Chapter 4: What Kind of Person Is Hong Shixian?

Seeing the producer nod, Ling Xiaosu's smile grew a bit, and the director's smile grew a bit too.

"In that case, let's begin," the director said.

The cameraman on the side set up the camera, while the screenwriter distributed the script.

"You have 15 minutes," the director said. "We start officially in 15 minutes."

Ling Xiaosu flipped through the script, his face showing a look of surprise.

This script had been changed quite a bit according to his suggestions.

It was very different from the first one.

It was clear the crew had shown him great sincerity, but unfortunately, he really wasn't very interested in this drama.

Being a platform for two women to act against; he had never received such treatment since his debut.

Qi Hui read the script carefully, understanding the character while trying to memorize the lines as much as possible.

Huh? The character Hong Shixian seems a bit off... Qi Hui thought to himself.

Looking at Hong Shixian from the script's perspective, he was a bit different from that Hong Shixian in his past life's memories.

As for Zhang Ruoyun... he was even somewhat absent-minded while reading the script.

He had come here just to kill time.

"Alright, time's up." The director tapped the table and said: "Three of you, introduce yourselves first."

"Talk about your specialties, or your past works."

He didn't know much about these three actors.

"Director, I suppose I don't need to introduce myself?" Ling Xiaosu said with a playful grin.

The director looked somewhat helpless and turned to Zhang Ruoyun.

"Zhang Ruoyun, student of the 2007 Acting Class at the Beijing Film Academy." Little Zhang stood up and said seriously:

"No specialties, and no works."

The director frowned, nodded slowly, and said nothing.

"Qi Hui, student of the 2005 Acting Class at the Beijing Film Academy." Qi Hui stood up, a slight smile on his face, and said: "I know Korean, no works."

"Huh? Korean?" The producer, the screenwriter, and the female lead Qiu Chixuan, who had been indifferent, almost simultaneously raised their heads and looked at Qi Hui in surprise.

Ling Xiaosu and Zhang Ruoyun beside him also looked at Qi Hui in surprise.

"You also know Korean?" The director said, somewhat shocked.

Someone who knows Korean is a rare talent.

In these days, the Korean Wave is very rampant.

Korean dramas like "Dae Jang Geum", "Autumn in My Heart", and "The Legend" were extremely popular at the time.

People in 2024 can hardly imagine how explosive the popularity of Korean dramas was back then.

To put it this way, "Sword of the Three Kingdoms", which swept across the country and became a classic, only then had the qualification to compete with "Autumn in My Heart".

Korean groups like TVXQ and Super Junior were hugely popular; their appearance fees for just a few minutes could reach several million.

Korean music, Korean stars, and other aspects of the Korean Wave were prevalent on the mainland.

It even reached a point where a certain host publicly knelt before his Korean idol.

The rampant Korean Wave forced Zhou Jielun to shout at a gala: 【Don't let the Korean Wave become more and more rampant; the Chinese Wave is the best】 such words.

Qi Hui smiled and nodded; he had just learned it.

Qiu Chixuan beside him raised her hand and asked weakly: "너정말한국말알아？ (Do you really know Korean?)"

She was not a big star like TVXQ; on the contrary, she was just a small actor and couldn't come and go as she pleased like TVXQ.

She needed to follow the crew, act very seriously, and endure every bit of hardship required.

Moreover, her Chinese was not very good.

Working and struggling in a foreign land, sometimes one misses the sound of one's hometown.

People working away from home all have this feeling; hearing the sound of one's hometown brings an inexplicable sense of closeness.

It wasn't just Qiu Chixuan; Wu Jing was the same.

When struggling in Hong Kong, Wu Jing carried a tape of Guo Degang's crosstalk collection and a radio, just to listen to crosstalk and tune into northern broadcasts to alleviate his homesickness.

After all, this was not 2024, when mobile phones, the internet, and high-speed rail were incredibly developed.

