Chapter 50: Absolutely Not, Absolutely Not – Is There Something Wrong with This World?
After talking with Zhao Yudong, Dong Ling went to find the screenwriter, producer, and director.
She didn’t directly confront Zhu Shini, there was no need. Although all of this was caused by Zhu Shini’s malice, she relied on someone else’s power to achieve it. Once her backer fell, she would naturally have nothing to rely on.
The movie role that was snatched away was in an ancient costume, martial arts, lighthearted comedy. Because it was meant for Song Mingzhi, Dong Ling had read the script before, from a commercial perspective, it wasn’t necessarily going to be a blockbuster, but it was the type that wouldn’t flop either. Choosing a less competitive release date, it could even be a dark horse.
When invited to the dinner party, the producer and director were both overly enthusiastic, seemingly deeply regretful that they couldn’t collaborate, but the guilt hidden beneath the surface was obvious to everyone.
“Let’s not beat around the bush, you were the ones who gave the script to our artist, acting like you absolutely had to have her, and now you’re playing these games, isn’t that a bit inappropriate?”
“CEO Dong, this… we really wanted to work with your artist, but…”
The producer poured Dong Ling some wine, and Dong Ling slightly raised the bottle.
“Thank you, I’m not drinking.”
“Okay, okay, we’ll use tea instead of wine, CEO Dong, you also know, our film crew’s original budget wasn’t enough…”
“You know Zhu Shini’s acting skills, if you really let her play this role, the movie will probably be a complete mess, another flop.”
Dong Ling sneered, this kind of movie was too common in the industry, the audience wasn’t stupid, what market was there for bad movies?
The director drank his wine silently, not saying a word.
The producer’s sore spot was poked, and his expression was a little awkward, who wanted to make a movie just to lose money? But they really couldn’t refuse CEO Zhao, even though they knew what the movie would become.
“Okay, don’t look so glum, I’m not here to settle scores, I still want to collaborate after all.” Dong Ling placed her teacup on the table and leaned back lazily, “I know CEO Zhao offered you terms you couldn’t refuse, why don’t you hear me out? I can offer more.”
Dong Ling had to snatch this script, not only to provoke Zhao Song into competing with her, but also to let them know the price of snatching something from Song Mingzhi.
The June sky was blue and the water clear, but beneath the surface, hidden currents surged.
Mid-June, Zuo Zhen managed to secure an audition opportunity. Dong Ling happened to be with Song Mingzhi and was overjoyed to hear the news.
“Is it really for the movie about You Su Changying directed by Yu Shuangwei?”
Dong Ling leaned closer to Song Mingzhi, still a little unsure, asking again.
Song Mingzhi rarely saw Dong Ling so excited, so she nodded and replied: “That’s what Zuo Jie said.”
She casually asked: “Is she your favorite director?”
“Yes!” Dong Ling nodded, then added, “She could be considered my favorite director.”
Yu Shuangwei was a highly acclaimed director internationally, her cinematography delicate, her skills superb, her output not high, but every film a masterpiece.
Dong Ling initially became a fan of her work because the music in one of her movies deeply moved her. She even arranged a violin version of it, and after finishing it, she watched all of Yu Shuangwei’s other works, admiring her ideas and skills.
The character Yu Shuangwei was going to film this time, You Su Changying, was also one of Dong Ling’s favorite historical figures.
There were many movies and TV series about You Su Changying, but apart from a few older classic versions, Dong Ling felt that the others had changed the story too much.
The reason there were so many adaptations of You Su Changying was that her life was too dramatic, full of talking points.
You Su Changying was born in a small country, You Su, located on the easternmost edge of the map, bordering the sea, peaceful, prosperous, and rich. When she was born, the country was actually in a difficult situation, but the emperor maintained peace by paying tribute and offering rare treasures to the neighboring Dayue Kingdom, and life was relatively good.
The You Su emperor had three sons. You Su Changying was his fourth child and only daughter. He doted on this little princess, and You Su Changying grew up pampered.
