A writer has arrived in the Chinese entertainment industry.

On this day at the end of October, the film casting process, which lasted for more than half a month, finally came to an end.

Because the budget for the three main characters was not high, there was much more leeway in choosing the supporting roles.

Li Xuejian made a cameo appearance as the novelist Lu Yuan, and his role lasted for three days, costing 600,000 yuan.

Song Jia plays the eldest daughter who holds power, and Tong Dawei plays the philandering son-in-law...

All actor expenses were kept below nine million, which is slightly less than one-third of the total budget.

As for the filming location, it was chosen to be the Wuling Village scenic area in Moganshan, Deqing. The area is high and shady with many villas from the Republican era, making it a perfect match for the novelist's antique-style villa in "Knives Out".

Of course, the film crew could only modify modern replicas; they couldn't actually use historical buildings for renovation.

The art direction, set design, equipment, and filming crew had already arrived. Once everything was ready, Su Liu and Chen Zhixi, along with three actors from Fuxing Culture, drove two Toyota Alphards to Moganshan.

The production crew had a budget of three million for food and lodging, so they booked out all the guesthouses in Wuling Village.

That evening, everyone gathered for dinner at a hotel in Deqing. In the entertainment industry, seniority doesn't matter; it's all about hierarchy, especially at dinner parties. The main cast, lead actors, other actors, and behind-the-scenes staff were seated at various tables according to their status and seniority.

While Su Liu scorned this bad habit, he sat leisurely in the head seat with Reba, Mao Xiaotong, and Li Xian.

"Teacher Su," Reba said, feeling a little awkward, "Should I not be sitting here?"

Su Liu was texting Chen Duling when she glanced to the side and asked, "What?"

"Look, all the other supporting actors are sitting at another table, and I'm the only one sitting here. Is that inappropriate?"

"Tsk." Su Liu smacked his lips, leaned close to her ear and whispered, "This project is invested in by our company and we are in control. You're a resource-rich person now, so have some confidence, okay?"

Dilraba looked troubled. "Teacher Su, 'resource-backed star' isn't a good term, is it?"

"Look at what you're saying, so many people want to be a resource-rich person but can't even get one."

Meanwhile, the inexperienced Li Xian was engaged in a battle with a spicy turtle dish. This dish was difficult to handle elegantly at a banquet, so no one touched it, except him, whose mouth was completely red from eating it.

Mao Xiaotong would occasionally take out her phone from her bag to check it, her expression revealing a hint of worry.

Seeing this, Su Liu immediately put his innate instinct to teach to others and asked, "Xiao Tong, what's wrong?"

"No," Mao Xiaotong immediately smiled sweetly, "I'm fine."

"Really? Tell me if you have any problems, I'm very good at solving trouble."

"Really?"

Reba chuckled, quickly covered her mouth, and whispered in Mao Xiaotong's ear, "Xiaotong, don't take Teacher Su's words seriously."

"What's up?" Mao Xiaotong's eyes lit up, instantly switching to gossip mode. "What's the story?"

The two of them, their foreheads almost touching, began to whisper to each other.

"Sister Liu told me that Teacher Su loves to cause trouble for others; he himself is a troublemaker."

"A troublesome maker?"

Yes, yes.

"Oh dear, Li Xian!" Su Liu exclaimed when he saw Li Xian struggling with the turtle using his chopsticks. "How can you eat turtle like this? You clearly don't know how to eat turtle properly!"

Li Xian, holding his chopsticks, looked bewildered. "What should I do?"

"You should..."

Before he could finish speaking, the waiter brought out another turtle stew and placed it on the table.

"Why is there another turtle dish?" Su looked on in amusement. "Why are there two turtle dishes on one table? Who ordered this?!"

Seeing this, Dilraba and Mao Xiaotong exchanged a glance, revealing expressions of "I knew it."

"See?" Reba said.

Mao Xiaotong nodded in deep agreement, "That's right, that's right!"

After the dinner, everyone went back to their respective guesthouses to rest.

Su Liu talked on the phone with Chen Duling for a while, then chatted with An Wenxiu about the game's progress, before lying down on the bed and falling into a deep sleep.

He didn't know how much time had passed when a series of urgent and persistent knocks on the door abruptly pulled him out of his dream.

"Who is it!" Su Liu irritably wriggled in bed, squinted and reached for his phone. It was not even 5 a.m.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

He threw off the covers, got up angrily, sat up, put on a coat, and went to open the door.

Dilraba was standing at the door wearing a tracksuit, her right hand still in a knocking gesture.

"Dilraba! What are you doing!"

"Teacher Su, I want to go for a morning run. But I'm a little scared of unfamiliar places. Could you come with me?"

Who could understand Su Liu's feelings right now? He even seriously considered whether he had inadvertently revealed his love for morning runs. He concluded that he hadn't at all! From childhood to adulthood, he had never done anything like morning runs.

Why should I go for a morning run with you?

"Huh?" Reba tilted her head innocently. "But Sister Liu said you have a habit of jogging in the morning. Her exact words were: 'Reba, if you want to jog in the morning, just ask Teacher Su!'"

"Xiao Liu..." Su Liu leaned against the door frame, his back teeth grinding together.

"Teacher Su, shall we go? The air in the mountains is so fresh." Reba jumped up and down a couple of times, her ponytail swaying back and forth, making her look full of energy.

"I don't want to go." He said, about to close the door and go back to sleep.

Unexpectedly, Dilraba reacted quickly, stepping aside to block the doorway. Normally so meek, her tone was surprisingly firm: "Come with me, Teacher Su! A run won't kill you!"

There was no other way, Su Liu had to admit that running really wouldn't kill him.

Ten minutes later, he returned, wearing a gray hoodie, looking sleepy, with messy hair, exuding a sense of decadence from staying up all night. In stark contrast, Dilraba beside him was energetically stretching her legs, doing her pre-run warm-up.

"Why am I standing here?" Su Liu fell into self-doubt.

At five o'clock in the morning, the surroundings were still quiet as the two jogged slowly along the winding mountain road.

After running only two hundred meters, Su Liu was already out of breath. "Reba, you don't run at this time every morning, do you?"

"No, at home it's six o'clock." Dilraba turned around without blushing or panting, "But the crew has to start work in the morning, so if I don't run early, I won't make it in time."

With a forced smile, Su Liu gasped, "The boss loves employees like you the most."

"Really?" Dilraba stared intently at Su Liu with her deep, dark eyes.

Su Liu was taken aback by the question. So that's how it is! A sudden realization dawned on him—that's what it meant.

No wonder she insisted on dragging me out for a run!