Chapter 6: The Movie Emperor Can Change Faces

“A script discussion meeting?” Jiang Baiqing raised his eyes and repeated Jiang Youchuan’s words, “You didn’t mention anything about a meeting when you signed the contract.”

Jiang Baiqing was a practical person, firmly believing that good acting couldn’t be learned from textbooks. He usually avoided industry forums and meetings, and when he couldn’t, he tried not to speak.

He once made a bold move by asking everyone during a speech, “Do you want to finish early?” and then actually left the stage after asking.

Jiang Baiqing believed that if verbal instruction were truly effective, then theoretically, Chen Chang’an should be the best actor by now.

“Right.” Jiang Youchuan felt a bit guilty, “Because we’re filming a story about school bullying, if we don’t handle it well, it could lead to problems. So the State Administration of Radio Film and Television thinks it’s best to hold a few script discussion meetings to ensure our values are aligned and that audiences won’t end up liking the bully.”

Chen Chang’an stood a few meters away, diligently maintaining his distance from Jiang Youchuan, and shouted, “Like the bully? That’s ridiculous, how could that happen?”

“In this vast world, anything is possible.” Jiang Youchuan shook his head, “A zombie movie that was released a few years ago had audiences generally falling in love with the vengeful villain, just because the screenwriter gave the villain a tragic backstory.”

“So our film—”

Jiang Youchuan interrupted firmly: “The villain has no backstory, bullies the protagonist without logic or reason, just purely evil, the kind that’s been bad since childhood. Their descent into a bad ending is self-inflicted, a consequence of public sentiment.”

Chen Chang’an admired, “It’s clear that Director Jiang’s survival instinct is really strong.”

“Too kind, the goal is to become a well-rounded people’s artist.” Jiang Youchuan modestly lowered his head, then looked eagerly at Jiang Baiqing, “Everything is ready, we just need the movie emperor.”

After understanding the reason, Jiang Baiqing no longer argued: “I will be there.”

Jiang Youchuan was delighted and loudly exclaimed, “Jiang the Movie Emperor, you—are my hero! My electricity, my light, my natural gas!”

Chen Chang’an muttered, “A director with such a peculiar personality, I probably won’t encounter another one in my lifetime.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

—

As the saying goes: a flag is meant to be broken.

When Chen Chang’an arrived at the script discussion meeting, he stood two meters away from the movie emperor and respectfully asked, “Teacher Jiang, may I sit next to you?”

Jiang Baiqing instinctively frowned: “Aren’t there any other seats?”

Chen Chang’an felt quite wronged: “But the chair next to you has my name on it!”

“Then why are you asking me?” Jiang Baiqing could no longer tolerate it.

“Out of politeness.” Chen Chang’an smiled slightly.

“…Sit down.”

Seeing the opportunity, Chen Chang’an didn’t dare provoke him further: “Alright, thank you, Teacher Jiang.”

There were too many people at the discussion meeting, and the venue was a bit cramped, with chairs squeezed so closely together that it was almost shoulder to shoulder.

Everyone was dressed in formal attire today, and Chen Chang’an’s suit pants brushed against Jiang Baiqing’s wrist hanging by his side, causing Jiang Baiqing’s eyelid to twitch.

“Move over a bit.” Jiang Baiqing ordered coldly.

“Oh.” Poor Chen Chang’an shifted to the other side.

Before long, Chen Chang’an’s shoe bumped into Jiang Baiqing’s pant leg again.

Jiang Baiqing spoke again: “…Move over a bit more.”

“Okay.” Chen Chang’an dared not express his anger.

After a while, Jiang Baiqing wanted to say more: “You—”

“Teacher Jiang, I really can’t move over anymore.” Chen Chang’an finally couldn’t hold back, “If I move over a bit more, I’ll be sitting on the third female lead’s lap.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Baiqing instinctively said, “Then come back.”

