May 9th, Wednesday.

Setting foot on Jingzhou soil once again, Lin Jiaqiang was in a good mood.

Perhaps it was because his previous collaboration with Tenda had been very pleasant.

Thinking back to his last visit to Jingzhou in September 2010, Lin Jiaqiang had come with three other buddies to film a promotional video for “Blood Battle Song Enhanced Edition.”

Tenda had offered a very generous price at that time—500,000 yuan per person. For people like them who had faded from the spotlight long ago and even struggled to put food on the table, such an opportunity was exactly what they had been desperately seeking.

Moreover, the entire filming process had been relaxed and enjoyable.

Lin Jiaqiang had simply worn special cosplay armor, wielded a plastic cleaver, struck a few poses for the camera, and barely even spoken any lines before completing the shoot. The actual filming time was less than half an hour.

The rest of the time was spent eating and drinking well in Jingzhou, wandering around with old friends.

Everything had been perfect, except that after the promotional video aired, it slightly affected his image and became a long-running joke.

But this wasn’t really a big problem. For supporting actors who had faded into near-oblivion, as long as they could make money, what did a little mockery matter?

Back when they were filming movies, they had played all sorts of ugly roles and been ridiculed plenty, hadn’t they?

Moreover, the commercial had become popular, increasing their exposure to internet users, which was a win no matter how you looked at it.

So when Lin Jiaqiang received another invitation from Tenda after more than a year, he agreed on the spot.

Only after agreeing did he ask what the promotional video was for, and was told it was for fitness equipment.

Lin Jiaqiang was immediately confused.

With my physique, they want me to promote fitness equipment?

Something seemed off.

Had there been some kind of mistake?

But then he thought again about how the “Blood Battle Song Enhanced Edition” game commercial had also been quite unconventional, yet its promotional effect had been good.

It seemed that Tenda indeed preferred these bizarre advertisements.

Lin Jiaqiang stopped overthinking it. As long as there was an advertisement to film and the pay was good, that was enough. As for the effectiveness of the advertisement, that was someone else’s concern—what did it have to do with him?

So he stopped worrying and completely went with the flow, accepting whatever arrangements were made.

Lin Jiaqiang no longer had the concept of a “schedule,” so after quickly settling a few matters at hand, he booked a direct flight to Jingzhou.

Just like his previous visit to Jingzhou, there was a private car for transportation and a five-star hotel for accommodation. Everything was arranged clearly and meticulously. Lin Jiaqiang had rarely experienced such treatment even during his most popular period.

After arriving at the hotel, the reception staff arranged for Lin Jiaqiang to check in and rest, saying they would notify him immediately once the filming preparations were complete.

…

Meanwhile, Meng Chang was at the advertising and marketing department, refining the details of the promotional script.

Yu Yao quickly approached him and said, “Brother Meng, Lin Jiaqiang has arrived. I’ve arranged for him to check into the hotel, and we can start filming anytime in the next couple of days.”

Meng Chang was a bit surprised: “So quickly?”

“Oh, right, he doesn’t have a schedule to speak of anymore, so there’s no need to book in advance.”

As the department head, Meng Chang naturally wouldn’t handle everything personally, especially since he hadn’t planned to do the job well in the first place. So he had delegated most of the detailed work to Yu Yao, including contacting Lin Jiaqiang, preparing the shooting location, and so on, without asking about any of it.

He had thought Lin Jiaqiang wouldn’t come to Jingzhou for another two days, but unexpectedly he had arrived so quickly that Meng Chang hadn’t even finished leisurely revising the promotional script.

Yu Yao asked, “So… should we let him stay at the hotel first and arrange for someone to show him around Jingzhou for a couple of days? We can prepare things slowly on our end.”

Meng Chang shook his head: “No need. Let’s start filming this afternoon!”

Although the details of the promotional script weren’t refined enough, for Meng Chang, this video was just something to shoot casually, so there was no need to obsess over those details.

“Where’s the filming location?” Meng Chang asked.

Yu Yao answered truthfully: “I originally wanted to film at Sloth Apartments, but thinking about it carefully, the environment at Sloth Apartments looks too nice, which doesn’t seem to match your requirements, Brother Meng.”

