Top Star: Journey To Become A Global Star

The first few scenes that would be shot in Beijing were all indoor scenes that could be regarded as the most relaxing parts.

They would shoot in the studio for a month or two but after that, Ren and the whole cast of «Slayers» would travel to southern China to shoot the outdoor scenes, which were mainly the fight and battle scenes.

It was nice to shoot the indoor scenes but it would be a hard job to shoot in the freezing winter cold.

It was still the first day of the shoot, so there was a kind of awkwardness between the cast.

In such a big cast like one of «Slayers», fights and skirmishes were common, especially among the female leads. It would be more intense since both Li Xinru and Tang Lan were first tier actresses.

Tang Lan would surely act haughty as she was the female lead while Li Xinru was only playing the second female lead.

Just earlier, he had heard that Tang Lan and Li Xinru were having a battle of words with each other but Ren was sure that the situation would gradually calm down.

In some days, the cast will become used to each other and Director Chen Pu wasn"t a director that would tolerate fighting between actors.

Aside from not tolerating fights, there was another thing that he won"t tolerate, that was poor acting from the actors.

"Your scene is ready but it"s not good to NG on your first scene. I know that actors take time to get into their characters but Director Chen Pu is angry because of Na Wen"s poor acting. His anger will flare up if even you did a NG."

Ren smiled towards a.s.sistant Director Luo as he turned around. 

a.s.sistant Director Luo has a good relations.h.i.+p with White bear and he was also worried that Director Chen Pu will even stop the shoot for the day if there were more NGs.

He was a follower of Director Chen Pu for a long time, so he was the most familiar with his strange antics.

That"s why he came to warn and advise Ren. 

"I will be careful. Thank you for your consideration."

"I hope it goes well."

a.s.sistant Director Luo thought in his mind.

Just by looking at the attire of Ren, he can tell that he has pa.s.sed the looking part with distinction but a.s.sistant Director Luo doesn"t know if Ren can perfectly act out the scene in the first take or not.

Well, he will surely know the answer to that sometime.

Ren"s first scene was with some supporting actors and it was also the scene where Cao Xu"s character will be introduced. 

Ren wasn"t much worried about this scene as he has already enacted the scene several times during his practice and he was sure that he can do it.

It was a fairly special scene too as in this scene, Ren has to act like a drunkard.

Normally, when acting as drunkards, the actors would often drink a bit to get intoxicated. It was not uncommon to do it as it would bring out a real sense of alcohol.

But Ren can"t do it!

The primary reason was that he had other scenes after this and it was just the first scene.

If he got drunk in the first scene, then he doesn"t know if he would be able to perfectly act out the other scenes or not.

Ren has to rely on himself for this scene!!

* * *

It was the scene of a corridor in the royal palace of the Liang Empire. Two men were walking and whispering along the corridor.

Those men dressed with good appearance. One could feel the grace and dignity emitting from them.

It was no wonder though, after all, both men were the retainers of the emperor of the Liang Empire who has served him for years.

One of them was a civil servant and the other one was a military officer.

Those two men from different backgrounds were appointed as retainers at the same time, and while getting along with each other quite well, they have become friends.

However, despite both walking with each other, their faces right now were in despair.

Both of them knew why they each had such expressions.

"What is the condition of the situation? As expected, it was bad isn"t it…?"

The civil officer hesitantly murmured.

In response, the military officer closed his eyes and sighed.

"In the last few weeks, the situation has worsened. The battle for the throne would soon commence and the other princes would attack the crown prince from all sides."

"It is a grave situation indeed, especially because the crown prince still doesn"t have many people he can rely on."

Both of them were the supporters of the crown prince"s faction.

No matter if it"s a civil officer or a military one, he has to choose a prince to support. It is a way for them to get many benefits but it was highly risky at the same time.

If they choose the wrong faction to join, then their heads will roll on the ground.

"The emperor"s health has been worsening and the Lu state has recently started recruiting soldiers. If by chance, the emperor fell, then…."

The civil officer stopped talking and looked at the military officer. 

The Liang Empire would not fall so easily and defeating Lu state would be a breeze for them but the problem here was the battle of the throne that would commence sooner or later.

The battle of the throne would make the internal structure or the empire weak and using that, one can easily attack the Liang Empire.

As it would be in his most vulnerable state.

At that time, both of them heard footsteps, they looked at the person coming their way and instantly, their faces turned into one of scoff.

"It seems like my luck isn"t bad today, meeting two of the gems of the empire like this. I wonder if I will get a win in the gambling house today."

The person who came their way was young, he had long slender arms and his eyes were like an abyss, one could stare at them for eternity.

He was also famous in the whole Liang Empire, but not for good reasons. His most famous nickname was "The illegitimate wastrel".

He was Cao Xu, the youngest and the only illegitimate child of the emperor.

The most noticeable thing about him wasn"t his appearance but the alcohol bottle in his hand.

"Then, I wonder if my day will be bad today, meeting you in the morning."

The civil officer scoffed.

There was no need to talk politely to Cao Xu. Even though he was a prince, he didn"t have any backing and even the emperor had abandoned him.

He was just a wastrel!!

"I wonder if you have eaten something spicy today or your tongue is just like this, spouting out cold words which are directly stabbing my heart."

"We don"t have time to waste on you!!"

The two officers started to walk away after that. Even talking to Cao Xu was like an insult for them.

"Another person to kill…."

Standing alone in the corridor, Cao Xu softly muttered and took a big gulp out of the alcohol bottle in his hand.

His eyes glimmered with a sharp glint, it was like a big rippling in the silent abyss. 

No one knew at that point that this rippling will cause many bigger waves in the future, one that will drown the whole Liang Empire.

At least both the officers were oblivious to this.

"Cut!!!"

At that moment, Director Chen Pu"s shout ended the scene, his eyes flashed with a sense of satisfaction as he looked at the figure of Ren on the screen.