"Director Zhao, it seems I haven’t grasped the essence of this role. I choose to give up!" Tian Sangsang lowered her gaze sadly, picked up her bag, and turned to leave.
No! Don’t! The female lead! You can’t go!
Everyone: !!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ Male lead, why are you blushing? Go chase after her, quick!
Zhao Chun snapped back to his senses with a jolt and shouted loudly to stop her, "Tian Sangsang, wait, wait, wait!"
Tian Sangsang looked back in confusion, "What’s the matter?"
"Congratulations, you got the part!"
long~ban~~
long~lao~~
man~lei~tou~tou~gong~sei~win~bao~yao~~
Feeling dazed, the background music echoed in her mind. Tian Sangsang took a deep breath, "The female lead is... ?"
Zhao Chun smiled with crescent-shaped eyes, "Yes. After seeing so many people perform, your performance, though not flawless, managed to imrse in the role. You’re the most suitable for this character. Report to the crew the day after tomorrow!"
At this mont, Tian Sangsang felt that Zhao Chun looked indescribably handso. She really wanted to go up and hug him like a pillow, but with so many people around, she restrained herself shyly, "Thank you, Director Zhao!"
Comrcials, they weren’t far away!
**
Once the female lead was decided, the male lead was much easier to handle. Naturally, Zhao Chun picked soone tall, slim, and handso—one of the best among them.
Everything went perfectly. The sun was setting in the west.
Zhao Chun was packing up, and the empty room only had Ji Yao’er left.
Ji Yao’er was still sulking, her voice cracked with frustration, "Zhao Chun, out of so many people, why did you choose Tian Sangsang?"
Zhao Chun was engrossed in crunching numbers; once the cast was finalized, it was ti to estimate the budget. Every expense had to be accounted for ticulously.
At that ti, the assistant pointed out in the script that the female lead had 43 costu changes in the movie. Forty-three! It was practically a mini fashion show.
"Yao’er, you’re still here?" Zhao Chun paused and looked up, continuing while he calculated, "Her acting skills are evident to everyone. She’s not bad at all."
A heavy silence suddenly fell over the room. The only sound was the scratching of pen on paper.
Zhao Chun raised his head in confusion. The setting sun cast its glow, making Ji Yao’er’s stunning face appear ominously dark.
"Yao’er," he sighed, "What are you upset about?"
"What if," Ji Yao’er stared at him and spoke heavily, "What if I ask you now not to use Tian Sangsang? Anyone else, just not her—is that possible?"
"Why not her?" Zhao Chun replied, displeased, "Yao’er, you and I are us, but work is work. I don’t want personal feelings interfering with it. Do you have a prejudice against her? To , she’s excellent."
As a woman, hearing your man say other won are excellent—how would you feel?
Ji Yao’er felt terrible, "You just think she’s pretty, don’t you? Is it true that in the eyes of you n, only beautiful won matter? Do you know she’s married, has kids? Do you know her reputation in our circle is horrible? Have you forgotten how she shalessly approached you when we were walking down the street, even though you didn’t know her? Her disgraceful, brazen behavior?! She’s utterly shaless!"
Ji Yao’er’s shouting echoed in Zhao Chun’s ears, and he felt utterly exhausted.
He’s rarely been so yelled at by won—Ji Yao’er is an exception. But at this mont, her sudden transformation was almost absurd; she was tender one mont and like a tigress the next.
On top of that, besides family, no one had ever yelled at him like this before.
"What others say is their business. I only trust my own judgnt," Zhao Chun replied calmly.
"So you don’t believe ? Even with our relationship, you still don’t trust ?" Ji Yao’er’s brows furrowed, "Don’t let her fool you."
"An already-married woman—not staying ho to take care of her husband and children—dressing up flamboyantly while her husband is away on duty. Isn’t it just because she’s unable to resist loneliness?"
The more she talked, the more outrageous it beca.
"Stop making baseless assumptions, imagining everyone so vile!" Zhao Chun frowned in irritation, "Who said married won must stay ho to take care of their husbands and children? Would you want to live like that, Yao’er?"
"I..." Ji Yao’er lowered her gaze, pondering, "If your family wanted to live that way, I would agree."
Zhao Chun coughed lightly and said deeply, "Yao’er, actually I..."
Ji Yao’er, sensing sothing amiss in his expression, cut him off hastily, "That’s enough. Let’s not talk about it. How about going out for a drink tonight? You’ve been quite busy lately; you need to relax."
"So other ti." Zhao Chun shook his head. Just the ntion of drinking made him uncomfortable. Last ti Ji Yao’er invited him out, he drank too much, blacked out, and the two of them woke up tangled together without knowing how it happened. He didn’t regret it, but he felt it wasn’t quite right.
These things shouldn’t happen in such a muddled way. It’s better to avoid them in the future.
"You really can’t go? Just to keep company? It’s been a long ti since we hung out."
"I have too much going on."
"Alright. Next ti then." Ji Yao’er fell silent for a mont, then took his hand gently, speaking softly, "Don’t work too late tonight. Go to bed early. Work never ends, but you need to take care of your health."
"Mm." Zhao Chun nodded lightly, his handso face softening considerably. "Be careful on your way."
After so thought, he grabbed a nearby coat, "Let walk you out a little."
Ji Yao’er suddenly laughed, her smile blooming like a flower.
**
All night long, Zhao Chun passed out at his desk. The next morning, he got up, washed up quickly, yawned, stretched, but his energy was still low.
Yao Yu rushed in frantically, "Boss, we’ve got a problem!"
"Early in the morning, you’re panicking. Don’t say the word ’problem,’ it annoys ." Zhao Chun reached for his cup to take a sip of hot water, only to find it empty.
"But it’s true! Lin Zhengliang, Lin Zhengliang, he..."
Suddenly alert, Zhao Chun sprang to attention, "Our male lead—what did he do?"
"He’s demanding half his salary upfront!" Yao Yu panted, "Or he’ll walk!"
"For real?" Zhao Chun snorted, amused. A rookie actor with zero experience, demanding pay upfront before even filming—who gave him the audacity to act so arrogant, thinking he could bully Zhao Chun easily! "Tell him to negotiate with personally."
Yao Yu murmured weakly, "He said he won’t co today. If you don’t agree, he won’t show up."
"What about the contract? Didn’t we sign it yesterday?"
"The contract isn’t signed yet," Yao Yu admitted nervously, "He probably overheard soone saying our high salaries were just bluffing, so he decided to demand half upfront."
"Damn it!" Zhao Chun sneered, "Leave him be. He’ll return obediently tomorrow."
But not only did Lin Zhengliang fail to return the next day, he switched over to the neighboring production.
"Poaching my talent—how interesting." Zhao Chun seethed, "Wenxiu, Li Yibai, is it? I’ll deal with them personally!"
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