I'm not a drama freak, I can really see through the script

Chapter 400, The Birth of 'God'
Cheng Yong's life seems to have returned to normal after he was exonerated.

Especially after his medical examination, he learned one thing—that his chronic myeloid leukemia was a false alarm.

He does not have leukemia.
From that day on, his life was no longer associated with 'Gleevec'. Today, Cheng Yong is an entrepreneur with a tailoring business.

He had shed his greasy appearance, revealing a touch of petty businessman's shrewdness. The greasiness and arrogance on his face were transformed into a hypocritical smile meant to please others.

Cheng Yong, who once considered himself a god, has had his edges worn down and is now weary from life.

Until Lu Shouyi's wife came to him.

"Sister-in-law, what brings you here?"

"Finally found you, Brother Yong. Can you still get your hands on Indian medicine? Old Lu is dying."

"Indian medicine? Isn't that what Zhang Changlin sells?"

"He was arrested by the police."

At this moment, Cheng Yong felt lost.

Doubt, confusion, bewilderment, disbelief.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible. He's been in this line of work for over ten years, and he's giving lectures every year? How is that even possible? This is only his second year!"

One of the reasons Cheng Yong feared Zhang Changlin.

The point is probably that he even sold counterfeit Gleevec for over ten years, giving lectures every year, and this arrogant 'Academician Zhang' remained carefree and unscathed.

Cheng Yong felt that he was a very 'smooth' person.
No matter what, such a person is more suitable to be the 'Medicine God' than I am; he is more qualified to enjoy the title of 'god'.

The results of it.

The following year, he was caught, his business was shut down, and he fled.

Old Lu's wife is kneeling before Cheng Yong.

I knelt down and begged Brother Yong.

Their family is on the verge of bankruptcy because of this disease; without Yong Ge's Indian Gleevec, he wouldn't have survived.

Please!
Profound imagery—the sounds of an alleyway, a woman kneeling.

harsh.

Cheng Yong could only say...

"I'll go see Old Lü in a couple of days."

For Cheng Yong, today's meeting with a major client is also an important event in his life.

The unrestrained singing and dancing in the dance hall could not dispel Cheng Yong's doubts.

He went home, turned on his computer, and searched online.

The largest case of counterfeit Indian Gleevec drugs in the entire Greater China region has been cracked.

The main culprit, Zhang Changlin, is currently on the run.

It's true, this fake drug dealer has been arrested right now and is on the run.

He became the city's most wanted criminal.

Cheng Yong smiled.

His laughter was heartbreaking. People aren't plants or trees. Maybe he left back then out of selfishness, but didn't he really feel at all that he couldn't shoulder this heavy responsibility?
Let Zhang Changlin, who has connections, run the business.

He would then have a greater chance of giving his friends a way out, granting them the right and reason to live.

But that's so ironic.

He was apprehended and forced to flee after only two years.

why?
This is Cheng Yong's question, and it's an answer he may never get in his lifetime.

"Old Lu."

"Hey, your haircut looks pretty neat."

A meeting after two years.

In the same scene, Cheng Yong, who was once a wealthy man, has become an outstanding entrepreneur.

Lu Shouyi, on the other hand, became a withered and weak-looking patient.
It felt like being a dying person.

"They're really brave; they even dared to commit suicide."

Lu Shouyi gave a weak smile and continued speaking.

"Have an orange."

Cheng Yong remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"Why is it like this?"

"There's no medicine."

The expressions on their faces, their acting skills.

A wronged, weak, and dying.

One seemed to feel guilty, disbelief, and heartache, even experiencing pain in their heart.

"The wound in bed number two needs to be cleaned."

The doctor's words interrupted their reunion.

Without platelets, Lu Shouyi entered the acute phase of his illness, and even his small wounds were endlessly expanding. The pain of cleaning the wounds reached Cheng Yong's ears.

This is a scene of painful wailing, voiced by Chen Kun himself.

Stop shouting.

Stop yelling.

Please, please don't.
At this moment, Cheng Yong picked up the water glass on the table and pretended to drink water, but his hand holding the glass was trembling slightly.

"what--!"

A bloodcurdling scream, so shrill it was almost inhuman, suddenly erupted from the cubicle.

The sound was like scraping bone alive with a dull knife; every syllable was filled with excruciating pain.

The students who came to visit the set all shuddered.

Wu Jinyan's face turned pale instantly, and she gripped the armrests of the chair tightly.

"Stop yelling..."

The screams from inside the cubicle continued, each one more desperate and distorted than the last.

"Stop yelling..."

On the monitor, the color drained from Cheng Yong's face, played by Li Xuan.

He put down his water glass and covered his ears tightly with both hands, but the sound seemed to have grown legs and kept trying to drill into his brain.

His body began to tremble uncontrollably, fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and he muttered unconsciously.

"Please, don't..."

The agonizing screams were clearly heard by everyone present through the on-site recording equipment.

Zhang Yishan felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart, causing him so much pain that he could hardly breathe.

He finally understood.

This script is nowhere near the typical revenge/comeback story.

