After Reuniting with My Aloof Movie Queen Childhood Friend - Chapter 9

Ji Youyi ultimately chose to pay for her own breakfast.

Holding a bottle of free mineral water provided by the crew, she bit into a meat bun and swallowed as she walked, jogging all the way to find Li Zhulan.

Li Zhulan was staying in the hotel arranged by the crew, a standard twin room she shared with the female lead, Wen Yang.

Having likely received the news just as she woke up, she hadn’t even washed her face. With a mess of bedhead, she explained the situation to Ji Youyi.

The root of the problem was simple. Zhizhi Sesame Paste (the production company) went bankrupt.

The company withdrew its investment, the boss ended up in the hospital with a heart condition, and the “Crown Prince” (the heir) was recalled in a hurry. On his way back, he was crying and roaring while driving, crashed his car, broke his leg, and ended up in the hospital right next to his father.

Seeing the situation, the producer, director, and cinematographer simply cut and run.

“What about Yeye Media?” Ji Youyi asked.

Wen Yang’s face was pale, she clearly wasn’t taking it well. “The boss probably doesn’t know yet. I sent a message to the manager, but there’s no reply. They’re likely still asleep.”

Ji Youyi boiled some water, set out three disposable paper cups, and brewed tea for the three of them. “Then this isn’t a ‘blown set,’ it’s a breakup. Isn’t that good? You all know what state this crew was in, it’s better to disband. Treat these few days as a company sponsored vacation. You can still pocket two days’ pay. Otherwise, even if you worked yourself to death to finish it, who knows how much the final payment would be or when it would arrive?”

Steam rose from the tea. The other two remained silent, neither showing any intent to drink.

Ji Youyi couldn’t stand the cold atmosphere. She took a sip from her cup and let out an exaggerated sigh. “Mmm! This tea is actually good, you guys should try it. I see the sun is nice today. Let’s go for an outing nearby this afternoon. How about I take photos for you? With my skills and I’m not bragging. I can give you eighteen ‘life-defining’ photos in minutes.”

Li Zhulan finally moved. She touched the side of her cup and glanced at Ji Youyi. “Don’t you find it too hot?”

Saying so, she picked up her cup and took a sip.

The room was quiet. As the steam drifted over her numb face, Li Zhulan looked at Ji Youyi, and a sudden urge to vent washed over her. “Do you guys think… I’m just unlucky?”

Ji Youyi looked at her.

Li Zhulan put down her cup, looking down as her fingers toyed with the rim. “I was a hardworking student. A liberal arts student from a high-competition province. I ranked in the top 100 in the province to get into S University. But I picked the wrong major and was relegated to the Chinese Department. After my bachelor’s, I entered a big tech firm, but it was all 996 and gaslighting, so I ran off to get a master’s.”

“Ha, I won’t even mention the pain of that. When I finished my master’s, I thought I was finally free. I thought schools and private companies were all trash and went to take the civil service exam for a provincial unit. Well, I passed. But guess what? I got caught in a factional power struggle and was made the scapegoat for a boss.”

Li Zhulan could still recall the grievance and pain of that time. She paused for a few seconds, stopping her tears before continuing. “I’ve accepted it. I’m just a loser. I have no talent and I’m not suited for work.”

“I have a hobby of writing short stories, so I found a way online to try writing scripts and being a screenwriter. I thought it was a bright path.”

“Well, you’ve seen the result. Where else does a screenwriter follow the crew? I foolishly followed because I hoped it would turn out well, and then? I revised the script eight hundred times!”

“I thought, fine, I’ll revise it. Things couldn’t possibly get worse. I’ll work hard just to get the drama made. Now? The crew is disbanding. It’s not even going to be made! Haha! Hahaha!”

Li Zhulan started laughing, but tears began to fall. Ji Youyi watched her silently and pulled out a tissue to wipe her eyes.

“What am I doing! I’m 28! What on earth have I accomplished all these years!” Li Zhulan’s tear ducts completely gave way. She grabbed Ji Youyi’s arm and sobbed, “Little Ji baby, tell me, how can someone be this unlucky? I must have brought my bad luck to you guys.”

Ji Youyi didn’t reply. After a long while, she finally spoke. “Do you have the producer’s contact information?”

Li Zhulan looked at her through teary eyes, dazed and confused. “I… I do. But hasn’t he already run away? Do you want to beg him to come back?”

Ji Youyi didn’t explain. She simply said, “Send it to me.”

Ji Youyi got the budget sheet and the expenditure records from the runaway producer and went through them from start to finish.

The role of a producer is exhausting, but there are always people flocking to it for one reason, there’s too much “grease” (kickbacks).

The total investment for the project was 5 million. So far, Zhizhi and Yeye had each contributed 750,000, totaling 1.5 million. All of it had been spent on items where money could be easily skimmed.

The producer took his cut and ran, leaving behind a mess of debt for the crew.

