Entertainment: I just want to be the boss behind the scenes

Chapter 347 An unexpected encounter

As the night deepens, the city becomes ablaze with lights.

In a private room of a hotpot restaurant in Sanlitun, Meng Bai and Zhang Ruoyun sat opposite each other.

There was another set of bowls and chopsticks on the table on the other side of them. They belonged to Wang Ou, but her sister had just gone to the bathroom.

"When it comes to hot pot mutton, it has to be Inner Mongolia." Zhang Ruoyun took a chopstick of mutton from the pot and put it into his mouth. After taking two bites, he said with emotion: "The mutton is so fragrant and tender. You can eat a whole plate of it without dipping sauce."

"It seems that you and Lao Bai have eaten a lot in Inner Mongolia during this year." Meng Bai teased.

"The filming location is more than an hour's round trip from the city, and I was too lazy to go that far. At first, I was interested in riding horses and shooting arrows, but I got tired of it after a while, and the rest of the time I mainly thought about food."

The main filming location of "Huo Qubing" was at the Yuanliu Film and Television Base in Ordos, Inner Mongolia. The whole drama took nearly a year to shoot, and the leading actor Zhang Ruoyun also stayed there for a long time.

"Then you've been idle for a year." Meng Bai asked, "Have you taken on any new dramas recently?"

Zhang Ruoyun shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Some of the books have come to me, but, alas..."

Meng Bai understood. This was obviously a contradiction that all non-first-tier actors faced - they couldn't get the scripts they liked, and they didn't like the scripts they could get.

In fact, if it was Zhang Ruoyun a year ago, the situation might be much better. At that time, his popularity had just soared due to the hit "Forensic Qin Ming", and then he attracted a lot of fans with the role of "Tang Shanhai" in "Sparrow".

Although he was not considered a top star among the same group of young actors at that time, he was still relatively popular.

For an actor like him who is clearly on the rise, as long as he produces another hit work, he will basically be able to secure his position.

As a result, he turned around and took over his father's "Huo Qubing".

However, for Zhang Ruoyun at that time, this choice was not wrong.

It has a popular costume theme, a male protagonist, and the highly popular IP of "Huo Qubing". As long as it can be filmed normally, it will be a very good resource no matter how you look at it.

I didn't expect that the filming of this drama would take nearly a year, which is a bit too long for an actor on the rise.

But this is not the most hurtful thing. During the filming, some people on the Internet revealed some relevant information about the drama, including the number of episodes, plot, character settings, etc.

When they got together, Meng Bai had said that there were problems with the plot setting of this drama, and if it was really filmed according to the original script, he would definitely be criticized.

Facts have proved that as one of the top film and television producers in the industry today, Meng Bai is quite sensitive to the audience and the market.

The show hasn't even officially aired yet, but the leaked clips alone have already caused an uproar online.

Obviously, most of the audience who have a little knowledge of history cannot accept that a "natural god of war" has to start from a small soldier, and they cannot accept that a hero who shouted "How can I have a home when the Huns are not yet destroyed" would fall in love with a foreign princess.

And judging from the recent situation, the "skin-changing" method that Meng Bai mentioned at the beginning is no longer very useful.

At the beginning of the year, the two dramas "Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace" and "Win the World" were temporarily withdrawn from the schedule. The common problems were "long episodes", "costume dramas" and "falsification of historical facts".

With more than 70 episodes, "Huo Qubing" can be said to have accurately stepped on all the minefields.

"What did Director Zhang say?"

Zhang Ruoyun shook his head: "I don't know much either, but I heard him say that part of the copyright of this drama has been sold, so it should be fine."

"Don't let it be a gambling agreement. If the show really can't be broadcast anymore, you'll fall into it again." Meng Bai reminded.

Zhang Ruoyun was stunned when he heard this, and thought for a moment: "Don't say it, it's really possible. I'll ask him later."

This "he" naturally refers to Zhang Ruoyun's biological father Zhang Jian.

It can be heard that after more than a year of filming together, the relationship between the father and son seems to have eased a little.

Although they were very good friends, Meng Bai couldn't interfere in such family affairs. So after giving a reminder, he changed the subject.

