I'm not mentally ill, I'm a master of a thousand faces!

Chapter 228, it's all fake!

At this moment.

Li Yun felt herself wake up.

But she was already in tears.

六爷

Big Dog

Erheizi.

And there's also the Book Monkey.

Where are you?

"Tengu, where are you? Li Tengu! Come and tell me! It's all fake! It's all an illusion you created! Come out and tell me!"

At this moment, Li Yun got out of bed and frantically searched for him.

Find someone.

Correct.

They found Li Tiangou's words.

That would prove that everything I just experienced was an illusion, it was all fake!

"Tiangou! Where are you?! Get your ass out here right now! Tell me right now... It's fake! The battlefield is fake! They're all fake! The dead are fake too! I'm an actor, I'm Li Yun, I am..."

"I am."

at this time.

Li Yun went on a tantrum in the room and ended up in the toilet.

Seeing my reflection in the mirror, I saw myself with a stubble and a limp.

Li Tiangou.

it's here.

"Speaking of which, our protagonist isn't even willing to cram at the last minute. Quite confident, huh?" At this moment, Liu Yuan, who plays the village chief, gives a thumbs up: "No wonder he's what... a second-tier actor."

It was clear that Liu Yuan harbored considerable resentment.

Liu Yuan is quite old and is a second-level actor at the National Theatre of China, which means he has a mid-to-senior level professional title.

They are also quite demanding in terms of the characters' performances.

He is also considered to be the strongest person on paper in the entire "Tian Gou" production team.

Zhu Yuan, standing beside him, said helplessly, "We didn't give them a good look the other day, just look what they think. Uncle Liu, we need to tone down our arrogance and stop looking down on actors outside the system. They've worked their way up to second-tier status through hard work and struggle."

Although Zhu Yuan also felt that it was somewhat inappropriate for Li Yun to not come out alone these past few days.

Even if it's just working behind closed doors.

Let's build it together!

What can a man create?

"Sigh, he's still an actor outside the system. All he thinks about is money, money, money. He has no sense of collective honor at all." At this moment, Liu Yuan next to him was still complaining: "Getting a role is just the beginning. What's more important is how to act well after getting the role. Actors outside the system always take fighting for roles very seriously, but acting well is equally important. You say he doesn't understand the rules for actors within the system, but it's been several days now and he's still nowhere to be seen. Just like you said, can you create a role by working in isolation?"

Ma Shengchang, the actor playing the eldest son of the Kong family next to him, also made a slightly teasing remark.

"That's absolutely right. Our protagonist is truly elusive; he just arrived and then disappeared. Could he have been in his room the whole time?"

Indeed, while the other actors in the crew were getting to know their own characters, Li Yun was the only one who was rarely seen, and he was also the only male lead.

Director Yang Wei shook his head.

"Alright, there's nothing more to say. Let's just act well and go call Old Zhang, the forest ranger here."

Adhering to the spirit of seeking truth from facts.

The director also found a real forest ranger, intending for our male lead to learn from him and see how real forest rangers actually work.

And they are both veterans.

Even their pre-employment identity was exactly the same as their role.

This prompted people nearby to joke that perhaps even if he were to play Li Tiangou, it would be more realistic and relatable than if this Li Yun were to play him.

Yang Wei neither confirmed nor denied this.

This is also what he is most worried about.

This role is not easy to play.

Or rather, the closer a character is to a normal person, the more immersive the actor needs to be, and to some extent, the more difficult the role becomes.

When you're used to playing aloof, powerful men, or characters with distinct personalities, it becomes extremely difficult to bring a real person to life.

Yang Wei didn't think Li Yun could handle the role well to begin with. If he could perform at 70% of his potential, it would already exceed his expectations.

It's okay, if the acting isn't good enough, we'll make up for it with the script.

But as things stand, he's having a hard time even getting that 70% figured out.

After all, they're from the same city.

How can you truly understand someone's choices and life just by reading a script?

"Forget it, let's go find Old Zhang and ask him to give us his insights. We'll then pass them on to Li Yun."

"Director Yang, you really take good care of this kid."

"There's nothing we can do. He's the lead actor who was parachuted in. Unlike commercial films, art films can't just replace him if he doesn't do a good job," Yang Wei said, half-laughing and half-crying.

