Chapter 267 Joining the Group (7,000-word update)

The day I officially joined the crew was a Friday.

After finishing his exam for Classical Chinese, he packed his bag, pulled his suitcase, and went straight to the school gate.

Zou Dong was waiting for him at the school gate.

They also ran into Wang Xiao on the way.

"Why are you still pulling a suitcase? Have you finished your exams? Are you getting ready to go back?" Wang Xiao asked curiously.

Lu Yanhe shook his head and said, "I need to stay at the film set for two nights."

Wang Xiao then realized that Lu Yanhe had gone to film a movie.

"You're such a busy person," Wang Xiao said. "So, you won't be here on New Year's Eve either? Are you going to be at a New Year's Eve party?"

Lu Yanhe shook his head and said, "I didn't have time to prepare, so I didn't take on the New Year's Eve gala work."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiao's eyes lit up, and he said, "Then would you like to come and attend our Youth Association's New Year's Eve party?"

Lu Yanhe said, "I might not have time at that time, as I might be filming on set. Now, I usually spend my free time listening to the crew's arrangements, and I have to go filming when I receive a notification."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiao nodded and said, "Then come if you don't have time to film. This is our association's annual big gathering, and everyone is eager to get to know you."

Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "If I were still in school, I would participate."

Wang Xiao nodded, "Okay, I'll send you the specific address later."

When I agreed to join the Youth Association, I said that I wouldn't be able to participate in the association's activities. But now that I've joined, it's obviously inappropriate not to participate even once. It would make me seem aloof or unsociable.

Furthermore, Lu Yanhe actually quite liked Wang Xiao and was willing to accept his invitation to participate in such an event. Some people just have that kind of charm that makes people want to associate with them.

Lu Yanhe rode in Zou Dong's car to the film and television base in Langhua, and first checked into a hotel. The film crew was very wealthy and generous, and booked a suite for Lu Yanhe directly; the conditions were quite good. Zou Dong, who accompanied Lu Yanhe to the set, had a double room. The film crew paid for all the rooms.

He ran into Lang Xia as soon as he arrived at the hotel.

He also joined the crew on the same day. The two got off the car one after the other. Behind Lang Xia was his agent, He Yingzi.

Lu Yanhe almost didn't recognize her because He Yingzi had dyed her hair black again.

"Oh, Yan He is here today too?" He Yingzi raised the corners of her mouth. For some reason, her smile always reminded Lu Yan He of a shark grinning at its prey. It should be noted that her mouth is not actually big, but it has a sharp and threatening feel to it.

Lu Yanhe called out "Sister Yingzi," nodded to Lang Xia, and said, "Hello, Sister Yingzi."

Seeing Zou Dong getting his suitcase from the trunk after getting out of the car, He Yingzi asked, "Didn't Chen Ziyan come with you?"

Lu Yanhe said, "She has something to do today."

He Yingzi said, "That must be something quite important. Otherwise, she would definitely have personally brought you here on your first day on set."

“It’s okay, Sister Ziyan said she’ll come over tomorrow morning and come with me to the set,” Lu Yanhe said directly.

He Yingzi gave an "oh," smiled, glanced at Lang Xia, and said, "You two are about the same age and are now filming in the same production crew, so you should interact more in the future."

Lu Yanhe nodded.

They'll still put on a show.

But Lang Xia didn't seem to want to put on any formalities. He said to He Yingzi with an impatient look, "Let's go inside. We've been traveling for hours and we're so tired. We want to rest as soon as possible."

He Yingzi nodded and led Lang Xia inside.

There was another person following behind carrying suitcases; there looked like there were several, and he probably had to make several trips by himself.

Lu Yanhe and Zou Dong each had a suitcase, and Zou Dong's was particularly large.

Zou Dong did not see a parking attendant.

Seeing Zou Dong looking around, Lu Yanhe asked, "Then I'll take the suitcase inside first and check in. Dong-ge, you can park the car and come over later."

Zou Dong frowned slightly, seemingly assessing whether the place was safe, and did not immediately agree.

