What's the situation?
The male and female leads walked out after getting their makeup done. The entrance of the set was crowded with people. The director was desperately clinging onto a delivery man, pleading earnestly,
"I can negotiate the pay, please don't leave..."
"I'll give you more scenes... Please stay, our drama needs you..."
This was the first time Yu Qing had seen such a stubborn actor at the set, or rather, an extra who also did delivery jobs. He wouldn't even stay for 800 RMB per day, even though they had raised the rate to that much. And now he still insisted on going out to deliver food.
Good-looking, great acting skills, and yet he's out there delivering food!
"Director Yu, what's going on?"
The male lead of this drama, Li Yifeng, walked over. He was playing an undercover cop who had no choice but to live in the abyss and struggle to see the light. At this moment, his outfit made him look no different from a street thug.
Su He was going to play a rich second generation. He had a few scenes with Li Yifeng.
According to the script, the rich second generation wouldn't have too many scenes. If filming went smoothly, it could be wrapped up in two to three days. At 800 RMB per day, Su He was better off going out to deliver food instead.
Seeing Li Yifeng come over, Yu Qing quickly explained, "An actor suddenly dropped out. I found someone more suitable, but now he doesn't want to stay..."
Li Yifeng looked towards Su He. A delivery man?
He did look quite handsome, but Li Yifeng wondered about his acting.
Li Yifeng walked up to Su He and smiled. "Handsome, why don't you want to stay? Our drama is pretty good. Why don't you reconsider..."
Su He had seen some TV dramas starring Li Yifeng. Despite meeting a celebrity face-to-face for the first time, he showed no nervousness at all. In a neither servile nor overbearing tone, he simply said, "The pay is too low."
Su He had an air about him that said it would be difficult to get him to help with so little money. Li Yifeng turned to look at Director Yu and asked, "Director Yu, how much is he paid?"
Yu Qing shook his head. Su He was a nobody. How could one use pay to describe him? Even quite well-known extras only got 800 RMB per day at most. He didn't expect Su He to still find it unsatisfactory.
"Then how much do you want?" Li Yifeng asked directly.
"800 RMB per minute!" Su He shot back.
According to the script, the rich second generation's scenes added up to just over 30 minutes. Su He didn't even know if he was worth that much with his current acting skills. But he'd just throw out a number first. If they didn't agree, he'd just go deliver food.
800 RMB per minute! Su He, have you lost your mind! Elder Brother Feng hurriedly tried to advise him, "Su He, are you silly? With so many lines and screen time, people would be envious to pay to take on your role. And you get to act alongside big stars Li Yifeng and Song Yi. This drama will surely be a hit. You'll become popular too..."
Elder Brother Feng was so anxious that he stamped his feet. Su He was foolish not to cherish such a good opportunity. The director had promised him a cameo appearance if Su He stayed.
"Fine! I'll agree to your terms on the director's behalf. But whether you're worth it or not, we'll have to see your performance first!" Li Yifeng turned to Director Yu and said, "Director Yu, it's getting late. Shall we start?"
Filming began swiftly. When Su He walked out after changing into costume and getting his hair done, everyone was stunned.
Now, everything about Su He - his gestures, his speech - exuded an aura of a rich second generation. One moment, he was amiable and gentle like a spring breeze. The next, his expression turned sinister and terrifying.
The female lead, Song Yi's eyes lit up. She hastily asked her manager who Su He was and what works he had done before. But Su He was just an unknown nobody, a delivery man who got pulled in by his friend to be an extra.
After wasting another half an hour, the first scene finally began shooting.
The plot was simple. Su He's rich second generation character ran into the female lead by chance. On the surface they exchanged pleasantries, but deep down, the rich second generation already had eyes on the female lead.
It was a very short scene, but Su He's performance made Yu Qing applaud excitedly. On screen, the rich second generation was elegant and charismatic, chatting amiably in an attempt to get the female lead's attention. When she turned to leave, the sinister glint that flashed across the rich second generation's eyes sent a chill down one's spine. It was but a fleeting moment on screen, yet left a deep impression.
Nailed in one take! Director Yu even felt like Song Yi's acting had dragged Su He down. If not for the other roles having signed contracts early on, Director Yu might have considered offering him the second male lead role instead.
800 RMB per minute was absolutely worth it!
Watching Su He's performance, even Li Yifeng was very surprised. As someone who relied on his idol looks, Li Yifeng usually needed more than ten retakes per scene to satisfy his fans who thought he was being a perfectionist chasing excellence, when the truth was that he simply sucked!
Next up were the scenes with both him and Su He. Li Yifeng felt a little nervous to act opposite him.
The following plot had Li Yifeng's undercover cop character kidnapping the female lead under the rich second generation's instructions. It would showcase the vicious side of the rich second generation, as well as the inner turmoil and struggles of the undercover cop trapped in the darkness.
As soon as he stepped on set, Su He only had his back facing the camera. After saying his line, he suddenly whirled around, his cruel eyes making Li Yifeng involuntarily retreat two steps back, his face pale.
"Cut!"
Li Yifeng was so frightened he had forgotten his line. They had no choice but to stop filming.
Director Yu couldn't help but sigh. All those countless retakes Li Yifeng previously did, he didn't mind at all. Yet just now, with that one turn from Su He as the rich second generation, the sinister and dark side of the character had been perfectly portrayed.
His opinion of Su He also improved tremendously, very glad that he managed to get Su He to stay. That money was well-spent!
After that Li Yifeng just couldn't get into character, so they had no choice but to stop for the day. Su He's scenes were done, and he went to change out of costume.
In the changing room, Su He was alone. Just after changing, he suddenly heard faint sounds coming from outside that sounded like "Help..."
Stepping out of the changing room, there was nothing in sight. The cries for help had stopped as well.
Su He looked towards the other corridor, which ended with the props room. The door had an iron chain and padlock.
He slowly walked over. "Thud thud thud" sounds could be heard coming from behind the door, intermittent and sporadic.
"Is someone inside?" Su He tugged at the chains, but the door didn't budge at all. There were no more sounds from within either.
Just as he was about to leave, urgent banging suddenly came from inside, followed by a weak voice crying "Help..." before it went silent again.
Su He turned around. The long corridor was empty without a soul in sight.
Something was wrong!
Su He strode quickly towards the exit, only to discover that somehow, the main entrance he had come through just now had been padlocked from the inside. Two men standing outside were staring at Su He in puzzlement, gesturing for him to open the lock.
Su He noticed that the key was still in the padlock. A sense of foreboding rose within him.
Someone had cried for help from the props room, but he didn't know what was going on inside. And now the main entrance had been locked from the inside. It seemed like he was the only person left here.
Glancing upwards, there were no security cameras installed. Su He nearly cursed out loud. He hastily took out his phone and called the police.
"Hello...I need to report a case. At the filming studio, someone is trying to frame me...probably a murder case... Well, the person's probably dead...or maybe not dead yet... You'll know once you get here..."