Chapter 64

Zhu Lan came in without saying hello today, and didn't realize that there was a reception in Su Ning. Moreover, the person who came today happened to be Ji Xue who was preparing to sign a contract extension.

After Ji Xue came here, she got the contract first. She was cautious enough not to write it down right away. She planned to take a look at some of the details in it. Su Ning did not rush her. There was a boss chair by the window, so she sat there alone to read the contract.

The chair had a high back and was shaded by green plants. She slowly turned to the other side, while Su Ning continued working normally at the table. They did not disturb each other.

The president's office was so big that Zhu Lan couldn't see clearly and thought that Su Ning was the only one in the office.

She came in and spoke directly, and seemed a little excited. This was not a business secret, so Ji Xue didn't say anything. She remained quiet and didn't interrupt them. Su Ning didn't wake her up on purpose.

Su Ning didn't expect Ji Xue to interrupt at this time.

He first apologized to Zhu Lan, explaining that the girl was innocent and didn't think too much about it, then turned around and asked her: "Have you thought it through? This is your first resource for debuting."

If there was no replacement and reshoot, and she had directly accepted the role, this role would be very suitable for a newcomer. From Su Ning's perspective, he would fight for it for Ji Xue. The difficulty lies in the fact that the role has already been officially announced, and the film company also released materials about Shu Miao during the early promotion.

As everyone knows, the former is a young star who has become popular recently. Although she is a rescuer, this kind of "replacement" will inevitably be hyped and compared by marketing accounts. By then, won't the newcomers who have no fan base be stepped on and blamed by the other side's fans?

This is a comparison and dispute that is difficult to avoid within the industry.

What's more, this role doesn't come with much pay, it's a cameo role in a low-budget romance movie, and the character is playing the young version of the heroine, so his features need to be somewhat similar to the leading actress's.

The female lead was a movie queen who was famous for her beauty many years ago. The "female lead in her youth" is not even an independent role, and she has very few scenes. Given these restrictions, it is quite difficult to find a new actor or actress like her.

This kind of job has no benefits, high requirements and a high probability of being scolded. It is difficult to find a replacement in a short period of time, and it is even more offensive to just randomly give someone a job.

It's not like Zhu Lan hasn't tried to find someone, but with her connections she couldn't find anyone, otherwise she wouldn't have found Su Ning. Except for Shu Miao who was originally scheduled, for everyone else it was an opportunity with stacked debuffs and no chance of success.

Zhu Lan had a frown on her face, but when she heard this, she looked back. She didn't like people interrupting her, but when she saw Ji Xue, she was stunned for a moment, and then her frown relaxed.

Ji Xue came to the company today dressed up carefully, with curly long hair and a long skirt. When she turned around while sitting in the boss chair, she looked like a pretty little princess.

Anyone who sees her face will be stunned.

"I'm not saying this casually. The main reason is that I seemed to hear you discussing this last time I knocked on the door, and Mr. Shen happened to say that this movie is good," Ji Xue was referring to the time at the Rongcheng Hotel. "If that place really can't make it, then I'll go, and Mr. Su won't have to be too embarrassed. I remember that the female lead is Senior Xie Fangmin. Coincidentally, I do look a bit like her."

Indeed, she resembles the famous film queen Xie Fangmin more than Shu Miao.

Xie Fangmin is now over 40 years old, and her beauty is fading. She made a comeback after her divorce not long ago. "Old Love Letters" is her first work after returning to the circle. The audience can hardly remember her name, and her appearance is naturally not as good as before.

But looking at Ji Xue in front of her, Zhu Lan could immediately recall the charming and seductive look of Xie Fangmin when she debuted.

"Are you an actor from Light and Shadow Entertainment?" Zhu Lan stared at her. "I haven't heard of you before."

Ji Xue smiled and said, "Not really, because I haven't signed the contract yet."

Zhu Lan thought for a moment and asked, "Then do you want to..."

But as soon as she opened her mouth, Ji Xue waved her hands and continued, "Sign it now. I've read the contract and there's no problem."

She signed her name on the contract with a flourish of her pen, handed it to Su Ning, and said, "Mr. Su, it's a pleasure to work with you."

