Dark Fire chapter 2
Script Reading Session
The conference room was already full of people. Ling Zhuo entered, greeted everyone, and then took his seat.
Lu Chixie entered a moment later, his long legs passing by Ling Zhuo as he pulled out a chair and sat down next to him carelessly.
A staff member across the room smiled and reminded, “Teacher Lu, that seat is for Fei jie. Move over one spot so you and Xiao Ling can discuss your scenes with her.”
Lu Chixie didn’t mind, “What difference does it make? I have plenty of scenes with him too, I’ll just sit here.”
Once Lu Chixie made up his mind, no one could persuade him otherwise. He leaned back in his chair and turned to Ling Zhuo, “Ling, let’s add each other on WeChat.”
Ling Zhuo was reading the script. He turned to meet Lu Chixie’s lazy, smiling eyes and hesitated for a moment before taking out his phone.
Half a minute later, Lu Chixie looked at the enlarged profile picture of Ling Zhuo on his screen, showing five boys with arms around each other’s shoulders facing the sunrise. He smirked slightly.
He asked Ling Zhuo, “Why is there nothing in your Moments? Did you block me?”
Ling Zhuo felt slightly embarrassed and explained, “No, I just don’t like posting in Moments.”
Lu Chixie gave a laugh that was hard to interpret, “Oh, I don’t post in Moments either.”
Ling Zhuo didn’t reply and continued to focus on reading his script.
Twenty minutes later, the female lead, Yu Fei, arrived late, apologizing for her tardiness and having her assistant distribute snacks she had brought. This popular actress seemed to be easy-going and unpretentious.
After another round of introductions, Yu Fei sat down on the other side of Lu Chixie, where he originally should have sat, and the script reading session officially began.
Ling Zhuo had been pushed into the cast by Zhang Jing and wasn’t very interested in acting, but his nature was such that after accepting the role, he still prepared diligently. He not only read the entire script but also read the original novel online and wrote a detailed character analysis for the role he was to play, coming well-prepared.
The session began with the screenwriter introducing the core concept of the drama.
“Burning Love” is a historical fantasy drama. The female lead, Zhuge You, is the eldest daughter of the most powerful sect, Gui Xu Mountain. She is extraordinarily beautiful, exceptionally talented, and very fortunate, accidentally obtaining several priceless magical artifacts, attracting numerous suitors. She has a deep bond with her senior brother, Lin Lanyu, and they are engaged.
During a journey, Zhuge You rescues the male lead, Xuan Jiang, who is powerless, dying, and even amnesiac. She not only saves him but also restores his broken spiritual root. The silent Xuan Jiang becomes her most loyal servant, and they gradually develop feelings for each other, causing frequent clashes with Lin Lanyu.
One night, Gui Xu Mountain is attacked by a powerful enemy. All the barriers are broken, and the sect is massacred. Zhuge You and Lin Lanyu are saved and escape. Later, they learn that Xuan Jiang, who is actually from the demon realm, orchestrated everything to obtain her artifacts and the sect’s secret techniques.
Zhuge You is heartbroken and decides to marry Lin Lanyu to seek revenge. During their wedding, Xuan Jiang appears, revealing his true identity, and forcibly takes Zhuge You away. Lin Lanyu follows them to the demon realm, fights Xuan Jiang, and is mortally wounded. To save Lin Lanyu, Zhuge You marries Xuan Jiang, planning to kill him later.
The story continues with Zhuge You enduring humiliation, engaging in a love-hate relationship with Xuan Jiang, and collaborating with Lin Lanyu to eventually defeat the demon realm and uncover the truth about Xuan Jiang’s transformation into a demon. It turns out that Xuan Jiang’s parents were killed by Zhuge You’s father, and the artifacts and techniques he sought were originally his family’s.
The main characters go through intense emotional struggles, and while the original novel ends ambiguously, the script adaptation leans towards a happy ending.
The screenwriter and several directors took turns analyzing the script, inviting feedback from others. The discussion was lively, with Ling Zhuo jotting down notes in his script.
Yu Fei first questioned the ending, “The relationship between Zhuge You and Xuan Jiang, despite their mutual harm, can be justified, but if Lin Lanyu’s spiritual roots were destroyed by Xuan Jiang, and he turned into an ordinary mortal with a short lifespan, and in the end sacrificed himself for Zhuge You, even if Zhuge You didn’t love Lin Lanyu, he was still one of the most important people in her life, and someone who had shown her kindness. If she disregards Lin Lanyu and forcefully chooses Xuan Jiang, I think her character would collapse, and her overall charm would be greatly reduced.”
He Jingping responded, “That’s true, but we’re trying to cater to current market tastes. People don’t like tragic endings anymore.”
Yu Fei suggested, “Then we should modify Lin Lanyu’s ending, perhaps allowing him a chance to recover his power. This way, the conflict between Zhuge You and Xuan Jiang wouldn’t be as severe. Is that feasible?”
