The film and television city starts from the courtyard

The next day.

The news of Mo Xiaomin visiting the film set spread like wildfire online, especially the photos of her having dinner with Zhao Shucheng, which led many people to speculate about the relationship between Zhao Shucheng and Mo Xiaomin.

When Zhao Shucheng arrived at the film crew, producer Yanzi approached him.

"Director Gu, is it convenient for us to talk?"

"What to talk about?"

"Well, as you know, the crew has been through a lot lately. The matter with Li Daixuan hasn't completely subsided yet."

"So what are you trying to say? I can't help you with that. After all, I'm just a new director. Public relations is something you should handle with the investors."

"Of course we'll try to find a way. We're thinking of having the crew attend some important events and participate in variety shows to promote the production and quell the online criticism."

"So you want the lead actor to go? As long as it doesn't delay the filming schedule, I have no problem with that."

Yanzi said awkwardly, "Well, it's not just the lead actor; your affair with Miss Mo is also generating a lot of buzz online, so..."

"What do you want to do?"

"It's nothing, I just wanted you and Miss Mo to participate in a variety show, so that we can generate more buzz."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shucheng frowned and said, "I'm just a director, a behind-the-scenes staff member. It's not my job to do things that require me to be in the public eye, especially since there wasn't such a clause in the contract."

"Of course we know this is inappropriate, but our crew really can't afford any more trouble. Director Gu, even if it's not for your own sake, please, for the sake of the crew, please make this sacrifice!"

Zhao Shucheng looked at Yanzi and asked, "Is this your idea, or do the investors share the same thought?"

"It's the investors who have this idea; they think it's free publicity, so why not take it? But don't worry, the appearance fee for participating in the variety show, and the investors will also provide reasonable compensation, what do you think?"

Zhao Shucheng sighed and said, "This is a one-time exception; there will be no next time."

"Okay, of course no problem."

Zhao Shucheng agreed not only for the sake of the production team, but also because it was an opportunity for Mo Xiaomin. She hadn't received many job offers lately, but participating in a variety show and gaining exposure would bring in more work.

Besides, the relationship between Zhao Shucheng and her couldn't be kept secret, so it was better to make it public to avoid more people digging deeper and uncovering more things.

Xiao Mu was also informed by Chen Mo that she would be participating in events and variety shows, and that her manager, Ming Ge, had already agreed on her behalf without even consulting him.

Did Director Gu agree?

"Of course Director Gu is unhappy, he's almost furious, but this time it's not just you guys participating in the variety show, he has to go too, and he has no choice but to go."

Xiao Mu glanced at Zhao Shucheng, whose face was dark, and said, "I was so worried about Director Gu's expression today. Did I go with Director Gu?"

"Of course not. You go with Song Ci, and Director Gu goes with his girlfriend Mo Xiaomin."

"That's it..."

Chen Mo said, "I've already gone over the script. There's no need to speak English or dance, don't worry."

What if they ask me to do an impromptu performance?

"Don't worry, it won't happen. Besides, you're not fighting alone. We'll all help you."

Xiao Mu knew she couldn't refuse. After all, her sister hadn't returned, so she had to do everything for her sister and make sure no one noticed anything was wrong.

As soon as Mo Xiaomin got home, she received a call from her company's agent. When she learned that she would be participating in a variety show with Zhao Shucheng, she was so happy that she almost jumped for joy.

After all, her situation with Zhao Shucheng was quite special. Previously, it was just speculation among netizens, but now that they were going to participate in a variety show together, wouldn't that confirm it?

She called Zhao Shucheng and learned that it was the investors' suggestion, and Zhao Shucheng had already agreed. She happily agreed to participate in the variety show.

In the afternoon, Zhao Shucheng met up with Mo Xiaomin and went to the variety show filming location.

Xiao Mu saw Zhao Shucheng and greeted him with a smile: "Director Gu!"

"Hello, Menggui. Xiaomin, you've met before."

"Hello, Sister Min!"

Because Zhao Shucheng was the director, he didn't show much expression throughout the entire process, only smiling slightly when he was with Mo Xiaomin.

The fans at the scene weren't particularly enthusiastic about Zhao Shucheng and Mo Xiaomin, nor were they their fans. Instead, they kept shouting for Xiao Mu and Song Ci.