Su Ning took the contract and reminded her again: "Ji Xue, don't just make a decision just to help me."

He was afraid that Ji Xue didn't understand and would suffer a loss because of his impulsiveness.

"I've made up my mind," Ji Xue blinked, "I mainly want to meet teacher Xie Fangmin, she was my idol when I was little. Don't worry, Mr. Su, I won't joke about my job."

She had seen some promotional materials for this movie on the Internet and had an impression of it. She felt that it did not look like one of those crudely made movies.

Even with Su Ning's help, Ji Xue knew that it would not be easy to make a comeback. The entertainment industry is not a place where you can dominate with just a pretty face. She had no works, so it was difficult for her to get good resources in the beginning.

The advantage of this movie is that it can be released soon after the reshoots are completed. Although her role is not large, the shots she has make it can be considered a decent work. Her resume is no longer blank, which is a good thing, even if the box office is a little low.

She had her own ideas, and Su Ning's persuasion didn't work. She thought about it, nodded, and said, "Okay, I respect your wishes."

The artist's own ideas are indeed very important. Shu Miao doesn't want to reshoot and wants to go for a big-budget ancient idol drama. Even if Su Ning drags her to the reshoot set, she won't agree.

Now, both sides are happy.

Zhu Lan didn't expect that someone who could solve this problem would appear so quickly.

Just at this time, Shen Mingzheng called, and when Su Ning picked up the phone, he heard the other end ask, "Did she go to bother you?"

Su Ning glanced at Zhu Lan and said, "Not really. It was just a discussion. You told me before that Sister Lan is such a straightforward person. She came at the right time today. If Ji Xue hadn't been here, I'm afraid it might not be easy to solve. It's all about the right time, right place, and right people. It's all personal luck."

As soon as Zhu Lan heard it, he knew it was Shen Mingzheng. He snorted but glanced at Su Ning a few more times.

This guy is good at talking, no wonder the old man mentioned him several times at home.

"Ji Xue is going to act?" Shen Mingzheng was a little surprised. He thought about it for a moment and sighed, "Go ahead. It's a good thing."

Zhu Lan wants to cultivate new popular artists, and Shen Mingzheng naturally wants to do the same.

He knows that no one is optimistic about the movie "Old Love Letter" now, and it does not seem to stand out in the Valentine's Day schedule when young handsome men and beautiful women are watching, but romantic movies have a base in this schedule, and this is the one that stands out.

It was released during the Valentine's Day period, following the tail end of "The Rescue" and raked in nearly 1 billion at the box office, making it one of the best romance movies of the year. At this point in his life, Liao Yuansi had not yet gotten into trouble, and Shu Miao's performance in this movie was very eye-catching. This new director gave her the most beautiful scenes.

Just because there are fewer scenes doesn’t mean there are no highlights.

Moreover, the rising stars who become popular in web dramas are different from those who become popular in movies. The quality of "Old Love Letters" is very high, and the script that Shu Miao received was directly switched from the web drama category to the movie category. This is a qualitative leap in resources and positioning.

Shen Mingzheng negotiated again and again, hoping that she could join the crew seamlessly without any conflicts on either side, and give her both resources.

In his memory, the performance of that ancient idol drama was mediocre. Moreover, Shu Miao was only the second female lead. There were more eye-catching and popular male and female leads before, who ate up the only bit of popularity. It was true that her performance was not as profitable as "Old Love Letters".

But the artists couldn't wait and wouldn't believe anything. They looked down on roles that only had a few minutes of screen time in a low-budget movie. A big-budget ancient idol drama was about to start filming, and Zhu Lan was powerful and intended to snatch the right to speak from Jian Feng and Shen Mingzheng. It became a situation where they had to choose one of the two.

Shen Mingzheng had no intention of giving this opportunity to other people. He thought that whoever got it should get it. But that's fate. The other party didn't want it, but Ji Xue got it instead.

"Baby, give Zhu Lan the phone," Shen Mingzheng said to Su Ning, "She got what she wanted. I still have to explain to the film company. After all, it was Jian Feng who caused the reshoots. Now that there is a temporary replacement, it's not too much for her to pay some resources to compensate her, right? Ji Xue's rescue can't be in vain."

