Yi Ling spoke of Yan Huan with pride in her voice. She was like a proud mother hen who would peck at anyone who dared say anything negative about Yan Huan to death.
But Yi Ling had merely stated the truth. Luo Lin had to nod in wholehearted agreement: Yan Huan’s acting was impeccable. She had absolute confidence in Yan Huan’s performance; her only concern now was whether they would be able to surpass The Legend of the Condor Heroes.
Condor Heroes, with its massive budget and high production values, was the talk of the town right now. Luo Lin could not help wondering whether Yan Huan would have been better off if she had chosen to remain in the Condor Heroes project instead. But that was all in the past now, and there was no point dwelling on “what ifs.”
She crossed her arms. Well, she consoled herself, at least we’re second. If we can hold on to second place for the viewer ratings, that’ll be good enough.
Condor Heroes had remained in the top spot for the viewer ratings since its debut. Unfortunately, the streak ended when Little Dragon Girl showed up and nearly blinded all the viewers.
Luo Lin’s jaw dropped when she saw Little Dragon Girl. Then she burst into laughter.
As it turned out, all it took was one wrong ingredient to spoil the entire broth.
In the original novel, Little Dragon Girl was described as thus:
“A hand, as delicate as white jade, parted the curtain. In walked a young girl, draped in a white dress that floated gently like mist about her. She looked to be perhaps 16 or 17 years old; aside from her jet-black hair, everything on her was white as snow. Her features were exquisite, but she seemed abnormally pale due to the lack of color in her skin… The young girl was beautiful and elegant, so much so that no one could look at her without being dazzled by her beauty. But there was a certain frostiness to her; she was as fair as snow, but also as cold as ice. It was difficult to tell whether she was happy, angry, or sad. Those who saw her were inevitably struck by a profound fear: Was this girl standing before them made of crystal, or perhaps snow? Was she human, demon, or perhaps an immortal fairy?”
But Su Muran’s Little Dragon Girl did not fit the description at all. She wore a white dress, but that was where the similarities ended. Even with the help of the makeup team, she looked like an awkward, unsophisticated country bumpkin.
She was beautiful, but she lacked Little Dragon Girl’s ethereal grace. Worst of all, she could not act her way out of a paper bag.
Luo Lin smacked herself on the forehead. She finally understood why Yan Huan had refused to participate in the Condor Heroes project: Su Muran’s Little Dragon Girl was enough to wreck the entire show.
As soon as Little Dragon Girl showed up, all the viewers who had been tuning in on their TVs and computers almost wet themselves at the shocking sight. The expressionless face, the lifeless eyes—Su Muran had tried her best to appear cold and aloof, but the viewers saw only a brick, and not an ice cube.
Pffffffft! Madame Lei had just taken a sip from her drink when she spat it out.
She jabbed a finger at the TV. “Little Dragon Girl looks mentally handicapped. Who’s the actress? She isn’t even pretty, she must have an ego the size of a galaxy to think she can play a beauty like Little Dragon Girl. They should have given the role to our daughter!”
“I told you not to watch this show, but you wouldn’t listen,” said Ye Shuyun as she gently stroked the fat cat in her arms. “Don’t you recognize the actress? It’s that girl from the Su family.”
“Which girl?” Madame Lei could not recall. “Which Su family girl are you referring to?”
“Who else?” Ye Shuyun had a good memory, and knew exactly who she was talking about. “Don’t you remember that one time when our children played together—many years ago—and your boy Qingyi ended up getting punished by his father because of that Su brat? He received such a vicious spanking he was bedridden for a few days. His bottom almost doubled in size!”
“Oh, the one from the Su family!” Madame Lei finally remembered.
She had disliked Su Muran from the day she had caused her poor baby boy to be spanked for something he had not done. Lei Qingyi had grown into a tall, strapping man—at 1.9 meters, he was as tall as most professional basketball players—but that did not change the fact that he had been a sickly child when he was much younger. Back then, he had been sick more often than not, and Madame Lei had almost died of anxiety and concern for her poor baby boy.
Her husband had given her poor son the worst beating of his childhood because of Su Muran’s accusations—accusations that had turned out to be completely false. Madame Lei had learned of the true story from her son: Lei Qingyi had not pushed Su Muran; the girl had tripped on her own. Madame Lei knew her son was an obedient, honest boy who would never lie, and from that moment on she had harbored a grudge against Su Muran.
“Change the channel, quick.” Madame Lei did not want to spend another second looking at Su Muran’s face. It reminded her of the undeserved spanking her poor son had received, all those years ago.
“Let’s watch Game Lake instead.”
Ye Shuyun did not object. She had lost all interest in Condor Heroes as soon as Little Dragon Girl appeared. Su Muran had single-handedly destroyed the show.
Unlike the shocking Little Dragon Girl reveal in Condor Heroes that had effectively ruined the show, the story for Game Lake was slowly but surely picking up steam. Every episode was more interesting that the last, and all the characters were properly fleshed out. It was clear to everyone that the production team—from the director to the cast—was fully committed to making a quality show.
The show had therefore earned widespread praise from its viewers. The plot was well-written and captivating; viewers quickly found themselves addicted to the story.
Condor Heroes had gotten off to a good start, but it lost its momentum and began its downward spiral as soon as Little Dragon Girl made her shocking appearance.
Su Muran’s acting was not completely horrible; it was obvious that her acting had improved since her acting debut in Beauty. But it took three things to be a good actor: natural talent, time, and experience.
Su Muran was not an idiot, but she was not a natural-born actress, and therefore could not be said to be particularly talented. She was still young, however, and had received formal training; with enough time, she would be able to become a famous actress. Unfortunately, she had been too greedy, and had wanted to take the shortcut to fame by taking on the difficult role of Little Dragon Girl. The Legend of the Condor Heroes had been remade countless times, and many of the roles in the show already had what were widely regarded to be “definitive” portrayals by other actors and actresses. Su Muran had enormous shoes to fill; she had to surpass all the actresses who had played Little Dragon Girl before her. Otherwise, what was the point in remaking Condor Heroes for the umpteenth time?
But Su Muran’s inflated sense of ego had led her to believe that no role was too difficult for her. She had therefore chosen a role that was completely beyond her mediocre acting ability to bring to life.
Little Dragon Girl.
She turned what should have been a lovely, ethereal Little Dragon Girl into Vapid Dragon Girl. It was a high quality show, with fantastic cinematography, amazing post-production visual effects, and a stellar supporting cast—but none of that could withstand the destructive force that was Su Muran’s Vapid Dragon Girl. It was obvious to all the viewers that she had gotten the part through her backdoor connections; her acting skills were average at best, and yet she had been cast in the main role, while all the better actresses had been shoved into supporting roles.
In Condor Heroes, the supporting actresses were all homely Plain Janes. This was a deliberate decision on the part of the showrunners to accentuate Su Muran’s “otherworldly beauty”—a flower was a lot more beautiful when surrounded by cow dung.
But even the prettiest flower was worthless if no one appreciated it.
All the viewers agreed that Su Muran’s Little Dragon Girl was the worst character in the show, by far. She had single-handedly destroyed the image of Little Dragon Girl. Condor Heroes slid from its top spot in the viewer ratings to second, and then further downwards in an uncontrollable nosedive. Su Muran tried to salvage the situation by participating in talk shows and shooting more ads for the show, but it was too little, too late.