Of course, Zhao Shucheng didn't really care about these things. After all, he was just conscripted to participate to add some buzz, so he was in a relaxed mood throughout the whole process.

When it came to the test of teamwork, Song Ci, who was clearly able to complete the test with Xiao Mu, deliberately made a mistake in her actions, just so she could have more intimate moments with Yao Menggui.

Xiao Mu felt somewhat puzzled, after all, his movements were quite large just now, and Song Ci almost finished, but changed at the last moment.

Mo Xiaomin secretly leaned close to Zhao Shucheng's ear and whispered, "Hey, Xiaobai, does your male lead like the female lead?"

"why would you say so?"

"Do you think I'm stupid? Anyone who's not blind can see through such obvious little schemes and actions, right?"

Zhao Shucheng smiled and said, "Maybe, but it's not bad either. At least we've gained some buzz. It's just that Yao Menggui is going to be in trouble. She'll definitely be attacked by Song Ci's fans."

"Yeah, I don't know what this male lead is thinking. Doesn't he consider the consequences of his actions?"

Zhao Shucheng said, "He has the confidence, so he is naturally not afraid of outside gossip. However, he has been pampered since childhood and has not considered whether others have the same confidence."

"As the director, aren't you going to think of a way to help your leading lady?"

"She has to get through this on her own; she'll have to face it sooner or later. Besides, I'm just the director of her film, not her boss or agent, so there's no need for me to get too involved."

"So cold-blooded."

"I'm afraid if I really help, you'll get angry." As she was speaking, there was less and less room between Song Ci and Xiao Mu to stand, and finally Song Ci fell into the ball with Xiao Mu in her arms, causing an uproar in the room.

Just as Mo Xiaomin was about to say something to Zhao Shucheng, the host called Zhao Shucheng and Mo Xiaomin to come forward and participate in the tacit understanding test.

For Zhao Shucheng and Mo Xiaomin, this was actually the easiest thing. Having lived together for so long, they had a good understanding of each other, so they easily completed the challenge without being punished.

Soon, the variety show recording ended, and Mo Xiaomin left first because she still had commercials to shoot.

Seeing Xiao Mu standing there alone, Zhao Shucheng asked, "Yao Menggui, where are your manager and assistant? Aren't they leaving?"

"My agent has gone out and will have to wait a while before leaving."

Zhao Shucheng said, "That won't do. Song Ci's fans were about to eat you alive. You can't just wait like this. I'll take you back to the set first. You can tell your agent."

"Isn't this a bit inconvenient?"

"What's inconvenient about it? Let's go, otherwise we'll really be surrounded by fans and you won't be able to escape."

"Alright then!" Seeing that Chen Mo still hadn't returned, Xiao Mu knew it wasn't appropriate for him to stay any longer, so he followed Zhao Shucheng and headed towards the parking lot.

Song Ci saw Zhao Shucheng and Xiao Mu's backs from a short distance away and wanted to catch up, but stopped when she saw her assistant.

After getting into the car, Xiao Mu looked around and asked curiously:
"Director Gu, you drove here yourself, didn't you bring an assistant?"

Zhao Shucheng said, "I'm just a director, not a big star. My assistant doesn't need to follow me around every day. Besides, I'm a man, so I don't have any brainless fans or sasaeng followers stalking me, and I won't encounter any danger."

"That's true, but Director Gu, could you tell me how you met Miss Mo?"

Zhao Shucheng smiled, briefly recounted how he met Mo Xiaomin, and then said:

"Actually, I think it was all fate's arrangement. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that I met her that day, and we even admired each other?"

"You two are so perfect! But Mr. Gu, you were a screenwriter before, and you became a director for Miss Mo, right?"

Zhao Shucheng nodded and said, "That's part of it, but more importantly, I want to see the characters I created brought to life in film and television. And filming them myself is the best way to achieve the results I want."

"I see, Director Gu, you're really amazing."

Xiao Mu truly admired Zhao Shucheng. After all, he was able to go from being a screenwriter to a director and still manage it all with ease. But when it came to acting himself, he struggled quite a bit.

Besides, she had also learned about Mo Xiaomin. Like herself, Mo Xiaomin was a latecomer to the profession, but Mo Xiaomin's performance was very natural and she became famous quickly, while she could only explore and move forward step by step.

