Zhou Yun was planning on sleeping in but was rudely awakened early in the morning by a stupid knocking sound.
The intensity of the knocks almost seemed like they were going to take the door off its hinges.
Zhou Yun opened the door, looking displeased at the person standing at the doorway.
Gu Huaichun looked as if he had been fished out of a sewer, his face all grimy.
He stood there stony-faced, jabbing his finger towards Zhou Yun’s face forcefully, not touching it, but the gesture was much the same.
"Mind your own damn business, moron!"
After saying that, Gu Huaichun turned around and stormed back to his room, seething.
Zhou Yun was utterly bewildered.
She brought up the incident while having breakfast with Zhou Lan, who suddenly recalled, "Could it be about what happened yesterday afternoon? I messaged his agent last night."
Zhou Yun figured it out then and there.
She shrugged and said, "I kindly reminded him, and yet he got all pissed off."
Zhou Lan couldn’t help but give a wry laugh, "Maybe I should get you a different room."
"No need," Zhou Yun stubbornly responded, "Why should I move? It’s like showing I’m scared of him. If anyone should move, it should be him. I’m going to buy a speaker, and if he starts any nonsense again, I’ll blast ’Qinghai-Tibet Plateau’ at him."
Zhou Lan: "What... What’s gotten into you? How did he offend you?"
Zhou Yun’s reaction was not quite what Zhou Lan had anticipated.
Zhou Yun then told Zhou Lan about what had happened during last night’s dinner.
"You really know how to kick things off, having a fallout with the male lead even before filming starts," Zhou Lan said with a mixture of frustration and amusement, "He’s going crazy, and you’re going right along with him."
Zhou Yun appeared unconcerned, "It’s just acting together; so what if we’ve fallen out? He lashes out like a mad dog, should I willingly let him bite me?"
Right at that moment, the ’mad dog’ himself walked past them.
Both shut their mouths.
Once he was out of earshot, Zhou Yun complained: "Why is he everywhere? Like a bad penny."
Zhou Lan: "This is the cast’s communal cafeteria; can you really ask him not to come here for meals?"
Instantly, Zhou Yun turned on Zhou Lan, "You don’t even treat me to a fancy meal."
"You’re the rich lady now; you ought to be treating," Zhou Lan retorted.
Zhou Yun: "...That’s so mean."
Zhou Lan got serious, "I’m serious here, you really need to hold back a bit on set. Whatever you do at the company stays internal at most, but if something goes wrong on set, it becomes an external issue. Your conflict with Gu Huaichun might seem personal, but mishandled, it could escalate into a conflict with Yuehai. He got the lead role because he’s backed by serious clout; don’t underestimate that."
"How come Gu Huaichun isn’t at all wary of me? Doesn’t he realize I have support at Chengqian Entertainment?"
Zhou Lan replied, "They have the platform, you have an agency. Nowadays, platforms have the biggest say, especially since this drama is airing on Yuehai Network."
"So, I shouldn’t have signed with Chengqian Entertainment?" Zhou Yun asked.
"It’s not entirely like that; different companies offer different benefits," Zhou Lan explained. "Platforms have rich resources for film and drama, but they fall short in other areas. If you were with a platform, you’d be limited in other dramas, variety shows, or other business opportunities."
"Alright, alright, I get it. With you as my agent, it’s good no matter where I sign," Zhou Yun said.
Zhou Lan continued, "The buzz about you online is cooling down, and the company is in touch with platforms to remove some posts. Once ’After the Scandal’ airs, we’ll slowly ramp up publicity for you again."
"Mhm," Zhou Yun nodded.
Zhou Lan also sighed inwardly.
In this industry, reality hits hard; once an artist encounters problems they can’t solve, all work will desert them.
Just think, a week ago, collaborators were flocking towards Zhou Yun, but now there’s hardly anyone.
And the collaborators Zhou Yun took the initiative to contact are now merely perfunctory, making no significant progress at all.
Except for those who are just looking for publicity.
But Zhou Lan doesn’t want to take on those kinds of business dealings for Zhou Yun.
After breakfast, Zhou Lan said, "I’ll be going now. I’ve still got some work to do. You take good care of yourself in the crew, and give me less to worry about."
"Where’s Xiaoju?" asked Zhou Lan.
Zhou Yun replied, "She went to the pharmacy, said she’s buying some emergency medicine."
Zhou Lan nodded. "That girl is quite conscientious, much less worries than you."
Zhou Yun retorted, "Just go already."
While they were speaking, Li Yuning appeared with the cameraman.
"Xiao Yun!" Li Yuning hastened her steps. "You’re up early?"
Zhou Yun nodded, "Had something to discuss with my agent. What about you all? Why are you down here too?"
Li Yuning responded helplessly, "Shooting the program, of course. You’re up early, so naturally, we had to follow."
The camera lens focused on Zhou Yun.
The surrounding people looked on curiously.
Not everyone on the set knew that Zhou Yun was also working on filming a show.
Zhou Yun asked, "Have you guys had breakfast?"
Li Yuning replied, "Some went to eat first. They’ll come and take over, then we’ll go."
Zhou Yun said, "I’ll go buy something for you all. What do you want to eat?"
Li Yuning waved her hand, "No need, don’t bother about us. Just act like we’re not here, as usual."
Zhou Yun said, "I’m heading to the supermarket later to buy some stuff, if you don’t eat now, when will you?"
Actually, for people filming shows, it’s common to not eat meals on time. Li Yuning and the others were used to it; experienced people tend to carry small snacks like bread or biscuits to tide them over.
But Zhou Yun had never filmed a reality show that documented daily life before. Feeling empathetic towards Li Yuning and the crew, she still went and bought them some food from the canteen, such as steamed buns and pastries.
"You guys eat first, I’ll sit for a bit. Once you’ve finished, we can go to the supermarket."
Li Yuning couldn’t help but laugh.
But since the food was already bought, it would be wasteful not to eat it, so Li Yuning gestured everyone to sit and eat.
Only one cameraman, still shouldering the camera, continued to film Zhou Yun.
It’s his job. He had to be responsible.
Li Yuning sat opposite Zhou Yun, behind the camera.
"Do you usually get up this early?" Li Yuning resumed her interview.
"More or less, if there isn’t much to do at night, I tend to sleep earlier," said Zhou Yun, "I don’t have the habit of staying up late."
Li Yuning: "That’s quite unusual; these days, young people prefer staying up late."
Zhou Yun: "That’s probably because they’re busy during the day, so they try to make up for it at night. My job is different from theirs, I don’t need to keep office hours. When it’s really busy, sleeping is all the time I have, and definitely no time for sleeping in. When it’s not busy, like now, I have nothing to do all day, just idling around."