The Magic Book Upgraded Again

Ju Shuangyuan probably knew Li Ping had a complicated past. Her ex-boyfriend had even come looking for him.

What made him furious was that Li Ping's past had spread through the village, turning him and the entire Ju Family into a laughingstock.

No man could bear that.

Especially not in a conservative rural village.

In everyone else's eyes, he might as well have had a forest of green hats on his head.

In fact, he had told Li Ping on their wedding night:

"Whatever happened in the city, don't talk about it in the village."

"It's nothing to be proud of."

But Li Ping had thought she and Pan Tao were close friends, the kind who could share secrets.

She had never expected Pan Tao to turn around and betray her.

Once a secret was told, it was no longer a secret.

Especially in a close-knit rural community.

The novel was even more explosive.

In the TV drama, Li Ping had only drunk with clients and lived with someone. In the novel, she had worked as an escort who offered sex.

Imagine what it did to the entire Ju Family to learn they had brought home a daughter-in-law like that.

As the divide between city and countryside narrowed, large numbers of young women left their villages to find work.

Some worked hard and earned an honest living.

Others found it hard to resist the lure of city nightlife.

Easier work, higher pay.

When they could earn money lying down, why would they choose work that made them bend their backs?

Before they knew it, they had gone down the wrong path.

They came home for New Year loaded with bags and dressed in the latest fashions.

If anyone asked, they said they had learned makeup, done nails, or sold clothes in the city.

Most importantly, as long as they kept quiet, no one would know.

They could still collect a bride price and marry an honest man.

Of course, Li Ping herself was not a bad person.

She had wanted to settle down and live a good life. Unfortunately, she had underestimated how people would react and overestimated Pan Tao's friendship.

"Cut. Don't look at her. Don't go over there, understand? Right now, you don't want to look at her. You're torn up inside..."

Shen Qi sat on the sofa while Kang Honglei crouched beside him, explaining where he had gone wrong.

For Ju Shuangyuan, this was the most emotionally complex scene in the entire drama.

If Shen Qi nailed it, the character would come to life.

If he failed, the whole thing would fall apart.

The director took the scene seriously too.

He broke it down bit by bit for Shen Qi and Pan Yuchen.

"Got it. I understand."

Shen Qi sighed inwardly and activated the Magic Book in his trouser pocket again.

Damn it. I'm going all in!

"Cut! That's a wrap. Brilliant!"

"Pan Yuchen, wake up! You're a trained actor. How is Shen Qi overpowering you?"

"Shen Qi, that was good!"

"That's how you do it. You've learned to take an idea and run with it."

"Keep going! While Shen Qi's on a roll, let's shoot the whole scene!"

Kang Honglei shouted at the top of his lungs.

Shen Qi's acting had suddenly leaped to another level.

It was unstoppable, as though he were possessed.

The shoot went so smoothly that the director could hardly believe it.

The rest of the crew sprang into action too.

There was no time to wonder why Shen Qi had suddenly figured it out. The sensible thing was to finish shooting while he was in form.

Pan Yuchen nearly failed to keep up with him.

Even so, viewers watching the scene would feel that Shen Qi had outshone her.

She had tried her hardest.

And yet...

Someone else could still surpass your best effort without even seeming to try.

What nobody knew was that Shen Qi was hurting inside.

He could not help it.

They had been shooting demanding scenes back-to-back, and the standard required of him was higher than usual.

He had no choice but to use the Magic Book repeatedly.

With the crew filming his scenes nonstop, he had no time to replenish what he had spent.

All that use had nearly drained the Magic Book.

The page he had just used was the "Guo Da card" he had been saving for last!

He had managed to record that page by sheer luck on the set of Judge of the Song Dynasty.

He had never been able to bring himself to use it.

Now that he had hit a wall with his performance, he could only use it through gritted teeth.

The sheer force of a sketch comedian's acting had hit like a truck.

How could it not be powerful?

Against someone like Pan Yuchen, it was an entirely different level.

Still, there was no point regretting it.

Out with the old, in with the new.

Fortunately, none of the scenes after this one were as difficult.

Even as he felt grateful for the Magic Book, a sense of urgency rose within him.

He had to improve his acting faster.

The Magic Book alone could not sustain him through such an intense workload.

Besides, with his acting still so weak, he could not record anyone truly accomplished.

Even if he watched a masterclass in person, he would not have the ability to capture it.

The opportunity could be right in front of him, and he still would not be up to it!

Recording Guo Da had been pure luck—Guo Da had botched his performance at the time, which was the only reason Shen Qi had succeeded.

Only by becoming stronger himself could Shen Qi record higher-level performances.

You Benchang, Li Xuejian, Tony Leung—he could record any of them whenever he wanted.

He could draw on all their strengths.

Perhaps one day, he might even surpass them.

During a break, Shen Qi hurriedly took out the Magic Book. He planned to ask Fan Ming about his upcoming performance.

