This director only directs blockbusters.

Yang Ning's gaze lingered on her for a moment, a few vague impressions flashing through his mind—

There seems to be not much news about her in her previous life, but she always had a good reputation and was a rare type of person with a refined temperament in the industry.

Her gentle demeanor at this moment reminded him of some kind of precious white porcelain—delicate, fragile, and requiring careful examination. She truly deserved to be called a rare beauty.

"Director Yang." She turned her face, smiled at Yang Ning, and extended her hand.

Yang Ning reached out and gently shook her hand; the touch was cool and delicate.

"Miss Li."

"Just call me Xiaoran." Li Xiaoran's voice was as gentle as she was.

She immediately turned to Fan Binbin and exchanged a few pleasantries with a smile.

Yang Ning listened from the side, his gaze fixed on her profile.

Her skin was indeed good; you could hardly see any pores up close. But what caught Yang Ning's attention even more was the unhurried tone of her voice—

It's a composure that only those who have experienced many situations can possess.

After Fan Binbin finished speaking with her, Li Xiaoran's gaze returned to Yang Ning, her eyes focused and filled with just the right amount of curiosity: "I've heard some news about Director Yang's new film. I'm really looking forward to it."

"Thank you." Yang Ning nodded, already anticipating the direction the conversation would take.

"Actually..." She paused slightly, her smile still on her lips, and her tone remained casual and natural, "My agent also submitted my resume, wanting me to try out for the role of Lin Xue. Unfortunately, the timing wasn't right, and it seems I missed it."

Yang Ning sensed the probing under his words. His expression remained unchanged, his tone calm yet authoritative: "The main cast has been finalized. I hope we'll have the opportunity to work together again."

Li Xiaoran nodded slightly, her smile seemingly unchanged, still gentle and poised: "Definitely." She gracefully rose and walked to another table.

Yang Ning watched her graceful figure disappear into the crowd before turning his gaze away.

The conversation just now, though seemingly gentle, was actually a series of probing questions.

He thought to himself, "There are indeed many smart people in this circle; even when they try to be friendly, they do so with a sense of propriety."

After she had walked away, Fan Binbin lowered his voice and said, "What? You have ideas?"

"How is that possible? The best is right next to me." Yang Ning blurted out, his reaction was truly top-notch.

"That's more like it. Her agent and my agent had a fight."

"What's wrong?"

"It's about competing for resources. Last year, there was a shampoo endorsement deal that was initially going to her, but the brand later switched to me."

Yang Ning didn't reply. This kind of thing was already commonplace in this circle.

Halfway through the auction, a burst of laughter suddenly erupted from Lu Chuan's table, making quite a commotion and attracting the attention of many people around.

Lu Chuan stood up, holding a wine glass, and walked straight toward Yang Ning's table.

Fan Binbin's back straightened almost imperceptibly.

Yang Ning put down his phone and remained motionless.

"Director Yang Ning." Lu Chuan walked to the table, a smile on his face, but his eyes were devoid of warmth. "I've heard so much about you."

"Director Lu." Yang Ning stood up and clinked glasses with him.

"I heard your project has already started?" Lu Chuan took a sip of his drink. "A 1.3 million investment, that's a big deal."

"Thank you for your trust, investors." Yang Ning said calmly.

"That's right." Lu Chuan's smile deepened. "The market is good now, and there's a lot of hot money. However..." He changed the subject slightly.

"It's good that young people are energetic, but they also need to know their limits. After all, movies aren't just about fighting and killing; they still need to have some artistic merit."

These words, spoken neither loudly nor softly, were enough to gradually quiet down the nearby tables.

Fan Binbin parted her lips slightly, and Yang Ning gently pressed the back of her hand under the table.

"Director Lu is right." Yang Ning smiled. "Artistic merit is indeed important."

Therefore, this time I specially invited a veteran art director from Beijing Film Studio to build all the key scene models at a scale of 1:50.

Unlike some film crews who rely entirely on post-production compositing after setting up a green screen.

Lu Chuan's expression stiffened slightly. The period drama he had just finished filming had been privately criticized within the industry for being "fake and empty" due to its extensive use of green screen compositing.

"Shooting on location has its advantages," Lu Chuan quickly adjusted his expression.

"However, with technology advancing rapidly these days, we still have to use it when necessary."

Otherwise, costs will be difficult to control, and if we exceed the budget, things will look bad.

"Cost control is the responsibility of the production manager," Yang Ning replied calmly. "My job is to make a good film, not to calculate costs for the investors."

Moreover, if the director oversteps their bounds, it's unprofessional and could easily lead to unintended negative consequences. Don't you agree?

These words hit the nail on the head. It was no secret in the industry that Lu Chuan's previous film had gone 30% over budget. Low chuckles rippled through the crowd.

Lu Chuan's cheeks flushed, but he still forced a smile: "That's true. That's why we should be even more cautious and not let down the investors' trust."

"Indeed. Director Lu is experienced." Yang Ning nodded. "That's why I asked all the main actors to join the crew three months in advance for intensive training, climbing through mud pits, practicing close combat, and living in ruins to experience life."

Unlike some film crews where actors haven't even fully grasped the script before filming begins, relying entirely on improvisation and post-production adjustments.

Even Fan Binbin couldn't help but smile.

The female lead in Lu Chuan's film was only cast a week before filming began. After joining the crew, she was frequently late and had trouble memorizing her lines. In the end, the film was salvaged entirely through dubbing and editing.

This anecdote circulated widely within the industry last year.

Lu Chuan finally lost his composure. He stared at Yang Ning for a long while before finally managing to squeeze out, "Director Yang is truly... young and promising."

"I don't deserve such praise." Yang Ning raised his glass. "I still need to learn more from Director Lu. I hope that the movies I make will leave the audience saying, 'So that's how movies can be made,' instead of 'What is this?'"

The laughter around us became much louder.

Lu Chuan gritted his teeth, abruptly turned around and left, his steps slightly hurried, almost bumping into a patrolling waiter.

Yang Ning sat down and continued sipping the untouched glass of juice.

Fan Binbin leaned closer, his eyes gleaming: "What you just said... was absolutely brilliant."

"Just telling the truth." Yang Ning thought to himself, if he couldn't even win an argument with someone like him, then he would have wasted his decades of internet experience from his previous life.

"How do you know so much about his affairs?"

"I've heard people mention it," Yang Ning said without elaborating. He couldn't very well say that these gossip circulated on film and television forums for over a decade in his past life.

The auction continued. Yang Ning donated a Swiss watch given to him by Han Shanping, which sold for 20,000 yuan. It wasn't a remarkable item, but it was a token of his appreciation.

He got up to go to the restroom halfway through.

On his return, he saw Gao Yuanyuan in the quiet corridor.

She was leaning slightly forward, lightly touching up her lipstick in front of the wall mirror.

Hearing footsteps, she saw Yang Ning in the mirror, stopped naturally, and turned around.

"Director Yang." She smiled slightly and put away her lipstick.

The smile was pure and unadulterated, calming the restlessness Yang Ning felt from their earlier exchange.