Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

The living space of this capsule was very small. The relatively tall Lu Zhiyao’s head was only a dozen centimeters below the ceiling. The decoration of the entire capsule was simple and futuristic. There were no extra decorations.

In the place where a television screen should be was a large green screen. Television programs would be synthesized in later stages.

There were also a few props for shooting such as fast food, relief meals, potato chips, and beer.

Of course, these props were custom-made. Some special stickers were attached to the outside of ready-made long cans of beer in the case of beers. On the one hand, they were used to cover the original trademarks; on the other hand, it was used to highlight the background setting of this world.

In addition to the fictitious trademarks printed on the beer cans, there were some colorful advertisements. The setting in this futuristic world was for advertisements to be so pervasive that even beer cans were not spared after all. Lu Zhiyao then lay in the capsule and started the shoot.

First, it was a few shots of him doing nothing in the capsule and watching commercials on the television.

These scenes were relatively easy to take. There was not much acting required; therefore, it was done quickly after a few shots.

Next was the scene of eating relief meals.

There was a special dining area in the capsule opposite the bed. It was enough for one person. There was a small screen on the wall next to the table and a food outlet.

The small screen had a green screen for now. An ordering menu would be created with post-production special effects. This small screen would loop various food advertisements when it was not used to order food.

This scene was simple as well. The male lead would receive his relief meal for the day when it was time for food. Watching the various delicacies looping on the small screen while he consumed his relief meal spelled nothing but tragic.

Lu Zhiyao sat by the dining table and looked at the food outlet numbly.

It had become a routine at fixed timings so Lu Zhiyao had no expectations at all.

The mouth of the food outlet opened with a ‘click’. A package that looked presentable dropped out of the meal outlet onto the dining table.

Lu Zhiyao tore the seal—which seemed to be foil-expressionlessly, exposing the black and white powder within.

“What is inside?” Pei Qian asked quietly.

“Milk powder and chocolate powder,” Zhu Xiaoce replied in the same manner.

Pei Qian nodded. “That’s fine.”

This sh*t is at least edible. It seemed like he did not need to give Lu Zhiyao more money.

Lu Zhiyao took the tray and brought it to the water receiving port next to him to add warm water to it. He then stirred it evenly with the small spoon provided in the tray. Of course, the entire process was mundane and meaningless.

He then picked up the spoon and fed himself mouthful by mouthful.

Lu Zhiyao was staring at the small screen next to him while eating. It might be a green screen now, all kinds of cool delicacies would be advertised on it in the special effects during later stages.

Lu Zhiyao watched the green screen with a different gaze. His eyes showed a yearning for these delicacies and some subconscious little actions such as swallowing saliva and licking his lips.

“Cut!

“The expression just now was too much. You watch these advertisements every day according to the plot. There is no need for such a big reaction, just show some instinctive reactions to delicious food.

“It was great otherwise. Ok, let’s start

again!”

Director Zhu Xiaoce would point out the parts he felt were inappropriate immediately. Lu Zhiyao did his best to cooperate.

This scene was done after a few shots as well.

Pei Qian sighed slightly at the side. This Lu Zhiyao actually knew how to act, eh?

It felt as though he had been holding his breath in the participation of Tomorrow is Beautiful.

Lu Zhiyao was nicknamed ‘box office flop’. His acting skills were alright, but it was inevitable for him to be criticized by the audience.

The most common criticism was that he was too handsome, arrogant, and was overly exaggerated in his acting.

Yet Lu Zhiyao was acting as a decadent person very seriously. He might be handsome and was not too decadent, but the feeling of decadence was present. It soon began to get busy as they prepared for the next scene.

“Boss Pei, the next scene is the highlight,” Zhu Xiaoce said to Pei Qian.

Pei Qian, “Hmm?”

Zhu Xiaoce pointed towards the few cans of beer at the corner. “There would be a close-up of beer drinking.

“The male lead has won many quiz coins from participating in the quiz game on the television. He, therefore, rewarded himself with a can of beer.

“Lu Zhiyao did not touch any beer since he came from Jingzhou so that he could act it out well.

“He even gave up drinking water for disgusting drinks like Hey Song Sarsaparilla, Oldenlandia Water… Dong Fang Shu Ye[1]… “All that just to be able to show an impressive and lasting act when he drinks the beer.”

Pei Qian, “…Is there a need to sacrifice so much? Are those drinks even fit for human consumption? It’s just a movie; there’s no need to throw life away…”

Director Zhu Xiaoce smiled. “This is just the self-cultivation of a qualified actor. Even Mr. Zhang Zuting is full of praise for Lu Zhiyao’s acting.”

