Wei Sama, Let’s Stuff Them with Dog Food

162. Chapter 162 The Opera

Translator: Cheryl_M

162

Qi Le’an was ready to treat Hu Bin and Assistant He to a welcome dinner. He sent them to the booked hotel to put down the luggage and then they went to a good Western restaurant for a meal together.

Wei Changfeng accompanied them all the way. Although he didn’t speak much, he acted as the driver and also helped carry the luggage.

While Wei Changfeng went to the bathroom, Hu Bin and Qi Le’an muttered, “Le’an, you and Wei Sama…”

Qi Le’an nodded shyly.

Hu Bin was the first person among his friends to ask Qi Le’an so proactively like this.

Hu Bin felt happy and grinned, “Then I should be your matchmaker! As I recall, it was when you were shooting To Perish Demons that you two met for the first time!”

Qi Le’an was dumbstruck by Hu Bin’s mindset. He had known Wei Sama since his last life!

Assistant He couldn’t stand it anymore and then said angrily, “What kind of matchmaker are you?! Stop flattering yourself!”

Hu Bin was not annoyed by Assistant He’s scolding. He winked at Qi Le’an, saying, “He has been not changed after so many years! He still loves scolding as always!”

Qi Le’an recalled that Assistant He had to worry about Hu Bin every day like this when he was filming back then.

Wei Changfeng returned shortly. The waiter served the food. Wei Changfeng casually gave him a tip and then said to the two guests, “The steak here tastes very good. Eat it while it’s hot.”

Hu Bin nodded, picked up the knife to cut a piece and gave it to Assistant He with a smile.

Assistant He looked helpless.

Surely old friends would catch up when they met. Hu Bin had experienced ups and downs these years. His temperament had been well cultivated. As he talked, he appeared rather sophisticated.

Of course, he looked not only sophisticated but also regretful, but also said, “I’ve let go. It is not a big deal. Just do my own acting and let others do the talking!”

Qi Le’an admired his sophisticated demeanor and then asked, “Then what are you going to do next?”

Hu Bin shrugged, saying, “I’ll play by ear. He and I are not restrained by any company now. We can decide what we do!”

Wei Changfeng said, “If you need our help, just feel free to tell us.”

Hu Bin smiled as he cut the steak, saying, “I really want to ask you about something. I heard that Director Amco needs some Asian face for his new movie recently?”

Qi Le’an knows who Director Amco was. After all, the textbook compiled by this director was still on his own table. The director who could be mentioned by the textbook hadn’t directed any movie for a few years, but every movie he made was definitely exquisite.

Hu Bin asked the question bluntly while Assistant He was afraid that the two of them would think too much, so he added, “Director Amco can’t pick us. We came here for fun this time and see if we can get some materials for publicity stunt when we are back.”

Qi Le’an immediately realized what was going on.

Over the past few years, as his homeland grew stronger, the domestic movie market had become a huge cake. Some producers liked to get some Chinese actors to play a supporting role in the movie so that they could publicize the move back in the mainland. Meanwhile, the Chinese actors were happy to associate with Hollywood. No matter what role they played, being able to show their faces in the movie would surely increase their commercial value.

However, actors were too many while opportunities were too few. The competition for a role could be really fierce in the mainland. Without a strong background or self capability, an actor didn’t even have the right to compete for the opportunity.

Hu Bin’s purpose was very obvious. He wanted to go abroad for a tour and then return home for some publicity stunts. Making him a heated topic was his goal for now.

Qi Le’an said, “If you want to talk about the textbook he wrote, I can tell you something… but I really don’t know him.”

Hu Bin laughed and didn’t seem to care, saying “It’s okay. For publicity stunts, I don’t need to see him for real anyway. Lend me the book for me to take a few photos and let the netizens fantasize on their own.”

Under the premise that Director Amco wanted to look for an Asian actor, that Hu Bin took some photos of Director Amco’s book in the US must have lots of contained meanings to the public.

Qi Le’an couldn’t help giving big thumbs for Hu Bin’s intelligence.

Then Hu Bin asked what was fun in the US and Qi Le’an enthusiastically asked them if they wanted to borrow their car. Hu Bin hurriedly waved his hand and said that it was too troublesome for him to drive. Assistant He had already booked a car online.

The two of them discussed the convenience of life brought about by the Internet and online commerce. Then they sighed about it too. When they just finished the lunch, it was already time for supper.

However, Qi Le’an had something to do the next day so he could not drink with Hu Bin until dawn. The two of them took a few selfies when they parted. When Qi Le’an went home, he got a text from Hu Bin, who asked whether he could send a post on Weibo.

Of course, Qi Le’an said he could.

Shortly, Chen Shan called Qi Le’an.

“Le’an! Why did Hu Bin post directly on Weibo?”

Wei Changfeng went to take a shower. Qi Le’an sat on the rattan chair in his loose pajamas and said, “He asked me and I agreed.”

Chen Shan snorted coldly, “Hu Bin… I shouldn’t have given him your contact information!”

Qi Le’an took his iPad to check Hu Bin’s post. It was a normal post, which said, “Met my old friend abroad. Happy!” A selfie was also attached, in which his face was also beautified.

