FLME Ch5: New Show

After returning home, Yu Wen chatted with Xie Jiamao about this matter.

Boss: [He said he’s met you before?]

Boss: [It’s nothing. Xiao Xie fell down a mountain when he was ten and got a concussion. He forgot some things and thinks everyone looks familiar.]

Looking at the message, Yu Wen felt relieved. See, he had absolutely no impression of it.

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

Xie Heyu didn’t look like a professional choreography teacher, but being pulled in temporarily by Xie Jiamao to teach him singing and dancing, and having such outstanding physical features, Yu Wen didn’t believe the boss would let such a peerless pearl slip by.

Boss: [No.]

On the other side of the screen, Xie Jiamao was slightly hesitant.

He was the company’s largest shareholder—could he say that?

Boss: [He counts as a company helper, part of the miscellaneous affairs team, does a bit of everything.]

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

This time, Yu Wen fell silent for a long time.

After a good moment, the phone dinged. Even through the screen, one could feel Yu Wen’s confusion, shock, and speechlessness.

Yu Wen: […Is the core concept of the company’s employment strategy ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’?]

Xie Jiamao read this sentence over and over twice, feeling that Yu Wen must be praising him.

Boss: [Of course!]

Boss: [LinaBell_holding_her_face.jpg]

Putting down the phone, Yu Wen deeply felt that improving himself was imminent.

Even a talent like Xie Heyu could only be a helper. He knew nothing; if he wanted to have a foothold in the entertainment industry, he had to work extremely hard!

The entertainment industry truly was full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons!

When signing the contract, Xie Jiamao told him to be prepared to have no gigs for a month or two. However, less than half a month after the featured extra job on Fenghua ended, his boss helped him secure a new role.

It was the third male lead in a low-budget web drama. Although it couldn’t be called high-class, for Yu Wen, it was truly a rare and excellent resource.

When Xie Jiamao called him, his voice was a bit agitated, “Xiao Yu! I’ve checked, you are the most handsome one in the main cast! Trust me, after acting in this, someone with a keen eye will definitely fall for you, and you will immediately explode in popularity—”

The boss didn’t seem to be painting empty promises for Yu Wen; he seemed to genuinely believe this day would come immediately.

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

Yu Wen didn’t want to dampen his enthusiasm and replied cheerfully, “Yes Boss! Xiao Yu definitely won’t let down your expectations!”

Boss: “Explosive hit! Massive popularity!”

Yu Wen: “Explosive hit! Massive popularity!”

After dealing with the boss, Yu Wen slumped back onto the sofa to continue binge-watching dramas.

The crew would start filming in half a month. This script was fundamentally different from his past extra roles. Yu Wen not only had to join the crew, but he also had to immerse himself in the crew for a whole month.

Before filming started, Yu Wen canceled all his training courses except for acting, pouring all his heart into improving his acting skills, striving for a final sprint right before the “exam.”

The dorm Xie Jiamao promised was also settled. It was very close to the company. Considering that Yu Wen was currently the company’s only artist, he simply rented a single apartment just for him.

Yu Wen wildly showered the boss with flatteries on the chat app to show his gratitude.

Xie Jiamao, in turn, generously stated: You are the first artist I personally signed, a founding member of the company. I will definitely not treat you poorly!

Once the rental contract came through, Yu Wen immediately started working on moving.

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

Yu Wen suddenly had a subtle premonition.

When he went downstairs on moving day, sure enough.

The temperature was slightly low that day. Xie Heyu wore a loose black hooded jacket, the zipper hanging loosely to his chest, revealing a section of slender collarbone. When Yu Wen went downstairs, he was leaning against a small truck behind him, looking down at his phone. His right ear was clean and fair, wearing no earring.

Yu Wen really wanted to ask the boss exactly how much salary he was paying him to make it worth juggling multiple roles and running around everywhere.

He was still just a college student!

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

Yu Wen grumbled internally but didn’t show it on his face, greeting him with a brisk tone.

Yu Wen didn’t have many things, roughly packing everything into four large cardboard boxes. The only thing that needed careful protection was the desktop computer. Worried it would get knocked around on the way, he was still searching everywhere for bubble wrap when Xie Heyu came upstairs. The high-tech product was sprawling casually on the coffee table.

“It’s fine,” Xie Heyu listened to his concerns and suggested. “The computer tower isn’t easily moved, it’s okay to put it in a cardboard box. The monitor… for this size, you can wrap it in a quilt and hold it in your arms.”

He walked to the coffee table, preparing to dismantle the desktop computer, and inadvertently caught sight of a pattern on the side, his expression blanking for a moment.

“…I just doodled it randomly, hahaha.” Yu Wen noticed his gaze and assumed he was interested in this design-rich mark. There was a small pattern on the side of the computer. He had drawn it with a marker out of sheer boredom during his first few days after transmigrating. It turned out the marker was oil-based, and it couldn’t be wiped off after being drawn, so he just left it alone.

The mark resembled a Tai Chi symbol, composed of two fish embracing each other. The original version of the fish bodies was blue, with long extending tail fins that swayed into a wave shape at the end.

He used to really like this pattern because he was Xiao Yu (喻), and the pattern was also little fish (魚 – yu). During his edgy teen phase, he wouldn’t write his name on his notebooks, but instead just drew this kind of little fish.

