CHAPTER 166: CHAPTER 166: THE DISAPPEARING FOOTAGE

At midday, the crew’s meal was still just boxed lunches.

In the room, Wen Lan and Liu Shou were sitting at the same table with Li Jing, eating lunch.

"President Li, I didn’t expect you to have such a talent for acting. You finished today’s scenes in just one morning, it really surprised me."

Wen Lan was in a great mood, even enjoying the plain tasting boxed lunch, a rare smile on her face.

Li Jing took a bite of food and said, shaking his head, "Your expectations are too high. I thought I could get it in one take, but it still took the whole morning."

"President Li, completing these two important scenes in one morning is already way beyond expectations."

Liu Shou, sitting on the side, explained warmly, "Originally, according to Wen Lan’s worst-case scenario, if you couldn’t finish these two scenes in a day, we were prepared to shoot them over two days. In the end, Wen Lan thought your performance was great, so the standards were raised, which is why you did a few more takes."

After hearing Liu Shou’s words, Li Jing was a bit surprised to learn that Wen Lan had actually scheduled two days for his scenes.

This was not only because they were worried about his acting, but also because these two scenes were very important.

As for Liu Shou, this middle-aged man with a mild but somewhat stern demeanor, Wen Lan had already introduced him briefly to Li Jing earlier.

He is a professor at the Celestial Sea Drama Academy and was also Wen Lan’s teacher during her college years.

That’s when Li Jing realized that Wen Lan was also a student of the Celestial Sea Drama Academy, no wonder this film had so much cooperation with the academy.

According to Wen Lan, although Liu Shou isn’t exactly famous, he holds a high status in the industry.

Many well-known directors and actors are his students. Whether it’s connections or status, he is a person of considerable influence in the industry.

Wen Lan deliberately said all this, and Li Jing naturally understood the implication: she wanted him to get in touch with Liu Shou, which might lead to further collaboration in the future.

As for why Wen Lan would do this, besides Li Jing believing that they are friends, it might also be an intention from Liu Shou.

The reason Liu Shou has such broad connections is because he himself enjoys making friends he deems worthy.

Li Jing’s financial capabilities have already been proven, and today his acting caught Liu Shou’s eye. Additionally, Li Jing is so young, so naturally, Liu Shou wanted to befriend him.

After Liu Shou finished speaking, Li Jing echoed with a smile, "Indeed, thanks to Director Wen’s guidance and explanation, I truly understand the character Jiangnan better now and know how to perform."

Hearing the response, Liu Shou nodded with a smile, looking at him with appreciative eyes, "It’s clear that President Li possesses significant talent in acting. If you have any thoughts on acting in the future, feel free to visit me at the Celestial Sea Drama Academy."

"Sure."

The offer was extended, and Li Jing happily accepted, "If I have the chance, I’d love to consult with Professor Liu, and maybe we’ll have the opportunity to work together."

Having gauged the other party’s attitude, Liu Shou was satisfied inside, feeling fortunate that he came to see Wen Lan filming today, or he’d have missed the chance to meet Li Jing.

As a professor, apart from professional knowledge, connections are also his assets and strength.

And Li Jing, from any perspective, clearly is someone worth associating with.

...

While Li Jing was eating with Wen Lan and the others, Yang Xiaoxiu was also having a boxed lunch with the other staff at the venue.

The head of the props team was a tall, thin middle-aged man named Zhang Bing.

Zhang Bing was rapidly eating his boxed lunch, looking at Yang Xiaoxiu from a distance, "Xiaoxiu, thank you for your hard work today."

"Brother Bing, it’s no problem. I’ve learned a lot working with you guys." Yang Xiaoxiu looked up and smiled brightly, appearing clean and youthful.

"What can you learn from us?"

Zhang Bing shook his head, "To really learn, you college students should follow Director Wen. We basically just handle chores. If you truly want to improve, you should interact more with Director Wen and the others."

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiaoxiu’s eyes dimmed slightly, then she shook her head, "I know I’d learn more with Director Wen, but if I just follow her around for no reason, she wouldn’t agree to that."

Zhang Bing sighed, "That’s true. This industry is like that, it’s hard to make it without background and resources."

As he spoke, he seemed to think of something else, continuing while eating, "Like you, working so hard and also having good skills, but your scenes just got cut. And it’s not even your fault, it’s that Dai Weiwei’s fault..."

"Hang on, Brother Bing, what do you mean my scenes got cut?"

Before his words were finished, Yang Xiaoxiu paused while eating and quickly furrowed her brow to look up at him.

"You didn’t know?"

Zhang Bing was a bit surprised, seemingly realizing he misspoke, and immediately waved it off, "It’s nothing really, it’s not certain yet..."

"Brother Bing, what exactly happened?"

At that moment, Yang Xiaoxiu’s eyes were serious, intently staring at Zhang Bing’s face.

Zhang Bing felt a bit uncomfortable under her gaze, and after a moment of hesitation, he said, "I heard from the assistant director that the lighting in your scene wasn’t good. The following scenes with Dai Weiwei also didn’t go well, and Director Wen said those scenes might all be cut."

As he spoke, Yang Xiaoxiu’s complexion visibly paled, and Zhang Bing’s expression slightly changed. He quickly reached out to comfort her, "Xiaoxiu, don’t worry, it’s not confirmed yet, and it’s just one scene. You can show your ability in other scenes..."

"No... I only have this one scene..."

Yang Xiaoxiu softly interrupted him, her eyes unfocused, then slowly stood up and walked away by herself.

Seeing this, Zhang Bing called out, preparing to get up, but was stopped by a nearby colleague.

"I said, Brother Bing, chasing after her won’t help. Xiaoxiu treasures acting the most, and now that her scene is gone, no amount of talking will calm her. That’s why none of us told her about it."

"You didn’t tell me she didn’t know about this?!"

"How would I know you’d just say it out of the blue during lunch?"

"Damn it, Xiaoxiu helped us so much, this is really making me feel guilty!"

"What’s there to feel guilty about, Xiaoxiu was going to find out sooner or later. If you want to blame someone, blame Dai Weiwei, it’s because her scenes got cut that Xiaoxiu’s did too."

"That’s right, Brother Bing, Doggie’s right. Students like Xiaoxiu without connections will face situations like this, there’s nothing we can do about it. Haven’t we seen enough of this in the industry? In the end, everyone goes their own way, and whether the newcomers are ignored or bullied, who cares what happens to them?

Honestly, even if we wanted to help, we’re just earning a living in the crew, we don’t have the ability to help others."

After listening, Zhang Bing’s expression was conflicted and finally, with a sullen face, he frowned and said to the still murmuring people:

"Drop it, just eat!"

As for Yang Xiaoxiu’s situation, apart from feeling a bit bad, he had no other thoughts or actions.

His colleagues were right, he was just trying to earn a living in the crew, what ability did he have to help others?