Chapter 679. Welcoming (4)
“Well, I'll be... That is so weird, isn't it?”
Zhang Xiang's gaze locked on the film set could only be described as unreadable. Technically, he was staring at the monitor connected to the camera pointing at the film set instead, but that would be splitting hairs.
The reason for his strange expression was simple. Something he had never imagined before was taking place within that monitor.
'This is so bizarre...'
Certain truths in this world couldn't be carelessly spoken of. For instance, a certain someone would absolutely need 'talent' to succeed even more in his chosen field of expertise!
In his pursuit to become a film director, Zhang Xiang... didn't do anything too differently from other hopefuls. Seeking out every famous film, studying every known filming technique, and going out into the wilds with nothing but a hand-held camera to shoot countless independent films... Every kid aspiring to become the next big director had tried these things before at least once. Unless that kid was just a lazy bum who was all talk but no action, every hopeful would've put in the requisite amount of their blood, sweat and tears into polishing their craft.
In that case, why were some better than others? That was a matter of one's natural talent.
Zhang Xiang's path didn't differ too much from his peers, yet he still managed to walk it faster than them. Why was that? Because he was born with an artistic sense.
Since his birth, the field of expertise he'd excel at had already been decided. If he hadn't joined the film industry, Zhang Xiang might be living a life no different from countless peasant workers of this vast nation.
How could he be so sure, though?
'Some people simply can't understand sh*t no matter how much you tell them, that's why!'
Zhang Xiang's gaze shifted over to his assistant director, someone who had been plying his trade in this industry for a considerable length of time already. Yet, he still hadn't gotten rid of the 'assistant' tag until now.
Of course, like what they discussed previously, he was the assistant director because Zhang Xiang was in charge of this production. Considering that man's work experience and directorial ability, he would have no problem finding work as the actual director.
However, the question was whether or not he could succeed as a director. And the answer would be...
'Who knows? Or, is it asking for too much?'
After filming two, maybe three, mediocre productions, he'd most likely never fill the director's chair ever again. That was the limit of his talent, after all.
He might have the necessary skillset in assisting others and controlling the film set, but the 'edge', an X-factor, required to become a director was missing from his bag of talents.
Those with that X-factor even started their careers in extraordinary fashion.
What about the notion of putting in enough effort to improve one's standards? Zhang Xiang didn't believe that way of thinking was wrong... As long as the modifier 'Up to a point' was added somewhere, that was!
An average person born with average athletic ability could never become a pro athlete, no matter how hard they trained. And those without natural talent were bound to run into their limitations well before those with talent did.
In that case, what could they do about it? The answer was actually pretty simple.
Was there a need for everyone to become the best in their field? People born without talent should learn to be satisfied with what they managed to achieve through sheer effort alone.
In other words, there was no need to feel disappointed. 99% of people would never get a chance to reach their limit, which was only achievable through hard work and constant effort, after all!
Most of them would comfort themselves with words like, 'Yes, I can work just as hard as them if I want to,' while wasting their precious life away.
The one appearing in the middle of the monitor was the perfect example. And yes, it was none other than Liu Wei.
When Zhang Xiang thought about it... Wasn't Liu Wei an unfortunate bastard?
Of course, Zhang Xiang's feelings toward Liu Wei could never be described as 'nice' by any metric available. He could even say he had reached the threshold of 'hatred' at this point, too. Calling his feelings 'malicious' might not be a stretch of that word's definition.
Even so, a part of Zhang Xiang felt pity for Liu Wei. Pity for Liu Wei's looks, at least.
Liu Wei's natural talent was his looks. Despite being an Asian, he had some of a Westerner's facial features. That might work against him outside China, but at the very least, nothing would be more advantageous than such facial features in his home country.
Being born as a Chinese citizen was a stroke of luck for him. That was because he didn't need to work overseas. The Chinese market was so absurdly huge that appearing only in local productions would still be enough to rake in astronomical sums of money.
Unfortunately, Liu Wei was also well aware of that situation.
Money could be a funny little thing. Someone once said this about money: the more you have it, the more you want it. Most people grew up believing that notion.
No matter how dedicated you were to making money, someone was bound to be richer than you. Being envious of them would inevitably make you even more obsessed about making money.
