Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 490 Always cheating, always having a blast
At the port terminal in the dark of night, a long line of vans slowly drove onto the docked cargo ship.

Wong Tze-wah sat silently smoking in a Nissan with its lights off by the roadside some distance away.

The crimson cigarette butt in his hand flickered in the darkness.

As a second- or third-tier actor in the Hong Kong entertainment industry who was once labeled a "box office poison," he cherishes this important role more than anyone else at the age of 50.

Even before the drama was fully prepared, the Hong Kong entertainment industry was abuzz with rumors, some true, some false. He initially just listened to them. But who knew that those seemingly unbelievable rumors would later become reality one after another.

It really was a joint operation between Galaxy Impression and Chen Nuo.
It's truly 100% Hollywood funding.
Each episode truly had a production budget exceeding one million US dollars.

It really won't be broadcast in China; it will be directly released on streaming services in Europe and America, targeting an international audience.

For this drama, they really spent tens of millions to build a brand new film studio in San Po Kong.

In addition to Johnnie To overseeing the project, they also invited Zhang Yimou, Ann Hui, and other renowned directors to serve as episode directors.

It’s also true…

During auditions, they don't consider fame, status, or past box office performance; they only look at the acting and the actor's talent.

He got the role because of that.

It's worth noting that hundreds of actors auditioned, many of whom were big stars who had never acted in a TV series before and were full-time movie stars. He, a struggling actor who had only played minor supporting roles at TVB in recent years, didn't even have the ambition to audition. But who would have thought that after mustering the courage to go, and going through three rounds of auditions, he would ultimately land this significant role?

If I don't perform well this time, I'll be stuck being a loser for life.

Thinking of this, Wong Chi-wah's gaze became even more solemn, more like that of a police officer investigating the disappearance of a relative, with the deep worry in his eyes becoming more and more obvious.

After a while, Wong Chi-wah saw that no new vans were coming, so he checked the gun under his arm, got out of the van, and carefully crouched down as he made his way through the darkness.

Under the light, the ground he passed by at that moment appeared a vibrant red.

Is the ground red on the dark dock?

You mean it was illuminated by the ship's lights?
A smuggling vessel, operating from a secret dock, was flashing bright red lights, seemingly determined to avoid detection by the Hong Kong Coast Guard. This was an absolutely ingenious design; no ordinary person could possibly conceive of such a thing.

Wong Tze-wah genuinely didn't understand why the art director had made that arrangement.

However, he suddenly remembered who was sitting in front of the monitor and suddenly felt relieved.

Zhang Yimou, by breaking with convention and making the dark ground appear the color of blood, uses it as a metaphor for the underlying fate of the policeman "Huang Ziren" played by Wong Tze-wah... Then all the film critics in China, no matter how harsh they were originally, should just laugh it off and ignore the rationality of it.

Similarly, Zhang Yimou's films are definitely much more realistic than TVB's. Using thirty people to represent an army of three hundred thousand, with one person fighting against ten thousand, and assuming the audience's eyes are compound eyes—that kind of thing is impossible in his movies.

More than fifty vans transporting the game's participants lined up one after another, forming a long queue that stretched from the cargo ship into the darkness, creating a spectacular sight. It was sure to give Reed Hastings a clear idea of ​​where his dollars had gone.

And so, against the backdrop of scarlet, Wong Tze-wah slowly approached the last van and silently slid under it.

One van after another drove onto the cargo ship leased from COSCO Group's Hong Kong branch. As the last van pulled up, the ship's stern deck slowly rose, and like a giant beast, it gradually left the dock and disappeared into the darkness.

The third episode of "The Eagle Catches the Chickens" thus begins.

The cargo ship continued its voyage across the ocean, its hold filled with vans.

At the command of the triangular-masked leader, the van doors opened.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Wong Tze-wah climbed up from under the car into the van.

Luckily, there was an empty seat in the carriage. He stepped on a dark figure on the floor and immediately sat down.

However, when the masked NPC began checking the identities of everyone inside the car, he couldn't hide his identity. Thus, a silent battle between the police and the criminals in the dark quickly unfolded.

Here, various lights and colors still intertwine. Red clothes, black metal masks, yellow deck lights—the fighting movements, whether professional or not, are still exceptionally visually appealing.

After a fierce fight, Wong Chi-wah finally defeated the masked henchman and stripped him of his clothes, putting them on himself.

