A Thousand Miles to Send Jingniang

"Brother Yang, you're not messing with me, are you?" Nazha's beautiful eyes sparkled like a pool of spring water.

After experiencing life on set over the past couple of days, she was like someone who had just learned to ride a bike, itching to give it a try.

Last night, as she lay in bed, she'd thought that after a few more days of learning, she'd ask Zhang Yang to arrange an extra role for her. She could earn a little pocket money while getting some real experience acting.

She hadn't even had a chance to ask, and Zhang Yang had already brought her such a huge surprise. He'd actually secured her a featured role.

Featured roles came in three types: major, medium, and minor. They were usually bit parts or small supporting roles, but had their own storylines and dialogue.

"I'm not that bored." Zhang Yang gave a slight nod. "Unless something unexpected happens, you'll get a small role."

Nazha suppressed her excitement and stared intently at Zhang Yang's face with her beautiful eyes. "What kind of role is it?"

This time, Zhang Yang didn't answer her right away. Instead, he sat back down in his chair and patted his shoulder.

Nazha took the hint and considerately stepped behind Zhang Yang to massage his shoulders. Her voice turned gentle. "Brother Yang, is this pressure okay?"

"Mm, not bad." Zhang Yang narrowed his eyes and enjoyed it.

"..." Some of the crew members and extras nearby were so envious they could barely breathe.

Nazha was naturally beautiful. Her exotic features and luminous, fair skin made it hard not to notice her—and hard not to be dazzled.

She was more beautiful than many famous actresses in the industry, yet she was only Zhang Yang's personal assistant.

They'd been skeptical before, but seeing Nazha massage Zhang Yang finally convinced them.

This man was seriously damn lucky!

Extra A: "The wind is particularly noisy today."

Extra B: "Suddenly, I feel like being an extra in Hengdian is pointless."

Extra C: "Yeah. I want to go back to my hometown and get married."

Extras' boss: "You're not collecting your wages today?"

The extras: "..."

Nazha and Zhang Yang had no idea the extras were putting on such a show. Nazha was burning with curiosity and asked, "Brother Yang, how did you manage that?"

Zhang Yang opened his eyes and said calmly, "Actually, I'm not sure you'll get the role."

"?" Nazha's hands stopped.

Had he tricked her?

"It depends on whether Sister Ziwei agrees to add a part for me. Here's what happened..." Zhang Yang turned around and explained the situation to Nazha.

He told her about going to see Wallace Huo the night before and asking him to pass along the script, then about being called over by Lin Ziwei for a detailed discussion just now.

"So that's why you didn't bring me last night. You were off doing something big without saying a word." Nazha finally understood.

She'd used the word "doing" very cleverly.

"Brother Yang, what exactly is the role I'm going to play?" Nazha resumed massaging Zhang Yang's shoulders.

Her eager attitude surprised Zhang Yang a little. "You're confident Sister Ziwei will agree to my suggestion?"

"I trust you." Zhang Yang's face was reflected in Nazha's beautiful eyes. "We haven't known each other for long, but I've noticed that whenever you want to get something done, it seems to work out."

Oh? Nazha was surprisingly perceptive.

Zhang Yang was a little surprised, but smiled. "I'll take that as a good omen."

"As for the role you'll play, I tailored it just for you: a character who loves me but can't have me."

Nazha: ?

She was thrilled that he'd tailored a role just for her.

But why did it have to be a character who loved him but couldn't have him?

Nazha was about to ask when she saw Lin Ziwei and Liang Xin Quan approaching with a few others. She wisely kept quiet.

"Sister Ziwei, Director Liang, Director Lin." Zhang Yang stood up.

The Legend of Dugu had two directors. Besides Liang Xin Quan, the other was Lin Feng, a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy who would later serve as the action director for The Battle at Lake Changjin.

The production had split into A and B units from the start. Liang Xin Quan was in charge of the drama scenes, while Lin Feng handled the action scenes. Zhang Yang had only met him that day.

"A'Yang, you know Director Lin?" Liang Xin Quan asked with a surprised smile.

