Superstar's Development Diary
Chapter 55 Talking and Laughing Amidst the Sudden Collapse of Plans and Hopes

Chapter 55: Chapter 55 Talking and Laughing Amidst the Sudden Collapse of Plans and Hopes

In this day and age, those with money are the bosses.

Yes, bosses constructed out of cold hard cash.

Her crew had enough funds, but who would complain about having more money? The venue costs money, post-production costs money, and promotion costs even more. With an extra thirty million, her post-production could become even more refined, and her promotion could expand a few more channels.

Dong Qin’s head was slightly lowered, already calculating how to use those thirty million.

Sheng Yan’s voice came from beside her, "He Jinxia is related to my mom’s side of the family, connected to me by blood and mutual obligation. You should guide her well."

Dong Qin was startled and looked up at him, "Isn’t your company planning on freezing He Jinxia out? If I had known she was related to you, I wouldn’t have—"

She abruptly cut herself off and swiftly swallowed the words about to spill from her lips—if she continued, she would reveal too much!

Having heard her, Sheng Yan cast a cool glance at her, "I don’t interfere in the competition among the company’s artists. If she can’t even handle internal strife, she’s not cut out for this line of work."

His words took a sharp turn, "As for you, an outstanding director should certainly have an outstanding team and an outstanding crew. If you can’t even manage to direct the artists and allocate work reasonably, I doubt your professional competence as a director."

See, this is what they call changing the world with a casual chat—Sheng Yan has this kind of ability.

Dong Qin originally didn’t have to kowtow in front of him, but the moment the issue escalated to the level of an investor, it was different.

Moreover, she indeed had a fault in this matter, so she adopted a serious expression, "I share the responsibility for Jinxia fainting. I will apologize to her later, and Li Li will also find time to apologize to her."

Sheng Yan said indifferently, "There’s no need for apologies. I’ve talked to the doctors—it’s fainting due to exhaustion. Just give her some time off."

Dong Qin frowned slightly and pondered for a moment, "You know that Jinxia is trying to lose weight. Dieting can’t be interrupted for too long. I can give her at most two days off."

Sheng Yan lifted his chin slightly and without agreeing or disagreeing, simply said, "Compensation."

Dong Qin’s heart skipped a beat—she knew this ruthless capitalist wouldn’t let the matter slide so easily!

She quickly said, "Everything will be handled according to the Actors’ Union’s standards. We’ll pay He Jinxia whatever compensation she is due."

In Hua Country, the entertainment industry is well-developed. Actors have the Actors’ Union, and singers have their own unions and so on. Film contracts all need to pass through the Actors’ Union’s review to ensure the actors’ rights.

In short, the Actors’ Union is there to back up the actors. If an actor gets injured on set due to the crew’s fault, the Actors’ Union can help demand compensation from the crew.

He Jinxia fainted due to exhaustion while filming, and if this were to go to the Union, they would certainly fight for her rights. But this wouldn’t be good news for the crew.

Not to mention many insiders in the Actors’ Union—if the Union helped He Jinxia claim compensation, everyone would know her crew was overworking the actors. More importantly, if the Union got involved in the investigation, the production would have to shut down for at least a week!

Sheng Yan glanced at her, then slowly said, "The way your crew treats actors worries me as an investor. I am not sure you—"

Dong Qin interrupted anxiously, "Double!"

Sheng Yan stayed silent.

Dong Qin steeled her resolve and gritted her teeth, "Triple, and not a Hua Coin more!"

Sheng Yan looked at her, the corners of his mouth suddenly curving into a faint smile that no one saw because it was hidden by a mask.

"I have great confidence in your crew and believe Director Dong will produce an excellent work."

Dong Qin detected the amusement in his words, turned her head away, not wanting to speak to him, and silently hypnotized herself in her mind that swapping a few ten thousands Hua Coins for an investment of thirty million wasn’t a loss, not a loss at all...

But deep down, she felt an overwhelming sense of frustration—ahhh!

*

Dong Qin ultimately didn’t manage to enter the hospital room to visit He Jinxia.

After He Jinxia had successfully soothed Aunt Rui, Aunt Rui took Mrs. He out with her under the pretext that He Jinxia needed to rest, and when they saw Dong Qin in the corridor outside, they called her away too.

Only Sheng Yan was left in the corridor. He raised an eyebrow, thought for a moment, then pushed open the door to the hospital room and entered.

He Jinxia was deep in thought, her head bowed. Through a gap in the curtains, the scorching sunlight streamed in and cast fragmented, hazy yet brilliant shadows over her body.

The mottled light and shadow did not make her appear more radiant; on the contrary, she seemed even paler and more translucent, as if she could dissipate into the sunlight at any moment.

Sheng Yan’s brows furrowed involuntarily.

"How is your body feeling now?" The man’s deep and rich voice broke the silence that filled the room.

He Jinxia snapped back to reality and instinctively said, "It’s much better now."

When she looked up, she saw Sheng Yan fully geared up.

A bitter smile uncontrollably appeared on her face. In front of him, she didn’t pretend, and said directly, "Are you here to criticize me as well?"

Sheng Yan glanced at her, first walked over to the window to draw the curtains properly, blocking the sunlight outside. Then he sat down on the chair beside He Jinxia’s hospital bed, removing his hat, mask, and sunglasses, revealing that sharply contoured handsome face.

He Jinxia, seeing Sheng Yan’s face from such a close distance, couldn’t help but be a bit dazed.

The man’s features were like finely carved jade, and his demeanor was like a crown prince from ancient times—noble and commanding. But the words he spoke were somewhat unpleasant—

"If you don’t want to be lecturing others, you first need to avoid making mistakes yourself."

He Jinxia came back to her senses, gave a light cough, and blinked her round, earnest eyes at him, saying with utmost sincerity, "I already know I was wrong."

Sheng Yan was unsparing, "Too fake."

He Jinxia: "..." You’re so good, you perform it!!

The two looked at each other in silence, neither willing to give in, one minute passed, then two minutes... In the end, it was Sheng Yan who couldn’t stand it anymore.

He diverted his gaze, didn’t continue to delve into "He Jinxia’s negligence towards her health", and wasn’t intending to preach. He said indifferently, "The director gave you two days off to have some decent rest."

He Jinxia’s brows furrowed, "There’s no need, I’ve already recovered."

Sheng Yan’s tone was nonchalant, "Do I need to call the doctor over to explain to you the extent of your body’s exhaustion?"

At this, He Jinxia backed down.

To perform well in that scene, she indeed had overexerted herself. Even Xiao Tiantian had told her she should rest for a few days after shooting the scene. Without thinking, she knew how the doctor would nag at her.

She took a deep breath, still not quite willing to give up, "The main issue is, when I’m idle, I don’t even know what I can do."

Sheng Yan turned to look at her, "Although your acting is spirited, your fundamentals are lacking. You could work on that."

When the topic of acting came up, He Jinxia’s eyes lit up and she said:

"I have read one of the books you recommended to me recently, and the basic exercises in it are quite useful. But I don’t know if I’m doing the expressions right. I was busy with dieting before and didn’t get to delve into it. If you’re free now, can I perform for you to see?"

Sheng Yan certainly didn’t mind, as he was free at the moment anyway, so he simply took the role of the teacher and started giving pointers.

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