This director only directs blockbusters.

On the way back, Huang Xiaoming visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Director Yang, what about President Wang...?"

"Don't worry about it for now." Yang Ning looked at the streetlights flashing outside the window. "They're just here to scout things out. Before the film is released, all promises are meaningless."

Huang Xiaoming nodded, then hesitated for a moment: "What about Li Binbin..."

"She's smarter than Wang Zhongjun," Yang Ning said. "She knows that directly discussing cooperation is too pragmatic, so she first tries to do him a favor and leave an impression."

The car drove into the base, and the lights of the film set shone in the night.

Before getting out of the car, Yang Ning patted Huang Xiaoming on the shoulder: "Thank you for your hard work today."

"Of course," Huang Xiaoming grinned.

Back at his residence, Yang Ning took out the business card.

Li Binbin. In 2002, she was on the rise, a queen of television dramas, and began to transition into film.

The fact that she proactively handed over her business card at this time was clearly not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

This woman is extraordinary; she has such high emotional and intellectual intelligence. No wonder she became a valuable asset in later generations.

He put the business card into the drawer.

Then I turned on my computer and pulled up tomorrow's shooting schedule.

Rain scene. Ruins. Three hundred people in command.

This is what we should be most concerned about right now.

As for those dinner parties, business cards, and subtle olive branches—

Once the film is finished, everything else will fall into place.

It was a complete failure; all the bids were for nothing.

…………

Time flies, and three months have already passed since we started filming.

On set, the most important scene was being filmed, and Yang Ning looked tense. Meanwhile, in the theater, Peter Ho's hand, raised halfway, stopped.

Hu Ge turned around, his body slightly turned to the side, but there was nothing in his eyes—no reluctance, no struggle, nothing that brothers should have when they are about to part ways.

The set was so quiet that only the sound of electrical circuits could be heard.

Yang Ning stood up from behind the monitor without saying a word.

He walked up to the two of them, looked at the fine beads of sweat on Peter Ho's forehead, and then at Hu Ge's vacant eyes.

"How many times has this happened?" Yang Ning asked.

The script supervisor whispered, "The eighth time."

"The same place?"

"Yes, it was when Teacher He patted Hu Ge on the shoulder and Hu Ge turned around."

Yang Ning nodded, not looking at the actors, but instead turning to look around the set.

The lighting technician leaned against the scaffold, his eyes glazed over; the props crew squatted in a corner, heads down, playing Snake on their phones.

Even Chen Qiming, who is usually very focused, had his fingers trembling slightly when adjusting the lighting.

It's been three months.

Every day, the moment I open my eyes, it's all about the drama; the moment I close my eyes, it's still all I can think about.

I started work at six in the morning and filmed until midnight. When I got back to the dormitory, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, and I was even reciting my lines in my dreams.

People have become machines.

The movements were standard, the positioning was standard, the expression was standard—but it lacked soul.

Yang Ning turned around and looked at Peter Ho and Hu Ge.

The two of them lowered their heads, not daring to look at him.

"What did you have for lunch?" Yang Ning suddenly asked.

Peter Ho was taken aback: "Huh?"

I asked, "What did you have for lunch?"

"Bunny box... braised pork with potatoes, stir-fried cabbage."

"Is it tasty?"

"It's...it's alright." Peter Ho's voice trailed off. "The meat's a bit dry."

"And you?" Yang Ning asked, looking at Hu Ge.

Hu Ge opened his mouth, but after a long pause, he managed to squeeze out, "I...I didn't notice."

"Didn't you notice?"

"They just memorized the words without appreciating the nuances."

Yang Ning nodded. He didn't get angry or curse; he simply walked behind the monitor and picked up the walkie-talkie.

"Attention all."

Everyone looked over.

"knock off."

Two words, light and airy.

But the entire film set seemed to be paused.

No one moved, no one spoke; everyone stood there, stunned, thinking they had misheard.

Old Xu rushed over with the call sheet, his forehead covered in sweat: "Director Yang, if we don't shoot this scene today, we'll fall behind schedule. Tomorrow we have the explosion scene on the city wall, and the day after..."

"I said we're done." Yang Ning repeated, his voice not loud, but very clear.

He took off his headphones, placed them on the monitor, and turned to walk out.

He took two steps, then stopped.

"We have a day off tomorrow."

This time, everyone heard it clearly.

---

Back in the surveillance vehicle, Yang Ning lit a cigarette.

Old Xu followed him in and closed the car door.

"Yang Zi, what's wrong with you...?" Old Xu rubbed his hands together. "We're really falling behind schedule. Chairman Han even called yesterday to ask..."

"Old Xu," Yang Ning interrupted him, "look at that group of people outside, how many of them even look alive?"

Old Xu choked.

"Peter Ho has been acting for over ten years, and Hu Ge is a professionally trained actor from the Shanghai Theatre Academy, yet they couldn't get a 'brothers saying goodbye' scene right after eight takes," Yang Ning exhaled a puff of smoke. "Is it because they can't act?"

"……no."

"They've run out of steam," Yang Ning said, looking out the car window. "The string was stretched too tight and snapped. If we keep filming, all we'll produce will be garbage."

Old Xu fell silent.

Yang Ning stubbed out his cigarette: "Notify logistics that we're having a barbecue tonight."

Meat is plentiful, and as for alcohol... beer is allowed, but no spirits.

Tomorrow's a holiday. I can sleep in or go shopping if I want.

"That progress..."

"What's the point of shooting a bad film like this?" Yang Ning looked at him. "It helps to get them emotionally engaged, so it won't affect the schedule."

Old Xu sighed, nodded, and got out of the car.

Yang Ning leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

My mind was filled with the images from the monitor—Peter Ho's empty eyes, Hu Ge's stiff turn, and the numb faces on set.

It's been three months. He's exhausted himself, sleeping less than five hours a day, his mind filled with shots, blocking, and budgets.

But he cannot collapse.

When he collapsed, this group truly scattered.

---

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the news of the end of the workday spread throughout the entire base.

At first, nobody believed it.

"Really? Director Yang gets a vacation?"

"It's definitely fake. Last time they said they'd finish early, but they ended up filming until 3 a.m.

"But all the equipment has been packed up..."

It wasn't until the lighting crew actually started packing up the lights, the props crew was packing them into boxes, and the actors removed their makeup and changed into casual clothes that everyone finally believed it—

Today, it's truly over.

The film set suddenly became lively.

But the excitement was strange—not excitement, but bewilderment. Like a prisoner suddenly released, standing at the prison gate, not knowing where to go.

Huang Xiaoming squatted in the rest area, holding a bottle of water, but didn't drink a drop for a long time.

Fan Binbin sat next to him, the script still lying on his lap, but his eyes were staring into the distance, unfocused.

Peter Ho and Hu Ge had already changed out of their costumes and sat in a corner, neither of them speaking.

This is the scene that Yang Ning saw when he got out of the surveillance vehicle.

He frowned, walked to the open space, and clapped his hands.

Everyone looked over.

"What are you all standing there for?" Yang Ning said. "Didn't Lao Xu tell us? Barbecue tonight, right here. Liu Yong!"

Liu Yong emerged from the crowd: "Director Yang?"

"You know how to grill meat, right?"

"Yes! I learned from the locals when I was filming in XJ before!"