The cast reading continued at a blistering pace. Side characters, main characters, supporting characters. Everyone took a turn on stage as they ran through the first few episodes of the TV show in excruciating depth. Every spoken line, including some sound effects, got a practice run.
“No! Never invest in companies like this! They’re scammers, devil-worshippers who eat the sacrament for breakfast!”
“It’s my dragon that allows me to succeed. It supports me during the hardest meetings, and during the late nights.”
“I’m just a chicken in comparison to you then.”
“NEVER DOUBT ME! WE’RE GOING BACK TO THE TOP, I’M BUILDING TO THE MOON! RRAUGH!”
What now...?
Xia Ruyun couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head. She sat off to the side, squinting while wracking her brains to parse some of the scenes. Without context from backgrounds, and with each actor dressed in casual clothing, the characters and plot mixed around in her mind, muddled like a puddle of multicolored paint becoming turd brown.
I can’t tell if my brain is addled and I have early onset dementia or if this show is a fever dream...
“Am I having a stroke?” An actress named Liu Xiaoli beside her asked herself, cupping her face in her hands as similar chuckles slipped through her lips. A second later though, she checked the script and leapt to her feet. “Oh shi- wait, I'm up in two scenes.”
---
By the end of the day, as the setting sun leaked through the auditorium’s windows, the cast members stood around in loose circles, wiping their sweat and chatting about their roles. Feng Wei wandered around, listening in on people as they bonded and pulling them aside when he could.
“Hey, I just wanted to tell you good job today, your improv on those couple lines were very smooth, and the body language matches my image of the character as well,” Feng Wei patted an actress on the shoulder as they each grabbed some snacks.
“Thank you,” Liu Xiaoli beamed, her smile making her casting as a younger intern clear. “I did a lot of theater in my high school days, I’m glad you enjoyed it!”
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to working with you,” Feng Wei popped a raspberry into his mouth with one smooth wrist flick before flipping to the next page of his notes. “I just wanted to talk to you about your scene seeing Chu Changfeng’s character for the first time. I understand you do admire him a lot as a person, and your character is a very exuberant type, but I was thinking it might add another hint of nuance if there was a bit of fear in your expression when you first met him. It’d help demonstrate the... oppressive atmosphere he brings, to reinforce his character as an untouchable higher-up.”
“Ohh... hmm,” Liu Xiaoli fell into thought as her hand holding the fork paused midair, a piece of cheesecake sitting there in limbo.
“Don’t worry too much about the specifics,” Feng Wei shook his head before nodding towards the group he had pulled her out of. “Go socialize and concentrate on that right now. It’s just a small thing for you to stew on some time before we formally shoot the scene. See you in a week.”
After hearing a “Got it, thank you,” from her, Feng Wei walked away with a slight smile pulling at the corner of his lips. She’s a hard worker, I’ll try and push her a little harder. Not a large role though due to her lack of general success previously... hmm... Worth keeping an eye on. Is it her or her past directors? Mix of both?
---
“... Tired,” Xia Ruyun melted into the passenger seat with a half-hearted whisper as Li Feiling took the driver’s seat. She flicked on the seat warming function and closed her eyes before letting out a full-bodied sigh.
After pulling the car door closed with a dull thump, Li Feiling reached over to the glove box, popped it open, and grabbed a couple tissues out. Offering one to Xia Ruyun, she used another to wipe her own sweat. “You can say that again. I’m beat. I have too many scenes in the beginning of the show.”
“Mhm... you’ve worked hard,” Xia Ruyun murmured, waving off Li Feiling’s offer. “Thank you though.”
“No worries, of course,” Li Feiling tucked the tissue box back into place and murmured a faint “oomph” while closing the glovebox up. “Ready to go?”
Thumbs-up.
Only able to muster the faintest amount of energy, Xia Ruyun blinked her eyes open as they pulled out of the parking lot. The engine, though muffled, roared as they sped down the deserted evening street. A couple other cars, including a certain someone’s cobalt supercar occupied the road up ahead, and they joined the pack merging onto the highway.
