A Washed-up Movie Queen's Divorce Strategy [Rebirth] - Chapter 19

It wasn’t until Out of Reach finally resumed filming that Ji Chenli understood what Ming Lang meant by “restructuring.” Everything from the director to the crew members had been replaced. Several supporting actors had even been swapped out. Aside from the two leads, the entire team had undergone a massive blood transfusion; it was all new faces. Ji Chenli did recognize the director—a woman named Fang Shi. At this point, she was just a university student who had recently graduated from the drama academy, but Ji Chenli knew that in two years, she would become the youngest director in the country to win an international award. Her future was limitless. Ji Chenli recalled that before Fang Shi became famous, she hadn’t had any intersection with Ming-Han Media; somehow, in this life, various causes and effects had brought them together early.

“Is this Miss Ji? Hello, I’m Fang Shi, I… I’ve known about you for a long time!” Fang Shi scratched her head as she introduced herself. Having just graduated, her face still carried a touch of youthful innocence; she looked like someone who was easy to bully.

“Hello, I’m Ji Chenli. Director Fang, no need to be formal, just call me by my name.” Ji Chenli shook her hand and sighed inwardly. A director with such a soft personality would surely be eaten alive by the veterans in this industry.

“Ah? Oh, okay! Ji… uh, Sister Chenli, you don’t need to be formal either. Hearing ‘Director Fang’ feels weirdly unfamiliar…” Fang Shi gave a few sheepish laughs, looking a bit thick-headed. Ji Chenli truly couldn’t believe this person would later become one of the country’s finest directors.

At this time, Fang Shi was just a poor, recently graduated student worrying about how to break into the industry. She hadn’t expected an opportunity to knock on her door—the President of Ming-Han Media had personally handed her a script and asked her to direct a movie.

“No, no, no!” Understanding Ming Lang’s intent, Fang Shi had dropped the script as if it were a hot potato. “President Ming, you think too highly of me! I… I’ve only directed two low-budget web movies. If you give such a big project to me, what if, what if…”

Ming Lang said nothing. The assistant behind her patted Fang Shi’s shoulder with a smile. “Director Fang, please go ahead and direct with confidence. President Ming said that if this movie loses money, it’s on her; if it makes a profit at the box office, she’ll give you a cut. Just name your price—is five percent enough?”

“F-f-five… five percent?” Fang Shi’s mouth hung open. Was this a joke? Investors usually only take thirty percent of the total box office; they were going to give five percent to a nameless little director like her? Had a pie really fallen from the sky and hit her on the head? Fang Shi never had this kind of luck; she hadn’t even won two dollars on a lottery ticket. She didn’t believe in “pies from the sky” at all and almost suspected Ming Lang and the smiling assistant were a fraud syndicate. But she had seen Ming Lang on TV, and it was clearly the same person. Had scammers invented face-changing techniques now?

“Not enough?” The assistant, thinking Fang Shi found the amount too small, exchanged a look with Ming Lang and added, “How about ten percent?”

Fang Shi sat on the floor in shock. The assistant squatted down and looked at her. “Fifteen percent? Director Fang, fifteen percent is quite a lot. For directing a film, you’d be splitting the profits equally with our company. If President Ming hadn’t recognized your talent, we would have left long ago.”

Fang Shi was almost in tears facing this friendly assistant. “No, Ming-Han Media can collaborate with any director they want. Why does it have to be me?”

“Didn’t I just say? Because you have talent.”

I’d be crazy to believe you! Fang Shi thought. Just then, she heard the silent Ming Lang speak. She only said a few words: “Director Fang, I believe in your talent.”

Fang Shi shifted her gaze to the woman who had only spoken once since entering her rental apartment. The woman looked cold and hard, her lips pressed into a downward curve—a clear sign she wasn’t to be trifled with. Yet, the words from her mouth carried a strange, convincing magic. Fang Shi felt a sudden surge of pride, thinking that perhaps she was a born-talented director. Gritting her teeth, she agreed: “Alright!”

And so, the first meeting between Ji Chenli and Fang Shi took place.

“Director Fang said she knew about me a long time ago?” After a few minutes of awkwardness, Ji Chenli found a topic to break the ice. Fang Shi nodded. “Yes. I used to watch period dramas with my grandmother. She always said your portrayal of the ‘Vicious Queen’ was incredibly realistic…” Realizing she’d said something wrong, Fang Shi hurriedly corrected herself. “No! I didn’t mean it like that! I mean Miss Ji’s acting is exceptionally good! I…”

“It’s alright, Director Fang, I understand.” Ji Chenli wasn’t angry. She found this blunt little director quite amusing. She smiled and said, “Thank you, Director Fang, for your affirmation of my acting.”

Fang Shi mumble with her head down, “It wasn’t me, it was my grandma…”

Ji Chenli was delighted and laughed more openly. “Then thank Grandma Fang for the affirmation, haha!”

Fang Shi’s face turned red and white alternately; she wished she could find a hole to crawl into.

Fortunately, this small interlude soon passed. Fang Shi needed to familiarize herself with the set and explain camera positions to the photographer, and Ji Chenli had to go to makeup and change into her costume. After a few more pleasantries, they went their separate ways.