Once again, Pei Qian was at a loss for words.

There was really no need to try so hard!

The consequences would be unimaginable if he managed to make it into a classic on the huge screens that topped the hot searches!

However, Pei Qian did not know how Lu Zhiyao should act either. He could only watch and remain on high alert.

At the beginning of this scene, Lu Zhiyao first acted out the entire winning process against the green screen.

The anxiety he felt while waiting for the results of the television show, the exhilaration when he knew he obtained a small fortune and then heading to the meal outlet to purchase a can of beer with great expectations.

After two or three takes, they started the beer-drinking scene.

Lu Zhiyao came to the small screen next to the meal outlet and pretended to operate on the green screen. His expression was dramatic: the joy of profiting from the quiz retained a smile on his face. The hint of expectation when he put the beer to his lips and the subconscious licking of his lip after he drank it.

Pei Qian, who was beside Zhu Xiaoce, clearly saw Lu Zhiyao’s series of micro-expressions. He suddenly felt a slight wave of nostalgia for the young hunk that could only shout 1,2,3,4,5,6,7.

Plonk. A can of beer fell out of the meal outlet.

Lu Zhiyao grabbed it with excitement immediately. He could see droplets formed on the slightly chilled can of beer. He pulled open the lid with a ‘psss’, raised his head… gulp, gulp, gulp..

Lu Zhiyao only stopped after he drank half a can. He sighed with a face full of happiness and satisfaction. He looked at the can of beer in his hand contentedly.

He wiped the froth from the corner of his mouth. This time, he raised his head again and downed the rest of the beer. He kept the empty can raised in hopes of ravaging any remaining drops of liquid.

Finally, Lu Zhiyao threw the empty can of beer into the trash reluctantly. He wiped his mouth and burped contentedly before returning to his bed and began to sleep

This burp was very natural. It didn’t seem like it was designed. It was probably because Lu Zhiyao drank too hard so it came out just right.

“Stop!”

In theory, it should have been a ‘cut’, but this ‘stop’ was called out by Pei Qian. That was why Director Zhu Xiaoce hurriedly added a ‘cut’ to it before looking at Pei Qian very seriously.

“Boss Pei, is there any problem with the act?”

Zhu Xiaoce knew very well that Boss Pei was not only sponsoring this film, but he was also the original author of this script.

If Boss Pei had any opinions on the scenes in the movie, it must mean that there was deviation with Boss Pei’s original intent. It was necessary to respect the opinions of the original author and make changes.

Pei Qian felt a little hopeless.

You are trying too hard, bro! Your expression from drinking a can of beer was way more exaggerated than Cooking Master Boy! He was only missing the ‘Great Wall of China’ BGM and golden special effects, the background of the sea and the sky.

Pei Qian could even foresee a hot search on Weibo for ‘Lu Zhiyao drinks beer’ on the day of release of the movie.

Pei Qian coughed slightly. “This is really unnecessary, just act normally…

“The male lead is an ordinary person, just act ordinary.”

Lu Zhiyao’s expression went blank. “Huh?”

He was very confident in his acting skills. He originally thought that that scene would be enough to be remembered in the history of film, yet it did not impress the original author of the script.

Erm…

He could only look towards Director Zhu Xiaoce.

Director Zhu Xiaoce pondered for a moment. “I didn’t think much at first, but… I feel that it does seem a little exaggerated now that Boss Pei mentioned it. Mr. Zhang, what do you think?”

Zhang Zuting nodded. “Boss Pei is the original author indeed. He possesses a great understanding of the story and this character.

“What Boss Pei said might be very common, but I can roughly understand what he wants to express.” Pei Qian, “?”

It seemed like there were some unexpected developments…

Zhang Zuting looked at Lu Zhiyao and said earnestly. “Suppose we change the setting of this scene.

“You are playing a coolie who works 18 hours a day. You can only drink a can of beer once a month. There is no entertainment around so beer is the highest enjoyment you can get. In that case, your performance would be qualified, and there would be a strong appeal.

“However, the role you are playing now is an ordinary person in the future. Does he only drink a can of beer in a month? Definitely not. Are there no other forms of entertainment for him? That’s not the case either.

“The small screen beside you would continuously show advertisements for good food and alcohol. The enjoyment of this can of beer is insignificant compared to the advertisements.

“The male lead made a profit from the quiz game on television and therefore rewarded himself with a can of beer. That meant to say that he could buy it anytime he wanted if he were to spend his savings.

“Therefore, this can of beer is not precious to him.”

[1] These three drinks are amongst the five most disgusting drinks in China