Chapter 51. I Want to Play a Pretty Boy!

Jin Yong adaptations have decent traction, but period dramas featuring the queue hairstyle were out of the question.

The Book and the Sword directed by Li Guoli wasn’t even that popular. If Ji Yu remembered correctly, it starred Zhao Wenzhuo.

It seemed none of Zhao Wenzhuo’s shows had ever truly blown up.

Even if he were to take a role in The Book and the Sword, he wouldn't be playing Chen Jialuo; he'd most likely end up as the second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth chieftain.

Shooting a drama like that held little to no meaning.

What he needed right now was a breakout role that would instantly skyrocket him to fame.

The Book and the Sword? Forget about it.

He wanted to play a pretty boy. What on earth was a rat-tail braid? It was hideous!

Old Cai never expected Ji Yu to refuse outright. What was wrong with a queue-hairstyled period drama?!

Wasn't it much better than that psycho killer role of his?!

Why wouldn't he listen to reason? She really had to take him down a peg!

Newcomers were always so full of themselves. After playing a second male lead in a unit drama, did he really think he was a megastar now?

"Pull over!" As soon as Ji Yu parked the car, Old Cai couldn't help reaching out to flick him on the forehead.

"You don't want to play this, you don't want to play that! What exactly do you want to play?"

Ji Yu spread his hands and said, "It's so ugly! Does that look good to you?"

He lifted his bangs and pulled them back forcefully.

Seeing him act goofy, Old Cai laughed exasperatedly and said, "Then what do you want to play? Chu Liuxiang?"

Ji Yu shook his head, counting on his fingers as he said, "I want to play a pretty boy, you know—like Hanazawa Rei, Domyoji, Professor Do..."

"What on earth is a Hanazawa Rei?!" Old Cai looked at him as if he were an idiot.

Wait, why did the term "pretty boy" sound somewhat familiar?

Old Cai remembered that she seemed to have heard about this project before.

She looked at Ji Yu suspiciously, wondering if some other company had been approaching him behind her back.

She asked with squinted eyes, "How do you even know about pretty boys? What are you up to?"

"I've read the manga. For a handsome guy like me, it would be a terrible waste not to play a pretty boy," Ji Yu said with a languid tone, though he knew a pretty boy role would never fall to him anyway.

He had just thrown it out there for comparison, simply because he didn't want to wear a queue.

Sensing that Ji Yu was becoming rebellious, Old Cai pondered for a moment before pulling out her phone to make a long-distance call to the mainland!

"Sister Zhiping, I heard someone in Taiwan is planning to adapt a pretty boy manga into a TV series?"

Hearing Old Cai's words, Ji Yu's eyes snapped wide open.

Old Cai made a shushing gesture at him, and when she heard the reply from the other end of the line, her own eyes lit up as well.

"You're the one producing it?" Old Cai asked with some surprise.

Far away in Taiwan, Angie Chai laughed and replied, "Yeah, how did you find out?"

"I heard it from someone else, so I called to ask you about it."

After chatting and laughing for a bit, Old Cai noticed Ji Yu rubbing his hands like a fly and bowing to her frantically, which made her roll her eyes.

Was a pretty boy role really that attractive? What was wrong with a rat-tail braid anyway!

Still, she decided to ask anyway.

"Sister Zhiping, has filming started yet? Are you still short on any cast members?"

"Oh, I see, they've already been cast? No worries, no worries. One of my artists is a huge fan of that manga, so he's dying to be in it."

"A newcomer, just played a second male lead. His new drama is airing in Beijing and Shanghai."

"He definitely has talent. His look is top-notch, of course—you know my eye and taste."

As Old Cai spoke line by line, Ji Yu looked like he was about to jump out of his skin.

Could it be that his casual nonsense might actually land him a chance in Meteor Garden?

If that happened, wouldn't his career take off like a rocket?!

Yet he quickly calmed himself down. Why would an opportunity like that ever fall on him?

A Taiwanese production wouldn't cast a mainland actor, would they?

Before long, Old Cai finished chatting with Angie Chai and hung up the phone.

She shook her head and said, "It's just a small project, not worth mentioning. Jin Yong dramas are so much better! Why play some pretty boy and waste all those solid martial arts skills?"

Ji Yu: "......" You foolish little marmot!!

