Chapter 449: An Unexpected Joy

One afternoon.

Chen Ziyan brought Wen Minglan and Tu Song to visit the set. During a break in filming, Lu Yan He took them around the school and explained what kind of story this was.

It was the first time Wen Minglan and Tu Song had heard the story of this film.

After listening, Wen Minglan was deeply moved and said softly, "This story really touches me."

"Does just hearing a simple summary like that make you feel moved?" Lu Yan He asked.

"Yes," Wen Minglan said. "Especially the ending of your story. After so many years, suddenly discovering that the boy who once teased you and left a mark in your memory was actually secretly in love with you... I don't know how you guys feel, but for us girls, if we found out after all these years that such a person existed, we would probably all feel... very warm."

Lu Yan He said, "That's good then."

Wen Minglan asked, "Writing a story like this really makes people want to know if you secretly loved such a girl when you were in school."

This wasn't the first time someone had said that.

Lu Yan He was caught between laughter and tears. "If it were really based on my own real-life experience, would I write myself to death?"

This response was truly something Wen Minglan hadn't expected. She said, "Haha, that's true too."

Tu Song looked at Lu Yan He, opening his mouth several times but stopping himself.

He actually really wanted to pretend to casually mention the film's theme song, ending theme, or insert songs; he would be willing to sing any of them.

But Chen Ziyan's reminders and warnings hung over him like a sword of Damocles.

In the end, he still didn't speak up.

As Lu Yan He's former teammate, there had never been a moment when Tu Song felt the gap between himself and Lu Yan He more clearly than now.

This left a bitter taste in his heart.

Actually, Tu Song wasn't particularly jealous of Lu Yan He; he just felt that since they started at the same point, how did he fall so far behind?

When Wen Minglan saw the film's lead actress, Zhang Ruozhi, her mood was quite complicated.

Because she had originally felt that she could actually play this role herself.

She had lobbied Chen Ziyan at the time, but Chen Ziyan said Lu Yan He had already set his sights on a newcomer and there was no part for her.

Coming here this time, Wen Minglan also wanted to see what kind of newcomer this was and why she could be chosen by Lu Yan He.

She had always felt that she could still play a high school student without any sense of incongruity, and she didn't understand why Chen Ziyan wouldn't help her fight for this opportunity.

Now, seeing Zhang Ruozhi with her own eyes, Wen Minglan understood.

Zhang Ruozhi was just sitting at a classroom desk, quiet in a corner. Crew members were coming and going around her, but it didn't seem to have any effect on her at all.

She was looking down, reading a book and doing homework.

Sunlight spilled in from the window, landing on her.

Wen Minglan thought to herself that if it were her, she might have stood up immediately to move to a spot not in direct sunlight.

But Zhang Ruozhi sat in the sunlight without any fear; under the illumination of the light, one could even see the fine fuzz on her cheeks.

She wore absolutely no makeup, her face plain, yet she possessed a delicate beauty like a lotus rising from clear water.

Wen Minglan suddenly realized why Lu Yan He insisted on finding a newcomer, a girl currently in high school, to play this role.

However, she still couldn't suppress the jealousy overflowing in her heart.

She knew it was wrong, but she couldn't help it.

Someone walked past from the front, reeking of alcohol.

Wen Minglan was stunned.

How could someone on a film set be this drunk in the middle of the day?

She looked at the person in confusion.

The person saw her, smiled, and said, "You're Wen Minglan, right?"

Wen Minglan nodded and said, "Hello, may I ask who you are?"

"I'm Bao Wenliang, the cinematographer for this film." Bao Wenliang smiled at Wen Minglan. "Are you here to visit the set?"

"Yes," Wen Minglan nodded.

Bao Wenliang: "Why are you all by yourself?"

Wen Minglan said, "I'm just walking around on my own."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Bao Wenliang's expression suddenly changed. He turned around, braced one hand against the wall, leaned over, and vomited.

A foul, unpleasant odor drifted to Wen Minglan's nose.

It was very unpleasant.

But leaving without a word at this moment seemed heartless.

