diymy Chapter 7: A Show of Force
Chapter 7: A Show of Force
In the following days, Guan Shengbai also finalized a contract with the production team, with a salary of 20 yuan.
This amount is naturally too low, considering that Guo Biting's salary is rumored to be over a million.
However, Guan Shengbai was ultimately a newcomer to the independent business, so it was only natural that he was pressured to lower his price to some extent.
Fortunately, no brokerage company took the lion's share, so after taxes and fees, Guan Shengbai is estimated to receive a little over 14.
Yang Mi originally wanted her studio to help with the connection, but Guan Shengbai politely declined.
"If you're going to work independently, you have to act like one, otherwise people will think I've been signed by Sister Jia."
Guan Shengbai winked at Yang Mi.
The "Sister Jia" he mentioned is Zeng Jia, Yang Mi's agent at the time, and also the true leader of Jiaxing Media, which will be established a year later.
More than a decade later, he was the mastermind behind draining Yang Mi dry and kicking her out.
Yang Mi was stunned for a moment, then realized what he meant, pointed at him and laughed and scolded him.
"You! You've gone astray! You're trying to string people along with this act!"
The "others" she referred to were, of course, Chai Zhiping.
"After all, I've already inexplicably offended the director. If I inexplicably offend Producer Chai as well, how am I supposed to survive on this set?"
Guan Shengbai shook his head, looking like he had a headache.
There are no secrets that stay hidden forever. The fact that Guan Shengbai, a newcomer, confronted Ke Jingteng head-on upon his arrival had already spread like wildfire throughout the crew.
Although many staff members were just enjoying the spectacle, when the news reached Chai Zhiping's ears, she reportedly didn't look too happy.
After all, Ko Ching-teng was the apple of her eye, and Kuan Sheng-pai's actions were somewhat like beating a dog without considering its owner.
However, Chai Zhiping's first impression of Guan Shengbai was simply too good.
That face, that physique, that aura in every gesture—every pore exuded the words "a future superstar."
Therefore, now that Guan Shengbai has adopted a "going it alone" attitude, Chai Zhiping is finding it difficult to retaliate.
Because he left Chai Zhiping with a "memorable thought".
Today he may be Yang Mi's junior apprentice, but tomorrow he may be a newcomer under Chai Zhiping's management.
Therefore, under the dual influence of valuing talent and the expectation of winning over others, Chai Zhiping remained silent about the conflict between Guan Shengbai and Ke Jingteng.
She neither stood up for Ko Ching-teng nor caused trouble for Kwan Sheng-pai, acting as if the incident had never happened.
"Now you're scared? Why were you so brave when you rescued the damsel in distress a few days ago?"
Yang Mi mocked him with a half-smile.
Guan Shengbai stared at Yang Mi with wide eyes in astonishment and disbelief.
"Senior sister, it's been so many years, your skin has gotten thicker! You even call yourself 'beautiful' now!"
"Go to hell! You know who I'm talking about!"
Clearly, Guan Shengbai could tell from just one meeting that Ke Jingteng had designs on Guo Biting.
As intelligent as Yang Mi was, she couldn't possibly have missed it, but she was completely helpless against Guan Shengbai, who had a look of "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Believe it or not, the reason I stood up was not only because I was really annoyed with that little punk, but more importantly because the way he looked at you without any regard for you was just too infuriating."
Guan Shengbai didn't even look up, casually flipping through the script in his hand, and said nonchalantly.
Yang Mi tried to feign disdain upon hearing this, but the upturned corners of her mouth betrayed her completely, and her blinking eyes revealed an undisguised joy.
"What are you looking at?"
Seeing Guan Shengbai intently flipping through the A4 paper in his hand, Yang Mi couldn't help but turn her head to steal a glance, her voice even softening slightly.
"I'm reading the script. Have you forgotten? Today is the day I'm filming my first scene."
In fact, Yang Mi also had scenes in this drama that focused on "Xi Cheng," but Guan Shengbai's main scenes were with another female lead, "Gu Li."