He casually forwarded the post and asked Chen Shan, “What’s wrong? Brother Bin is quite a nice man!”

Chen Shan said with deep hatred and resentment, “He wants to chase your clout!”

Qi Le’an found it funny. Chen Shan had taken over a lot of businesses from the Chen Family over the past two years, but he was still acting as an agent for him

“Two outdated actors. What clout do I have… Besides, Wei Sama was also there at that time. If he really wanted to chase my clout, why didn’t he include Wei Sama in the photo?”

Qi Le’an was telling the truth. Although he was no longer in China, there were still news about him and Wei Changfeng. Some CP fans of them would post something about them. The movie directed by Director Guan which hadn’t been released also became the treasure the new CP fans would beg to acquire.

If Hu Bin really wanted to chase his clout, he could make it by posting a photo of him and Wei Changfeng.

“Humph,” Chen Shan was unhappy anyway and said, “Be careful! I’m leaving for work! Bye!”

Qi Le’an said okay and then hung up.

Wei Changfeng came out in a bathrobe and handed a glass of red wine to Qi Le’an, asking, “What’s wrong?”

Qi Le’an smiled and said, “Brother Chen is worrying about me again.”

Wei Changfeng couldn’t help laughing.

The two of them sat on the balcony and talked about Director Amco for a while. Then Qi Le’an just got sleepy. He slept too late last night and stayed excited for a whole day, which made him rather tired. While chatting, Wei Changfeng found that Qi Le’an had fallen asleep on the rattan chair. Part angry and part amused, he secretly took a few photos with his phone and carried him back to bed.

When Qi Le’an woke up the next morning, Wei Changfeng had already made the sandwich. After the two of them had breakfast in a leisurely manner, Wei Changfeng sent Qi Le’an to the theatre, and he went to visit Professor John himself.

Jenny welcomed Qi Le’an’s arrival with enthusiasm. Most of the members in the theatre group were students from Tisch. They had a party together before, so they just greeted casually before practicing on their own.

Jenny gave Qi Le’an the script for the entire opera and asked Qi Le’an if he needed special help.

The most important part of the opera was singing. Qi Le’an recalled that he was so perturbed to know that he had to perform an opera for his acting class when he was a freshman at university. Then, he couldn’t help feeling amused.

“An! An hour later, we will have our first rehearsal!”

He said okay and then started practicing with the script.

Othello was a famous play of Shakespeare. The four-act opera could be traced back to the nineteenth century, which was a masterpiece created by the composer Verdi after he had stopped composing for more than ten years. The entire story told that due to the scheme of Iago, a vicious ensign, Othello mistakenly thought that his wife, Desdemona, had an affair with his lieutenant Cassio. Out of rage, Othello killed his wife. Later, he learned the truth under the exposure of Iago’s wife and committed suicide beside Desdemona with grief.

Qi Le’an acted as the most innocent character, Cassio in the drama. His part was neither insignificant nor too important.

This was the first opera show he had ever participated in when he first learned operas. He even dreamed about it at night when the rehearsal was at its most tense. Therefore, Qi Le’an just recollected all the lines of Cassio only by one glance.

He practiced his voice in the training room again and made a few acting moves. He felt that time passed really fast when Jenny knocked on the door and beckoned him over.

Qi Le’an thought he was ready to rehearse with his companions but when he started practicing with the others, he realized that his skills were not enough!

For the two hours, his nerves were tense. However, this was not a familiar crew after all. It was the first time that Qi Le’an and these experienced actors had worked together, so it was inevitable that something would go wrong.

As a result, the result turned out be even worse than Qi Le’an expected. However, thankfully, Jenny comforted him immediately, “You’ve already done a good job, An! I have already marked down your problems for you.”

Jenny returned Qi Le’an’s script to him in a flurry. Qi Le’an found that there were many things for him to pay attention to.

Qi Le’an smiled gratefully, “Thank you!”

Jenny shook her head and called for everyone to gather together. Then she pointed out what needed to be paid attention to. Everyone listened to her and nodded before dispersing.

Usually, as for the contacts within the theater group, the members of different acts would contact each other on their own except that they would gather and rehearse together on weekends. Then they would rehearse the second scene around Wednesday and fill the blanks. The day before the performance, they would rehearse on the whole once.

Capable and experienced actors naturally didn’t have to come every day but for a newbie like Qi Le’an had to stay in the theatre all the time.

After practicing for a day, Qi Le’an finally found back some feelings. He wasn’t the one with the highest talent, but he must be the most diligent. At night, the people in the theater group left one by one, and Jenny also came to say goodbye to Qi Le’an.

Qi Le’an hesitated for a moment. Seeing that there was still a section of the last scene on his script, he said that he would stay for a while longer.

Jenny came up to hug Qi Le’an, told him not to be too hard on himself and then left.

The connection indoors was bad. Qi Le’an went out and sent a message to Wei Changfeng, telling him that he would return late. However, Wei Changfeng couldn’t bear to see Qi Le’an alone, saying that he would drive to pick him up now.

Qi Le’an was instantly happy and went back to the room with his phone ready to contact him.

But when he reached the door, he heard an unfriendly voice.

“I can’t believe that Jenny should give the role of Casio to a fu*king Chinese pig! Shit!”