If possible, he would prefer to select actors from the National Theatre of China.

Those are all professional and capable; at least their level of dedication can be guaranteed.

After all, winning awards is still attractive to actors within the system, as they are a powerful aid in the evaluation of professional titles.

While actors outside the system are useful, there isn't as urgent a need for them as for actors within the system.

"Alright, we're not as enthusiastic as you are, treating him like a king. Let's go have a couple of drinks first, and then we can discuss the roles."

Liu Yuan and Ma Shengchang went to the convenience store to buy alcohol.

Actually, Liu Yuan himself doesn't really like drinking, but these days he needs to immerse himself in his role, and that's how he ended up like this.

A villager who loves to drink.

Ma Shengchang was one of the wealthier families in the village, and he was the one who invited the guests to the banquet.

Just like how he, as the eldest son of the Kong family, controlled the village's food, clothing, housing, and transportation.

Yang Wei sighed as he watched.

This level of dedication is truly infuriating!

"Why can't you let me pick a young actor from the National Theatre of China to play the role? It would be so much better if they did. We could focus on polishing the script without all the complications."

At this moment, he also arrived at the forest ranger's cabin, which was the residence that Yang Wei had arranged for the forest ranger.

He wasn't a caretaker for this village; he was from the next place. This place was so desolate that they were even short of forest rangers.

We still hired people from the next village and the next grove.

"Old Zhang, come here, come here, let's learn from your experience first." Yang Wei immediately put on a smiling face and hurriedly lit a cigarette for the old man.

The forest ranger, who was in his fifties, had wrinkled skin on his face and was smoking a pipe, but he still looked quite energetic.

He has dedicated his youth to this forest farm, working as a forest ranger since he was 17, and he remains unmarried to this day.

Yang Wei admires people like this.

"What's there to learn from this? It's just a job." Old Zhang said, smoking his pipe, both amused and exasperated. "I know my own limitations, unlike you city educated folks."

"Of course not. Everyone has their own expertise. Your life and your experiences are exactly what we need."

"It's just being a forest ranger, there's no need to search so many villages to find us. There's a young man in this village who's doing a pretty good job."

"Young man?" Yang Wei was puzzled. His question was that there was no young man who was a forest ranger at all.

As times have changed, even this village, which served as the film set, is now almost entirely populated by elderly people.

If there were any suitable candidates closer to the film set, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to invite Lao Zhang from the neighboring woods to be his consultant.

"No? Who told you that? I've had someone accompany me on my patrols these past two days. It's just a pity that I'm so young and already have a limp. Since you have that kind of advisor, you don't need me to stay here, right? I'll find some time to go back."

At this moment, Yang Wei was stunned and hadn't reacted yet. How come there was another forest ranger in the village?

But he still said it.

"It's alright, I've arranged for you to take leave from your workplace. You can stay here until our filming is finished, no problem."

However, Old Zhang smiled and continued packing up his things, gathering a thermos and a small snakeskin bag together.

"I can take leave, but those are poachers. Those who commit crimes can't take leave. They won't take a break when you're on vacation."

Yang Wei hesitated, wanting to say something but holding back, but he could only follow the old man.

All we could do was watch his figure gradually disappear into the distance.

Yang Wei was still pondering what the old man had just said. When did this place get another forest ranger? There hadn't been one before.

Just a moment ago we were saying that there were no young people left in this place, how come there's another young person here, and coincidentally, he's a young person with a limp.

At this moment, Yang Wei could only go to this abandoned forest farm, a place long forgotten by the times, with doubts in his heart.

The mottled weeds and the small lookout tower were the only features of this place. It seemed like there was nothing there. But at this moment, just when Yang Wei thought he had been tricked by Lao Zhang, he saw a person on the other side of the edge of the forest.

He sat under the branches of these lush trees.

Wearing a green coat that had faded quite a bit.

Wearing a cotton hat, with eyes like a hawk, he watched over those who stepped onto this land.

Someone who is watching everything closely, someone who might be plotting something.

Even though he had a limp.

And when you see this person's face.

Yang Wei was stunned, as if he thought he might have misread it.

I checked it again.

Isn't this limping young man Li Yun, who disappeared for three days?

wrong.

He is not Li Yun.

It's Li Tiangou.