“So, what did you think of it all? You met Chu Changfeng and Ma Xiaotian, our two counterparts in the show,” Li Feiling made some conversation. Her face, as they cruised down the highway flipped between dark and light as they passed under the streetlights jutting out from the highway’s center barrier.
Staring out of the passenger window, Xia Ruyun twirled her finger through a strand of hair while suppressing yet another yawn. “Weird, but fine. Ma Xiaotian didn’t talk much, so I don’t have a grasp on who he really is.”
“Same here, beyond his performance on stage, which seemed a little... nervous almost, I don’t know much. I do wonder what has convinced him to be so... seemingly subservient and quiet, but that’s not something for me to pry into. He’ll be good in the show, though, I’m sure. I’ve seen his past work, but it seems like it’ll take a little time to get him to act with the confidence his role needs. He often brings out the subtle nuances of a character well, like the secondary traits, you know?” Li Feiling analyzed, tapping the steering wheel as her eyes sharpened. The atmosphere around her changed for a brief moment as she spoke with the elegance befitting her ‘movie queen’ title before she leaked back to her usual fast-talking self. “What did you think about Chu Changfeng though?”
“Not... good? Weird to say...” Xia Ruyun tapped her lips as they passed through a toll booth. Her eyes wandered upward as the barrier gate’s arm raised up.
Feeling Li Feiling ease onto the accelerator, pushing them forward through the empty highway, she shrugged. “Like, obviously, after hearing some of the stories you’ve said, I’m on guard. I’m not stupid. He acts well on stage, I can say that. The title he has fits. As for his personality, he gives the creeps somehow unconsciously, and I don’t know if that’s because of what I know from you, or because of the fact that he has a bit of an old school chivalrous attitude that bleeds into misogyny. But... So far, he’s within the realm of normal I guess. Still don’t like him though.”
“... Yeah...” Li Feiling’s grip on the steering wheel increased a little. Her knuckles whitened as she guided the car into a turn. “He definitely acts well, I should give him credit. He also invests in a lot of projects, and all of them turn into huge successes.”
Xia Ruyun couldn’t help but feel a sense of tension seep into the crevices of the car. It filled the air like a thick goop, and suffocated her. It wrapped itself around her throat like a snake readying itself for one final constriction.
She cleared her throat. A slight pain pricked her in the neck as her muscles tensed against her will.
You have to keep talking to break up the tension...
“So far, obviously, I haven’t seen the inner darkness you’ve mentioned here and there. So, while I dislike him and am on guard, I just can’t be on the same level of dislike as you,” Xia Ruyun forced out after pausing for a second. “Sure, he somehow creates a weird suffocating atmosphere when we talk, but I’m also pretty sure that’s just my mind doing it after everything you told me.”
Her stomach filled with an uncomfortable feeling as she spoke. “I don’t mean to doubt you or anything, but I think it's just... mildly hard to believe, everything you told me was rumored-based too and we both know how the industry is...”
“Mhm,” Li Feiling guided the car into a long tunnel. With how the lights were placed across the tunnel’s ceiling, the car’s interior fluctuated between light and dark. For a moment, only the engine’s roar filled the car. Each time they came back into the light, Li Feiling’s eyebrows seemed to furrow more as her expression turned stony. When they shot out of the tunnel like a missile, she cleared her throat. “Yeah. You won’t be able to get it just from me saying it. He is an accomplished actor, after all, one with a near spotless reputation. But, please, stay cautious. For me at least.”
“Of course,” Xia Ruyun rested her head against the window. She stared at the wide river they now drove beside. The streetlights, the moon, and the odd buoy reflected light off its surface to illuminate the dead-still surface.
As much as I wish this tension could just disappear, it seems like it won’t.
Why?
Come on Li Feiling...
Our thoughts on Chu Changfeng aren't worth tension, are they?
Her lips pressed together. Her eyelashes fluttered. Her necklace glinted in the night as they passed under a lamp. All the while, the car continued down the road. Its red light tail lights cast a gentle glow against the pavement as it disappeared into the distance.