Chapter 435: Learn a Lesson (8,000-word update!)

What is the experience of being an assistant to a star artist?

Wang Biao had also seen such topics on the Internet before.

Under such topics, there were all kinds of answers. There were assistants who met very good artists and were well taken care of by the artists, and there were also assistants who met some kind of weirdo and were thrown on the road in the middle of the night.

The differences between people, even the differences between artists and artists, appeared in large numbers because this forest was big enough.

Wang Biao's expectations for Lu Yan He were very high from the beginning. However, the feedback Lu Yan He gave was even higher than his expectations, which was something Wang Biao himself had not expected.

Wang Biao never thought that he would be an assistant for a lifetime. When he received this opportunity at the beginning, he felt that it was a very good opportunity, a springboard. Being an assistant to Lu Yan He for a few years, the people he met and the things he saw would be a very good learning and growth experience.

However, after he stayed by Lu Yan He's side for a long time, this kind of thinking actually slowly disappeared.

It wasn't that the idea of "a very good learning and growth experience" disappeared, but the idea of "a springboard" disappeared.

Wang Biao gradually got used to being an assistant by Lu Yan He's side. Even if he was just an assistant, the world, people, and things he came into contact with were completely different from the world he was in before. Lu Yan He's talent and hard work made Wang Biao feel that everything he did was very worthwhile. This worthiness was a sense of value and also a sense of identity.

He identified with his work as an assistant.

The next day, Wang Biao followed Lu Yan He and Liu Bige's team, a group of eight or nine people, and turned around in Hezhou for a whole day.

They were looking for which places could be used as filming scenes for the movie, and which places should be filmed at what time, so the picture would be the most beautiful.

This involved many technical and aesthetic problems.

Wang Biao followed along and listened. He listened to these people talk about how to film movies well, talk about technical difficulties, and talk about the relationship between actors and camera pictures. He originally slept until he arrived at the inn last night, only sleeping for a few hours. He thought he would be sleepy today, but he didn't expect to listen very seriously.

He liked listening to these things very much. Even if he might not be able to use these things in his lifetime.

Wang Biao felt that he actually liked being by the side of some awesome people and listening to them talk about some professional things. In this way, he also had an illusion, as if he was also one of them. Wang Biao realized that this might be the reason why he liked being an assistant to Lu Yan He.

Only by Lu Yan He's side could he meet so many amazing people.

Liu Bige said: "You have to think clearly. If you want to film this movie here, you definitely have to find another place to take scenes. In your script, there are a lot of snow scenes. Hezhou cannot satisfy this condition at all."

Lu Yan He nodded and said: "I know."

Liu Bige: "You also want to catch up for release on Valentine's Day next year. I think this is very difficult and basically impossible to achieve. Do you only leave yourself one month of editing time?"

Lu Yan He said: "It's mainly because I think this movie is suitable for watching in winter."

Liu Bige: "Then move it to the year after next to release."

Lu Yan He: "Then this play is equivalent to waiting a year to be released."

Liu Bige said: "Waiting a year is not long for a movie. In fact, I think it doesn't necessarily have to be released on Valentine's Day. This movie of yours is not purely a movie about falling in love. The story of unrequited love has summer and winter. Isn't it quite good to release it in the summer vacation file? Students are on vacation."

"Do you think students are the main force of the audience for this movie?"

"I think so," Liu Bige said, "Only at the age of students will they truly empathize with what this movie of yours is talking about. To tell the truth, after people reach the age of thirty, life is full of firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea, and the perception of the heart is dull. You can't expect them to be heartbeat-like when they were ten or twenty years old."

Lu Yan He: "Are you talking about yourself?"

"Get lost."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Actually, they both understood what Liu Bige meant by this sentence. Why did Lu Yan He still have a sense of threat when he saw a movie like *Flowers on the Stars* that clearly didn't have much pursuit in film art? Because Lu Yan He also knew very clearly that in the current era, everyone is busy and exhausted. Compared to a movie that hides expression in the bottom of the heart, everyone would rather follow a movie with big openings and closings and more straightforward emotional ups and downs, forget reality in the cinema, and be rendered by the movie's emotions.

