After The Vicious Cannon Fodder Was Reborn

Chapter 2: Drama

"How come you only come back now! The box lunches are all finished being handed out!" In the corner piled full of props, Da Mao and Xiao Pang squatted in the shady corner of the wall, and waved their hands at Tao Mu, saying with a smile: "Fortunately, we helped you pick up a box lunch."

Xiao Pang handed a box lunch with a five-star hotel logo on it to Tao Mu. His rather plump face showed an expression of happiness: "Today is also the birthday of the little prince. To celebrate his birthday, his family specially helped him take today off. The little prince also had his manager order high-end takeaways from five-star hotels, and even the extras get a share in the deluxe boxed lunch."

The little prince was the nickname everyone gave to the lead actor of this drama, Shen Yu. Because he was a real prince born with a golden spoon in his mouth, with an exquisite appearance and elegant manners. And most importantly, his personality was as kind and likeable as a true prince in a fairy tale.

Using the words of the Shen family in the previous life to evaluate, compared with Tao Mu, a hot-tempered, unreasonable, and scheming character, they were practically two extremes.

Tao Mu stared at the box lunch in Da Mao's hand blankly. He was having a particularly bad time of it in the recent days. Especially when sleeping, there would always be all kinds of images and sounds that would inexplicably appear in his head. It was almost causing him to go crazy.

The look on Tao Mu's face gave Da Mao the chills. He thought that Tao Mu must have been reminded of his past again. He couldn't help trying to lighten up the atmosphere: "Speaking of which, today is also our brother Mu's birthday. I hope that the crew will not be too late with filming the night scene tonight, so that we can arrange something. How about we go clubbing at night? We've already asked around. There is a bar street near H Studio City, which is said to be pretty good."

Da Mao, whose real name was Wang Ye, was given such a nickname by his classmates because of his strong testosterone and heavy body hair. His dad was a coal boss, and using the slang of a few years later to describe, he was a rich fuerdai whose family owned a mine. (TN: fuerdai are children of entrepreneurs who became wealthy under Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms in the 1980s)

But such a rich fuerdai with a mine at home, at this moment, was wearing a dirty extra's costume and squatting in the corner to eat a box lunch. There was also Pang Yue, the fatty, who was well-known to be most afraid of heat. But in order to share the joys and sorrows with his buddies, he would rather endure the beating from his fathers teacher's pointer and his mothers feather duster and still come to H Studio City.

Tao Mu stared at his two childhood friends squatting in the corner. But what lingered in his head was what he had seen in his dreams these days. The scene of Wang Ye kneeling in the morgue and crying bitterly when the Wang family went bankrupt and Wang Ye's father committed suicide by jumping off the building. And Xiao Pang's blood-stained face before his death. Then there were all kinds of "book reviews" that appeared inexplicably in his head.

The smiling Da Mao, the desperately crying Da Mao, the blood-stained and bruised Xiao Pang in the morgue, the Xiao Pang that squatted in the corner eating buns, and those inexplicable voices

Different faces in different scenes blurred in front of his eyes. Tao Mu closed his eyes feeling slightly dizzy. After dreaming seven days of this in succession, he truly felt that he had indeed lived a life that ended in suicide, only to live again. The scenes he dreamed felt particularly real. Whether it was the violent emotions, the deep bone-cutting pain, or even the desperate suicide at the end of the dream, Tao Mu was overcome with a frightening sense of reality.

So that every day when he saw Da Mao and Xiao Pang, there would always be a kind of nostalgia and dazed panic as he watched people who have died but were now laughing and horsing around in front of him. What frightened him even more were the inexplicable voices in his head that sounded from time to time.

Until today, to be precise, between 10 am and 11 am on July 7, 2008, the dreams that plagued Tao Mu finally had a break. It was as if the broken pieces of glass finally pieced together a complete mirror, Tao Mu suddenly recalled everythinghe really did die once, and was reborn to a time when everything had yet to occur.

