Actresses

Chapter 72 Change of Heart

Shi Jiahe was taken aback.

She didn't understand where her boss's confidence and ego came from. What exactly happened yesterday? But she couldn't ask directly; she could only probe indirectly. "Boss, the script is currently about fifteen episodes long, which is already very fast, but because adjustments are still needed, it will probably take another month or so before we have a complete first draft."

He Yuran waved his hand. "That's exactly what I wanted to say! I have some ideas about the script, and I'm sharing them with you today. I hope there can be some—well, some adjustments, like this or that."

Shi Jiahe thought to herself, "The boss's language system is obviously not online yet. How late did he drink at Li Luoan's house yesterday?"

It wasn't that she didn't know Li Luoan, but she wasn't familiar with him either; he was the kind of actor you'd have to search for online.

Last night, Shi Jiahe and Ding Yi chatted in a small group chat. Ding Yi knew that the boss and Li Luoan used to work at the same company, and that the two had a minor online celebrity pairing. But as for why the two suddenly met, Ding Yi had no idea.

As for that collaborative video, Shi Jiahe watched it last night. To sum it up in one word, it was "bewitched." Danzai first used this word in the small group chat, and when Shi Jiahe heard it, she laughed hysterically for a long time, but it was indeed very apt.

In fact, He Yuran herself hadn't posted on Douyin for almost a month. The last video she posted was a task video, and the data wasn't very good. But yesterday's video, for some reason, garnered over 50 likes overnight. For a young influencer, this number probably wouldn't be much, but for a has-been artist, it's an astronomical figure!

Shi Jiahe felt that something was quietly changing, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

When she heard that the boss wanted to ask about the script, she was startled.

After leaving home, Shi Jiahe got into the car and immediately called Wei Ning, talking for a long time. Because Zhao Cai was catching up on sleep on the folding bed, it wasn't convenient to talk at home, and Wei Ning was currently handling the script communication as well.

Speaking of this, Shi Jiahe was thinking that once this round of work was over, she needed to get Zhao Cai to find a place to move out as soon as possible, otherwise life would indeed be a bit inconvenient. Besides, she and Zhao Cai would have to pretend to be going to see Wei Ning from two different places. Fortunately, Wei Ning was busy enough that he hadn't suggested going to Shi Jiahe's house for a drink or anything recently.

However, given the circumstances, this could happen at any time, so Shi Jiahe did not stop Zhao Cai from wanting to look at houses.

However, in terms of her feelings, Shi Jiahe felt that Zhao Cai had been unusually quiet lately, except when he was working.

When people meet for a script meeting, they usually meet at a coffee shop or the studio. But when the two of them met at home, they didn't speak. Zhao Cai always sat quietly, not even typing on the keyboard, just silently watching her. Shi Jiahe even wondered if the girl had some kind of mental problem? Was she stuck in a creative block and looking for inspiration? But because she was too busy with work, and the communication and revision of the script was very complicated, she didn't have time to talk about it in detail.

After trying to understand He Yuran's words for a while, Shi Jiahe hesitated for a moment, then decided to change the subject. "By the way, boss, I think Cheng Xiaotang won't let this go. She might post something else later."

"Oh, how so?"

"Cheng Xiaotang's interest in this matter clearly exceeds the reaction one would expect from a typical former agency boss. Moreover, the fact that she posted the materials proves that she went back to find them immediately after seeing your Douyin video last night. Because these things are impossible to prepare on hand."

He Yuran listened thoughtfully, then switched back to Weibo to reread Cheng Xiaotang's post.

Shi Jiahe continued, "Look, Cheng Xiaotang posted it at around 2 a.m., which proves that in the two hours or so after you posted the Douyin video, she was constantly looking for materials and thinking about how to write this long post. Ignoring the time for editing and uploading the video, she must have taken immediate action after seeing your Douyin video. This proves that she was very excited when she discovered it and immediately made a decision to ride this wave of popularity."

"But it wasn't a hot topic back then."

"Hot topics can be hyped up. Your videos only had some CP (couple) vibes, but Cheng Xiaotang's involvement has escalated the discussion. A large part of the reason it's trending today is because she added more material for discussion. It's like this issue has expanded into a wider discussion space. If it were just a single-dimensional story of a deceased couple reuniting, it would only be a small-circle discussion. But with Cheng Xiaotang's posts, it's like adding an entertainment dimension, making it easier to rise to the mainstream."

He Yuran looked completely bewildered, seemingly unaware of how much he had understood, and waved his hand dismissively. "Sigh, it doesn't matter anyway, we don't have much contact."

"I'm worried about what will happen to her later—"

Before Shi Jiahe could finish speaking, He Yuran interrupted her.

"Let her do whatever she wants. We've been parallel lines for a long time. What happened between me and Luo'an is our own business, and there's no need to bring it up again."

"Okay..." Shi Jiahe shut her mouth.

He Yuran's eyes lit up as she spoke, and she began to gesticulate excitedly. "The main reason I invited you to my house is to talk about the role revisions. As for the role for Zhuang Pan, if she can't decide in the next few days, let's just revise it to resemble Luo An's. I'm confident I can get her the part."

