As a slow variety show 1 themed around dreams, With Dreams as Horses originally focused on rural living, stress relief, and th...
As a slow variety show1 themed around dreams, With Dreams as Horses originally focused on rural living, stress relief, and the pursuit of personal dreams. However, over time, the show's format underwent many changes.
Yet hardly any viewers felt that it had strayed from its theme.
Because, honestly, the format still fit the theme.
The celebrity guests had always been pursuing their dreams.
In the previous episodes, they simply used their own abilities to take the first steps in developing Hengshan Village's tourism industry.
They wanted to give the audience a taste of life in the village without the audience having to spend anything.
And today, Bao Ruanruan had truly begun pursuing her dream again, right in front of the camera!
Even long-time viewers who had watched over a dozen episodes were amazed.
[Bao Qingtian2, so you were an onion3. When we peel you down layer by layer4, you'll surprise us again.]
[You can never define little Kiddo Ruan.]
[Beautiful! There really aren't many female artists in domestic entertainment who can keep me guessing like this!]
Everyone thought she was going to slack off by lying flat5, but instead, she started working hard.
The moment she appeared on camera today, she was holding a script wrapped in a book cover, which she kept studying.
She barely joined in the team discussions or joking around with the three Blue Team members beside her.
It was only when Zhen Xuan asked for her opinion that she pulled herself out of her reading trance.
Even many variety-show viewers were surprised by her serious appearance, as they had thought she was a happy comedian6.7
[If I had studied this seriously, I reckon I'd have an admission letter from Tsinghua next year!]
[Hah, if I'd had an idol like Bao Qingtian2 back then, I'd already be an outstanding Peking University graduate by now.]
[What's Peking University? I'd probably be an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences!]
Episode after episode of With Dreams as Horses caused many passersby viewers8 to almost forget that Bao Ruanruan was an actress.
They even gave her many code names, such as 'Safety Committee Member' and 'top of the food chain9 '.
However, they were merely fans of variety shows. They laughed merrily and had never thought of watching the dramas she acted in.
Bao Ruanruan was fun to watch on variety shows, but when it came to acting, she was still just a little brother10.
She did not have many excellent films or TV shows to her name.
Today, however, as she led the three Blue Team members towards Hengcheng, her inner radiance as an actress shone through.
On the way to Hengcheng, Bao Ruanruan's personal Weibo account quietly gained five or six thousand followers.
Quite a few people also commented that they would watch her dramas.
They sensed that she was a serious actress!
Xue Jing, who had been keeping an eye on his own young artist during a break at work, glanced at the data and raised an eyebrow in surprise.
When Chen Feng leaned over to take a look, he gasped in shock.
"Is she releasing her might11 again?"
Xiao Baozi is releasing her might every day.
Incredible.
Xue Jing glanced at him, pushed him away in disdain, and opened the With Dreams As Horses livestream.
The screen showed her soft, fair little face at the Hengcheng Film and Television Base, with her teeth clenched and her body shaking.
Bao Ruanruan looked as if she were about to cry.
"I'll act."
Her two little hands were anxiously entwined.
Xue Jing's blood froze12 in one second.
In the shot, the young stagehand standing in front of her was also someone she knew — a staff member from the previous Kunning crew.
Li Dong, the assistant director of Kunning, was serving as the main director this time, filming war scenes for a female-led historical costume drama.
He had brought along some of the old Kunning staff.
Assistant Director Li Dong already had a good impression of Bao Ruanruan to begin with.
He still remembered how she had listened to him so humbly the first time they had worked together.
She had cherished the costume they had given her and had also prepared in advance for the lake-falling scene the next day.
"Teacher Bao, the Director has agreed to let you bring three people to be extras in this scene with us."
"We can even give you one line."
The stagehand smiled brightly.
Bao Ruanruan, however, paled and weakly waved her hand.
They were all soldiers who would fall from horses.
They would all end up dead as a doornail anyway.
Who cared whether there was a line before they died?
She already felt short of breath, and as she touched her chest, she could feel the discomfort there in advance.
"It's fine even without a line."
She had to gasp three times just to say one sentence.
Sweat was beginning to break out on her forehead.
"Give it to another extra. I'm only here to learn from the teachers. The extras have already been set, and I can't take their work."
Bao Ruanruan had barely finished the long sentence before she leaned against the railing, looking somewhat strained.
The stagehand immediately felt relieved.
Indeed, they had already settled on an extra with lines.
If she took the role, they would have to change their plans.
