Xiao He sometimes really thinks that some people in the industry are quite amazing.
Of course, the word "god" can have both positive and negative connotations.
After Deng Lei finished his phone call and returned, he briefly discussed the upcoming arrangements with Xiao He and the others.
"...First, we'll have the costume fitting, then meet with the other actors. A few actors from Yunheng Entertainment will be arriving later, and then..."
Xiao He listened briefly; it was nothing more than the usual itinerary. He nodded directly, "Okay, we have no problem."
As for the artist who would be late mentioned by Deng Lei, Xiao He knew without a doubt that it would be Yuan Sitong.
Wasn't it the same when filming "The Corner"? He was so tired of criticizing Yuan Sitong, the queen of lateness.
Xiao He gave Liu Rulan a look.
Liu Rulan immediately pressed on, "I checked, and our scenes this time are being filmed at Qianye Manor. There will definitely be a lot of action scenes. Xiao He has already received training beforehand, so filming shouldn't be a problem, but what about the others..."
Fortunately, Deng Lei wasn't the kind of director who was single-minded and lacked emotional intelligence. After all, what he did most often was to play the victim with different investors in order to get more investment, so Deng Lei almost immediately understood Liu Rulan's unspoken meaning.
He immediately smiled and said, "Don't worry, we've already made arrangements for the others."
Yuan Sitong has a powerful background. There are some negative rumors about her online, but not many, and they won't affect her career. However, any artist who has worked with Yuan Sitong knows how difficult she is to deal with.
She has a spoiled, spoiled attitude, is late or leaves early, gossips behind people's backs, is unprofessional, and has a poor work ethic...
If you insist on saying she has some earth-shattering scandal, well, there really isn't! And given the tolerant environment of the Chinese entertainment industry, her flaws aren't enough to make her leave.
So what else can we do? We can only give in to her.
In any case, so far, Yuan Sitong has not done anything bad to Xiao He.
"Teacher Yuan has a dedicated stunt double who has already started training, so there's no need to worry."
Deng Lei truly understood Xiao He and the others' concerns, and bluntly stated, "It just means that Teacher Xiao might have to go through many scenes."
He filmed with the main actor on one occasion and with his stand-in on the other.
"That's all fine."
Xiao He breathed a sigh of relief.
He was afraid of encountering another one of those stubborn directors who were demanding and insisted on not using a stunt double, making Yuan Sitong act alongside him.
I met a director who was good at his job, and he felt that was enough.
"Shall we go to the dressing room first?"
"Ahem, wait, wait a minute—"
However, Deng Lei called out to Xiao He again.
"Uh, it's just..."
Looking at the young man in front of him, Deng Lei stammered, somewhat embarrassed, "I heard that your Linghui Studio has successfully become a company? Congratulations..."
Xiao He paused, staring at the director in front of him: "Thank you?"
Thinking back to the director's performance of playing the victim in front of him, Xiao He vaguely sensed something was amiss: "Director Deng, just say what you have to say."
Since Linghui officially became a company recently, Xiao He's status in the industry has quietly changed.
At this moment, he was no longer just an artist, but the boss of a company. Although the company was not large, the recent drama "Royal Decree" was their company's most outstanding achievement and one of the most successful investment projects recognized in the industry.
It was from then on that Xiao He's circle of random people started to get close to him, and he would receive several congratulatory text messages almost every day for his studio to transform into a company.
Of course, some close friends not only sent text messages but also gifts, and Xiao He replied to each of them carefully.
Xiao He hadn't expected that his current status would allow the director of his production crew to approach him for investment.
Yes, Director Deng sought out Xiao He for a very simple reason—to secure investment.
"But isn't this project invested in and produced by Banana Video?" Xiao He asked, somewhat puzzled.
Logically speaking, such a large project shouldn't be short of money. If Ling Hui gets involved in the platform's business and offends the platform, their own productions might not have a chance to be featured on Banana Video in the future.
"To diversify risk..." Deng Lei muttered somewhat guiltily, "If you're willing to invest, I'll definitely help you connect with the platform."
Most importantly, if he went to other investors, he might have to cry for a long time before he could squeeze out a little more investment. But looking at Xiao He in front of him and Linghui Entertainment behind Xiao He, Deng Lei felt that this was a brand new investor that had not yet been discovered!
When new investors enter the market, their first investment certainly won't be meager!
Deng Lei was already planning in his mind to order a few more weapons later.
