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

Chapter 481 How could Mai Mai be so cute?
"Brother Meng Bai!"

A gentle voice sounded behind them, interrupting the conversation between Meng Bai and the five hundred people.

"Ha, I don't even need to look, I know who's coming as soon as I hear the name."

Wu Bai said with a smile, then turned around and looked at the little girl standing behind him and teased: "Alas, we were all standing together, but they only called one person. Imagine the difference."

Meng Bai turned around and looked behind him, and sure enough, it was Zhao Jinmai.

Hearing Wu Bai's teasing, the little girl's cheeks instantly turned red, and she said shyly: "I'm sorry, Director, I was too anxious just now, so..."

"It's okay, it's okay. I'm a middle-aged man who knows myself well. Especially when I stand with certain people, I'm always the one being ignored, haha." Wu Bai said with a smile.

Zhao Jinmai's face became increasingly red, and he waved his hands in panic, trying to show that that was not what he meant.

Seeing that she was getting anxious, Meng Bai said, "Come on, you are already so old, why are you teasing a little girl?"

"You are already thirty years old, how dare you tell me how old I am?"

Wu Bai retorted, then waved his hand at Zhao Jinmai: "Don't be nervous, we have worked together so many times. You two can chat, I'll go see how the props and scenery are. If there is no problem, we will start shooting this afternoon."

After saying that, he said goodbye and left first, leaving the other two where they were.

Watching Wu Bai walk away, Zhao Jinmai's blush finally faded a little. She glanced at Meng Bai carefully, and called out sweetly: "Brother Meng Bai, when did you come here? Why didn't I seem to see you?"

"This morning." Meng Bai said, "There was a celebration party for the movie last night. Director Wu Bai was anxious to get back to the crew so he came back overnight. I came directly to the scene after waking up in the morning."

Zhao Jinmai suddenly realized, and then asked excitedly: "Is it the celebration party for "Famous"? I went to see this movie with my classmates before school started, and I thought it was very interesting."

"Thank you, Mai Mai, for contributing to the movie box office. If you leave your ticket stubs, I can reimburse you later so that you don't run out of pocket money."

"That's not necessary. Since the college entrance examination, my mother gave me part of her previous film remuneration. Now I don't need the money for two more tickets." Zhao Jinmai said happily.

Meng Bai raised her eyebrows and said, "Congratulations, you've become a wealthy woman in the blink of an eye. That's great. You don't have to follow me around every day and ask me to buy you milk tea."

"You're talking nonsense. How could I do that~~" The little girl immediately pouted her lips in dissatisfaction. "Besides, I didn't follow you every day. It was just once in a while."

But after saying this, she felt a little embarrassed.

That was when they were filming "The Wandering Earth". Zhao Jinmai was still a junior high school student at the time. Not only was his pay cheap, but it was all in the hands of his mother, leaving him with only a little pocket money every week.

She was reluctant to spend her own money, but was afraid of being nagged if she asked her mother for it. It just so happened that her "brother Meng Bai" was always generous, so when she was on the set, she would follow him around and "eat and drink for free".

Thinking of the scene at that time, Zhao Jinmai couldn't help laughing: "Time flies so fast, it feels like I was still on the set of Oriental Movie Metropolis yesterday, but now the second part is about to be filmed."

"Yes." Meng Bai said: "It's a pity that the plot of the second part is a prequel, and there is no role for you and your brother."

"I know. Director Guo Fan told me about it before. He said he would ask me to come when they shoot the third part."

"Hey, it's because you, Director Guo, are so smart. I'm afraid that I can't afford you because you've become so popular in the past few years, so I reserved your schedule in advance."

"Hehe, it's okay. As long as Brother Meng Bai calls me, I'm free anytime." Zhao Jinmai said in a low voice.

Meng Bai smiled and did not respond, looking towards the bay in the distance.

Zhao Jinmai took a look, then tiptoed to the railing of the bridge and stood side by side with Meng Bai. After waiting for a while, seeing that the other party didn't care, he relaxed and climbed the railing to look into the distance, and at the same time couldn't help but secretly smile in his heart.

At this distance, I can smell the scent of Brother Meng Bai. It's not perfume, but it smells good.

Meng Bai lowered his head and glanced sideways at the little girl whose head and shoulders were only exposed above the railing, and suddenly laughed.

Zhao Jinmai heard the laughter and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"It's okay." Meng Bai waved his hands. Seeing that she was still staring at him, he said with a smile, "I just suddenly realized that Mai Mai, you don't seem to have grown much taller in the past few years compared to when you were filming The Wandering Earth."

Zhao Jinmai's originally happy expression suddenly froze when he heard this. His face wrinkled and he said excitedly, "I told you, it's all because the protective suit was too heavy and I couldn't grow taller. You are responsible for my failure to grow taller!"

