Why didn't you tell me earlier that my little sister is still waiting for me?

The filming of "Battle of the Forbidden City" has been underway for some time, and there is chaos in Studio 3 of the Shanghai Film and Television Base.

"Action!" Director Li Chao shouted weakly while sitting behind the monitor.

Lü Ziqiao, wearing Lü Bu's costume and holding a Fang Tian Hua Ji, struck a pose he thought looked handsome: "Diao Chan! I, Lü Bu, will stand on top of the Forbidden City today—"

"Cut!" Li Chao stood up suddenly. "Lü Ziqiao! You're playing Lü Bu, not a model! Could you please stop ogling the camera?"

Lu Ziqiao spread his hands in grievance: "Director, this is called camera sense! Isn't the audience paying for tickets just to see handsome guys?"

Tang Youyou rushed out wearing her Diao Chan costume: "Director! I think we should add a kissing scene between Lu Bu and me! Only emotional scenes can move the audience!"

"Add you a head!" Hu Yifei, dressed in red and dressed like Dongfang Bubai, the embroidery needle in her hand flashed with a cold light: "If you add more, it will be marked as an restricted film!"

Tang Youyou blinked: "But today's audiences love to watch this!"

Zhang Wei, wearing a lobster headgear, raised his hand weakly: "Um... can you film my scenes first? I have to go out tonight..."

"Shut up!" Li Chao rubbed his hair frantically. "How can a mere extra deserve so much drama?"

Zhang Wei retreated back into his lobster claws in grievance: "I'm a formal actor with a signed contract..."

Li Chao turned to Lin Bufan and complained, "Brother Fan, Master Fan, my ancestors—look at what this has become! Lü Bu looks like a cowherd, Diao Chan looks like a streetwalker, and Dongfang Bubai looks like a market auntie!"

Hu Yifei's embroidery needle swished down near Li Chao's feet. "Who do you think looks like the market lady?"

Li Chao swallowed his saliva. "I, I mean, your aura is particularly suitable for the role..."

"First scene, third shot, let's do it again!" The assistant director quickly tried to smooth things over.

The filming resumed, and Lv Ziqiao walked towards Tang Youyou affectionately: "Diao Chan, I——"

"Cut!" Li Chao called for a halt again. "Lü Ziqiao! Can you please stop shaking your hips when you walk? Lü Bu is a god of war, not a dancer!"

"Director, this is called a catwalk!" Lu Ziqiao said confidently, "I'm a fashion blogger with 20 followers on Douyin!"

Zeng Xiaoxian, dressed in his Five Tiger Generals costume, cheered nearby, "That's right! Our Ziqiao is going to win a Golden Horse Award with this drama!"

"How dare you say that!" Li Chao turned to Zeng Xiaoxian. "Your performance of the Five Tiger Generals is like schizophrenia! Where's Guan Yu's loyalty? Where's Zhang Fei's recklessness? You've made them all look like Zeng Xiaoxian!"

Zeng Xiaoxian smiled slyly and said, "Director, this is my philosophy of acting—method acting! Immerse myself in the character!"

Hu Yifei rolled her eyes: "I think you are integrating yourself into the mental hospital!"

Guan Gu Shenqi suddenly popped his head out from behind the set: "Director! I think Hattori Hanzo should add some ninjutsu special effects! Like the Shadow Clone Technique!"

"Why are you, a mere ninja, doing this in a Chinese period drama?" Li Chao was about to collapse. "Also, could you please change your Japanese-style Chinese? It sounds like an anti-Japanese drama!"

Lin Bufan quickly stepped forward and patted Li Chao on the shoulder: "Brother Chao, calm down. We are making a commercial film. The most important thing is that everyone is happy~"

"Happy?!" Li Chao shook off Lin Bufan's hand and suddenly turned the gun around: "I said they didn't say anything about you, right? Look at what you're acting like!"

Li Chaoyue was getting more and more excited, almost spitting on Lin Bufan's face. "When we were in college, I told you that you weren't cut out to be an actor, and you argued with me! Now that I see it, was there anything I said that was wrong?"

"Tell me about you!" Li Chao began to count on his fingers, "Besides being a little more handsome, a little more talented, a little better at picking up rich women, a little better at flattery, a little richer, a little better at pretending, and a little better at fooling investors, what else can you do that's better than me?"

Before Lin Bufan could figure out in what ways he was better than Li Chao, Wan Yu whispered beside him, "Director, isn't this enough?"

"Crack!"

As Wan Yu finished speaking, Lin Bufan seemed to hear the sound of glass breaking. Just as Lin Bufan was about to find the source of the sound, Li Chao suddenly collapsed!

