How can you ascend to heaven when you are a star?

Chapter 487 Don’t give up

When Liu Haiyang returned to the set of "A Love So Beautiful," he saw the second female lead, whose scene had been filmed more than ten times without meeting the requirements, and his anger flared up again.

For him, time is efficiency. If he can't get a single shot right even after more than ten takes, isn't that a waste of his and the crew's time?
He wasn't in such a hurry at first, but now that Chen Mingyuan's side has started filming, if the filming schedule remains the same, he will be surpassed by the other side sooner or later. How will he perform in front of the board then?
He had made a solemn pledge to General Manager Li.

Liu Haiyang walked to the monitor with a gloomy face, looked coldly at the second female lead, and began to accuse her, his voice devoid of any warmth.

"What's wrong with you? You can't even film such a simple scene properly. Didn't you prepare before filming? If you don't want to act, then get out and stop wasting everyone's time."

Upon hearing the producer's fiery words, the room immediately fell silent; you could hear a pin drop.

The second female lead's face drained of color instantly, turning deathly pale, her eyes red and filled with grievance.

From receiving the script to the start of filming, it was less than a month. How could she possibly have thoroughly studied every scene in such a short time?

Besides, what's wrong with reshooting a scene more than ten times? The male lead once filmed a single shot more than twenty times, so why is she being singled out?
It's unfair, so unfair!

Director Xu Baoping noticed the awkward atmosphere on set and, not wanting the actors to film under pressure, stood up to smooth things over. "President Liu, don't be angry. This scene is difficult, requiring the actors to switch between three emotions in a few seconds. Xiao Yang has done very well. It was my high expectations that led me to blame her entirely."

Liu Haiyang's expression didn't change at all. Was he angry that the second female lead wasn't performing well? Was he angry that the filming was progressing too slowly?
neither!
He was angry because he hadn't been able to ruin the opening ceremony of the "Youth Glory" drama series, and he just wanted to find an excuse to vent.

Liu Haiyang coldly glanced at the actors present and said loudly, "After filming, you all better go home and study the next day's scenes. Stop going out to eat, drink, and have fun. I don't want to see a scene reshot ten or twenty times in the future. If you don't want to act well, there are plenty of people who do!"

After saying that, he snorted coldly and sat back down behind the monitor.

"..."

None of the actors spoke; they simply looked down at their scripts, though inwardly they were cursing them to death.

"After filming all day, can't I even relax a little?"

"Isn't it because you rushed the computer startup, leaving everyone no time to prepare?"

"Do you think of us as TV Kings and Queens? Besides, even TV Kings and Queens have to reshoot dozens or even hundreds of times."

Looking at the actors' dissatisfied expressions, Xu Baoping couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself.

Mr. Liu wasn't putting pressure on the actors; he was putting pressure on him. If the performance didn't meet the requirements, would he reshoot it or not?

If we reshoot too many times, the actors will definitely be scolded by Mr. Liu, which will indirectly cause them to hate him; if we don't reshoot, the actors' performances will be subpar, and then how will we show the audience what we're going to see?

Ugh!
Xu Baoping sighed, muttering to himself: Why doesn't he work at the company and instead comes to the film set to supervise every day? Is the deputy general manager of Tianxi Media that free?
He turned to look at screenwriter Jiang Ke, hoping she could give him some advice on how to get President Liu to leave the set and stop interfering with filming. He saw helplessness in her eyes as well.

Clearly, there's nothing they can do about Mr. Liu.

Liu Haiyang ignored the reactions of others, his face still drooping, his mind filled with Chen Mingyuan's teasing. It had been a long time since he had been ridiculed like this to his face.

It hurts your self-esteem so much!
No, we have to make them taste the bitterness of trouble!
He took out his phone, found Chen Xukun's number on WeChat, and sent him a message: "Busy?"

A few seconds later, a reply appeared in the dialog box.

"Not busy, I'm eating."

"Didn't I tell you to disrupt the opening ceremony? Why didn't you do anything?" Liu Haiyang asked.

Chen Xukun: "Mr. Liu, I really did it. I missed a screw in the set and loosened another screw, but when I went to check again after the opening ceremony, I found that someone had put the missing screw back in and tightened the loose screw."

"Don't explain to me. I don't care about the process, I only care about the result. Since the opening ceremony in the morning was not successfully disrupted, the afternoon's filming must not be allowed to start smoothly, understand?" Liu Haiyang said.

