Chapter 65: Filming in Progress

While Shao Yao’s manager was observing Lu Xu, Lu Xu was also sizing up Shao Yao.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that this new collaborator wasn’t quite what he had imagined.

After Shao Yao was cast as Su Yang, Lu Xu had looked into him. Shao Yao was relatively young, and there wasn’t much information about him online. Most of what Lu Xu found was related to his work—no gossip, scandals, or controversies. He seemed to be the type of actor who kept a low profile outside of filming.

Lu Xu assumed that Shao Yao must be a pretty upright person.

Given that Shao Yao’s agency, Mingniao Entertainment, was a small company, they wouldn’t have the means to cover up any major controversies if he had been involved in one.

However…

Lu Xu noticed that Shao Yao’s previous project, Song of Southern Country, had been surrounded by quite a bit of drama.

In that series, Shao Yao had worked alongside popular actor Yan Qichen and rising starlet Lin Ling. Reports suggested that Shao Yao had clashed with both of them during filming. By the time the show’s promotional activities rolled around, the production team had excluded Shao Yao from most of the events, treating him almost like an invisible man.

When the series aired, even though both Yan Qichen and Shao Yao had significant screen time, the production team heavily promoted Yan Qichen and Lin Ling as the official couple. The buzz surrounding the series didn’t benefit Shao Yao in the slightest.

Lin Ling never openly criticized Shao Yao, but the male lead, Yan Qichen, had plenty of grievances against him. Yan Qichen frequently hinted, both publicly and privately, that the Song of Southern Country production had a “scene tyrant” who loved to interfere with how others performed.

In the entertainment industry, scene tyrants were nothing new. Some were notorious for stealing the spotlight, demanding the director and screenwriter cater to them exclusively. Others became obsessed with “parenting,” insisting that their colleagues follow their acting methods, constantly testing and correcting them.

In his past life, Lu Xu’s senior from the acting world had encountered the latter type.

This senior, who had transitioned from theater to television and had nearly five decades of acting experience, found himself lectured by a young actor on how his performance “lacked something.” The senior was so exasperated he nearly broke down. Speaking out about it would damage his reputation, but keeping his frustration bottled up only made things worse.

Eventually, he invited Lu Xu out for dinner and spent over half an hour venting about it. Lu Xu listened patiently and joined him in cursing the actor who had caused so much stress.

Glancing at Shao Yao, who was standing quietly behind his manager, Lu Xu couldn’t imagine him being the type to critique others’ performances.

Still, some actors displayed one demeanor in daily life and an entirely different one during filming.

Lu Xu always treated his co-stars as colleagues—he got along with them if possible, but if not, he didn’t force it. His only rule was avoiding actors who acted all warm and polite on set but then turned around and trashed their co-stars publicly once filming wrapped.

That was the type of behavior he despised most.

Fortunately, ever since My Baby Prince, Lu Xu had been lucky enough to avoid such collaborators.

From his observations, Lu Xu quickly concluded that Shao Yao might very well be the most inoffensive person of all.

After greeting the core members of the production team, Shao Yao quietly stayed off to the side, keeping his head down and avoiding eye contact with anyone, especially Lu Xu.

This struck Lu Xu as odd—he prided himself on maintaining good relationships with his co-stars. Even with his earliest collaborators, like Yang Shu, they still kept in touch. If they happened to meet at an event, they would always exchange greetings.

But today… he found himself paired with a co-star who didn’t even dare meet his gaze.

“Did I ever wrong him? Or maybe someone else from Mingniao Entertainment?” Lu Xu couldn’t help but discuss this puzzling behavior with his manager.

“As far as I know, no,” Xu Wen replied, recalling his first impression of Shao Yao. “He actually looks scarier than you.”

Lu Xu, who stood over 1.8 meters tall, wasn’t short for a male actor, but Shao Yao was even taller and had a solid, imposing build. He exuded a sense of stern righteousness just by standing there. His casting as Su Yang, a police officer in Voice of the Dead, seemed like a perfect fit.

“Maybe he’s just not the easiest person to get along with,” Xu Wen speculated. “But don’t worry about him.”

Xu Wen felt confident that no one in the Voice of the Dead production could intimidate Lu Xu. Especially since Shao Yao had only been cast after Lu Xu confirmed his involvement, the production would naturally prioritize Lu Xu’s preferences during filming. Once the series launched, it would likely use Lu Xu’s name to secure platforms and sponsorships.

Though Lu Xu didn’t care much about billing order, it was clear he was the lead star in Voice of the Dead.

Still, Lu Xu wasn’t convinced by his manager’s assessment. “I don’t think he’s scary.”

He figured Shao Yao’s behavior was probably due to a peculiar personality.

After all the actors had arrived, director Xu Yan and screenwriter Zhao Jincheng gathered everyone for a small meeting to introduce the general filming process of Voice of the Dead.

This series was an episodic drama. The main characters were Jiang Lin, Su Yang, and a few others responsible for solving cases, while the other roles would change depending on the case.

“Your collaboration is very important,” Xu Yan said, looking at Lu Xu and Shao Yao. “I’ve read the character profiles for Jiang Lin and Su Yang. Your understanding of the roles is accurate. For some of the finer details, you can discuss them further with Teacher Zhao.”

Lu Xu nodded.

While Lu Xu simply listened, Shao Yao opened a notebook and began jotting down the director’s words.

Screenwriter Zhao Jincheng then took out the script and discussed the key points to focus on during the filming of Jiang Lin and Su Yang’s scenes. He pointed out that a few scenes would be slightly more challenging and asked the two actors to review and refine their approach.

Lu Xu also took out his notebook.

The fan in the meeting room hummed as it blew, rustling the pages noisily. Both Lu Xu and Shao Yao quietly took notes without saying anything unnecessary.

