Studio Superstar: Chapter 75 Part 2

Xue Xiao was flattered.

The cover of the script had black characters on the white background. The title of the movie was ‘Ordinary Noise.’

Perhaps it was the intuition of fellow creators. The first moment Xue Xiao saw the name, he thought of Shen Ling’s hearing aid.

Shen Ling said, “I can’t say it is for you. I should say that I only want you to be the protagonist of this script.”

Xue Xiao opened the script.

He took a quick look at it. It soon became clear to him.

This was the story of a person who was hard of hearing.

The protagonist became seriously ill when he was in elementary school. He woke up after having a high fever for several days, and his hearing suddenly decreased.

His parents didn’t take it seriously. They joked that his brain was burned out and his ears were deafened. However, it was actual, real sensory deafness.

It couldn’t be reversed and must be treated in time to preserve the remaining hearing. Families should wear hearing aids for their children as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, the protagonist’s parents weren’t competent parents.

Poverty wasn’t their problem. Their problem was that even if they realized that the child really had hearing problems, they didn’t take it seriously and just complained to their neighbors, ‘This child has such ears at a young age. I don’t know what to do when he gets older.”

Thus, the protagonist struggled to grow up under the strange eyes of the people around him. He studied hard in a world where all sounds became distant and hazy, trying to keep up with his peers.

His hearing deteriorated severely until college, when he met a man while working in a convenience store.

In the company of the man, he put on his hearing aids.

He finally heard the ordinary sounds clearly again—the noisy and vast sounds of this world that made him intoxicated and fascinated.

……

Shen Ling said, “In addition to patients who are born with deafness, there are actually many patients with acquired deafness in this society. Many of them aren’t aware of the seriousness of the problem. Even if they are aware of it, they don’t get hearing aids for various reasons.”

“I have communicated with some patients. Some people used to think that wearing hearing aids would attract strange looks from people around them, while others felt that wearing hearing aids would make them disabled. But in fact, without wearing hearing aids, the residual hearing loss in both ears will get worse and worse. Once it really gets serious, there will be no point in wearing hearing aids.”

Xue Xiao listened seriously.

“So I have always wanted to write a story. It would be great if it could be seen by more people with hearing impairments and draw more people’s attention to hearing impairments.”

“But I have never thought about how to set the protagonist’s personality. I didn’t want to put my own personality on the protagonist. My personality is too meek.”

Shen Ling sighed. “I want the protagonist of this story to be more positive. He isn’t sharp, but he has drive. He has lost part of the ability to feel the world, but he still wants to try his best to embrace the world.”

He looked at Xue Xiao. “Then when I saw you for the first time, I realized—what I want is such a person!”

Xue Xiao was stunned.

“Xiao Xiao.” Shen Ling held his hand and smiled. “Let’s film this story together!”

Xue Xiao lowered his eyes.

His lips curled up, and he said solemnly, “Yes!”

After listening to Shen Ling’s explanation of this story, Xue Xiao went to read this script again. The feeling in his heart was much more wonderful.

Shen Ling said that his external personality was ‘meek,’ but Xue Xiao felt that Shen Ling actually had a sharp part.

Otherwise, the emotions conveyed by this story wouldn’t be so hot.

The protagonist, Xie Jia, belonged to the ‘thick-skinned’ type.

He would blush, but he wouldn’t feel inferior or doubt himself because of others’ teasing.

He was also very determined in his goals and wouldn’t change his path because of his parents’ pessimism and obstruction.

Shen Tingyan said, “It is your personality.”

Xue Xiao was a bit embarrassed.

Shen Ling took off his hearing aids and tried them on for Xue Xiao.

Shen Ling’s right ear was moderately hearing impaired, while his left ear was severe.

As a person with normal hearing, Xue Xiao felt noisy and sharp sounds rushing into his ears as soon as he put on the two hearing aids.

He frowned slightly and felt uncomfortable listening, but in order to better understand the world of the hearing impaired, he tried to hold back and listen for a while.

Soon, Shen Ling helped him take off the hearing aids.

“It is normal for people with normal hearing to feel uncomfortable when wearing hearing aids for people with severe hearing loss. It feels like all sounds are amplified, right?”

Xue Xiao nodded. “There is a heavy buzzing sound.”

“But in fact, even if we wear such a hearing aid, we might not be able to hear all sounds clearly. It can only play an auxiliary role for us and can’t make our hearing the same as that of normal people.”

Shen Ling taught him. “In addition, long-term inability to hear clearly will reduce our ability to recognize language.”

“If a hearing-impaired person takes a few years or more than a decade to wear hearing aids, then even if they can hear the noises, it will be difficult for them to understand these sounds for a while. It will take a while for them to get used to it.”

“This is also the reason why people with pre-verbal deafness tend to become mute. Listening is a learning process. If they can’t hear sounds, it will be hard for them to learn.”

“Even if they are like me and have been wearing hearing aids since they were a child, after so many years, their ability to recognize sounds will still be affected to some extent. My speech will be somewhat different to yours.”

Xie Jia was undoubtedly the most difficult role that Xue Xiao had received so far.

He needed to know more about hearing impairments and what problems hearing-impaired people faced in their daily lives.

