Chapter 73: Stealing the Scene, Changing Perceptions

Changing lines is sometimes considered a taboo in the industry, especially since some screenwriters and directors dislike actors altering their dialogue. After all, some actors only want to modify their own highlight scenes, and this tendency is partly why there are more and more subpar dramas nowadays.

Of course, in the past, some seasoned actors would also frequently change their lines. Some renowned screenwriters even had public disputes with these veterans. At this point, Lin Xing is just a minor actor in a serious production, so it is extremely inappropriate for him to change lines without warning. That’s why he immediately apologized when Zu Ming called “Cut.”

Fortunately, Zu Ming isn’t the kind of director who can’t tolerate any changes. This much was apparent from the way he spontaneously gave Jiang Li more scenes. As long as it benefits the drama, everything is negotiable. During filming, Zu Ming always encourages actors to express themselves freely, sometimes even pausing so everyone can discuss which performance works best. Often, he’ll shoot several takes, not just for safety, but sometimes to let actors try two different approaches and keep both versions.

Today’s scene was no exception. By rights, the character Zhou Bo played by Lin Xing had already achieved his goal of intimidation, and Shen Ming had yielded. But Zu Ming was particularly satisfied with Lin Xing’s recent line: “The wilder the storm, the higher the price of the fish.”

“Zhou Guang, what do you think?” Zu Ming asked.

Zhou Guang smiled. “I think Lin Xing performed very well. He gave me a strong sense of oppression.”

Turning to Ren Yi, Zu Ming asked, “Ren Yi, your thoughts?”

“My opinion is much the same as Guang’s,” Ren Yi nodded slightly. “Lin Xing really surprised me. At first, I honestly thought he was just here to read lines, like Feng Qing…”

Ren Yi was always straightforward, so he said to Lin Xing, “You acted very well today, exceptionally well.”

“Thank you, Teacher Ren,” Lin Xing replied gratefully. “If you hadn’t helped me analyze the scenes last night, I wouldn’t have known how to play them.”

He was truly thankful, for Ren Yi had patiently helped him analyze these two crucial scenes the night before.

Ren Yi shook his head. “You have the courage and perception. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have performed so well.”

“Ren Yi, you’ll perform your scene later,” Zu Ming pondered, then asked, “Does anyone think we could wrap up the ending of that last scene a bit tighter?”

“Tighten the ending?” Liao Qingshan frowned. “Director Zu, are you thinking of adding to the scene?”

“Not exactly adding, I just feel something’s missing,” Zu Ming replied, frowning. “It doesn’t feel properly concluded.”

The heart of the scene lay with Lin Xing’s character. He set up a banquet to ensnare General Wu, then directly threatened him into submission, accomplishing his task with ease. The script was written that way, but now Zu Ming felt something was lacking. He turned to Lin Xing. “If you were Zhou Bo, what would you do?”

Lin Xing considered. “Director Zu, if I were Zhou Bo, I’d definitely have a backup plan at this banquet. After all, General Wu said himself that he also has people behind him; he wouldn’t back down just because Zhou Bo threatened him. So Zhou Bo would have a contingency.”

Everyone agreed with this logic.

“So what’s your idea?” Zu Ming asked.

“Zhou Bo’s personality is a bit deranged. He could threaten General Wu by targeting his family, but kidnapping his wife and kids would be going too far—it would rip the facade apart, and that’s not ideal…” Lin Xing immersed himself in the mindset of Zhou Bo. How could he best intimidate General Wu? Not just threaten him, but truly terrify him?

“Director Zu, I’m thinking maybe General Wu has a dog at home—their beloved ‘child’—a dog that grew up alongside his kid…”

An idea flashed in Lin Xing’s mind. He thought this fit Zhou Bo’s character.

Kill your dog, then serve it to you.

As soon as Lin Xing finished, Zu Ming slapped his thigh. “Good! Let’s try it and see how it works.”

He turned to Lin Xing and Zhou Guang. “You two, improvise.”

“General Wu, did you feel anything special while eating dog meat?” Lin Xing smiled as he asked.

Zhou Guang’s face showed confusion. “What kind of feeling?”

“Sigh, you raised that dog for ten years and couldn’t even tell?” Lin Xing’s expression was half-smile, half-sneer. “General Wu, your dog must be heartbroken.”

“What?!” Zhou Guang’s face filled with disbelief. Then, seeing Lin Xing’s demeanor, he suddenly gagged and began to vomit violently.

“Zhou Bo, you bastard, you’ve gone too far! Do you believe I’ll have someone kill you?” Zhou Guang gritted his teeth as he spat out the words.

Bang!

Lin Xing slammed his hand on the table. “Trying to play gangster with me? Let me tell you, I am the underworld. If I can kill your dog, I can just as well kill your wife and child…”

…

The scene was a success.

Liao Qingshan and Ning Yi set about polishing the dialogue. After all, it had been improvised by Lin Xing and Zhou Guang, so the lines weren’t as refined as they could be.

Half an hour later, they reshot the scene.

Next was the same setting, but with some adjustments, because Lin Xing was finally going to perform opposite Ren Yi. Today’s two big scenes were one with Zhou Guang, one with Ren Yi.

Their scenes together hadn’t been filmed yet, and now, they were jumping straight to the climactic one. Ren Yi still thought Zhou Bo could be saved, so he wanted to pull him back from the brink.

“Officer Yu, fairness and justice are just words to fool ordinary people like us. I want to believe in the law, but is the law always right?” Lin Xing said to Ren Yi. “When I was starving, when people called me a worthless mutt, when I was bullied, I swore to myself that one day I’d succeed, no matter the cost…”

He paused for a moment. “In this world, only the winner is king. How many fortunes of the wealthy are truly clean?”

…

This part of the script was also written later.

This was Zhou Bo’s moment of honesty with Yu Hai, and it marked Yu Hai’s complete disappointment in Zhou Bo.

In Yu Hai’s eyes, Zhou Bo was just an ordinary man who had been bullied, with a fundamentally good nature. But Yu Hai was wrong. Zhou Bo’s so-called “nice guy” act was just his camouflage. When he had no power or influence, he had to be a “nice guy,” but once he had power, his cruelty would surpass anyone’s.

Lin Xing managed to capture this perfectly.

For the next two days, Lin Xing and Ren Yi kept filming their scenes together. There weren’t many, but each one was crucial.

On the very last day of September, just as Lin Xing finished filming and was on his way back to the hotel, he received a call from Sister Dao.

It turned out that tomorrow, "Fashion Men’s Style" would officially go on sale.

…