The King of Soft Rice in Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 384 Give up the struggle
As we enter August, the weather remains hot, but many film crews choose this time to start filming, especially those that shoot for three or four months at a time.

For most people, high-temperature environments are more tolerable than low-temperature environments. After all, as long as you dress simply and don't move, you can endure the former for a while; while in the latter, even if you wrap yourself up like a dumpling, you'll still shiver when you need to.

Especially when you come out of an air-conditioned room, the heat wave can be irritating, but you can still shake off the heavy costume and go on; when you come out of the cold wind, you just want to pull your thin costume back into the fire after shivering.

Therefore, for production crews with the necessary resources, filming from August to November is the most suitable option.

The production team of "Chinese Paladin" obviously had conditions, so in early August... they held a meet-and-greet.

It's normal. Meet-and-greet events aren't exclusive to Zhang Dahuzi. As long as the production team has enough funds, inviting the main actors to meet and get to know each other before filming can be helpful for the production.

So Xu Jiuyang was a little embarrassed because he had told Liu Qianqian that they would meet on set, but they hadn't even joined the crew yet, and they were already meeting again.

Fortunately, Liu Qianqian didn't seem to take it to heart and didn't mention it at all after they met, which relieved someone... just kidding!
Damn it, it's normal for Aunt and Grandma, who have important roles in the early episodes, to attend the meet-and-greet. What are Ji San Niang and Gai Luo Jiao doing here?
Okay, they are all characters with important roles in the middle of the story, so it's fine for them to come to the meet-and-greet to get to know each other.

Who are Aunt Ke Yun, Palace Master Ling Yue, and Chief Bai Miao? They're just characters who only appear in a few scenes, how did they end up here?

Well... looking at the enthusiastic gazes they cast at me, I can understand.

"Oh my, I had no idea you'd been with so many women and gotten involved with so many men outside." The sarcastic voice in her ear was from Li Xiaoran.

Ji San Niang has come, so there's no reason why Jin Chan Gui Mu shouldn't come, even though her role is actually less than that of Gai Luo Jiao and Du Niang Zi.

Therefore, according to the itinerary, Li Dabai came with Xu Jiuyang.

"Take it easy, there are outsiders here." Xu Jiuyang could only reply helplessly in a low voice, then nodded to Ren Quan, who was sitting opposite him and looked a little nervous.

He couldn't help but be nervous. There were only a few male actors present: the Drunken Sword Immortal, Liu Jinyuan, Lin Tiannan, and the Sword Saint, played by Xie Junhao, Ren Quan, Zhang Zhijian, and Feng Enhe, respectively.

To be honest, this list of male actors is really something to complain about—mainly the latter two. It feels strange that the young Grand Secretary and Secretary Yu Liang plays Lin Tiannan and Station Chief Wu plays the Sword Saint.

Of course, only Xu Jiuyang had this feeling. The others had no idea what roles Zhang Zhijian and Feng Enhe would play in the future, and their acting skills were enough to support the roles of Lin Tiannan and the Sword Saint.

Getting back to the main point, even with Xu Jiuyang's participation, along with the producers and others, the fan meeting still felt somewhat dominated by women.

Moreover, most of the people present were seasoned veterans, and the actresses, especially the older women, didn't really try to hide their true selves, so you can imagine what the atmosphere was like.

However, the meeting still had to be held. Xiaoli, who was chairing the meeting, was quite capable. She completely ignored these issues and proceeded with the presentation in an orderly manner, controlling the pace very well, which made someone breathe a slight sigh of relief.

However, the main reason is that Li Dabai hardly caused any trouble throughout the whole process. At other times, even if she was polite on the surface, she would still pinch his thigh a few times in private.

"Please take good care of me during the filming, Teacher Xie and Brother Quan." After the meeting, Xu Jiuyang took the initiative to talk to Xie Junhao and Ren Quanquan.

