March 29, 2022

Chapter 117: Plan

“Zhang Yansheng!!!” Xu Lichen woke up with a scream.

In the suite, Zhang Yansheng looked up silently, got up and walked into the bedroom.

“What’s the matter? Your face is as white as a ghost?” She stood by the bed and asked, “Why did you sweat so much?”

Xu Lichen looked at her panting, still a little confused.

It took two seconds before he realized that this was the hotel suite he was staying in. Yesterday, they drank a bunch of beers on the road outside. And when they came back to the hotel, he drank red wine again, and then it was cut off.

“I…” His head was tingling, his throat was being pricked, and his body showed all the symptoms of a hangover. “I had a bad dream!”

Zhang Yansheng was speechless: “What was your dream about?” 

His face turned pale with fright.

“You don’t know! You definitely can’t think of who I dreamed of, I actually dreamed of Wang Qian!” Xu Lichen rubbed his painful temple and said, “How could I dream of her, it’s amazing! I also dreamed of you. In my dream, the three of us were pretty good. We were all in Class 8, sticking together every day, having fun everywhere, playing truant and skipping school. In the end, you and I were expelled from the school together.”

Zhang Yansheng was stunned.

Xu Lichen lowered his head and rubbed his head, still somehow senseless, and then he said: “I dreamed that I like you and you like me too, and then Wang Qian got in the way all day and broke us up. Later, you stayed in K City, and I went abroad.”

“When I went abroad, I started drinking and taking drugs! Living a befuddled life! I became so thin and skinny, and can be knocked with a single blow.”

“Since I live such a f*cking life, I really dare not return to China to see you. I have been hiding abroad and did not go back. Then one day, Wang Qian suddenly called me and told me that… you are dead!”

“D*mn, I can still feel the sudden contraction of my heart when I heard that you were dead!!! It was uncomfortable! It was so uncomfortable! Why did you die? She said that you were secretly drugged by someone else, and your body was allergic to drugs! D*mn, what kind of death was that! Why did you die so badly? I can’t believe it! That is not like you!”

Zhang Yansheng felt her throat dry, and asked with difficulty: “What happened later?”

“Later, I flew back to China. I was going to attend your funeral! Then that plane! The plane!” Xu Lichen’s face turned pale again, the lifelike feeling in his dream still remained, and his heart contracted to death, “Then that plane, it was going to crash! Going down! We keep falling down! Everyone was screaming! I was weightless! My heart was particularly uncomfortable!”

“F*ck!” Xu Lichen first covered his face, then rubbed it hard, and kept murmuring, “It was terrible! It was terrible! It was so terrible!”

The feeling of falling down and approaching death gave chills all over him.

He looked up: “Zhang Yansheng, tell me, this dream…”

Plop!

Zhang Yansheng gave him a big slap on his face.

Xu Lichen’s face turned to the side and became frozen: “…”

Zhang Yan asked, “Are you awake now?”

Xu Lichen covered his face, nodding vigorously like a little wife.

“It’s just a dream! Look at you now! I am here and you are here, too. Wang Qian got out of here a long time ago, and neither of us is in Class 8. Do you believe in your dreams or what you’re seeing in front of you?”

“Believe, I believe in what I’m seeing now.” Xu Lichen said weakly.

Zhang Yansheng said in disgust, “Then go take a bath! You stink! You have the smell of alcohol all over you!”

Xu Lichen got out of bed and went to the bathroom with drooping eyebrows.

When he came out with a fragrant wash, he took a turn and found Zhang Yansheng in the study table.

“?” He asked, “What are you doing?”

Zhang Yansheng immediately wrote on her report: “Catching up with my homework.”

Xu Lichen: “…”

What happened to the sudden chaos regarding homework!

After waking up, upon hearing the word ‘homework’, why did he suddenly start to panic, feeling the tightness on his chest and shortness of breath again?! Obviously, he didn’t feel this way when his classmates gave him the homework a few days ago!