He would also have to speak with the extra who had been replaced.
But now, since she didn't want the lines, that made things convenient for everyone.
Squeezing four people in for a large-scale war scene was not a problem at all.
In fact, the crew were even afraid that there wouldn't be enough people, which would ruin the grand spectacle.
The stagehand was happy and grateful to Bao Ruanruan in his heart.
Even after becoming famous, she still looked after extras like this. It really wasn't easy.
However, when he lowered his head, he saw that Bao Ruanruan was clutching her chest. Her complexion looked a little off, and she was breathing heavily.
"Teacher Bao, are you all right? Should I get the crew doctor to take a look at you?"
The stagehand was badly startled.
Bao Ruanruan waved her hand, bending at the waist as if she could barely stand.
"I'm fine."
"I'm just… imagining in advance what it would feel like to fall from a horse, hit the ground with broken ribs, and have them pierce my lungs."
Stagehand: "?"
Is your imagination that rich?
Her performance was practically lifelike.
Even the stagehand could feel his own lungs hurting now!
Bao Ruanruan took a deep breath and forced a faint smile. A few beads of cold sweat had appeared on her pale face.
"Is this the kind of horse fall you're doing?"
"!!!"
The stagehand and his buddies were all stunned.
The three Blue Team members were also dumbstruck.
They had seen Bao Ruanruan's talent and charisma while she was playing games, but this was the first time they had witnessed her acting ability in person.
This… shouldn't she win an award for this?
She had even managed to make her face turn pale.
However, Bao Ruanruan did not feel she had been impressive at all; she only felt sorrowful.
The road of acting was truly hard to walk.
There were so many sorrowful roles.
The moment she clutched her chest, she was immersed in the scene, feeling as though she were truly there.
Even in a minor role as a soldier, the pain could still overwhelm her.
She admired the actors and actresses who had spent years working with film crews. How strong must their resilience be to endure it?
"Teacher Bao, you really are this."
The stagehand raised his thumb.
Honestly, he had seen quite a few big actors, but none of them compared to Bao Ruanruan.
He had never seen someone get into character this quickly, even for a small extra role.
Even Qin Xing, the female lead in this female-led drama, was instantly outshone.
"Teacher Qin Xing… how many war scenes does she have to film?"
Bao Ruanruan asked curiously, her little face pale.
The stagehand answered without hesitation: "This drama has at least eight or nine war scenes."
This was not a secret.
The crew had promoted it as a big production.
As soon as he had finished speaking, Bao Ruanruan's entire little face filled with admiration.
"Teacher Qin Xing is really amazing."
Stagehand: "?"
A major war scene often took more than three or four days to coordinate, design, and actually shoot. It was not merely the dozen-plus minutes shown in the final cut.
For an extra like her, who would go offline13 early, it might take only half a day or a day to film.
But the female lead was different.
How many times would Teacher Qin Xing have to endure the wartime agony of brushing shoulders with death?
With starry eyes14, Bao Ruanruan exclaimed, "She can really eat bitterness15."
The main reason she had come to the set today was to learn from and consult the various teachers.
The acting teacher Xue Jing had hired for her said that studying acting theory alone was useless and that she still needed to spend time with a production crew to observe and learn more to improve quickly.
"If it were me, I probably wouldn't be able to stand after finishing one scene."
As Bao Ruanruan spoke, her slender shoulders trembled.
Now, whenever she thought about falling from a horse later, she was still a little afraid.
Holding the railing, she slowly leaned against it.
"When do we shoot? I'll prepare myself mentally a little more."
Stagehand: "......"
Teacher Bao, you're getting way too into character!
And she was so humble, too!
"It's nothing. I'm just learning from Teacher Qin Xing."
Qin Xing, the female lead, had overheard that celebrity guests from a variety show had arrived, featuring Bao Ruanruan, a newly popular traffic artist16, so she wanted to come over and say hello.
But, standing at the doorway, she froze as soon as she heard Bao Ruanruan's words.
The live version of rainbow fart17 had come without warning.
"Through wind and rain, she has to endure the psychological torment of desperate situations again and again, breaking herself into pieces and glueing herself back together18… day after day… she has it so hard."
"I admire her."
Bao Ruanruan lacked this kind of courage.
If it weren't for the pressure to finally own a safe house this time, she would have left the set by now.
Qin Xing only felt a large part of her chest soften.
Her steps to greet them stopped.
Bao Ruanruan understood her.
Qin Xing was an experiential actor.
