Chapter 57

After confirming the first role for his return, Zhang Chengyuan settled down and began to ponder the character of the cold and silent illegitimate son. On one hand, he looked for similar characters in previous films and TV shows to understand how other actors portrayed such roles. When he saw good aspects, he would take them as references and even derive more suitable performance methods for his character. When he encountered stiff or inappropriate acting methods, he would remember them to avoid making the same mistakes in the future.

Over a few days, with the powerful analytical ability of his spirit and his almost sleepless and tireless will, Zhang Chengyuan made significant progress. He vividly created a rough character model in his mind based on himself. However, this alone was not enough to ensure that he could bring the TV character to life, making it vivid and touching. Therefore, he took other approaches.

First, he asked Park Byung-yeol to find a few real-life prototypes with backgrounds or personalities similar to the character. Using these as references, he carefully analyzed and summarized the character's psychological activities, eye expressions, mannerisms, attire, and even some small, detailed actions. He would record his insights in a notebook and review them periodically to see if there were any new revelations.

Additionally, he would call the screenwriter of the TV drama every day to discuss his understanding of the character, hoping to gain new inspiration from the screenwriter's words. Due to the frequent disturbances, which seriously affected the screenwriter's progress on the unfinished script and his precious rest time, the screenwriter later strictly prohibited Zhang Chengyuan from calling him.

In Zhang Chengyuan's later acting career, such disturbances to screenwriters were common, causing them great annoyance. Over time, he earned the nickname "Screenwriter Killer." However, once he achieved success, screenwriters welcomed his disturbances because every character he portrayed later received high praise from professionals and genuine affection from audiences, which also brought praise to the screenwriters who worked with him.

These rigorous preparations before acting, while also achievable by some extremely diligent actors, were not enough to highlight Zhang Chengyuan's unique talent in this area. His greatest reliance in this life was the spirit he had cultivated through arduous practice in his previous life. Although the spirit's powers were greatly diminished due to the lightning calamity and the weakening of the earth's primordial energy, it could still function as an extremely advanced personal computer. It not only helped Zhang Chengyuan become the top student at Seoul National University but also allowed him to vividly and specifically bring to life the characters described in scripts, forming a full and lifelike image. With this assistance, Zhang Chengyuan's acting career naturally soared.

Unfortunately, no matter how exceptional one's talent, it is only one factor in success. Sometimes, achieving great success requires more opportunities. In this aspect, Zhang Chengyuan was not particularly fortunate. Coming from an ordinary single-parent family, the talent agency he signed with could not directly promote him to the lead role, or even the second or third male lead. His current middling status was largely due to his own perfect appearance and hard work. Of course, Park Byung-yeol also played a significant role, but if his company had more resources, Zhang Chengyuan might have already become the lead in a youth idol drama, as he had previously achieved this position.

Thus, his current situation was somewhat awkward. At a press conference before the start of "The First Love of the Crown Prince," the venue was bustling with journalists and flashing cameras. However, none of this seemed to concern Zhang Chengyuan, even though he was sitting in the actors' section, right next to the female lead, Sung Yuri. The journalists paid him little attention, almost as if they were ignoring him.

This was because sitting next to Sung Yuri was the male lead, the Asian superstar, Cha Tae-hyun.

Yes, the Asian superstar Cha Tae-hyun, who, after starring in "My Sassy Girl" with Jun Ji-hyun three years ago, was hailed by Korean media as an Asian superstar. Although he never called himself that, in the hearts of many Koreans, he was a truly remarkable national film actor, whose popularity could overshadow almost all top-tier TV actors. Under his brilliant light, Zhang Chengyuan seemed even more dim.

The female lead, Sung Yuri, was no ordinary person either. A few years ago, the popularity of Fin.K.L was so great that even top actresses like Kim Hee-sun, Song Yoon-ah, and Kim Ji-soo had to step aside. After the group members went solo, Sung Yuri's popularity remained strong, and after two years of hard work in the TV industry, she gained a large fan base.

With these two highly popular stars, the drama attracted widespread attention even before it was broadcast or even filmed. The first episode's ratings were expected to be astonishing. However, with these two luminous stars by his side, Zhang Chengyuan was clearly overshadowed, receiving little attention and being largely ignored. Although Zhang Chengyuan's expression remained unchanged, as if he did not care, his heart, which had once experienced some glory, could not be truly indifferent.

Sung Yuri, who had been paying attention to him, took the opportunity to lean over and speak to Zhang Chengyuan when no one was asking her questions. The content of their conversation was very ordinary, as it was not the time for intimate words. However, Sung Yuri's purpose was to shift some of the attention from herself to Zhang Chengyuan, to reduce his cold treatment and improve his mood.

After a few exchanges, a journalist finally noticed the unusual interaction and, unusually, directed a question to Zhang Chengyuan, the second male lead, though the question was still posed to Sung Yuri: "Miss Sung Yuri, what is your relationship with Mr. Zhang Chengyuan? You seem very close."

Just a little closer and a few words were enough to be described as "very close." This journalist was really good at exaggerating. Perhaps it was just a habit, but he inadvertently hit the truth. Moreover, this journalist did not realize that his casual words would soon uncover a major scoop.

Sung Yuri was momentarily stunned and immediately glanced at Zhang Chengyuan. Zhang Chengyuan reacted even faster, shaking his head slightly to signal her not to reveal the truth, as it could easily turn into an explosive scandal, which, although beneficial to him, might seriously affect Sung Yuri's rising acting career.

After a moment's thought, Sung Yuri saw this as a good opportunity to increase Zhang Chengyuan's exposure. She did not follow his wishes and, looking at the journalist, said, "Yes, you are right. Mr. Zhang Chengyuan is a good younger brother I have known for a long time. Our relationship is very good."

Upon hearing this, the journalists realized they had uncovered a big story that could boost newspaper sales or TV ratings. Even the crew members were surprised, as they had never heard of this before, and at the meeting a few days ago, Sung Yuri and Zhang Chengyuan had acted like strangers meeting for the first time.

Some imaginative people suddenly had a thought: "Could these two be in a romantic relationship, keeping it secret? Why else would they hide it so well? But why are they suddenly revealing it now? Could they be tired of the secrecy and want to make their relationship public?"