The silence prompted Zhao Jincheng to glance at Xu Yan.

The director shrugged, signaling that he had never encountered such behavior before.

Voice of the Dead was a commercial-oriented drama that didn’t demand much from its actors. The show’s appeal relied on one strange and eerie case after another. Although Jiang Lin and Su Yang were recurring characters throughout the series, the core of the drama lay in solving mysteries, bringing criminals to justice, and allowing the deceased to rest in peace.

Nonetheless, Lu Xu and Shao Yao’s tacit cooperation gave the director a rare sense of reassurance.

At the very least, the two actors demonstrated a serious and dedicated attitude toward their roles.

Lu Xu had risen to fame at a young age, earning both awards and high ratings. Shao Yao, on the other hand, had rumors of being a scene tyrant. However, Xu Yan’s biggest concern was working with actors who had no sense of responsibility toward their roles. No matter how charming or easygoing such individuals might be, Xu Yan found it hard to develop any liking for them.

For an actor, delivering a good performance was the top priority. Social skills and charm were merely extras.

After Xu Yan and Zhao Jincheng left, only Lu Xu and Shao Yao remained in the meeting room, studying the script. After jotting down notes for a while, Lu Xu erased a few earlier remarks he had made. Just then, the sound of the door opening softly caught his attention, and someone placed a bottle of water in front of him.

“Thanks,” Lu Xu said, looking up at Shao Yao.

“You’re welcome.”

The conversation ended there, and silence filled the room again.

It was a peculiar atmosphere.

Lu Xu’s first scene in Voice of the Dead took place in an investigation related to a case where the S City Criminal Investigation Unit received a report. A fisherman at Central Lake had reeled in… a part of a corpse.

S City had just experienced a summer drought, leaving the water levels significantly lower than in previous years. If not for this, the body—sunk to the lakebed and weighted down with fishing nets and stones—might never have been discovered.

Upon receiving the report, the Criminal Investigation Unit’s captain quickly sprang into action. Unsurprisingly, he spotted Jiang Lin among the bystanders.

Homicide scene presence: 80%. Brutal crime scene presence: 100%.

The moment he saw Jiang Lin, the captain could feel his hairline receding.

There was a saying about unique talents in the civilian world, but Jiang Lin was the kind of “unique talent” that S City absolutely did not want.

Whenever this man appeared, the crimes were guaranteed to be both vicious and deranged. It was either a serial murder case or a perpetrator with an extremely unstable mental state, leaving the entire city on edge.

The captain had once suspected a connection between Jiang Lin and these criminals—or even that he might have been involved in one of the murders. However, thorough investigations always proved Jiang Lin’s innocence. He was simply born with a sharp intuition for crime… and a lot of bad luck.

He often provided inspiration to help break through stalled cases, but he also frequently found himself entangled in dangerous situations.

As a result, to protect Jiang Lin, the Criminal Investigation Unit assigned Su Yang to act as his partner. Su Yang served as a shield when danger arose, while Jiang Lin provided leads, and Su Yang handled the investigations.

The makeup and styling for Voice of the Dead were quite ordinary. Lu Xu appeared in the crowd of onlookers wearing a T-shirt and flip-flops, looking carefree and unpolished.

The production team didn’t use any special filters for his scenes, and his hairstyle was casually trimmed. With his messy, unkempt hair, Lu Xu looked like a typical streetwise loafer.

This was precisely the image of Jiang Lin, the character he played.

It could be said that Jiang Lin was the least refined character Lu Xu had ever portrayed.

If not for his ability to hear the voices of the dead, Jiang Lin would have been just an ordinary citizen.

From the first scene alone, the entire Voice of the Dead crew—director, cinematographer, and even the stylist—quickly realized that Lu Xu wasn’t a troublesome actor. He simply sat there quietly, letting the stylist fuss with his hair without uttering a word.

This was despite the fact that Lu Xu was the face of a shampoo brand.

The stylist had dealt with situations like this before. Some actors who had signed shampoo endorsements would throw fits on set if their role didn’t allow them to showcase their silky, luscious hair. In one instance, an actor even caused a scene, accusing the production of jeopardizing their contract. The screenwriter had no choice but to rewrite that particular scene.

The stylist didn’t know how those contracts were negotiated, but it seemed unlikely that the situation was as dire as the actor had claimed. Almost every major star in the industry had brand deals. Did this mean actors endorsing makeup products couldn’t play disheveled characters?

Would it not be outright fraud if their makeup remained flawless during scenes involving fires or rain?

In any case, the stylist was relieved that Lu Xu wasn’t causing any trouble.

For Lu Xu, this scene was relatively easy to film. All he had to do was exchange a few words with the Criminal Investigation Unit’s captain and then cast an apologetic look at Su Yang—Jiang Lin’s presence inevitably meant more overtime for Su Yang.

This was Lu Xu’s first time working with Shao Yao, but there was no trace of unfamiliarity between them in this scene.

Su Yang gave Jiang Lin a slight nod without speaking. He wasn’t the type to smile often, but just by standing there, he radiated a calm, reassuring presence.

There was no need for excessive dialogue. Their expressions alone conveyed a sense of mutual understanding.

The next moment, Jiang Lin “heard” the voice of the dead.

His previously indifferent expression froze. He was struck by a piercing scream, as though it had emerged straight from hell.

Then came cries for mercy, the sobs of a child and a mother, the sound of frantic footsteps.

There were also the caws of crows and the distant, jarring call of a street vendor: “Exchange old mobile phones for kitchen knives and stainless steel basins”.

A hint of sorrow flashed across Jiang Lin’s face. Though he was laid-back by nature, he could never remain indifferent in the face of a murder.

<< _ >>

Related Posts

Leave a Reply