At that moment, a hotel staff member in uniform finally came out of the door.

Hello, do you need any help?

Zou Dong handed him the car keys, saying, "Please help us park the car."

The other party respectfully accepted the car keys and nodded in agreement.

Zou Dong, who acts as both bodyguard and assistant, inevitably faces the current dilemma.

Lu Yanhe had gotten used to it; no matter where they were, Zou Dong always doubted his safety, wanted to check on him, and wanted to stay by his side.

Very professional indeed.

The hotel had reserved the rooms for the film crew.

Lu Yanhe lives in 1301, and Zou Dong lives in 1307; they live quite close to each other.

After checking in, Lu Yanhe said, "Brother Dong, shall we grab something to eat together later?"

They had driven for several hours and hadn't eaten yet.

Zou Dong agreed.

Just as I was about to enter the elevator, a woman with flaxen hair rushed over.

"Yan He!" she called out.

Lu Yanhe turned around in surprise.

Zou Dong stepped forward, half-blocking Lu Yanhe's path.

"I'm Liu Lu, the production manager for Phoenix TV." The woman with flaxen hair said to Lu Yanhe, "General Manager Huang specifically told me to come around this time today and asked me to wait for you in the lobby. I just answered a phone call and almost missed you."

"Hello." Lu Yanhe nodded slightly to her in greeting.

Liu Lu said, "This is a small gift we prepared for you."

She handed him a paper bag, and Lu Yanhe quickly thanked her and took it.

Liu Lu asked, "Have you had dinner yet? If not, how about I find a restaurant later and we can eat together?"

Lu Yanhe didn't want to go through all that trouble, having to eat together and chat. He planned to eat something quickly, go back to the hotel to review the scenes he was going to film tomorrow, and then go to bed early.

"Thank you, but no need. I have something to do later, so I'll just grab something to eat. You're still waiting for us so late, you must be tired. You should go home and get some rest too."

Liu Lu nodded and said, "Okay, I just sent you a friend request. Please accept it later. If you need anything in the future, you can contact me."

"OK, thanks."

After putting down their luggage, Lu Yanhe and Zou Dong went downstairs to find a restaurant nearby.

As expected, there are many restaurants open near the film and television base.

Lu Yanhe randomly picked a small stir-fry restaurant and went in with Zou Dong. Since there were only two of them, they didn't ask for a private room and just found a four-person table in the main hall.

At this time, probably because it's winter, there weren't many people; it seemed like there were only three or four tables in the lobby.

The waiter recognized Lu Yanhe and was somewhat surprised, but that was all.

Since she works as a waitress near a film and television base, she probably sees celebrities frequently, so it's not surprising to her.

Lu Yanhe didn't dare to eat too much. It was too late to eat rice, so he gave the menu to Zou Dong and only ordered a bowl of wontons for himself.

Zou Dong originally only wanted a bowl of fried noodles, but Lu Yanhe quickly said, "If the two of us only order this much, the restaurant will probably kick us out. Dong-ge, why don't you order a couple of dishes? I just don't eat rice, but I'll eat the dishes."

Zou Dong ordered a stir-fried chicken with ginger and a stir-fried vegetable dish.

Lu Yanhe doubted whether Zou Dong had enough to eat.

Zou Dong, however, said that was enough.

-

Even though I'm already a junior, I still can't miss any of the exams.

After this exam, there's another one.

Helan walked back to her dormitory in the cold wind after leaving the library that evening.

Hurried footsteps.

The snow on the main road has been cleared.

He Lan put his hands in his pockets, lowered his head and rushed forward, when suddenly he heard two people talking in the cold wind ahead.

"Why is Lu Yanhe always so frugal? Two men, and they only eat so little." The man's tone was full of incomprehension.

Huh? What happened?

Helan raised his head in confusion and looked ahead.

They are two girls walking side by side.

"Yeah, it feels like they're being too frugal. We don't even eat this much when we go out to eat," another girl said.

Province?

"Doesn't he earn a lot?"

"How could that be? Even if he doesn't earn much, he still earns more than the average person. It's impossible that he can't afford a decent meal. I think he's just a very frugal person."

