Huayu: Starting from retirement, sweeping across the domestic entertainment industry

Li Ran looked at Zhou Ye, who had run up to him. Her eyes were filled with undisguised anxiety and heartache. He whispered to comfort her, "It's nothing, it was just a little wipe."

Zhou Ye carefully raised his hand to touch the faint red scratch on his forehead, his brows furrowing: "What do you mean it's nothing? It's still red! He actually dared to hit you with something!"

As she spoke, her gaze lashed out like a knife at Li Mingde, who was squatting on the ground clutching his stomach.

Li Ran glanced in the direction of her gaze, a sense of absurdity washing over him.

Even though I was the one who was attacked, why does the other person seem more like the victim?

He reached out and gently pulled Tian Xiwei behind him, then stepped forward, his posture upright, looking down at Li Mingde.

His voice carried a sense of pressure: "Kid, not bad, you've got a temper and you're pretty quick too."

Li Mingde looked up, his eyes filled with resentment, staring viciously at Li Ran.

Li Ran's eyes darkened slightly, and he was about to take another step closer to make him fully understand what pain was.

"Li Ran! That's enough!"

Zhang Ruoyun's voice rang out just in time. He practically ran over, grabbed Li Ran's arm with considerable force, and pulled him back a little.

He lowered his voice and said quickly, "Calm down. Xiao Tian has already taught him a lesson. If this continues, it will be really hard to handle, and it will not be good for the crew or for you."

Zhang Ruoyun's gaze swept over the group, and she inwardly groaned, "What kind of mess is this?!"

At this moment, producer Wang, who had rushed over after receiving a call from Director Ding, also squeezed into the center of the crowd.

He originally thought it was just a minor matter of replacing an unruly young actor, but he didn't expect the atmosphere on set to be so tense.

He felt a chill run down his spine, quickly scanned the area, his gaze lingering on Li Ran's face for a moment, then looked at Li Mingde on the ground and Director Ding with his frosty expression, and roughly got a sense of what was going on.

He walked up to Li Ran first, a professional, apologetic smile on his face, and spoke in an exceptionally gentle tone: "Li Ran, I'm really sorry. Leave this to me, and I'll definitely give you a satisfactory explanation."

The level of importance he placed on the matter clearly exceeded what he would have placed on an ordinary actor.

He then turned to Zhang Ruoyun, his tone polite but carrying an unquestionable sense of entrustment: "Teacher Zhang, could you please take Li Ran and the others to the lounge to rest and regroup? I'll handle things here."

Zhang Ruoyun understood and nodded: "Okay, Producer Wang."

He gently placed one hand on Li Ran's shoulder, while simultaneously gesturing to Zhou Ye and Tian Xiwei with his eyes.

Before leaving, Zhou Ye and Tian Xiwei both turned back and glared coldly at Li Mingde.

As soon as Li Ran and the others left the filming area accompanied by Zhang Ruoyun, producer Wang's face immediately darkened.

He glanced around at the staff who were still lingering and whispering, his voice not loud, but carrying a clear sense of authority.

"Alright! Everyone, disperse! Go do what you were doing!"

He paused, his sharp gaze sweeping across each face. "What happened on set today is an internal matter for the production crew. Anyone who can't control their mouth and talks nonsense outside, affecting the crew's reputation..."

He paused for a moment: "Watch your jobs."

Stunned by his words, everyone scattered like birds and beasts, returning to their posts, but their eyes still exchanged glances filled with surprise and gossipy excitement.

What the director says on set may not matter, but you can't ignore what the producer says, because he represents the investors.

Some junior directors can be replaced at will by producers.

After the area was cleared, Producer Wang approached Director Ding, whose face was still grim, and the two began to talk in hushed tones.

The production assistant had already led Li Mingde away to a secluded temporary meeting room.

What awaits him is clearly more than just a simple termination notice.

In the lounge, Li Ran sat on the sofa. To his left was Zhou Ye's furrowed brows and his fingers carefully touching his forehead, while to his right was Tian Xiwei's concerned gaze, her eyes filled with unspoken words.