Su Ning: ...

"Uh, Mingzheng," he said, "Sister Lan is next to me, I turned on the loudspeaker, she can hear it."

Shen Mingzheng seemed to have been in a lot of confrontation with Zhu Lan recently, but his tone remained unchanged as he said, "It's okay."

She heard it and she heard it.

Zhu Lan snorted, answered the phone, turned around and said a few words. The key issue was resolved and the two sides reached a conclusion quickly.

The film producer was also an established company, so Zhu Lan had no need to offend them. She then returned the phone to Su Ning and said, "It's okay. He really is considerate of the artists in the entertainment industry."

They just wanted some resources for film promotion channels, and it was a piece of cake for Zhu Lan to give the green light.

Su Ning wanted to say something to mediate: "It's good that nothing happened. There are always quarrels in the operation of a company. For the good of the artists, it is inevitable that there will be disagreements. This is all very normal. Don't take it to heart."

Su Hongda is his uncle. Didn't he point at Su Ning's nose and scold him when he first came? Now he is quite obedient.

"I've seen a lot. It's okay," Zhu Lan said. "As long as it doesn't interfere with my making money, everything is fine. Mr. Su, I'm sorry to bother you today. I'm leaving now. We'll meet again some other day when we have time."

Su Ning: "Okay. If you come to Light and Shadow Entertainment in the future, just tell the front desk and I'll ask the secretary to go down and pick you up."

It must be said that this man was very decent in every aspect. He even took the initiative to send her down. Before Zhu Lan left, she looked Su Ning up and down carefully and muttered, "I wonder if the Shen family has made a mistake."

Su Ning: "What went wrong?"

"Sister Rose, Shen Rose is Shen Mingzheng's mother. She has a gentle temper and is pleasant to talk to. She is a particularly good person. How could she give birth to a scoundrel like Shen Mingzheng who would not let go even if he bites to death? On the contrary, you are more like her personality, and you are really likable," Zhu Lan said, "I feel like you two are wrong?"

Su Ning was stunned for a moment, then laughed awkwardly: "...I think it's unlikely."

"Okay, let's go."

Zhu Lan waved her hand, and turned back when she reached the door, saying, "By the way, your tea is a bit bad. Shen Mingzheng is really not good enough to find you something good. He really has no taste. How did you like him?"

She never forgot to take Shen Mingzheng's word for herself in every detail.

Is the tea bad?

The tea prepared by the president has certain specifications. The tea brewed for Zhu Lan is the best Phoenix Dancong No. 1. The price of this tea is comparable to that of gold and it is difficult to buy. However, it is not as bad as she said.

"Forget it. I'll send you some later," Zhu Lan said. "I have something better."

Then she left.

Ji Xue watched her leave before she sighed twice.

She thought that people like Zhu Lan could only be dealt with by the cooperation of Su Ning and Shen Mingzheng.

Mr. Shen is not strong enough to suppress her and can be easily led by her. But if Mr. Su hadn't come to his rescue and smooth things over, the situation would have become too ugly.

If you have to deal with this kind of person, you will have a lot of trouble in the future.

She didn't say this out loud, but just asked, "Boss Su, when can I join the team?"

Su Ning: “I’ll ask now.”

The film crew was also anxious. They were a little unhappy at first when they heard about the replacement, but when Ji Xue came over, most of their unhappiness disappeared.

She is indeed very beautiful, and looks more like Xie Minfang than Shu Miao.

Moreover, Su Ning really cares about his artists. It was just a supporting role that was reshot. He was afraid that Ji Xue would be rusty due to not filming for a long time and the effect would not be good, so he specially invited an acting teacher to join the crew.

This teacher is the one from Haicheng Drama Academy.

Although Ji Xue could have invited her here out of personal connections, from Su Ning's perspective, he was still very honest and paid enough money to invite her here.

The movie "Old Love Letters", as the name suggests, tells the story of old lovers reuniting.

