Chapter 149: Accident

"He cannot possibly disregard his mother's illness just to star in a television drama," Song Wan said, a hint of worry creeping into her tone. "Will he be able to guarantee arriving on set on time during filming?"

Gao Xiang sighed once more, her expression deeply conflicted and tinged with vexation. "No."

How could an illness ever be something that improves overnight?

Besides, the Guo family would certainly create other obstacles to keep him utterly preoccupied.

The role of Lu Yang was hanging by a thread!

Song Wan lowered her head in thought for a moment before speaking. "President Jin has already approved our planning proposal for *Acting Masters*, and I believe the funding will be in place shortly. The shooting equipment is readily available, and Director Zhou has also stated that he can handle the other directors. Therefore, we will soon need to begin promoting *Acting Masters*."

Gao Xiang instantly grasped the underlying meaning of Song Wan's words and offered a strategic suggestion of her own. "Let's incorporate the role of Lu Yang into the auditions as well. Not only will this generate more screen time and exposure, but it will also allow us to find an immediate replacement the moment Guo Kai becomes unable to join the cast on schedule."

Song Wan raised an eyebrow. "What if he shows up on set before filming begins?"

"Then we will have him do a final showdown against the chosen audition candidate. As long as the other person's acting skills are not superior to his, the role remains his."

After all, the newcomer contract had already been signed, and Guo Kai's salary certainly wouldn't be higher than anyone else's.

Under circumstances where their acting abilities were comparable, Guo Kai possessed one distinct advantage: his popularity was undoubtedly higher than that of the others.

This was why Gao Xiang claimed that as long as the challenger's acting wasn't superior to Guo Kai's, the role would still belong to him.

However, if the other person's acting truly surpassed Guo Kai's, the ultimate outcome would become unpredictable. After all, the reason this television drama commanded such high attention was precisely because netizens believed that the entire cast consisted of powerhouse actors with genuine acting chops.

Given a better alternative, an actor carrying hidden risks whose acting wasn't even the best would naturally lose the role of Lu Yang.

Yet when Gao Xiang spoke these words, aside from a trace of anxiety, she didn't seem overly worried—

Clearly, she had immense confidence in Guo Kai's acting ability.

And understandably so. Lu Yang was the second male lead, and the director would have certainly factored the character's persona into consideration during the casting process—

Cheerful, sunny, warm, resilient, young, and handsome.

Had this persona not been embedded in a backdrop of magical sci-fi elements, Gao Xiang might have even felt that Guo Kai could play the role of Lu Yang simply by being himself.

Therefore, as long as Guo Kai didn't brew any unnecessary trouble himself, Gao Xiang genuinely didn't feel there was anything to worry about.

Song Wan pouted slightly. "Sister Gao, you're paying so much attention to Guo Kai that I'm starting to get jealous!"

Gao Xiang looked at Song Wan and suddenly burst into laughter.

Song Wan put on a straight face. "You've gone too far, Sister Gao. I'm over here feeling jealous, and yet you actually have the nerve to laugh."

She wasn't genuinely jealous, of course; rather, she found it peculiar that Gao Xiang valued Guo Kai to such an extent.

Logically speaking, Gao Xiang, who had personally nurtured several ultra-first-tier superstars, should have long been accustomed to major storms and waves. It was impossible for her to easily manifest emotions like "favor," "promise," or "appreciation" toward anyone—

Because she had witnessed too many of them.

The entertainment industry had never lacked geniuses, not even top-tier ones.

Guo Kai was indeed immensely talented, but in all her years in the industry, Gao Xiang had certainly encountered talented actors comparable to Guo Kai more than once or twice.

In short, Guo Kai's talent hadn't reached a level that would make Gao Xiang take special notice of him and plan his career at every turn.

In fact, Song Wan believed she hadn't reached that level herself either.

However, Song Wan's good fortune lay in having caught the eye of Jin Youqian, which enabled her to secure Gao Xiang's assistance.

Yet the person Gao Xiang was truly helping wasn't Song Wan as an individual, but rather Jin Youqian who stood behind her.