"Don't say that. You're not bad either. But in future performances, you still need to have your own ideas. You can't act like yourself no matter what you play. You have to try to fit the script and the character so that the audience forgets that you are acting and thinks that you are the character and the person. That's what makes a successful performance."

"Director Gu, I've got your words in mind."

"By the way, you, as the executive agent, need to have a good talk with him. He can't abandon his artists and shirk his responsibilities; that's unprofessional."

"I understand, Director Gu. I'll talk to him properly."

Chen Mo was actually avoiding Tang Xin, who was a fan of Song Ci and also Song Ci's staff member. She knew Chen Mo, or rather, Chen Mo worked as a paparazzi under Tang Xin's brother.

Chen Mo was very worried that if Tang Xin discovered him and exposed him in front of Yao Menggui, he would not only lose his job, but also lose the clues he had been digging into.

But when he finally managed to get rid of Tang Xin and was about to go find Yao Menggui, he received a text message saying that she had already returned to the film crew.

Zhao Shucheng returned to the film set and began reviewing the footage shot by the assistant director. He kept the footage that was suitable and prepared to reshoot the footage that wasn't suitable the next day. He also sent a message to the production coordinator to revise the shooting schedule.

In the evening, Zhao Shucheng was finally able to relax and decided to go for a run to get some exercise.

When they arrived at the playground, they saw Song Ci and Xiao Mu running together, and soon after, Chen Mo and Song Ci's assistant Xiao Bai also arrived.

After Chen Mo and Song Ci met, they immediately felt a sense of confrontation, like rivals meeting in love, and began to compete with each other, starting with running and later doing pull-ups.

Zhao Shucheng frowned and watched them compete. In the end, Song Ci was the first to run out of energy and prepared to go back.

Zhao Shucheng then came out, walked up to Song Ci, and said, "Song Ci, it seems you have good physical fitness. How about we film more of your scenes tomorrow? I think you can handle it, right?"

Song Ci found Zhao Shucheng's words puzzling and said, "Director, wasn't the filming schedule already finalized?"

"You seem to have a lot of energy, and you even competed with others. I just don't know if you'll be this energetic tomorrow."

Xiaobai looked at Zhao Shucheng nervously and said, "Director Gu, our Song Ci is just training and will be going back to rest soon."

"I hope so. I don't care how famous you were before, but since you've come to the crew, you have to consider the crew's interests. If you get injured and delay filming, I don't want the crew to take the blame."

"Director Gu, I understand. I promise it won't happen again!"

Seeing Song Ci leave, Zhao Shucheng looked at Chen Mo and said, "You're Yao Menggui's executive agent, right? I don't know why you're competing with Song Ci, but you're just an agent. Doing your job well is the most important thing. Don't think about anything else, and don't cause trouble for the crew."

"Director Gu, I..."

“I have no interest in listening to your explanation. Whatever your thoughts are, at least until filming is completed, you and Yao Menggui are only in a working relationship, and she also has to devote herself fully to the filming.”

"Director Gu, don't worry, I definitely will!"

Worried that Chen Mo would clash with Zhao Shucheng, Xiao Mu grabbed Chen Mo's hand, bowed deeply, and then led him away.

Zhao Shucheng couldn't help but shake his head. He wasn't just saying that casually. For a newcomer like Xiao Mu, getting into character is the best way to film. But if Chen Mo and Song Ci are competing, her admiration for Song Ci will disappear, which might affect the filming.

After everyone else left, Zhao Shucheng started exercising. He ran more than ten laps before coming to the horizontal bar, where he did more than ten sets of pull-ups, and then went straight back to the hotel to rest.

He didn't notice that someone nearby had been watching Zhao Shucheng's workout the whole time.

"I didn't expect Director Gu to have such good stamina. After running so many laps, he was still able to do more than a dozen sets of pull-ups."

Chen Mo looked at Xiao Mu, who was staring in the direction Zhao Shucheng had left with an expression of admiration, and wanted to refute him. However, he thought about how he had just competed with Song Ci and had only done a dozen or so sets, and he almost couldn't even open a bottle cap. There was indeed a big difference between them.

He felt he had more and more competitors, each one more formidable than the last. First Song Ci, now the director—he had no way to reveal his feelings to Yao Menggui, and could only keep his affections hidden. (End of Chapter)