Chapter 40: Another Twist

Cheng Chen didn't rush to Central Academy of Drama to find the teacher Wang Quan that Luo Tong had introduced; instead, he went home to hole up and study the script of "Criminal Police Story."

Overall, "Criminal Police Story" hadn't completely broken free from the crime-genre formula of puzzles and case-solving.

Its structure resembled a one-act play, with every two episodes forming a single story arc—brisk pacing, plot steeped in suspense.

Big cases as the backdrop, small cases filling in the plot.

The general story was nothing more than the protagonist team consecutively cracking major cases involving prostitution, gambling, drugs, organized crime, robbery, murder, rape, arson, and so on.

The protagonist team rescued countless victims, dealt heavy blows to evil forces, and became a star squad on the public-security front.

And the role Cheng Chen was to play was the one appearing in episodes seven and eight—migrant worker Zhang Xiaoqi, whose wages had been withheld by the construction site.

No wonder Director Lai said the part was a bit small—well, this character only appears for two episodes total.

However, because of the one-act unit-episode structure, this Zhang Xiaoqi could be called the most standout character aside from the protagonist team.

He was also the key figure in these two episodes' case—a proper center-stage debut.

Now Cheng Chen finally understood why the "Criminal Police" crew had requested an audition for the actor playing Zhang Xiaoqi.

He was too important; they especially needed someone with real acting chops to carry this unit's episodes.

If Zhang Xiaoqi's role was played well, the case would be very compelling and leave a deep impression on the audience.

For example, "Criminal Police" also had another case:

A professor who looked every inch the gentleman—refined and cultivated—actually had a psychological defect.

Because his mother, who abused him as a child and cheated on his father, was an Aries, he harbored an intense hatred of Aries women.

He believed Aries women were fickle and loose. So he liked to seduce young Aries women, toy with their feelings, and even force them to prove their love for him by dying…

Looking at it now, this was probably the earliest domestic crime drama to touch on PUA themes.

The screenwriters of that era really knew how to write—compare that with today's Chinese TV dramas, heh.

That professor successfully became the childhood trauma of countless Aries women.

Years later, when people mentioned "Criminal Police Story," they couldn't help but recall that professor's perverted deeds.

"Director Lai really lives up to his name—even his choice of scenes is this good!"

Cheng Chen looked at the thin script, closed his eyes, and recalled the plot. Zhang Xiaoqi's part wasn't much; in broad strokes:

Contractor Mi Lishan and Tian Yuanqing had swindled over a hundred migrant workers out of two years' wages to buy shares, leaving those workers unable to get by.

The furious workers kidnapped Mi Lishan; led by Zhang Xiaoqi, over twenty workers headed to Tian Yuanqing's mansion to demand justice.

At Tian Yuanqing's home they ran into the protagonist team led by Da Zeng, mistook Da Zeng for Tian Yuanqing, and the two sides reached a stalemate—Zhang Xiaoqi even brought out explosives meant for construction-site blasting.

To avoid casualties, one of the protagonist team, Xiao Yun, gently coaxed Zhang Xiaoqi into putting down the explosives. After a series of twists, Tian Yuanqing's fraud was exposed and the migrant-worker uproar was quelled.

Screenwriters of that era often drew from social hot topics; the withholding of migrant workers' wages in this case had practically become a social phenomenon at the time.

This directly gave the plot a strong sense of immersion, and it never got old no matter how many times you watched it.

Cheng Chen studied the script intently at home, occasionally scribbling and sketching on a few thin sheets of manuscript paper; his notes were filled with character backstories and his understanding of the role.

……

Two days passed quickly, and Cheng Chen arrived at the audition location following the address Director Lai had given him.

He didn't deliberately try to disguise himself or his celebrity status with his outfit.

For one thing, he rarely showed his face in public—people knew his work and his name, but few knew what he looked like.

Moreover, wrapping himself up too tightly would probably draw even more attention,

wouldn't that be "hiding silver where everyone knows there's none"—giving the game away!

The audition hadn't started yet, but the corridor was already crowded with people, all there to audition.

"So many people?"

Cheng Chen frowned slightly.

But he quickly gathered from their chatter that not all of them were auditioning for Zhang Xiaoqi.

Some were auditioning for Zhang Xiaoliu, some for Han Xuebing… all supporting roles in "Criminal Police Story."

"Bro, you're auditioning for Zhang Xiaoqi too? Me too."

A young man with a rather honest-looking face leaned in toward Cheng Chen, glancing at his script, and asked.

Although they were all competing for the same role, Cheng Chen still nodded amiably and said:

"That's right—who'd have thought the Xiao Qi role would be this popular, so many people auditioning."

Just sitting there a short while, Cheng Chen noticed that many people's audition scripts had "Zhang Xiaoqi" written on them.

And when, in the corridor, they heard Cheng Chen admit he was auditioning for Zhang Xiaoqi, seven or eight pairs of eyes turned toward him with a faint, wary glint.

Hearing Cheng Chen's reply, the young man lowered his voice and said softly;

"Let me tell you, neither of us stands a chance—I heard the Zhang Xiaoqi role has already been cast internally, personally picked by Director Wang Rui."

Cheng Chen frowned—this Director Lai hadn't mentioned!

Of course, it was also possible that this young man who had deliberately sidled up was just trying to mess with his head.

People often pulled that stunt before auditions, just to rattle the competition.

So Cheng Chen put on a rather dejected expression and asked:

"Who's the inside pick? Which big shot?"

"Big shot, my ass—just a newcomer, got lucky and caught Director Zhang's eye. Heard his name is Wang Xiaoyi."

The young man said slowly.

"Wang Xiaoyi?"

Cheng Chen had a sudden flash of recognition—he'd heard that name before.

Wang Xiaoyi had many works, such as the later "People in Beijing" directed by Li Shaohong.

In the espionage drama "Lurking," he played the dashing, refined military man Liao Sanmin.

The workplace business drama "Game Hunting" co-starred with Brother Hu, and the TV series "Fearless Whispers" co-starred with Li Yifeng.

This person is very low-key; his figure cannot be seen at any commercial or entertainment events.

But in 2014, he suddenly drew a great deal of attention, the reason being that Dayu'er Ning Jing openly stated on the show "Super Interview" that she was in a relationship with Wang Xiaoyi, who is eleven years younger than her.

However, the two only dated for a year before announcing their breakup.

Later, the press dug up that as far back as 2011, when he and Ning Jing co-starred in the modern drama "Sichuan Past: How Much Love Can Be Relived," they had already grown close through the work and quietly developed feelings for each other.

In fact, the moment Cheng Chen heard the youngster say that the actor locked in for Zhang Xiaoqi was Wang Xiaoyi, he had already confirmed that the youngster wasn't talking nonsense.

In the original timeline, Wang Xiaoyi had debuted precisely through the role of Zhang Xiaoqi in "Criminal Police Story."

Cheng Chen's brows knit tightly, and he said to himself:

This is the real deal—who could fight him for the role? After all, he's the one the director called in!

Faced with this kind of situation, an ordinary person would just back off; it's not as if there weren't other roles.

But Cheng Chen didn't want to retreat. He had thoroughly digested the role of Zhang Xiaoqi—his character biography filled several sheets of manuscript paper, and he had even written out the character's motivations and character chain with perfect clarity.

He was confident that, apart from director Zhang Rui and screenwriter Yu Fei, no one understood this role better than he did.

Since the production had set up an audition process, it meant the matter wasn't set in stone—he still had a chance to turn things around!

……