"good."
After Wen Yuhan finished speaking, he hung up the phone. The fog he had wiped off on the mirror was now lightly clung to it again, and the hazy light made his features indistinct.
But if anyone were present at this moment, they would surely notice that deep within the eyes of this person who always wears a smile lies a deep-seated world-weariness that can never be dispelled.
...
Chapter 16
The bath didn't last long because it was interrupted by another phone call.
Wen Yuhan opened the door and went out, turning off the steam in the bathroom. She walked barefoot on the wooden floor, leaving a trail of water stains.
"Yanheng".
"Are you busy, Xiaohan?" The voice on the other end of the phone was calm and gentle, but the content was urgent. "There's something I'd like to ask you. The movie my company invested in at the beginning of the year has run into some problems. The director and the lead actor got into an argument on set over the character design. I'm on my way to the studio."
"What about the screenwriter?" Wen Yuhan asked, getting straight to the point. Lu Yanheng sighed softly, "The screenwriter and director are the same person. Xiaohan, the film is halfway through, and in principle, I don't want to change either of them."
"Understood." Wen Yuhan smiled and opened the wardrobe. "Which studio? I'll change my clothes and head over."
A loudspeaker blared from the other end of the phone: "Wait at home, I'll come pick you up."
...
Lu Yanheng drove a diamond-white Maybach, and when he saw Wen Yuhan, he rolled down the window and gave him a helpless smile: "I'm sorry, Xiaohan, for disturbing you so abruptly."
"Not at all." As soon as Wen Yuhan sat in the passenger seat, he smelled the faint sandalwood scent on the other person, just like the feeling he gave off—refined and composed.
Lu Yanheng started the car, reached into a paper bag in the back seat and took out a sandwich and a bottle of juice for Wen Yuhan, saying, "You haven't had breakfast yet, have you?"
"You really understand me." Wen Yuhan accepted the gift and thanked her.
Lu Yanheng frowned slightly: "You should be more careful if you have a bad stomach." Then he sighed, "Forget it, you won't listen anyway."
Wen Yuhan unscrewed the juice bottle, took a sip, and then glanced at Lu Yanheng again, asking, "Why do you have to personally handle this matter on set?"
"It's hard to explain in a few words. It's basically cleaning up the mess my good-for-nothing brother made." Lu Yanheng adjusted his frameless glasses and said while driving, "He just came back from abroad and started working at my company. Young people are arrogant and eager to make some achievements, so he went to the old man and asked him to give me this movie project to him. As soon as the brat took over, the project was plagued by lawsuits, big and small, and almost got shelved. When he realized he couldn't handle it anymore and was afraid of the old man's wrath, he pestered me to help him get the project back online."
"Being the eldest brother isn't easy for you either."
“That’s right.” Lu Yanheng smiled, tapping the steering wheel with his index finger. “It’s not a matter of big or small anymore. We can’t just watch him get kicked out by the old man.”
At this point, he changed the subject: "By the way, speaking of movies, I ran into Pei Shaocheng at the dinner party the other day. He's doing quite well now."
Upon hearing the name, Wen Yuhan's grip on the juice bottle tightened slightly, then she lowered her eyes and smiled, saying, "Yes."
Little did he know that his subtle reaction had already been noticed by Lu Yanheng.
Lu Yanheng's gaze darkened slightly, and he asked again, "How's the project you're working on going?"
"Hmm, it's alright."
"That's good." Lu Yanheng nodded. "Anyway, if you really run into any trouble, remember to tell me. Although I'm not in your circle, I should still be able to talk to those high-ups who manipulate capital."
Finally, he added softly, "Don't suffer, it will break my heart."
"Thank you, Mr. Lu."
Wen Yuhan smiled slightly and turned her gaze to the window.
A simple form of address naturally created distance between the two people.
Lu Yanheng remained silent for a moment, and wisely refrained from saying anything more.
...
When Wen Yuhan arrived at the photography studio, she saw a short, stout man waiting anxiously at the entrance from afar. As soon as Lu Yanheng parked the car, she hurriedly went forward to open the car door for him, her face crinkling with smiles.
"Mr. Lu, why did you come in person?" Fine beads of sweat appeared on the man's forehead, and his constantly rubbing hands betrayed his guilt. "I thought it would be Sister Li. If I had known I would have troubled you, I would have..."
