Chapter 0757: The Male Lead

"What do you think of him?"

Zhao Fusheng looked at Li Yang and asked seriously.

Li Yang was taken aback, carefully scrutinizing Wang Qiang. After a long moment, he suddenly laughed: "Young man, want to make a movie?"

Wang Qiang blinked, glanced at Zhao Fusheng, then at Li Yang: "Uh, how much will you pay?"

Jiang Wen couldn't help but burst out laughing.

There was no helping it; even though he'd known Wang Qiang for a while, the moment Jiang Wen heard his accent and saw his demeanor, he simply couldn't hold back his laughter.

Li Yang nodded: "There's definitely money, but you might have to endure some hardship."

"I ain't afraid of hardship, as long as I get paid," Wang Qiang nodded.

Zhao Fusheng glanced at Jiang Wen and suddenly said: "Old Jiang, since you've got nothing much to do lately, why not make a film too?"

"Huh?" Jiang Wen was startled, pointing at his own nose: "Me?"

"Yes, you. I think you're perfect for this film. What do you think, Director Li?" Zhao Fusheng said, then turned to Li Yang: "If Old Jiang stars, you'll even save on his salary, given your relationship..."

"But, but this film is very dangerous..."

Li Yang hesitated. Of course he wanted an actor as big as Jiang Wen to join, but the problem was that the film had a small budget and carried risks. He was afraid of dragging Jiang Wen into trouble.

Jiang Wen, on the other hand, took it lightly. After a moment's thought, he said: "It's fine. Making films always involves some danger. How about this: I'll join too, and I'll take the male lead."

It wasn't that Old Jiang was being kind-hearted; he genuinely liked the script, and as he said, since he'd already set a trap for Zhao Fusheng, there was no reason not to get involved himself.

And so, the two leads of *Blind Shaft* were decided in this almost childish manner. Zhao Fusheng simply called Zheng Yao, saying he'd found a good script and asked her to quickly contact the director.

What followed were procedural matters that Zhao Fusheng no longer needed to worry about.

"Alright, you two figure out the rest yourselves."

Having done what he needed to do, Zhao Fusheng waved his hand and said to Jiang Wen and Li Yang: "I need to go home."

Then he said to Wang Qiang: "Stick with your Brother Jiang from now on. Call me if anything comes up."

"Okay, got it, big brother," Wang Qiang replied crisply.

...

...

"So, you got Wang Qiang a male lead?" In the cafeteria of the Central Academy of Drama, Fan Baobao stared at Zhao Fusheng in disbelief, because he had just told her what happened at Jiang Wen's place today.

"Basically, that's the idea," Zhao Fusheng nodded. "But you know, Wang Qiang isn't really the lead; Old Jiang is the one carrying the weight."

In fact, after reading the script for *Blind Shaft*, he realized that Wang Qiang didn't need to do much—just playing himself would be enough.

What really required acting skill were the roles of the two miners. Both Song Jinming and Tang Zhaoyang needed complex performances to convey their inner transformations and struggles.

One of them was assigned to Jiang Wen by Zhao Fusheng; he didn't know who the other would be.

Of course, that was Li Yang's headache, and possibly Jiang Wen's too, because if an actor of insufficient skill was cast opposite him, it wouldn't be a pleasant experience for Old Jiang.

"That's still pretty great, isn't it? Hey, why don't they need any actresses?" Fan Baobao sighed enviously.

She now had an extraordinary passion for acting. Whenever she had the chance, she really wanted to be in a film, even if it meant no pay.

And the opportunity to act opposite someone like Jiang Wen was irresistible to a newcomer like Fan Baobao.

Rolling his eyes, Zhao Fusheng chuckled but didn't answer Fan Baobao.

Are you kidding? When they filmed *Good Dream One Day*, Fan Baobao only had a cameo and hadn't experienced that kind of situation. If she actually acted with Jiang Wen, she'd understand what it meant to be a 'drama maniac' or a 'scene hog.'

Jiang Wen was the kind of guy who would force the director to reshoot if he wasn't satisfied with the film's quality.

The most obvious example was Lu Chuan of *The Missing Gun*, who was reportedly driven to the point of wailing by Jiang Wen.

Jiang Wen was undoubtedly a good actor, but the problem was that his personal style was so strong that most directors and actors couldn't work with him.

"Hey, hey, honey, has your company invested in any art films lately? Do you need any actors or anything?" Fan Baobao suddenly flashed a flattering smile at Zhao Fusheng and blinked.

Giving her a helpless look, Zhao Fusheng ignored her ingratiating expression and shook his head: "Haven't heard of any."

"Oh..."

She lowered her head in disappointment, clearly unhappy.

Zhao Fusheng had no good solution for this. In his view, Fan Baobao's acting skills were still very immature. Playing small roles was fine, but if she were cast as the female lead—well, either he'd be crazy, or the director would be.

Acting skill, except for those rare talents blessed by heaven, most people could only improve through time and practice.

Of course, there were also some actors who, no matter how hard they tried, never improved.

"Don't overthink it. Study hard at school. After graduation, hone your skills for a few years, and you'll have your chance to be the female lead," Zhao Fusheng said, smiling to cheer her up.

"Sigh, I still have to wait years," Fan Baobao said helplessly.

She understood what Zhao Fusheng meant, but everyone knows the logic; when it comes to themselves, everyone harbors a bit of wishful thinking.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and didn't continue the topic, instead chatting with Fan Baobao about everyday matters.

"Oh, you two lovebirds can't get enough of each other at home and have to come to school to show off your affection?" Zhou Yun's voice rang out, full of teasing.

Zhao Fusheng was startled and looked up to see Zhou Yun smirking at him.

Fan Baobao blushed deeply, as if remembering something, and shot Zhao Fusheng a fierce glare.

Zhao Fusheng also recalled something and quickly stood up to leave.

No way—he didn't want to be teased by Zhou Yun about that 'hickey' incident.

Watching Zhao Fusheng's retreating figure, Zhou Yun shook her head in disappointment: "Hey, I hadn't even said anything yet. Why did he run off?"

Fan Baobao chuckled beside her, deciding in her heart that tonight, she would absolutely not let Zhao Fusheng into her bed.