"Hey, every wrong has its perpetrator, you should look for your director Guo and producer Gong, it has nothing to do with me."

"Then I don't care, you are responsible!"

"Hey, you're counting on me, right?" Meng Bai glanced at her and said, "Okay, okay, I'll give you a pair of 20cm thick shoes later. You'll be meters tall when you wear them."

"Hey, you can still walk then."

Zhao Jinmai complained a little, but then she felt that what she said sounded strange.

If I put on a pair of 20 cm shoes, I would look 1.80 meters tall. Doesn't that mean I'm only 1.6 meters tall?
"Oh, that's good. I heard it." Meng Bai gave her a thumbs up. "As expected of you, you are the number one in our Central Academy of Drama. You are quite smart."

"..." Zhao Jinmai was speechless for a long time, and finally said angrily in a low voice: "Hate!"

But even though she said that, within half a minute her anger had subsided. She coughed lightly and said, "Brother Meng Bai."

"how?"

"Do you think there has been any change since I came here this time?"

As she spoke, she tried to pretend that she was casually smoothing her hair, revealing her delicately made-up profile.

"Variety?"

Meng Bai glanced at her and said, "Well, your hair has grown longer."

"anything else?"

"It seems a little darker. It seems that military training is very hard."

"..." Zhao Jinmai held his breath in his chest for a long time before finally saying, "I'm not talking about skin color! I'm talking about whether there is any change compared to when I was in high school."

Looking at the little girl in front of him trying to stay calm, Meng Bai couldn't help but chuckle.

He had also been through this age, so he naturally knew what the girl meant. He had graduated from high school and went to college. Even though he hadn't turned 18 yet, he felt like an adult and didn't want others to continue treating him like a child.

Faced with a face full of expectation like a little rabbit, Meng Bai felt embarrassed to continue teasing her. He turned around and looked at her seriously.

You know what, this girl is indeed different from before.

Her hair, originally short like a student's, has now grown to shoulder length, falling down along one side of her face, making her look more demure and elegant. The baby fat on her cheeks has also faded, and with a light makeup, she has added a little charm that she has never had before.

The blue shirt and jeans not only outline the waist but also are full of youthful vitality, making people feel the youthful atmosphere at first glance.

I have to say, in just a few months of not seeing this girl, she has grown from a naive high school student into a vibrant and beautiful young woman.

"It seems that this military training is still useful. You now look like a standard college student." Meng Bai said.

In fact, it has nothing to do with military training. What is important is the change in mentality after leaving the family and finally going out to face the world alone. Although Zhao Jinmai grew up in the crew and his experience and mind are far more mature than his peers, he is still protected under the wings of his parents.

But things were different after I went to college. This was the first time I was truly separated from my parents, freed from their protection and constraints, and my mentality was completely different before and after.

Just like when the filming of "Beginning" started this time, she didn't even wait for Zhao's mother to pick her up, and ran to the crew alone.

Zhao Jinmai didn't expect Meng Bai to think so much in just a few seconds, but she could feel the difference in the tone of this "brother" and immediately smiled with satisfaction.

Humph, I knew that Brother Meng Bai would definitely like a young and lovely sister like me. It was not in vain that I got up early in the morning to ask the makeup artist to put on makeup for me.

Worth it!

After chatting for a while, Zhao Jinmai suddenly remembered something: "Brother Meng Bai, I heard that freshmen and sophomores in our school are not allowed to go out to film."

"Theoretically, the acting department is not allowed to film in the first two years. However, this rule was strictly enforced in the past. Now, it is definitely not allowed in the freshman year, but there is still a chance in the sophomore year."

"Then I'll take a leave now to film. Will there be any problem with school?" she asked worriedly.

Although she knew that it would be easier for the school to talk with Meng Bai, she didn't want to be too special. After all, as celebrity students who became famous early on, their every move was watched by the camera, not to mention this kind of thing that was against the rules.

"Don't be so nervous. We are in the military training period now and haven't started classes yet. Let's just play around with it."

Zhao Jinmai heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this, and patted his chest: "That's good."

"But after the classes officially start, you won't be able to take on any more roles except for the winter and summer vacations for the next year or so." Meng Bai said, "So, you have to work harder and try to finish filming as soon as possible so that you can go back to class earlier."

"Don't worry, it's no problem!"

Zhao Jinmai said this with considerable confidence.

"You are so confident. Okay, I'll wait and see." Meng Bai nodded and turned around. "Okay, let's go back. After we finish packing and preparing at noon, we'll see if our director wants to arrange a shoot."

"Okay, uh..."

Meng Bai turned around and saw the little girl pinching her fingers, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated. He couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Is there anything else?"

