FLME Ch5: New Show

After going home, Yu Wen talked to Xie Jiamao about this matter.

Boss: [He said he had seen you before?]

Boss: [It’s okay. Xiao Xie fell off a mountain when he was ten, had a concussion, and forgot some things. Everyone looks familiar to him.]

Seeing the message, Yu Wen felt relieved. He had no recollection at all.

Yu Wen: [Is he an artist in the company?]

Xie Heyu didn’t seem like a professional dance teacher, but being temporarily brought in by Xie Jiamao to teach him singing and dancing, coupled with his outstanding appearance, Yu Wen couldn’t believe the boss would let such an extraordinary gem slip away.

Boss: [No.]

On the other end of the screen, Xie Jiamao hesitated a bit.

He’s the biggest shareholder in the company, can he say this?

Boss: [He counts as a helper for the company, part of the miscellaneous group, and does a bit of everything.]

Hmm, Xiao Xie helps him manage the company, so of course he counts as a helper.

Yu Wen was silent for a long time.

After a while, his phone dinged, and even through the screen, one could feel Yu Wen’s confusion, shock, and speechlessness.

Yu Wen: [Is the company’s core hiring philosophy to hide talent?]

Xie Jiamao read this message twice, thinking Yu Wen must be complimenting him.

Boss: [Of course!]

Boss: [Lina Belle holding face.jpg]

Putting down his phone, Yu Wen felt a deep urgency to improve himself.

Even someone as talented as Xie Heyu could only be a helper. He, who knows nothing, must work hard to establish himself in the entertainment industry!

The entertainment industry really hides talents!

–

When signing the contract, Xie Jiamao told him to be prepared for one or two months without any gigs. However, less than half a month after the special appointment with “Fenghua” ended, the boss got him a new role.

It was the third male lead in a low-budget web series. Although it wasn’t high-profile, for Yu Wen, it was an invaluable opportunity.

When Xie Jiamao called him, his voice was a bit excited, “Xiao Yu! I’ve seen it, you’re the most handsome in the lead cast! Believe me, after this role, someone will recognize your talent and fall in love with you. You’ll be famous soon—”

The boss didn’t seem to be making empty promises. He genuinely believed that day would come soon.

What a good boss, eating the pie he drew himself.

Yu Wen didn’t want to dampen his enthusiasm, so he replied lively, “Yes, boss! Xiao Yu will not disappoint your expectations!”

Boss: “Famous! Red hot!”

Yu Wen: “Famous! Red hot!”

After dealing with the boss, Yu Wen collapsed back on the sofa to continue watching his drama.

The filming started in half a month. This time, the script was fundamentally different from his previous extras work. Yu Wen not only had to stay with the crew but also had to immerse himself for a whole month.

Before filming started, Yu Wen canceled all training courses except for acting, focusing solely on improving his acting skills, aiming for a last-minute sprint before the test.

Xie Jiamao also arranged for the dormitory, which was very close to the company. Considering Yu Wen was the only artist in the company now, they rented an apartment just for him.

Yu Wen expressed his gratitude by showering the boss with compliments in the chat app.

Xie Jiamao generously replied: You are the first artist I signed myself, a founding member of the company, you will never be mistreated!

When the rental contract came through, Yu Wen immediately started arranging the move.

Xie Jiamao said: [You can’t move by yourself, right? I’ll find someone from the company to help you.]

Yu Wen had a subtle premonition.

On moving day, he went downstairs and, as expected.

The weather was slightly cool. Xie Heyu was wearing a loose black hooded jacket, the zipper hanging loosely down to his chest, exposing a section of his slender collarbone. When Yu Wen came downstairs, Xie Heyu was leaning against a small truck behind him, playing with his phone, his right ear clean and white, without an earring.

Yu Wen really wanted to ask the boss how much he paid him, to make it worth juggling multiple roles and running around.

He’s just a college student!

“All set?” Seeing him appear, Xie Heyu put away his phone and stood up straight.

Yu Wen complained inwardly but didn’t show it, greeting him cheerfully.

Yu Wen didn’t have much stuff; four big boxes were enough to pack everything. The only thing needing careful handling was the desktop computer. Worried it might get damaged on the road, when Xie Heyu came upstairs, Yu Wen was still searching for foam paper. The high-tech product was lying on the coffee table.

“It’s fine,” Xie Heyu, hearing his concerns, suggested, “The computer mainframe is not easy to move, putting it in a box is okay. The screen… for this size, you can wrap it in a quilt and hold it in your arms.”

He walked to the coffee table, preparing to disassemble the desktop computer. When he inadvertently glanced at the pattern on the side, his expression froze.

“…I doodled it myself, haha.” Yu Wen noticed his gaze, thinking he was interested in the design—a small pattern on the side of the computer, which he drew with a marker during his early days out of boredom. The marker was oil-based, and once drawn, it couldn’t be erased, so he left it.

The pattern resembled a Tai Chi diagram, composed of two hugging fish. The original version had blue fish bodies with long tail fins extending and curling into waves.

He used to like this pattern a lot because he was Xiao Yu (Xiao means little and Yu means fish), and the pattern was also little fish. During his adolescent years, instead of writing his name on his notebooks, he would draw these little fish.

