Chapter 27 – The first film meeting & Ming Ming saw Jiang Zimo again

Translator: Amber.es | Editor: Vez | Proofreader: Bubbles

Jan 2022: If you have found this translation anywhere except on Dummynovels (https://dummynovels.com/novel/reborn-as-the-villain-presidents-cat-dog-entertainment-circle/), it has been stolen. There has been no authorisation to be posted anywhere else, especially on those sites that charges money for access to translations. The only translator is myself. Discord Amber.es#5546 

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After Si Junduo pushed Wen Mingyi away, he sat up coughing unnaturally. “I’m going to wash up.”

Wen Mingyi oh-ed and foolishly stared at him as he entered the bathroom. He scratched his neck, slightly dumbfounded. He came out of Si Junduo’s bedroom and entered his own bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face.

He looked at himself in the mirror, involuntarily focusing his sight on his lips. Wen Mingyi bit the inside of his mouth. A thought popped out. This seemed to be his first kiss. Did that mean, his first kiss was given to Si Junduo?

It seemed to be a loss, he thought. But then, he didn’t seem to have lost too much.

Wen Mingyi picked up the toothpaste and squeezed it onto his toothbrush. While brushing his teeth, he pondered. Did he really lose out in this incident?

Compared to his calmness, Si Junduo was not so calm at all.

Si Junduo splashed several handfuls of cold water on his face, before finally calming himself down a little bit. He had realized that he distinctly preferred males over females since his university days. But whether it was at the beginning when he discovered his sexuality, or later on, he had never considered Wen Mingyi as a possible candidate as his boyfriend.

Wen Mingyi was a very special existence to Si Junduo. He was used to taking care of Wen Mingyi, spoiling Wen Mingyi, and fulfilling Wen Mingyi’s wishes as much as possible. There was nothing he wanted in return. He liked Wen Mingyi. He would have never thought that one day he could have this degree of close contact with Wen Mingyi.

Si Junduo turned off the faucet, facing the sink, his thoughts in turmoil.

After he finished rinsing his mouth and face, he changed his clothes and exited the bathroom. Si Junduo saw Wen Mingyi sitting cross-legged on his own bed, still in pajamas. His head was lowered as he played on his mobile phone, revealing a slender neck that was dazzlingly white.

Si Junduo coughed uncomfortably. Wen Mingyi raised his head in response and asked him, “You’re heading out?”

Si Junduo nodded. “I have something to do. How about you, are you going to school?”

“No,” Wen Mingyi refused, “I was just on the hot search yesterday. The school’s gates will be crowded with fans. I’ll wait until the heat dies down before going.”

“Okay.” Si Junduo didn’t force him.

On the contrary, Wen Mingyi was very sensitive to the words Si Junduo had mysteriously uttered. He said that he would go out for something, not go to work. So he asked, “You’re not going to work today?”

“En.”

“Then where are you going?” Wen Mingyi narrowed his eyes. “Don’t tell me it’s to see Jiang Zimo!”

Si Junduo was speechless. “What I have promised, I will not renege. Don’t worry, I’m just going to meet the boss of Zhaoyang to discuss your contract.”

“Then I will go with you,” Wen Mingyi offered. “Anyway, I’m idle.”

Si Junduo had never refused him. Although this was not in his plan, with what had happened yesterday, he was indeed worried to leave Wen Mingyi at home by himself. “All right,” he said.

Wen Mingyi cheered happily. He changed his clothes, and they ate breakfast together, then headed out.

The place chosen by Zhuo Ran was a coffee shop which had been opened by Zhuo Ran’s younger sister. After his sister had graduated, she did not want to join her family’s company, so she opened her own shop and planned to meddle around for about two years first.

Zhuo Ran and Si Junduo were not public figures, and had always been low-key. No one recognized them. Zhuo Ran’s younger sister, Zhuo Xin, initially did not intend to clear the space for them. But when she knew Mu Ziang was coming, with how popular he was, she’d immediately hung up the sign for a day off and reserved the venue for the three of them.

However, it was not just the three of them who came, but four people. Wen Mingyi sat beside Si Junduo, and politely greeted Zhuo Ran and Mu Ziang, who had arrived first.

Mu Ziang knew Wen Mingyi was tagging along from Si Junduo’s messages in the group chat. After teasing him in the WeChat group for a long time, he asked Si Junduo if the mother-hen was finally willing to let the baby chicken out?