The implication is that something bad is about to happen.

How could Chen Xukun dare disobey? He was just an ordinary employee, while the other party was the deputy general manager. With just one word from the other party, he would be fired from the company.

"Please rest assured, Mr. Liu, I will definitely make sure that the afternoon's filming cannot proceed smoothly." Chen Xukun said confidently. Although he hadn't figured out how to do it yet, he was determined to show Mr. Liu his attitude.

Having the right attitude is one thing, doing a good job is another.

Seeing the reply, Liu Haiyang felt a little better and started to make promises to the other party: "If you do a good job of what I ask you to do, I'll make you the assistant director for the next film."

Chen Xukun: "Thank you, Mr. Liu."

Liu Haiyang left the chat, but he was still a little uneasy. In the spirit of being prepared, he found Wang Xiaofei's WeChat account and immediately launched into a threat.

"You can't even tell the difference between a mouse and a hamster, you're fired."

Soon, a reply came from the other side.

"Mr. Liu, I'm sorry, I never expected things to turn out this way. Please give me another chance, I promise I won't make the same mistake again." Although it was just a text message, it was filled with pleading.

Liu Haiyang stared at the message, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth. This was exactly the effect he wanted.

The other person has only graduated a few years ago, so this job as a stagehand is absolutely essential. As long as you threaten to fire them, they will definitely obey.

He tapped rapidly on the screen with his fingers, "I can give you the opportunity, it just depends on whether you can seize it. If you can continue to disrupt filming, I can consider not firing you, and I might even give you a more important role."

This is called using both soft and hard tactics: first a threat, then hope.

Within seconds of the message being sent, a reply came instantly: "Mr. Liu, please rest assured, I will definitely handle it well."

Wang Xiaofei dared not hesitate. If he lost this job, not to mention saving money, even rent would be a problem. He had no choice.

"Okay, I'll wait for your good news," Liu Haiyang replied, then exited WeChat.

The opportunity has been presented; if you still can't seize it, then don't blame him for being ruthless.

Wang Xiaofei stared blankly at his phone, feeling that even the fried chicken leg in his lunchbox didn't taste good anymore.

There are hundreds of people on the film crew, why did Boss Liu single him out to sabotage the project? Isn't this bullying an honest person?

At that moment, he felt the injustice of fate.

However, as the lowest-ranking employee in the company, he was powerless to do anything about such injustice and could only endure it.

Wang Xiaofei put away his phone, picked up the lunchbox on the ground, and while eating, he observed his surroundings, thinking about how to cause trouble later.

Important equipment like monitors and cameras are usually guarded by dedicated personnel and are impossible to damage. In contrast, props and costumes used in filming are easier to damage and less likely to attract attention.

Okay, that's the props!

Thinking of this, he quickly ate a few mouthfuls of rice, then got up, threw the lunchbox into the trash can, and walked towards the props department.

The job of a production assistant is to take care of all aspects of the crew's life, including food, clothing, accommodation, and transportation. Wang Xiaofei's job is to be in charge of all the actors' costumes.

Therefore, he did not intend to damage the clothing, because if anything happened to the clothing, he would be the one who would suffer the consequences.

Who would dig their own grave? Is he afraid others won't know he's Liu's mole?
Wang Xiaofei walked around the props department and finally fixed his gaze on the Mercedes-Benz.

As far as he knew, the first scene of the day required the use of that Mercedes-Benz, and if he could tamper with it, it would definitely cause a significant delay.

Yes, just do it!

Thinking of this, he went to the side, grabbed a bottle of mineral water, and drank it as he walked to the back of the Mercedes-Benz. After finishing the drink, he squatted down, untied his shoelaces, and, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, directly shoved the mineral water bottle into the car's exhaust pipe.

A blocked exhaust pipe can obstruct the discharge of exhaust gases, leading to abnormal pressure in the engine combustion chamber, engine overheating, and spark plug burnout. Simply put, it can break the car. The high temperature in the exhaust pipe can even melt a mineral water bottle, making it impossible to find the cause.

Without evidence, who would suspect that someone deliberately damaged the car? They would just assume that there was something wrong with the car itself.

perfect!

The vent is a bit small, making it a little difficult to insert, but fortunately the water bottle is very soft, so you can easily push it in.

Just as Wang Xiaofei was feeling smug and happy that he had come up with such a good idea, he suddenly heard footsteps behind him.

not good!

