Chapter 138. Becoming a Celebrity? The Fought-Over-by-Big-Shots Kind (14)
Soon, filming began.
This time, Shen Wan played the second female lead. Her character would appear from the start, serving as a thread running through the entire plot, indispensable to the story.
So, she entered the set alongside Fu Qingman.
Ever since photos of Shen Wan and Fu Qingman vacationing abroad were leaked, everyone knew they had a close relationship.
Shen Wan’s impressive fight scenes in her previous drama had earned her widespread praise and a growing fanbase.
Though she had only recently debuted, she already had a fan club.
Her performance in the last drama was truly remarkable. Her fluid movements made her seem like a genuine martial arts expert. Every time her young fans watched these scenes, they’d excitedly cheer, shouting that they’d “turned gay” for Shen Wan and wanted to have her babies.
Fu Qingman noticed that Shen Wan’s fan club called themselves “Shen Wan’s Harem.”
She felt peculiar about it. They were all women, so why call themselves a harem? Wouldn’t “Shen Wan’s Sisters” or “Shen Wan’s Little Fans” be better? “Harem” sounded strange. In short, she disliked the name.
But since Shen Wan’s fans had chosen it themselves, she couldn’t really interfere.
Shen Wan had been feeling a bit resentful towards Fu Qingman lately, but now she noticed Fu Qingman giving her odd looks too. It puzzled her – had she done something wrong?
She refused to believe that Fu Qingman could have heard her thoughts about teaching her a lesson if she dared spend all her money and make her search for half her life. It was impossible; she didn’t believe it.
Once on set, it was time for Shen Wan’s costume fitting.
Fu Qingman shared her earlier ideas. Many directors nowadays use heavy makeup to portray a character’s turn to evil. She remembered that years ago, when makeup techniques weren’t as advanced, some talented veteran actors could perfectly portray villainousz evil characters with minimal makeup.
Some of those characters remain nightmares for many people to this day, inspiring fear at the mere mention, despite not having particularly striking makeup at the time.
Fu Qingman believed that using heavy makeup on Shen Wan’s face to portray the character would look tacky and ruin the overall aesthetics of the drama.
Fu Qingman’s reasoning was sound, but the director had concerns. Portraying a character’s descent into evil without relying on makeup requires exceptional acting skills. Even some seasoned actors might struggle to pull it off perfectly, let alone a newcomer like Shen Wan.
Although Shen Wan had impressed during her audition, they hadn’t worked together before. The director wasn’t familiar with her abilities and hesitated to agree outright.
“Wan Wan, why don’t we act out a scene for the director to showcase your skills?”
Hearing Fu Qingman’s suggestion, the director’s eyes lit up. He knew Fu Qingman wouldn’t say this without preparation. Her success wasn’t just luck; it was a combination of luck and tremendous effort. In terms of professionalism, few in the industry could match Fu Qingman. Especially someone with her fame, beauty, acting skills, and work ethic – such individuals were incredibly rare.
Before this, Fu Qingman had indeed rehearsed several pivotal scenes from the drama with Shen Wan.
Now that the director wanted to see, it would determine whether Shen Wan’s character would wear heavy makeup during her evil transformation. Naturally, Shen Wan didn’t want to wear that kind of evil makeup. With her pure, unaffected face, such dark makeup would look tacky.
Fu Qingman and Shen Wan performed three scenes together. The first showed the initial interaction between their characters as close sisters when Shen Wan’s character was still innocent and pure.
The second scene depicted the misunderstanding between the sisters and Shen Wan’s character turning evil.
The third scene portrayed the character’s final moments, finding peace after learning the truth.
These three scenes encapsulated the essence of her character. If performed well, they would leave a lasting impression, making viewers reminisce about her innocence, lament her fall into darkness, and ultimately sigh at her departure.
Under these circumstances, Shen Wan couldn’t let Fu Qingman down. Her performance was impeccable, and the director was thoroughly satisfied, agreeing to their request. Moreover, with Shen Wan’s excellent acting skills, being able to portray the character without relying on makeup or props was a bonus. The fewer artificial elements used, the more immersive the performance – the director couldn’t be happier.
However, Fu Qingman noticed something odd.
The first two scenes went fine, but after the last scene, Shen Wan looked at her strangely. Fu Qingman couldn’t understand why Shen Wan’s gaze seemed so pitiful, as if she had done something terrible.
Shen Wan thought: Just imagining her wife spending all her money and running away made her heart ache.
Before officially starting filming, the key actors in the crew had dinner with the director and investors. This dinner was genuinely just a meal; the director had no ulterior motives. It was simply a formality for everyone to get acquainted, as there might be opportunities for future collaboration.
At the dinner table, Fu Qingman sat to Shen Wan’s right, while a seemingly carefree young man sat to her left.
“That’s the young master of the Pan family. The Pan family probably invested in this film, but Pan Sr. was too busy to attend, so he sent him instead,” Fu Qingman whispered in Shen Wan’s ear. “He’s just a playboy. If he tries to sweet-talk you, just ignore him.”
Fu Qingman suddenly remembered that this rich kid seemed to have a preference for clean-cut young girls like Shen Wan. Her heart skipped a beat, and she was about to suggest switching seats with Shen Wan when Pan Yue noticed her. His eyes lit up, and he immediately poured Shen Wan a drink.
“I know you. You’re Shen Wan. I heard you’re playing the second female lead this time.”
