When Ye Zhou arrived, he found the studio where their crew was located completely surrounded. Forget about squeezing in, even getting close to the door was difficult.
When Ye Zhou finally entered through the back door, he saw a fat middle-aged man rushing towards him as if he was seeing a savior.
“Director, you’re finally here!” The fat man was nearly in tears from anxiety.
“Right now, the reporters are surrounding us outside, and I can’t drive them away. Every once in a while, someone tries to force their way in, and I can’t stop them either. There’s no way to film like this!” The fat man gestured as he spoke. “And some even sneaked in with fake work passes from who knows where. This can’t go on!”
“Where’s Assistant Director Wang?” Ye Zhou asked as he listened.
The fat man pointed to a dressing room not far away. “Yunlan-jie1“姐” (jie) is the equivalent of “older sister” in English and is a term of address for a female who is older than the speaker. Similarly to the use of “哥” (ge) for older brothers, “姐” (jie) is used to show respect and familiarity. It implies a close relationship or bond, and can be used not only for actual siblings but also for close female friends or colleagues who the speaker wishes to show respect to, reflecting the cultural emphasis on age-based hierarchy and respect in social relationships. It can be used beyond personal relationships in public settings to address any woman who is older, where the speaker wants to acknowledge their seniority while also establishing a friendly rapport. was in a bad mood just now and lost her temper. Wang-ge is in there trying to pacify her.”
Ye Zhou raised his brows, lightly patting the fat man’s shoulder. “Alright, I’ll go take a look. Have everyone put their work on hold first. Let’s have a meeting in ten minutes.”
With that said, Ye Zhou walked to the dressing room door and knocked.
The door quickly opened, revealing a man in his thirties wearing a green vest. He had an assistant director’s work pass around his neck. It was Wang Hong, the assistant director of this film.
Sitting by the dressing table was a woman with an outstanding face, but an expression of impatience written all over her face – none other than the lead actress, Liu Yunlan.
Both of their expressions were clearly a bit surprised to see Ye Zhou.
Wang Hong looked somewhat awkward. He greeted Ye Zhou, “Director Ye, you’re here. I thought you’d still need some time before you could make it.”
Ye Zhou didn’t respond.
“Uh, Yunlan was stopped by some reporters with questions when she first arrived on site, so she wasn’t in the best mood. I was afraid it would affect the next filming session, so I came to placate her…” Wang Hong explained hesitantly, seeing that Ye Zhou ignored him.
Ye Zhou almost laughed out loud at this assistant director. He sneered, “The set is in such chaos, yet Assistant Director Wang actually has the leisure to comfort the actress? You really have stellar mental resilience.”
Hearing Ye Zhou’s words, Wang Hong hadn’t said anything yet, but Liu Yunlan next to him couldn’t stand listening anymore. Suppressing her anger, she said, “Director Ye, isn’t what you said a bit…”
“Miss Liu, I don’t want to meddle with your private affairs, but as an actress, please uphold some basic professional ethics. It’s not right to affect the entire crew’s filming schedule because of personal reasons, is it?”
Ye Zhou looked calmly at Liu Yunlan, his tone neither warm nor chilly, yet successfully turning her face ghastly pale.
Wang Hong opened his mouth a few times, wanting to speak for Liu Yunlan, but swallowed his words upon meeting Ye Zhou’s eyes that seemed to see through people’s hearts. He shut his mouth in the end.
“Alright, Assistant Director Wang and Miss Liu, get ready. We have a meeting in the conference room in ten minutes.” Ye Zhou finished speaking and immediately left, not giving the two any chance to refuse at all.
After he closed the door, the dressing room became quiet again, though the atmosphere had become rather strange.
Following the brief silence, Liu Yunlan angrily swept all the cosmetics on the table in front of her onto the floor with a crash.
The floor was a mess.
Liu Yunlan gritted her teeth. “What’s with him acting all high and mighty? Does he really think he’s the director or what?”
“He’s never managed anything since filming started but wants to put on the director’s air now? Does he even qualify?”
Hearing Ye Zhou’s forceful attitude, Wang Hong also felt somewhat unsatisfied.
Wang Hong had been working with Ye Zhou for over four months now, long having grasped his scope. Although Ye Zhou was the director in name, he was actually just a good-for-nothing.