His heart started racing, and with a sudden burst of strength, he shoved the entire water bottle into the exhaust pipe, then pretended to tie his shoelaces.

As he tied his shoelaces and stood up, he met the eyes of the person who had just arrived.

"Xiao Wang? What are you doing here?" Chen Xukun was startled and quickly put the keychain behind his back.

"It's Brother Chen. My shoelaces are untied, can you tie them?" Wang Xiaofei forced a smile, trying to appear natural.

"Oh, then you can continue," Chen Xukun said, and then hurriedly left.

Seeing that Brother Chen left so quickly, just like he would normally greet him, Wang Xiaofei breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the other party hadn't seen him stuffing the mineral water bottle into the exhaust pipe, which put his mind at ease.

Perhaps he was too nervous just now, but as soon as he relaxed, he suddenly felt a strong urge to urinate. He didn't stay there any longer and quickly walked towards the bathroom.

After walking a distance, Chen Xukun turned around and saw that Wang Xiaofei had left, and he couldn't help but breathe a heavy sigh of relief.

That's absolutely terrifying.

It wasn't that Wang Xiaofei was ugly, but rather that the other party's appearance was too sudden.

As the old saying goes: If you have a clear conscience, you have nothing to fear.

He was just about to go and cause trouble in the clothing area as instructed by General Manager Liu when he suddenly saw Wang Xiaofei, the stage manager in charge of clothing. Who wouldn't be startled?
He didn't wet his pants, which shows he has good mental fortitude.

Chen Xukun took a deep breath to calm his nerves, then walked towards the clothing section.

It was lunchtime, so everyone was eating.

He first looked around and, seeing that no one was paying attention to him, quickly squatted down and untied the shoelace on his right foot.

This was just a cover; what he really wanted to do was to tear several of the male lead's clothes.

Most of the scenes this afternoon involve the male lead. If his clothes get torn, there won't be a replacement in a short time, which will affect the filming schedule.
perfect!

Thinking of this, he took out his keychain, found the small knife on it, and slashed his pants several times.

Soon, a pair of pants that was originally intact was riddled with holes, turning into a beggar's outfit.

Chen Xukun was very satisfied with his masterpiece and was about to make the next one when he suddenly heard someone talking.

"Xiao Wang, go and prepare the costumes the actors will use this afternoon."

"Okay, team leader."

Chen Xiaoxu was startled. Before she could even remove a piece of clothing, she quickly stuffed her keychain into her pocket, tied her shoelaces, and stood up.

Their eyes met, and it was the same familiar person, the same familiar gaze.

"Brother Chen, what are you doing here?" Wang Xiaofei's heart tightened, and he couldn't help but start imagining: Could it be that he saw him stuffing a bottle into the exhaust pipe earlier, so he's planning to extort money from him?

How much money should we give?

I don't know if 500 is enough.

A maximum of one thousand, no more than that.

But if the other party reports him and General Manager Chen finds out, won't he just fire him?
At that point, even President Liu might not be able to save him.

For a moment, his heart was in his throat.

"Oh, my shoelaces are untied. Let me tie them," Chen Xukun said with a faint smile.

But after saying it, I felt that the words sounded familiar.

Wait, didn't Xiao Wang just say that?

This is awkward.

However, Chen Xukun, being a seasoned veteran, quickly came up with another explanation and changed the subject, "By the way, does your costume team have any thicker or larger clothes? It's a bit chilly, and I'd like to use them as blankets and find a place to take a nap. I got up too early today."

“Brother Chen, aren’t you in charge of vehicle dispatch? If you think it’s too cold, why don’t you just sleep in the car?” Wang Xiaofei said.

Perhaps feeling guilty, he didn't delve into the fact that the other person's shoelaces were also loose.

"I'm afraid people might need me and can't find me, so I'll just make do with whatever's under the wall," Chen Xukun explained.

Wang Xiaofei thought this made perfect sense. In the film crew, you could see people sitting or lying on the ground to rest everywhere. You have to understand that not everyone has the privilege of resting in a motorhome like the director and lead actors.

"I have a blanket here, Brother Chen, you can take it and cover yourself with it first, remember to return it later."

"Okay, thank you, Xiao Wang."

"nothing."

Wang Xiaofei found a blanket and handed it to Chen Xukun. Chen Xukun took the blanket and turned to leave, but he was extremely uneasy.

I wonder if Wang Xiaofei will find out about the ripped pants, and if that will lead to suspicion against him.

……

(End of this chapter)