Pan Yue hadn’t actually watched Shen Wan’s previous drama. He wasn’t interested in TV series; he was interested in pretty, pure-looking young girls. Of course, he never forced anyone. The women who were with him were always willing.
In this circle, he was used to getting any woman he wanted with just a gesture. These women were willing to do anything for resources. He didn’t mind; it was mutually beneficial. When he got bored, they’d part ways amicably. He’d provide the promised resources, and no one would have any complaints. He didn’t hold grudges against women who had been with him, as long as they hadn’t made any major mistakes. It was usually a case of parting on good terms.
So when he saw Shen Wan, he instinctively assumed she was like the other women.
Otherwise, how could a newcomer join this production and immediately get the second female lead role? There must be something more to it. He couldn’t be blamed for thinking this way; isn’t this how the industry works? How else could a new face without fame, works, or money hope to rise to the top? Weren’t there always other methods to climb the ladder?
“After dinner, want to go out and play?” Pan Yue casually tossed the keys to an expensive sports car on the table. “We could go for a drive, take a stroll, whatever you like.”
Fu Qingman glanced at Shen Wan. Now that the rich kid had noticed her, changing seats wouldn’t work. She’d have to see how Shen Wan wanted to handle it. Her intuition told her that Shen Wan didn’t like Pan Yue’s type. The reason she wasn’t worried was that she knew something about Pan Yue. He might be annoying, but he wouldn’t use underhanded methods to win a woman’s favor. It was always consensual.
“I don’t like strolling, and I don’t like going for drives,” Shen Wan blinked. Ah, Pan Yue, she knew him.
He was one of the big shots in the plot, one of those who kept fighting over the female lead.
Pan Yue, aside from being a bit lecherous and fickle, didn’t really have any character flaws. As his public reputation suggested, his relationships with women were always mutually consensual.
In the plot, Pan Yue was the type who would show up to take the female lead out to have fun after she’d been hurt by others. Although he was a rich second-generation, he wasn’t truly in power, so he couldn’t compete with several others. Even if he managed to take the female lead away, she’d be snatched back before long. This guy was the only one in the plot who never hurt the female lead and never tried to force himself on her, even when he saw others possessing her.
“Then what do you like? I’ll take you there,” Pan Yue thought Shen Wan had taken the bait. This little beauty had such big eyes, and her smile was so pretty with that adorable dimple. Her skin was so delicate and fair, and those big eyes were so watery and beautiful.
Fu Qingman couldn’t help but cough lightly, then patted Shen Wan. “Want something to drink? I’ll pour you some. The drinks here are quite good.”
“I don’t want to go anywhere,” Shen Wan took a sip of the juice Fu Qingman poured for her. Although everyone else was drinking alcohol, Fu Qingman had asked for a bottle of juice earlier.
When she asked for it, everyone understood it was for Shen Wan. Her behavior made it clear that she and Shen Wan were close. Those who didn’t know Shen Wan well and were initially dissatisfied, seeing Fu Qingman’s attitude, became more cordial towards Shen Wan. There was no good outcome in opposing the top actress.
Shen Wan finished a glass of juice, seeing that Pan Yue was still staring at her curiously, not blinking. He asked her, “So what do you want to do? Want me to take you to do something else?”
Such a direct invitation was clear to anyone.
Shen Wan still shook her head, but it wasn’t good to keep refusing at the dinner table, right? Come to think of it, this guy was quite unlucky, the most unfortunate among those big shots. Every time he rescued the female lead and nursed her back to health, she’d be snatched away again. Not only would they take her, but they’d also beat him up or sabotage his family’s company.
Pan Yue didn’t understand why this young actress was looking at him with sympathy, but any kind of interest was fine with him. Now he especially wanted to date her, date as in romance, love as in love.
“Can Young Master Pan drink?”
Pan Yue was slightly stunned, then nodded, “Of course, drinking is what I do best. You’re not suggesting we drink together, are you?”
The others who noticed this interaction pretended not to see. Even two rather attractive actresses flashed jealousy in their eyes. Being noticed by Pan Yue was lucky. Just a little exposure could be profitable.
“Baijiu, want to drink?”
Pan Yue blinked, somewhat incredulous, “You want to drink baijiu with me?”
“Yes, when I first saw Young Master Pan, I felt we had a connection. Maybe we could become drinking buddies in the future,” Shen Wan said with a straight face.
Fu Qingman poured Shen Wan another glass of juice, “Girls should stick to juice. Too much alcohol isn’t good.”
Shen Wan sensed something and secretly tugged at Fu Qingman, whispering in her ear, “Qingman, you need to watch over me. I’m going to compete with him and drink him under the table. That way he’ll behave and won’t dare bother me. If I don’t win, remember to carry me back.”
Hearing Shen Wan’s words, Fu Qingman felt relieved.
Pan Yue did indeed love drinking and had a group of drinking buddies. Whoever could outdrink him became his friend. It was quite a unique personality trait.
She noticed a mischievous glint in Shen Wan’s eyes but didn’t understand why.
The baijiu had already been brought out. Everyone realized Shen Wan was going to drink with Pan Yue, and baijiu at that.
“Young Master Pan, to be honest, I’ve heard about you and have always wanted to be your friend. I heard that if someone beats you at drinking, they become your sworn brother.”
Pan Yue was stunned. This young actress actually wanted to be his sworn brother.
This… well, there’s no way she could outdrink him.
“Alright, if you can beat me today, we’ll be sworn brothers.”
188: Kid, don’t regret it. This woman has no scruples; she’ll cheat.