139: Wang Jingxin's film invitation
Riverview Villa.
Lin Pei, who had finally managed to sleep in, was woken up early in the morning by a phone call from Stephen Chow.
Stephen Chow's almost frantic laughter nearly deafened his ears.
“As expected of my Big Brother! I only posted the Wrap-up Special, and now the trending searches are all about you.”
“Big Brother's might is truly at full marks, and your charm is at full marks too.”
Lin Pei chuckled.
“Second Brother, my morning grumpiness is also at full marks right now.”
As if afraid Lin Pei would kick him through the phone, Stephen Chow quickly stopped laughing.
“Sorry for disturbing you, Big Brother. Go back to sleep. Bye-bye.”
...After the call ended, Lin Pei had no desire to sleep anymore, so he opened his phone to check the internet.
Seeing everyone's expectations for shaolin soccer growing higher and higher, and the praise for his performance in the edited clips, Lin Pei was very happy.
As the second positive role he had played, once this movie was released, perhaps the negative image he initially gave the audience would be completely reversed.
Realizing he hadn't checked his private messages or personal comments section for a long time, Lin Pei went to look at both.
There were indeed quite a few private messages; he squinted his eyes as he clicked them open.
“Brother Lin, I'm a second-grade student. I want to use a soccer ball to break my classmate's window, but his house is too high. Can you help me?”
“Brother Lin, can you give my husband a kick? He's clearly been lacking energy lately.”
“I want to commit suicide but I'm afraid of the pain. Can you help me out and give me a quick end?”
“Brother, I've got white hair. Can you kick it better for me?”
“...”
The corners of Lin Pei's mouth twitched; he was laughed into anger.
Here it comes.
Every time he checked his private messages, he got this feeling of his hands itching to beat someone up.
If the people sending messages asking for a kick were right in front of him, he would satisfy their requests immediately and be done with it.
Habitually clicking into the comments section, he found the style had changed drastically; everyone's comments were extremely similar.
Looking closely, he realized people were coming here every day to 'check in'.
The check-in copy read:
Did Brother Lin kick you today?
When will Brother Lin kick me?
Day 27 of wanting to be kicked by Brother Lin. Miss him.
Brother Lin, let go of that mouse and kick me!
...Looking closely, there was a familiar avatar in the latest comments; a certain well-known actor had also come to check in.
The actor Ng Man-tat: “Not long ago, I received a kick on the Film Crew, and my Fatty Liver is all better. Looking forward to a second round.”
The first-floor replies were all from Fatty Liver patients asking all sorts of questions.
Netizen: “Uncle, are you for real?”
Ng Man-tat: “Guaranteed real.”
Netizen: “Does it hurt?”
Ng Man-tat: “Guaranteed to hurt. It hurt so much I almost saw my ancestors. But for this kind of thing, it's do or die.”
Netizen: “...”
Netizen: “Uncle, if you put it that way, I'm not in a hurry anymore. I'll let my friend try first.”
...Lin Pei closed the comments section again with a dark face.
He was puzzled; weren't the comments in the trending searches quite normal?
Why was it that when it came to his fans, it was all this style?
Every single one of them, every day, was either thinking about being kicked or wanting to see others get kicked. Is there something wrong with them?
He gloomily threw the phone aside, but unexpectedly, it rang immediately.
Lin Pei fished the phone back and pressed answer.
On the other end was a strange man's voice.
“Hello, is this Mr. Lin Pei?”
“I am The Director, Wang Jing. I'd like to talk to you about the new movie I'm about to film. Do you have time to meet?”
Wang Jing?
Lin Pei was quite familiar with this person.
This film director's output could be said to be unusually high. While others filmed a few movies at a time, he filmed dozens.
So, with such a high volume, it was inevitable that he produced many bad films, earning him the title 'King of Bad Films' in the industry.
However, with so many works, it was also inevitable that he produced a few classics, making The Director a unique existence in the industry.
He didn't know which one he wanted to talk about this time—a good movie or a bad one.
But since the man had invited him, he might as well meet up.
So Lin Pei responded politely.
“Hello, Director Wang. Thank you for your call.”
“I have time. We can meet whenever you're ready.”
The fact that The Director could film so many movies showed his efficiency was extremely high.
Hearing Lin Pei say 'whenever', he directly scheduled the meeting for the afternoon.
Lin Pei checked his watch—well, he should wash up and head out... At 2:00 PM, Lin Pei arrived at The Director's company on time.
A staff member led him to The Director's office on the second floor and knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
The Director's voice sounded from inside.
After Lin Pei entered, The Director looked up and was momentarily stunned.
“Oh, Lin Pei!”
“Your personal temperament is even more outstanding than in that Wrap-up Special. It fits the protagonist's persona for my movie very well.”
Although The Director intended for him to play the lead, Lin Pei still felt a wave of anxiety.
He wanted to keep acting, but he really didn't want to film some bad movie. To him, filming a bad movie was worse than not filming at all.
“Director Wang, I'd like to ask, what genre is this movie we're filming?”
Mentioning the movie to be filmed, The Director was full of excitement.
“I've always wanted to film a God of Gamblers series, but due to various reasons, I never put it into action.”
“Until I saw you online this morning, I suddenly felt that the character image I had once envisioned in my mind had become so concrete.”
Lin Pei couldn't help but feel emotional; to be able to say such artistic words, this director must also be quite skilled at filming art films.
So, what he wanted to film this time was God of Gamblers?
Compared to The Director's other films, this one could definitely be called a classic success.
Back then, once it was broadcast, it became a hit all across the country.
The admiration in The Director's eyes grew even more.
“You have a natural temperament, and this kind of temperament I've only seen in video materials from many years ago, at a certain casino.”
Casino?
Isn't that the temperament of a gambler?
Are these directors determined to praise every villainous vibe on him?
Thug vibe, thief vibe, and now it's a gambler... The key is he's never even gambled before.
He said honestly,
“Director, are you mistaken?”
“I've never been to a casino. How could I have the temperament of a gambler?”
The Director immediately waved his hand.
“Don't misunderstand. The temperament I'm talking about is what I saw in the materials belonging to a true King of Gamblers.”
“And your temperament is even more natural than that King of Gamblers. It's truly miraculous.”
“By the way, you've never gambled, but do you usually play cards?”
“Shuffle the cards a bit for me to see. I want to see your flexibility. When we join the crew, we'll find a teacher to give the actors specialized training.”
Lin Pei turned his head to look at that deck of cards.
The last time he played was probably back in university, when he played a few rounds of 'three missing one' with his roommates at night.
His interest wasn't particularly large.
But looking at the cards now, why did he feel his hands were a bit itchy?
So he casually picked up the cards, and with a practiced flick of both hands, the playing cards began to dance between his hands like a flying dragon.
“Swish, swish!”
From the side, the speed of this shuffling was extremely fast; one could almost only see the afterimage of that flying dragon.