After the other vehicles finished checking the passengers' identities and the NPCs left the cargo hold and went up to the deck, Wong Chi-wah, who had changed into a masked man's clothes, opened the car door, preparing to throw the NPC from before into the sea to destroy the evidence.

But the man's body got stuck in the gap between the van seats, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pull him out.

Just as Wong Tze-wah was extremely anxious, a voice came from the floor inside the car. It was the person he had stepped on earlier—

"Officer, do you need any help?"

……

……

"Hey kid, I feel like you're different from before?" Qin Pei looked him up and down.

"No, sir."

"Yes," Qin Pei said definitively. "Something must have happened to you. Never mind, it's none of my business. Hey, little rascal, how about we form an alliance?"

Chen Nuo was taken aback for a moment, "Huh?"

Qin Pei said irritably, "What 'huh'? Look at all these people here, everyone wants to win. How can we manage without sticking together? Look at that Dongxing boss, he's got so many underlings. What if they bully you later?"

The long-arm camera was raised.

If Ann Hui excels at portraying delicate emotions and the inner world of her characters, then Zhang Yimou's directing style has always been characterized by its grand scale and sweeping scope.

The camera zooms out, revealing a vast and technologically advanced enclosed space.

The bright light gave the entire space a stark white color.

Stacks of bunk beds, one after another, were piled up all around.

In this film studio, more than 100 extras are arranged like chess pieces, moving or still according to their predetermined positions.

Some lay in bed, fast asleep. Others sat alone in a corner, looking dazed and muttering to themselves. Still others paced nervously back and forth, as if anxiously waiting for something. Many more gathered in small groups, talking in hushed tones, their expressions ranging from worried and distressed to excited and agitated.

The group with the largest number of people was undoubtedly the one centered around Francis Ng. Many people wanted to join this powerful group, and a long queue formed in front of him.

Francis Ng coldly looked at the person in front of him, nodding or shaking his head.

Laughing Gor (Michael Tse) standing next to him spoke up for him:
"Get out of here, grandpa! You're so old and you're still playing games? Do you want to die even faster?"

"You look like a dead ghost. Why don't you take a piss and look in the mirror? You ugly thing, get lost."

"You... Brother Kun said you can go, go ahead."

"You gossip, you still want to hang out with Handsome Kun? Get lost."

"Pretty girl, not bad. Go on over there. You'll have to thank Brother Kun properly tonight, okay?"

Let's switch gears back to this side.

Qin Pei said, "See? They only want strong, healthy men and beautiful women. They wouldn't even look at a weakling like you. Hey, if you team up with me, I can be your backer and stand up for you if they bully you."

Chen Nuo turned his head and looked at Qin Pei with a complicated expression.

Qin Pei immediately became enraged and said, "Why are you looking at me like that? Are you looking down on me? Come on, want to have a fight?"

“It’s not an old man.” Chen Nuo blinked, his cheeks twitching. “I was just wondering, is reality really that cruel? In the end, so many people actually came back here.”

He looked up at the display screen hanging on the wall, which showed that there were 187 participants.

Qin Pei paused for a moment, then raised the corner of his mouth, revealing a half-smile.

But it was only for a moment, and he reverted to his original rude manner, saying, "What do you know? This is Hong Kong. Many people live a life worse than the eighteenth level of hell. Do you want to team up with me or not? If you don't, I'm going to go find that pretty girl over there..."

After saying that, he called out loudly, "Hey, pretty lady, come here for a second. Yes, it's you. Come here for a second, I need to talk to you."

Then, Gulnazar walked over from off-camera with a blank expression and said in Mandarin, "What is it?"

Qin Pei switched to Cantonese-accented Mandarin, "Beautiful lady, are you from the mainland?"

“Yes.” Gulnazar nodded, looking Qin Pei up and down.

Then, his eyes darted around, and he looked at Chen Nuo beside him, saying expressionlessly, "You rascal, I've run into you again."

During the filming of this scene, Chen Nuo, who hadn't been in character for a long time, burst into laughter.

There's no way to put it, Gulnazar's acting skills can only be described as indescribable.

It's not Gulnazar's fault. She really only took a few days of acting classes. To expect to truly hear, see, and feel something in such a short time is just wishful thinking.

However, the female protagonist in the original "Squid Game" was just an amateur player with a blank expression.