Lu Yan He clearly knew that perhaps *Love Letter* simply couldn't compete with *Flowers on the Stars* at the box office. If the quality of the movie *Flowers on the Stars* really presented the quality in its trailer, Lu Yan He could foresee that the box office of this movie would definitely be quite good.

Liu Bige said: "Actually, this movie of yours is quite thankless. For audiences who like art films and art movies, this movie is too commercial, too good-looking, and too straightforward. For audiences who like commercial movies, this movie is too obscure and too artistic. If you don't go to a certain extreme, you might not please either side."

Lu Yan He nodded.

Liu Bige was not wrong at all.

He said: "But, this is a very moving story, right?"

"Um," Liu Bige nodded, "It is a good story. If this project found me to be the director, I think I wouldn't refuse either."

Lu Yan He: "Um, that's fine."

Liu Bige said with a smile: "Yan He, this is your first movie written, directed, and acted by yourself. Aren't you worried that if the box office performance doesn't reach the expectations in everyone's hearts, it will make others lose confidence in you?"

"If it's so easy to lose confidence in me, then hurry up and lose it," Lu Yan He said, "I can't play safe cards from now on just to keep the market confident in me. In fact, there are no real safe cards in this line of work, are there? Even the most awesome directors can flip the car, and even the biggest actors have bad plays."

Liu Bige: "You haven't flipped the car yet."

"So everyone has a kind of illusory confidence in me now," Lu Yan He was also helpless.

Liu Bige: "All the rising stars have to go through such a process, and your past resume is too brilliant, without a single defeat. Then it's no wonder others have expectations for your new plays later. So, if the box office of *Love Letter* is too ordinary, your aura of the undefeated myth will not exist."

Lu Yan He asked: "Then do you think the box office of *Love Letter* will be very ordinary?"

"It depends on what you film it into, and it also depends on the positioning of this movie," Liu Bige said bluntly, "If you film this movie into that kind of particularly sensational dog-blood film, maybe with the appeal of you and Chen Bige, you can still call out a box office of several hundred million. If it is filmed into an art film, then you have to find the positioning well and find its audience."

If the script of *Love Letter* wants to be filmed into a dog-blood youth film, it can also be filmed.

Lu Yan He: "Dog-blood absolutely cannot be dog-blood. If it is filmed dog-blood, Sister Bige will be the first not to act, and I won't act either."

"Then you have to do a good job of promotion. Don't do that kind of deceptive promotion for the first-day box office, making people think this movie is that kind of movie. You cheat those audiences into the cinema, they will only scold and come out, and then make the word-of-mouth of this movie very smelly, making most audiences stay away," Liu Bige said, "This movie still has to be positioned as a niche art film for promotion, not a commercial film with mass taste."

What Liu Bige said, Lu Yan He had actually thought of long ago, but he hadn't said it so definitively that it had to be positioned as an art film for promotion. In fact, when Lu Yan He wrote this movie, it was because this movie would be liked by many people, and it was a classic of a generation. Lu Yan He subconsciously felt that it would be liked by most people. Liu Bige said this, and Lu Yan He suddenly realized one thing: although *Love Letter* is a classic, it is also a classic passed down by word of mouth in the hearts of movie fans.

Is it a movie that is liked and known by the general public?

The moment this question popped up in Lu Yan He's mind, Lu Yan He found that he didn't have an accurate answer.

Liu Bige also met Zhang Ruozhi.

Zhang Ruozhi came with Liu Lingmeng.

The two girls in school uniforms met Lu Yan He and the others in the coffee shop near the school after school.

Learning that the person in front of them was the director of *Late Spring*, both girls were pleasantly surprised. Because they were both fans of *Late Spring*.

Movies like *Late Spring* and *Love Letter* definitely have more female audiences. This is beyond doubt. Zhang Ruozhi and Liu Lingmeng were both loyal fans of *Late Spring*. So, seeing Liu Bige, especially since the director was also a very young and handsome man, made both of them a bit excited.

In the hearts of the audience, the actor and the director are indeed different for a movie. Besides the individual fans of the actor, for a movie, if most audiences like a movie, they are fans of this movie, then they must worship the director of this movie more, not the actor. The liking for the actor is loving the house and its crow.

