The birth of an actor

Chapter 51 Fly Hero

"Okay, Sister He, I'll ask her when I see her. I can't contact her right now, so I'll talk to her when I see her."

"Hmm. By the way, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the crew will start filming in late September. The locations will be at the Beijing Film Studio and Chengde. You'll be starting school then, right? Any problems?"

"No, I'm waiting for our production team's notification."

"Okay, remember to give Bingbing a good talking-to."

"Uh-huh……"

After hanging up He Xiuqiong's call, An Xin breathed a huge sigh of relief.

But his brows immediately furrowed.

The inertia of history led her to the role of Jin Suo... Qiong Yao felt that her beauty was too aggressive.

Well……

Recalling Ruby Lin's "Ziwei," I must say, Anxin herself also feels that the original cast is better. Of course, Ertai is an exception.

I'm definitely more handsome than that weirdo, right?
But immediately, my heart sank.

This girl... she must be feeling really upset, right?

Thinking of this, he recalled the first time he went to see him, met Zhong Hua, was selected to film a movie, and was rejected by a middle-aged woman because she said he was stealing her spotlight. He remembered the girl's "It's okay, I'm used to it" attitude.

She appeared to be extremely strong-willed at the time.

Anxin was quite impressed, thinking it was quite remarkable that a fifteen-year-old could understand these things.

Even an adult might not be completely unaffected by this...

But after they got to know each other better, he realized... that what happened that time wasn't because the girl was strong-willed. She was just stubbornly trying to save face.

To save face, one must never show the slightest weakness in front of others, no matter what.

But whether it's painful or not... only you know when you get home and hide under the covers.

And now...

"Sister Sui, if you call me, just let me know. I'm in the backyard."

"Okay, got it."

……

Anxin waited all afternoon but Fan Bing never showed up.

It wasn't until after dinner that he habitually boiled a pot of soup and delivered a jar to Grandpa Ye. Just as he was leaving, he bumped into the girl who was returning alone.

"..."

"..."

Anxin gets furious whenever she sees her.

What the hell era are we living in? What decent person doesn't check their pager all afternoon? Would it kill you to return a call?

But when he saw the girl's red and swollen eyes, all his anger vanished.

If Fan Bingbing eats a late-night snack, her face is likely to be swollen the next day.

He had seen the pig-headed girl before.

It looks like my cheeks have gotten bigger.

But these days, girls... her eyes aren't just pig-headed anymore, they're more like Fly Man.

Her two bright eyes were swollen shut, leaving only a slit.

He looked at Fan Bing, and Fan Bing looked at him.

A few seconds later, the girl lowered her head and walked towards home.

"Stop."

"..."

The girl stopped, didn't turn around, and asked:
"what?"

"What do you want me to do? Where's your pager?"

"out of battery."

"Why don't you just buy batteries when the power is out?"

"……forgotten."

"Get lost! Are you kidding me?"

"..."

The girl fell silent.

At this moment, Old Ye, who had heard the commotion, also came out of the door:

"Bingbing".

Fan Bing turned her head:

"Uncle Ye, I'm sorry, I didn't practice today... I'll make it up tomorrow."

As soon as she turned around, the old man saw the Flyman himself.

I immediately realized that this girl had probably been crying for a long time.

So he sighed.

He already knew what had happened from An Xin.

I wanted to say something... but seeing the girl's listless state, after thinking for a while, all I could say in the end was:

"Don't go home yet, don't worry. Is there still a fire in the stove? Go and boil two eggs for her."

"……it is good."

Anxin nodded in agreement, then rolled her eyes at her speechlessly:

"come on."

"No need, I'm tired and want to go back to rest."

"Don't ink."

After saying that, he walked home, and Fan Bing hesitated for a moment before finally following him.

He took out the pot, boiled water, put two eggs from the refrigerator into it, then went into the house and looked at Fan Bing, who was sitting on the stool as if her soul had been taken away, and asked:

"Where's Auntie?"

"We had a fight, and she... went back."

"..."

Anxin's lips twitched:
"Did you get the tickets?"

"Standing ticket".

"..."

He was speechless again.

After much deliberation, he finally said:
"I couldn't reach you at noon, so I called Sister He."

"So...you knew?"

"Um, about your role as Jin Suo... what's Auntie's attitude?"

"..."

Fly Man pursed his lips.

A few seconds later, she said:
"At first, I was angry, and she tried to reason with me. Later... the more she tried to reason with me, the angrier she got, so I ended up trying to reason with her. But I couldn't persuade her, and she insisted on taking me home, saying she wouldn't let me be an actress anymore. We... had a huge fight, and she got angry, saying she would never care whether I lived or died again, not even if I died out there. Then she left..."

"..."

To be honest, Anxin naturally knew that those words were said in anger.

After all, logically speaking, the girl is still in her rebellious phase.

It's not surprising that the mother and daughter fought like this. But even so, he could still tell from the girl's demeanor that the argument must have been quite fierce.

After thinking for a moment, he asked:
"And what about you... what do you think?"

Fly Man pursed his lips.

Then came a minute of silence.

"Sister He...what did she tell you?"

"Aunt Qiong Yao said she thinks your beauty is too aggressive and doesn't fit the image of Ziwei. Jin Suo also has a significant role and is a main character, so she asked me to give you some advice..."

