Chapter 115: Child Star
Previously, when Mu Jingzhe had seen that the male and female protagonist weren’t engaged, for some reason, she had been a little anxious. Now that things were finally on track, she heaved a sigh of relief.
During this period, Tang Moling had driven them to the art school a few times. Last time, when she had been bitten by a snake, he had even rushed over to say that he wanted to take her to the hospital. Mu Jingzhe remembered his kindness and sincerely wished them well.
“…”
Tang Moling, who knew her blessing was sincere, felt very conflicted.
Mu Xue saw that Mu Jingzhe seemed to be sincerely wis.h.i.+ng her well and had even brought her a gift. Seeing that Mu Jingzhe was different, Mu Xue told herself that she had been overthinking and accepted her gift.
Shao Qiyang had also rushed over that night. At this point, his feelings for Mu Xue had already dissipated. However, when he attended the engagement, he was still envious.
He had no idea when such a day would come for him and Mu Jingzhe.
Mu Jingzhe saw the envy on Shao Qiyang’s face and sighed. What a pitiful supporting character. He was seeing the girl he liked getting engaged, so his heart must definitely feel like it was being stabbed by a knife. It was normal for him to be envious of Tang Moling.
Afraid that Shao Qiyang would feel really awful and get drunk, Mu Jingzhe asked Shao Xi to keep an eye on Shao Qiyang so that he wouldn’t get drunk. Deep down, she hoped that Shao Qiyang would completely give up after seeing the couple get engaged and heed her advice about seeking a marriage partner.
Although the engagement banquet was taking place in the village, it was still very lively. Tang Moling had even invited some guests. These guests were all reputable people, which made Old Lady Mu very proud.
Mu Xue’s parents were so thrilled that a red glow could be seen on their faces. Eldest Brother Mu even got a little drunk.
The villagers were naturally envious, but there were also people who found it strange that Tang Moling hadn’t invited a single elder from his side of the family. Had his family not consented to this marriage?
Upon hearing this, Old Lady Mu explained angrily, “Their family does consent to it. It’s only because the timing was so rushed that they couldn’t make it.”
This was naturally part of the reason. The main reason was that Tang Moling had already cut off all ties with the Tang Family and his biological mother was no longer around. The only relative he was close to was his grandfather, and this was indeed too rushed for him to come over. However, Tang Moling had rea.s.sured Old Lady Mu.
“Grandpa treats me very well. He also believes in my judgement and said that it’s fine as long as I like the girl. I’ll bring Xiao Xue to meet him before we get married.”
Old Lady Mu naturally had no objections. In fact, she thought that was pretty good. She had been afraid that Mu Xue would have a difficult mother-in-law after marrying into the family. Now that she had no father-in-law or mother-in-law, she didn’t have to worry about Mu Xue suffering grievances after marrying into their family.
After Mu Xue got engaged, Little Bei’s movie started shooting.
The script had already been perfected, and Director Lu had also made a lot of preparations for the early stages of filming, so they went straight to the casting phase.
Little Bei was still a student. As school would reopen in September, Director Lu rushed over as quickly as he could. Even if he didn’t finish filming everything during the summer break, he had to at least film most of the scenes.
The main character of “Xiao Jiu” was a little girl, and the movie’s main message was not to favor boys over girls. Girls were also very filial and could be relied on just as much. One shouldn’t think that only sons would support them in their old age. If one had the misfortune of having an unfilial son, one would be better off having a daughter.
The story was very representative. After her father remarried and Xiao Jiu had a stepmother, her biological father didn’t care about her anymore. Because her ears were damaged by a fever, she couldn’t hear anything. Thus, her stepmother abandoned her in the countryside so her grandmother would take care of her.
Grandma favored boys over girls, causing Xiao Jiu to not have enough to eat or wear. Later on, she almost sent her off to be a child bride. Xiao Jiu was forced to embark on a journey to find her father. She wanted to ask why he had done this to her.