“…” Xie Heyu didn’t speak, his gaze lingering on it for a long time. After a while, he hesitantly said, “I think I’ve seen this pattern before…”

“…”

He met Yu Wen’s sympathetic eyes.

“…Did Xie Jiamao tell you something?”

Yu Wen patted his shoulder, choosing his words carefully, “Mr. Xie, the boss already told me… I didn’t expect the concussion from when you were ten to still have aftereffects. Don’t overthink it, these are just illusions.”

Xie Heyu stood still, pursing his lips as if wanting to say something. In the end, he said nothing, just giving Yu Wen a deep look.

“Mm.”

–

The new script Yu Wen received was called “Legend of the Immortal Sect,” mainly about a cultivation sect that has been suppressing a demonic artifact for generations and becomes targeted by various demonic factions after the news leaks.

The demonic artifact was lost in the war between immortals and demons ten thousand years ago and was secretly suppressed by the protagonist’s sect, sealed for generations without any mistakes. The sect lived in seclusion, with few disciples. Faced with the prying demons, they displayed extraordinary wisdom and chaotic coping strategies.

The overall story was light and humorous, the most popular style currently, with a simple yet logical plot, containing both comedic and tear-jerking moments. If performed well, it might even gain some popularity.

On the day Yu Wen joined the crew, Xie Jiamao called five times to ask, “Are you sure you don’t need an assistant? Everyone else has an assistant. Wouldn’t you be looked down upon if you go alone? Let me get someone for you…”

Perhaps because Yu Wen was the first artist signed by the company, Xie Jiamao acted like a first-time father, not only worrying about Yu Wen’s career but also constantly fretting whether he’d be bullied at the “kindergarten” (the crew).

Even with his toes, Yu Wen could guess that Xie Jiamao wanted to call Xie Heyu. Mr. Xie and he had exchanged earrings, which to Yu Wen was a bond as close as brothers. He couldn’t let the boss fuss over it.

“Thank you, boss! No need!” he shouted energetically.

Xie Jiamao: “Then act well! Strive to become wildly popular!”

Yu Wen: “Got it!”

In “Legend of the Immortal Sect,” Yu Wen played the third male lead, ranked sixth in the sect, known in the martial world as “Old Six,” a lucky koi fish who often messed things up but always turned danger into safety.

The female lead was the sect’s senior sister, with a cold personality, as frosty as snow and as deep as an abyss, wielding the astonishing Flying Flower Sword, making her the highest in combat power in the sect apart from the secluded master Liu Zhenzi.

Her hobbies were storybooks and opera scripts, often moved to tears. Every time she cried, unable to control her emotions, she would go to the back mountain to practice her sword. The Flying Flower Sword technique was exquisite, with sword winds rising like clouds and jade petals following, creating a scene of flying flowers, hence the sword’s name.

The senior sister often read storybooks, often wetted her clothes with tears, and often couldn’t restrain herself. There used to be a peach forest stretching ten miles in the mountain, but now, after over ten years, the peach forest was bare.

The male lead was the current king of the demon clan.

When the news that the sacred artifact was in the Yunxiao Sword Sect leaked, various factions began to stir, almost causing upheaval. Among them were selfish ones who wanted to overthrow the regime and recreate the chaos of the past where multiple kings competed.

It’s rumored that the sacred artifact of the demon clan contains world-destroying power, and releasing just a small portion could make one unstoppable in the now spiritually thin world.

The sacred artifact represents absolute power, and no one doesn’t want it.

The male lead, inheriting the throne and newly in power, also needed the sacred artifact to secure his position.

To avoid alerting the secluded Liu Zhenzi, he, like the other covetous demons, disguised his identity and infiltrated the Yunxiao Sword Sect. On his first day in the sect, he encountered the unlucky koi, Chu Laoliu.

A month later, the young demon king sent a message to his left and right protectors: The intelligence was wrong! This place is strange! There seems to be a curse! Many skilled demons have fallen here! My identity is exposed, my cultivation is lost, come quickly to save me!

Before the opening ceremony, the cast and crew gathered for a table read to go through the script. Yu Wen arrived early and greeted his colleagues, with whom he would be spending the next month.

As a low-budget web series, the cast couldn’t be very glamorous. The male lead was a former talent show contestant who didn’t debut a few years ago. He was only moderately handsome, but having trained in traditional dance, he had excellent posture and would look great in ancient costume; the female lead had played many standout supporting roles and was the main acting strength of the show; the other supporting actors were a bit less skilled but had their own highlights.

After Guyu (Grain Rain), the weather gradually became hot, and the crew set up many sun umbrellas near the filming location, looking like colorful little mushrooms.

From calling once a day, Xie Jiamao now switched to a weekly video call, ensuring Yu Wen was fitting in well with the crew, getting along with the other kids, and not getting into fights. He finally let go of the paternal experience, like a real agent, discussing Yu Wen’s future career plans, current resources, and public image positioning.

After months of preparation and hard work by countless people, “Legend of the Immortal Sect” officially started filming just before summer.