Zhang Ruozhi and Liu Lingmeng were also like this.

In front of Liu Bige, Liu Lingmeng directly threw Lu Yan He aside. Before, she was chirping like a sparrow, but with Liu Bige, Lu Yan He became yesterday's yellow flower, and all the questions were asked to Liu Bige. Lu Yan He couldn't laugh or cry.

However, Lu Yan He still liked Liu Lingmeng's personality. A generous, enthusiastic, and optimistic person will not be hated wherever they go, at most they will be annoying. Liu Lingmeng was far from that level.

Zhang Ruozhi's personality was a bit more literary.

She listened more and spoke less, and the smile on her face still made Lu Yan He frequently think of Miki Sakai.

At this time, several boys holding basketballs walked past the floor-to-ceiling window of the coffee shop.

One of the boys suddenly knocked on the window outside.

Lu Yan He and the others all turned to look.

A boy with thick eyebrows and big eyes stood outside, grinning at them.

Seeing them look over, he even waved his hand.

"Zhang Ruozhi, Liu Lingmeng, what are you doing here?!" His voice sounded very sunny.

Because of his movement, the other boys also noticed it and curiously gathered around.

Lu Yan He inexplicably felt that the scene happening in front of him was a bit funny.

Several high school students were lying on the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at them curiously.

It was as if they were monkeys in the zoo.

Liu Lingmeng waved at them and said: "We have something to do, don't bother us."

As soon as the words fell, these boys turned their heads one by one and ran into the coffee shop from the door.

Liu Lingmeng said angrily: "These annoying ghosts, they never listen to me!"

The boys ran to Lu Yan He and the others, one by one, all opening their eyes wide and looking at Lu Yan He with incredible eyes.

"It really is you!"

Lu Yan He looked at them, smiled, waved his hand, and said: "Yes, it's me."

The leading one was full of vigor and asked: "Can we sit?"

"You guys are so annoying," Liu Lingmeng said to them with dissatisfaction, "I already said we have serious things to chat about."

"You two are too unkind. Coming to see Lu Yan He, you actually came secretly, and didn't tell us," the leading boy complained.

Liu Lingmeng: "..."

Liu Lingmeng: "Why should we tell you? Why are you so annoying!"

Lu Yan He looked at them like this and thought of himself a few years ago at No. 13 Middle School.

At that time, everyone in the class often retorted to each other like this.

Suddenly, he felt a bit nostalgic.

Lu Yan He said with a smile: "Sit, I will treat you to coffee, or... is it that if you drink it at this time, you won't be able to sleep at night? You see what you want to drink, what you want to eat, order whatever you want, I will treat you."

"Really?!" Several boys immediately had eyes shining, and they pulled chairs over and sat down without being polite.

Opposite the coffee shop, the veteran paparazzi Zhou Shuchun and his assistant were sitting in a van, carefully observing the situation opposite the coffee shop.

"Brother Chun, you say, will the lead actress of Lu Yan He's new film be in there?"

"She must be in there. That goes without saying. If it weren't for this, why would he have been staying in Hezhou all these days?" Zhou Shuchun was still holding a telescope in his hand to observe the subtle expressions on the faces of those people opposite, "Now everyone wants to know who the lead actress in Lu Yan He's new movie is. If we can be the first to photograph it, this scoop can let us rest for half a year directly."

The assistant's eyes widened immediately.

"So amazing?"

"Um," Zhou Shuchun nodded, "So, you must find it accurately, don't make a mistake."

The assistant asked: "Brother Chun, why does the lead actress of Lu Yan He's new film attract such great attention?"

Zhou Shuchun: "Do you think Lu Yan He is not that kind of top-tier big director, and his new film's weight hasn't reached the level of making a newcomer famous overnight?"

The assistant nodded.

"Many people are like you, only seeing the surface, but ignoring a very important fact."

"What fact?" The assistant still didn't understand and asked.

Zhou Shuchun said: "From the other five people in *Friends*, to the three leads in *Three Mountains*, to the few young people in *Late Spring*, look, how many popular actors now have come out of the plays he carried?"

The assistant showed a look of surprise.

"Is this his credit?"

