WAM CH28

“Could you explain the situation with Mr. Wang…” A reporter refused to give up, squeezing in a question. “And what’s the deal with the coat…”

Gu Yanzhou deliberately stopped to let the reporter finish, then replied seriously, as if genuinely answering the question: “This time, the investment and production for Masks is massive. The sets and costumes are all original designs, striving for the highest degree of authenticity.”

Shao Si added, “For the first two weeks before entering the set, we aren’t filming; we’re taking specialized training. For example, I don’t know much about traditional opera. What little I learned was just to get through the audition, which is far from enough… Only after getting in touch with it did I realize that Peking Opera is truly a profound art form. If you guys have time, you should promote our national quintessence more.”

“Therefore, Masks is worth your anticipation,” Gu Yanzhou finished, pushing the microphone toward Shao Si.

Shao Si took the mic and agreed, “Yes, it is worth anticipating.”

“How are we supposed to broadcast this?”

After a moment of silence, several media outlets began whispering among themselves:
“…Hey, how is your agency planning to write the draft?”
“I don’t know, I reported it to the higher-ups but haven’t gotten a reply yet. How is Entertainment Frontline planning to handle it?”
“We don’t know either. Let’s ask the Entertainment High Heaven guys behind us…”

The young man sent by Entertainment High Heaven, carrying a massive camera, wanted to cry but had no tears: “We’re live broadcasting…” …

However, they didn’t have the chance to continue agonizing over it. Director Ou quickly charged over with his people.

Leading the pack was a short, plump old man riding a bicycle. As he rode toward them from a distance, he pointed a finger and shouted: “What do you all think you’re doing—daring to run wild on my turf! Get out of here, all of you! I’m talking to you, still standing there dumbfounded, turn off that damn live broadcast right now!”

“Watch out! I have eighteen bodyguards here, they’ll beat you until you can’t tell north from south!”

With Director Ou taking charge, the media instantly scattered like a flock of birds.

Chen Yang had called Director Ou a few minutes ago. Now that he had arrived, Chen Yang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Guangzong, on the other hand, had never met this Director Ou; he had only waited at the door when accompanying Shao Si to the audition. Upon seeing him, he was dumbfounded: “…Quite, quite the character.”

Gu Yanzhou stepped forward and greeted, “Director Ou.”

Shao Si: “Hello, Director Ou.”

Director Ou parked his bicycle to the side and waved at them. “Good, good, good, I should be thanking you guys for giving our drama such huge publicity.”

As he spoke, Director Ou walked toward them.

Gu Yanzhou replied, “You’re too polite. Regardless, we caused trouble for the crew, and we are truly sorry.”

Shao Si’s focus, however, was on the group of ‘bodyguards’ behind Director Ou. He had truly never seen a director make an entrance with a squad of bodyguards. He grumbled quietly, “…Damn, is he from the mafia?”

“What are you thinking?” Gu Yanzhou was standing close to him and heard him clearly. He raised a hand, lightly flicked Shao Si’s forehead, and said, “They’re all extras.”

Shao Si tilted his head away. “What are you doing, keep your hands and feet to yourself.”

With this movement, not only did Gu Yanzhou not retract his hand, but he vigorously ruffled the top of his hair.

“…” Shao Si curled his lip and didn’t bicker with him further.

Extras.

Where did such dedicated extras come from? Tattoos of a Green Dragon on the left and a White Tiger on the right, all uniformly dressed in black tank tops and suits, every single one of them looking big and burly.

Shao Si asked, “We aren’t filming today, didn’t you say we’re doing closed-door training first?”

Li Guangzong touched his forehead. “I wanted to ask that too.”

“Those guys,” Director Ou casually pointed toward the west, “I borrowed them all from the Young and Dangerous crew next door. Old Qi even said I could deploy over three hundred extras if I wanted… He’s really sick in the head, why would I need over three hundred? It’s not like I’m going to war.”

…

After chatting briefly, Director Ou said, “Alright, you guys drive on ahead. We’ll meet at the lobby entrance in a bit.”

How could they sit in the nanny van themselves and let Director Ou ride his bicycle back? The film studio was massive; riding over would take some time, not to mention Director Ou was getting on in years.

Initially, Gu Yanzhou proposed that Director Ou take his car, and he would ride Director Ou’s bicycle over.

Chen Yang naturally disagreed: “I’ll ride the bicycle. Yanzhou, you take the car with Director Ou.”

