"Please have a seat, Teacher Xiao."
Inside the lounge, Zhan Min pulled out a chair and invited Xiao He to sit down.
Xiao He reluctantly complied, but after sitting down, he emphasized again, "Director Zhan, you really don't need to be so reserved. The more you do this, the more flustered I get."
Xiao He was already under a lot of pressure coming here as a "supporting role," but with this person's attitude, the pressure on him was immense.
"Hehe, I'm sorry, I've been under a lot of pressure lately. I'm really grateful that you came to help me out of respect for your teacher."
Zhan Min also sat down, but this time his attitude was finally a bit more normal, and he wasn't as attentive.
In fact, Xiao He had already learned more about the situation from Liu Rulan on the way.
In reality, this whole affair was a result of both bad luck and stupidity on the part of Professor Zhong's student.
The fact that Mr. Zhong was able to become one of the judges on the Golden Flower judging panel and had a certain degree of influence shows that he must have a certain status in the industry. As one of his proudest students, Zhan Min should be doing quite well.
However, a few years ago, when the film market was at its peak, Zhan Min and another partner started a company.
As is well known, a huge upheaval occurred after that, many companies went bankrupt, and the film industry almost came to a standstill for a whole year. Naturally, Zhan Min's small company could not escape the harsh winter and eventually went bankrupt.
This was originally not so bad; it was just bankruptcy, and Zhan Min at least had some capital left for himself as a way out. But unfortunately, his partner was also a bad person. He ran away with all the remaining money and deliberately left Zhan Min with a large debt, which shattered Zhan Min's last hope.
Left with no other choice, Zhan Min had to "sell himself" to an entertainment company in Beijing, starting a miserable life of acting to pay off his debts.
Professor Zhong felt more regret than disappointment towards this student. After all, he knew that what happened back then couldn't be entirely blamed on Zhan Min. But the wheels of time rolled on, and fate played tricks on people. Zhan ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) Min ended up like this, and there was nothing he could do to help.
Zhong Lao has a high status in the industry, but his era has long passed. He doesn't earn as much money as people do now, so it's more like a retirement fund. It's impossible for him to help pay off debts on a whim. Besides, he has so many students, and it's not just Zhan Min who's not doing well. Zhong Lao can't clean up everyone's messes. So he usually helps as much as he can, and if he can't help, then there's really nothing he can do.
As for Zhan Min's matter this time, it was actually Liu Rulan who took the initiative to help after making several inquiries. Because Zhong Lao's connections were actually borrowed from Ning Jiaqi, they owed favors to both Ning Jiaqi and Zhong Lao at the same time. Therefore, given this complex network of connections, Liu Rulan naturally wanted to take the initiative to repay Zhong Lao's favor.
Although everyone said they didn't need to repay the favor when they helped, the kindness diminished over time, and what was owed had to be repaid. Besides, they hadn't even finished dealing with Xiao He's matter yet, and they had already repaid the favor. If they failed, it wouldn't be fair, would it?
Okay, Liu Rulan admits that she did indeed hold the person there.
Xiao Heren has already arrived at the film set. By then, all their scenes will have been filmed. If they don't help Zhong Lao with the awards, won't they be too ashamed to face the industry?
As for the rest, Liu Rulan didn't care.
"It's alright, Director Zhan, please rest assured. Now that I'm here, I will definitely complete my mission before leaving."
Xiao He explained earnestly, "It's just that my time is quite precious, so please arrange filming as soon as possible. I have another film crew to finish."
"Okay, no problem, please don't worry about that."
Zhan Min nodded repeatedly.
Just then, there was a knock on the door of the lounge.
Then a young man with beautiful almond-shaped eyes and a handsome face walked in from outside the door.
"Director Zhan, I heard Brother Xiao is here—"
As soon as he finished speaking, he excitedly stepped forward, shook hands with Xiao He, and greeted him: "Ah, Brother Xiao, you've finally arrived! Welcome, welcome! Congratulations on your recent award! You're my idol! I'm so happy to meet you in person!"
Xiao He recognized him as Ren Yibai, the "royal family" whom the entire production team was supposed to promote.
Xiao He had originally thought that Ren Yibai would be the kind of arrogant young master who liked to act like a big shot, had a bad temper, and acted arrogantly. However, he did not expect that after meeting him, the other party would be so respectful, just like a little fanboy.
Hello, hello.
Xiao He subtly observed the person in front of him, then stood up, his smile equally perfect.
Thinking of the assistant he met when he arrived at the film set today, and the prop master's reminder to them, Xiao He became more vigilant, but he didn't show it on his face. Instead, he said warmly, "It's a pleasure to work with you! However, I might be a bit rushed this time, so I need your filming schedule to be flexible. I hope it won't affect your current work too much."
"No, no, Brother Xiao, don't worry! Our crew will definitely cooperate fully with you! We are really grateful that you came to the rescue."
Ren Yibai's answer was also impeccable, and his smile became even more genuine: "Oh, by the way, is Brother Xiao about to have his makeup done? Use my dressing room! I'll have them make room for you right away, so please don't refuse."
Despite Xiao He's refusal, they still went to Ren Yibai's lounge.
"Quickly, everyone, move faster and make room for Brother Xiao."
Ren Yibai urged the others in his lounge to hurry up.
His assistant, Xiao Gao, who was mopping the floor next to the sofa, immediately put down the mop and tidied up the other things in the room after hearing the instruction. At the same time, he looked up at Xiao He and his group with curiosity.
Then, seemingly realizing that the person he almost bumped into this morning was Xiao He, his face turned pale for a moment, and his head drooped as if he wanted to bury it directly in his chest, looking as if he was afraid that Xiao He and the others would recognize him.
Xiao He glanced at Xiao Gao but didn't pursue the matter further. He calmly thanked Ren Yibai, saying, "Thank you, Teacher Ren."
"It's alright, it's alright. You can use this lounge from now on, Brother Xiao! Don't be shy."
Ren Yibai smiled in a very friendly manner.
Xiao He, however, felt that the other party was somewhat strange.
If they truly wanted to welcome everyone, why wait until everyone else arrived to make such a show of welcoming them now?
However, Ren Yibai has been very friendly so far, and Xiao He has not shown any extra emotions. He simply sat down and let the makeup artist do his makeup.
Next, Xiao He officially joined the crew of "Mistaken Identity" and participated in the subsequent filming tasks.
-
In the empty corridor, a thin man in a hospital gown stood in the dim light, a lit cigarette between his fingers.
Due to prolonged bed rest and coma, his hair grew longer and longer, almost completely covering his eyes, and he also developed a lot of stubble on his chin, making him look not only weathered and aged, but also somewhat decadent and disappointed.
A passing nurse, seeing this, couldn't help but shout, "What bed number is this? What's going on? Smoking isn't allowed here! Go back to your bed!"
However, as soon as she finished speaking, the middle-aged man standing in the shadows raised his head, all the surrounding dejection vanished, and his eyes were filled with a chilling coldness.
The nurse couldn't finish her sentence.
The man merely revealed a sickly yet amused smile, his expression completely different from the timid man he usually was. He raised a finger to his lips, and his throat, having not spoken for a long time, had a low growl and hoarseness, somewhat like that of a monster.
"Shh-"
—Don't speak.