The young couple was forced to separate because of the girl's strict father. The boy left the town and vowed to make a name for himself and be with his beloved again, but the outside world was not as simple as he thought.

Many years later, he returned to his hometown in his forties with half a broken leg and injuries, along with his savings. He dared not mention his previous vows again, but he met his old love in his hometown town. She was pushing a snack cart to make a living after her husband died. The boy was no longer high-spirited and the girl was no longer beautiful. After being worn down by life, they were still attracted to each other and fell in love again.

Overall, it is a film that is both realistic and romantic.

The lead actors were well chosen, as middle-aged love requires sparks between the protagonists. Although they were ridiculed as outdated, Xie Fangmin and the male lead became famous together for playing a couple at the time, and were very popular all over the country. Now they are no longer the same as before, and acting together again has the feeling of a "reunion of old loves" story in the movies.

The focus of this play is Xie Fangmin.

The performance of the heroine is very important, even though she is young and lives in memory, she is like a label in the movie.

When she was young, she was controlled by her father and could not be with the person she liked, and she could not even leave the town to study outside. When she grew up, her father married her to a husband who seemed respectable but was cheating on her. When her husband died in an accident, she was relieved, but the son she raised alone did not agree with her being with others because the male protagonist was half lame, and he thought it was shameful for his mother to fall in love at this age.

The sweetness of love and the bitterness of life are intertwined. It is said to be a reunion of old love, but in fact the heroine struggles to break free from the shackles of her father and husband layer by layer.

In the end, the sick male protagonist had no regrets about falling in love with her, and realized that true love is to hope that the lover lives a good life, so he used half of his life savings to send her away from the town, opened a shop outside, and started a new life. The love letter and the ticket to go far away that he failed to send were finally sent out decades later.

The first scene we filmed was the foggy weather in the town.

The male protagonist, who was promoted from the countryside to attend a high school in town, heard that there was a famous beauty in the school. He was really curious, so he waited on the road that must be passed by the school.

Morning self-study has not started yet. It is so early in the morning and there is fog in the town. Students come one by one. They are blurry in the distance because of the fog and become clear only when they get closer.

Then the young girl emerged from the mist.

When those eyes looked over, the background was the green mountains and trees in the distance of the town, the tinkling of bicycle bells, and the girl was a beauty in the mist, a delicate flower covered with water droplets.

The morning mist in the memory shrouded the boy's heart, but in the next second of the movie, the morning mist turned into steam rising from the snack stand. After it dissipated, the heroine's current appearance was revealed.

Her hair was half white and dry, her clothes were old, her face was covered with wrinkles, her hands were rough and old, and she was wearing an apron. She had no time to talk as she was busy making hot vegetable dumplings.

Because of the strong contrast, the theme of the movie becomes more obvious - time flies, things change, youth is gone, but people in love will still be attracted to each other and fall in love.

When the first day of reshoots started, Su Ning went to watch.

The director had very clear requirements for this shot: it had to be beautiful, pure and alluring, and it would be best if the audience could understand it as soon as they saw it, and what kind of beauty could make people think about it for so many years and never forget it.

Her face is already perfect, but how it is presented in the camera is another matter. It cannot be a wooden beauty.

Ji Xue nodded seriously: "Okay, I understand."

As for seducing people, she is very good at it.

The director had filmed Shu Miao before, and probably had the same requirement. Shu Miao performed well. When she walked over, she glanced at the male actor sitting at the wall with a smile, and her eyes were very precise.

But this isn't the only way to attract people.

Ji Xue walked over, and the students next to the male protagonist whistled.

Everyone knows that she is the most beautiful girl in the school, no, in the whole town.

But Ji Xue didn't look at the actor.

The looks from these people didn't matter to her, so she just walked past them.

But her expression was not that of an expressionless wooden beauty; she raised her head slightly, like a spotless white swan, or a pure, untouchable alpine snow lotus; her eyes moved, but she was just looking ahead.

It's not because I'm arrogant, I'm just used to such attention.

The contrast between her and the snack stand owner who greeted customers skillfully many years later was even more obvious, but there were some similarities inside.

She has always been like this and doesn't care about what others think.