"Whether it is his credit is another matter, but, besides the all-star cast *Seventeen Layers*, every play he starred in has brought out many newcomers. It can be said that half of the famous newcomers who emerged in the entertainment industry last year came out of the projects starred in by Lu Yan He. Now do you know why everyone is so concerned about the lead actress of Lu Yan He's new movie? Because it is very likely that this lead actress will be a first-tier actress in the future."

The assistant was a bit suspicious and said: "Is this too exaggerated?"

"Exaggerated? No, not exaggerated at all," Zhou Shuchun said, "I will put it here first, you wait and see."

Lu Yan He and the others didn't notice that they were photographed by paparazzi.

Now there are fewer and fewer paparazzi following Lu Yan He, mainly because they can't photograph anything with explosive points at Lu Yan He's place.

Lu Yan He's life is dull. Most of the time, he is either in the crew or at school, and there is nothing to photograph.

Photographing more dynamics is just making Lu Yan He's fans happy. For these media, there is no great economic return. Lu Yan He himself is not very resistant to media or paparazzi.

Anyway, every time he runs into media or paparazzi, he just lets them photograph him generously. Lu Yan He has always felt that he has nothing shameful.

Even if he was photographed, for example, kissing Chen Siqi on the side of the road, causing great discussion, it was just letting everyone discuss.

So, over time, Lu Yan He lost his sensitivity in this regard.

It was Zou Dong who noticed something wrong first.

"We seem to have been followed by a car," Zou Dong said.

Lu Yan He recognized who the person in that car was at the first instance.

"Zhou Shuchun," Lu Yan He said.

Zou Dong asked: "Who is Zhou Shuchun?"

When Lu Yan He dealt with Zhou Shuchun, Zou Dong hadn't come yet.

"A very annoying and pestering reporter. He says he is a reporter, but I think he is more like a paparazzi," Lu Yan He said, "He pestered me after the college entrance exam, pestered my classmates, wanted to ask whether I would choose Zhenhua or Yuming. Later, when we met a few times, it was not happy either."

Zou Dong: "Oh, paparazzi, that's fine."

"Do you think it's a murderer coming to chase me?" Lu Yan He couldn't laugh or cry when he heard the regret in Zou Dong's tone, "We are not filming a movie."

Zou Dong actually didn't regret anything else, but as a bodyguard, he always felt that staying by Lu Yan He's side didn't reflect much of his professional value. If it was really someone looking for trouble, Zou Dong felt it was also an opportunity to show off his skills.

Lu Yan He said: "However, how did he follow to Hezhou? What does he want to photograph me for?"

He asked Wang Biao: "Do I have any news on me now?"

He thought it was because he was on the hot search again, which attracted Zhou Shuchun.

Wang Biao shook his head and said: "No, Little Brother Lu, you are not on the hot search now. The thing you are most concerned about now is this new movie *Love Letter*. Is it that you want to find out more news about *Love Letter*?"

Lu Yan He suddenly realized.

It is really possible.

Zhou Shuchun specifically ran here, wouldn't it be just to photograph some scoops related to *Love Letter*?

For example, the lead actress.

Lu Yan He suddenly recovered.

What is most concerned about *Love Letter* now is who the lead actress is, right?

So many people were invited to interview, and agents of all families were inquiring about relevant news.

Not only in the industry, but people online also always ask, who is the lead actress of *Love Letter*?

Lu Yan He's expression suddenly changed.

Because he realized that this was a matter with potentially serious consequences.

He called Chen Ziyan at the first instance.

"What do you mean? Zhou Shuchun came to Hezhou to photograph you?"

"Um," Lu Yan He explained, "Brother Dong found a car following us. I used my phone to photograph that car, zoomed in, and found Zhou Shuchun sitting inside."

"What's wrong with this guy? After disappearing for a while, he came back again?" Chen Ziyan pondered for a moment, "Are you worried that he photographed Zhang Ruozhi and exposed Zhang Ruozhi to the Internet in advance?"

"Um," Lu Yan He said, "Sister Ziyan, I hope Zhang Ruozhi can stay in a state where everyone doesn't know who she is until the movie is released, so that when she appears in the movie, she will give everyone a surprise at first sight."

