"Yo, Su Ling, what's with the sun rising from the west today? It's rare for you to call me first!" Li Bokai taunted on the other end of the line.
"Brother Kai, I auditioned for a film crew today and passed. I wanted to ask when you'll be free to help me negotiate the contract?" Xiao Wenqiang ignored his sarcasm.
"Did I hear that right! You actually managed to get through an audition yourself?" Li Bokai asked incredulously and with malice, "You didn't decide to give up and sell yourself, did you?"
"No! I passed the audition with my own abilities!" If the contract weren't still in his hands, Xiao Wenqiang really wouldn't want to deal with this scumbag.
"Alright then, I'll come over the day after tomorrow afternoon. Send me the address later." Li Bokai had initially thought Su Ling had truly come to her senses. What a pity! However, he figured any role she auditioned for herself wouldn't be a big production or a good character. But since Su Ling found it herself, he might as well sign the contract. He could get a cut without doing any work, so why not!
Xiao Wenqiang quickly communicated with Annie and arranged a time. As for why she didn't contact Director Wu directly? Because Annie was not only the makeup and styling artist for "Forensic Heroes" but also Director Wu Wangfei's girlfriend, which was why she was so dedicated to this casting matter.
On the afternoon of the third day, Li Bokai arrived on time and finished negotiating the contract in less than 20 minutes. There wasn't much to discuss, as it was a small web drama, a low-budget production with an unknown director, and she was playing a minor role in an episodic unit. The company's share wasn't much, let alone her agent's commission.
Li Bokai had adopted a hands-off approach towards Su Ling. He felt she was wasting her good looks and potential, like mud that couldn't be plastered onto a wall. There wasn't much to nurture. After signing the contract, he left quickly, as he still had several other female artists waiting for him to connect them with sugar daddies!
However, Xiao Wenqiang didn't want his kind of "nurturing." She arranged with Director Wu to shoot her scenes ten days later and left first. She had initially thought of treating Annie to a meal, but the latter was busy with makeup and styling for the lead actors who were filming first, so Xiao Wenqiang didn't want to disturb her.
Walking through the film city, whether it was this novel world or Xiao Wenqiang's original real world, the scene was similar: film crews were busy working everywhere.
As Xiao Wenqiang walked, she came to a film crew with a deep connection to Su Ling. It was the crew of "The Bravest Us," which starred Ye Ruoyan and Du Ziyi, the very people who had caused the original Su Ling to be cyberbullied back then.
She hadn't expected this drama to have already started filming. This time, without Su Ling being replaced, she wondered how it would unfold, especially since that drama had become very popular because of Su Ling's situation back then! With some curiosity, Xiao Wenqiang, using a staff ID that looked similar to those of the film city workers, managed to sneak in.
"Cut!" Director Zhou took off his headphones and frowned, "Lin Xi, you're still in a state of confusion about your feelings at this moment. Don't look at Xiang Yang with so much intensity!"
Ye Ruoyan, playing Lin Xi, quickly lowered her head and apologized, "Sorry, Director. I'll try again."
"Forget it, let's take a break. Mull it over yourself." Director Zhou stood up. They had gone through eight takes of this short scene without success, and he was truly getting impatient.
Ye Ruoyan's eyes reddened, and she silently walked to the waiting area, flipping through the script to find her character again.
Du Ziyi, who played Xiang Yang, walked over when he saw this. "What's with the tears?"
Ye Ruoyan quickly wiped her tears and said to Du Ziyi with a sobbing voice, "Senior Du, I'm sorry! I'm just too stupid. I've made you and I keep getting NGs."
"It's okay. Everyone is like this when they first start acting!" Du Ziyi sat down beside her. "When I first transitioned from singing to acting, I was even worse than you. You're already doing very well, so don't put too much pressure on yourself."
Ye Ruoyan looked up gratefully, "Thank you, Brother Ziyi."
"Oh~ From 'Senior' to 'Brother' in such a short time? You guys are progressing quite quickly!" Han Siwen, standing nearby, couldn't help but interject with a sarcastic remark.
She was playing Bai Xue, the female lead. Today's scene involved the three of them. In the drama, Bai Xue, Lin Xi, and Xiang Yang were all classmates in college, and both Bai Xue and Lin Xi liked Xiang Yang. The difference was that Xiang Yang and Bai Xue were mutually in love, and Lin Xi only realized her feelings for Xiang Yang later. However, to maintain their friendship, she suppressed her feelings. She even genuinely helped them with advice when they argued as a couple. In the end, at Xiang Yang and Bai Xue's wedding, she served as a bridesmaid and silently blessed them.
Although Lin Xi wasn't the main female lead, this supporting role was very likable, and if played well, it would evoke a lot of sympathy from the audience. However, in today's scene, Ye Ruoyan alone had multiple NGs, forcing her and Du Ziyi to repeat the scene under the scorching sun.
What made Han Siwen even more annoyed was that Ye Ruoyan only apologized to Du Ziyi and didn't say a kind word to her. That's why she couldn't help but be catty at this moment.
"Hello, Senior Han!" Ye Ruoyan seemed startled by the other's words and jumped up from her seat "swish," her head lowered as if she had been greatly wronged.
"Siwen, don't scare her. Xiao Yan is already very upset," Du Ziyi immediately stepped forward to play the hero.
"Did I say anything? I just said you guys get along well. Why do you all act like I've bullied her!" Han Siwen shrugged to the surrounding crew members, looking innocent.
All of this was observed by Xiao Wenqiang, who was hiding in the crowd. It seemed that without the presence of Su Ling, their common enemy, the relationships between these actors, who seemed to have been good friends back then, were not so harmonious now!
Xiao Wenqiang clearly remembered that Han Siwen had also spoken up for Ye Ruoyan back then. This group had united to resist capital forcing people into roles, and many of Han Siwen's fans were among those who had cyberbullied Su Ling.
Their harmonious interaction off-screen had made it easier for the audience to relate to the characters when watching the drama. Therefore, as soon as "The Bravest Us" was broadcast, their "divine friendship" occupied trending topics on "Weishuo" for a long time.
However, Xiao Wenqiang didn't have the energy to concern herself with them right now. She quietly withdrew from the crowd, preparing to visit Qiao Jie's film crew.
"Qiao Jie, are you busy today?" Xiao Wenqiang arrived at the "Yi Hua Lu" film crew again, handing Qiao Jie the iced coffee she had bought in advance.
"It's okay for now. The daytime scenes are almost done. We have a few night scenes later, and I'll just supervise the makeup then." Qiao Jie accepted the coffee without politeness, thanked her, and started drinking. "Why do you have time to come over today?"
"I came to thank you. I signed the contract today and will start filming in ten days." Xiao Wenqiang expressed her gratitude sincerely.
"You're too kind. You passed based on your own merits; I didn't do much." Despite saying this, Qiao Jie greatly appreciated Xiao Wenqiang's understanding of gratitude.
"By the way, Qiao Jie, why isn't Director Zhang Hong filming today?" Xiao Wenqiang had noticed upon her arrival that the director today was not the same Zhang Hong who had filmed for her that day.