Seriously speaking, today was indeed his Seventh Day. The soul of Tao Mu, who had committed suicide in despair, had returned back among the living.

"Brother Mu?" Noting that something was wrong with Tao Mu, Da Mao, who was smiling and Xiao Pang who was eating, raised their heads questioningly: "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." Tao Mu lowered his eyes and shook his head calmly: "I'll go out to smoke a cigarette, you guys continue."

Da Mao, who was squatting under the wall, was slightly taken aback. He looked thoughtfully at the slender figure of Tao Mu slowly leaving.

Xiao Pang, who was carrying the box lunch frowned: "When did boss learn to smoke?"

After a pause, he asked, "Did boss think of his past again?"

The two of them had been Tao Mu's classmates since young. They naturally knew that Tao Mu was an orphan. It was said that he was abandoned in a rental room by his mother when he was not even weaned. If it weren't for the fact that his crying alerted the neighbor and the neighbor called over the landlord lady to open the door, it was likely that Tao Mu would have starved to death in the rental room.

Later, the landlord lady sent him to the orphanageit was said that that day was evening, and the golden sun was setting, so dean Tao of the orphanage named him Tao Mu, after the sunset for his first name and taking the deans surname. That was how Tao Mu's name came to be. (TN: the Mu' in Tao Mu means sunset)

"Ai! That's why they say same people but different fate! The little prince was born in the same year, the same month and the same day as our brother Mu. But look at what kind of life they are living. One is being cherished by family members, and having such a grand birthday. Even his given name shows how much they cherish him." (TN: the Yu' in Shen Yu is taken from a phrase that describes a heavenly blessed and outstandingly talented person)

When put in contrast, it was no wonder that brother Mu was so unhappy.

"You can shut up!" Da Mao looked at Xiao Pang with disgust: "You can't stop your mouth even when you eat! No wonder you grow so fat!"

Where was the logic in this statement?! Xiao Pang took a particularly innocent look at Wang Ye, who was tall and beefy, thicker and heavier than he himself. He lowered his head and ate silentlyand he didn't forget to open Tao Mu's box lunch!

"I don't think boss wants to eat it anymore. I will help him eat it, so as not to waste it!" The luxurious box lunch from a five-star hotel was quite expensive after all!

"I looked for you in the crew for such a long time, but it turned out you are hiding here!" Ye Yao held a small cake in her hand, and looked at the boy who was smoking against the old fashioned blue brick wall with a flash of astonishment in her eyes.

The scorching sun in the hot summer was like a fire, the sunlight casting down freely and penetrating through the mottled leaves, and raining down spots of light. The handsomely beautiful boy dressed in white leaned against the old fashioned city wall with a lazy expression. His appearance when smoking a cigarette with an air of indifference, gave off a kind of mild sensuality under the afternoon sun. It caused one to develop an impulseto move forward and take the cigarette down for a kiss to his lips.

Ye Yao's cheeks blushed slightly, and she handed the little cake in her hand to Tao Mu: "I heard that today is also your birthday. Happy birthday to you."

Tao Mu left the cigarette hanging indolently at the corner of his mouth and looked at Ye Yao carelessly. Ye Yao's figure was clearly reflected in his dark eyes, and that casual gaze gave people an illusion of deep affection. Ye Yao at that moment only felt a little dizzy, her whole person drowning in Tao Mu's male charm.

So it's actually real that someone could be this handsome!

Ye Yao coughed a little shyly, and deliberately brought up a topic of conversation: "I heard that you were admitted to the Beijing Film Academy and will start school in September, meanwhile taking advantage of the summer vacation to come to H Studio City to gain some experience. That's quite the idea!"

Going to H Studio City to be a body double and learning from the director on how to move and maintain presence in front of the camera. For an unreported freshman who had just been admitted to Beijing Film Academy and had not yet learned to act, he really had quite the idea. What's more, Tao Mu not only had ideas, but his physical attributes were also impressive, and his martial arts movements stunningly beautiful. Ye Yao felt that Tao Mu would definitely make it far in the future, so she was willing to lower her status and take the initiative.