She could only force herself to stand where she was and ask, "Teacher Bao, are you alright?"

Bao Wenliang couldn't even bother to respond to her and vomited again.

Wen Minglan: "..."

She rummaged through her things, found a pack of tissues, pulled one out, and handed it to Bao Wenliang.

The crew suddenly became restless, as if a switch had been flipped.

Lu Yan He was initially confused, not knowing what had happened.

He turned to look at everyone; they were all looking down at their phones, even Chen Ziyan.

Lu Yan He picked up his phone in confusion and only then learned what had happened.

The previously tumultuous pregnancy scandal involving Xu Qinyin had finally been addressed by Ma Zhiyuan and Xu Qinyin just now.

Xu Qinyin and Ma Zhiyuan announced that they would raise the child together and fulfill their responsibilities as parents.

The fans of both sides collapsed at this moment.

Fans are often self-deceiving.

As long as their idols didn't come out to respond to the matter, they were willing to believe their idols; all reports were fake, all evidence was fake. In this era, anything could be fake—

Until their idols stood up and admitted it.

The last straw they relied on had been pulled away.

This incident caused too much of a stir in the entertainment industry.

And their response also skirted the issue, omitting the relationship between Ma Zhiyuan and Xu Qinyin.

It seemed Ma Zhiyuan had no intention of getting back together with Xu Qinyin just because her pregnancy was exposed.

He was still unwilling to be together.

What kind of agreement they reached or what consensus they achieved, no one knew.

In short, such a response could be considered a conclusion to the matter.

Ma Zhiyuan and Xu Qinyin would not come out to respond again.

If it weren't for the recording of Ma Zhiyuan chatting with friends after drinking being exposed, this matter might have really ended there.

"This matter was either intentionally told to the media by Li Zhibai or intentionally told to the media by Lu Yan He. Only the two of them had the chance to know about Xu Qinyin's pregnancy," Ma Zhiyuan clearly didn't realize he was being recorded. "Xu Qinyin only told the people at Long Yan Films about this, to withdraw from the role. She has a film later, Liu Bige's new film, with Li Zhibai as the male lead. So who could have leaked this? Aren't they the only two who can't stand to see me do well?"

Ma Zhiyuan's drunken accusations and complaints even revealed a bit of grievance in the recording.

Ma Zhiyuan's statement also sent Lu Yan He and Li Zhibai to the trending list.

Mainly because Ma Zhiyuan explicitly named them in the recording, saying it must have been one of the two who leaked the secret to the media.

This was basically equivalent to throwing Lu Yan He and Li Zhibai in front of the anger of his die-hard fans who had nowhere to vent.

Many even said—

No matter what happened between Ma Zhiyuan and Xu Qinyin, that was their business. This kind of backstabbing behavior was just too disgusting.

And this sentiment received many likes and agreements.

No one likes a snitch, and no one likes someone who stabs others in the back or steps on them.

Even if that person really did something wrong.

In this matter, Xu Qinyin's fans were even angrier.

If Li Zhibai and Lu Yan He leaked this to the media because of a personal grudge against Ma Zhiyuan to retaliate, Xu Qinyin had no intersection with them at all.

Why should Xu Qinyin be harmed because of this?

Wasn't the harm to Xu Qinyin even greater?

Lu Yan He and Li Zhibai were scolded severely by the fans of both sides because of this recording.

After seeing the situation online, Lu Yan He was furious.

First, he was not the one who leaked this to the media, and he believed Li Zhibai wasn't either. Neither of them was that low-class. If this matter only involved Ma Zhiyuan, they might have actually done it, but this involved others, and they wouldn't recklessly cause such harm. This was entirely Ma Zhiyuan's delusion.

Second, Xu Qinyin's fans also made him angry—

Ma Zhiyuan, a man, got your idol pregnant and refused to take responsibility, only reluctantly willing to be a father after it was exposed. In this situation, you don't go after him, but instead go after the person who exposed it? Did you all lose your minds and not know what's important?

Lu Yan He really took a long, deep breath.

