“Mr. Guan, isn’t this role a bit unsuitable for me?”
Xu Mei wasn’t against acting. If she didn’t take roles, she’d have nothing else to do. A new album was nowhere in sight, and even for commercial gigs, she’d only be a sidekick to this year’s popular contestants.
Last year, Xu Mei was the “champion.” This year, she’s a prop for popular contestants, booked only if bundled with others!
Acting was good, at least it paid. Emerald Forest’s success gave Xu Mei a taste of fame. For boosting popularity, acting was the better deal.
Her first album had no hit songs. As a singer, beyond her talent show crown, no one remembered her music.
Emerald Forest was different. Audiences remembered her face!
That was real progress.
Xu Mei looked thin and haggard in person, but on camera, her slimness was an advantage. The lens adding ten pounds was no joke.
Acting it was, then. As long as she had popularity, she could still release albums. Xu Mei had accepted her reality, no choice otherwise. From talent show to now, breaking up, dropping out, leaning on Cao Shao, her hand got worse with each step. No turning back, even if a cliff lay ahead, she had to press on.
She understood the logic, but Mr. Guan’s choice of roles was careless, and it infuriated her.
A drama’s success relied on luck but also three essentials: the writer, the director, the actors!
Famous writer, famous director, skilled actors.
All three together? High chance of blockbuster ratings!
Even one of the three ensured decent ratings.
Emerald Forest was like that. Just a Taiwan idol drama with a short production cycle, but its team was stellar. With so many prince-and-Cinderella stories, only the truly skilled hit the audience’s heart.
Were there dramas with none of these that still exploded?
Sure.
But rare, like winning the lottery!
The new drama Mr. Guan picked for Xu Mei was a total amateur setup.
Unknown director.
Unknown lead.
Unknown writer.
They were generous with the pay, though. Mr. Guan was clearly swayed by the money!
No surprise there. A good drama wouldn’t cast a half-baked actress like Xu Mei, even with her Emerald Forest fame, and offer decent pay.
For good dramas, Xu Mei would have to beg and even pay to act.
She’d be willing, but she had no money.
Mr. Guan wouldn’t agree either. The company took the lion’s share of her earnings. If she didn’t take this role, where would Mr. Guan make his money?
When Xu Mei said the role wasn’t right, Mr. Guan got displeased, saying earnestly, “Now’s not the time to be picky. Entertainment’s survival of the fittest. If you don’t take new roles, your popularity fades. You’re not thinking of pulling a Zhang Yangning, are you?”
His tone carried a warning.
Zhang Yangning’s self-funded contract termination to jump to Tianjiao was a slap in Mr. Guan’s face!
The loss wasn’t huge, but the insult was.
Mr. Guan still couldn’t fathom how Yuan Fenghui persuaded Zhang Yangning. That fool thought Tianjiao had great resources? She’d only get Li Mengjiao’s scraps!
Thinking of Li Mengjiao, Mr. Guan recalled The Princess’s New Clothes was premiering soon, souring his mood further.
Xu Mei smiled bitterly. She’d love to follow Zhang Yangning, but Zhang could jump to Tianjiao; she couldn’t.
She couldn’t afford the penalty, nor could she bear the shame. Plus, her gut told her Tianjiao wouldn’t want her!
“Mr. Guan, I was wrong. You’re looking out for me with this role.”
Leaving his office, Xu Mei called Cao Shao.
As his girlfriend, shouldn’t he be embarrassed by Mr. Guan giving her such lousy resources?
“I can play supporting roles, but being a prop for nobodies? Isn’t Mr. Guan going too far?”
Xu Mei was fishing for benefits from Cao Shao.
She was a good girl from a decent family, clean and devoted to him. He called her his girlfriend, but his enthusiasm had waned.
Had he taken advantage and now wanted to shirk responsibility?
A second female lead in a hit like Emerald Forest showed sincerity. A supporting role in an amateur production was insulting!
Cao Shao had new interests but couldn’t act on them, so he kept Xu Mei around. She was now tasteless but too pity to discard.
Her words stirred him, though.
She’d been with him, and he was generous with ex-girlfriends. No reason to shortchange Xu Mei.
“I’ll look into it.”
Cao Shao got to work and soon uncovered the production’s background.
A coal tycoon backed the crew. These days, coal tycoons were synonymous with rich and gullible. Everyone wanted a piece.
Someone pitched the tycoon for investment, and he stuffed his mistress in as the female lead, hence her lack of fame or works. A newer newbie than Xu Mei!
Was the tycoon foolish?
Not at all.
He wanted to please his mistress but also test the film industry’s waters.
He had money to burn but needed industry insiders to guide him. Cao Shao approached, and they hit it off.
Cao Shao wasn’t as rich, but he knew the industry’s ins and outs!
His first move was to replace the original shady crew with a reliable team, keeping only the tycoon’s mistress as the lead. The project got a full overhaul!
Cao Shao’s one condition: hire someone to rewrite the script, boosting Xu Mei’s role.
“You’re still the second female lead, but it’s really a dual lead. Unlike Emerald Forest, it’s a true dual lead. I’ll get someone to write it. The tycoon’s pick is a pure newbie, you outshine her in experience and popularity!”
Using the tycoon’s money to boost Xu Mei, Cao Shao was shadier than the original crew, who at least focused on the tycoon’s “lead” as per his wishes.
Cao Shao planned to pull a switch!
Xu Mei was intrigued.
She asked who he’d hire to write.
Cao Shao smiled, “The The Princess’s New Clothes writer. Teacher Yuan made Li Mengjiao a star and sold the drama’s rights for a fortune. It’s not just Li’s popularity.”
Li Mengjiao, like Xu Mei, was a newbie singer-turned-actor with mediocre acting.
True, Li’s popularity outstripped Xu Mei’s.
But popularity alone couldn’t fetch such a high copyright fee!
The drama’s quality sold it!
A good writer crafts stories. One who tailors a story for an actor? God-tier writer, Cao Shao’s logic was sound!
Problem was, Cao Shao, Xu Mei, and others thought Zhang Guangzhen was the god-tier writer behind The Princess’s New Clothes’s massive copyright fee.
With the drama’s premiere nearing, Zhang Guangzhen, far in Taiwan, got a job offer from Hunan:
“1 million pounds for a script?”
Zhang lit a cigarette.
Was mainland film funding this generous?
, Should he follow Yuan Fenghui and settle there long-term?