This is a fucking knife, a bloody knife, a knife specifically designed to cut out people's hearts.
Looking at Cheng Yong on the monitor, who was covering his ears and looking pained, he no longer felt any sense of relief, only a kind of empathetic torment.

He wasn't listening to a character's screams.

He was listening to a living person being slowly tortured to death.

"Card!"

Li Xuan's voice suddenly rang out, breaking the suffocating atmosphere.

The screams from the cubicle stopped abruptly.

Everyone on set breathed a long sigh of relief, as if they had just been pulled out of the water.

Zhang Yishan and his classmates were still frozen in place, unable to recover for a long time.

The two people on the field once again displayed completely different states.

Li Xuan took off his headphones, stood up, and the Cheng Yong who had been struggling in pain just moments before vanished instantly. He transformed back into the calm director who was in control of the entire scene.

He walked to the monitor and began to review the footage, his face showing no emotion whatsoever.

Meanwhile, Chen Kun was helped out of the cubicle by two assistants.

He was completely exhausted, slumped in the chair, his face as pale as a sheet of paper, his whole body still trembling uncontrollably, and his large hospital gown soaked with sweat.

The assistant quickly unscrewed a bottle of glucose water and fed it to him.

He took two sips before he could barely stop trembling, but his eyes remained unfocused.
His face still showed signs of cachexia and a withered appearance.

Liu Yifei then said.

"This is what Kun Ge did for this role. He starved himself and forced himself to lose weight every day in order to achieve this gaunt appearance."

At this moment, Zhang Yishan and the others were also in a daze, seeing Chen Kun, the seventh-generation actor.

He is not only a beauty, a flower; in addition to his unparalleled appearance, his hard work and dedication are also key factors in his current success.
"So, you see, to become an excellent actor, you can't just rely on your looks." Wang Jinsong said with a complicated expression, "Some people may think that they can survive in this industry just by looking at their appearance. If they really think that, then they are wrong."

That would be a huge mistake.
He was handsome and beautiful, and thought he could do whatever he wanted and make his way in this industry.

But there will always be people with better qualifications and a deeper understanding of how to hone themselves.

Li Xuan is just that kind of person.

Chen Kun is that kind of person too.

Zhang Yishan, in particular, originally thought that Chen Kun was just one of her goals, but after seeing his acting skills, she had a strong feeling.

I still have a long way to go.

I still have a long way to go.

But compared to Chen Kun, who is still far behind...
Li Xuan
Chen Kun smiled helplessly and looked at Zhou Xun beside him: "Your 'younger brother' hasn't slacked off in acting either."

Zhou Xun neither confirmed nor denied this.
That was a really impressive acting performance.
Chen Kun's performance was powerful, but the final monologue, with its mournful wails and long take, was lackluster. Zhou Xun offered Chen Kun a cigarette.

Chen Kun waved his hand; he didn't even have the strength to lift a finger.

His assistant was still patting his back, but he was slumped in the chair like a lump of mud that couldn't be lifted up.

"Those shouts of yours really got my heart pounding." Zhou Xun lit a cigarette and exhaled a puff of smoke.

She looked at Chen Kun, this man who had pushed himself to the brink for the role, and his ruthlessness made even her, a fellow actor, feel uneasy.

Chen Kun tugged at the corners of his mouth, trying to smile, but it looked worse than crying.

He paused for a while before managing to squeeze out a few words.

"Still lost."

"Lose what?" Zhou Xun raised an eyebrow. "You've practically ruined yourself with your acting, what more do you want?"

“I can feel it in the play.” Chen Kun shook his head, his gaze drifting to Li Xuan, who was staring at the monitor not far away.

The young man, who had just looked like he was about to collapse, was now as calm as a surgeon, scrutinizing the images on the screen frame by frame, his brow furrowed as if he were picking out some flaw.

“He’s different.” Chen Kun’s voice was soft, with a hoarse quality after exhaustion. “He was Cheng Yong just now, but now he is Director Li Xuan, not even for a second.”

"And me?" Chen Kun chuckled self-deprecatingly. "I'm still trapped in the shell of Lü Shouyi, I can't get out of it, you know? My acting just now should have been in 'excellent' condition, but after acting with Li Xuan, it immediately became 'perfect'. I know where my condition came from, you know, an actor's performance depends on their co-star."

"He dragged me in; he was completely leading the way."

Zhou Xun exhaled a puff of smoke, which blurred her face.

“He’s always had this ability to pull his opponents into his own world and make you go crazy with him.” She stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray next to her. “But those shouts you made today were really good. I felt a pang in my heart even through the monitor.”

That's the truth. Those cries of agony went far beyond the realm of technique; they were purely an emotional outpouring.

"Okay?" Chen Kun forced a smile, revealing an expression more painful than crying. He pointed to his still trembling hand, then to his empty chest. "I'm still in here. I'm still Lu Shouyi, listening to his brother being skinned alive. I can't get out."

He paused, his gaze drifting to a figure not far away who was gesturing to the director of photography about the camera.

"But what about him?"

