Chapter 453 - Abandoning you for the bigger picture
When Du Yu came out of his mansion in Beijing, he headed straight for Film City.
He enjoyed his current life, albeit to his constant travels to participate in all sorts of advertisements; he liked having the attention focused on him with all his admirers. All of a sudden, his assistant's phone rang and she immediately handed her phone over to him. Generally speaking, his assistant would take the call for him if it wasn't anything extraordinary, so Du Yu instantly knew that it was an important call.
In the end, it was just as he had expected; it was a call from Huo Kun.
For Huo Kun, Du Yu was filled with both respect and fear. If it wasn't for Huo Kun, it's impossible for him to have his current height. But it was also Huo Kun who made him feel fearful, since the latter could reduce him back to nothing with a flick of his finger.
This was also the reason why he had rejected all the management companies that tried to poach him.
He knew that it was impossible for him to leave Huo Kun. Although he might earn a little less in this manner, it was sufficient as long as he could live a luxurious life.
"Where are you right now?" Huo Kun asked.
"I'm on my way to Film City!" Du Yu replied in a respectful tone.
"Wait for me; I'll meet up with you in an hour. I need you to do something for me." After Huo Kun left his instructions, he immediately hung up the call.
Upon entering Film City, the production team of Huadu's Green Wine came over to greet him. However, there was a woman that attracted his attention, which he had seen from the information given to him. It was his partner in the drama, Gu Rushan. Upon looking at him, she only gave him a faint smile before she focused on her preparation.
This woman is pretty unique!
She was just like how everyone has evaluated.
The reason why he managed to become so famous was his professionalism when filming. After all, every successful person had their own merit.
Then again, the production team knew that he was busy, which was the reason why they would try and get things done in one shot.
There's a specialised team in the production team that would edit Du Yu's scenes, and a double would be used if there's no other alternative to take the shot from another angle.
It was due to Du Yu's fame that even the director had to be respectful to him.
Naturally, Du Yu showed his magnanimity by getting his assistant to buy drinks and desserts for the entire production team.
Gu Rushan was currently memorising the script since she heard that Du Yu's scenes were always done in one take. Thus, she was under high pressure. It would soon be her scene, and if she made a mistake, not only would Du Yu be unhappy, but it would also drag the entire production team down.
But just when Gu Rushan was about to head for the shoot, Du Yu's assistant whispered in the director's ears.
The director locked his brows together and helplessly announced, "We'll take a rest, first!"
Huo Kun had already come to Film City, and Du Yu had to meet up with him. Thus, the entire production team could only stop to wait for Du Yu.
After entering Huo Kun's vehicle, Du Yu received a piece of paper from the former and locked his brows before he hesitated, "Boss, this is a sensitive topic. Won't there be a problem if I joined?"
"What problem can there be?" Huo Kun smiled as he looked at Du Yu.
"I have many fans in South Korea. If I declared my stance in this matter, then wouldn't I lose my fans?" Du Yu spoke his concern.
Huo Kun's request for him on the paper was to denounce Su Tao, which Du Yu's fans would start to attack Su Tao after being misled by him.
"The South Korean market? Their population is only tens of millions, and they're not even comparable to a province in China. Many South Korean celebrities have moved to China to develop. Since you're so concerned with the South Korean market, why don't I hand you over to a management company there?" Huo Kun sneered.
Instantly, Du Yu felt awkward. Although Huo Kun was harsh to him in the contract, South Korean companies were known to be even more stringent.
In South Korea, the income of small-time celebrities was only slightly higher than white-collared employees since the management company would take a considerable portion of their income, leaving them with only the smaller share. For those groups, there would be even less for each of them.
In China, as long as you had some talent, you could earn more than those celebrities as long as you're hardworking.
"Hehe!" Before Huo Kun, Du Yu couldn't put on any airs of a celebrity and smiled. "Just give me your instructions!" After that, he pointed at Su Tao's picture and furrowed his brows. "Why does this person seem a little familiar?"
"You remember the incident where your video was taken? He is the mastermind!" Huo Kun snorted.
Recalling that matter, Du Yu instantly became furious, "That's right, it's this fellow! Boss, why didn't you tell me about this earlier? If I knew that it was this bastard, I would naturally help to teach him a lesson!"
Waving his hand, Huo Kun responded, "The video is still in his hands, and I've told Brother Han not to appear for the time being. As for you, try and keep your distance from him for the time being and don't mix with those recent friends of yours as well."
Nodding his head, Du Yu cautiously said, "I know what to do!"
"You have fifteen minutes!" Huo Kun patted Du Yu's shoulder before he exited his vehicle and lit up a cigarette.
For a professional actor like Du Yu, it didn't take long for him to make a video.
When the cigarette burnt half-way, Huo Kun flicked it on the ground and extinguished it before he looked at Du Yu's video with a satisfied smile. "Your emotions are all perfect. Putting this online will bring the matter up by another level!"