Li Chao squatted on the ground, his hands on his head, and cried, "You're right... I really can't do anything. I... I'm really a useless director... I can't even lead such a makeshift team..."

Li Chao's temper flared up. He grabbed the script and slammed it to the ground. "I can't even handle a script written by my wife! What kind of director am I? I'm just a loser!"

There was silence at the scene, and everyone was stunned by Li Chao's sudden collapse.

Tang Youyou was the first to react. She quickly squatted down and patted Li Chao on the back: "Director Li, don't be like this! You are actually very talented!"

"Talent?" Li Chao raised his head, his eyes red. "I can't even shoot a third-rate online film well! The last time I filmed 'The Overbearing CEO Falls in Love with a Dog', it was criticized and became a hot topic. Netizens said the director should go raise pigs!"

Lu Ziqiao touched his chin and nodded: "This evaluation is very pertinent... Ouch!" Before he could finish his words, Tang Youyou pinched him hard.

Hu Yifei stepped forward and softened her voice, a rare moment. "Director Li, you're at least much better than Zeng Xiaoxian. He can't even manage his own radio show, and he gets complaints from listeners every day."

Zeng Xiaoxian immediately protested: "Hey! That's just my unique style, okay!"

Guan Gu Shenqi said seriously, "Mr. Li, there's a saying in Japan: Even canned tuna has its value, let alone people."

Li Chao raised his head and looked at everyone with tears in his eyes: "Really? Do you really think there is still hope for me?"

"Of course!" Lu Ziqiao shook his hair. "I, Lu Xiaobu, have never made a mistake in judging people!"

"Director Li, although Ziqiao's words are usually unreliable, this time, he still makes sense." Qin Yumo also hurriedly echoed!

Lin Bufan stood aside, his gaze fixed thoughtfully on Li Chao. He knew this senior all too well—back in college, Li Chao had feigned illness to skip classes, his acting skills a movie star caliber, even tricking the school doctor several times. The debacle before him reeked of a familiar sense of grandiosity.

Lin Bufan's eyes swept over Li Chao's slightly trembling shoulders, noticing the little glances he secretly gave to everyone; then he looked at the angle he deliberately controlled when throwing the script to ensure that the papers would not really fall apart; and finally he landed on his unnaturally red eyes - this guy must have secretly applied Tiger Balm.

Lin Bufan's lips curled up slightly, instantly understanding Li Chao's plan. This guy was clearly using a self-torture tactic to gain sympathy so that the filming could continue as he wished. After all, with the whirlwind of these clowns, normal reasoning wouldn't sway them.

As expected, the atmosphere at the scene changed immediately after Li Chao's "collapse." The people who had been clamoring just a moment ago were now at a loss, and even Hu Yifei had put away her murderous intent.

Although he saw through Li Chao's disguise, Lin Bufan did not choose to expose him. Instead, he cooperated with a heavy face: "Brother Chao, we are brothers. I promise that everyone will cooperate with you in the filming from now on!"

"Really?" Li Chao looked at others suspiciously.

Everyone immediately made a promise:

Tang Youyou: "I will definitely not add drama without permission!"

Zeng Xiaoxian: "I promise to portray the Five Tiger Generals like real people!"

Lu Ziqiao: "I...will try not to flirt with you!"

Hu Yifei: "I'll try to be gentle."

Zhang Wei: "I... I'll continue to be a lobster monster..."

……

After everyone finished their promises, Li Chao wiped his tears and finally stood up: "Then I will trust you again!"

"Action!" the assistant director shouted quickly.

This time, Lü Ziqiao kept a straight face and raised his Fang Tian Hua Ji solemnly: "Lobster monster! Today, I, Lü Bu, will..."

"Cut!" Li Chao suddenly shouted, "Too stiff! You're a god of war, not a zombie!"

After director Li Chao's "crash-like motivation", the filming progress of "Battle of the Forbidden City" is still bumpy, but it has improved a lot compared to the previous chaotic scene.

……

Just when Lin Bufan was concentrating on filming, a very bizarre incident happened in the outside world!

One day, when Lin Bufan was staring intently at the monitor, the phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated wildly. Lin Bufan wanted to ignore it, but when he saw the words "Zhu Suosuo" on the screen, Lin Bufan had to signal Li Chao to watch it himself!

"Suosuo? I'm filming right now, what's the hurry?" Lin Bufan walked to the corner of the set and asked in a low voice.

Zhu Suosuo's rapid breathing could be heard from the other end of the phone: "Boss, something big has happened! Check out today's hot news! Something happened to our "Brother Biao Paradise"!"

