Chapter 50: Someone From Over There
She hadn’t expected to be refused, which left Fang Jianing somewhat at a loss. The development of events far exceeded her imagination. This really troubled her. Not long ago, she had confidently promised Huo Ningning to bring her along to the comic convention.
It wasn’t Fang Jianing’s fault either. Before this, Yu Linna gave her the impression that she could be bought with money. Who would have thought she would also have times when she refused?
“Why not go? I’m covering all your expenses.”
“Not going means not going. There aren’t that many whys.”
Yu Linna wouldn’t casually accept others’ charity. She could accept small amounts of money, but she would never accept excessively large sums.
Besides, she didn’t have the mind for a comic convention right now. Thinking about the rent she owed, she couldn’t pretend nothing was wrong. In other words, all her thoughts were currently focused on how to make money. As long as there was a job that paid quickly, she would do it. So she didn’t have much time to go out and play.
Of course, she still had to attend school. It was just that the homeroom teacher was keeping a close eye on her recently, so she couldn’t keep taking leave. She had to wait until this period passed.
“It’s rare that Ningning and I agreed to go together. Can’t you just come with me? There’s also the signing event for my favorite manga artist. I want to do a live stream during the comic convention. If you go, you can be my material.”
Fang Jianing sighed, her tone full of disappointment.
“Let’s skip that. Fang Jianing, have you made the video you promised me?”
“This… cough cough cough, I’ll rush it for you next week.”
Thinking about the yuri anime special video she owed her, Fang Jianing really felt a headache coming on. Why did she agree to it back then? Although she was active in the animation section, she had never done commentary on yuri-oriented anime. Was it really okay for her, a female uploader, to make this kind of video?
Yu Linna didn’t say anything more. Rather, she didn’t have the mind to deal with these things now. With this spare time, it was better to earn money first. Although she didn’t know how to earn it.
While Yu Linna was down on her luck, Nangong Ying was much luckier. As a favored child of heaven, she was successful in everything she did. Not long after joining the film crew, the filming officially began. As the undeniable absolute protagonist of the movie, her workload was naturally the largest.
Because she hadn’t signed with an agent, her work was temporarily shared by Li Yuexin’s agent. Li Yuexin was also looking for an agent for her, so she often appeared on the set these days. Although Li Yuexin debuted through TV dramas, she was also a professional actress. Many people definitely recognized this newly popular young star. Especially her close relationship with Nangong Ying made many people secretly speculate about their relationship.
“Xiaoying, looks like your filming is going smoothly. Congratulations in advance on your success. Being able to film like this for your first movie is already quite impressive. Your action scenes are really exciting.”
“I’ve practiced since I was young.”
Taking a towel to wipe off sweat, Nangong Ying showed no intention of being modest during her break. But this was also her personality. She, Nangong Ying, had always been a favored child of heaven. How could there be any reason for her not to succeed in what she did?
Li Yuexin frowned slightly but quickly recovered. Although this junior didn’t understand social niceties, she didn’t care much. After all, she was just a newcomer and naturally didn’t know the depth of the water here. She just needed to guide her properly.
“Xiaoying, I found an agent for you. She’s very experienced in this field. I believe she can help you.”
Saying this, she pointed to a woman in a suit opposite her. This woman had ordinary looks, and her figure wasn’t particularly outstanding. Standing next to Nangong Ying, she would definitely be overshadowed. But there was a depth in her eyes, the kind of gaze only people who had been in the entertainment industry for a long time would have.
“Miss Nangong, hello. I’m Hu Jie, soon to be your agent. If you like me, we can sign the contract immediately.”
This woman who was about to become her agent spoke quite directly, like a man. But this was also good, much better than beating around the bush. Nangong Ying, stepping into this circle, indeed needed the help of many people.
“Okay, Sister Yuexin, I’ll leave it all to you. I need to go film.”
“Let’s eat after work, old place.”
After spending some time together, Li Yuexin and Nangong Ying’s relationship grew better and better. Nangong Ying also willingly called her “sister,” which also showed the intimacy between the two.
However, Li Yuexin hadn’t expected to establish a friendly relationship with Nangong Ying so quickly. Clearly, their relationship was quite stiff when they first met.
From Nangong Ying’s mouth, she also learned more about Nangong Ying, such as the good friend Nangong Ying often mentioned, supposedly a girl named Yu Linna, who had a very good relationship with Nangong Ying, although Li Yuexin had never met her.
Moreover, Nangong Ying often mentioned her name privately, and specifically mentioned that this child’s appearance was very good, suitable for development in the entertainment industry, just lacking training and polish. To receive praise from someone like Nangong Ying, she must be a very outstanding person. And hearing that this friend of hers wasn’t doing well in the entertainment industry recently, Li Yuexin wondered if she should go over and help her, after all, her relationship with Nangong Ying was so good.