Xiao He: ...
Good, good, good. The person hasn't even joined the crew yet, and the money in their pocket is already being eyed!
-
While Xiao He and Director Deng were discussing investment matters, Qin Lezhang was living in dire straits.
The Qin family.
Although the Qin family has declined in recent years, their property is still one of the best in the entire city of Beijing. The independent villa is grand and dignified, but the small garden outside has withered many flowers and plants, and even the money tree at the entrance, which symbolizes wealth, has lost many leaves.
"Grandpa, Grandpa, that really has nothing to do with me—"
Inside the grand and luxurious lobby of the Western-style building, Qin Lezhang knelt on the soft carpet, hugging Old Master Qin's leg and crying his eyes out, a far cry from his flamboyant demeanor he displayed abroad.
Sitting in the main seat, Qin Mubai looked down at his grandson. His old face was filled with helplessness and anger. Even his thin body, which was thin due to his age, was fluctuating with emotion, as if he were experiencing a tsunami.
In the end, he could only sigh and gesture for Qin Lezhang to sit down.
"dad--"
The beautiful woman standing to the side maintained a dignified posture, her eyes filled with disappointment and worry as she looked at her son. But seeing the old man's actions, a hint of joy appeared on her face: "Dad, this can't be entirely blamed on Le Zhang. It was those people in the entertainment industry who led him astray, and Qin Song—"
"alright."
Qin Mubai raised his hand, interrupting Qin Lezhang's mother's explanation.
"It's obvious that someone is targeting us this time."
A sharp, cold glint flashed in Qin Mubai's eyes. "Those people from Xingchen Pictures are definitely not the final mastermind."
"Wasn't it made by the Tao family?"
Qin's mother was somewhat surprised.
Now that her husband has been arrested and her son is being dragged toward danger by public opinion, she believes the Tao family is to blame for all of this!
After all, over the years, there have only been a few factions fighting each other within the group.
"Heh, you idiot."
Qin Mubo sneered, "We've all been fighting for so many years, who doesn't know who?"
It is precisely because everyone checks and balances each other that we have achieved our current state. If the Tao family had any ability, they wouldn't have had to wait until now.
They collapsed long ago, along with the people above them.
Qin Mubo simply did not believe that the Tao family would suddenly have this ability.
"It's no use crying now."
He looked down at the people on the ground with a cold expression.
“Since you have connections with those people in the industry who are ‘doing business,’ you should have thought that one day you would be implicated.”
Qin Lezhang trembled violently at Qin Mubai's words.
"But I wasn't involved in those things. At most, I just didn't report it. You can't blame me entirely for that, can you?"
Having been in the industry for so long, Qin Lezhang had gotten to know several people involved in shady dealings. These people controlled a lot of resources, with prostitution being the main source of income.
However, Qin Lezhang has always been ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ cautious. Although his girlfriends were not exactly respectable, their relationships were still very proper. Even if the police came to investigate him, they wouldn't arrest him just because his girlfriends were not respectable.
Qin Lezhang himself felt quite wronged. He hadn't broken the law, and he had already given each of his girlfriends a formal title, so why were netizens still fixated on his relationship issues?!
Qin Mubai laughed angrily: "You didn't dare to utter a single word when those women on the internet were talking? People would think our Qin family is so poor that we can't even afford underwear!"
Qin Lezhang blushed at his grandfather's words and stammered, "Master, mainly, I'm afraid that if I anger them, they'll falsely accuse me..."
His matter was relatively minor; however, if it implicated his "friends'" illicit activities... Qin Lezhang was genuinely afraid of being beaten to death.
Anyone who dares to do this kind of business in this industry is a tough nut to crack.
Clearly, Qin Lezhang's exes were seizing this opportunity to take turns stepping on him, making arrogant revelations without actually revealing too much information.
Everyone has something to hide; it's just a matter of who strikes first.
Qin Mubai glanced coldly at his grandson, sneered, and offered a sarcastic comment:
"Greedy, stupid, and cowardly."
"Grandpa, I've actually regretted it for a long time, but I don't dare to tell anyone—"
"alright!"
Qin Mubo stopped Qin Lezhang's pointless explanation, "There's no point in saying more. We shouldn't offend those people over there. Once this matter is over, you can go abroad."
"grandfather--"
"Now, tell me in detail what has happened to you recently."
Qin Mubo closed his eyes and said in an icy tone.
"I'd like to see who's behind this!"
