CH 43

Zhao Heng had debuted a long time ago. He still had the dazzling edge belonging to a dream chaser. At the same time, he had a calm and introverted character like sedimentation after years of polishing. Just because his aspirations hadn’t been realized for many years, his brows had a trace of seriousness and earnestness that was hard to ignore.

Now, wearing a Tang suit, the gentle and romantic temperament came out naturally.

Li Tang once met Zhao Heng at a reception. At that time, he felt that Zhao Heng and the image of Meng Tianwen in “The Spy” were in agreement. So, he called Zhao Heng in for an audition to see if he really fit the role.

Li Tang was very satisfied with Zhao Heng, but, initially, he was more satisfied with his appearance. However, Zhao Heng’s acting skills weren’t bad. After all, he’d worked in a lot of film crews and thought about his roles carefully. After a few years, his acting skills were enough to support a role.

When he walked up to the podium with his books, put his textbooks down, and swept the audience under the stage with his deep gaze, his temperament came out and he was almost impeccable in front of the audience and the camera.

Li Tang nodded again and again. He was very satisfied with Zhao Heng, and the screenwriter was also very satisfied with Zhao Heng.

However, this was Li Tang’s masterpiece, after all, with hundreds of millions in investment, and the production investor wanted to find a well-known actor for the leads, such as the recent popular niche and a veteran actress. They would definitely attract many people!

Although Li Tang was a great director, his decision couldn’t completely determine the decision of investors. Investors wanted to invest, and the first thing they wanted was to make a profit. They wanted to choose an acclaimed star with strong fan traffic. And, regardless of the fact Zhao Heng was more suitable for this role and had some fan base, he wasn’t popular and couldn’t drive traffic…

Li Tang did not want to give up. The more he contacted Zhao Heng, the more the shadows of Zhao Heng and the Meng Tianwen in his heart seemed to coincide.

As a result, the decision makers with opposing opinions naturally stalemated.

Zhao Heng was also a little nervous about this, and not only because “The Spy” was a good script. The role of Meng Tianwen was a full-fledged person that he’d rarely encountered after filming for many years. In addition, having seen director Li Tang’s previous works, he’d wanted to cooperate with Li Tang long ago. Now that he had this opportunity, he naturally wanted to seize it. Of course, after cooperating with Li Tang, as long as he didn’t drop the chain, his acting skills would be recognized by all parties, which was a good turning point for his acting career!

Zhao Heng wanted to win “The Spy,” and, of course, Xingxiu was the same.

Xingxiu had indeed cultivated many film emperors over the years but, in recent years, they hadn’t been able to keep up. Among the younger generation of actors, the company had not been able to perform well, and none of its artists were known for acting. Wouldn’t the company worry? Now Li Tang’s “The Spy” gave them a chance!

Because everyone knew that opportunities like this were rare, Xingxiu naturally acted.

In contrast, Ji Yaling, who knew the future, was much more relaxed and comfortable. She wasn’t nervous at all; as far as she was concerned, the role of Meng Tianwen was Zhao Heng’s.

Despite Jiang Nian’s incident, most things were exactly the same as the future she knew. She’d already made a lot of money and bought a lot of luxury goods based on the predicted stock market trend. Unfortunately, her funds weren’t much. Otherwise, if she could invest some more, she’s afraid it would turn several times over!

She took out a house loan and put the funds into the stock market. Half of the money she made was spent, and the rest was naturally put into the stock market again. Besides, Zhao Heng would soon be on fire- where would she be lacking this money then? Since Zhao Heng was already destined to be popular, she stopped worrying about him and had already started to contact the two male artists she knew would be popular in the future. She could already see her future as a gold medal agent! 1

“Sister Ji, what do you think of this proposal?”

“…I think it’s fine.”

Ji Yaling came back to her mind before she remembered that she was still discussing Zhao Heng’s new drama in the company and smiled.

“Director Li Tang is so satisfied with our A Heng. His words have a lot of weight; as long as director Li Tang insists the investors there will agree. In this period, he can spend more time pondering the script, letting Director Li Tang believe that his choice wasn’t wrong— he is the most suitable actor for Meng Tianwen! ”

Hearing her speak, Zhao Heng narrowed his eyes, and looked at the frowning President Wu Xing, who sat in the upper position before saying, “I have been thinking about the script, but I think the producers and investors have great opinions on me, and I worry that Director Li may not be able to cope with the pressure…”

Ji Yaling saw that Zhao Heng was uneasy and smiled while reassuring, “No, you can rest assured, I think it will be successful this time. “

She knew that it would not be long before Director Li Tang would bring good news, the same as in the last life.