The male characters with whom Li Xiaoyao interacts the most are the Drunken Sword Immortal and Liu Jinyuan. Moreover, the script of this TV series referenced the production team of "Encountering Xiaoyao Again" when adapting the story of Liu Jinyuan and Caiyi. Overall, Li Xiaoyao is still a positive character.

It's only right to communicate in advance for the sake of filming.

It's worth mentioning that the Sword Immortal in this version of the Legend of Sword and Fairy TV series is named Situ Zhong, not Mo Yixi, and the Sword Saint is named Dugu Yuyun, not Yin Ruozhuo. According to Sister Xiaoli, she specifically asked someone to inquire with Softstar Entertainment about this and demanded that it be written into the contract to confirm that the Sword Immortal and Sword Saint are called by these names, and that they must also be called by these names when they appear in the game in the future, otherwise she would seek compensation.

To be honest, only Sister Xiaoli could pull off such a move. On one hand, she is now considered a Hong Kong businesswoman, and on the other hand, she is also considered a medium-sized capital.

Xu Jiuyang hadn't calculated it in detail, but it was enough to make Softstar and even Softstar Entertainment take it seriously.

"Not at all, it's Mr. Xu who is taking care of us."

"Yes, yes, Mr. Xu is definitely the male lead."

Both Xie Junhao and Ren Quan maintained a polite and distant demeanor, as if keeping people at arm's length.

Indeed, as mentioned before, the women present hardly concealed their attitudes toward a certain person. Xie Junhao is also involved in the Hong Kong entertainment circle, where such matters are countless and commonplace.

Although Ren Quan is from mainland China, he is a very shrewd person. In his previous life, he spent a few years in the entertainment industry and built up his network. He then immediately started to deal in capital, thus making a fortune by riding the wave of the financialization of the entertainment industry and even getting into the Boao Forum.

How could they possibly show affection to someone under such circumstances?

However, Xu Jiuyang had gotten used to it. He used to have some wishful thinking, but after seeing the list of actresses for "Chinese Paladin", he completely gave up the struggle.

"Oh dear, they're ignoring you." After someone returned, Li Dabai, oblivious to his own impending doom, started acting up again, as if it was someone else who had pitifully begged for mercy in front of Yinyin last night.

Xu Jiuyang couldn't help but wiggle his fingers. It was a pity they weren't at home, otherwise he would have pinned her down on his lap and given her a good beating.

After exchanging a few more casual words with the others, he quickly pulled Li Xiaoran away. He dared not say more, lest they get entangled with them. Even if they managed to escape, they would surely be forced to sign a whole host of unequal treaties—unequal treaties specifically targeting them.

So, if you sign something and then don't fulfill it, you'll always feel like you've lost out.

"I just don't understand, it's one thing for Yinyin to fall for you, you womanizer, but why does Yuanyuan also like you?" Li Dabai muttered to himself as he took the bank card from the waiter, while Xu Jiuyang, who was next to him and had his makeup done, was carrying several large bags in each hand.

Clearly, Li Dabai, feeling uneasy, went on a shopping spree, spending someone else's money.

"Who said Sister Yuanyuan likes me?" Xu Jiuyang raised an eyebrow, feigning confusion.

"You bastard, do you have any conscience?!" Li Xiaoran's eyes widened immediately, and she pretended to roll up her sleeves. "I'm going to squeeze every last drop of cash out of you today."

"Is this working capital you're talking about really working capital?" Xu Jiuyang asked deliberately.

Li Dabai took a deep breath and grabbed his arm: "Let's go, let's go to the parking lot now!"

"Don't rush, don't rush," Xu Jiuyang said with a laugh, "What I mean is, Sister Yuanyuan is nice to me because she can squeeze me out of her... to get inspiration from me, not because she likes me. What she really loves is you and Yinyin."

Although Li Xiaoran let go of his hand, she was not grateful: "In the end, Yuanyuan is still entangled with you and cannot get rid of you."

(End of this chapter)