Chapter 167 I Only Care About Benefits
After Hu Xiaoxiao learned of Mingxu's departure, she considered that even if he could successfully transfer to a full-length contract, the uncertainty was so great that he might not have time to film "Mu Guiying Takes Command." So, she specifically arranged for the crew to start work early and finish filming Yang Zongbao's scenes before Mingxu's contract expired.
Charlie was lost for several days after Mingxu left.
The person I cultivated with so much effort is gone just like that. I watched him fly away before my eyes.
His most valuable male artist is gone! He ran away!
Charlie felt extremely uncomfortable and it took him a long time to recover. He then remembered the play "Mu Guiying Takes Command" and called Hu Xiaoxiao over to discuss the candidate for Yang Zongbao.
"No need, Mingxu has already finished playing Yang Zongbao's role."
In order to give Ming Xuteng time, Hu Xiaoxiao directly asked Yao Wenlong to modify the plot. Yang Zongbao died in the first episode, and Mu Guiying became a widow in the second episode.
Anyway, Yang Zongbao is just a cannon fodder in the drama "Mu Guiying Takes Command", so it's enough to explain the cause of the plot clearly.
When Charlie heard this, he knew that Hu Xiaoxiao had already known that Mingxu was leaving. He looked at Hu Xiaoxiao with extremely resentful eyes. "You lied to me so hard."
Hu Xiaoxiao laughed dryly and said, "You didn't ask either."
Nonsense! He doesn’t know how to ask?
He already knows, so why ask?
Charlie rolled his eyes at Hu Xiaoxiao and said angrily, "Mingxu is such an ungrateful guy. He didn't tell me about such a big thing in advance. Now I'm in such a mess because of him. All my plans have been disrupted. I don't even know who to ask to take over the show I originally gave him."
Hu Xiaoxiao disagreed with Charlie's statement that Mingxu was ungrateful and said, "You haven't thought about him at all, so how can you blame him?"
"Why didn't I think about him? If it weren't for me, how could he have become famous so quickly? Every step he takes was carefully planned by me!" Charlie didn't know if he was angry at Hu Xiaoxiao's words or Mingxu. He said, "Look at the artists under me. Which one has Mingxu's resources? I gave him the best things and all the resources, and then he did this. Is he a kind person?"
Hu Xiaoxiao said leisurely, "Why don't you tell me? None of the male artists you work for have Mingxu's image, are as hardworking, and can endure such hardships. You and Mingxu are a win-win situation, not just Mingxu taking advantage of you. He took your resources and gave you extremely generous rewards. Otherwise, with your personality, you wouldn't have kept supporting him, right?"
"But you have to admit that it was me who made Mingxu famous. Without me, there would be no Mingxu!"
"Indeed, but you've also benefited greatly." Hu Xiaoxiao hit the nail on the head. "You're praising Mingxu purely out of personal gain, not out of affection. Otherwise, he's starved himself to death several times trying to lose weight. Why didn't you ask him to stop? Why didn't you think about his health? If you don't even care about his health, how can you care about anything else?"
Charlie was silent for a moment and said, "This industry is so cruel. If he hadn't fought hard, how could he have gotten to where he is today?"
"If it's cruel, how can we talk about love?"
"Forget it, I can't argue with you."
"That's because you're being unreasonable."
Charlie didn't want to be annoyed by Hu Xiaoxiao any longer, so he said, "Let's not talk about Ming Xu anymore. There's no point in talking about him. He's already filming a movie. Let's talk about Yang Zongbao."
Hu Xiaoxiao asked curiously, "What's there to say about Yang Zongbao? His scenes have all been completed. You're not asking the screenwriter to bring Yang Zongbao back to life, are you? If Yang Zongbao were to be resurrected, what would be the point of Mu Guiying taking command? Why would Yang Zongbao be the commander?"
Charlie discussed with Hu Xiaoxiao: "You delete Mingxu's scenes and reshoot them, and help me train new people. Now that Mingxu is gone, I have few people who can carry the banner, and I urgently need to promote someone who can replace Mingxu."
"That's your business, what does it have to do with me?" Hu Xiaoxiao chuckled and said, "Charlie, it's true that when people leave, they get colder. Just now you were talking about how good you were to Mingxu, but as soon as he left, you wanted to delete his scenes. You've always been able to share wealth, but not hard times."
"Xiaoxiao, I'm just an employee too. Of course I want to be loyal, but will Jisheng be loyal to me? Will Jisheng give me a raise if I'm loyal? Just consider it as helping me. I'm in a tough time right now. Considering that we used to get along well and I helped you become famous, I'm doing you a small favor."
"Charlie, you don't need to play the pitiful role in front of me to get resources. You are the deputy director of the production department, controlling half of the resources of the production department, and you have so many artists at your disposal. Whoever you want to promote is just a matter of a word. Mingxu may be the most popular first-line actor, but you have plenty of backup first-line actors, second-line actors, and third-line actors on hand. Just start a drama to promote him, and then give him an award. He will be promoted in a matter of minutes."
Charlie shook his head and said, "But they can't reach Mingxu's level. After Mingxu partnered with you, several hit dramas have made his status far beyond the reach of others."
Mingxu and Hu Xiaoxiao have collaborated on numerous hit dramas, becoming the most influential on-screen couple in the minds of audiences. Many Hong Kong housewives have come to love this pairing. If Hu Xiaoxiao is willing to help him mentor newcomers and create another on-screen couple, it would be a very beneficial thing for Charlie.
Therefore, Charlie took a fancy to the role of Yang Zongbao in "Mu Guiying Takes Command". It could not only test the waters for him to form a screen couple with Hu Xiaoxiao again, but also allow him to quickly become famous by leveraging the resources of "Mu Guiying Takes Command".
"Mu Guiying" was a hit not only in Hong Kong but also in other regions. Even before filming was complete, representatives from other regions were already approaching to discuss the production. Seeing this success, and Mr. Lu's strong affection for the show, the company specifically approved a substantial investment in "Mu Guiying in Command."
It can be said that "Mu Guiying Takes Command" is now the drama with the best resources on TV station, and no one does not want to be on this drama.
"Charlie, since you're so calculating, I can be calculating too. Mingxu has a good image and is well-known, so why shouldn't I use him instead of someone else? This drama is also his last one before he entered the film industry. This selling point alone can boost the popularity of the drama. So, in order to maximize profits, Mingxu is Yang Zongbao."
"Xiaoxiao, you should think more about the company..."
"Charlie, I've been in the industry for a few years now, and I'm not as easy to fool as before." Hu Xiaoxiao had no intention of continuing the conversation and stood up. "Since everyone is talking about profit, I can also just talk about profit. In the future, we can discuss and cooperate on things that benefit me. If there's anything that doesn't benefit me, don't bother looking for me."
After saying that, Hu Xiaoxiao left Charlie's office.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
