The National First-Class, Third-Rate Actor

Having found an actor he liked, Lin Chuan didn't invite him to join the production right away.

After all, the man was the head of the acting department at Jianghai City Film Academy.

Lin Chuan wasn't sure he could persuade him to play Perverted Grandpa in Happy Family.

After all, everyone had an image to uphold.

People as open-minded as Old Ji were few and far between.

Lin Chuan resolved to take things step by step and test the waters first.

He started by greeting the department head:

"Director Hou, hello! I've heard so much about you. I really enjoyed your performances in Migratory Birds and White Clouds Far Above."

Director Hou's original name was Hou Yunlai.

Before becoming head of the acting department, he'd naturally acted in films and television.

And he'd been remarkably good at it.

However, he'd always played upright characters.

For example, a counselor who risked his life to remonstrate, an aloof artist, or a simple farmer.

People from Director Hou's generation tended to be rather conservative. They guarded their reputations and worried about being typecast.

Director Hou was no exception.

He'd appeared in several highly rated TV dramas.

He'd also had supporting roles in box-office hits.

But Migratory Birds and White Clouds Far Above were the works he was proudest of.

Because of their subject matter, though, neither was widely known.

Yet Lin Chuan, a student in the Director Department, had not only named both films but also praised Director Hou's acting in particular.

What did that mean?

It meant this was a talented young director with a discerning eye!

Director Hou relaxed, and the slight wariness that Lin Chuan's gaze had stirred in him melted away.

When Lin Chuan had first looked at him, Hou Yunlai had felt a little unnerved.

For a split second, Director Hou had inexplicably felt like prey.

Thinking about it now, he hadn't been treated like prey at all. It was just the excitement of a "fan" meeting his "idol."

I'd overthought it. I'd really overthought it.

Director Hou smiled at Lin Chuan. "White Clouds Far Above only made a little over half a million at the box office. I'm impressed you even remember it."

Lin Chuan smiled. "I heard about it from my roommate, Ren Hang. He loves your films. He's watched it more than ten times in our dorm!"

Ren Hang?

Director Hou furrowed his brow.

He searched his memory for the name.

Oh, right. He was Lin Chuan's roommate, a somewhat dark-complexioned, sunny, handsome young man.

Director Hou had always felt there was a bit of a dopey air beneath Ren Hang's handsome looks.

He'd even reprimanded him once for installing a homemade air conditioner in the dorm with another roommate.

Who would've thought the young man had such hidden depths?

Director Hou had originally wanted to meet the young man who'd made Balloon.

Now he'd learned that Lin Chuan genuinely admired his proudest works, and that his roommate was a fan of his, too.

His mood brightened at once.

"I've seen your Balloon, too. It's a bold, fascinating film! I had nightmares for days after watching it."

Director Hou laughed heartily.

He didn't hide the fact that Balloon had given him nightmares.

Instead, he treated it as praise.

After all, if a horror film wasn't scary, that would be truly terrifying.

Director Hou continued, "The school didn't give you much help when you made Balloon. Now that you're making a new film, you're still casting people from our school first. On behalf of the school, I want to thank you."

Director Hou bowed to Lin Chuan.

Before Lin Chuan could help him back up, he said earnestly, "If there's anything you need from the school, just ask. I may not hold a very high position, but I'll do everything I can to help!"

Director Hou's heartfelt words moved Lin Chuan, too.

So he got straight to the point.

"To be honest, there's a role in Happy Family that I've been having trouble casting. As soon as I saw you, I knew I'd found the right person."

Director Hou pointed at himself.

"You mean me?"

Lin Chuan nodded sincerely. "I think you're the only one for the role!"

Director Hou agreed to Lin Chuan's request. "All right, I'll make a cameo."

He hadn't been making an empty offer when he'd told Lin Chuan to ask the school for help with Happy Family.

A small request like a cameo was nothing.

Besides, Director Hou wouldn't just be making a cameo.

As head of the acting department, he had plenty of experience coaching performers.

If the actors had questions about their performances, he could answer them right away.

Lin Chuan seized the opportunity. "In that case, let's sign a contract!"

With that, he pulled out a contract and a pen.

Director Hou paused, surprised by how formal Lin Chuan was.

He had a faint feeling he'd been roped into something.

Still, looking at Lin Chuan's sincere expression, Director Hou said nothing. He took the pen and quickly signed his name.

As he handed the contract back to Lin Chuan, Director Hou joked, "Director Lin, I'll be in your hands on set. These old bones of mine would like a taste of fame, too."

"Oh, Mr. Hou, you're joking."

That afternoon, Lin Chuan called Ren Hang.

"Hey, if you're free today, watch Migratory Birds and White Clouds Far Above. I'll quiz you later."

"Huh?"

"What do you mean, 'huh'? Get watching!"

"Okay."

With Perverted Grandpa cast, Lin Chuan found his mind opening up to new possibilities.

He needed an actor who felt approachable, could do things that hurt the protagonist, and still wouldn't annoy the audience.

That kind of role might be hard to cast elsewhere.

But at a university, you could find someone in no time.

He could look among the teachers!

Most teachers lived in an ivory tower. They hadn't been battered by the real world, and could be a little naive in how they dealt with others.

And from Lin Chuan's time studying at Jianghai Film Academy, he'd found that the teachers there were generally well-rounded. Perhaps living in an ivory tower for so long had made them a little idealistic.

Quite a few of them were also very approachable and popular with the students.

Once he had his plan, Lin Chuan began going through the faculty list to find actors suited to the roles in Happy Family.

And he actually found a few good candidates.

For the chain-smoking middle-aged man, Lin Chuan thought Ma Wei, his class counselor, would be perfect.

Ma Wei was chubby and often fretted over students who failed to hand in their assignments.

Even when he got angry, the students knew he was a responsible counselor who had their best interests at heart.

As for Crying Aunt, Lin Chuan approached Xu Xiu, the art teacher.

Like many art teachers, Xu Xiu was tall and slender, with a small, fair face and an artistic air.

There was no question about her artistic ability, but she wasn't very emotionally resilient.

Once, when a student's painting was too ugly, she'd actually burst into tears in class.

She felt that if she'd taught a student with such poor drawing skills, she wasn't fit to be a teacher.

Later, the student admitted they'd only been auditing the class.

They promised that once they left, they'd never claim to have been taught by Ms. Xu.

Only then did Xu Xiu stop crying.

At first, both teachers refused.

But after Lin Chuan brought up Director Hou and appealed to their feelings, they agreed to his request.