Seduced the Obsessive NPC and Ran - Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Yan Jinge had just stepped out of the dressing room and was heading to pick up his script when he overheard the Deputy Director complaining to Xu Tang. “What’s with his attitude? Does he really think being a top-tier idol makes him hot stuff? He has zero professional spirit. Look at those dark circles-he looks like he’s been pulling all-nighters for a week. I’ve never seen anyone with bags that dark. How are we supposed to cover that up? And when I tried to say a few words to him just now, he actually got cocky with me?”

“If he really hates this profession that much, he can just quit!”

Xu Tang tried to soothe him from the side. “Why get worked up over him? We just won’t work with him again in the future.”

The Deputy Director huffed, clearly still fuming.

Director Xu turned his head and happened to spot Yan Jinge, so he beckoned him over.

Once Yan Jinge approached, Director Xu patted him on the shoulder and introduced him. “This is Yan Jinge, the one I mentioned to you before. It’s the kid’s first time filming, so he’s a bit green. Let him do a couple of dry runs later and show him the ropes.”

Yan Jinge bowed slightly. “Hello, Director Wang.”

“Mm,” the Deputy Director grunted.

Director Wang was a stern, humorless man, forming a sharp contrast with Xu Tang.

He led Yan Jinge to the side.

Yan Jinge had two scenes scheduled for today, both of which were just ordinary campus life scenarios. They weren’t particularly difficult; he just needed to find the right camera angles.

The Deputy Director walked Yan Jinge through the camera positions and blocking. “We record audio live on set here, so none of that ‘counting 1-2-3-4’ nonsense. I heard you’re not from a performing arts background?”

“That’s right,” Yan Jinge replied. “I’m a newcomer.”

“Then read this passage for me,” the Deputy Director said. He looked up at Yan Jinge and added, “Don’t be nervous. Even if you don’t read it well now, once we start filming and the emotions kick in, your delivery will improve. We’ll do as many takes as it takes; it’ll turn out fine eventually.”

It turned out the Deputy Director was actually quite warm-hearted despite his cold exterior.

Yan Jinge appreciated the sentiment. He had always been serious about his work, so he took the script from Director Wang’s hand, immersed himself completely, and began reciting the lines. Yan Jinge often felt as though he had witnessed many different lives, making it easy for him to step into a role.

He emphasized the rhythm and pacing of every sentence perfectly.

He didn’t make the common rookie mistakes of being entirely monotone or overly dramatic.

The Deputy Director couldn’t help but steal a few more glances at Yan Jinge. He nodded and said, “Not bad.”

Yan Jinge’s two scenes were both opposite the Female Lead, Jin Zuidong, and were being filmed by Unit B.

After he familiarized himself with the process alongside the Deputy Director, they called Jin Zuidong over for a rehearsal.

The staff of Unit B had originally assumed that because Yan Jinge was a newcomer, he would inevitably rack up a lot of NG time. To their surprise, aside from a slight flaw in the blocking during the first take of the first scene, everything else was a ‘one-take wonder’!

The time they had set aside as a buffer was suddenly wide open.

During the break, everyone ate their boxed lunches together.

Jin Zuidong sat down next to Yan Jinge and smiled. “Jinge, your sense for the camera is really impressive. Looking at our current pace, we should be able to wrap up early today.”

Yan Jinge’s eyes curved into a smile. “It’s because you’re such a great actress, Zuidong. You pulled me into the scene immediately. That’s why the filming went so smoothly.”

Jin Zuidong looked up at Yan Jinge.

Even though this guy had a benefactor, he wasn’t arrogant at all. On the contrary, he was very well-spoken. As long as nothing went wrong, he was bound to go far in this industry.

Jin Zuidong considered herself a good judge of character. She covered her mouth and laughed. “You have no idea. I’ve been in this circle for a long time, and someone like you is truly rare. Usually, newcomers with no experience are all over the place, failing to juggle everything. Sometimes they get the blocking right but forget their lines; other times their delivery and emotions are great, but they forget to pay attention to the camera.”

