Actresses

Chapter 76 Delaying Tactics

Every second the dial tone sounded, Shi Jiahe's heart pounded, as if she were praying that the other party wouldn't answer.

But she also wanted a definite answer. If Stone really considered her a friend, she shouldn't be angry about what happened yesterday, and she felt she had enough reason to explain: I'm in the hospital right now, I have my reasons.

The phone was finally answered after the sixth or seventh ring.

"Hey, Jiahe? You're not angry anymore?" Sister Stone asked cautiously.

"I'm in the hospital," Shi Jiahe thought to herself. Since she was already here, she might as well play the victim and gain some sympathy.

Sure enough, Sister Stone's voice suddenly rose several octaves as she asked with concern, "What happened? What's wrong? Is it serious?"

"I fainted yesterday from low blood sugar and acute gastroenteritis. I came to the hospital today to get checked out. When you called me, I was feeling really unwell, so what I said was quite harsh. Please don't take it to heart."

"How could that be? Sigh, I knew you weren't feeling well yesterday, but I never imagined you were sick. What did the doctor say? Are you feeling better now?"

"I can just go home, take my medicine, and rest. It's nothing serious. I wanted to ask you, is there any progress on your end? I hope my outburst yesterday didn't affect the important business we need to discuss," Shi Jiahe said.

"I actually wanted to explain this to you, but you weren't acting right yesterday, so we had an internal meeting to discuss it. Now our team is pretty much in agreement: we shouldn't continue this contact. Because the producer's father is in trouble, this project could easily be scrutinized by higher-ups. After all, nobody knows if his father has anything going on with him. Although our pay isn't much, it would be very troublesome if we were involved in this kind of related investigation. It's best to completely sever ties. Artists' studios are already under strict scrutiny these days, and we don't want to take on that kind of risk again."

What Stone Sister said reflects a very real situation in the film and television industry: "Who is guilty" is sometimes not important; what matters is "you can't touch them." When everyone assumes an artist has something going on, that's the most troublesome situation. The industry's choice is often not to wait, but to directly avoid risk. Each film and television project involves investments of eight figures or even hundreds of millions; any setback in any环节 can potentially implicate the entire production, the production company, and the platform. Besides censorship and regulation, there's also the risk of public opinion. Today's netizens are fiercely opposed to wrongdoing; what the industry considers trivial can potentially cause a massive uproar online.

Shi Jiahe thought for a moment and realized the seriousness in Stone's words. "So you're firmly against it, but the artist hasn't decided yet, right?"

Stone sighed. "What Panpan means is that Chen Yueming must have connections to be able to produce such a big production. He couldn't possibly get such resources just by relying on his father. Besides, even if his father gets into trouble, he won't be implicated. After all, this isn't the feudal era anymore. So she still wants to give it a try because it's a rare opportunity. Such a large investment project can't just disappear like that."

Shi Jiahe chuckled. How many major film and television projects have simply vanished in the last decade?

"In short, she has her own logic, and no matter how I try to persuade her, it won't work. She even argues that she's truly busy with her career right now! Why are you stopping me? I said, 'If you're busy with your career, we have to consider the risks, right? We can't just waste several months on this project. What if the show is buried after filming? It takes a long time and the pay is low. We have to do something!'"

"But your teacher Zhuang is right about one thing: Chen Yueming has his own way of doing things. It just depends on whether you're willing to share the risks with him," Shi Jiahe said, fiddling with her hands.

At this moment, what she's thinking is, "What I need is a clear statement from you. If there's even the slightest hesitation, then forget it."

"The problem is, this is a male ensemble piece. Even if we share the risks, we won't get as much benefit as the male leads. I've done the math, and even if we participate in the entire promotion, we'll probably only get a few screen time," Stone said.

Shi Jiahe thought, "Hmph, in the end, isn't it just because it's not cost-effective over there? It's not because they want to come here more or appreciate our script more."

"So Jiahe, I wanted to ask how your progress is?" Sister Stone changed the subject.

"The script is almost finished, and we should finalize all the actors soon." Shi Jiahe's tone was particularly confident and self-assured.

"Really? Panpan said she's asked Ran-jie for the script several times, but hasn't received it yet. Now that you're making such a fast pace, could you—"

"Can't."

This statement was completely unexpected for Stone Sister; she was visibly taken aback on the phone.

Shi Jiahe continued decisively, "My boss and I have reached a consensus: we can't waste too much energy on one actor. We can't approach acting with the mindset of catering to every star's every whim; the premise of our collaboration must be that everyone genuinely wants to do this well. Shi Tou, although I really hope to work with you and also hope that Teacher Zhuang will act, I can't lose sight of this original intention. I know you have your difficulties, and you can't finalize things for various reasons, but I also want to say that this has nothing to do with us. We also have our own circumstances. Since everyone has their own factors to consider, then we won't force it. We can just contact other actors directly. Of course, this doesn't involve our personal relationship; we're still good friends, and we can continue to talk about other things, no problem."

After finishing the call, she felt even more relaxed than when she had just left the hospital.

It's clear that people should show off a bit more; a little showing off can make you feel refreshed.