Zhao Heng made a noise, but his face did not relax much because of it.

“Did Ji jie hear any news that makes you so confident, or have you seen investors who are willing to choose me? I have also heard Director Li Tang say that he is facing difficulties and may not really choose me. Let me not hope too much…”

Ji Yaling: “…No, Director Li Tang is so satisfied with you. ”

Zhao Heng still looked a little worried but said helplessly, “It’s best if Director Li is really satisfied but, seeing as it’s been a few days, I still can’t help worrying. Did Ji jie do something? Director Li is trying to persuade us that we can’t just wait stupidly either. This opportunity is rare. If we miss it, we still don’t know when we will have such a good opportunity again. ”

President Wu: “A Heng is right, Yaling, I see that you are also busy these days, how have you handled this? Should you have gone out for a meal? Have they loosened?”

Ji Yaling was waiting for Li Tang to bring good news. Why would she bother to run over and pull the relationship?

“I tried making an appointment, but they didn’t want to see me at all. I have no idea…”

President Wu frowned even deeper. He was in his forties this year, and he had been in the circle for so long. He’d seen people of all kinds; Ji Yaling’s careful thoughts really couldn’t be hidden from him. While she was in a meeting just to discuss their thoughts, who knew where her mind went? Now was a rare opportunity. It was a role that so many people were competing for— other companies were full of schemes for how to insert themselves. Zhao Heng now had the advantage of having the director on his side. Ji Yaling didn’t move to take the role directly through the relationship, and even said she had no idea? How could she dare to be distracted?!!

This could only be a manifestation of inability. She couldn’t even focus when face to face. There was no other explanation for this.

In this matter, it could be seen that Ji Yaling worked fine with a small, unpopular actor. But, when she really needed ability, she had none.

Zhao Heng was now the focus of President Wu’s attention. If this role could be taken, then Zhao Heng’s value for the company would definitely be much higher than now. At least he now felt it wasn’t reassuring to hand Zhao Heng to Ji Yaling.

When he finally left the office, Zhao Heng glanced at President Wu, who was thinking deeply, and his eyes narrowed in deep meaning.

Since he was valued by Director Li Tang, Ji Yaling had been very happy. The staff around him was also very happy, but there was still tension and worry about their happiness. After all, the contract had not been signed, and the final result was unexpected. On the contrary, Ji Yaling’s happiness was much more relaxed and comfortable. She didn’t seem to be worried or nervous at all. Perhaps she just had that much confidence. Unfortunately, in the eyes of President Wu, such ease was slackness and negligence in work.

It wasn’t easy for Zhao Heng to replace Ji Yaling. After all, she was assigned by the company. How could she be replaced because of a few words from him? Could it be said that Ji Yaling deleted his information to restrict him? This was probably normal business in the company’s view and couldn’t be used as an excuse at all.

But now it was different. As long as President Wu valued ​​him, he would at least consider whether Ji Yaling was a capable agent.

Obviously, she was not.

****

In the next several meetings, Zhao Heng occasionally mentioned something like today. Ji Yaling didn’t think there was a problem and simply appeased Zhao Heng and told him not to worry and the role of Meng Tianwen would be his sooner or later. In Wu’s eyes, she became blindly confident. He snorted coldly and became increasingly dissatisfied with Ji Yaling. On the other side, he also attended several parties to connect with the production investors. Relying on Ji Yaling, he was afraid the entire thing would go up in smoke.

Of course, although Zhao Heng was dealing with Ji Yaling, he was also very worried about whether he could finally get the role of “The Spy.” In addition to reading the script, he also met with President Wu and Director Li, along with the producers and investors several times.

Naturally, Zhao Heng couldn’t return to the imperial capital before things were finalized. The matter of accompanying Jiang Nian for a few days was naturally delayed, and he could only call Jiang Nian every day to complain.

Jiang Nian didn’t feel anything, because she was also very busy herself. She might not have time to accompany Zhao Heng when he returned.