[Green tea bitch, the level is not particularly high, but the methods are quite disgusting!] (TN: green tea bitch is slang for a girl who seems innocent and charming but is actually calculating and manipulative)

Again!

Tao Mu lowered his eyes and took a drag as he felt a headache coming on, not wanting to talk to people.

Ye Yao didn't mind: "I took Yan Film Academy's exam. This year's junior year, and can be considered as your senior sister, right? Would you like to call me senior sister?"

Tao Mu squinted at Ye Yao: "Little girl, you want to take advantage of me?"

Tao Mu's voice was very unique. He had grown up in Beijing as a child and spoke in perfect Beijing dialect. However, after returning to the Shen family in the previous life, he stayed in Shanghai city for nearly ten years, so his tone now had a little of the softness of Shanghai dialect, the result of which made him sound both lazy and sultry, with a bit of cynicism mixed in.

Ye Yao felt her ears burning at Tao Mu's voice, and said with a smile: "How can I, I am originally older than you."

There was an awkward pause. She then found another topic to continue the small-talk: "I found that you have a good talent for language. You have been in Shanghai for just a few days, but the tone of your Beijing dialect has taken on the local influences!"

Tao Mu pinched the cigarette out with boredom. When he smoke, he didn't like being in front of people, and it annoyed him when people tried to talk to him at this time too. The former was a show of politeness, the latter was an eccentricty.

Ye Yao of course didn't know this. Seeing Tao Mu pinch the cigarette out, she took it as Tao Mu being very gentlemanly. Her interest in the conversation became even deeper: Speaking of which, you and Shen Yu were born on the same year, same month and the same day, if seen from the perspective of numerology, your two lives should be similar However, in reality, Tao Mu was just an orphan, and in order to gain some experience, he had to come to H Studio City to work as an extra right after graduating from high school. Whereas Shen Yu was the most beloved youngest son of the Shen family. He could just enter the entertainment circle for his own amusement but still his family members would set up a management company to invest in TV dramas with him as the main male lead.

Ye Yao seemed to realize that this topic was not quite right, so Ye Yao stopped sheepishly. She looked at Tao Mu eagerly: "I mean, you are so good-looking, and you are admitted to the Beijing Film Academy, you will surely become popular in the future."

This was true. It's just that after gaining fame and popularity, Shen Yu's admirers joined forces to get him shunned out of the entertainment circle because he dsred to make trouble for Shen Yu.

Tao Mu chuckled lightly, the lazy yet sexy tone had Ye Yao's eyes lighting up.

At any time, scenes in which there were handsome men and beautiful women would always be pleasing to the eye.

But in the eyes of some people, this scene only fanned their anger.

"What are you doing?" Mu Huating, who played the male number three in this drama, ran over. He saw the little cake Ye Yao was holding, and he asked jealously: "Isn't it Shen Yu's birthday today? Xiao Yao, why are you giving this kid a cake?"

"Don't call me so affectionately, I don't know you so well." Ye Yao frowned and said rather coldly.

In this drama, the female third lead played by Ye Yao and the male third lead played by Mu Huating were a pair, and Mu Huatings management company seemed to have the intention of using the relationship in the play to stir up some gossip and therefore increase exposure. For idol stars, this kind of operation was commonplace, and even fans on both sides would not take it seriously. It could increase exposure and attention without much worries. Originally, it was a win-win situation.

It was a pity that Ye Yao had not much interest or good feelings towards Mu Huatingmainly this was because Mu Huating's face barely passed the qualifying line after removing his makeup which really did not suit Ye Yao's appetite, so Ye Yao usually talked coldly whenever she saw Mu Huating. This made Mu Huating, who had been very popular with fans since his debut, feel very uncomfortable.

Today, he saw that Ye Yao, who had always been ignoring him, actually paying great attention to a small extra in the crew. This made Mu Huating, who had been going smoothly since his debut, even more unable to tolerate it.