Gu Yanzhou: “Why are you joining the fun?”

Chen Yang had been busy with work last night and had barely slept a wink.

Li Guangzong praised his male god in his heart, praising him for being handsome and kind-hearted, and then ruthlessly shoved Shao Si forward: “Hurry up, grab the bike! Have you heard of respecting the elderly and caring for the young? Why are you just standing there like a post?”

This was a golden opportunity to build an image in front of the director!Go for it, Dad!

As a result, both nanny vans drove off in the end, leaving only Shao Si and Gu Yanzhou arguing over the bicycle.

Shao Si touched his nose, looked at the empty surroundings, and said reluctantly, “How about this: rock-paper-scissors. The loser stands on the back.”

This piece-of-junk bike didn’t even have a backseat; it only had two protruding footpegs near the rear wheel.

Gu Yanzhou looked him up and down. “Rock-paper-scissors?”

“What’s with that look?” Shao Si said. “Should we fight it out instead?”

…

Shao Si made a fist. After shouting ‘rock, paper, scissors’, Gu Yanzhou unhesitatingly threw ‘paper’.

Shao Si looked down at his unchanging fist and was puzzled. “How did you know I would throw rock?”

“I guessed.” Gu Yanzhou pushed the vintage bike, which had been in use for years, two steps forward and casually explained, “I guessed you’d be too lazy to change your hand gesture, and it turns out you really were.”

Too lazy to open his hand for paper or extend two fingers for scissors.

Shao Si: “…”

He was surprisingly speechless.

Li Guangzong and Chen Yang stood at the lobby entrance of Zone C of the film studio like two statues waiting for their husbands, waiting for the two grand masters riding the vintage bike to arrive.

Chen Yang estimated the distance and said, “It’s been two minutes already, why aren’t they here yet?”

Li Guangzong: “Did they run into paparazzi again?”

The two were silent for a moment before suddenly realizing something, speaking in unison: “Does that bike have a backseat?”

No. It had no backseat.

Shao Si, struggling to stand on the footpegs, could answer this question definitively.

He held onto Gu Yanzhou’s shoulders, letting the wind hit him head-on and drill into the hem of his clothes, making him shiver from the cold.

“How much further?” Shao Si was tired of standing and felt this posture was especially stupid.

He bent down slightly and whispered into Gu Yanzhou’s ear, “Can we switch for a bit?”

Gu Yanzhou: “Not up for discussion. Accept your loss.”

“…Just for a bit.”

“Don’t even think about it. I don’t want to stand on the back looking like an idiot.”

Shao Si held back his frustration: “Are you calling me an idiot?”

Gu Yanzhou steered the bike around a corner. “Do you insist on spelling it out?”

“Gu Yanzhou!”

Faced with someone shouting his name in exasperation behind him, the corners of Gu Yanzhou’s mouth curved up imperceptibly. “Speaking of which, it’s been a long time since I rode a bicycle.”

After entering this industry, too many things were restricted. Whatever you said or did, there was always someone watching. Sometimes, just strolling through a mall to pick out a birthday gift for Shengsheng, if you got unlucky and were recognized, you could cause a riot.

“You’ve definitely never tried the feeling of standing on the back of a bicycle. It’s much freer.” Shao Si still refused to give up, insisting, “Seriously, do you want to try it?”

…

A few minutes later, Li Guangzong saw from a distance his Daddy Shao standing tall and upright against the wind, his sleeves fluttering.

“What is going on,” Li Guangzong said as he secretly took a photo of this historic moment with his phone, unable to hold back a laugh. “Hahahahaha, looking from here, it’s super stupid. Shao Si, you actually have a day like this.”

The very first thing Shao Si did after getting off the bicycle was use the glass window at the lobby entrance to fix his hair. When he left the house today, he originally had a somewhat middle-parted hairstyle, but now his entire forehead was flamboyantly exposed; not a single strand of hair was spared.

Gu Yanzhou walked past him and effortlessly ruffled his newly fixed hair back into a bird’s nest. Shao Si covered his bangs and yelled, “Don’t mess with it!”

“Consider just getting a buzz cut, it saves trouble,” Gu Yanzhou said. His figure paused, standing beside him, and their reflections instantly appeared together in the glass window.

Shao Si: “Not considering it, thanks.”