Her “I and Five Million Love and Hate” had begun shooting. Today, they would shoot the first time the male and female leads met the plot where the female lead slipped, the male lead helped her while passing by, and then their mutual crush and flirting.

After all, the male lead was a successful person who drove a Maserati and Rolls-Royce. Naturally, his clothing couldn’t be too shabby. Almost all the investment that Jiang Nian got was used to buy shooting equipment. The remaining was also used as shooting funds and managed every day. Twenty-something people ate and drank poorly. Naturally, they had no money to rent name brand suits and, because they were a little known crew, they couldn’t get any big-name sponsors to lend clothing.

Bi Lei had a rich older brother, Bi Zheng, and Zheng Qi also had two elite older brothers in his family. The last thing their homes lacked was name brand suits. Between the two of them, there were hundreds of sets. It was certainly possible to sneak out a set here and there. Just a suit would be bare, so they took the watch and the leather shoes, tie, tie clips, and the whole set together to dress Chen Qing up like a rich master.

The makeup artist put some wax on his hair and styled it a bit. How handsome!

Chen Qing coughed and didn’t dare to sit. His entire outfit was at least a hundred thousand, if not more. Just the Vacheron Constantin watch on his wrist …… Jiang Nian cried to him for a long time, saying she was poor. She was so poor, she could only pay a few hundred for him to act, all the money was used for filming, and no sponsorship or investment could be drawn. The performance fee couldn’t be too high, everyone must be forgiving and understanding of each other.

Chen Qing considerately understood. Plus, he found the script very interesting. Now that the online drama was starting to get popular, he believed that, if Jiang Nian filmed well, the effect should not be too bad. The most important thing was that he hadn’t been popular these years. Jiang Nian had a good personality, so it was friendly cooperation.

As he was wondering about the true finances of their crew, he watched as Bi Lei strode in front of Jiang Nian with a small chest high and said, “Jiang jie, I stole two sets of my brother’s clothes. You think this can last for two days?”

“It won’t be found?”

“Rest assured, Jiang jie, my brother -that hateful old man- likes extravagance. He doesn’t usually wear a suit more than a few times.”

“That’s good.”

Jiang Nian patted his shoulder and, with a sincere expression, said, “You’ve worked hard. Be careful, wait until we finish filming, and secretly exchange it for another two sets! Do not repeat it.”

Bi Lei: “Jiang jie rest assured!”

Chen Qing: “………?”

Of course, Chen Qing knew Bi Lei. Who didn’t know the little prince of the Bi family? Bi Lei was so famous because his brother Bi Zheng was a typical upstart who never pulled punches when investing. There were countless little stars who wanted to climb2 Bi Zheng. after all, Bi Zheng was not soft-hearted when it came to holding people3 …… Now, he had not climbed the high branch of Bi Zheng, but he was lucky enough to wear his clothing? 

Oh, but that wasn’t all. There was also the young master of the Zheng family who worked as his driver and the young master Chen who served as his bodyguard.

This was definitely a luxurious configuration.

Compared with Chen Qing, the actress Song Hanhan was a bit pitiful. She didn’t have any big brand, she looked like a pitiful little cabbage. The only bright spot was that she looked good and generally wasn’t very unsightly in the lens. It could be considered a consolation.

When Chen Qing and Song Hanhan first came to the crew, they were shocked by the Maserati and Vacheron Constantin. They thought Jiang Nian’s words that “this is a poor crew” were a joke but, after two days of real contact, they found that the crew was really poor. There were a dozen or so staff members, and they often acted as extras themselves. The times when group performances weren’t necessary, they’d go on about their work. They also seemed to be familiar with Jiang Nian. Despite the extreme poverty, they were still willing to follow her -quite happily it seemed- since no one complained no matter how hard or tired.

……It seemed that Jiang Nian’s mouth hoodwinked many simple people like him.

What surprised Chen Qing and Song Hanhan most unexpectedly was that the crew actually cooked their own meals. They thought it was to be healthier and more environmentally friendly. Later, they learned that it was because asking an aunt to cook for more than 20 people instead of hiring a shop to cater saved a lot of money.

Even when filming, Director Jiang said that, in order to save costs, the number of NG’s must not be too many. This included the starring actors. They had to practice their roles against each other. If they had too many NGs, they would only get pickles and bread for a meal!

They even watched their Director Jiang at the dinner table, sorrowfully going over their budget book. They were poor, really poor.

