Back in the corner, Lian Qing put the stool away. He single-handedly held the double-edged sword in front of him, closed his eyes, and substituted himself with those super powerful, free, and easy heroes in the novels and movies he had seen in his childhood.
A moment later, Lian Qing opened his eyes, expression cold. With a movement of the wrist, the long double-edged sword looked like a dragon breaking through the air, suddenly like lightning, bringing up a shadow. His posture moved with it, and his movements were smooth, light, and fast like thunder.
Lian Qing did not dare to hold onto the props of the cast and crew for too long. He stopped dancing after a while for fear that others might see him.
Although it was not a long time, he was still satisfied and felt that he had realized his dream as a teenager. It was great. The only regret is that he lacked a pot of *sake and a good horse.
Show/Hide NoteSake- Japanese rice wine
With eight points of satisfaction and two points of regret, he took up the small bench with a bright smile and was ready to return the sword to Sister Sha.
However, when he turned around, he saw a lot of people around Sister Sha in the distance, all staring at him.
Lian Qing’s smile gradually disappeared. He stepped back with a guilty heart, he’d been found!
But looking at the sword in his hand, he gritted his teeth and walked there. *One person was responsible for one thing. He couldn’t let Sister Sha be scolded because of him!
Show/Hide Note*take responsibility for one’s actions.
When he came to those people, he put down the bench and held the sword in his hands. He bowed his head and said loudly, “I’m sorry! I asked Sister Sha to lend me the sword to play with for a while. If it’s my fault, it has nothing to do with Sister Sha!”
“…” There was a silence.
Lian Qing was even more confused. He whispered, “I didn’t damage it…”
“Pfff!” Sister Sha laughed and said, “It’s all right, little monk. We came to see you because you are good at swordsmanship.”
Lian Qing looked up dubiously, looked at her, and then looked at the other people.
However, Director Li, who was a senior here, nodded to him gently. He heaved a sigh of relief, and a silky smile appeared on his face.
Sister Sha got up and took the sword in his hand. She said with a smile, “You’ve just danced very strikingly. If you wear an ancient costume and do it again, you’ll be like an elegant son of nobility!”
Many people couldn’t help nodding. Even Director Li agreed: “The blue shirt is ethereal, and the sword is like frost and snow.” Such a picture was very attractive to imagine.
Lian Qing blushed and touched his head with embarrassment.
Director Li asked again, “You are so good at sword dancing. Could it be that you have kung fu skills?”
Lian Qing shook his head and nodded again: “When I was on the mountain, my master taught me fists and feet kung fu. But I used to watch novels and TV and practice sword dancing with branches after watching them.”
Director Li was interested: “What did you do in the mountains?”
Lian Qing did not shy away: “Monk.”
Director Li stared at Sister Sha: “Shaman, you don’t even let go of a monk, ah!”
Sister Sha waved her hand and looked like she had been wronged: “He just returned to the secular world and came down the mountain! I accidentally met him when I was recording a variety show. By coincidence I let him become an artist in my studio…”
Lian Qing was confused and leaned against Sister Sha in silence.
Director Li shook his head and said with a smile, “You are lucky. No wonder you always call him Little Monk.” After a pause, he said again: “If there is a chance, I hope I can cooperate with this little monk.”
Sister Sha was surprised. She made an OK gesture and smiled: “Then I must hurry up and teach him how to act!”
“You should grasp firmly…”
Director Li asked everyone else to busy themselves, while he talked with Sister Sha about other things. Lian Qing wanted to go back to the corner but was stopped by Director Li. So, he took the small bench and sat down, listening to them.