For every scene of great sorrow or great joy, she needed time to immerse herself in the character, and after filming, she needed at least two or three hours before she could walk away from it.
Actually, many directors did not particularly like using her.
This was because she took a long time to get into character and a long time to come out of it.
She was not an easy actor to work with.
But today, she had unexpectedly met someone who understood her.
Qin Xing quietly left. The irritation caused by the continuous filming eased considerably at that moment.
The corners of her mouth rose involuntarily.
She had not expected to meet someone who felt like an old friend at first meeting, even though they had never met before.
It was just as Teacher Yuxin had said.
*
[The new person you wanted to conquer is Qin Xing: an S-rank female lead-tier young starlet.]
[Your conquest failed.]
Tang Yuxin: "???"
Two days ago, she had used her identity as a senior from the same company to invite Qin Xing to a meal.
Today, however, she had done *absolutely nothing.
[The other party has met her soulmate.]
[She cannot be conquered for the time being.]
Tang Yuxin: "......"
During the meal, she had only just told Qin Xing to find a soulmate… and yet somehow she had made wedding clothes19 for someone else immediately after they had eaten together?
Wasn't a true soulmate supposed to be hard to find?!
Bao Ruanruan knew nothing about any of this. She was still chatting with the stagehand in the corridor outside the dressing room.
"Brother, what kind of little soldiers are the four of us? What did they do before joining the army?"
She was asking about the characters' life stories.
Usually, before actors played a role, they would receive a character summary from the crew.
But extras like the little soldiers, who only appeared on stage briefly before exiting… really did not have that sort of thing!
The stagehand thought for a moment. "Um, maybe just ordinary commoners?"
Bao Ruanruan nodded and carefully recorded the information in her little notebook.
The other three Blue Team members had never acted before and were all laymen20. Hearing the only actor among them, Bao Ruanruan, ask the stagehand questions, they immediately corrected their attitude and gathered around her very seriously.
However, as they gathered around, Lu Wenhao, using his tall height to his advantage, stole a glance at Bao Ruanruan's notes… and froze on the spot.
[?]
[What's wrong?]
[I want to see, I want to see! Cameraman, hurry over there~]
The scrolling comments all started making a fuss.
However, the camera was a moment too slow, and all they could hear was Bao Ruanruan asking again:
"Have the four of them ever committed crimes? Are they filial to their parents? Do elder brothers show friendship and younger brothers show respect21? Do they respect the old and love the young22? Do they…"
Her fair little face looked serious, and she still held the notebook in her hand.
She asked one question after another.
For a moment, it made everyone feel as if they had arrived at the scene of some Ah Sir23 interrogating a case.
[Pfft, wait, didn't the stagehand just say it was only an extra role?]
The stagehand in the shot was stumped by her questions.
What was a little soldier cannon fodder24?
—Someone in the script with no name and no surname.
—Merely a tool person25 needed to highlight the grand scene, create atmosphere, and serve the plot.
The stagehand coughed twice. "Uh… Teacher Bao, are these questions important?"
"Mm."
Bao Ruanruan nodded.
The answer would determine whether the little soldier would go to heaven, the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss26, and obtain boundless joy, or enter hell and have his soul scatter and his spirit disperse27 after his death.
If it were the latter, then he would be completely gone.
The thought made her little face grow even paler.
However, if he had led a virtuous life and sacrificed himself to protect his family and defend his nation… then he could enter the cycle of reincarnation after death and be reborn as a human. If his merit was high enough, perhaps he could even become immortal and gain eternal life.
For example, in the audio story that Xue Jing had recently told her—Investiture of the Gods🔗.
Although the possibility was very low, there was *at least a sliver of hope.
Thinking this way, she felt a bit of strength in her heart, as if playing the part of the soldier who would receive a boxed meal28 was no longer so frightening.
"They should be... good people."
"Phew, then I have no other questions."
A trace of blush appeared on Bao Ruanruan's pale little face.
[My heavens! Is this how Bao Ruanruan analyses a role? Such attention to detail!]
Not only did Bao Ruanruan shock the scrolling comments, but she also made Lu Wenhao and the other two open their eyes wide29.
Lu Wenhao once again felt like just a a little brother10.
No wonder his family had always thought he was no good.
Look at Bao Ruanruan. He had probably not even done one per cent of the homework she had done, right?
Lu Wenhao, Zhen Xuan, and Qu Feifei all seemed to see a faintly open professional doorway30 in their own worlds.
It beckoned to them, encouraging them to keep moving forward.
