FLME Ch1: Transmigration

On the filming set of the TV drama “Fenghua.”

“Cut! Okay, everyone take a break, makeup artist, please touch up the actors.”

“Stagehand! Stagehand! Bring over two more apple boxes!”

Upon hearing someone call for a stagehand, Yu Wen instinctively stood up.

After standing for three seconds, he realized that he wasn’t a stagehand anymore but an extra, and quickly sat back down.

It took just half a month of being a stagehand for those two words to be engraved into his DNA, now reacting instinctively whenever he heard them. As Yu Wen scanned the busy stagehands coming and going, he couldn’t help but sigh.

No, this DNA is dirty.

About half a month ago, Yu Wen transmigrated from the real world into this book. The last thing he saw before closing his eyes was the warm-toned ceiling of his home, and when he opened them, it had turned into a shabby little rental apartment. He took some time to figure out the situation, then suspected he had been kidnapped.

The kidnapper was this damn book “Rise! Movie Emperor!”

The first thing he did after waking up was to go out and take a walk. He found that this world was vastly different from the one he used to live in, with the technology being about fifty years behind, and the place names, city layouts, and even the country’s structure being completely unfamiliar.

Until he saw a somewhat familiar name on a roadside billboard.

—Chu Han.

This name seemed to be the protagonist of a popular novel he had inadvertently flipped through in the library’s magazine room.

The small rental apartment he woke up in, though tiny, had all the necessary amenities. There was a brand new desktop computer on the desk, top-of-the-line in the market with excellent performance. To understand his situation, Yu Wen created a chart of Chu Han’s entire acting career from the internet and compared it with the plot he remembered.

Everything matched.

Confirming that he had transmigrated into a book, Yu Wen went through the private space and even the browsing history on the computer to try and determine his identity. Unfortunately, he didn’t find any useful information because the computer was almost new, with the private area completely blank.

Yu Wen decided to stay calm and sat on the bed blinking for seventeen minutes until his eyelids twitched.

No one came to save him.

#They said to blink if kidnapped#

Realizing that idealism was not practical, Yu Wen accepted his fate.

On the second day of lying flat, he received a new message on his phone, notifying him to prepare to join a crew.

—

He was still called Yu Wen, and it was still his own body.

Thanks to his excellent memory, he recalled the general plot of “Rise! Movie Emperor!” and compiled it into a booklet.

The recalled content was fifty thousand words long, thin and unsettling.

He repeatedly outlined every detail from start to finish in his mind, but couldn’t find any character named Yu Wen among the supporting characters, antagonists, or extras, etc.

Until in the half month of following the crew, he witnessed the main bottom and main top’s love-hate relationship six times; accidentally got involved in gossip four times; and saw extras and stagehands exchange meaningful glances three times while delivering water…

Yu Wen suddenly realized.

—I’m a background character.

‘Background characters’ are a magical group; they always happen to ‘break in,’ ‘analyze,’ or ‘run into’ various classic scenes at just the right moment…

And Yu Wen’s identity was this group.

After working as a stagehand for half a month, Yu Wen figured out some rules and successfully switched to being an extra, which was a bit more relaxed.

Although gossip always seemed to find him, his personal life was not restricted. For instance, he could be a stagehand, but he could also be an extra, an actor, or a singer…

Yu Wen: Choose the easiest job, long live slacking off.

“Fenghua” is a fictional historical drama that mainly tells the story of the female lead, Gongsun Daiyu, who seeks revenge and navigates through various kingdoms during a time of chaos, ultimately toppling a dynasty and living in seclusion with the male lead.

In “Rise! Movie Emperor,” the main character Chu Han plays a lovesick, psychotic villain, and most of the scenes from a bystander’s perspective revolve around him.

“Xiao Yu, isn’t it your turn yet?”

The speaker was Zou Ming, a stunt extra in the crew. He had just finished a scene and walked over, sweating and holding a bottle of mineral water.

Yu Wen was sitting in a corner, dressed in the rough clothes of an extra, with a small hat on his head. He propped up his chin, and the small ball on his hat wobbled along with him.

“I don’t know,” he said, his fingers pressing against his cheek, making it chubby. He grumbled, “The director said a special extra hasn’t arrived yet, so we have to wait.”

Yu Wen had a fair complexion and delicate features, with almond-shaped cat eyes that made him look very young and naturally likable.

Zou Ming, who liked him like a younger brother, immediately felt indignant on his behalf, “What special extra? Who has such a big attitude, making everyone wait?”

“Seems like their car broke down on the way…”

Special extras are a bit more important than regular extras. They need to meet certain appearance and articulation standards and usually have a few lines.

A single special extra wouldn’t normally make the director wait, but the crew had changed locations today, choosing a remote mountain area. It was difficult to find a suitable replacement quickly, and since other scenes could be filmed first, waiting wasn’t a big deal.

The assistant director urgently contacted three or four special extras, and whichever one could come would be used.

Even so, the temperamental director was still fuming.

“Where’s the special extra?! How many hours will it take?! If we don’t shoot now, we’ll lose daylight!”

“Any usable extras among the crowd?”

The director, surnamed Gao, easily entered a rage mode while filming. Every time he got angry, Yu Wen worried about his blood pressure and heart.