The two of them exchanged professional compliments for a while.

By the time the day’s scenes were finished, it was barely past three in the afternoon.

Director Wang flipped through his notebook.

“Jinge just needs to stay behind for a couple of close-up pick-up shots, and then we’re done for the day.”

“Okay.”

“By the way, Zuidong, stop eating. You’re standing next to Jinge, and you’re not even as thin as he is. Look at those legs-where’s her assistant? Go, find all the snacks she has hidden in her room and confiscate them.”

Jin Zuidong: “…”

Jin Zuidong gave Yan Jinge a resentful look. “It’s all your fault for having such skinny legs!”

Yan Jinge couldn’t help but laugh.

While Unit B was immersed in the joy of an early wrap, Yi Haotian over in Unit A wasn’t having such a comfortable time.

Due to various reasons, he was completely out of it today. He had NGs eight times on a single shot.

Even a director like Xu Tang, who rarely lost his temper, was starting to get riled up by Yi Haotian. His expression grew increasingly dark.

It would be one thing if they were filming a high-difficulty scene, but Yi Haotian was flubbing simple lines! Sometimes he would even just stand there in a daze, his mind clearly wandering off to who-knows-where.

The atmosphere in Unit A became increasingly stifling.

After yet another NG, Xu Tang frowned. “Fine, let’s stop for now. Go take a break and find your focus.” Having said that, Xu Tang turned to speak with the scriptwriter who was on set, not giving Yi Haotian another glance.

Yi Haotian was also in a foul mood.

If he could help it, he obviously didn’t want to keep getting NGs. But while filming, he couldn’t stop wondering if Yan Jinge was getting scolded. After all, Jinge was working with the fiery-tempered Director Wang. Before he knew it, he had ended up like this.

Although Xu Tang hadn’t said much, his demeanor made it clear he was blaming him.

How annoying.

But Xu Tang was the director, and there were plenty of petty people among the crew. If word of today’s events got out, his plan to crush Yan Jinge with his superior acting skills would definitely fall through.

Yi Haotian knew all too well that he couldn’t afford to act like a diva at a time like this. He put on a forced smile and kept apologizing.

“I’m truly sorry for holding everyone up.”

“My apologies. Don’t leave yet when we wrap up later; I’ll have my assistant take everyone out for hot pot.”
Once they were off to the side, Yi Haotian’s expression finally darkened.

His assistants didn’t dare to breathe too loudly. One stepped forward to hand him a drink while another began massaging his shoulders.

Yi Haotian exhaled slowly.

He voiced the biggest obsession currently haunting him: “How are things going on Yan Jinge’s side?”

Yet when the question was thrown out, none of the three assistants dared to say a word.

Yi Haotian had a mountain of frustrations weighing on him, and his temper was at its boiling point. When he received no response, he said coldly, “What, do my words not carry weight anymore? Didn’t I tell one of you to go over and keep an eye on him? Why are you back so early?”

As his voice fell, Yi Haotian heard a flurry of chatter coming from not far away.

It was Jin Zuidong.

“That’s right, we finished early today. Even though it was Jinge’s first time filming, he’s very perceptive. He basically gets it after being shown once. We barely had any NGs for our scenes.”

Jin Zuidong said with a smile, “He’s being held back now to do some pick-up shots. I only came back over here because I forgot a few things, and to say hello to Director Xu…”

Yi Haotian froze.

…Unit B was finished?

Yan Jinge barely had any NGs?

How was that possible?!

Others might not know, but how could Yi Haotian not understand Yan Jinge? The man was a useless waste. Back during the talent show, Yan Jinge had been a complete amateur; his singing and dancing couldn’t compare to the actual trainees, and his mindset was terrible.

Just because of nerves, he had made frequent mistakes on stage. Although it was a solo performance and hadn’t dragged anyone else down, that kind of psychological weakness meant he was absolutely incapable of achieving anything great.

If it weren’t for the fact that Yan Jinge was indeed good-looking, Yi Haotian wouldn’t have spared him a second glance.