“No need, I’ll just sit here.” Chen Chang’an declined, “It feels secure.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t want more space; he was just extremely afraid of Jiang Baiqing’s unpredictable moods.

—

The discussion meeting began.

In Chen Chang’an’s words, the meeting felt like a game of “carrot squatting.”

The staff from the State Administration of Radio Film and Television spoke, the staff from the State Administration of Radio Film and Television spoke, and after that, the crew’s staff spoke.

The director spoke, the assistant director spoke, and after that, the male lead spoke.

The male lead spoke, and after that, the second male lead spoke.

The second male lead spoke—he had nothing to say.

Jiang Baiqing, who had just spoken, analyzed the impact of character development on audience psychology from four perspectives, and concluded with eight suggestions for solutions.

It turned out that Jiang Baiqing simply didn’t like to talk, not that he couldn’t.

But Chen Chang’an truly couldn’t speak!

Chen “the fish that slipped through nine years of compulsory education” Chang’an held the microphone, struggling for a long time, and finally managed to say, “What a coincidence, my opinion is exactly the same as Teacher Jiang’s.”

The staff from the State Administration of Radio Film and Television: That’s it?!

Director Jiang Youchuan: That’s it.

Male lead Jiang Baiqing: That’s it…

At that moment, Jiang Baiqing’s mind was filled with big words: This guy Chen Chang’an is trying to spread his damn charm again!

The movie emperor’s sense of crisis greatly increased.

Just then, Jiang Youchuan leaned over and whispered, “Don’t you think the atmosphere between you two is strange?”

Jiang Baiqing’s heart skipped a beat: “What’s strange about it?”

“See?” Jiang Youchuan smirked, “I didn’t even say ‘you two’ referring to you and who, and you already knew who I was talking about. Isn’t that strange enough?”

Jiang Baiqing replied coldly: “Director Jiang, you’re being too nosy.”

Jiang Youchuan didn’t think there was anything wrong with his behavior: “An actor’s emotional life is also part of the crew’s affairs.”

“So what’s strange about it?”

“Let’s put it this way.” Jiang Youchuan cleared his throat, “Underground couples in boy bands and girl groups during their dating phase don’t avoid suspicion as much as you two do.”

“Nonsense.” Jiang Baiqing paused for a moment, then his expression worsened, “So what do you suggest?”

“If there’s really nothing between you two, you should treat him like an ordinary person.” Jiang Youchuan extended a finger and shook it in front of Jiang Baiqing, “Not like now, where it’s so obviously special that you’re trying to cover it up.”

Jiang Baiqing: That seems to make some sense, but I don’t know where the sense lies.

After thinking for a while, he found Chen Chang’an: “Let’s cancel the two-meter distance.”

Looking at the movie emperor’s inexplicable change of heart, Chen Chang’an wondered: Is the male lead in novels always this unpredictable?

—

During a relatively free moment, Chen Chang’an opened the super topic and spent a long time figuring out that the fan called “Ju An Bu Si Wei” was the manager of his super topic.

So, he tried to send a private message to the other party.

Chen Chang’an: Hello, are you online?

One second later.

Ju An Bu Si Wei: Aaaahhhh——

【The other party retracted a message.】

Ju An Bu Si Wei: Ahem, Xiao An, you messaged me! What’s up? 【Cute.JPG】

Chen Chang’an almost thought the string of “ah” he just saw was his imagination.

Ju An Bu Si Wei: Don’t worry, I’m very reliable. Anything I can do, I’ll get it done for you.

Chen Chang’an: I feel that sometimes fans’ comments are a bit extreme…

Chen Chang’an: Of course, I don’t mean to blame you, I just think it’s not good.

Chen Chang’an: Being a fan should inspire people to improve.

Ju An Bu Si Wei: Okay, I understand.

Ju An Bu Si Wei: I’ll talk to them and let them tone it down, so they don’t bring you negative attention.

Chen Chang’an: Mmm, thank you for your hard work.