"Of course." Zhang Yang smiled. "I remember Director Lin was the action director on shows like The Return of the Condor Heroes, Tian Mi Mi, New Shanghai Bund, and New Three Kingdoms."

Lin Feng was usually a man of few words, but a flicker of emotion crossed his face.

He really had worked on many well-known productions, but as an action director, he rarely appeared in the spotlight.

People who hadn't worked with him seldom knew who he was, let alone young men like Zhang Yang.

"Hello." Lin Feng reached out first.

Zhang Yang immediately shook his hand.

Lin Ziwei spoke at just the right moment. "Since A'Yang knows Director Lin, your collaboration should go smoothly."

Hearing that, Zhang Yang put on a suitably surprised expression. "Sister Ziwei, you agreed?"

"That's right. After reading the script, we thought your idea was great. Everyone voted in favor," Liang Xin Quan said with a smile. "We discussed it and decided to have Director Lin lead a team to handle the related filming."

Now that was a surprise.

A talented director like Lin Feng, who quietly got on with his work, was definitely worth getting to know.

"Thank you all for believing in me. I'll do my best." Zhang Yang gave his assurance.

Just then, a young woman beside Director Liang spoke up. "Zhang Yang, did you base this part of the story on something? I feel like I've seen it before."

She was Shao Sihan, one of the two screenwriters for The Legend of Dugu. After reading what Zhang Yang had written, she'd felt that part of it seemed familiar.

"Screenwriter Shao, you really know a lot. I only got the idea after searching Baidu. I based it on the story A Thousand Miles to Send Jingniang." Zhang Yang smoothly offered her a compliment.

Shao Sihan felt her cheeks grow warm. She'd actually come to confront Zhang Yang.

He couldn't just decide to add a storyline. What did that make of the screenwriters?

But when she saw Zhang Yang's face, she suddenly wasn't so angry anymore.

She'd still asked him about it, but only because she was worried he might have plagiarized something.

She hadn't expected Zhang Yang to admit it so openly.

"A Thousand Miles to Send Jingniang?" Shao Sihan frowned. She did seem to have heard the story before.

But Lin Ziwei and the others were completely in the dark.

Of course, Zhang Yang wasn't going to wait for them to ask. He explained on his own. "A Thousand Miles to Send Jingniang is a widely circulated folk tale. It tells how, when the young Zhao Kuangyin, later Emperor Taizu of Song, disguised himself and left Bianjing to escape danger, he passed through Taiyuan Qingyou Temple and rescued Zhao Jingniang, a pitiful woman imprisoned in a dark room by bandits. He escorted her over a thousand miles, treating each other like brother and sister along the way. They traveled day and night, and even when they shared their daily meals and lodging, he never took advantage of her."

"A Thousand Miles to Send Jingniang is part of the Peking opera tradition, but there are also regional versions in Yue opera, Kunqu opera, Teochew opera, Sichuan opera, and others."

Everyone understood. Zhang Yang had drawn on "history"—or, more accurately, a widely circulated "unofficial history."

"This is good." Liang Xin Quan couldn't help praising the idea. "Drawing on history can help bridge the storylines and make the audience feel more immersed. It'll improve their opinion of our show."

Hearing that, Lin Ziwei couldn't help sneaking Zhang Yang a sideways glance.

If Zhang Yang had said earlier that the story came from A Thousand Miles to Send Jingniang, she would've approved it right away and shown off her insight as a producer.

Zhang Yang noticed Lin Ziwei's expression and thought, How is it my fault if you're uneducated?

"Then we can't just cast any random person as Zhao Jingniang," Lin Ziwei said.

Nazha's heart leaped into her throat.

After hearing all this, she had a feeling the role Zhang Yang had secured for her was Zhao Jingniang.

If Lin Ziwei took the role seriously, Nazha's chances of playing her would be slim.

Just then, she heard Zhang Yang say, "Sister Ziwei, do you think my assistant would be a good fit?"

Nazha: !?!

O!M!G!

How could this man be so handsome!?