Fan Ming played a farmer far better than he had played Constable Xing.

If Shen Qi did not hear Fan Ming talk through the scene first, his chances of recording him were tiny.

Besides, they were like brothers off-screen and father and son on-screen. Once they got into character, Fan Ming was happy to teach him.

If anyone on the crew could appreciate how much Shen Qi had improved, it was Fan Ming, who had worked with him before.

Back on My Own Swordsman, Shen Qi had needed retake after retake.

The director had had to guide him step by step.

Ji Wuming had not required especially sophisticated acting. He was much easier to play than Ju Shuangyuan.

Fan Ming had worried Shen Qi would be out of his depth.

He had not expected Shen Qi to improve so much.

To Fan Ming, that progress was no accident.

Few newcomers spent all day seeking out one person after another to learn from, the way Shen Qi did.

Shen Qi alone had come to Fan Ming for advice countless times.

And he kept a diary every day.

If someone like him did not improve, who would?

Fan Ming now thought of Shen Qi as a son, and he was proud of his drive.

What more could a father ask for in a son?

Shen Qi had no idea that Fan Ming, whom he considered an older brother, already thought of him as a son.

When he opened the Magic Book, he was astonished to discover that it had upgraded.

He had to put his plan to learn from Fan Ming on hold.

Name: Shen Qi

Date of birth: March 2, 1981

Height: 183 cm

Weight: 72 kg

Occupation: Supporting actor

Level: Sequence 8, Getting the Hang of It!

The first thing he did was count.

Sure enough, the number of parchment pages had risen to seven.

The seventh page had a mark meaning "all" in its upper-right corner.

It could record any skill.

Shen Qi's occupation had changed from extra to supporting actor, and his level had become Sequence 8.

Getting the Hang of It!

It meant he had finally grasped the basics of acting.

In fact, Shen Qi had made tremendous progress lately. He could now meet the director's demands in simpler scenes even without the Magic Book.

It was fair to say he had begun to get the hang of acting.

It might seem like a tiny step, but plenty of stars never managed to take it in their entire careers.

Some people had acted for twenty years, yet their debut remained their peak.

Shen Qi had managed it in two months, largely thanks to the Magic Book's help.

Of course, the directors he had worked with deserved some credit too. His apparent "knack" had amazed them, and they had taught him plenty.

"Shen Qi! Shen Qi!"

Zhang Yi came looking for him, calling his name.

"Over here!"

Shen Qi quickly stood and waved.

At the same time, he put the Magic Book away.

That was when something happened that made his scalp prickle!

The Magic Book had vanished!

Holy shit! This can't be happening!

The main reason Shen Qi had dared to take on Yin Zhiping was the confidence the Magic Book gave him.

As his acting grew stronger, he would eventually be able to erase any "shame" the role brought him.

Now one shout from Zhang Yi had made the Magic Book disappear.

What the hell am I supposed to do now?

Where did it go?

Where did that precious book of mine hide?

It didn't run off to find someone else, did it?

"Why do you look so awful?"

Zhang Yi came up to Shen Qi.

"N-nothing. I got too deep into the role. How did things go on your end?"

Shen Qi patted down his pockets again and again.

He was one step away from checking inside his underwear.

Fuck, don't do this to me. If it's really gone, am I going to have to become a gigolo?

Come out, precious!

The thought had barely formed when Shen Qi felt something appear in his hand.

He looked down. There was the Magic Book, right before his eyes.

Holy shit!

What kind of supernatural nonsense is this?

Is this a perk of reaching Sequence 8?

I can summon and dismiss the Magic Book with my mind?

Away you go, precious!

Come back, precious!

The Magic Book in Shen Qi's pants pocket appeared and disappeared whenever he summoned it.

The materialist worldview he had held for more than twenty years was shattered by the Magic Book.

Shen Qi couldn't stop playing with it!

It was so damn convenient.

No one else could see anything unusual about the Magic Book. To them, it was just an ordinary notebook.

But that was exactly the problem. Someone might casually take it to prop up a wobbly table.

They might even tear out its pages to wipe their ass.

There were bad people everywhere, and a film crew thrown together for a shoot never lacked weirdos or rotten apples.

Shen Qi could wear pants in some scenes, so he could just keep the Magic Book in his pocket.

But some "scenes" didn't let him wear pants at all. Where was he supposed to put the Magic Book then?

With so many people on set handling things, if it went missing, he would have no way to find it.

And if he blew up over it, people would say he was making a mountain out of a molehill.

It's just a notebook, isn't it?

The crew will buy you ten!

"What are you doing? Why's your hand in your pants pocket? What's with all the movement?"

Zhang Yi stared at him in shock.

It can't be what I think it is, can it?

Damn, bro, are you that pent up?

"Fuck, it's a notebook. You've seen it before."

Shen Qi understood the look in Zhang Yi's eyes.

There goes my reputation!