The film and television city starts from the courtyard

Hearing Zhao Shucheng's words, Shanli smiled and said, "You can rest assured about that. Even if I were to recommend someone, they would definitely meet the casting requirements."

"what is that?"

Shanli hesitated for a moment before saying, "Actually, it's like this: I have other projects to do, so I might not be able to accompany you the whole time. My colleague Qian Jin will assist you with your work later."

Zhao Shucheng laughed when he heard this and said, "I thought it was something serious, but it's just this. It's okay, the crew is right there, you can come anytime if it's convenient for you."

"Alright, it's settled then. By the way, do you need my help with assembling the production crew?"

Zhao Shucheng shook his head and said, "No need. Although I haven't officially directed a film before, I haven't been idle all these years. I know the crew members, so putting together a team won't be a problem."

Zhao Shucheng wasn't being modest; after all, he had worked on film sets before and had interacted with the crew. While he wasn't a top-tier professional, he did have the contact information for some competent staff members, such as cinematographers, production assistants, logistics personnel, art directors, lighting technicians, and sound engineers.

Moreover, Zhao Shucheng had previously worked as an assistant director for a period of time, and had been involved in almost every aspect of film crew work, so assembling a film crew was not difficult for him.

Moreover, Zhao Shucheng plans to oversee the entire film himself from beginning to end, and he needs to control some of the details. Others just need to do their jobs according to his requirements.

Of course, Zhao Shucheng didn't plan to contact industry veterans. As a new director, whether they would respect him was questionable, let alone cooperate. So, Zhao Shucheng planned to find some young people in the industry. Although they lacked experience, they were easy to persuade and had ideals and drive.

Of course, more importantly, Zhao Shucheng was preparing to establish a long-term cooperative relationship with them, so it was best to train them from scratch in order to find people who could understand his ideas and cooperate with him.

Shanli disappeared after that day, handing over the script work to Qian Jin, and even when Zhao Shucheng called her, she wouldn't answer.

Zhao Shucheng didn't care too much about it. After all, he only wanted to attract investment in the first place, and the ambiguity that followed was just a coincidence.

Zuo Yongbang and Luo Shuquan were very concerned about this period. When they learned that Shanli was no longer contacting Zhao Shucheng, they went directly to Zhao Shucheng.

"Xiaobai, do you really not know why she disappeared?"

Zhao Shucheng asked, "Why?"

"Of course it's because she's realized she's fallen in love with you, but she can't get over that hurdle in her heart, so she's struggling with it."

Zhao Shucheng laughed and said, "Impossible!"

"Why is it impossible? Otherwise, why wouldn't she see you, and why would she even delegate her work to someone else?"

"But after I met her, I already told her about my relationship status. If she couldn't accept it, I would have rejected her long ago, instead of disappearing now."

"That's because she only had a crush on you before, and was just playing around with you. But now she's fallen for you, which is why she's more conflicted."

"real or fake?"

"Of course it's true. Has she never returned your calls?"

Zhao Shucheng nodded and said, "You're right. I've called her several times during this period, but she hasn't answered. If Qian Jin hadn't said she was fine, I would have thought she had vanished into thin air."

"See, that's the problem. You can't pressure her at this point; the more you pressure her, the more she'll run away. She'll only come back to you once she's figured things out herself."

Zhao Shucheng looked at them with amusement and said, "No, you came to see me just to gossip about this?"

"How can this be called gossip? We're just concerned about your love life. But seriously, with so many women around you now, can you handle it all?"

"Of course, there's nothing I can't handle."

Just then, Zhao Shucheng's phone rang, and he saw that it was Shanli calling.

"Sanly!"

"Xiaobai, do you have time tomorrow? I have something I'd like to talk to you about."

Zhao Shucheng glanced at Zuo Yongbang and the others, and said, "Of course I have time."

Zuo Yongbang was extremely excited and said, "That's great! You can have a proper talk tomorrow."

"What are we going to talk about? Maybe she just wants to talk to me about work?"

"How about we make a bet?"

"What are you gambling?"

"Let's bet on what she'll wear tomorrow. If she dresses like a young girl, or looks younger and prettier than before no matter what, then congratulations."

