Chapter 105 Innately Star Material

ned. They might target your Li family next."Lee Tianshu scoffed and said, "You know that with the old man around, there's a stabilizing presence in Northwest China. In the short term, Su Fuhua wouldn'...Chapter 105: A Star Born

Wang Zheng walked up and looked at the two people who were resting, smiling as he said to Director Zhang, "Director Zhang, what do you think of Liu Xuan Is she suitable for shooting this commercial"

The excited expression on Xiaomou Zhang's face remained unchanged: "Suitable, very suitable! Liu Xuan has a high aptitude. She can figure out some things without me having to explain them, and she portrays them quite well too. Although there are still a few areas where she is slightly inexperienced, it’s already impressive for someone with no previous acting experience."

Xiaomou Zhang spared no compliments when speaking about Liu Xuan.

"I believe if Liu Xuan were to be the main actress in this commercial, we would definitely see unexpected results." Xiaomou Zhang finished speaking as he looked at Liu Xuan who was drinking water, his eyes full of satisfaction.

However, Liu Xuan felt somewhat embarrassed: "Director Zhang, you're flattering me. There are still some parts I can't quite grasp the essence of, but fortunately Director Zhang patiently guided me."

Wang Zheng was also very satisfied: "Then it seems we can confirm Liu Xuan as our female lead for this commercial"

Xiaomou Zhang, however, showed a hint of reluctance: "Mr. Wang, I think Liu Xuan is indeed outstanding, but didn't the planning department already contact Cai Bingchun beforehand It’s not easy to get a top-tier actress like her. Although we haven’t signed any contracts yet, if we just cancel this deal, wouldn’t that be somewhat inappropriate"

The meaning behind Xiaomou Zhang's words was clear: Jirong's planning department had already discussed the price with Cai Bingchun and were almost ready to sign a contract. At this moment, Wang Zheng suddenly introduced an even better and cheaper actress, making people think about replacing Cai Bingchun. However, doing so would be akin to breaking a promise, especially when dealing with international top-tier actress Cai Bingchun.

Wang Zheng understood Xiaomou Zhang's concerns and lightly laughed: "You can rest assured on this point; I'll handle the specifics myself. Tomorrow, Director Zhang, you’ll formally start shooting with Liu Xuan while I take care of the matter concerning Cai Bingchun."

Xiaomou Zhang was still slightly worried, but since Wang Zheng had already said so, he would be glad to act as a hands-off manager. Letting this vice president handle the unpleasant tasks was fine by him; he only needed to film a good commercial.

However, Xiaomou Zhang vaguely felt that he might also experience a second spring because of this commercial. Of course, more specifically, it wasn't about the commercial itself but rather the person in it.

Gazing at the vibrant Liu Xuan, Zhang Xiaomou found himself increasingly fond of her and couldn't help but say, "Liu Xuan, if this film is a success, I'll give you one movie to star in as the female lead. Don't worry; I never go back on my word."

"Really Then thank you, Director Zhang," Liu Xuan smiled.

Seeing that Liu Xuan wasn't as excited as he had imagined, a barely perceptible sense of disappointment crept into Zhang Xiaomou's heart.

As a super famous director, there were countless actresses who came knocking hoping to be "discovered" by him. If any female star knew that he was offering her the lead role in his film, she would likely go wild with joy. Yet, today when he offered this opportunity proactively, this girl named Liu Xuan seemed somewhat indifferent about it. This made Zhang Xiaomou a little perplexed. After all, anyone who starred in one of Zhang Xiaomou's films was guaranteed box office success and instant fame among the top stars. The numerous "Femmes de ZHANG" were prime examples of how he could propel an actress to stardom with just one film.

However, Zhang Xiaomou didn't know what Liu Xuan truly felt inside. This young woman, full of youthful vitality, had originally planned to find a teaching job after graduation and live a quiet life in the capital city, sending money home each month for her parents. She hadn't ever thought about becoming an international star. Such good fortune was somewhat sudden, leaving her momentarily taken aback.

But after that slight sense of disappointment, Zhang Xiaomou came to appreciate this female student even more. Although she wasn't completely indifferent or detached from fame and success, she clearly didn't place much value on it either. Such a girl was incredibly rare nowadays, which only strengthened Zhang Xiaomou's resolve to make Liu Xuan a star.

...

The news of replacing Cai Bingchun caused quite a stir in the planning department.

The staff there felt complex emotions. They had been negotiating with Cai Bingchun’s team for over two months to secure the filming schedule and, of course, paid an exorbitant price. Just like their boss, Cai Bingchun's team was arrogant; even a giant corporation like Juruang wasn't in their eyes.

After each negotiation with them, the staff in the planning department would have to vent by cursing behind closed doors for days. Manager Dan of the Planning Department had scheduled an appointment two weeks ahead with Cai Bingchun's team and was snubbed three times before finally meeting her at a club as specified by Cai Bingchun—though it was just "a one-time meeting."

