After the coordinator left, the somewhat lifeless reading session came back to life, and everyone began to exchange information in whispers.
Liu Rulan also learned about the situation and walked to Xiao He's side to explain in a low voice: "This Gao Zhenxia is the most senior one here. She is now over sixty years old and mainly teaches acting at several drama academies in Beijing. She rarely participates in film crews anymore. She came this time because of Director Zhuang. If she couldn't get away, I would believe her because she is indeed very busy."
Gao Zhenxia plays Zhang Ziyue, an ordinary friend of the female lead Yin Lan, and currently the only ordinary person in the story who knows about Yin Lan's special constitution.
She met Yin Lan when she was still a student, while Yin Lan was already an elderly woman in her twilight years. Zhang Ziyue initially thought Yin Lan was a lonely old woman without family or friends, so she would visit her from time to time. It wasn't until an accident occurred that Zhang Ziyue inadvertently learned about Yin Lan's special constitution.
However, being kind-hearted by nature, she did not distance herself from Yin Lan because of this, nor did she intend to use the news for anything. Instead, she would come to Yin Lan's place every now and then to listen to her share the past events that happened back then.
Decades passed in the blink of an eye. Zhang Ziyue had gone from a student to an elderly woman with shaky steps, enjoying a happy family life with many descendants. Yin Lan, on the other hand, remained the same as when they first met, with even the wrinkles on her face barely changing.
Nevertheless, Zhang Ziyue would still occasionally ask her son to bring her to visit Yin Lan, and catch up with Yin Lan, using her few but exceptionally happy remaining years to accompany Yin Lan through a long but empty period of time.
In Yin Lan's heart, Zhang Ziyue is a very special person.
Even in the storyline, after Yin Lan learned the secret of their medicine people's true immortality, she immediately thought of Zhang Ziyue.
At that time, Zhang Ziyue was hospitalized due to many age-related illnesses, and her life was nearing its end.
Yin Lan decisively took the stolen fragments to the hospital where Zhang Ziyue was, found Zhang Ziyue, and tried to prolong her life.
At that time, Zhang Ziyue was lying in a hospital bed, and her body was extremely weak, but when she saw Yin Lan appear, she still couldn't help but get excited.
However, when Yin Lan proposed the plan for immortality, Zhang Ziyue resolutely shook her head and refused.
"You've had such a hard life, Yin Lan."
Zhang Ziyue's voice was weak and hoarse, with a muffled sound coming from the breathing mask.
"So I thought I'd use my limited time to briefly accompany a poor person—" Her gaze turned to the window. "I'm sorry, Yin Lan, please forgive me for saying such harsh words, but I am truly content with my current life and everything I have now. Even if I face death next, I don't want to become the next you."
"The long years are truly terrifying."
Zhang Ziyue said.
"I have already lost my beloved, and I never want to experience that kind of heart-wrenching pain again. Then I will lose my children, my grandchildren, and my grandchildren's descendants—"
Finally, he was left alone in this world, wandering without any more attachments.
"Forgive my selfishness, Yin Lan. If you find the path you want to take, then go for it. It's just that I really can't stay with you any longer."
As she finished speaking, a tear slid down Zhang Ziyue's cheek. Yin Lan listened in silence, offering no further words of comfort. She simply bent down and affectionately stroked Zhang Ziyue's wrinkled cheek, just as she had stroked the little girl who had just come home from school years ago: "I'm sorry, I understand."
This might be the last time they see each other.
But Zhang Ziyue will always be her friend, forever—
...
Zhang Ziyue is a character who doesn't appear many times, but she is very important, especially to the female lead. She is a figure of profound significance, and Zhang Ziyue's death eventually leads the female lead to embark on the path of pursuing immortality and fighting against the suffering of immortality.
Since the important scenes of the character Zhang Ziyue are mainly concentrated in her old age, the production team directly found two people to play the role, one in her younger form and one in her older form.
This elderly woman is naturally Gao Zhenxia.