After walking a few steps, Ji Chenli turned back to look. She saw that while working, the little director lost her clumsy air. Her eyes were intensely focused and she looked very serious, gesturing wildly while ensuring every detail was being implemented. Ji Chenli began to understand why she would become famous so young—that kind of glowing seriousness when facing a career she loved was something heaven would be unfair to ignore.

Ji Chenli arrived at the dressing room and found Ming Yan was already there. She had finished her makeup and stood up hurriedly when she saw Ji Chenli enter. She mumbled a “Sister-in-law” like a timid bride. There was none of the smugness she’d had when asking about the “dumpling” proverb earlier; she had likely been punished severely by Ming Lang.

Ji Chenli gave her a polite nod. “I told you to call me by my name.”

“O-okay…”

As Ji Chenli sat before the mirror, Ming Yan dawdled over and stammered, “Chenli, are you… are you still angry with me?”

“No.” Ji Chenli was telling the truth. Although she didn’t forgive Ming Yan, she hadn’t stayed angry. Anger is a self-punishment; why punish herself for others’ mistakes? If a mad dog bites you on the road, you can’t exactly bite back, can you? You just accept your bad luck and avoid it in the future.

“Really?” Ming Yan’s eyes lit up. “Then you’ve forgiven me?”

Ji Chenli didn’t answer, only giving a noncommittal smile. Ming Yan’s face crumpled again as she gave a bitter laugh. “I understand. Chenli, regardless, I just want you to know that I truly realize I was wrong. I just wanted to apologize to you properly…”

At that moment, the makeup artist walked in. Ji Chenli naturally began discussing the look with the artist, leaving Ming Yan standing aside. After standing there for a bit, Ming Yan left dejectedly.

With a normal person as the director, the crew naturally became much more normal. Everything proceeded according to schedule. Within a few days, Ji Chenli was completely won over by Fang Shi, and her original doubts vanished. Fang Shi was extremely sensitive to capturing an actor’s emotions and understood the characters better than Ji Chenli herself. Every time she explained the desired effect, Ji Chenli would have a breakthrough. She secretly admired this young director. Once, while eating lunch boxes together, Ji Chenli said to her, “Director Fang, you will definitely become one of the best directors in the country.”

Fang Shi blushed with embarrassment. “Don’t tease me.”

Ji Chenli smiled gently. “Just you wait and see.” As she spoke, she reached over and snatched a rare piece of lean meat from Fang Shi’s lunch box.

This scene was witnessed by the passing Ming Lang. Standing behind a tree, Ming Lang silently watched the two of them laughing and interacting. Her expression didn’t change, but the assistant who had followed her for years suddenly felt a drop in atmospheric pressure.

“President Ming, Miss Ji seems to be eating. Should we still go over?” the assistant asked cautiously.

Ming Lang stood behind the tree for a moment, then shook her head. “Forget it, let’s go.”

“But, this…” The assistant raised the food container in her hand.

“Throw it away,” Ming Lang said and walked off.

Throw it away? But this was… seeing Ming Lang walking away, the assistant had no time to think and hurriedly jogged to catch up.

The Out of Reach crew was like any other normal crew, except for one thing: the staff seemed quite afraid of Ji Chenli. Whenever they saw her, they were exceptionally respectful, their faces blooming with flattering smiles. Ji Chenli couldn’t figure out why for days. Once she asked Feng Cai, who didn’t think much of it. “What else? They’re sucking up to you, Sister Chenli.”

Ji Chenli wanted to laugh. “Are you sick? Why suck up to me?”

“Sister Chenli, you’ve been in the industry long enough, how can you not see the hidden currents?” Feng Cai began to educate her. “Xie Qinglan messed with you on set last time. Although President Ming suppressed the news from spreading publicly, people in the circle still talk in private. Xie Qinglan had a great future here; why did she suddenly go abroad? If they can’t figure out such an obvious thing, how can they survive in this industry?”

“You mean they think I whispered in Ming Lang’s ear to get Xie Qinglan sent away?” Ji Chenli shook her head with a smile. “Impossible.”

Feng Cai curled her lip. “You think it’s impossible, but they don’t. This circle is snobbish. When you have no background, people find ways to suppress you. But once you have a mountain behind you, they can’t wait to fawn over you. Who doesn’t want to reach the top overnight? Even Xiao Wang the errand boy dreams of being a big star.”

As they were chatting, there was a commotion outside the lounge. Ji Chenli asked, “What’s happening out there?”

“Sister Chenli, you sit tight, I’ll go check.”

Feng Cai returned a moment later, shouting joyfully, “Sister Chenli, come out! No more filming today, the director said we have the day off!”

“Day off?” Ji Chenli was confused. “What kind of holiday?” With so many employees, equipment, and venue costs, a day off meant another day of overhead. Fang Shi wasn’t an irresponsible person; why would she give a day off for no reason?

“It was President Ming’s idea! She had people bring over grills and food; she says we’re having a barbecue!”

“…What new scheme is she pulling now?” Ji Chenli had finally enjoyed a few days on set away from Ming Lang’s reach. She was just thinking she’d have peace for a while; she didn’t expect the quiet days to end so soon.