Lu Yanheng raised his hand to indicate that the man didn't need to say anything more, and then introduced Wen Yuhan: "Liangzi, the producer of this film." After saying that, he said to Liangzi, "This is Teacher Wen, whom I found to save the day."
"Oh my, a deity, a deity! Please come in!" Liangzi bowed and scraped.
Lu Yanheng glanced at the studio entrance and asked, "What's the situation now?"
Liangzi slapped his forehead: "Hey, they're still arguing! Tell me, one's a veteran actor, the other a veteran director, it's not appropriate to advise either of them to back down! I'm really at my wit's end..."
"Whose problem is it?"
Liang Zi wiped his sweat: "Actually, I can understand the attitudes of both sides. Chen, the veteran actor, said that his scenes were reduced and that they were different from the previous script. Director Zhang said that this was a change made to the overall story and refused to add it back. The veteran actor got anxious and wanted to quit, so the director went against him."
"Logically speaking, the director has the final say on set."
"Logically speaking, yes, but looking at it now, it's clear that Teacher Chen's role has been snatched up by others. You know, the film has been made up to this point, and they've already made all the hype. If they were to replace that old guy—no, I mean the old gentleman—at this crucial moment, who knows what he'd say when he goes out there."
Lu Yanheng nodded and said gently to Wen Yuhan, "Let's go inside first."
"Um."
As the two entered the studio under the guidance of producer Liang, a loud bang suddenly came from the crowd not far away.
Lu Yanheng took the opportunity to shield Wen Yuhan behind him, his gaze behind his glasses suddenly turning cold as he looked down at the shards of porcelain that had fallen to his feet.
In that instant, Wen Yuhan clearly felt a powerful sense of oppression emanating from this usually humble and refined man.
He walked slowly toward the crowd. Wen Yuhan put his hand in his coat pocket, grabbed the pen he always carried, and followed him, calming himself down.
Upon seeing Lu Yanheng, everyone in the crew, whether they knew him or not, tacitly made way for him. Only the old director surnamed Zhang, with his pipe in his mouth, calmly nodded and hummed, "President Lu is here."
Lu Yanheng didn't seem to mind. He politely nodded to Director Zhang and said with a smile, "I heard there was a problem during filming, so I came to check on it." As he spoke, he noticed that the old director's hand had been cut by a vase and asked a staff member nearby, "Didn't you see that Director Zhang is injured? Where is the medical team?"
"Ah, yes, yes, I'll go get them!" The staff member then came to his senses and hurriedly ran to call the doctor.
"Director Zhang is being so magnanimous, is he targeting me?" A deep voice came from behind, its tone somber.
Lu Yanheng turned around and saw a middle-aged man dressed in the uniform of the Kuomintang's Military Intelligence Bureau sitting on another chair. He had a cigar between his fingers and was not intimidated by the director's rage at all. Instead, he had a contemptuous sneer on his face.
"Hello, Mr. Chen." Lu Yanheng withdrew his hand and reached out to the other person. The other person stood up and shook his hand, trying to maintain a polite demeanor, saying, "Mr. Lu, I'm sorry."
"It's alright. You're all veteran artists, so it's normal to have some disagreements," Lu Yanheng said with a smile. "I believe your initial intentions were all for the good of the film itself."
Upon hearing this, Chen, the veteran actor, raised an eyebrow: "Of course I am, but as for the director, that's another story."
He had barely finished speaking when Director Zhang slammed his hand on his chair and stood up abruptly: "Say that again?!"
...
A note from the author:
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Chapter 17
The veteran actor scoffed and pointed at the crowd: "Ask anyone here if they don't know that the one who stole the show is your protégé, and the entire crew has to serve him. But Director Zhang, don't forget, this is all paid for by President Lu. You're taking the investors' money and only thinking about your own business. Isn't that a bit too unethical?"
"Go to hell!" Director Zhang couldn't help but curse. "How many times have I told you? I changed the script at the last minute for the sake of the bigger picture. Teacher Chen, you're so old and you're still clinging to the role, not letting the younger generation take the lead. Do you know what that's called? That's called being a tyrant on set!"
"Me, a tyrant on set?!" The veteran actor was also annoyed. "What the hell is your relationship with that kid? Do you really think we're all stupid?!"
