Chapter 141: Red Carpet
Director Pan was a well-known director nationally and internationally. Perhaps, due to overworking, his hair had turned white before reaching the age of 60. However, his steps were energetic, his face was ruddy with health, and he was in high spirits. At this moment, he was whispering to the assistant director walking next to him.
The assistant director was also over the age of 50. With just a look, one could tell he was a capable person. Apart from that, he was also a well-known director in his own right.
Next was a group of screenwriters, field reporters, cameramen, videographers, makeup artists, and other staff members. They all came in a huge group. Among these people, the only person missing was the original author and main screenwriter for Yi Yao, Liang Zhen.
Following that was a group of actors and actresses. Among them, there were many famous faces.
Needless to say, with the appearances of the actors and actresses, the fans began to cheer loudly from the sides.
However, among the actors and actresses, the female lead and male lead were nowhere to be seen.
The male lead for Yi Yao, Yan Lu, had passed away two years ago due to an illness. It was a pity since he had strong acting skills and had made a name for himself in the film industry. He had once won the Most Popular Actor award.
As for the female lead of Yi Yao, Ning Xia, she was the most mysterious figure in the entertainment circle. During the filming of Yi Yao, she was heavily protected by the filming crew. Little was known about her. Even when the movie became a smash hit, she did not participate in the promotional activities. Rumor had it that she had gone back to school to sit for her college entrance exam.
There were many who tried to investigate Ning Xia. After investigating, they did not find the name Ning Xia listed in any of the film academies. Moreover, after the death of the author and screenwriter, Liang Zhen, she had disappeared completely.
There were fans of Yi Yao who created a club to commemorate those from Yi Yao who had passed or disappeared on a fixed date every year.
In recent years, Ning Xia's fans had also created a fan club for her. Unlike Liang Zhen and the male lead, Ning Xia was still alive after all. They just did not know where she disappeared to.
Everyone found it pitiful that such a spirited and talented girl did not become an actress. Many movie fans hoped that she would return to the big screen one day, participating in more films and creating classic movies for everyone to enjoy.
As the years passed, many new people joined the entertainment industry. There were some of Ning Xia's fans who began to invest their feelings into other people. Many treated Little Ning Xia as emotional sustenance and replacement. It was for this reason that Ye Xin grew famous. After all, Ye Xin somewhat resembled Ning Xia, and her aloof personality also stirred up the fans' interest. Naturally, as much as they supported Ye Xin, Ye Xin would never be able to replace Ning Xia in their hearts, especially in regard to the movie Yi Yao.
In fact, when Yi Yao's reunion was announced, there was talk about inviting Little Ning Xia who was starring in the remake of Yi Yao. However, the idea was strongly opposed by the original crew of Yi Yao and Yi Yao's fan club. In the people's hearts, Ning Xia was irreplaceable.
This matter had embarrassed Ye Xin, her fans, and Ning Xia's fans who had converted to Ye Xin's fans. Some radical fans even left hateful comments on Director Pan and the other staff member's social media accounts. Nevertheless, none of them paid attention to the haters.
Some fans grew emotional when they saw the crew of Yi Yao due to the absence of a few key figures.
At this time, someone shouted, "Teacher Liang Zhen will live in our hearts forever!"
Following that, another person joined in and shouted, "Yan Lu will live in our hearts forever as well!"
Many fans were so overwhelmed by their emotions that they began to cry.
At this time, the men in the crew took off their hats while the women raised their left hands. As it turned out, all of them were wearing a yellow chrysanthemum bracelet on their left hands, showing that those who had passed lived in their hearts as well.
Upon seeing this, the fans grew even more emotional.
Since there were too many people on the platform, Mu Chen and Cheng Che silently retreated to the side.
After the host handed the microphone to Director Pan, he raised his hand instinctively.
With this, the crowd fell silent immediately.
Following that, Director Pan bowed deeply at the crowd.
The people standing behind him followed suit as well.
"Thank you for your love for Yi Yao even after all these years. I'm incredibly touched when I see everyone's enthusiasm. Thank you, everyone!" Director Pan said. His slightly hoarse voice made his speech even more touching.
Subsequently, the male host said, "Director Pan, it's been ten years! Even after so many years, just an invitation managed to gather everyone. I'm curious what kind of magic do your production team possess?"
Director Pan smiled. "This is the reason why I am emotional as well. I've filmed many movies and dramas and met many people. However, for Yi Yao, the production team and the cast have an unbreakable bond.. Perhaps, we shared the same belief back then, and up until now that belief still remained in the depths of our hearts."
