Global Film Emperor

Chapter 69, "The Chief," premiered.

Since the advent of film, countless people have fallen in love with their roles, and most of them are method actors. This is because method actors use a brainwashing-like method to hypnotize themselves, immerse themselves in the role, and thus bring the character to life.

However, such relationships usually don't end well. Once the drama ends, the relationship also comes to an end, because the actor has already stepped out of that role, and the feelings for the lover naturally fade.

Jiang Wenshu made Lu Ze feel like he was projecting himself into the character of Tang Yufei, which was a terrible situation. She had become possessed, and she wouldn't wake up unless you directly exposed her wounds.

Now, something even worse has happened. In just three and a half months, she has moved from experiencing the sweetness of love in the drama to experiencing it in real life, and many people in the crew have noticed this trend.

This gave Lu Ze a huge headache, and he didn't know how to solve it. He could only choose to distance himself appropriately. He wasn't going to accept this relationship, after all, he had seen her and the senior executives of the investors in the past.

He doesn't have any kind of mental fastidiousness or virginity complex, but knowing and not knowing are two different things, and knowing and having seen are even more different.

This isn't just Lu Ze being a straight man. Put yourself in his shoes. If you switched places, if a girl saw a man who had previously been with a woman in her forties or fifties, who was overweight, and then turned around and pursued her, it would leave her with psychological trauma.

If we really got together, and then occasionally thought back on it, would we still be able to live like this?
Therefore, Lu Ze believes this relationship is unacceptable. He needs to remain rational. If he can endure this situation until the filming of this drama is completed and Jiang Wenshu gets out of the role of Tang Yufei, then this matter will be over.

"Hey Ze, I saw a really popular online restaurant, they have cheese steak. Do you have time tonight?"

Jiang Wenshu was a little hesitant, but her eyes were full of expectation as she looked at Lu Ze. Her voice was warm, and her hands behind her back were twisted into a pretzel shape, her heart filled with trepidation.

"I'm sorry, Wen Shu, I don't have any scenes to film this afternoon, so I'm going to the University of Political Science and Law to see my sister. How about Zhi Lin goes with you? Zhi Lin, do you have time tonight? You can go try it with Wen Shu."

Lu Ze was relieved to have someone to shield him, which prevented the atmosphere from becoming too awkward. Zhou Zhilin had been asleep in her seat. When Lu Ze reached out and touched her, she took the script off her face and looked at Lu Ze with a confused expression, not knowing what had happened.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Zhilin, Wenshu wants to eat cheese steak at a popular online restaurant, but I don't have time. So I'm asking if you want to go."

"Okay, I don't have anything to do tonight anyway, so I can go for a walk. Sigh, I'm actually hungry right now."

Lu Ze turned his gaze to Jiang Wenshu. Her smile was somewhat forced, but there were no tears welling up in her eyes like in melodramatic TV dramas. She just smiled, discussed with Zhou Zhilin what time to go out that evening, and then sat aside in a daze.

Lu Ze chose to leave and prepared to sit in the nanny car for a while. Shen Jinghan had been gone for almost a month, but the car was still left behind to pick up and drop off Lu Ze.

I had just gotten back to my car when my phone vibrated. I took it out and saw that it was a Weibo post from someone I had been following.

"Directed by Guo Mingde and starring Zheng Yi, Chen Zhijun, Song Guiyuan, and a host of other talented actors, 'My Chief and My Regiment' premieres on Yunnan TV! Two episodes air tonight at 7:30 PM! We're also giving away 88 red envelopes worth 88 yuan each on Weibo! Don't miss this great show!"

Lu Ze was very happy, not only because of himself. After all, his role in the whole play was not large, and the main characters were all powerful actors. With their extensive performances, it would be strange if he could stand out.

He was also happy for those actors, after all, none of them were big names. Apart from Mr. Yang Wenjin, who had won the Best Actor award, the others had some fame, but were still not known to the public. Lu Ze got along very well with them. Everyone was kind and didn't have the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry, so Lu Ze hoped that they could become famous.

