Chapter 15: I wanted to become a pure actor with my own efforts.

The next morning, Nan HuaiLin went to the management office to ask for details. The landlord, a middle-aged man with a fat face, poured out his grievances to the tenants. He said that the building had only been built for less than a year and the cost had only been recovered by 20%. Then adding on that there was no real estate license and the government would not pay for it even if it was demolished. He went on to say that he had invested half of his life savings in the building and now he wanted to die.

Nan HuaiLin came out silently.

Compared with the hardships of others, this was not worth mentioning to him. He had moved seven or eight times in the past few years since he came to Beijing. With only one week left until the end of the month, he had to start looking for an apartment now.

The landlord had just said that all the apartments in the area would be demolished. He suggested that they rent a house in a regular neighborhood, but they should be prepared for a recent sharp increase in rent.

Nan HuaiLin spent a morning collecting more than a dozen suitable properties on 58.com. He then went out in the afternoon to see the properties, but returned disappointed. Either the pictures were too different from the real ones, or the rents were seriously different from the online ones.

He returned home with a tired body, and received a call from Ruan Xin just after he entered the house. Ruan Xin said, “I’ve found a housekeeper, you don’t need to go there tomorrow. I’ll transfer your salary to you by WeChat for the next few days.”

Nan HuaiLin hastily refused, “No, no! I’m already embarrassed to have caused you so much trouble, I definitely won’t ask for my salary.”

Ruan Xin persuaded him a few times, but when he insisted on not taking it, he didn’t insist. “Okay, then I’ll treat you to a meal some day.”

Nan HuaiLin said, “Dinner is fine, but only if I buy it. I’ve always wanted to buy you dinner, to thank you for giving me a job.”

Ruan Xin cried and laughed, “You’re so…That’s cute.”

Nan HuaiLin asked, embarrassed, “Is that a compliment?”

Ruan Xin replied, “Of course.”

Nan HuaiLin smiled and said, “It feels good to be praised by the man of the hour.”

Ruan Xin was the god of all things, and 80% of his employees were his fans. Nan HuaiLin was one of them.

After hanging up the phone, the depression in his heart was washed away. He didn’t have to go to Fei Zheng’s house tomorrow to do housekeeping, he didn’t have to run to the office until he was claimed by his new agent, and he didn’t hear anything from the Star Country crew, so he had plenty of time to find a house.

But early the next morning, Nan HuaiLin was called to the office by a phone call.

The caller said her name was Shan Mingen, his new manager, and asked him to meet him at the office for a face-to-face meeting. Nan HuaiLin arrived at the office as quickly as possible and went straight to Shan Mingen’s office. His new manager was a very good one.

“Have a seat.” Shan Mingen’s gaze landed on Nan HuaiLin, sizing him up without moving.

Nan HuaiLin was slightly restrained, not knowing what to say, and Shan Mingen was also silent. The atmosphere was a bit awkward for a while.

After a minute or so of silence, Shan Mingen suddenly spoke, “I’ve heard of you.”

Nan HuaiLin was stunned. This…That’s a little unlikely, right?

Shan Mingen went on to say, “I heard that the prince of GB Group wanted to promote you, but you refused. Can you tell me why? You turned down such a great opportunity that others couldn’t even ask for, but you turned it down.”

Nan HuaiLin was suddenly a bit cold.

Was the fact that Shan Mingen would ask this question an indication that, like He DingHong, she also liked to use such underhanded means to gain popularity?

If this was really the case, it would be better to make his attitude clear from the beginning, so as to avoid any further disagreements later.

Nan HuaiLin looked straight into Shan Mingen’s eyes and said simply and directly, “Because I want to become a pure actor with my own efforts.”

Shan Mingen looked at him quietly and did not say anything.

After a while, she smiled faintly and said, “Let me ask you another question, how did you get the role of the second male character of Star Country?”

Nan HuaiLin said, “Through an audition.”

Shan Mingen smiled playfully, “That simple?”

Nan HuaiLin said, “It’s that simple.”

Shan Mingen obviously didn’t believe it. “We’ll be working together from now on, I hope you can give me the bottom line, who’s your backer?”

Nan HuaiLin was a little angry, a little amused, but more helpless. “If I had a backer, I wouldn’t have been working small roles for three years in a row. You’re really flattering me.”

Shan Mingen was briefly silent, and her tone had a subtle change, “At the beginning of the preparation for Star Country, the first and second male characters had already been decided. The first male character was Shen Chong, and the second male character was Chen JingTian. You may not know it yet, but Chen JingTian is my artist. Although he was not formally signed, it was verbally decided. I suddenly received a call from Director Luo yesterday, saying that the second male was given to someone else. If this cut-off person is more popular than JingTian, I have nothing to say, but you -” she paused, then said, “You do not have to say too much. We both understand it. The norm in show business is that there are too many of them, and it’s normal to fight for a role, let alone one that has the potential to be a big hit. Although this drama is invested in by Ming Xi, and it is only natural to use Ming Xi’s actors, at the beginning I had to work very hard to get this role for JingTian. But now, you simply auditioned for the role, and you stole it. How do you expect me to believe that no one is pushing you behind the scenes?”

Nan HuaiLin opened his mouth, but had no words to say.

