Chapter 305

Chapter 305: Stage Name

Translator: Min_Lee Editor: Tennesh

Lots of folks were glued to the second season of the Leizhou chapter when it aired, hoping to catch Zaro in action . They were, as usual, put off by the limited edition bento boxes in the episodes .

But some folks felt that things would improve once Zaro showed up . He was bound to create tension . Zaro’s acting style was only suited to nonsensical, exaggerated comedy, not serious period epics like this one .

Of course, there were also people who were more charitable . “The plot is killing me . At least Zaro will provide a change of pace . That’s a good perspective to have . “

Unfortunately, Zaro didn’t show up until the second half of the season, and his appearances were fleeting . Even his close-ups were momentary . You couldn’t make much out of his limited screen time . This was a major disappointment to the eager fans in Leizhou .

“I thought he had been cast in a major role . Turns out he ended up with this paltry bit of screen time . “

“He hasn’t picked up his bento box in season two yet, which means he’ll show up in season three . I wonder if he will get more lines then . “

“Based on my understanding of Zaro, his role will definitely get beefier down the road . Otherwise, someone with his personality wouldn’t bother with a minor role like this . He’ll definitely see more action in season three!”

On one of his internet access days, Zaro posted this message on his social media account:

“Me, Zaro, one take only! Shudder in fear, mortals! [picture]”

The accompanying picture featured an obnoxious-looking Zaro making an “oh, yeah” gesture . You could practically feel the cockiness oozing from the photo .

The people of Leizhou reacted as if they had discovered a new continent—they were downright incredulous .

“One take only? Is he referring to his latest scene?”

“I don’t believe him . “

“I’m not sure if I should believe him and there’s no way to verify his claim now . Let’s wait until season three comes out . ”

“Why don’t we ask the other actors?”

But the other actors remained silent . Every time they saw a question in the comment section of their social media accounts asking if Zaro was telling the truth, they pretended they hadn’t seen it . The truth was that they didn’t know what to say .

However, the director of the Leizhou chapter unit reposted Zaro’s message, adding, “Good job! Keep it up!”

That was his way of confirming Zaro’s one-take claim .

This made the people of Leizhou look forward to season three even more . Even though they were looking forward to the storyline, the series meant something different to the people of Leizhou . Zaro was the star attraction of the entire Leizhou entertainment industry .

Many fans love dissing Zaro, but even they had to admit that Zaro’s presence made the Leizhou entertainment industry more interesting . There was never a shortage of news .

The Renaults were also looking forward to Zaro’s scenes . They had confirmed through their own channels how Zaro was faring on the set, that the single-take claim was in fact true . Still, they couldn’t imagine what the final product would look like .

When season three finally aired, Zaro’s first appearance generated countless dropped jaws .

“This is Zaro?”

“That’s gotta be a double, no? Zaro can act like that? I’m not buying it, not buying it . They must have swapped someone in . “

“I just studied the footage carefully . It’s him all right . “

“What an incredible transformation! What got to him?”

“His performance is so un-Zaro-like!”

“What are you suggesting? Could he keep his job if he acted like Zaro?”

“It’s as if he has had plastic surgery . I can’t possibly associate that performance with the Zaro I know from previous roles . “

“I was wrong . Zaro can act too if he gets serious about it . “

Soon, the Leizhou media was going nuts . One of Leizhou’s most respected news outlets posted this headline: “I scare myself when I get serious about something . “

The accompanying graphic was a picture of regular Zaro and a screen capture from his role in season three . The contrast was stunning .

The governor of Leizhou even took the time to call Zaro .

“Zaro, I’m watching season three too . You’ve made tremendous strides! This is worth applauding . ” The governor used a much gentler tone than he had in previous chats with his grandson . He was less serious .

“This is definitely a tough shoot; it’s especially grueling, but there’s no way out of it,” Zaro said . He even managed to squeeze in a jab at his father: “Dad says that if I don’t do a good a job, he’s going to break my legs and lock me up at home . “

The governor took the bait . “Don’t be afraid of him . Let me have a chat with him tomorrow . “

The governor was pondering the matter in his head . He had learned the secret to the so-called “improvement” from Roman, but Roman also provided balance, conceding that even with the secret boost, not everyone could have delivered the same performance .

Zaro’s successful harnessing of emotion in season three had to have taken quite a bit of work . The governor was worried that Zaro would break down if the family pressure kept up . After all, Zaro was still young, and his tolerance for pressure was limited .

After listening to Zaro complain some more about how tough his shoot was, the governor offered a few words of encouragement and hung up . The call lasted exactly five minutes .

As the chief executive of a continent, the governor was a busy man . The fact that he had taken the time to get in touch with Zaro was a major gesture of appreciation . It was impossible for him to stay on the line for 20 or 30 minutes or more . A five-minute call was already quite long by his standards .

On the other end, Zaro was thrilled to have his grandfather’s approval . Granddad was the most powerful member of the family . As long as he had Granddad’s backing, no one else posed a threat . If his foul-mouthed dad kept up his act, Zaro would keep reporting him to Granddad .

Filming for season four had actually already wrapped up by the time season three aired . The fifth season was about to start shooting, but the actors had a few days off in between .

