By linking my account to the check-in system, I became a leisurely traveler.

Chapter 47 The Unlucky Female Lead

The next day, Li Younan went to audition for a background actor. This time, thanks to her experience from the first day, she was selected without any difficulty.

The casting director was very enthusiastic when he met Li Younan, but said with some regret, "Today, we don't need you to be a stunt double. You can only play a background actor." He added, "You have a very good image. You can consider working in the growth stage. The film crews around here would like your image. With more experience, you can try being an extra. Who knows, maybe you'll be noticed by some big director and officially enter the entertainment industry."

Li Younan nodded and said, "Okay, thank you, director."

He recalled how his boss had promised him great things back at the company. However, compared to that, this casting director wasn't going to make empty promises; they weren't in a subordinate relationship, and this was more like pointing him in the right direction. But such words were best taken with a grain of salt. The entertainment industry was better suited to someone like the female lead from the first day—dedicated and talented.

His experiences over the past two days made him realize that even seemingly glamorous actors have their own professional struggles. For example, if he were to film a kissing scene with a female star he had never met before, Li Younan felt that no matter what, he could only portray himself as a heartless, lustful demon.

This production crew was clearly well-funded; the difference was evident in the boxed meals they provided, and the props they used were much cleaner. There were even tents to rest in while waiting. And then came another long wait.

Today's scene is on the street, and as a foreground actor, he will appear on camera for a long time; this time, he'll finally get to show his face. Fortunately, Li Younan doesn't need to provide any acting skills. The coordinator found him a small stall, gave him a plate of peanuts, and told him to eat peanuts there after filming starts.

This job was quite easy. Li Younan gently shook the prop folding fan, occasionally snapping it open to fan himself and pretending to be a romantic scholar.

If you filter out all the modern people outside the scene, the cobblestone path is uneven, with gray walls and wooden eaves on both sides. A peddler carrying a load shakes a rattle drum, and white steam rises from a tea stall. Blue-printed cloth hangs outside the cloth shop, and bottles and jars from the general store are piled up to the side of the street. A few idle men squat in the corner, basking in the sun.

Li Younan imagined himself as an ancient person, an experience far more interesting than any ancient theme park.

Filming was scheduled to start in an hour, but before Li Younan knew it, he had finished all the peanuts on his plate, and the cameras still hadn't started. Just then, a commotion broke out nearby. Li Younan clearly heard a voice say, "With your attitude, I really can't act with you anymore."

It's human nature to want to see something interesting, so everyone put down what they were doing and looked in that direction. The on-site coordinator yelled at them, "What are you looking at? What's it to you?"

Li Younan glanced around but didn't see anything. As he looked down, there were only two peanuts left in his bowl. Just as he was about to finish them off, a hand took the last two peanuts from his bowl.

Li Younan looked up and saw the same lighting technician from the day before yesterday, who said with a gloating expression, "It seems that our male lead and female lead have a falling out."

"They've had conflicts for a long time."

After saying that, he put two peanuts into his mouth.

Li Younan remained silent and did not comment on the matter. However, this little incident disrupted the start-up process, and everyone waited for half an hour before it finally began.

Someone in the crew, holding a megaphone, announced, "All departments, take your positions..." The clapperboard snapped shut, signaling the start of filming.

All the cameras were aimed at the male and female leads in the center of the scene. As a background character, Li Younan quietly pretended to chat with another foreground actor in his designated spot.

The peanuts on the plate were all gone. To make the scene seem more realistic, the other person took out a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) from their pocket and filled both Li Younan's bowl and their own.

Li Younan was stunned. Could this really be done on set?
After putting down the bowl, the other person said with an exaggerated smile, "One, two, three, four, five, three, four, five, six, seven."

The intonation and rhythm were like telling a very funny joke.

Li Younan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly came to his senses and nodded seriously: "Three, four, five, six, seven, ten, JQKA."

The other person laughed and patted Li Younan on the shoulder: "Three, four, five, three, four, five!"

The two of them burst into laughter.

Li Younan felt that this moment was definitely the peak of his acting skills.

In contrast to his smooth sailing, the male and female leads in the center of the frame ran into trouble. The director yelled "Cut!" and all activities immediately stopped.