Shi Jiahe's mind went blank.

First, a major character in the script needs to be changed, which is not a trivial matter that can be resolved with a few words.

When Zhuang Pan was changing the script, Zhao Cai had already expressed his dissatisfaction once. Even such a docile child was unhappy, which shows that this matter was quite serious and very mentally taxing for the screenwriter, but in the end Zhao Cai still cooperated.

The entire process involved thoroughly revisiting every detail of the character's personality, core desires, core fears, behavioral logic, including catchphrases, subtle gestures, and values. Because the characters in the script aren't isolated but interact with others, Zhao Cai meticulously reviewed every scene in the existing script, marking Zhuang Pan's section separately—from her choices, the relationships between characters in each scene, foreshadowing, and plot twists, to the smallest details like dialogue. Without altering the plot or storylines, the character's behavioral logic and every action needed to be completely rewritten, and the dialogue style had to be smoothed out at the end. This was no small task. It was essentially a complete overhaul of almost every scene, which somewhat impacted Zhao Cai's scriptwriting progress during this period.

The advantage was that Shi Jiahe already knew Zhuang Pan quite well, and Wei Ning, in particular, could readily describe many of Zhuang Pan's personality traits. With their combined efforts, Zhao Cai quickly grasped the character's essence.

Shi Jiahe had already gone through this process once, and she had internally agreed that this was a one-time thing. But then He Yuran threw out a sentence, saying that it needed to be changed again immediately.

However, if she were to rewrite the role of Li Luo'an, whom she wasn't even that familiar with, Shi Jiahe wouldn't know where to begin. Moreover, He Yuran simply couldn't do it herself; she didn't have the time.

To put it bluntly, Shih Chia-ho doesn't want the boss to be so involved. Because if the actors come in to revise the script, it will only make things more complicated.

So what exactly is going on here? Shi Jiahe felt that her emotions, which had just been restored, were starting to show signs of collapsing again.

But she could only patiently and calmly persuade the boss.

"Boss, if Li Luoan hasn't agreed to take the role yet, the time and manpower costs of revising the character now are too high. Zhao Cai isn't even finished yet, and it's completely unnecessary to make further changes for a supporting role. I think it's more important to get the script approved. If the full script is out, we'll have a better chance of getting it approved. Wei Ning said that the platform's internal evaluation of our project is that it's quite unique, and President Zhou Chun also frequently inquires about it, so we're still very confident."

"Yes, I believe we can do it well, so why not strive for perfection? I saw Luo An yesterday, and I think she's in great shape. And you know, she can help us gain a wave of fans in the lesbian community. She's very charming to women, which is a characteristic that our other actors don't have."

Shi Jiahe thought to herself, "What's all this about? The so-called lesbian community is a niche group after all, and it can't determine the direction of a drama. This is an ensemble drama, are you going to make it a yuri drama? Besides, the actors currently cast can't possibly go for this kind of CP route. Moreover, it's very troublesome for actors to promote CPs with each other. Once two people are paired up, the focus of the drama's promotion will be affected."

However, she knew her boss all too well; once he got carried away and formed his own opinion on something, he would believe it to be absolutely correct. At that point, trying to persuade him was extremely difficult.

Therefore, Shih Chia-ho could only adopt a roundabout approach: either gloat over the matter or attract the boss's attention with something else.

"Boss, the platform can't film lesbian couples that go too far in terms of commercial appeal right now. In the drama, we can only focus on our careers. If we want to film some lesbian scenes, we have to do it subtly. Besides, there are actually some plot developments between each pair of characters, so I think it's best not to change the script for now and let Zhao Cai complete the story step by step. Most importantly, I think a good actor should be able to adapt to each of our characters. Besides, the character designs are actually quite good."

"But you haven't met Luo'an in person. She's truly amazing now. I was captivated the moment I saw her. How about I introduce you two to each other for a meal?"

Shi Jiahe thought to herself, "I don't have time." But she had to keep her mouth shut.

"Okay, let's meet Wei Ning later."

He Yuran looked up at Shi Jiahe, seemingly sensing that her agent wasn't very enthusiastic about the matter, and her face darkened. "The actors aren't the most important thing. We shouldn't put all our eggs in one basket. Besides, Zhuang Pan isn't really one of us."

"Yes, sis, you're right," Shi Jiahe replied perfunctorily. Her mind was still racing, "Stop talking so fast! What's the next sentence?" She needed to quickly change the subject. "Oh! The final draft of the new five episodes is pretty good, and there are only ten episodes left. We originally planned to write 24 episodes. But Wei Ning said 20 episodes would be enough; we need to control costs and refine the content."

"It's okay, that's not the most important thing. Just wait for me to get the good news that Luo'an has agreed to star in the film! As soon as she agrees, you can start making changes right away!" He Yuran said excitedly.

Shi Jiahe almost felt a blackout.

—All that I said earlier was for nothing.