113: A loyal, filial and righteous protagonist? I can't act like that.

"Ah?!" Assistant Song Yu gasped.

The stylist also stopped chewing his chicken leg, his mouth slightly agape as he looked at Chen Fang and Tang Chen.

They had only been with the crew for half a day, but they knew that this was by no means a marketing-driven fast-food movie, or rather, a "money-laundering movie," "trending topic movie," or "fan-oriented movie." Instead, it was a content-driven, conscientious film with a strong production team, very likely to contend for awards.

One had to know that artists of the same type who debuted at the same time as Chen Fang were still acting in fan-oriented idol dramas. He, on the other hand, directly went from a popular idol to the set of such a film, and even had the possibility of playing the lead role... Although they had just seen Chen Fang's performance, they still felt that while Tang Chen dared to say it, they didn't even dare to imagine it.

Tang Chen noticed their reactions and laughed, "Don't be so surprised. The lead actor in this film is also a young person in his twenties. Besides, the director suggested an audition, not that he got the role. Calm down."

Chen Fang confirmed, "Fong Sai-yuk, right?"

"Yes!" Tang Chen calmed down a bit, but his voice still held excitement, "This character is full of vitality, witty and humorous, loyal and righteous, chivalrous and courageous, a truly flesh-and-blood character."

Chen Fang pursed his lips. He was embarrassed; he couldn't portray any of those traits.

"Forget it, I won't audition." With that, he reached for a meal and placed it in front of Tang Chen.

Tang Chen was a bit taken aback, "It wouldn't hurt to try. If you don't get selected, you can still come back and continue playing Nine Gate Admiral."

Chen Fang firmly stated, "I just want to play Nine Gate Admiral."

Tang Chen's heart went from excitement to confusion. He carefully scrutinized Chen Fang's expression, trying to find a reason. After a moment of thought, he suddenly realized, "Are you worried about the emotional scenes? There are no kissing scenes, you can maintain a distance from the female lead."

"No," Chen Fang sighed helplessly, "Good people are hard to play; there can't be a hint of evil in their eyes."

"You don't need to worry. I'll find someone to train you. As long as you're willing to work hard, you'll definitely act well."

Chen Fang sighed silently.

Even if he was willing to work hard and could act well, what if after playing a good person once, other crews only looked for him to play good people? Wouldn't life then be a complete darkness?

How else would he accumulate negative emotion points? Even if he exploited these few people in his team until they were bald, it wouldn't be enough.

But he couldn't say that. Chen Fang pondered for a moment and found another reason.

"Tang Ge, there's a saying: it takes eighty-one trials for a good person to become a Buddha, but an evil person only needs to put down their butcher's knife to become a Buddha. A righteous protagonist, with one flaw, or one characteristic that clashes with some viewers' values, is easily disliked by the audience. An evil villain, with one shining point, is enough to make the audience like him. I..."

Chen Fang gazed melancholically out the window, "I don't want to work so hard playing a good person only to be nitpicked. Rather than that, it's better to be bad from the start."

[Tang Chen Negative Emotion Points +166]

Tang Chen felt a bit guilty. He patted his shoulder, "Alright, alright, we won't act it, we won't act it. I'll use your reason about acting skills to reply to the director."

"Mm, thank you, Tang Ge."

Chen Fang glanced at Tang Chen's back and continued to eat his meal.

He understood now: hurting those who cared about him was the easiest way.

This darn system's configuration was truly wicked!

...

"What? He really said that?" Director Director Yuan Lang looked at Tang Chen in surprise.

Tang Chen had just told him that Chen Fang was worried he couldn't play a perfectly good character well, and for the sake of the entire film's quality, he wanted to give up the lead role and willingly be a supporting actor.

Are these the words of a celebrity pursuing popularity?

Just as the director was a bit bewildered, Tang Chen pressed on, "Yes. He truly values our project very much, and he's especially grateful for your trust and recognition. But he has a deeper understanding of villainous roles and wants to put more effort into the role of Nine Gate Admiral, aiming for the overall presentation effect of the entire film."

Director Yuan Lang sighed deeply, feeling very comforted.

He had been a little worried before that Chen Fang wouldn't be able to adapt to the life of a serious, skilled production crew like theirs.

But now, he saw that Wu Zhengxuan truly hadn't been wrong; his attitude was genuinely good!

Director Yuan Lang: "Good, then let's discuss the details as soon as possible and try to sign the contract tomorrow or the day after. I'll give you the complete script early. Teacher Chen has a busy schedule, so getting the full script early will allow him to review it sooner."

"Okay."

"There's also another matter. We plan to announce the main cast list in a few days. Normally, we wouldn't release audition footage at this time."

"Mm, are you trying to say?"

"Teacher Chen hasn't acted in a film before, so after the news gets out, netizens might question it." Director Yuan Lang's brow furrowed slightly, a hint of worry in his eyes. He raised a hand and pointed to his chest, "I'm a little worried..."

Tang Chen's brow furrowed slightly, understanding that he was referring to psychological issues.

Chen Fang had just gone through online bullying and was diagnosed with severe depression two months ago.

Although he had mostly recovered now, the current online environment wasn't very good, and netizens liked to vent their emotions. If he were questioned and verbally attacked again, would he break down?

Tang Chen asked, "So, what's Director Yuan's idea?"

"I think we should try to announce the main cast list before the 15th, let it ferment for two hours, and while there's some discussion but before it causes a huge uproar, we'll use 'responding to netizens' as an excuse to separately release his audition video. This way, it won't break convention. During those two hours, you just watch him and don't let him go online."

Tang Chen nodded, "Director Yuan is truly thoughtful. Thank you for your trouble."

"It's nothing, I can't bear to see him suffer another blow either." Director Yuan smiled reassuringly.

...

In the afternoon, Chen Fang signed the contract with the crew.

Popular celebrities like him command high salaries; for top-tier stars, it's usually between 10 million and 30 million yuan. If they play a lead role in a major commercial production, it can reach over 50 million yuan.

However, the "Fong Sai-yuk" crew's budget wasn't particularly abundant. After all, it was a crew focused on actual filmmaking, so money had to be spent on location scouting, costumes, props, equipment, and so on.

Nine Gate Admiral was a supporting role, but it demanded high acting and action skills, and Chen Fang was very famous, so they couldn't offer a low price.

The crew comprehensively considered various factors and discussed with Chen Fang's team. Both parties finally settled on a remuneration of 20 million yuan. They would also try to concentrate the filming of his scenes, aiming to finish within 30 days. During this period, he could also participate in other activities when he wasn't filming and as long as it didn't affect the quality of the shooting.

After signing the contract and receiving the script, Chen Fang left the film and television base in a nanny van.

Next, the crew still needed to continue casting.

They had already set the location, and once everyone was assembled by the end of the month, they would arrange script readings and training. Filming was estimated to begin in August or September.