What’S Wrong With Just Eating His Majesty’S Soft Rice? Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Not a Person of This World at All

He squinted at Fang Cheng, and based on his understanding of the man, he began to suspect some ulterior motive.

Fang Cheng pointed to his own head, signaling that this person wasn’t quite right in the brain.

Lin Er sneered. What do you mean? Are you saying people only come to act in my plays if they have a mental problem?

Fang Cheng immediately broke into a grin. This is a relative of mine. He’s not an actor and has no acting skills. Didn’t you say your film only needs a few scenes and doesn’t require any actual acting?

Lin Er frowned. Since when did you have a relative like this? I’ve never heard of him.

Fang Cheng continued to talk nonsense. He’s a relative of a brother of mine. I misspoke just now.

Lin Er felt that something was vaguely off, but his obsession with filming made him automatically ignore other issues. He turned back to Fang Cheng to explain: This time it really is a good film. It’s not like those trashy ones from before.

In Lin Er’s plot, the female lead was the daughter of a high-ranking official who fell in love with the Emperor at first sight after entering the palace. Because of her father, the Emperor granted her the title of Noble Consort, but he refused to favor her and essentially treated her as if she were invisible. Gradually, the female lead’s heart soured within the deep palace. she became entangled with the palace guards, then got involved with the imperial physician, and the two became inseparable. Eventually, her childhood sweetheart secretly disguised himself as a eunuch to sneak into the palace, and their old flame was rekindled.

And so, even though the Emperor looked down on the female lead, she didn’t stay idle. She managed to build her own harem right under the Emperor’s nose.

Later, during a private tryst with one of the male supporting characters, they were discovered by the Emperor. The Emperor was consumed by rage, but fortunately, the poison previously administered by the imperial physician took effect.

The female lead, pregnant with a child belonging to one of the male leads, rose to power through her son. As soon as the son was born, she finished off the Emperor and put her son on the throne, transforming from Noble Consort to Empress Dowager.

After hearing the plot, Fang Cheng remarked with great emotion that the story felt somewhat familiar. He developed a hint of doubt regarding Lin Er’s so-called good film.

Is the Emperor that easy to play?

Lin Er looked at him with disdain. The Emperor isn’t an important character; this is a female-centric drama. The Emperor only needs to show his face a few times. Once for the selection process, just going through the motions, and then again when he discovers the female lead’s private meeting and collapses from the poison. After that, he just lies there waiting to die. Even an idiot could play him.

Fang Cheng nodded. If that’s the case, why look for someone handsome? It’s not like he has many scenes anyway.

Lin Er shook his head back and forth. People have already filmed the ones who aren’t handsome. I want to film something that subverts the tropes.

Fang Cheng gave a thumbs up, feeling that Lin Er actually had some taste.

He’s fine for the part, right?

Lin Er’s gaze was firm. He’s more than fine.

Then give me five hundred in referral fees first. Fang Cheng had already invested a bowl of instant noodles, a meal, and bus fare into Zhou Yinli. It could be said he had suffered heavy losses and made a massive investment.

Naturally, he wasn’t willing to lose out and had to earn back some of his capital first.

We haven’t even started filming and you’re asking for money? Who does that? Lin Er looked at him huffily.

Fang Cheng shook his head. I don’t care. Who knows if you’ll go back on your word? What if you don’t give it to me after we finish filming?

Lin Er found him annoying and quickly pulled out his phone. Fine, fine. I’ll give you half first, and the rest after the shoot.

Fang Cheng looked at the WeChat transfer of 250 and felt like Lin Er was calling him an idiot. He cursed under his breath. However, he wasn’t one to turn away money, so he accepted it immediately.

After their whispering was done, Fang Cheng drifted over to Zhou Yinli’s side. Xiao Li…

Zhou Yinli looked at him with a strange expression. Clearly, no one had ever called him that before.