Zhao Shucheng glanced at the excited Zuo Yongbang, not understanding why the other was even more excited than himself.

However, when Zhao Shucheng went to keep the appointment the next day, he indeed saw Shanli, who was completely different from her previous mature style. She exuded a youthful vigor he had never seen before. If someone didn't know her well, they would definitely think that Shanli had always been like this.

When Shanli saw Zhao Shucheng, she smiled and said, "I'm sorry, Xiaobai, I've been so busy lately that I forgot to call you back."

Zhao Shucheng knew, of course, that Shanli was making excuses; after all, even if she was busy, she should still be able to find time to return a call.

"It's okay, I was just reporting on the progress of the work and wanted you to know that the money you invested was not wasted."

After hearing Zhao Shucheng's words, Shanli remained silent for a long time before finally speaking:
"Xiaobai, are you angry that I haven't contacted you during this time?"

"How could that be? What reason do I have to be angry?"

"Xiaobai, let me explain. I didn't mean to stop contacting you, but I didn't know how to face you. Maybe we started by talking about work, but later I just wanted to see you, so that's why we kept in touch."

Shanli held Zhao Shucheng's hand and said, "Yes, you said at first that you had a girlfriend, and I didn't intend to get married to you. But after getting to know you better, I realized that I really liked you. But I'm not a little girl, and I won't be crazy in love. Especially since you have a girlfriend who is even younger and prettier than me, I feel like I can't compete with them, so I'm thinking of backing out."

"So why have you changed your mind now?"

"I just feel that if I let go like this, I'll definitely regret it. Although I'm not as young and beautiful as them, I believe we're soulmates. Besides, I won't force you to belong only to me; as long as you have a place for me in your heart, that's enough." "Really?"

"Of course!"

Zhao Shucheng didn't actually make Shanli swear an oath, so he simply took Shanli's hand, and the two of them leaned against each other. After finishing their meal, he went home with Shanli.

The next day.

When Zhao Shucheng left Shanli's house, Shanli was still asleep. She only smiled sweetly when she heard the door open.

However, when Zhao Shucheng returned home, he found that his house was once again packed with guests.

"No, what day is it today? Why are you all here?"

Zuo Yongbang and Luo Shuquan lowered their heads and secretly gave Zhao Shucheng meaningful glances, as if they wanted to say something, but they didn't dare to utter a sound because of the other people present.

Mo Xiaomin exchanged a glance with Amy and Xiaoxue and said, "We have something to say to Xiaobai, you guys go first!"

As Luo Shuquan passed by Zhao Shucheng, he whispered, "Xiaobai, good luck to you!"

Zuo Yongbang patted Zhao Shucheng on the shoulder, then was pulled away by Mi Qi.

After seeing that everyone else had left, Zhao Shucheng looked at Mo Xiaomin and the others and asked, "What exactly happened? Why were you all here, and why were you all let go now?"

Don't you know that yourself?

Zhao Shucheng said, "I'm really not sure about the questions you're asking. Could you give me a hint?"

"Okay, then let me ask you, you weren't home last night, where did you go, did you stay out all night?"

Seeing Amy's interrogation-like demeanor, Zhao Shucheng said, "I may not be home, but shouldn't I have my own personal freedom?"

"Don't try to make excuses. We've asked, and you weren't on set yesterday, nor were you with Zuo Yongbang or Luo Shuquan."

Xiaoxue nodded and said, "Sister Min is right. We looked for you last night, but neither Zuo Yongbang nor Luo Shuquan had any information. We even called your film crew."

When Zhao Shucheng heard them say that, he took out his phone and found that it was out of service. It was obvious that the battery had run out because of too many calls.

"Sorry, my phone died. But I don't want to hide it from you, I'm with Shanli, discussing the movie."

"Is it really just about discussing the movie, nothing else?"

Zhao Shucheng said, "Then what else do you want to happen between us?"

"Xiaobai, you promised us that no matter what happens in the future, you won't hide anything from us. You won't make an exception for Shanli, will you?"

