Chapter 31: Joining The Crew

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Xia Ning and the group arrived in the studio city yesterday and stayed a night nearby, so they came in early. However, there were quite a few people when they arrived.

Seeing Xia Ning, Director Li who was arranging everything on site walked over. “Xia Ning, you are here.”

Xia Ning smiled and greeted back, “Director Li.”

Director Li was a famous TV show director in the country. He was about 50 years old and had a gentle personality. He was not a rigid person, but he had his own pride. Xia Ning was in one of his TV dramas playing the third leading role. After that, he said he would ask her to play the leading role for his next drama. It sounded like conventional courtesy, but after over half a year, he actually reached out to her.

The two shook hands. Director Li looked at her and sighed, “Look at you, you have such light-colored skin, but how come you attract so much dirt? This worries me so much that I feel like I’m about to have heart attacks.”

“It is what it is. You can’t fight everything.” Xia Ning smiled. “But thanks Director Li for trusting me.”

“It is me who should thank you for free publicity for the show. Haha!” Director Li laughed and said.

Xia Ning smiled slightly. She understood Director Li’s feeling. Actually, the show should have started filming a month ago. But right before the starting day, there was news about the leading actor involved with drugs. They had to stop filming and host auditions again. And finally, the new leading actor was now ready. However, when the filming was about to start, it was said that there was some issue from the investors.

After some small talk, Director Li went to do other things. Xia Ning found a place to sit down and started reading the script.

This was Xia Ning’s fourth show after her debut, but her first time as the leading actress. It would be a lie to say she had no pressure on her.

Her first TV appearance was a drama in the period of the Republic of China ‘Glorious Chang’an’ directed by Director Li. She played the role of the male lead’s first wife, a lady from a famous family. In the show, she put the female lead through a lot of difficulties. She was abandoned by her husband in the end and killed herself in humiliation. Even though it was a villainous role, Lu Qing said the reviews were good. People said she was able to show the hatred, anger, and cruelty of a wife when betrayed by the husband, and everyone took compassion on her story.

Even if it was a cheesy story about the ups and downs of an overbearing warlord falling in love with the enemy’s daughter, it was well liked by the audience. Plus, the original book had a big range of fans. After it was played, the rating went up to the top of the list. Even now, there was still excitement around it.

The second show was an urban fashion drama. She played the role of the younger sister of the male lead, the third female leading role. She was a spoiled and stubborn young lady. But this role was very brave in love and hate and was more candid than the indecisive female lead.

The third one was a fantasy wuxia show. It was adopted from a book too. She played the role of a fairy who lived for thousands of years. It was a small role and did not show up for more than 15 times in the entire show. But this fairy was not only highly skilled, but also very beautiful and other-worldly, and was even more popular than the heroine in the original fiction. But the show would not air until the second half of the year. She really did not think it was going to be quiet then.

As for the movie ‘Chasing’, that was the first work after her debut. Back then, the agency wanted to make her popular, so they had to bundle her with Lin Nan to let her play a part. Luckily, her acting skills were recognized. Otherwise, the trolls would have something else to say.

“Sister Xia Ning, Sister Xia Ning, look, that’s Zheng Haodong.” Wen Jing ran over to Xia Ning and said in excitement, “I heard he is the male lead!”

Xia Ning moved her eyes from the script to Wen Jing. She saw her getting overly excited, and was a bit speechless. Come on, it was she who told her about Zheng Haodong being the male lead. She followed Wen Jing’s eyes and glanced over. A tall and handsome man was surrounded by the crowd. Zheng Haodong started out as a singer and had won quite a few music awards. He also played in a few idol dramas, and the reception was overall positive. He could be considered as one of the most popular actors now, but she did not think he was that handsome.

Maybe it was because she had seen that dazzling beauty before. After that, everyone else seemed dull.