Chapter 571: The Lines Seem a Bit Off

Bai Liang said he'd be a hands-off boss, and he really didn't care at all what his "assistant directors" actually wanted to film.

Midway through, Chen Kaige even wandered over for a bit, hands clasped behind his back, looking very grand.

He seemed to want to give the "newly-minted director" Bai Liang some senior guidance, to throw in something impressive and really shake him up~

On this point, Bai Liang actually believed him. Although Director Chen had been on a steep downhill slide after "Farewell My Concubine," never to return to his peak, he really did have some real skill.

But he just couldn't quite understand why Director Chen liked to show off in front of him so much.

Regarding this, Wu Jing, who was secretly observing, gave him a little hint: Because you, kid, are badass~

Director Chen was a proud man by nature. Even when he sometimes looked quite affable, deep down he actually looked down on people—especially those with no damn skills.

Otherwise he wouldn't have come out with lines like "It'll take everyone ten years to understand 'The Promise.'"

So cocky~

To the point that when he showed off, he liked to go for the kind he thought was deeply profound, all misty and obscure.

Otherwise he wouldn't have pulled the move of reciting poetry at the Olympic directing selection site.

Way too abstract, ordinary people simply couldn't understand it.

The reason he had some extra "enthusiasm" for Bai Liang was mainly because he felt Bai Liang was no ordinary person either, someone who could keep up with his thought process—in plain terms: someone who could understand the bullshit he was putting on.

Once translated, Bai Liang got it.

But he still politely declined Director Chen's guidance, because he'd made up his mind from the very start.

Meng Jie said things like "a director only needs to know how to yell 'cut,'" and on that foundation, Bai Liang added some of his own understanding.

As a director, he didn't even need to yell "cut."

Just lend his name to it.

So, over the next few days, Bai Liang turned the job of directing into that of a life producer.

When he had nothing to do, he'd get everyone some good food and drinks, stroll around with a smile, tease Meng Jie and Wang Churan a bit, and then take off.

He never sat in the director's little stool for a single day, and he couldn't even be bothered to look at the monitor.

As for the subject of the shoot... in the end, Guo Fan won it all.

A sci-fi film!

Arguing would never get results, and Guo Fan's films had the highest box office, so of course they listened to him.

But the others, while laughing and joking, were also gearing up to sneak some of their own stuff in.

A short film with barely any runtime, and several directors wanting to sneak their own stuff in—what the hell this thing would end up looking like, one could no longer hold out much hope for.

On this foundation, Bai Liang got it!

He directly grasped the true essence of being a director.

"A crew with that many voices—that's a downright betrayal of the profession of director!"

At this moment, Wu Jing nodded frantically. "Let's rebel!"

Meng Jie pricked up her ears, feeling like she'd just heard something outrageous.

But she was very puzzled. With such a chaotic, messy crew, could there possibly be some top-tier internal power struggle?

Doesn't seem very likely, right?

Ah! She got it—they were just messing around again~

But at that moment, Bai Liang nudged her. "Stop eavesdropping, you've got a part in this too."

"Huh?! Me?"

Meng Jie's face was full of disbelief. "What does this have to do with me?"

"You're also part of the 'Battle at Lake Changjin' project. Even though your screen time is pretty small, the character setup is actually pretty nice—a touch of brightness against the backdrop of a brutal war."

By this point, Bai Liang had long gotten the script, and Meng Jie's role in the film really did have very little screen time, but she was still a character personally approved by Yu Dong, so she did have a bit of space in the script.

The Miss who threw the scarf before the train departed~

Only now did Meng Jie realize the two of them weren't talking about the current short film shoot at all, but about the "Battle at Lake Changjin" project.

She immediately sucked in a cold breath inside.

She looked at her little hedgehog and the grinning Wu Jing with some disbelief, feeling like she seemed to have boarded a pirate ship.

They were planning a full-blown rebellion!

The funny thing was, Meng Jie wasn't panicked at all—instead she got a little excited.

Looking at the two people in front of her, her mind started wildly imagining all sorts of things: Eight hundred men it is, then, strike first; I shall command all the troops under heaven.

Obviously, she'd been scrolling Douyin too much—just hearing those lines, anyone could tell which drama's clips she'd been watching.

But being the quirky-minded Miss she was, she quickly went from scared to both scared and excited.

So scary, want to try dying~

Wu Jing: Awesome!

Looking at Meng Jie's eager-to-try expression, he couldn't help but give her a thumbs-up.

Honestly, from this moment on, he understood why she had the nickname "Meng Jie."

A player with a big heart!

And Bai Liang was pretty clear-headed at this point—Meng Jie's bravado was completely an act; once that dazed, curious energy wore off, she'd be hugging herself and shivering.

So no need to pay her any mind.

As for Wu Jing's "full-blown rebellion" plan, Bai Liang had his own measure of it.

"When you go up against Director Chen directly, watch my cues and act accordingly."

There was nothing wrong with what he said, but Wu Jing, watching Bai Liang say it with his eyes closed, felt like the guy was messing with him.

"Can I ask—when the time comes, will your eyes be open or closed?"

"I'll keep one open and one closed." Bai Liang said with a grin.

"You f*cking—"

After Wu Jing ran off to busy himself with the short film, Meng Jie tugged somewhat cautiously at Bai Liang's sleeve. "Little Hedgehog, are you guys really going to stage a big rebellion?"

"What do you mean 'you guys'? I'm just an actor. What rebellion would I be staging? I'm only in charge of acting. As for how the scenes get shot, that's a matter between Director Chen and Director Wu."

Meng Jie listened and figured that made sense, and added that this film also had Xu Ke and Lin Chaoxian, those two directors, co-directing together with Director Chen.

"They're fighting over creative control. Those two already have a bit of a tool-man quality to them."

Meng Jie nodded half-understandingly, then asked curiously, "So whose side are you on?"

"Who do you think I'm siding with?"

"I think you have a better relationship with Director Wu Jing, but your relationship with Director Chen isn't bad either. Staying neutral and not helping either of them should be better that way. That way you don't offend anyone."

That sentence didn't just slip out—she thought about it for a moment before saying it.

Sure enough, she's no fool. She's plenty smart~

In fact, Wu Jing himself thought the same way. He really was planning to wrestle creative control from Chen Kaige, but he hadn't actually prepared to have Bai Liang raise a rebel banner alongside him and go head-to-head with the man.

This topic first came up over drinks at the dinner table. Can you take seriously what men say after they've been drinking?

The reason he brought it up every now and then was actually a bit of a spoiler for Bai Liang, so he'd have some idea in his head and wouldn't go into the production completely in the dark, clueless about the situation.