039

Yu Yang squeezed out time from his busy schedule to finish reading the original novel of "Queen Ruo Jia" and left a comment below, only to be scolded by book fans.

-- "You, 'Fish-loving Cat,' haven't you read any palace intrigue novels? Why ask why the author made the female lead suffer so much in the beginning? If it wasn't tragic, why would she turn evil? And you still want to see a fight?"

-- "Is this the influence of a top-tier actress in the drama circle? As soon as the female lead was announced, all kinds of people came. Are they afraid Jasmine will reveal the plot so early???"

-- "Who dares to come and cause trouble under the original work, those who envy the author for getting Jasmine to play the female lead, and are jealous of her?"

-- "Look at my lips: scram, if you can't take it, scram, no one's asking you to watch."

-- "Don't get angry, just watch the comments roll in, it'll be heated." ...

'Fish-loving Cat,' also known as the famous cat lover in the entertainment circle—Yu Yang, was almost scolded silly by book fans.

He complained to his assistant, assistant:"Meow meow meow??

Isn't what the readers said quite reasonable?

Since it's a darkened female lead, the early stages must be tragic, if not, why turn evil?

The assistant thought to himself, and confidently compromised with the boss who paid him his salary as soon as he opened his mouth, comforting Yu Yang: "Nowadays, the fans are blindly defending, brother, you don't need to reason with the fans. Remember when you wore mismatched shoes and the fans criticized you for not coordinating? Our fan girls even said that you did it on purpose, that's just fashion, you know nothing! Fans are like this."

...???

Yu Yang looked confused at the unlucky assistant, "What did you say?"

The assistant realized he had spoken nonsense.

"Um, I mean the fans next door, they always do their own thing and never listen to the advice from netizens. Fans are like this, book fans are fans, brother, you have tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of fans, why bother with them? Instead of arguing with people, why not do a photoshoot or appear on a show? Or you can take a nap!"

"Shouldn't you go find out about the new drama sister accepted?"

The assistant felt more and more headache after hearing this, "The drama has been aired for so long, why haven't you joined the show? You didn't used to be like this."

Yu Yang tilted his head.

"I don't know, I just like playing with Jasmine, and it makes me happy to call her sister."

While chatting with the assistant, Yu Yang also privately messaged Jasmine on WeChat.

[Jas, based on our close relationship, can you promise something for your brother?]

Jasmine, who hadn't started filming yet, was a bit free, having just exercised on her own terrace, hydrated herself, and prepared to find angles and expressions in front of the mirror to rehearse for the role. Her phone rang, and when she saw it was from that man again.

-[Do we have such a close relationship? (Rolling eyes)]

[In the previous drama, you sacrificed yourself for me, and I've repaid you!]

--[.]

--[Okay, just tell me what it is, brother.]

[It's about the female lead in your new drama; I think maintaining the same chemistry we had in our previous collaboration would be great, what do you think?]

--[What do you mean?]

[Just be a bit more dogie.]

--[...]

--[Can you tell me which noblewoman from which dynasty acted like a dog?]

[┭┮﹏┭┮... I know there isn't one, but if you're not submissive, won't I feel more pain when watching the drama? Wasn't the female lead in the beginning very very very miserable?]

...

What else could be said?

Jasmine directly advised him not to watch it, or to wait until the drama aired and check audience reactions on social media before getting into it.

Yu Yang's suggestion was not accepted, feeling a bit aggrieved for a few minutes, he busied himself with work.

At the same time, another top star, Chi Yan, who had worked with Jasmine before, called his agent to ask, "Who's been cast as the male lead in 'Queen Ruo Jia'?"

Agent: ???

"...Why are you suddenly asking me this? How would I know."

"Just ask for me."

The agent felt it was unusual because their artist usually didn't show curiosity or interest in other drama productions. "Do you want a role in that drama?"

"Yeah, after reading the original work, I think the plot is very intense and has the potential to be a hit."

"No need to say? If the plot isn't good enough for Jasmine, it's not suitable for you either. Since Jasmine has accepted it, it's basically a hit. But honestly, this drama isn't suitable for you. Historical dramas never make male leads popular. What's the benefit for you in playing a supporting role to a female lead?"

Chi Yan said, "Just ask, if the role is already cast, let me know who got it."

...

This aloof persona of his was deeply ingrained, so the agent didn't think much of it and managed to get the WeChat contact of the director of "Queen Ruo Jia," Du Tianlong, through a friend, and inquired about the role of the emperor.

After some thought, Du realized what kind of people this big agent brought with him. He was surprised that they were also interested in his drama.

His first thought was Chi Yan, but he immediately dismissed it.

Then he remembered that the agent also brought two male artists who were about the same age and needed to transition their careers. Du Tianlong felt they were probably here to inquire about those two.

"I'm really sorry, you're a bit late, all the main roles in this drama have been cast."

"Who is the emperor's decision?"

"Wang Yu."

Although they just became friends, because the other person is a big agent with a good network in the industry, Du Tianlong mentioned, "Even if this role hasn't been finalized, it's not suitable for you to bring those male actors. For this drama, we have determined from the beginning that the emperor should not be overly good-looking. Think about it, our story is about the female lead being forced to enter the palace against her will. For her, the time before entering the palace is beautiful, while the palace is muddy. If the emperor is too handsome and popular, it will lead the audience astray, making them anticipate a romance between the male and female leads, which is not what we want."

