Chapter 36

After that test, Xie Yibai gained a profound appreciation of the gulf between people.

He would avoid angering Zou Yan. Even without outside help, the man could make him pay dearly.

Since he was an actor and couldn't go out in the sun whenever he pleased and damage his looks, Zou Yan couldn't take him out on the sea in a small boat. Instead, Zou Yan took his surfboard out and spent the whole morning playing by himself.

Once he'd had his fill, he rinsed the salty smell of seawater off his body, put on a pair of beach shorts, and came to find him under the parasol, a printed shirt draped over his shoulders.

One benefit of coming to the beach was that Xie Yibai got to see Zou Yan's assets for himself-he really did have a great body. Compared with the fair, well-built men in bars and nightclubs, he preferred this naturally developed leanness and agility. Every muscle was full of life, and his movements were swift.

There was something very animalistic about him, and he was full of hormones.

Zou Yan had barely settled into a beach chair when a restaurant server brought him a cocktail with ice and a slice of lemon.

"Xiaobai, you should get some sun too," Zou Yan suggested after taking a drink of the iced cocktail. "If you stop acting in costume dramas someday, it won't matter if you get a little darker."

"But my fans like me because I'm fair and clean-cut." He didn't have the most fans, but they were a formidable fighting force, cutting down everyone in their path outside the fandom and keeping his studio in line every day. Whenever they were dissatisfied with his styling, everyone from the photographer to the makeup artist got an earful.

His team's stylist had even complained to A Chu that those fighting fans were too vicious with their insults and asked if they could give it a rest. A Chu had said, "What can we do? Our boss is a traffic star, and his fans are the ones who put food on our table. Even if we don't listen to them, we can't let them down."

"Where do you think all that organic fan promotion comes from? The fans edit the videos, retouch the pretty pictures, clean up the search plaza, and tirelessly get the anti-fan and hardcore anti-fan search terms taken down. Your boss's looks have reached such a wide audience because the fans put in the work to brainwash passersby. Take it when they curse you out. Make your boss look beautiful next time, and they'll cheer you on and give you an extra chicken leg."

The actors Zou Yan had worked with in the past fell into only two categories: skilled performers famous for their solid acting and gifted performers with outstanding qualities. Neither type had particularly close ties to their fan base. Only actors limited by their own abilities needed to trade on traffic to land roles.

Of course, there were also plenty of cases where traffic stars used the boost from their stardom to squeeze out more capable performers.

Xie Yibai's concern was new to Zou Yan. He said, "But you can't box yourself in when you're only in your twenties. Or have you still not given up on acting in costume idol dramas?"

"It has nothing to do with the kinds of roles I play. I just don't look good tanned!" Xie Yibai made a living off his face and had a firm grasp of his strengths and weaknesses. He simply had a youthful, clean, and cute look.

Fair skin was necessary for that clean look. That was what it meant to understand his audience's aesthetic preferences precisely.

"I'm not asking you to tan yourself until you look Southeast Asian. Getting more sun is good for your health." Zou Yan grabbed one of his wrists. "Look how pale and skinny you are."

"I work hard to stay this way!" Xie Yibai insisted. "If I weren't skinny, would you be able to carry me?"

Zou Yan boasted, "Even if you gained another thirty jin, I could still carry you."

"I don't want to. I like being skinny," Xie Yibai said stubbornly.

His complexion was only the most basic part of his maintenance routine. He also had to manage his figure, and his approach to fitness was the opposite of most people's. He couldn't build bulky muscles, much less lift weights, because a thicker neck and stronger arms would spoil his figure.

To give a costume drama the right texture, attention had to be paid to layers of fabric. Once those layers were on, they added twenty jin on camera. His naturally slender frame wasn't frail, though; it was graceful and elegant, like an egret or a crane.

A director had once said that a beautiful youth was rarer than a handsome man and would rather change a character's conception than sacrifice his uniquely youthful, slender beauty.

People online often trashed him as a weakling, saying he didn't work out and lacked professional ethics. It was a complete fabrication! He exercised frequently, and because his body fat was low, he also had nicely toned abs. He absolutely refused to be called weak. He might not be able to carry Zou Yan, but carrying an actress he was working with was well within his abilities.

Still, when it came to netizens, whatever they said you were, that was what you were. Trying to prove yourself would only make you a joke.

He asked Zou Yan, "Brother Yan, am I boring you by coming along? I don't know how to do anything... I can't join you."

"No. I like the activities themselves, not having someone to do them with." Zou Yan teased him without malice. "You're taking me for one of those show-offs again, aren't you? The kind who do difficult sports to show off and play the expert."

At the mention of show-offs, Xie Yibai thought of Sheng Ke. Indeed, when it came to putting on airs, who could outdo the Little Great Director?

He asked, "Then which friends do you usually like to invite to exercise with you?"

Zou Yan said, "There's no set group. I do it with coaches most often. Who's more professional than a coach? If I make a mistake, he can save me."

Xie Yibai said, "Doesn't Director Ke come with you? I remember you two were inseparable."