When Cai Bingchun arrived that day wearing dark sunglasses, accompanied by over ten staff members to the club, she immediately scowled upon entering. Her assistant promptly berated Manager Dan: "How did you manage things How could there be no lilies in Miss Cai's presence! We even have lilies in our car! What amateurs!"

Before her assistant finished speaking, Cai Bingchun turned and walked away. The assistant hurried after her and left with a final remark: "I don't want to deal with your fatty anymore!"

Fatty Manager Dan was left standing still, his face turning alternately pale and red as he trembled with anger: "Just because I'm a bit chubby Is it necessary to crush someone like this"

Jirong, being a super-large company in China, is the god of wealth for most stars and entertainment companies. Manager Dan from the Planning Department was an important figure whom many entertainment companies tried to woo, so he had never experienced such treatment before. After news about it spread throughout Jirong, the Planning Department became the butt of jokes among other departments, especially Manager Dan, who resolved to lose weight.

During these two months of communication with Cai Bingchun's team, Cai Bingchun and her team had already died a hundred deaths in the minds of dozens of people from the Planning Department—each death unique in its own way.

But after all this hard work over these two months, their case was finally coming to an end. Although Cai Bingchun's side had just proposed additional fees and script modifications, they would have wasted all that effort if they replaced her now. Strangely enough, the whole Planning Department felt a bit reluctant.

Especially after hearing that an inexperienced female college student would be cast as the main actress, everyone in the Planning Department was buzzing with gossip and rumors.

Rumors such as this girl being some vice president’s mistress or already having been "discovered" by Zhang Xiaomo Director flew around. Others even claimed she had blood ties to the Shangguan Family.

However, decisions directly from Jirong Group's top management were not something a mere Planning Department could influence.

After watching Liu Xuan’s audition video, Shangguan Shishi did not even wait for Wang Zheng to give his opinion and said straight away:

"We’ll go with Liu Xuan!"

"So decisive" Wang Zheng was somewhat taken aback. "Why don’t you reconsider Don't just make this decision out of consideration for my feelings; your compliance would actually make me feel uneasy…" The bodyguard, Wang Dabaowei, put on a demeaning expression that made Shangguan Shishi want to throw a pillow at him.

"Go away. It has nothing to do with you. Your narcissism is really tiring. But I truly appreciate the excellent endorser you found for me. Liu Xuan’s remarkable charisma gave me some ideas, and it seems like Jirong's white home appliances need a new sales strategy. From packaging to quality, price, and customer service, we should adopt an approach that caters to ordinary people. Compared to other brands' international strategies, ours will definitely be unique and effective."

"A tiger father doesn't have a dog daughter," Wang Zheng said somewhat seriously yet helplessly: "How about you give me some finder's fee as a scout It wasn’t easy finding such a beauty for us. Show your appreciation, okay"

"Come off it, you've already become the senior vice president of Giant Fusion International, what else do you want" Upper Song Shishi huffed.

"An empty senior vice president position with no salary and doing nothing but thankless work—only I would be willing to let you use me as a fool," Wang Zheng said with a sneer.

After finding out that the ad cast wouldn't change at all, the staff members of the planning department didn't want to spread more boring gossip; instead, they stared wide-eyed and eager to see how Cai Bingchun would embarrass herself.

...

The next day, Zhang Xiaomo brought his filming team before eight o'clock in the morning. Upon finding that Liu Xuan was already waiting there, Zhang Xiaomo's opinion of her improved even more.

Zhang Xiaomo didn't just ask Liu Xuan to arrive by nine; he had a habit of getting up early and due to his extremely dedicated work ethic, he often arrived at the set with the filming team to start preparations before the actors arrived. As such, they could begin shooting immediately upon arrival of all the actors. However, even though Zhang Xiaomo usually only asked for actors to arrive by nine, many stars still arrived late; some big names even took until eleven o'clock in some cases to show up. Zhang Xiaomo had seen this happen often, and it was precisely because of this that he felt quite fond of Liu Xuan's behavior.

"Liu Xuan, you're so early," Zhang Xiaomo greeted her with a smile: "Let the makeup artist do your makeup; image design is about to start. I'll get everything ready over here too. We'll begin shooting at nine on the dot."

"Alright," Liu Xuan smiled gently and appeared quite calm.

By ten-thirty, a harmonious atmosphere prevailed on set as Liu Xuan followed Zhang Xiaomo's guidance to perform various actions. Despite her appearance being that of a domesticated little woman in clothing and grooming, it created an irresistible sense of beauty. Especially the charming smile on her delicate face was like gentle spring breezes, warming up the chilly autumn set.

Zhang Xiaomo was also very satisfied; he had unexpectedly found the elusive state he'd been seeking for years. There were no retakes at all, and every take passed smoothly as he fully focused on shooting. Everyone in the filming team worked diligently too, sensing that working with Zhang Xiaomo could be so effortless.

But this harmonious scene was soon disrupted by a cacophony of disorderly footsteps!ing knife flew towards him, embedding itself just below his feet into the tree trunk! It was an incredibly close call!If it had been a moment later, Wang Zheng's legs would have been severed!"I'll see...