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Chapter 22.1
Editor: Jodi
“Think it over yourself. Figure out exactly how you’re supposed to act.” Qiu Yun threw down her parting shot and handed the megaphone back to the director.
The director, who hadn’t said a word before, now tried to smooth things over, “Alright, that scene’s done, let’s keep moving with the filming.”
The moment he said this, the crew started clearing the props, and the makeup artist came over to touch up Du Ling’s makeup.
Du Ling wasn’t shy about anyone around her seeing it— she lit a cigarette, exhaling a stream of smoke with a distant expression. “Regretting taking on this show yet?”
Mu Nan’s hands hung at his sides, clenched into fists. Xiao Jin came over and whispered, “I just spoke to Brother Wilder—he said he’ll swing by this afternoon.”
“It’s useless.” Du Ling overheard their hushed conversation. “Can’t you see who this production is pushing forward, and who’s got the biggest pull here?”
Hearing this, Mu Nan went straight over to Qiu Yun.
“Hey, Nan Ge.” Xiao Jin hurried to follow him. Du Ling shook her head behind them, muttering, “Is he acting naive or is he just plain dumb?”
“Teacher Qiu, I’d like to discuss some questions I have about the script with you.” Mu Nan stood directly in front of Qiu Yun, not even sparing Xu Shang a single glance.
Xu Shang frowned, standing up as if he wanted to confront Mu Nan, however Mu Nan just shot him a sidelong glare.
Xu Shang had muscled his way into the top tier, bolstered by connections, strutting around sets with no one daring to cross him.
However Mu Nan’s glare reminded him that— this was a top-tier idol, someone who held his own wherever he went.
“What do you want to say?” Qiu Yun asked impatiently.
Mu Nan pulled out a thick notebook, opening it in front of her. The notes were divided into two columns, with brightly colored handwriting filling the entire page.
Taking it, Qiu Yun flipped through two pages casually, only to see that each plot difference between the original novel and the script had been analyzed and noted carefully, along with the shifts in the second male lead’s character.
And looking it over, she saw that while minor tweaks had been made to suit the show’s pacing, the biggest changes all targeted the second male lead.
The more Qiu Yun read, the more she felt a twinge of alarm. She’d been writing for years, and had had numerous smash hit novels as well as scripts, so her altering a character beyond recognition with just a few choice lines or descriptions was an occurrence that happened often.
And this wasn’t her first time altering a role to push Xu Shang forward.
What she hadn’t expected, was that a young idol with no acting experience, someone who knew absolutely nothing about screenwriting, would actually see through her tactics so cleanly.
“So, what?” She suppressed her unease, tilting her head as she countered.
“So, did you pour your heart into creating a character just to destroy him?” Mu Nan asked.
Then without waiting for her to respond, he suddenly pointed at Xu Shang.
“You’re an exceptional creator, yet you willingly tarnish your own work for someone else’s sake. Do you think it’s worth it? Do you believe you’ll receive an equivalent reward? Or are you just indulging in a kind of self-pity?”
Mu Nan’s questions came one after another, forcing Qiu Yun to avoid his gaze without her even realizing it.
“Hey.” Seeing what was happening, Xu Shang stood up and shoved Mu Nan.
“What the hell do you mean?” Xu Shang jabbed his finger at him, “You think you’re hot stuff just because you have a few fans? What kind of man bullies women? Do your fans know you’re this unreasonable?”
Mu Nan almost laughed in disbelief. This pretty boy might be short on talent, but he sure knew how to twist things around.
However facing Xu Shang who was provoking him openly, he didn’t feel the need to play nice as he had done with Qiu Yun.
“And what about you? Living off women’s favors—what kind of man does that make you?” He smirked before Xu Shang could react. “Shame on you.”
Xu Shang, who was initially stamping with rage, didn’t understand the last part that had been said in English, and so asked reflexively, “What did you say?”
This immediately caused his momentum to disappear, and Du Ling, who’d either passed by coincidentally or who had been eavesdropping, showed up with a cigarette hanging from her lips and explained to him “helpfully”:
“He said you’re shameless.”
Xu Shang’s face darkened like the bottom of a pot. However just as he was trying to find something to retort with, Mu Nan had already walked off.
“Nan Ge, just now…. do you think that was a bit too much?” Xiao Jin asked, a little worried.
“What’s there to be afraid of? Don’t chicken out.” Mu Nan stood straight-backed, “The more you play nice with guys like him, the more they walk all over you. Besides, being polite is one thing, but who do we really need to fear?”
Floored by his boldness, Xiao Jin almost wanted to applaud him right there.
“Not bad, little brother.” Du Ling popped up behind Mu Nan again, somehow slipping in without a sound, making Mu Nan nearly jump out of his skin.
“Sister Du Ling, thank you for earlier……”
The cigarette from just now had now been swapped out for a lollipop that was hanging in Du Ling’s mouth. “Nah, that was nothing. Just lending a hand to a cute little brother.”
Mu Nan: ?
Sure enough, normal people just didn’t belong in this production, right?