Fang Cheng ignored his awkward expression. He had just taken the scenes Zhou Yinli was supposed to act in from Lin Er and flipped through them briefly, finding them truly simple.

The first scene involved just standing and walking in a circle, then turning back to tilt the female lead’s chin and saying one line expressionlessly: Is this Lord Han’s beloved daughter?

After saying that, he was to let go and walk away for a shot of his back.

Fang Cheng’s eyes darted around as he considered how to explain this to Zhou Yinli. Do you know what I want you to do?

Zhou Yinli looked at him, his sharp brows furrowing as he said coldly, Zhen—I will do what I promised you. What am I to act?

Fang Cheng chuckled. I just hope Your Majesty can play the part of an Emperor once.

Zhou Yinli was somewhat puzzled. I am already the Emperor. You told me not to reveal my identity as the Emperor, yet now you want me to play an Emperor. Are you mocking me?

Fang Cheng quickly waved his hands, his face full of hypocritical sincerity. How could I, Your Majesty? I only hope that you, in your capacity as the Emperor, can pretend to be a commoner, and then use that commoner identity to play an Emperor. I just don’t know if you can complete such a difficult task.

Zhou Yinli asked again, What happens after I play the Emperor? Did you not say that no one here believes in the existence of an Emperor?

Fang Cheng didn’t quite know how to explain. It’s for television. It’s performed and then shown on the television. Haven’t you seen a television?

Zhou Yinli pondered for a moment. How should I act?

As soon as those words came out, Fang Cheng grabbed Zhou Yinli’s hand, nearly spinning him around in circles.

He naturally wasn’t as clear at explaining scenes as Lin Er, so he called Lin Er over to explain the specific details.

The scheduled scenes for the next few days were full, and it would be a few days before it was Zhou Yinli’s turn to appear. Lin Er told them to go back first and wait for his notification.

Before they left, Lin Er still had an idle makeup artist change Zhou Yinli into a costume to see if the clothes fit and to take a few photos.

Zhou Yinli obediently let them apply makeup, sitting as still as a mountain. He maintained a perfect posture, looking very much as if he were accustomed to being served this way.

The clothes here were of better quality than the cheap studio style, but after he put them on, Fang Cheng felt they didn’t fit as well as Zhou Yinli’s original set. Fang Cheng touched the fabric and found it wasn’t as good as what Zhou Yinli had been wearing before; the texture was far inferior.

Could it be that Zhou Yinli’s set wasn’t actually that bad? Or did Lin Er buy even cheaper goods?

The former had shrunk as soon as it was washed, so it was definitely garbage. Therefore, if Zhou Yinli’s clothes were garbage, then these clothes that felt even worse were the garbage among garbage.

Lin Er was a cheapskate for buying such poor-quality clothes.

The cheapskate Lin Er didn’t know he was being insulted and went to find the crew’s photographer to take a few pictures of Zhou Yinli.

Zhou Yinli struck a few poses according to the other man’s requirements. His face was incredibly dark, but even though Fang Cheng could see his foul mood, he acted as if he hadn’t. He couldn’t offend the crew and affect the filming, so he instead kept reminding Zhou Yinli to cooperate with everyone.

Zhou Yinli was actually quite well-behaved in front of outsiders and didn’t have an episode. Fang Cheng was very relieved; it seemed this mental patient could still be reasoned with.

The photographer and several other girls on set saw him there. It was rare to see a handsome man of this caliber in the crew, so they all rushed over to take photos, telling him to smile while they snapped away.

Fang Cheng got distracted for a moment, and when he looked back, he saw several girls insisting on pulling him in for group photos. Fang Cheng clearly saw Zhou Yinli’s hand reach for his waist, looking as if he were going to grab the sword at his side.

Only when his hand landed did he realize there was nothing there. His expression became a bit dazed before he turned as cold as a robot, letting those girls move him around as they pleased.

Fang Cheng couldn’t help but burst out laughing from the sidelines.

This mental patient was just too funny.