He felt that Shan Mingen had a point, and he began to wonder why Luo Ke had chosen him, did he really just think he was a good actor? But there were many actors who were better than him and more popular than him, so how could he, an eighteenth-string actor, intercept a popular actor?

Shan Mingen added, “Of course, I don’t mean to blame you. You and JingTian are both my artists now. I’d be happy if either of you got the role. I just want to understand your background thoroughly so that our future work together can go smoothly, what do you think?”

Nan HuaiLin said confusedly, “But I really don’t have any background, as you know from reading my resume. Even if I have a little background, it’s impossible for me to work for three years and not even get one role with a little weight.”

Shan Mingen watched him for a moment and smiled faintly, “Maybe I’m overthinking, maybe it’s because Director Luo really thinks this role is for you. Don’t take what I just said to heart, I just want to get to know you, nothing more.”

Nan HuaiLin nodded his head and gave a soft “hmm.”

The door to the office was suddenly pushed open, and from the sound of the door opening, they could tell that the visitor was angry, “Sister Shan, who is Nan HuaiLin? How come I’ve never heard of such a person?”

Nan HuaiLin, “…”

Without looking back, he could guess who the visitor was.

Shan Mingen stood up and coughed twice.

Nan HuaiLin followed and stood up, turning half of his body to face Shan Mingen and Chen JingTian who was walking in front of her.

Chen JingTian swept a glance at Nan HuaiLin and turned to Shan Mingen, “Sister Shan–“

“JingTian,” Shan Mingen interrupted him. “This is Nan HuaiLin.”

Chen JingTian looked at Nan HuaiLin again in surprise, sweeping him from head to toe, with a complicated expression on his face that was hard to describe.

Nan HuaiLin was already embarrassed to the point of being unable to stand on his own feet.

Anyway, he did steal Chen JingTian’s role. Coincidentally, they were now under the same agent, so he didn’t even know what position he should adopt to face Chen JingTian.

But Chen JingTian’s position was very clear.

If looks could kill, Nan HuaiLin would probably have died eight hundred times by now.

“You are Nan HuaiLin?” asked Chen JingTian, with a cold face.

“Mn,” Nan HuaiLin paused for two seconds, and then added weakly, “Hello.”

“No, hello!” Chen Jing Tian was furious. “What do you mean by this? It’s not enough that you stole my role, now you’re showing off your strength in front of me? Let me tell you-“

“Stop it!” Shan Mingen pulled Chen JingTian aside and turned to Nan HuaiLin and said, “Nan, you go first. I’ll call you if anything happens.”

Nan HuaiLin nodded his head and walked away without even saying goodbye.

“Don’t you go!” Chen JingTian shouted at the top of his lungs. “I haven’t finished yet!”

Nan HuaiLin didn’t even look back, he just pulled open the office door and went out.

While standing in the doorway and letting out a long breath, Nan HuaiLin felt his head throbbing.

What was going on?

Forget it. Let it be what it is, after all he still had to hurry to find a house.

Nan HuaiLin called the agent as he walked and made an appointment to see the house in half an hour.

While waiting for the elevator, he looked down at his phone and typed a long list of words, then deleted them all after a pause. He wanted to ask Shen Chong if he had done something to make director Luo give him the second male role, but on second thought it was wrong. If Shen Chong had done something, he wouldn’t have been so surprised when he found out he got the second male role that day.

“Ding!” The elevator door opened.

Nan HuaiLin looked up and saw Fei Cheng standing inside with a gorgeous appearance.

He froze and greeted, “Hello, director.”

Fei Cheng smiled, “There’s no one else here so you don’t have to call me that. I’m worried about having no one to eat with, so why don’t you do me a favor and eat with me?”

Nan HuaiLin walked into the elevator and reached out to press the door closing button. “I have  an appointment with an agent to see a house right now, so I have to hurry over.”

Fei Cheng asked in passing, “You want to buy a house?”

Nan HuaiLin stared at him. “Are you laughing at me? Do I look like someone who can afford to buy a house in Beijing? I can’t even afford a toilet, okay.”

“Oh.” Fei Cheng asked anew. “You want to rent a room?”

“Mn,” Nan HuaiLin tilted his head and looked at the floor numbers. “The house I’m renting is going to be demolished, so I have to find a new one.”

Fei Cheng nodded, “Then you should get busy.”

Nan HuaiLin was a little embarrassed. “I’ll buy you dinner another day.”

Fei Cheng smiled and said, “Okay, I won’t be polite with you.”

Nan HuaiLin liked the fact that Fei Cheng didn’t pretend to be polite with people. He was very pleasant.

Nan HuaiLin got out of the elevator on the first floor, while Fei Cheng went to the parking lot on the basement floor.

When he got into the car, Fei Cheng took out his cell phone, dialled a number and then said, “Assistant Ruan, please help me rent an apartment. I don’t need anything, it just has to be close to the office. Can you rent it today? Okay, I’ll wait for your call. By the way, don’t tell my brother yet, I’ll talk to him myself. Okay, thanks.”

Author’s Note: 

Cheng Cheng: I have some bad news for you.

Nan Nan: What?

Cheng Cheng: I don’t think about you purely anymore.

–One Hundred Cheesy Pick-Up Lines