Si Junduo didn’t answer him, but only asked to restrain himself later. Mu Ziang’s idol baggage weighed as much as 20 tons. He had originally intended to take advantage of this gathering to let go of the baggage and have a good chat with Si Junduo. But with Wen Mingyi inserted here, he could only pick his burden up again, placing his persona back on, his words reduced by half.

Zhuo Ran exchanged a few greetings with Si Junduo for a while and then handed out the contract that had been drawn up a long time ago.

Si Junduo took it. Wen Mingyi also leaned over to see what it was. It was his contract with Zhaoyang. Si Junduo saw him lean closer and placed the contract between them, so they could look at it together.

Seeing this, Zhuo Ran withdrew his intention to pass his copy of the contract to Wen Mingyi.

“If there is anything to be amended, you both can tell me,” he said.

Hearing this, Wen Mingyi looked up and thanked him.

“You’re welcome, Junduo and I are friends. Since you’ve come to me, I will naturally take care of you,” Zhuo Ran said.

Wen Mingyi laughed and continued to read the contract in Si Junduo’s hands.

Before the contract was written, Si Junduo had already had a discussion with Zhuo Ran, and all the things that should and should not be mentioned, including the request for Wen Mingyi to stop filming after nine o’clock, have been written in. Hence, Si Junduo only needed to check it once before handing it to Wen Mingyi.

“See if there’s anything else to be added.”

Wen Mingyi shook his head. “I think it’s pretty good.”

Pretty good! It was just too good. If he followed the terms of this contract, he could decide whether he wanted to act or not, what kind of scenes to shoot, when to shoot, and how many movies to shoot in a year. This kind of concession, even if it was with Yang Qi in his previous life, would be simply impossible to achieve. Yang Qi wanted to control every decision. He would only be her cash cow if he flamed his popularity as he performed in the center of the stage.

Upon recalling this, Wen Mingyi was deeply moved. Once Zheng Feng saw this contract, he would probably be so angry that he would stomp about. Tsk. He really felt happy just thinking about it. So he had no qualms on this, though he was curious about one thing. “Who is my agent?”

“Cheng Lu,” Zhuo Ran answered. “Junduo hopes that your agent is a woman, since females are gentler, more empathetic, and able to respect and take care of your frame of mind more, instead of just focusing on your career. Though Cheng Lu is not very famous in this circle, her personality is gentle and not headstrong. So you can still decide many things by yourself. Of course, her professional ability is good too.”

Wen Mingyi nodded. He prefered gentle people and not headstrong ones. He himself was not a very tolerant person. If he encountered a headstrong person, when neither of them was willing to give in, both of them would lose. Yang Qi was the best example.

They discussed further and finished up the coffee that Zhuo Xin had brought in. Only then did they wrap up the talk about the contract. As Zhaoyang’s boss and a friend of the priest Junduo, once Zhuo Ran signed with his younger brother, he had to show some form of courtesy.

Hence, besides the contract, he also offered him a role as the male third lead, Le Chi, in the upcoming youth idol drama ‘Pet Romance’ invested by Zhaoyang.

“It’s a gift from me on behalf of the company,” Zhuo Ran said. “Welcome to Zhaoyang.”

Wen Mingyi was taken aback when he heard these words. In the next second, joy reflected in his eyes. “Thank you, Boss Zhuo. I will definitely work hard.”

This was really a good gift, Wen Mingyi thought. If he remembered correctly, the show would be a hit. Before his death in his last life, he had happened to see this show airing. Topics about it and the audience ratings rose all the way, successfully bringing the male and female leads to a high level.

Yes, it only took the male and female leads to a high level. Others – the second male lead, second female lead, third male lead – didn’t manage to get as much exposure and explosion in this popular drama. Especially the actor Zeng Fengshi¹So the Chinese name is 曾峰适, it can also be Zeng Fengkuo, but I’ll use Zeng Fengshi instead. who played the third male lead, Le Chi.

This actor held a very different personality from Le Chi. Once it was broadcasted, the book fans and netizens had criticized him to no end. In the subsequent interview, Zeng Fengshi had expressed his regret for taking up the role.

Wen Mingyi once saw girls complain about Zeng Fengshi in his class group.

“The original Le Chi is only 18 years old, okay! Still in college! Zeng Fengshi is 26! This isn’t Le Chi. This is Le Chi’s older brother!”

