Chapter 302: A Beauty Trap?

After seeing off the guests at WLMQ International Airport, Tong Tong Liya returned to the city center with the district and municipal leaders.

That evening, the district's top leader stepped forward and gathered her and the staff involved in this reception for a meal.

Although until the very end, none of the people responsible for the reception had received any definitive word from the foreign guests or the domestic VIPs.

No one knew if it would work out, or rather, if the results would truly be as good as expected after it succeeded, and if it could really bring an increase in tourism revenue to the local area.

No one could say for sure.

However, there were still many people at the table that day who sought out Tong Tong Liya to toast and chat with her.

Because the top leader had mentioned her in his speech before the banquet started, and used a phrase: "Truly a worthy daughter of XJ."

As a result, it was fortunate that Tong Tong Liya had been drinking since she was young and had an excellent tolerance for alcohol; otherwise, she definitely wouldn't have lasted until the end of the banquet.

At this banquet, the people arranged at her table were the various leaders and actors from her former workplace.

Sitting to her left was a Uyghur girl, who, by count, was her junior in the dance troupe.

This young Uyghur girl was about 17 or 18 years old, with a slightly plump figure, big eyes, and a high nose bridge; she could be described as unforgettable, and even in XJ, where beauties are as common as clouds, she could be considered top-tier.

Sitting next to her, the young girl was clearly seeing a big senior from the troupe and was a bit shy, having hardly spoken the whole time.

It wasn't until the end that she very politely greeted Tong Tong Liya and, with a nervous look on her face, asked her a few questions.

Tong Tong Liya answered truthfully.

She said that in recent years, the Beijing Film Academy's admissions process had indeed focused heavily on looks and appearance; as for the reason, although it was mocked by the professors at her own Central Academy of Drama as "wishful thinking," for girls with outstanding looks, the chances of getting in were indeed very high.

However, she still wanted to offer a word of advice: the teaching standard at the Beijing Film Academy was hard to say.

For example, she had previously gone to the Beijing Film Academy to watch the 2005 class's graduation play, and in truth, apart from the two minutes at the end where the whole audience was cheering, the performances of the others were really nothing special.

Therefore, if one really wanted to develop a career as an actor, the first choice should still be the Central Academy of Drama, where one could learn real skills.

As for the Shanghai Theatre Academy... that school was also not bad; after all, it was in Shanghai, an international metropolis, so if one were truly at a dead end with nowhere else to go, one could also give it a try.

Once she finished speaking, amidst the other's grateful thanks, this celebration banquet was also coming to an end.

As for whether this young girl named Dilraba Dilmurat would really end up like her, resigning to go to Beijing or Shanghai for exams, Tong Tong Liya did not know.

Just as she did not know in which direction her own future would turn at the moment.

Walking out of the hotel, Tong Tong Liya went home with her parents who had attended the meeting.

Her father earnestly said in their native language: "You're not young anymore; if there are no roles to film, just come back to our XJ. The top leader even mentioned you by name this time. Finding a good job in WLMQ will definitely be no problem. Having a stable job and finding a boyfriend would be quite nice. If you're willing, Dad will go find someone to ask around for you. What do you say?"

Tong Tong Liya felt some hesitation in her heart.

She really wasn't a person with grand ambitions. Going abroad to study was also to see the outside world, and now she had seen it; if she really returned to Xinjiang, finding a stable job and getting married and having children in the future was not something that couldn't be considered.

After all, the company she was currently signed to didn't seem to care about her at all; she had graduated, yet had no roles to film. It would be impossible not to feel panicked inside.

The main thing was that the pressure faced by the acting students of her year was even greater than in previous years. Many opportunities in various film crews had been snatched up by that group from the 2005 class of the Beijing Film Academy.

As for the reason, one could only say that when one person attains the Dao, their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.

But these newcomers from other schools really had no way to deal with it.

After thinking for a while, Tong Tong Liya simply nodded and agreed under her parents' gratified gazes.

For the next two weeks or so, she stayed at home in WLMQ, eating and drinking as if on summer vacation, thinking of nothing, which was quite leisurely.