It was even more important to be able to imagine the world of the hearing impaired.

In the afternoon, Shen Tingyan and Shen Ling were discussing tomorrow’s shooting plan in the living room, while Xue Xiao came to the small courtyard.

He closed his eyes and listened quietly to the sounds around him.

Behind him, there was the voice of conversation in the villa.

The wind blew. The roses and plants in the yard shook slightly, making a rustling sound.

What would happen to him if he couldn’t hear any of these sounds?

Xue Xiao opened his eyes while he felt a bit melancholy.

……

“Xiao Xiao.”

A man’s deep voice came behind him.

Xue Xiao turned around.

“Come in.”

Xue Xiao walked over. Shen Tingyan rubbed his head and said softly, “Let’s discuss the candidates for the supporting roles first.”

Xue Xiao raised his head in confusion. “The candidates for the supporting role haven’t been decided yet?”

“Shen Ling has already chosen the actor for little Xia Jia.”

Shen Ling sat on the inside. He shook his phone at Xue Xiao and narrowed his eyes as he smiled. “He looks very similar to Xiao Xiao.”

Xue Xiao sat down and took a look. He was surprised to find that the little boy in the photo was somewhat similar to him when he was a child!

“This child has acted in several works before, and they were pretty good. I asked a director I know for his mother’s contact information and made an appointment with them. They will come over the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow, Brother Tingyan will shoot the back part first.”

Shen Ling paused and said meaningfully, “There is a supporting role. We want you to decide who will play it.”

Xue Xiao suddenly thought of something.

…He read the script for the second time just now and found that the man Xie Jia met while working in a convenience store, who later accompanied Xie Jia to put on a hearing aid, had a very subtle role.

It was just that Xue Xiao was too moved by the script at the time and didn’t study the character too carefully…

Shen Ling said, “I might’ve modeled the character of Xie Jia after you, but I still added some of my own settings.”

“This man named Mu Sheng—” Shen Ling tapped the script while smiling. “He is Xie Jia’s lover later. The relationship between them isn’t friendship. It is love.”

…Xue Xiao’s hunch came true.

This was the first bomb.

The assistant director instantly became energetic. ‘Yo yo yo, it is such a dog blood scene!’

Moreover, Shen Ling said that this was based on his own setting. This meant—

“I like men. I am gay. From this perspective—” Shen Ling glanced at Shen Tingyan and said slyly, “Sexuality might really be a family inheritance, right, Brother Tingyan?”

Shen Tingyan said calmly. “Stop telling nonsense. If I tell your father what you said, let’s see if he uses a hanger to hit you later.”

Shen Ling smiled. “But even if it is a genetic change, it is impossible for us cousins to all have changes. There must be some genetic connection!”

This was the second bomb.

The assistant director suddenly smiled stiffly.

His mouth dropped open wide. He and the camera crew were collectively stunned. They thought they had heard wrongly or misunderstood what Shen Ling meant.

This, this, this—they looked at Shen Ling and Shen Tingyan.

What did ‘us cousins all have mutations’ mean?

Xue Xiao suddenly tightened his hands and glanced at Shen Tingyan with trembling eyes.

Shen Tingyan looked up when talking to Shen Ling.

The two people’s eyes met before moving away.

Xue Xiao gulped, and Shen Tingyan looked away.

He stared at Shen Ling and motioned irritably for him to speak faster.

Shen Ling couldn’t help wanting to laugh.

He tried his best to hold back as he said to Xue Xiao, “For the actor for Mu Sheng, we think it is up to you to make the choice.”

“I originally chose a favorite actor, but Brother Tingyan was very unhappy.”

Shen Tingyan: “……”

Xue Xiao: “……”

The assistant director and cameramen: “……”

“I also heard that the other three mentors of your show are very powerful this time. Director Feng and Teacher Su both invited famous actors to act opposite the students. Teacher Guan is also personally playing a role for Dou Mingjian. So, it is only if Brother Tingyan takes action and acts with you that we can beat them.”

“But Brother Tingyan feels that doing this is him being hypocritical and taking advantage of you for his own benefit.”

It was almost explicit.

Xue Xiao’s face was so red that it was almost bleeding, and his heart was about to explode.

Shen Tingyan: “………”

The words when they secretly made a date weren’t like this. They only revealed a bit of information about the person he liked, so that Xue Xiao could be mentally prepared. As for the supporting role, why not let Xue Xiao choose it himself?

Firstly, he might have a greater grasp of Xue Xiao’s intentions, but he didn’t want to scare Xue Xiao too suddenly. Secondly, there were these cameras following them now. The solution was very simple, but it was still troublesome.

The assistant director and cameramen were already blank-eyed.

They didn’t hear anything, they didn’t hear anything…

Don’t look at them with eyes that said, ‘I have to work hard to deal with these guys, tsk…’

’Director Gao, help me. I feel that my life isn’t guaranteed…’

Shen Ling spread out his hands. “So, Xiao Xiao, you choose.”

“Do you want my brother or another actor?”

“But that actor is also quite handsome. You can trust my gaze.”

Shen Tingyan said, “Heh.”

Xue Xiao closed his eyes.

The third bomb made him feel extremely ashamed.

White Lily

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