After the divorce, he took care of his child and sold fried rice; his ex-wife was filled with regret

At this moment, the conference room was filled with smoke.

Five investors, dressed in suits, sat around a large conference table.

Director Zhang sat in the main seat, a cigarette between his fingers, his brows furrowed, his face ashen.

These individuals represent the top three production companies and two major streaming platforms in the domestic film and television industry.

If you pick any one of them, they are all big shots who usually hold the power of life and death over countless artists and can decide the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars.

They never look at the number of followers when judging people; they only look at whether the "product" can bring double the return.

Director Zhang sat at the head of the long table.

Director Zhang's full name is Zhang Weiguo, and he is known in the industry as a "tough guy" and "iron-fisted".

He has not only won several of the highest-level directing awards in China, but is also the absolute master of making films on historical cold weapons.

He has extremely high standards for the quality of the lenses, a bad temper, and never bows to the so-called "traffic" factor.

In an effort to persuade him to return to the company, the investors collectively invested hundreds of millions of dollars.

Even so, Director Zhang still held absolute authority in this conference room.

If he decides that an actor cannot carry a role, these five powerful investors would rather swallow their pride and pay the penalty for breach of contract to replace the actor than force him to film the movie.

Because as long as the name "Zhang Weiguo" is on the label, it's the minimum standard for this big-budget production to avoid flopping.

"Director Zhang, to be honest," a bald investor sitting on the left said, taking a sip of water from his thermos.

"Ye Wanxing has indeed been very popular recently, constantly dominating the trending searches, and her fans have strong purchasing power. The reason why we, the investors, strongly recommended her to carry this female-centric drama was because we valued her ability to monetize her top-tier popularity."

"But—" the bald man changed the subject, sighed, "she's only suited to playing a certain type of role."

"That's right," another bespectacled investor representative immediately chimed in, his tone full of dissatisfaction.

"She is beautiful, but her acting range is too narrow. She is only suitable for playing the kind of sickly beauty who coughs up blood in fantasy dramas, or the delicate female lead who is protected by men in idol dramas."

The bespectacled man tapped the table with his finger.

"Everyone saw it at the script reading session the day before yesterday."

"Her condition was extremely poor! Her face was deathly pale, and she would frequently clutch her stomach and furrow her brow, looking as weak as Lin Daiyu coughing up blood in the wind."

"When you ask her to recite her battle address, her voice is so soft it's like a mosquito's hum; she can't even string together two complete sentences!"

"Our production is a multi-billion dollar S+ level historical drama! The female lead is a female general who commands an army while wearing dozens of kilograms of heavy armor and riding a horse!"

"Given Ye Wanxing's paper-thin state the day before yesterday, where she looked like she could be blown away by a gust of wind, could she really wield a red-tasseled spear? Could she possibly keep those burly extras in check?"

As Director Zhang listened to the complaints of the investors' representatives, he took a deep drag on his cigarette and forcefully stubbed it out in the ashtray.

He was originally a director who placed great emphasis on the quality and realism of films, and from the beginning, he did not approve of using Ye Wanxing.

In his view, female celebrities in the entertainment industry nowadays rely on eating boiled vegetables or even starving themselves to maintain their abnormally thin appearance in order to achieve the so-called "right-angled shoulders" and "swan necks" on the red carpet.

My body was already broken down, and I even had trouble breathing loudly. Where was the vitality of a normal person?

"No need to say anything more." Director Zhang's voice was deep and cold, making a final decision. "I called her here today just to go through the final formalities. If she's still in that half-dead, sickly state she was in the day before yesterday, even if we have to stop filming and start over, I absolutely will not use her."

Director Zhang glanced in the direction of the adjacent lounge.

"Zhao Siqi has been practicing martial arts for the past two years, and her physical fitness and muscle definition meet the requirements of this film."

"She's already waiting next door. If Ye Wanxing can't deliver the results I want, we'll terminate the contract and replace her with Zhao Siqi."

"The production team will still pay the breach of contract penalty, but I, Zhang, will absolutely not let a pretty face who can't even afford to eat ruin my show!"

The investors exchanged glances. Although they felt sorry for the huge amount of traffic Ye Wanxing brought, they could only acquiesce to Director Zhang's decision considering the overall quality of the drama and the eventual return on investment.

Just then, a soft "click" came from the conference room door.

Upon hearing the door open, everyone's eyes immediately turned to that direction.

Sister Hui walked ahead, her face now bearing an impeccable smile, and quickly stepped forward to smooth things over:

"Director Zhang, executives, I'm sorry, there was a bit of traffic outside, we're a little late."

Director Zhang ignored Sister Hui's polite words.

He held a cigarette between his fingers, his gaze passing directly past her and landing on Ye Wanxing, who was following behind.

As a notoriously demanding director in the industry, he had already lost all patience with Ye Wanxing yesterday because of her frail state, as if she could be blown away by a gust of wind.

He's even prepared to directly notify his legal department to initiate the contract termination process today.

However, when Ye Wanxing actually approached the conference table, Director Zhang paused slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Ye Wanxing wore a fitted black casual suit today.

His posture was ramrod straight, his shoulders fully open, showing none of the previous weak and hunched posture.

What surprised him even more was her energy and spirit.

Her clean face, without heavy foundation, radiated a healthy, rosy glow.

Those eyes were bright and steady, like a long-dried-up deep pool suddenly filled with fresh water, carrying a solid vitality emanating from within.

Director Zhang narrowed his eyes slightly.

Undeniably, she looked much better today than yesterday.

Having spent twenty years navigating the treacherous waters of the entertainment industry, Director Zhang has seen it all.

These female celebrities will use any means necessary to secure an S+ level production.

It's not uncommon for people to go to the hospital for expensive, high-potency nutritional injections or take nerve-stimulating drugs to keep going.

But no matter how much external force is used to prop it up, the underlying deficit caused by years of dieting and starvation cannot be faked.

Once on set, facing intense, non-stop work, their true colors will definitely be revealed.

Director Zhang stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and leaned back in his chair.

"Wanxing, you look great today."

"Director Zhang has a good eye." Sister Hui, being a shrewd person, immediately seized the opportunity to rise to the occasion.

"Wanxing did indeed suffer from acute hypoglycemia yesterday due to working non-stop. So we went to the hospital last night to get her treated, and now her vital signs are completely fine, and she can join the crew at any time."

Director Zhang shook his head and tapped the script on the table twice.

"Sister Hui, we've collaborated before, so I won't beat around the bush."