Chinese Entertainment: Top-Tier Boyfriends of Young Actresses

August 9, 2016, Hengdian.

A black minivan was parked in front of the hotel.

The car door opened, and Su Yu, wearing a white T-shirt, got out of the car.

Assistant Xiao Zhou also jumped out of the passenger seat and went around to the trunk to get the luggage.

Xiao Zhou is a recent graduate with a degree in cultural industry management. She is the assistant assigned to Su Yu by Daylight Entertainment.

Su Yu wasn't used to having someone follow him around at first, but his agent put it bluntly: "You're a proper actor now. If you don't even have an assistant when you join a production, people will think the company doesn't value you."

Alright, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.

"Brother Yu, the room is on the seventh floor," Xiao Zhou reported while pushing his suitcase, a folder in his hand as well.

"The production team said today is mainly for registration, and there will be a reading session at 9 a.m. tomorrow. I've received the call sheet. Your scenes are concentrated in the first two months, mainly dialogue scenes, and the action scenes will be arranged separately."

Su Yu took the folder, flipped through it, and nodded.

To be honest, having an assistant with him was better than he had expected.

When I arrived at the hotel lobby, the film crew was already waiting for me.

"Teacher Su Yu, this is your room key."

A staff member handed over a file bag. "The script and call sheet for the reading are all inside. Teacher Ma Sichun arrived yesterday, Teacher Sheng Yilun just arrived this afternoon, and Wang Churan and the others have all arrived by now."

Su Yu accepted it with both hands: "Thank you."

Xiao Zhou whispered to Yu-ge, "I'll take the luggage upstairs first. Call me anytime if you need anything."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

At six o'clock in the evening, Su Yu was flipping through a script in his room when his phone lit up.

In the crew's group chat, Ma Sichun sent a message: "Is everyone here? It's my treat tonight, let's all get to know each other."

The following are a series of replies:

"Okay, okay"

"Thank you, Sister Sichun."

"Coming right away"

Su Yu replied "Received," changed into a clean T-shirt, and went downstairs.

The restaurant was an old Zhejiang cuisine restaurant in Hengdian. Ma Sichun was obviously a regular customer, and ordered a whole table of dishes without even looking at the menu.

Su Yu sat in the corner, next to Wang Churan, opposite Ma Sichun and the male lead Sheng Yilun, with the other supporting actors sitting around him.

He quietly surveyed the actors around him.

Apart from Sheng Yilun and Ma Sichun, the others are not very famous.

Another person worth noting is Wang Churan.

This young girl is probably the prettiest among the actresses present.

She hasn't fully grown in yet; her face still has a bit of baby fat.

She was somewhat different from the stunning beauty he remembered.

Seeing that Su Yu was sitting there without saying a word, Sheng Yilun assumed that he was still a little reserved, so he took the initiative to speak, "Little Su, are you a newcomer?"

Su Yu nodded: "Yes, I'm new to the industry. I acted in a web series earlier this year, which should be airing soon."

Ma Sichun laughed and replied, "I know you, the 'Sichuan University heartthrob.' I saw your photos on Weibo before; you were all the rage back then."

Su Yu waved his hand: "Sister Si Chun, don't make fun of me. I was just lucky."

At this moment, Wang Churan, who was sitting next to him, suddenly spoke up: "Brother Su Yu, I remember you were a student at a top-tier university, right? Why did you decide to enter the entertainment industry?"

Her eyes were filled with curiosity.

"Because it pays well."

"what?"

Everyone in the private room was taken aback by Su Yu's straightforward words.

"I studied biology in college," Su Yu explained. "After graduation, I worked in pharmaceutical companies or labs, earning at most a little over ten thousand a month. As an actor, the salary for one movie is enough for me to work for several years."

After a brief silence, Ma Sichun burst out laughing.

"You're too honest." She laughed so hard her shoulders were shaking. "Even if most people thought that way, they would at least say something like 'I love performing' to keep it polite."

"I'm new to this," Su Yu laughed, "I haven't learned it yet."

