Tao Ran looked at Long Qiu's back as she left in a huff, leaving behind Tao Ran who was in deep thought.
She really has a long way to go.
Seeing his frustration, Xiaomei gave him an idea. "Host, you can smear Bai Shaohui’s reputation. If you do that, she definitely wouldn’t like Bai Shaohui anymore.”
Tao Ran thought, “How could a small-time star ruin the reputation of the Chief Executive of the Bai empire? Climb onto his bed, take nude pictures, and then slander him as gay?”
Xiaomei's eyes lit up as it exclaimed, "Host, you are really the most intelligent host I have ever had! This method is completely feasible. Your dear system supports you in this decision. Do it with confidence."
Tao Ran: "..." Why don’t you just drop dead?
Before starting with the filming, Tao Ran needed to put on makeup first. Although he was the male lead, his makeup was much more difficult to apply than the female lead. He had oil painted on his face and hair, then the hair that was dyed a few days ago was dyed black again, and his now fluffy hair was smoothed again with wax. Tao Ran was crying in his heart. Wouldn't all of this damage his hair? He didn’t want to have a ‘round hairstyle’ at such a young age.
The hair stylist heard Tao Ran's broken thoughts as he had accidentally spoken them out loud and wondered, "What is a ‘round hairstyle’?"
"When there is no hair in the middle, but there is hair on the sides, doesn’t it literally look like hair rounding your head?" Tao Ran rolled his eyes.
"Uh ha ha ha ha ha ha..." The hair stylist burst into laughter. "Little handsome guy is really funny."
Who is being funny with you…
The first act of the movie was Hua Ziyan singing and charming the audience from the stage, with Du Jiao in the audience looking at him with admiration.
Director Guan pulled Tao Ran aside. He had been sitting for a few hours with the make-up artist painting his face. "Have you been learning Chinese opera these days?"
Tao Ran nodded confidently, "I have learned it, and I can sing Hua Ziyan’s ‘Haihua Pavilion’ pretty well."
"Very good." Director Guan said with delight. "Let me hear it."
Tao Ran stepped aside and sang angrily, "Wearing the voice of the slave falls in the shade, the scenery is so sultry and drunk. To Baihua Pavilion..."
"..." Director Guan was silent for a moment before saying, "Your singing is fine, but could you at least perform better than those old artists? The singing voice can be dubbed later. The most important thing is the action and posture. How can you look like Concubine Yang if your movements are so silly?”
Tao Ran was dumbfounded, and then said, "Director is right. I will learn the movements."
Guan Dao then said to him, "The crew has invited an opera director, so you can go and ask him for advice."
"Okay."
Tao Ran went to find the opera director with the makeup artist while Guan Dao called Cui Xiao to come. Both Tao Ran and Cui Xiao came in through the ‘back door’, but director Guan's impression of Cui Xiao was not as good as his impression of Tao Ran. At least, Tao Ran didn’t disappoint and passed the audition. His performance was pretty good too. Cui Xiao, on the other hand, was sent directly to the crew. He had only seen photos of Cui Xiao before.
I hear she’s the mistress raised by the young master of the Bai Family Group. It seems true so far.
Although Cui Xiao was nervous and excited working with such a well-known director for the first time, she also felt confident. As she did not know that Bai Shaohui had paid for her entry into this film, she thought the director had chosen her for her acting skills.
Director Guan called her and said, "You have finished reading the script, right? How about the lines?"
Cui Xiao said confidently, "I have memorized the lines perfectly."
"Very good." Director Guan gestured. "Tell me, what kind of character is Du Jiao?"
Cui Xiao thought for a moment. "Du Jiao was a lady official. She was educated very well from a young age..."
Cui Xiao continued to describe Du Jiao. After listening for a while, Guan Dao asked, "At the end, what frame of mind did Du Jiao have when she gave Hua Ziyan money?"
Cui Xiao answered. "Sympathy. She felt that Hua Ziyan looked very pitiful."
Guan Dao's expression immediately became dark. He was very passionate when it came to work. Whenever he was in a good mood, he could talk about the script for two hours with the actors, but if his mood was bad, he would not find anyone pleasing to his eyes. And when he remembered that Cui Xiao was a mistress that bought her way into the group but had no acting skills, his mood became even worse.
"You are not an actor from Bancor?" asked Director Guan.
Cui Xiao nodded. "Well, I taught myself to perform after graduating from high school."
"No wonder." Guan Dao sarcastically said, "You’re worse than the others, so you have to work harder than them. Your only advantage is your beauty and your previous role in an idol drama. You disappoint me."
Cui Xiao was stunned. She didn't know why the director said these things to her. Obviously, she was praised by the director when she was acting in the idol drama. Since the director did not like her, why did he choose her as the heroine?
Tao Ran, who was learning gesticulations with the opera director, looked over at them and realized that the situation seemed wrong, so he walked over and said, "Director, look at my movements."