There was still no word on work, but that evening, she suddenly received a phone call.

At 10 PM, although the sky in XJ was not yet dark, it was already late at night in the interior.

At this time, what could the manager Brother Zhou, arranged for her by Happiness Xingfu Lanhai, want?

Picking up, the first sentence from the other end of the receiver was: "My little aunt, oh my god, you hid it so deep; such a big thing, and you actually didn't tell me."

Tong Tong Liya listened for a while, understood what the other party was talking about, and then explained the ins and outs very sincerely over the phone.

However, Brother Zhou on the other end didn't believe it at all; after learning over the phone that she was still in WLMQ, he told her to hurry back to BJ to discuss the grand plan.

Tong Tong Liya agreed verbally, but she didn't really take it to heart.

Grand plan or no grand plan, after graduation, she had heard this talk more than once, and in the end, nothing ever came of it.

But this time, it felt different.

Two days later, she received another call.

Brother Zhou's voice was exceptionally excited: "It's settled. There's a role in the movie Jiang Wen is filming that hasn't been decided yet. It just so happens our company has invested in it. I've made an appointment for you to go audition tomorrow morning at eight. Prepare yourself; I'll come to pick you up then."

Tong Tong Liya was stunned for a moment.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Hello, hello, hello. Don't tell me you don't like it; if it weren't for the timing being just right this time, and the role not being decided yet, plus your connections being there, you wouldn't even dare to dream of this role. Do you know what kind of big shots are in it? All the biggest stars from the mainland and Hong Kong you can think of are in it. Tong Tong Liya, don't scare me, say something!"

Tong Tong Liya calmed down and said coolly: "Brother Zhou, I was wrong; I shouldn't have let my imagination run wild. I'm still in WLMQ. Do you think it's still in time if I buy a plane ticket and come back immediately?"

Then.

Tong Tong Liya held the phone a little further away to avoid the foul language coming from the other side.

Chen Nuo had never realized so clearly that he was truly, damn it, just a vulgar person.

Too vulgar.

He had only been in the *Let the Bullets Fly* crew for three days, and he already wanted to leave.

No matter where, heaven or hell, mountain of blades or sea of fire.

In short, find a place with women, don't stay in this monk temple waiting to die.

He couldn't take it, really.

Although he had been mentally prepared before coming. This was a movie for big men.

But when it came down to it.

He realized that he would rather go under the hawthorn tree to talk about love with Liu Qi Yifei for 100 years, or be intimate with Fan Fan Bingbing in bed, the kitchen, and other places for three days and three nights,

than be here facing the ugly faces of these men.

The boss Zhang Zhang Muzhi (Jiang Wen), the second brother Shao Bing, the third brother Chief Liao Fan, the fourth brother a copycat of Andy Lau (Du Du Yiheng), the fifth brother Zhang Mo, the seventh brother the film's editor Wei Xiao, plus him—all damn men, not even a single "Thirteenth Sister."

If he had come two days earlier, he might have been able to see a few glimpses of the charming and seductive Sister Liu Jialing.

But, who told him to delay for a few days? By the time he arrived, only the bandits were left.

On the day he arrived, he walked around shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries for a long time, but didn't see a single female.

This was Qi Yuntian's heaven, but it was his hell.

At first, it didn't matter.

Because he was still intoxicated by the lingering charm of traveling the grasslands with Tong Tong Liya, and he had also received a phone call from Yang Mi in a humming, sticky, and very feminine voice.

There were quite a few things Yang Mi complained about on the phone at the time.

First, the release of *Chinese Paladin 3*, following her previous drama *Dark Fragrance*, also had faint signs of flopping.

The reason was that the producer, that female boss of Tang Ren Media, Cai Cai Yinong, was determined to have *Chinese Paladin* be like *The Return of the Condor Heroes* back in the day, starting sales from local stations to accumulate word-of-mouth, and then selling it at a good price during the second-round satellite negotiations, thus maximizing the profit of this drama.

