Chapter Text
Entertainment Daily @entdailyofficial Oct 21, 2019
Is Wei Wuxian making a comeback?
The entertainment industry is abuzz with the
potential rumour of a new movie by megastar
Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian was….
WeiWuxiansbeloved @lovewwx Oct 21, 2019
Fucking Finally!!!!
Min-Jie @thatgirl90 Oct 21 2019
Please let it be true this time
Polar Bear @coolwhitebear Oct 22 2019
This guy is so annoying.
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StarsWeekly @officialStarWeek Feb 14, 2020
Has Wei Wuxian finally signed a new movie?
Sources say that Wei Wuxian has finally
signed a new movie after a four-year hiatus….
Nicole @Prisimgirl Feb 14, 2020
Every month I see these rumours only to be disappointed again…when will my suffering end.
Dandruff hair @coolcars7483 Feb 14 2020
I will believe this when I see the new movie and not a minute before.
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Wei Ying was looking at the news stories about himself. This wasn't something he habitually did. It was a waste of time and wasn’t even funny after the hundredth time.
The headlines were most of the same old a little truth mixed with a lot of stories that were just made up.
It wasn't his fault that there weren't any interesting projects. He hadn’t been idle all this time, but this lack of work was making him antsy now. He hadn’t done a movie in four years, which was practically centuries in the fast-paced entertainment world.
Thankfully, he had a meeting with a new producer in… he checked the time on his phone; The office was an hour away, and the meeting was ten minutes.
Wei Ying rushed to his room and changed his clothes as fast as possible. He didn’t want to make a poor impression on the new producer. He had always tried to be punctual despite his problems with keeping track of time. Wei Ying didn’t want to be one of those actors who wasted everyone’s time.
Wei Ying drove at a reasonable speed and reached the brand-new office of Folding Fans Productions.
He hoped that Nie Huaisang, the owner of this new production house, hadn’t just cancelled the meeting in a fit of rage. It had happened before. It was his first meeting with this man and he was sure that he had already made a terrible impression.
He rushed inside and took the stairs. The office was on the seventh floor, so it wasn’t too high up.
He reached the floor and was surprised by how wonderful everything looked. It wasn’t unexpected. In his research, he had found that Nie Huaisang used to be a well-known gallerist. So it wasn’t surprising to find the office littered with famous artworks that were all connected to films and their history.
He made his way towards the Secretary’s desk, who turned towards him and gave him a generic customer service smile. If she had recognised him, she didn’t show that.
“Hello xiansheng, how can I help you today?” She asked.
“Xie-Jie, I had a meeting with Producer Nie today.” He gave her his most winning smile.
She appeared surprised when he mentioned her name, but quickly schooled her face to its previous state after a quick look at her nametag.
“The one which was supposed to start half an hour ago?” She didn’t sound even the least bit judgemental. Wei Wuxian commended her poker face in his head.
“Yes, that one.” His smile got brighter.
“Producer Nie is waiting for you in his office. You can go inside xiansheng.” She said as she gave him the direction to Nie Huaisang’s office.
Wei Wuxian winked at her instead of thanking her and as he turned, he could see the faint smile on her face, which was already turning red.
Before he could enter his office, Nie Huaisang came outside to greet him.
According to people on the internet, he was a talentless hack who just stumbled onto success. Someone clueless about the art business or its history. Yet, he entered the risky entertainment business due to his success in the field. Wei Wuxian had seen the script he had gotten. It wasn’t something exciting. He just wanted to see what kind of man sent this script to a picky actor like him.
“Ah Wei-laoshi, we finally meet.” He greeted. He looked happy for the man who had been waiting for an hour.
“Producer Nie, it’s nice to meet you too. I hope I didn’t make you wait long.” He tried to sound apologetic.
“I didn't have to wait long. My last meeting ran longer than I expected.“ He said as he opened the gate to his office.
He was surprised to see that the smaller office had more art on the wall. Another man, probably his secretary, was already inside brewing what appeared to be tea.
Both of them sat down, and Wei Wuxian used this opportunity to look around. There was an empty cup of tea and an open file. There were also various knick-knacks on the table, giving it a chaotic look. All of them were related to movies in ways that weren’t obvious. This wasn’t the man rumours made him to be.
“Wei- Xiong, thank you for giving our company a chance. I know there are many people eager to work with you.” Nie Huaisang said.
“No need, no need, Nie-Xiong, I am not busy at all. I am eager to listen to what you say.”
“You really are too humble, ah. Did you read the script I sent you?” Nie Huaisang said as he gave him his cup of tea.
“I have, but I would still like to discuss the story with you. I want to know why you’re interested. You are also a creative person. This is your first story. It must have a special place in your heart.” He said as he accepted his cup.
