Just after warning that tactless producer and walking to the makeup room, Xiao He heard Yu Xuezheng arguing with her agent again.
"Yesterday's matter is clear to both of us. No need to explain now, just get out!"
"It really wasn't me yesterday! Would you rather believe others than believe me?"
"Get out!"
Xiao He: "..."
Life is so hard.
It wasn't right to go in, nor was it right to stand at the door. In the end, he could only walk to the corridor window nearby and let out a long sigh.
Why couldn't they have this argument at the hotel instead of bringing it to the set? Were they afraid others wouldn't hear it?
Ah—
"Why aren't you going in?"
Liu Rulan also walked over from behind.
"They're arguing inside."
Xiao He pursed his lips.
Liu Rulan raised an eyebrow, seemingly also hearing the dispute over there, and shrugged, saying, "A production team formed by multiple parties collaborating will always have this kind of messy nonsense."
He has a big background, she has a big background, he also has a big background... in the end, none of them can be offended, so the director can only play Tai Chi.
The only saving grace is that the acting skills of the main actors are quite decent. Although there's a lot of petty drama on set, the filming progress isn't slow, operating under its own unique logic.
"Stay away from the affairs here. Once we finish filming these two days' scenes, we'll return to the 'Record of Chasing the Wind' crew. No matter how fiercely they fight, it has nothing to do with us."
Liu Rulan cautioned Xiao He, "We especially shouldn't interfere with Yu Xuezheng's matters. She's quite formidable herself. Leaving Xingchen Entertainment is inevitable sooner or later. Based on my current guess, she probably won't go to Jiaxing Entertainment."
"She won't join Jiaxing?"
Xiao He was somewhat surprised.
Xiao He knew previously that Yu Xuezheng's relationship with Jiaxing Entertainment had been very "ambiguous" lately, and Jiaxing Entertainment was also pulling out all the stops to poach her.
But now, listening to Liu Rulan's implication, Yu Xuezheng actually didn't plan to defect to Jiaxing Entertainment?
Liu Rulan wore an inscrutable expression and said to Xiao He, "Maybe. Anyway, if it were me, I wouldn't be willing to settle."
Xiao He sighed with admiration, "Impressive."
It seemed Yu Xuezheng was planning to use Jiaxing Entertainment to deal a blow to her old employer and then smoothly extricate herself.
What skillful maneuvering—
So, after a while longer, Yu Xuezheng's agent finally came out of the room.
When he noticed Yu Xuezheng had deliberately left the door slightly ajar, his expression turned unpleasant. Upon seeing a scattered group of people already waiting at the door, his face grew even darker.
In contrast, Yu Xuezheng, who walked out after him, had a normal expression, even managing to greet others amiably.
"mr Xiao, Sister Liu, when did you arrive? You should have just come in."
Yu Xuezheng looked at Xiao He and Liu Rulan first.
Xiao He didn't speak. Liu Rulan smiled and shook her head, "No, we just got here."
—So we didn't hear anything, don't use us as pawns.
Yu Xuezheng's smile remained unchanged as she continued greeting the other actors.
These actors, however, had complex, unreadable expressions, looking very uncomfortable.
After everyone gradually entered the makeup room, Jiang Chifei and his agent also arrived.
Bao Xin noticed the somewhat heavy atmosphere inside the makeup room, patted Jiang Chifei's shoulder to remind him to keep a low profile, then looked towards Liu Rulan. The two nodded at each other from a distance and walked towards the door together.
Xiao He subtly glanced around the room, sighed inwardly, then closed his eyes, letting the makeup artist apply makeup to his face.
...
Regardless of the set atmosphere or what others were planning, Xiao He's subsequent filming in the 'Cangyue Calamity' crew proceeded very smoothly overall.
After completing the early plot scenes, Xiao He decisively returned to the 'Record of Chasing the Wind' crew.
When he saw the "frail and delicate" director Deng Lei and the "Chronic Latecomer Queen" Yuan Sitong and others, Xiao He nearly teared up.
He would never think poorly of such a crew again.
Compared to the things encountered in 'Cangyue Calamity', he felt 'Record of Chasing the Wind' was refreshingly wholesome.
Of course, it would be even better if Yuan Sitong wouldn't gleefully ask him for gossip about 'Cangyue Calamity'.
Xiao He: ...In a certain sense, she's still very dedicated to her craft.
Deng Lei, however, seemed rather listless. Seeing Xiao He, he greeted him with little energy.
"What's wrong with Director Deng?"
Xiao He asked with some confusion.
"Ah, the props department ran into a minor issue."
The assistant director explained from the side.
"The props department? What prop has a problem?"
Xiao He immediately inquired with concern.
Given Director Deng's poor stress tolerance, Xiao He had originally considered inserting a god-tier, money-saving prop master from his own company into this budget-burning crew. But after much deliberation, he ultimately gave up.
Sure, it would save money, but if his maneuver caused Director Deng psychological pressure, leading to a "dark transformation," then Xiao He would have nowhere to cry.
The majority investment for this project still came from the platforms. If an accident occurred, wouldn't Xiao He and Ling Hui end up taking the blame?
So, in the end, Xiao He, like the other "sugar daddies," became a cold, money-giving tool.
But now, seeing Director Deng looking so despondent, Xiao He's heart was in his throat.
"So what exactly is the situation?"
"It's like this—"
The assistant director continued explaining on his behalf.
"A batch of weapons we ordered a while ago finally shipped yesterday. But when we received them, we found that several finished products were of very poor quality, completely inferior to the sample state. So we made some inquiries and found out that the master craftsman we frequently work with fell ill recently. These finished products were all made by his apprentices. Since our order was urgent and a large one, they never notified us from start to finish."
After listening to the assistant director's words, Xiao He was astonished, "Since you're regular customers, how dare they cheat you like this?"
Business in this circle usually revolves around the same group of people; back-and-forth dealings are needed for longevity. Once reputation is ruined, basically everyone in the circle knows. If they still want to find customers and take on large orders in the future, it won't be so easy.
Xiao He really couldn't understand why they would destroy their own reputation by doing such a thing.
"Ah."
This time, the one sighing was Deng Lei. Deng Lei explained wearily, "Old He fell ill too suddenly and desperately needed money, but he had almost all his major orders in hand. Several crews were waiting for delivery. So his apprentices discussed it and braced themselves to do the work themselves."
Actually, in terms of quality, there wasn't a huge problem. After all, these apprentices had followed their master for so long and had genuinely learned some of his skills. Most crews, upon learning of this situation, didn't find any major issues during inspection.
But, when it reached Director Deng, he was very unhappy.
Director Deng was originally a "money-is-no-object" type; his demand was for the best. Especially that treasured sword collected at Thousand Leaves Manor—it was extremely important. The carvings and hidden patterns on it were things Director Deng repeatedly emphasized before placing the order. The old master naturally agreed very well at the time, but when the apprentices took over, the result was rather unsatisfactory.
So now, Deng Lei held the barely usable finished product, and the more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt.