Chapter 27: System Rewards

Chapter 27: System Rewards

"Professor Jiang, I owe my role as Chao Xiaoshu this time entirely to you."

"Don't talk about owing anyone. I only gave you a chance to audition. If you hadn't seized it, you wouldn't have landed the role of Chao Xiaoshu."

"Regardless, if I hadn't even been given the chance to audition, my acting skills would have been useless anyway."

"Stop the flattery. Brother Jin has praised you to me several times already."

"Brother Jin? You mean Mr. Jin Shijie?"

Upon returning to the company, Chen Ping had made a special trip to visit Professor Jiang Tianxing. Hearing Jiang mention Jin Shijie, Chen Ping was surprised. "I didn't expect you to be so close with Mr. Jin Shijie, Professor."

"Us old folks are naturally quite close. I've watched the episodes of *Ever Night* that have aired; your acting is truly impressive. You even managed to bring out a great performance from Chen Kaige's son. Anyway, now that you're back at the company, what arrangements does Shengteng have for you?"

"Arrangements? Yes, there are some. There's an anti-Japanese war drama filming in a few days, and I have a role in it."

"What role?"

"Wang Xiong."

"What is the drama called?"

"It's called *Anti-Japanese Alliance*, but I'll only be on screen for about ten minutes or so."

"Only ten minutes?"

Jiang Tianxing looked at Chen Ping with a meaningful gaze and said, "Chen Ping, the entertainment industry is very realistic. You might have landed a good role previously and performed well, but you must realize that a single good performance doesn't mean the company will prioritize you. Do you understand?"

"I understand." Chen Ping nodded.

He had expected this all along. The three-year contract he signed with Shengteng meant the company wouldn't invest too many resources into him.

"You have a good mindset." Seeing that Chen Ping wasn't resentful, Jiang Tianxing nodded. "That puts my mind at ease. However, I believe that if you maintain this attitude, you will surely make it."

Jiang Tianxing thought highly of Chen Ping. However, despite his appreciation, he wouldn't help Chen Ping again. His previous support was born of an appreciation for talent, giving him a stepping stone. Having provided that opportunity, the path ahead had to be walked by Chen Ping himself. Jiang could not create opportunities for him indefinitely. Although he was the president of the Hengcheng Actors' Guild and had the power to do so, he did not intend to continue. He also wanted to show Chen Ping that no artist in the industry has a smooth journey. Even the biggest stars encounter setbacks, let alone an unknown actor like him.

***

Carrying Professor Jiang’s words with him, Chen Ping returned to the company.

"Chen Ping, here is your schedule for the month."

"Wow, that's a lot—dozens of roles."

"They are all minor parts. The longest ones take three days, while some can be filmed in a single afternoon."

"Alright, I'll prepare."

After taking the schedule from his agent, Wu Yu, Chen Ping returned to his apartment. When Lin Guansen and Aya saw the thick stack of papers, their eyes widened. "Good grief, Chen Ping, is the company trying to work you to death? They’ve given you so many roles."

"Exactly. Anyone can see the company thinks you’ve gained a bit of fame and wants to milk your popularity to make some extra cash."

The two were indignant on his behalf. Chen Ping, however, felt it was nothing. "We signed with the company, so naturally, we have to earn money for them. Besides, we have a profit-sharing agreement; earning money for them means earning for ourselves too. Look, if I finish all these roles, I can make 30,000."

Although Chen Ping had recently received a windfall of 1 million, for someone who had been a bit-part player his whole life, earning thousands of yuan a day was something he had never imagined possible.

"Besides, as actors, our profession is to act. These dozen roles might look like a lot, but aren't they perfect for honing our acting skills? Look, there are roles here for a veteran soldier, an assassin, a thug, a gang leader... ha! You’d be lucky to even get a chance to play these."

Even though Chen Ping knew the company wasn't investing significant resources in him, he remained calm and didn't hold a grudge. In fact, he could use this period to polish his craft. Especially now that he knew his acting and line-delivery talents could level up automatically, he didn't want to waste talent points in those areas. Thinking of talent points, he suddenly remembered: he had finished filming *Ever Night*, so he must have completed the mission. He wondered what the new task was.

Chen Ping entered the system within his mind and opened the panel. A notification for the completed mission was already there.

[System: The host has completed the "Actor" mission. Reward: 1 talent point and one draw.]

Chen Ping didn't allocate the talent point immediately. Although he wanted to add it to his "Charisma" talent, he realized that for the moment, appearance wasn't his top priority.

Right, there was also a lucky draw. Should he take it? Thinking of the draw made him want to complain. Last time, he had only drawn a red string, which was completely useless.

Huh? As he was thinking about it, he checked his system inventory. The red string he had drawn earlier was gone.

"What the? Where did it go? I don't think I used it..."

"Damn useless system."

He cursed again and almost decided against drawing. But then he figured that even if the draw was a bit of a scam, it wouldn't do any harm. If he got something useless, he could just leave it there. He clicked "Draw."

[System: The host has obtained one Marrow Cleansing Pill. (Note: The Marrow Cleansing Pill can be used to reallocate talent points.)]

The reward this time wasn't some useless trinket. Seeing the description, Chen Ping grew excited. By the looks of it, this pill functioned like a "stat reset" feature in a game. He had previously invested 8 talent points into his line-delivery and acting skills, plus 1 point into his temperament, for a total of 9. If he could dump all 9 points into a single attribute, that would be incredible.

However, after some deliberation, Chen Ping decided not to use the pill yet. While it allowed for a reset, it would cause his other attributes to drop. If he put all 9 points into acting, he might be an incredible performer, but his line delivery would become mediocre, which would significantly detract from his overall performance. He wasn't about to perform mime, after all. Even if he could find a professional voice actor later, acting and lines were mutually reinforcing; one could not do without the other. Your voice might not be naturally perfect, but the way you deliver your lines must match your performance.

Chen Ping felt the best use for the Marrow Cleansing Pill would be for his "Temperament" talent. Temperament wasn't static. When he played Chao Xiaoshu, he needed to be chivalrous and righteous, but for other roles, he couldn't maintain that same vibe. If he were to play a thug and tried to act all chivalrous, the director would certainly tear him apart. Therefore, when the time came, he could use the pill to wash his stats and shift his temperament accordingly.