Married in a Daze - Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Qin Zhenzhen was not unfamiliar with Yu Changlin, or rather, few in the industry were. His fame stemmed not only from the excellence of his works but also from his eccentric personality.

However, he hadn't made a film in two years. Rumors swirled in the industry about his poor health.

Song He smiled. "What poor health? He went to seek inspiration."

Qin Zhenzhen glanced at him. "Seek inspiration?"

Song He nodded. "I heard it's related to his next project. Would you be interested in trying out?"

Qin Zhenzhen lowered her eyelids. The wind blew against her face, cool and refreshing. She hadn't drunk much, but she still felt a bit feverish. The breeze now brought an indescribable comfort.

"I need to discuss it with Sister Meng."

Song He reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. "If you want to go, call me or the number on this card."

"I might only be able to get you one audition opportunity."

"Or I might not be able to help at all."

Qin Zhenzhen curled her fingers, a slight sweat forming in her palm. She looked up at the card he offered. "Song He, thank you. But I still want to know why you're helping me."

"Director Yu is a great resource. Why are you giving it up to me?"

Seeing her hesitation, Song He tucked the card into her hand. "My next project is already set. My schedule won't allow it. Actually, this was a resource introduced to me by someone else. I figured since I definitely can't use it, I might as well pass it to you. Maybe I can earn a favor for the future."

"Don't forget me when you make it big."

His teasing tone put Qin Zhenzhen at ease. She waved the card. "Thank you. I'll talk to Sister Meng."

Song He gave her a slight nod, glanced at the sky, and said, "It's getting late. Go back and rest."

Qin Zhenzhen looked at Ji Lu, who jogged over to her side. The two bid farewell to Song He and left the hotel.

She had just gotten into the car when she received a call from Meng Xin. It was noisy on the other end; Meng Xin seemed to have been drinking, her speech not entirely clear. "Zhenzhen, is it over?"

Qin Zhenzhen rolled down the car window, watching the scenery rushing by outside. "Mm, just finished."

Meng Xin: "Sorry, I was planning to go tonight, but there was a last-minute dinner I had to attend."

Qin Zhenzhen chuckled lightly. "It's okay. Handle your business first, Sister Meng."

They chatted for a couple more sentences. Just as Meng Xin was about to hang up, Qin Zhenzhen, holding the card, spoke up. "Sister Meng, do you know about Director Yu's new film?"

"Director Yu?"

"Which Director Yu?"

Qin Zhenzhen pursed her lips. "Yu Changlin."

There was a pause of a few seconds on Meng Xin's end. She seemed to have stepped outside, as the noise on the phone diminished. "Yu Changlin?"

"I know, but—"

Meng Xin hesitated for a moment before continuing. "But I sent your profile over, and it was politely rejected. Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

Qin Zhenzhen opened her mouth. The card was getting crumpled in her grip. After weighing her words, she told Meng Xin about Song He giving her the card. Meng Xin glanced at her watch. "Alright, it's already past eleven. You're off tomorrow, right? Let's meet and talk?"

"Okay."

Qin Zhenzhen agreed and hung up. The van drove all the way to her apartment building. After returning home, she lay down on the sofa.

Logically, after finishing three to four months of busy filming, she should feel relaxed now. Yet, inexplicably, her mood felt oppressive and uncomfortable.

She knew it wasn't because of the filming.

It was her own issue.

After lying on the sofa for a while, Qin Zhenzhen opened her phone and went on Weibo. Today was their wrap party. The official account had already posted photos from the party, tagging them. A heated debate was raging in the comments below.

As a major IP, Cold Palace undeniably had a massive book fanbase. So-called 'book fans' are arguably the hardest to please, as they each have their own ideas and have long since solidified their imagined versions of the characters in their minds, leading to significant controversy.

Sure enough, as soon as the wrap party photos came out, numerous book fans and drama fans began to argue.

—Tsk, a vase starring in Cold Palace? What's there to watch? The face? And Song He, does he even have acting skills?