"I didn't realize that. I can't stand stingy men the most."

Helan instantly wanted to complain: Eating less is being stingy? What kind of values ​​are you?

"It's not that we're stingy, it's just that we're saving a little money."

Helan immediately agreed: That's right!

“It’s not the first time. He had dinner with the girl he co-edited the magazine with before, and he also made headlines for eating too frugally. I think he’s just stingy, otherwise why would he do this once or twice?”

"Maybe it was just these two times that someone saw and photographed it."

"That speaks volumes. I could never be with a man like that."

He Lan thought to herself: It's not like Lu Yanhe is willing to be with you!

"You're overthinking it. They won't be with you anyway."

Helan immediately nodded in agreement: That's right!

"I'm just giving an example; I don't like this type."

...

As soon as she got back to her dorm room, He Lan took out her phone and searched for Lu Yanhe's name to see what had happened this time.

Upon investigation, it was discovered that someone had spotted Lu Yanhe dining at a restaurant. The two of them ordered only one stir-fried chicken and one vegetable dish. The original poster's intention was to praise Lu Yanhe, saying that it was rare to see an artist eat so simply.

However, many people commented that Lu Yanhe was too stingy.

He Lan was furious because she knew that Lu Yanhe was not that kind of person.

Lu Yanhe has invited her and Xu Mingyue to dinner at least three times, and he has always been very polite in his invitations, never stingy.

She couldn't help but start arguing with people online, trying to prove that Lu Yanhe wasn't a stingy person.

But many people say she's meddling in other people's business, and that she doesn't need to explain for Lu Yanhe here.

He Lan angrily posted photos of Lu Yanhe treating her and Xu Mingyue to dinner, pointing out that it was a restaurant in Zhenhua Canteen, where a table cost more than 400 yuan, which was not cheap.

As a result, one group started saying, "Lu Yanhe is so stingy that he only treats his classmates to meals at the cafeteria," while another group said, "Lu Yanhe treats people differently."

It's just making things worse by trying to cover it up.

Helan was so angry that tears were about to fall.

When Xu Mingyue returned, she saw Helan's red eyes and asked what had happened.

Xu Mingyue looked at her speechlessly, "You're really something, actually arguing with people online over something like this. Don't you know that many of those people online are just there to fight and create drama? Why are you arguing with them? Not many of them will listen to reason with you."

Helan knew rationally that she shouldn't argue with those people, but she just couldn't help herself.

Xu Mingyue said, "These voices don't affect Lu Yanhe at all. Let these people talk. It's just that a few marketing accounts saw that there was a topic to talk about, so they started to create topics and stir up trouble to harvest a wave of traffic. If you argue with them and post photos, aren't you just giving them material and popularity?"

Helan asked, "Should I delete it?"

“Please don’t do that. If you delete it, those people will make a fuss about it again,” Xu Mingyue said. “Just let this matter fade away naturally.”

He Lan looked dejected and said, "I never expected to cause trouble for Lu Yanhe."

Xu Mingyue said, "Don't argue with people online next time."

Helan nodded: "Okay, I'll hold back."

-

In fact, Helan was not the only one who felt unhappy about Lu Yanhe.

This is especially true for Li Pengfei and his friends who have known Lu Yanhe since high school.

Especially Li Pengfei, if you say Lu Yanhe is frugal with himself, Li Pengfei won't say much. But Lu Yanhe is absolutely not frugal or stingy with the people around him. So why are there all sorts of criticisms on the internet? With Li Pengfei's temper, how could he stand it? But if he can't stand it, he can only vent through his alternate account.

Many people know his social media accounts and know that he is Lu Yanhe's classmate.

Li Pengfei's personality means he can make friends anywhere. Even in university, after military training, he attended classes sporadically, helping each other with attendance. Most of the time, the teachers weren't too strict, since they all knew these students weren't particularly studious.

If someone truly loved learning, they would have already gotten into a better school.

However, after hanging out with a group of people for a whole semester, by December, he finally began to think about something related to "meaning".

