First Dream Entry

As soon as Lin Ziwei said that, Nazha felt her role was gone.

She never expected Zhang Yang to directly speak up for her.

It would be a lie to say she wasn't moved.

After all, it was a small supporting role in a major production, an opportunity many drama school graduates wouldn't get.

Even though she already had the female lead role in Xuanyuan Sword, she wouldn't overlook this chance.

"Your personal assistant?" Lin Ziwei sized Nazha up and down, her instincts resisting.

Nazha's beauty was stunningly exquisite, with a striking, almost aggressive prettiness that immediately captivated people. Lin Ziwei had noticed her yesterday.

It felt like a waste for such a beauty to be a personal assistant. Lin Ziwei had even considered poaching her to train as a star, but hadn't acted on it yet.

Now that Zhang Yang was fighting for a role for Nazha, she could completely understand. Just based on her looks, it seemed fine.

But would someone with a figure and appearance clearly superior to hers overshadow her if she played Zhao Jingniang?

"This role is quite important. Can your personal assistant play it well?" Lin Ziwei asked reasonably after a moment's thought.

Everyone could tell she was trying to politely refuse.

Nazha sighed inwardly, thinking she had no chance. However, she noticed Zhang Yang's expression hadn't changed at all out of the corner of her eye: "Sister Ziwei, you can rest assured. Nazha is nominally my personal assistant, but she's actually an artist signed with our Tangren. In May, she'll be joining the crew to film as the third female lead in our self-produced Xianxia drama."

"Oh, and the female lead in that drama is Tang Yan, and the second female lead is Sister Shishi. Her character's positioning is similar to Zi Xuan's role in Chinese Paladin 3 back then."

"Also, I'll be playing the male second lead, similar to Hua Ge's role as Xu Changqing in Chinese Paladin 3. I'm confident I can play it well."

Hiss!

Zhang Yang's words surprised Liang Xin Quan and Lin Ziwei.

Chinese Paladin 3 was a phenomenal hit. Three of its five main actors were already A-list, and the other two were practically A-list, likely to be promoted this year.

Tangren's strength in producing Xianxia dramas was well-known in the industry. Zhang Yang and Nazha being cast as male second lead and female third lead meant they had Cai Yinong's approval, and there was a high probability they would become famous in the future.

Entrusting the roles of Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Jingniang to them was indeed reassuring. Perhaps Tangren could even help buy some promotional articles to boost the drama's popularity.

Moreover, Nazha was a complete newcomer, so signing her now wouldn't cost much and would be cost-effective.

Only Lin Ziwei worried about being overshadowed.

Just then, Zhang Yang spoke again: "Zhao Jingniang is just a small role, Nazha can definitely play it well."

"The 'delivering Jingniang from a thousand miles' role highlights Zhao Kuangyin's quality of not being interested in women and his chivalry."

"But in our drama, Zhao Kuangyin refuses because he already has Ma Fuyua in his heart, his 'white moonlight'."

"There are countless beauties in the world, but he only loves Sister Ya Ya."

Lin Ziwei felt a surge of satisfaction from this.

That's right. Based on the plot, Nazha playing Zhao Jingniang would have her fall for Zhao Kuangyin and want to sacrifice herself for art.

But Zhao Kuangyin's heart belonged to Ma Fuyua, and he wouldn't accept Zhao Jingniang, even if it was just unrequited love.

This showed that Zhao Jingniang was inferior to Ma Fuyua, and Ma Fuyua's excellence was highlighted through Zhao Kuangyin's comparison.

Only such a Ma Fuyua could be the The Legend of Dugu!

"So that's how it is," Lin Ziwei's face broke into a radiant smile. "A'Yang, you should have said so earlier. Honestly, I even wanted to sign Nazha to my studio to train her. I didn't realize she was a Tangren artist."

"Then it's settled. I'm confident giving Zhao Jingniang to Nazha. As for the other roles, Director Lin can choose as he sees fit."

Since Lin Ziwei agreed, naturally, no one else had any objections to this minor matter.

"Your remaining scenes will also be handled by Director Lin for filming. You just follow him," Liang Xin Quan became much more enthusiastic towards Zhang Yang.

Most people in the entertainment industry were shrewd. Artists like Zhang Yang, who had a high chance of becoming famous, were people they were willing to befriend in advance, as long as it didn't harm their own interests.