The thing was, though... Zhang Xiang knew the truth. That notion was not entirely correct.
Folks who amassed a wealth that was neither here nor there would hanker for more. However, what about those with so much wealth that recklessly throwing money around their entire lives still wasn't enough to empty their bank accounts? Those people could be divided into three categories.
One, those who still obsessed over money. Two. Those who obsessed over things other than money. And three, those who decided to enjoy what life had to offer.
Liu Wei belonged to the third category. So, why should he bother with putting in enough effort? Even with his crappy acting talent, he could still pocket an astronomical fee thanks to his looks alone. Despite his tone-deaf singing 'ability', he still sold a shocking number of records, too.
He could behave like a rude little prick as much as he wanted on the set for his latest commercial, but cracking a few smiles for the camera would still be enough for his bank balance to swell with more money than what most people could touch after a lifetime's worth of hard work.
In that case, why should he try to improve himself?
Liu Wei was born with a talent called his looks. If effort was added on top, he could've gone even further. However, he saw no need to do that.
Not even Zhang Xiang could bring himself to persuade Liu Wei on this topic. Imagine if he told Liu Wei, 'Look, man. I know your life is already cushy and it's all fun and roses for you, but you still gotta work harder to become a better actor.' What kind of replies would Zhang Xiang get?
Wasn't it blindingly obvious?
Liu Wei would probably say he had no thoughts of becoming a so-called better actor. And that would be the end of it. He could easily live a charmed life without becoming a better actor, after all!
Since that was the case, what choice did Zhang Xiang have other than to match Liu Wei's pace? After all, those dying of thirst were supposed to dig for a well, anyway. That was why Zhang Xiang had to dig deep into his bag of directorial talents to turn this unmotivated idiot, Liu Wei, into something resembling the main protagonist.
At times, he hurled as many insults as his mouth could produce. At other times, he was nearly overcome with strong urges to grab the nearest baseball bat and smash the living daylights out of Liu Wei. However, Zhang Xiang still bravely held on by comforting himself with the knowledge of never seeing Liu Wei's face again after wrapping up this TV production.
But now...!
Just who was that creature in the middle of the film set?
Zhang Xiang could only stare in stupefaction at the male lead appearing on the monitor. That was undoubtedly Liu Wei. Yes, that Liu Wei!
However, this Liu Wei was a totally different person from the 'Liu Wei' Zhang Xiang was familiar with. Even if the two had the exact same face and responded to the exact same name, they couldn't be the same person!
After all, his 'essence' had completely transformed, so how could anyone say they were the same! Even now, he...
“Uwaaaaaaah!” Liu Wei suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs, grabbed the crown on his head, then angrily threw it on the ground. “Why! Why can't I do this?! Why!!! Uwaaaaah! F*ck!”
Zhang Xiang's expression grew hollow as he continued to observe Liu Wei's antics. “...Oiii, assistant director?”
“Yes, director?”
“...Shouldn't we, you know, give him a break or something? Let him rest before he conks out?”
“I guess you're... right?”
Obviously, all authority on a film set rested with the director. An assistant director wouldn't dare question or go against the director's commands. Even so, Zhang Xiang still had to ask because his flabbergast was just too great for him to overcome.
'What on Earth has gotten into that bastard? Seriously?'
No matter how hard he whipped himself, Liu Wei would never, ever become a top-rated actor. His natural talent wasn't about that, after all! Actually, having such looks blessed with a top-tier acting ability would be like cheating. Being way too greedy and all that!
Still, Liu Wei could acquire some measure of acting ability by working hard at his craft. And his problem until now had been his lack of motivation to work hard.
But what Zhang Xiang could see right now was Liu Wei yelling in anger and stomping his feet like a petulant child all because of his sh*tty acting!
If this had happened some time ago, Zhang Xiang wouldn't have hesitated to open a floodgate of insults. He'd flip his middle finger while accusing Liu Wei of putting on a goddamn clown show. But now? He couldn't bring himself to do that.
Hadn't he witnessed Liu Wei's earnest desperation for the past few days? Liu Wei was like a man facing the barrel of a loaded gun who would die if he couldn't improve his acting chops to a certain level.
