"The responsibility now rests entirely on you, I'm telling you. You need to invest in the production team and the show right now!"
The director's voice still echoed in Jiang Shiwan's ears.
Jiang Shiwan seemed to want to discuss it with the director again, but the director continued, "You have two choices: one, continue to invest in the lead role; two, get out of this production. We don't need actors who don't have good acting skills and don't know how to invest in productions."
Jiang Shiwan paused, and after a long while, said, "Okay, I'll pay for it."
New production team
Jiang Hua let out a soft breath, "Finally here. I didn't expect the journey to be so long." The manager nodded, looking somewhat worried. Seeing this, Jiang Hua immediately saw through his thoughts, "Hey, hey, don't get so upset just because you acted a little manly. You're a grown man, after all." Seeing that Jiang Hua wasn't comforting him but instead teasing him, the manager's eyes widened even more, but he just opened his mouth, unable to utter a word. Jiang Hua felt the manager's gaze, tilted his head, and smiled when he saw the manager's expression, "Alright, alright, let's go." Then he pulled the manager into the film set, unaware that someone had been watching them from the next room.
"Director." It was Gu Yiming's voice. The director stammered, "Yes." "Don't be afraid, I just want to discuss something with you." Gu Yiming said leisurely, "Then, so what brings you here?" Gu Yiming stopped speaking, and his assistant silently stepped forward, handing over a photo—a still of Jiang Hua smiling radiantly. Only then did Gu Yiming speak: "This actress is the newly arrived second female lead, right?" "Yes, yes." Gu Yiming smiled. "Then, you'd better remember this well, this actress is not to be hurt." He paused. "If I hear from anyone that any of you are bullying her or treating her badly, I don't know what I might do." The director quickly nodded in agreement, "Yes, yes, Mr. Gu, you can trust me, I will definitely treat her very well, very well." Gu Yiming's smile widened. "But don't worry about anything, I trust you, Director. Of course, if you really treat my woman well, I..." "I'll fund it for you." Upon hearing this, the director's eyes lit up. "Yes, Mr. Gu! Look at Miss Jiang, her acting is so good, she's beautiful, and she's a nice person. We'll all treat her extremely well, you can rest assured about that..." The director seemed to haven't finished speaking when Gu Yiming glanced at him. "Go on, what else do you want to say?" The director blinked. "Um... Mr. Gu, you'll fund this..." Gu Yiming understood. "Just report to me how much the crew needs." The director smiled broadly, bowing and scraping. Gu Yiming smiled again. "Especially for Jiang's paintings." "Yes, yes, I'll definitely report to you."
Once outside the room, the assistant couldn't help but ask Gu Yiming, "Mr. Gu." "Hmm?" "You were smiling quite happily just now." Gu Yiming's lips unconsciously curled up. "Oh? Is that so?" The assistant didn't know how to answer. Gu Yiming suddenly quickened his pace. The assistant thought he was being nosy, but then he heard Gu Yiming's voice.
—Probably because I saw Jiang's paintings.
The assistant suddenly realized that Gu Yiming had been staring at Jiang Shiwan the whole time. Looking behind him, the assistant could still vaguely see Jiang Hua and her agent walking towards the director.
"Huahua! Come quick, the director's here!" The agent put down her luggage and called to Jiang Hua. "Coming!" Just as she was about to run over, the agent grabbed Jiang Hua. "You'd better be careful. This director has a bad temper. When I came to this production team to help you find a role, the director was very impatient with me." Jiang Hua's eyes widened, and she nodded to indicate that she had remembered.
Jiang Hua prepared to transform herself into a slightly lively, well-behaved girl. She cautiously approached the director, ready to apologize for being late, but to her surprise, the director smiled kindly and said, "You're here, Hua Hua! Come on, come on, have a seat." Someone nearby offered her a small chair, smiling and gesturing for her to sit. Jiang Hua immediately saw through the insincerity, including the director's. But Jiang Hua still decided to first assess the situation.
Jiang Hua smiled and said, "Director, I'm so sorry, I'm late for my first day of reporting..." Just as Jiang Hua was about to launch into a long speech, the director interrupted her, "Oh, no, look how bad the traffic is now, it's only natural, right? I understand, haha."
That final "haha" disgusted Jiang Hua.
Jiang Hua decided to abandon her "good girl" image and simply show her true self. Although she didn't yet know the full story, she knew, and could tell, that at least for now, she didn't have to worry about anyone in the crew trying to harm her. "Director, I'm here." A cheerful, young man's voice rang out. Jiang Shiwan looked up and saw Xu Li, his smile bright and cheerful, instantly reminding Jiang Hua of a seventeen-year-old boy in a youth film. Clean features, clear eyes—at that moment, Jiang Hua felt that he was the only person in the crew she had seen so far who wasn't vain towards her. The director forced a smile, "You're here." Then, beaming, he said to Jiang Hua, "Huahua, this is your co-star, the second male lead, Xu Li." Jiang Shiwan smiled, "Hello, I'm Jiang Shiwan." Xu Li responded cheerfully, "Hello, I'm Xu Li." Perhaps tired of smiling, the director said to Xu Li, "Why don't you show Huahua around and familiarize her with the environment? It'll be a good opportunity for them to get to know each other and go over their lines." He then dismissed them.
Xu Li is a very nice young man and one of the rapidly developing rising stars. At first, Jiang Hua was worried that it would be awkward to walk with a guy she didn't know well. But later, Jiang Hua found that there was no need to worry about such a problem at all. Xu Li is a very nice person and she doesn't feel awkward talking to him. For this reason, Jiang Hua often likes to hang out with him because it's not tiring.
"Hey, look, isn't that the new second female lead?" "Yeah, that's her. Gu Yiming must have pulled some strings for her. Otherwise, how could a nobody like her come back to our crew as the second female lead?" "Yeah, I heard her name is... Jiang Hua?" "Yes, that's the name. Just hearing the name tells you how disgusting she is. She must have used those disgusting tricks to win over Gu Yiming..." Jiang Hua couldn't take it anymore. She burst through the door and sneered, "Isn't this kind of thing very amusing?"
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