Work resumed as per normal the following day.
As Zheng Lunlun had returned, the crew had to hasten the filming process to complete the scenes that he was involved in. As such, it was a hectic and tiring day.
The crew was only able to take a break at 6 p.m. By then, they were done filming at the current location and was ready to move on to the next to resume filming.
The next shooting location was a mountain village. The main scene which was to be filmed there revolved around the female lead teaching at the village.
After being separated for many years, the male lead had finally found the female lead, who was living in seclusion at the mountain village. They lived together at the village for a period of time, until the male lead passed away from an illness.
However, that was the original storyline. After taking market needs and possible reactions of viewers into consideration, the director was worried Zheng Lunlun’s passing in the drama would cause outrage among his fans and cause them to boycott the drama as a result.
Therefore, the ending of the drama was tweaked. Instead of the male lead passing away from the illness, the director decided on an open ending instead, with the couple leaving the village together in search of a cure.
The mountain village scene was the ending scene of the drama. When filming at that location was done, it would be a wrap for the entire drama.
After Zheng Lunlun changed out of his costume, he started whining, saying he was dead tired and bugged Ning Ran to have a drink with him.
However, Ning Ran did not feel like drinking as she was bogged down lately. She just wanted to rest at home and prepare for the next filming session.
Zheng Lunlun was not buying it though. He had wanted to have a meal with Ning Ran since yesterday but had been chased away by his uncle. Without his uncle around today, he was determined to have a drink with her, to celebrate his healthy return.
Zheng Lunlun had always been very clingy and persistent. Once he had his sights set on Ning Ran, it was almost impossible for her to get away with it.
As such, Ning Ran agreed to have dinner with him, but rejected drinks or games. The woman was really exhausted. All she wanted was to get home early and lie on the bed while studying her script.
Just as the two of them exited the film set, they spotted a Rolls-Royce with the car plate number ‘8888’ parked outside.
“Uncle? Why is he here again? He has even dispatched his official sedan! Is he planning to snatch you away again?” Zheng Lunlun let out a cry.
Ning Ran herself was also surprised. Didn’t we just meet for dinner yesterday? Does he want to meet again today?
Besides, they had parted on bad terms last evening. Did he want to continue from where they left off yesterday and escalate the argument even further?
However, Nan Chen did not show up. Jiang Zhe was the one who approached them instead. He seemed overwhelmed with emotions as he greeted Ning Ran, “Good evening, Young Mistress.”
“What did you just address her as?” Zheng Lunlun creased his brows as he clarified with his uncle’s assistant.
“Young Mistress,” Jiang Zhe replied excitedly.
From Jiang Zhe’s expression, it was apparent that he had already found out about the relationship between Ning Ran and Nan Chen.
Jiang Zhe had always been observant. He had an inkling all along, as his boss treated Ning Ran differently from other women.
As such, he had constantly reminded himself to watch his attitude towards the woman, as she might very well become the Nan family’s Young Mistress one day.
True enough, his prediction was correct. Naturally, the assistant was very pleased with himself.
“This way of address is so distasteful! I don’t like it at all,” Zheng Lunlun said with resentment.
Jiang Zhe did not reply. It did not matter to him whether Zheng Lunlun liked it or not. Most importantly, Mr. Nan liked it.
“Young Mistress, I’m under Mr. Chen’s orders to take you to the company,” Jiang Zhe said, as he looked at Ning Ran.
“I don’t think I will go, I’m tired. I feel like going home instead.”
“Yeah, you heard her, she’s tired. She just wants to go home and rest after having dinner with me,” Zheng Lunlun added.
“I’m afraid that’s not possible as Mr. Chen has instructed me to pick you up. Please come with me,” Jiang Zhe said.
“Look at you, Assistant Jiang. Who do you think you are? Do we have to listen to everything you say?” Zheng Lunlun was starting to get really annoyed.
I can’t offend my uncle, but I’m not afraid of offending you! He thought.
“It’s not my idea to fetch the Young Mistress to the company. I’m merely following Mr. Chen’s instructions. There’s an important gathering tonight which will impact Young Mistress, so it’s best that she attend it.” Jiang Zhe was insistent on following his boss’s wishes.