"..."

A strangely ironic smile silently appeared on the girl's lips.

"So, you've come to persuade me?"

"Ah."

"Then I'll act it out."

"……Um?"

Suddenly, An Xin was startled:
"What?"

"I said, I'll act it out."

The sarcasm on the girl's face grew even stronger:
"What am I anyway? You tell me. They only let me audition for the role of Ziwei because they thought highly of me. Although it was agreed upon, it wasn't in black and white, just empty words. Now, being able to play a maid is better than not getting any roles and having to stand outside the Beijing Film Academy every day..."

"Alright, stop being stubborn."

Seeing that tears were starting to well up in her swollen eyes again, Anxin rolled her eyes and handed her a towel.

The girl silently took it without saying a word.

Then came a sentence:
Why don't you ask me why I've been calling you all day?

"Isn't it just helping Director He persuade me?"

"..."

Anxin's lips twitched, but she finally understood...

"So, after all this time, you thought Director He and I were in cahoots? That's why you weren't replying to my messages? ...Are you angry with me?"

"……No."

The girl shook her head directly:

"Why would I be angry with you? You didn't do anything to me. It's my fault for being too aggressive, waaaaaah..."

As she spoke, she suddenly broke down in tears, burying her head in the neatly folded blankets and sobbing uncontrollably, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

"..."

An Xin was somewhat speechless, but after thinking for a moment, she could only continue speaking to herself:

"You weren't here yesterday, so I watched the shop for Brother Li for a while. I ran into a lady named Wang Jinghua. She came to buy clothes..."

At first, Fan Bing wouldn't listen to a word.

But when she heard "she said she was Chen Daoming's manager," her trembling shoulders suddenly stiffened.

Even the crying was instinctively suppressed.

"She came to see me early this morning. She waited until I got off work, wanting to talk to me."

The whimpering sound was reduced to sobs.

"The reason I called you is because she told me that signing with Aunt Qiong Yao's company might not be a good thing. According to her, everything about this company is just to serve Aunt Qiong Yao's works. Actors are just cogs in a machine, she said..."

As he continued his story, even his sobs became barely audible.

"...I think that makes sense. I think her example of using director Zhang Yimou is quite appropriate. If I signed with a company that doesn't even have an office in mainland China, and the news that Director Zhang really needs an actor like me is released, the position might be taken by someone else before he even finds out about my company."

"..."

The room became completely quiet.

"And she made a very good point. Aunt Qiong Yao's company serves her works; everything revolves around the works, and actors are just one part of it. The company's focus is fundamentally different from that of an agent. An actor's agent is only responsible to the actor."

...Think about it, who can guarantee that her work will remain popular for seven years? And who can guarantee that she'll have a role in every film or television production during those seven years? But what if I had a reliable agent...? She could help me contact directors and production teams, and develop a plan based on my strengths. That way, I wouldn't have to wander around like a headless chicken, desperately waiting for an opportunity... Wouldn't such an agent be much more reliable than a Taiwanese film and television production company that doesn't even have an office in mainland China?

Before anyone knew it, Flyman had already sat up straight.

His eyes, now reduced to mere slits, stared intently at An Xin:

"So...she's interested in you?"

"Yes, they want to sign me."

"You agreed?"

"Not yet. At the time, all I could think about was calling you. After all, I still think it's absurd for you to sign a seven-year contract. Two or three years is fine, but seven years... how many seven-year periods do you have in your life? So I wanted to tell you the facts that I had just learned, so that you could think it over more or calm down. Unfortunately, someone didn't appreciate it and thought I was in cahoots with others."

"Then why don't you just say yes to her first!"

Fan Bing suddenly panicked:

"What if she changes her mind too? You...you don't need to worry about me, get in the car first!"

"Ha~"

Relieved and happy:

"Shouldn't you apologize to me now?"

His original intention was to tease Fly Man.

After all, she had been buzzing around on her blanket for so long...

It's good to be able to change your mood.

But who knows...

"I'm sorry... I've held you back."

"..."

"You need to contact her right now and tell her you agreed... Don't... don't let me miss such a good opportunity. I... I'm okay."

"..."

Anxin was speechless.

I thought to myself, how come you can't tell the difference between good and bad words?
But he still stood up:
"Walk."

"Where?"

"Go call this Sister Wang. Tomorrow... you'll come with me to see her."

"...Don't worry about me yet, just agree first."

"Why should I agree?"

Through a crack where Fly Man looked speechless, Anxin shrugged:

"Uncle Ye once told me something that I think we should both benefit from for life: 'When faced with important matters, one must remain calm.' Your temper... is a bit too hasty."

After saying that, he gestured towards Fan Bing with his lip:
"Walk."

Fly Man paused for a second, then got up and followed.

moment.

Wang Jinghua hung up the phone.

Lost in thought.

If nothing unexpected happens...

I want to sign this big boy... Is the girl I've never met before tomorrow the condition he's offering?

Fan Bingbing...

Recalling the "girl" the two people had been discussing that morning, a sense of curiosity arose in her heart.

What kind of girl could possibly earn the "we can't compare" evaluation from those two?
And what is the relationship between these two people?
What makes An Xin care about her so much?
(End of this chapter)