Chapter 971 - How Thick-Skinned Are You?

The director, Yang Rui, furrowed his brows tightly. He felt that he rushed this too much. He just wanted to use Lin Nuan and Fu Huai’an to generate publicity for the movie, but… he forgot that the male lead was a rookie actor who still hadn’t matured yet!

It would be very easy for a rookie like him to fall on the floor and never get back up again after receiving such a serious first blow.

The production staff weren’t in the mood to work and were instead discussing animatedly among themselves. The atmosphere on the set suddenly felt odd…

Everyone was speculating about whether the director would replace the male lead and whether Fu Huai’an, the dignified chairman of the Kaide Corporation, would agree to act in the movie!

How would any of the production staff, including Yang Rui, be able to focus on shooting the movie?

Yang Rui was extremely irritated after filming the first sequence and said a few words to the assistant director. There was no need to know what the assistant director suggested to Yang Rui as the latter looked like he was put in a tight spot…

After some time, Yang Rui distractedly called for everyone to take a break and walked towards Fang Yan’s car.

Director Yang Rui wasn’t good at handling crises, but Fang Yan was…

“Sister Fang Yan…” Yang Rui leaned against the car door and lit a cigarette. “Am I being too anxious? More people are talking about the movie now, but netizens are calling for the male and female leads to be replaced. Lin Nuan’s still okay at handling the pressure and seems normal, but the male lead, Zhang Jingcong…”

Yang Rui exhaled a puff of smoke and sighed. “You see, it was such a huge blow to the kid that he can’t get back up!”

Fang Yan turned to look at Yang Rui and smiled. “So, you’re planning to replace Zhang Jingcong?”

“I certainly don’t plan to do that!” Yang Rui anxiously explained.

Fang Yan nodded.

Yang Rui looked over at Lin Nuan, who was currently reading the script. He tapped away some cigarette ash and said, “Lin Nuan has weathered all these online storms and went through what happened in Iraq. Her mental toughness is definitely more than ten times stronger than that of an average person! But Zhang Jingcong is still a rookie. He prepared for so long… and put in so much effort, and he was so confident when he came in. Now he’s been kicked to the floor, and there may not be a ‘next time’ for the kid…”

“And so?” Fang Yan asked.

“And so… I’d like to ask you for advice. How can I get the kid back on his feet and back to filming the movie?” The expression in Yang Rui’s eyes as he looked at Fang Yan was unbelievably sincere.

“I’m not a doctor. How do I get the kid back on his feet?” Fang Yan chuckled as she turned to grab her ladies’ cigarettes from the backseat. She took out a cigarette and put it in her mouth, letting it dangle from the corner of her lips as she lit it.

“Sister Fang Yan! You know what I mean!” Yang Rui was in no mood to joke with Fang Yan.

Fang Yan exhaled a puff of thin smoke before calmly replying, “Tell him you don’t intend to replace him and that no matter what those netizens say, you chose him and you’ll use him until the end, so hopefully he won’t let you down!”

Actually, Yang Rui just didn’t understand the real source of Zhang Jingcong’s anxiety…

Zhang Jingcong was already worried about being replaced by the director when Fu Huai’an started acting as his stunt double. Otherwise, why was he calm when they were looking for a stunt double in the beginning but gritting his teeth and insisting on filming despite his injuries after seeing Fu Huai’an in the military uniform?

Now, there were such fervent calls online to replace him. He must have thought that the director would definitely replace him this time. That’s why he was sick and couldn’t get up.

Yang Rui was an artist, and his way of thinking was rigid. He wouldn’t think of such things…

He frowned and asked Fang Yan, “Will that work?”

“What do you think will work?” Displeased with Yang Rui’s attitude, Fang Yan tapped away some cigarette ash and continued, “Just do whatever you think will work. Why’d you come and ask me if you don’t trust my opinion?”

“I just think… wouldn’t it be a little better if Mr. Fu is the one persuading him instead?” Yang Rui didn’t understand the meaning behind Fang Yan’s words. He naturally leaned towards Fang Yan and moved his head closer. He whispered, “Don’t you agree?”

Fang Yan was rendered speechless.

Who said Yang Rui was a frank person? Look at how tactful he was!

He clearly wanted Fang Yan to ask Lin Nuan to get Fu Huai’an to persuade Zhang Jingcong to go back to work.

“Yang Rui…” Fang Yan unhappily called out his name. “You said you needed funds, and Mr. Fu provided them. You wanted a stunt double… and Mr. Fu volunteered to be your actor’s stunt double without saying another word. Why, does Mr. Fu owe it to you? Now you lack a psychologist, and you want Mr. Fu to step in. How thick-skinned are you?”

“Don’t be upset, Sister Fang Yan. Let’s talk things out nicely…” Yang Rui spoke more humbly and smiled shamelessly at Fang Yan.

“We can only talk things out nicely when you choose your words carefully!” Fang Yan didn’t hold back at all. “Mr. Fu is the kind of person who either makes or loses tens of millions in less than a minute. How much are you going to pay Mr. Fu to become a psychologist for your actor?”

“That’s really not what I meant. It’s not like I don’t know all this. Aren’t I discussing it with you right now? If you don’t think it’ll work, then I definitely won’t do it!” Yang Rui saw that Fang Yan was about to finish smoking the thin ladies’ cigarette between her fingers. He quickly reached for Fang Yan’s cigarette case in the backseat, took out another cigarette, and held it to her lips.

“Don’t give me that!” Fang Yan pushed away Yang Rui’s hand. “I already said that you were a frank person who is hard to come by. Why are you being so tactful today?”

“I was forced to! Forced!” Yang Rui sighed and answered Fang Yan honestly, saying, “I… I can’t put down my pride to persuade Zhang Jingcong. You’re right… I’m too thick-skinned. I even suggested getting Mr. Fu to do it for me. I guess I crossed the line since Mr. Fu has granted all my requests thus far!”

“I’m glad you know that!”

Fang Yan stared at Yang Rui unhappily.

“Okay…” Yang Rui threw his cigarette butt on the ground and extinguished it with the tip of his foot. He let out a long sigh before saying, “I’ll go find Zhang Jingcong and tell him what you taught me to say!”

When Yang Rui came to look for Fang Yan earlier, she’d received the news that the deputy chief editor of Haicheng Daily had made three posts on Weibo. She was in a good mood after checking Weibo, and hence she didn’t argue with Yang Rui any further.

Fang Yan opened up her laptop again once Yang Rui left. Chu Xun and Lin Nuan’s names were now featured in major media headlines in various ways.

The first post made by the deputy chief editor of Haicheng Daily was a long post that detailed how he, Chu Xun, and another assistant set foot in Iraq when he was still Chu Xun’s assistant…

He said that on June 10th of 2014, back when he was still Chu Xun’s assistant, Chu Xun invited him and a few other colleagues to have a meal with her. During the meal, Chu Xun invited them to go to Iraq with her. She said she got a chance to go to the frontlines of the war in Iraq to gather news, and she hoped that they would come with her. She added that it was a chance for them to get a promotion, raise, and a good reputation!