The real power in the crew was in Wang Hong’s hands. From filming to coordinating everything in the crew, it was all Wang Hong’s responsibility.
Other than sitting behind the monitor yelling cut, goofing around as a director when he had nothing to do, Ye Zhou never managed anything. All matters big and small in the crew were decided by him.
Why did he suddenly become a different person today?
Could it be… he wants to compete with him for power?
Thinking of this, Wang Hong’s expression turned unpleasant. He had agreed to collaborate with this good-for-nothing Ye Zhou for the sake of retaining control over the crew and its ample funding.
But if Ye Zhou suddenly came to fight for power, then things would become completely different. His own status in the crew would also plummet.
Wang Hong’s mind raced swiftly even as his expression remained unchanged.
He waved a hand at Liu Yunlan, “He’s probably scared by those reporters outside today. Don’t get angry, don’t speak during the meeting later, just give him some face.”
“Why should I give him any face? With his little abilities, if it wasn’t for the backing of Jiang…” Speaking to this point, Liu Yunlan was obviously somewhat wary, swallowing the name on the tip of her tongue back down.
“He is just a nobody who actually thinks he’s the director. A director? If he had any capabilities, he wouldn’t have needed to hire you as assistant director. Everyone in the industry knows he’s a joke!”
Liu Yunlan’s face was full of mockery, but deep in her eyes, there was still a hint of jealousy that was hard to ignore.
Seeing her so furious, Wang Hong naturally didn’t feel good either, but he had been mixing in these circles far longer and knew what could and couldn’t be said.
Wang Hong shook his head, signaling for her not to continue.
“Enough, it doesn’t matter if Ye Zhou is capable or not. As long as that person is willing to support him, no one can remove him from the director’s position.”
Thinking of the person Wang Hong mentioned, even if Liu Yunlan was dissatisfied, she didn’t dare say anything more, only swallowing her anger resentfully.
At this time, Ye Zhou was still unaware that his financial backer’s reputation was actually so useful in the industry. If he knew, Ye Zhou would certainly have leaped up with joy.
What kind of fairy gold master is this? It’s so useful!
The reason Ye Zhou proposed a meeting was to first resolve Liu Yunlan’s matter and to understand the capabilities of each department in the crew as well as the filming progress.
But what Ye Zhou didn’t expect was that after waiting nearly half an hour in the conference room, the crew members didn’t show up. Instead, he was met with an unexpected guest.
“Director Ye, I came today to discuss Yunlan’s matter with you.”
In the spacious conference room, the person sitting across from Ye Zhou was a man in his thirties who looked to be in decent shape, albeit a little overweight.
From his clothes to his shoes, everything was covered in luxury brand logos. On one hand, he wore three rings and two bracelets, and on the other wrist hung a million-dollar watch.
He simply oozed the smell of money all over as if afraid others wouldn’t notice his wealth.
Having directed for so many years, Ye Zhou was extremely familiar with this kind of outfit – it was the standard look for the God of Wealth who comes to your door with a lot of money.
In the past, Ye Zhou would have welcomed them with open arms. After all, there was no such thing as too much investment.
But times had changed. Ye Zhou now had his own backer as well, not to mention the glorious mission on his shoulders – he must spend all of the boss’s money before he went bankrupt.
Although they were both destined to be cannon fodder, at least he could spend more beforehand, leaving less for the protagonist couple.
The final dignity of a cannon fodder was that even if his head was severed and blood flowed, he wouldn’t leave the protagonists a single cent.
Thinking of this, the enthusiasm in Ye Zhou’s eyes lessened considerably. He rested his chin in one hand, looking calmly at the stout man. “And you are?”
The fat man’s smile froze for a few seconds. “I’m Lao2The prefix “老” (lao) carries a connotation of age, experience, and often endearment or respect. It is commonly used before a person’s surname or occupation to imply that they are seasoned or well-versed in their respective domain, or as a sign of familiarity and affection. Unlike “姐” (jie) or “哥” (ge), which indicate an older sister or brother respectively, “老” (lao) does not specify a family relationship but rather an acknowledgment of one’s stature often due to age or experience. Zheng, the investor for ‘The Pursuit’! We had dinner together just last month. Assistant Director Wang was there too. Don’t you remember?”