But if we switch to the supporting characters in "The Eagle Catches the Chickens"...

Acting skills are no longer important.

……

……

The plot has developed to this point—

The male protagonist, an elderly man with a terminal illness who seems to be hiding a secret, and a beautiful but naive young lady form a classic "trio" in the dramatic structure.

The original "Squid Game" also features a multi-person group, consisting of the honest and simple protagonist Cheng Qixun, the mysterious and taciturn North Korean defector Jiang Xiao, the scheming old man No. 001, the highly intelligent Cheng Qixun's childhood friend Shang You, and a foolish Indian man.

The comparison between the two is quite interesting.

The original combination is a classic "foolish male lead + high-powered supporting character" structure found in many American, Japanese and Korean dramas.

Just like Sasuke and Naruto, Ikki and Seiya, Emma Watson and Harry Potter, and Edward Cullen and Bella Swan in Twilight.

The protagonist is a foolish, weak, and emotional person, while the supporting characters around him are the ones who truly drive the plot and are responsible for maintaining emotional balance and key plot twists.

Influenced by traditional Western classical drama, in the works of many Western playwrights, the protagonist is often set up as an "empty cup," responsible for bearing the audience's emotional projection, while the real driving force of the conflict and the source of the narrative power are hidden in the supporting characters.

However, in the Hong Kong version of "The Eagle Catches the Chicken", the scriptwriting trio of Yau Nai-hoi, Wai Ka-fai and Pang Ho-cheung did not intend to take this route from the beginning for some obvious reasons.

Therefore, the final structure is one where the main character is extremely powerful and the supporting characters serve the main character's growth.

The protagonist, Xie Jiajun, is actually a typical male protagonist in a wish-fulfillment novel.

Although he was foolish and impulsive at first, as the plot unfolds, his hidden intelligence, strong initiative, and even extraordinary character are revealed.

In the story, this person gradually transforms from a crazy guy into a big shot, which is more like a Chinese-style reverse-slapping and satisfying novel, following the "don't underestimate a young person's potential" approach.

Even Chen Nuo, who doesn't read much and has a low level of education, found the script so captivating that he read it in one go.

In this setting, the protagonist's charm naturally surpasses that of all supporting characters. Just like Wei Xiaobao in "The Deer and the Cauldron," he is the result of Jin Yong writing books all his life, finally achieving enlightenment in the last book, and then starting to write "feel-good" novels.

For this reason, a strong protagonist is the core and key to all the plots. So theoretically, even if all the supporting characters in this season die, the next season can still be filmed, and the ratings will not be greatly affected.

This is actually the key reason why Netflix reluctantly accepted it.

“Lorraine, I have bad news for you. Ted Sarandos… that idiot is up to his old tricks again, spreading rumors everywhere.”

"Oh? What did he say?"

"He said our script was very thin, like a children's book. The male lead was too detached from reality, like a protagonist in a fairy tale, always having a smooth life and no depth. And all the supporting roles were unfamiliar faces... He actually dared to say we could only attract Chen's fans, not adult audiences, and that we had no chance of success!"

"That idiot."

"Yes, he really is. I used to think he was handsome, but now I see his true colors. He's just a backstabbing scoundrel. I feel like throwing up whenever I see him. Shit!"

"Does Reed know? What did he say?"

“Reed definitely knows, because that idiot Ted tells everyone he meets, but Reed didn’t say anything. Well, I think Reed still trusts you.”

"..."

"Luo Rui." "What?"

"I haven't seen the script. Is what that idiot Ted Sarandos is saying true?"

"...Haha, how could that be? Alright, I have to go to the set. Lisa, get some rest."

"Okay then, bye."

"Bye."

This phone call that morning left Rory Eisner in a very bad mood when she arrived on set with her translator and assistant.

Although she maintained her usual politeness and greeted the staff with a smile, the news from the company weighed heavily on her mind like a stone.

Ted Sarandos's words pinpointed a deep-seated worry she had long been unwilling to confront.

A protagonist like Xie Jiajun is indeed extremely rare in today's popular TV series in Europe and America.

He faces no moral dilemmas, experiences no psychological trauma, doesn't have lost his mother, and doesn't have a terminal illness. This character design is almost the complete opposite of the protagonists currently popular in Europe and America.

