Chapter 46: Alyssa Chia

On July 8th, accompanied once again by Sylvia Chang, Lin Jianlu officially joined the cast of a television series titled Four Daughters. Chou Ling-kang, one of Taiwan’s famed four major producers, was also personally waiting for him on set.

This was something he had promised earlier.

Taiwanese cinema was practically on the verge of death, with only a handful of arthouse films produced each year. Even this meager output and scale owed its existence to Hou Hsiao-hsien’s A City of Sadness winning an award at Venice, which had essentially cleared the path for Taiwanese arthouse films to go international, preserving a tiny foundation.

However, the pop music, television, and variety show sectors remained relatively strong. Pop music, in particular, maintained a massive, year-round output directed toward Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, earning foreign currency and continuously producing generations of singers.

Originally, television series were produced mostly for domestic self-entertainment with occasional exports to Southeast Asia. But in recent years, cross-strait relations had been friendly with frequent cultural exchanges, and Taiwanese TV dramas quickly embarked on the path of cross-strait co-productions, experiencing a period of considerable prosperity. Although politics had cooled down since the beginning of the year, economic and cultural exchanges remained smooth.

Chou Ling-kang had made substantial investments in the mainland, and operating cross-strait co-productions was his core strategy. Frequently traveling between the mainland and Taiwan, he was naturally well aware of just how immensely popular Lin Jianlu was across the mainland, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

Making a cameo appearance in a drama meant nothing; the primary reason was that both parties felt positively about each other and intended to increase exchanges and interactions, making this collaboration simply a way to forge ties.

Of course, Lin Jianlu didn't actually care much about how close of a relationship he could build with Chou Ling-kang. Firstly, he didn't consider himself much of an actor; secondly, making vast amounts of money effortlessly through releasing hit records meant he had no desire to waste time filming television dramas. He took on this role primarily to honor the favors of his two managers. Sylvia Chang had a personal friendship with Chou Ling-kang spanning many years, while the man behind Ge Fuhong, Taiwanese media tycoon Qiu Fusheng, was Chou Ling-kang's primary financial backer and close collaborator.

For the sake of this mutual respect, it was worth sparing a few days.

The schedule was estimated to be four and a half days in total.

The general plot of Four Daughters revolved around a single father, Liu Binren, who had four daughters with completely distinct personalities. Now that the old man had reached the age of sixty, the sisters were busy trying to find him a companion. In reality, however, their own romantic lives were a complete mess. The eldest was entangled in a love triangle, the second daughter had a mountain of career and relationship troubles, and the third and fourth daughters each had their own issues. In short, it was a completely tangled web of stories everywhere.

The director was Huang Yigong.

Since Lin Jianlu was merely making a cameo, his screen time was bound to be limited. He was arranged to have a romance storyline with Xiaozhi, the third daughter in the show. Reportedly, the entire series would run for about twenty-six to twenty-eight episodes, and Lin Jianlu would appear in five of them, though his total combined screen time would only amount to roughly thirty to forty minutes.

It was a relatively minor subplot, hurriedly added through a temporary script revision.

Naturally, that made filming smooth and easy.

Lin Jianlu’s guest appearance carried significant weight, so the entire crew cooperated to shoot his scenes as early as possible.

The drama had managed to cast several prominent figures from the Taiwanese television circle, notably Yue Ling, who played the eldest daughter, and Zheng Jiayu, who played the second daughter. Both were reportedly very popular TV stars at the time.

However, Lin Jianlu knew very little about them.

He only recognized two people: Kuei Ya-lei, who played Aunt Bai in the show—the woman tasked with dating the old man—and Alyssa Chia, who happened to be his scene partner.

This girl was truly beautiful, possessing the pinnacle of classic, delicate charm.

Especially her eyes, which were watery and alluring.

Thanks to Lin Jianlu’s willingness to make a cameo, the screen time for Xiaozhi, the third daughter played by Alyssa Chia, was also substantially increased. It remained to be seen whether her pay would be increased as well.

***

To everyone's surprise, however, Alyssa Chia—despite her young age—constantly wore a sorrowful expression. On set, she spoke very little. When she wasn't filming, she would sit quietly by herself in a corner, and the moment the crew announced a wrap, she would leave without a second word.

The overall impression she gave Lin Jianlu was that of being painted in gray tones—lifeless, dazed, depressed, rigid, gloomy, and utterly devoid of any radiance.

She was completely different from the Alyssa Chia he knew from his past life.

As they gradually grew more familiar and chatted casually, Lin Jianlu suddenly learned that this girl could actually be considered a student of the Beijing Film Academy—a member of the Acting Class of '93, making her a classmate of Xu Jinglei!

Her ancestral home was Tianjin, and her grandfather was still alive and living there. In 1993, her father closed down the family restaurant in Taiwan, liquidated all their assets, and moved north to Tianjin to settle down with his family and their entire savings.

