Chapter 36: A Stab In the Back
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The second film set wasn’t far; it was only ten minutes away. Mr. Li parked the car and said, “Get off. We’re here.”
Wang Hao got out of the van and looked around. He immediately gasped in amazement.
“Here…” They were at Zhonghai Avenue, one of the most famous shopping streets in Zhonghai. Wang Hao had visited here twice before. He had wanted to buy a couple of shirts, but after looking at the astonishing prices…
That was why he had only come twice…
He never thought he would come here again for filming.
They were the last ones to arrive at the set. Mr. Li brought them into a six-story shopping center on the shopping street, and they took the elevator straight to the dining area on the sixth floor.
It was around 10am, so there weren’t a lot of people on this floor. Director Gao had already rented a restaurant to shoot the next scene.
Once the three of them arrived, Director Gao came to brief them — they were simply playing normal customers in the restaurant this time.
Director Gao said, “You’re here. Come! The next scene is simple. The two characters will come here to eat, and you are the other diners. There’ll be a bank robbery. When the lead actor hears the screams downstairs, he’ll run down to fight the robbers. Your job ends then, understand?”
Acting as a diner is definitely my thing. I’m feeling hungry now…
Everything was going smoothly until Wang Hao saw Lu Tong whispering to Director Gao. “Director Gao, Wang Hao said your drama plot isn’t good. He said nobody will watch it, and that it’s a waste of money!”
“Huh?” Director Gao looked over at Wang Hao in shock and waved his hand. The whole restaurant became silent.
“Wang Hao.” Director Gao sat opposite Wang Hao and asked, “I heard that you have something to say about my drama, do you?”
“Huh?” Wang Hao was startled, then immediately realized — Lu Tong must have snitched on me!
Wang Hao was easygoing most of the time, but it didn’t mean that he didn’t have a temper at all.
Lu Tong had always been looking down on Wang Hao, and Wang Hao had never lowered himself to his level, but now Lu Tong had snitched on him! It was intolerable!
“Did he tell you that?” Wang Hao narrowed his eyes and glared at Lu Tong. He sneered and said, “You pretend to be a decent guy in front of everyone else, and now secretly stab me in the back. Bah!”
“Can you claim you didn’t say those things?” Lu Tong was frightened by Wang Hao’s glare, but he couldn’t step back no matter what. He yelled, “You said in the car that our drama is a comedy and it’s going to fail, right? Why don’t you admit it?”
What the f*ck! Do you also have a master’s degree in adding fuel to the fire?
You’re so good at turning things upside down!
I asked a question and you turned it into an affirmative sentence?
Fine, I’m not going to eat my words anyway. Why shouldn’t I admit it?
“Yes, he’s right. I did say that.” Wang Hao nodded. “And I’ll say it again: I think the plot isn’t attractive. It’s strange.”
“Young man.” Director Gao stared at Wang Hao and said, “It’s good that you show character. At the same time, you also need to know your place. I’ve been a director for more than ten years. I can’t say all of my films were successful, but at least they weren’t complete failures.”
A clamor of discussion rose among the crew —
“Director Gao is a top director in our country. He’s made dozens of movie stars famous. Who would question his films?”
“Yeah, Director Gao is a well-established director in the industry. How dare an obscure walk-on actor doubt him? Young people nowadays are still wet behind the ears!”
“Right, let’s see how he deals with this mess! I’m afraid he won’t be able to work in the entertainment industry anymore!”
Hearing the discussion around them, Lu Tong pushed up his glasses with a contented look — You’re just a temporary gofer, and you want to use your appearance to hook up with Moon? I’ll defeat you! You think an excellent white collar graduate like Moon is someone for you? Only a man with an extraordinary education background like me is qualified to be her boyfriend! As for you, maintaining your distance would be a smart choice!
Almost everyone was looking at Wang Hao to see how he would deal with this mess.
Wang Hao certainly knew that he was in trouble, but he wasn’t worried at all.
I have so many stories from classic movies in my head. If I can’t fix this, I’d be wasting all of those ideas!
“Director Gao.” Wang Hao smiled and said, “It’s true that I have some opinion on the plot of this drama. However, you’re the director and I’m just a nobody. I’m afraid you won’t accept my opinion.”
“Young man.” Director Gao chuckled and said, “I appreciate your courage, but it’s not enough for this industry. Talent, experience and control are the keys to making a film. It’s not like you can change anything whenever you think it isn’t good.”
“So, that’s it?” Wang Hao shrugged his shoulders. He realized there was nothing he could do to fix this. He smiled and said, “Since you’re not giving me the slightest chance, should I pack my things and leave?”
One step back today, two steps forward tomorrow.
He wasn’t afraid to express his thoughts.
Wang Hao put on his hat, then waited to see if Director Gao would ask him to get out in front of everybody.
“Haha, you want a chance, do you?” Director Gao was indeed a kind man. Seeing all the crew members around them, he knew he had to show some decency. He nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll make an exception this time. I don’t want anyone to say that I’m suppressing your talent. I’ll give you ten minutes to speak your mind. Remember, only ten minutes. If you can say something that makes sense in ten minutes, I’ll treat you to dinner as an apology. Otherwise, you get your ass out of here!”