"That's good," Ma Sichun said, raising his glass. "Keep it up. There aren't many people in this industry who tell the truth. Come on, let's have a drink."

Su Yu raised his cup and clinked it against hers.

The atmosphere in the private room was actually more relaxed than before.

Wang Churan whispered from the side, "Brother Su Yu, aren't you afraid that saying this will have a bad impact?"

"What are you afraid of?" Su Yu glanced at her. "I'm telling the truth. Acting is my job. I do my job well and get paid what I'm owed. It's only right and proper."

Wang Churan thought for a moment and then nodded obediently.

Seeing the two talking quietly, Ma Sichun said, "By the way, Chu Ran is also a newcomer. You're about the same age, so you can get to know each other better in the group later."

Wang Churan nodded obediently, "Okay, Sister Sichun." She then turned to Su Yu and smiled, "Brother Su Yu, please take care of me in the future."

"Okay, let's learn from each other."

Su Yu plays the second male lead, Hu Qing, in this drama.

Come to think of it, it's been nine months since I was reborn.

Unlike those online novels where an ordinary person can be parachuted into a hit drama and immediately become the male lead, it's all nonsense.

The reality is that ordinary people like him with a little fame can only start from web dramas and small film crews.

As for how Su Yu entered the entertainment industry, it's simple: he's good-looking enough.

After his rebirth, he first made his photos "accidentally" go viral online.

After his own subtle marketing efforts, the hashtag "Sichuan University's Campus Heartthrob" spread from Baidu Tieba to Weibo, and only then did he receive offers from talent agencies.

In the end, he chose the midday sun.

For no other reason than that this company is practically a government-affiliated institution, and its reputation is much better than other companies.

The entertainment industry was already chaotic enough in 2016, and he didn't want to fall into a trap so early in his career.

Signing a contract is one thing, but for an ordinary person, no matter how good their marketing skills are, once they join the company, they have to start from scratch.

The only roles the company could help him secure were in low-budget TV dramas or web series.

For example, "Forensic Doctor Qin Ming".

He landed the role of Lin Tao, the second male lead, through an audition recommended by his company.

The filming of this drama just wrapped up a few months ago, and it won't be officially broadcast until mid-October.

So for now, he can only look for web series production teams.

Just like this movie, "Oh My General".

The production company chose him for three reasons: he's handsome, his audition performance was decent, and he was cheap.

It's definitely the king of cost-effectiveness.

To be honest, it's true that money is easy to make in the entertainment industry.

The salary for these two dramas alone amounted to several hundred thousand yuan, but after taxes and the company's cut, I only received less than three hundred thousand yuan.

Although it wasn't much, for a newbie who had just entered the industry and had no reputation, earning more than 200,000 yuan in just a few months was much better than working as a laborer in a lab in his previous life.

Su Yu wasn't dissatisfied with this.

After all, they're not famous yet.

After finishing his meal and returning to the hotel, Su Yu took a shower and lay on the bed to continue reading the script.

Afterwards, Su Yu took out a pen and began writing character sketches in his notebook, trying to understand the characters' inner thoughts.

After all, he's not from a professional acting background, so it's always good to be diligent in his acting career.

Of course, it is also related to his own study habits. He was like this when he was in high school, and he liked to summarize problems and experiences.

That's why he was able to get into Xichuan University from being a rural kid.

The character he played, Hu Qing, nicknamed "Fox," was Ye Zhao's strategist, a man of great wisdom and skill in both literature and martial arts.

He is Ye Zhao's most trusted strategist and the most clear-headed person in the entire series.

Knowing what you want, and knowing what you should fight for and what you shouldn't fight for.

She does resemble him somewhat.

The phone lit up briefly.

Xiao Zhou sent a message: "Brother Yu, I've confirmed tomorrow's schedule. It's a reading session at 9:00 AM in the third-floor conference room. The makeup artist will knock on the door at 7:30 AM to do a simple hairstyle for you."

Su Yu replied with an "okay".

Just as I was about to turn off my phone, it lit up again.

It was a message from Wang Churan, whom I had just added at the dinner table:

"Hello, Brother Su Yu."