After listening to the stagehand and action director and learning and memorising the key points for the upcoming shoot, the Blue Team changed into their costumes.
In the prop and costume room, the floor and racks were currently filled with armour and cloth garments.
For many of them, the original colours could no longer be made out.
Extra soldiers were not supposed to be clean to begin with.
The setup for costumes, makeup and props was quite reasonable.
However… Bao Ruanruan had a panicked look on her little face.
[2333331]
[Little Kiddo Ruan: "Germs!" Her heart lets out a groundhog scream📹.]
[Poor kiddo, why must she suffer like this?]
Bao Ruanruan froze on the spot for quite a while. Then, with a pained expression, she gingerly picked up the alcohol-soaked cotton with her index finger and thumb and began wiping the armour with furrowed brows.
But after wiping for a while, she discovered that the stains on the metal copper plates had actually disappeared!
Her little mouth opened.
She did not dare move.
[It's really dirty.]
[Little Kiddo Ruan got scared.]
[Prop master? Costume, makeup, and props teacher? Hurry and save the child!]
Bao Ruanruan was suffering too.
Seeing her like this, Qu Feifei thought she looked too pitiful.
"I'll help you wipe it."
She did not have mysophobia and was not fussy.
However, she couldn't bear to see Bao Ruanruan's little appearance of sacrificing herself for art32.
She still did not realise that she was already beginning to exhibit the mindset of a mom fan33.
Clearly, helping the child to wipe clothes had reached the ultra-high realm of a true mom fan.
But Bao Ruanruan struggled fiercely and stopped her.
"Everyone is all dark and grimy. If I wipe mine clean, won't I become the brightest one?"
That would really mean, among thousands and tens of thousands, the enemy would head straight for my dog head34.
That wouldn't be considered sacrificing oneself for the country, but rather being stupid and courting one's own death. That probably wouldn't count as merit points, would it?
It would be unrealistic if she weren't the first person to be killed by arrows while wearing such clean armour.
Bao Ruanruan hurriedly stopped Qu Feifei.
"I'll endure it. I'm fine~"
Her ending tone came with its own wavy tilde35.
The breath in each syllable trembled like a parabola36.
[That line really made my tailbone tingle. Am I the only one who feels this way?]
[Raises hand.]
[Ahhh, me too! I don't even need to watch her dramas; I already believe Bao Ruanruan is a good actress. Just from that line, I could hear her superb line-delivery skill.]
[Disgusted yet enduring it—she expressed it to the fullest. My heavens! I knew Bao Ruanruan was a good actress, but she's actually this good? I already thought she performed well as the demon consort, but I didn't expect that still wasn't her limit!]
[Yes, when she speaks, even in a livestream, you can hear her clearly without subtitles. And her grasp of tone makes my heart tremble.]
[The scariest thing is that she's still learning.]
[Hiss! She's destined to become a Great Demon King37. As someone who has always liked being a career fan38, I've fallen into the pit39.]
Bao Ruanruan hadn't even begun acting yet, but the audience had already placed high hopes on her.
Another group of career fans had fallen into the pit.
Not only was she talented, but she was also willing to endure dirtiness for the sake of her craft, despite her aversion to it.
With that kind of attitude, who's to say she wouldn't be polished to perfection in five or ten years?
The career fans had completely stood up40.
The mom fans were about to lose out.
In the With Dreams As Horses director's van, Director Zheng Mingchang showed a trace of astonishment.
Bao Ruanruan was actually quite all-round.
Given her talents, there was no way her asking price would increase so much in season two that With Dreams wouldn't be able to afford her, right?
Director Zheng looked at the screen, and worry immediately appeared on his face.
"Tell the Blue Team cameraman—Liu Jun is leading over there, right? Have him discuss with the crew and try to film Bao Ruanruan's entire process as an extra."
"Put the Blue Team's main camera on her."
Among the four, only she was a professional actor.
She was the most reliable source of high ratings and had never disappointed him before.
Director Zheng gave a string of instructions, and his assistant laughed as he listened.
"Don't worry, Old Liu has experience. They know!"
Who didn't know that Bao Ruanruan was the Blue Team's treasure?
If you dig a little41, you could always unearth new gem material42.
"Mm."
Zheng Mingchang leaned back in relief, his body relaxing.
Leisurely, he picked up the teapot.
Half an hour later, the livestream switched to the Red Team, who were a step behind and still screening the list of 1,000 tourism viewers. After filming them for a while, the camera returned to the Blue Team's Hengcheng shoot, only to discover that something major had happened——————
Bao Ruanruan had gone missing!