The name Gao Zhenxia may not be widely known, but if you were to list all the roles she has played over the years, the comments section would probably be filled with "Who in the world doesn't know her?"
Throughout her many years in the entertainment industry, she has maintained a very good reputation and has mentored many promising students, never being accused of diva-like behavior. Therefore, Liu Rulan believes that this heavyweight actress's absence was genuinely due to a genuine inability to attend, and not intentional.
As for the other two...
"Yuan Sitong is an artist under Yunheng Entertainment, a subsidiary of Banana Video. She has already participated in the filming of many big-budget productions. Although she lacks ability, she has the support of the platform and is quite good-looking, so she still has a lot of fans," Liu Rulan commented. "This is no ordinary big shot. There have been many rumors about her acting like a diva on set before, and there have even been reports of her bullying people on set. I really didn't expect that she would dare to be so brainless as to cause trouble on Director Zhuang's set this time."
However, it's also possible that she thought Director Zhuang was just a figurehead and wouldn't actually come to the event today.
“Yuan Sitong...”
Xiao He felt the name was familiar. After thinking carefully, he vaguely remembered that one of his classmates had a crush on this female celebrity.
The other person's face is indeed very good-looking; it's the kind of god-level modeled face that many netizens are praising these days.
Thinking this, Xiao He's gaze suddenly wandered around, and he belatedly noticed something—it seemed that almost none of the main actors on set were ugly!
Even the slightly older supporting actors were all incredibly {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} handsome men in their youth.
Everywhere you look at this scene, there are handsome men and beautiful women!
Xiao He rubbed his temples.
Is this the greatest respect the production team can show to a manga adaptation?
Putting aside acting skills and abilities for now, just based on their exceptionally high average looks, passersby will inevitably take a second look.
After experiencing anxiety about his acting skills, Xiao He feels like he's now experiencing anxiety about his appearance.
Meanwhile, Liu Rulan was introducing the last male artist to Xiao He: "This last one, Lu Yuxi, is similar to Su Shengxi before. They both started as idols. However, he originally debuted in a neighboring country, but after a long time, he didn't make a name for himself and returned to China in disgrace. Later, he participated in a talent show in China and finally debuted, becoming somewhat famous with the boy group that debuted at that time."
"There's not much to say about him. During those years abroad, he didn't improve at all. What he did learn was the hierarchy of contempt between seniors and juniors there. The only thing he has to offer is his slightly invasive facial features. He still has a group of devoted fans who idolize him and make him arrogant."
Actually, the relationship between seniors and juniors in the Chinese entertainment industry is relatively healthy at present. Whoever can make money is the most important, and there aren't many mandatory rules. But in the neighboring country, it's quite different.
Whether in the entertainment industry or the workplace, the relationship between seniors and juniors must be clearly defined, forming a pyramid structure with each level pressing down on the next. This structure is inviolable, and sometimes, once someone is labeled as "disrespectful to their seniors," they may face condemnation from the entire entertainment industry.
Back in the entertainment industry, Lu Yuxi was at the very bottom of this pyramid, a victim of this hierarchy of contempt. Ironically, after returning to China and achieving some success, he began to accept this hierarchy, openly belittling and mocking newcomers while shamelessly clinging to the fame of established seniors.
It's truly a reversal of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches.
Xiao He sneered: "At least other people would pretend or make up an excuse, but he's not even going to pretend anymore."
Liu Rulan shrugged: "There are plenty of idiots in the entertainment industry who act like big shots, he's just unlucky and happened to run into the line of fire."
The fact that they hadn't encountered it before only shows that the crew had a good atmosphere, but it doesn't mean that it didn't happen.
And now—
After listening to Liu Rulan's introduction, Xiao He felt a headache coming on.
What kind of monsters and freaks have gathered in this film crew?!
Especially when he thought of Yan Shaohan, whose face seemed to say "I'm unreliable," Xiao He was filled with worry.
