After Reuniting with My Aloof Movie Queen Childhood Friend - Chapter 18

The banquet ended. Ji Youyi saw off the dead-drunk Li Zhulan back to the hotel and then took a taxi toward the creative park near the film studio.

The completion of filming only meant the end of the production phase, next, the drama would enter post-production, including editing and dubbing. The crew was poor, the actors were green, and technical resources were limited. Flaws during filming were inevitable, and they all relied on post-production for refinement. Having saved a significant amount of money in the early stages, Ji Youyi intended to spend it here to give the drama a proper polish.

In the creative industry, the gap between the floor and the ceiling is massive. To ensure quality, she had to follow through personally. Sleeping on set during filming and sleeping in the office during post-production, how could that not be considered an upgrade in living conditions?

Ji Youyi pulled several all-nighters in the office chair of the rented editing suite. Four days later, she finally finished the rough cut. The haggard editor, sporting massive dark circles, went home to sleep. Ji Youyi sent the rough cut to the investors and began pondering the fine cut.

Soon, a call came from YeYe (the platform). On the other end, Wu Buxing was full of praise: “Teacher Ji, haha! I’ve seen the drama. It’s excellent, truly excellent!”

Ji Youyi didn’t know what he was playing at. How could he have finished watching such a long video in just a few minutes?

“Here’s the thing, Teacher Ji. Is it convenient for you to come to H-City today? I’ll send someone to pick you up.”

It seemed there were things that couldn’t be discussed over the phone. Every industry has its gray areas, and in the film and television industry, those areas are wider and deeper. Ji Youyi had a bad premonition. Her expression cooled as she closed the complex material lists on her screen. She stood up to stretch her stiff body and said with a smile, “Sure, I’ll be waiting.”

Her premonition was spot on.

Across the desk, Wu Buxing wore a skin-deep smile. “Teacher Ji, you’ve worked hard lately. I called you here to tell you that we’re adding a few new people to the crew.”

The project documents were still warm from the printer. Ji Youyi saw a list of names:

• Producer: Guo Chang
• Director: Quan Xinrong
• Screenwriters: Pang Fei, Li Zhulan

A new producer, a new director, and a new screenwriter, all unfamiliar names she hadn’t heard of before filming, appearing only after the work was done.

Ji Youyi had entered the industry at age five. She had once knelt outside her master’s door all night in the cold just to be accepted. In the beginning, though the work was simple and her position low, she always received a credit for her labor. Later, as she gained fame, distributors were desperate to watermark her name across every movie poster.

She knew that big directors sometimes lent their names to small productions for money, but those were famous directors and the arrangements were made in advance. The person actually directing would take a “Deputy Director” credit to build their resume, rather than being erased entirely.

To put it bluntly, it was one thing to lose credit on a prestigious project, but what was there to steal in a tiny three million yuan investment?

But times had changed. Even if it was just a three million yuan project, if she was being “kicked to the curb after the job was done,” what could she do? She had no recourse.

“Why didn’t you invite them for a meeting first?” Ji Youyi asked, her face composed. “We could meet in the editing room. I’m about to start the fine cut. The editor can’t do it alone. I’ve been exhausted for days, I should hand over the work so I can go rest.”

The “new director” had actually left the office hours ago after negotiating a price with Wu Buxing. Since they had paid for the credit, they obviously had no intention of doing the work. Wu Buxing couldn’t let them meet.

“Teacher Ji, we still need you for post-production. If you don’t do it, our contract won’t be easy to sign.”

He spoke plainly now, sliding a contract over. “You know your own reputation. It’s not that I want to replace you, but your name being attached would ruin the drama’s reputation. Look at how well this was filmed, if the audience sees ‘Ji Youyi’ in the opening credits, they’ll say ‘Yuck, bad luck!’ and stop watching. What a waste.”

“Furthermore, I’m considering your difficulties. I heard you’re short on money? The salary in our previous contract was too low. Why don’t we void that one and sign a new one?”

Wu Buxing gestured toward the new contract. “Sign this, and you get double the money. But if you don’t… you get nothing.”

Ji Youyi’s acting contract was with Wan Tao, and she wouldn’t see a cent of that. Later, when the crew reorganized and she took on the roles of producer and director, YeYe had offered her a salary of 150,000 yuan. This new contract, an addendum for her role as the supporting character Ning Li, offered 300,000.

Ji Youyi laughed. “I am indeed short on money, but I’m not that desperate. Your drama, however, seems quite short on publicity. As former colleagues, I could send you to the top of the trending searches for free.”

Wu Buxing calmly sipped his tea. “Teacher Ji, one must be content. As a rookie actress, how much do you expect to get paid? I know you owe a lot of debt, and I truly want to help. I have some connections in the circle, if there are good projects in the future, I’ll definitely recommend you. It’s hard to make money these days. It’s better to make friends than enemies, right?”

Twenty days ago, he couldn’t find anyone to take over the mess and wanted to withdraw investment, now he suddenly had “connections”? He probably “sold” the drama to get them. He was using the drama she made to exchange for money and influence, using that power to check her background, and then coming back to act tough in front of her.

Ji Youyi knew he wouldn’t recommend her to anyone. On the contrary, he was threatening her, if they fell out, she’d never get into a good project again. She gave a cold snort and left without another word.

When she reached the lobby, Wu Buxing called again. She set her phone to silent and caught a ride back to D-City. Her calm and indifferent departure made Wu Buxing panic instead. He likely worried she had some hidden ace up her sleeve or would vent her anger online.

In reality, Ji Youyi’s cards weren’t as heavy as he imagined. What did she have? No family, no company, no fans, no fame, and most importantly, no money. Not only was she penniless, but she was also drowning in debt. She was the “unfilial child” who fled her family, the “tainted artist” dumped by her company, and the “18^th tier flop” cursed by netizens. She was like a street rat, if Wu Buxing wanted to strip her credits, how could she resist?