“What kind of gathering is it?” Ning Ran asked.
“From what I know, it’s a dinner gathering with some of Mr. Chen’s friends,” Jiang Zhe replied.
“She isn’t an entertainer. Is my uncle crazy? She’s already so exhausted from a full day’s work, and he’s not letting her rest, and forcing her to entertain with him? Has he turned into one of those unscrupulous capitalists too?” Zheng Lunlun yelled.
“Mr. Chen is very busy. Tonight’s gathering is organized for Young Mistress, and not for his own benefit.”
“For me?” Ning Ran wondered what it could be about.
“Yup,” Jiang Zhe nodded.
“What exactly do you mean by that?”
“You’ll know when you go, Young Mistress. Mr. Chen asked me to convey the message that this is a work commitment. Even though you are the Nan family’s Young Mistress, you are also a signed artiste under Star Entertainment. It’s stated in your contract that you are required to fulfil work obligations.”
That sparked Ning Ran’s irritation. That Poker Face is such a big bully!
However, it was indeed written clearly in the contract. There was no way she could escape from it.
“Okay then, I’ll go.” She had no choice but to accede to the request.
“My uncle is too much! How can he make someone work at this hour of the night? It is equivalent to an invasion of privacy!” Zheng Lunlun was pissed.
“If Young Master Lun has any views on it, you can let Mr. Nan know directly. I’m just following his orders and have no say in the matter either,” Jiang Zhe said.
“Enough, enough, don’t give me this nonsense. Just get going.” Zheng Lunlun waved the assistant off, feeling exasperated.
Ning Ran looked at Zheng Lunlun and extended her palms. “Sorry, I don’t have a choice. I’ll buy you dinner to make up for today next time.”
“Just go, just go.” Zheng Lunlun dismissed her with a wave.
Ning Ran followed Jiang Zhe into the car and they departed.
The chauffeur drove them directly to the headquarters of the Nanshi Corporation. When they reached, Ning Ran and Jiang Zhe took the executive-only elevator up to the conference room.
There were already four people seated in the room, including three men in suits and an attractive lady who looked in her thirties.
“Please wait for a while, Mr. Chen will be here soon,” Jiang Zhe said to Ning Ran.
Those four people suddenly stood up at the same time and nodded to Ning Ran. With smiles on their faces, they said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Ning Ran did not recognize any of them and looked at them with a confused expression.
After they finished with their self-introductions, Ning Ran was stunned beyond words.
The three men belonged to the senior management of Star Entertainment, being the CEO, Executive President and Director of the Department of Film and Television.
As for that lady, she was Wang Xiaoou, the most notable artiste manager in the country. Many of the most famous celebrities were once under her care, and she was affectionately known as ‘Mommy Wang’ in the industry.
Luo Fei, who was at one time a sensation, had also been an artiste under Wang Xiaoou’s management.
The team currently present in the room was basically the best in the country’s entertainment industry. They were the industry’s most influential and powerful individuals and had outstanding achievements in their respective niches.
Just then, Nan Chen walked into the conference room.
“Mr. Chen,” everyone greeted the man with a respectful bow.
He motioned for them to sit down.
“No worries, we know Mr. Chen is a busy man.”
Nan Chen glanced at Jiang Zhe, prompting him to start.
“The main purpose of this meeting is to officially introduce Ms. Ding Mi, Star Entertainment’s newest signed artiste, to all of you. We would also like you to come up with a one-year plan for Ms. Ding to become an A-list celebrity. Mr. Chen has a few requirements that you should keep in mind. First, intentional hype created cannot be too conspicuous.
Second, paying for trending hashtags or searches is not allowed. After all, Ms. Ding is an actress with real abilities and traditional hyping methods are not the best strategies to be used on her. Observation of current trends is that, with regard to celebrities with huge followings, their abilities to exert influence on their fans are becoming weaker.
As such, Mr. Chen hopes you can be more innovative in your ways of thinking, in order to produce a superstar who gained popularity on the basis of her true abilities.”
After Jiang Zhe narrated the agenda of the meeting, a brief silence ensued.