Not only did he start reading and re-reading the script front-to-back, but he even diligently rehearsed his lines and scenes regardless of whether others were watching or not. Even after Zhang Xiang the Director gave his okay after the take, Liu Wei would openly hurl abusive words at himself and strongly 'ask' for a chance to do another take and improve his performance.
Things got so bad that even Zhang Xiang, known as a perfectionist, was compelled to ask Liu Wei what the hell was going on.
So, how could Zhang Xiang accuse Liu Wei of putting on a clown show now? When layers of makeup couldn't completely mask the dark circles below Liu Wei's eyes and his coarse skin, the proof of how much effort he had put into his acting?
This was why Zhang Xiang felt pity toward Liu Wei. How unfortunate it was that effort alone wasn't enough to achieve everything! To think he'd think about such a thing while observing Liu Wei, of all people...
“Assistant director, how about talking to him and calming him down a bit?”
“Director, he's not going to listen to me. I mean, he's completely lost it, hasn't he?”
“...”
“He'll only listen to you, director. It's not like I don't want to talk to that guy, you know...”
“Yes, yes. I know already. Dang it...” Zhang Xiang groaned in resignation, then got up from his stuffy director's chair.
A situation where the director had to step up to talk his actor out of acting too much on camera? Any self-respecting director worth their salt wouldn't be too displeased by the prospect of such situations. Even so, Zhang Xiang couldn't stop feeling wary about it.
'Why is he like this? Just why?'
Because the actor in question was none other than Liu Wei.
The actor who most definitely did not suit such behavior was, without question, Liu Wei! Only a few days ago, Zhang Xiang didn't want to sully the profession of acting by calling Liu Wei an actor. So, how could he not be wary when a punk like Liu Wei suddenly started kicking up a fuss like this?
Zhang Xiang walked up to Liu Wei and cautiously raised his voice. The concern seeping into his own words even managed to surprise him. “Hey, man. Are you feeling alright?”
Liu Wei's head snapped toward Zhang Xiang.
'Holy sh*t!'
Zhang Xiang reflexively flinched and stumbled back. Liu Wei's bloodshot eyes were brimming full of ferociousness and venom. Those were the eyes of a man ready to kill someone if he had to.
“Director!”
“Y-yeah? What?” Zhang Xiang stuttered back a reply after Liu Wei's forceful aura had suppressed him ever so slightly. Even if he had experienced and withstood the powerful auras of many top celebrities in China and Hollywood, he couldn't help himself this one time.
Actually, forget aura; this atmosphere was verging on killing intent instead! A goosebumps-inducing aura emanated from Liu Wei, and every strand of Zhang Xiang's hair stood on its end.
“Director, why...!”
“Y-yeah?”
“Why can't I do it! Why?!”
“...”
What should Zhang Xiang say in this situation? What could he say to a student who never studied during the semester but tried to cram everything in two days before an important exam only to get a failing grade and demanded to know why that was?
Actually, the answer to such a question was straightforward. It was just that Zhang Xiang couldn't bring himself to say it out loud.
'Why are you this desperate, you dumb piece of sh*t! Why?!'
Zhang Xiang simply couldn't comprehend it. What compelled Liu Wei to be this driven and fanatical? As a director, Zhang Xiang should be happy about this development, but when the degree of fanaticism had crossed the threshold like this? He couldn't help but worry.
“Listen to me, Liu Wei. Let's take a breather first, okay? Blindly trying your hardest will not get us anywhere. Especially when your emotions are in a volatile state. So, let's take a break for half an hour. Okay? Thirty minutes. That's all I ask."
“Thirty minutes?!” Liu Wei glared with even greater intensity at Zhang Xiang. “Director! We can shoot at least ten more takes in thirty minutes! In that case, how could you suggest we waste time like that!”
“Come on, man! You're going to collapse at this rate!”
“So what if I am! I...” Liu Wei suddenly grew quiet and began mumbling something to himself. Zhang Xiang thought he heard Liu Wei say something about that being better than dying but couldn't be sure.
“Listen, Liu Wei! Other crew members are exhausted, too. That is why...!”
Just as Zhang Xiang tried to pursue Liu Wei, the latter's eyes suddenly quaked unsteadily, then his head shot up to look in the distance.
'What was that?'
Zhang Xiang followed Liu Wei's gaze and looked behind him.
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