CH 119 Rubbing Off On Popularity & To Film

Sponsored Content

Tao Mu forwarded the video he had shot to Guo Yaning.
As for how Guo Yaning’s studio planmed to use this video to rub off on his popularity, that was out of Tao Mu’s control.

However, what surprised Tao Mu was that after his dance video was uploaded, Long Tianao found him again, saying that “The Legend of Heroes” wanted to rub off on his popularity with a pre-release promotion.
Naturally, the publicity plan was to edit the video when Tao Mu was acting as a stand-in as a behind the scenes sneak peek——

“Zhao Xin was too embarrassed to call you to tell you about this, so he asked me to beg you.
You won’t object, right?” As Long Tianao spoke, before Tao Mu could answer, he suddenly sneered: “Is there an old saying? Clever people may be victims of their own cleverness.
You say, that Zhao Xin is such a scheming guy, back then he already promised to let you join the crew as an actor, but just to have the money to film his shoddy movie, he followed along Zhao Keping’s instigations and turned you from an actor into a stand-in, and also have to agree to signing various unequal contracts with Summer Star Entertainment.
Now you have transformed into a big boss with money who can bring investment funds to the crew yourself.
Just to shoot a TV series, you could casually bring in a 14 million yuan investment.
A perfectly good act of kindness turned into this, and he had to ask me to relay even just a word.
He missed out on such a potential investor who is generous and amiable.
Do you think he regrets it?”

There was also that idiot Zhao Keping, who thought that he had deep scheming and skill, but only found himself to be bitten in the ass by his own cleverness.
He went directly from Tao Mu’s reserve agent to someone who offended a capital bigwig.

“These two brothers in distress are also destined for each other.
But what kind of friendship do we have? If you can’t get over that thing, I can help you vent any anger.” Long Tianao threw an arm over Tao Mu’s shoulders and sighed in a brotherly manner.

Tao Mu looked at the gloating Long Tianao speechlessly: “Who was the biggest beneficiary of that incident at the time? Could you please not show off after taking undeserved gains?”

“The biggest beneficiary was indeed me.” Long Tianao was frank, speaking as if he had put honey in his mouth: “If it wasn’t for this incident, how could I have known you.
If it wasn’t for you it would have been impossible for me to change from a hedonistic rich second generation who everybody looked down on to a program planner with high expectations from the company.
So, let us brothers be honest.
Tell me directly, if you really can’t swallow that anger, your buddy here will help you teach that blind fool a lesson.”

“Oh, stop!” Tao Mu pushed away classmate Long Aotian, and said, “Everything is business.
Don’t always show your second year junior high temper.
Everyone is just trying to make a livelihood.
It’s not easy for anyone.
There is no conflict of interest at all, so why offend that person?”

Tao Mu’s behavior had always adhered to acting when there was profit to be made.
Likely only the idle rich second generation like Long Tianao would go out of the way to teach someone a lesson for the sake of face.

Long Tianao smiled and said: “Why is there no benefit? I’m trying to please you here.
You are now our most honored business partner of Summer Star Entertainment.
Our company employee have offended you before, and as I am the boss, it’s impossible for me to pretend nothing wrong has happened, right?”

“But I also know that with your temper, you’ll definitely not be happy about me making trouble in the name of venting the anger for you.
But I’m a stupid person, so I can’t come up with the best of both worlds.
So I will just ask your opinion.
What do you think? I will follow your lead.
Aren’t I a good buddy?”

“Simply put, it’s just to coax me?” Tao Mu gave Long Tianao a knuckle rap on the head.
This kind of cheating and tricking thoughts had to be said so openly, did he not mind losing face?

Just as they were talking, Gou Rixin came over with Tao Mu’s cell phone: “Director Chen Yiqian’s phone call.”

Sponsored Content

Chen Yiqian, wasn’t that the director of “Purple Clouds”?

Tao Mu paused for a moment and then answered the phone: “Hello Director Chen, calling at this time, is there anything you need me for?”

