; you’re really upset, aren’t you?”
“How could I be,” He Xingzhou smiled, then asked, “Can outsiders come to your set?”