The overall story wasn’t complicated, but the process was tortuous, as the child would be going from the village to the county and then to the city. She was a child who couldn’t hear or speak. It was a complete adventure. After a lot of hards.h.i.+ps, with the help of many other people, she finally found her father.
In the end, the father only realized that he was wrong after being interrogated. Then, he saw how filial his daughter was and repented for his misdeeds.
After Director Lu arrived, to support Little Bei, Ji Buw.a.n.g was even willing to lend his house for filming. Director Lu looked around and felt that it would be easier to get things done since he was an acquaintance. Thus, he agreed.
In the end, the filming locations were also directly chosen in the county and the city. It was decided that the scenes in the village would take place in Great Eastern Village, for there were thatched cottages there where they could film.
This made things easier for Little Bei and Mu Jingzhe, who could now film the movie without going far. However, it wasn’t so convenient for the other actors. That wasn’t an issue, though, because everyone was used to following the crew around the world, so it wasn’t too bad.
However, the second female lead was dissatisfied. The second female lead was also a child. Unlike Little Bei, this was a well-known child star called Tian Xiaoxiao from Ocean City.
Tian Xiaoxiao had turned eight years old this year. She had started filming since she was two years old, so she had filmed a lot of movies. This time, she had wanted to be the main character, but Director Lu hadn’t agreed.
Tian Xiaoxiao had been in the industry for many years, and her acting was very mature. She cried whenever she was asked to, but Director Lu had always felt that her acting style was formulaic. In the end, he’d arranged for her to be the second female lead.
She wanted to be the female lead, but she had been given a supporting role. She was already unhappy about it, and to make things worse, she even had to accommodate the female protagonist during the filming process and the filming location was in Little Bei’s hometown.
Tian Xiaoxiao had acc.u.mulated a lot of anger before she’d even seen Little Bei.
After filming for so many years, Tian Xiaoxiao had spent a lot of time in production teams and had a lot of experience interacting with adults. She was more mature and scheming than her peers.
She wanted to teach Shao Bei a lesson and show the director that she was the most suitable candidate to be the female lead.
This was also why she had agreed to take on the supporting role despite being well aware of the difference between the two. She did have the right to be proud, though. Among her peers, there were very few who could match her acting skills.
Little Bei wasn’t aware of all this. When she heard that shooting was going to start, she entered the set with Mu Jingzhe, feeling full of antic.i.p.ation.
Filming a movie was different from filming a television drama. Little Bei had only filmed a TV drama for a few days, so she had to learn from scratch. However, Director Lu didn’t mind. He believed in Little Bei’s comprehension abilities.
It was Tian Xiaoxiao’s first time seeing Little Bei in the production team. When she saw Little Bei’s cute, soft, beautiful looks, which were superior to hers, she was a little unhappy.
When the rehearsal started and the camera was turned on, Tian Xiaoxiao realized why Director Lu had chosen Little Bei the moment she saw Little Bei act.
Little Bei was indeed not as experienced as her, but she was talented and she acted more naturally.
It was only the first day, yet Tian Xiaoxiao already knew that her previous plan wouldn’t work. Mother Tian also saw how formidable Little Bei was and simultaneously became wary.
They hadn’t expected such a person to come from such a small county. If Little Bei were to gain fame, it would definitely affect Tian Xiaoxiao.
Both mother and daughter became vigilant. Tian Xiaoxiao became even more serious, as she did not want to lose to Little Bei. Although it was impossible to replace Little Bei now, at least they had to be evenly matched.
When Little Bei felt the pressure, it triggered even more potential in her. Director Lu was very satisfied and kept praising her.
She could still speak at the beginning of the movie, but later on, when she lost the ability to speak, most of the time, she relied on her expressions and eyes to perform. Her role was a lot more challenging than Tian Xiaoxiao’s.
In order to make Little Bei act better, Director Lu tried his best to shoot the scenes in order. When Little Bei could still speak, she already felt the pressure. However, the child became stronger when she met strong people and gave Director Lu many surprises.