“You’ve heard of the original novel of this play, haven’t you? In fact, there is a character in the play who appeared once at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the play. He is the main character of the sister story in this book…”
“At the beginning, because I was afraid of *dominating the audience, in addition, the character written by the author was too immortal and had excellent martial arts skills. I discussed with the screenwriter to remove this character so that those original fans would not shout that we destroyed the classics when they broadcast in the future…”
Show/Hide NoteLit. the voice of the guest overwhelms that of the host(idiom) – fig. a minor player upstages the main attraction. Usually, when a book is being adapted into a show/movie, the book fans tend to have extremely high expectations of the people who will be cast. For directors, this is a huge hurdle and they tend to be cautious so as to avoid angering the fans with the wrong casting and ruining a character. Here, Director Li is afraid that if he casts the wrong person for such a minor yet considerably important role in the heart of fans, it will reflect negatively on the entire show and cast.
Sister Sha frowned and said, “You mean Shuang Chi *Zhen ren?”
Show/Hide NoteZhen ren – Daoist Spiritual Master
Director Li nodded: “I saw the little monk dancing his sword just now, and I had this idea in my mind. I wanted him to play Shuang Chi Zhen ren.”
“But he can’t act yet…” Sister Sha hesitated. Although she had never seen the original work, she had heard about it. Shuang Chi Zhen ren was the protagonist of another novel written by the author of the original drama she was shooting. That book was more popular than the current one, and the protagonist Shuang Chi Zhen ren was in the *heart of many fans.
Show/Hide NoteXin tou rou – the person one loves the most
When the author wrote the novel of the drama they were shooting, Shuang Chi Zhen ren appeared at the beginning, middle, and end as a guest character. There wasn’t much of a description, which served as a link between the preceding and the following. In the script she received, Shuang Chi Zhenren only appeared alongside other people, without even a shadow.
She was afraid that letting a pure newcomer who had no fans and lacked an acting foundation play the *cinnabar mole in the heart of the original fans would *backfire.
Show/Hide NoteCinnabar mole – similar to white moonlight. Refers to someone who’s branded deeply in your heart like a cinnabar mole, and cannot be removed. They usually invoke feelings of passion and desire. The origin is from the novel “Red Rose and White Rose” by Zhang Ailing. “Marry a red rose and eventually she’ll be a misquito blood streak smeared on the wall, while the white one is ‘moonlight in front of my bed’. Marry a white rose, and before long she’ll be a grain of sticky rice stuck to your clothes; while the red one by then, is a scarlet beauty mark just over your heart.”
Show/Hide NoteShi de qu fan – produce the opposite of the desired results
Director Li’s said *painstakingly, “I’ll tell you the truth. Last night, I disclosed on my Weibo that Shuang Chi Zhen ren would be dropped and as a result, I was scolded by many book fans.”
Show/Hide NoteEarnest and well-meaning advice(idiom)- to persuade patiently
Sister Sha: “Then you can find an actor at the top ah!”
She hoped that Director Li would remember Lian Qing and have a good opportunity to cooperate in the future. But it should not be now. The little monk couldn’t do anything yet. Letting him act would be improbable. She was afraid he would be blackened by those fans after the broadcast!
“It’s easy for you to say, except for some unknown people, who would dare to take the role casually?” Director Li reluctantly said, “For the famous one this much of a role with too few scenes is inferior. As for less famous ones, I haven’t found a match.”
“I think your little monk is very good. His posture is good, his appearance is not bad, and his sword dancing style is masterful! Besides, this character was originally designed to be highly aloof, and there are few appearances. As long as your family’s little monk has a cold face and moves around a little more, it’s good enough!”
Sister Sha was still hesitant. As a character, there were not many appearances. There was a high possibility of being scolded for the performance, but in case of success, the increase in fans would be suitably powerful.
She looked at the little monk and asked, “Do you want to act?”
Lian Qing replied with blank eyes: “Act what?”
“Act, a very powerful cold-blooded noble warrior.”
Lian Qing’s eyes brightened and he nodded once then nodded again: “Yes!”
“But if you act this role, you may be scolded.”
“It doesn’t matter!”
Lian Qing said, “I have thick skin!”
