GRMFBS CH83

The student extras had formed a group chat and were currently buzzing with discussion:

“Hey, weren’t we supposed to head to the set the day after tomorrow? Why did they push it back by another two days?”

Zhan Yan thought to himself: That’s because the director got scared out of his wits and is currently flat on his back in the hospital.

He was tuning in to eat the gossip from afar.

By the time Director Ji woke up, he was already lying in a hospital bed—and it was Yu Zhen who had found someone to fetch help.

Yu Zhen truly lived up to his status as a veteran working-class ghost; his acting chops were extraordinary, wearing an expression of pure, unadulterated panic: “I was just passing by and saw someone lying there. When I walked over to look, I realized it was Director Ji!”

Director Ji even had to thank him for saving his life once he came to!

Waking up, Ji Lele was still in a complete state of terror: “I swear I saw a real ghost! A head, ghastly pale and green! Poking right out of the wall, suspended right above the incense altar! It was terrifying! Truly! I’m not lying to you guys!”

He even hauled Yu Zhen over to testify for him: “Did you see it? You found me, so you definitely must have seen it!”

Yu Zhen wore a troubled look: “About that… Director, I only saw you lying on the floor…”

The assistant director tried to reason with Ji Lele: “Have you been under too much stress lately? With your mind full of gods, demons, and ghostly plotlines all day long, even I’ve been having nightmares. Just rest up for a couple of days. Over on the set, I’ll shoot some minor scenes first so the crew isn’t left idling.”

Ji Lele: “No, I really saw it! Why won’t any of you believe me?!”

The head of marketing and publicity also quietly pulled Ji Lele aside: “Right now, it’s really not in good taste to hype up the film by claiming the set is haunted.”

Having the director himself encounter a ghost wouldn’t look great in public announcements either.

Ji Lele was on the verge of tears: “Wuu-wuu-wuu, I wasn’t acting! I don’t even have that kind of acting skill!”

No matter what, he adamantly refused to return to the set.

He knew horror movies were fake, so being frightened by fiction was fine. But actual hauntings were the real deal!

Xia Yuexuan was venting to Zhan Yan about this very mess.

Zhan Yan had messaged Xia Yuexuan to ask about the extras’ schedule being pushed back, and the two had struck up a conversation from there.

Xia Yuexuan hadn’t been on set earlier. As the big boss, she couldn’t stick around a single production crew indefinitely. However, because she happened to have business in Beiling City over these couple of days, she hadn’t left yet. Upon hearing about the incident, she dropped by the hospital to check in.

Seeing her, Ji Lele reacted as though he had laid eyes on his own mother: “Wuu-wuu-wuu, Boss Xia! I’m speaking the absolute truth! This set is genuinely haunted! Let’s find a grand master! Let’s go to a temple and invite a Bodhisattva!”

Xia Yuexuan offered him a gentle smile, asking in meticulous detail about everything that had transpired. She told him to rest well, then headed straight to the filming location for an inspection—where she promptly fished Yu Zhen out.

Ji Lele directed horror films, but Xia Yuexuan had never employed demons or ghosts in his productions, nor had she ever hired anyone with supernatural powers. Had that not been the case, she wouldn’t have let the Chongming Demon King’s youngest son join the set in the first place.

However, an ordinary human casting director had no way of discerning that an actor applying for a role was an actual ghost!

Ji Lele happened to be rather sensitive to supernatural phenomena; that was precisely why Xia Yuexuan had exclusively arranged ordinary mortals for his crew.

Yu Zhen stood before Xia Yuexuan trembling in terror, practically scared out of his wits. Why on earth would a great demon open a film and television company?! Wuu… He had never had to face a great demon of this caliber in his entire life!

“I was just trying to earn a little incense money…” Yu Zhen mumbled, his voice utterly frail and timid. “The director lights incense offerings all day long. It smelled so fragrant that I couldn’t hold back, so I snuck over to take a tiny sniff. It was my very first time! Truly!”

Xia Yuexuan kept a stern, stony face and made Yu Zhen go look at Ji Lele. The director was suffering from nightmares every day, his spirit and vitality visibly withering.

“You frightened my director half to death. What do you plan to do about it? Do you have any idea how much money it costs every single day the production sits idle?”

Yu Zhen whimpered, “That really wasn’t my doing! I just accidentally crossed paths with him that one time, and I haven’t done a single thing since!”

