The film and television city starts from the courtyard

The rain is coming and the wind is all over the building.

After signing a contract with Zhao Shucheng, Xiao Mu got a role as the third female lead through Zhao Shucheng's connections, and felt that everything was going in a good direction.

What he didn't expect was that his family's affairs kept spreading online, making it impossible for his father to stay in the hospital in peace.

She originally thought she could get along peacefully with her sister, but she was surprised to find that the information on the internet was all leaked by her sister, Yao Menggui.

This shocked Xiao Mu. He never imagined that the kind-hearted Sister E would do such a thing, so he went to Yao Menggui and questioned her about why she did it.

Yao Menggui, however, turned around and accused Xiao Mu: "Aren't you the same? Why did you sign a contract to enter the entertainment industry? Why did you act in 'Under the First Snow'? And even went out to eat and drink with Song Ci? Didn't you know that this would easily expose your disguise?"

“I didn’t think that much about it. Back then on set, I couldn’t just distance myself from the male lead or even ignore him, could I? Besides, everything I did was for you, and I didn’t want to…”

"You keep saying you're doing this for me, but I think you're doing it more for yourself."

Xiao Mu hadn't expected her sister to think of her this way, and couldn't help but ask, "But what about you? What are you doing all this for? Isn't the password to your home's security cameras the date you were adopted?"

Yao Menggui said, "The reason I changed the password to that day is to commemorate the day I left the orphanage and to celebrate finally getting rid of you, this burden."

Hearing Yao Menggui say this, Xiao Mu was stunned. He never expected that in his sister's eyes, he was a burden and that she couldn't wait to sever ties with him.

This disappointed Xiao Mu, who returned the bank card his sister had given him and left Yao Menggui's apartment dejectedly.

She lingered by the roadside for a long time, pondering the matter repeatedly, and finally realized that there seemed to be a real problem between her and her sister. She had previously thought that the reunion of the sisters was a good thing, but her sister did not seem to think so.

Yao Menggui, however, was not as heartbroken as one might expect. She didn't care about the breakdown of her sisterly bond with Xiao Mu. Instead, because of her previous car accident, she was left alone in the hospital with no one to care for her, while Xiao Mu was being used as her substitute by her manager, almost completely replacing her.

If he hadn't woken up in time, or even returned to China, Xiao Mu might not have been just his shadow, but might have completely replaced him. Especially considering Xiao Mu's outstanding performance in the "Under the First Snow" drama, the honor of being the center of attention, and the harmonious relationship with the crew—all of which he had once longed for but could never have achieved.

This made Yao Menggui even more jealous of her younger sister, which is why she secretly plotted everything and betrayed the Xiao family's new drama, all to prevent Xiao Mu from making a complete comeback and truly replacing her.

But she didn't expect that even after she did that, Xiao Mu still signed with Zhao Shucheng's studio and was even preparing to join the film crew to film.

Zhao Shucheng received a call from the crew director, who told him that Xiao Mu hadn't gone to the set to film today, but had instead taken leave and couldn't be contacted, so he had to go find Xiao Mu himself.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Zhao Shucheng did not see Xiao Mu, but was immediately spotted by Xiao Yuanshan.

After this period of treatment, Xiao Yuanshan is in relatively good condition, and the stent has been installed. He will be able to be discharged from the hospital soon.

When Xiao Yuanshan saw Zhao Shucheng, he smiled and said, "Director Gu, thank you for your help this time, and for bringing me to the hospital."

"This is what I should do. After all, Xiao Mu is now my employee and will make money for me in the future, so her business is my business."

Xiao Yuanshan said with emotion, "Xiao Mu has had a tough time. I've always known she loves acting, but as you know, our family situation didn't allow her to go to university or pursue acting. Now, thanks to your help, Xiao Mu can finally realize her dream."

"You can rest assured about that. Now that I've signed a contract with Xiao Mu, I will naturally help her realize her dream."

"That's good. There's not much I can do to help Xiao Mu, so I'd like to ask Director Gu to take good care of our Xiao Mu in the future."

"Of course, no problem. I can provide her with resources, but how far she goes depends on whether she can make it on her own."

"That's enough for me!"

As they were talking, Xiao Mu arrived at the hospital and was surprised to see Zhao Shucheng there as well: "Director Gu, what brings you here?"

