After returning home, Xu Yin studied the script.
It was a fantasy drama adapted from a novel that had gained some popularity many years ago but had lost its influence over time. Additionally, the male and female leads were a third-tier male actor known for his bad temper and a rookie female member who had been criticized for her poor acting in her debut role for an entire year. The remaining fans of the novel were disappointed by this casting and openly criticized the production.
Despite the female lead having a significant fanbase and her efforts in promoting the drama, the overall sentiment from the public was skeptical, and the drama seemed destined for mockery even before filming began.
This was probably why Xu Yin’s role was confirmed without an audition.
However, it had to be admitted that the character chosen by Qin Yue for Xu Yin was a good one, with ample room for performance.
Mu Yunyi, the son of the Martial Alliance Leader and the young master of the Tayun Sect, was initially portrayed as a picturesque young man in white, carrying a sword, who smiled gently upon his first appearance. However, he gradually turned dark and sinister after his entire clan was slaughtered by the Demon Clan and some Jianghu forces1TL: Jianghu is a Chinese term that generally refers to the setting or the community of Martial Artists of many Wuxia novels. In this statement, Jianghu forces refers to Martial Artists. in the martial world. He continued to smile as he walked through a path of bloodshed, frightening not only the Demon Clan but also his allies. In the end, he completely transformed into an antagonist, succumbing to darkness and becoming a tragic character who was ultimately killed by the female lead.
When he was “white“, he was genuinely pure, and when he turned “black,” it was a gradual descent into darkness.
Despite being classified as a Side Character in the novel due to the multitude of important characters, Mu Yunyi still had a strong sense of presence. After all, a character who was initially the ideal Bai Yueguang in every girl’s heart but fell into complete darkness due to the tragic loss of his family, only to meet a grim end, was bound to evoke sympathy.
The drama itself was titled “Chaos Pearl” and involved elements of immortals, mortals, the Demon Clan, the imperial court, and the martial world. The plot revolved around the purported killing of the Purple Bamboo Immortal Lord, who holds the Chaos Pearl. The Chaos Pearl falls to the mortal world, taking on the form of the female lead. With the closure of the Heavenly Gate, the immortals descended to the mortal realm, and the Demon Clan emerged, marking the beginning of a complex story. The novel had over 700,000 words, making it quite extensive. However, how the drama adaptation would turn out, with the anticipated low-budget special effects, was a source of concern.
On his way to the barbecue restaurant, Xu Yin carefully reviewed the script and finally rubbed his forehead.
Regardless of the circumstances, he would focus on delivering his part well.
In a few days, Xu Yin had to meet the director for some additional character photoshoots, and the official filming would start a month later. As for Gu Lin’s side, Xu Yin had been working there for a few days now, and it was almost a month, so he wouldn’t be able to continue much longer.
*
Over the next few days, Xu Yin maintained his routine of working during the day, doing tasks and studying the script at night.
Speaking of which…
The probability of getting random tasks on Shijin Street is really high. Xu Yin couldn’t help but sigh as he found himself getting a random task on Shijin Street for the seventh time.
No, to be precise, he had only encountered random tasks on Shijin Street so far.
As he witnessed a group of stray dogs rushing out of an alley, with four of them attacking another, Xu Yin’s task panel displayed: [Please rescue a poor little puppy who seems to have offended some big dogs, Reward: 4 points.]
018: “Tsk, today’s task seems a bit simple.”
Xu Yin took a step forward.
A black little puppy stumbled to the ground, and as it looked back, several large dogs were approaching, causing it to yelp in distress.
The large dogs barked loudly, wagging their tails vigorously, when suddenly a dark figure appeared beside them.
A deep growl echoed, “Woof!”
The large dogs were startled and turned to see a human holding two strange-looking, slender paws—those claws seemed quite fierce, and the menacing look on the human’s face made it even scarier. This fierce-looking human charged at them, barking loudly, “Woof woof woof woof!”
The large dogs were taken aback and quickly scattered in all directions.
The little puppy remained stunned, but as it looked up and saw the human lowering its paws, the human smiled and said, “It’s okay now, don’t be afraid.”
The little puppy whimpered and turned around. Its two front paws hug the human’s ankle. It nuzzled against him, and its moist eyes seemed on the verge of shedding tears!