Chapter 142: The Film Crew
The female host was moved by Director Pan's words as well. She said, "I'm really moved by your words. I really want to ask what made you decide to shoot this movie back then?"
Director Pan looked at the sky and sighed before he replied, "Everyone says time creates heroes. This can be said about the movie. In the beginning, none of us expected the movie to be so well received. Liang Zhen and I grew up together. When Liang Zhen showed me her unpublished novel, I thought it would make an amazing movie so I roped her into it. It was also her first time as a screenwriter at that time. We were so poor at that time. I remember we were in the midst of filming when the investors suddenly decided to withdraw the funds. With that, we were put in a difficult situation. Fortunately, at that time, Liang Zhen's son stepped in and funded us so we could continue with filming..."
After saying that, Director Pan turned to look at Mu Chen and extended his hand in Mu Chen's direction as he said, "Everyone should feel grateful to him. If it weren't for him, there would be no Yi Yao. At that time, Mu Chen was still a student. The money he earned from investing at that time went straight to us..."
The crowd was shocked.
The female host exclaimed in surprise, "Heavens! As it turns out, President Mu is Teacher Liang Zhen's son?"
Director Pan smiled and nodded. "You didn't expect that, right? It's always been the dream of parents to fulfill their children's dreams. Liang Zhen's happiness lay with the fact that her son did everything he could to fulfill her dreams."
Mu Chen slowly walked to Director Pan's side.
Director Pan looked at Mu Chen and said affectionately, "Mu Chen, today I finally have the opportunity to represent everyone in the production team to thank you!"
After Director Pan finished speaking, he prepared to bow to Mu Chen.
Upon seeing this, Mu Chen hurriedly stopped Director Pan. "Director Pan, you can't do this! You're my mother's friend!"
Mu Chen's voice was deep and pleasant to the ears.
Ye Xin, who was standing below the platform, was already entranced by Mu Chen.
At this time, Mu Chen motioned for Cheng Che to come over.
When Director Pan saw Cheng Che, he smiled and said, "I forgot to tell everyone that we have another investor as well. This is Mr. Cheng Che. Back then, he was still studying at a university. In order to help us, he also took out all his savings. He's Teacher Liang Zheng's godson."
With this, the puzzles fell in their places. Everyone only knew Cheng Che was Mu Chen's assistant whose authority was almost as high as the heavens. Even the shareholders in the Mu Group had to curry favor with him to get projects approved. After all, Cheng Che was the only one who could speak freely with Mu Chen. Those people could speak to the Old Madam of the Mu family, but how could the Old Madam be any easier to speak to? Therefore, there was no doubt Cheng Che was the most popular person in the Mu Group. However, none of them was aware that Cheng Che was Liang Zhen's godson. Perhaps, that was why there were strange rumors in the past regarding Mu Chen and Cheng Che's relationship.
Cheng Che smiled and said, "Director Pan, why do you have to reveal this? I quite enjoy reading those ridiculous rumors about the strange relationship between my brother and me!"
Cheng Che's words immediately drew laughter from the crowd.
The next segment was for everyone to introduce their roles during Yi Yao's filming. Following that, they would talk about their current work and achievements.
It had to be said that the production team of Yi Yao was filled with talented and outstanding people.
The audience would occasionally exclaim in surprise when they listened to the team's speech.
On the other hand, Ye Xin was sitting on pins and needles at this moment. Originally, she thought her appearance would be the finale or during the climax. Who knew the committee of the film festival had arranged this? With this, who could still remember the celebrities who walked the red carpet earlier? Her expression darkened immediately as she looked around and saw everyone watching and listening with rapt attention. She felt suffocated at this sight.
Some of the minor celebrities were even fans of the people on the stage. They were equally as excited as the fans. They repeatedly instructed their managers and assistants to prepare gifts such as notebooks, t-shirts, and other items for them. They even planned to ask for autographs when the group on stage was done. It was a rather strange sight that these celebrities whom many chased after were now chasing after the crew from Yi Yao.
Ye Xin's anger grew and grew, but she had nowhere to vent it. She felt humiliated since she had nothing to do with the film Yi Yao, but she was inextricably linked to it due to her title as Little Ning Xia. What she was most afraid of was someone on or off stage would bring up her and the title Little Ning Xia.. It was highly likely something like that would happen since she had just wrapped up filming for the TV series that was based on Yi Yao.
