Chapter 575 (2/2)

It could not be denied that Zeng Qinqin, who was once very popular in her youth, had the right to back her statements up. Many actors published books, but they did not write those books. Instead, ghostwriters would write them. In this case, Zeng Qinqin had done the writing herself.

Unfortunately, her self-help books did not sell very well. The sales were just average. Only fans who had supported her in her youth would buy the book. They might not even read them – they were just adding the book to a collection of her works…

Current gen celebrities in their prime would not have the time to read such self-help books to improve their acting skills. If they had the time, they would rather think of getting on the next headlines of the newspaper, or throwing a party to unwind.

Very few actors would focus on their performance. This was the era of ‘amusing ourselves to death’ [2]. More celebrities were extremely popular with a vast following. To them, they would always bring a large part of themselves in their roles. They would not be playing the roles, the roles would be a part of them. Fans would only see them, not their roles.

Zhao Youyue really wanted to act as ‘Chu Luoxun,’ herself – and she wanted to do it with skill. She wanted to present her Goddess image in its perfect form to the viewers. She read ‘Perfect Acting’ book in earnest. As she went, she took note of each legendary actresses that had been listed in the book. She intended to find the perfect actress for her to possess…

First, she ruled out the highly popular legendary actresses that even laymen would be able to identify by name. She would not be able to fabricate stories about them. She was here to play up her possessee’s acting skills.

She had to choose an extra who had a moment of fame in the presence of a legendary actress. If they died young, all the better. She would have all the room to create the wildest of stories about them!

A similar case would be Guo Jia in the ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms.’ At some point, he became the ‘God of War of the Universe.’ He then became the ‘Big Three Boasters’ online, together with the Tibetan Mastiff [3] and Nikola Tesla [4]. That’s how a historical character became a fictionalized icon!

Zhao Youyue’s target was to ensure that her possessee would end up like ‘Guo Jia,’ the ‘God of War of the Universe.’ Her acting skills would be unparalleled!

She dove into action and finally found a suitable possessee. This actress had died mysteriously when she was 26 years old. There were many rumors concerning the cause of her death. Some people said she suffered from depression; others said she was persecuted by the rich and powerful because she was just too beautiful. Others said that she lost herself in method acting and took things too far…

This legendary female character’s name was Zhang Guorong. She died on the first of April. Back then, many thought that it was an April Fool’s joke.

Translation note:

[1] “Bihu” (逼乎) is a pun on the website “Zhihu. It is used to mock pretentious people on Zhihu who acted like know-it-alls.

[2] “amusing ourselves to death” (娱乐至死的时代) is a book by educator Neil Postman. The book’s origins lay in a talk Postman gave to the Frankfurt Book Fair in 1984.

[3] “Tibetan Mastiff” (藏獒) is a large Tibetan dog breed. Originating with the nomadic cultures of Tibet, China, India, Mongolia, and Nepal, it is used by local tribes of Tibetans to protect sheep from wolves, leopards, bears, large mustelids, and tigers.

[4] “Nikola Tesla” (特斯拉) was a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, physicist, and futurist who is best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system.