Xu Lichen clutched his heart and breathed a sigh of relief, and tentatively said, “Then you should go back to K City first…”

Zhang Yansheng looked at him like a knife.

“What about me?” Xu Lichen explained, “I have two more scenes today and tomorrow! Then, my character will be killed! I will go back tomorrow after filming!”

Zhang Yansheng said, “I’ll wait for you.”

Xu Lichen couldn’t help it, so he had to say, “Then will you just rest here in the hotel? I will try to come back as early as possible in the evening.”

“No need.” Zhang Yansheng closed his homework, “I will accompany you.”

Xu Lichen had the feeling of being stared at by the supervisor at work, so he felt really uncomfortable all over.

On the way to the crew, Zhang Yansheng asked, “Do you earn money from filming?”

“Yes! Why not?!” Xu Lichen patted his thigh, “I rely on my ability to make money.”

“How much money?”

“Six hundred yuan a day.”

Zhang Yansheng: “…”

Although she didn’t know that this salary was slightly better than that of bit part actors, but…

“So, you’re living in a suite that costs 3,600 yuan a night, but with a salary of 600 yuan a day?”

Xu Lichen retorted with a stubborn neck: “That is not the same thing!”

When they arrived at the set, Zhang Yansheng saw Xu Lichen go over to talk to the director. He kept smiling and put his hands together to make a confession. The director glanced at Zhang Yansheng, smiled and shook his head.

Is he apologizing to the director for what happened yesterday?

Xu Lichen has always had the eldest young master’s temper, and his irritability is not lower than hers. When did it become like this? Zhang Yansheng felt strange.

Xu Lichen got busy. Zhang Yansheng watched him quietly.

Turning her head, she saw a young staff member peeking at her. She raised her chin: “Bring me a chair.”

It is so natural for him to assist others. So, the man naturally went to move a chair for her. When Zhang Yansheng sat down, the man stared blankly and asked others, “Who the hell is that girl?”

But no one knows.

Zhang Yansheng observed Xu Lichen during filming.

This is indeed Xu Lichen, who is unfamiliar to her. Not only does he have a handsome face, but his expression is also very smart. And it can be seen that he is serious and committed when filming. Guided by the director, he listened carefully and studied carefully.

But in fact, Zhang Yansheng could see it. With his playful nature, what the director can give him is a character with only a few lines in the whole scene. It’s really only better than the bit part actors.

However, Zhang Yansheng saw happiness in his eyes.

When she watched him get into the role, she clearly realized that with the help of his role, he temporarily broke free from reality, detached himself, and gained true happiness.

She was also moved by the seriousness and obsession he showed. Because Xu Lichen in her previous life didn’t have any reason to be so persistent in things, and no reason to lower his head and bend his waist to others.

When Xu Lichen looked for Zhang Yansheng after filming, she had already disappeared. He took out his cellphone and found that she had left him a message saying that she would go back to the hotel first.

She is such a moody woman! He really doesn’t know when she is angry and when she is happy! She didn’t stay when he told her to stay in the hotel. And when he wanted to ask her how she felt about his performance, she went back to the hotel!

Xu Lichen is really on the edge of being bald!!!

He had finished filming today’s scene and called a car back to the hotel.

On the way, he leaned his head on the car seat. When he was free, he couldn’t help but think of the dream he had that morning again.

It’s a very realistic dream! So thrilling!

He couldn’t help but think of Zhang Yansheng in his dream.

It was obviously Zhang Yansheng, but this Zhang Yansheng, whose face has thick makeup that you couldn’t see her original appearance, inexplicably gave him a sense of vulnerability.

No matter how arrogant and domineering she was, Xu Lichen could feel it in his dreams, that in fact, as long as she was hit harder, then she would be broken.

It makes people feel distressed and sad.

Back at the hotel, Zhang Yansheng was at the desk again.