A three million yuan project that the stingy YeYe was willing to pay 150,000 yuan in “hush money” for suggested that Wu Buxing had found a wealthy buyer. If a platform liked a drama, they would protect it. And those who could pay for credits were certainly more powerful than her.

All Ji Youyi had were the archives of the filming. She could release the materials and fight the production team publicly, perhaps turning the scandal into personal traffic.

But… that wasn’t just her archive. It was the result of the day and night efforts of the entire cast and crew. It was Wen Yang’s breakdown when he couldn’t grasp his character. It was Li Zhulan’s tears. It was the flying streamers. It was the person at the wrap party who drunkenly said, “I’ve been acting for thirteen years and finally caught a break. Once this airs, it’ll be my representative work. Want to hire me? Check my skills first and pay extra!”

Negative publicity would destroy the drama. She didn’t mind being a “rat,” but she didn’t want to ruin the “cake” of ordinary people.

In the taxi, Ji Youyi closed her eyes. The car swayed, and bouts of dizziness and nausea washed over her. She hadn’t rested properly in far too long. She was exhausted to the bone, yet sleep wouldn’t come.

By the time she reached D-City, the sky was pitch black. Instead of the editing room, she went back to her rental. She suddenly remembered that her ten days extension had expired a few days ago. Surprisingly, the landlady hadn’t come to demand money, she must be a saint.

Ji Youyi sent an apology to the landlady on WeChat, planning to renew for another ten days and get some sleep before deciding how to deal with Wu Buxing.

She got out of the car and dragged her tired body along the dark road toward Home Inn. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain at her scalp. Someone had grabbed her hair from behind.

Shocked, she prepared to fight back, but the person was prepared. Another hand pinned her shoulder, dragging her into a blind spot of the surveillance cameras.

Inside Home Inn, the landlady looked up from her short videos and noticed that the girl who had been lurking outside for several days was gone. That girl was also a worker in the film city. For the past ten days, she had shown up at 9 PM and sat outside the door until 2 or 3 AM. Since the girl was a tenant, the landlady couldn’t really drive her away.

She guessed the girl was waiting for Ji Youyi. Ji Youyi hadn’t been back in a few days. At one point, perhaps failing to find her target, the girl had come to ask the landlady about Ji Youyi’s situation. But it was all guesswork. Offending a tenant would only mean losing money. The landlady didn’t want to stir up trouble, so she hadn’t told Ji Youyi.

Now the girl was gone, and Ji Youyi had just messaged her saying she was coming to pay the rent… Surely things hadn’t gone that wrong?

The landlady’s heart skipped a beat. She usually avoided trouble. When she took the money earlier, she never thought anything would actually happen. Had she known, she wouldn’t have taken those 20,000 yuan! Now, if something happened to that girl, how would she explain herself?

She cursed under her breath, found the number the other person had left for her, and dialed.

In the narrow, cramped alley, only a few rented rooms upstairs were lit, casting dim light downward.

Ji Youyi was slammed against the wall. The back of her head hit the damp bricks, causing mud-like plaster to crumble and fall down her collar, cold and gritty. Vision swimming, she forced herself to speak: “The money is in my left pocket. I don’t have much cash, but I can go withdraw more.”

She didn’t know the person’s motive, so she assumed it was a robbery. But robbing someone in such a poor area seemed lacking in ambition.

As expected, the attacker didn’t want her money. The person was sturdier than her, pulling her away from the wall only to shove her back again. Her skull hit the wall with a dull thud, causing more dizziness.

After a string of filthy curses, the person demanded, “Now you know fear? Why weren’t you afraid when you were leeching off an innocent male artist’s traffic?”

Ji Youyi understood: Okay, it’s entertainment industry drama.

Encountering someone here meant a hater fan had likely discovered her address. The road was too dark, coming from the light, she hadn’t noticed someone hiding in the shadows. Her fragile neck was being strangled, and she struggled to breathe. “Calm down… listen to me. That was all… the company’s arrangement. It was hype for the sake of heat. In reality, I kept my distance… I don’t want anything to do with him.”

“Do you think I’m stupid or blind?” Qiu Xiaoya pinned Ji Youyi’s upper body and kicked her legs repeatedly. Her grip on Ji Youyi’s neck tightened. Having waited ten days for this moment, her hatred had exploded during the vigil. “You were using him! You saw he was famous and shamelessly stuck to him. When you couldn’t get what you wanted, you used suicide to blackmail him, driving him into depression!”

Ji Youyi retracted her neck, trying to find a bit of breathing space. Her breath was nearly cut off as she wheezed, “He’s sick? I didn’t know… when did it happen? Can you show me?”

Ji Youyi didn’t fully understand fan psychology. She thought they would have a desire to “share” their knowledge, that the girl would start presenting evidence or pull out her phone to show a news clip. She wanted to distract the girl to find an opening to run, but instead, it only further enraged her.

Qiu Xiaoya remembered Zhou Wenchen crying during a live stream. Her eyes turned blood-red with hatred as she put both hands around Ji Youyi’s neck. Sharp nails dug into the skin, and thin lines of blood began to flow.

“You have the nerve to ask!” Qiu Xiaoya was in a state of complete frenzy, her screams becoming more shrill. “You murderer! Shameless b*tch! You should die! I’ll make you pay for your cheap tricks, I’ll choke you to death! Let’s see how you harm people then!”

The logic that a top star earning hundreds of millions a year could be “harmed” by a person millions in debt was beyond Ji Youyi’s comprehension. Back when she was a director, she wasn’t in competition with stars, once she became a famous director, fans prayed for their idols to work with her. This was her first time facing such raw, fanatical hatred.