Chapter Sixteen

  "Really?"

  Hearing Jiang Chuan's ambiguous answer, Fang Yu was almost shocked and slightly widened his eyes.

  "Hmm." Jiang Chuan responded without lifting his head.

  He looked up and down at the man who was teasing the hamster with his upper body exposed, and Fang's agent sighed: "With your conditions, you should be top-notch even abroad, I don't believe you'll end up going to be someone's stand-in..."

  "It's not a substitute for any star." Jiang Chuan stretched out his finger and poked the hamster's nose on his hand, the hamster twisted its head and flailed its paws to get away from his rough fingers. Jiang Chuan persisted in chasing after it until his finger poked at the face of this seemingly very good-tempered fat hamster, he slightly narrowed his eyes and curled up his lips, pinched the hamster's relaxed facial skin with his fingers, and said, "It's just doing some stunts... ah, just for fun."

  So-called "just for fun", I don't know if it's about being a stunt actor or explaining to the angry hamster at home about squeezing its face.

  He simply ignored Jiang Chuan's rough handling of the hamster, and Fang Yu nodded thoughtfully, seeming to understand why Jiang Chuan had performed relatively well in front of the camera compared to other newcomers, but appeared particularly awkward when reciting lines - this person was extremely familiar with being in front of the camera and wouldn't feel uncomfortable, but opening his mouth to speak was a different story... because in movies, stand-ins definitely don't have any lines, or even if they do, it's just casual mumbling to create atmosphere, which will be edited out and replaced with the real actor's voice in post-production.

  Compared with the general newcomers who are like blank paper, this guy is a winner in every sense from the starting line.

  This thing, Fang Yu, who was appointed as the broker, didn't even know about it. How did Li Gou Hai find out?

  After thinking for a long time and still can't figure it out, I simply stopped considering this issue. Putting down the IPAD, I asked: "......Then why don't you go act in a formal play?"

  "Because of my father," Jiang Chuan said with a relaxed tone, "he looked down on celebrities doing these kinds of things. If he saw my face appear on the big screen, he would get so angry that his blood vessels would burst."

  The emergence of this kind of stubborn and conservative strict father is obviously not limited by national borders.

  Fang Yu revealed an expression of complete understanding.

  After some thought, it seems like something is off.

  "So you're back in China now, how is it?"

  "So I ran away from home."

  “……”

  "They've all been suspended."

  “……”

  "How pitiful."

  “…………”

  "My father is unreasonable, he confiscated the money I earned myself. With an expressionless face, Jiang Chuan, who called himself 'pitiful', shrugged his shoulders and complained, "I spent all my last money on buying A Fei, if it wasn't for your company signing a contract with me in time, I would have been homeless next month."

  Fang Yu could only nod, with a sympathetic and speechless expression on his face.

  The mouse caught by the master is disdainful: What kind of ghost sleeps on the street, just relying on this small transparent face, standing on the street for five minutes can find a place to stay for the night, thirty days a month without repeating, I guess even the gender of the person sleeping next to me needs to be picked.

  Just as he was about to make his escape, Jiang Chuan stuffed him back into the cage - The man lowered his head to inspect the cage, and after seeing the perfect escape marks, he let out a "hmm" before muttering to himself "six-year-old's IQ", then directly picked up Jian Ran's cage and went to find spare screws to re-tighten it.

  This time he squeezed very seriously and with great force, carefully watching his fingertips turn slightly pale due to the effort. His face turned green - this time he probably used up all his strength and it would be difficult for him to escape again... The hamster pinched its own face, turned around, twisted its hips, and returned to its wooden house in a bad mood, even losing the desire to crack melon seeds...

  It's not just because of losing freedom itself.

  The main reason is that tonight's keyword was placed on the word "stand-in actor".

  He was particularly disgusted with this word.

  Stunt doubles are commonly known as "martial artists" in China's 360 professions.

  These are professional stunt doubles who perform dangerous stunts in movies or TV dramas, usually with a similar body type and temperament to the actor they're replacing. When stars aren't feeling well or can't do certain required actions, the production team will arrange for a double to take their place - of course, this is a privilege reserved for top stars. Currently, there are only a handful of female celebrities in the entertainment industry who have the clout to demand a stunt double due to menstrual cramps making it inconvenient for them to film water scenes.