He would have been happy playing like this for four years. If it weren't for his hardworking and diligent friend Lu Yanhe, and his girlfriend Xu Zijun, who was studying hard while also working part-time as a tutor and editor of "Jump Up," he wouldn't have been constantly provoked.

Those who refuse to work hard are not unaware of the importance of hard work; it's just that laziness is dragging them down into the swamp, and they cannot struggle out on their own.

However, even if he tries hard and wants to find something to start working on and striving for, what could he possibly find?

Li Pengfei still couldn't believe it.

This made him realize that being too rich isn't always a good thing; without pressure in life, one can only seek fleeting pleasures.

-

Lu Yanhe has gotten used to the phenomenon of frequently trending on social media. There's really nothing he can do about it, and it's actually a good thing; he's adjusted his mindset.

As Sister Ziyan said, as long as there are no fundamental issues, whether it's good news or scandals, it's a good thing if people are interested in you. Being interested in you ensures that you stay in the public eye, that people are interested in you, and that they are willing to read your news.

He went over the scenes he was going to film the next day that night, practiced acting them out a few times in his room, and then went to bed.

The next day, he got up and went downstairs for a run. Zou Dong, knowing his habits, had already changed into his running shoes and clothes and was waiting for him at the door.

Lu Yanhe was extremely surprised.

"Brother Dong, what's wrong with you—"

“I remember telling you that you must tell me when you go out alone.” Zou Dong instead questioned Lu Yanhe in the most serious tone, “This is my job. Don’t deliberately not tell me just because you think it’s a bother to me. If something unexpected happens, it will be my dereliction of duty.”

Lu Yanhe inexplicably had a feeling of being "caught in the act".

Awkward.

"Okay, I'm sorry, I was wrong." Lu Yanhe genuinely felt he had troubled Zou Dong. He didn't need Zou Dong to accompany him for his morning run, did he? That was truly what Lu Yanhe was thinking.

Since it was my first time staying at this hotel, I wasn't very familiar with the area.

Lu Yanhe ran along the river, looking around as he went.

The road surface was wet.

Luckily it didn't snow last night, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to run if there had been snow on the ground.

Early in the morning, the wind was biting cold.

Lu Yanhe applied a thick layer of face cream to his face, afraid that it would chapped from the wind.

After several months of persistence, Lu Yanhe's morning running speed has improved, and his endurance has also increased significantly.

He was worried that Zou Dong wouldn't be able to keep up, but Zou Dong ran even more easily than him, without even panting.

Lu Yanhe: "..."

He couldn't help but wonder to himself, where did he get the confidence to think that Zou Dong couldn't keep up with him?

-

The reason why "Phoenix Terrace" started filming in December is because the story is set mostly in winter.

A sense of unease and tension is a very important element of this drama.

After finishing his morning run, Lu Yanhe went back to his room to take a shower, and then went downstairs to the restaurant for breakfast.

The restaurant offered a fairly good selection, but Lu Yanhe didn't dare to eat too much. He just drank a glass of milk, ate an egg, and had two pieces of toast. Zou Dong ate a bowl of noodles, a bowl of porridge, six fried dumplings, and a plate of fruit.

The production crew had originally arranged a private car to pick him up, but because Zou Dong was there, Lu Yanhe didn't need this service. All Zou Dong had to do was coordinate with the staff in charge to arrange when and where Lu Yanhe would arrive each day, and Zou Dong would drive him there.

On Lu Yanhe's first day of filming, his makeup time was 8 a.m. Because it was an ancient costume, he had to wear a wig. Including the time for changing clothes, the preparation work basically took more than two hours.

After completing these preliminary preparations in the dressing room, he then went to the filming location.

Although Langhua Film and Television Base is large, it has been used to film many dramas, and many scenes have already been seen by many people.

Therefore, Chen Lingling set particularly high requirements for the art direction, demanding that it be fresh and not distract the audience from the story.

Lu Yanhe followed the people through the winding corridors and arrived at the backyard of a mansion.

There were quite a few people at the scene, roughly dozens.