And today was Yan Jinge’s first time acting. He had never been exposed to any of this before; he should have been terrified. How could he not make mistakes?

…Could it be that he really was a natural at acting?

Yi Haotian gripped the cup in his hand tightly.

The assistants by his side were always quick to read the room. Seeing Yi Haotian’s expression, one of them hurriedly said, “Brother, if you ask me, you don’t need to care about Yan Jinge at all right now. The only reason he didn’t have any NGs must be because Sister Jin was carrying him. After what happened yesterday, who doesn’t know Yan Jinge has a sugar daddy backing him? No one dares to offend him. Just wait until you have a scene together, Brother. Give him a reality check! Then he’ll know that acting isn’t such a simple thing.”

“Exactly. Audiences these days aren’t idiots. Who acts well and who doesn’t-you think they won’t be able to tell?”

“Right, when the press releases go out later, even if Yan Jinge has popularity, we can still use him as a stepping stone.”

The assistants chimed in one after another, laying out the future plans.

Yi Haotian didn’t speak, but he finally felt much better.

Heh.

True enough.

How good could someone like Yan Jinge’s acting really be?

The only reason so many people were coddling him was simply because Song Zhengjun was standing behind him.

Once this drama was finished, even if Xu Tang didn’t use him, Yi Haotian wouldn’t work with Xu Tang’s crew again-just look at how realistic everyone in this production was. Ever since they found out about Yan Jinge’s benefactor, they had been helping him at every turn.

Whether it was Director Xu, the Deputy Director, or Jin Zuidong…

Every single one of them was being nice to Yan Jinge.

By extension, they were even deliberately giving him the cold shoulder!

But he was different.

He wasn’t the kind of person who would go out of his way to flatter someone or yield to power just because they had a sugar daddy.

Just wait.

Even if the entertainment industry really did depend on backgrounds and benefactors, there was always a path to victory through sheer talent. And that path would surely be much brighter than the one taken by those who used underhanded means!

He, Yi Haotian.

He would surely walk that starlit path and stand above everyone else!

***

Lin Jiu arrived while Yan Jinge was filming his pick-up shots.

While Yan Jinge went to remove his makeup, Lin Jiu exchanged a few pleasantries with Director Wang. When Yan Jinge came out, Lin Jiu led him to the van and told the driver, “Go pick up Chairman Song first.”

Yan Jinge glanced at Lin Jiu and asked with interest, “Was this Chairman Song’s idea again?”

At the memory of Song Zhengjun’s death stare from last time, Lin Jiu felt like he needed to pinch his pressure points to stay conscious.

-Even though Lin Jiu had made a run for it back then, he had still been lectured by Song Zhengjun afterward.

Knowing he couldn’t say it directly, he gave a dry laugh and hinted, “I’m just a rough around the edges guy.”

Meaning, he would never have thought of something like this on his own.

Lin Jiu was a total straight man; he really couldn’t appreciate the joy of picking someone up from work.

-The filming location wasn’t in Hengdian, but it was still quite a distance from the city center. A round trip took over two hours. With that time, wouldn’t it be more comfortable to go home early and lie down to rest?

Besides, Yan Jinge and Song Zhengjun were both able-bodied adults.

Couldn’t they just go home on their own?

But this was Song Zhengjun’s idea of romance. As a subordinate, Lin Jiu naturally couldn’t say anything.

Thinking of Song Zhengjun, Lin Jiu couldn’t help but say, “Jinge, you know what Chairman Song represents in the financial world. Men with his qualities are rare these days. You should try your best to hold onto him.”

Yan Jinge: “…Mm.”

Thinking about how Song Zhengjun had helped him before…

Yan Jinge’s face suddenly flushed crimson.

He turned slightly to hide his expression from Lin Jiu and the others. His long eyelashes lowered, each one distinct. He pulled out his phone and sent a text to Song Zhengjun to complain.

Yan Jinge: [Sugar Daddy, your little cutie is being bullied!]

He would let Yi Haotian see the power of ‘pillow talk.’