“In the original book, Le Chi calls the female lead Elder Sister! Not called by the name! The cute points are all gone!”

“But Zeng Fengshi looked older than Yan Feifei, who played Xiao Mo, and it would be inappropriate to call her elder sister.”

“So Zeng Fengshi is not suitable for acting as Le Chi at all! Is the crew blind! Why did you choose this actor? He is not famous, nor is it personally designed for him. The original Le Chi is domineering and sunny, so cute and lovely, precisely because he is young and is the young master of a wealthy family. That’s why this role is so cute! Now Zeng Fengshi has completely acted as a simple and honest big brother. How can this be Le Chi!”

The girls were filled with righteous indignation, and in the end they all started to clamour. They started looking for a suitable candidate in the entertainment circle. Suddenly, someone in the group said, “Don’t you all think, Wen Mingyi can be him?”

The others were silent for a while, only to feel as if they had been enlightened, and they all agreed. “Yes, yes. Wen Mingyi is suitable, he is very suitable as Le Chi.”

When Wen Mingyi saw this, he almost couldn’t stop himself from spraying water on the screen of his mobile phone, and his melon seeds all scattered around him. This was really unexpected. The girls chatted for a while, but realised that Wen Mingyi was still in the group, so they quickly changed the subject and stopped talking about Le Chi.

As such, Wen Mingyi held some impression of this character.

@ Found at https://dummynovels.com . TL by Amber.es 

(https://ko-fi.com/amberes)

Look at what’s happening now. The casual remarks of the girls in his class in his previous life came true. Wen Mingyi lowered his head and took a sip of coffee, feeling that this was really surprising.

After ending his talk with Zhuo Ran and Mu Ziang, Si Junduo took Wen Mingyi and drove away.

Seeing that they were gone, Mu Ziang asked Zhuo Ran, “Why did you give Wen Mingyi the role of Le Chi? Isn’t this role what Zeng Fengshi really wanted?”

“Zeng Fengshi is not suitable for this role,” Zhuo Ran said. “Their images are far too different. He isn’t suitable for it. It’d be better for him to change to another role in this drama, which will be more helpful to his future development.”

“True. Compared to him, Wen Mingyi is rather suitable as Le Chi. Even if his acting skills are average, just with his face, everyone won’t probably bicker too much.”

Zhuo Ran nodded slightly.

Mu Ziang sighed. “Unfortunately, even if we think so, Zeng Fengshi wouldn’t necessarily give in. He’s striving for this opportunity because he is able to see the potential of this show’s popularity. In the end, instead of him, you’re giving this role to Wen Mingyi, who is new to the company. I feel he wouldn’t be easily reconciled.”

“Acting is just like work. The role is the position of a job. Everyone should know what position is suitable for what kind of person. In youth idol dramas, the audience just wants to see handsome men and beautiful women gather together. Now, you tell them not to look at their faces but to watch their acting. You’re just going to make it difficult for the audience. What’s more,” Zhuo Ran walked to the car and ignited the engine, “this is still an IP adaptation. Everyone who has read the book knows that the setting of Le Chi is a youth who hasn’t gone through hardships. You look at Zeng Fengshi. Can you see that youthfulness, that feeling of not knowing sorrow?”

Mu Ziang said, “What we talk of here is useless. You will have to explain this to Zeng Fengshi. I understand your point, and I also support you. But my understanding is of no use.”

“As long as you understand,” Zhuo Ran said calmly. “There are so many actors in the company, it is impossible for everyone to understand, so it is enough if you understand.”

Mu Ziang, “Wow, I seem to be very good to Boss Zhuo.”

Zhuo Ran didn’t speak, and got into the car.

Si Junduo had the car drive Wen Mingyi back to the company. It was a smooth ride.

As soon as the two got out of the elevator, they saw Jiang Zimo talking to Lin Mu. Jiang Zimo nodded. As he turned around to leave, he glanced back and saw them.

His eyes lit up immediately, and surprisingly, he quickly walked towards Si Junduo.

The author has something to say:

Ming Ming: …
Ming Ming turned around and covered gege’s mouth and eyes. Not allowed to see or talk.
Ge Ge: …

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  So the Chinese name is 曾峰适, it can also be Zeng Fengkuo, but I’ll use Zeng Fengshi instead.