Gao Xiang tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her gaze involuntarily drifting toward the doorway. "Because he has talent, but not quite enough talent."

???

What was that supposed to mean?

Song Wan blinked in bewilderment before reacting with an amused laugh. "Do I give you such a complete lack of a sense of accomplishment?"

Gao Xiang cast a sideways glance at her. "At least you have some self-awareness."

Just calculate how much time had passed since she took over as Song Wan's manager, and Song Wan had already soared straight into the second-tier ranks, visibly on the verge of stepping into the territory of first-tier artists.

And yet, how much of a role had she, the manager, played in all of this?

Practically none.

Most of the roles had come knocking on their own, and although Song Wan possessed a magnetic constitution for trending topics, she was backed by the entire Beijing Entertainment Corporation. Gao Xiang had merely offered a few tactical suggestions, and even those hadn't been particularly significant.

It would be a miracle if Gao Xiang felt any sense of achievement.

Song Wan could only laugh through her exasperation. "You're unhappy just because I save you trouble."

"You're far too worry-free!" Gao Xiang curled her lips. "If you were out stirring up trouble, of course I'd be happy; but you don't need me to source any resources for you whatsoever—all the roles come straight to your door. Tell me, what do I even exist for?"

Song Wan laughed repeatedly.

After watching her for a moment, Gao Xiang broke into a smile as well.

"Alright, enough joking around with you." Gao Xiang quickly turned serious. "I was the one who brought Guo Kai to the crew to audition for the role of Lu Yang. While I know he genuinely possesses acting skills and his image truly matches Lu Yang, I am also aware that if not for my recommendation, Director Zhou might not have been willing to choose Guo Kai to star, even if he fit the role well."

Even with Beijing Entertainment standing behind *The Stars*, and even with Jin Youqian and the Jin family.

Because there was no necessity.

To reiterate, the entertainment industry never lacked geniuses. Even if his talent couldn't quite match Guo Kai's, finding someone whose acting skills surpassed his was certainly not an impossible task.

Besides, even if time was too short to temporarily find someone whose acting was better than Guo Kai's? Finding someone just slightly inferior to him was always doable, right?

After all, Guo Kai had the Guo family behind him, and unless pushed to absolute extremes, Director Zhou wouldn't necessarily be willing to cast him—

Director Zhou was not the kind of purist director who viewed film as a sacred art and refused to let it be tainted.

Even though time was pressing at the moment and Guo Kai had been the optimal choice.

Yet to create a stark contrast with Han Sen...

That was simply too easy; it didn't require the optimal choice at all. A secondary choice, or even a tertiary one, would suffice.

Gao Xiang understood all too well how much weight Guo Kai's personal acting skills carried in Director Zhou's eyes behind that choice, and how much weight she herself carried.

Yet now, the Guo Kai she had recommended had run into trouble, which would likely make the crew's casting responsibilities even heavier.

Gao Xiang was accustomed to commanding the overall situation and rarely allowed matters to slip beyond her control, so this unexpected variable made her thoroughly uncomfortable.

Furthermore, and most importantly, Guo Kai had already gained fame—he had become famous precisely through his audition video for Lu Yang. The consequence of this was that Guo Kai's persona was now essentially bound directly to Lu Yang from *The Stars*. Even if another actor managed to manifest the true essence of Lu Yang in the future, the novel's fandom would absolutely refuse to accept them if they fell short of Guo Kai by even the slightest fraction.

Moreover, the fans already had their first-impression anchors deeply set. Even if another actor achieved a performance on par with Guo Kai, the fandom would likely mount a massive protest.

—The character's fanbase had essentially settled on Guo Kai. In their hearts, Guo Kai was Lu Yang, and Lu Yang was Guo Kai.

This was a deeply troublesome predicament.

Additionally, Gao Xiang had always taken immense pride in her own discernment, so she refused to believe that the Guo Kai she favored could be surpassed by anyone else.

If Guo Kai failed to appear in time on the eve of filming, the crew would genuinely risk plunging into deep chaos.

It was already nine o'clock, yet Guo Kai remained nowhere to be seen.

Gao Xiang knew in her heart that Guo Kai would have no way of coming to the set today.

