CHAPTER 488: CHAPTER 479: ACTRESS 46

Bai Qiao Xin didn’t know Fang Jian and Li Bo’an’s thoughts; seeing that they agreed with her idea, she was just thrilled with joy. Even more determined, she wanted to crush Ning Shuangshuang’s portrayal of Lian Xianxian with her character revision for Lian Qianqian and her diligently honed acting skills.

Bai Qiao Xin was very confident that her revamped character for Lian Qianqian would be well-liked. The character of Lian Qianqian was no longer the timid Holy Mother tangled in contradictions. Let’s see if the dark-themed Lian Xianxian can still garner so much popularity.

As for the more striking character in the script, Lian Mushi, Bai Qiao Xin didn’t care. She recalled that in a previous life, the role of Lian Mushi was cut because Ning Shuangshuang’s acting was not adequate, and she assumed the same fate awaited it this time around, so it was completely unworthy of concern.

Since Bai Qiao Xin wasn’t concerned about the character of Lian Mushi, she focused all her energy on altering Lian Qianqian’s character problem. Only when she received the screenwriter’s adapted script, did she realize that Lian Mushi’s role hadn’t been cut, and the character of Lian Xianxian had also been modified.

However, after carefully reviewing it, Bai Qiao Xin wasn’t too concerned because Lian Xianxian’s character had become more weak. It was known that in a previous life, Lian Xianxian was adored precisely because her character was extremely polarized, viciously hateful in the beginning, making people grit their teeth, yet later magnanimously sacrificing herself to save others.

It was this extreme evil and kindness that drove many people to madly love the character of Lian Xianxian. As for the female lead Lian Qianqian, though she had many fans, just as many people criticized her for being too much of a Holy Mother, too weak, always hesitant and indecisive, and so on.

Had it not been for these critiques, Bai Qiao Xin wouldn’t have changed Lian Qianqian’s character so drastically, fearing more audience backlash.

Who would have thought that what she abandoned would be incorporated into Lian Xianxian’s role, making Bai Qiao Xin inwardly quite pleased. Adding an unappealing Holy Mother role, there’s no way Lian Xianxian would be liked by audiences anymore.

As for Lian Mushi, Bai Qiao Xin never took this role seriously. Although Lian Mushi’s character was deeply appealing, it wasn’t a role just anyone could handle.

This role of Lian Mushi was axed in a previous life because it had to be played by the same actor portraying Lian Xianxian.

No matter if a man plays a woman or a woman plays a man, traces of their original gender can’t be completely erased. Thus, the character’s allure is naturally diminished. So Bai Qiao Xin wasn’t worried about Ning Shuangshuang playing both Lian Xianxian and Lian Mushi simultaneously.

On the contrary, Bai Qiao Xin was a bit spitefully gleeful, eager to see Ning Shuangshuang’s embarrassment, see how Ning Shuangshuang would turn a refined man into a sissy, then get harshly criticized by the audience!

But Bai Qiao Xin’s schadenfreude and pride lasted only until the crew began filming. When faced with Ning Shuangshuang in full men’s attire, exuding elegance with no feminine air at all, she stood before her, eyebrows smiling warmly, "Sister, happy to see your brother?"

Bai Qiao Xin was stunned; she never imagined a woman could portray a man so vividly. It was clearly the same face, only slightly toughened by the makeup artist, yet seemed reincarnated as another person, another gender! Too incredible!

"Cut! Bai Qiao Xin, what are you doing, spacing out! Lines, lines, coordinate your lines quickly!" Fang Jian shouted while waving the script at the dazed Bai Qiao Xin, unleashing the state of a tyrant on set, fiery with anger.

"Ah, oh, Director, I understand! I promise not to cut again!" Bai Qiao Xin snapped back to reality from Fang Jian’s shouts, hastily apologizing and gathering herself to act alongside Ning Shuangshuang. However, since her mind wasn’t in it, Bai Qiao Xin repeatedly messed up, infuriating Fang Jian into throwing the script.

Even Li Bo’an was quite irate. Although he was the assistant director, he was entirely responsible for the film’s intricate, ethereal visuals. These scenes took immense effort to set up every time, and if Bai Qiao Xin didn’t perform well and called for a cut, his setup was wasted.

For a perfectionist, every setup required exactitude, and represented considerable effort. Yet, with all these repeated cuts and resets, if not for Fang Jian being the primary director and himself merely assisting, Li Bo’an would have started ranting earlier.

Never seen such a clumsy, bothersome actor. Were they blind before, thinking Bai Qiao Xin’s acting was qualified?

In fact, it wasn’t just Fang Jian and Li Bo’an who were anxious; Bai Qiao Xin was even more so. She felt every time she acted opposite Ning Shuangshuang, her own performance was completely suppressed by the other’s, as if led entirely by Ning Shuangshuang’s acting. She couldn’t perform up to her standards!

But how could Bai Qiao Xin be content with being led by someone she despised and envied? Naturally, she desperately wanted to break free from the atmosphere Ning Shuangshuang created for her, and act with her own skills against Ning Shuangshuang.

Though Bai Qiao Xin was ambitious and stubborn, her acting skills were simply inadequate for competing against Ning Shuangshuang, leading to frequent NG occurrences.

The more anxious Bai Qiao Xin became, the worse she performed; the worse she performed, the more anxious she got, leading to even more NG occurrences. Though Ning Shuangshuang hadn’t gotten angry, Bai Qiao Xin’s frustration grew to the point her eyes were red with anger, resenting Ning Shuangshuang to the core, believing she was being deliberately suppressed.

In truth, Ning Shuangshuang was truly wronged. During her last acting stint, she could suppress her skills to help other actors act along because at that time, Ning Shuangshuang wasn’t deeply into her roles and could easily control them.

But this time, Ning Shuangshuang went mad with dedication to her roles of Lian Mushi and Lian Xianxian. She was deeply immersed in her acting, and didn’t even remember to suppress her performance.

Every time she acted, Ning Shuangshuang completely turned herself into Lian Xianxian and Lian Mushi. If not for a shred of sanity reminding her she was acting, and that nothing was real, Ning Shuangshuang might have forgotten her own identity.

Due to excessive NG occurrences, Fang Jian was so furious he could’ve set the studio on fire. As a genius director, he naturally recognized Bai Qiao Xin’s problem. So he repeatedly reminded Bai Qiao Xin to go with the atmosphere Ning Shuangshuang set, to get into character, thus producing effective and rapid shooting.

Yet Bai Qiao Xin, for some reason, couldn’t listen, insisting on competing in acting with Ning Shuangshuang. The main issue was that she lacked the ability to do so, constantly being overshadowed to the point of incapacity, making Fang Jian ever so irritable.

Eventually, Li Bo’an threw up his hands and refused to continue. He had directed for so many years but never encountered a scenario requiring so many repeated setups. He’d never seen such a clumsy yet obstinate actor.

Sitting on a stool beside, pointing at the persistently clueless Bai Qiao Xin, Li Bo’an directly told Fang Jian, "Whenever you teach her to understand, then we’ll start shooting again. I’m sick to death of this repeated set arranging!"

Fang Jian rubbed his forehead, looking at the pitifully pleading Bai Qiao Xin. He’s feeling quite a headache. The whole crew went through NG without feeling wronged, so why are you? Quit feeling sorry for yourself!