CHAPTER 168: CHAPTER 168 PROJECT REPORT

The three sat in the private room, and the dishes quickly filled the table.

During this period, Li Jing had eaten quite a few boxed meals from the film crew. At first, he thought the food was good, but over time, he found it a bit monotonous and ordinary.

Seeing the table full of sophisticated dishes with appealing colors, aromas, and flavors, Li Jing couldn’t help but feel a surge in appetite.

When it comes to eating, one must alternate—whether it’s street food or gourmet cuisine, eating too much of the same thing makes it tasteless.

But if you alternate, you’ll appreciate the rich flavors of street food and the exquisite taste of high-end restaurants.

While Li Jing was savoring the delicacies, Wei Jia and Wen Lan had already started discussing business.

After listening for a while, Li Jing realized that the main reason for this gathering was for Wen Lan to update Wei Jia on the current filming situation.

Wei Jia’s company is the producer, and Li Jing is the main investor. As the director, Wen Lan needs to report the filming progress regularly.

However, Wen Lan was already quite familiar with both of them, and since the movie production wasn’t overly complicated, she simply opted for a dinner meeting to handle it.

Given it was a discussion of business matters, Li Jing didn’t interrupt. He listened more and spoke less, with most of the conversation between Wei Jia and Wen Lan.

The discussion included the execution of the shooting schedule, the overall project progress, the budget situation for filming expenses, and adjustments in artistic creation.

Though Li Jing didn’t express many opinions, he was surprised to find that every time Wen Lan finished speaking, Wei Jia could immediately pinpoint the key issues and even identify underlying problems.

Even when the topic involved artistic creation, Wei Jia could offer a few constructive suggestions.

This gave Li Jing a deeper understanding of Wei Jia’s abilities.

Watching Wei Jia sitting at the dining table with her back naturally straight and her elegant and cool demeanor, Li Jing silently marveled, thinking, "No wonder she’s the president of a big company; her abilities far exceed those of ordinary women."

Even Wen Lan, aside from being more proficient in acting, was no match for Wei Jia in other aspects of ability and quality.

Noticing Li Jing’s gaze, Wei Jia, who had finished discussing the last topic with Wen Lan, raised the corners of her fiery red lips slightly, teasing him: "Why, staring at your sister so intently?"

Seeing her initiate a challenge, Li Jing chuckled softly, maintaining his composure with a thick-skinned demeanor: "I’ve always said my biggest trait is liking beautiful women. You’re so pretty; of course, I have to admire, even better if I can reach out and feel."

Facing Li Jing’s teasing, Wei Jia didn’t shy away. Instead, she leaned back slightly, raised her chin, and said, "I’m just sitting here. If you dare, you can come over and feel."

Li Jing raised an eyebrow: "You think I don’t dare?"

"Do you dare?"

"I..."

"You two, really not treating me as an outsider, huh."

Wen Lan covered her forehead, her face full of helplessness, and had to interrupt them.

She feared that if she let them continue, it might truly lead to an inappropriate situation for kids, and she’d end up being part of their play.

However, she also keenly observed that Wei Jia’s behavior in front of Li Jing was indeed different from that with others.

To be precise, with others, Wei Jia seemed like a cold queen, whereas in front of Li Jing, she was more like a competitive little girl.

Wen Lan recalled she once said Li Jing was very similar to Jiangnan, both adept at flirting with women.

Now it seemed Li Jing wasn’t just like Jiangnan, but rather an upgraded or deluxe version of him.

At least in her understanding, someone like Jiangnan definitely couldn’t handle Wei Jia, no—all the men she knew couldn’t handle Wei Jia except Li Jing.

"Alright, there’s only one last matter left now."

At this point, Wen Lan took a few bites of the dishes on the table and sipped some tea before speaking again: "The last issue is about the actors."

Hearing the word "actor," Li Jing was slightly startled and instinctively stopped his banter with Wei Jia, looking at Wen Lan with curiosity.

He hadn’t expected the last issue to be about the actors.

As one of the actors in this film, Li Jing naturally understood and was most interested in this topic.

Wen Lan put down her chopsticks, crossed her hands on the table, organized her words for a moment, then sincerely said: "After filming for this period, we’ve gained some understanding of the actors’ performances.

Overall, the selected actors are performing well, especially President Li’s acting, exceeding everyone’s expectations and putting my mind at ease."

Wen Lan first praised Li Jing, but Li Jing was already used to such compliments, having heard them many times after so many days of filming.

Instead, Wei Jia raised her eyebrows slightly, and looked at Li Jing with some surprise.

She knew Wen Lan well, so she understood that Wen Lan was genuinely praising Li Jing’s acting, not just flattery, which was the main reason for Wei Jia’s astonishment.

"Didn’t expect you to have acting talent?"

Seeing the different sparkle in Wei Jia’s eyes, Li Jing grinned: "I have many strengths for you to explore."

Just as Wei Jia was about to engage in banter again, Wen Lan quickly interrupted: "Alright, alright, do your exploring privately. Let’s continue with the actor topic now."

Upon hearing this, Wei Jia raised an eyebrow at Wen Lan: "Since Li Jing’s acting is fine, do other actors have issues?"

"Yes, mainly concerning Dai Weiwei. As a professional actress, I didn’t expect her performance to fall far below my expectations. It seems that many online reviews and reputations shouldn’t be taken lightly."

Wen Lan’s face turned serious: "I thought her previous film role was well played, so I accepted her boyfriend’s recommendation, letting her try the female lead.

Turns out she could perform well in the previous role only because her personality closely matched the character. Now, playing a character quite different from herself, she is utterly off-key."

Saying this, Wen Lan turned to Wei Jia and explained: "I gave her time to adjust, but so far, she still hasn’t met my expectations. So, I’m wondering if we need to replace the actress for the female lead?"

"You want to replace Dai Weiwei?"

Wei Jia’s expression changed slightly, and her brows furrowed: "Dai Weiwei’s boyfriend is quite influential in the industry. If we rejected him initially, fine; but now agreeing and replacing actors midway could be troublesome.

And the crew should have signed a contract with Dai Weiwei, right? Canceling the contract midway means paying penalties."

"I know."

Wen Lan had obviously considered the consequences: "Not only the penalties but also the cost of reshooting her scenes and potential impact on the shooting schedule, not to mention the public opinion pressure her fanbase might cause on the crew."

She looked at Wei Jia, then turned to Li Jing: "So my question is, now Dai Weiwei reaches only 50% of my standard. Should we replace the female lead actress or not?

If not, can we accept the result where her acting affects the film’s overall quality?

If so, can we handle the issues and troubles that come with the change?"