Chapter 543: Don't fight with pseudo-propositions

Reality, of course, cannot be like a novel, where Yin Xincheng would pull himself together because of Lu Yan He's words and then perform as well as usual.

On the filming set, Yin Xincheng still frequently NG'd.

But this time, everyone knew the reason for his NG, so the atmosphere was not as confused and surprised as in the morning.

Just as Lu Yan He said, although he caused everyone so much trouble, no one would blame him at this time.

Including Bai Jingnian, they were all grinding with him scene by scene.

It wasn't until 11:00 PM that they wrapped up.

"Yan He," Zhan Yun came over, "Bo Jin just suggested, should we invite Yin Xincheng for a late-night snack and have a drink? He must have had a very hard time today."

Lu Yan He: "Sure, I even told him this afternoon that after we wrap up tonight, we'd have a drink. Let's go together."

Zhan Yun immediately looked at Lu Yan He with condemning eyes.

"So if I hadn't come to ask you, you two would have planned to drink alone? And Yan Liang? But you wouldn't call us girls?"

"We have to film tomorrow, so I originally thought just the two of us," Lu Yan He explained helplessly. "I didn't call Yan Liang either."

"Fine, I accept your explanation," Zhan Yun nodded. "Did you book a place?"

"I asked my assistant to book a barbecue place."

"OK," Zhan Yun said. "I'll bring the wine."

She turned around and headed toward Bai Jin and Wen Minglan.

They hadn't left immediately after finishing their scenes either; they were still standing on set, presumably waiting for her.

"Today was really not easy," Hu Siwei said, walking up to Lu Yan He with a smile.

"It certainly wasn't," Lu Yan He sighed. "Thank you all for your hard work."

Hu Siwei shook his head. "*Friends* can already be considered the crew with the easiest workload and pace."

Although the pressure of filming while airing is immense, the official shooting time is only two days a week.

For the production crew, it's equivalent to breaking down the creation of a series into segments. In the past, they would focus on one segment for a period of time, but now it's completely different. However, for the shooting crew, with only two days of filming a week, they have plenty of time to rest and plenty of time to prepare for the next shoot.

Lu Yan He nodded.

"Yin Xincheng's new agent came to see me. He plans to order coffee, milk tea, and snacks for everyone tomorrow in Yin Xincheng's name to express his apologies," Hu Siwei smiled. "He's a pretty good guy, much better than the last one."

"I haven't really interacted with him much, but I like his current agent," Lu Yan He and Hu Siwei shared a smile. "Director Bai was furious at Yin Xincheng today, but he still did a lot to smooth things over for him."

Apologizing repeatedly on set today and constantly making gestures to Bai Jingnian—it's not about how useful doing so is, but rather, why did Bai Jingnian get so angry? Because he is the director, and Yin Xincheng did something that affected the entire crew. His anger was both his own emotion and an attitude he, in that position, had to show everyone. It's not that just because you're the lead actor, you can be held high and let down gently.

And Yin Xincheng's agent, disregarding his own face, kept apologizing, admitting fault, and making gestures. This was supporting Bai Jingnian, and by putting on a posture of "we completely admit our fault," it gave Bai Jingnian a way to step down.

"I hope he can adjust his state a bit better tomorrow," Hu Siwei sighed and said.

After chatting with Lu Yan He, Hu Siwei prepared to leave and return to the hotel.

He made another phone call to the head of every department.

"Thank you for your hard work today. We finished much later than planned, but I still need you to emphasize to your people once more: do not disclose what happened today to anyone, not even your family. Once this kind of thing spreads, the impact on Yin Xincheng is secondary; it will affect the show *Friends*. Don't mess with your own bonuses."

After Hu Siwei finished giving instructions one by one, he went online to check.

Only after confirming that there were no reports from marketing accounts or media about Yin Xincheng suddenly leaving the set or breaking up with his girlfriend did he breathe a sigh of relief.

He had been in this industry for too long, but that didn't mean he could handle everything with ease or remain as steady as Mount Tai.

The risks in this industry are so high that even major financial institutions are wary of them.

Isn't there a saying: Hollywood is a place where even Wall Street gets scammed. Of course, this refers to major film companies using accounting to make their books look like they're losing money, with investments poured into the ocean, yet not a single drop can be taken.

Hu Siwei closed his eyes and went over the events of the day in his mind, suddenly realizing that Yin Xincheng's agent was new.

He immediately dialed Wu Yu's number.

"Xiao Yu, are you still busy?"

Wu Yu was clearly very respectful toward an industry heavyweight like Hu Siwei.

"No, go ahead."

"I just suddenly thought, since Xincheng has broken up with his girlfriend, when do you plan to announce it?" Hu Siwei said. "Have you discussed it with Xincheng's girlfriend... no, I should say ex-girlfriend now?"

