Chapter 56: Consider It

Jin Yong’s wuxia is said to be the romance of every Chinese man, but as it happens, Qi Yuntian is not a man.

He is also an ABC; he has heard of *The Legend of the Condor Heroes*, *The Return of the Condor Heroes*, *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils*, and *The Smiling, Proud Wanderer*. He has an impression of who Yang Guo is.

Even Chen Nuo is better than him in this regard.

After Li Er gave him a thorough dressing-down, when Zhang Jizhong called personally, he immediately became very polite: "Director Zhang, Chen Nuo and I will come over tomorrow morning. Yes, yes, yes, that’s right, very good, very good. See you then. Goodbye, Director Zhang."

Li Er said with deep distress: "Look at you, what kind of manager are you? With Uncle Chen and Aunt Pan here, seeing you act like this, how can you expect them to feel at ease letting you protect Chen Nuo? If you ask me, you should just withdraw your shares from this studio, stop holding Chen Nuo back, and go home to be a shut-in—that would be better than embarrassing yourself here."

Chen Bi immediately said: "Teacher Li, I don’t agree with what you’re saying. The first business deal I ever did, I even undercharged by several thousand yuan, and I only realized it after I got home. Besides, what Xiao Qi just said isn't a problem; this is the shared opinion of us parents and Chen Nuo. Filming is filming, but the college entrance exam must not be delayed. That is the top priority right now. Chen Nuo, you go with Xiao Qi to meet Director Zhang tomorrow. Meeting him is a must—it’s a matter of etiquette—but whether or not you take this role, you two must weigh it carefully. Like I said before, getting into college is the first priority."

Li Er said: "There is also Wang Jiawei; you should go see him too. Although, given his style, he wouldn't look for a new actor like you to act. I can't figure out why he wants to see you either, but if there is an opportunity, his expressionist techniques are well worth learning. If an actor only follows the method acting route, it is very damaging to the body; learning various performance styles is the only way to extend your artistic life."

Chen Bi laughed, "What artistic life could he possibly have? Haha."

Li Er said solemnly: "You can't say that. Throughout history, countless great artists became famous at a young age. Of course, he still needs more works to prove himself."

Zhang Jizhong was very anxious. The estimated filming time for this TV series was very long, and as the chief producer, he was not only responsible to the investors but also to the schedules of the other actors.

Having been dragged out for four months beyond the original start date, this was definitely the limit for many actors, and that was only because the main supporting roles in this film had reserved long blocks of time for him in advance.

But if he didn't start now, it wouldn't just be a matter of re-casting the lead; the entire crew would likely have to be rebuilt.

Therefore, upon meeting Chen Nuo and Qi Yuntian, after the pleasantries, Zhang Jizhong asked very urgently: "The college entrance exam is in June. Xiao Chen, do you need that much time to review?"

Chen Nuo rubbed his nose and said: "How about this, Director Zhang, shall I audition again?"

Zhang Jizhong waved his hand, "No need for an audition; the problem right now is time."

Qi Yuntian said: "Director Zhang, there really is no other way."

Zhang Jizhong pondered for a moment and said: "If I remember correctly, Xiao Chen, you are from Long'an, Xichuan?"

"Yes."

Zhang Jizhong stroked his beard and said: "Xiao Chen, the situation is like this. By rights, this show should have started filming last October. Because of various reasons, it has dragged on until now, and it really can't be delayed any longer. Of course, I understand now that the college entrance exam is indeed a big deal..."

"How about this: our crew has a set of location shoots in Jiuzhaigou, Xichuan, not far from your home. The filming time is expected to be one to two months. We were originally planning to go there to shoot at the beginning. Once this scene is finished, there will be about a month left until the college entrance exam. You can go take the exam then, and we can shoot the rest of the scenes after you finish the exam. How about that?"

Director Zhang Jizhong is no small fry in the domestic TV market, and for him to put it this way...

"Director Zhang, can we discuss this?"

"Yes, yes, you discuss it. I'll go out and rest. Come call me when you've finished discussing."

After Zhang Jizhong went out, Qi Yuntian asked: "Are you taking it?"

Chen Nuo thought for a while and said: "I think I should consider it some more."

Chen Nuo had two reasons for considering it. On one hand, there was the college entrance exam.

On the other hand, he had absolutely no interest in period dramas, and he felt incredibly awkward about the various choreographed fighting movements in them.

Including *The Return of the Condor Heroes*.

Perhaps the youngsters of later generations thought this show became a nationwide hit as soon as it was released.

In reality, only those who actually lived through that era knew that when *The Return of the Condor Heroes* first aired, its popularity among ordinary people didn't even match the *The Legend of the Condor Heroes* starring Li Yapeng and Zhou Xun.

*The Return of the Condor Heroes* only truly became a hit after Liu Yifei’s fan base gradually grew larger.

At least that was how it was in Chen Nuo’s vague memories.

Therefore, acting as Yang Guo or whatever was of no help to him in the short term.

He decided to think about it some more, and Zhang Jizhong was indeed a great director; after coming back in, he didn't say anything, but instead happily shook their hands to say goodbye.

He said that considering it was good, that they must consider it carefully, and that young people being so prudent was truly worthy of a new Best Actor who had won an award in Berlin.

It made Chen Nuo unsure for a moment whether he was being sincere or sarcastic.

However, this move concerned his plans since his rebirth, so he couldn't afford to be anything but prudent.

The next day, Chen Nuo and Qi Yuntian flew to Shanghai without stopping.

The process of meeting Wang Jiawei was rather unremarkable. Chen Kexin was busy filming and didn't show up, just letting Chen Nuo and Qi Yuntian go directly to a hotel. Besides Wang Jiawei, there was a foreigner, as well as assistants and translators.

It seemed that meeting was truly just meeting; the few of them sat together and chatted for over an hour before saying their goodbyes.

The foreigner seemed very interested in Chen Nuo and spoke to him frequently, but unfortunately, he spoke French, and Chen Nuo didn't understand French; even with a translator, communication was still inconvenient.

This foreigner had been to Berlin and had seen the mute character Chen Nuo played, so he was a small fan of his and was very interested in Chen Nuo’s age and background. He had originally thought Chen Nuo would be like the character in the film, a Chinese teenager living in hardship, but the real-life Chen Nuo was vastly different from his imagination.

This filled him with curiosity, to the point that in the second half of the meeting, it almost became his own personal Q&A session. Chen Nuo answered, while Wang Jiawei listened quietly, not knowing what he was thinking.

In the end, they didn't talk about a single word of a new play or film contract, let alone auditioning or anything like they had thought before coming.

Coming out of the hotel, Qi Yuntian said: "I’m going back to Jingcheng tomorrow. From now on, we’re free to do as we please. Just don't get caught by reporters." After saying that, he waved his hand and left gracefully.

Chen Nuo understood that Qi Yuntian probably already knew about his date with Xia Yehe.

(End of chapter)