Chapter 193 - 161: The Beginning of the Scandal

Words : 1234 Updated : Sep 21st, 2025

Chapter 193: Chapter 161: The Beginning of the Scandal "I like the style of his film," Zhou Yun said. Zhou Lan nodded and said, "When I saw this short film, I was a bit amazed. It might not be much like a traditional movie, but it was shot very well, so I asked around about what the director is currently doing, and it turns out he is preparing for a new film." "What is the director’s name?" Zhou Yun asked. "Wen Bing," Zhou Lan said, "a young man." It indeed was an unfamiliar name. "Which company is producing his new film?" Zhou Yun asked. "New Shield," Zhou Lan said. Zhou Yun checked the information. New Shield was a quite powerful production company within the industry, with abundant production experience and many successful blockbusters. However, its downside was that the company previously focused mainly on commercial films and hardly ever produced serious or artistic films. She had a good idea now. Zhou Lan said, "This film is by a new director and is an art film. Top female celebrities won’t be interested. Your advantage is your fame, but your disadvantage is that you’ve never acted in movies and don’t even have a representative work." "Let me read the script first. If I like the script, we’ll try to secure it," Zhou Yun said. Zhou Lan shook her head and said, "Don’t rush. There is another issue we need to address if we want to do this film." "What issue?" "The pay for art films is definitely not high." "No problem," Zhou Yun said, "I’m not short of money now anyway." Zhou Lan shook her head and said, "The pay is not only about you; the company takes a cut, and they might not want you to take the project if the pay is too low." Zhou Yun frowned, "Don’t I already have the autonomy to choose my roles?" "You just have the right to reject, not to choose any film you like. The company has the right to veto too," Zhou Lan explained. "Do you know why many big stars seldom act in art films? It’s often not because they don’t want to perform, but because the pay is too low and the company won’t allow it. Given the same schedule, doing a TV show can earn them tens of millions more, so, of course, the company will choose that." Zhou Yun: "What should we do?" Zhou Lan: "Anyway, we should talk to the company first, we cannot bypass them and privately accept this job." "Okay." "Let’s see their attitude first." "Alright." Zhou Lan reported the proposal to the company. Currently, Zhou Yun is Chengqian Entertainment’s highest-earning and most popular female artist, so the company’s top management pays close attention to her work. When they discovered the proposal was for an art film, they incredulously called Zhou Lan. Zhou Lan didn’t say anything else, only mentioning that this film could help Zhou Yun break into the movie market. But...how does the movie market compare? Acting in a movie isn’t necessarily more profitable than acting in a TV drama. As Zhou Lan anticipated, the company’s initial reaction was to disagree with Zhou Yun taking the role. He Yong even specifically called Zhou Lan, asking her to work on Zhou Yun, to appease her and promise that they would definitely offer her big films to perform in the future. Zhou Yun and Zhou Lan scoffed at this together. "They really rejected you performing in this film, as expected." Zhou Yun said, "Is there anything I need to do?" "Don’t worry, you focus on shooting ’Heart Inquiry’, I’ll handle everything else," Zhou Lan patted Zhou Yun’s shoulder, "However, it might make you busy for a while, I will negotiate more business deals for you and then talk to the company." "Okay," Zhou Yun nodded, "Just set it up as long as the timing can be coordinated." Zhou Lan smiled, "That reassures me. I heard Luo Yuhu brought in a new person. This newcomer is ambitious, only wants to act, and refuses to take business deals because he feels it devalues him, which annoys Luo Yuhu a lot." "It seems like the newcomers mentored by Luo Yuhu are always disobedient." "He deserves it. He’s been trying hard to launch the next Song Chi. Is the next Song Chi that easy to cultivate?" "The next Song Chi? What is he thinking?" Zhou Yun was astonished, "In the entire entertainment industry, Song Chi is unique. If it were that easy to replicate, other companies would have done it already." "It’s because in our circle of agents, behind the scenes, everyone talks about how he only reached his current position thanks to Song Chi. He is very ambitious and wants to prove himself. Hence, he’s been looking for new talents everywhere and has even contacted some less famous actors, aiming to launch another top star. You must know by now, Song Chi has ditched Luo Yuhu; Luo Yuhu is no longer his agent." "That makes sense. Song Chi’s collaboration model with Zuo Jing has changed." "In the past few years, using the name of Song Chi’s agent, Luo Yuhu gained a lot of benefits on the side, had a bad temperament, and offended many people. If Song Chi himself wasn’t so capable and reliable, he might have been ruined by him long ago." Zhou Yun said, "Now Song Chi is no longer an artist under Zuo Jing, finally he won’t be dragged down by him." "Song Chi is bound to take this step sooner or later; Zuo Jing can no longer meet his demands. With an actor like Song Chi, he will definitely advance further. With his talent and current popularity, he might even become the next Tony Leung." "Don’t jinx him," Zhou Yun quickly shook her head. Zhou Lan suddenly exclaimed, her eyes darting across Zhou Yun’s face. "Something’s not right with you? Are you secretly together with him?" Zhou Yun sighed helplessly, "Sister Lan, why are you bringing this up again? There’s nothing between us! I promise, if I really start dating someone, I’ll report to you first!" Hearing this, Zhou Lan’s enthusiasm waned, "Boring." "Why are you so eager for me to date?" "Being in a relationship is great; for celebrities, it’s the best tactic to maintain popularity. Besides...it’s Song Chi." Zhou Lan patted Zhou Yun’s shoulder, "Aren’t you afraid that if you keep being so reserved, someone else will take him away?" Zhou Yun shook her head. "What does your head shake mean?" "If one day he does start dating someone, that person will definitely be me," Zhou Yun confidently said. Zhou Lan was at a loss for words for a long time. After a while. "Are you so sure?" "Yes, sure. He likes me, that’s undeniable." Zhou Lan: "Then what’s going on between you two now? Pretending to be confused while holding onto the affection as ambiguity?" Zhou Yun said, "No, we’re just friends, good friends." Right now, they couldn’t be lovers, so they remained friends. "If you two are willing to deceive yourselves like this, that’s fine." Zhou Yun just smiled and did not speak. Deceiving themselves? If that’s what you want to call it, fine. In an ambiguous relationship that’s hard to explain, impossible to explain. Between a man and a woman, every relationship is different; endlessly variable, unable to be interchanged.

Chapter 193 - 161: The Beginning of the Scandal

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