"I came to visit my uncle, and I also want to talk to you about something."

Xiao Yuanshan looked at Xiao Mu and said, "Since Director Gu wants to see you, you can go first. I have doctors and nurses here, so don't worry."

Xiao Mu then followed Zhao Shucheng into the corridor, lowered his head, and said, "Director Gu, did you call me because of what happened online? I..."

"You don't need to care about what's going on online. You've officially entered the entertainment industry now. I don't need to tell you that with fame comes trouble. Besides, these are just rumors, so don't take them to heart."

"Then you are..."

Zhao Shucheng said, "You didn't go to the film set today, and the director asked me for you, so naturally I had to come find you."

"Director Gu, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I just... I had something to do."

"Is that your sister?"

Xiao Mu was stunned for a moment, looking at Zhao Shucheng in surprise.

"Don't look at me so surprised. It's not hard to guess. As a newcomer, no one will see you as a threat or do anything to you. But your sister is different. She's a big star now. You have the same face as her, so you're practically natural look-alikes."

Looking at Xiao Mu, who had his head down, Zhao Shucheng continued, "Those teams that couldn't contact Yao Menggui before will naturally choose you as their substitute. They can achieve great things with minimal investment, which will be a huge profit for them. But for your sister, this is not a good thing."

"After all, she faces a lot of competition. Now she has to compete with you, a substitute, and you could snatch her opportunity with your low price at any time. Naturally, she can't just watch you rise to prominence."

Xiao Mu said, "I didn't intend to compete with my sister for anything."

"Of course I believe what you say, but it's not enough for you to just not compete or fight. In this industry, kind people are often bullied, and good horses are often ridden. If you don't want to be bullied, you have to learn to fight back and even make yourself stronger in order to better protect yourself."

"Then what should I do?"

"What you need to do now is seize every opportunity to improve your acting skills, increase your fame, and become stronger."

"I understand, Director Gu, I will!"

Xiao Mu knew that he had no power to resist. Perhaps Zhao Shucheng was right. Only by being strong enough could he avoid being hurt and protect his family.

Seeing the determination in Xiao Mu's eyes, Zhao Shucheng nodded and said, "Alright, now is not the time to think about other things. What you need to do now is to act well. Your father has a caregiver, so don't worry." "Yes, thank you, Director Gu, I understand."

But when Xiao Mu arrived at the film set, he found it wasn't what he had imagined. He had thought it would be like when he was filming with Zhao Shucheng, where the director was meticulous and he would do his best. But the director of this film seemed like a complete slacker.

He was good enough for all the shots, and he would ignore minor mistakes, sometimes even just glossing over them, which made Xiao Mu very uncomfortable.

Just as she was debating whether to ask the director to reshoot the scene, Chen Mo also appeared on set.

The current Chen Mo is not the same person he was when he was an assistant. After working hard for a period of time, he has been promoted and received a raise, and is now in charge of all the company's affairs, and has begun to negotiate film and television collaborations.

Of course, the reason Chen Mo was able to achieve this level in such a short time is not entirely due to his exceptional abilities, but rather because he had a good adoptive father.

Seeing Xiao Mu appear on such a film set, and even looking somewhat unprofessional, Chen Mo couldn't help but walk up to Xiao Mu and ask, "Xiao Mu, why did you choose to act in a film set like this? Didn't your sister help you contact the production team, or does your agent not care about you at all?"

Xiao Mu said, "I don't think I've done anything wrong in this production crew. Director Gu helped me get this job, and he must have his reasons for asking me to come."

"So, you've signed with Gu Xiaobai's studio now?"

Xiao Mu nodded and said, "Yes, is there a problem?"

"But Gu Xiaobai is just a new director. He only makes a few films a year. If you sign with him, wouldn't you be idle most of the time? Don't you want to be a big star? When will you ever get ahead like this?"

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with signing with Director Gu, especially since Director Gu can also help me find resources.”

"You mean getting into a production crew like this when you talk about connecting resources? That will only damage your reputation. They just see you as Yao Menggui's stand-in, and even the actors see you as Yao Menggui, thinking they can outshine you and satisfy their vanity."

