"Don't worry, Miss Guli. The production schedule of the crew remains unchanged, so your schedule won't be affected."
Upon hearing this, Guli Nazha nodded doubtfully, not asking anything further. Artists didn't need to deal with these messy negotiations themselves; if there really were any scheduling conflicts, they could just let their managers handle it. She was just getting a brief understanding of the situation.
Even though a substitute for the role of Lü Bu hadn't been found yet, Sun Qiang didn't mind talking big in advance. After all, with such an incident happening in the crew, people were inevitably feeling a bit uneasy. Regardless of whether they had a candidate in mind, even if he had to step in himself when the time came, he couldn't let filming come to a halt.
Besides... who said there wasn't a suitable candidate?
Regarding the role of Lü Bu, if they were filming a serious, orthodox Three Kingdoms drama, the requirements would certainly be high. But something like *God of War Zhao Zilong* could hardly be called similar to a serious drama—at best, it had nothing to do with one. It was just like Teacher Liu's saying: adaptation is not random creation, and historical fiction is not sheer nonsense. *God of War Zhao Zilong* dabbled nicely in both random creation and sheer nonsense. Therefore, the requirements for casting the role of Lü Bu could be relaxed somewhat.
However, there was a hard requirement regarding height. Mainly, the male lead, Lin Genxin, was too tall. If they cast a male artist who was only one meter seventy-something to play Lü Bu, Lü Bu would have to tilt his head back just to look at Zhao Yun during their scenes? That would look way too weird.
Yet male artists of that height were the most common in the industry... Anyway, Sun Qiang had rejected all the tall candidates he could find. At that moment, Sun Qiang was considering whether to simply have Bailiang step in to fill the vacancy.
It wasn't that he was clutching at straws in a panic and grabbing anyone he could find. He had his reasons for wanting to use Bailiang.
First of all, Bailiang was very handsome and tall. At the same time, he wasn't one of those super skinny, delicate male artists. He couldn't be called a muscle-bound powerhouse, but he was at least sturdier than Lin Genxin. That much was already enough.
Secondly, the guy had connections. Sister Yang, the person who introduced Bailiang to the crew, whose full name was Yang Xing, used to be Zhang Ziyi's manager before hanging around the Hong Kong entertainment circle for a while. She had extensive connections, backing from capital, and rumors had it that Yang Xing was going to make a big move by next year at the latest. Her focus for work this time wouldn't be in Hong Kong, but rather betting big on the mainland.
Oh right, there was another very important point: Yang Xing's philosophy in training artists was to take the boutique route with small numbers. In Sun Qiang's view, even though Bailiang was a newcomer, since he had caught Yang Xing's eye, his future prospects wouldn't be too bad at the very least.
As a casting director, Sun Qiang admitted that his own eye for talent might not be the strongest, but he was a pragmatic person. If his own eye for talent wasn't good enough, he could just copy the homework of the experts. When Yang Xing reached out, she had mentioned that Bailiang was a newcomer and just needed a small role. Sun Qiang had indeed prepared a small role, but now things had happened to line up nicely.
So he might as well give Yang Xing some face! The entertainment circle was all about human connections, and having backing made things much easier.
Therefore... Sun Qiang didn't ask Bailiang any basic questions at all. For example, whether he was a graduate of a professional acting academy or if he had ever acted before. He figured that Yang Xing had definitely "inspected the goods" for him long ago.
The only problem right now was... this kid Bailiang didn't quite fit the vibe. That gentle, sunny smile of his could probably easily attract the attention of girls, but it didn't look like a "three-surname slave" at all.
Still, Sun Qiang considered himself a casting director with some tricks up his sleeve, very skilled at "reading people." "Come on, Xiao Bai, wipe that smile off your face and tighten up."
Bailiang didn't know much about the audition process, but he respected professionals. The moment he tightened his face, he subconsciously narrowed his eyes. The cool and handsome nature of his bone structure and facial features instantly returned! Even because of the eye-narrowing action, it seemed to carry a hint of murderous intent.
Whoa! Not bad! Sun Qiang praised inwardly.
Yang Xing's eye for talent was truly impressive! Harmless when smiling, a gentle, sunny, and handsome big boy, but the moment he tightened his face, his entire style changed instantly. What did this indicate? This kid had a very broad acting range and a versatile aura; he was the type of actor blessed by the heavens.
An actor of this type could play many roles. Lü Bu certainly worked too, at least the Lü Bu in *God of War Zhao Zilong*.
Clap! Sun Qiang clapped his hands. "Alright, no problem! We'll sign the contract tomorrow. Do you want me to send it to your manager for a look first?"