"He and I don't get along in every respect. The sports he loves are pretty niche. After his mom divorced his dad, didn't she marry an Englishman? That Englishman taught him to play polo and ice hockey. He loved them when he was in school, but after he started working, he no longer had time. He still loves riding horses, though, and often goes to Inner Mongolia to see his little red horse. I say he's too controlling and has to have something to command." Zou Yan changed the subject. "Why are you asking about him? Do you miss him?"

Xie Yibai glared. "Who misses him? I just thought it was strange that you two don't see each other often anymore. It couldn't be because of what I said that time, could it...?"

"He's busy with movies, and I'm busy with web dramas. How could our work keep us together? If we don't see each other often, we don't. It's not like we're conjoined twins." Zou Yan had rested long enough. He put his feet on the ground, slipped on his flip-flops, and pulled on his printed short-sleeved shirt. "Come on, let's eat. I'm hungry."

Xie Yibai put on his sun-protective jacket and bucket hat and followed. He hooked his fingers around Zou Yan's and glanced around. "No one's secretly taking pictures, right?"

Zou Yan took off his hat and spun it around on the tip of his index finger. "There are no paparazzi here. You don't need to cover yourself up so thoroughly. Besides, even if someone got a picture, no one would dare publish it, unless they didn't want to stay in the business."

"You're pretty confident, aren't you? Do you really think everyone's afraid of you?" Xie Yibai clutched at the ends of his hair, which had been mussed up.

"They're not afraid of me. What would they gain by publishing something like that? We're just holding hands. What does that prove?" Zou Yan was broad-minded. He put an arm around Xie Yibai's shoulders and said, "This is just normal physical contact. If they've got the guts, they can plant a bug on me, and I'll sue them until they spend the rest of their life in prison."

Xie Yibai said, "But Brother Yan, your arm is really heavy. It's tiring having it draped over my shoulder, and it's hot."

Zou Yan put the hat back on his head, slapped the brim down over his eyes, and ran off ahead.

Xie Yibai took off the hat and watched Zou Yan run away, then chased after him angrily.

How old was he? And he was still playing elementary-school tricks!

After nightfall, the ocean was like a monster lurking in a deep trench, staring hungrily at the shore. Its breath drove the waves against the rocks. The moon hid beneath the dark hair of the goddess of night, and all was quiet and dim, with only scattered lights twinkling from the buildings on the island.

Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows was an infinity pool, enclosed by tropical plants that formed a barrier against the outside world. Xie Yibai sat absentmindedly at the water's edge, submerged up to his knees. He lifted his feet and stirred the water, sending ripples kissing against his skin. Cold gradually seeped into the soles of his feet and spread up his limbs. He lifted his legs out and got up, leaving a trail of wet footprints as he walked toward the lit interior.

Zou Yan had booked a presidential suite with a beautiful, spacious living room. He tossed a cushion onto the carpet, sat on it with his computer in his lap, and held a video conference with several other producers.

A film or television production might hire several producers, who divided the work and collaborated, each contributing their own expertise, like the foundation of a tower.

Zou Yan planned the overall direction of a project and handed it over to his deputy, who broke down the tasks for each area and assigned them to people in different positions, advancing the project on multiple fronts at once.

If creation was likened to building a tower, the screenwriter's duty was to draw up the plans, the director was the main beam, and the actors were the individual bricks and tiles. The performances the three parties produced together, with scene piled upon scene, formed the completed work: a film or television drama.

Without the solid foundation laid by the producers, however, none of those results would be possible.

Producing was also like painting on paper, except that the tools were resources and connections.

The task Zou Yan faced was creating something from nothing. Drafting the framework was complicated and full of details: developing and planning the concept, deciding on the principal creative team, and securing financing and filming permits.

Once that draft took shape, it was time to make the arrangements. The execution of the middle and later stages would be left to the staff under him, while the chief producer took the position of overall commander, overseeing everyone's progress.

While Zou Yan was in the meeting with his colleagues, he also checked and answered emails whenever he wasn't speaking. He was busy but orderly, clearly long accustomed to this pace of work.

Xie Yibai picked a corner where the camera couldn't see him and curled up on the sofa to play Switch. But his fascination with games had its limits. After an hour, he found it boring, and his neck ached and his eyes felt strained.

Zou Yan's meeting still wasn't over.

He felt around in the gap between the sofa cushions and found his phone. No game was as much fun as his phone.

Xie Yibai was still refreshing his Moments feed when Yin Ran's voice call abruptly interrupted the screen. He ran out to the pool by the window and hurriedly answered-

"Hello?"

"Xiao Xie, you passed the audition for Lin Wen. The director has decided to cast you."

He was forgetful, and it took him a while to dredge the role of Lin Wen out of a corner of his memory: the second male lead in the urban romance film "There's Always Someone in the World Who Will Love You," opposite the famous actress An Fei.

Xie Yibai covered his mouth, not daring to believe it, and ventured, "Really? I don't need a second or third audition?"

"Mm, no need. You've got the part," Yin Ran said concisely. "I'll have them contact A Chu about the schedule and script. Practice your lines when you have time. Also, I won't be going with you on the day you join the production. The other actors in this production are all your seniors, and they're very good, so pay attention and learn from them. We're complete newcomers to filmmaking, so be humble and open to instruction, and try to leave a good impression on the director. I have something else to attend to, so I can't chat any longer. If you have any questions, send me a message on WeChat, and I'll call you back when I see it."