—Come on, it's better than having nothing pleasant to look at, right? That historical drama that aired last month, what the hell was that? None of the actors were any good. It gave me second-hand embarrassment!

—How dare they! Is my Yuan Yu some naive sweetie? If you can't act, step aside. Don't come pollute our Yuan Yu, okay? The thought of Qin Zhenzhen ruining it makes my heart ache!

—Damn it, you guys are so annoying. The director chose her, it's not like she forced her way into the role. If you're so capable of talking trash, why don't you go act!

—Stop arguing, haven't you heard the news? Qin Zhenzhen can't make it in the film industry anymore. I heard her next TV drama is Drunken Dreams of Jianghu. Are the fans of that book happy?

—I heard about her not making it in films too. Seems she threw a diva fit and offended some director. Serves her right. Just a passing popularity, thinking she's some big shot, tsk tsk tsk.

Qin Zhenzhen watched the uproar on Weibo. Not only was she unmoved, she even felt a bit like laughing. Half an hour later, she tossed her phone aside and went to wash up. When she came out, the moon was hanging over the treetops, and stars dotted the sky. Uncharacteristically, she stood in her robe before the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down. City A was ablaze with lights, a sleepless city.

The uproar on Weibo didn't end until the next day. The topic trended for a full night, even spawning topics like 'Qin Zhenzhen is a naive sweetie.'

A little past nine in the morning, the official Cold Palace account posted another set of stills. It was Qin Zhenzhen's image as the innocent 'little white rabbit' when her character first entered the palace. Book fans flocked to comment that she was just playing herself—every one of her looks was that of a naive sweetie, even her expressions hadn't changed, zero acting skills!

Less than half an hour after these photos came out, two more sets followed.

One set showed her after her character's dark turn, standing in the Cold Palace. In the pitch-black night, her gaze was sharp as she stared at a withered tree before her, the cold, almost bloodthirsty smirk on her lips a world apart from her previous naive expression!

After this set was released, a portion of the book fans fell silent, but there were still those who kept arguing. A few minutes later, the second set came out—stills from her scenes with Song He.

Just a few photos.

One from before they entered the palace, and one after her dark turn. These photos presented a stark contrast. The makeup didn't change much, but the eyes, the expression, the subtle, unintentional fierceness in her gestures were enough to be shocking!

Even from the stills, one could see the stark difference.

The remaining book fans finally reined it in.

Fans of Qin Zhenzhen and Song He began to rejoice wildly.

Especially Qin Zhenzhen's fans, after enduring a night of being suppressed and insulted, they finally began their counterattack. The more they had been bullied before, the more impassioned they were now!

The topic's popularity skyrocketed. Some stubborn book fans still typed away in rebuttal: How great can it be! This is just posing. We'll know the real effect when it airs.

—Don't get cocky. The real test is when the drama comes out.

—Don't know what you're all cheering about. This counts as stills?? More like staged photos.

Even with the book fans' stubborn clamoring, they were quickly drowned out. Because anyone with eyes could see the quality. This was Qin Zhenzhen's first attempt at a 'dark turn' role, and judging solely from the stills, she had already succeeded.

At that moment, Qin Zhenzhen and Meng Xin were sitting in a café.

Meng Xin passed a tablet to Qin Zhenzhen. On it was detailed information about Yu Changlin and a partial synopsis of the film he was planning to make this time.

Qin Zhenzhen studied it carefully. Yu Changlin had been making films for seven or eight years. She had heard his name even before her debut, when one of his art-house films was at its peak. Countless actresses coveted his resources back then.

But ever since an art film he submitted to a film festival four years ago failed to even get shortlisted, his films began leaning more towards commercial cinema. He made commercial films for two consecutive years.

Some said he had suffered too great a blow and finally started going with the flow. Regardless of the truth, his box office results were even higher after he made commercial films, attracting even more people eager to work with him.