Chen Yang didn’t know if he was being too sensitive or what, but he always felt an indescribable atmosphere between these two. He patted Li Guangzong. “Since when did their relationship get so good?”

Li Guangzong answered in a daze: “…Yeah, I’m so envious and jealous.”

Chen Yang: “…” Feels like there’s something wrong with this guy too.

The meeting room was on the second floor. Director Ou’s original intention was to let the main actors get to know each other first.

The female lead was a top graduate from the traditional opera academy named Ye Xuan. She kept a very low profile normally; although she acted, it was always in minor roles. Everyone was speculating whether she would soar to the top and become a phoenix with this drama.

“Alright, everyone is here now,” Director Ou stood at the front, leaning on the table. “Everyone, let’s introduce ourselves first.”

Gu Yanzhou led the charge, delivering a concise and clear self-introduction, neither haughty nor humble.

When it was Shao Si’s turn, someone suddenly burst into the meeting room.

Yang Ze walked straight in without even knocking. His gaze swept over Shao Si and Gu Yanzhou, finally landing on Director Ou. His chest heaved violently. “Director Ou, why did you replace me? —Why?”

Overnight, he had turned into a joke. The trending searches he bought and the water armies he hired were all shooting himself in the foot.

Director Ou was also a straightforward person, not shying away from speaking in front of so many people: “You bought the audition questions, and you still have the nerve to ask me why I replaced you. Let alone that I hadn’t signed a contract with you at the time, even if I had, I would rather pay the penalty for breach of contract. I will not allow someone like you to mingle in my crew.”

Yang Ze’s face turned green and white. He had sneaked out without telling Qi Ming. At the time, he only had time to hear that he was dropped. His brain was instantly flooded with blood, unable to think, and he could only rush over in a panic. He hadn’t realized that all of this was because what he and Qi Ming had done was exposed.

“Kid, have some shame,” Director Ou said. “This isn’t how you survive in this circle.”

[This director is too blunt,] the system couldn’t hold back. [I feel like a mission target is drifting away from us.]

[Mission target? Him?] Shao Si curled his lip. [I’d rather earn zero lifespan than stay in the same room as that kind of person. It absolutely shortens my life; the gains don’t make up for the losses.]

System: [Since you’re so capricious, I can only skip Yang Ze and announce the next mission target.]

Shao Si couldn’t help but stand straighter: [A mission target? Here?]

[Count over from your left hand, the third one.]

Shao Si’s gaze swept past the assistant director and screenwriter, landing on a quiet, delicate-looking person who seemingly had no presence. —Ye Xuan.

After Yang Ze was ‘invited’ out by security, Shao Si restarted his self-introduction.

Ye Xuan always felt that the person in front of her had eyes that could speak. Moreover, his gaze landed on her intentionally or unintentionally, smiling at her with the corners of his eyes slightly hooked.

…

[Shao Shao, I’ve wanted to say this for a long time: your method of approaching girls is always this same routine,] the system said disdainfully. [So stiff.]

Shao Si: [But it works every time.]

When it was Ye Xuan’s turn to introduce herself, she appeared a bit nervous, bowing slightly to everyone. “Hello everyone, I am Ye Xuan.”

Perhaps due to singing Peking Opera year-round, her speech had a slight, delicate trill at the end of her sentences, carrying a lingering charm. It felt like a blend of sharpness and softness, yet didn’t seem out of place.

Ye Xuan. This person who was unknown in the circle, wholeheartedly dedicated to singing opera. What story could lie behind her?

System: [Mission started. No time limit, no clues.] System: [Mission reward: two years.]

Masks was a period drama. The female lead and second male lead were both opera singers, while the male lead was a military officer. Simply put, it was a love triangle.

The most complex character in it wasn’t the two male leads, but the female lead.

In the final scene of the story, with beacon fires raging outside the high walls, she sat in the courtyard dressed in her opera costume, painting her eyebrows. Then, holding a gun and spinning in circles, she sang a verse from The Wind Blows the Lotus Leaves, Ending.

“The Dragon Flower Assembly in heaven is over… the splendid stage was fake all along. The hidden arrows I played with myself. In the vast spiritual mountains, vines entangle and hang, ruining several kasayas… Let me be with my Samadhi, playing in Vaisali. A thousand kinds of living and dying, delusion and enlightenment, why bother struggling, getting caught up in words and letters is a mistake.”