The director went over and talked to the male and female leads again before filming resumed.

This time, Li Younan spoke first: "One, two, three, four, five."

The other person chuckled: "Seven, eight, nine, seven, eight, nine."

However, before Li Younan could speak again, the director yelled "Cut!" once more.

The director stepped forward and gave the lead actress a very serious reprimand. This went on for several rounds, leaving everyone exhausted. Finally, the director, frustrated, grabbed a megaphone and yelled, "Take a 20-minute break!"

Taking this opportunity, the extras on site all hid under the tents to cool off.

At this moment, the foreground actor who was acting opposite Li Younan patted Li Younan on the shoulder: "Brother, you have great acting skills."

Li Younan clasped his hands in a fist salute: "You flatter me."

The other person then said, "Brother, I need to use the restroom." Li Younan replied, "Please go ahead."

They both laughed again, and it was clear that the other person was also an interesting person who had come to experience life.

After that guy left, only Li Younan was left sitting there. He was already under the pergola, so there was no need for him to move. Just then, he saw the female lead walk straight towards him.

……

Last time, Li Younan didn't actually get a clear look at what the female lead looked like. But this time, she sat down right next to him so neatly and easily.

As a celebrity, she was undoubtedly the most beautiful woman in the entire cast.

It's not very polite to keep calling her "leading lady, leading lady." The leading lady's name is Lan Yiyi.

At this moment, she sat down next to him in full view of everyone. It would be very awkward if he didn't say anything, but it would be even more awkward if he insisted on saying something.

However, it was clear that the other party understood the principle that "as long as you are not embarrassed, it is others who are embarrassed." He sat on the stool, sulking, and ignored Li Younan.

Li Younan looked up helplessly. The sunlight had already passed over the sunshade and landed on the table, and the weather was still so hot.

Lan Yiyi kept making mistakes today, unable to find her rhythm. She hung her head, looking dejected. Suddenly, she turned to Li Younan and asked, "Am I really that bad?"

Li Younan was stunned for a moment, then immediately shook his head: "How could that be? I think you are a very dedicated actor."

Li Younan spoke these words with utmost sincerity, yet they seemed to have provoked the other person. Her eyes changed, revealing disbelief, shock, and then an undisguised grievance, as she said, "You only arrived the day before yesterday, right? I've never seen you before."

Li Younan blinked and nodded.

Lan Yiyi said bitterly, "So you're going to join them in mocking me too?"

Li Younan's lips twitched slightly. Huh? What the heck? "Dedication" is a derogatory term now? Is this an unspoken rule in the entertainment industry?

At this moment, Lan Yiyi felt that the world had abandoned her. She moved from the center of the stool, which was close to Li Younan, to the edge.

The two were separated by a long, empty bench, like an invisible chasm.

The air seemed to freeze.

Lan Yiyi said sullenly, "Stay away from me."

Li Younan hesitated for a moment and said, "Do you mean I should leave?"

Lan Yiyi nodded without looking at Li Younan.

Li Younan sighed softly, braced his hands on his knees, and prepared to stand up. This movement shifted his center of gravity upwards, and more importantly, the immense downward pressure he had been exerting on his end of the bench vanished instantly.

Just as Li Younan's buttocks lifted off the bench and his body had not yet fully straightened up—

The cold, hard laws of physics took over the situation.

Without the weight pressing down on its left side, the sturdy wooden bench suddenly lifted up like a spring.

"oops--!"

Lan Yiyi only had time to let out a short gasp before her body was mercilessly thrown backward and downward by the sinking of the other end of the stool and the force of her own gravity. It felt like the land she was sitting on had suddenly collapsed.

"Pfft!"

Lan Yiyi fell to the ground in an extremely disheveled manner, sprawling on her back, her legs even slightly lifted upwards due to inertia.

Li Younan had now stood up completely, turned around in astonishment, and his face was filled with pure, dumbfounded surprise.

He looked at Lan Yiyi, who had fallen to the ground, her face blank and filled with shame and indignation.

The laws that Newton wrote down more than three hundred years ago struck the unsuspecting Lan Yiyi in the most direct and embarrassing way at this moment.

Lan Yiyi's nose tingled, and she burst into tears.

(End of this chapter)