Bailiang shook his head to indicate it wasn't necessary, thinking to himself that he didn't have any manager. Still, for a minor role with barely any lines, they were making it quite formal. He had originally thought the pay might be settled daily just like modeling work. He retracted his previous assessment that the crew was just a sloppy amateur operation. It was better to be formal so he wouldn't get his pay stiffed like Huang Jingyu.
He still felt a little flutter of excitement inside—he was going to be an emperor!
The role Sister Yang introduced to him was an emperor. Although it sounded immensely badass, in this drama, it actually didn't have much presence. It mostly served as background dressing, and his lines were extremely sparse.
Bailiang didn't mind at all; how great would it be to experience what it felt like to be an emperor! He had even done his homework before coming, briefly looking into the life of Liu Bian, the emperor from the late Eastern Han dynasty. After researching, he found there wasn't much to study: he inherited the throne at seventeen and kicked the bucket at eighteen.
He also understood why Sun Qiang had told him to keep a straight face. An emperor, after all, couldn't just walk around smiling warmly at everyone. Bailiang felt that made total sense!
"Welcome to our crew. Have your assistant go to the front desk to register, and we'll arrange a room for you..."
Assistant? Bailiang was completely baffled. He had neither a manager nor an assistant... Could it be that this was standard equipment in the entertainment circle? Did everyone have one?
When Sun Qiang said this, his eyes were actually glancing at the older guy standing not far away—the crew staff member who had taken Bailiang's two packs of cigarettes and brought him to wait in the hotel lobby. Sun Qiang obviously didn't recognize this employee of his own. When he arrived, he had seen the other guy accompanying Bailiang and very naturally lumped him into the category of an assistant or driver.
Very logical.
At this point, Bailiang's image in Sun Qiang's mind was completely fleshed out: a potential handsome guy carefully selected by a famous manager, with extremely high malleability, and even equipped with an assistant before he had even started acting, which was enough to show how much importance Yang Xing attached to him.
Young man, your future is boundless! Choosing him to play Lü Bu was definitely the right call!
This was, after all, a role with significant screen time among the top few. Using company and crew resources while playing his own connections—he wouldn't lose either way.
In a daze, the audition ended. Bailiang's first acting audition in two lifetimes concluded just like that.
To show politeness, he sent a text message to thank Yang Xing and let her know he had passed the audition. At the same time, he didn't forget to show off a little to Huang Jingyu, casually asking, "How about you?"
Huang Jingyu replied with a middle-finger emoji and went silent.
Meanwhile, over in Shanghai, Yang Xing glanced at her phone and smiled. Zhang Jiazhen, the famous industry producer dining with her, asked curiously, "Is there some good news?"
"Oh, just a rather interesting young man I ran into earlier. He has a great look and aura, so I introduced him to a crew."
"Someone you scouted? Did you sign him?"
"He's not formally trained and has never acted before. Let him temper himself first; the crew is a big dye vat, and actors from unconventional backgrounds aren't that easy to make it in."
"What if he turns out to be a good seed and someone else snatches him up and signs him first?"
"How could it be that easy to make it? His role is as small as it gets. The crew originally planned to just find a local extra on the spot anyway; it was just a casual move. If he really has talent, he'll end up in my hands eventually. This kid is quite sharp."
Given Bailiang's stunt of tipping off info at the commercial karaoke lounge, Yang Xing was confident that if the kid really wanted to make a name for himself in the entertainment circle, he definitely wouldn't overlook her as his "booster."
Besides, this was only his first role. Next year, the company she and Zhang Jiazhen were collaborating on would officially be established, with her as the executive director. Before then, as long as Bailiang reached out to her, she would help him out a little and introduce him to some minor, fringe roles. The weight of subsequent roles would increase slowly, but not too heavily.
Yang Xing mainly wanted to leave an impression on Bailiang: whatever Sister Yang casually lets slip through her fingers is enough for a kid like you to live on. Feeding him too full definitely wouldn't do; fishing with too much bait just spoils the fish's appetite, guaranteeing a blank trip.
Once that impression was formed, if Bailiang truly worked hard and wanted to sign with a company for proper development, he would definitely look for her. While maintaining that favorable connection, it would also be much easier for Yang Xing to "control" him.
It wasn't that she had any strange hobbies; this was simply how the relationship between a manager and an artist had to be. Many managers or behind-the-scenes teams who couldn't keep a lid on their artists could only watch helplessly as their own artists pulled off brain-dead stunts that made people cringe on the spot. In an entertainment circle where general literacy left much to be desired, this sort of thing was far from rare.