Although the two of them didn’t communicate much, Tao Mu still thought about the kindness of Chen Yiqian recommending him to audition for the cast of “The Legend of Heroes” and spoke good words for him in front of Cheng Baodong.
Although Tao Mu’s role in “The Legend of Heroes” was soon replaced by Long Tianao, and his relationship with Cheng Baodong only stayed on a mutually beneficial level.
But Tao Mu was still grateful for Chen Yiqian’s willingness to lend a helping hand when he had yet to make it big.
At that time, Tao Mu had not yet established FlyNews.com, let alone established a relationship with Xiaoheng Capital.
The reason why Chen Yiqian helped him was that he simply thought he was a newcomer who deserved more chances.

It was precisely because of this goodwill that Tao Mu showed great respect for Chen Yiqian.
Now Chen Yiqian seemed to have something to ask of him, and so long as it was not too much, Tao Mu would never refuse.

Sure enough, Chen Yiqian was also a very measured person.
His thoughts were actually similar to Zhao Xin.
They both want to promote their own TV series using Tao Mu’s name——one must know that before “The Legend of Heroes”, Tao Mu was on the crew of “Purple Clouds” and acted as a stand-in for Shen Yu.

“Now the video of Mr.
Tao dancing is all over the Internet.
So we also edited a version of Mr.
Tao’s on-set footage of “Purple Clouds”, and we plan to post it on the Internet for a wave of publicity.” But after all, Tao Mu’s role in the crew was just Shen Yu’s stand-in, and Tao Mu’s relationship with Shen Yu was also a bit awkward.
Chen Yiqian couldn’t figure out what Tao Mu was thinking and whether or not he was willing to let the crew promote the TV series using his name?

——After all, after this version of the promotional footage was broadcast, someone would certainly compare Tao Mu and Shen Yu.
Especially as one of the two was a self-made business wizard, and the other was a son of a wealthy family.
Moreover, both the Shen family and Tao Mu hold shares in Sheng’an Group.
Before Yao Sheng’an made a big scandal at the Song family’s ancestral tomb at the beginning of the new year, and before the relevant video came out, it was said that Shen Yu had a lot of criticism about this matter in private, thinking that Tao Mu was too ruthless and did not leave room for forgiving the elderly.
And it was only because he was stopped by the Shen family, so he didn’t dare to say anything inappropriate on the social platform.

But even so, Shen Yu’s fans also hate Tao Mu very much.
If the “Purple Clouds” crew really used Tao Mu as a stunt double for Shen Yu as a publicity stunt.
It was foreseeable that the fans on both sides would definitely tear into each other because of this incident.
Chen Yiqian was also worried that Tao Mu would alo take his anger out on the entire crew because of this, so he called Tao Mu in advance to get a hint on Tao Mu’s attitude.

Tao Mu frowned slightly.
It was not that he didn’t agree with the way the crew of “Purple Clouds” wanted to rub off on his popularity.
In fact, when he became Shen Yu’s stunt double, he expected such a day to come.
He was already paid, so how could he still prevent others from normal publicity work? What was more, even if the “Purple Clouds” crew didn’t mention this, Shen Yu’s fans would not forget it when Shen Yu sent so many Weibo posts.
When the TV series was released, Shen Yu’s fans would revisit the old story.

So Tao Mu didn’t plan to stop the “Purple Clouds” crew from using this as a gimmick, and didn’t even feel as embarrassed as Chen Yiqian thought.
This was just normal work.

“That’s good.
That’s good.” Originally it was also written when the contract was signed that Tao Mu would cooperate with the crew to promote it when necessary.
However, because of Tao Mu’s status change in just half a year, especially after the number of registered users on FlyNews.com quickly surpassed the 100 million mark, Chen Yiqian actually felt a little flattered by the other’s willingness to perform the contract.

The two chatted a few more words before Chen Yiqian hung up the phone.

Long Tianao was listening the whole time, and couldn’t help frowning and sneering: “I thought this Director Chen was a good man.
I didn’t expect him to be so shameless.”