"Teacher Chen!" A young man with a Peking Opera-style makeup shouted angrily from the crowd, his finger trembling as he pointed at the veteran actor. "You can say my acting is bad, but my relationship with the director is completely innocent, and I definitely didn't get to where I am today because of that!"
"Chen Bangrong!" Director Zhang slammed his hat down. "Believe it or not, I'll make sure you can't stay in this industry anymore!"
“Peter Zhang, I want to see who’s really going to be the one who can’t make it.”
Seeing that the two were about to fight, producer Liang Zi quickly rolled up his sleeves, ready to step in and break them up. But he was stopped by a deep, slow voice:
"Don't stop them."
The speaker was Lu Yanheng. He sat in his chair, dusted off the corner of his clothes, then looked at his watch. His gaze swept over Chen Bangrong and Zhang Peter, and he smiled faintly, raising his hand to indicate "please go ahead."
The two were somewhat bewildered by President Lu's reaction and dared not speak rashly for a moment.
An eerie silence fell over the scene. Lu Yanheng waited a moment longer, and seeing that no one made any further moves, he adjusted his posture and spoke, "I remember that this studio is charged by the hour. Besides our crew, there should be another group coming later. Director Zhang must know about this, right? Has the production manager approved the budget?"
Peter Zhang opened his mouth, exhaled a heavy breath through his nose, leaned against the prop box in a huff, and muttered as he smoked.
"Whose is that gray BYD with the license plate ending in 25 behind the parking lot?" Lu Yanheng looked around at the crew and adjusted his glasses. "I don't see any crew pass on it. Could it be a media friend's car?"
Chen Bangrong was startled upon hearing this.
Lu Yanheng raised his lips and gestured to Liang Zi beside him, saying, "Take care of this. Teacher Chen is highly respected in the industry. If he is indeed a friend of the media, please ask them to be lenient."
"Ah, okay, okay, I'll take care of it," Liangzi quickly replied.
The atmosphere cooled down, and so did the composure of actor Chen and director Zhang. Lu Yanheng slapped his knee, stood up, and laughed, "Time is tight and the task is heavy right now. Let's just solve problems as they arise and not ruin the harmony. You two agree, right?"
“Ahem, Mr. Lu is right.” Chen Bangrong pursed his lips and replied, then glanced at Peter Zhang standing opposite him, and finally stepped down first, saying, “I was indeed a little anxious just now, mainly for the sake of the role itself. I apologize to you, Director Zhang.”
Peter Zhang knew that if he continued like this, he would definitely not be able to complete today's task. Moreover, Lu Yanheng's purpose of putting financial pressure on him was already very clear. It would be unwise to continue making trouble. So he could only turn his head away and clasp his hands in a fist salute to Chen Bangrong.
The storm was finally showing signs of calming down, and Lu Yanheng silently withdrew his gaze and turned it to another place.
Following his gaze, he saw a slender figure leaning slightly over a prop table beneath the interplay of light and shadow from the skylight. A black pen moved nimbly between his fingers, occasionally pausing to write a few lines on a stack of papers.
Throughout, he remained as quiet as a speck of dust in the shadows. Yet, when he was noticed, it was as if a single ray of light shone precisely on the space in which he stood.
Peter Zhang couldn't help but sigh, thinking to himself that some scenes are indeed something you can only hope to see and not expect.
The pen twirled gracefully in his hand, then "clicked" shut the cap and slipped it into his jacket pocket.
Wen Yuhan straightened up, cracked her wrists, shook out the papers in front of her, and gently tapped them on the table. Then she looked up through the crowd at Lu Yanheng, nodded and smiled at him:
"alright."
...
"Five scenes in one go, let's begin filming!"
The situation has finally returned to normal.
According to Director Zhang's idea, Wen Yuhan did not add back Chen Bangrong's previous scenes, but instead enriched his character's motivations based on the existing ones. In this way, without affecting the overall plot, the villain played by Chen Bangrong had more inner conflicts and struggles, which gave him enough time to study and portray.
Chen Bangrong was thoroughly entertained by this, as the quality of a play is more important than the quantity of scripts.
Peter Zhang's concerns were thus dispelled. Although he refrained from praising Wen Yuhan out of respect for his seniority in the industry, he privately asked the assistant director for his contact information.
"Um, Director Zhang..." The assistant director looked troubled, hesitant to speak.