After he said that, he threw his sleeves in a charming motion. Tao Ran perfectly executed this action. He was originally a woman, so he could understand some of the attitudes and gestures of women. After watching it, Director Guan praised, "Very good, very good. We will rehearse once before I start shooting later."
Tao Ran looked at the lost Cui Xiao, and Director Guan said, "Tao Ran, tell me about the ending. Why did Du Jiao give Hua Ziyan money?"
The director was asking the male lead and the female lead to act abnormally. Tao Ran might have understood why Cui Xiao had this expression. He thought for a while then said, "When the heroine fell in love with the hero, the hero was handsome and charming, and in her eyes he was the most beautiful man. After meeting the hero again, the hero was so downhearted and untidy. The heroine felt sorrow, indignation and some heartache towards the hero at the same time. She still loved the hero in her heart, but she already had a family of her own. She got older and more mature, so she was willing to let go of all grievances and help the hero, hoping he would live a better life."
"Okay." Guan Dao was impressed and said in a loud voice, "You understood it well. Unfortunately, you’re male, or else I would have let you play the heroine."
Tao Ran laughed dryly, and only after watching the director leave did he say to Cui Xiao, "What's up with you?"
Cui Xiao closed her eyes and said, "I can't compare to a Bancor actor like you, no matter how hard I try." After that, she covered her face and ran away.
The crew who were setting up the equipment on the side said, "That little girl was scolded by the director so thoroughly. No wonder she feels wronged."
Tao Ran's eyes lit up. He felt this was a divine opportunity. He immediately called Long Qiu.
Tao Ran’s number was not in Long Qiu’s address book so she didn't know who was calling. She stared at the flashing number for a while before answering in a formal voice. “This is Long Qiu.”
"Ms. Long, it's me ah."
"..." Long Qiu became a little panicked, hearing those words so suddenly. "I gave you the number so that you can contact me when you need something to be done, not for you to call me for a casual chat."
"I know, I called because I have something for you." Tao Ran said, "Can you give me Bai Shaohui's phone number?"
"..." There were several managers in the office reporting their work. Although Long Qiu was livid in her heart, she still quietly whispered on the surface. "What do you want him to do? Do you have a fetish of collecting CEO phone numbers?"
"No, I don't." Tao Ran said, "I don’t think it’s enough to separate their feelings by working on Cui Xiao. I can call Bai Shaohui over when I go on a date with Cui Xiao, and let him see her betrayal with his own eyes. That would be more effective."
"... You are very good." Long Qiu was satisfied with his seriousness. "I will send the number right away."
Tao Ran received the number sent by Long Qiu, and he immediately called Bai Shaohui. "Hello, this is Bai Shaohui."
“Mr Bai, this is Tao Ran. We met at the crew location today. Do you remember me?"
Do you think I’m a goldfish? Forgetting the morning after seeing the afternoon? Bai Shaohui said, feeling very upset, "Why do you have my number?"
"That isn’t important." Tao Ran looked at Cui Xiao who was crying in the corner and said, "Cui Xiao was wronged."
Bai Shaohui was taken aback, and said anxiously, "How? Please make it clear."
“She had a problem understanding her role so the director scolded her. She is crying now and seems very sad, so she may need the comfort of her boyfriend.”
Bai Shaohui, who was not Cui Xiao’s boyfriend, was pleased by these words. His attitude instantly changed and he said, "Okay, I will rush over right away."
"Don't." Tao Ran stopped him. "The filming is about to start. If you come here at this time you would be interrupting her. I think it's better to take her to dinner after work is over and comfort her."
Bai Shaohui thought it made sense because Cui Xiao never liked him interrupting her acting. "Okay, I will do that."
"President Bai, please don't tell Cui Xiao that I told you these things. You know, she and I were classmates. I don't want her to think that I am a nosy person."
"No problem." Bai Shaohui said sincerely. "If there is any problem with Xiaoxiao in the future, please tell me.” He felt a bit ashamed. “She never tells me what’s on her mind.”
“Sure I will, Mr Bai. Bye.”
When Tao Ran hung up the phone, the system was madly crying with joy, “Well done host! Your shameless personality is indeed needed to complete the task. You are so good at this. You will be able to complete all the tasks smoothly and bring wealth back to reality and enjoy to your heart’s content…”
Tao Ran smiled triumphantly. "That being said, don’t look at my current identity. I am a veteran reader with ten years of book knowledge. Thousands of plots are in my heart. Isn't it easy to do this kind of thing?"
Then the formal performance began. With the help of the original owner’s memory, Tao Ran also acted pretty well. At least, he did not have as many retakes as Cui Xiao. At the end of the day, Cui Xiao was exhausted both physically and mentally. The director said to Tao Ran, “I’ll be staying here today. Go back and watch some opera performances. Pay attention to learning the positions and movements of the dancer.”