“Ahem.” Xu Lichen asked, “Are you still catching up on your homework?”

Zhang Yansheng let out a “hmm”.

Xu Lichen involuntarily compared Zhang Yansheng in front of him with Zhang Yansheng in his dream…

As soon as Zhang Yansheng raised her eyes, Xu Lichen fought a cold war inwardly, and smiled immediately.

Zhang Yansheng: “?” Why is he faking a smile?

“Come here. Let’s talk.” Zhang Yansheng sat down on the sofa in the living room.

Xu Lichen also sat down.

Zhang Yansheng asked straightforwardly: “Do you want to be an actor in the future?”

Xu Lichen was startled, silent for a few seconds, and said with great certainty: “I think I just want to be an actor in the future! Yes, I want to be an actor!”

He stared at Zhang Yansheng, for fear that she would say something against it.

She was obviously neither his mother nor his father, but her words really had a huge impact on him. If Zhang Yansheng strongly opposes this, Xu Lichen will feel that he will be very bald again.

However, Zhang Yansheng readily agreed: “It’s pretty good.”

Xu Lichen breathed a sigh of relief, still a little unbelieving: “Really?”

Zhang Yansheng nodded: “I think it’s pretty good, but…”

It’s coming, it’s coming! He knows that she must ambush him somewhere! Xu Lichen cheered up, but Zhang Yansheng asked him, “Then do you know that the entertainment industry has a contempt chain?”

Xu Lichen: “?”

Xu Lichen didn’t chase the stars, Zhang Yansheng asked about his blind spot of knowledge. He shook his head honestly.

Zhang Yansheng used popular science to him: “All circles have chains of contempt, and the entertainment industry is no exception. Basically, those who act in stage plays look down on those who act in movies, those who act in movies look down on those who act in TV series, those who act in TV series look down on those who act in online dramas, and those who act in online dramas look down on those who join the variety shows. All of those look down on being an internet celebrity.”

Xu Lichen: “Puff!” I think it’s funny.

Zhang Yansheng said again: “This is just a classification of the contempt chain, and there are other classification methods, like the contempt regarding one’s academic background.”

Xu Lichen: “?”

“Acting is not just about acting as you say. You were introduced by Director Xie. What role did the director here give you? How many scenes? Is it more than 18 times? Six hundred yuan a day, I have inquired about it and that’s it, which is a few more lines than an ordinary group act.”

“You said you want to be an actor, right? You wouldn’t be so naive to think that you can become an actor by playing truant and absenteeism, fishing for three days and basking in the net for two days, and acting in groups for a few days, right?”

Xu Lichen touched his neck: “My mother asked the school for my leave!” He tried not to answer her.

Because of her, he really looked so naive! That’s exactly what he plans to do!

Zhang Yansheng saw through him at a glance, sneered, and threw a pile of paper in his hand.

“While waiting for you to come back, I called Director Xie for advice. Acting is divided into academic and non-academic schools. Needless to say, academies despise non-academies.”

“Don’t take the case of a non-academic celebrity who only came out being popular after 8 or 10 years. It has been said that it took 8 to 10 years to produce one. You are either from an academic background, so you will be excluded, you will be despised.”

“These are the admissions brochures of the Big Three – BD, ZX, and SX. Please read them carefully.”

Zhang Yansheng leaned back: “The domestic academies mainly came out of these Big Three, and the others are just a little joke. If you really want to be an actor, check what the enrollment requirements are, what you should learn, and what you should practice. There are schools which require you to have a good college entrance examination score! You should go and study first. If you don’t study well, then you won’t even understand the script. So, still dreaming of being an actor?”

“Think about it yourself.” She glanced at the time, “I booked a ticket this evening and will go back to K City first. If you miss class for one day, you cannot miss class for two days.”

“Think about your own business, think about it yourself. You are a grown-up man now, so make a decent plan for yourself.”

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