Chapter 9: Do Me a Favor

There are two little grandmothers in the entertainment industry—one who filmed "Journey to the West," and the other currently filming "Romance of the Three Kingdoms."

Grandma Cai smiled warmly. “Little one, do you know who Sun Shangxiang is?”

“Liu Bei’s wife, Sun Quan’s sister, and Liu Chan’s adoptive mother. After the Battle of Red Cliffs, Sun Quan married his sister to Liu Bei to strengthen the Sun-Liu alliance.” Liu Jing was never intimidated by an elderly lady.

“And what else?” Auntie caught the surprise on Director Cai’s face and felt a glow of pride, hoping her nephew would say more.

“Zhou Yu’s brilliant plan secured the land, but he lost both his wife and soldiers. That wife was Sun Shangxiang.” Liu Jing saw through Auntie’s intention and continued, “Li Jie comes from a dance background and has long lived in the Wu and Chu regions. Graceful and spirited, she is indeed very fitting to play Sun Shangxiang. Your taste is quite good.”

Director Cai was utterly stunned. The previous words were likely from the elders at home, but these two sentences were not.

“What’s your name?” Director Cai asked.

“Director Cai, his name is Liu Jing. I’m not that lucky; he is my sister’s adopted son. He’s three years old this year, very intelligent, quick to grasp things.” Auntie hurriedly introduced.

“Auntie, you don’t have to say ‘adopted son’ every time.” Liu Jing’s expression was somewhat solemn. If he were an ordinary three-year-old, he would have been psychologically scarred by now.

“This child…” Director Cai was amazed. This child was strange—he grasped everything without needing things spelled out.

“Auntie was wrong, I apologize.” Auntie kissed his cheek sweetly. “Woodenhead, from now on you’re my real son.”

“Liu Jing, do you want to act? I happen to have a role that suits you.” Director Cai smiled kindly. To a three-year-old, she was not a director but a grandmother.

“Woodenhead, I agree for you.” Auntie quickly responded.

“No rush.” Director Cai waved her hand and asked Liu Jing, “Guess which role Grandma is talking about?”

Liu Jing pondered for a moment. “The childhood of Liu Chan, the last emperor?”

“Ha ha ha ha…” Director Cai laughed heartily, startling the female trainees who looked over.

“My son has read all of the Three Kingdoms.” Aunt Liu was proud; she hadn’t even read it herself, but at this moment her face shone like a rainbow.

“Not finished yet.” Liu Jing reminded her.

“All right, all right.” Director Cai stopped laughing and spoke seriously. “Comrade Liu Xiaoli, the crew will send a letter to your company. You should go back and prepare, then come here for training after a while. Sun Shangxiang is skilled in archery and horseback riding, so besides etiquette training, there will be equestrian training.”

“Okay!” Aunt Liu took a deep breath. She once dreamed of being an actress but had that dream worn away by time.

By a twist of fate, as she accompanied her adopted son to gain knowledge, she herself landed a role.

Director Cai grew more pleased the more she looked at the woman before her—bright, spirited eyes, a full face, a slender, high nose with a hint of heroism. An outstanding aura, naturally exuding classical beauty.

Was this not the Sun Shangxiang she had envisioned?

---

Casting for "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was arduous and bittersweet—Director Cai knew this better than anyone.

The production had six directors, and during the selection of the seven main roles, if even one director dissented, the candidate could not pass.

Although Sun Shangxiang’s role was not large, it was crucial.

Finally finding a favorite this time, there was no way to let her slip away.

Worried she might leave for good, Director Cai invited the actresses, “Since the New Year just passed, I’ve gathered the actresses to review their skills. Don’t leave at noon today; we’ll improve the catering—our chef is quite good. In the afternoon, we’ll watch everyone’s performances and then have a good talk about Sun Shangxiang and our work.”

“What about me?” Liu Jing asked.

This truly stumped Director Cai; she hesitated, “You… you can observe.”

