Chapter Seventy: Tell Him to Get Out of My Sight

“What the hell is this?!”

“Feng Wei’s son is just terrible.”

“Even if you’re a young master, you should act like one. What kind of performance is this supposed to be?”

“It’s been two hours—has the whole crew just been watching the prince study his lines?”

...

Clearly, at this point, everyone in the crew was furious.

As for the actors, there was nothing more to be said. The biggest star in this scene was Wang Fei. Though he played the ruthless, cold, and hypocritical boss Shen Ming in the show, in real life he had an excellent temper.

If Ren Yi were here, he would have started cursing a long time ago.

After all, Ren Yi never held back his temper. It was precisely because of this that he didn’t get along well with Situ Hui.

Back at a gathering, Situ Hui had brought Feng Qing along, hoping everyone would look after him since he was about to start filming. The others all said that Xiao Qing was a good kid, but only Ren Yi suggested that Feng Qing shouldn’t enter the entertainment industry—he didn’t have the looks for a popular idol, nor the skills to be a serious actor.

Why bother?

He spoke the truth, and he only said it because he considered Situ Hui a friend. But Ren Yi was so blunt that Situ Hui nearly got into a fight with him right there.

To put it in the language of web novels, in Situ Hui’s mind, her son was destined for greatness.

So, Ren Yi’s honest words were enough to turn her against him.

After that, everyone stopped speaking plainly.

Feng Qing, for his part, always thought highly of himself. He believed his acting was just fine.

Otherwise, wouldn’t his mother, his father, and Kong Tian have noticed?

Besides, if there was really a problem during filming, wouldn’t the director have said something? Wouldn’t the other actors point it out?

So Feng Qing continued to feel quite satisfied with himself.

What he didn’t realize was that everyone was just being tolerant. They put up with him because, though his acting was bad, he was still within the acceptable range—and, after all, his scenes weren’t crucial.

But today was different.

Today’s shoot was a key scene in “Sweeping the Black Waves,” one that needed to showcase Hong Village’s greed and Shen Ming’s humiliation. It was precisely because Shen Ming was so humiliated at this dinner that he decided to deal with Wang Qing and his father.

That’s what gave Zhou Bo his chance—he schemed against Wang Qing, got him addicted to drugs, then forced him to kill his own father, leading to Wang Qing’s complete breakdown and eventual suicide.

As mentioned before, the real focal point of the drama was supposed to be Wang Qing—arrogant and domineering at first, then reduced to a wreck after being set up, ending with the tragedy of killing his own father.

But Feng Qing’s poor acting only made Lin Xing’s performance stand out all the more.

Especially the way Lin Xing portrayed malice and cruelty—it was done to perfection.

He became the true focal point of the drama, and naturally, the direction of the shoot shifted toward him.

But in today’s negotiation and dinner scene, there was no avoiding Feng Qing’s role.

“Take five. Bai Yan, go ask Feng Qing if he can do this. If not, get rid of him.”

Zu Ming’s patience had worn thin; he spoke directly into the walkie-talkie.

If it were anyone else, he wouldn’t have waited two hours—if they couldn’t get into character after thirty minutes, he would’ve thrown them out.

But now, two hours had passed, and the entire C unit’s shoot was stalled because of Feng Qing. Zu Ming had reached his limit. He didn’t care whose face he was saving—not Feng Wei’s, not Situ Hui’s, nobody’s.

“All right, Director Zu, I understand,” Bai Yan replied quickly.

Zu Ming continued, “If Feng Qing can’t do it, let one of those small actors take his scenes.”

Sometimes the script could be tweaked a little on the spot.

Just like Guan Peng, who became the lead in “Parents at School” while filming.

Feng Qing’s character, Wang Qing, had two little sidekicks, Han Jin and Jiang Li.

Originally, Han Jin’s actor had no solo scenes—he was just an extra, following Feng Qing around.

Same with Jiang Li. He had no solo scenes either, but after playing his bit, he was always eager and helpful.

Jiang Li knew he wouldn’t get many chances, so he did everything he could to make an impression.

Especially when acting opposite Feng Qing—his performance completely overshadowed Feng Qing’s. He portrayed sleaziness, arrogance, and false bravado vividly.

Opportunity favors the prepared.

At that moment, Jiang Li had no idea his chance was about to come; he was just chatting with Feng Qing, trying to gently suggest, “I think maybe you could try…”

“What do you know? What do you think?” Feng Qing, already irritable, snapped at Jiang Li, “You’re just an extra—what do you know about acting?”

“Enough, Old Jiang, just drop it,” Han Jin pulled Jiang Li aside, “Are you stupid? He’s a second-generation star, why are you trying to teach him?”

“I…”

Jiang Li gave a bitter laugh.

He really was overestimating himself.

“Just do your best—I think you’re doing great,” Lin Xing walked over at that moment, smiling. “What’s your name?”

“Hello, Teacher Lin, I’m Jiang Li,” Jiang Li said quickly.

“Hello, Teacher Lin, my name is Han Jin,” Han Jin added.

“You’re both doing really well,” Lin Xing told them. “Keep it up.”

For extras, sometimes there’s no guarantee of the next meal. Jiang Li and Han Jin drifted from set to set, and most of the actors they met on set acted high and mighty.

Hearing a big star praise them out of the blue—even if it was just polite encouragement—was enough to lift their spirits.

“Feng Qing, this is the final scene. You have all your lines memorized, right?” Bai Yan had already spoken with the other actors and now approached Feng Qing.

“Director Bai, I’ve had these lines memorized for ages. I think—”

“It’s good you’ve memorized them. Let’s just shoot,” Bai Yan cut him off, his patience gone. “Let’s begin.”

One minute later.

The camera rolled.

Bang!

Feng Qing slammed the table, “Shen Ming, do you know how our Hong Village made its name? Threats? You think you’re worthy? Just because you have that guy by your side…”

He froze.

Yes.

He was supposed to project courage and menace in this line.

But his threats sounded like he was reciting lines.

That was bad enough, but the worst part was that when Feng Qing looked at Lin Xing, Lin Xing’s face showed cruelty, but there was a glint of delight in his eyes.

And Feng Qing just froze when he looked at Lin Xing.

“Get him off my set!” Zu Ming yelled into the walkie-talkie, watching Feng Qing’s performance in this scene.

...