Chinese entertainment: Top stars started being pursued by young actresses

Chapter 191, Section 190: You Stand Up for Your Ex (4K)

"Isn't it normal for actors to be replaced at the last minute?"

"That's what agent Sister Li sighed."

Without connections in this industry, it's not like capital can just buy you out with a word.
Yang Zi, a current top star, has experienced being replaced in roles at the last minute in the past few years.

She revealed in a magazine interview that the person in charge only told her that her role had been changed when filming was about to begin.

It was a direct notification, not a discussion.

Not only was she replaced in a role, but she also auditioned for another drama three times, only to find that the role had already been decided by the production company.

They only invited her over because she was a good actress, and they were putting on a show for people with connections.

This was the thing that made her most angry.

They're just treating her like a clown.

Every industry is this competitive, and the entertainment industry is no exception; actors can be replaced at any time.

Actress Mao Xiaotong once reached an agreement with the production team, sent her luggage, and even turned down a role in a show that was scheduled for the same period, only to find out upon arrival that she had been replaced.

Even the well-known actress Yang Mi, born in 1985, has experienced being replaced in a role.

"Alright, that's just a minor incident. Shao Bai, let's go and get ready to go in."

Seeing the relevant staff come in, Lin Shaobai said no more.

He reached for his coat on the sofa, put it on, and followed the instructions of the staff outside the door to the main hall.

The invited singers have now taken their seats according to the seating chart.

Shao Bai is one of the top singers, with Xue Zhiqian and Zhang Jie on his left and right respectively.

Old Xue greeted Lin Shaobai excitedly when he saw him.

"Teacher Lin, Teacher Lin!"

"Hello, Teacher Xue."

After Lin Shaobai took his seat, Lao Xue turned most of his body around to talk to him.

"What have you been busy with lately? Are you preparing to release a new album? I listened to your song 'Mojito' last time, it was absolutely amazing. As soon as it was released, all the major music websites were completely overwhelmed."

"It's alright. The TV series wrapped up filming a while ago, and I'm currently preparing an album, but I'll be joining another production soon."

"You're so diligently filming every day. Not only that, you also find time to write songs. Amazing, absolutely amazing!"

Old Xue genuinely admired him.

He thought that Lin Shaobai was so talented that he could write such good songs even when he was so busy!
Such a person should focus on making a living in the music industry, rather than becoming an actor.

After a brief chat, the awards ceremony officially began.

"Congratulations to Nine Percent for being the most popular band of the year!"

"Best Arrangement of the Year, congratulations to Zhang Xingxing! The winning song is 'Dream Never Falls in the Rainforest'!"

"The Best Movie Song of the Year is 'A Kind of Sorrow' by Al."

"The Sound of Falling Snow," composed by Land Rover, won the Best TV Drama Song of the Year award.

At the end of the awards ceremony, it was announced that Lin Shaobai had won the "2018 Chinese Pop Music Chart's Most Popular Male Singer of the Year" award.

He's a top-tier celebrity right now. In terms of popularity and fan base, no other singer can compare to him in terms of live performance data.

Not giving him the "Most Popular Male Singer" award is purely a case of insider manipulation.

After the awards ceremony, Lin Shaobai flew back to the capital for script readings.

After several days of reading sessions concluded successfully, he returned to the company.

The chief director of Sisters Who Make Waves made a special trip to Baichen Entertainment Company to find Lin Shaobai.

They hope that Lin Shaobai can come to the show and be a witness to the formation of the group for female artists over 30 years old, together with Huang Xiaoming.

The chief director was filled with trepidation from the moment he entered the company.

Whether these talent shows featuring female celebrities, generally over 30 years old, can succeed depends on fate.

Everyone thought the idea was good and tried their best to produce the program.

There's no successful precedent, so it's unclear whether this wildly popular top star would be willing to be a witness to the group's formation.

"Hello, Director Wu."

Lin Shaobai asked the company staff to arrange a meeting room to discuss work.

"Ms. Lin, it's a pleasure to meet you. You've already seen our program's proposal; what do you think of it?"

"I think it's great. To be honest, I might not have gone if I were the only one to be the witness for the group's formation."

Lin Shaobai smiled.

It's said that Yang Tianbao participates in Sisters Who Make Waves every year because her ex-husband, Huang Xiaoming, hosts the show. Wouldn't it be awkward for the two of them to meet?

Yang Tianbao wasn't that stupid.

The two of them wouldn't appear on the same stage in this kind of program.

If this situation is unavoidable, then they must be insane.

