The Birth of a Top Superstar 1

"Eric Lan! What is going on with you?" The director demanded bluntly. "We've already shot this take thirty times! What do I have to say for you to finally get it?"

Eric Lan shuffled over, looking utterly dejected, but said nothing.

Samson Zhang frowned at him, silent as well.

"Director, what's going on?" Lily Bai walked over to ask.

"President Bai." The director greeted her, then explained, "Up until now, both of them were doing great! Really fantastic! But as soon as the plot reached the part where the two become... confidants, Eric just can't get into character!"

Lily Bai looked at Eric Lan. "Cousin, what's up with you?"

Eric Lan looked aggrieved. "The director wants me to look at Samson with eyes full of longing, tenderness, and admiration—even like I'm looking at my lover! But every time I see Samson, all I want is to strangle him. How am I supposed to pull that off?"

"Then just imagine, when you're acting, that it's not Samson—it's Jenny!" Lily Bai patted Jenny's shoulder.

"But I'm terrible at imagining things," Eric Lan shot a glance at Samson Zhang. "Now that he's all handsome like this... I just worry he'll steal my Jenny away, and I want to kick him into a mud pit!"

"The two of them were brilliant in all the antagonistic scenes before," the director couldn't help adding nearby. "If they can nail this next part, honestly... I've been making movies for forty years, and I think this one could really blow up."

Lily Bai nudged Eric Lan's arm. "Hear that, Cousin? Just push through! Stop thinking of him as your love rival—pretend he's already handed Jenny over to you."

"He handed her over?" Eric Lan asked Samson Zhang.

Samson Zhang shot him a sideways glance and walked off.

"See?" Eric Lan threw up his hands. "Sorry, but I just can't do the whole longing, tender, admiring thing with him... My sexual orientation is perfectly normal, okay?"

Lily Bai looked at the director. "So... when you need those close-up, emotional shots, can you just keep Samson out of Eric's line of sight and have him act to empty air?"

"I've already tried that. He's not a professional actor—when he acts to empty space, he can't even focus his gaze, and he just can't express the feeling I want."

Lily Bai looked at Eric Lan, headache mounting. "Let's try one more time! I want to see just how bad your state really is."

So the director had them do another take.

When the camera switched to Eric Lan, he woke from unconsciousness and looked up at Samson Zhang.

Dressed all in black, with features like a painting, and a rare smile at the corner of his lips—gentle as ripples on a clear lake, utterly captivating.

His eyes first showed a hint of surprise, then gradually became entranced—full of love, admiration, and even a bit of goofy infatuation...

"Perfect! That's a wrap!" the director shouted excitedly.

The black-clad figure immediately let him go.

Eric Lan sprang up, grabbed the black-clad figure, and exclaimed, "Jenny! How is it you? When did you get here? You look amazing like this—really beautiful..."

Turns out, Lily Bai had arranged a double for Samson Zhang.

And Jenny was the perfect stand-in.

...

After the movie aired, everyone became obsessed with that look in Eric Lan's eyes, convinced he'd fallen for Samson Zhang.

A whole army of CP fans started shipping them day and night, imagining all sorts of wild scenarios.

Eric Lan couldn't exactly admit that his loving gaze was actually aimed at the double.

It drove him absolutely crazy...

...