“How is that a way to talk?” Tao Mu squinted at Long Tianao.
The appearance of a certain someone shooting off his mouth was really a headache: “I can let the “Legend of Heroes” crew do publicity using my name.
Why can’t I agree to the request of the “Purple Clouds” crew? You can’t favor one over the other, right?”

Sponsored Content

“How can it be the same?” Long Tianao was immediately dissatisfied: “What is the relationship between us? What is the relationship between you and Shen Yu? That Chen Yiqian knew that the two of you were not on good terms, yet he had the cheek to talk to you about this.
I can already imagine what will happen to the fans of you two after the promotional footage of the “Purple Clouds” crew is broadcast.”

Tao Mu raised his eyebrows: “Wiil I be afraid?”

“Of course not.” Long Tianao, who had been eating melons on the Internet, clearly knew what attributes Tao Mu’s fans were——apart from that group of airheads who could only go “aaah”, there were also quite a few combat fans.
Those were all scolding masters who focus on all kinds of online fights.
Besides, Tao Mu’s own combat power was also at the level of being able to fight against Buddha.

If it really turned into a war, it was estimated that the brainless fans of Shen Yu were not enough for Tao Mu to even KO in one round.

Thinking of this, Long Tianao suddenly felt relieved.
This was the advantage of your friend possessing combat effectiveness——it sure gave a sense of security, no need at all to feel overly anxious.

When Long Tianao came back to his senses, he found Tao Mu looking at him strangely.

“What’s wrong?” Long Tianao touched his face, puzzled.

“Don’t you have a good relationship with Shen Yu?” Tao Mu rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
He could remember clearly that Long Tianao played very well with Shen Yu at the time.
The two often chat privately on the phone.

“Oh, yeah!” Long Tianao was stunned for a moment, and then said: “I thought Shen Yu was very pleasing to the eye at first.
I felt like he was different from ordinary children of rich families.
He was very naive, very kind, and very lively, and he got the most imaginative ideas, and spoke very differently than others.”

However, don’t know since when, the two basically have no communication?

Long Tianao recalled carefully, and found that it was after he and CEO Tao got close.
The several companies jointly held a talent show, and Long Tianao began to get involved in company affairs, and he had to attend gatherings with friends from the capital.
Over time, he didn’t have the energy to contact Shen Yu and the relationship gradually faded.
Especially after the incident of the Yao family coming out, Long Tianao really couldn’t figure out why such a kind and innocent person would speak for Yao Shengan.
Under these feelings of disappointment, he no longer felt the same heart throbbing from before.

Tao Mu understood, and patted Long Tianao on the shoulder: “Cherish your IQ, don’t go to Shanghai City.”

Long Tianao: “…..” What do you mean?

Sponsored Content

“Brother Mu, it’s time for your scene!” In the distance, a crew worker called Tao Mu to film.

Tao Mu, who had been standing in the corner waiting for his scene, responded and hurried into the set.

He was going to shoot a scene in which Su Dingbang was tortured and imprisoned, and witness his comrade-in-arms being tortured by the Japanese with his own eyes.
Upon seeing the bloody corpses of his comrades who were still alive the day before, Su Dingbang clearly realized that he could not resist such torture, so he defected.

At the shooting venue, the set designer had already set up the scene background.
The spooky and airtight prison had only a dim incandescent lamp swaying above.
Chen Jianguo, who played a member of the underground party, was tied to a rack, covered and dripping with blood.
The makeup teacher also stood by to touch up his makeup.

Teacher Shao Ming, who played the Japanese military officer, was standing a meter away in a Japanese military uniform, and was also getting his makeup touched up.
In addition, there were several special actors in charge of carrying out the torture.
Tao Mu, who was wearing a white suit, walked to his place, and everyone got into the right mindframe of emotions.
The clapper loader in charge of the clapperboard shouted “Action”.

“Su-san, I really didn’t expect that a noble young master like you, who should enjoy the riches and glory of the world, would be bewitched by these traitors and participate in these violent dealings.” The Japanese military officer walked up to Su Dingbang and said regretfully in very stiff Chinese.

