Chapter 13: Her Opportunity
“What?” The news only added fuel to the fire as the director was already upset by the day’s filming. Despite the unexpected success of the hanging wire scene, all the others were not meeting expectations with multifarious problems here and there.
And this Yu Shasha–who did she think she was that she could walk away from him like that? Zero professional ethics. People like her would never be used again. Went straight to the blacklist.
“Director, what should we do now?” the assistant asked restlessly, “The scene was scheduled for today, and we’ve already set everything up, which will all be for nothing if we can’t film it today.”
The director pulled his own hair, annoyed. Troublemaker! He squinted around and his eyes ended up lingering on Yan Huan seated at the set side.
“You, come here,”
he shouted at Yan Huan.
Yan Huan stood up, blinking her eyes, confused. Is it my stunt part again? But didn’t they say it wouldn’t be my turn for a while?
“Yes. You. Come here.”
The director twisted his body and rummaged about in the back and produced something in Yan Huan’s hand.
“Go memorize the lines. This is your role now.”
“But, Director, I...” Yan Huan was stunned at the instant, unable to utter a word. Who would do that? Picking one randomly and just ordering her to memorize the lines, regardless of her opinion? She then remembered who she was and clenched her hand. She was not famous yet, neither would anyone come to her at this stage. She was now just a little nobody who would cry for an opportunity like this, as small as the role was, where she could show her face and have her name credited. A new talent in this industry could hope for nothing more.
The director saw her short hesitation as a concern for lack of experience—she was only 20 and new to the industry after all. He softened up, She’s only a child.
“Don’t worry,” he comforted her in a lower voice, putting on a more amicable look.
“You only have a few lines and you show your face. You’ll be alright.”
“Thank you, Director.” Yan Huan breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at the director. She was merely a little surprised that a stunt gig had led to an actual role, but not scared at all.
She read through the pages in her hand. Just as the director had said, there were only a few lines for this non-human role. The story was immortal heroes themed–a quite bold choice. Although not a hit, the show did later give Yu Chen a career boost by getting her nominated for the Best Actress. However, the show had ruined as many people as it had made.
As for the role, she was asked to play the pet of the heroine, Qin Xiaoyu. Not a dog or a cat, but a little golden silkworm that came from an egg Qin Xiaoyu acquired. The role barely had any lines, let alone scenes. She remembered well from last life that Yu Shasha, a third-tier actress, was supposed to play this role, but she gave it up for another part with more lines and exposure. It was a reasonable choice–anyone with a brain would do the same.