He drank the tea as he thought about why Nie Huaisang wanted to make the movie. Wei Wuxian didn’t think that there was a special artistic reason. The story wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t very good either. One reason could be that this script was written by Nie Mingjue, who was Nie Huaisang’s big brother. The other, more cynical reason, was that it was a safe product. A generic romantic comedy that doesn't require much money to make.
At the start of his career, he worked in movies like that, but never as a lead actor. So it will be a new role for him if he accepts. But he knew it will not be challenging. He wanted to see if Nie Huaisang could change his perspective.
The tea was quite good, white and made to his taste. Before he could compliment Nie Huaisang’s assistant for his excellent skills, Nie Huaisang spoke. “ I do not know. What more can I say Wei-Xiong. It’s a romantic comedy and I will not insult your experience by trying to make it look like it is not that.”
Good, Wei Wuxian thought, at least he was honest. He had seen many people who had tried to pitch him their scripts by lying about it. It had never worked, of course.
“Is that all Nie-Xiong? If this is true, go with someone else. Give a newbie this chance. The script isn’t too bad, but my fees are probably too high to justify your investment.”
“Wei-Xiong ah, why are you talking like a businessman? Aiyah, you'd be a better producer than me. I have other, better scripts, but I wanted to work with you. I sent you this one because you haven’t done such a role in your career. Everything that you do is nothing like what you’ve previously done. So I knew this was my best chance to get you to agree. Your fans are all eager to see you back. You should definitely do this movie for them.” He said, leaning back in his chair.
All of this was true. Nie Huaisang had done his research. It wasn’t something great, but it was a good sign. People would be surprised how often he met producers who just wanted to work with him because he was a big actor who would make them money, without seeing what movies he enjoyed doing or if he was even suitable for the role. Still, he wanted to ask him more.
“Wouldn’t it be better that I do a better movie for my comeback?” Wei Wuxian was laughing, but his words had no malice.
Nie Huaisang’s assistant looked at him darkly, but Wei Wuxian maintained a carefree expression.
“You really are too honest, Wei-Xiong. But I think this movie will be good for you.” Nie Huaisang said and Wei Wuxian could detect a hint of mischievousness in his voice.
There was something Nie Huaisang was hiding and there was nothing short of agreeing that will make him reveal that.
“Really Nie-Xiong. I will trust your judgement then.” Wei Wuxian said cheekily.
Hearing him agree when he had been listing reasons to say no this whole time, Nie Huaisang’s assistant’s jaw dropped to the floor.
He should have more faith in his boss, Wei Wuxian thought. Wei Wuxian had said yes, knowing that he could always step back from this movie if Nie Huaisang had just been fibbing.
“You have made a superb choice, Wei-Xiong. I offered you the role without an audition because I really respect you as an artist. We will, of course, discuss it further to confirm, but now I can start the further creative process with the help of our director Lan Wangji.” Nie Huaisang tried to say the last part casually but there was mischief in the way he said it.
Wei Wuxian didn’t notice any of this and screamed,” What, you convinced Lan Zhan to direct it?”
Nie Huaisang looked smug as he replied,” Yes, Did I forget to mention it? My bad, I am quite forgetful. But yes, Lan-Dao is going to work on this project. I hope you don’t have a problem with this, Wei-Xiong.”
Wei Wuxian couldn’t think. Lan Zhan was the only director he respected with whom he hadn’t done a movie. They had done a few advertisements together in the past, but they didn’t have any creative control over anything back then. But now, Lan Zhan was the best director in the industry and Wei Ying admired his work very much. It was not a secret that he wanted to work with the man, despite Lan Zhan not being his biggest fan.
This revelation had made one thing clear to him: he had to do this movie.
“Nie- Xiong, you really know me very well. Consider our meeting done. I will definitely do this movie now.” He said as he banged the table with both of his fists.
The assistant looked bewildered at this change. Wei Wuxian had been calm and collected, but now he was behaving like a maniac.
“I knew you would agree in the end. I can already tell you that this partnership will be a great one.” His eyes crinkled with a smile that was hidden behind his folding fan.
Wei Wuxian came back to his house. This time, he had driven slowly. He didn’t want to cause an accident before he did his movie with Lan Zhan.
He could not see why would Lan Wangji want to direct this movie. The script was something really generic. But he couldn’t say he understood how he worked. How many times had he seen the premise of his movies and thought that they would be boring, but every time he had been blown away by what was on screen. So he did not know what had Lan Wangji seen in this script, but whatever it was, he wanted to be a part of it.
He giggled to himself. It was such a wonderful opportunity. Wei Ying had worked with many directors in his career, which even included Lan Zhan’s shushu Lan Qiren, but he had never even auditioned for one of Lan Zhan’s movies. Life was really too unfair.
