Chapter 158: Chapter 146: Notification_2
"To make female audiences feel the oppressive force of men most directly, the slovenliness, the filth, the decay, the abnormal desire to control under paternalism, you understand?"
"Understood, Ms. Shengnan briefed me before coming." A member of the props team pulled out a pair of muddy, old leather shoes and a brown, severely worn leather belt from a large bag.
"Make-up team, make-up team, pay attention, when you’re applying corpse makeup to the actress later, her clothes should be ripped, at least one shoulder exposed, and there should be marks on her body from a belt whipping, and on her face, tears streaks are crucial!"
"According to the data provided by Ms. Shengnan, female audiences pay more attention to details, these marks can provoke more empathy. Through reinforcing psychological implications, we aim to guide them into extended contemplation, remember that?"
"Got it, Director Ding," a crew member answered.
After instructing a few more details, Director Ding turned his head to Yang Xiao, "The rest is up to you, you must bring out that detestable feeling, you’re quite good at that."
Yang Xiao hesitated for a moment before reluctantly agreeing.
Seeing this, Director Ding became displeased, "What, you have an issue with that?"
"No, no issues." Yang Xiao’s eyes were very complex, he was adept at navigating intricate character psychologies.
"You’re not even famous yet, and what, you’ve got a burden of idol status?" Director Ding asked.
"It’s not that, Director Ding, it’s just that this role is so disgusting. I’ve just come out of school, and my first role is this kind of detestable major villain, I’m worried it might block my future acting path." After a pause, Yang Xiao gathered his courage, "I think with my looks, I’d be more suited for historical romances."
Director Ding looked Yang Xiao up and down a few times and surprisingly, couldn’t find words to refute. He was right, Yang Xiao had a marketable appearance, with enough grooming he could definitely break into the historical romance circle, especially since these days anyone could star in a period romance drama.
A moment later, Director Ding suddenly laughed, with a look suggesting everyone is clever and he had already seen through him, "Are you worried about not getting good resources in the future, about not making money?"
Yang Xiao didn’t speak, his gaze offering a subtle response, it was an obvious fact.
"Don’t worry about that, after playing this role you’ll definitely offend a number of extreme ’women’s rights’ supporters, but you don’t have to worry. You see, things should be viewed from both sides; if there are women haters, there will be man haters too. You can mix in circles that disdain women, we’ll make money off those silly women, and in turn, you’ll make money off those dumb men."
"Money isn’t that easy to earn, I’m young, don’t trick me." Yang Xiao questioned.
"Hey, if they can believe all this nonsense, do you think their IQs are that high?" Director Ding grinned and laughed.
"Right, if worse comes to worst, we could always start a live stream. We pretend to bump into each other, get on a ’live co-broadcast,’ you know, it’s all scripted. We insult each other, attack each other, the dirtier the better, then after cashing in, we split the profits seventy-thirty... you get it." Director Ding, with the air of a seasoned player, wasn’t willing to lose an actor with as much potential as Yang Xiao.
"Are you serious?" Yang Xiao appeared enticed, "Then I can’t accept a small share."
"Don’t worry, you’ll get your fair share based on the standard industry rates. We’ll sign a contract when it’s time, it’s all legitimate business after all."
Because he was well aware that the film couldn’t afford to lose Yang Xiao, Director Ding went to great lengths to coax Yang Xiao into continuing with the shooting. As for what would happen afterward, well, that would be a concern for another day.
Yang Xiao’s face might have agreed, but inside, he was already cursing Ms. Shengnan and Director Ding to the high heavens. He was now certain that these people were just using the pretense of fighting for women’s rights to make money.
After they’ve had their fill of exploiting women, they’d likely reverse their strategy, going after the male audience for a further surge in viewership and profits. After all, hating either gender was the same when it came to making money, quite dispassionate.
Song Yan’s thoughts weren’t much different from Yang Xiao’s, and Lu Ji didn’t even feel like acting anymore. He muttered a few curses under his breath, knowing full well that this so-called recreation of the case was completely fabricated.
Moreover, the film depicted the male teacher as too foolish, purely for the purpose of inciting hatred. Think about it, how could a normal person possibly commit assault on a female student in broad daylight inside a classroom?
Even the most foolish person wouldn’t strangle a female student with their own belt and then stage the scene to appear as a suicide, hoping such a site would trick the police.
Director Ding and the puppet-master behind him, Ms. Shengnan, had both lost their minds.
"Yu Mi, your appearance fits well with that of the deceased female student. Come on, I’m giving you an opportunity." Director Ding gestured expansively, "You need to seize this role. If played well, it could be a massive hit."
It was obvious that Yu Mi didn’t want to play the part, but she dared not disobey Director Ding’s orders.
Soon, under Director Ding’s direction, the shooting began.
Yang Xiao was still playing the pathologically beastly male teacher, approaching Yu Mi from behind as she worked on her assignment. Yu Mi desperately resisted, leading to a struggle between them.
The scene was halted by Director Ding, and Yu Mi started to touch up her makeup, on her face, body, and the torn school uniform. By the time the filming resumed, Yang Xiao again had the belt in his hands.
At that moment, Yang Xiao’s face hung with a disturbing smile, ill, repressed, crazed—various emotions were perfectly portrayed on his face. His gaze was like a knife, skimming over Yu Mi’s pale skin, sending shivers down one’s spine.
Several of the women on the set found themselves instinctively avoiding Yang Xiao, and the set fell silent for a time.
Footsteps echoed rapidly through the hallway, and in the next second, the classroom door was pushed open and Principal Wu and his entourage came in.
Before anyone could speak, an older female teacher, staring at Nie Hexiang, couldn’t help exclaiming, "It’s you!"