Chapter 143: Emotions
Ye Xin somewhat understood now what Yang Li meant by keeping a low profile.
Based on the fanfare surrounding the original crew members of Yi Yao, no matter how well the TV series based on Yi Yao was, it would definitely draw comparison. Although Ye Xin was confident in her acting skills, she had a feeling the result of the comparison would not be in her favor. Moreover, the audience was unpredictable. If there were even the slightest flaw with the TV series, Yi Yao the film would further cement its status as a classic while the TV series would be deemed a knockoff. Her palms grew sweatier and sweatier as she thought about this.
At this moment, it was finally Yang Li's turn to speak.
"Ten years ago, I just graduated from university and was an intern during the filming of Yi Yao. My teacher, Du Yue, was the one who brought me on set. She taught the ins and outs of the industry and many skills that are important..." She paused briefly as she bowed at Du Yue and said, "Thank you, teacher!"
Du Yue smiled and grabbed Yang Li's hand. "You're a famous manager now, and you're very capable..."
At this moment, the female host said, "That's right! Miss Yang, I heard you're now the manager of Little Ning Xia. Otherwise known as Ye Xin. Miss Ye Xin just wrapped up filming for the TV series based on Yi Yao. As it happens, you're involved in both productions of Yi Yao. Why don't you tell us the difference between the two productions? How's Little Ning Xia's performance? Does she have the same skill and elegance as Ning Xia back then?"
Everyone was staring expectantly at Yang Li at this moment, waiting for her answer.
Meanwhile, Ye Xin's tightly clenched hands grew sweatier. She regretted allowing Yang Li to participate in the reunion at this moment. However, what could she do now that Yang Li was standing on stage?
Yang Li smiled at the host and spoke into the microphone. "The filming has just wrapped up so it hasn't been broadcasted yet. Whether it's good or not, I'll leave it to the audience to judge. I won't spoil it in advance. I'm only Miss Ye Xin's manager so I have nothing to do with the production of the TV series. Moreover, I didn't even have a chance to watch the end product so I'm not qualified to comment on it."
Yang Li's words were tactful and very appropriate. Nevertheless, it made the nervous Ye Xin angry. Initially, she had been nervous because she was worried Yang Li would say something inappropriate and make a joke out of her. However, she was furious now that Yang Li did not even say a single good word about her despite being her manager! Such a good opportunity to promote her was wasted by Yang Li! How could she not be furious?
With this, Ye Xin decided to change manager. A manager like Yang Li who could not even do her job properly was useless to her. To think she treated Yang Li so well.
At this moment, an up-and-coming starlet next to Ye Xin nudged her and said, "Yang Li's famous for being skilled in all areas. You're really lucky your company assigned you the best manager there is in the industry!" She could barely conceal her envy and jealousy when she spoke.
Ye Xin said bluntly, "It's just rumors. In fact, she's just alright. I don't see anything outstanding about her. Just look at me, and you'll be able to see the quality of her work..."
The little starlet said with a smile, "Sister Xin, your requirements are too high. Yang Li has fought for you so many times outside. If I were given such a manager, I'd put her on a pedestal and bow to her every day. I don't even need her to do anything for me apart from coming up with ideas for me. I'll even get an assistant for her."
Ye Xing glanced at the up-and-coming starlet and sneered inwardly. 'How inexperienced. No wonder she's not particularly famous...'
At this time, a minor celebrity sitting on Ye Xin's left could not help but chimed in when she overheard the conversation, "My manager admires Sister Yang Li a lot. She said if she were as capable as Sister Yang Li, I would be as famous as Sister Xin."
The flames of fury in Ye Xin's heart surged even higher upon hearing this. Was this what people thought of Yang Li? What had Yang Li done for her? Nothing! And yet, Yang Li was given so much credit!
In Ye Xin's opinion, she had to rely on herself for everything. She was the one who created a scandal with Mu Chen; she was the one who thought of a way to resolve the crisis with the Mu family; she was the one who wrote the speech, and Yang Li only edited it. Why did so many people think Yang Li was so great? Could it be that people think she, Ye Xin, was only famous because of Yang Li? How could Yang Li take all the credit?
Ye Xin's eyes burned with flames of fury as she watched Yang Li move to the back after her speech. Yang Li was her manager; Yang Li should have used this chance to get support from the crew of Yi Yao for her! How useless and disappointing!