Lin Er also watched from the side for a while and whispered to Fang Cheng, I feel like he has a bit of a temper.

Heh. You have no idea what he looked like when he was using a knife to shave me.

Not knowing what Fang Cheng’s sarcastic laugh meant, Lin Er went to shoo away the girls taking photos.

After Zhou Yinli was rescued, his mood improved slightly. He even followed Lin Er’s instructions to walk a circle while wearing another costume. The costume still didn’t fit right, but with Zhou Yinli’s disdainful aura and his back as straight as a spear, he exuded the overbearing arrogance of someone in a high position.

After the walk, Lin Er was extremely satisfied, suppressing the slight servile urge to kneel and shout Long Live the Emperor. He felt that this Emperor’s appearance could definitely serve as a highlight in his film.

He whispered in Fang Cheng’s ear again, I think he’s perfect for this role. It’s practically tailor-made for him. With this kind of temperament, has he really not signed with a company?

Fang Cheng sneered. If he were signed with a company, would he be filming this for you?

Lin Er was speechless.

However, he was more meticulous than Fang Cheng after all, so he asked again, Do you think he’d be interested? I can recommend a management company to him. They would definitely want him.

Fang Cheng waved him off. Forget it, he won’t agree.

Lin Er asked, How do you know?

Fang Cheng said, Am I closer to him or are you? If I say he won’t agree, he won’t agree. Just getting him to film this took so much talking; you want him to sign with an agency? Don’t let him hack the agency to pieces with a sword.

Lin Er twitched his lips. That little white-eyed wolf you were closest to also…

Fang Cheng paused, his face wearing an indifferent expression. That was an accident. Hey, I say, are you getting old? Why do you keep bringing up the past every day?

Lin Er was familiar with this look of bravado and knew he was in a bad mood, so he didn’t mention it again. Just then, the photos of Zhou Yinli were mostly finished. Their photographer was reluctant to stop and wanted to take a few more. Seeing Fang Cheng nearby, he inexplicably came over and said he’d take a few of him too.

Fang Cheng became completely uncomfortable as soon as he was under a camera. His face was decent enough, but as soon as the lens hit him, he became tense, not knowing where to put his hands or feet. The photos turned out awkward in every way, a classic case of being unphotogenic. He quickly dodged the lens and shrank into a corner.

Zhou Yinli was the opposite. He seemed born for the camera, his entire aura powerful and his expression cold, completely disregarding everything around him. That gaze, that expression—even celebrities on the street weren’t as arrogant as him.

Fang Cheng thought to himself that this guy was so good at playing an Emperor because he had been delusional about being one for too long. A long illness makes a doctor!

As for whether that was how the idiom was used, he didn’t care at all.

He waited for Zhou Yinli to change his clothes. Let’s go, let’s head back first.

The films Lin Er made were mostly put together using his years of personal connections. Many aspects had the characteristics of a ragtag crew. Fang Cheng had brought Zhou Yinli here and gotten him to agree to act, and the filming was confirmed without even signing a contract.

Since there was nothing else to do, Fang Cheng took the thin script for Zhou Yinli and left the studio.

It wasn’t too late yet. Fang Cheng felt he had completed a big piece of business and was in a very good mood, thinking of the few thousand yuan that would soon be in his hands. He happily started messaging Fatty and the others to ask if they wanted to go out for a drink tonight.

He stopped halfway through the message. He saw Brother Wei calling for a few people in the group chat to go collect a debt.

Below were several messages agreeing to go.

Ever since Brother Wei joined them, saying he would lead them to make big money, everything had changed a bit. Everyone seemed as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

Fang Cheng deleted the words he had typed one by one.

He looked up and saw Zhou Yinli standing nearby with a cold expression, looking at his surroundings with a detachment that was out of place with everyone else, as if he weren’t a person of this world at all.

Fang Cheng quickly went up and grabbed him. This was five thousand yuan. Oh, wait, plus two hundred and fifty.