They were eating in a small villa covering an area of ​​1,000 square meters, and wanted to ask how this life could be so difficult?

Of course, no matter how poor, the show was still filmed. Chen Qing wore either a suit stolen by Bi Lei or leather shoes stolen by Zheng Qi, sitting with a young master driver in a Maserati or Porsche snuck in and out of a mansion every day. They also went to Zheng’s office building— ah no, this time it must be called the Shen’s office building! He also stood in the CEO’s office. When he sat on that tall chair and powerfully directed his subordinates, he was so careful that his liver was shaking.

Chen Qing also learned at this time that the famous Zheng family was not as terrible as the outside world rumored. When Father Zheng with his belly and a thick gold necklace smiled, it looked quite kind.

It unreasonably refreshed his perception of poverty again. No, it should be said that it refreshed his perception of Jiang Nian. 

Jiang Nian could be described as the most resourceful!

****

Jiang Nian worked in crews for a few years and was very clear about this industry. Everything was quick to get started, and the money flew quickly, so she lost a lot of hair. After finishing the filming of the scenes of falling in love, and the male lead also peacocked enough, it was time for the bad mother-in-law to join the group.

The actress playing the mother-in-law was an old friend of Jiang Nian. The two often met in crews, and they would reacquaint as soon as they met again. This time, after hearing that Jiang Nian was the director for the first time, she promised to come to support without saying a word.

It was also coincidental that Mother Zheng had come to visit the class. Mother Zheng came in a while holding Grandma Zheng. The two of them were sporting the new instant noodle rolls permed hairstyle, and walking in the wind, with Hermes in their hands. In particular, they brought along iced coffee and fruits: “I think you have been busy all day. I came to see you and brought you some food.”

Of course, Jiang Nian was very happy, thanking the Zheng ladies over and over. Zheng Qi, who was wearing the cafe staff uniform, was a little embarrassed: “Why are you here?”

Mother Zheng said happily, “We are here to visit the class, not you. Don’t flatter yourself.”

Zheng Qi: “……Oh.”

Actually, Grandma and Mother Zheng were quite happy these days. Not for anything else, just because their always playful youngest son didn’t go to the bar, or to race cars, or to fool around day in and day out. Every day after waking up, he’d go to work at Jiang Nian’s “Five Million” crew. Small dogs didn’t have that much energy even if they had other thoughts.

It was said that the boys from the Chen and Bi families were also the same. Jiang Nian’s place here had become their base. The stinky boy at home was so rarely obedient so, even if he secretly took a couple sets of clothes and drove a luxury car out, they would just pretend they hadn’t seen it, and even helped him hide. If the eldest brother in the family dared to say anything, they would be the first to argue.

Of course, Mother Zheng also heard a lot of rumors about her son. Those in the circle were saying that Zheng Qi, Bi Lei, and Chen Xin were full of money and had nothing to do. They didn’t want to be good boys or wealthy young masters but were instead cheated from home. Don’t even mention spending the money to invest in a small online drama, but they still stayed there for errands. At first glance, it was a loss-making business. There must be something wrong with their heads. Wasn’t it a joke?

“I think they are stupid and have more money. They have money and no place to spend. Wait, there’ll be a time when he regrets it.”

“I heard that the little web drama was shot by a new director and unknown actors. The entire crew has no more than a hundred people. Do you say they can make a good show? ”

“I’m afraid they’re shooting themselves as a souvenir? ”

Zheng Qi, Bi Lei, and Chen Xin did not show any less prestige in ordinary times; they were well known as a group of bullies. Nowadays, engaging in some messy things, they were the topic of no less gossip and soon became a laughingstocks in their circle.

Mother Zheng is open-minded but can’t help being angry at these people. Her son is a bastard and knows how to work hard like this. Then what are you people who are still eating, drinking, and having fun?

She came here this time to come and see and cheer on her son.

She just didn’t expect that she came not only to have a look and cheer on her son but also to perform a group scene in the cafe. Grandma Zheng was so happy that her dentures nearly came out, especially when she watched her little grandson play a waiter. When the coffee was delivered, she wanted to touch it praise her good grandson! However, Granny Zheng still acted very professionally; she only handed a red ticket to tip the good grandson. 4

Zheng waiter: “…”

Zheng mother: “…”

Jiang Nian: “…”

Camera crew: “…”

Bi Lei & Chen Xin & everyone else: “…”

Zheng waiter also played many roles and was a seasoned actor. He calmly took it, saying, “Thank you, grandma.”