Moreover, only when these people become popular can it be proven that there is still a place for talented actors in the domestic market, and that there is room for talented actors to survive.

With nothing to do in the afternoon, Lu Ze went straight back to the hotel. As for seeing his sister? That was just an excuse. It was quite far from the university, and it would take several hours to get there and back. What was the point of going there?
It would be better to go back to the hotel to rest, review the few scenes he still had, and watch "My Regiment" at 7:30 pm. At 7:30 pm, after the never-ending series finished airing and four commercials were shown, the opening theme song of "My Regiment" started playing. Just the sound of a female voice singing made Lu Ze, an actor who knew the plot, feel a little teary-eyed.

The opening sequence was rather rudimentary, even bordering on cheap special effects. Lu Ze chuckled to himself, knowing how poor the production team was; this opening sequence had probably already disappointed many people.

When the main feature begins, Lu Ze is already laughing when Veterinarian Hao slaps Kang Ya's mouth. This scene wasn't filmed while Lu Ze was on set; it must have been filmed before or after he arrived.

Seeing so many of his real-life friends transformed into Chinese soldiers from decades ago gave Lu Ze a sense of disorientation, which he found quite interesting.

The first person to amaze Lu Ze was not the young master played by Zheng Yi, nor the Mi Long played by Song Guiyuan, but the Commander Lin Yi played by Wang Pushen. As a Shanghainese, Lu Ze knew Wang Pushen as fair-skinned and manly, but his tearful appearance in the play completely overturned Lu Ze's preconceived notions.

What is this? This is acting!

Fourteen minutes later, Lu Ze saw himself, but it wasn't even a second later. The second person to amaze Lu Ze was Yu Xiaoqing, the guy from the mountains. He was the one who led the group to drink too much 80% of the time. In real life, he was a goofball, but he brought Yu Xiaoqing to life.

At this moment, Lu Ze showed his face again.
After watching both episodes, the characters in the script came to life, and the chaotic scenes from filming were rearranged and transformed into a proper story.

Even though it wasn't a very funny scene, Lu Ze laughed. Looking at the group of people on TV who were as dirty as rats, he felt a great sense of kinship.

I sent them all a text message, the main theme of which was always "congratulations," but there were also some jokes in the sentences. After a short while, someone replied and teased Lu Ze a few times, and then nothing more came up.

Once everyone left the film crew, there wasn't much to talk about anymore. Everyone had their own lives. Even though the main actors had lived together for several months, they didn't actually have a deep relationship, let alone any heart-to-heart talks.

The only thing we'll likely do is say "long time no see" when we meet again.

Lu Ze had already seen through it all and wasn't too disappointed, but he was still honored to participate in the filming of this drama.

Scrolling through the comments on Weibo, there weren't many replies. After all, war dramas have really been ruined by the times, so most of the people who are paying attention to this show are readers of the novel.

Fortunately, their feedback was very positive, which greatly comforted Lu Ze.

"I had read the original novel before, and when I learned that it was going to be adapted into a TV series, I was very worried that such an excellent novel would be ruined. When I watched the opening theme song, I felt a little disheartened. After watching half of the first episode, my heart returned to my stomach. After watching the two episodes, I felt completely relieved. Thank you to director Guo Mingde and all the main actors. Thank you for bringing the 'My Chief and My Regiment' to life for me."

"My grandfather and father asked me to come and praise this drama, so I came. I don't know where my father got the news that 'My Chief and My Regiment' was going to be made into a TV series. He and my grandfather have been thinking about it all the time. When I watched the drama, my grandfather and father praised it highly. Although I didn't understand some of it, I still felt impressed. Director Guo Mingde is really great."

After scrolling down and seeing nothing but praise, Lu Ze stopped scrolling. Suddenly, his stomach growled; he was a little hungry.

I checked the time and it was only a little past nine o'clock, so I got dressed and prepared to go downstairs for a bite to eat.

When he pushed open the door, he was stunned. Jiang Wenshu and Zhou Zhilin, who had just walked back in the corridor, were also stunned.

(End of this chapter)