Ling Zhuo frowned inwardly. The most compelling aspect of Lin Lanyu’s character was his deep love and tragic fate, becoming more poignant as the story progressed. Changing his ending as Yu Fei suggested would reduce him to merely a rival for the male lead, diminishing his charm significantly.
But the opinion belonged to Yu Fei, and Ling Zhuo couldn’t publicly disagree even if he didn’t approve.
“There’s nothing much to change,” Lu Chixie lazily remarked, “Is it worth the trouble to keep changing it? The original novel’s ending is pretty good. Let’s just stick to that. There’s no need to force a big happy ending. In the end, it might be criticized as cliché and lacking originality.”
Ling Zhuo subconsciously glanced at the person beside him. Lu Chixie lifted an eyebrow, their eyes met, and Lu Chixie winked.
Ling Zhuo fell silent and withdrew his gaze.
The screenwriter looked awkward, turned to the executive producer Gao Cheng, who cleared his throat and said, “We have our concerns too. It’s not solely up to us. We need to consider various opinions…”
He wasn’t being subtle. Everyone present was familiar with the industry. This drama was jointly produced by Shangxun Video and the production company where Gao Cheng was from. The production company was the investor, one of the three major video websites being Shangxun. The biggest say was in the hands of Shangxun, so what Gao Cheng said indicated that the decision about the ending rested with Shangxun.
Lu Chixie sent a WeChat message to his assistant: “Go and find out who has such low taste that they insist on changing the ending of ‘Burning Love’.”
With the discussion about the ending reaching this point, it had to be temporarily set aside, and they continued discussing other parts of the script.
Twenty minutes later, Gao Cheng went out to take a call and returned saying, “Regarding the ending, I’ve thought about it. Why don’t we just stick to the original? What do you think, Director He?”
He Jingping: “…”
He Jingping actually didn’t have much of an opinion, but everyone knew that behind Shangxun Video was Shangxin Technology, and Lu Chixie was the crown prince of Shangxin.
Previously, Lu Chixie hadn’t expressed dissatisfaction with the script’s ending. Even if they followed Yu Fei’s suggestion and removed the storyline of Lin Lanyu, it wouldn’t affect Xuan Jiang’s character. So why did he suddenly have an opinion today? And why did he go through the trouble to pressure Gao Cheng and have the ending changed back?
Not just He Jingping, Ling Zhuo couldn’t understand either. It was better to just let it go. Gao Cheng’s explicit statement about using the original ending actually relieved him. At least his character’s highlight was preserved.
At twelve o’clock, the morning tasks were over, and everyone stayed on set to have boxed lunches. The script reading session would continue in the afternoon.
Ling Zhuo returned to his rest room. Yang Ming had already helped him with his luggage and settled everything in the hotel. Just back at the set, he brought him a boxed lunch.
Ling Zhuo sat on the sofa, picking at his food while messaging Zhong Yiran.
Zhong Yiran: “Did everything go smoothly today?”
Ling Zhuo: “It went fairly smoothly.”
Zhong Yiran: “Fairly?”
Ling Zhuo recounted what happened at the morning meeting. Zhong Yiran teased him, “You were lucky then, thanks to that crown prince of Shangxin.”
Ling Zhuo: “Yeah, I owe it to him.”
Sending this, Ling Zhuo remembered Lu Chixie’s slightly strange attitude towards him, and he felt a bit awkward for no reason.
Just as he was thinking about this, that person suddenly appeared. He strolled in from the half-open door leading to the terrace, casually sat on the sofa, and glanced at Ling Zhuo’s boxed lunch, “Are You only eating this?”
Ling Zhuo subconsciously glanced at the terrace outside, and Lu Chixie smiled, “It’s connected outside, didn’t you know?”
Then he proposed, “I brought a chef to cook separately. Would you like to join?”
Ling Zhuo: “Thank you, but I think the boxed lunch here is quite good.”
Lu Chixie: “So you’re eating spicy food even with a sore throat?”
Ling Zhuo looked at him in surprise.
Lu Chixie smiled again, then leaned closer, lowering his voice, “Ling, be careful when discussing others at the set. Walls have ears.”
Ling Zhuo instantly felt embarrassed, his face flushing, “I… apologize…”
Lu Chixie was pleased with his reaction and then told him, “But you guessed wrong. I’m taking on this role, not for the challenging aspect you thought.”
“Why is that?” Ling Zhuo asked instinctively.
Lu Chixie paused for a moment, his gaze wandering on Ling Zhuo’s face before slowly saying, “Just for fun. I chose the script by throwing darts.”
Ling Zhuo: “…”
He felt like he was being played by this person.
Lu Chixie continued, “But now I think, this choice isn’t bad after all.”
Ling Zhuo frowned.
Lu Chixie leaned back, threw a box of throat lozenges to him, “Take these. They’ll soothe your throat. They might work even better than cough syrup.”
Ling Zhuo hesitated a bit, not wanting to accept it, but also feeling it was an overreaction to refuse a box of throat lozenges. After some hesitation, he accepted it.
He said to Lu Chixie, “Thank you.”
Lu Chixie looked pleased, “You’re welcome.”