He first wanted to have a heated argument and shove with "Gu Li", and then reveal the shocking secret to "Lin Xiao" that "Xi Cheng and Gu Li slept together".
Thinking of this, Yang Mi couldn't help but frown slightly.
"Normally, newcomers choose an easy scene for their first scene, preferably one that they can get right in one take, as a good omen. But him, he just throws this at you right from the start?"
Guan Shengbai understood Yang Mi's meaning, of course.
There's an unwritten rule on film sets: for an actor's first scene, the director usually chooses a relatively simple shot.
Firstly, it's to help the actors get into character, and secondly, it's for good luck.
After all, the first scene went smoothly, which foreshadowed that the subsequent filming would go much more smoothly.
But Guo Jingming deliberately chose a very difficult scene for Guan Shengbai.
This can undoubtedly be interpreted as Guo Jingming, the director, wanting to give Guan Shengbai a thorough and decisive warning.
"fine."
Guan Shengbai put away the script in his hand, his tone as relaxed as if he were discussing what to have for breakfast tomorrow.
"That's exactly what I wanted to try."
"Want to give it a try?"
Yang Mi looked at him suspiciously, "You haven't filmed much in the past two years, have you?"
"right."
Guan Shengbai nodded obediently, "So let's give it a try."
"you......"
Yang Mi was speechless at his nonchalant attitude, and could only roll her eyes in the end, "Fine, fine, it's not me who's embarrassed anyway."
"Don't worry, senior sister."
Guan Shengbai smiled at her, a rare serious expression on his face, "I won't embarrass you."
Looking into his eyes, Yang Mi didn't know why, but she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
She remembered a few years ago in the school's rehearsal hall, when this boy smiled and said to her, "Senior, let me try out for this role."
That time, he was just a freshman in college, yet he managed to portray the most difficult role to play in a stage play—a seventy-year-old man—to the point that the entire audience fell silent, and even his instructor forgot to call a stop.
"Whatever you want."
Yang Mi spoke casually, but she was still vaguely worried inside.
After all, Guan Shengbai has unintentionally become a "big celebrity" in the crew, and there will surely be a lot of onlookers.
If Guan Shengbai messes up his performance, it will be a huge joke.
As it turns out, Yang Mi's worries were not unfounded at all.
The fact that Guan Shengbai, a newcomer, went head-to-head with Ke Jingteng right from the start had already spread throughout the crew.
A newcomer without even a management company dared to embarrass Ko Ching-teng to his face.
This matter is already at the top of the gossip rankings within the production crew.
The news that Guo Jingming arranged a challenging first scene for Guan Shengbai has caused the gossip index to skyrocket.
......
......
That afternoon, there were many more people on set than usual.
Several executive directors and assistant directors were all present. The production crew members surrounded the monitor, pretending to adjust the equipment, while the young women from the styling and makeup teams huddled in a corner, whispering amongst themselves.
Even the burly men from the lighting crew stood aside with their arms crossed, adopting a "I'm just taking a look" attitude.
People came to watch the spectacle, to laugh at the spectacle, and to wonder who Guan Shengbai really was. All sorts of people were there.
Ko Ching-teng had already finished filming his scenes for today. Normally, he would have disappeared long ago, wandering off somewhere, but he came over here this time.
Guo Xiaosi sat in front of the monitor, holding a thermos in his hand, with his usual gentle and polite smile on his face.
He flipped through today's storyboard, occasionally glancing up to say a few words to the director of photography next to him; everything seemed normal.
But Yang Mi noticed that his fingers were flipping through the script much faster than usual.
Guo Xiaosi seems to be looking forward to it.
So what is he expecting?
Are you hoping Guan Shengbai will mess up his performance so he can vent his anger?
Or should we hope that Guan Shengbai really has some skills and proves that he didn't misjudge him?
Yang Mi couldn't figure out Guo Xiaosi's thoughts, nor did she want to.
She only cares about one thing now: whether Guan Shengbai, who hasn't acted in nearly two years, can withstand such great pressure.