“…” Xie Heyu didn’t speak. His gaze lingered heavily on it for a moment, and after a good while, he said doubtfully, “I think I’ve seen this pattern before…”

“…”

He met Yu Wen’s pitying gaze.

“…” Xie Heyu instantly realized the crux of the matter. “What did Xie Jiamao tell you?”

Yu Wen patted his shoulder and weighed his words, “Teacher Xie, the boss told me everything… I didn’t expect the concussion from when you were ten to still have lingering effects today. Don’t overthink it, these are all illusions.”

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

“Mn.”

The new script Yu Wen received was called Legend of the Immortal Sect. It mainly told the story of a cultivation sect that had suppressed a demon race’s holy relic for generations, only to be targeted by various demon factions after the news leaked out.

The demon relic was lost during the war between immortals and demons ten thousand years ago, and was later secretly suppressed by the protagonist’s sect, sealed away for generations without a single mishap over ten millennia. The sect lived in seclusion with very few disciples. Facing the covetous demons, they revealed extraordinary wisdom and hilariously chaotic countermeasures.

The story overall was lighthearted and humorous, the most popular type of light comedy right now. The plot was simple but logically sound, with both laugh points and tear-jerkers. If acted well, it might just become a minor hit.

On the day Yu Wen joined the crew, Xie Jiamao called five times to ask: “Do you really not want an assistant? Everyone else has an assistant. Won’t you be looked down upon going alone? Let me just call someone for you…”

Perhaps because Yu Wen was the very first artist signed by the company, Xie Jiamao acted like a first-time father. Not only did he worry about Yu Wen’s future, but he also constantly worried about whether he’d get bullied going to kindergarten (the film set).

Yu Wen could figure out with his toes that he wanted to call Xie Heyu. Teacher Xie and he had a relationship of exchanging earrings; in Yu Wen’s heart, they were like blood brothers from different parents. How could he let the boss toss him around like that?

“Thanks Boss! No need!” he shouted vigorously.

Xie Jiamao: “Then act well! Strive to become a massive hit!”

Yu Wen: “Okay!”

Yu Wen played the third male lead in Legend of the Immortal Sect, ranked sixth in the sect, known in the martial world as Old Sixth. He was a lucky koi fish who constantly messed things up but always managed to turn danger into safety.

The female lead was the sect’s Eldest Shijie. Her personality was aloof and cold, like frost and snow, colder than ice in a deep abyss. With her stunningly brilliant Flying Flower Sword technique, she was the highest combat power in the sect besides their secluded master, Liu Zhenzi.

Her hobbies were storybooks and opera scripts. When she read emotional parts, she would often shed silent tears. Whenever she cried and couldn’t suppress her emotions, she would go to the back mountain to practice her sword. The Flying Flower Sword technique was exquisite beyond compare; when the sword wind rose with the clouds, jade-like petals would sometimes follow, filling the sky with flying flowers, hence the sword’s name.

The Eldest personality often read storybooks, often wet her clothes with tears, and often couldn’t control herself. Originally, there was a ten-mile peach forest in the mountain. Now, after more than ten years, the peach forest was entirely bald.

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

The news that the holy relic was in the Yunxiao Sword Sect had leaked, and various factions were growing restless. It looked like waves were about to rise again. Among them were many selfish individuals who wanted to overthrow the regime and reproduce the chaos of the kings’ hegemony from the past.

Rumor had it that the demon relic sealed apocalyptic power. Just releasing a small wisp of it would allow one to run rampant in today’s spiritually thin world.

The holy relic represented absolute power; there was no one who didn’t want to obtain it.

The male lead had inherited the throne and just grasped power. He also needed the holy relic to consolidate his position.

In order not to alert the secluded Liu Zhenzi, like the other covetous demons, he concealed his identity and infiltrated the Yunxiao Sword Sect. On his first day stepping into the sect, he ran into the bizarrely lucky koi, Chu Old Sixth.

A month later, the young demon king sent a message to his left and right guardians: Intel is wrong! This place is bizarre! Seems to be cursed! Many demon experts have fallen here! My identity is exposed, cultivation entirely lost, come rescue me immediately!

Before the opening ceremony, there was a script read-through. The actors and main creative team gathered to sort out the plot outline. Yu Wen arrived early and greeted the colleagues he would be spending the next month with.

For a low-budget web drama, the cast naturally couldn’t be too luxurious. The male lead was a draft show contestant from a few years ago who never debuted; his looks could only be considered handsome, but he had practiced folk dance, so his posture was quite superior, and he would look great in ancient costumes. The female lead had played many brilliant supporting roles and was the acting pillar of the whole show. The rest of the supporting cast were slightly inferior but each had their highlights.

After the Guyu (Grain Rain) solar term, the weather gradually grew hotter. The crew set up many parasols near the filming location, looking like bright little mushrooms.

“Papa Xie” went from calling once a day at the beginning to video-calling once a week now. After confirming that Yu Wen felt like a fish in water on set, got along well with the other kids, and didn’t get into fights (just kidding), he finally broke away from that bizarre fatherly experience. Like a real manager, he began discussing future career planning, resources currently under negotiation, and public image positioning with Yu Wen.

With the preparation and consolidated hard work of countless people over several months, Legend of the Immortal Sect properly began filming right on the eve of summer.