As a result, it looked like it couldn't even compare to *Chinese Paladin 1*, let alone *The Return of the Condor Heroes*, and it couldn't even match the popularity of Mango TV's *Let's Watch the Meteor Shower Together*.

Although the latter was mocked by the crowd for claiming to be from a wealthy family just by driving a modern car, and the knock-off version of Japanese Shancai played by Zheng Shuang was truly like pickled vegetables compared to the authentic Japanese Japanese Shancai, it was simply disgusting.

But in Yang Mi's eyes, being scolded was also proof of popularity.

Therefore, the proud and arrogant Yang Mi was furious, cursing on the phone about whether Ms. Cai had something wrong with her brain.

Although she, Yang Mi, was 100% better than Liu Qi Yifei, what was Hu Ge?

And what kind of drag-down trash were people like that Liu Liu Shishi?

Now the public opinion on the internet was saying that the highly anticipated *Chinese Paladin 3* had flopped without a sound, which made her so angry she couldn't sleep well at night.

The second thing was that Yang Mi was truly popular now; even if *Chinese Paladin* flopped, she was still very popular, and what followed was that she was too busy.

It could be said she was so busy she didn't even have time to drink water; her schedule was already booked until next year. After finishing this *Beauty's Rival in Palace*, she would immediately go to film that well-known *Dream of the Red Chamber*, which everyone had high hopes for.

Besides that, there were three or four other big productions.

The only thing that was annoying and a pity was that the good dramas she received were almost all TV series, not a single movie.

She didn't know what her agency was doing now; why, with her fame, could she not get a single good movie?

She really wanted to change companies.

So, may I ask, in this situation, is "Huanran Huaran Yixin" really not signing her?

Likewise, the third thing was also related to this.

It was about that person named Zhao Zhao Liying who was filming with her now.

She had been filming with her for ten days or so.

Yang Mi just wanted to say, where exactly was that high school graduate surnamed Zhao better than her, a professional graduate with an authentic Beijing Film Academy background? You guys sign even this extra-turned-actress, so why say "no" to me?

Chen Nuo had such a headache after hearing so many questions at the time that he just said one sentence: "I have something to do, hanging up now."

And he hung up Yang Mi's phone.

Thinking about it now, he really regretted it.

One thing to say, Yang Mi's voice was truly a bit soul-stirring. If you don't believe it, close your eyes, find an interview, and just listen without watching, and you'll know.

He didn't cherish Yang Mi back then, and now in this desert of women and forest of men, Chen Nuo only had one thought in his mind:

Just film it, damn it; the sooner it's done, the sooner I can leave.

However, what was very annoying was,

He was in a hurry, but some people were not.

Leisurely and carefree, it didn't look like filming a movie at all; it was like coming for a vacation, as if the investor's money was his travel fund.

This morning, Chen Nuo had been in makeup for nearly 30 minutes.

Only then did he see Jiang Wen swinging his arms, coming to work like an old man on vacation.

Looking around on set, pointing out a few things here, gesturing a few times there, and dawdling for a good while, he finally walked over to him, as if he had just seen him, greeted him, and asked: "Nuozi, you're ready so early? Alright, let's wait a bit more and then we'll start filming."

Chen Nuo really wanted to endure it, but he couldn't help it: "Brother Wen, what time is it now?"

"Past 9, what's wrong?"

"What time were we originally scheduled to start work?"

"Nine o'clock."

"Then you're late, aren't you?"

"Huh?" "Huh what? Brother Jiang Wen, it's not that I'm lecturing you, but making a movie requires a rigorous attitude. You can't just shoot when you feel like it and rest when you want to. There are so many of us working together; you are the leader. If you increase your efficiency, everyone's collective efficiency will rise significantly. Every little bit helps—do you have any idea how much money that saves? Don't you agree?"

As a co-producer, partner at Bu Yi Le Hu, and the businessman responsible for raising funds for the film, Ma Ke was stunned upon hearing these words from Chen Nuo, and gradually, his eyes grew slightly red.

Brother Nuo, it really has to be Brother Nuo.

It's no wonder that even though he isn't very old, so many people in the industry call him "Brother."