"There's no rush for the script. Arc Light happens to have a spy drama project this year. I'll send you the script later to see if you're interested."

"Hey, what are you talking about? Do I need to read your script?" Zhang Ruoyun waved his hand, "As long as you need it, I will sell you this hundred pounds in one word. Just give me the price you want."

"I was just being polite, but you really want to rely on me, right?" Meng Bai cursed with a smile.

Even though they were cursing, they couldn't help but smile at each other.

Zhang Ruoyun knew that Meng Bai took out the script because he wanted to help him. Similarly, Meng Bai also knew that the other party agreed without thinking because he trusted him.

As for friends, it’s enough to understand it in your heart. It would be pretentious to say it out loud.

"What kind of movie is it? Similar to 'Peace Hotel'?" Zhang Ruoyun asked.

"It's different. This time the background is set during the Liberation War, and the main plot is the conflict between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. The protagonist is a young policeman who has just entered the workplace..."

Meng Bai briefly explained the plot and setting. Zhang Ruoyun said puzzledly, "Why does this sound a bit like a workplace drama?"

"Well, how should I put it? Although the workplace and spy warfare are fundamentally different, the forms they manifest are actually similar."

"Last time it was a locked room, this time it's a workplace. It's you again, you can always come up with something new in the setting."

Zhang Ruoyun sighed, and then said excitedly: "I was watching Peace Hotel at home these few days. Teacher Qin Hao's acting was really amazing. I couldn't recognize him when I watched the first episode."

Meng Bai smiled. This was not the first time he had heard this comment since the TV series started airing.

As the male and female protagonists of "Peace Hotel", "Chen Jiaying" and "Wang Dading" are naturally the most noticed by the audience.

But what is a bit strange is that "Chen Jiaying" is popular because of her character, but the popularity transferred to Qin Lan is quite average.

But after "Wang Dading" became popular, all the benefits of the role were completely absorbed by Qin Hao.

Before this, many viewers' impression of the name "Qin Hao" was not only "Lou Ye's favorite male lead", but also "Yi Nengjing's second-married husband". As for him, they always thought he was the kind of gloomy and lonely male lead in art films.

Until he became famous with "Peace Hotel" this time, many people dug deep into his previous Weibo and programs and found that he was not an artistic middle-aged man at all, but a typical Northeasterner, and quite funny.

In just less than half a month, Qin Hao's Weibo gained hundreds of thousands of followers, and his popularity grew rapidly among middle-aged actors. It can be said that he has become popular again.

Even he himself lamented with Meng Bai that he had been shooting art films for half his life but his popularity had never been very good. Unexpectedly, when he reached middle age, he gained a large number of young fans thanks to TV dramas.

As Qin Hao's popularity grows, ArcLight Films has also become the focus of many middle-aged actors, especially male actors.

Previously, Pan Yueming became one of the most popular male actors last year with "The Lost Tomb" and "Day and Night". At the beginning of this year, another Qin Hao appeared.

As we all know, Arclight Films has always been dominated by male protagonists. When it was mainly engaged in web dramas, many actors were still proud of their status and felt that it was a bit uncool.

But now that they have also started making TV dramas, you can imagine how fierce the competition for roles in subsequent projects will be.

However, what worries many people is that Arclight and Noon Sunshine are very similar, and both like to use actors they have worked with before. So it is not easy to join the "Arclight" collaboration list.

Back to the present, Meng Bai and Zhang Ruoyun chatted for a while, but Wang Ou never came back.

"Women always take a long time to go to the bathroom."

"But this has been a bit too long. Do you need to go and check to make sure nothing happens?"

"Okay, let's go out and take a look."

The two were about to get up as they were talking, but before they could open the door, they heard the sound of several women chatting outside.

And the voice sounded very familiar.

Just as they were wondering, the door of the room opened. The two looked out and were stunned for a moment.

Standing at the door were not only Wang Ou, but also Li Yitong and Jin Chen who appeared out of nowhere.

Zhang Ruoyun quickly glanced at Meng Bai beside him, and then couldn't help but feel admiration in his heart.

