Chapter 40

In Wei Linxuan's words, it was already impressive enough that someone this dumb could make a decent film. What more did he want, a bicycle?

Remembering that, Lu Heng was afraid Mai Chengliang would make him learn Cantonese, so he immediately added, "I really like Hong Kong films. I can understand Hong Kong dialect, but I can't speak it."

"Boys your age generally love Hong Kong gunfight films. Pew pew pew, rat-a-tat-tat—so cool!" As Mai Chengliang spoke, he gestured with both hands, practically dancing around. He looked especially adorable.

He smiled as he sized up Lu Heng, looking rather like a creepy uncle trying to trick candy out of a child. "You can be that cool too. You just need to give up a little..."

Mai Chengliang held up four fingers and said with a grin, "Our film will probably start shooting next March, after the New Year. You have four months. How about losing ten jin?"

Lu Heng was only fourteen this year. He had a slender, lanky build and was about 1.67 meters tall, roughly matching the Fang described in the script.

However, because Lu Heng had practiced martial arts and exercised regularly since childhood, his physique and muscle definition were far clearer and more streamlined than those of his peers. Such a good body did not suit an addict's character setting, so if Lu Heng wanted to play Fang, he had to lose at least ten jin.

Ideally, he should be reduced to skin and bones. But when Mai Chengliang considered Lu Heng's looks, temperament, fighting skills, and acting—especially the savage ruthlessness he displayed when he got fierce—he was practically perfect for the role.

In order not to scare off this promising prospect he had his eye on, Mai Chengliang could only compromise and reluctantly propose the bare minimum.

Seeing that Lu Heng still showed no reaction, Mai Chengliang immediately tried to coax him. "It's actually not that hard. Just skip one meal a day and don't eat meat during the New Year. You're a real man, and you're going to be a hero. It's only a few pieces of meat. It won't kill you not to eat them."

Lu Heng stared expressionlessly at Mai Chengliang, who was doing his utmost to sweet-talk him.

The moment Lu Heng received the audition excerpt, he had already had a particularly bad feeling about this.

Director Mai's film was not some third-rate idol drama where standards were lax and anything went. Since the role he had gotten was an addict, then during actual filming, his appearance had to match an addict's traits.

He would have to be skinny as a rake, with a sallow complexion, terrible skin, a body that habitually trembled, vacant eyes, and the occasional neurotic twitch...

Why was it that after being reborn, his first role was a sissy, and his second was an ugly addict? The roles were already so ugly, yet they still kept demanding more and more from his acting!

In his previous life, he had clearly played nothing but cool, handsome, aloof human hormones who only needed to fight beautifully and never had to worry about acting!

Lu Heng felt utterly drained, and for a moment, he could not help doubting Huaxia Imperial Entertainment's... feng shui!

Didn't people say feng shui took turns? Could it be that Huaxia Imperial Entertainment's feng shui at this point... was clashing with his?

As Lu Heng secretly spiraled into wild thoughts, Mai Chengliang saw that he remained silent and began to worry that he could not accept such a strict requirement as losing weight.

If some ordinary young actor dared to put on airs in front of him, Mai Chengliang would not even bother talking to them and would simply find someone else. Like Ji Wenxi, the popular idol who had auditioned for Fang earlier—when they could not come to an agreement, he had left immediately.

But Lu Heng was different. First, he was young, only fourteen. Most people in the industry knew that the hardest actors to handle were not big-name stars throwing their weight around, but animals and children. You could not judge their reactions using normal human logic; you could only coax them, watch their moods, and seize the right moment to shoot. Second, Lu Heng's looks, temperament, fighting skills, and acting were simply too perfect for Fang. Mai Chengliang truly could not bear to give him up.

He was afraid he would not find anyone more suitable later.

Mai Chengliang gave Liu Jiawei a meaningful look: You brought him here. Now that I want him, you need to help me get him.

Liu Jiawei had not expected things to develop this way either.

When he had recommended Lu Heng to Mai Chengliang, he had merely wanted to give it a try. On one hand, he wanted to do Mai Chengliang a favor; on the other, he was in the habit of giving newcomers a hand. He had never expected Lu Heng's on-the-spot explosiveness to be so strong that a single audition would stun everyone present.

What he had expected even less was that Mai Chengliang would take a liking to Lu Heng, only for Lu Heng to get stuck at the hurdle of losing weight.

Still, Lu Heng could not be blamed for that. When Liu Jiawei had told him about the audition, he had only said that Lu Heng was coming to Hong Kong to audition for a role in Director Mai's new work, without mentioning any specific requirements. When Mai Chengliang's assistant called Huaxia Imperial Entertainment, he had not said much for confidentiality reasons either. He had simply asked Lu Heng to audition for the second male lead.

This was Mai Chengliang's second male lead!

Although the production team had been vague, with Mai Chengliang and Liu Jiawei's reputations standing guarantee, asking one of their company's young newcomers to audition could hardly be some scam. So Huaxia Imperial Entertainment did not ask further questions and sent Lu Heng over directly.

Thinking about it now, they should have said more from the start. At least then Lu Heng could have prepared himself.

Just as Mai Chengliang was racking his brains to persuade Lu Heng, Lu Heng came back to himself and nodded. "No problem."

"Well, actually..." Mai Chengliang had been desperately searching for the right words when he heard Lu Heng's reply. He froze, unable to process it at first. "What?"

"Losing ten jin isn't a problem for me," Lu Heng repeated.

Wasn't it just skipping one meal a day? Wasn't it just not eating meat during the New Year? What was the big deal? A real man... Sob... If this weren't Mai Chengliang's work, if I weren't doing it to act with Liu Jiawei and Wang Zhen, if I didn't currently have no popularity, no status, and no money... I would never agree to this QAQ.

In his previous life, Lu Heng had barely used stunt doubles while filming. Even injuries and broken bones had not made him frown much. Yet the Lu Heng who feared poor food and going hungry more than anything else accepted the role of Fang with a heart full of bitterness. Director Mai, pleased, instructed the crew to contact Lu Heng's agency and arrange the contract, while personally explaining the role to Lu Heng and telling him how to prepare for playing Fang.

He hoped that before the production began filming, Lu Heng could find an opportunity to visit a rehabilitation center himself. Ideally, he would use the script as a basis to write Fang's character biography.