Benshan’s beloved disciple, starting from the 2009 Spring Festival Gala
Chapter 12 - Zhang Tianai's Bad Influence and the Bet

Chapter 12  Zhang Tianai’s Bad Influence and the Bet

Zhang Tianai quickly realized what Mr. Ben Shan meant by “genius” and how remarkable it truly was. In just one month, the shooting of “In Trouble” was nearing its final scene.

On March 15, 2009, the actor playing Li Chenggong, Qu Yiming, stood on Shen City street. Suddenly, a pair of hands covered his eyes.

“Eh!”

Qu Yiming tried to push the hands away from his face, turning around in surprise.

“Eh, what happened to your face?”

Zhang Tianai, who was playing the mistre laoss, pointed at the makeup on Qu Yiming’s face.

“What are you doing here?” Qu Yiming asked.

“I missed you, so I came to see you,” Zhang Tianai said naturally, hugging him.

After a month of close interaction, Qu Yiming had gradually taught Zhang Tianai the basics of experiential acting. Watching him handle the entire film set with confidence and talent, Zhang Tianai developed deep admiration for him.

As she immersed herself into the role, she started to understand the feelings of her character, the mistress, deeply. She began to wonder if such a person really existed in real life, even if he was married, would she fall in love with him too?

Zhang Tianai repeatedly asked herself, and each time the answer was yes.

This is the flaw of experiential actors, who, once fully immersed in their role, begin to blur the lines between reality and their character. For example, Liu Shishi, who played the role of Liu Shishi in Palace Lock and had similar experiences, was also deeply affected by this immersive acting style.

Zhang Tianai, at the age of nineteen, had no formal acting training and had a particularly weak resistance to this. As a result, her emotions became entwined with her character. Back at the film set, the scene was where the mistress suddenly barged into Li Chenggong’s home, spying on his wife and child, catching him off guard.

“Why didn’t you let me know you were coming?” Qu Yiming pushed away Zhang Tianai’s arms as she hugged him. At first, he showed a slight joy at seeing his mistress, but then his expression changed when he remembered something, and he frowned.

Zhang Tianai grabbed his hands and, with a sad and coquettish tone, said, “I called you, but you turned off your phone. I even went to your house.”

“You went to my house!”

Qu Yiming was shocked.

“Yeah,” Zhang Tianai said and nodded, “I even saw your wife.”

“What did you say to her?” Qu Yiming asked, his face turning serious.

“I told her everything,” Zhang Tianai said with a smile.

Qu Yiming’s face darkened, and Zhang Tianai immediately stopped smiling. She felt the tension and her mood dropped.

“What’s wrong with you?” Qu Yiming scolded.

Zhang Tianai’s face fell, and she felt a void inside. She couldn’t summon the courage to look at Qu Yiming’s retreating figure. Gradually, her vision blurred, and her eyes reddened.

Two or three minutes later, the word “cut!” came from Mr. Ben Shan, sitting behind the monitor. He stopped the performance.

“Jiao Jiao, don’t cry, don’t cry. You’re acting,” Mr. Ben Shan’s mother, who had been watching, walked up to her with a tissue to gently wipe away her tears.

“Jiao Jiao” was Zhang Tianai’s real name.

“I’m fine…”

Zhang Tianai shook her head as she took the tissue. Qu Yiming, fully aware of what he had taught her, naturally didn’t go back to comfort her. He sat next to Mr. Ben Shan and watched the replay of the scene, letting out a sigh of relief.

“Finally, it’s done.”

Mr. Ben Shan replied, “You’re quick, one month to finish it. We had a budget of fifteen million, and only spent about eight million. You saved almost half of the budget.”

In Trouble had a tight main plot, simple settings, minimal costumes, and cheap actor salaries. With previous experience from a similar film, Qu Yiming was able to shoot it quickly and save money.

When comparing the production costs with the original, there wasn’t much difference.

“I would have liked to use up the whole budget,” Qu Yiming said, but stopped halfway.

Mr. Ben Shan, recalling the incident that occurred a week after shooting started—when the assistant director and producer tried to seize the director’s position—understood what Qu Yiming meant. He also knew that the traditional factions in the company were behind it. They doubted Qu Yiming, thinking he would waste the budget.

The production was halted, and Qu Yiming had to return to Ben Shan Media. After a heated argument, both sides agreed to a compromise and signed a contract with a bet. The terms of the bet were simple.

If In Trouble failed to cover its production costs and earn over fifty million at the box office, Qu Yiming’s contract would be extended by twenty years, with the revenue split permanently at sixty percent for the company and forty percent for him. The traditional factions also tried to add a clause requiring him to participate in a certain number of offline performances, but Mr. Ben Shan vetoed it.

However, if In Trouble earned more than fifty million at the box office, Qu Yiming would gain the full rights to the series, and the revenue split would change to eighty percent for him and twenty percent for the company. He would also have the freedom to choose endorsement deals and receive ten percent of the box office revenue from In Trouble (from the company’s share).

Given Mr. Ben Shan’s history of films that were critically acclaimed but box-office failures, the traditional factions didn’t believe that Qu Yiming’s low-budget, small-scale film would make such money.

But Qu Yiming knew better, understanding that they had underestimated his popularity from his Spring Festival Gala performance.

“Yiming…” Mr. Ben Shan patted Qu Yiming on the shoulder and said, “Even if this film loses money, don’t worry. I’ll support you for future projects.”

“Thank you, Master,” Qu Yiming replied.

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