Zaro remembered that Fang Zhao was the brains behind his acting turnaround and that he had promised to treat Fang Zhao to dinner, so he gave his fellow cast member a call . “Let’s go for a meal at Gourmet Food City . I hear there’s a new restaurant and the food is decent . “

When Fang Zhao got the call, he had just returned from the Wai military base . He had nothing else going on, so he said yes .

The new restaurant was a fusion place featuring cuisine from all the continents . It didn’t take reservations, so Zaro and Fang Zhao had to wait when they arrived .

“Let’s sit on the side for a bit . You can bring me up to date on your filming,” Fang Zhao said, pointing to two rows of chairs by the reception desk .

Unaccustomed to waiting for seating, Zaro was already a bit fed up, but he got excited once Fang Zhao mentioned his shoots .

“Right, right . I have to give you a proper briefing!”

What Zaro enjoyed the most was bragging to others about his scenes . He still had few lines . He had plenty of time after he was done to prepare for the next scene . Zaro wouldn’t have been able to complete so many scenes in one take had his scheduling been tighter .

But as far as Zaro was concerned, the fact that he was completing all these scenes in a single take gave him tons of confidence . This was the first time he had ever felt so good about his acting . He felt as if he could treat all those award-winning actors and actresses like dirt in no time .

During his downtime, Zaro pondered his next career move .

“I think it’s about time I come up with a stage name,” Zaro said .

“Is that necessary?” Fang Zhao asked .

“Absolutely! I have actually thought of it before, but my agent shot me down . Now, though, I feel like I am in a different stage of my artistic career . What good is an artist without a stage name? My ambition is to become one of Leizhou’s top contemporary artists . “

Fang Zhao: “That’s . . . that’s a worthy goal . “

“So which name do you think I should use? It should be something that stands out, best if it’s reminiscent of the Old Era . It has to have substance and style . It should have personality and be classy at the same time, but I don’t want to lose my current name either . I’m thinking something similar that rings familiar . “

Fang Zhao: “How about ‘Samoyed’?”

“Sounds good . What does it mean?” Zaro asked .

“It’s the name of an Old-Era dog species that went extinct . Samoyeds were known as the ‘smiling angels’,” Fang Zhao said .

“They’ve gone extinct?”

“Yup . “

“They were dubbed ‘smiling angels’?”

“Yup . “

“That’s it then!”

“I suggest you do some more research during our internet access time . Coming up with a stage name is something you shouldn’t rush . You should take it seriously and compare a bunch of names,” Fang Zhao advised .

“That’s true . “

During the conversation, Zaro glanced at the entrance to the restaurant . He immediately yelled, “Hey, Woo Tianhao! Why are you running away?”

Woo Tianhao had invited a few actors who were party buddies from Tongzhou for dinner . They wanted to enjoy a proper meal during their rare break after slaving away for a season, yet lo and behold, the moment they set foot in the restaurant, Woo Tianhao ran into two people he didn’t want to see . He had been getting ready to bolt when he’d been spotted by Zaro .

Woo Tianhao had no choice but to retreat . He raised his voice . “Who’s running? Are you bloody blind?”

Woo Tianhao’s dinner companions stayed silent . The two people facing off were both descendants from prominent families—one from Tongzhou’s Woo family, the other a member of the Renault family in Leizhou . It was best if they didn’t butt in on an argument between these two .

Woo Tianhao’s good spirits had evaporated . Fang Zhao and Zaro were always being held up by the director as model actors, especially for their contemporaries .

Woo Tianhao had acting chops, but he couldn’t manage to complete all his scenes in one take .

It was OK that he couldn’t emulate Fang Zhao, but not being able to match Zaro was a downright insult!

They were both descendants of storied generals, and online pundits loved to compare actors with this kind of lineage . Zaro used to make everyone look good, but now his acting skills were suddenly off the charts, be it by gimmick or other means . The bottom line was that Zaro’s performances turned out well and viewers bought into them . The former critics now heaped praise with the same intensity they used to pour scorn on him—and they often used Zaro to dis actors from other continents .

Woo Tianhao really didn’t want to see these two . They killed his appetite .

But Zaro was in a hospitable mood . He waved at Woo Tianhao’s party vigorously . “Come, come . The more the merrier . Let’s eat together . It’s on me!”

That comment irked Woo Tianhao . “No need . It’s on me tonight!”

But Zaro stood firm . “I got here first, so of course it’s on me . “

Woo Tianhao couldn’t afford to lose face . “You think daddy can’t afford a simple meal?” He had told his dinner companions that he was treating tonight . If Zaro ended up buying, who knew what they would say .

“Ha, and you’re suggesting I can’t?” Once Zaro’s stubbornness came out, there was no stopping him .

The Tongzhou actors that Woo Tianhao had invited were dumbfounded . Are they really arguing over such a petty matter? Really? It seemed like a battle of egos, but it also came across as an excuse to stir trouble . If they started a fight, Zaro would definitely not be a match for Woo Tianhao, but Zaro had Fang Zhao . It was hard to say who had the upper hand .

The back-and-forth led nowhere . Woo Tianhao made a resounding noise from cracking his knuckles . He wanted to beat the crap out of Zaro, no doubt, but he held back on account of Fang Zhao . It would be an even bigger loss of face if he lost .