As he was thinking this, Director Gao’s sharp gaze swept over.

Yu Wen: “…”

No way, sir, can you get caught talking bad about someone even in your head?

Director Gao’s brows were furrowed tightly, and his angry gaze scanned the extras.

The missing special extra had only one scene, playing a young master rescued by the female lead from bandits. The role had only one requirement: good looks.

He needed to be fair-skinned, delicate, and tender, looking like a pampered young master.

Unfortunately, today’s scene involved the female lead single-handedly defeating the bandits, which required many stunt extras.

Finding someone who looked pampered among regular extras was hard enough, let alone among all the trained stuntmen.

Director Gao’s eyes roved among the crowd and unexpectedly met a pair of round eyes.

Oh, a diamond in the rough.

“You, come here.”

Yu Wen: “…”

Director Gao’s gaze was intense, like a starved ghost eyeing a meal. Reluctantly, Yu Wen walked over.

Director Gao thought he looked familiar but didn’t dwell on it. After scrutinizing him for half a minute, he revealed a satisfied expression and asked, “Have you studied acting?”

Yu Wen shook his head.

“How’s your Mandarin?”

“Not bad.”

Director Gao had him say a few lines. Hearing no significant accent, he nodded again.

“Want some lines?”

Honestly, Yu Wen didn’t.

He originally just needed to slack off in the background. Saying lines would waste some effort and spit, contributing a bit of acting without extra pay—

“I’ll pay you the highest rate for special extras. Just say a few lines.”

Yu Wen began to understand. The director wanted him to fill in for the special extra’s role.

He recalled the pay range for special extras.

“!”

Yu Wen’s eyes lit up.

—Who wouldn’t want lines? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

—

The makeup team quickly changed him into elegant clothes, applied dust to his face to mimic the look of a young master who had been held captive by bandits for two days.

There were three special extras in this scene. One was a major special extra, experienced, who handled all scenes with the female lead. Yu Wen was responsible for saying, “Exactly!” and “You’re right!” on the side.

The female lead single-handedly charged into the bandit lair, rescuing numerous old and weak villagers, all of whom cried in gratitude. These three young masters were the contrast, playing ungrateful, shameless brats.

Special Extra A: “Who are you under? How did it take you two days to attack a small bandit lair?! I’ll report this to the king!”

Yu Wen: “Exactly!”

Special Extra A: “What are you standing there for? Can’t you see my clothes are torn? Hurry and get me out of here! Don’t tangle with these lowly peasants!”

Yu Wen: “You’re right!”

“Clang.” The female lead drew her sword, pointing it directly at the rude young master’s throat.

Yu Wen: “Whoa.”

He was born into a well-off family, lived a smooth life, skipped grades, went straight for a Ph.D., and was working at a research institute before transmigrating. He had never seen such a cold, gleaming sword before and instinctively exclaimed.

Most of the crew’s prop swords were not sharpened, but some meticulous directors demanded sharpened weapons for close-ups.

Yu Wen didn’t dare bet on Director Gao’s mental state or the actress’s steady hand, so he used his position to hide behind Special Extra A.

Special Extra B watched the whole process: “…”

Yu Wen’s subtle actions did not affect the filming, and no one noticed him except for Special Extra B, who was standing close by.

After this scene ended, the assistant director called him over for a chat, “Nice acting. When you said you wanted to bravely chase your dreams before, I thought you were joking.”

Recently, the crew had been rushing progress, splitting into Group A and Group B to film simultaneously. Yu Wen was a stagehand for Group B, and the assistant director had interacted with him and was somewhat familiar with him. When Yu Wen resigned from his stagehand position, he claimed that he had always dreamed of becoming a big star. Because he looked young and had a habit of speaking seriously, his serious jokes were often taken as real. The assistant director had even sent him an audition invitation upon hearing this, but Yu Wen didn’t show up and insisted on staying with the extras.

“Go back and take some acting classes. Once your acting improves, we can cast you directly in future roles.” The assistant director took out a business card from his pocket. “You haven’t signed with a company yet, right? In this industry, you can’t survive on freelance gigs alone; you need professional support. I have a friend who’s currently signing artists. If you have time, you can contact him. His company is just starting up, and while the resources may not be the best, I assure you they won’t mistreat you. I stake my reputation in this industry on it.”

Yu Wen held the business card, thought for a moment, then smiled sweetly and thanked the assistant director.

The remaining scenes didn’t involve Yu Wen. Director Gao was a meticulous person; once an actor had shown their face, they couldn’t go back to being an extra. Yu Wen was allowed to leave early. After saying goodbye to Zou Ming, he walked to the nearest bus stop.

Recently, it had been rainy and dreary. The sky was darkening, with heavy clouds hanging overhead, threatening rain.

Yu Wen picked a banana leaf from the roadside to shield his head and jogged to the bus stop. As he arrived, a downpour started, and within three minutes, he was drenched like a wet rat.

The bus stop had only two long benches. One was occupied by a young man in a hooded sweatshirt. As Yu Wen passed by him, their eyes met. The young man had beautiful, narrow, almond-shaped eyes, with dark lashes contrasting sharply with his pale eyelids.

A cool guy, Yu Wen thought.