Vase cannon fodder is pampered by the group again

Chapter 37.1 Harbouring ill intentions

Editor: Jodi

There weren’t many people in the room, so Shen Ci greeted Lin Wan politely then found a spot to sit down with Brother Zhang and Yang Ning.

Recently, having been thoroughly run ragged, Shen Ci couldn’t help but start to yawn after flipping through a few pages of the script, then he thought to himself that he absolutely had to sleep early tonight in order to have a good rest.

He looked around. The only things in the corner of the room were a few simple bottles of mineral water, and somewhat bored, he bumped Yang Ning’s shoulder: “Ning Ge, want to drink some milk tea?”

Yang Ning’s eyes lit up immediately: “I do, I do!”

Shen Ci, holding his chin up with one hand, asked: “Then, should we go and buy some together?”

Yang Ning immediately turned cool again: “Um, it’s better to not drink it.”

Shen Ci: “….”

He rolled his eyes. He was actually just looking for an excuse to take a stroll. With Brother Zhang busy networking with the director for future collaborations and Yang Ning sprawled out lazily, Shen Ci had no choice but to drop the idea.

He slumped over the table, pulled his phone out to order some milk tea and selected three cups casually before his fingers paused.

He had already placed the order, so why not….

Half an hour later, as the actors and related staff members had almost all arrived, the director, rubbing his hands together, was just about to start a passionate speech when a “thump thump thump” knocking sounded.

Director: “?”

A few staff members pushed the door open, each holding a box as they came in, with the thermal box even sporting the Happy Tea logo. The staff looked confused: “Who…. ordered milk tea?”

Under the shocked gazes of everyone, Shen Ci stood up, smiling modestly and mildly: “Please, distribute one to everyone, thank you.”

To accommodate certain female actors who were sensitive about their skin condition, he had also specially ordered a good amount of pure milk and fresh fruit juice, causing Qin Yun, the one playing the female lead, to smile happily as she picked a cup of apple juice up.

“Thank you, Xiao Shen!”

During the filming of “Don’t Say Farewell”, Shen Ci had delivered milk tea before, so this was just a repeat performance. Only, the last time it was to curry favor with Shao Jinhuan. However this time it was purely to bond with other members of the crew.

Although it wasn’t a grand gesture, it was thoughtful, causing many who had only seen Shen Ci on the hot search to suddenly get a more tangible impression of him.

En, at least he seemed quite adept at handling matters. He didn’t look like the type to play the big guy card and bully the staff.

Brother Zhang patted his shoulder in approval, and because it wasn’t easy to speak in a crowd, he sent him a WeChat message: “Nice job on the first impression.”

Yang Ning, who had a sweet tooth couldn’t resist the allure of milk tea and reached for the nearest cup, only for Shen Ci to snatch it away first.

Then he retaliated as he held it up: “Didn’t you say you won’t drink?! Beg me?”

Yang Ning snorted, stood up calmly, then took advantage of his height to snatch it from him, casting a sympathetic smile back at him silently.

Shen Ci: “….” He might as well drop dead on the spot from frustration!

This script reading session was meant to unify the actors’ understanding of their characters’ background stories and relationships, because apart from the female lead who had acted in a few similar dramas, practically everyone else was a newcomer, so they really didn’t have much professionalism in this area.

If there was a misunderstanding of the characters, the filming might just end up wasting time. Such low-budget scripts had tight budgets, so more NGs meant more money spent.

Shen Ci would be playing the third male lead. He flipped through the script and found that he really didn’t have many scenes.

It was nothing more than starting off as sharp-tongued while protecting his big sister and later being moved by the male lead to start helping out. All in all, it looked pretty easy to act.

However, he soon discovered a problem: “Director, how come I don’t have a cp?” Shen Ci asked in a small voice, confused.

Wasn’t it standard for these sweet pet dramas to distribute story arcs evenly?

As the female lead’s little brother and best friend, he actually didn’t have any romantic scenes?

The director, his eyes rolling around, told him: “Originally there was one, but after confirming that you would be the actor, we really couldn’t find a girl who had cp chemistry with you, so we cancelled your romantic scenes.”

This was what he said on the surface, when in fact….. it was Yunxiao Entertainment who called specifically to have it cancelled!

They had originally wanted to leverage Shen Ci’s popularity and so told Yunxiao that they would give him the male lead or the second male lead. The result? Yunxiao didn’t agree and was adamant on cancelling his romantic scenes.

The director, feeling helpless, told them that unless Shen Ci was cast as the third male lead, he wouldn’t cancel, and Yunxiao agreed readily…. and even recommended Yang Ning for the male lead.

Although Yunxiao had a lot of money and could promote Shen Ci even if he only played a passer-by as they could promote anyone to the high heavens as long as they wanted to,

But… to give up the male lead and the second male lead for the sake of not having romantic scenes, was there really such an operation?!

He didn’t know which high-level executive at Yunxiao had made that decision. They were really great.

Shen Ci was a little dazed: “Oh, it turns out it’s like this…”

Was it because he looked too immature?

Thinking about it this way, it seems he only had mom fans. He had never heard that he had girlfriend fans.

He scratched his head. As an idol, this was very awkward.

The screenwriter focused on explaining the main storyline and character relationships to everyone, then left the rest for them to understand on their own, with them being able to ask questions individually if they didn’t get something.

Yang Ning shook his milk tea cup that was already empty and said somewhat regretfully: “It’s already finished….”

Shen Ci stretched his hand to protect his cup, watching him warily.

And seeing that he was already on the defensive, Yang Ning said with even more regret: “Sigh, I have to open a milk tea shop in the future a coffee shop works too- to make whenever I want!”

Shen Ci: “Then can I mooch for free?”

Yang Ning: “Hmph, if you invest 99% of the funds, you can mooch for free.”

Then his eyes suddenly lit up: “Eh idol….. how about you wear a maid outfit at that time to attract customers for me?”

Shen Ci: “?”

He pushed Yang Ning’s face away expressionlessly: “Keep dreaming.”

When the director who was sitting beside them heard their conversation, he scanned Shen Ci up and down discreetly, imagining in his mind—

In his mind Shen Ci, wearing a dress, was twirling around, the hem of his skirt shining brilliantly, dropping hot search topics wildly as well as viewership ratings.

Then soon after, Yang Ning and Lin Wan, wearing skirts, appeared behind Shen Ci and also spun around….

He was so excited that he sneaked off hurriedly to poke the screenwriter.

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