I'm Worse Than Him

In front of Song Jing, Lin Chudong felt a little embarrassed, but he couldn't bear to refuse Lin Qiqi when he saw the hopeful look in her eyes.

He popped a bite of the delicious food he'd made into his mouth, spoon and all.

When he pulled the spoon back out, not a grain of rice remained on it. Lin Qiqi beamed.

"Good, right? I love it!"

Lin Qiqi scooped up another bite and put it in her mouth, not minding at all that she was sharing a spoon with Da Fei.

Song Jing shrugged. If it had been another celebrity, she would definitely have had to rein them in when it came to their private life. But Lin Qiqi was beyond her control—and she didn't dare try to control her, either. She could do whatever she wanted, as long as she didn't get fat.

After Song Jing left, Lin Chudong said,

"Qiqi, you helped me with the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala, didn't you?"

Lin Qiqi smiled.

"Hehe, it was nothing."

"Thanks. I owe you one."

"Just take me out for delicious food!"

Lin Chudong nodded.

"No problem."

Watching Lin Qiqi eat was a treat in itself. Everything tasted good to that girl.

"By the way, Qiqi, how much is your acting fee these days?"

Lin Qiqi paused. "I'm not really sure. Sister Song said it should be over ten million."

Lin Chudong: ...

He'd been thinking of making a movie and asking Lin Qiqi to act in it. With their friendship, maybe he could get her to take a thirty or forty percent discount.

But now that he thought about it, he couldn't afford her even at a ninety percent discount.

Lin Qiqi was too expensive. There was no way he could hire her. It seemed he'd have to find another actor.

Just then, the director's voice rang out from outside.

"Qiqi, time to work! Li Zhilin's here!"

Lin Qiqi frowned slightly, put down her spoon, and went out reluctantly.

Lin Chudong quickly tidied up and followed her.

Deep down, Lin Chudong was still a professional. If he were an actor, he'd be ready whenever they called, so he didn't interrupt her.

Still, Lin Qiqi didn't seem happy when Li Zhilin was mentioned.

Of course Lin Chudong had heard of Li Zhilin.

A wildly popular young star, a top celebrity, and a fair-skinned, clean-cut young idol in his early twenties.

His public image was that of a pure-hearted, hardworking guy, but who knew what he was really like?

When the two of them returned to the set, the director went over a few lines with Lin Qiqi, then got ready to start filming.

It was a scene between the two of them. Lin Chudong glanced at the script in the director's hand. They seemed to be playing a couple—the male and female leads.

As soon as they stepped into position, their profiles appeared on camera, creating a beautiful shot. The director had a good eye for framing.

Lin Chudong was a senior director himself now, so he could tell what was going on.

Li Zhilin looked quite good, and his expressions were spot-on. More accurately, he simply had the kind of face that made him look melancholy even when he wasn't doing anything. It wasn't that his acting was impossibly good.

Li Zhilin said, "123456789."

The moment he opened his mouth, Lin Chudong was stunned. Was this the legendary Number actor?

It was his first time seeing a Number actor on set. He hadn't expected top star Li Zhilin to skip his lines, too.

Instead of memorizing lines, he recited numbers. As long as the number of syllables matched, they could dub the lines in post-production.

It was a trick devised for actors who couldn't be bothered to do their jobs, and it had become common in the entertainment industry.

Lin Qiqi frowned. "When are you going to get your sword back?"

Li Zhilin: 123, 123456, 789.

Lin Qiqi: "I'll give you one more month."

Li Zhilin: 1234, 123!

Lin Qiqi: "I..."

The director sighed. "Cut! Qiqi, adjust your performance."

Li Zhilin snorted. "What kind of actress are you? Could you be a little more professional? I was getting into the scene, but your expression, demeanor, and tone were all wrong."

Lin Qiqi frowned. "You reciting numbers is throwing off my emotions."

Li Zhilin sneered. "What does me reciting numbers have to do with you? You do your part, and I'll do mine. If you don't know how to act, go home and be a pretty face instead of wasting my time. When veteran actors perform with me, they don't have nearly as much trouble getting into character as you do."

"If you were professional, you'd be able to play off me even if I was cursing at you. If you've got nothing, go home!"

Li Zhilin was used to throwing his weight around. Twice before, he'd paid to get his new dramas on Trending Search, but both times, Lin Qiqi had overtaken him at the last minute.

The same thing had happened yesterday. He'd just paid to get on Trending Search and was preparing to take the top spot to promote his new drama.

But Lin Qiqi had stolen his thunder, taking the top spot with a scandalous rumor.

Naturally, Li Zhilin wasn't going to be nice to her.

Lin Qiqi pouted, her eyes reddening. She looked so pitiful that anyone who saw her would feel sorry for her.

The director hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over. "Don't worry. Let's move on from this scene for now and shoot Zhilin's part first. Extras, get ready and take your places!"

"Qiqi, get some rest and compose yourself."

The director wiped away a bead of cold sweat. Neither side was easy to deal with, so all he could do was play peacemaker. Offending either of them could cost him dearly.

Both stars commanded acting fees in the tens of millions. If he angered either one, the big investor might replace him as director.

Lin Qiqi returned to Lin Chudong's side, her lower lip sticking out in a pout.

Lin Chudong took her hand. "Don't cry. I'll stand up for you."

Lin Qiqi quickly shook her head. "No, he's a bad person. Just ignore him."

Lin Chudong sneered. "A bad person? Sorry, I'm worse than him."

"Tell the director to give me a small role. I want to try acting, too."

Lin Qiqi froze, unsure what he was up to, but she did as he asked.

"Director, my friend Da Fei would like a supporting role. Could you give him one?"

The director was taken aback. "Oh, Da Fei wants to make a cameo? Sure! It'd be an honor to have him on our Film Crew."

A cameo cost nothing and could add star power to the production, so naturally the director was happy to agree.

Besides, Da Fei had a good look. He could play anything.

"Come on, get him into makeup. Set Da Fei up to act opposite Zhilin in a little while!"

While Lin Chudong was getting made up, the director went over the scene with him.

"You're playing an immortal who lives in seclusion deep in the mountains. Zhilin is your junior, and he's coming to seek your guidance. Get familiar with your lines as quickly as you can."

Lin Chudong said, "Director, there are too many lines. I can't memorize them. Can't I just say whatever I want? If not, I'll recite numbers, too, and they can dub me in post."

The director nodded. "That works. You do have a lot of lines. Don't hold up Zhilin. Let's get through it as quickly as we can. Check the word count and just say the same number of words."

"You don't have to say numbers, either. These days, audiences can tell when you do that."

Lin Chudong said, "Got it, Director."

Soon it was Lin Chudong's turn. The scene was only about five minutes long, and he was playing an unimportant character in a cameo.

Lin Chudong sat in a chair. Li Zhilin strode into the scene, clasped his hands in greeting, and said,

"12, 123456!" The original script was something along the lines of, "Senior, I've come to pay my respects to you," and so on.

Though he was reciting numbers, Li Zhilin was still quite humble.

Lin Chudong stroked his fake beard and said,

"Go fuck your mother!"

Li Zhilin froze. "Fuck, are you cursing me out?"

The director hurriedly called cut.

Lin Chudong sneered. "Why do you care what I say? It was four words, wasn't it? Didn't you say that whatever I said wouldn't affect your emotions?"

"Let's hurry up and shoot this in one take. Getting so many retakes is pretty unprofessional, isn't it?"