Chapter 27: The Joys of a Madman

July 20th.

The entire cast and crew had assembled and were departing for Fuhai City in Yuanxing Province.

In the first-class cabin of the plane, Cheng Cheng’s fingers flew across his laptop, typing furiously.

Li Yang, seated next to him, asked curiously, "Director, what are you writing?"

Cheng Cheng turned his head to answer, though his hands never stopped typing, the word count in the bottom-left corner of the document climbing steadily. "Oh, I’m creating a novel. It’s a fairy tale for all ages."

Li Yang watched this bizarre spectacle, his mouth twitching as his internal composure crumbled. *You’re not even looking at the screen! Are you sure you’re not just mashing the keys?! And what kind of nonsense is a 'fairy tale for all ages'? Do those two concepts even have anything to do with each other?*

Li Yang dared not voice his complaints. "Oh, I see. Carry on, Director, I won't disturb you."

"That’s fine," Cheng Cheng replied. He shifted his left eye to gaze at the computer screen while his right eye swiveled to fixate on Li Yang. "I can do both."

Li Yang was utterly horrified: (ｷ｀ﾟДﾟ´)!! *This is a disaster! What am I seeing?! One eye looking left, the other looking right—is this even something a human can do?*

Cheng Cheng gave himself a mental pat on the back. He had used the "Specified Body Part Fine-Tuning Pill" on his eyes to increase their flexibility, and it had finally come in handy! Satisfied with the extra point he’d earned, he stopped tormenting Li Yang and turned back to his typing.

In the row behind them, Yan Gou'er stared out the window at the clouds, which looked like fields of cotton, her mind wandering.

Wen Lian parted her red lips and whispered, "What’s wrong, Gou'er? You don't seem happy."

Yan Gou'er shook her head gently. "It's... it's nothing." She had things on her mind but didn't want to bring down everyone's spirits.

Ever since news spread that she had been cast in a Cheng Cheng film, she had become a "celebrity" at school—a target for those waiting to see her make a fool of herself. Before this, nobody ever mentioned that she was top of her class. When it came to casting, performances, or competing for honors, no one had ever said, "Oh, Yan Gou'er is top of her class, let her have this role," "Let Yan Gou'er perform, she’s the top student," or "The scholarship should go to Yan Gou'er."

Yet now, her status as the "top student" had become glaringly prominent. It was as if connecting her academic rank to "Cheng Cheng’s movie" only served to prove that her choice was wrong and provided others with the sadistic pleasure of watching a genius ruin their own career.

Even her acting professor had called her into his office to lecture her: "Yan Gou'er, I understand you. I know you feel frustrated seeing other students landing roles. But regardless of how they got them, it proves they have talent. You’re desperate for a role, but that doesn't mean you should give up on yourself and take just anything! You’re ruining your future, and not only that, you’re bringing shame upon our major and our entire school. You may not care, but the school does! The internet is so vicious these days; those voices are already out there! I’ve been trying to find opportunities for you. Han Feng is coming to school next month to cast for his new film, and I was going to recommend you. But look at you now—you’ve thrown all my hard work away!"

Initially, Yan Gou'er had tried to reason with her teacher, but the more she explained, the more stubborn the teacher thought she was. Eventually, the heartbroken professor kicked her out of the office.

"You’re worried about what people are saying, aren't you?" Wen Lian asked. Watching Yan Gou'er was like looking at her younger self. "Our entire cast and crew are 'dead pigs who don't fear boiling water.' The director, Li Yang, myself, Qi Hao—we’re all the same. You’re the only one just starting out on this path. It’s normal to care about external opinions, but remember, don't let them affect you. Do you want to hear them say, 'I knew she made the wrong choice,' or 'I can't believe she made the right one?' I’ve experienced the former, but now I want to experience the latter."

Yan Gou'er’s expression softened. "Thank you, Sister Lian. I feel much better now."

Wen Lian laughed. "Don't thank me. Just look at our director—when has he ever cared about such things?" She tapped the back of Cheng Cheng’s seat. "Director? Director?"

Cheng Cheng turned around. "What is it?"

"Why did you insist that we buy tickets for the middle of the day?" Wen Lian asked.

Cheng Cheng looked at her with one eye, his expression stern. "Because something is bound to go wrong sooner or later."

Wen Lian arched an eyebrow at Yan Gou'er, as if to say, *See? Look at how stable our director’s mental state is!*

Yan Gou'er’s shoulders shook as she barely suppressed a laugh.

"What’s wrong?" Cheng Cheng asked, confused.

"Nothing, Director. Go back to your work," Wen Lian said.

Cheng Cheng obliged and turned back around. "Oh, okay."

***

Upon arriving in Fuhai City and meeting the crew, Cheng Cheng and "Beret" (a crew nickname) began a fifteen-day training session for the actors, including Li Yang, Yan Gou'er, and Wen Lian.

They were all blown away by Cheng Cheng. It wasn't just the actors; even the crew members—Beret, Na Li Quan Lu, and Xiao Du—were stunned! They realized that Cheng Cheng actually understood film and acting!