“So we found an ordinary rental apartment, trying to replicate the most authentic living environment of young people, especially otakus and shut-ins.”

“Here are the photos.”

Yu Yao handed over his phone. Meng Chang took it, glanced at the photos of the rental apartment, and nodded with satisfaction.

“Good, that’s exactly what I wanted!”

This shoot would take place entirely indoors with no outdoor scenes, making it relatively easy to set up.

For a normal promotional video, they would definitely choose a clean, bright “DREAM HOUSE” for filming, paired with a sweet-looking young woman to leave a good impression on viewers.

But Meng Chang had no intention of leaving a good impression. Besides, since they had chosen Lin Jiaqiang, a “standard couch potato” weighing over 200 pounds, as the lead, the room definitely needed to be messy to match his image.

Of course, they couldn’t go too far with it, otherwise it would be too obvious and might expose his undercover identity, which would be awkward to explain.

“If that’s the case, let’s shoot this afternoon!”

“We have the location, the actor is ready, I’ll quickly revise the script, and we’ll get this done quickly.”

Meng Chang began rapidly making final revisions to the script, then printed it out and headed to the filming location.

Yu Yao also hurried off to handle his own tasks.

The efficiency was very high, consistent with Tenda Group’s usual style.

…

In the afternoon, at the promotional video shooting location.

Meng Chang, Yu Yao, Lin Jiaqiang, and the staff for shooting the promotional video had all arrived.

After exchanging pleasantries, Meng Chang distributed the script to the staff on site and briefly explained the role to Lin Jiaqiang.

“Actually, you don’t need to analyze this script too deeply. Just act according to your first instinct, understand?” Meng Chang hinted frantically.

Obviously, Meng Chang didn’t want Lin Jiaqiang to suddenly deliver a stellar performance that would make the Smart Fitness Clothes Rack go viral across the internet.

The worse Lin Jiaqiang’s acting was, the better chance Meng Chang had of earning a high commission.

Lin Jiaqiang read through the script carefully from beginning to end, then nodded: “Don’t worry, I’m familiar with this type of role!”

He had previously acted in many absurdist comedies with bizarre, outlandish plots. Seeing this somewhat satirical script for the promotional video, he was pleased—isn’t this my specialty? A natural fit!

Meng Chang nodded: “Good, then let’s start filming and see how the first take goes.”

Everyone quickly took their positions and began shooting.

Although Lin Jiaqiang hadn’t filmed a movie in a long time, he was still a veteran actor with solid fundamentals. Moreover, the promotional video didn’t require him to memorize lines, only to make various exaggerated expressions and movements, so it wasn’t challenging at all.

The final edited promotional video would probably be just over two minutes long, and none of the shots were complex, so filming progressed quickly.

With all the sets and props on site already prepared, and Lin Jiaqiang getting into character very quickly, all the shots were completed in less than half an hour.

“Good, cut!”

Yu Yao looked at Meng Chang: “Director Meng, any feedback?”

Lin Jiaqiang’s performance was decent, but if one wanted to nitpick, there were still issues that could be found. As a director, even in situations where there were no problems, one would often say “let’s keep this take” and shoot another, just like how clients would find fault with even the most satisfactory first draft proposal and force a second version.

Meng Chang fell silent.

It wasn’t that he had many opinions or was dissatisfied with Lin Jiaqiang’s performance—quite the opposite.

Lin Jiaqiang had acted too well!

For this type of comedic short, whether it could make people laugh crucially depended on the actor’s performance.

Like many Chinese comedy actors who seemed to be forcibly tickling the audience’s armpits when filming, many jokes when performed wouldn’t make people laugh but instead feel awkward.

But Lin Jiaqiang was a veteran comedy actor after all. Though now past his prime, his foundation remained solid. His exaggerated movements and expressions, combined with the narration, actually had quite a flavor to them.

Before Meng Chang could speak, Lin Jiaqiang had already volunteered: “Everyone can offer any feedback. I haven’t filmed in a long time, so I’m not back in form yet.”

“But I’m getting better and better. If we film another take, I’m sure I can perform even better!”