Sister Sha and Director Li broke into laughter one after the other. Who could be so brazen?! This was not a foolish little monk, oh!
Then Sister Sha said to Director Li, “Let him act, but please give me some time so that I can teach him how to act.”
“No problem No problem!” Director Li excitedly said, “I will send someone to contact the people in your studio now, but who is his agent?”
“Cheng Lan, the same agent as me.”
“OK, I’ll send someone to contact her.”
When Director Li went out to find someone, Sister Sha whispered to Lian Qing, “These days, you should carefully watch how we act and get familiar with wires and such things. In addition, tonight I will ask someone to find a teacher to teach you a quick way to act. You must learn from him!”
Lian Qing nodded hard, “I won’t let you down!”
Sister Sha smiled, “Can you say that you won’t let me down so casually? My boyfriend will misunderstand if he hears this.”
Lian Qing thought for a moment and said, “I understand. I will study hard and make progress every day!” He almost cried out to win honor for the country.
“Pfff, you’re truly a schoolboy! Stop talking. The director called for me to go on, and you should watch carefully here. Don’t run to the corner. There is no fan, it’s hot!”
“Well, jiayou, Sister Sha!” Lian Qing made a serious gesture of “jiayou“.
Show/Hide Notejiayou – cheering somebody on
Far away, he also heard Director Li say, “Your new action is very well designed…”
“Thanks to the little monk, I just saw him do his sword dance and got some inspiration. Sister Sha, you are like this. Later…”
That night, because Sister Sha had to shoot a night scene, Lian Qing followed her. The crew gave everyone a boxed meal and Lian Qing got one as well. As soon as he opened it, he smiled.
In the box, there was a big cut chicken leg on the top, with a layer of ginger and garlic powder on the yellow skin.
Even at that moment, he had a big appetite and quickly ate the boxed lunch. On the contrary, Sister Sha and her assistant around him did not do anything. When Lian Qing finished eating, he saw that they didn’t move. He immediately worried: “Sister Sha, Sister Mo, why aren’t you eating? Are you sick?”
He thought that it must be hard for Sister Sha to be hanged by wires in such hot weather when she was still filming in ancient clothes.
Sister Sha shook her head: “I want to lose weight… I can only eat a salad.”
Assistant Xiao Mo also sighed, “I have no appetite for the moment. I’ll eat later.”
Lian Qing: “… How pathetic you are!” He then looked at the untouched lunch box in front of Sister Sha and asked, “Can I take it?”
“Eat.” Sister Sha said weakly.
Lian Qing then happily extended his hand to the boxed meal.
Ten minutes later, Sister Sha watched in shock as he scraped the last grain of rice from the lunch box. Although the boxed meal of the crew was very ordinary, it was better because of its large portion. The little monk had so much lunch at noon, how was it that he could still eat two boxes for dinner?
This appetite was too extraordinary!
Sister Sha suddenly felt worried. She thought that it was good that the little monk was easy to feed and could eat anything. Otherwise, she would be eaten out of her studio.
At this moment, she was more convinced that the little monk’s master found an excuse to drive him down the mountain because he could eat too much.
She asked, “Are you full?”
He nodded, “Very full.”
“You won’t eat midnight snacks, will you?”
Lian Qing: “?!!”
Sister Sha sneered: “You have eaten so much for dinner. You are so full. I think you can save your share of midnight snacks later, right? Roast chicken wings, roast mutton kebabs…”
Lian Qing swallowed his saliva quietly and said, “Sister Sha, actually… I’m not very full.”
Xiao Mo, the assistant, pushed her boxed meal to Lian Qing and said with concern, “Let me give you mine too. You should be satisfied!”
Lian Qing: “?!!” He doesn’t want to eat a boxed meal! He wants to eat roast chicken wings and roast mutton kebabs!
TN:
Thank God the ML is rich otherwise how would he be able to provide for this little monk’s bottomless pit of a stomach ah!
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Little monk is here to eat everyone’s pockets clean