But the good times didn’t last long. When You Su Changying was fourteen, the You Su Kingdom fell. It wasn’t the Dayue Kingdom that started the war, but the Great Liang Kingdom to the west. They conquered Dayue and incidentally took over You Su as well.
You Su Changying’s father, brothers, and other male relatives all died in battle. She became the last royal, and the female general who led the troops took over the palace, taking away all the treasures from the national treasury.
The general was a woman in armor, the Empress Dowager of Great Liang, Liang Jin’an.
The Great Liang Kingdom’s conquests were orchestrated by this ambitious Empress Dowager, who ruled from behind the curtain, the emperor of Great Liang was still young, just a child.
You Su Changying was taken back to Great Liang by the Empress Dowager and became her favorite. Liang Jin’an was tyrannical, debauched, and obsessed with beauty, her harem filled with beautiful men and women.
History didn’t record how You Su Changying won the Empress Dowager’s favor, only briefly mentioning the Empress Dowager’s fondness for her.
It was recorded that once, when You Su Changying was out on the streets, she was harassed by the youngest son of the prime minister. She ordered him to be beaten until he vomited blood, and still feeling angry on her way back to the palace, she returned and chased him to the prime minister’s residence, cut off his head with a sword, and gracefully returned to the palace.
After such a ruthless act, the prime minister protested, but the Empress Dowager simply laughed and said: “Lian Nu (You Su Changying) has my style,” infuriating the prime minister to the point of illness. The officials criticized her, and privately, they called You Su Changying a seductress.
According to typical dramatic tropes, You Su Changying shouldn’t have had a good ending, but she was anything but typical.
When the emperor turned seventeen, You Su Changying married him and became the empress.
No one knew what the Empress Dowager was thinking, but You Su Changying, a princess of a fallen kingdom, became the most noble empress, in charge of the six palaces.
But this wasn’t the end of her story. After decades of struggle with the Empress Dowager, the emperor finally took control of the imperial power. The Empress Dowager died of illness in the palace, and the nation mourned.
At the same time, due to the Great Liang Kingdom’s constant wars and poor governance, rebellions broke out everywhere. You Su Changying escaped from Great Liang, united the former You Su officials and other remnants of fallen tribes, and restored her kingdom. She was thirty-seven years old that year.
Although the You Su Kingdom was still a small country, even smaller than the previous You Su Kingdom, You Su Changying was still its undisputed ruler. She taught the knowledge she learned from Great Liang to her people, accepted refugees, improved farming and textile techniques, established a navy, and compiled and revised books.
At the age of forty-six, this extraordinary empress passed away, ending her legendary life.
She didn’t shy away from her past experiences, and the inscription on her tombstone was very simple.
A princess in her youth, a ruler in her adulthood, that was all.
Every time Dong Ling thought of her, she felt a sense of awe.
While Dong Ling was recalling the story, Song Mingzhi also closed the webpage about Yu Shuangwei.
Seeing Dong Ling’s slightly flushed face from excitement, Song Mingzhi’s heart sank.
This coldness stemmed from the picture of Yu Shuangwei she saw, a woman with a cold and aloof aura.
“Mingzhi, we must try our best to get this role, I believe you can definitely play it well!”
Song Mingzhi playing her favorite historical figure, filmed by her favorite director, this was like hitting the jackpot, triple the satisfaction!
Looking at Dong Ling’s eager and expectant eyes, Song Mingzhi dismissed the inexplicable negative emotions in her mind and said softly: “Okay.”
Dong Ling thought, wouldn’t this put too much pressure on Song Mingzhi? So she added: “We’ll just do our best, it’s okay if we don’t get the role, it doesn’t mean you’re not good enough. Director Yu Shuangwei chooses actors based on feeling, she only chooses those she feels are suitable, and of course, the most important thing is whether you like the script or not, if you don’t like it, we won’t take it.”
The last two sentences brightened Song Mingzhi’s mood, she nodded reservedly, thinking, as expected, she was still the most important.