Wu Yu: "We are preparing to announce it tomorrow. Xincheng also wants to make it public as soon as possible so those fanatical fans stop attacking Xiaonan. Sigh, fans these days are really too crazy."

"Tomorrow is Friday," Hu Siwei reminded. "If you want to make this public, I suggest either doing it now or waiting until Saturday after this week's update airs."

"Oh! I, I understand. I need to communicate with Xincheng and the company immediately," Wu Yu said.

"I suggest you tell the truth. Of course, this is just my personal advice," Hu Siwei said. "In this matter, Xincheng and his ex-girlfriend are both victims. Moreover, his ex-girlfriend is a civilian; she has no PR and no one to help her clarify all this. In your statement, Xincheng should appear more responsible."

Wu Yu was silent for a moment.

"After we finish filming *Friends*, we can put *Cohabiting Men and Women* on the agenda," he said to Bai Jingnian. "Let's see if we can manage to finish filming in the second quarter and air it in the summer. That way, we can film *Cohabiting Men and Women* in the first half of the year and *Friends* in the second half. The people following us won't have to go out looking for work, and we can keep filming indefinitely."

Hu Siwei watched the flowing lights and colors outside the car window in silence. After waiting for a moment, he heard Wu Yu say: "Okay, Producer Hu, I will do my best to handle this matter properly."

At 2:00 AM, Yin Xincheng's agency released a statement:

Our company's signed artist, Yin Xincheng, and Ms. He Nan were once in a romantic relationship. The exposure of the romance brought huge attention and pressure to Ms. He Nan, causing many inconveniences. Our company also apologizes to Ms. He Nan for not handling the related issues in a timely manner.

Ms. He Nan is not a person in the industry. We had already prepared to assist her in adapting to the new changes. However, in this process, some extremists appeared, using out-of-context quotes and fabricated rumors to smear and slander Ms. He Nan, causing her huge inconvenience in life and work, as well as mental pressure.

In order to let life return to its deserved peace and get back on track, the two of them had to make a difficult decision: to break up. We hope everyone will not pay excessive or inappropriate attention to Ms. He Nan, continuing to cause her inconvenience.

Thank you all.

Lu Yan He woke up early in the morning and looked at the statement while brushing his teeth. From time to time, he was surprised by some of the wording and phrasing, his brow furrowing several times.

It was neither literary nor colloquial.

Of course, whether it was written well or not, this news would undoubtedly explode.

They had only announced their relationship a few days ago, and now they were suddenly breaking up.

To most people, it was like an inexplicable farce.

Wang Biao was outside packing Lu Yan He's things for the set and asked loudly, "Little Brother Lu, do you want milk in your coffee?"

"No," Lu Yan He walked out, yawning. "I need it strong; I slept too late yesterday."

Wang Biao: "A lot of people have come to ask me if I know what's going on."

Lu Yan He: "Asking about Xincheng and his ex-girlfriend?"

"Yes," Wang Biao said. "Everyone seems very curious about how his ex-girlfriend ended up with him in the first place."

Lu Yan He was a bit puzzled. "Why care about that?"

"I don't know," Wang Biao shook his head. "Maybe it's just pure curiosity. More than anything, they're curious about who He Nan actually is. After all, she suddenly started dating a popular star and then broke up."

"The statement already said not to pay too much attention to her, and she isn't an artist herself."

"That's what they say, but once you enter the public eye, even a civilian can't just go back to being a civilian."

Wang Biao suddenly thought of something and chuckled.

"What are you laughing at?"

"I was thinking of Sister Ziyan. Looking at it this way, Sister Ziyan feels so strong. When she went public with you, she was just a college student, and many people attacked her, but she acted like it was nothing."

"How could it be nothing? She was faking it."

"Being able to fake it like it's nothing is also very impressive," Wang Biao said.

Lu Yan He thought of Chen Ziyan at that time and said: "The environment she grew up in was no easier than mine. We both gritted our teeth to get through it. Facing this kind of internet storm, after adapting for a year or two, you just get used to it."

Wang Biao sighed melancholically and said: "Then, since I became your assistant so early and started living a good life, will my ability to handle pressure be very poor in the future?"

Lu Yan He: "..."

Wang Biao said with great enthusiasm: "Sigh, Little Brother Lu, you don't even know. Carrying your name as an assistant really let me experience firsthand what it means to 'borrow the tiger's might.' People ten or twenty years older than me are all polite to me. Oh my, I really didn't expect this at all."

Lu Yan He: "..."

He spoke: "If you think being my assistant isn't stressful, it only shows that your skin is thick enough and your heart is big enough."

"Also, you are my executive agent now. When are you going to find me another assistant?"