Singing to the end, she shoved the gun into her mouth. The lyrics stopped on the word ‘struggling’. Because her mouth was open, she even lost her voice, making it sound somewhat comical. Then, she pulled the trigger without hesitation. — ‘Bang’.

…

No matter how many times Shao Si read this segment of the plot, it always left his heart feeling stifled.

Since the female lead and his character shared the same profession, Shao Si gained a massive advantage. Aside from the traditional opera teacher Director Ou hired for him, he could also consult Ye Xuan whenever he didn’t understand something. As long as he had an excuse to approach her, he was confident he could coax some information out of her.

Ye Xuan was an expert at singing opera, but her acting skills were lacking. Therefore, while Shao Si took his opera classes, Ye Xuan was taking acting classes next door.

During the first class in the morning, the teacher mainly instilled a lot of basic knowledge into him. During the lunch break, Shao Si drank some water and asked Li Guangzong, “What is your male god studying? He doesn’t need to sing opera, and his acting is fine.”

Li Guangzong truly lived up to his fanboy title; Gu Yanzhou’s every move was under his supervision. He answered, “He’s giving Ye Xuan acting classes.”

Shao Si almost sprayed his water: “…” This Director Ou sure knows how to utilize resources to the fullest.

Thus, Shao Si, dressed in a bright red opera costume, went next door to visit. Just at the door, he heard Gu Yanzhou explaining something: “Think about it. You walk this world like a zombie; you haven’t even struggled from beginning to end… You disdain the love from both of them, you scheme to cause their deaths. What is your state of mind at this moment?”

Ye Xuan answered quietly, “Twisted? I am a heartless person?”

“You have a heart,” Shao Si pushed the door open and entered. As he lifted his foot, the hem of his clothes swayed, the red so vibrant it slightly stung the eyes. “Your emotions are all in the opera… but reality is completely different from the opera you sing, so you don’t know how you are supposed to keep living.”

“You are the only person in the entire script who doesn’t wear a mask, because you simply don’t have a face of your own. When you play Consort Yu, you are Consort Yu. When you play Su San, you are Su San.”

“You will forever live within the opera.”

Ye Xuan: “…”

Gu Yanzhou put down his script and looked at Shao Si. “She won’t understand when you put it like that.”

Shao Si: “You don’t understand?”

Ye Xuan nodded.

“Oh, then just pretend I didn’t say anything. You still have to follow your own understanding for this.” Shao Si touched his nose and changed the subject: “Are you free to grab lunch together? I have some professional questions I’d like to ask you.”

Even though Shao Si clearly directed these words at Ye Xuan, Gu Yanzhou put away his script and answered him seriously, “Where to? I happen to be a little hungry too.”

“…” I suspect this guy is doing this on purpose.

Shao Si thought for a moment and said, “The noodle shop downstairs? It’s close and won’t take up much time.”

Their training was only for two weeks, and the workload was enormous. Normally, this would take two to three months. Who knew if Director Ou was overly confident in them or what… only scheduling two weeks.

Ye Xuan looked quiet, gentle, and quite delicate. But after spending more time with her, Shao Si felt there was a hint of coldness in her bones.

During the meal, Shao Si actually pretended to ask a few professional questions, and Ye Xuan patiently answered them for him: “…Singing, speaking, acting, and acrobatic fighting are the basic skills of Peking Opera performance.”

After asking a few questions, Shao Si asked some questions like ‘Why did you choose the traditional opera academy’, which Ye Xuan casually glossed over with a few vague words.

Then she silently finished her noodles, put down her chopsticks, and prepared to take out money to pay the bill. Shao Si couldn’t stop her no matter how hard he tried.

“There’s no reason for you to pay, please don’t make it difficult for me,” Ye Xuan said, putting down the money and leaving.

Only then did Shao Si realize that this young woman wasn’t as easy to talk to as she appeared.

Gu Yanzhou looked at him and tapped the table with his chopsticks. “Snap out of it, she’s already gone and you’re still staring.”

Shao Si’s expression remained unchanged: “…I’m looking at the time. There’s a clock on the wall over there; it’s too far to see clearly.”

Gu Yanzhou picked up a chopstick-ful of noodles and didn’t expose him.

However, after the two finished their noodles and were paying the bill to leave, Gu Yanzhou, sitting in his chair, suddenly said, “I’ve noticed you really like flirting around.”

“…”

Shao Si almost slipped. He barely managed to steady himself, doubting if he had misheard. “What?”