"Director Yan, there's no space left, let me squeeze in."
Xiao He pulled over a small plastic stool and wedged himself between Yan Shaohan and Guo Xinya, casually asking Guo Xinya with a grin: "My sister and I have the most lines, so it'll be convenient to rehearse together later. Sis, you don't mind, do you?"
Guo Xinya looked at Xiao He with surprise, then understood his intention and relaxed, smiling as she moved her chair to make space: "Of course not, you're my best little brother."
Using their character relationship as justification, Xiao He smoothly squeezed himself between the two.
Yan Shaohan, being the greenhorn he was, hadn't yet realized Xiao He's intervention, but he didn't continue trying to get close to Guo Xinya either, instead turning to ask the production coordinator behind him: "Is everyone here now?"
Today's gathering of the main cast wasn't for the opening ceremony, but for a script reading session.
Script reading, simply put, is when the main creative team sits together to interpret the script, sort out plot logic and character motivations, ensuring everyone has a consistent understanding of the story direction and character settings. If any script issues are discovered, adjustments can be made in advance.
This counts as an important pre-production step for any film crew.
Though it's quite interesting to note - Xiao He had been in the industry for a year now, having participated in several productions, but so far he had only attended the script reading for "Law of the Jungle."
In his previous productions, either he was a last-minute replacement, or he joined the crew too late to catch the reading. Even for the highly acclaimed "Thief Catcher," they didn't hold formal script readings - they just went over lines and plot with scripts in hand before starting filming.
What? You say that's not proper procedure?
Lin Yipeng would directly tell you they had no money.
Although this doesn't count as official production start, the entire crew is already operating, and every day costs money - for some low-budget productions, this represents a significant expense.
Of course, this script reading was destined to be different—
When most people had arrived, the coordinator counted heads and quietly reported to Yan Shaohan: "Currently three people haven't arrived yet."
"Ah? Three people? What happened to them? I hope nothing's wrong?" Yan Shaohan was startled, then concerned, "Call them immediately to check, make sure nothing bad happened."
The coordinator's face immediately showed embarrassment: "Um, I already contacted them earlier. Gao Zhenxia and Yuan Sitong might arrive a bit late. As for Lu Yuxi, we still can't reach him."
"Those three didn't come—" Yan Shaohan frowned with frustration, "This is troublesome—all three of them have quite important roles—"
The coordinator just smiled, not daring to speak further.
In this main creative team, even Xiao He counted as a newbie with one year of experience—what standing did newcomer director Yan Shaohan have?
To put it bluntly, almost everyone present was here because of Zhuang Hongyi, plus with "Yu Ye" being such a major IP with huge investment, everyone knew this project wouldn't be bad—but that didn't mean they respected Yan Shaohan.
The only thing Yan Shaohan could boast was his identity as the original author.
But these days, being the original author isn't some unshakable advantage—it's not even as valuable as having a popular traffic actor in the cast.
Other actors might maintain surface politeness due to Director Zhuang's lingering authority, not daring to act out recklessly, but there were still a few stubborn individuals who couldn't even be bothered to pretend, accustomed to throwing their weight around and completely looking down on Yan Shaohan.
Though currently, it seemed this Director Yan was quite thick-skinned, completely failing to realize that the real reason behind this situation was actually himself.
Coordinator: ...After understanding the situation, I feel even more worried—can this production really proceed smoothly?
He had his doubts about that.
The conversation between the coordinator and Yan Shaohan was clearly overheard by Zhuang Hongyi sitting nearby.
As a seasoned veteran in the industry, he naturally understood the coordinator's unspoken meaning.
Zhuang Hongyi's eyes darkened slightly as he adjusted his glasses, his tone carrying a chill: "Who hasn't arrived yet?"
His face didn't show any particularly stern expression, but when his gaze swept across the room, the previously chattering hall suddenly fell silent.
Everyone pricked up their ears, subtly glancing toward Zhuang Hongyi and the coordinator in the front seats.
"It's Gao Zhenxia, Yuan Sitong, and Lu Yuxi."
The coordinator had originally intended to lean close to Zhuang Hongyi's ear and speak quietly, but didn't expect Yan Shaohan beside him to foolishly announce it right then and there, completely failing to consider saving face for these three people.
Immediately, the previously relaxed atmosphere grew tense with his words.
Everyone sat in their seats, eyes downcast, pretending not to know anything, not even daring to breathe loudly.
Some people guessed that Zhuang Hongyi was preparing to make an example of them.
"Them."
Zhuang Hongyi raised his hand, lightly tapping the table with his fingers. Though he was just wearing casual sweatshirt attire, his presence now felt overwhelmingly powerful, radiating the authority of a true heavyweight, "Tell me, what did they say."
The coordinator swallowed, glanced at the people around them, and was about to lean close to Zhuang Hongyi's ear to explain quietly when Zhuang Hongyi raised his hand to stop him again: "Why only tell me? Everyone's waiting, they all have the right to know. No need to explain only to me."
Xiao He sat nearby, watching the coordinator constantly wiping sweat, and looked at Zhuang Hongyi with newfound respect.
Indeed, someone who consistently achieved box office success and became his own capital couldn't possibly be as gentle and harmless as he appeared on the surface.
Faced with Zhuang Hongyi's words, the coordinator didn't dare continue saving face for these three people, having to speak at normal volume: "Ms Gao said she suddenly has an unexpected assessment and needs more time, so she might arrive later. Mr Yuan said she has an unexpected schedule conflict that she can't adjust, needing to arrive later. As for Mr Lu... we still can't reach him."
After hearing the coordinator's report, Zhuang Hongyi didn't respond immediately, instead continuing to tap the table with measured rhythm.
—Even though the room was full of people, his tapping sounded remarkably clear, audible to almost everyone present.
Xiao He couldn't help but mentally wave little flags for these three people.
Someone's about to get what's coming to them... but those who throw their weight around and act unprofessional totally deserve it, hehe!
"Whoever they are, give them half an hour. If I don't see them here by then, they can pack their contracts and get out."
Finally, in the tense atmosphere, Zhuang Hongyi delivered his instruction with casual indifference.
The room remained deathly silent, no one daring to speak up in defense, much less question Zhuang Hongyi's authority.
"Understood." The coordinator wiped his sweat, "But regarding Teacher Lu, we still can't reach him..."
Zhuang Hongyi shot him a sharp glare—
The coordinator immediately understood, nodding repeatedly: "Okay, okay, I understand, I'll contact them right away!"
They would indeed make every effort to contact them, but if they couldn't be reached...
Well, that would be just too bad.