Ji Lele’s nightmares were purely the result of scaring himself silly day in and day out.

After giving Yu Zhen a thorough dressing-down, Xia Yuexuan told him to continue working on the set, provided he never revealed his ghostly form again. On one hand, Ji Lele was already familiar with this supporting actor, who played a ghost exceptionally well! It would be a hassle to reshoot his previously filmed scenes with a replacement. On the other hand, Xia Yuexuan figured she might as well keep Yu Zhen in Ji Lele’s crew long-term. With Yu Zhen keeping watch, they wouldn’t run into another situation where a ghost was hired without anyone realizing it.

Xia Yuexuan turned around and signed a formal contract with Yu Zhen.

After handling Yu Zhen, Xia Yuexuan went back to find Ji Lele.

[Xia Yuexuan uses Heart-Bewitching Technique to make Ji Lele believe he didn’t actually encounter a ghost, but merely hallucinated due to staying up late for too long.]

Upon refreshing this gossip entry, Zhan Yan acquired another new information keyword. “Heart-Bewitching Technique” entered his “Abilities” tab, filling the energy bar to the brim and granting him another little star.

Zhan Yan felt thoroughly pleased. He had leveled up again!

The little stars in the Abilities tab provided information concealment. Zhan Yan started by locking down his father’s information. Hehe, my dad is the Chongming Demon King! He had kept an enormous secret safe for his dad! The moment he got home, he was definitely going to mooch a lavish feast cooked by his father!

With the director recovered, the crew resumed shooting, and the college student extras smoothly entered the set.

The makeup artist had no time to apply makeup to every single extra, so she grabbed one person as a model, swapped them into costume, smeared on fake blood, and asked the group: “Got it? Everyone understand? Just paint yourselves following this example. The fake blood is right here.” With that, she turned and left.

Zhan Yan and Gu Jiancheng smeared fake blood on each other. Bao Qingshan dabbed a finger into the fake blood and gave it a lick: “Hey! It’s sweet!”

A crowd of college students stared curiously at the bucket holding the fake blood.

“It looks so real, haha! Just a bit thick.”

“No kidding! If it wasn’t thick, how could it stick to your face? It’d drip right off.”

“I heard this stuff is simmered from sugar syrup.”

“It does smell pretty sweet.”

“Taste it! Try some!”

A little while later, a member of the props team cried out with a miserable face: “Team Leader, the fake blood is all gone.”

The team leader was stunned: “Huh? Didn’t we just brew a huge pot of it?”

Curious college students had each taken a taste, and after finishing their makeup, only the dregs at the bottom of the pot remained.

The props team scrambled to brew more fake blood on the double. The casting director put on a fierce face to intimidate the college students: “Looks to me like you’ve all drunk your fill! Keep this up, and we won’t be handing out boxed lunches to you later!”

Once filming officially began, the opening shots were straightforward. A group of students was first seated in the classroom, instructed to remain completely still. When the off-camera cue shouted “Three, two, one,” they were to turn their heads simultaneously toward the camera with blank, expressionless faces.

Ji Lele sat in his director’s chair, stroking his chin.

Ji Lele was meticulous about his visuals, and his signature “horror aesthetic” was quite renowned. Aside from sheer fright, his films always possessed an eerie, peculiar beauty.

Right now, this shot had gone quite well, and the scene didn’t require on-site audio recording. Yet Ji Lele still felt something in the frame looked discordant.

“You, the one on the far left of the second row—yes, yes, yes, you—step out for a moment.” He singled out Gu Jiancheng.

Ji Lele stared at Gu Jiancheng for a good while: “You’re too handsome; it breaks the harmony of the shot.”

Zhan Yan was reminded once again of that “test of a beauty” and couldn’t help himself: “Pfft.”

Gu Jiancheng turned his head and shot him a glare.

Ji Lele followed his gaze and caught sight of Zhan Yan. Oho! This one looks incredible too!

However, Gu Jiancheng’s issue went far beyond merely being good-looking. Their faces were smeared with fake blood under heavy lighting; any face would naturally be suppressed in a scene like this. That was why Ji Lele hadn’t bothered picking extras based on looks in the beginning.

Gu Jiancheng’s biggest issue was that his presence was far too prominent. It was an aggressive aura, sharp as a whetted blade—the moment he stood there, it was impossible for anyone to overlook him.