"Nothing, just a few days later. My birthday is coming soon..."

Zhao Jinmai lowered his head and whispered.

Meng Bai suddenly realized: "Oh, yes, your birthday is this month. Let me think, when is it?"

He acted as if he had forgotten about it, which made the little girl puff up her lips again.

"Okay, I was just kidding." Meng Bai said with a smile, "How could we forget our Mai Mai's birthday? It's September 29th at the end of the month."

Seeing Zhao Jinmai immediately become happy, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

It’s not that I have a good memory, it’s just that there are too many people who have birthdays in September.

Li Yitong is on September 6th, Li Qin is on September 27th, and the next one is Zhao Jinmai on September 29th.

He even vaguely remembered that when he first looked at Bai Lu's resume, this girl seemed to have her birthday this month, but he just forgot the exact day.

For a sea king, this situation has both advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage is that they are all put together, and if you remember one you can remember all of them, without having to worry about missing anything in the fish pond.

The disadvantage is that time is prone to overlap and sometimes it may be impossible to arrange everything.

Fortunately, the most important Teacher Li and Boss Li are at the end and beginning of the month respectively, otherwise Meng Bai would probably be exhausted once every year at this time.

Zhao Jinmai naturally had no idea how she was remembered, but she was happy when she heard Meng Bai say it.

"Brother Meng Bai, were you on the set on the 29th?"

"It's really hard to say. The Feitian Awards will be held on the evening of the 28th, and I may have some work to do the next day. I may not be able to come back."

Meng Bai thought the girl was worried about the birthday gift he promised her, so he smiled and said, "Don't worry, I told you before that the gift is valid until midnight on the birthday. If you like anything, just tell me in the next two days. Even if I can't come back by then, I will have someone send it to you."

Brother Meng Bai, you big fool, who cares about birthday gifts? I just want you to celebrate your birthday here with me.

Zhao Jinmai muttered something in her heart, but didn't say it out loud. She sniffed and smiled sweetly: "It's okay, Brother Meng Bai, work is important, just send me a blessing when the time comes."

"..."

Meng Bai tilted his head. Why did these words sound vaguely teasing?

I must have been overthinking it. Mai Mai is so cute, how could she be tea-loving?
-
The story style of "The Beginning" is actually a bit similar to a modified version of "Snowstorm Manor".

The bus scene setting is both open and closed. The passengers do not know each other, but for various reasons they are "forced" to stay in a closed space, and there is a murderer hiding among them.

The reason why it is called a change of style is because of the setting of "time reversal" and the other is naturally because people can get on and off the bus. In order to investigate more clues, the male and female protagonists can temporarily leave the closed scene.

As the leading female character of the drama, Li Shiqing, played by Zhao Jinmai, can be said to be the core of the whole story, so her performance is naturally crucial.

I don't know if she was in a hurry to go back to class, but this girl made full use of her many years of acting experience and her talent as the best in Chinese drama, and her performance was very complete. Including several scenes of "injury and near death", there was almost no need for NG.

The male lead actor who partnered with her is called Lin Yi, who had previously starred in Arc Light's online movie "Soul Ferry: Huangquan".

His popularity increased a lot last year with his role as the "physics genius" Gu Weiyi in "A Love So Beautiful". It happened that this character was a bit similar to the male lead "Xiao Heyun" in "The Beginning", and he had previous experience of working with Arc Light, so he was chosen.

It’s not that they don’t give their own actors opportunities, it’s just that there have never been many opportunities for young male actors.

Qu Chuxiao has already starred in the same series "Twinkle Twinkle Star", Chen Xingxu is filming "Eastern Palace", as for Zhang Ruoyun and Bai Yu... uh, they are too old.

The reserve of male actors in Arc Light has never been as sufficient as that of female actors, mainly because the boss Meng Bai does not care much about it.

Taiyang Chuanhe has indeed trained some newcomers, but none of them are particularly outstanding. The entire company relies on a group of middle-aged people born in the 70s and 80s, which leads to the fact that the entire company has a "more female than male" attitude towards artists.

Fortunately, Heng Video is now slowly starting to discover new talents. With the "middle-aged aunt" Chen Zhixi around, their vision for finding male actors should be good.

Meng Bai has also been staying in the crew of "The Beginning" these days, but now as the chief producer, he no longer needs to be responsible for specific matters and only needs to do the final review.

At the same time, I can also provide guidance on plot-related issues as a screenwriter.

He was busy until the 27th. He first returned to Beijing to celebrate Li Qin's birthday and adjust the harmony of yin and yang. Then he flew to Hebei the next day.

The 32nd Feitian Awards for TV Dramas was held in Hengshui, Hebei.

(End of this chapter)