People were still bustling around, each busy with their own work.
Li Jing was in a good mood today. After spending some time together, he had become quite familiar with the crew on set.
Thinking that these people had been eating the same restaurant’s boxed lunches every day and must be tired of it, Li Jing called the production manager and decided to treat everyone to lunch today, from a recently popular internet-famous restaurant in the city center.
The production manager, a slightly chubby man in his thirties, was mainly responsible for the meals and accommodation of the film set staff, managing their daily food.
After hearing Li Jing’s idea, he widened his small eyes, already squeezed into slits by his chubby face, and exclaimed, "Brother Jing, even though there aren’t many people here today, there are still more than sixty people eating. Are you sure you want to treat everyone to lunch?"
The production manager was actually a few years older than Li Jing, but he followed others in calling him Brother Jing.
In fact, aside from those obviously twenty years older calling him President Li, everyone else, regardless of age, called him Brother Jing.
That’s the influence of money.
Li Jing understood that the main reason these people respected him wasn’t just because he had become familiar with them, but because of his relationship with Wen Lan and because he was the main investor in the movie.
"Only sixty-plus people? I thought there were over a hundred with so many people around."
Li Jing glanced at the busy staff around him and said, "No problem, just order. I saw that restaurant’s average price is around one hundred fifty per person, so order about ten thousand yuan’s worth and see if they can deliver."
After hearing Li Jing’s words, the production manager finally realized he wasn’t joking. After seriously eyeing him for a few moments, he sincerely gave him a thumbs-up and said, "Brother Jing, so generous!"
After that, he turned and excitedly headed towards his colleagues.
Before long, the news that Li Jing was treating everyone to lunch spread throughout the entire set, and anyone nearby went up to thank or praise him.
"You really didn’t have to waste the money; eating the boxed lunches was already enough."
Wen Lan, just out of a meeting with several assistant directors, saw Li Jing by the set and spoke.
"It’s okay, isn’t my scene coming up in a few days?"
Li Jing grinned: "I’m treating them in advance, hoping everyone will be more forgiving."
Wen Lan shook her head: "Their forgiveness won’t help. If you want your acting to pass smoothly, you need my approval."
Li Jing looked at her: "So, should I treat you to a meal instead?"
"With that time, you better study your role well." Wen Lan seemed to be in a bad mood, without the mind to joke with Li Jing.
Noticing Wen Lan’s fatigue and low spirits, Li Jing became curious: "What’s wrong, having some problems again?"
"Nothing, it’s just that the actress for the second female lead, Dai Weiwei, still isn’t up to it."
Wen Lan rubbed her temples, looking like she hadn’t slept well: "Her scenes these days haven’t met my standards. Though there’s some progress, it’s still not enough, and I’m running out of patience to wait for her to meet the mark.
Forget it, telling you this is pointless. If you really want to play your role well, you should study it diligently, and not be like Dai Weiwei."
Watching her leave, Li Jing realized that being a director is truly exhausting.
Not only managing the site, overseeing the budget, and worrying about the quality and effects of scene arrangements, directing the actors, but also managing the large team and dealing with unexpected events that could arise at any moment.
Fully understanding Wen Lan’s filming life, Li Jing completely lost any interest in becoming a director.
He thought it was enough to play a small role and experience acting once.
"Uh... Brother Jing."
At this moment, a familiar crisp voice came from behind.
Li Jing turned around and saw Yang Xiaoxiu, whom he hadn’t seen for two days.
It had been two days since he last drove her back to school.
And in those two days, Yang Xiaoxiu, who used to come to the set to help every day, didn’t show up.
But aside from Li Jing, who would occasionally chat with her, most people on set didn’t notice.
Even many on-site management staff, including Wen Lan, didn’t know whether she came or not.
Only the staff who occasionally asked Yang Xiaoxiu to help realized her absence for the past two days.
But they only wondered about it briefly and didn’t show much concern, not even bothering to call and ask her.
She seemed like a dispensable prop on set; better to have, but nobody cared if she wasn’t there.
The film staff didn’t pay attention, and Li Jing was curious but didn’t pry; he assumed she probably couldn’t keep it up and had given up coming to the set daily.
This was also the common guess and thought among others.
Not until Li Jing saw Yang Xiaoxiu behind him did he realize the situation was different from what he’d imagined.
Yang Xiaoxiu had a bruise on her face, her hand wrapped in a bandage, and her eyes had lost their usual brightness, becoming much dimmer.
"What happened to you?"
Seeing Li Jing’s puzzled gaze, Yang Xiaoxiu instinctively hid her injured hand behind her and softly explained: "Nothing, I just fell."
"Is this a sign of a fall?" Li Jing frowned.
Seeing his reaction, Yang Xiaoxiu recalled his dislike for lying or hiding the truth, and after hesitating for a few seconds, she spoke again: "It’s, it’s that I had a bit of a conflict at a bar the day before yesterday..."
"Bar?" Li Jing’s frown deepened: "Do you have a habit of going to bars?"
Based on what Li Jing knew about Yang Xiaoxiu, she shouldn’t have money to spend at bars.
"No, I wasn’t there to spend money." Seeing his misunderstanding, Yang Xiaoxiu quickly explained: "I was there for a part-time job, but the boss tricked me into serving drinks, trying to brainwash me, wanting me to..."
She gritted her teeth a little, her face unpleasant, but didn’t continue speaking.
Li Jing roughly guessed what had happened, his expression somewhat softening, and he asked: "So how did you get injured? Were you beaten?"
"A customer drinking wanted to touch, touch me... I pushed him away hard and accidentally spilled a drink on his pants..."
"The bar’s customer hit you?"
"No, no." Yang Xiaoxiu shook her head: "The boss of the bar found out and scolded me. We argued and he got mad and hit me, then I fought back and ran away."
"You actually fought back?" Li Jing looked at her frail body, surprised.
"Yes... I’m skinny, but I’m pretty strong."
Yang Xiaoxiu looked down and explained.
After hearing her story, Li Jing looked at her and didn’t question further, understanding the reason for her two-day disappearance.
After a few seconds of silence between them, Yang Xiaoxiu raised her head again, gathering her courage to ask: "Brother Jing, I heard you’re treating everyone to lunch for one hundred fifty per person. Am I included?"
Li Jing didn’t expect her to ask this and nodded: "Since you’re here, of course, you are."
Upon hearing this, Yang Xiaoxiu hesitated for a few seconds, clutched her clothes, and then lowered her head deeply before speaking again: "Can I... not have you treat me? Could you give me the one hundred fifty directly... is that okay?"