If this were a regular program, Lin Shaobai wouldn't bother being this so-called group formation witness.

"Because our program is different from other youth idol talent shows, we have found 30 women with an average age of over 30 from the dance and singing performance industry. These women have been in the industry for many years, so there is a reason for finding witnesses to the formation of the group."

The director paused for a moment and continued, "Our original plan was to find Huang Xiaoming, who has been in the industry for many years, and another currently popular top star."

Lin Shaobai can help attract viewers to the show, getting more people to watch Sisters Who Make Waves.

Kobayashi is a real money-maker; any show that gets him on the airwaves is guaranteed to be a hit.

The talks on cooperation went very smoothly.

That evening, a television drama producer arrived at Baichen Entertainment Company.

This producer is the same person who used connections to drive Zhou Ye away.

Her original name was Li Anyao, and she was known as Teacher Li by everyone.

Lin Shaobai hadn't originally intended to get involved in this matter, but he ended up walking right into the line of fire.

Producer Li came here specifically to invite Lin Shaobai to play the male lead in their youth campus drama.

In today's entertainment industry, who doesn't know that Lin Shaobai is a hot commodity?
This TV series is adapted from a well-known IP, and with top-tier celebrities joining the cast, it's hard for it not to be a hit!
"Teacher Lin, our script is adapted from a novel, and we won't drastically change it. It's largely the same as the novel."

The producer, Li, who made up all sorts of lies for Zhou Ye, a small-time actor with no connections, and who bossed everyone around, turned around and showed a completely different face when facing the top star, Lin Shaobai.

"I've seen it."

Lin Shaobai stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the conference room, gazing outside.

The producer leaned closer, adjusted his glasses, and continued, "This novel is already a major IP, and the author's previous film and television adaptations have been very successful, so this series is bound to be popular. We think Mr. Lin, you perfectly embody the male lead—handsome, rational, and the epitome of a campus heartthrob. And back then on the phone..."

“Producer Li,” Lin Shaobai suddenly turned around and interrupted her, “I don’t plan to act in this drama.”

"Huh? Huh?"

The producer stood there, stunned.

We were talking just a moment ago, why did you suddenly refuse?
"But I heard you on the phone then..."

"You heard me on the phone as if I was interested in playing the male lead, right?"

Although Lin Shaobai was smiling, it was a forced smile.

Producer Lee nodded.

The two had communicated on the phone before, and she felt at the time that Lin Shaobai had agreed to play the male lead.

After flying all this way, this is the kind of response I get?

No, that's not right.

Why does this plot feel so familiar? "Giving people the illusion that they could act in it, only to coldly reject them when they come from another province—isn't this a common tactic used by your production team?"

Lin Shaobai exudes a subtle sense of pressure, even though his face is expressionless.

Producer Li then realized something was wrong.

She laughed awkwardly and said, "Teacher Lin, are you kidding me?"

"Playing with you? This isn't playing with you, it's just a simple refusal. Didn't your production team do a great job of inserting people with connections halfway through the filming?"

Producer Li thought to himself, "The entertainment industry really is a small world."

How could such a thing reach Lin Shaobai's ears!
Is it already common knowledge?
"Isn't it normal to change actors midway through a project? Teacher Lin, you've acted in several hit dramas, I don't understand why you're reacting so strongly."

Producer Li only realized after he finished speaking that Zhou Ye, who had been replaced, had filmed the TV series "A Little Reunion" with Lin Shaobai.

Moreover, they are both from the Beijing Film Academy, so they must have a good relationship.

Tsk, is Lin Shaobai going to stand up for that little girl surnamed Zhou right now?!

Producer Li was completely baffled by this. Was this some kind of mistake? This kind of thing must be commonplace, right?

Are the minds of top celebrities different from those of ordinary people?
"They had already agreed on a role, but then changed the actor halfway through. If they had already decided, they should have at least told her in advance. I heard that you didn't say anything until Zhou Ye himself flew there. You left her there alone, letting her foolishly believe that she had actually auditioned for the role."

Lin Shaobai turned around, his eyes cold, his tone harsher than before: "Isn't this a bit too much?"

"So, it turns out you specifically asked to meet me at the company to talk about this, Ms. Lin. I would have completely forgotten about it if you hadn't brought it up. You're right, we handled this matter a bit rashly."

There's no need to hide it anymore now that you've been brought to this point.

It's common for actors to be replaced at the last minute in this industry, and nobody even thinks it's a mistake.

They believe that it's nothing to be upset about for small actors with no background or resources being replaced by rich kids, company heirs, etc.