Chen Chang’an then saw Ju An Bu Si Wei appear in the fan group that always had 99+ messages.

Chen Chang’an’s fan was called Luoyang, which was quite a nice match.

Ju An Bu Si Wei: Luoyang babies, as fans, we need to be mindful of our words and actions, okay? Don’t use our identity as fans to bring negative attention to Chang’an. Our group is already relatively new, and now that Chang’an has joined the crew, both the director and the male lead are taking good care of him. He’s in a rising phase in his career, so let’s not ruin his good reputation~ @All members

Heart Pleases An’an: Okay, okay! We’ll be careful!

Soy Milk Jade Qilin: Of course, we won’t bring negative attention to An’an.

An’an is my An’an: Since Ju An has spoken, we will definitely do it!

Chang’an is Beautiful Alone Don’t @: Focus on our own, starting with me~

……

Chen Chang’an: I hope I can improve together with everyone.

Heart Pleases An’an: ?!!!

An’an is my An’an: ?!!!

Soy Milk Jade Qilin: ?!!!

Chang’an is Beautiful Alone Don’t @: ?!!!

An’an is my An’an: Is it An’an? The real An’an?

Soy Milk Jade Qilin: Mom! I saw the real An’an today!

Chen Chang’an: Yes, it’s me. Thank you for liking me.

Logically speaking, the atmosphere was now ripe for sending red envelopes.

【Ding, your bank card balance is insufficient, please change your payment method.】

—

No way, Chen Chang’an was stunned. How could he possibly be out of money?!

Oh, he remembered that all his money had been tricked away by Jiang Youchuan.

He had just asked the big villain Zheng Rongyu for money, and now asking him again would probably get him thrown into the trash.

Moreover, he had also invested money in the male lead’s movie, and if the big villain found out, he would be furious.

Agent Xu Chengzi was also unreliable; this guy was very good at snitching.

Chen Chang’an felt a bit awkward. Sitting on the hotel bed, the first living person in his line of sight was Jiang Baiqing, who was sitting on the sofa reading documents.

Adhering to their agreement of not getting too close, he shouted at him: “Teacher Jiang, can I ask you for a favor?”

“No.”

Chen Chang’an was already in a tight spot, feeling the heat: “I want to borrow a little money from you—”

“Purpose.” Jiang Baiqing coldly spat out two words.

Chen Chang’an could tell there was a chance: “I want to send red envelopes to my fans, not too much, just a thousand is enough. I’ll pay you back when my living expenses come in next month.”

Jiang Baiqing didn’t say yes or no, just asked, “What about your own money?”

“I invested it in our movie.”

At this, Jiang Baiqing finally looked up, somewhat surprised: “All of it?”

Chen Chang’an nodded like a chick pecking at rice, indicating that it was indeed the case.

Jiang Baiqing rubbed his forehead, momentarily at a loss for words.

After a long while, he finally nodded: “Okay, how do you want to send red envelopes to your fans?”

“I just figured it out!” Chen Chang’an said confidently, “It’s very simple; just search for it and it’ll come up.”

Jiang Baiqing nodded to indicate he understood, then began to operate his phone.

Chen Chang’an originally thought he was going to transfer money to him.

One minute later.

【Jiang Baiqing joined this group】

【Red envelope message, comment: Sent on behalf of Chen Chang’an.】

Ju An Bu Si Wei: Can I claim it!?

Heart Pleases An’an: Help… Did I open the group chat the wrong way?

Soy Milk Jade Qilin: As long as there’s money, it’s fine. Claim it first as a courtesy!

An’an is my An’an: What are you all doing!? No! I don’t believe it!

Chang’an is Beautiful Alone Don’t @: An’an, what happened to being beautiful alone…

Chen Chang’an was also stunned: “Teacher Jiang, why did you send the red envelope directly?”

Jiang Baiqing looked up, confused: “Didn’t you say you wanted to send a red envelope to your fans?”