Qin Zhenzhen had heard his name after her debut too, but there had been no news of him in the past two years. She had heard from Meng Xin before that rumors circulated about his poor health and that he went abroad for treatment.

That was likely just another rumor.

Qin Zhenzhen returned the tablet to Meng Xin. "No other information for now?"

Meng Xin shook her head. "Director Yu's film project this time is very secretive. Apart from the information they've released, nothing else is clear. The media hasn't found any clues either. I already asked someone to look into it last night."

Qin Zhenzhen lowered her gaze upon hearing this. "Sister Meng, I want to go to the audition."

Meng Xin looked up at her. She had also considered this idea before, hesitating between Director Yu and Zheng Shaoyuan. In the end, she chose Zheng Shaoyuan because he was a new, rising director currently very hot, and he had dealings with the company. She had a good grasp of various aspects regarding him, hence the choice.

She never expected him to suddenly turn hostile and do something so contradictory.

So when she later sent Qin Zhenzhen's profile to Director Yu, she had already lost the advantage. Being rejected was actually within her expectations.

Seeing Meng Xin silent, Qin Zhenzhen called out, "Sister Meng?"

Meng Xin collected her thoughts. "Zhenzhen, have you thought about... taking it slow?"

Qin Zhenzhen looked at her, puzzled. "Take it slow?"

Meng Xin nodded. "Zheng Shaoyuan's film just confirmed its cast. It starts shooting in a month."

Qin Zhenzhen frowned. "In a month?"

Meng Xin: "So his shooting schedule might clash with Director Yu's."

If the shooting schedules are similar, the release dates will likely clash too.

A clash isn't scary; the awkward one is whoever performs worse. Director Yu is indeed good, his previous films were well-received, but he's been out of the scene for two years. The pool of new faces in the entertainment industry has changed, and netizens today are picky. This is his comeback work. If it's not well-made, I'm afraid the reviews will be very poor.

And Zhenzhen has already faced doubts because of the Time in Full Bloom issue. If this time she also hits a sore spot, I'm afraid no one will dare ask her to star in a film ever again.

The industry will definitely say, 'If even Director Yu couldn't save Qin Zhenzhen, who would dare take her?'

Of course, the most important reason for her concern lies with Zheng Shaoyuan himself.

His film box office and awards over the past two years are there for all to see. There are even rumors that his film this time is meant to be submitted to the four major film festivals. What if he succeeds and Zhenzhen fails, and the previous incident gets dragged out again? Even her TV drama work would be affected.

After hearing Meng Xin's words, Qin Zhenzhen lowered her eyes and said, "Rather than being stuck in a dead end, it's better to take a gamble. Sister Meng, I'll trouble you with matters regarding Director Yu."

Meng Xin didn't speak, taking a sip of coffee. Her phone on the table dinged with a notification. She picked it up to look, and a hint of delight appeared at the corners of her eyes.

Seeing her expression, Qin Zhenzhen asked, "What is it?"

Meng Xin raised her phone and shook it slightly. "Zheng Shaoyuan played us like that. It would be a shame not to send a little 'gift' back to him."

Qin Zhenzhen rubbed her finger along the rim of her coffee cup. "Got some dirt to expose?"

Meng Xin's eyes held a thoughtful look. After a moment, she said, "I'll contact Director Yu's assistant first to see the specific situation. If there's an audition or other news, I'll contact you."

Qin Zhenzhen nodded, finishing the coffee in her cup. She and Meng Xin prepared to leave together. The TV in the café's lounge area was on, and a voice came from it.

"It's Teacher Lu. She doesn't look very spirited."

Qin Zhenzhen turned to look. On the screen, Lu Ruyun looked down at herself, then took the host's hand, smiling gently. "Sleeping is a very tiring thing, you know."

The whole room laughed, and even Lu Ruyun's lips held a faint, elusive smile.

But Qin Zhenzhen couldn't laugh now.

She lowered her head and walked out, her eyes slightly reddening behind her sunglasses.

Actually, she knew. She liked Lu Ruyun, a little more than she had thought.

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