“Director Ye, you can’t pretend not to recognize people after taking their money!”
With his reminder, Ye Zhou finally recalled.
The man before him was Zheng Hao. He used to be a second-generation demolition worker. He later invested his demolition compensation into real estate and was now a decently sized developer with some assets.
In recent years, riding on the popularity of the film and television industry, he had invested in several movies. Whether due to his good eye or pure luck, the box offices of the movies he invested in were very impressive.
Because of this, Zheng Hao made a lot of money in the past two years, and his net worth almost doubled.
It was Zheng Hao who took the initiative to find the original regarding the investment. He said he saw great potential in the original and truly appreciated the original’s talents. He was willing to invest 10 million for the original to make a movie.
This was the first time that someone other than Jiang Tingyuan approached him and wanted to invest in his movie.
The original was quite excited for a long time when he first got the news, feeling that meeting Zheng Hao was a timely encounter with a helpful master.
It was also because of Zheng Hao’s investment that the original gained false self-confidence, causing him to become conceited and think that he truly had the capability.
The consequence of overestimating his own skills was that after the attempted affair, he stubbornly offended Jiang Tingyuan completely.
And this also led to the big boss withdrawing investment in the later period, the movie was unfinished, and eventually became a bad movie of the year.
What the original failed to see clearly, Ye Zhou, this old hand, understood with one glance.
What bullshit appreciating the original’s talents. This Zheng Hao taking the initiative to offer money clearly had his sights set on the female lead, Liu Yunlan!
The original actually believed that nonsense about having talent. What kind of misunderstanding did he have about himself?
He should have understood his own standing clearly just by looking at the stuff he had filmed previously.
Sure enough.
“Director Ye, let me get straight to the point today.” Seeing that Ye Zhou recalled, Zheng Hao immediately got to the main issue.
After glancing at the meeting room door to make sure it was closed, he slowly began to speak. “The reason I invested in your movie was to give Yunlan face.”
“She’s the female lead. If public opinion continues to ferment like this, it will greatly impact the movie, right?”
Ye Zhou raised his brows, asking in a thoughtful tone, “What are you trying to say?”
“I heard that you and Mr. Jiang are friends. This matter is actually very simple to resolve, as long as Mr. Jiang is willing to help…”
Zheng Hao didn’t finish, but Ye Zhou understood.
So, he wanted him to ask Jiang Tingyuan for help, to get Jiang Tingyuan to step in and help Liu Yunlan suppress this scandal!
Ugly looks were one thing, but this wishful thinking was just laughable.3“人长得丑就算了，想的还挺美的” is a somewhat sarcastic remark. The phrase “人长得丑就算了” literally means “it’s already bad enough that a person is not good-looking,” indicating a resignation to a fact that cannot be changed. The second part, “想的还挺美的,” literally translates to “but [the person’s] thoughts are pretty beautiful,” which is typically implies the person has an overly positive view of themselves. “pretty thoughts” can refer to idealistic, unrealistic, or overly optimistic thoughts or expectations.
Ye Zhou was amused by Zheng Hao’s strange train of thought. He asked with great interest, “What makes you think I’d help Liu Yunlan?”
“Also, how do you know I’m friends with Mr. Jiang?”
As far as Ye Zhou knew, there weren’t many who were aware of the relationship between the original and Jiang Tingyuan.
Not to mention Jiang Tingyuan had always kept a low profile, investing in the original through different small companies every time, never mentioning their relationship publicly.
Although outsiders generally knew the original had backing, few people knew that that person was Jiang Tingyuan.
Despite the original’s flamboyant personality, he also felt very ashamed about being kept. Let alone spreading it around, even meeting up was done cautiously.
So how did a small developer like Zheng Hao know about their relationship?
Asked by Ye Zhou like this, Zheng Hao’s expression turned awkward. He mumbled some vague responses without directly answering Ye Zhou’s questions, then steered the topic back to Liu Yunlan.
“Yunlan is the female lead. Filming has already been going on for so long, it’s unrealistic to change the actress suddenly now, don’t you think?”
“As long as Mr. Jiang is willing to lend a hand, we can not only clear up Yunlan’s scandal but also use this matter to promote the movie. It’s a win-win cooperation. What reason is there to refuse?”