"I say, Xiao Yao, don't tell me you are interested in this extra?" Mu Huating puffed out his chest quite arrogantly, and gave a condescending look towards Tao Mu. With a tone in what he thought to be of someone full of experience, he persuaded: "This kind of person has nothing but a face. Dont be too naive. He and us are people in two different worlds. You are simply not suitable for each other."

Though he said that, Mu Huating knew very well that in this circle, most of the time people only looked at the face. What's more, Tao Mu not only had a handsome face, but he was also admitted to the Beijing Film Academy, where he would be receiving professional training. Unlike him, who debuted in a reality program last year, his qualifications were simply not recognized by the industry.

Thinking of this, Mu Huating looked at Tao Mu's intimidatingly handsome face with envy and jealousy, and couldn't help saying: "Xiao Yao, if you keep being muddle-headed, I will call sister Hong."

Sister Hong, whose full name was Wan Meihong, was Ye Yao's manager, who was known to manage her artists very strictly. Therefore, Ye Yao's face changed when she heard Mu Huating's words, and immediately explained: "Don't be nosy, today is Tao Mu's birthday. I just want to wish him a happy birthday."

"Really?" Mu Huating raised his eyebrow: "That's a coicidence, today is also Shen Yu's birthday."

While talking, he gave Tao Mu, who had not spoken a word yet, a once over and sneered: "Born on the same day, but some people are young masters born with a golden spoon, while some people are orphans unwanted by their parents. No wonder the saying goes that when comparing goods the one that's of shoddy quality is thrown away, and when comparing people the destitute person would be unable to continue living." (TN: essentially means that people should feel contented with their lot in life and should not blindly compete with others)

This was too much. Ye Yao immediately scowled and said angrily: "How could you speak like that? Apologize to Tao Mu."

"Who does he think he is, why should I apologize to an extra"

"That's not right." Tao Mu flicked the cigarette in his hand into the trash pile on the side: "Saying that when comparing goods the one that's of shoddy quality is thrown away, and when comparing people the destitute person would be unable to continue livingthat's just angry talk. The reality is that when comparing goods the shoddy quality must be kept, and when comparing people the destitute person must continue living." (TN: a play on the former saying that means the same thing, but with a twistyour things must be kept no matter if it is of worse quality than others' because it belongs to you and are essentials that you can afford in your circumstances. People must continue living despite being worse off than others because any wealth becomes meaningless after death, only living will everything be possible)

When Tao Mu said this, he took a careless look at Mu Huating, and his dark eyes revealed a playful glint: "Just like some people, they don't have a handsome face, they cant act, and their IQ is even worse. But don't they still stand here daydreaming, living in a fantasy world."

Anyone who had a brain could tell that Tao Mu was mocking Mu Huating. When he debuted, Mu Huating was touted as a newbie that gained popularity just with his handsome face and he also regarded himself as a flower boy. Furious, he pointed at Tao Mu's nose: "What are you saying ahhhhh"

Tao Mu grabbed Mu Huating's finger and twisted it forcefully, and casually educated: "Don't point at others with your finger when you speak. What would you do if someone broke it?"

"Let go!" Mu Huating hugged his red and sore finger and took two steps back, staring at Tao Mu in shock and anger: "Barbaric!"

Tao Mu snorted, glanced at the cowardly Mu Huating, and turned to leave.

He didn't want to eat the birthday treat set by Shen Yu for the crew that also included the extras, so Tao Mu casually ate a bowl of beef noodles outside the studio cityand was almost killed by the chefs cooking skills. He desperately poured two bottles of mineral water down his throat. Seeing that it was almost time, he returned to the crew. In the afternoon, he also had a wire scene that he must substitute for the male lead Shen Yu

After being reborn, the person Tao Mu was most sick of was Shen Yu. Originally, he wanted to break the contract and quithe was too sick of the days he had been entangled with Shen Yu and the Shen family in his previous life which almost turned him neurotic.