Qi Hui smiled and said: "그럼요，한국어는어렵지않아요. (Of course, Korean isn't hard to learn.)"

Flawless dialogue, a tone full of rise and fall, and syllables that were unintelligible to others.

Everyone present understood that Qi Hui truly knew Korean.

This time, even the producer, who didn't care much, sat up straight.

"Good, good." The director's gaze towards Qi Hui held a bit more satisfaction:

"Continue, talk about your understanding of the character Hong Shixian."

"A playboy who is fickle and can't control himself." Zhang Ruoyun said: "I think the role's function is to be a vase and a platform, an existence to act against the two female leads."

Hearing this, the director and the screenwriter frowned simultaneously.

The character Hong Shixian is not so simple.

"Teacher Ling, you speak." The director and the screenwriter looked at Ling Xiaosu; he had touched the script earliest and understood Hong Shixian the deepest.

"A cowardly and weak Young Master." Ling Xiaosu replied:

"The character Hong Shixian, although he wanders between two women, is scummy, a scumbag."

"But essentially, he is a cowardly and timid person; he dares not resist his father, nor directly refuse Ai Li, nor does he have the courage to confess everything to Lin Pinru, seek forgiveness, and let his life return to the right track."

Upon hearing this, the slightly furrowed brows of the director and the screenwriter relaxed.

There was some deviation, but it was acceptable.

If he is truly chosen, training him after joining the troupe will be much easier.

"Qi Hui, what is your take on the character Hong Shixian?" the director asked, looking at Qi Hui.

Qi Hui pondered briefly, then said slowly: "This is a person with personality defects caused by his original family."

"Oh?" the director and the screenwriter exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised.

Qi Hui continued: "First, his identity is the son of the chairman of a real estate company. His father has a domineering personality and a fiery temper; upon discovering his wife gambling, instead of advising her, he directly took a knife to chop off her hand."

"Second, Hong Shixian is extremely fearful of his father. He constantly says his father will kill him, constantly says he is doomed, and moreover, his father really does lay hands on him and beat him."

"This to some extent caused Hong Shixian's cowardice and lack of courage."

Speaking, Qi Hui flipped through the script, found several lines of dialogue to show, along with two scenes of him getting beaten.

"Additionally, he has a mother who dotes on him immensely." Qi Hui continued: "This caused Hong Shixian to be self-centered, excessively demanding, and ungrateful."

"A mother's doting cannot make him psychologically sound; on the contrary, it makes him more twisted, because his mother has no principles, gambles, and holds low status in the family. Such doting is inherently harmful to him."

"Hong Shixian grew up in a family that was extremely rich in material terms but extremely twisted in spirit."

"His father brought him inferiority and cowardice; his mother made him arrogant and vain, and ungrateful."

"Hong Shixian, strictly speaking, suffers from a psychological illness."

"Ai Li, who boarded at the Lin family, suffers from a psychological illness just like Hong Shixian; she and Hong Shixian are fellow patients."

"And Lin Pinru, whose family and personality are sound, is Hong Shixian's redemption. Unfortunately, Hong Shixian lost his redemption."

Speaking to this point, Qi Hui paused, then said solemnly:

"The script 'Temptation to Return Home' is not about temptation and desire, but about family."

The director slapped his thigh and shouted: "Well said!"

What he wanted to film was not some affair or extramarital relationship.

What he wanted to film was family!

"Brilliant!" the screenwriter likewise slapped his thigh, looking at Qi Hui with a face full of satisfaction.

Beside Qi Hui, Zhang Ruoyun scratched his head. Does this playboy have so much to dig into?

Why didn't I see it?

"I see now..." Ling Xiaosu suddenly understood.

He had seen Hong Shixian's cowardice, but he had only just learned where that cowardice came from.

This junior brother has something to him!

The producer, however, frowned, silently unscrewing his water cup for tactical drinking.

This doesn't look too good...