Austin was still sitting in front of the monitor, slowing down the footage to take a closer look at Yuran’s recent performance. His gaze was stern, and after watching a moment several times, he called over Xuan Ze and Tang, "Tang, come here and take a look at this shot."
Duan Chen was also curious and followed Xuan Ze over. Austin played the clip for both of them and said, "See? This is the Auntie Wan I have in mind."
In the frozen frame, Yuran’s eyes were full of longing and helplessness, a hollowness brimming with her own style of elegance.
It was as if she had experienced Tang Wan’s life, yet translated it slightly more artistically.
Austin stroked his chin, pondering, "I’ve never seen such a way of presenting a performance before, it reminds me of someone."
Duan Chen agreed, echoing, "It reminds me of someone too."
"Bo Yan," said Xuan Ze without needing to think deeply.
Austin, intrigued, looked at Xuan Ze, recalling an incident, "Remember how I approached him personally before? I asked him to make a cameo as Xuan Che. He didn’t agree at first, and I thought the deal had fallen through."
Xuan Ze and Duan Chen looked at him, sensing there was more to the story. Duan Chen asked, "Then what?"
"Then, ah!" Austin stopped midsentence, seeming to look forward to their persistent questioning. Xuan Ze, finding it dull, went back to his seat, "If you’re not going to say it, then don’t."
"Hey, don’t be like that," Austin scooted over, tapping his fingers on the table twice, "Last night, I got a call from Xie Cheng. Bo Yan agreed to a friendly cameo."
Duan Chen was quite surprised and asked incredulously, "That doesn’t sound like Bo Yan’s style. What’s his reason for accepting?"
Austin also didn’t quite understand, "Bo Yan said it was because he had a pleasant collaboration with Auntie Wan once, and this was his final homage to her."
It was the subconscious judgment of both Xuan Ze and Duan Chen.
However, whatever the excuse might be, his agreement to appear was good news for them. Xuan Ze thought that the first person who could play Xuan Che was none other than Bo Yan.
But considering Bo Yan’s status, it was difficult to have him in a supporting role, plus... Xuan Ze was aware of some reasons why Bo Yan would refuse. His agreement indeed came as a surprise.
Austin stood up from his seat, "So, that’s settled then! We’ll discuss the shooting schedule later."
Xuan Ze, however, said, "Before that, I’ll give you Yuran’s class schedule. We need to plan the shooting schedule around Yuran’s availability. That’s a condition I promised her."
Austin was flabbergasted, "You... you actually agreed to such a lopsided treaty? What are you thinking? Would Bo Yan agree to this? Is Yuran’s star status bigger than his?"
Xuan Ze hadn’t thought Bo Yan would agree before, and now this was indeed a difficult issue to balance, which gave him a bit of a headache.
His reaction was instantly understood by the others. Austin and Duan Chen exchanged glances, Duan Chen also found it tricky. Would they just shoot their parts separately and edit them together later?
Bo Yan’s acting might allow for such treatment, with concentrated shooting and editing afterward, but everyone in the industry knew his principles. He didn’t shoot scenes with stand-ins or empty air, unless your acting was utterly deplorable. Otherwise, the scenes that were yours had to be earned.
It was his professional attitude.
And that made things very difficult. Duan Chen thought it over and felt that the only way forward was through Yuran, "How about I go talk to Yuran about it?"
Xuan Ze shook his head, "It won’t work. The only condition Yuran made is not to disrupt her classes. She could even do without the pay."