Ji Youyi calculated it over and over. Only by reducing the crew to fewer than 50 people could she barely make the math work.

She put down her pen and said to the other two: “We can film this.”

Streamline the script, compress post-production, and squeeze the crew. It was doable.

Li Zhulan and Wen Yang were confused. “What do you mean? Who is filming?”

Ji Youyi’s tone was nonchalant. “I am. I’ll produce, and I’ll direct.”

Li Zhulan and Wen Yang were dumbstruck.

Ignoring the wide-eyed stares, Ji Youyi stood up and straightened the pile of A4 papers on the table. “Li Zhulan.”

Li Zhulan followed celebrities and loved dramas and movies. She knew producing and directing were no small tasks. For a moment, she couldn’t imagine Ji Youyi shouldering both burdens.

But Ji Youyi’s posture was too calm, so calm that Li Zhulan almost instantly believed her. She believed she could do exactly what she said.

At this moment, Ji Youyi rarely wasn’t smiling. Li Zhulan couldn’t help but feel nervous, standing up like a primary school student called on by a teacher.

“Find your favorite version of the script and start streamlining it,” Ji Youyi began assigning tasks. “We need to shorten this drama. Change it from the original 1200 minutes to 400 minutes. Balance it well, don’t be sentimental. Anything unnecessary or that slows down the rhythm, cut it all.”

“Then… do we still need a male lead?” Li Zhulan asked.

“You decide. Delete him or change him. Ideally, don’t give him too much screen time, hiring actors is expensive.”

Ji Youyi then turned to Wen Yang. “Wen Yang, do you want to act?”

“I… I don’t know…” Wen Yang squeezed her hands tight.

“I’ll be blunt. Your acting doesn’t meet my minimum requirements,” Ji Youyi interrupted. “I know you’re not professionally trained and have no experience, but film production only cares about results. If I put you out there like this, the audience won’t buy it. So if you still want to act, you will have to suffer a lot. Can you do it?”

“I…”

“Can you endure hardship?” Ji Youyi rephrased.

Hardship? Did years of relentless training and dieting count? Being neglected at home, insulted at the company, ignored everywhere, rejected, rolled eyes at, and told “even someone like you can be an artist”, did that count as hardship?

Wen Yang nodded gently. “I can.”

“Good.” Ji Youyi spoke quickly. “17 days. I only need 17 days of your time. In these 17 days, if I don’t let you sleep, you are not allowed to sleep. If I tell you to practice, you must practice. Over and over until I am satisfied. You can curse me, as harshly as you like, but your body cannot stop. You must immerse yourself entirely in the character. Can you do it?”

Ji Youyi’s voice carried a strange infectious power. Wen Yang clenched her fists and nodded vigorously. “I can.”

“OK, wait for my good news.” Having finished her instructions, Ji Youyi finally flashed a smile. She waved to the two of them and walked out of the hotel.

Ji Youyi had the 1000 yuan in her pocket that she had just received that morning. She had badgered that short drama crew into giving her cash, but before it even got warm, she pulled out two bills.

She hailed a taxi and headed to the headquarters of Yeye Media.

Yeye Media was in the neighboring City H, over an hour’s drive away. When Ji Youyi arrived, it was exactly when they started work.

She had asked Wen Yang for the boss’s phone number and had already scheduled a project meeting on her way there.

The boss of Yeye Media was named Wu Buxing. In his early years, he worked in exhibition hosting. Later, to make an extra buck, he signed some minor artists. He provided food and housing and paid a basic salary. Usually, they worked as hosts or models at the exhibitions the company hosted, or they sang and danced. As things developed, this actually became the company’s main business.

This foray into the film and television circle made Wu Buxing realize his own inadequacy (“Buxing”). The risk was too high, he didn’t dare continue.

“We aren’t investing in this drama anymore. Whoever wants to invest can, but Yeye won’t put in another cent. I’ll treat that previous 750,000 as money down the drain. If we keep losing, it won’t just be that amount,” Wu Buxing said firmly.

Zhizhi went bankrupt after investing in this drama, which meant the project was bad luck. He wasn’t going to be the second Zhizhi.

This reaction was within Ji Youyi’s expectations. She sat across from Wu Buxing, her left arm leaning loosely on the edge of the table while her right index finger nonchalantly tapped a rhythm. “CEO Wu, you’ve got it wrong. This isn’t just about losing 750,000.”

“You might not know the film industry well.” Ji Youyi handed over a stack of bills. “That 750,000 paid for equipment and venue rentals, and the food and lodging of the staff. But the problem is…”

“The cast and crew’s salaries haven’t been paid, travel expenses haven’t been reimbursed, insurance hasn’t been settled, and clothing rentals, props, and miscellaneous crew costs were all paid in advance by others. This amounts to hundreds of thousands that haven’t been paid. Guess who ends up picking up the bill?”