Then he walked away with a cool and handsome face.

Grandma Zheng: “Well, the little waiter is really handsome!”

Puchi—

Waiter Zheng’s feet almost slipped.

Everyone: “………Keke!”

Jiang Nian couldn’t help but cough as she continued the scene. Grandma Zheng was indeed Grandma Zheng- she had quite the aura. Ms. Yao, the male lead’s mother, put her Hermes aside and looked nobly and elegantly at the female host. She said, “I trust you understand why I’m here?”

She put a five million check on the table.

……

……

This scene was very smooth. Jiang Nian was a little worried that the scene was not dramatic enough, but, as soon as Mother Zheng and her Hermes appeared, Jiang Nian had nothing to worry about. Now, the momentum of the male lead’s mother was full.

——Global limited edition, absolutely a noble lady.

Ms. Yao couldn’t help but say to Jiang Nian after the show, “It’s the first time I’ve gotten such realistic props.”

Jiang Nian patted her shoulders, let her not be surprised, it was nothing. They were very poor but well styled.

After finishing work in the evening, Mother Zheng brought the whole crew to eat together. Of course, Jiang Nian went happily. After all, it saved a meal. No matter what, mosquito meat was still meat.

However, she did not expect that, when Zheng Qi sent her home at night, Zhao Heng had actually returned, and just happened to run into them coming home.

He was almost half a month behind schedule.

At this time, he not only signed “The Spy” but also replaced Ji Yaling as he wished. The company also arranged for him a long time agent, Lao Wei. Zhao Heng had contacted Lao Wei before and dealt with him well, at least Much better than Ji Yaling. So Zhao Heng naturally didn’t object.

Ji Yaling was furious at this. She finally had to wait for Zhao Heng to sign “The Spy.” Seeing that Zhao Heng was going to be a hit, why should she be replaced?

Unfortunately, Ji Yaling had disappointed President Wu several times before. Zhao Heng was even less likely to plead for her, so no matter how dissatisfied Ji Yaling was, this was a foregone conclusion.

Ji Yaling couldn’t understand why things had developed like this. All she could think of was Jiang Nian. Only Jiang Nian in her memory had changed. It must have been her hands and feet! Besides, she’d also heard a lot of things about Jiang Nian during this time. For example, she walked close to the sons of Zheng, Bi, and Chen, and they invested in her first online drama, blah blah.

Ji Yaling wanted to find a chance to talk to Zhao Heng, but couldn’t. This time, she heard that Zhao Heng had returned to the imperial capital. She knew Zhao Heng’s address and went to his house to wait for him. Heaven was also helping her; he just happened to meet Zheng Qi sending Jiang Nian back!

So late, could they say that nothing was going on between them?

Ji Yaling looked at Zheng Qi as he got out of the car and opened the door for Jiang Nian. She looked at Jiang Nian, walking out of the car like a princess. She was dissatisfied and, seeing Zhao Heng watching Jiang Nian with deep eyes, couldn’t help but say, “It’s rumored that Zheng Qi is dead set on Jiang Nian because he likes her. Looking at it now, it seems that Jiang Nian is also interested in Zheng Qi?”

Zhao Heng frowned: “Why are you here? ”

Ji Yaling said softly, “A Heng, naturally, I came to see you. But you see, you are working so hard outside, but what is Jiang Nian doing? It’s so late, why can’t she and Zheng Qi avoid suspicion?”

Ji Yaling believed that no man would want to see his woman walk so close to other men.

She was secretly proud of herself. When looking at Jiang Nian and Zheng Qi not far away, she suddenly saw the back doors open. Bi Lei got out of the car first, then Chen Xin, and finally Chen Qing. The big boys were kind but respectful.

Then they said in unison: “Jiang jie, be careful; Jiang jie, walk slowly; Jiang jie, goodbye.”

Zhao Heng: “…………!!!”

Ji Yaling: “…………????”

1.Really good agent usually attached to at least one extremely popular actor/artist.^

2.Have a relationship with. ^

3.Investing in, giving them roles, basically, just being a gold master for though not necessarily (but usually is) sexual. ^

4.100-yuan bill- roughly equivalent to a $15 tip