For example, last year's hit series "Game of Thrones", "Breaking Bad", Rick from "The Walking Dead", Don Draper from "Mad Men", or even lighter-hearted shows with similar intellectual protagonists, like "The Big Bang Theory" or "Criminal Minds".

Each of the main characters is characterized by a distinct personality disorder, social impairment, emotional deficiency, or family predicament.

There wasn't a single good person among them.

The resonance with Western audiences seems to be built on their imperfections, evoking empathy.

But Xie Jiajun is different.

He was intelligent, handsome, and kind. Although the aftereffects of cerebral palsy could be considered a medical condition, they were insignificant compared to his many virtues.

Ultimately, this protagonist is a "perfect person" from a dramatic perspective.

Can this kind of protagonist evoke a sense of identification and resonance in the audience?

Lori Eisner wasn't actually absolutely certain.

What Ted Sarandos said was also a thought that was deep in her heart, in some corner of her mind.

As a graduate of Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, she also grew up reading Shakespeare and enjoyed experiencing the complex and profound human struggles between the pages of his books.

So she decided to come back today and see it for herself again.

"Good morning, Director Zhang."

Good morning, Ms. Luo Rui.

"What are we filming today? Can I watch here for a while?"

"We've been filming the last part of the third episode these past two days, finally... Of course, no problem, please feel free to do as you please."

After exchanging a few words with the translator and director, Lori Eisner pulled up a chair and sat down.

After a while, everything was ready and filming officially began.

Rory Eisner watched the footage on the monitor with Zhang Yimou, and through a translator, she understood the lines of the various characters and the ongoing plot.

Amazingly, as time went by, she unconsciously forgot the heavy burden she had been carrying in her heart.

……

……

"What should we do? Little madman, what does this mean? How should we choose?" Qin Pei asked worriedly.

This is the second part of the game's preparation phase.

The contestants stared at the large spinning wheel hanging on the wall, discussing it animatedly. The wheel had only four patterns, distributed in four directions. They were:

Square, triangle, star, and umbrella.

"What are they planning?"

"What game is it?"

"Which one should I choose?"

Whispers came from off-camera, and Chen Nuo's expression changed instantly.

This "smart look" was something he practiced many times in front of the mirror. He discovered that if he deliberately drooped his eyes a little in front of the camera, and lowered the corners of his eyes and mouth, then at certain times, when he opened his eyes wide, pursed his lips, and slightly furrowed his brows, he could give people the impression of "Wow, he looks different."

So far, this tactic seems to be working quite well.

Making that expression, as if deep in thought, Chen Nuo said after two seconds, "Choose something simple. A square or a triangle."

"Really?" Gulnazar glanced at her sideways, looking incredulous. "How do you know?"

At that moment, a female voice came from loudspeakers all around, "Now, please come up in order of your numbers and spin the wheel to choose your own pattern. First up is contestant number 001."

"Hey, you little rascal. I'm going. I believe you, okay? Don't joke around, or I'll haunt you even after I die!" Qin Pei said, but when he went up to spin the wheel, he still gently flicked it so that the pointer stopped on the square.

It feels like a spinning wheel, but it's actually just a selection process.

After all, there are only four patterns: up, down, left, and right. For a normal person, controlling where the pointer goes is very simple.

Huang Zhiming's camera lingered for a few seconds on Chen Nuo's trembling fingers, then slowly moved up, framing his and Gulnazar's faces in the center of the shot.

Gulnazar's clothes have the number 365 written on them.

The girl looked at Chen Nuo's face with disdain and said, "I'm not like the old man; I don't believe you at all."

Chen Nuo said seriously, "I'm not lying to you, I think we should choose a simpler pattern."

"Hehe." Gulnazar gave a cold laugh with a disbelieving look on her face.

To be honest, she's quite adept at making that expression. After all, she's been beautiful since childhood, and when faced with a plethora of self-important suitors, she often makes this face to tell them to get lost.

"Don't think you can control me. Let me tell you, the only reason I'm willing to temporarily team up with you is because the old man is quite interesting. Don't think I've forgotten what happened that day, you scoundrel, get lost." After saying that, Gulnazar turned around and left to join the queue.

Chen Nuo, standing behind her, murmured something.

"If I remember correctly, he knows the game's details, right?" Rory Eisner turned her head and asked the translator.

