June arrived in the blink of an eye.
The box office growth of "No Bait" has slowed down, but the successful extension of the key has allowed it to continue to reap box office rewards. The overseas box office, on the other hand, has given everyone a big surprise. The overall box office trend is still rising, and when converted, it is even higher than the domestic box office.
Under these circumstances, Xiao He flew to several countries to participate in events related to "No Bait" and interacted with fans from other countries, even bringing back an award from another region.
Upon returning to China, "Cang Yue Jie" was officially scheduled for release on June 12th, and Xiao He would once again join the rest of the cast and crew for recent promotional activities.
It was the familiar recording site of the variety show "Happy Every Day," and the familiar host Qiu Hua.
However, when they met again at this point, everyone's mindset was clearly different.
When Yu Xuezheng, who plays the female lead, saw Xiao He, she smiled faintly, nodded to him, and her attitude did not change much. She simply took the initiative to invite Xiao He to dinner next time.
The actor who plays the male lead, Yue Yuanbo, is even more friendly towards Xiao He. He takes the initiative to talk about Xiao He's past basketball games with his friends, and mentions that he also likes playing basketball, inviting Xiao He to go out and play together next time.
Jiang Chifei, on the other hand, became even more attentive, addressing Xiao as "Brother Xiao" repeatedly, and his manner of speaking was no longer as casual as before.
Xiao He noticed that this was only the change in attitude towards him from the rest of the crew.
More often, it's the changes between actors brought about by their company relationships.
For example, Yu Xuezheng and Le Yuanbai, as the male and female leads, originally had a fairly warm relationship. In order to promote the drama, they would definitely have to do some CP hype. However, because Yu Xuezheng played a trick on Jiaxing Entertainment, the relationship between them deteriorated rapidly. Le Yuanbai's studio is now affiliated with Jiaxing Entertainment and relies on Jiaxing Entertainment for its livelihood. Therefore, the relationship between the two parties has become very awkward because of the company. Before the CP hype even started, they already had to avoid each other.
Of course, there's also Jiang Chifei. Jiang Chifei is also an artist under Jiaxing Entertainment. He must have been warned by the company as well, and his attitude towards Yu Xuezheng is rather cold. He no longer acts like he does in "Cang Yue Jie," fawning over Yu Xuezheng and calling her "sister" this and "sister" that.
When filming for "Cang Yue Jie" had just wrapped up, everyone got along very well and could joke and chat freely. However, when they met again, they could no longer recapture that harmonious atmosphere.
They each have their own companies and their own interests.
Once these things are involved, one is powerless to change one's own destiny.
Xiao He, who was outside the conflict of interests, was caught in the middle of the two camps, playing a very awkward role as a mediator.
However, Xiao He has never been good at mediating or enlivening the atmosphere.
After welcoming Xiao He, the group sat back down on the sofas in the lounge and started playing on their phones.
The area where these people are sitting seems to have enough space to place a Chu River.
The male and female leads, in particular, sat on opposite sides of the river, heads bowed and silent, as if speaking in such a relatively private setting would still violate certain taboos.
Xiao He looked left and right, his lips twitching.
Hey, hey, hey, they're going to be working together until the drama finishes airing!
When you go on stage later, it shouldn't be like this... right?
No, are conflicts between large companies really this unseemly?
If he doesn't "play" with the other party, he won't allow his subordinates to "play" with the other party either, and they won't even be allowed to say a few words to each other in private.
Xiao He thought it was quite outrageous, but he also knew that Le Yuanbai and Jiang Chifei were employees and had no right to refuse. They could only follow the orders of their superiors. So Xiao He didn't blame the two of them. He just thought that Song Yuanqi, that old scoundrel, was really petty.
Forget it, since these people don't want to maintain good interpersonal relationships, what does it have to do with him?
Xiao He shrugged.
Soon, as usual, Teacher Qiu Hua came to coordinate with everyone about the recording and promotional work for a while.
Upon entering, he saw the vast distance between the male and female protagonists, a distance that spanned mountains and seas, and his steps faltered.
Fortunately, having already weathered many storms, Qiu Hua quickly and nonchalantly looked away.
He had seen many instances where couples broke up before a drama aired, only to have to reunite for promotional purposes. Now, it was just that the artists under the companies had to avoid each other due to the dirty dealings behind the scenes. Qiu Hua felt that the current situation was at least controllable.
"Come on, let our two main characters sit in the middle, and I'll tell you about tonight's recording schedule—"
Qiu Hua tentatively gave a direction, and Le Yuanbo hesitated for a moment. Yu Xuezheng, on the other hand, stood up briskly and sat down next to Le Yuanbo, her smile unchanged: "Teacher Qiu, please speak."
Good, at least on the surface it shows that everyone can still maintain a decent appearance and follow the arrangements of their production team.
Qiu Hua breathed a sigh of relief without making it obvious.
That's alright.
"Very good, I will now go over some of the details of the process on stage..."
After Qiu Hua left, the agents of Le Yuanbo and Jiang Chifei immediately came over and called the two away.
Fortunately, they didn't make things too awkward before leaving. After greeting Xiao He, they quietly said goodbye to Yu Xuezheng before hurriedly departing.
The awkward atmosphere in the lounge immediately dissipated.
Xiao He sighed.
"You seem more worried than I am."
Seeing Xiao He like this, Yu Xuezheng couldn't help but chuckle.
Xiao He spread his hands and said frankly, "Cangyue Jie is the result of everyone's hard work and collective efforts. Naturally, I don't want everyone to ruin such an excellent work as Cangyue Jie because of some conflicts."
Looking at this woman's calm and composed demeanor, Xiao He felt a sense of melancholy, like "the emperor isn't worried, but the eunuch is."
"Haha, I see."
Yu Xuezheng spoke calmly, her tone revealing no trace of the fact that she had just been isolated: "Relax, no matter how much everyone argues, they still have basic professional ethics and won't really express their disagreement or dissatisfaction in public."
Moreover, it's not that they have a problem with Yu Xuezheng, but rather that Le Yuanbai and Jiang Chifei's companies have a problem with her, so Yu Xuezheng doesn't care.
"Cang Yue Jie" is still going to be broadcast, and there is still a lot of work to be done. Let's just treat each other as normal colleagues and part ways amicably after the collaboration is complete.
However—
Yu Xuezheng rested her chin on her hand, thoughtfully looking Xiao He up and down, her gaze deep and unsettling. "It's highly likely that Le Yuanbai won't cooperate with me in promoting our CP. He might even deliberately avoid me, which will have a significant impact on our drama."
The original plot was a female-centric story with multiple romantic partners. Besides the official pairing and the "white moonlight" (ideal love interest), there was also a junior brother, Jiang Chifei, who harbored a secret crush. This was a formula designed to attract fans for Jiang Chifei, using his unrequited love and silent, unrequited affection to gain a following and solidify his fanbase.
However, these plans fell apart along with Jiaxing and Yu Xuezheng's relationship.
Yu Xuezheng was actually quite happy, no longer having to be clung to and exploited by Jiang Chifei.
But the original official pairing is gone, and the secret admirer is gone too. It seems that all that's left is... the white moonlight?
Yu Xuezheng looked at Xiao He and asked, "Do you have any intention of creating a CP (couple pairing)?"
Xiao He: ?
