Chapter 17
The drama of Chang Wensi deliberately picking on Zuo Bian and then getting angry herself played out almost every day, so much so that everyone had become accustomed to it.
On the other hand, Xu Ruisheng and his agent, Lü Deng, had a falling-out, which was surprising considering that they usually had a very good relationship. Everyone said that you couldn’t find a more harmonious artist-agent pair in the entire entertainment industry.
However, today Xu Ruisheng just had a big fight with Lü Deng and kept making mistakes and getting NGs during filming.(scene shot as “NG-No Good.”)
Director Chen tapped the rolled-up script in his palm, his brow furrowed as if he could crush a fly between them.
“Everyone, take a break. We’ll film this scene tomorrow.” Director Chen suppressed his anger. If Xu Ruisheng wasn’t a popular young actor, he would have already lost his temper.
Xu Ruisheng was also very irritated. He scratched his hair, snatched a bottle of water from his assistant, and drank it without his usual gentle and elegant demeanor.
The photo of Zuo Bian princess-carrying Xu Ruisheng didn’t actually lead to a large-scale loss of fans as Xu Ruisheng had imagined. Instead, it attracted a small wave of new fans. Lü Deng even suggested that they should capitalize on this opportunity to create a buzz, as a perfect persona could indeed become boring after a while.
But Xu Ruisheng didn’t want to do this. He felt extremely embarrassed being carried by a woman, and besides, he was already excellent and perfect. Why should he follow the example of other celebrities and use “small flaws” to close the distance between himself and his fans?
Just then, Zuo Bian had a question about a part of the plot that she didn’t quite understand. She took the script to find Director Chen and the screenwriter, and she happened to bump into Xu Ruisheng.
Xu Ruisheng glared at Zuo Bian with anger and stormed off.
Zuo Bian felt completely baffled. At that moment, she heard Director Chen say, “Nowadays, anyone can enter the entertainment industry and act. If there were more humble and eager-to-learn newcomers like Xiao Zuo, there wouldn’t be so many bad dramas!”
Director Chen had been in this industry for many years and understood the importance of popularity and compromise. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have agreed to let Xu Ruisheng play the male lead.
But now that Xu Ruisheng was already playing the role, replacing him midway would be a financial problem and would also offend the agency behind him, so he could only accept his bad luck.
The screenwriter patted Director Chen’s shoulder. “Director Chen, don’t worry too much. We can’t let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch. So I’ve cut the male lead’s scenes in half again.”
Director Chen’s face flushed with excitement. “Good job, Xiao Liu! We’ll edit it further in post-production and try our best to minimize the male lead’s presence! Xiao Zuo, you’re the only protagonist in this drama now. Act well, I believe you can definitely become popular!”
Before Zuo Bian could say anything, Director Chen and the screenwriter looked at her with expectant eyes, as if she was the hope of the entire village.
“I’ll do my best!” Zuo Bian clenched her fists, expressing her determination.
The screenwriter said, “There’s a scene I think we can change. How can the protagonist not be the one to save the day? The protagonist must be the one to shine!”
Director Chen nodded. “That’s right, let’s change it to the female lead saving the day.”
The props team said, “The female lead’s sword isn’t ‘immortal’ enough. A senior of mine has an ancestral sword at home. I’ll call him later and ask if he’s willing to lend it to us as a prop.”
The costume designer gave the props team a thumbs-up. “It’s rare for the investors to be so generous with the budget. We can add a few more outfits for the female lead. The Dragon and Phoenix team is quite good at making ancient costumes.”
Although Zuo Bian was a newcomer, she was beautiful, eager to learn, and didn’t cause trouble. Everyone liked her. The male lead, Xu Ruisheng, frequently asked for leave and often lost focus during his limited scenes. This drama definitely couldn’t go down the romantic and sweet route with the male and female leads. If they wanted it to be successful, they had to place their bets on the female lead.
【Host, don’t you feel like you’re the only college student from a poor mountain village, and the entire village is pooling their resources to support you?】
‘Everyone is so kind, I can’t let them down!’
Zuo Bian smiled and thanked everyone, not noticing Hu Miaofu staring at her with malice from afar.
Hu Miaofu’s heart was filled with jealousy and hatred, almost overflowing. She forced herself to look away.
Ding! Hu Miaofu’s phone beeped with a notification.
Hu Miaofu picked up her phone and replied to the message, 【Thank you, Young Master Lin, you’re so kind. But this is my first time attending a banquet, I’m so worried about making a fool of myself.】
The other side replied: Don’t worry, Xiao Fu, nothing will happen to you if you’re with me.
Hu Miaofu: But I don’t have any clothes for the banquet. I feel like I’m not worthy of standing by your side, Young Master Lin [sad emoji].
Young Master Lin: What’s the big deal? It’s just a dress, I’ll buy it for you!
Hu Miaofu: Thank you, Young Master Lin, you’re so good to me. It’s a pity I have nothing to repay you with.
“Xiao Zuo, you have a package!”
“Coming!” Zuo Bian ran to sign for the package. The people around her curiously asked what she had bought, as the package was quite large.
Zuo Bian hadn’t explored the world of online shopping yet and had never bought anything online, so she shook her head and said she didn’t know.
【Open it and see, I detect that the package was sent by Qin Ai.】
Zuo Bian opened the package, and the moment she saw what was inside, she smiled.
“It’s a little dumpling!” Zuo Bian happily held up the soft, white dumpling, squeezing it repeatedly.
Underneath the dumpling were some snacks and drinks, all things Zuo Bian had mentioned wanting to try during her chats with Qin Ai.
Zuo Bian excitedly took out her phone and prepared to send a message to Qin Ai. She typed a sentence according to the Green Tea Handbook.
Zuo Bian: You’re so good to me, I don’t know how to repay you.
Zuo Bian also sent a Caogenyantuanzi emoji, the same one as the plushie Qin Ai had sent her.
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