For every character, Cheng Cheng could dissect the underlying persona from surface to depth, providing practical acting techniques to help the performers get into character. His guidance was so precise it reached the level of micro-expressions. He knew exactly what state a character should be in during every entrance and how their emotions should progress when facing conflict.

Was this really the same Cheng Cheng? It completely shattered everyone’s worldview! This was, of course, thanks to the System. Let’s just say that as a "starter pack," once the memories were integrated, it was as if Cheng Cheng had already filmed it once—this was just his second take.

However, over this period, Cheng Cheng’s "tyrant of the set" persona could no longer be hidden. The cost of integrating the starter pack was a tendency toward being arbitrary and dictatorial; he wouldn't tolerate an actor’s own interpretation. If a suggestion was useful, he’d take it, but most of the time he found their insights unnecessary and useless. His favorite phrase was, "I don't care what you think; I care about what I think."

Another issue was that the cast and crew were becoming increasingly worried about Cheng Cheng’s mental state. The man was truly unwell!

For instance, one day Cheng Cheng started taking medicine. When asked why, he said he had a cold. That was normal enough. But then it got weird. The first day, he took his medicine before the meal. The second day, he took it after the meal. On the third day, he mixed it into his rice and ate it.

When Li Yang asked him why, Cheng Cheng replied, "I can’t let this sickness figure out the pattern of my medication. I have to catch it off guard."

The others: *What a meticulous, logical mind!*

There were many other instances of Cheng Cheng’s erratic behavior. He would wash his hands frequently and then stare excitedly at empty space, as if he were participating in something monumental. Once, when he saw an actor refusing to eat a box lunch, he pulled out his wallet. Just as the actor thought Cheng Cheng was about to give him money, Cheng Cheng pulled out a pair of chopsticks and told him, "Use these to eat the food you actually like!"

*Where did you even pull chopsticks from, you lunatic?!*

Then there was the internet. A netizen shared that their cat had passed away. Someone commented "My condolences," and Cheng Cheng followed suit with "My condolences." A long string of people followed his lead, until someone realized something was wrong: *Wait, Cheng Cheng, why are you saying condolences to the first commenter? And the rest of you, didn't you notice when you were following the thread? It wasn't his cat that died!*

In short, there were too many such incidents to count.

One day, with the sun shining brightly, Cheng Cheng appeared on set.

Li Yang: "Morning, Director!"

Cheng Cheng stared blankly. "Who are you?"

Li Yang: "¿" *What do you mean 'who am I'? I’m Li Yang!* "Director Cheng, don't you recognize me?"

Cheng Cheng said, "I am not Cheng Cheng. I am Cheng Cheng’s clone. Cheng Cheng said he was too tired and didn't want to get up, so I’m filling in for him today. You can call me Director Cheng—the 'Cheng' from Cheng Cheng."

Qi Hao walked over. "Director, what are you talking about?"

Li Yang’s mind was in chaos. "Quiet, I’m thinking."

"What’s wrong?" Qi Hao asked.

"Director Cheng says he isn't Director Cheng anymore, he's his clone, so he doesn't recognize me," Li Yang explained.

Qi Hao: "Director, do you recognize me?"

Cheng Cheng shook his head. "No."

The situation quickly drew attention, and as more people gathered and Li Yang explained, everyone was stunned.

Wen Lian: "Director, I’m Wen Lian! The lead actress of your film. Don't you remember me?"

Cheng Cheng shook his head. "Don't remember."

Beret: "How about me?"

Cheng Cheng shook his head. "Don't know you either."

Na Li Quan Lu: "How about me? Me?"

Cheng Cheng continued to shake his head.

Just then, Yan Gou'er popped up. She handed Cheng Cheng an egg. "Director, Director, me, me, me!"

Cheng Cheng reached out, took the egg, and his eyes lit up. "I know you! Cheng Cheng told me about you—you’re Yan Gou'er!"

Yan Gou'er grinned.

Wen Lian looked at Yan Gou'er with admiration: *How on earth did you figure out how to deal with a mental patient?!*

Li Yang said, "Since the Director’s 'clone' doesn't remember us, why don't we all introduce ourselves?" He looked around, seeking everyone’s opinion.

Everyone agreed.

Cheng Cheng nodded. "Okay, okay."

"I am Wen Lian."

"I am Qi Hao."

...

At noon, by the side of the set.

Wen Lian shoveled food into her mouth and grumbled, "It’s so exhausting dealing with a mental patient."

Yan Gou'er laughed. "It’s not so bad. Heh, even though the director acts up a lot, he doesn't bother anyone, and he’s actually quite interesting."

Wen Lian smiled faintly. "I suppose that’s true. He is pretty ridiculous and funny. If he weren't mentally ill, the director would actually be quite good. He takes care of us, his explanations are meticulous, he’s a decent person, and he’s handsome too."

Yan Gou'er glanced at her. "Sister Lian, are you interested?"

"How could I be?" Wen Lian replied. "Never mind whether he’d even look at me, aren't you afraid that if you were with him, he might mistake your head for a watermelon while you’re sleeping and chop it off?"

Yan Gou'er shrank back in fright, but immediately retorted, "No way, the director isn't that scary!"