Chapter 544 Swayed
“Stop testing me. I wasn’t lying when I turned down that offer and said I want the kids protected. I don’t want my kids to be targets, and I don’t care how much money they offer. My children will not be a pawn in anything.”
“It’s just… Erbao said she wants to be an actress, and I’m swaying a little. Maybe we should let her try. Obviously, we won’t need the kids to earn the money, but it’d be rather interesting to let her try. When she grows up, she’ll be able to see herself in the movie. Won’t that be cute?” asked Nan Chen.
Ning Ran was a little surprised, as she did not expect Nan Chen to consider letting Erbao play a role in the movie.
His words make sense, though. It’s rather amazing to let her play the role, and it’ll definitely help her grow. The only thing is that I have to be absolutely certain that she’ll be safe. Except… There are no such absolutes in the world. It would be a lie if anyone said otherwise.
“It’s fine if you don’t want it,” chimed Nan Chen.
“Let me think about it. Shooting a movie is a tiring task, and Erbao just wants to play. She definitely won’t be able to handle the stress of actually being an actress,” replied Ning Ran, who was in a dilemma.
“You don’t need to worry about that. The movie mainly features adults, and kids have very few lines. It won’t wear Erbao out, and I certainly won’t let her work endlessly for the production team.”
Nan Chen’s words made him sound as though he truly wanted Erbao to be a part of the movie.
If we take money out of consideration, letting the kids participate in the production of a movie would be a rather interesting and meaningful experience.
Ning Ran was swaying as well.
“Let me think a little more about it, then.”
Their conversation was relatively peaceful at that time, and they reached the filming site soon after.
Getting out of the car, Ning Ran entered the site.
Even though no one dared to passive-aggressively diss her anymore, they were still staring at her enviously.
The director showed up to welcome her right away. “Ms. Ding, please come over. I have something to discuss with you.”
Ning Ran went to the office that was temporarily set up, and the screenwriter was already there.
“Ms. Ding, we’d like to know what you’d like to change in the script,” said the screenwriter.
Hearing that, Ning Ran was taken aback. Nan Chen had requested for the script to be changed, and almost all of Huang Zichao’s scenes were removed. Why are they changing the script again?
“It’s probably inappropriate for me to say anything about the script. I have no authority over it, anyway,” replied Ning Ran sincerely.
“Sir Chen told us to ask for your opinion,” responded the screenwriter sternly.
Ning Ran was stunned once more. “He did?”
“Yes, last night Sir Chen asked his men to tell us to change the script. We don’t know how he’d like the script to be, so he told us to ask you.”
Ning Ran was delighted. It turned out she had actually convinced Nan Chen to listen, and the only reason he did not say anything at the time was that he was too proud to do so.
Unfortunately, she was also troubled when asked to comment on the script.
Editing it would affect how the story went, and it definitely would determine how many scenes Huang Zichao would be in.
If there were too many love scenes in there, Nan Chen would definitely misread the situation and thought that she was in love with Huang Zichao.
However, it would not do if Huang Zichao had too little screen time either.
Even so, not having too many steamy scenes was the most important bit.
Anything even slightly passionate was out of the question because Nan Chen definitely would not approve of it.
“Ms. Ding, what changes would you like to make?” queried the screenwriter once more.
“Err… Let me think about it for a while. I may not be able to provide any constructive feedback, though. The best I can do is try my best.”
“Okay, then please let us know after you’ve thought about it,” replied the screenwriter.
“Yeah, we’ll shoot the scenes that wouldn’t be affected for now. Let’s get the supporting actors in place,” chimed the director, who agreed to do the same.
With everything settled, everyone went to work on their own tasks.
During lunch break, Wang Xiaoou dropped by.
She had been busy working as Ning Ran’s manager, so she had not shown up in a while.
“Looks like you’ll have to treat me to a meal today.”
The first thing the woman did was ask Ning Ran to do something that required money.
Ning Ran had always been careful with her budget, so naturally, she asked for more information.
“I’ll tell you if you treat me to a meal,” insisted Wang Xiaoou. It seemed as though she was determined to get a meal out of it.
“In that case, I’d rather not know,” replied Ning Ran with a smile.
“Seriously, woman, do you really have to be that stingy?” asked Wang Xiaoou in exasperation.
She had worked for many celebrities in the past, and that was the first time she met someone as stingy as Ning Ran.
“All right, I’ll buy you lunch,” uttered Ning Ran with a grin. “Now, can you tell me why I’m doing that?”
“You’re doing that because I asked. Isn’t that a good enough reason?” Wang Xiaoou smiled.
Ning Ran giggled at that. “Yeah, yeah. It is. It’s the perfect reason, actually. I never enjoyed eating on my own, anyway.”
“I was only kidding. You’re nominated as one of the best new actresses and are up for a Golden Flower Award,” informed Wang Xiaoou.
“Wait, what did you say?” Ning Ran asked, thinking she had misheard the other woman’s words.
It’s unbelievable, huh? I have a hard time believing it too, but there’s no mistaking it. I have received the letter inviting you to join Golden Flower Awards this year. You are nominated.”
Wang Xiaoou was delighted as well, and her eyes shone with glee.
Golden Flower Awards was one of the most prestigious awards in the industry. The key to its success was the fact that every nominee was chosen by the viewers.
Professional judges only had thirty percent say in who would win the competition. The other seventy percent of that privilege was with the viewers.
That made Golden Flower Awards much more unbiased than the other awards, which depended only on the experts. It also prevented bribes from happening.
All that made Golden Flower Awards one of the more coveted awards. It was also why everyone would watch the ceremony live.
To up-and-coming artists, a Golden Flower Award was an important validation. Even being nominated was a huge honor.
For an actress like Ning Ran, who was not that famous, being nominated was amazing news.
“Are you sure, Ou? Am I really nominated?” asked Ning Ran as she hugged Wang Xiaoou.
“Of course I’m sure. I’ve received the official letter. The ceremony will be live, and the entire world will be watching, so you have got to be ready. You have to get everyone blown away.”
“But… I’ve never walked on the red carpet before, and I’m scared,” voiced Ning Ran.
“Oh, you don’t need to worry about anything because you’ll have a famous celebrity as your date. He will walk down the red carpet with you. Oh, this is so exciting. You’ll never guess who that person is.”
“Who?”
“The renowned Huang Zichao, of course. His team contacted me. They said that since you two are shooting a movie together, it’d be best for the both of you to walk on the red carpet side by side. He’s an international superstar who had walked down countless red carpets before, so he’s experienced in the matter. With him leading a newbie like you, the rest of us will be at ease. Similarly, you won’t need to be nervous either, because he will be there for you.”
Ning Ran was stunned speechless when she heard that.
Naturally, she was okay with it, but a certain someone definitely would have problems with it.
“What’s wrong? Are you not happy with that arrangement?” asked Wang Xiaoou in a surprised tone.
“It’s not that. It’s just… Is absolutely everybody okay with that?” asked Ning Ran.
Wang Xiaoou did not understand what Ning Ran meant by “everybody,” so she pointed out, “The agency representing him and the agency representing you are okay with it, so it’s pretty much settled. Do we need anybody else’s permission?”
