Entertainment: I just want to be the boss behind the scenes

Chapter 424 This cake is big and round

The character played by Li Qin in "The Silent Truth" is called Li Xue, who is one of the victims of the "Hou Guiping Case" in 2000 and the only surviving witness.

In order to survive, she changed her name to "Zhang Xiaoqian" and started a new life. When she grew up, she became a reporter for a local newspaper. Until she met Jiang Yang who had just been released from prison, she joined the team under his inspiration, uncovered the past that she least wanted to recall, and became the most important witness in the whole case.

Because it involves two timelines, Li Qin's styling is also divided into two stages: teenage and adult. The most recent one is the teenage period in 2000, so her outfit is also very simple.

"Does it look good?" Li Qin asked, shaking the ponytail behind her head.

Meng Bai nodded: "It looks good. It's a bit like the innocent, rustic, yet pure and beautiful village girl in the period drama."

Li Qin showed an unconcealed smile on her face: "What about you? Don't tell me you are the most handsome guy in the village."

"What's a village grass?" Meng Bai said, "I'm a young talent who came from the city to experience life. The village beauty took a fancy to me at first sight. From then on, she swore that she only had me in her heart and would marry me. She even wanted to make it a done deal with me..."

"Bah! You are the one who is ready!" Li Qin rolled her eyes at him. "You are the playboy who is ignorant and comes to cause trouble in the village. Only an idiot would want to marry you."

"I didn't expect Teacher Li's nickname to be so unique, it's actually 'idiot'. That's right, in the village, people like to have weird names to keep people company."

"..."

Seeing this dead man's self-righteous expression, Li Qin was both angry and amused. Every time they quarreled, she always lost under his thick skin.

Forget it, it’s been so many years and I’ve gotten used to it.

Li Qin had a night scene today, so Meng Bai stayed with her on the set until the evening. He also met and chatted with the main actors, Bai Yu, Tan Zhuo, and Ning Li, who knew he was coming to the crew and rushed to the set.

"If Lao Zhang asks me later why I couldn't get in, I'll say that I was exploited by you, my boss," Bai Yu said jokingly.

As one of Zhang Ruoyun's friends in the entertainment industry, he actually received an invitation to the wedding. However, unlike Li Qin, who is just a supporting actress, he is the absolute male lead in "The Silent Truth". He has a heavy role and cannot leave.

"It's okay. It's not our fault. We have to go to Ireland to solve a problem that can be solved in Beijing." Meng Bai said, "We can just get together when we have time."

Since the parties involved were not around, the two unmarried people severely condemned Zhang Ruoyun for "betraying" their brothers in this small circle.

"Did the shoot go well?"

"So far, the early scenes are OK, and the difficulty is relatively low." Bai Yu sighed: "But after watching the second half of the plot, I feel a lot of pressure."

The character "Jiang Yang" is a tragic hero. From his high-spirited youth, to his grief and indignation when investigating a case, to his desolation and sadness after being framed and imprisoned, to his final decision to sacrifice his life, the character's image and state have changed greatly, and the difficulty is also very high.

As the leading male actor, Bai Yu works opposite powerful senior actors, so one can imagine the pressure he is under.

"Come on, Lao Bai." Meng Bai comforted him, "Try your best and show your best ability. If you can perform well in the role of 'Jiang Yang', you can compete for a nomination for a major award next year."

"No, your pie is a bit dry." Bai Yu laughed and said, "How can an online drama win such a big award?"

"Hey, I'm really not just making empty promises for you." Meng Bai said, "I heard some news before that the next Feitian Awards, which is next year, may also include online dramas in the nomination range."

"Really?"

"Anyway, there is this news. We'll have to wait until next year when the registration starts to see if there will be a specific result." Meng Bai patted his shoulder. "The quality and influence of online dramas are getting higher and higher. It's only a matter of time. Who knows, maybe you will be the first online drama 'Best Actor'."

"No, no, it's not that serious, this..."

Bai Yu waved his hands modestly, but his eyes were burning with longing.

Seeing this, Meng Bai nodded with satisfaction. Very good, I really hope that all the actors in Arclight's projects can have this kind of enthusiasm.

Of course, he did not lie to Bai Yu. There were indeed rumors that online dramas would be included in the three major awards.

Online dramas have been around for five or six years since Soul Ferry in 2014. Their market share is growing, and their popularity and influence are more than most TV dramas. More and more big-name actors are participating in online dramas, and they are no longer the crude and shoddy images they once were.

Under such circumstances, it is only natural for the three major awards to include online dramas in their selection. After all, one of the main purposes of the official awards is to encourage film and television creation through commendation, and it is impossible for them to remain indifferent to the online drama market, which accounts for half of the market.

The filming did not end until the evening. Meng Bai and Li Qin rested for a night. The next day, they flew to Shanghai first and then boarded an international flight to Ireland.

But there were more than just the two of them on this trip. Meng Bai brought Hua Yan, and Li Qin brought her assistant Jia Jia. In addition, there were four burly security guards who were responsible for safety.

The security environment abroad is not as good as that in China. Mr. Meng is, after all, a top figure on the rich list, so he naturally cannot just run away casually.

In fact, Meng Bai had already put his security work on the agenda after the rich list was announced last year. However, he had been living in China for most of the past six months, so he didn't pay much attention to it. It was not until he was going abroad this time that he called everyone along.

