Chapter 057: On the Filming Set

Chapter 057: On Set

The atmosphere inside the car suddenly turned ambiguous. Murong Wei seemed to have exhausted all her courage and dared not utter a word, nor did Chu Fei. Murong Wei’s sudden confession had left him bewildered.

“Chu Fei, don’t get the wrong idea. I—I wasn’t saying I like you.” At last, Murong Wei broke the awkward silence.

“Haha, I know. Someone as outstanding as you couldn’t possibly be interested in someone as useless as me,” Chu Fei laughed.

“You’re not useless at all,” Murong Wei muttered, pouting. Chu Fei didn’t dare respond. He hadn’t expected Murong Wei to confess out of the blue. This was trouble. The more he interacted with her, the more he saw her kindness. He didn’t want to hurt this girl. This wasn’t something that could be resolved by simply ignoring responsibility after a fling; he’d have to take responsibility.

Chu Fei suddenly thought of Xu Shiqi. He still couldn’t figure out what that woman was thinking. Out of nowhere, she had come to seduce him and sleep with him. If it was just to spite her fiancé, it didn’t quite make sense.

If it were a stranger, he wouldn’t care. But Xu Shiqi was an old classmate. What was going on? How vexing!

“Hey, what are you thinking about?” Murong Wei noticed Chu Fei’s silence and leaned in curiously.

“Nothing. I was just thinking, since you like someone like me, what method should I use to win you over? If I succeed, I’ll save decades of struggle,” Chu Fei came to himself and chuckled.

“You wish! I wouldn’t be interested in you at all.” Murong Wei’s cheeks reddened, and she quickly turned away. Yet the curve at her lips betrayed her feelings.

Chu Fei felt a headache coming on. Murong Wei truly liked him—what was he supposed to do?

—

The commercial shoot was set in a scenic area. When Chu Fei and Murong Wei arrived, they immediately spotted Zhang Qing, who approached looking troubled.

“Sister Qing, what’s happened? Why do you look so worried?” Murong Wei hurried over.

Chu Fei also looked at Zhang Qing, puzzled.

“It’s nothing,” Zhang Qing sighed, forcing a smile at Chu Fei before explaining, “That little model Li Duo’er is cooperating well, arrived early and is waiting for the shoot. But the director’s team is the problem.”

“What’s wrong?” Murong Wei pressed.

“It’s already three in the afternoon. We were supposed to start shooting at two, but the director still hasn’t arrived,” Zhang Qing said with a bitter smile, her delicate brows knitted tightly.

“How could this happen? Didn’t we already agree on everything? This is a breach of contract!” Murong Wei said angrily.

Chu Fei’s brows furrowed as well. According to their contract, production costs with the director’s team were calculated by time. Feilu had signed a two-day contract, which should have been ample, yet the director’s absence was clearly wasting time.

“That’s the way it is, but the other side claims our earlier delays led to this. Now we say we’re ready and expect to begin, but they feel disrespected. Our contracted director is currently shooting another commercial, and once finished, he’ll rush over. We’ve been asked to wait patiently,” Zhang Qing explained helplessly.

“He could have told us in advance if he was busy this morning! Now we’re all prepared, and he pulls this stunt—clearly intentional,” Murong Wei said, fuming.

Zhang Qing forced a smile; she felt the same as Murong Wei but there was nothing she could do. They’d reached this point, and even if the other side was deliberately making things difficult, they had to endure it. The initial delays had been their own fault, and switching directors now was impossible—it would waste even more money and time, and finding a suitable director on short notice was unlikely.

“So what do we do now? Just sit and wait?” Murong Wei, still young, struggled to accept the situation, looking from Zhang Qing to Chu Fei.

“We’ll wait. The other side promised to arrive before four, and there’s nothing else we can do,” Zhang Qing shrugged at them.

“Four o’clock? Another hour?” Murong Wei’s expression soured, clearly upset.

“Come on, standing here won’t help. Let’s go rest for a bit.” Zhang Qing turned and led the way.

Murong Wei bit her lip and fell silent, following Zhang Qing to the rest area.

The shoot’s theme was lingerie, with mainly indoor scenes and few outdoor setups. Only a temporary makeup tent and two rest tents had been erected.

The main tent was, unsurprisingly, occupied by the director’s team. Though the lead director hadn’t arrived, the assistants were already there, playing cards and chatting idly.

The little model and Feilu’s staff occupied the two smaller tents.

Feilu didn’t have many people on site; besides Zhang Qing, there was only a girl named Xiaoyu, whose main task was to coordinate.

“Leader’s here.” Xiaoyu was playing a mobile game, but stood up quickly when the three entered, smiling as she greeted Chu Fei.

Chu Fei smiled and was about to sit when a man’s voice sounded behind him.

“Mr. Chu, hello.”

Chu Fei turned to see Zhong Baisong, the effeminate manager he’d met before, and chuckled, “Ah, Manager Zhong. What can I do for you?”

“Not at all, I just wanted to ask when the shoot will officially start?” Zhong Baisong asked cautiously.

“Why? Can’t wait?” Chu Fei frowned. Truthfully, he found this effeminate manager rather unpleasant.

