Silver Linings

Prologue - Gong Jun meets Wen Ke Xing

The only thing that had made Gong Jun hesitate, though only for a fraction of a second, was the fact that it was another danmei. It had only been a few years since Advance Bravely had aired and even though he had received a lot of good publicity, it had also come with that one backlash. That one video that had gotten leaked. That one video of him after a few too many to drink having a too friendly hug with the other male lead.

Pushing those thoughts out of his mind before they even took form, Gong Jun shook his head and decided to re-read the script—just one more time. He loved how loquacious his character was with long and intricate lines laced with poetry and underlying meanings that never seemed to end. Maybe he could learn a thing or two about flirting with class from this Wen Ke Xing-character.

This 'one more time' was actually his fifth read of the script 'Shan He Ling' and he really liked this one. A lot. He even made a mental note that if—no when—he got this role, and he was going to make sure that he did, he would buy the book to absorb all he could to help him fully immerse into the role. His quick online search had told him that there was even an audio drama for the novel and he may have already saved it to his cart just under the book—for when he got the role.

This script had been sent specially to him, through Youku. The producer, Ma Tao, had been recommended Gong Jun by one of her friends and had reached out to his team to enquire if he was available. The day after the script had arrived at his front door. Gong Jun had signed on to do three dramas with Youku and this was hopefully going to be one of them. Not one of the other scripts he had read so far had caught his interest as much as this one. Unfortunately, they were nothing special, just your average run-of-the-mill C-drama. Not that they were bad, they were just not unique. Not like this one.

Ma Tao, had given him a few days to read the script and then they had set up a video call to talk things through before progressing to the next step. During this call it was solidified that the role he was being offered was the role of Wen Ke Xing. "You have the looks of both good and evil. Your image is very suitable for Wen Ke Xing."

She had asked him for a few audition clips. Though it wasn't uncommon for him to do an audition, this would be one of the first ones that he did solely via video conference. The pandemic that was sweeping across the nation−and now the world−had forced changes throughout the industry due to the fact that they simply couldn't meet in person. They were in a lockdown after all, which had halted the drama he was currently filming—Begin Again. And to be fair, he wouldn't have gotten this opportunity if it wasn't for this pandemic since this was supposed to be in production right now. Silver linings.

Gong Jun wasn't a bad person. He rarely even had negative thoughts about anyone. It wasn't even the fact that he was so focused on his life and career and didn't have time to spend thinking about others. No—it was simply who he was. He was a genuinely happy and nice person. Though, for once, he was struggling to feel sorry for Li Dai Kun, the actor that had initially been lined up for the role of Wen Ke Xing. Li Dai Kun had been forced to pull out as he was stuck in another contract that hadn't been able to finish filming in time and thus—given him the opportunity to snatch it.

And he really wanted to snatch it. This was a role so different to all others that he had played or been offered, that his skin was literally buzzing as he read some of the lines. Some even made a blush wrap around the back of his neck and linger on his cheeks as he envisioned saying them to another man—well the other male lead—in front of a filming crew.

Wen Ke Xing's character was dynamic and would require him to explore sides of himself that he never showed to anyone. His character was an orphan, growing up in a place with nothing but evil, with the exception of his 'adopted daughter/maid'. He was longing to destroy the world who had turned its back on his parents. That is, until he met that one person from his past, that one person that would become his future and his beacon of light.