Lin Bufan's heart tightened, and he quickly opened the APP, only to see the following topics prominently displayed on the hot search list: "Brother Biao's Paradise trains dogs to steal", "Who should be held responsible for pet crimes", "High-IQ Border Collie breaks into houses" and so on.

Clicking on the top news video, a sleek Border Collie deftly unlocks a door with a bunch of keys in its mouth, then emerges with a designer bag in its mouth. The entire process is fluid, clearly a result of professional training.

"Is this... Lightning?!" Lin Bufan recognized the Border Collie adopted from "Biaoge Paradise" at a glance. He hadn't seen it for a while, but he didn't expect that it had become a "big bandit" now.

"That's it!" Zhu Suosuo's voice was filled with tears. "Everyone on the internet is scolding us for training dogs to steal things. Today, more than a dozen people came to the park's gate to protest, and there were reporters blocking the door... Sang Biao was so angry that he tore down the office!"

Lin Bufan rubbed his temples: "Where is the person who adopted Lightning? What did he say?"

"The programmer, Zhang Ming, said he was completely unaware of Lightning's behavior and insisted he had never taught him to steal. But police found several stolen items in his home, and he has now been detained."

"I'll be back right away." After hanging up the phone, Lin Bufan made some simple arrangements for the crew and drove to "Biaoge Paradise".

Along the way, he kept updating the news, as the incident grew increasingly serious. Social media was divided into two camps: one believed that pet owners were solely responsible for their pets' behavior; the other believed that highly intelligent animals like Lightning should have independent awareness of their own behavior and that the adopters could not be simply blamed.

Although it is still unclear what happened, Lin Bufan can basically conclude that Zhang Ming must be the mastermind behind the scenes. Otherwise, how could Lightning steal luxury goods?

Obviously, Zhang Ming's statement was solely to avoid being convicted!

After thinking clearly about the whole story, Lin Bufan was furious. I didn't let Sang Biao steal, so why did you let Dian Dian steal?

When Lin Bufan arrived at Brother Biao's Paradise, many protesters and reporters had already gathered at the door. He avoided the main entrance and entered through the employee passage, heading straight for Sang Biao's office.

As soon as he opened the door, the scene in front of him stunned him - the originally luxurious office was now in a mess, the sofa was torn open, documents were scattered all over the floor, and Sang Biao was squatting on the desk, holding a bitten pillow in his mouth, with a fierce look in his eyes.

Zhu Suosuo stood aside, looking anxious: "Boss, you are finally here!"

Lin Bufan walked up to Sang Biao and rubbed its head with his hand: "Okay, stop destroying the house, I'll take care of this."

Sang Biao then reluctantly let go of the pillow in his mouth and let out a whimper of grievance.

Lin Bufan turned to Zhu Suosuo and said, "Get all of Lightning's training records and adoption information. Also, have you checked Zhang Ming's background?"

Zhu Suosuo nodded quickly. "We've checked. Zhang Ming is a programmer at a technology company. He's 32 years old, lives alone, and has no criminal record. He behaved normally when he adopted Lightning, and he passed all our reviews."

"Oh, you're quite well prepared." Lin Bufan sneered: "Suosuo, contact the lawyer. I want to go meet this innocent programmer."

Zhu Suosuo immediately said, "Boss, I've already contacted a lawyer. It's Zhuge Dasheng, one of the top ten lawyers in the city. The Dasheng Law Firm she founded is very famous in the industry."

Zhuge Dasheng?!

Lin Bufan, who was originally a little anxious, immediately calmed down after hearing the name Zhuge Dasheng!

I rely on!

Could this be my mother-in-law? Ugh, could this be Zhuge Dali's mother in the fifth season of Love Apartment?

To confirm his suspicions, Lin Bufan quickly pressed the issue, "Suosuo, is this Zhuge the same Zhuge who sounds incredibly smart? And is the Great Sage the same Great Sage as the Great Sage Equaling Heaven?"

Zhu Suosuo was somewhat baffled by Lin Bufan's sudden excitement: "Yes... yes, Boss, do you know her?"

"I don't know her!" Lin Bufan waved his hand and said with a mysterious smile, "But the name sounds very powerful. I think she can definitely help us clear our name!"

After knowing that the lawyer Zhu Suosuo hired was Zhuge Dasheng, Lin Bufan couldn't wait to rush to the police station, and all the way he was imagining what this "Zhuge Dasheng" would look like.

After arriving at the police station, Lin Bufan finally met the legendary Zhuge Dasheng. She was about thirty-five years old, dressed in a sharp business suit, with neat short hair and eagle-like eyes. She exuded an aura of authority without even getting angry.