“No, no, I just heard there’s a problem with the director’s team and wondered if you needed my help,” Zhong Baisong said with a nervous smile. He was terrified of Chu Fei now. Last night, when President Wu arrived, his first words were a scolding and a kick—much harder than Chu Fei’s slap. His lower back still ached, and this morning, President Wu had instructed him to treat Feilu’s people, especially Chu Fei, as he would his own father. If Chu Fei slapped his left cheek, he was to offer his right.

What kind of concept was that? Zhong Baisong knew President Wu was not a weak man, so he wasn’t foolish. He guessed this unremarkable young man must possess a remarkable identity, enough to make President Wu curry favor.

So he realized he must ingratiate himself with Chu Fei.

Seeing the change in Zhong’s expression, Chu Fei felt amused. The man was genuinely afraid of him, and his question was reasonable, so Chu Fei explained the director’s absence.

“The director’s not here?” Zhong Baisong’s face darkened. He’d thought Feilu was responsible for the delay, but now it was the director’s team. He could bow to Chu Fei and Feilu, but that didn’t mean he was of low status—in the entertainment industry, he was a notable figure.

“Yes. The director should arrive soon, but the delay is really due to your model. If she hadn’t delayed the shoot, this wouldn’t have happened,” Chu Fei said, putting the blame on the model.

“Yes, yes, it was Duo’er’s fault. I apologize on her behalf,” Zhong Baisong said, but didn’t leave. Instead, he looked at Chu Fei, hesitating.

“What is it? Is there something else?”

“Well, Mr. Chu, from what you said, it seems the director is deliberately making things difficult…”

“It’s not just ‘seems,’ it’s obvious,” Murong Wei interjected, still angry.

“Right, the director is being difficult. Since that’s the case, even when he arrives, he’ll likely cause more trouble. So I think your company should switch to another director’s team,” Zhong Baisong suggested.

“We know that would be best, but where would we find a suitable replacement on such short notice?” Zhang Qing said with a bitter smile. She’d thought of it, but had no solution.

Zhong Baisong glanced at Chu Fei and said cautiously, “If you trust me, Mr. Chu, I can recommend a director’s team.”

“Are they suitable?” Chu Fei raised an eyebrow.

“It’s just a lingerie commercial. For my friend, it’s child’s play—no problem at all,” Zhong Baisong assured him, confident.

“Really?” Chu Fei looked at Zhang Qing.

“What’s your friend’s name? Is he specialized in lingerie commercials?” Zhang Qing sounded uncertain; the contracted director had been carefully selected for his skill in that area and Feilu always strove for excellence.

“My friend is Zhang Xiaowen.”

“Director Zhang?” Chu Fei was indifferent, but Zhang Qing and the other two women’s eyes went wide.

“So you know him. That’s good. I think he can handle a commercial shoot easily…” Zhong Baisong was about to continue, but Zhang Qing interrupted, “Director Zhang is certainly capable, but I’m afraid we can’t afford his fee. Our budget is limited…”

“Don’t worry about that. My friend likes to smoke; give him a pack of cigarettes and he’ll be satisfied. He happens to be shooting another commercial nearby. If Mr. Chu agrees, I’ll call him over to lend a hand. I have enough pull for that,” Zhong Baisong said, finally looking to Chu Fei—his eagerness all for Chu Fei’s sake.

“That’s not right! Director Zhang is a famous director—we truly can’t afford his fee…” Zhang Qing was so excited she could barely speak coherently.

“Alright. Go ahead and contact him,” Chu Fei waved dismissively—Zhang Qing’s reaction had already proven Director Zhang’s ability.

“Just a moment, Mr. Chu. I’ll call him now,” Zhong Baisong breathed a sigh of relief and hurried out, afraid Chu Fei wouldn’t accept his goodwill.

Watching Zhong Baisong leave, Chu Fei smiled and turned back to the three excited women, surprised. “Are you really that worked up? Isn’t he just a director?”

The three women simultaneously rolled their eyes at him.

“Chu Fei, you’re so clueless. Do you know what kind of status Director Zhang has? He’s no ordinary director, but a true master,” Zhang Qing said, looking at Chu Fei as if he were an idiot.

“A master is still a director. Is it worth getting so excited?” Chu Fei pouted. He’d never heard of Zhang Xiaowen before, so naturally he wasn’t excited.

“There’s no talking to you,” Murong Wei said, glaring at Chu Fei. “Do you know Zhang Yimou?”

“Of course,” Chu Fei replied, exasperated. Few in China didn’t know the grand old master.

“Director Zhang Xiaowen may not be as exalted as Zhang Yimou, but he’s certainly one of China’s most renowned directors, especially in commercial production. Even Zhang Yimou has praised him and admitted he can’t match his skills,” Murong Wei explained, educating Chu Fei.

“Really?” Chu Fei’s eyes widened, glancing at the door. Did that effeminate manager really have that much pull…?

ps1: Today, there are still only two chapters. Don’t worry—I’m adjusting my state and revisiting the outline’s details. Once everything is sorted, I’ll speed up the updates. As always, quality is most important during the early stages of a new book, so I won’t rush!

ps2: Lately, many people have entered the VIP group but haven’t been able to reach me privately. Not sure what’s wrong. Please add me as a friend first, then message me. Otherwise, some messages don’t get through—it’s not that I’m ignoring you. Sorry for the inconvenience!