Xiao Mu knew what Chen Mo was talking about; the attitude of the crew members earlier had already made it clear to her. However, she trusted Zhao Shucheng more, feeling that since Zhao Shucheng had arranged for her to come to this kind of crew, and to play the third female lead, he must have his reasons.

Meanwhile, Director Zhao was preparing a sequel to "Under the First Snow," and the producer wanted Zhao Shucheng to serve as executive producer, but Zhao Shucheng declined.

After all, the reason he took over as director from Zhang Junzhuo was only out of courtesy. Now that he wants to do his own project, he naturally can't be a producer.

Left with no other option, Director Zhao had to turn to Zhang Junzhuo, the original director of "The First Snow".

The other party had actually seen the finished product of "Under the First Snow" and had to admit that Zhao Shucheng was quite skilled, achieving almost the desired effect perfectly, and even handling some parts better than his own.

So when she received Director Zhao's invitation, she accepted without hesitation. She planned to use this sister film to compete with Zhao Shucheng and show others that she was just as good.

Against this backdrop, the entertainment industry in Shanghai became lively, especially among female celebrities, all eyeing the female lead of the sequel to "Under the First Snow".

Xiao Mu naturally received the news as well; it was Zhao Shucheng who told her, asking if she wanted to give it a try.

Xiao Mu hesitated for a moment, but still decided to attend the interview. This was an opportunity for her, a chance to quickly rise from a newcomer to a leading role, or even to soar to great heights.

Zhang Junzhuo saw Xiao Mu who came for the interview and initially looked down on her, but he gave her the opportunity to interview only because of Zhao Shucheng.

However, when Director Zhao saw Xiao Mu's performance, which was quite good and satisfied him, he reluctantly nodded, giving Xiao Mu a chance.

But when she saw the scar on Xiao Mu's hand, she thought of the scene in "Under the First Snow," where Li Rongjing seemed to have a similar scar later on. Could it be...?

Thinking about this, Zhang Junzhuo was even more looking forward to Xiao Mu playing the female lead. He thought that the two directors would use the same actress to make a comparison, which would be the fairest competition.

Xiao Mu was naturally thrilled to see that neither Zhang Junzhuo nor Director Zhao objected, and even signed the filming contract on the spot.

But as she stepped out the door, she ran into Yao Menggui, who was walking towards her.

Yao Menggui didn't expect to run into Xiao Mu here either. She smiled and said, "Xiao Mu, you're here too. I just came to meet with the main creative team. I heard they're going to give me a special appearance role. Maybe we'll even have some scenes together."

Xiao Mu, however, did not believe that it was all a coincidence. He knew that Yao Menggui did not want him to stand out and had come specifically to steal his role.

However, she was also very confident, believing that with her acting skills and the director's approval, she still had a chance of winning.

"Really? I'm looking forward to it too."

When she reached the door, Xiao Mu hesitated. After all, she was just a newcomer, and the company hadn't arranged a driver to pick her up. It seemed she would have to take a taxi home.

Just then, she suddenly heard someone call her name, and when she looked, it turned out to be Zhao Shucheng.

"Director Gu, what brings you here?"

"This should be your first audition as Xiao Mu. As your boss, I naturally have to come and see for myself. What do you think?"

"It's not bad. Director Zhang and Director Zhao are both quite satisfied, and they have already signed a filming contract."

Zhao Shucheng frowned and said, "Xiao Mu, I'll let it go this time, but in the future, never act on your own. Even if you've already confirmed a role, your agent must review the contract before you sign it."

"why?"

"It seems necessary to teach you a lesson. Many contracts in the entertainment industry are not standard contracts. There may be traps hidden in them, or they may be dual contracts. If you don't handle it well, you will either be blacklisted, or you will be working for someone else for free and have to pay a lot of money in compensation, or you may even be stuck in this situation for several years."

"Probably not?"

Zhao Shucheng looked at Xiao Mu and said, "How could it not be? What if this drama requires you to be a permanent member of the crew, but there's no set filming period, and it ends up taking two or three years to film? What will you do then?"

"This must be the director's pursuit of perfection; shouldn't we cooperate?"

Zhao Shucheng scoffed and said, "So you're too naive. If you really wanted to be perfect, shouldn't you have done that when you were writing the script? Starting to take things seriously only after filming begins, but then you can't produce a good script, or even a proper plan. Do you think you can do a good job with that?" (End of Chapter)