His gaze met Chen Ziyan's.

Chen Ziyan saw at a glance what he wanted to do.

She shook her head at him, signaling him not to be impulsive.

Lu Yan He took another long breath.

A minute later, Chen Ziyan sent a message.

She came to his side: "Post this."

Lu Yan He picked up his phone and took a look.

—A huge pot has fallen from the sky. You're a father now; you should learn to shoulder your own responsibilities instead of shifting the blame whenever something happens.

Lu Yan He looked up in shock at Chen Ziyan.

Huh?

This is what you meant by signaling me not to be impulsive?

Just looking at the lethality of this sentence, Lu Yan He had a premonition that if Ma Zhiyuan saw it, blood would rush to his head and he would be furious.

Chen Ziyan said, "Just post it. This sentence says everything that needs to be said. Let him stop being unable to control his mouth and spouting nonsense."

Lu Yan He happily copied, pasted, and posted the sentence.

Weibo crashed.

When Wen Minglan and Bao Wenliang arrived outside the classroom, they were bewildered by the atmosphere on set.

For the first time, the set was so quiet, yet there were such strong undercurrents between people.

Even Bao Wenliang was a bit confused; he grabbed someone and asked what happened.

Thus, they caught up on what had happened while they were absent.

Especially when they learned what Lu Yan He had just done, they were all dumbfounded.

Bao Wenliang asked Wen Minglan in a low voice, "Lu Yan He... is he this fierce?"

"It's rare, but he can be quite ruthless sometimes. If someone really crosses his bottom line, he can be terrifying."

Bao Wenliang took a deep breath. "He... isn't he a very gentle person? I've never seen him lose his temper."

"He wouldn't lose his temper with you, of course. He's a person with very stable emotions," Wen Minglan said. "But if it's his enemies or rivals, that's a different story. I've never seen anyone who became his enemy or rival and still came out on top in a struggle with him."

Bao Wenliang swallowed hard, and the bit of alcohol he drank at noon suddenly wore off.

Over here.

Li Zhibai complained on the phone: "I was just about to curse that dog, and I found out I couldn't post it! Weibo crashed! Then I looked again, damn, it was you who caused it! Damn, damn, damn!"

Lu Yan He laughed and said, "Don't bother posting; I've already posted."

Li Zhibai: "Why? You've vented your anger, but I haven't! If I don't vent this, I'll end up burning myself out."

Half an hour later, Weibo was finally rescued and returned to normal.

Li Zhibai posted: If I had known earlier that you had such a mess of 'hit it and quit it' and 'unexpected fatherhood,' would I have secretly leaked it to the media? Would it even be their turn? Did you underestimate my disgust for you? Just rot away.

Weibo crashed again.

The responses from Lu Yan He and Li Zhibai, one after the other, had no intention of apologizing—of course, an apology was impossible.

However, their united, tough attitude, like a stance of going to war, blew up the entire internet.

As the saying goes, everyone hopes to see the human side of artists, not the perfect side packaged by companies and teams.

And from the perspective of mass entertainment, who doesn't love watching celebrities fight in real life?

Especially when they do it themselves.

But neither Lu Yan He nor Li Zhibai actually wanted to actively fall into this whirlpool of drama.

To be honest, there was no need for them to do so. However, they had already been swept into it by the surging public opinion and attacks, unable to stay out of it. Since they couldn't stop the whirlpool from spinning, they could only make themselves more intense so they wouldn't be swept away.

Weibo crashed twice—

This also became a viral meme across the internet. On one hand, the crash caused by Lu Yan He and Li Zhibai's statements was dubbed by many as "Lu Yan He and Li Zhibai's Battle for Top-Tier Status." If you aren't top-tier, you can't make Weibo crash. On the other hand, their attitude also served as a direct counterattack to the large-scale attacks against them online.

Their attitude was clear: they wouldn't take the blame for telling the media.

The controversy, which had finally died down, returned to Ma Zhiyuan once again.

However, in this situation, Ma Zhiyuan played dead again.

He disappeared again.