The movie emperor didn’t usually pay much attention to fan circle matters; whatever Chen Chang’an said, he just followed through.

“You just needed to lend me money; why did you send it on my behalf?”

“Then you didn’t make it clear. I don’t have your card number.” Jiang Baiqing lowered his head to look at the documents again, “Should I give you my WeChat? You’re thinking too beautifully.”

Chen Chang’an slapped his forehead; he indeed hadn’t mentioned that he wanted Jiang Baiqing to transfer it to his card, nor had he exchanged contact information with Jiang Baiqing. There was no way to do a WeChat transfer.

Indeed, if you set aside the rules of the fan circle, Jiang Baiqing’s actions were not unreasonable.

The problem was, they couldn’t set it aside—right now, the two of them were like two roasted whole lambs on the same skewer!

Infatuated with An’an Ya Ya: Heartbroken An’an! What’s the situation between you and him?!

Chen Chang’an: Uh, I ran into a small issue, so I asked Teacher Jiang from the same crew to send it on my behalf.

Jiang Baiqing: Mmm.

Soy Milk Jade Qilin: So that’s how it is; you scared us…

Ju An Bu Si Wei: It’s okay, welcome Teacher Jiang, please take good care of An’an!

An Xin Prepares for Exams: Welcome Teacher Jiang, please take good care of An’an!

At that moment, Chen Chang’an looked up at Jiang Baiqing. He was sitting upright on the sofa, holding his phone with his long fingers, reading the messages in the fan group. The top button of his shirt was fastened, and his thin lips were habitually pressed together, making it hard to discern his emotions at that moment.

Jiang Baiqing: I will.

With the movie emperor’s response, the fan group became even more lively. Jiang Baiqing didn’t continue reading, put down his phone, and picked up a pen from the coffee table.

The next day, the news of #Jiang Baiqing suddenly dropping into Chen Chang’an’s fan group to send red envelopes# exploded on trending searches, and the feedback was mostly positive.

Many of Chen Chang’an’s fans had seen the movie emperor in person last night, and under the guidance of Chen Chang’an and the group managers, their attitudes were very good. Moreover, the movie emperor had actively interacted with Chen Chang’an more than once, and with such clear intentions, his fans couldn’t say anything more.

With both sides of fans joining forces, what business was it of the onlookers?

As the storm calmed, a few days later, a chat record between the movie emperor’s agent and several big fans quietly leaked out.

A Long-lasting Evergreen Tree: Hu Ge, what’s the situation between Uncle Jiang and Chen Chang’an? 【Cute.JPG】

Agent Xiao Hu: Old Jiang means that the little kid is not easy, so we should be as friendly as possible.

Changqing Darling: So Uncle Jiang really thinks highly of Chen Chang’an?

Agent Xiao Hu: I can’t say for sure what he thinks, but their relationship is indeed good. Fans should avoid fighting among themselves.

—

Jiang Youchuan said he had a way to have the movie emperor personally teach Chen Chang’an acting, and the method was to focus on filming the scenes between Jiang Baiqing and Chen Chang’an first.

This way, if Chen Chang’an kept performing poorly, their scenes would have to be dragged out day by day.

It must be said that such a cunning plan could probably only come from Jiang Youchuan.

If a scene took two or three days to film without being completed, even someone as dedicated as Jiang Baiqing would subtly show signs of breaking down.

“Why did you have the screenwriter design so many scenes for me to act against him?” Jiang Baiqing’s expression was not good.

Jiang Youchuan also felt wronged: “This film is an art film, and it doesn’t have much market, so we’re trying to ride the wave of the current danmei trend, adding a bit of subtle and winding affection. Otherwise, how can we get the investors to recoup their costs?”

Hearing this, Jiang Baiqing sneered: “Chen Chang’an can’t understand your subtle and winding affection at all. If this drags on, you can rely on my breach of contract fee to recoup your costs.”