Xu Yin smiled and crouched down to pat the little puppy’s head. Then, he suddenly felt something and looked up at the road.
In a familiar black car, the man in the back seat was staring at him with a deep gaze.
Xu Yin waved cheerfully at the man, “Hi!”
018 commented: “Is this guy waiting for you on this street every day?”
After locking eyes with Xu Yin for seven consecutive days, the onlooker in the car paused for a moment. For the first time before being driven away, he raised the car window and turned his head.
Xu Yin didn’t mind and stood up with a smile, but the little puppy clung to his ankle and refused to let go.
Xu Yin glanced down.
The little puppy raised its head.
A minute later, the little puppy successfully sat in Xu Yin’s arms, its tail wagging vigorously, and it panted happily with a wide grin.
Meanwhile, amidst the traffic, Wen Congyan lowered his gaze for a while and suddenly spoke with a deep voice, “Shijin Street’s security hasn’t been great lately.”
The assistant in the front acting as the driver exclaimed, “???”
‘Then why have you been having me drive to Shijin Road every day???’
Wen Congyan finished speaking and lifted his gaze, glancing out of the car window.
The lights from the street lamps flickered, and there was no longer any trace of the young man on the sidewalk.
Only in his mind did he retain the image of the young man, waving with a cheerful smile.
In the darkness, his ears felt a bit warm.
While doing tasks, Xu Yin also didn’t forget to draw. His drawing tablet had arrived, and he had installed the necessary software on his laptop. After contacting Gu Lin’s younger sister, Xu Yin sent her two rough sketches to show her the general style.
Xu Yin already had his own art style, which was quite mature. He only needed to know whether the recipient liked it or not. Gu Lin’s younger sister immediately responded with a string of messages exclaiming, [*Squeal* It’s so beautiful! ! >.<]
The deal was settled smoothly, and as for the payment, Xu Yin didn’t ask for any.
Gu Lin’s younger sister kept asking, [Is it really possible? Are you really going to give me one, Gege2TL: Gege or Ge means Big brother if you haven’t encountered the term.? QAQ!!]
Although Xu Yin didn’t have any finished examples on hand and had only sent her two line sketches, Gu Lin’s younger sister believed in her own understanding of the field and could tell that Xu Yin’s final artwork would be excellent.
Moreover, for such high-quality artwork, Xu Yin was planning to give her one for free. She felt like she had hit the jackpot!
Xu Yin chuckled.
After all, she was Gu Lin’s younger sister. Besides, this was his first piece of artwork in this world. Xu Yin felt that he wasn’t in a hurry to make money, so he replied, [If you like it, just help me promote it later ^^]
Gu Lin’s younger sister enthusiastically replied, [Kyaaa! ! Sure thing, Gege! Thank you so much!!]
After chatting with Xu Yin, Gu Lin’s younger sister sent a message to her close friend, [OMG, take a look [pictures][pictures] at what my brother’s middle school classmate drew! Isn’t it amazing? He said he’s going to give me a free double character commission!]
Friend: [Damn! For Free?!]
Gu Lin’s younger sister: [Yes!!]
Friend: [Show me the artwork after it’s done. If it’s okay, please give me his contact information!]
Gu Lin’s younger sister: [Sure, but I haven’t asked him about his prices for commissions yet.]
Friend: [Price doesn’t matter as long as the artwork is good.]
Gu Lin’s younger sister’s eyes welled up with tears of gratitude. A true artist doesn’t mind the cost.
Meanwhile, Xu Yin registered a new account on Weibo dedicated to the art community.
His username was YIN, the same as his Weibo username from his previous life, and his bio simply stated, “An artist”. After adding watermarks to the two sketches, he switched accounts to check his artist account.
He had just over ten thousand followers, with likely a fair number of inactive or ghost accounts. His latest post was from half a month ago, with just over twenty comments. Some of them were incomprehensible and nonsensical ramblings.
Once he started filming in earnest, he would need to use this account more frequently.
Xu Yin put down his phone and continued studying the script.
On the second day after Gu Lin’s part-time job officially ended, Xu Yin went to his scheduled photoshoot.
This was also the first time Xu Yin met the director in person. He wasn’t sure if things in the entertainment industry were usually this hasty, but this particular project seemed quite rushed.