“Others might not know, but how could I not? ‘The Pursuit’ is your life’s work, right? As the director, how could you bear to watch your life’s work be affected and slandered?”
Zheng Hao chatted confidently, clearly having come fully prepared. Based on his understanding of Ye Zhou, there was a hundred percent chance he would agree.
“I see…” Ye Zhou appeared somewhat hesitant, seemingly a little shaken.
Sensing an opportunity, Zheng Hao immediately threw out another bait he had prepared.
He bent down and whispered in Ye Zhou’s ear, “I know Director Ye has always wanted to prove your abilities to the outside world. As long as this matter is accomplished, I’ll immediately add another 20 million in investment.”
“Although not a huge amount, it’s enough for you to complete filming ‘The Pursuit’ independently, without relying on anyone.”
When saying this, Zheng Hao deliberately emphasized the words “without relying on anyone” and “independently”.
If it had been the original here instead, he might have really agreed. After all, these words held too much temptation for him.
He had long been sick of living under Jiang Tingyuan’s shadow.
The original was eager to break free of Jiang Tingyuan, to prove to him and everyone else that even without Jiang Tingyuan, he could still obtain investment and make critically and commercially successful films.
But the one sitting here now was industry veteran Ye Zhou, who had struggled for over a decade in the entertainment world.
Proving himself? Sorry, he had already done that ten years ago.
“I refuse.”
Ye Zhou rejected Zheng Hao’s imagined bright future without any hesitation, not leaving any room for fantasies.
Zheng Hao was left stunned by the refusal.
Outside the door, Liu Yunlan and Wang Hong, who had been waiting and eavesdropping early on, were also frozen in place.
Ye Zhou actually refused? How could he refuse? This was completely different from what they imagined!
“You’re the director of ‘The Pursuit’. It’s your life’s work…” Zheng Hao refused to give up and wanted to persuade him again.
Ye Zhou stood up and patted his clothes leisurely before walking slowly to the conference room door and yanking it open.
Caught off guard, Liu Yunlan and Wang Hong tumbled in comically from outside the door, looking ridiculous and laughable.
Ye Zhou sighed, “Life’s work? This isn’t my life’s work.” He smiled and looked towards Wang Hong, frozen against the wall. “This should be Assistant Director Wang’s life’s work, right?”
“As for me,” Ye Zhou stretched lazily, expression relaxed, “I’m just a director in name only. Isn’t that right, Assistant Director Wang?”
Named like this, Wang Hong’s face instantly turned deathly pale, nearly falling to the ground on his butt.
“Director Ye, what… what do you mean by this?” Liu Yunlan’s complexion was not any better than Wang Hong’s, voice trembling slightly.
Ye Zhou looked at her with a smile. “It means if you want me to help clean up your mess…”
“Don’t even dream about it.”
Having said that, Ye Zhou was too lazy to see their reactions. He directly walked out, ready to leave.
After taking two steps, as if recalling something, Ye Zhou turned back. He took off his director pass and jogged up to Wang Hong to hang it around his neck.
“Congratulations, Assistant Director Wang. Starting today, you can remove that ‘Assistant’. You’re officially Director Wang now!”
Ye Zhou patted Wang Hong’s shoulder, encouraging wholeheartedly, “Work hard!”
By now, many crew members who had rushed over after hearing the commotion had also gathered outside. Ye Zhou waved them off very coolly, signaling there was no need to send him off.
As he left, he heard someone quietly ask behind him if that meeting was still happening or not.
Ye Zhou found it quite interesting. It had been over an hour since he notified them of the meeting. They only thought to ask about it now? Where had they been in the morning?
He wanted to bring them prosperity and lead them to live decently. But now, too bad, it was too late.
Go play amongst yourselves. Sir won’t keep you company anymore!
Ye Zhou did not transmigrate over just to clean up the original’s mess.
Having transmigrated into this silly, dog-blood story, who knew when the protagonists might kill him off. He would naturally treasure every second to enjoy this wonderful life.
Why waste time on this trash crew?
If he had the effort to teach and reform this bunch, he might as well build his own team from scratch, pick a pleasing script, and find some decent actors to slowly develop chemistry with.
Anyway, his boss had a lot of money.
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