His mother's illness was genuine, and it would likely drag on well past the commencement of filming.

Song Wan followed Gao Xiang's gaze toward the entrance of the set, a sense of pity stirring within her as well, for Guo Kai's acting was truly exceptional.

However...

"If he genuinely has no way of showing up before filming starts, then we'll change the actor for this role," Song Wan stated directly.

Gao Xiang nodded, seeing nothing wrong with this decision.

Now, their only hope was that during the audition process for Lu Yang, a newcomer actor would rapidly accumulate a following that surpassed Guo Kai's—

Even if it couldn't surpass him, it at least needed to be comparable.

-

"What's wrong?" Zhou Qi looked with bewilderment at the solemn expressions worn by Song Wan and Gao Xiang.

Song Wan and Gao Xiang exchanged glances before Gao Xiang finally recounted the entire sequence of events from beginning to end.

Upon hearing the story, Zhou Qi couldn't help but frown. "The Guo family?"

That certainly made things tricky.

To Gao Xiang's surprise, after pondering the matter repeatedly, Zhou Qi declared, "Let's hold off for a moment. I'll go take a look at the situation at the Guo family residence myself first."

Forget Gao Xiang; even Song Wan froze in her tracks.

"Director Zhou, are you certain?" Song Wan asked, looking at him with suspicion. "I assumed you would immediately agree to select another actor for the role of Lu Yang."

Zhou Qi glared at Song Wan. "Do I look that worldly and cold-blooded in your eyes?"

Song Wan remained silent, merely offering him a half-smile.

Zhou Qi rolled his eyes dramatically. "Hasn't the situation been fully clarified yet? If it truly proves irretrievable, we'll choose another actor then."

He was merely heading to the Guo family estate to observe the situation and perhaps persuade the Guo family members—he hadn't explicitly stated that Guo Kai must play Lu Yang.

As for the underlying reason behind his actions?

Perhaps it was out of a shared sense of sympathy that he wished to grant the young man one more chance.

Zhou Qi himself had endured a bitter struggle back when he first wanted to break out and become a director—

At the time, he was considered one of the most probable heir candidates of the Zhou family and had always displayed a very proactive attitude, until he suddenly announced his desire to enter the entertainment industry as a director and forfeit his right of inheritance for it...

Forfeit his right of inheritance? Ha, who would believe that!

It was safe to say that everything Guo Kai was currently experiencing, Zhou Qi had experienced as well; and whatever Guo Kai hadn't experienced, Zhou Qi had lived through too.

After all, although the Guo family was just as murky as the Zhou family, Guo Kai was the sole heir of the Guo family, meaning there were no rival heirs tripping him up.

Yet precisely because of that very reason, the Guo family found it all the more impossible to let go.

*The Stars* would be Guo Kai's sole opportunity—Gao Xiang knew it, Guo Kai knew it, and Zhou Qi naturally knew it too.

Furthermore, the career path Guo Kai had chosen came with even heavier obstacles.

A director remained a behind-the-scenes figure who rarely stepped into the public eye before the media, yet he had already encountered such massive resistance and controversy, let alone an actor.

Zhou Qi had previously been well aware of Guo Kai's predicament, but he hadn't taken it to heart—

The actor's contract had already been signed, and standing behind *The Stars* was the Jin family; the Guo family would never dare risk offending Jin Youqian just to suppress the production team and forcefully drive Guo Kai away.

Yet the current reality was that Guo Kai's mother had fallen ill.

The reason was completely logical and legitimate. Even Jin Youqian could hardly stop Guo Kai from returning home to fulfill his filial duties to his mother, could he?

As for that tiny penalty for breach of contract, to the Guo family members, it was merely the cost of purchasing a sports car—utterly unworthy of attention.

Still, Zhou Qi felt somewhat conflicted. Even though he didn't mind using an actor inferior to Guo Kai, the fallout caused by Guo Kai being unable to play Lu Yang would still prove immensely troublesome.

Besides, having witnessed a far more suitable actor, forcing himself to settle for a secondary-tier choice felt entirely different from starting out with a secondary-tier choice from the very beginning.