Lu Yan He didn't expect that after this incident, many crew members' attitudes toward him suddenly became much more respectful.

Lu Yan He didn't realize it at first; he felt it from cinematographer Bao Wenliang first, and then from others.

Bao Wenliang's previous attitude toward him, even if he didn't say it out loud, Lu Yan He could feel it in his heart.

As a new director who transitioned from acting and was only in his early twenties, it was impossible for old-timers like Bao Wenliang, who were in their forties and had been struggling in the entertainment industry for many years, to treat him seriously.

Including Bao Wenliang complaining about Zhang Ruozhi to his face on the first day of official filming; this posture itself was a provocation, a symbol of not taking Lu Yan He seriously. Otherwise, which crew member would dare to pick on the lead in front of the director on the first day of filming? If there was picking to be done, it should be the director—this was an offense to the director's authority.

However, Lu Yan He didn't want to dwell on these things too much.

As long as they didn't affect the filming and could successfully help make the movie well.

Unexpectedly, even though Lu Yan He hadn't changed his attitude at all, Bao Wenliang's posture had changed over the past two days. Lu Yan He suddenly couldn't hear his complaints anymore.

And it wasn't just Bao Wenliang; other old-timers in similar situations suddenly stopped putting on airs.

Lu Yan He didn't expect that his counterattack against Ma Zhiyuan would have such an unexpected effect.

"This Lu Yan He doesn't look as gentle as he usually acts."

"What's there to say? This is normal. He can reach this level at a young age; did you think he was really a soft-hearted Buddha for you to knead?"

"You're being a real backseat driver now. Who was it that said he was young, knew nothing, and could only rely on us?"

"It's just that these days have passed, and he hasn't flinched at all. He doesn't make any brainless, neurotic demands, and he doesn't mess with us; it's quite good. So why should I pick a fight with him?" someone said. "Look at his attitude toward Ma Zhiyuan, no mercy at all. When he gets fierce, he goes straight to public confrontation. If we really piss him off, can we handle his temper?"

"Just say you're scared."

"If you're not scared, then keep being tough."

"What am I being tough about? What do I have to be tough about?"

"..."

After such conversations, it didn't stir up any rebellion; on the contrary, everyone on set became more respectful toward Lu Yan He.

"Have you noticed that the crew is very respectful toward you now?" Xin Zixing asked Lu Yan He in a low voice while eating that day.

Lu Yan He nodded.

"It seems they were scared by my attitude toward Ma Zhiyuan earlier."

Xin Zixing said, "They probably realized you aren't the young director they thought was easy to bully."

"They... didn't really bully me, it's not that exaggerated, they just didn't respect me that much," Lu Yan He said. "If they didn't do their jobs well, I wouldn't tolerate it."

"Their ability and technique are indeed beyond reproach; they are worthy of being hired with a lot of money," Xin Zixing said. "I admire that 'Love Letter' can spend so much money to hire behind-the-scenes technical staff; the set design for this film is truly first-class."

"Love Letter" has a large number of everyday scenes.

But the more everyday these scenes are, the harder it is to shoot them with a unique cinematic style.

At the very least, the classroom and library scenes were both specially built by the art department.

Including the library, to design the feeling of layers of bookshelves and the atmosphere of old times and piles of old paper in Lu Yan He's script, the art department specially made seven or eight renderings for Lu Yan He to choose from.

At the Jiangzhi Center, the angle between the book borrowing counter and the sunny window couldn't meet the requirements of film shooting.

To shoot this most crucial scene in the film, they changed the layout, knocked down the counter, and built a new one, following the layout in Lu Yan He's impression of the film.

As for the color of the wood, how much it should be aged, the distance between the bookshelves, and when the light and shadow best meet the requirements of film shooting, all of these were meticulously organized.

This is why Xin Zixing said the set design of this film is first-class.

Because a lot of thought was put into the shape, color, and layout, making every frame of the film harmonious.

Most viewers might not discover the mystery behind it, but everyone will subconsciously feel comfortable when they see such frames. ===== CHAPTER 450 =====