It's not just because of the various honors bestowed upon him.

It's also because he truly doesn't give a damn about anyone—not heaven, not earth, not his fans, and not even Jiang Wen.

He had directly and thoroughly voiced the things that had been bottled up inside him for nearly ten days!

After all, there are still many roles in *Let the Bullets Fly* that haven't been cast yet.

For instance, among the female roles, only Miao Pu has been cast; others, including the main character Hua Dong Jie and various courtesans, remain undecided.

Even one of the three leads, the biggest villain, Huang Huang Silang, is still waiting for a response from Brother Fa in Hong Kong.

So, what is the reason they couldn't wait and secretly started filming on July 1st, even though the casting process wasn't finished?

Isn't it because once the pre-production was complete and the funds were in place, they simply couldn't afford to wait any longer?

Every extra day of waiting means another day of staff wages and interest on capital; over time, it adds up to a figure that cannot be underestimated.

Therefore, they started early to move forward in parallel, compress the schedule, increase efficiency, and avoid going over budget.

These are principles that everyone discussed in meetings when they sat down together.

But what happened? Once the artist started filming, he was unhurried and dawdling every day; being on time was impossible, and working overtime was a pipe dream.

He would shoot just a few shots a day and wrap up immediately, never adding even a single minute.

He was truly at his wit's end regarding this.

Not to mention him, the Emperor Motion Pictures and Happiness Xingfu Lanhai also had a bunch of producers and supervisors on set.

Especially on the Emperor side; it is well known that Boss Yang lost his shirt on *The Sun Also Rises*, and he was counting on this film to break even.

Someone had also promised that this film was being made to earn money and pay back favors.

Yet, when it came down to it, things were still like this; if anyone was the most annoyed, it was certainly Emperor.

But who would dare stand up and lecture this master, telling him to pull himself together and shoot properly from eight to six?

No one.

It's not that they didn't dare to speak up.

It's just... what would be the point of saying anything?

Who would this master listen to?

Only now did Ma Ke know, and everyone else on set knew too.

So, Brother Jiang listens to Brother Nuo.

As Chen Nuo finished speaking, Jiang Wen actually showed a slightly embarrassed smile, rubbed his head, and said in his gruff voice, "Fine, I'll be on time from now on."

Real men don't mince words, and Chen Nuo didn't say anything more after hearing this.

As it turned out, Jiang Wen really turned over a new leaf that day; he didn't drag his feet, he moved on when a take was good, and he didn't agonize over things.

The filming went exceptionally fast and smooth.

However, the next scene they were to shoot made Jiang Wen struggle and hesitate.

This was the very first shot of the entire *Let the Bullets Fly* film.

The plot involved Little Six lying on the train tracks, listening for the sound of the approaching train to report back to Zhang Zhang Mazi.

The specific action was also very simple: the fool, Little Six, would listen in one direction for a while, realize it wasn't right, and then switch to another direction to listen again.

The key was the moment he switched directions; turning his head would bring Chen Nuo's face into the frame, serving as the opening of the entire movie.

This was the shot Jiang Wen had designed after much deliberation.

It sounded quite familiar.

If Zhang Yi knew about this design of Jiang Wen's, he would probably think it had similarities to his *The Zhang Zhang Yaba*, where the first shot was also Chen Nuo getting beaten.

This includes directors like Chen Chen Kexin and Nolan, who let Chen Nuo, a supporting actor, appear before the lead.

Because every director, regardless of whether they are formally trained, understands one thing during the filming process.

A movie isn't just about telling a story; sometimes it's more like a painting.

Whether people like it or not might depend on whether the first glance is beautiful and whether it can grab their attention.

If the first impression is good, it will have a multiplier effect on the entire film.

Jiang Wen had originally thought the same, wanting to use Chen Nuo's face to make a striking first impression.

However, when he sat behind the monitor and called "Action!" into the walkie-talkie,

Chen Nuo began a performance that made Jiang Wen worry.

Chen Nuo was acting too seriously. It could be said that every movement was meticulous, and every action followed the script and the director's requirements, displaying the full twelve points of his skill as a Beijing Film Academy graduate.