“Don’t! Let’s think of another way.” Jiang Youchuan saw that he was genuinely angry and quickly said seriously, “If he doesn’t understand those emotions, you can instill them in him, teach him more. Use emotions to drive his acting; he’s so eager to learn, he’ll definitely pick it up.”

Jiang Baiqing’s expression softened a bit: “It’s also thanks to his eagerness to learn; otherwise, I would have kicked him out of the crew and hung him at the entrance of the film city for public display.”

Chen Chang’an was memorizing lines when he suddenly yawned. He rubbed his nose: “Who’s cursing me?”

Jiang Baiqing had already walked up to him: “Chen Chang’an, do you understand what a crush is?”

“I understand.” Chen Chang’an was confused about what he wanted to ask, “Isn’t it just when one person secretly likes another person without anyone knowing?”

He thought for a moment and added, “Teacher Jiang, I just lack culture, not brains.”

“Alright.” Jiang Baiqing nodded, “Then remember this: you have a crush on me.”

Chen Chang’an’s mouth formed an “o” shape: “Teacher Jiang, how could I have a crush on you? How could I dare to have a crush on you?”

Jiang Baiqing silently recited “If others are angry, I won’t be; if I get sick, no one will replace me” three times, then spoke:

“…It’s your character who has a crush on my character, understand?”

“Got it, got it.” Not daring to provoke Jiang Baiqing’s temper, Chen Chang’an nodded with awareness, “Teacher Jiang, my character will seriously have a crush on your character.”

Meeting Chen Chang’an’s clear, foolish eyes, Jiang Baiqing paused for a moment before looking away.

“A crush isn’t enough.” Regaining his thoughts, Jiang Baiqing added, “It also needs to be accompanied by inferiority. Do you understand what inferiority is?”

Chen Chang’an nodded, thinking he was subtly flattering: “Inferiority is the sense of disparity I feel when I see you acting so well while my acting is so poor. You’re already at the peak, while I’m still far from you.”

“I don’t see any disparity in you.” Jiang Baiqing scoffed, “You look like you’re lying on the steps sleeping, the steps are about to be flattened by you, and you don’t even move.”

“Teacher Jiang, you can criticize my acting, but you can’t belittle my spirit of learning.” Chen Chang’an said weakly, “I want to move; it’s just that the signal is poor, and there’s a bit of delay between my ears and brain, as well as between my brain and body.”

“Stop making excuses for yourself.” Jiang Baiqing said coldly, “Do you know why the character you’re playing is inferior?”

“Because he’s poor and gets bullied.”

Jiang Baiqing nodded and shook his head: “Yes, but not entirely.”

“Then what else could it be?” Chen Chang’an was stumped, “Is it because of his inherently inferior personality?”

“Because he naively has a crush on the male lead, ‘I heard you like men,’ and that man is Jiang Chengfeng.”

“Why would a crush make someone feel inferior?” Chen Chang’an couldn’t understand the combination of these two words, “It won’t let the other person know about their feelings, so what’s there to feel inferior about?”

Jiang Baiqing didn’t even lift his eyes: “You feel inferior just because you see that my acting is better than yours. If someone has a crush on someone with such a huge disparity in wealth, wouldn’t they feel inferior?”

“Oh!” Chen Chang’an slapped his forehead, “So that’s why my character speaks so little; it’s because of inferiority!”

“Otherwise?”

“I thought it was a disdain for everything,” Chen Chang’an said, drawing a circle in the air with his finger. “Something like—’What are you, just a few stinky coins? Big deal, I’m not afraid of you.’ That kind of feeling.”

Jiang Baiqing was speechless. “Is that your reason for always looking at the sky with your eyes and acting with your nostrils?”

Chen Chang’an touched his nose.

Guess what? He was indeed right.

The author has something to say:

Chen Chang’an’s suit pants brushed against the wrist of Jiang Baiqing’s hand hanging by his side.

Jiang Baiqing (alarm bells ringing): What is he trying to hint at this time?!