Reborn in the Entertainment Industry: This Top Star Has Real Achievements

Not long after Zhang Weiping hung up the phone, he asked his secretary to book the earliest flight to Yichang.

He himself sat behind his large desk, twirling the fountain pen he had used for many years between his fingers, his brows involuntarily furrowing into a knot.

He didn't think the matter was particularly difficult; after all, in his view, conflicts on set were a very common occurrence.

Moreover, having collaborated with Zhang Yimou for so many years, when has he not firmly held the initiative?

So even though he knew Zhang Yimou would be unhappy about it, Zhang Weiping didn't take it too seriously.

After all, the film still needs investment from his new visuals, so even if Director Zhang has a big temper, he has to think twice.

However, even after so much time has passed, there has been no word from Zhang Yimou, and no one in the crew has contacted the company.

If it were up to his usual temperament, even if he didn't get angry directly, he would have at least called to complain or make a request to adjust his role in the scene.

But this time, the phone remained quietly on the table, without making a sound.

This unusual behavior also made Zhang Weiping feel inexplicably uneasy.

He put down his pen, tapping his fingertips lightly on the table, but his gaze was fixed on the office buildings outside the window.

Even though it's a project I'm in charge of, why do I feel like I'm being led around?

"Something's not right..." he muttered to himself.

"Mr. Zhang, the plane tickets have been booked, for tonight." The secretary knocked and entered, and seeing his unfriendly expression, she lowered her voice.

Zhang Weiping grunted in agreement, stood up, grabbed his coat, and said, "Tell the driver to take me home first."

But once he got in the car, he took out his phone again and found that there were still no incoming calls.

He could only take a deep breath, find Zhang Yimou's number, hesitate for a moment, and ultimately not dial it.

Forget it, we'll talk about it when we get to Yichang. He refused to believe that with so many years of friendship and his investments, he couldn't handle this little storm.

But that vague sense of passivity, like a thorn stuck in my heart, just wouldn't make me feel comfortable.

As for the film crew, the male and female leads left the set one after the other.

We only filmed a few unimportant shots all afternoon, and then, at Director Zhang's command, we wrapped up early and rushed back to the hotel.

Inside the van, the core members of the production team were all crammed together, and the atmosphere was somewhat somber.

Everyone could tell that the director was in a bad mood today. They looked at each other, but no one dared to speak first.

Finally, Zhang Yimou broke the silence, looking at Fu Lulu in the passenger seat: "Did you call your junior brother?"

"He hit the director," Fu Lulu quickly replied. "He said he wanted to wander around the neighborhood, so he's probably long gone by now."

Zhang Yimou nodded, tapping his knee lightly with his fingertips: "It's good to clear your head; it's like suffering an undeserved disaster."

An assistant director behind him couldn't help but ask, "Director, what about the little yellow duck...?"

"After dinner," Zhang Yimou interrupted him, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable seriousness.

"Please call them up here for me, mother and daughter. We need to make things clear so that the filming schedule isn't delayed."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Zang Xichuan suddenly chuckled, his tone laced with a hint of mockery: "In the end, he's just too young and can't handle things."

I advised you against choosing someone so inexperienced, and look what happened! She gets easily upset over the slightest problem and even offended the male lead.

They were all old comrades-in-arms, so Zhang Yimou wasn't annoyed. He just smiled helplessly, his fingertips pausing on his knee as he sighed softly.

"It's my fault. At first, I saw how closely she was connected to the character and thought I should find a natural actress to hone her skills, but now it seems I was being reckless."

Ultimately, those with formal training are more reliable; at least they understand the rules on set and know what they should and shouldn't do...

After he said that, no one in the car responded.

Everyone knows how much Director Zhang cared about this film; after all, he spent a month just on casting. Now that he's saying this, he probably really regrets it.

Zang Xichuan's barbed remark just now was already carrying a pointed meaning—

After all, the people at New Pictures were quite involved in encouraging the open auditions, and now that things have gone wrong, the director can't be held entirely responsible.

