Chapter 59
Chapter 59
He never would have imagined that he would blurt out what he was really thinking.
The staff member from the organization froze as well. He had not expected Xiaoshuai to say something like that. In his impression, Xiaoshuai had always been rather refined.
But even after being spoken to that way, the staff member did not say anything. After all, the other party’s status was higher than his. All he could do was silently stew in resentment.
“Sorry. I got a little impulsive. Let’s leave it at that for now.”
Xiaoshuai immediately hung up. He was afraid he might say something else if he kept talking.
Only now did he understand the Terror of this mission.
But in the next instant, he thought of a way to deal with it. He drew his dagger, opened his mouth, and stabbed it in viciously.
Clang!
The sound of metal rang out. His plan had failed.
Of course. If it were that easy, that would have been wonderful.
Still, from that, he managed to analyze the form this mission took. It should mainly revolve around forcing him to speak his true thoughts.
The problem was, there were far too many things he could not say out loud. This was the National Livestream. If those things became known, he would be dead for sure.
“Damn it!”
Xiaoshuai slammed his fist down on the table.
When he came out of the room, he saw Zhao Yang arguing with the staff again.
The storm from that morning had not caused Zhao Yang to lose any fans. After all, most of his fans were basically the same type of person he was. If anything, he had attracted even more people of the same type. No matter the era, there were always people with heavy tastes.
That made Zhao Yang much calmer. He was even faintly smug, because those fans of his were not afraid of him doing something excessive. On the contrary, they were afraid he would not go far enough.
After everyone finished breakfast, their first task was about to begin.
Everyone received a card. It told them to head to Huicheng Film Base and shoot a short romance film.
When everyone saw that, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Acting was good. During acting, it did not matter what they said.
They set off at once for the film base.
“Everyone, the script for this short film was provided by Teacher Zhao Yang. And as you all know, Teacher Zhao Yang’s identity is rather special, so for this shoot, Teacher Zhao Yang will be the director. What do you all think?”
The others had no objections. They all knew each other, and there was no need to offend him over such a small matter.
Zhao Yang planted both hands on his waist and sat down in the director’s chair, crossing his legs in an extremely ladylike manner.
“Everyone, let’s choose the roles first. You there, go bring me the box from the basement.”
He spoke to Liu Ye without the slightest politeness.
He had already asked the director about it. This Liu Ye was here to act as their servant, so Zhao Yang had no qualms about ordering him around.
As for this short film, Zhao Yang had actually made plans for it long ago. Under ordinary circumstances, how could he possibly gather this many celebrities together to make a film?
He would take this opportunity to gather them all together, shoot a perfect film, and take it to Meilijia. Just thinking about it made him a little excited.
“Hehehe…”
He could not help laughing smugly. At that moment, Liu Ye returned from the basement and brought the box to his side.
“Director, the box!”
“Mm. Shake it a bit.”
Liu Ye obediently shook the box. He only gave it a simple shake, but the force inside was tremendous. In an instant, he broke the mechanism hidden inside the box.
Everyone came over one by one and drew slips of paper from the box.
In truth, Zhao Yang had already decided who would play the male lead and who would play the female lead. This lottery was only for the viewers to see.
In his mind, there was no doubt at all that the male lead had to be Xiaoshuai.
But he still had to go through the motions.
“Who drew the male lead?”
“Me!”
A voice rang out. Zhao Yang turned to look, and his expression instantly froze.
An Old Man in his seventies had raised his hand!
He was the president of a conglomerate. The only reason he’d joined the show was because of the Fiendish World’s mission.
But in truth, he’d always dreamed of becoming a star. When he was young, he hadn’t had the time; now that he was old, he no longer had the chance. Who would have thought this show would actually let him fulfill that dream-and as the male lead, no less!
Zhao Yang: “…”
Everyone else: “…”
The netizens: “…”
[At least this proves they really didn’t rig it!]
[There aren’t many production teams this honest anymore!]
[But having an old guy like that play the male lead…]
Zhao Yang didn’t want this either! All he could do was try to persuade him.
“Old… Old Man, how about you swap with someone else?”
The other party had an impressive status, so Zhao Yang didn’t dare offend him.
But the moment he said that, the Old Man was unhappy.
“What’s inappropriate about it? Are you saying I can’t be the male lead?” the Old Man said unhappily.
“No, Old Man, it’s just… ours is a romance film!”
“So what, old people can’t have romance? Young comrade, that way of thinking is very problematic!” the Old Man said, even more displeased.
“No, Old Man, I’m not saying old people can’t have romance, but if you’re playing the male lead, our movie is going to turn into a rural romance.”
“A rural romance is still a romance. Even the chief director said this is a romance short film. He never said it had to be about you young people’s love.”
Zhao Yang: “…”
He was rendered speechless on the spot. But the key point was, he had ambition! A romance about elderly people wouldn’t sell!
At this moment, however, the Old Man was clearly getting impatient. He glared at Zhao Yang, and Zhao Yang immediately didn’t dare say another word.
This was someone he couldn’t afford to offend. If the Old Man wanted to play the male lead, then the male lead he would be. Worst case, Zhao Yang would put more work into the female lead.
Seeing this, the Old Man perked up again.
“Director, don’t hold back just because I’m old. Passion scenes, bed scenes, whatever-go all out. This Old Man can handle it!”
I can’t handle it! Sure, I often sneak my own little preferences into my films, but the movies I make are still proper films! If you do that, this is going to turn into some father-in-law kind of…
He turned to look at the chief director, only to see the chief director staring at the sky, the ground, the scenery-anywhere but at him!
Left with no choice, Zhao Yang calmed himself down and said, “Who’s the female lead?”
“Me!”
An excited voice rang out. The moment Zhao Yang heard it, he had a bad feeling. He looked up and saw that it was, shockingly, Liu Ye.
The Old Man: “…”
Damn it. Celebrated too soon.
Zhao Yang: “…”
Everyone else: “…”
“No, seriously, I’m making a proper film here! If you two do this, I won’t be able to broadcast it!” Zhao Yang said, breaking down.
“Bro, it’s fine. We can go the international route. I heard this stuff is really popular overseas. What’s it called again? The old-bro pervert demographic?”
After all, main roles came with extra pay, so he had to secure the part!
[Exactly. Is he discriminating against gay people?]
[The kid actually has a point this time.]
[Were all those things he did before fake?]
When Zhao Yang heard Liu Ye’s words, he immediately shut his mouth. After all, those online activists were his core audience. He absolutely could not offend them.
But it was fine. Even if the characters were a little lacking, he could still win with his outstanding plot!