This should have been a joyful family reunion, and Alyssa Chia continued her studies in Tianjin, eventually being admitted to the Beijing Film Academy's acting department as a Taiwanese compatriot. But good times did not last. Her father first suffered disastrous investment losses that wiped out almost everything they owned, and shortly afterward, he was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. Consequently, she dropped out shortly after enrolling, and by 1994, the entire family returned to Taiwan to seek treatment for her father.

That year, she was twenty years old.

With astronomical medical bills, a completely depleted family fortune, a seriously ill father bedridden and requiring vast sums daily just to sustain his life, a mother weeping tearlessly every day until she completely broke down, and a young younger brother who still needed to go to school...

By her own account, over the past two years, she would take on any job available. Before her family moved to Tianjin, back in 1990 when she was just sixteen, she had been scouted by a talent agent on the street and shot commercials. Upon returning to Taiwan, she took on a massive number of commercial shoots, hosted a children's program, and accepted numerous television drama roles.

No matter how small the role, she would play it; no matter how low the pay, she would take it.

In her own words: "As long as I act, people will ultimately be paying me money instead of me giving money to others! If there's money to be made, of course I have to earn it!"

From the beginning of the year up to now, Four Daughters was already the fifth drama she had filmed!

She actually looked quite bright when she smiled.

Yet she said, "Three million NT dollars—whenever I think about the fact that I still owe people three million, I just want to die!"

To be honest, as they chatted and she first mentioned these things, Lin Jianlu's initial reaction was to suspect the girl of trying to run a scam. Even if this speech wasn't a scam, it somehow felt inexplicably familiar.

Curious, he seized an opportunity to ask Director Huang Yigong, who confirmed that it was all true.

In the Taipei entertainment circle, she was reportedly renowned for her diligence and ability to endure hardship. Everyone pitied her circumstances and generally wished to throw her a few small roles. She was cast as the fourth female lead in this show—a role neither heavy nor light that could have gone to anyone—and Huang Yigong ultimately chose her.

Her screen time was limited, and she would finish filming and leave the crew in less than a month, earning a salary of 200,000 New Taiwan Dollars.

Roughly translated, that was less than fifty thousand RMB.

To her, this already counted as a major role and a high income.

Naturally, a harsh environment tempers a person. She possessed much more than just good looks; she was quite smart as well. As they grew more familiar, she said, "You're a big star! If there are any suitable opportunities in the future, help introduce some work to me! It would be even better if it's shooting an MV—I can shoot your MV for free! Please, please!"

***

Lin Jianlu chuckled, but after thinking it over, he nodded sincerely, "Alright!"

Her remark suddenly reminded him of Rene Liu.

Her situation had been quite favorable lately.

All because she filmed the music video for Fairy Tale!

Her career had been somewhat stagnant because her previous album sank without a trace. Just as she was beginning to find fame, she was plunged back to the bottom of the valley, forcing her to continue helping out at her teacher Chen Sheng's studio while remaining a silent, unnoticed transparent figure. Yet, the moment Fairy Tale broadcasted, she unexpectedly received several television variety show program bookings, shot two commercials, graced the covers of several magazines, and even magazines far away in Hong Kong and the mainland sent faxes to Taiwan expressing their desire to feature her on their covers and interview her about her story with Lin Jianlu.

It suddenly felt like she had been brought back to life.

In comparison, the boost that the music video for A Decade gave to Gigi Leung didn't seem quite as massive. Given the right time, favorable geographical conditions, and harmony among people, Gigi Leung was born in Hong Kong, where the entertainment industry was highly developed. Coupled with Ge Fuhong’s special fondness and vigorous promotion, her treatment was naturally incomparable to others.

If you don't believe it, look at Kelly Lin. After finishing her last television drama, she could only wait for it to air and then search for her next opportunity.

Because she was Taiwanese, she couldn't speak Cantonese.

Taiwan's overall entertainment industry lagged far behind Hong Kong's. For her to break into Hong Kong without a major force and powerful connections heavily pushing her from the start, gaining momentum would be exceedingly difficult.

Take Vivian Lai, another Taiwanese actress—how did she make it big?

She found the major director Johnnie To to act as her manager!

***

On the fifth day of joining the crew, Lin Jianlu wrapped up his scenes.

How well did he perform? Who knew. At the very least, he was professional—he never arrived late or left early, memorized his script thoroughly without ever stumbling due to forgotten lines, and simply acted however the director requested. Aside from being unable to speak Mandarin with a Taiwanese accent, his acting was probably passable!

Before leaving the set, he earnestly handed out his business cards to the main cast members he had grown familiar with, offering a sincere invitation: "If you have the opportunity to shoot a drama in the capital in the future, give me a call. Dinner is on me!"

Everyone promptly collected the cards, repeatedly assuring him they would.

When it came to Alyssa Chia, he handed her his card as well, but simultaneously wrote Sylvia Chang's number on the back: "If you encounter a hurdle you feel you can't overcome, call me! If nobody answers my phone, call the number on the back—that's my manager, Sylvia Chang."

Alyssa Chia accepted the card, stood frozen for a few moments, and abruptly found her eyes turning red.