However, after meeting the director in person, Xu Yin realized that Qin Yue didn’t just randomly assign him a role after being pressured by Wen Yan. Although he hadn’t met the male and female leads yet, the budget for the production seemed tight and the special effects were questionable, but Xu Yin liked the character of Mu Yunyi.
The director, Yu Fei, was young, probably not long out of college, but he gave off a reliable vibe.
After chatting briefly with him, Yu Fei couldn’t help but carefully size up Xu Yin.
Xu Yin smiled and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Yu Fei muttered quietly, “I didn’t expect you to be quite dependable.”
Xu Yin: “…”
Yu Fei continued to mumble to himself, “I don’t have much say in the casting for this project. I have to use the actors that the production company gives me and the auditions are just a formality. The actor originally cast for the 4th Male Side Character broke his leg right before shooting, so the replacement was even more rushed. I didn’t expect… you to be quite dependable.”
Then he glanced at Xu Yin again.
Xu Yin smiled, not hearing anything he was saying about him.
Yu Fei spoke to his nearby crew members, “Put him on some make up.”
So Xu Yin was taken to change his clothes and get his makeup done.
The entire set wasn’t too busy, considering that Xu Yin was only here for a character photoshoot and he was the only one who needed attention.
However, despite the presence of many people on set, not many paid attention to Xu Yin. His name wasn’t well-known among them. While the entertainment company, Wenxing Entertainment, was backed by the influential Wen family, it didn’t seem to be doing well.
There seemed to be some unknown issues within the Wen family, and they left the company to fend for itself. As a result, it remained small and had little presence in the industry.
Of course, it was still possible to insert someone from such a company into a small drama like this. However, the truth remained that Xu Yin, a mere actor with only a Side Character role from this relatively unknown company, didn’t attract much attention from the rest of the crew. Many of them hadn’t paid much attention to him since he arrived.
…Except for the makeup artists in the dressing room, who secretly swallowed hard.
Xu Yin, with his eyes closed, remained calm.
Not long after, while Yu Fei was outside in the corridor, smoking and talking to his assistant on the phone, he suddenly heard a commotion from inside the room. He glanced toward the direction of the noise and was taken aback.
All eyes in the room were now focused on one person.
And that young man standing in the center of everyone’s gaze was dressed in white, with a sword at his side. His ink-black hair was tied up, adorned with a white jade hairpin.
His features were like a painting, with a faint, charming smile. When he lifted his gaze slightly, his long eyelashes resembled raven feathers, and the curve at the corner of his eyes highlighted his gentle yet handsome appearance.
Everyone in the room was left stunned.
Who is he?!
Wait, isn’t he the actor for a side character who was chatting with Director Yu earlier?
No, they were aware of plenty of attractive individuals in the entertainment industry, so when this young man entered earlier, they could tell he had a good physique at a glance. However, it wasn’t enough to make a group of seasoned entertainment industry professionals give him a second look. But now, upon closer inspection of the face before them…
His face was naturally small, with well-defined features that struck the perfect balance between softness and masculinity. His jawline and neck were nothing short of exquisite.
Broad shoulders, narrow waist, a graceful and elegant posture; no matter where he stood, it looked like a painting.
Especially that smile at the corner of the young man’s lips…
It was gentle, yet there was a hint of amusement in his eyes. If you made eye contact with him, you’d probably be overwhelmed by his tenderness!
This was too much to handle!
Several girls in the room had their eyes practically popping out!
Isn’t this exactly what Mu Yunyi was supposed to look like?!
—After thoroughly reading the script and the original work, Xu Yin was secretly relieved. In some ways, he felt a connection with the character of Mu Yunyi, which gave him greater confidence in portraying the role.
When Yu Fei had talked to Xu Yin earlier, he had noticed Xu Yin’s good looks, but this transformation, combined with that smile…
Yu Fei’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he came to his senses. He hurriedly tossed his cigarette when he realized he had been smoking.
Entering the room, Xu Yin was already standing in front of the camera, ready to start shooting.
Xu Yin noticed him and smiled with narrowed eyes.
Yu Fei straightened his face, seriously observing the cameraman’s work for a moment. Then, after a while, he suddenly asked, “If it were Mu Yunyi at the later-stage, how would you play it?”
Following the usual formula, when a character undergoes a transformation, whether through makeup or costumes, they typically take on a darker appearance. However, no matter how others speculated about what this drama would become, Yu Fei didn’t like drastic deviations from the original source material.