Footnotes Full List
- 慢综节目 (màn zōng jié mù) — 'slow variety programme'; a relaxed, slice-of-life variety show
- 包青天 (Bāo Qīngtiān) — 'Bao of the blue sky'; nickname/pun on Bao Ruanruan's surname and the legendary upright judge Bao Zheng
- 洋葱 (yáng cōng) — metaphor for someone with hidden layers
- 一层层剥下来 (yì céng céng bō xià lái) — slowly uncovering more sides of someone
- 躺平 (tǎng píng) — 'lie flat'; internet slang for giving up ambition or refusing to struggle
- 欢乐喜剧人 — 'happy comedy person'; a humorous term used to describe someone who is generally considered to be funny
- This sentence reminds me of Lee Kwang Soo. 😂 I sometimes forget that he's actually an actor.
- 路人观众 (lù rén guān zhòng) — casual viewers who are not dedicated fans
- 食物链頂端 (shí wù liàn dǐng duān) — a metaphor for someone powerful, unbeatable, or dominant
- 弟弟 (dì di) — slang for someone weak, inexperienced, or not yet impressive
- 发威 (fā wēi) — to display one's strength or impressive ability
- 血液凝固 (xuè yè níng gù) — 'blood congealed'; metaphor for being suddenly terrified or shocked
- 下线 (xià xiàn) — internet/fiction slang for a character exiting or dying
- 星星眼 (xīng xīng yǎn) — an adoring, sparkling gaze
- 吃苦 (chī kǔ) — endure hardship
- 流量艺人 (liú liàng yì rén) — an entertainer with high online attention and fan traffic
- 彩虹屁 (cǎi hóng pì) — internet slang for exaggerated praise or fan-gushing
- 把自己打碎了再粘起来 (bǎ zì jǐ dǎ suì le zài zhān qǐ lái) — 'smash oneself apart, then stick oneself back together'; metaphor for emotionally tearing oneself apart and recovering
- 做嫁衣 (zuò jià yī) — to work hard only for another person to benefit
- 门外汉 (mén wài hàn) — 'man outside the door'; someone outside a profession or field
- 兄友弟恭 (xiōng yǒu dì gōng) — 'elder brother friendly, younger brother respectful'; harmonious sibling conduct
- 尊老爱幼 (zūn lǎo ài yòu) — 'honour the elderly, love the young'; traditional virtue of caring for elders and children
- 阿sir (ā sir) — 'Sir'; Hong Kong-style slang for a police officer
- 炮灰 (pào huī) — an expendable character
- 工具人 (gōng jù rén) —internet slang for someone used only to fulfil a function
- 西天极乐净土 (xī tiān jí lè jìng tǔ) — Buddhist paradise
- 魂飞魄散 (hún fēi pò sàn) — 'soul flies, spirit scatters'; complete spiritual annihilation
- 领盒饭 (lǐng hé fàn) — 'receive a lunchbox'; film/TV slang for a character dying or being written out
- 大開眼界 (dà kāi yǎn jiè) — 'greatly open one's eye-world'; be amazed or broaden one's horizons
- 職業大門 (zhí yè dà mén) — 'career/profession door'; metaphor for entering or understanding a profession
- 23333 (èr sān sān sān sān) — internet laughter, similar to 'hahaha'
- 为艺术献身 (wèi yì shù xiàn shēn) — 'devote one's body to art'; humorous exaggeration for enduring hardship for performance
- 妈粉 (mā fěn) — 'mother fan'; a fan who adores and protects an idol like a child
- 狗頭 (gǒu tóu) — internet slang often used self-mockingly for one's own head/life
- 尾音自带波浪号 (wěi yīn zì dài bō làng hào) — 'the final sound carries its own wave mark'; a playful way to describe a wavering, coquettish, trembling tone
- 抛物線 (pāo wù xiàn) — 'parabolic line'; metaphor for a rising-and-falling trembling sound
- 大魔王 (dà mó wáng) — slang for an overwhelmingly powerful person
- 事业粉 (shì yè fěn) — a fan focused on an idol's professional growth
- 入坑 (rù kēng) — 'enter the pit'; to become hooked on a fandom or interest
- 站起来了 (zhàn qǐ lái le) — internet slang for gaining confidence or becoming empowered
- 挖一挖 (wā yì wā) — metaphor for exploring someone's hidden potential
- 宝石料子 (bǎo shí liào zi) — 'gemstone raw material'; metaphor for valuable hidden talent
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