Forced by the intimidating aura of the Japanese military officer, Su Dingbang played by Tao Mu couldn’t help but take a small step back, and inadvertently showed an obvious tremble.

Keenly noticing this, the Japanese military officer hooked the corner of his mouth upwards in amusement.
Instead of putting pressure on Su Dingbang, he walked up to the underground party member bound on a rack and slowly picked up a red-hot soldering iron from the charcoal basin.

“Under normal circumstances, when we formally entertain guests, we need to order appetizers.” The Japanese military officer said, crooked his neck in a mentally unstable way, and slowly pressed the soldering iron on the chest of the underground party member.

“Ahhhhhhh——” Chen Jianguo, who played the underground party member, shouted loudly.
The red-hot iron made a sizzling sound when it came into contact with the flesh, and a pungent smell of burnt flesh permeated the dark underground torture cell.
The piercing pain made him struggle subconsciously.
He was sweating profusely and his face twisted frightfully, and as the camera moved forward, his whole person appeared to convulse.

Su Dingbang jumped violently, leaning against the wall with a pale face, his body trembling slightly as he looked at the underground party member being put under torture.

“Alright, the appetizers are over.” The Japanese military officer put down the soldering iron, looked back at Su Dingbang, who was too frightened to speak, and smiled slightly: “Now, the main course begins.”

“Cut!” Zhou Hong shouted.
Sitting in front of the monitor and watching for a while, he reached out and beckoned Tao Mu: “Come here.”

Sponsored Content

Zhou Hong motioned to Tao Mu to look at the monitor by himself.
In the video playback, he saw that on the small screen, the two veteran actors who played the underground party member and the Japanese military officer were playing off on each other.
The interaction between the two and even every micro-expression made the atmosphere more and more tense.
In the end, when Teacher Chen Jianguo performed the scene where he struggled painfully from being tortured, it was even more shocking and painful to watch.

Their performance was especially brilliant.

Tao Mu’s expression changed slightly.

The performances of the two teachers were particularly brilliant.
In the whole picture, Su Dingbang was originally the third “protagonist”.
But even if he watched the video himself, he didn’t notice such a character at all.

Originally, he was supposed to be the main character of this scene, but the result was that Su Dingbang’s existence became just like the other special characters, becoming dispensable and fading into the scenery.
The only few close-ups, compared with the two veteran actors who played with ease and fierceness, came off slightly jerky and deliberate.
Looking very much out of place.

His acting was suppressed.

The two veteran actors who were still on the set looked at Tao Mu, who was standing in front of the monitor, frowning, and smiled at each other involuntarily.

In real life, Tao Mu was an investor who brought capital into the crew and was a big boss.
It was not wrong that everyone treated him respectfully.
But if it was in the scene, well, it was each according to his ability.

At the same time, they also wanted to observe Tao Mu’s reaction——this child was fine everywhere.
He was pure-hearted, generous, and could handle things, but they didn’t know what his temperament was like.

According to the reaction of the students from Beijing Film, this child was quite burdened by idol baggage.
The so-called idol baggage, in the eyes of these old fellows, was just basically having thin skin and placing importance on keeping face.

Then they have to see, when this little guy with a particularly heavy idol baggage was suppressed by old senior actors, could he take back his stage presence with his own skills, or rely on his identity as an investor to have these veteran actors hold back for his sake.

This was just the first scene, and the major scene that followed had not yet even come.
Everyone was just curious and wanted to know which path Tao Mu would choose.

Zhan Bin and Zhan Baoli, who both had no part in this scene, also quietly walked to the corner of the studio.

Tao Mu didn’t notice everyone’s reaction.
He just watched the video thoughtfully for a while, then asked the director to take one more shot, two more, three more…..so immersed in the shooting Tao Mu didn’t know that, just when he was concentrating on honing his acting skills, the sky was overturned outside because of the promotional behind the scenes released by the “Purple Clouds” crew.