Surprisingly, Sister Stone wasn't angry after hearing this. "Well then, I'll leave it at that for now. I'll stand by Panpan; we'll take the role. Are you relieved now?"

"Oh my god, unless the artist agrees personally, it's useless for the two of us managers to say this."

"I can make decisions for Panpan. She's just not accepting the outcome right now, but I can help her. Wait for me a little longer, Jiahe!"

Shi Jiahe thought to herself, "I'll trust you for now; it'll give me an extra advantage, and then I can go find Sister Ran." However, if she pressed him, she still wouldn't tell him. "But I can't give you the script right now. And even if I do, the artists aren't allowed to offer too many suggestions for revisions. If you can accept all of that, we can talk again."

"I accept it. We're not the lead actress, and we're aware of that."

Even if you're the female lead, I won't cooperate with the changes.

"Alright, alright, whatever you say."

"Then I won't wait for you too long." Shi Jiahe almost laughed at herself as she said this. She's really putting on an act, taking advantage of my kindness.

"Last time you waited for me for three days, and then from yesterday to today, I waited for you for one day, so you wait for me for two more days. That way we're even," Sister Stone said.

"How can you say we're even? You only waited for me for one day, but I had to wait for you for three plus two equals five days. Your math skills are really good!"

Stone laughed, "Alright, let's stop arguing here. Let's start working on the specifics in two days, and we can also discuss the contract."

After listening, Shi Jiahe pondered for a moment, thinking that it wouldn't make a difference if she waited a couple more days, and that she had to get through it no matter what, so she agreed.

After hanging up the phone, Shi Jiahe immediately returned to the company. It was already lunchtime, and her colleagues were eating takeout. They all looked surprised when they saw her come in. Ding Yi was the first to say, "We thought you had disappeared!"

Shi Jiahe retorted irritably, "So none of you called the police? Did the boss come?"

"Don't mention the boss." Ding Yi's face immediately fell. "Actually, we all thought it was great that Cheng Xiaotang gave us a few trending topics for free, but the boss got really angry and kept cursing in the group chat. We still don't know how to appease him, so we just gave up."

"Isn't things calmed down now?"

"Don't you understand your boss? Before she vents her anger, she's a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment," Ding Yi said.

"Then... I'll go find her after I finish eating," Shi Jiahe said after thinking for a moment.

"I suggest you sound them out on WeChat first," Ding Yi winked slyly. "Going there rashly? Wouldn't that just get me beaten up?"

Shi Jiahe glanced at Ding Yi, and in their exchanged glances, she understood what the other was thinking. Actually, there were a few minor issues in the group chat that hadn't been resolved yet, and they needed to be moved forward a bit today. Ding Yi probably didn't dare to offend the boss on his own, so he wanted Shi Jiahe to step in. Ultimately, wasn't it all for his own benefit?

"It's okay, if I die, you guys can just go to the boss's house and collect my body," Shi Jiahe said half-jokingly.

Ding waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, no, even if you die, you'll have to walk out by yourself. We'll at least wait for you outside."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Shi Jiahe didn't even order takeout. She went downstairs, grabbed a quick bite at the convenience store, and then rushed to He Yuran's house. The owner was usually still asleep at this hour. She went from knocking to banging on the door until she saw the angry face behind it.

He Yuran didn't say a word, opened the door with a dark face, and turned to walk towards the sofa.

"Boss, I was in the hospital yesterday," Shi Jiahe said in a low voice as she followed behind.

This tactic worked as expected. He Yuran abruptly stopped and slowly turned around. Although she didn't speak, her eyes became concerned. After a long pause, she finally uttered four words: "What happened?"

I fainted.

"Huh?" He Yuran's expression changed in surprise. She rushed over and held Shi Jiahe's shoulder, looking her up and down carefully.

At first, Shi Jiahe hesitated about how to phrase her words to her boss, but thinking is never as good as doing. The moment they met, Shi Jiahe felt every cell in her body screaming: feign weakness! Pretending to be sick is the most effective! Because the boss falls for it!

"So that's why you didn't check your phone yesterday?" He Yuran asked again.

Shi Jiahe sighed, "Yes, I just came out of the hospital. I'm still quite weak. I fainted for half an hour yesterday and almost passed out."

"Oh my god, why didn't you say so sooner? This is such a big deal, why didn't you call me sooner?"

"I don't have the strength to fight, boss..."

"Quick, quick, sit on the sofa for a bit." He Yuran pulled him to sit down beside her, then asked affectionately, "Would you like something to eat or drink? Or maybe you could take a nap on my sofa?"

Upon hearing the words "take a nap on the sofa," Shi Jiahe suddenly felt tears welling up in her eyes. She herself was somewhat confused as to why her body's actual reaction was to cry.

Finally, she heard familiar words. These things that used to annoy her were actually so precious.

She tugged at He Yuran's arm, her eyes brimming with tears, and said, "Sister, yesterday I really thought I'd never see you again..."

He Yuran turned her face away, her voice slightly distorted. "Why are you talking like that! Hope you all live to be a hundred, and love and hate each other for a hundred years."

"Sister, you won't abandon me, will you?" Shi Jiahe said with a wronged expression.

He Yuran turned her head and sighed heavily. "Of course not, I was only angry because I care about you...."