It's a pity that when he was interviewing, Shen Yu was very satisfied with his martial arts, and the treatment given to him was very high, so as a result, the penalty for breaking the contract was also very high. In order to ensure that Tao Mu would not quit halfway, the penalty money was 10 times that of the pay.

The drama "Purple Cloud" was a fantasy costume idol drama adapted from an Internet IP. Originally scheduled for forty episodes, with 32 episodes of screenplay for the male lead, and among these 32 episodes, there were at least 20 episodes of fight scenes. According to the contract, the crew must pay Tao Mu a salary of 50,000 yuan, which was several times higher than the market price. The main reason wss that Shen Yu was very satisfied, and Tao Mu's martial arts moves were as smooth and flowing as water, especially when looking at the camera one could really feel the tension and beauty. Shen Yu's management company was probably so generous in order to show that it valued Tao Mu.

In addition, the pure-hearted little prince Shen Yu felt compassion after learning about Tao Mu's background, so he raised the salaryaccording to the little princes wishes, he originally wanted to increase it to 100,000 yuan. But Shen Yu may want to be kind, but his management company was not here to do charity. In the end, both sides took a step back and settled at 50,000 yuan so ten times the penalty was 500,000 yuan.

After restarting over, although Tao Mu still had some money in his pocket, but it was absolutely no way near half a million. Of course, even if he had the money, he did not want to waste it on Shen Yu. So after thinking about it, Tao Mu still patiently continued to do the jobhis character was like this, as long as the benefits were sufficient, even if it hurt his pride, he could still endure it.

So in the previous life, the people of the Shen family would feel that he was scheming and spineless, and could not compare to the white lotus they had raised from young. (TN: slang for someone who pretends to be sweet and innocent while often engaged in manipulation and scheming)

His heart thumped suddenly, and the pain was as if it was pricked by a needle. Tao Mu put aside his thoughts and walked back to the crew expressionless. He could hear a loud noise even from this distance.

"What's the matter?" Tao Mu frowned as he looked at the packed crowd of people around the rest area of the studio.

Da Mao and Xiao Pang, who had watched a good show outside the crowd, approached him and whispered gossip: "The other investor in this show came to visit, and I heard that he's actually Ye Yao's boyfriend. But the result was that he and Duan Qingqing hooked up. The two sat in the lounge chair flirting, and Ye Yao saw it."

Duan Qingqing was the heroine of this drama, she was 20 years old this year. She was in the same film academy as Ye Yao and was also in her junior year. Because their images were similar and their career path in the entertainment industry the same, the two have been cat fighting since their debut, and even in the crew they schemed against each other.

"Ye Yao made a fuss, scolded Duan Qingqing as shameless, and even rolled up her sleeves to hit her. The guy stopped her and wouldn't let her hit Duan Qingqing. Ye Yao was angry and said she wanted to break up and even slapped him. That guy also became angry and said that breaking up was fine, but said that Ye Yao could enter this drama as the female number three soley depended on him. If Ye Yao really wanted to break up, then she must resign from the crew."

The persons involved were still having a heated exchange, and even the managers of Ye Yao and the heroine Duan Qingqing rushed over to join in. While persuading Ye Yao's boyfriend to calm down his anger, they still also had to find a way to control the situationat least they couldn't let knowledge of this scene spread to outside and the media.

In order to resume filming as soon as possible, even the main director, director Chen, who usually did not get involved with the crew's issues and drama, had to come forward and do some damage control.

Seeing that Ye Yaos boyfriends anger disappeared immediately, Mu Huating, who had been standing on the side and watching the excitement, suddenly saw Tao Mu in the crowd. Immediately he stretched out his still aching finger, and pointed at Tao Mus figure, saying to Ye Yao's boyfriend: "Mr. Luo, the reason why Ye Yao wants to break up with you is because of that kid. She sees that the kid is good-looking, so she has a change of affection. You are busy every minute and rarely pay attention to the going ons in the crew, so please don't be fooled by them."

Tao Mu hidden in the crowd: ""

TN: two monster chapters today