So when he saw the director blaming himself, he quickly tried to smooth things over: "That's too harsh. Who hasn't made a mistake? Besides, children are like that; they can be taught slowly."

The assistant director nodded in agreement: "Yes, director, the most important thing right now is to get things sorted out."

At this point, Fu Lulu chimed in, "Director, what about... what about President Zhang?"

She paused, and seeing that he didn't respond, continued, "This matter has caused quite a stir, and with so many informants, he probably already knew about it. Knowing his personality, I'm afraid..."

He stopped halfway through his sentence, but the meaning couldn't be clearer.

After all, Zhang Weiping is a very domineering person, and he is notorious for being unreasonable and making trouble.

Although Little Yellow Duck acted impulsively and caused trouble this time, she is ultimately a contracted artist with New Pictures.

Looking at the intricate web of relatives within relatives in the new video, it's clear that this boss has always been one to side with his own people, regardless of right or wrong.

If things really escalate, the anger might be directed at Li Xiang.

After all, people tend to pick on the weak, and Li Xiang, a newcomer who hasn't even debuted yet, is the easiest target for their anger.

So asking this question was also to test the waters for his junior apprentice and see if Director Zhang would go to great lengths to protect him at this critical juncture.

Zhang Yimou naturally understood the implied meaning, glanced at her, and instead curled the corners of his mouth: "Right is right, and wrong is wrong."

Even if Zhang Weiping has a terrible temper, he still has to be reasonable. Besides, I personally recruited Li Xiang into the team; no matter what, he wouldn't dare to slap me in the face.

This clear stance put Fu Lulu at ease. At least in this drama, Director Zhang was determined to protect Li Xiang.

However, she also knew that after this incident, Li Xiang would probably never get another role with New Pictures – Zhang Weiping was the most vengeful person.

Zhang Yimou didn't say anything more about it, but instead turned to look at the screenwriter sitting in the back row.

The woman, Ms. Wang, who had been called onto the bus at the last minute, hadn't said a word the whole way. But when she saw the director looking over, she sat up straight.

"How's the script I asked you to revise coming along?" Zhang Yimou asked.

"It's almost finished. The main plot and overall framework haven't changed; we've just made some adjustments to the details... mainly to highlight the male lead's role more."

She was still a little nervous when she said this, after all, this could be considered a kind of infighting within the film crew.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Yimou nodded in satisfaction after listening, tapping his fingertips lightly on his knee, as if talking to himself, yet also as if addressing everyone:

"If someone does something wrong, they should naturally be punished. If someone can't handle the role, then keeping the role is a waste."

Besides, the production schedule can't afford to wait; we can't let one person's condition delay everyone's hard work.

The meaning of this statement couldn't be clearer—

The so-called "minor adjustments" probably involved subtly transferring all the eye-catching scenes that originally belonged to the little yellow duck to Li Xiang.

This is both compensation for Li Xiang and a wake-up call for Little Yellow Duck and the new picture behind her.

Zang Xichuan raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

The executive director looked down at his phone, but a slight smile crept onto his lips.

As for Fu Lulu, she was the one who started this whole mess and stirred up trouble.

The van slowly drove into the hotel parking lot. Zhang Yimou opened the car door first, and before getting out, he turned back and gave a final word of advice:

"Bring me the revised script tonight for review. If there are no problems, have the coordinator include it in the filming schedule. We'll film according to the new script once Li Xiang returns."

"Okay, Director Zhang!" Screenwriter Sister Wang quickly replied.

The silence in the carriage was broken the moment the doors closed.

Zang Xichuan chuckled and said to the executive director, "Well, this is going to be interesting."

The assistant director shook his head, smiled, and sighed, "What's the point of watching a show? Let's just focus on filming. We'll just follow Director Zhang's decision."

Fu Lulu didn't join their discussion; she simply took out her phone and sent Li Xiang a message: "Have fun, there'll be a surprise when you come back."