Filming proceeded in full swing. Director Zhang wasn’t a new director; he had works, but just hadn’t made a name for himself. This time, filming such a large-investment commercial film, he hoped to make a name for himself with this work. To make the work better, he didn’t hesitate to abandon big-name actors and chose newcomers. Moreover, there weren’t many female actors in the entertainment industry who could film action scenes. Nangong Ying’s talent was so good, he didn’t want to waste it.
The crew worked non-stop, hoping to finish by the end of the year as soon as possible. Director Zhang was also hands-on, doing everything, showing no mercy on the set, which made many actors suffer.
One day, a man came to visit the set. This man wore a tie, a suit, and his leather shoes scraped against the ground. When he first stepped onto the set, some staff members glanced at him. This man had a peaceful appearance, wasn’t tall, but his face was full of gentleness, giving the impression of someone who wouldn’t cause trouble.
“Yo, Yu Tianchen, what brings you here?”
Director Zhang saw this man during a break. A trace of displeasure flashed in his heart, but he still put on a smile. After all, they were both in the industry; face had to be given.
“Director Zhang, hello. I heard your movie started filming. I wanted to come see how the actors you picked are doing. It seems you really have a good eye. That little girl’s performance in front of the camera is quite impressive.”
Yu Tianchen smiled, specifically praising the female lead Director Zhang had chosen, complimenting the young girl for being promising and having good acting skills.
Adding Nangong Ying’s background as a national martial arts champion and national singing competition champion, Yu Tianchen spared no effort in praising her. Although the movie wasn’t finished yet, he evaluated the movie as flawless.
Never visit a temple without a cause. Everyone understood this principle, and Director Zhang knew even better how deep the water was here.
Yu Tianchen was from Orange River Film Company. He had scouted many stars. The company he belonged to was a major production company in today’s film industry, having produced many excellent works. Having this company’s name attached was a guarantee of the movie’s quality. It could be said that in the film industry, this company’s status was significant.
“Mr. Yu, coming to visit my set specifically today, have you taken a fancy to someone?”
Director Zhang said with a chuckle.
Although he was smiling, his heart was extremely uneasy.
This company was very good at poaching people, often poaching many actors and making them famous. They were especially good at making female stars famous. The female lead of last year’s box office champion movie was a signed actor under this company.
They were very calculating and never fought meaningless battles.
In front of this company, Director Zhang’s existence was very small.
“Nangong Ying, this newcomer, the movie she’s currently filming, Miss Ye has invested in it, right?”
“Yes. Although Miss Ye isn’t very famous, she was willing to give us such a large investment. I think that’s already very good. Those few million solved our urgent needs.”
“How about this, our Orange River will also invest. We can add another twenty million.”
“This…!”
Director Zhang was shocked. He had expected this person was here to poach, but the conditions he offered truly shocked him. An additional investment of twenty million! With this money, he could do better in post-production special effects and action scenes. As a director, it was impossible for him not to be tempted.
“If you feel our investment is still not enough, we can continue to add more. In that case, the investment in this movie would probably reach one hundred million, right?”
What was the concept of a one-hundred-million investment for a movie? That was a major production!
With so much money invested, the box office was at least guaranteed, and audiences also liked blockbusters. Although domestic movies were not as good as Hollywood, they had developed a fixed audience over the years.
“I only want the female lead in your crew, Nangong Ying. This little girl, our Orange River is very optimistic about her future.”
When he said this, Director Zhang understood. Orange River intended to promote Nangong Ying, allowing her to gain a firm foothold in the entertainment industry.
“Nangong Ying is still a newcomer. I don’t understand what aspect of her you’ve taken a fancy to.”
“It’s simple. What we value is her future. She is a genius. What we need is precisely this genius who can bring us surprises.”
He didn’t explicitly state the reason, but his eyes kept staring at Nangong Ying working on the set. Although Nangong Ying was on break, she was still holding the script and studying it carefully.
Nangong Ying had previously won the national martial arts championship, so her stage performance experience naturally didn’t need mentioning. But winning the national singing competition championship was surprising. After all, martial arts and singing competitions were two different concepts. People who could cross both fields and achieve excellence were extremely rare. Now Nangong Ying had also entered the entertainment industry to act. Orange River knew that this person named Nangong Ying was bound to be a multi-faceted artist.
If they didn’t tie her down at this time, she would make money for others in the future. Before she truly turned into gold, they had to snatch her over. This was Orange River’s plan.
Yu Tianchen had also investigated Nangong Ying’s competitions and knew about a friend Nangong Ying often mentioned on set. He heard her friend was also trying to make it in the entertainment industry, but wasn’t doing well. Yu Tianchen thought this might be his entry point to lure Nangong Ying in.
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