But this was his big chance, and he would not squander it. He will redefine what it means to be a romantic lead on screen. He just needed to prepare for the role as soon as possible. Wei Ying hadn’t acted anywhere for years. He could be rusty, and that would not endear Lan Zhan to him at all.
He texted his manager, Wen Ning. Although Wen Ning was on holiday on which Wei Ying had forcibly sent him, he still wanted him to be one of the first people to know. He would be the one who will manage his schedule and negotiate with Nie Huaisang’s company.
Wen Ning looked meek and most of the time he was, but in defending Wei Wuxian, he transformed into a fearsome ghost who could even make the bravest of men weep.
He was so excited at this moment; he didn’t know what to do, so he did what he always did and called his jiejie.
She picked up almost immediately. And Wei Wuxian just grinned. Jiejie was always ready to talk to him.
“A-Ying, won’t you tell jiejie the reason for your happiness?” She knew him well enough to know without him needing to say a word.
“Jiejie, A-Ying is happy because he might get to work with Lan Zhan.” He said, grinning ear to ear.
“Ah, that is great news, A-Ying. I know how much you wanted to work with him. Now I will finally see my A-Ying on screen after such a long time.” Her happiness was clear in her voice.
“A-Ying will work hard for jiejie.” He was feeling comfortable after hearing her voice
“I know, A-Ying always works hard. Won’t you come to visit your jiejie before you get busy again? I am…” Before she could say anything else, he heard a loud cry from her side. It was Jin Ling. He was still a baby, so he cried a lot.
“Jiejie, you go be with Jin Ling. God knows the peacock can’t calm him down.”
If it was some other time, Jiang Yanli would have playfully chided him for calling her boring businessman husband a peacock, but right now Jin Ling was crying, so she just apologised and cut the call.
In the meantime, Wen Ning texted him back. He was freaking out. Wei Ying just told him to enjoy his vacation.
He texted the news to the rest of his family and put his phone down. It was time to work.
He read and analysed the script. He had been told the script wasn’t final (when was it ever), but he still wanted to understand his character.
His character was an everyman who had a nice job but had hidden dreams he couldn’t pursue. He meets his love interest, who teaches him the meaning of life, while he grounds them and gives them a place to call home. All this while, they try to flee from the goons who are chasing them because of a misunderstanding.
It wasn’t much to work with, but he did what he could. This man differed from him in every way, so he needed to understand what such a person would act like.
So he did what he always did. He searched for some movies to watch and books to read. He would try to watch them before meeting Lan Zhan. According to his previous experience, there were many ways to depict such a character, from this guy being the straight man in the comedic pair to the unusual of this character being the weirder one.
He would make the final decision after meeting Lan Zhan, but he wanted to be prepared.
He went to bed still thinking about this movie.
Wen Ning was in front of his house the next day. He looked like he hadn’t slept at all. Wei Ying was stunned at this display of extreme work ethic, although he should have expected it.
Wen Ning came inside. He had even brought him breakfast. This man was a saint. He must have saved his life or something in his previous life, to get his undying loyalty even now.
“Wei Gongzi,” He said as Wei Wuxian was heating the Jianbing Wen Ning had gotten for both of them.
Hearing Wen Ning calling him gongzi, still Wei Ying frowned. He had known Wen Ning for years despite that, he was so formal, ugh it was terrible.
“Wen Ning, my sweet little manager, why are you calling me gongzi still? Aren’t we close? Tell me why couldn’t you enjoy your vacation for some more time. There is time still. You didn’t need to come so soon.” He gave Wen Ning one of the Jianbing he had brought for him.
Wen Ning looked a little guilty at this for a reason Wei Ying couldn’t fathom.
“Wei-Gongzi, what do you want me to do?”
Hearing this, Wei Ying poked his shoulders and said,” Don’t be like this A-Ning. Why are you so worried about work? Tell me about your vacation first. What did you do? How is A-Yuan? What places did you visit?”
Hearing A-Yuan’s name, Wen Ning smiled and said,” My vacation was fun, Wei-gongzi. A-Yuan is in school now, so we couldn’t do much. A-Yuan is good, but he misses you. We just visited Wudangshan one day, but otherwise, we didn’t go anywhere. But Wei-Gongzi, you are interested in working after a long time, I would need to do so much work, please tell me what I need to do.”
“Now that you are here, you can talk to producer Nie and work on all the details about the schedule. I want to be there when they change the script or make a storyboard. So ask about that too.” He said, knowing that Wen Ning would rather talk shop right now.
Wen Ning just nodded his head and gave him a smile. He marvelled at Wen Ning’s dedication. When Wei Ying stopped working, Wen Ning tried his best to find something for him to do. He had made sure that he did some minor roles or some advertisements so as to not completely sever his connections in the industry. He was a person who truly cared for him.As he thought about all this, feeling grateful for his friend, Wei Ying also smiled.
It was time to do what he did best: act.