Before long, Chen Hao saw the male and female leads of the production arrive. The male lead was the Hong Kong actor Zhang Weijian, and the female lead — well, she was something else entirely. It was none other than the future superstar Fan Bingbing.
Well, actually, at this point in time, no one called her "Fan Ye" (Lord Fan) yet, but after years in the industry, she was already somewhat well-known, somewhere between an A-list and B-list celebrity.
Even dressed in traditional costume, her curvaceous figure was impossible to hide. Her face didn't yet have the mature elegance she would be known for later in life, but there was a refreshing charm and playful energy about her that was captivating — a kind of beauty Sister Yaya simply couldn't compare to.
Fan Bingbing seemed to notice the group of extras as well. Her eyes swept over and just so happened to land on Chen Hao. Her beautiful eyes lit up slightly, surprised —"Extras these days… even they have this kind of presence?"
Zhang Weijian, on the other hand, didn't even bother glancing at Chen Hao's table.It was as if Hong Kong actors were born with a sense of superiority over mainland actors — his self-importance was written all over his face.
Chen Hao had actually liked Hong Kong dramas and films quite a bit in the past. But after reading about various scandals involving Hong Kong actors in the news, he had grown disillusioned.
For example, Zhang Weijian — along with Xie Tingfeng — had, in Chen Hao's previous life, beaten up a veteran actor on the set of The Proud Twins.
That veteran actor had once played the White Dragon Horse in the old Journey to the West series. Incidents like that spoke volumes about their character.
Of course, Chen Hao still admired many other Hong Kong actors, like Chow Yun-fat, Louis Koo, and Andy Lau. He had grown up watching their shows and films, and even before his reincarnation, he was still supporting their work.
Chow Yun-fat's Project Gutenberg, and Louis Koo and Andy Lau's The White Storm series — he went to the cinema for every one of them.
With the assistant director's call, filming officially began.As expected, Chen Hao was once again just background — not even a single shot showing his face, just a silhouette at best.
Ironically, Sister Yaya, seated slightly to the side, did get a face shot in the scene.
When the camera passed over, she even gave a sweet, charming smile, like a lotus blossom in bloom.
Soon, the restaurant scene was done filming.All this time, Fan Bingbing had been secretly watching Chen Hao's table — and now, to everyone's surprise, she walked over, smiled, and gave Chen Hao a light tap on the shoulder.
"I have to say, the quality of extras these days is really getting better."
"Hello, Sister Bingbing," Chen Hao said as he turned to greet her politely.He knew very well that Fan Bingbing was a woman who had gone through a lot in her life and career — the kind of hardships only she truly understood.
Still, there was no denying it — the woman standing in front of him was stunning.Who would've thought that this girl who once played a humble maid in My Fair Princess would go on to become the famous "Fan Ye", a dominating figure in Chinese entertainment a decade later?
While Chen Hao personally felt she didn't have many truly outstanding works, he had to admit:she was one of the most iconic female celebrities of the post-internet explosion era.Even someone like Yang Mi, considered the queen of top-tier traffic, paled in comparison.
"Haha, how polite," Fan Bingbing said, eyeing Chen Hao from head to toe, growing more and more pleased with what she saw.With a smile, she suggested, "Come on, let's find a place to sit and talk."
"Is there something you need, Sister Bingbing?" Chen Hao replied with a shy smile. "I still need to go do more extra work."
"Extra work? What for?" she laughed. "With me around, you can..."
"I can put in a word for you and get you a supporting role in a film — no big deal," Fan Bingbing said casually as she directly grabbed Chen Hao by the arm, showing no sense of formality at all.
Seeing Chen Hao being pulled away by Fan Bingbing, Yaya pouted slightly, clearly a little displeased, but still chose to follow along.
After exiting the restaurant set, Fan Bingbing told Chen Hao to go change out of his costume. It was only then that she noticed Yaya following behind him the whole time. A look of curiosity flashed across her beautiful face
"Could this girl be his little girlfriend?"
While Chen Hao was changing in the shared dressing room for extras, he ran into the familiar production assistant the one he called Brother Yang.
Brother Yang waved him over. Chen Hao quickly slipped off his costume, walked over, and asked,"Brother Yang, what's up?"
"Want to play a supporting role?" Brother Yang asked with a smile.
"Of course I do!" Chen Hao replied eagerly. "Isn't that why I've been working as an extra for so long?"
"Good. Let's grab lunch at noon. I'll explain the details at the table."He patted Chen Hao on the shoulder and walked out first.
Chen Hao's eyes lit up Could this be it? Has my luck finally turned around?
No this must be the audition opportunity for Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils that the system promised.
It just so happened to come through Brother Yang. Whether he could land a real supporting role in that production would still depend on his own ability.
When he walked out of the dressing room, he saw Brother Yang and Sister Bingbing chatting together — clearly, the two already knew each other.
"Let's go. I know a good Sichuan restaurant nearby. We'll eat there," Brother Yang said, and soon he was leading all three of them toward the place.
Chen Hao felt more and more certain that this audition opportunity must have come from the system.
After all, why else would Brother Yang suddenly choose him and not someone else?The system had to be playing a decisive role behind the scenes.