Some famous actors get replaced, so who cares about a nobody like you?

"That person is our executive producer's girlfriend. There was no other way but to make it official."

Lin Shaobai seemed to have anticipated the producer's response. He raised his right eyebrow slightly and gave a dismissive laugh: "You change your mind faster than flipping through a book. I have no interest in a production team like this. Alright! You can leave now. I have things to take care of here."

"..."

Producer Li opened and closed his lips repeatedly, the words he wanted to say always stuck in his throat.

The two remained awkwardly seated until their assistant, Xiao Zhao, opened the door from the outside.

"Ms. Li, our General Manager Lin is busy with some things right now. Let me see you out."

Li Anyao then stepped back and walked out of the room.

People in the industry now respect Lin Shaobai, not only because of the traditional way of treating people differently based on their status.

Now that you're famous, everyone around you is a good person.

Secondly, Lin Shaobai's parents have extensive connections in the industry.

This producer, Li, was a newcomer to the industry. After leaving Baichen Entertainment, he thought things through carefully and realized that he should explain things to Zhou Ye.

It seems that Zhou Ye and Lin Shaobai have a good relationship.

If this matter isn't resolved, there may never be another chance to cooperate with Lin Shaobai.

What if Lin Shaobai says something to his parents...

Producer Li dared not even think about it.

She quickly picked up her phone and sent a message to Zhou Ye.

Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense; it was my side that didn't handle things well.

[Zhou Ye, it was our fault for not informing you beforehand about what happened last time. We will consider you for a suitable role in the future.]

We'll reimburse your round-trip airfare.

That's all the producer could do.

If it weren't for Lin Shaobai's words, she wouldn't have cared about Zhou Ye's feelings at all.

Lin Shaobai was still standing in front of the office's floor-to-ceiling window when his agent walked in and joked, "Tsk tsk, isn't there still some affection there?"

Lin Shaobai remained silent, simply watching the producer get into his car and drive away, gradually disappearing into the distance.

"Fine, I won't force you if you don't want to answer. The movie 'Better Days' is coming out soon. Do you think you can spare a few days for promotion?"

"I try my best."

Lin Shaobai turned around and said.

"You should go do some promotion. You're the male lead of this movie, it's not appropriate to let the female lead, Zhou Dongyu, do all the promotion."

"Yes, I understand."

Meanwhile, Zhou Ye, who was watching TV at home, immediately jumped out of bed upon receiving the news.

She opened her eyes wide, somewhat incredulous.

The timing of this message—it was from that producer from before?!
Both of them had changed personnel, and I thought we would never have any contact again.

She nervously opened the chat window, only to discover that she could actually get her airfare reimbursed.

And they even received an apology?!
"Good heavens!"

It's like heaven has seen a ghost in broad daylight; Little Knife's eyes have been opened!
What's going on?

Could this be a scam?!
Zhou Ye pinched his face, thinking that what he was seeing was an illusion.

"Ouch, that hurts! Is this really true? The producer actually apologized to me?"

"They even said they'd reimburse my round-trip airfare?"

Upon seeing these words, Zhou Ye's anger and resentment subsided considerably.

But while I was happy, I also felt a little strange.

If you wanted to apologize and get reimbursed, why didn't you say so in the first place?
Why did it take until now?
Zhou Ye knew very well that he had neither the resources nor the background.

"A Little Reunion" was a hit, but that shouldn't cause such a drastic change in a producer's behavior.

"Could it be that someone helped me and stood up for me?"

Zhou Ye, upon realizing this, chuckled at his own vivid imagination!
"Oh dear, what am I thinking? How could anyone possibly stand up for me?"

"I didn't know anyone in that film crew."

"Who in this circle would..."

Zhou Ye lay on his side in bed, and suddenly remembered his ex-boyfriend Lin Shaobai, whom he had broken up with long ago.

In this circle, perhaps only Lin Shaobai would protect her.

This kind of thing is insignificant to other celebrities, as normal as encountering a math problem they can't solve.

Only those who truly care about themselves will show concern.

"No, no, no, no!"

Zhou Ye rolled around on the bed, trying to erase the image of Lin Shaobai from his mind.

"How could you even think of him for something like this?"

"Could it be that Miss Ben can't live without him?"

After calming down, Zhou Ye sent a message to the producer, and the matter was considered resolved peacefully.

"But it's really strange, why is that?"

Zhou Ye crossed his arms behind his head and lazily lay back down.

She just couldn't understand it.

What exactly happened?
(End of this chapter)