“He is Li Xuan now, the director, thinking about how to shoot the next shot and how to set up the lighting. He doesn’t even need a second to transform from Cheng Yong back to Li Xuan.”

This ability to switch between calm and composure is what terrifies and frustrates Chen Kun the most.

You feel like you're stuck in the quagmire of the character, struggling desperately, while the other person seems to be walking on the surface of the water, effortlessly and casually, even able to push you deeper into the water.

"I lost, I lost completely." Chen Kun closed his eyes, leaned his head back in the chair, and exuded an aura of defeat.

Zhou Xun didn't say anything, but lit another cigarette for himself.

She understood what Chen Kun meant.

An actor who uses all their strength and burns their soul to get closer to a character has already reached the pinnacle.

"The next scene is Lao Lü's last scene."

Li Xuan's voice brought everyone back to their senses.

The atmosphere on set became even more oppressive than before.

Everyone knew what this performance meant.

In the script, Lü Shouyi's death is written with unusual calmness.

There was no final farewell, no sentimental dialogue.

He simply jumped out of a hospital window one early morning.

In order not to burden his wife and children, and to leave the last bit of money to his newborn child.

He didn't even leave a suicide note; he only left a pile of oranges for Cheng Yong on the bedside table.

Chen Kun was not in this scene.

The only main character is Cheng Yong, played by Li Xuan.

When he received a call from Lü Shouyi's wife and rushed to the hospital like a madman, all he saw was an empty, cleaned-up hospital bed.

Li Xuan stood in front of the empty bed.

He didn't speak or make any big movements.

The camera slowly zoomed in on his profile from behind him.

He just stared at the bed, just stared.

I can almost see that skinny friend lying there, smiling and saying to him, "Have an orange."

A nurse came over and handed him a plastic bag.

"Left behind by the deceased."

Li Xuan lowered his head and opened the bag.

Inside was a bag full of bright yellow oranges.

Everyone in front of the monitor held their breath.

Zhou Xun's fingers curled up unconsciously.

She knew that the most crucial performance was about to begin.

Li Xuan reached into the bag and took out an orange.

His fingers were trembling slightly, so slightly that it was almost imperceptible unless you looked closely.

He lowered his head and began peeling the orange.

The movements were slow and clumsy, as if it were the first time doing this.

The orange peel was peeled off piece by piece, revealing the plump flesh inside.

The aroma of oranges, mixed with the distinctive smell of disinfectant in the hospital, seems to waft through the screen.

He put a segment of orange into his mouth.

Then he began to chew.

Once, twice...

His face was expressionless, devoid of sadness, anger, or anything at all.

It was just a deathly silence and numbness.

But in the act of chewing, everyone saw a kind of cataclysmic collapse.

Cheng Yong, who was once slick and mercenary, only interested in making money to save his life, was completely shattered at this moment by the taste of this sweet and sour orange.

He swallowed the orange segment.

Then, he raised his head.

The camera gave him a close-up.

His eyes were red, but there wasn't a single tear.

It was a look of utter despair, more so than wailing, a look of eyes that had been completely hollowed out.

He looked ahead, as if he could see through the hospital walls and trace the path of his friend's disappearance.

……

When Cheng Yong set foot on Indian soil again, his purpose was completely different.

He was no longer living for himself, nor was he doing it to make money.

He wanted to get those medicines back for those who were still waiting for them to save their lives.

For that person who will never be able to eat oranges again.

The film crew is preparing to shoot an important transition scene on a bustling street.

Li Xuan changed into Cheng Yong's costume, a faded old T-shirt, and carried a huge backpack. His face showed a kind of vicissitude and determination that did not belong to his age.

He was to pass through a grand religious procession.

At the heart of the procession was a huge statue of Shiva, painted in all sorts of colors.

Shiva, the god of destruction, is also the god of creation.

After destroying the old world, a new world is created.

"Attention all departments!"

"Action!"

At Li Xuan's command, the bustling street came alive.

The deafening drumbeats mingled with the fervent chanting of believers, and the air was thick with the smell of incense and sweat.

Li Xuan plays Cheng Yong, who struggles to move forward against the flow of the revelers.

He was like a stubborn reef, steadfastly moving in his own direction amidst the torrent of desire and faith.

The telephoto lens was locked onto him.

As he walked to the center of the procession, a huge statue of Shiva passed right by him.

In that instant, in the camera lens, Cheng Yong's face overlapped with the statue's face, which was both majestic and compassionate.

Destruction and rebirth.

Mortals and gods.

At this moment, an eerie harmony was achieved.

Cheng Yong raised his head and glanced at the statue.

His face showed neither reverence nor supplication.

There is only one kind of stubbornness: "My fate is in my own hands, not in the hands of heaven."

He is no longer the Cheng Yong who was constantly being chased and beaten by life.

That is 'God'.

He is Shiva, he is rebirth, he is the Medicine God.
As he brushed past the statue of the god and stepped onto this land with all his money, he realized he had almost lost his way.
The 'Medicine God' is mentioned in this movie.

born.

(End of this chapter)