The next moment, the Daoist priest opened his eyes, rested his horsetail whisk in front of the incense burner, and shouted in a clear voice, “The auspicious hour has arrived!”
A production assistant jogged over holding a bundle of incense sticks. Their ends were wrapped in red paper, and each stick was significantly longer than ordinary ones.
Cheng Songran waved Jiang Yue over. Once Jiang Yue approached, Cheng Songran leaned in and whispered in his ear.
“Brother Yue, come here. I had a friend invite this master all the way from Mount Qingcheng. His Daoist skills are profound. Our drama has a heavy, dark atmosphere, so we need an expert to keep things in check.”
Jiang Yue took the three oversized incense sticks handed to him. He felt their weight in his palm as an elegant fragrance drifted up with the smoke. He could tell it wasn't some cheap stuff bought off a roadside stall.
Jiang Kaiwen stood behind them, looking at the incense and then at the pig's head under the Eight Immortals table, unable to find the right words for a long time.
He claimed to be poor, yet he used top-grade incense.
Spending money where it counts—turns out “where it counts” is metaphysics.
The Daoist priest called out in a drawn-out voice, “Offer the incense—”
Cheng Songran led the way forward with Jiang Yue right beside him. The crew bowed three times toward the tenement building and inserted their incense into the brass incense burner.
Cheng Songran yelled at the top of his lungs, “May the shoot be a grand success!”
The crew members scattered their responses, their voices falling unevenly across the open ground. As the incense smoke drifted upward, the pig's head under the table faced skyward, its festive appearance carrying a touch of the bizarre.
The entire process took less than five minutes. Jiang Kaiwen stood there, wondering if he had just participated in a compressed, zip-file version of a commencement ceremony.
He felt like his worldview had been shattered yet again by this unreliable director. He couldn't help but ask, “Is that it?”
Cheng Songran clapped his hands, turned around, and answered with absolute confidence.
“No point in doing those superficial things. We spend our money where it counts.”
Jiang Kaiwen glanced at the incense burner, then at the pig's head, and ultimately swallowed his words.
Cheng Songran had already turned to Jiang Yue, waving a few people over.
“Come, Brother Yue, let me introduce you to some of our main cast members.”
A middle-aged man wearing rimless glasses walked over. He had a gentle smile and carried the intellectual aura of a university professor.
Jiang Yue recognized him.
Ding Zhengxin.
Ten years ago, Ding Zhengxin had skyrocketed to fame through a family drama. Later, he went into retirement for personal reasons. After making a comeback a few years ago, he became a gold-standard supporting actor and the “nation's dad” in various popular dramas.
Whenever his face appeared on screen, the audience's minds would automatically think of a loving father, a homeroom teacher, a friendly neighbor, or the female lead's open-minded dad who was always brewing tea in the living room.
And now, he was cast as the major villain, Jiang Hongyan.
Cheng Songran's casting certainly had a bit of contrast to it.
Jiang Yue proactively reached out his hand.
“Teacher Ding.”
Ding Zhengxin shook it with both hands, smiling warmly. “Oh, Teacher Jiang, you're too polite. I've seen your work; you're incredibly talented.”
His handshake was neither too firm nor too weak, neither putting on the airs of a senior nor being overly enthusiastic.
Jiang Yue wasn't swayed by the polite flattery, simply replying with a smile, “Once we're actually filming, I'll have to look to you, Teacher Ding.”
Ding Zhengxin gave a quiet click of his tongue in his heart.
To be able to handle a conversation so smoothly at his age, he certainly didn't seem like a pure newcomer.
Ding Zhengxin added with a squinting smile, “Since I'm playing the big villain this time, I'm counting on you to go easy on me, Teacher Jiang. Don't make this old skeleton of mine look too stiff.”
Jiang Yue glanced toward the incense burner, his tone serious.
“If you're stiff, Teacher Ding, then our crew will have to ask that Daoist priest to perform another ritual, specifically to perform a deliverance ritual for our acting skills.”
A few staff members nearby couldn't hold it in, and laughter leaked out.
Ding Zhengxin laughed along as well, but his mind actually felt more at ease.