  Most people just gritted their teeth and went on, even if they got hurt, it was something they had to endure, after all, who made them choose this profession?

  Apart from this, there are also cases where some stars are more dedicated to their work and will proactively ask to learn and independently complete some more dangerous scenes. Once such things are exposed, they usually count as a plus for the actor, who will be praised with phrases like "dedicated and professional". To be honest, using stunt doubles often results in a higher NG rate and greater limitations in post-production. If the real person can perform the scene, directors naturally prefer that too.

  However, most people are not so interested in doing this seemingly easy extra credit question - after all, when mixing in the circle, from time to time, there is news that A was burned by hair while shooting action scenes today, and B accidentally broke a bone while shooting martial arts scenes and needs to rest for three or four months without starting work.

  People who work hard in "martial arts" are all doing behind-the-scenes, life-risking jobs.

  This was originally a respectable thing, but unfortunately there are some people here who want to make trouble.

  It just so happened that this kind of person was encountered by Jian Ran.

  About three years ago, Jin Yan also had his own dedicated substitute.

  It's worth mentioning that his substitute identity is quite special: this guy is Xu Qianqian's cousin.

  So at the moment he knew he was dumped by Xu Qianqian, Jianran deeply suspected that he might have unknowingly dug up their family's ancestral grave in his sleep one day. Otherwise, he couldn't understand what kind of grudge or grievance he had with this family, why they just wouldn't let him go... Even more so, if it weren't for Jiang Luocheng repeatedly assuring him that Xu Qianqian didn't know about the things between Jianran and him, Jianran almost suspected that this woman was sent by her cousin to intentionally mess with him.

  If it's like this, then Xu Wenjie is really something else.

  Let's talk about Xu Wenjie himself.

  This guy was three years ago, when filming a certain martial arts action movie, Fang Yu found him from the film academy. At that time, Xu Wenjie was still a student, and he had just stepped into this chaotic circle with his eyes open. He was an ordinary college student at the time, with a shaved head and a face that barely passed the entrance exam for the film academy. His family background was very ordinary, and supporting him to study in the expensive major of film academy was already somewhat difficult. So when Fang Yu found him and told him he could come and be Jianran's exclusive stand-in, it was like finding a stable job, and he was very happy.

  At first, Xu Wenjie and Yu He were both very respectful and grateful.

  Xu Wenjie, apart from his buttocks not being as firm as Jianran's and his shoulders not being as straight, when wearing slightly thicker costumes, looks very similar to Jianran's back view - and since becoming a stand-in, he has been trying to get closer to Jianran in all aspects - to be precise, Xu Wenjie has been imitating him from speech and behavior to eating habits.

  Jianran likes to drink Coke and always has a can after work, this bad habit often makes Fang Yu frown.

  One day, Jian was secretly drinking Coke while squatting on the side, when he suddenly heard a "pop" sound from an aluminum can. He turned his head to see Xu Wenjie holding a Coca-Cola and drinking it behind him. Jian was stunned, looked down at the Pepsi in his hand, and for some reason thought of the story of Wang Laoji and He Zhizhang (......).

  "Hey, you like drinking this too?"

  Xu Wenjie paused for a moment, thought about it and replied: "Recently got into."

  At that time, he was already choked by his own words.

  Fang Yu said, was also ridiculed "narrow-minded" "paranoid" "are you bored and have nothing to do thinking so much".

  At that time, Jianran still only felt uncomfortable, until one day, after finishing the play of the day, Jianran accidentally discovered that the makeup artist was carefully admiring his own face, and then turned his head to look at Xu Wenjie who was talking to Fang Yu behind Jianran - before Jianran could ask her what was going on, a staff member rushed over, and in the darkness, he didn't see clearly, but shouted "Ran Ge" towards Xu Wenjie.

  At that time, Jian Ran was expressionless, but in fact, he was about to explode with anger.