Seeing his skeptical look, Old Cai glared in dissatisfaction, let out a cold snort, and said, "Neither Angie Chai nor the director even knows what they're doing. A show like that is bound to flop, and the entire cast consists of newbies. If that's not a small project, what is?"

Ji Yu smiled faintly, giving up on trying to communicate any further with this foolish marmot.

Next year, she would deeply regret today's thoughts!

Yet deep down, Ji Yu felt an immense sense of regret. It was sheer torture to look at a feast and not be able to take a bite.

That was Meteor Garden, a show that would sweep across Southeast Asia!

What a pity, what a pity—he wouldn't get to be the dream lover of countless young girls.

Noticing his disappointment, Old Cai changed her tune and said, "If you really want to act in it, it's not entirely out of the question. I can try to pull some strings for you, but..."

"Sister! I'll scale mountains of daggers and plunge into seas of fire for you! You could even make me keep Sister Zhang company in bed right now and I'd do it!"

Old Cai couldn't help laughing, reaching out to tap the center of his forehead as she scolded playfully,

"You're very talented at acting, and your appearance is great. Why are you so obsessed with playing a pretty boy? Projects like that have no future."

"To be completely honest with you, I am a very superficial person."

"......"

Looking at Ji Yu's hopeless attitude, Old Cai didn't even know what to say anymore.

She sighed and said, "I'll fax your photos over later. If she shows any interest, I'll let you know."

"Thank you, Sister! You're my own dear sister!"

"Don't get your hopes up too high. Taiwanese TV dramas don't necessarily use mainland artists."

"If it's meant to be, it's my fortune; if not, it's my fate."

Ji Yu acted very open-minded. There was no harm in casting a wide net—what if an opportunity actually arose?

Dropping the subject, Old Cai looked at him and said, "If you really don't want to do a queue drama, I have another resource for you. But this production is a bit more troublesome; it requires cashing in some favors."

Ji Yu was genuinely moved; Old Cai really looked out for him!

Curious, he asked, "What show?"

"The Sword of Third Master. I'm reasonably well-acquainted with the boss of Zijiang Pictures, so it should be fine."

Ji Yu was somewhat surprised. That drama was a major hit too!

What surprised him even more, however, was that Old Cai's connections seemed remarkably strong.

Reflecting on how she had come to develop her career in the mainland back in 1998, successively collaborating with China Film Group, Beijing Film Studio, the TV Drama Production Center, Jiuzhou Audiovisual, Golden Horse Films, and many others—could anyone achieve that without real capability?

The Legendary Siblings, Suzhou Two Constables, Legends of Chinese Mythology series, The Yang Clan Generals series—her primary partners were all part of the Beijing circle.

Whenever there was a co-production, one simply couldn't avoid China Film and the Beijing circle figures, and if there were Taiwanese actors involved, Jiuzhou Audiovisual Publishing House was also an obligatory stop.

Jiuzhou operated directly under the Taiwan Affairs Office, specializing in cultural and artistic exchanges with Taiwan.

Leaders from Jiuzhou had served as producers or executive producers on several of Chinese Entertainment's (Tangren's) dramas.

Even though her surname was Cai (which sounded like "weak" or "incompetent" in slang), Old Cai was anything but incompetent! For a woman under thirty to reach such heights, she was more formidable than many men.

Seeing that Ji Yu remained silent, Old Cai reached out to pinch his ear and scolded, "Ji Yu! You don't want to act in this, you don't want to act in that! Do you want to fly up to the heavens?!"

"I'll act! I never said I wouldn't! Which role?" Ji Yu asked, wincing in pain.

Only then did Old Cai let go and say, "The second male lead, at the very least! Otherwise, I won't agree to it."

"Sister! You are so domineering!"

"Don't flatter me! Since neither that so-called pretty boy nor The Sword of Third Master is guaranteed, you're coming right back with me to honestly film The Book and the Sword!"

"No problem at all. Forget the queue, I'll even play a bald monk if you want!"

Old Cai couldn't help laughing, looking somewhat helpless as she said, "Things aren't easy to run in the company right now. Yapan has thoughts of leaving too, otherwise, I wouldn't bother with you."

Ji Yu scratched his head and asked, "Sister, is it appropriate to share company secrets like this with me?"

"I consider you one of us!" Old Cai checked the time and said, "It's still early. Let's go do some karaoke!"