At least the male lead was confident in this production; otherwise, he wouldn't be cracking jokes with such absolute poise.
He had originally received the script through Xu Pingqiu, and he had indeed hesitated at first.
Low budget, rookie director, suspense web drama, and a villain role. Every single label sounded like a warning for a middle-aged actor to invest cautiously.
But Ding Zhengxin's ability to go from being washed up to rising in popularity again was entirely due to his sharp eye.
He had spent his whole life playing good guys with this face of his. While he had great public appeal, his range of roles had also been pigeonholed.
The moment the audience saw him, they expected him to bring out a bowl of hot soup in the next second and tell his child not to stay up late.
If he kept acting like this, he would eventually go from being the nation's dad to a piece of living room furniture in domestic dramas.
When he read just a portion of the script for 《Prisoner's Game in the Mirror》, a chill had run down his spine.
The villainous director in it, Jiang Hongyan, was elegant and gentle, even willing to save face for everyone. Yet, deep down, he harbored deep calculations. He was a character whose inner self was completely fractured from his exterior.
If he played this role well, it would be more impactful than playing ten good guys.
What's more, that old fox Xu Pingqiu had dropped hints left and right that this young director, Cheng Songran, had a background that was far from simple.
His agent had done some digging. Although they couldn't find his exact origin, they did dig up the surname of the Cheng family in the capital.
But that was enough.
With some doors, you didn't need to see the house number. Just seeing the cars parked at the entrance was enough to know that the residents inside were no ordinary folk.
So, he came.
He was betting on the script, and he was also betting on connections.
Though Ding Zhengxin spoke humbly, Jiang Yue actually knew that for this man to dare take on this drama, he must have had other considerations.
After all, given Ding Zhengxin's current status and how sought-after he was, under normal circumstances, he wouldn't necessarily join such an obscure crew.
Jiang Yue cast a subtle glance at Cheng Songran.
The person Xu Pingqiu had introduced indeed had an extraordinary background.
Cheng Songran then pointed to a young woman with a cold, elegant temperament nearby. “This is Shen Xi. She's playing the psychologist.”
The woman nodded.
“Hello, Teacher Jiang.”
She was a woman of few words, and her posture carried a sense of distance.
Jiang Kaiwen leaned close to Jiang Yue and Cheng Songran's ears and whispered, “Brother, who is this sister? She looks really classy, but why don't I have any memory of her at all?”
Cheng Songran was the first to answer. “She's been performing in stage plays and has won a Golden Lion Award.”
She was someone he had specially invited; talk about great value for money.
Jiang Kaiwen immediately shut his mouth.
Good grief, another low-profile powerhouse.
He looked around. Aside from Ding Zhengxin and Shen Xi, the remaining supporting actors also looked unfamiliar. They were either fresh graduates from professional acting academies or veteran faces who had spent years on the theater stage.
Jiang Kaiwen's brain suddenly warmed up as the realization hit him.
After all this time, the person with the highest popularity, the most fans, and the greatest star power in this crew was actually his Third Brother.
What kind of lineup was this?
A star-power idol blending into a cast of pure powerhouse actors?
Cheng Songran clapped his hands, gathering everyone together.
“Alright, everyone's here. Now that the ceremony is over, we're all one family! Let's take a commencement photo first to commemorate the occasion!”
A staff member ran over carrying a camera.
Cheng Songran pulled Jiang Yue and Ding Zhengxin into the center. The others loosely gathered behind them, flashing peace signs at the camera.
With the click of the shutter, what could be called the most shabby commencement photo in history was born.
Cheng Songran waved his hand. “Makeup and art departments, head in first for the final checks. Actors, get to know each other. We officially start shooting tomorrow!”
The crowd dispersed in twos and threes.
Ding Zhengxin smilingly put his arm around Cheng Songran, who was also serving as the co-screenwriter, and went off to chat.
Shen Xi found a corner and quietly read her script.
The others also found their own spots to prepare.
Jiang Yue walked to the side, preparing to look over the script again. The page he flipped open happened to be the scene where the male lead, Chen Jingan, stands in front of a mirror.
The person in the mirror had a name for the very first time.
Lu Zhichen.
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