Chen Ziyan: "But, now you don't know if Zhou Shuchun has photographed anything?"

"Um, but I don't dare to take this risk. I met Zhang Ruozhi with Liu Bige this afternoon. Maybe he has already seen it, or maybe he guessed it."

"He doesn't need to confirm whether your movie's lead actress is her. He just needs to release a suspected smoke bomb, which is enough to send Zhang Ruozhi to the hot search."

"Um."

Chen Ziyan immediately understood what Lu Yan He was considering and worrying about.

"First, you have to find a reason for your stay in Hezhou," Chen Ziyan quickly smoothed out her thoughts and started to guide Lu Yan He, "I suggest you pull Liu Bige and his photography team to take a group photo together later. It's best at dinner time. It looks casual, don't be so deliberate. Just say you came to find a scene and scout for the new movie together."

Lu Yan He: "Um, this is no problem. We will take it when we arrive at the restaurant."

"It's best to officially announce that Liu Bige will serve as the photography director of your new film," Chen Ziyan said, "Otherwise, you, who don't usually share such private photos, suddenly post such a group photo, it's teacherless. Zhou Shuchun is very cunning; he might not see the trick."

Lu Yan He: "Good."

Chen Ziyan said: "The second thing is to communicate with Bige. It's not a big problem, but you will have to bear some infamy for a period of time."

"Infamy?" Lu Yan He was puzzled, not knowing what method Chen Ziyan was thinking of.

That night, Zhou Shuchun's assistant was checking the photos he had taken in his camera when he suddenly heard Zhou Shuchun curse 'fuck'.

The assistant was startled and looked at Zhou Shuchun with confusion.

"What's wrong, Brother Chun?"

Zhou Shuchun rolled his eyes in anger and said: "A wasted trip, let's leave tomorrow."

"Leave?" The assistant looked puzzled, "Why leave? Don't you want to go and photograph the two girls who met Lu Yan He today?"

Zhou Shuchun said: "Photograph my ass. You open Weibo on your phone now and you will know what's going on. Damn, since Chen Bige was decided as the lead actress, why pretend to hold an audition? Isn't there news that you want to choose a newer lead actress? It actually became Chen Bige again!"

Ten minutes ago, Lu Yan He posted a group photo of himself eating with Liu Bige and others.

It was a very ordinary selfie, announcing that Liu Bige would serve as the photography director of *Love Letter*.

Five minutes ago, *Love Letter* suddenly registered an official account and released a message that the male and female leads of the film would be played by Lu Yan He and Chen Bige.

As soon as the news came out, the Internet exploded.

It exploded online, and the same in the industry.

Many people had heard the news before that this movie was looking for a newcomer. What's going on? Suddenly it's not looking for a newcomer? It became Chen Bige again?

Discussions arose one after another.

The actresses who had received interview invitations before were furious when they saw this news, feeling that they had been played.

And when Jiang Yuqian saw this news, she was stunned.

At the beginning, Lu Yan He told her personally that he wanted to use a newcomer for the lead actress of this movie. How did it suddenly become Chen Bige?

Jiang Yuqian hesitated for a moment and called Lu Yan He.

She was worried that the reason for such a change must be that something went wrong behind the scenes of the movie production.

Jiang Yuqian didn't know how many times she had seen this kind of situation.

The phone was connected, and Jiang Yuqian immediately asked Lu Yan He: "Yan He, *Love Letter* has a problem with funds, or what? You told me before that the lead actress was going to use a newcomer. How did it suddenly become officially announced as Sister Bige? Did the investor require that a star must be used?"

Lu Yan He didn't expect that the first person to call to care about him would be Jiang Yuqian.

He hurriedly explained the ins and outs to Jiang Yuqian.

Jiang Yuqian then realized that the role that held the audition and trial filming did exist, and a candidate had already been found. Chen Bige played the adult lead actress. To be precise, this movie had two lead actresses.

She suddenly understood.

"In order to keep it secret and let that girl not be exposed, I could only use such a smoke bomb to make Zhou Shuchun think that what he photographed was not the lead actress," Lu Yan He said, "I hope it can make him give up."