The female translator, who was in her thirties, nodded with certainty and said, "Yes, it was the scene we filmed last week. A few hours before he arrived here, he met with the policeman who had infiltrated the area disguised as an NPC. He learned about the game's content, but he promised the policeman that he needed to keep it a secret and not tell anyone."

After listening, Rory Eisner watched Gulnazar's retreating figure on the monitor and said, "Then I think this girl will regret it. Soon."

The translator said, "Yes, I think so too."

as predicted.

Soon, Gulnazar's proud and disdainful expression turned into one of shock and disbelief.

She was holding a round piece of candy in her hand.

It was exactly the same food she ate at the school gate when she was a child.

Back then, the spinning wheel was decorated with the twelve zodiac animals. Whatever the wheel landed on, the vendor would draw a sugar figurine of that animal. The biggest and best one was the dragon, but very few people landed on it, and even fewer managed to eat it whole.

Because these candies are very brittle and thin, they can easily break. When a child excitedly walks down the street with a dragon in their hand, a gust of wind or a bite might turn the dragon into a little rabbit.

Now, the pattern on the thin, fragile candy in her hand is an umbrella.

Meanwhile, the loudspeaker announced: "The shapes you hold are the sugar figurines you must ultimately retrieve. You have ten minutes. If you retrieve all the shapes within ten minutes, you pass the level. Now, let the game begin!"

"Should we change it?"

In the video, Gulnazar looks at the intricate umbrella pattern on the candy in her hand, her face almost breaking into tears, when a voice suddenly comes from off-camera.

"What?" The woman suddenly looked up.

Chen Nuo appeared in the shot.

In the video, the candy he's holding has a simple square pattern drawn on it.

The young man, who had recently been looked down upon and distrusted, said earnestly, "I just asked them, and they can exchange information with each other."

"Really?" Gulnazar asked in a daze.

Chen Nuo nodded and said, "Really."

"But why?"

"Because...we came as a team."

Looking at Gulnazar's almost tearful expression on the monitor, Rory Eisner felt a little regretful.

She didn't want to watch the rest of the filming.

She knew what was going to happen next.

For Xie Jiajun, who is known for his introverted wisdom, the competition was already over when he found out what the game was three hours in advance.

Even if he were a man holding an umbrella for others, he wouldn't get wet in the rain.

He will eventually resolve the crisis and perfectly retrieve the umbrella by licking the candy.

Prior to this, Lori Eisner felt that the script was written this way, which made her feel like something was missing.

How could the protagonist complete the mission without suffering or hardship? How could the supporting characters endure suffering while the protagonist helps them? Shouldn't it be the other way around? And yet, the protagonist completes the mission so easily, as if it were as simple as eating and drinking?

Isn't that too boring?

But now, her thoughts have changed.

If Rory Eisner were to identify with a Chinese reader who enjoys online novels, she would know that her current feeling of complete comfort, like having drunk a bowl of steaming hot chicken soup, is called—

It's fun to cheat for a while, and it's always fun to cheat all the time.

Lorraine Eisner suddenly found herself eagerly anticipating how the show would ultimately turn out.

She had been sitting for most of the day, and even ate a boxed lunch at the film set for lunch. Her buttocks and stomach weren't feeling very good.

So Luo Rui pushed her chair back and stood up.

"Miss Luo Rui, are you leaving?"

“Yes, Director.” After listening to the translator’s words, Rory Eisner said, “Although I would also like to stay, the constant NGs and reshoots are really affecting my viewing experience. I don’t want the novelty of watching the show for the first time to disappear here. I plan to wait until it officially airs to watch it.”

"Hahahaha. So that's how it is."

Rory Eisner smiled politely as she watched Zhang Yimou laugh heartily. After the old man finished laughing, she was about to say goodbye, but a sudden pang of regret welled up in her heart.

Although she knew this was definitely beyond the producer's purview, she still couldn't help but ask, "By the way, Director Zhang, could I offer a personal suggestion regarding that performance just now?"

"Oh? Okay, go ahead."

"When Chen says 'We are a team,' it would have been better if Nazha could have acted a little more deeply. I wanted to see that look of deep regret and remorse on her face, ideally with a scene where she kneels down and kowtows to Chen to apologize. I believe the audience would have enjoyed that even more. What do you think, director?"

As Lori Eisner spoke, what flashed through her mind was not Gulnazar, but another face.

Ah, I really can't wait!

(End of this chapter)