Who are you calling "little fresh meat"? I'm the king.

Chapter 369 Nini (44)

Nini…

In fact, being labeled a "Zhang Yimou Girl" is equivalent to having access to top-tier resources in the industry, and one's future career is guaranteed.

However, Nini is different from the previous "Zhang Yimou girls" in one aspect: Zhang Weiping did not agree to her starring in "The Flowers of War"!

Zhang Weiping wanted to promote Han Xiting...

But Zhang Yi disagreed!
Then Han Xiting only got a small role that was forced into the role, but it was still featured on the poster.

From the very beginning, Zhang Weiping disliked Nini, feeling that she was disobedient…

As for Han Xiting, it was later revealed that she was the mistress of Wang Yonghong, a prominent figure in China's real estate industry...

From this perspective, Nini will definitely side with Zhang Yimou!

Moreover, without Zhang Yimou, Zhang Weiping is nothing...

There were rumors that he would collaborate with Yu Hua's son, Yu Haiguo, on "Chronicle of a Blood Merchant," and even behind-the-scenes staff were rumored to be involved: the cinematographer of "Departures," Takeshi Hamada, the lighting director, Saitaka Takaya, and the sound engineer, Osamu Onodera, among other behind-the-scenes staff...

Then, unable to raise the funds, the project failed to launch…

It's normal; without Zhang Yimou, New Pictures simply couldn't raise the funds for filming.

He even went to Japan to raise funds, but it was no use. Without Zhang Yimou, they simply ignored him.

Oh, Nini's agent is Pu Lun, who used to be Zhang Yimou's assistant director...

But her financial contract belongs to New Picture!
According to Zhang Weiping, if Nini doesn't act through New Pictures, it would be a breach of contract, and you would have to pay compensation or be blacklisted.

However, Shen Yan didn't take it seriously at all.

Upon meeting, Nini explained her predicament…

Shen Yan waved his hand: "New Pictures is just a shell company. It doesn't even have a publicity, marketing, or public relations team, or even a legal counsel... My studio is only responsible to me, but it has more than forty employees. I estimate that New Pictures doesn't even have forty people!"

"I don't need Zhang Weiping's approval to ask you to act; your approval is all that's needed!"

"But my agency contract belongs to New Pictures..."

"Then sue to terminate the contract... hire a lawyer... and pay some compensation, that should be enough!"

Nini was a little embarrassed: "I don't have much money..."

"You're a 'Zhang Yimou girl,' making money would be too easy for you..."

"I…"

"Never mind that, what are your thoughts on the script?"

"I showed it to my teacher..." Nini explained, "It was directed by Zhang Yimou, who said it's a rare gem of a play..."

"So you answered it?"

"Um…"

Shen Yan smiled and said, "I wrote this script for a week and then revised it for two months. It must be a good script. Otherwise, I wouldn't have directed it myself! It tells the story of a generation of young Chinese students who, after their American dream is shattered, return to their hometowns in disgrace, but manage to make a name for themselves and eventually turn back to attack the American heartland."

"Is this really a story about New Oriental?"

“That’s not…” Shen Yan waved his hand decisively: “It’s just that we’re using English training as a substitute!”

"But many scenes in it felt very real... ah..."

Nini isn't very good with a knife and fork—it's a Western restaurant…

It's a pretty upscale place.

"Give it to me," Shen Yan said, skillfully cutting a piece of steak for her. "Read more magazines like 'Enterprise' and 'People,' these are great sources of inspiration..."

Do you often eat Western food?

“I often eat steak… My nutritionist told me to eat more steak and broccoli…” Shen Yan smiled sheepishly, “But I only heard the first part… Broccoli is awful!” “Is it really that bad?”

Nini used her fork to pick up a piece of broccoli from Shen Yan's plate—the kind that already had a bite taken out of it—and put it in her mouth to savor it: "I think it's pretty good!"

Shen Yan was a little shaken, but still answered casually, "...He made me eat boiled food...just boiled in plain water, with maybe a little salt, no oil at all. Do you think it would taste good?"

"So the steak is boiled too?"

"How do you eat boiled steak... you definitely need to fry it in olive oil first..."

Nini nodded, then suddenly remembered something: "Hey, I watched 'Battle of Changsha,' you acted really well!"

Have you seen it?

"Yes, I saw it. It's Gu Qingming!"

Shen Yan said with a hint of helplessness, "The character I played, Gu Qingming, doesn't have a growth arc, so there's nothing particularly outstanding about him. As a member of the privileged class, his ideals may be shattered, but he won't betray his class... I just need to portray his arrogance and aloofness... According to the director, I don't need to make any expressions; just having a blank face is enough!"

"But you do look handsome in your military uniform. Many netizens are commenting, 'A single glance at Qingming can ruin your life!'"

"...Is that so?"

Shen Yan was surprised. Nini took out her phone, turned it on, and saw that the screen saver was Gu Qingming… She smiled and said, “I was also ‘ruined for life by Gu Qingming,’ look at Weibo…”

I took the phone and checked the trending topics. Sure enough, there was the hashtag #A Glimpse of Qingming Regrets a Lifetime#...

A bunch of netizens commented: "Gu Qingming is so handsome, I want to have your baby!"

Tsk tsk…

It's probably a topic that Yang Siwei hired online trolls to generate hype...

After quickly glancing through the screen, Shen Yan returned the phone to Nini, adding, "...Thanks to the audience's support, this drama is mainly due to its excellent subject matter, script, and the director's superb skills..."

"They say your ability to choose scripts is top-notch..."

“When the audience likes you, they will try their best to attribute some abilities that don’t belong to you to you…” Shen Yan said calmly, “But once the audience starts to hate you… then they will also attach a lot of hateful labels to you!”

"It can't be that bad..."

"Of course!"

Shen Yan glanced at her, then suddenly remembered Nini's scandals...

Specifically, after Nini publicly sided with Zhang Yimou, a newly registered account on Tianya suddenly posted a series of exposés about her, including so-called photos, accusations of backstabbing, and plastic surgery, and the descriptions were vivid and detailed.

It's obvious they've been hacked!
After thinking for a moment, he added, "Therefore, the best thing for celebrities is not to be so sensitive, and not to care too much about online comments..."

Nini pointed to the person taking pictures with their phone next to them: "So, you're not going to do anything about those people taking pictures secretly over there?"

"I saw it a while ago... I guess they want to post it on Weibo. Whatever, how about we take a picture together and post it on Weibo first? That way we won't get any rumors..."

"Okay!"

Shen Yan took out his phone, made a peace sign, and included Nini in the photo. He then posted it directly on Weibo with the caption: "Met Nini for dinner, mainly to discuss our collaboration. Please don't spread rumors..."

Nini posted on Weibo at the same time: Gu Qingming asked me to have dinner, that's great!

After posting, she checked Shen Yan's Weibo and said directly, "Follow me on Weibo!"

"Oh well…"

"Your Weibo followers are approaching 1500 million...that's amazing!"

"I've been working for three years, and you've only made one movie..." Shen Yan put away his phone: "No rush!"

"I only have 50 followers..."

"But you've only filmed one movie!"

　One more chapter, it will be posted around 8 o'clock!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)