The kid who had just laughed was exceptionally handsome as well, but his aura was soft and gentle, blending seamlessly into the background.

“Go sit over to the side for now.” Ji Lele had Gu Jiancheng step down, swapped in a new extra to take the classroom seat, and wrapped up the scene.

Zhan Yan seized the spare moment to browse his Gossip System.

Whoa! Director Ji wants to scout him!

Zhan Yan didn’t have his phone on set and had no time to chat with Gu Jiancheng, so he could only shoot frantic glances and gestures his way during filming breaks.

Normally, anyone singled out by the director would feel nervous. Gu Jiancheng was different; he sat to the side, absorbed in watching Zhan Yan act. Seeing Zhan Yan toss him meaningful glances and frantic hand gestures, he even smiled. The moment he smiled, that distant, aloof edge softened into a presence that made people’s faces heat up.

Once those takes were wrapped up, Zhan Yan hurried over to warn him: “Director Ji wants to scout you!”

“Ask me to act?” Gu Jiancheng asked.

“Yeah! Do you want to?” Zhan Yan asked.

“Why would he? Because I look good?” Gu Jiancheng was bewildered. “You look good too.”

Zhan Yan was left completely speechless by his frank, matter-of-fact remark.

“Aiya, you…”

Before he could finish, Ji Lele walked over.

He beamed with delight as he sized up Gu Jiancheng, convinced that this young man had the potential to become a massive star!

Looking handsome was nothing extraordinary; what mattered most was that innate quality that made a person instantly unmissable the moment the camera rolled!

While someone like that might have a limited range of roles, they also possessed the explosive potential to skyrocket to stardom!

Among the megastars capable of dominating an entire era, which one didn’t have this very quality?

Scout him! Scout him for Boss Xia!

Ji Lele began asking Gu Jiancheng with amiable warmth whether he had any interest in acting.

He figured starting from this topic would be foolproof! If he had no interest, why would he come to work as an extra?

Gu Jiancheng stated bluntly, “No interest.”

Ji Lele: “…?”

The conversation died right out of the gate.

Ji Lele: “If you have no interest, why did you come to be an extra?”

Gu Jiancheng kept it concise: “To accompany a friend.”

Ji Lele choked on his words. Glancing at Zhan Yan beside him, he asked, “Do you have any plans to pursue a career in the entertainment industry?”

If you’re accompanying a friend, then keep accompanying him!

Zhan Yan: “No, Director. I only came because I thought it sounded fun.”

Ji Lele: “…Then don’t you guys want screen time? Getting extra scenes is really fun too!”

Zhan Yan: “Does getting extra scenes come with extra pay?”

Ji Lele: “…”

Ah! I hate you straightforward college students who have never tasted the brutal beatdowns of society the most!

Failing to scout anyone and only earning an awkward rebuff, Ji Lele had no way of arguing with these refreshingly naive college students. Hissing in annoyance, he resumed filming, shoving the overly eye-catching Gu Jiancheng straight into the corner. Zhan Yan didn’t need to change positions, but he naturally trailed along to squat in the corner with Gu Jiancheng.

Neither of them cared whether they got screen time. If Zhan Yan ever wanted to dabble in the entertainment industry, he could simply go straight to his dad.

After messing around with the crew for two days, Zhan Yan poked Gu Jiancheng with a finger: “Hey, do you think this is fun?”

Gu Jiancheng: “It’s pretty interesting.”

He raised his head to look at Yu Zhen.

Having never experienced this before, he found it rather novel. Who would have guessed an actual ghost was lingering on the set of a horror movie?

Dressed in his costume, Yu Zhen hurried past. Suddenly feeling a chill run down his spine, he turned his head, only to see a bunch of cheerful college student extras.

Yu Zhen scratched his head. Everything should be fine, right? Ever since Boss Xia gave him that warning, he had been behaving himself with total obedience.

Boss Xia had ordered him to keep an eye on the production crew so they wouldn’t accidentally recruit another supernatural being. The latest additions to the set were just this batch of college students. He hadn’t noticed anything off about them—unless there happened to be some supreme powerhouse among them capable of concealing themselves so thoroughly that not a single flaw showed.

What kind of bored powerhouse would disguise themselves as a college student just to mess around as an extra?