"Thinking about it now, they met those two girls in the coffee shop in the afternoon, maybe it wasn't anything else. Didn't a few boys come later?" The assistant said to Zhou Shuchun, "They might just be sitting and chatting with a few students. Those boys look like they know those two girls. Maybe they took a fancy to them and wanted to invite them to appear in the movie?"

Zhou Shuchun's face was very ugly.

He brought his assistant to run so far this time, changing cars, just to photograph some exclusive news about *Love Letter*.

He thought he had witnessed the secret lead actress of this film, but now that the movie was officially announced, he found that he had thought it all wrong.

"..." Anyway, at Lu Yan He's place, he didn't seem to have been very smooth.

The assistant said again: "Brother Chun, I just saw news online that Xu Yiren seems to be in contact with Long Yan Pictures. Why don't we go and photograph her?"

Zhou Shuchun complained: "What does she have that is worth photographing? Discussing the cooperation of the next play with Long Yan Pictures? How many people do you think are interested in this kind of thing? Besides her fans, who else is interested in this kind of thing?"

The assistant said: "However, Brother Chun, Long Yan Pictures is going to launch Director Liu Bige's new work in the second half of the year. It is said that it is still starred by Li Zhibai. Maybe Xu Yiren is going to talk about this play."

Zhou Shuchun's attitude changed a bit.

"Is this your guess, or what?"

The assistant said: "Long Yan Pictures only has this one movie ready to start filming in the next half year. I feel Xu Yiren likes it. *The Home I Haven't Returned to for a Long Time* sold well at the box office. She is now proud of the spring breeze. I heard that Ruyi Pictures asked her to film a movie with an actual investment of over 80 million, but she didn't take it. Then she is willing to contact Long Yan Pictures at this time, it must be a better project than this. Looking at it, it is Liu Bige's one."

"A child can be taught. Your analysis proves that you have finally entered the door," Zhou Shuchun nodded and said: "Let's go dig into this next."

The assistant showed a bright smile.

"Good."

Lu Yan He and Chen Ziyan waited for a few more days. Seeing that there was no news about the lead actress of *Love Letter* exposed online, they heaved a sigh of relief together.

Fortunately, it was not exposed.

This secret was kept.

If it hadn't been kept, would the lead actress still continue to use Zhang Ruozhi?

This question has to be marked with a question mark.

Lu Yan He didn't know the answer either.

Chen Ziyan said: "The only sequela now is that you were scolded a bit hard. Everyone scolded that since you finally chose Chen Bige as the lead actress, why did you make such a big audition before? It's simply fooling everyone and wasting everyone's time."

Lu Yan He: "Can only let everyone misunderstand like this for now. After the movie is released, there will be a chance to clarify."

Chen Ziyan: "Um, however, among those who auditioned, didn't you feel anyone was very good? Didn't you see a movie face you thought was suitable?"

"Of course there were, it's just that none of them were as suitable as Zhang Ruozhi for Huai Jingshu in high school."

"Then you can also select the ones you think are good and let them appear in one or two shots," Chen Ziyan said, "These people came to you for an audition, they came for an opportunity. If you can support them, support them. Don't let them toss around in vain."

Lu Yan He nodded and said: "Good."

*Love Letter* has many school-era scenes, which indeed need many students. According to the audition requirements at the time, many auditioners could actually play high school students completely.

Lu Yan He looked at all the audition tapes again with everyone, picked out seven actresses, contacted them one by one, and asked if they were willing to join the movie *Love Letter* and play a small role in it.

In the end, all seven actresses said they would come.

Just like what Chen Ziyan said, according to the audition requirements at the beginning, the actresses who came to audition for *Love Letter* were either newcomers or people who had only debuted for a few years and were not known by everyone. They were all at the time when they needed opportunities the most.

Lu Yan He chose seven people this time. They appeared in a few shots in *Love Letter*, which might become an opportunity for them to participate in the next play.

Whether it was Zhou Shuchun's matter or the matter of these seven actresses, it made Lu Yan He realize how many shortcomings he still had in dealing with people and things.

Lu Yan He silently remembered it in his heart to remind himself that in the future, when encountering similar things, he should learn a lesson. ===== CHAPTER 436 =====