In the script, Little Six is a simpleton who hasn't read many books, doesn't know many characters, and can't even tell north from south.

That is why, later on, he gets tricked into cutting open his own stomach to prove "whether he ate one bowl of jelly noodles or two."

But, never mind the high-and-mighty Beijing Film Academy graduate status; just look at the two awards Chen Nuo won in Europe.

One mute role won him Berlin, one mentally challenged role won him Cannes.

And is there any essential difference between those two characters and this Little Six?

The answer is... no.

So Chen Nuo got into the zone.

He slowly bent down, pressed his ear to the ground, and listened, pausing on the tracks for a second.

Although only the back of his head could be seen at this moment, the way he pressed against the tracks made people feel that this person was a bit strange.

Because he pressed his entire ear down with such force that it even became deformed.

This was absolutely a useless gesture.

Then, he lifted his head, shook it, used his little finger to dig into his ear with great effort, and shook his head again.

Next, he laid back down on the tracks to listen once more.

It was that same strange posture that squeezed his ear out of shape.

Seeing it done a second time immediately made everyone realize that this seemed to be a weirdo.

Half a second later, Chen Nuo lifted his head and peered into the distance to observe.

Although one couldn't see Chen Nuo's face, one could sense his confusion from the back of his head, which was tilted slightly to one side, as if he were wondering why.

Why was there a sound but nothing to be seen? The train should have arrived, right?

Then, this simpleton finally turned his face around.

At this moment, under the close-up shot of the cameraman, Chen Nuo's features entered the frame, filling the monitor in front of Jiang Wen.

His somewhat dull eyes stared straight into the lens, and then, they suddenly widened.

It was clearly because he had seen something unexpected.

What had he seen?

Jiang Wen felt that if it were a horse-drawn train approaching, it would have a similar effect.

"Cut."

He said into the walkie-talkie.

Afterward, Jiang Wen's eyebrows, nose, and mouth all wrinkled together as he stared at the viewfinder, beginning to struggle.

Actually, he had felt this way for the past few days, but at this moment, the feeling was even more pronounced.

If this person acts like this,

and then he is made to cut his stomach open and die immediately?

Can the audience really accept that?

The movie he is making is a commercial film, not some unpleasant art-house movie.

In the script, Six's death is meant to be a "suppress before you elevate" tactic, inciting the audience's righteous indignation against Huang Huang Silang and his cohorts, thereby making the final climax more satisfying.

But...

Would it be too depressing, and end up depressing the box office away?

He wasn't joking with Ma Ke and the others; in making this film, he, Jiang Wen, was truly prepared to stand up and earn his money.

But... if he keeps shooting like this, he'll certainly be standing, but will it sell?

As a director who has never made a film that sells, he really wasn't sure.

After he called "Cut," he was deep in thought, wondering how to handle this.

It's hard to say whether it would be a blessing or a curse to let this person keep acting like this.

Just then, a voice suddenly popped up from the side, "Director, do you think he's acting a bit too affected?"

Caught off guard, both the voice and the words startled Jiang Wen.

He turned his head and saw that, he didn't know when, two people had appeared behind him.

One was about 30 years old, with a long, thin, shoehorn-shaped face and a small mustache.

The other was younger, in his 20s, with a buzz cut, looking spirited and quite handsome.

They were the two ruthless characters from their bandit gang.

"Fan Zi?"

That middle-aged man with the shoehorn-shaped face was looking at the young man beside him in astonishment.

Upon hearing Jiang Wen's words, he snapped back to reality and hurriedly waved his hands, saying, "Director, you know me; it's impossible that I said such a thing."

"Mo?"

The young man said, "Brother Wen, you've been thinking for so long, isn't it just because you think his acting is terrible? Do you want to let me give it a try?"

PS:

It reached the "boutique" status today.

Thank you all for every subscription~ I am so grateful I cannot express it in words.

Here, I resolve to:

Write the book well and update quickly.

No breaks during the New Year, it's a deal!

(End of this chapter)