As expected of Old Meng, he remained calm at all.

What he didn't know was that Meng Bai's heart had actually paused for a moment just now. But he was experienced and could remain calm even when he was distracted.

Wang Ou, who opened the door, was startled by the two people behind the door: "What are you two doing standing here?"

"I saw that you haven't come back for a long time, so I was planning to go and see if something happened." Meng Bai explained casually.

But with this buffer, he has adjusted his condition.

He first glanced at Wang Ou, and seeing that her sister looked normal, he immediately felt confident. He turned to look at Li Yitong who was standing beside him, and smiled as usual, "Why are you guys here too?"

"Daxi came to see me and said he wanted to eat shabu-shabu. I just remembered that you told me this restaurant was good, so I came here." Li Yitong looked at Meng Bai with a smile, "Really? You guys had a secret gathering without inviting me. If I hadn't just bumped into Sister Ou, I wouldn't have known you were here."

Meng Bai suddenly remembered that this store was near where Li Yitong lived.

Well, it was my fault. But then again, who would have thought that this girl would remember it so clearly even though I had only mentioned it once before.

"Hello, Teacher Meng." Jin Chen behind Li Yitong said with a smile: "I'm sorry first, Tongtong is mine today."

Meng Bai raised his eyebrows, but he was in no hurry to ask. He first called everyone in: "Don't stand at the door. Come in and talk."

The three women came in one after another. Li Yitong and Jin Chen also greeted Zhang Ruoyun on the other side.

Speaking of which, the people present were not strangers to each other. Li Yitong had starred in "Who's the Detective" and Jin Chen had also worked with Zhang Ruoyun in "Wuxin the Monster Killer".

Even Wang Ou and Jin Chen had previously collaborated on an anti-Japanese war drama.

"Daxi plays Sister Ou's sister-in-law?"

Meng Bai looked at the information he found on his phone and looked at the two women with a strange expression.

"Tsk, what do you mean?" Wang Ou glanced at him angrily, but he was also somewhat shy.

That drama was filmed five or six years ago, when she was still a young actress. She took whatever roles she could get, so she had no room for choice.

"That's right, Sister Ou can't play the role of the younger sister." Li Yitong, who was sitting next to Meng Bai, echoed.

She and Wang Ou also worked together for a long time on "Star Detective" and they have a close relationship with each other.

Because there are two more people, there are some changes in their positions.

Meng Bai and Li Yitong sat together, opposite them were Wang Ou and Jin Chen, and Zhang Ruoyun sat at the head of the table alone.

"I'll ask the waiter to add two sets of tableware." Zhang Ruoyun, who suddenly became independent, consciously acted as a tool.

"No, no." Li Yitong waved her hand. She and Jin Chen saw Wang Ou when they were about to leave after eating. If they hadn't heard that Meng Bai was here, they would have gone back by now.

Looking at the few people chatting, Meng Bai leaned close to Li Yitong's ear and whispered, "Should we go to your place or mine tonight?"

Hearing this, Li Yitong's face turned bitter, and she showed a flattering smile: "Daxi is in a bad mood. I have to accompany her tonight, so I can't stay with you."

"How can she be in a bad mood?" Meng Bai asked in surprise.

In his impression, this girl has always been a fun-loving person.

Among the people she knows, only Bai Lu, the "funny girl", can barely compete with her.

She actually has bad moods sometimes?
Meng Bai thought about it and decided that emotional issues should not be a big deal, so it could only be a career issue.

Li Yitong explained in a low voice, and sure enough, it was just as he guessed.

Jin Chen's company is Tangren. As a veteran film and television company in the industry, it has been on a downward trend in recent years, just like other traditional companies.

The year before last, it had a brief resurgence with the web drama "Wuxin: The Monster Killer", but the subsequent sequels and other projects were disappointing again.

Jin Chen was originally signed to a small agency, but was later spotted by Tangren during an audition. The man was in love, and the woman was interested, so she terminated the contract and signed with Tangren.

Thanks to the drama "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer", she became a bit famous. Tangren also gave her a few internal dramas, but they didn't make much of a splash, so she soon fell into obscurity, and Jin Chen gradually became dissatisfied with the company.