Many films and television dramas are filmed in two groups, A and B, but Chen Lingling was unwilling to do so and insisted on directing every scene herself.

Lu Yanhe still remembered the few times he had met Chen Lingling before. His impression of her was that she was a female director who didn't talk much and occasionally showed a naive and innocent side. In private, he couldn't even see any professionalism in Chen Lingling. Instead, she seemed like someone who had always been well protected.

As a result, when he arrived at the scene today, before he even saw anyone, he heard a stern female voice scolding him.

"Is this thing even usable? Tell me, will the audience accept this junk appearing on camera?"

As soon as Lu Yanhe walked over, he saw Chen Lingling grabbing something and throwing it to the ground.

It broke.

Lu Yanhe was startled.

The scene suddenly fell silent.

What happened?

At that moment, he saw Chen Ziyan.

She walked over from the other side, came to his side, looked him up and down, her eyes shining with admiration, and said, "You suit period costumes, you look very heroic."

Lu Yanhe asked Chen Ziyan in a low voice, "Sister Ziyan, what's wrong with Director Chen? Why is he suddenly so angry?"

"I'm not satisfied with what the props team made; I think it's too low-quality," Chen Ziyan said. "Don't worry about these things; just watch quietly. They'll take care of it."

Just as Chen Ziyan said, the props team searched around and finally found props that satisfied Chen Lingling.

Chen Lingling was furious and said, "Wouldn't it have been better if you had just brought this over earlier? Am I the only one using my brain when filming?"

The scene was eerily silent.

At this moment, Huang Cheng, who had been silent until now, stood up and said, "You should pay more attention to your work."

-

Chen Ziyan took Lu Yanhe to meet Huang Cheng and Chen Lingling.

Because the tracks were being laid, Chen Lingling was discussing with the photographer how to shoot the scenes later.

Chen Ziyan and Lu Yanhe had been waiting on the sidelines. Only after Chen Lingling finished speaking to the person did they seize the opportunity to step forward and enthusiastically call out, "Director Chen!"

Chen Lingling turned her head and saw Chen Ziyan and Lu Yanhe. A smile appeared on her serious face. "You're here."

“Yes, today is Xiao Lu’s first day of filming since joining the crew, so I came to check on him.” Chen Ziyan said to Chen Lingling, “It’s been a long time since I’ve been to the director’s set.”

Chen Lingling waved her hand and said, "It's the same as always. Some people tend to slack off after working for a long time and will try to get away with something just to get by."

"It is because of directors like you who have high standards for quality that we can produce excellent dramas."

Chen Lingling waved her hand, indicating that it was nothing, then looked at Lu Yanhe, examined him carefully, nodded, and said, "His appearance is acceptable; he finally looks like a guard."

Lu Yanhe said thank you.

"Is the next scene yours?" Chen Lingling asked.

Lu Yanhe was a little confused; he didn't know either.

He simply arrived at the film set at the time indicated on the call sheet; no one told him what to do next.

Upon seeing this, Chen Lingling immediately frowned and shouted, "Liu Biao!"

Lu Yanhe was startled by Chen Lingling's loud voice.

A balding man rushed over. "Director, what are your instructions?"

Chen Lingling said, "Didn't Lu Yanhe have anyone to coordinate with when he arrived at the scene?"

Liu Biao was taken aback and immediately said, "This is my fault. I should have arranged for someone to meet Yan He at the door. I forgot."

Chen Lingling glared at him. "Don't do it again."

Liu Biao nodded.

Lu Yanhe hurriedly said, "Actually, I just arrived too."

Chen Lingling asked, "When is Lu Yanhe's next scene?"

Liu Biao picked up the call sheet in his hand, glanced at it, and said, "The next scene is a solo shot of Lang Xia. Yan He's scene should be filmed after lunch."

Upon hearing this, Chen Lingling instantly became angry again.

"Since his scenes aren't scheduled to be filmed until the afternoon, why make him come to the set at ten in the morning?!" Chen Lingling said angrily.

Even in the dead of winter, sweat was dripping from Liu Biao's forehead.