"It's really nothing," he said, tilting his head slightly to avoid Zhou Ye's fingers, his voice tinged with helplessness. "It was just a graze, not even a scratch."

"Coconut, stop rubbing it! If you keep rubbing it, even the areas that weren't red before will turn red."

Zhou Ye grumbled in dissatisfaction, "Who rubbed it? I was just looking."

At this moment, Tian Xiwei, who was standing to the side, seemed to remember something and looked down to rummage through her bag and pulled out a band-aid.

She handed it to Li Ran, "Li Ran, why don't you put this on? Even though the skin isn't broken, putting it on will prevent infection and help it heal faster."

Li Ran looked at the cartoon band-aid and thought, "There's no broken skin, so what could it be infected with?"

And what the heck is this pink Hello Kitty?

He sighed and politely declined, saying, "Really, it's not necessary, Xiaotian, thank you. Putting this on is too much."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Ye moved as fast as a cat guarding its food, snatching the band-aid from Xiao Tian's hand and staring at Li Ran.

"Why not use it?" Zhou Ye's voice was calm, but it gave Li Ran an undeniable hint.

She deftly tore open the adhesive tape, took out the small piece of tape, pinched the edge with her fingertips, and turned to Li Ran, "Lower your head a little."

Li Ran was stunned for a moment, and looking at Zhou Ye's tense expression, she subconsciously lowered her head.

Zhou Ye moved closer and precisely applied the band-aid to the almost invisible red mark, pressing the edges firmly with his fingertip to ensure it was secure.

"Alright." She stepped back and examined her "work."

Throughout the entire process, Tian Xiwei stood quietly to the side and watched without saying a word to stop it or trying to take back the band-aid.

It seems that who performs this "care" is not so important at this moment.

Suddenly, the delicate relationship between the two of them relaxed in a strange way.

Zhang Ruoyun, who had been leaning against the door with her arms crossed, silently observed everything and took in the interaction between the three of them.

His lips curled up, forming a clear, mischievous smile, like the expression of a sleazy old man in a Japanese adult film.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the other conference room was somewhat oppressive.

Producer Wang looked at Li Mingde across from him, his tone laced with disdain, "Young man, you've got quite the temper, haven't you?"

"What, you think you're all grown up now and can challenge the production crew? Or do you think your few Weibo followers can back you up and give you the right to act tough here?"

Li Mingde stood across the table, gritting his teeth, his eyes gloomy, and said with a stiff neck, "You're the ones who are being unfair! Why can Li Ran change things so easily? I just won't accept it!"

"You disagree?" Producer Wang scoffed, as if he had heard something amusing.

"Now you're the one asking to get out, and you're trying to blackmail the crew? What right do you have? Huh? Just because that little girl slapped you?"

Li Mingde's face turned completely pale, and his lips trembled.

He knew that what Producer Wang said was true, but the extreme embarrassment and anger of being completely denied made him lose his last bit of rationality.

"Fine! Fine! You bunch of bastards!" Li Mingde suddenly raised his head, his voice hoarse. "You just wait! This isn't over! I'll let everyone know how your crew bullies people! We'll see!"

He slammed the door shut and left, leaving Producer Wang and Director Ding stunned.

Director Ding scoffed, "Old Wang, see that? This is what they call 'it's hard to reason with a damned ghost.' You give him a way out, but he won't budge; he insists on crashing into a dead end."

"His ambitions were higher than the sky, but his fate..." He shook his head, not finishing the sentence, but the meaning was self-evident.

Producer Wang's expression gradually softened, turning into a cold, businesslike demeanor.

"Why bother getting angry with him? He's just a clueless nobody. The important thing now is to find a replacement actor."

Director Ding frowned, beginning to consider suitable candidates: "Their appearance and temperament should be somewhat similar, their acting skills should be solid, and ideally, they should be able to join the crew immediately..."

In the end, the two were unable to come up with a suitable candidate, so they decided to ask other actors in the crew if they knew anyone suitable.