"Aren't we just giving him a taste of his own medicine?" Du Yu eerily smiled.
All of a sudden, Huo Kun recalled a matter and asked, "Do you have any impression of a woman by the name of Gu Rushan in the production team?"
"I do, the scenes today are between her and me!" Du Yu smacked his lips and commented, "That woman is pretty unique."
"She still hasn't signed with any management company, and I intend to sign with her. So help me make her cooperate!" Huo Kun replied.
"Oh? How do you want me to make her cooperate?" Du Yu asked in perplexion.
"Naturally, teach her that without any management company, she won't have a backing. Even if the production team selected her, she could still be kicked away." Huo Kun hinted. "I believe you should know my meaning now, right?"
While Du Yu remained silent, he inwardly sighed. His boss had his eyes on that woman, which meant that there's nothing for him. However, he still gave his promise, "I understand."
While returning to the production team, Du Yu wore a smile before he spoke a few words in the director's ear.
The director was briefly stunned. He never expected that Du Yu would suddenly want to change the content, and the reason being that those were the easier scenes. So they should get the easier shots done before focusing on the harder scenes.
As the director sighed, he could only comply with it. If it was some other actor, he would surely flip out. However, Du Yu was the hottest celebrity in the team who could guarantee the viewership, so he couldn't afford to offend the latter.
Letting out a cough, the director moved to the coordinator and gave his instructions.
The coordinator was briefly stunned, before he immediately declared, "We will be shooting scene 49 later where Leng Yue falls into the water after receiving a bullet while Ding Bai saves her."
Hearing that, Gu Rushan was instantly dumbfounded. She was preparing for scene 27, so she wasn't familiar with scene 49.
Thus, she went to look for the director and explained, "Director, can you give me three minutes? I still need some time to prepare for this scene!"
The director sighed. It was also understandable since Gu Rushan was a newbie, so it was unavoidable for her to be anxious in this situation.
"I'll give you five minutes, but Du Yu's schedule is tight, and we have to shoot his scenes," said the director as he smiled.
Five minutes later, Gu Rushan wore her costume before she jumped into the water with Du Yu following after her. A moment later, Gu Rushan had to show a weakened expression with Du Yu holding onto her waist and called out to her, "Leng Yue, stay awake!"
Gu Rushan's eyes were dazed as her lips weakly parted, "Ding Bai, run! Don't care about me anymore; I'm finished!"
However, Du Yu locked his brows together as he came to a stop.
"Cut!" The director had to stop the scene as he asked, "Is there any problem?"
Shaking his head, Du Yu replied, "This newbie can't make it! Her expression isn't on point, and it's too fake!"
When the director played back the scene, he noticed that Gu Rushan's expression was on point, albeit to her little preparation. Both her expression and tone were extremely focused.
Thus, the director was startled that Du Yu rejected Gu Rushan's acting.
"Then, we'll retake it!" The director came to Gu Rushan and demonstrated the scenes in his imagination.
But when they retook the scene, Du Yu shook his head again and sighed, "Director, impossible! I can't act with this newbie's pale acting."
The director was depressed, but he wasn't in the spot to flare up with Du Yu. Hence, he could only patiently tell Gu Rushan to retake the scene.
Gu Rushan was a newcomer, so she had no idea that Du Yu was making things difficult for her on purpose.
Every industry was the same, and if a veteran was determined to make things difficult for the newbie, there were tons of ways available to them.
In the end, Du Yu gave all sorts of reasons again and again to criticise Gu Rushan's acting.
Although Gu Rushan was helpless, she still tried her best to encourage herself to focus on her scene.
While being embraced by Du Yu once again, she could hear a whisper in her ear, "It doesn't feel good being constantly rejected, right? I suggest you sign with Chairman Huo immediately. Otherwise, I have tons of ways to remove you from the production team."
Hearing those words, Gu Rushan widened her eyes as she looked at Du Yu in disbelief.
Letting out two coughs, Du Yu let go of Gu Rushan and turned to the director. "I can't shoot this scene anymore. This newbie really can't make it! Either you guys swap me, or you swap her. I'm swamped, and I don't have the time to waste here, so I'll be taking my leave first."
Gu Rushan was dumbfounded as she remained in the water. Although the water wasn't freezing, she still felt cold after being soaked in the water for a long time.
The production team looked at Gu Rushan with a complicated gaze. Although some might feel that Gu Rushan was pitiful, the majority of them were influenced by Du Yu. After all, he's the hotshot here, and he must've left because he felt that Gu Rushan's acting was too terrible.
Walking over to Gu Rushan, the director looked at her with a complicated gaze. Gu Rushan was the friend of the sponsor, Ni Jingqiu, while Du Yu was someone who guarantees the viewership. Hence, he could only truthfully tell Gu Rushan, "There's no issue with your acting, but you must have gotten in conflict with Du Yu. It's the same as life, no matter how dazzling you are, you're only the supporting character of the main lead. If his view on you continues, then we can only choose to abandon you for the bigger picture."