CH 4

Chapter 4 Carrying a Scandal

Song Que stood by the window of the equipment room, watching the people below him being picked up one after another, wondering when he could get down. He was simply passing the time, but in the eyes of Wang Yi, who rushed back, his back looked very sad.

“Song Que.”

Wang Yi felt a little timid after calling out. She didn’t know how to express her guilt. She slowed down and wanted to walk to Song Que’s side.

Song Que closed the curtains, turned around, and saw Wang Yi with crumbling equipment above her head. These little friends try to help but end up making a hideous mess. If things are not placed properly, something will happen.

This thought quickly flashed in Song Que’s mind, and he shouted, “Be careful!”

Wang Yi raised her head subconsciously, saw the box of equipment that fell, raised her hand to cover her face, and screamed. Then a body covered her, like a warm wall, followed by the sound of an object hitting a person; Wang Yi was stunned for a moment and opened her eyes.

Song Que was tall and upright, and the two were too close; Wang Yi had to raise her head to see his face clearly. Song Que frowned and bit his teeth slightly. If it weren’t for the cold sweat, it would seem like there was nothing serious.

Song Que’s first reaction was to open the panel. After all, the system said that damage to the body may lead to a decrease in the physical fitness value, and he needed to calculate the loss.

The 47 points that have been promoted with great difficulty have not changed, and they firmly stood there.

“Please don’t worry too much, host. This kind of impact is still within the current physical tolerance range, so the quality point will not drop.”

Song Que was calm. Considering that an actor’s long-term high-intensity and irregular work and rest may drop his physique point, he hasn’t relaxed his training. At that time, he wouldn’t have enough time to exercise to improve his physique, and the situation would worsen. If the physique point was raised in advance, the high-intensity work was within the tolerance range, and the physique would not drop. Now, this accident just proved the operability of his idea in advance.

At the moment when Song Que communicated with the system, in Wang Yi’s eyes, he was in pain; she almost cried because of anxiety and guilt.

Song Que returned to his senses, saw her red eyes, smiled, and said, “You little girl, what are you worried about?”

Wang Yi was only twenty-two, but Song Que was more than ten years older than her, and calling a little girl was not excessive.

Wang Yi asked, “Are you injured?”

Song Que tried to move but immediately froze in pain. His physique didn’t fall down. It doesn’t mean the injury wasn’t an injury. It can only be said there will be no sequelae after recovery.

Wang Yi observed his words and expression and immediately became anxious: “Let me see your injury!”

Song Que waved his hand and said, “It’s nothing; my agent should be here today; I’ll go down first.”

He was still joking, but this incident was a knot in Wang Yi’s heart. When he said this, Wang Yi’s tears fell directly.

Song Que was taken aback, seeing that her makeup was gone from crying. There was a moment of silence, and after a while, a gentle sighed; the sound was soft as if there was nothing he could do with Wang Yi. Like a feather flew to Wang Yi’s heart and scratched her slightly.

Wang Yi stopped crying regardless of her posture and felt her heart beating like a drum.

Song Que turned his back and lifted his clothes, revealing his back. The place that got hit was bruised and looked terrifying.

Wang Yi’s tears came out again, this time silently, and she couldn’t help reaching out to touch it. As soon as she felt it, Song Que trembled involuntarily, Wang Yi suddenly retracted her hand, and Song Que put down his clothes.

“It is not a big deal if it doesn’t hurt the bones. This blood stasis only looks terrible, and it will be fine in a few days.”

Wang Yi murmured, “Brother Song…”

Song Que said: “Okay, it’s really no big deal; if I don’t go down, my agent will be anxious, wait five minutes before you go out.”

Wang Yi has already decided: “No, I’m going out with you today; if anyone wants to take pictures and say something, let them say it! I am not afraid!”

But Song Que sighed and said: “Young people are always more impulsive, and when you reach my age, it will not be so easy to be enthusiastic. It is often effortless to destroy a person with a scandal. Even without the truth and evidence, as long as someone is happy to see this scandal, they will spontaneously spread the word. People don’t care if you actually did it; they just love it. You are young, and I don’t want you to be like me, Carrying these scandals that should not be carried.”

Wang Yi has long been doubting the authenticity of those reports, and at this moment, she sincerely believes that Song Que has not done those things.

“What about you? That is how you get framed. Are you being abused?”

Song Que said, “I will stand up. But you are still young; there is an easier way to go, don’t make yourself work too hard because of willfulness. I agree with your initial approach. Don’t think it’s ruthless; you’re just being cautious. It’s a smart approach.”

Song Que saw that Wang Yi seemed to be persuaded and stood in place obediently. He turned around and went down. Because of the injury on his back, his pace was slow but steady, just like every step he took after being attacked by an unfounded scandal.

Wang Yi stood where she was, not because she was persuaded, but because she had a better idea at that second.

She called her agent: “Sister Chen, in the last drama, about my brother’s role…”

***

On the day when Song Que’s back injury was completely healed, Ke Ai brought a piece of good information. She has always helped him find roles according to Song Que’s intention. Still, she was not optimistic about those roles before, but Song Que also agreed with her vision. This time was different. This role was quite intense. She heard that several niche students had intentions; she didn’t expect the other party to take the initiative to send an invitation to Song Que. Although it was just an audition opportunity, it was also a great opportunity.