The four security guards were employed by a Hong Kong company called "Frontier Holdings", a central enterprise under CITIC. Of course, this company was acquired a few years ago. Before that, it had a more well-known name - Blackwater International.

The team of more than ten people was so huge that it was very eye-catching at the airport. Fortunately, the first-class cabin had a special VIP lounge and VIP channel, so it didn't attract too much attention. After resting on the plane for more than ten hours, they finally landed in Dublin. Then Meng Bai finally understood why Zhang Ruoyun emphasized that they should come early.

The wedding venue is in County Limerick in southwest Ireland. There is no direct flight, so you have to drive from Dublin to get there.

Fortunately, Zhang Ruoyun, as the host, had already arranged a car for them in advance. A dozen people were divided into three cars and drove for nearly three hours from the northeast of Ireland. They finally drove into a vast Ying family garden and then stopped in front of an exquisite castle.

Meng Bai got out of the middle car, stretched his body, and then looked at Zhang Ruoyun and Tang Yixin who were waiting at the door.

"Thank you very much, everyone!"

Zhang Ruoyun came over and bowed to everyone, thanking them for their hard work.

"If I didn't have a good relationship with you, who would go through so much trouble to come here?" Meng Bai sighed and complained.

"I understand, I understand. Teacher Meng, I will always remember the relationship we had." Zhang Ruoyun walked over and said with a smile.

On the other side, Li Qin and Tang Yixin, the best friends, were hugging each other happily. Then, without paying any attention to the two men, they walked into the magnificent castle with Hua Yan and Jia Jia.

Meng Bai didn't rush in. He stood outside and looked at this one of the six famous castles in Ireland.

The manor is surrounded by lush forests, and the mottled traces on the quaint stone walls tell the history of the castle. On the neatly trimmed lawn, a few wild pigeons stroll leisurely, and the gradually lit lights outside the castle interweave with the deepening night, creating a fairy-tale atmosphere.

"Tsk, this place is really nice." Meng Bai exclaimed.

"Of course, otherwise why would we travel halfway around the world to come here?" Zhang Ruoyun said with a smile, "Go in first, and you'll see it more beautiful tomorrow. Oh, by the way, the rooms at the manor are quite limited, so we've arranged for you and Teacher Li to stay together."

"Oh, I understand. The guest should follow the host's wishes." Meng Bai said, "I will just make do with Teacher Li reluctantly."

"...I told you you're fat and you really caught my breath. Come in quickly. I've arranged a welcoming dinner for you."

"Are we the only ones here? Where are Haoran and the others?"

"It's just the two of you tonight. The others are together and will all come tomorrow."

Compared with other celebrity weddings, Zhang Ruoyun and his wife were relatively low-key. The wedding was held abroad, and most of the guests were relatives. Only the best man and bridesmaid were their good friends in the entertainment industry.

The bridesmaids, besides Li Qin, also included Shen Mengchen and Song Qian. They were not as close to Tang Yixin as "Tang Li", but they were still on good terms.

As for the best man, Meng Bai had nothing to do because he was the witness. Zhang Ruoyun invited Liu Haoran, Guo Qilin and Jing Boran, who were on good terms with him, to come over. They were all friends who had worked with him on TV series or variety shows before.

In addition to these two waves, there is another one, Ma Sichun, who is the master of ceremonies for the main ceremony of the wedding. This girl graduated from the broadcasting and audio major of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, which is also a professional match.

They didn't bring a team of people like Meng Bai, so they agreed to come together tomorrow.
-
I have to say that girls care about weddings several levels more than boys, even if it is not their own wedding.

Meng Bai and his friends came here two days in advance. They had planned to take Li Qin for a walk around the area the next day - there weren't so many reporters paying attention to them abroad, so they could just stroll around.

As a result, the girl simply said that she didn't have time, and then she started checking the wedding rehearsal and preparations with Tang Yixin and Shen and Song who had just arrived at the manor.

"Brother Meng!"

"Teacher Meng."

"Hello, Mr. Meng."

Meng Bai looked at the "best men trio" who came over to say hello. He and Liu Haoran were naturally the most familiar among them, having worked together many times. He also knew Guo Qilin, having previously recorded "The Great Detective" there, and had met his father a few times. Only Jing Boran, this was the first time he had met him.

Hearing the three people addressing him in three different ways, he waved his hand casually: "Okay, it's Lao Zhang's wedding, let's stop going back and forth, let's sit down and rest together."

The four of them sat together, chatting while watching Zhang Ruoyun being tossed around by a few girls not far away.

It wasn't that they didn't want to help, it was just that the girls were too enthusiastic and they couldn't really help. Anyway, there were still staff from the manor working, so they were happy to have some free time.

"Hey, do you guys think about bringing Lao Zhang along for a singles night tonight?" Meng Bai suggested, "After all, starting tomorrow, our comrade Zhang Ruoyun will be a married man."

Liu Haoran said with a bitter face: "Brother, we have to get up at five o'clock tomorrow morning to put on makeup. We may not be able to wake up. We really don't have the energy tonight."

Guo Qilin also nodded in agreement, while Jing Boran on the side seemed very interested. However, he was not familiar with Meng Bai, and seeing that the other two were against it, he was too embarrassed to say anything.

"Tsk, why don't you young people have as much energy as me?" Meng Bai shook his head and complained.

But then again, he was just saying it casually. He wasn't here alone, so there was no need to think about a singles night. It would be better to go to bed early tonight so that he would have enough energy to attend the wedding ceremony and dinner tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)