Seeing this, Lu Yanhe was extremely embarrassed and quickly said, "Director, it's my first day on set, so it's good to get familiar with the set and shooting environment as soon as possible."

Chen Lingling said sternly, "This has nothing to do with you. This is a problem of internal management chaos. Liu Biao, if you don't adjust your mindset and continue to mess things up like this, then you can pack your things and leave!"

Lu Yanhe was startled by Chen Lingling's outburst.

Although every director has a different style, and losing one's temper is a common problem for almost all directors, Lu Yanhe had never heard of anyone as fierce as Chen Lingling, who made him feel as if she were a tiger.

This was the first time I had ever met him.

The Chen Lingling on set seemed like a completely different person from the Chen Lingling he had met before.

-

This is a very different production team from "The Golden Era".

Within an hour of arriving, Lu Yanhe repeatedly felt the differences between the two film crews.

The first difference is the atmosphere.

In Phoenix Terrace, everyone had a serious expression, as if their jaws were clenched, and they walked in a hurry, especially those who were going to find Chen Lingling, whose faces almost all had an indifferent look of "ready to die".

Chen Ziyan made arrangements with several key personnel, asking them to take care of Lu Yanhe, and then she was about to leave.

"I have to rush back to the company this afternoon," she said.

Lu Yanhe nodded, "Thank you for your help, Sister Ziyan."

She came specifically on the first day of filming to support Lu Yanhe.

On set, many people don't care whether you're famous or not; some will use subtle methods to undermine you.

Chen Ziyan has to come over and help Lu Yanhe take care of these elderly people so that Lu Yanhe can be more comfortable in the film crew.

As soon as Chen Ziyan left, Liu Biao hurriedly brought over a girl, introducing her as Chen Wenwen. He said that Chen Wenwen would be in charge of coordinating things on set with him, and that a rest room had been prepared for him so he could rest before filming.

Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "Thank you, Brother Liu. I'll observe from the scene first."

“Alright.” Liu Biao nodded. “You can observe if you want, but if you have any problems in the future, you can come to me first. As you have seen, Director Chen has a bit of a temper, and even a small matter can become a big deal for her.”

Lu Yanhe was stunned for a moment and said okay. After everyone left, he realized that Liu Biao might have been expressing some dissatisfaction.

Did Liu Biao misunderstand? Did he just go and complain to Chen Lingling?

Lu Yanhe opened his mouth, wanting to call out to Liu Biao to explain, but looking at Liu Biao's back, he closed his mouth again.

Never mind, let's leave it at that.

Even if you explain, people might not believe you; it's something like this...

Chen Wenwen called out, "Teacher Lu."

Lu Yanhe was startled. "Please don't call me that. I can't accept it. Just call me Yanhe."

Chen Wenwen nodded, called out Yan He's name, and said, "I'm very sorry about today. I was in charge of both you and Lang Xia, but Lang Xia was late. I just took him around the set and forgot to check the time, so I couldn't pick you up right away. I'm sorry."

Lu Yanhe was taken aback, and quickly waved his hand, saying, "It's okay, it's okay. Actually, I didn't expect the director to get so angry. I didn't say anything. The director asked me if my scene was next, and I couldn't answer right away. She suddenly got angry."

Chen Wenwen glanced at him, nodded, and said, "If you're not going to the lounge now, I'll go take care of something else. Call me later if you need anything."

Lu Yanhe nodded and asked, "How can I find you?"

Chen Wenwen said, "Call me."

She left her phone number with Lu Yanhe.

-

At noon, Liu Lu brought the logistics staff to the site to distribute boxed lunches.

Zou Dong went directly to collect the food for Lu Yanhe and then went to the lounge to eat.

The lounge is just an ordinary room with a coffee table and a sofa.

There's no air conditioning inside, it's quite cold.

Fortunately, the boxed lunch was still hot.

After Lu Yanhe and Zou Dong finished their meal and rested for a while, Chen Wenwen came over to call Lu Yanhe, saying it was time to get ready for filming.

The next scene is between him and Lang Xia.

(End of this chapter)