Fortunately, the production company, apart from forcing in cast members, didn’t plan to interfere much with Yu Fei’s direction. So he could follow his own vision.
In the original work, even when Mu Yunyi underwent a transformation, he still wore white attire, and the faint smile on his face remained. Moreover, the female supporting characters who once admired him continued to do so.
But Mu Yunyi had long changed, changed completely.
In front of the camera, the young man who had been smiling gently all along slowly increased the curve at the corner of his lips.
He subtly tilted his chin upward, but his eyes continued to hold a smile, which remained casual but now tinged with mockery. There was no warmth left in his gaze.
Yu Fei overheard a girl next to him softly muttering a profanity. “Fvck.” Well, it was an expression of praise, really.
He released the hand that had been clenched into a fist since earlier and raised the corner of his lips, revealing a smile.
*
After the photoshoot, Xu Yin changed into regular clothes and removed his makeup in front of numerous onlookers. He put on a simple white T-shirt and jeans, donned a baseball cap and a mask, and then headed back to his apartment.
‘Once I join the cast, the difficulty of getting random tasks might increase, right?’ Xu Yin pondered.
Once inside the production team, his range of activities wouldn’t be something he could decide on his own anymore. Besides, so far, he had only managed to get random tasks on Shijin Street. When he entered the TV and Film Industry, Shijin Street would become a distant memory.
018: “Well… when the phased missions start, you’ll receive half of the points upfront. When you complete them, you’ll get the remaining half. As long as you can maintain a balance of 10 points or more every day before officially joining the team, you’ll be fine.”
Life wasn’t easy, Xu Yin sighed.
In the evening, he put on his sportswear and sneakers, and said, “Let’s go to Shijin Street.”
At this very moment, in a quiet corner of Shijin Street, on the second floor of a restaurant:
A man stood by the window, silently gazing at the street outside…
Footsteps sounded behind him, followed by a surprised voice. “Congyan? You’re here so early.”
Wen Congyan turned around and nodded. “Second Brother.”
Wen Yu’s father was the second oldest in the family, and among the younger generation of the Wen family, he was also the second oldest, making him Wen Congyan’s cousin.
This restaurant was newly opened by one of Wen Yu’s friends, and he came to try it out and invited Wen Congyan. He hadn’t expected Wen Congyan to actually come, as Wen Congyan was always extremely busy. Out of ten times, you could hardly get him to respond eight times. Today, he responded immediately and arrived the earliest. It was indeed an unusual occurrence.
Wen Yu was quite happy since in the past year, there weren’t many occasions where all of them, cousins, could gather.
However, he did act without asking permission this time. He cleared his throat and said, “By the way, Wen Yan will also be coming today, and he’ll bring a friend with him. You should remember him, his high school classmate, Nan Ye.”
Wen Yu didn’t have any particularly strong opinions about Nan Ye. He just felt it was a bit strange for Wen Yan to bring him, given that it was supposed to be a family gathering. Nevertheless, Wen Yan was welcome to bring his friend if he wished.
After hearing Wen Yu’s words, Wen Congyan simply nodded without much expression on his face.
Wen Yu sighed in relief. To be honest, he hadn’t expected Wen Congyan to pay much attention to Wen Yan’s affairs. Cough.
Not long after Wen Yu had spoken, the two people arrived.
Wen Yan had his hands in his pockets, and behind him was Nan Ye, who appeared at the entrance of the restaurant.
Upon seeing Wen Yu, Wen Yan casually greeted, “Second Brother.”
Wen Yu quickly responded, “Come on, sit down and have a look at the menu. Tell me what you’d like to eat.”
Wen Yan nodded and took a seat at the round table. He glanced at Wen Congyan and then rolled his eyes with a disdainful “Tch.”
Wen Yu promptly gave him a pat on the back.
Wen Yan shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes at Wen Congyan once again.
Nan Ye smiled and said, “Second Brother… Brother Congyan.”
Wen Congyan still only nodded and then turned his gaze back to the window.
Wen Yan rolled his eyes at him repeatedly, over and over, and over again. But Wen Congyan still kept his serious gaze fixed outside the window, not turning his head once.
Wen Yan couldn’t help but think, ‘I’m tired of rolling my eyes at him! What is this guy even looking at?!’