The breaking point was last year's "Fights Break Sphere" role-changing incident, when Jin Chen proposed to terminate the contract on the grounds that "the company failed to provide the promised resources and failed to fulfill its obligations as an agency."

This really touched upon Tangren's minefield. They had already been very unhappy about the successive contract terminations of their artists in recent years, and now another one had come. Naturally, they would not agree easily.

Want to leave? Sure, just pay a few million in liquidated damages.

Naturally, Jin Chen couldn't agree to this, so he went straight to court.

The result was naturally that she was in the wrong. The court ruled in favor of Tangren two days ago and required it to continue to perform the contract.

Things had come to this point, and Jin Chen knew that even if she gave in, the company would no longer give her resources, so she decisively applied for an appeal.

"It's difficult." Meng Bai shook his head and was not optimistic about the outcome of the appeal.

Most of the contracts between celebrities and their agencies are a mess. After all, it is difficult to define what "providing appropriate resources" means, so mediation is the main approach in most cases.

But now that the verdict has been announced, it is clear that the Tang people are very determined. Judging from the current situation, it will be difficult for Jin Chen to gain any advantage in the second trial.

There are only two options left: either pay the penalty and leave, or wait patiently for a year until the contract expires.

No matter what she chose, the result was not good. It was for this reason that she was in a bad mood and came to her best friend to complain and seek comfort.

"Hey, can you help Daxi talk to her company?"

Meng Bai shook his head: "It's not easy to help."

Hu Guang and Tang Ren have no intersection and are complete strangers to each other.

Of course, if you really make up your mind to spend a lot of effort to contact people, there are ways to do it. But the problem is that Jin Chen has not yet made Meng Baihua spend such a large amount of resources.

Li Yitong naturally understood this, so she just sighed and said nothing more.

After thinking for a while, Meng Bai said, "But if there is a suitable role, we can give her one - provided that her company agrees."

"This..." Li Yitong turned around and asked, "Daxi, does your company still allow you to take on other dramas?"

"I can accept it." Jin Chen naturally understood why her bestie asked her that, but she shook her head and said, "But it will be very troublesome to argue about the subsequent issues such as the film remuneration, so there is no need to do so."

After saying that, she smiled proudly: "It's okay, at worst I can just wait until the contract ends, there's only one year left anyway."

Obviously, she didn't intend to trouble Meng Bai.

However, this made Meng Bai feel more favorable towards her, and he half-jokingly said, "Daxi, if your contract ends, you can consider coming to our Taiyang Chuanhe, it's very good."

"Okay, then I'll have to ask Teacher Meng for an introduction." Jin Chen said with a smile.

They chatted for a while, and seeing that it was getting late, they decided to leave.

"I really can't accompany you tonight." Li Yitong grabbed the corner of Meng Bai's clothes and said coquettishly: "Wait until Daxi leaves in two days, I will come to find you."

"Why does it take two days? Can't you comfort her overnight? Why are you so fragile?" Meng Bai had a look of disgust on his face.

"Hey, girls, please understand."

Li Yitong looked around to see if anyone was paying attention, then she tiptoed and kissed him on the face: "Then we'll leave first."

"Okay, call me when you get home."

After watching the two girls' car leave, Meng Bai greeted Zhang Ruoyun again and said goodbye to each other.

"I'll send you the script later."

"no problem."

Wang Ou was the last one to arrive because she had to pay the bill. When she came out, she only saw Meng Bai.

"Where are Tongtong and the others?"

"She went to accompany her best friend, leaving me alone." Meng Bai spread his hands.

When Wang Ou heard this, his originally disappointed mood suddenly increased.

Because she felt guilty in front of Li Yitong, she didn't say much tonight. She thought Meng Bai and the others would definitely go back together, but she didn't expect things to take such a turn.

A somewhat happy expression was hidden under the mask and hat. Wang Ou coughed lightly and looked at Meng Bai: "Then I wonder if it would be convenient for you to trouble Teacher Meng to send it back for me."

"Of course, happy to oblige."

(End of this chapter)