They even used the crew's money and resources, leveraging their own connections!

After chatting with Zhang Yang for a while longer, Lin Ziwei and Liang Xin Quan left.

Lin Feng called Zhang Yang to his room to discuss the script and action choreography.

"You're actually a martial artist?" Lin Feng was somewhat surprised.

Before filming officially began, he wanted to test Zhang Yang's flexibility and comprehension skills to help with designing the fight scenes. He hadn't expected Zhang Yang to show him a set of boxing moves.

"You could say it's a foundational skill. Ordinary people, three to five of them, wouldn't be able to get close to me," Zhang Yang didn't hold back.

You had to show your skills to get better treatment.

"Then I'll discuss it with the martial arts choreographer and design a challenging but visually appealing swordplay and spear technique for you," Lin Feng's eyes lit up with excitement.

His role as action director finally had a purpose, and he could create some memorable scenes in this drama.

"I'm fine with anything," Zhang Yang actually preferred to design it himself.

But there was a distinction between martial arts and combat techniques. He wanted to see the skill level of the crew's martial arts choreographer first.

Afterward, he continued to discuss script content with Lin Feng until it was almost time for dinner before leaving.

"Here's your script. Memorize the lines well these few days," Zhang Yang handed a few pages to Nazha.

This drama was called The Legend of Dugu. Zhao Kuangyin was only a supporting character, let alone Zhao Jingniang.

Zhao Jingniang's role was very small, with one scene in a Taoist temple where she was about to be defiled by bandits before Zhao Kuangyin appeared to save her.

Another scene involved her confessing her feelings after being escorted for a thousand miles, only to be sternly rejected by Zhao Kuangyin, who would then take out a "token" to reminisce about his white moonlight.

The final scene might not even be filmed: Zhao Jingniang, after being sent home, is framed by her brother and sister-in-law. To prove her innocence and avoid marriage, she chooses to become a nun.

Altogether, it wasn't even half an episode's worth of content, but if acted well, it could still be memorable.

"Brother Yang, should we tell Sister K about this?" Nazha held the thin script, unable to hide her excitement, but she hadn't forgotten the important matter at hand.

"No need, it's just a bit part. Zhang Yang shook his head without thinking. "If Sister K finds out, it might cause unnecessary trouble. I negotiated a special actor fee of three thousand for you; keep it as pocket money."

Three thousand?

Nazha's heart skipped a beat.

Jiang Yufu, who played the male lead, was paid seventy thousand, and her salary for playing the third female lead was only thirty thousand after tax.

By sticking with Zhang Yang, she'd earned three thousand in just a few days!?

A seed was planted deep within Nazha's heart, destined to sprout one day.

Seeing her remain silent, a hint of a smile flickered in Zhang Yang's eyes.

Leaving Nazha to study the script, he found the finance manager and asked them to issue a different invoice.

"It's against regulations not to sign a contract, so it's difficult for me," the finance manager said.

"The fee for this role is set between three and five thousand, and I only need three thousand," Zhang Yang smiled.

The finance manager understood immediately and sighed, "Fine, signing a contract is indeed troublesome. I'll arrange for you to be an assistant screenwriter, with a three-day hardship fee of five thousand, and the crew will cover the taxes."

The finance manager had Zhang Yang sign a simple labor contract for a total of five thousand over three days, then transferred thirty-five hundred to Zhang Yang. Where the remaining fifteen hundred went was self-evident.

"Thanks, Brother!" Zhang Yang left潇洒ly.

Over the next few days, the props department followed instructions to adjust the filming schedule. Zhang Yang had one or two scenes with Lin Ziwei every day.

Having lived two lives, with his talent and abilities amplified, his acting was on par with a movie king's. Most scenes were completed in a single take.

After completing the filming of the original script, Lin Feng led a small team to begin shooting the added scenes.

"Get some sleep early tonight. Don't mess up tomorrow."

Zhang Yang escorted Nazha to her hotel room and instructed her at the door.

"I know, I know, I won't embarrass you." Nazha quickly closed the door.

After spending these past few days together, she somehow felt a little afraid of being alone with Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang returned to his own room, showered, and began writing the script.

When the time was right, he sent Nazha a message.

After a long while without a reply, he lay down on his bed and silently recited, "I want to enter a dream."

"The Legend of Dugu, Zhao Kuangyin!"