An office at Hanbei Entertainment.
"Look at what you've cut out!"
Mr. Lin tossed the receipt in his hand to Zhan Min.
"The project's withdrawal from the Spring Festival film season and its decision to postpone it to the Lantern Festival has already caused dissatisfaction among many people. We've already pushed the limits by using special channels to expedite the review process, and you just hand over this piece of garbage?"
Zhan Min picked up the document from the ground and, unsurprisingly, saw the revision suggestions for this film version. He shrugged, but when he looked up again, his face was full of grievance.
"President Lin, there's nothing I can do about this. The third version was almost finished, but then you arranged for several post-production staff to come and edit it. The later versions are no longer my responsibility."
He wasn't responsible for the rest of the matter, so yelling at him won't do any good.
"When did I send an editor over? Didn't I tell you before that this matter was entirely in your hands?" President Lin looked at the person in front of him, thinking of the data the operations department had given him this morning, and immediately said irritably, "Did Ren Yibai send someone over privately?"
No, it can't even be called private, because he directly used President Lin's own name.
Zhan Min pursed his lips, said nothing, and simply gave President Lin an awkward but polite smile.
Everything is understood without words.
"Fine, fine, so he thinks he's all set after finding a backer? He even dares to use my name to bully others?"
President Lin nearly spit out his anger. "Didn't you bring in Xiao He to save the day just for the sake of publicity? If you don't use him in the movie, are you waiting until it flops to use him?"
"He's quite stingy, isn't he? He cut everything out and messed up the plot. What? He'll be in charge of the project from now on, and I'll take over as the person in charge. We're all just waiting for the movie to take off, like a pie falling from the sky, right?"
There were some things that President Lin obviously didn't dare to say in front of Ren Yibai, so Zhan Min, who was bowing his head and "listening to the lecture," became the outlet for all this firepower, and he stood obediently in place waiting for President Lin to finish roaring.
After Mr. Lin had finished speaking, he cautiously asked, "So what do we do now, Mr. Lin? Should we just submit the third version? If we have to re-edit it, it might be too late."
Chief of Staff Lin sighed, his gaze fixed on the person in front of ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) him, and other suspicions began to surface in his mind.
Just then, there was another knock on the office door.
"Feel sorry."
An assistant poked his head in from outside, "Mr. Lin, an S+ variety show just sent an invitation to Zhao Qinyuan, and we might need to talk to you about it now."
Mr. Lin's attention was immediately diverted.
"good."
He turned his gaze back to Zhan Min and said calmly, "You can go out now. The version content should be based on yours, so don't do anything unnecessary."
Mr. Lin has also read the third edition, so he naturally understands that there are no problems with the quality and content.
The only thing that might upset some people is the actor named Xiao He. Even though he only had a few scenes, he still managed to catch the eye and become a highlight of the entire work.
No wonder the work that was initially approved by the on-site supervisors was inexplicably sent back for editing into other versions.
But ironically, the harder you try, the more heartbroken you become; the more you try to cut out someone's highlights, the more insignificant and ridiculous your own role seems.
After going through several iterations, each version became worse than the last, which ironically made the original version seem so unique and sophisticated.
For a moment, Mr. Lin even suspected that this was a premeditated plot design by director Zhan Min, which broke away from the shortcomings of the imported Korean version and added other unique charms to the Chinese version. It also made the relationship between the two characters whose souls were swapped closer and their fates closely intertwined. If one side wanted to take all the screen time, the final result would only be a lose-lose situation.
It's as if the characters in the story have been elevated to the status of the two actors outside the story.
But seeing Zhan Min's honest appearance, President Lin wasn't quite sure.
Forget it, Ren Yibai has been dealing with too many troubles lately, so it's really not suitable for him to take on the main responsibility alone. Zhao Qinyuan has also been making great strides recently, so it's best not to put all your eggs in one basket.
Moreover, with the name Xiao He attracting attention, "Making a Mistake" might actually gain even greater benefits.
As Mr. Lin pondered, he waved his hand, and Zhan Min lowered his head and quietly left the office.
After they had walked a distance, Zhan Min's phone rang again.
Looking at the note "Manager Liu", Zhan Min breathed a sigh of relief and a genuine smile appeared on his face: "Hey, Manager Liu? Long time no see! I was saying that once we finalized things on our end, I would invite you to a preview screening."
"Movies? No big problem."
Zhan Min chuckled softly, and his previously hunched back subtly straightened at that moment.
"Manager Liu, don't worry. You're only here to help out because of my teacher. No matter what, I can't let you suffer any losses, otherwise how could I face my teacher?"
Although he hasn't made much progress in his technical skills over the years, he still has his own ways of dealing with troublesome clients and powerful resource holders.
Zhan Min didn't want just anyone to ruin his work.
This is also his survival strategy at Hanbei Entertainment over the years.
So from the very beginning, even though he knew what Ren Yibai was planning, Zhan Min didn't bring it up with Xiao He.
That was the only bit of pitiful self-respect he had left.
"Yes, I trust Director Zhan, which is why I'm willing to let Xiao He help you. After all, trust is the bridge for cooperation between the two parties..."
...
A hotel in Beijing.
Liu Rulan hurriedly hung up the phone, then looked at Xiao He, shrugged and said, "Obviously, there's nothing for you to do this time."
"Coach Zhan clearly has his own rhythm."
Xiao He breathed a sigh of relief: "I almost forgot about this, so I quickly asked to avoid the situation becoming irreversible."
Xiao He had previously heard from Huang Meng that Ren Yibai wanted to cut his scenes, but he didn't take it too seriously at the time. However, he didn't expect to receive news that the movie was about to be released, so he was naturally a little uneasy.
But now things are better. Coach Zhan has the ability to solve problems on his own, so they don't need to do it for him.
Liu Rulan glanced at her phone again and said, "The operations team in Hanbei has also contacted us. It seems that yesterday's marketing efforts didn't go very well, so they want to officially collaborate with us to promote 'Making a Mistake' together."
Yesterday, "Mistaken Identity" was trending on social media for a while. Xiao He glanced at it, but unfortunately, most of the comments were from paid promoters and tended to be self-indulgent. It couldn't attract most people to the cinema, so their marketing failed, and they had to shift their focus to Xiao He.
If we have to say, how can Xiao He not be considered a protagonist?
After all, before the souls were swapped and the life of an assassin was taken for granted, Xiao He's "body" was originally the protagonist's.
So when Xiao He saw the marketing for "Mistaken Identity" again, his name was prominently featured at the top, listed separately from Ren Yibai, making him the undisputed lead actor.
Xiao He's name, like a magic pill, instantly surged to the top along with the movie title.
Seeing this, Xiao He could only say—
"Basic operation, don't overdo it."
