Chapter 32: Another Role!

Normally, after an audition, actors are not notified immediately whether they have been selected. Auditioning is an evaluation process, and directors and producers need time to assess the performances of all participants before making a final decision. This is especially true for actors like Shen Yan, who did not graduate from a formal performing arts academy and is still a newcomer.

However, Shen Yan felt he had performed well. When he found Ji Xiang, his manager was on the phone. A few minutes later, Ji Xiang hung up and said, "We got the role!"

Shen Yan was pleasantly surprised, but still asked, "So soon? Didn't they say it would take a week?"

"They want to finalize the cast and start shooting as soon as possible."

"Did they mention the start date?"

"Next month, I suppose." Ji Xiang paused, then added, "They also invited you to star in another project called 'Clothing the World'."

"'Clothing the World'? Is that the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl? I remember Tangren already produced a version of 'The Fairy Couple', didn't they? What was it called... 'Fairy from Heaven'?"

"No," Ji Xiang shook his head. "It seems to be based on the legend of Huang Daopo."

Shen Yan was surprised. "Huang Daopo?"

"You know her?"

"Of course. Huang Daopo was a cotton textile expert from the late Song and early Yuan dynasties."

Huang Daopo, who had been a child bride, fled to Yazhou due to abuse and lived there for about forty years. She learned cotton textile techniques from the Li people and improved them, summarizing the weaving techniques of "interlacing yarns, color matching, threading, and pattern design." Upon returning to her hometown in the Yuan Dynasty, she taught the locals how to improve their textile tools, creating specialized equipment for ginning, bowing, spinning, and weaving, which allowed them to produce various patterned cotton fabrics. Her contributions were crucial to the rapid development of the cotton textile and cultivation industry in the Yangtze River Basin. Later generations honored her as the "female textile technician" who "clothed the world," and people in both Qiongzhou and Shanghai built shrines to worship her after her death.

Shen Yan scratched his head. "What role am I playing?"

Ji Xiang replied, "They will send the script later. I expect it will be the second or third male lead."

"That works. Anyway, I didn't have my heart set on 'The Peacock Feather' anyway. After filming 'The Vigilantes in Masks', I'll head straight into 'Clothing the World'. It saves me the trouble of looking for other gigs!"

Shen Yan was quite optimistic.

"As for 'The Peacock Feather', they've already cast Shi Xiaolong, so it's hard to do anything about that," Ji Xiang added. "Your salary is five thousand yuan per episode."

Shen Yan gave a wry smile. "I really am cheap, aren't I?"

Ji Xiang was curious. "Didn't you say five thousand per episode was pretty good last time?"

"I asked about Wen Zhang's salary. He said he gets 150,000 per episode!"

"Well, Wen Zhang is a professionally trained actor, and he’s already famous," Ji Xiang explained. As they got into the car to leave, his phone rang again.

Five minutes later, he hung up and looked at Shen Yan. "You don't need to go back to Beijing with me. You'll be joining the crew for 'Clothing the World' in half a month."

This truly surprised Shen Yan. "Huh? Aren't I filming 'The Vigilantes in Masks' first?"

"That's how Tangren has arranged it."

"Then you're going back, where am I staying?"

"Stay at a hotel for now. I'll have Xiao Chen come over tomorrow."

Xiao Chen, or Chen Xu, was his assistant. An artist certainly needed an assistant; it wasn't about being pretentious, but there were many practical tasks that required one. For instance, on a film set, someone needed to look after water, costumes, and mobile phones.

The success of Tangren was inseparable from Director Lee Kwok-lap. In 1998, he moved into the mainland market, and almost all of Tangren's hit dramas were directed by him. Previously a producer at TVB, he had lost out to rivals like Lee Tim-shing, Chik Kei-yee, and Wong Wai-sing, so he simply left TVB to develop his career in the north. He not only brought TVB's production methods and filming experience to the mainland but also recruited Hong Kong directors such as Mak Koon-chi, Lam Yuk-fan, Ng Kam-yuen, and Leung Sing-kuen, along with behind-the-scenes staff for martial arts, costumes, and makeup.

Under normal circumstances, Tangren would have had the chance to maintain its status in the ancient idol drama genre. But they couldn't stop others from poaching their talent, and the genre wasn't exactly high-difficulty. Huanyu produced "Swords of Legends," Ciwen did "The Journey of Flower," and Huace had "Eternal Love," which immediately broke down the moat Tangren had built. Later, the three major platforms began to put their weight behind such dramas, mass-producing them on assembly lines.

However, Shen Yan had never heard of "Clothing the World," so he assumed it wasn't very good. It didn't matter; he had heard of "The Vigilantes in Masks"—starring Wallace Huo and Liu Shishi. The fact that he knew of it suggested the quality wouldn't be bad. He would just take things as they came.

In truth, "Clothing the World" was a project Lee Kwok-lap had long wanted to film. After watching the Korean drama "Dae Jang Geum," Lee had wanted to make something similar—an inspirational period drama about a woman. Tangren really did aim for Korean dramas; when "Clothing the World" didn't succeed, they made "The Imperial Doctress."

(Side note: "Dae Jang Geum" was a Korean palace culinary drama, but the protagonist never actually cooked a single dish from start to finish—except for pickles. And the Korean emperor was quite pitiable, eating fish gills, while the princess ate spoiled rice. Furthermore, after Dae Jang Geum saved the Emperor's life, he rewarded her with only fifteen stones of rice and fifteen stones of soybeans. Damn it, that's stingy! Even Granny Liu's visit to the Grand View Garden yielded more than that!)

Not many people were optimistic about "Clothing the World," so Tangren didn't cast Hu Ge, opting for Yuan Hong instead. It’s worth noting that after joining Tangren, Yuan Hong rarely played the lead. That was expected, as he wasn't quite up to the task. As an actor, he could get by on his looks and charm early on, but later, it came down to acting skills and accumulated experience. He never really improved; his reliance on exaggerated expressions and body language often made his acting feel forced. In "Scarlet Heart," he was overshadowed by Nicky Wu, and in "Great Expectations," he was outshone by Chen Sicheng. In "The Ordinary World," seeing him on screen instantly broke the immersion. It was a pity that in a good show with a cast of great actors, the wrong choice could ruin the entire production.

He was the type who simply lacked talent. With a good character, he could manage an acceptable performance, relying on the writing to win over the audience. With a bad character, he would be completely overwhelmed. There were many such actors; like plain water, they weren't terrible but lacked spark, and whether they made an impact depended entirely on the quality of the role itself.

Before receiving the script, Shen Yan stayed in the hotel, working hard on his writing every day. He had to ensure he had a backlog of chapters in case he was delayed by filming. That’s right, he hadn’t gone to audition for "The Peacock Feather." As Ji Xiang said, it was prepared for Shi Xiaolong. Shi Xiaolong had appeared in many dramas produced by Zhou Yi, such as "The Legend of Bao Sangu" and "Water Moon Cave Heaven," but always as a supporting character; it was time for him to step up and play the lead.

Finally, with over 150,000 words of "The Supreme" in his backlog and half of "Legend of Fei" written, the script for "Clothing the World" arrived, along with the script for "The Vigilantes in Masks."

In "Clothing the World," his character was named Fang Ning, also a devoted second male lead, though this time he wouldn't have to play the villain.