Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

“Beautiful April” was a film adaptation of a modern classic. Just before production was announced, book fans had craned their necks, expecting much from this. The “aestheticians” were troubled, caught up between the anticipation of seeing their favorite characters come to life on the big screen and the idea of leaving the sacred untouched, untainted…

After all, live-action movie adaptations rarely ever lived up to the expectations of the fans of the source material.

Novel readers always watched these adaptations with apprehension, ready to nitpick at the slightest offense. As they did so from their elevated perches as long-time fans, their hearts would be filled with ego.

Those iconic characters better be given justice. The more iconic a character, the more was to be expected from their actors and actresses!

Contrary to what was expected, the investors of this year favored young, handsome boys and beautiful girls who already had fan followings of their own. While these people looked good, their actings skills were typically abysmal. It would be alright if you had them stand as glass vases. But as actual characters with depth, emotion, and complexities? That was asking for too much.

It was torture for the actors, it was torture for the crew, and it would be torture for the audience…

The actor for the male protagonist of “Beautiful April,” Liu Xingxing was still within acceptable margins. After all, he was one of the few young, accomplished actors. He was versatile, and had already proven himself within many drama series, webseries that were all successful in their own right. He rarely ever let his audience down.

Even fans of the novel agreed that he was a suitable choice. He looked like him, and he would definitely be able to act like him. Of course, some of Han Leng’s carefree fans thought that Lu Xingxing’s appearance could not hold a candle to Han Leng’s beauty. How could he act as the male protagonist, Gu Yuan?

Some readers could never tell the difference between the author and the protagonist. They had always considered the protagonist to be like the avatar of the author, when in fact, talented writers never reused the same personalities on their protagonists when writing a new book…

Protagonists rarely took after their creators. Writers came in all shapes and sizes, all forms of life. Some enjoyed abusing their protagonists, others treated the protagonist like their own children. Even more would turn the protagonist into an alternate version of themselves.

Of course, his fans only worshipped his beauty, thanks to Lady Zhao. After all, Lady Zhao was a master of makeup. She had great taste in fashion and trends. With some makeup, Han Leng had turned from a slightly handsome student into a Clueless Chick Magnet. In addition to that, he had a reputation as a”Lady boss.”

With makeup, Photoshop, some social media uploads, and magazines, anyone could be turned into a god. Naturally, this also netted in great sales of his book.

Some female fans had admitted to buying Han Leng’s book, only because of his good looks. In addition to that, he had enrolled in Jiangnan University. That was a massive bonus!

Just like those silly men who allowed ladies to deceive them over the internet, Han Leng’s readers had been equally deceived. He was decent-looking, but he was not ‘that’ handsome. He was nothing like a real-life celebrity like Liu Xingxing.

Without the aura that Lady Zhao had fabricated for him, he might have never been able to experience such sudden, great success. It was like taking one step and flying to the sky.

Behind every successful man was a great woman. Han Leng was a successful writer, and he had a great Goddess within his book…

On the other hand, many others were far more dissatisfied with the two key actresses of “Beautiful April,” Nie Zisu and Zhao Youyue.

Nie Zisu was not that bad an actress. It was her poor reputation and knack for stirring up controversy that bugged them. At one point, the internet had even pressured her to leave the entertainment circle. Her agency was equally useless. They actually sensationalized such negative headlines, adding on to her notorierity!

Thus, another wave of headlines rose up in protest of her role. No matter how she was criticised, she persisted, like a stubborn stain in fabric…

Perhaps as time went by, this idol cum actress would one day mature and blossom. She was with flaws, but she truly enjoyed acting. She had been honing her acting with passion and effort, especially after witnessing what Zhao Youyue was truly capable of. Rather, it was “Zhang Guorong” who she had witnessed…

The audience could only begrudgingly accept her. Her bad reputation was one thing, but she could act within acceptable margins. Still, wasn’t it a little too reckless to let an outsider step into the shoes of the most iconic character, “Chu Luoxun” the one who brought the entire book to life?

Almost no one believed that Lady Zhao would be able to act well as Chu Luoxun. After all, she had only demonstrated some musical abilities. Asking an actress to sing was comparably easier than asking a singer to act!

Actors often showed off some of their other talents whenever given the opportunity. They would always sing the same, “Darude Sandstorm,” that soon became a running gag. Whenever someone asked for a title to the song, others would instantly reply —— bgm “Darude Sandstorm.” If you still insist on asking, go hang yourself.

How many people were truly multi-talented, I wonder?

The promotional department was of no use either. They tried to capitalize on the controversy, if not quench the flames. At least they still had a sense of damage control by trying to avoid topics pertaining to Zhao Youyue. They had focused on the other two, spinning up some spicy tales like Liu Xingxing and Nie Zisu “falling in love with each other as they worked together closely.” Typical.

Everyone knew that it was all baseless and false, but they could not help but pay attention to the matter. They would enter the cinema to look out for any sign of actual love, behind the on-screen chemistry.

Finally, they deliberately leaked some false information about Zhao Youyue. They had asserted that Zhao Youyue’s acting skill was not up to par. She was an embarrassment. They even said stuff like how even “Chu Luoxun’s” still shots had been doctored…

These “leaks” with no traceable source convinced the netizens that they had power of the industry. While only the hardcore would remain unfooled, such leaks served their purpose.

But Ah Yu’s beauty was undeniable. Her fans were also loyal to a fault. Thus, they did not want to believe anything that was said about her. They would go for the first screening and see how their all-rounder Goddess pulls it off yet again.

This was a cunning move on the Promotional team’s part.

Let’s set the bar as low as possible. Let’s get everyone’s hopes down. We’ll blow them away when it screens!