Even if that was Dong Ling’s favorite director, she still prioritized her preferences.
Song Mingzhi smiled: “I’ll try my best.”
When Song Mingzhi said she would try her best, she meant it, she was serious about her words and always delivered, very responsible in her work.
She read all the books and research about You Su Changying available, created a timeline herself, and distinguished between facts, possible fiction, and definite fiction, compiling all the information.
When Dong Ling went to her house and saw the information and Song Mingzhi’s annotations on her desk and sofa, she was amazed.
“Mingzhi, you could write a thesis with this.”
Song Mingzhi took out her character analysis and handed it to Dong Ling.
Dong Ling sighed to 021 in her mind: [Dude, she’s so serious.]
021 replied: [This is a good quality, and the female lead in this novel seems to be very serious about everything.]
At this time, Dong Ling was only focused on praising Song Mingzhi, completely unaware that she was also one of the things Song Mingzhi took seriously.
On the day of the audition, Dong Ling took Song Mingzhi there, with Zuo Zhen following behind. The three of them arrived at the audition venue.
Compared to Song Mingzhi’s calm demeanor, Dong Ling and Zuo Zhen looked more like the ones auditioning.
Yu Shuangwei conducted the auditions individually in a small room, she gave each actor a different time slot to avoid influencing each other and prevent leaks.
Song Mingzhi was the last one to audition today. Yu Shuangwei was playing with a pen in her hand when she saw the woman walking towards the door… and the person beside her, her eyes lit up slightly.
She immediately stood up from her chair, walked to the door, grabbed the other person’s hand, and said with a smile: “What’s your name? Which agency are you with? Are you here to audition?”
Dong Ling, whose hand was being held, looked at Yu Shuangwei with a puzzled expression.
Song Mingzhi’s gaze fell on their clasped hands, and she naturally took Yu Shuangwei’s hand and shook it.
“Hello, Director Yu, I’m Song Mingzhi, here to audition, this is my boss.”
Song Mingzhi paused slightly before saying the last two words.
Yu Shuangwei looked at Song Mingzhi for a moment, then said: “You can wait outside.”
She quickly turned her attention back to Dong Ling, put her arm around her shoulder, led her into the room, and said: “You look very much like the You Su Changying in my mind, are you interested in acting?”
The other person sitting in the room immediately explained apologetically: “Don’t mind her, this is Director Yu’s usual reaction when she sees a promising newcomer. She’s been auditioning people for several days and hasn’t found a suitable candidate yet, so she’s inevitably a little excited when she sees someone who fits her vision.”
“I’m sorry, I have no acting experience and I’m not interested, Director Yu, why don’t you audition my artist first.”
Even though the person in front of her was her favorite director, Dong Ling’s goal was never to be an actress, and she was quite dissatisfied with Yu Shuangwei’s cold treatment of Song Mingzhi.
Her only goal was to make Song Mingzhi shine, to be loved by more people, it was all she wanted.
The subtle dissatisfaction in Song Mingzhi’s heart dissipated with Dong Ling’s attitude, her mood brightening.
“Okay, then let’s have her audition first.” Yu Shuangwei reluctantly looked away from Dong Ling’s face and turned to Song Mingzhi, saying casually, “You’re here to audition for Liang Jin’an, right? Your appearance is quite suitable, let’s do two scenes.”
Zuo Zhen hurriedly said: “Director Yu, our artist is auditioning for You Su Changying.”
Yu Shuangwei looked surprised, pointed at Song Mingzhi, then at Dong Ling, clicked her tongue, and said: “She’s playing You Su Changying? Between the two of you, who’s topping whom?”
The person who spoke just now couldn’t help but burst out laughing, even the corners of Song Mingzhi’s lips curved upwards almost imperceptibly, Zuo Zhen fell silent facing this question.
Well, this… she couldn’t talk about the boss and her canary’s bedroom activities, she still wanted to keep her job.
Dong Ling: ????
Wait, is there something wrong with this world?
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