Moreover, having a handsome, fan-favorite actor play this disposable emperor role is not beneficial for the production team, right?

Why not find a middle-aged veteran actor with experience playing emperors?

When the female lead is pushed onto the King's bed, the audience will hate her more intensely, gritting their teeth in anger, rather than anticipating a romance between her and the emperor. That's what the director wants.

He had thought about this in his planning.

The childhood sweetheart of the female lead should be handsome, representing her beautiful teenage years. The emperor just needs to be decent, nothing extraordinary.

In short, Chi Yan completely does not meet the requirements.

The agent conveyed this message to Chi Yan, who asked, "Which Wang Yu?"

"Hmm?"

"Isn't it decided to be Wang Yu?"

"Oh... He's the one who got married a while ago and his wife gave birth to a second daughter."

Chi Yan had an excellent memory. As long as he had met or seen a celebrity in entertainment news, he would remember them and be able to call out their names the next time they met. When the agent mentioned recently getting a second child, he immediately knew who he was.

This person had played other emperors before.

"Alright, I got it. Thank you."

The agent was prepared to persuade him further, not to dwell on this matter, but Chi Yan accepted it quite calmly, leaving the agent puzzled and even feeling like he had gone a long way to find out something insignificant.

Unbeknownst to the agent, Chi Yan held his phone for a long time, then finally composed a WeChat message to Jasmine.

[Congratulations on your new drama, wish it great success.]

When Jasmine saw this message, she could hardly believe it.

She replied with a question mark.

And received a question mark in return.

It was on the verge of confusion, Jasmine asked: [Is this Bro Yan or a hacked account?]

Three seconds after the question, a video call came in.

Jasmine touched the bun hairstyle she had casually tied up at home, and her completely non-celebrity-like home attire... Would accepting this video call be a form of self-deprecation???

Without hesitation, she hung up.

- [Okay, I believe it's you.]

[Why did you feel otherwise just now?]

Jasmine quickly searched a bunch of Chi Yan's emojis online and sent them to him one by one.

-- Reading.jpg

-- Leave me alone.jpg

-- You talk too much.jpg

-- [It's not surprising that Yu Yang finds me every day, but you are Chi Yan. When we were filming together on the set, you didn't say anything unnecessary outside of the scenes. Now, you're concerned about what roles your co-stars are taking on? Brother, are you really this kind-hearted?]

[...]

Chi Yan felt a sense of shame at having his thoughts laid bare.

But Jasmine, she could be described as straightforward, completely unfazed, joking around and asking if the other person was busy and what they were up to lately.

It was a bit of a sting.

Even though Chi Yan was low-key compared to Yu Yang, he was a top-tier celebrity with high popularity on various platforms. How indifferent could one be to not know what he's been up to lately?

Feeling a bit wronged and without a stance, he had to honestly explain on the other end: [I've been doing a lot of fashion magazine shoots recently, and I'm going to record a variety show next.]

-- [Are you going to be in a TV drama soon?]

[No.]

[My agent said people like us have to appear regularly on several variety shows. He asked me to be a mentor for a girl group talent show.]

-- [How to balance guiding contestants and your career in high-intensity training while finding time to read and study~?]

[...]

[You're teasing me.]

- [Bro Yan, listen to me, if someone throws in a joke during the show, just say, "Yes, that's right."]

*

Around April, "Queen Ruo Jia" held a press conference and announced the start of filming.

Jasmine began intense shooting in April and May, which went quite smoothly, mainly due to the suitable weather conditions. As June approached and the weather got hotter, wearing the heavy palace costumes became unbearable. Jasmine refused to get off the nanny car until it was time for her scenes.

Upon learning of the situation, Ben and his sister, Mengmeng, immediately brought a cold drinks cart to provide ice-cold drinks and treats like ice cream and watermelon to the entire crew.

They also planned to have two outdoor air conditioning units delivered but Jasmine stopped them.

Instead, they substituted the air conditioning units with handheld fans, which were not very effective but were gladly accepted by the cast and crew due to their cute design.

Jasmine had previously promised to spend a month with Ben, but as time approached, she got busy and forgot about it. Ben took the initiative to reach out, and they reconciled.

The cast and crew worked hard in the hot weather, with Jasmine enduring additional challenges. In July, the movie "Waiting for Dawn," starring her and Chi Yan, was scheduled for a nationwide release.

They were now in the promotional phase, having to record variety shows and attend roadshows. Fortunately, they were not participating in outdoor challenges but a slow-paced lifestyle variety show called "Desired Life," which Jasmine had rejected before.

The schedule was set for only the male and female leads from the movie to appear on the show.

After finalizing the schedule, Jasmine arranged to take leave to participate in the show and make some phone calls.

This time, things were much better than the previous New Year. 

Where she had encountered misfortunes. The person asking for her help this time was a good guy who had once won over a beautiful wife with his excellent cooking skills after just one meal.

The magic gift he gave also matched him:

Skill: the taste of love.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※