Zhao Shucheng sighed and said, "Okay, I can only tell you the truth. I was indeed with Shanli all night, and we didn't just discuss the script. We also did some things that only men and women do."

"Xiaobai, why did you do this? You have us, aren't you? Why do you have to go out and flirt with other women? You're tired of us so quickly?"

Amy looked at Zhao Shucheng with some anger and said, "Is it that for you men, the grass is always greener on the other side, and you're always looking for something better?"

Mo Xiaomin looked at Zhao Shucheng with some guilt and said, "Xiaobai, is this sacrifice you made for me? You don't have to do this. Although I have less work now, I can just save money and make a living."

Zhao Shucheng said, "Of course not. I admit I couldn't resist the temptation, but more importantly, she and I were spiritually compatible. Of course, you are the women I love the most, and she can never replace you."

"Gu Xiaobai, is this the time to talk about this? We're talking to you very seriously."

"I know, and I'm telling you this very seriously, I have indeed done something that I'm sorry to you, so no matter what you do, I have no objection."

Just as Mo Xiaomin and the others were about to say something, Zhao Shucheng's phone, which had just been charging, rang again. This time it was a call from the film crew, so Zhao Shucheng had to answer the phone first, and Mo Xiaomin and the others had to give up arguing for the time being.

Zhao Shucheng was genuinely busy this time, as his production team needed to be assembled, and there was still a lot of work to be done. After all, a script is just a script; the final product depends on the director's ability, otherwise, the final film will look completely unrelated to the script.

The problem Zhao Shucheng needs to solve now is finding suitable actors. After all, his film is mainly aimed at winning awards and selling the film, so the actors need to have sufficient acting skills to make the final product outstanding.

If Zhao Shucheng were making a commercial film, perhaps the actors' acting skills wouldn't be so important. As long as he finds a reasonably popular star, doesn't have such strict requirements, and the film fits the storyline a little, it could be made.

Zhao Shucheng valued his debut film very much and naturally wanted to do his best from the start. So he called the crew to discuss issues such as actor auditions and location selection, leaving Mo Xiaomin and the others out in the cold.

Mo Xiaomin and the others were initially angry, but as they watched Zhao Shucheng working diligently, their anger gradually subsided, and instead, they stared intently at Zhao Shucheng.
When Zhao Shucheng finished his call and turned around, the three people had already quietly left.

Zhao Shucheng breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that the assistant director he had found was truly understanding or had outstanding work ability, which enabled him to successfully get through this hurdle.

Of course, since the script was initially written based on Gu Xiaobai's resentment towards Mo Xiaomin after their breakup, Zhao Shucheng decided that Mo Xiaomin would be the female lead.

However, Zhao Shucheng was well aware that Mo Xiaomin's acting skills were not enough to support the role, so he planned to give Mo Xiaomin individual acting coaching in the coming days, so that she could understand the core of the character and express the performance she wanted to present on screen before the film officially started shooting.

Zhao Shucheng actually felt a lot of pressure about this. After all, Mo Xiaomin was a newcomer who had just entered the film and television industry. Before, she had only done some commercials and TV dramas, and had hardly ever played any leading roles.

Zhao Shucheng, however, wouldn't back down because of this. On the contrary, he felt that this was a good thing for both him and Mo Xiaomin. This was not only a test of whether Mo Xiaomin could shoulder a major responsibility, but also an assessment of whether she was suitable for the entertainment industry. If Mo Xiaomin ultimately couldn't do it, she would stop here, at most becoming a minor celebrity, shooting commercials and making cameo appearances, without much progress.

However, if she can portray the feeling that Zhao Shucheng needs, then Mo Xiaomin will gain both fame and fortune and have a better future.

The same applies to Zhao Shucheng. As long as Zhao Shucheng can bring Mo Xiaomin out of retirement, he will become an outstanding director and be able to make the movies he wants to make in the future, and go further in his career.

Mo Xiaomin left with Amy and the others. Although she was still a little angry about Zhao Shucheng's womanizing, she knew what kind of person he was all along, so her anger subsided after a while.

Unfortunately, she didn't yet know what she would face in the coming period, otherwise she wouldn't have cheered up so quickly. (End of Chapter)