Wang Biao: "It's not easy to find an assistant as reliable as me. Those with high degrees are overqualified, and those without high degrees really can't meet the requirements. I can only look slowly. Before I find one, I'll just keep doing it."

"Just don't keep doing it until you go from executive agent back to assistant," Lu Yan He reminded. "If you don't know how to lead a team, you'll only be able to do it yourself until you die."

Wang Biao: "..."

"Wang Biao belongs to the type who fought his way up alone. He's good at working, but let alone experience in leading a team, his experience in cooperating with others was only accumulated while working with Wan Qingqing and Song Jiang."

Speaking of Wang Biao, Chen Ziyan was also very helpless.

"It's one thing that an assistant as reliable and capable as him is hard to find; on the other hand, he's also a bit afraid of difficulties. I think he actually hasn't prepared himself to be a manager, so he subconsciously delayed this matter."

Lu Yan He: "Give him some time to let him overcome this mentality."

"Hmm," Chen Ziyan asked. "We're flying on Sunday morning. Can you finish work normally today?"

"Not sure, might not finish. Yesterday's progress was a bit slow," Lu Yan He said. "I'll try my best to finish today. The crew knows my situation. If it really doesn't work, then we'll just continue filming tomorrow."

Chen Ziyan: "I'm worried that you'll be in a rush all the way, too tossed about, affecting your state. Long-haul flights are already very exhausting."

"This bit of exhaustion won't make me unable to attend the premiere normally," Lu Yan He smiled. "I just hope today's filming goes smoothly."

On set, everyone was whispering. From their expressions, it was clear they were discussing Yin Xincheng's situation.

Releasing a breakup statement in the middle of the night was clearly an attempt to spread the public opinion and heat across different time periods as much as possible, minimizing the impact.

Although, in reality, no matter how you do it, such things cannot fundamentally change.

Nor could it become outdated or ignored the next day just because it was released in the middle of the night.

However, after a night of rest, Yin Xincheng's mood and state were much better than yesterday. Although he still couldn't compare to his usual self, it was much better than the situation yesterday where he would zone out from time to time.

Lu Yan He breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that today's scenes should be fine and could be completed smoothly; if they hurried, they might even be able to finish the parts they didn't finish yesterday.

And after the first scene ended, Yin Xincheng even suddenly apologized and thanked everyone on set for yesterday's incident.

This attitude was still very well-received by everyone.

In fact, setting aside the star halo and public curiosity, a film crew is just a workplace.

You are a star, the lead actor, the core of this show, but if you cause trouble and add trouble for everyone, you should honestly apologize. It's not about putting on a show; you have to let everyone feel your sincerity.

Fortunately, Yin Xincheng is not the type of person who is completely self-centered.

There are actually many such artists.

Just as Lu Yan He thought Yin Xincheng had gained everyone's forgiveness, he unexpectedly heard two people chatting in a corner of the studio.

"A big star is a big star. Leaving the set without permission is no problem, and he even apologizes hypocritically. Would the crew fire him if he didn't apologize?" The person saying this was a man.

"And so many people cooperated with his performance. It's really disgusting." The person saying this was a woman.

The two people's words were completely beyond Lu Yan He's expectations, as if they had hit him over the head with a club.

"If we left our posts without permission, how could we possibly have a second chance?"

"Making such a big fuss over a breakup. Who hasn't had a breakup? Acting like they're going to die."

"The most disgusting one is Lu Yan He, okay? He takes tens of millions in salary for this show alone, and he'll earn dividends later. One person's compensation adds up to more than all of ours, yet he always puts on a posture that we're a family. I really want to vomit when I see him. You guys, these stars, they should just stay high and mighty. Why put on this posture that we're all on the same line? It's really disgusting."

"Keep your voice down."

"What the hell are you afraid of? At worst, I'll just quit this job."

"Do you really think so? You can get eight thousand for working a month here. If you go to another crew, you can only get three thousand. Are you crazy if you don't do it?"

"At worst, I'll just starve to death. End of story. This rotten life, whoever wants to live it can live it."

Lu Yan He was silent for two seconds, then turned and left.

He didn't want to see who was saying these things, nor did he have any intention of blaming them.

Not being in the same situation, no one has the right to blame anyone.

He just suddenly understood one thing clearly.

There is no grand reason. Just as they hate stars and artists so much, he doesn't need a very reasonable reason to forgive Yin Xincheng either.

He simply doesn't think Yin Xincheng's departure this time is that terrible or unforgivable.

He doesn't need to find an explanation or reason for his attitude.

This world has long been split into many fragments.

—Stop trying to make everyone understand you, and stop trying to find evidence to strengthen your own ideas from others' understanding.

It is a false proposition in itself.