  A flash of inspiration struck him, and he suddenly remembered a book he had read before, which mentioned that when two people get too close, they start to become more similar - just like how girls in school dormitories often have their periods at the same time; or how couples who have been married for a long time start to develop what's called "couple's look"; or how good friends who have known each other for over a decade will even start to mimic each other's mannerisms and temperament... The bioelectricity between people is subtle, and no one can explain why this happens.

  Xu Wenjie is becoming more and more like Jian Ran, which makes Jian Ran feel extremely uncomfortable - no one would be happy to see someone who looks just like themselves suddenly appear in the world.

  So he later had a very tough attitude and demanded that Fang Yu get rid of Xu Wenjie.

  As a person who started his career by imitating Yan Ran, Xu Wenjie would never have the chance to stand out unless Yan Ran fell. So after being rejected by Yan Ran, he signed with the same company as "Little Yan Ran" and has been active in the outer 18th line of the entertainment circle, living a life like wild grass that cannot be eradicated.

  I heard that in the past two years, he has been kept by one of his former bosses who advocated for him to sign with their company. He has been relying on this patron to give him some work and then come out to show his face.

  He occasionally found this name in a corner of a newspaper, and he couldn't help but feel that his direct dismissal at the time was very inappropriate. In the circle and outside the circle, he would see him again one day, and if that kid had made a name for himself, he would remember today's favor... He remembered that at the time, Xu Wenjie's agent replied to him in a particularly arrogant tone: "Xu Wenjie is not a good person, he deserves it. Didn't you see his eyes when people called him 'Ye Ge'? They were shining brighter than Sun Wukong's eyes after he crawled out of Taishang Laojun's alchemy furnace! And if you want to take revenge on me, wait until he has made a name for himself and can climb onto my head, then it won't be too late."

  He remembered that after saying this, Fang Yu shut his mouth contentedly and never mentioned Xu Wenjie again.

  At that time, neither Fang Yu nor Jin Ran thought that Xu Wenjie's name would stir up waves again one day.

  But it's okay now.

  Retribution always comes especially quickly.

  It's no longer just Xu Wenjie, it can be said that anyone can climb onto Yuan Yanyan's head.

  After rebirth, all sorts of things happened, to the point where Jian Ran suddenly couldn't remember Xu Wenjie. Now that he's calm and thinking carefully, Jian Ran's uneasy feeling is overwhelming, and all sorts of things he hadn't considered before are also flooding his mind - sitting in the warm cotton, by his ear is Jiang Chuan and Fang Yu discussing in hushed tones how to deal with those entertainment reporters who got slapped in the face today, accompanied by this pleasant discussion, Jian Ran is counting on his paws, thinking about how many things he's delayed by suddenly lying down in the hospital.

  One film that has been confirmed to start shooting at the end of this year, one TV series starring Jiang Luocheng, three endorsement commercials and numerous ordinary announcements.

  These things cost how much money can buy how many boxes of melon seeds, such a sad thing don't mention it again - Jian Yan believes that his brokerage company IM is now being blown up by various business partners.

  So what will the company plan to do in this case?

  An idea, not necessarily correct: for example, enabling "Xiao Yuan Jian Ran" this perennial big backup?

  Jian Ran: "……………………………………"

  I humbly admit that I have a bit of paranoid delusions.

  But as soon as he thought of this, he felt that his whole self... no, his whole mouse was ruined.

  Absolutely cannot let the spare tire take over successfully!

  This task is indeed a bit daunting for a hamster... especially when this hamster also has a wall-headed broker - look at that flattering face, tsk tsk tsk, Fang Dàmǒu, why don't you just give Jiang Chuan a massage instead?

  ……

  "Jiang Chuan."

  Jiang Chuan: "What's going on?"

  Fang Yu: "Turn around and take a look, I've been feeling that the mouse in your house has been staring at me with an attitude since just now. Look at how that little white-eyed thing is glaring..."

  "Ah, probably just ate too much."

  Jian Ran: "......"

  Suddenly felt that this world is full of malice.

  I haven't seen gunpowder in my texts before ~_(:3)∠)_

  Stretch out your hand and I'll give you one (who wants it)