“No need. You can assign someone to take me to where they film.” Liu Jing, held by Auntie, was exactly at Director Cai’s eye level.

Facing Liu Jing’s calm gaze, Director Cai was not stunned this time but subdued.

If an adult said this, she would be furious—this is my crew, how dare anyone act this way?

But this was a three-year-old, even using the respectful term “you” for her. She simply could not get angry.

She was at a loss for words, shaking her head with a sigh. “All right, all right, whatever you say.”

Liu Jing’s persistence was not in vain. After three days in the crew, he finally understood what filming was and how it worked.

Besides that, he gained over three thousand points of entertainment energy, just a few hundred points shy of leveling up the system.

Aunt Liu’s holiday was ending; she had to leave with him.

Children had no say; adults decided, and he had no reason to stay in the crew.

After following Director Cai for three days, Aunt Liu’s determination to play Sun Shangxiang was firmly set.

As for the reaction of her in-laws, she had thought about it but did not expect it to be so intense.

Teacher An said little; in his eyes, dancers and actors were all just actors—a profession.

One party was resolute, the other even more so, and Teacher An, caught in the middle, looked visibly distressed.

Yet in just half a month, Teacher An had aged considerably.

Xixi, the classmate, had no idea what was happening and happily went to kindergarten every day.

Since Liu Jing was expelled from kindergarten, no one dared to bully her classmates anymore.

---

Everyone knew that An Feng had a brother who would not back down from a fight.

The "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" crew moved efficiently; the Jiangcheng Song and Dance Theatre had already issued approval.

With it came the complete eruption of conflict.

After a heated argument inside the house, the atmosphere froze to an ice point.

They chose their moment well—right after Xixi went to school. With Liu Jing expelled, there was nowhere to hide.

Everyone was arguing fiercely, but he seemed oblivious; reading at that moment definitely didn’t make him sleepy.

Having finished "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," he didn’t move on to other classics but begged Teacher An to buy him a copy of "Lüshi Chunqiu."

The second-generation heir hadn’t had the chance before, or simply hadn’t read them; he was reading them on the heir’s behalf.

Teacher An rubbed his temples, very troubled. Balancing the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship was harder than translating "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame."

Both sides clashed stubbornly; he realized all needed a way out.

He had repeatedly tried to offer a graceful exit to both sides but… no one paid attention.

Just as he felt helpless, he suddenly saw Liu Jing, completely at ease.

“Liu Jing, ‘Lüshi Chunqiu’ is based on Daoist thought, incorporating Confucianism, Mohism, Logicians, Legalism, Agriculture, Military, and Yin-Yang philosophies, blending the teachings of the Hundred Schools. The content is obscure; even a single character can be hard to understand. Do you get it?” Teacher An asked.

“Not really.” Liu Jing answered honestly, glancing up. Why has the arguing stopped? Are they all tired? Should I bring some tea or refill the water?

“If you don’t understand, why bother reading?” the old lady’s face was stern.

“Because I don’t understand, I want to read.” Liu Jing wasn’t indulged.

Teacher An quickly added, “Ha ha, Mom, look, even a three-year-old understands this logic. Xiaoli wants to try because she doesn’t understand the film industry. Once she understands, it will be just so. There’s nothing wrong with that. Why get so angry? She’s not going to be a big star at her age anyway.”

The old lady’s expression softened a bit. “You always side with your wife. Our An family doesn’t need her to show off. Neighbors in this street gossip and point fingers; who knows what rumors might spread.”

“Mom, don’t worry.” Teacher An exhaled softly, finally getting a chance to speak.

He was relieved and organizing his words to continue when Liu Jing spoke first.

“Grandpa, Grandma, please give me some face. I promised on behalf of Sister Li that she will play Sun Shangxiang. If you want to be angry, wait until she finishes acting to scold her. I know you worry about her character, but I’m watching over her in the crew every moment—she won’t get a chance.”