Costume dramas have always been a big market, but now the market is mainly dominated by shoddy ancient puppets. What Zhengyang Culture was going to do this time was a plot drama that paid more attention to quality. The market has been hungry for this kind of drama for too long; it will definitely explode as long as the quality is decent.

[Guo ou (古偶) type of a costume drama with the core of idol drama, no matter what kind of costume drama it is, as long as it focuses on shooting love stories between men and women, it is ancient puppet drama]

Song Que, read the script 《The Return of Yan》.

The role was the heroine’s adopted brother, called Xiao Zuoyi. In the book, he was considered to be the early BOSS. He was shrewd and deeply subtle, but his heart was not hard enough. In the end, he died for the love of his life. Facing the big boss in the later stage.

The character’s high astuteness and resourcefulness indicate that there were many clips that could attract the fans. Still, the villain’s stance was not cruel enough. This repetition also makes the character more attractive.

The most important thing was that this character’s emotional line was dark. The one he liked was his adopted sister, the heroine. Xiao Zuoyi and Xiao Zuoyun were not related by blood. Still, under the patriarchal system, Xiao Zuoyi was said to be adopted. Nevertheless, after entering the family tree, he and Xiao Zuoyun can be regarded as brothers and sisters. Love was impossible, and there was no way to get what you wanted. This was the most prominent characteristic of Xiao Zuoyi’s feelings. This dark line cannot be directly expressed through lines but must be implied to the audience through the actor’s demeanor. The requirements for the actor were very high.

Song Que was delighted with the script; he closed the script and asked, “Xiao Ke, do you know who the protagonist of this play is?”

Ke Ai said: “The heroine is Wang Yi, and the hero seems to have not yet been decided.”

Song Que nodded, but he was sure in his heart that if the supporting characters were not bad, it was easy to stand out; good faces and promising acting skills were unbeatable.

For this role, Song Que began to increase the practice of martial arts routines. After all, Xiao Zuoyi was a person who knew martial arts.

On the audition day, Song Que seemed out of place among a group of small actors, but he did not focus on others. He was a little older, but his face didn’t make people play, but he looked more calm and reliable than those little actors and is more suitable for this role, that’s enough.

[The actor’s ascetics meet the audience’s requirement] 

He didn’t know anyone in the audition room except Wang Yi, who was here to take the scene.

There are two scenes to try for the audition. One was when Xiao Zuoyi was playing chess with others, and the other was the scene where Xiao Zuoyi covers up the past when facing Xiao Zuoyun’s questioning.

As soon as Song Que listened to these two clips, he understood the operation. The first segment was to see if the actors were competent or not. Whether they can perform that kind of strategizing feeling. Otherwise, it was the same as simply reciting the lines or being a little kid who couldn’t make it on the stage; it was useless no matter how good the script was. The second segment primarily tests the skill of literary drama. Whether Xiao Zuoyi’s emotional dark lines can attract the audience’s attention depends on the actors’ performance.

After all, the audience is more likely to be attracted by what they feel than what the director sends directly to the audience.

Song Que would not miss this opportunity.

In the first clip, there were no actors, but Song Que sat down cross-legged. His waist was straight, and the curve of his neck had a noble arc, which was the demeanor ingrained in the aristocratic family’s children.

The way he talked to people was nonchalant. At first glance, he didn’t seem to care about people, but if you look closely, you will find that he was just too engrossed in the chess game under his hand, swaying the chess pieces as if he was quite distressed.

But if you listen to what he said again, he was thoughtful and predicted things like a god. In just a few words, he brings huge problems to people. Was he really indulging in that chess game?

But Song Que got up and finished the first clip. The judges discussed it for a while, but they didn’t seem to expect such a performance. The one in the middle appeared to be the director and asked Wang Yi to go up and take the second clip.

After Wang Yi stepped forward, Song Que turned his back.

Wang Yi hurried forward, grabbed Song Que’s sleeve, and asked, “Brother! Did you do something to Yanran and others?”

Song Que turned around and grabbed Wang Yi’s shoulder. A look of pain and fear appeared on his face.

Song Que’s brows were tightly knit together, and he couldn’t tell whether it was disappointment or pain in his eyes; and slowly asked: “Are you doubting me for Yanran’s sake? Little sister, I’ll ask again, do you doubt me for Yaran’s sake?”

Song Que’s aggressive temperament was fully revealed, and Wang Yi’s well-timed shrinking created tension between the two. This tension first made people worried that Xiao Zuoyi would kill Xiao Zuoyun, and then they realized that Xiao Zuoyi couldn’t do it here, so what was Xiao Zuoyun afraid of, and what did he feel… Thinking along this line, people noticed again when Xiao Zuoyi restrained Xiao Zuoyun’s movements, it was full of possessiveness. Did Xiao Zuoyun notice it subconsciously? This was a new problem again.

When Song Que finished the performance, Wang Yi whispered, “Brother Song” he smiled at her, turned around, and went out.