Chapter 604: Crew Rashomon

"Xin Pingqing's father is Xin Siyang?" Hu Siwei showed an expression of disbelief.

Seeing this, Lu Yan He and Chen Siqi estimated that Hu Siwei really didn't know about this situation.

"So you didn't know either?"

"I didn't know," Hu Siwei shook his head. "However, Xin Siyang's suicide back then caused quite a stir. Those of us who have been in this industry for a long time basically all know about it."

"Does Xin Siyang's suicide have anything to do with An Jian?"

"I don't think so, I haven't heard of it," Hu Siwei shook his head. "If it had anything to do with An Jian, there should have been news. Moreover, although An Jian's temper is a bit strange and sharp, it's not enough to force someone to commit suicide. If such a thing really happened, even if it wasn't exposed or spread to the outside world, we in the circle would definitely know."

Chen Siqi nodded.

Actually, she thought so too.

If Director An Jian really had such a thing on him, they shouldn't have missed such news when they were evaluating him back then.

Chen Siqi said: "Now they have gone to investigate the reason for Xin Siyang's suicide back then. However, after investigating this matter, it seems that the person most deeply connected to An Jian's past is Xin Pingqing. And, it's been so long since the incident, and Xin Pingqing hasn't mentioned to us that his father was once a screenwriter in An Jian's company. Although it's not certain, I think we can assume for now that he is the one who sent the anonymous letter."

Hu Siwei frowned.

"This kid, actually directing and acting it himself."

Chen Siqi said: "Actually, it doesn't matter if he directs and acts it himself, but if it really is him, I will be very annoyed. He had plenty of time to stop An Jian from becoming the director of our show a month, or even two months, before the project started, but he had to wait until the night before filming started to do it, causing such big trouble for our crew."

Hearing Chen Siqi say this, Hu Siwei had a rough idea.

Xin Pingqing was brought to Linghe Film and Television Company by him. If Xin Pingqing really caused such big trouble for *Silent Staircase*, then this matter certainly couldn't be let go lightly.

Hu Siwei sighed.

Chen Siqi said: "Siwei-ge, if Xin Pingqing really did this, we can't let him stay in Linghe anymore."

Hu Siwei nodded: "Understood, I will talk to him. But now *Silent Staircase* is still filming, and he is the production assistant, responsible for many tasks. I suggest that no matter what, let's wait until this show is finished filming before we deal with his matter."

Chen Siqi nodded in agreement.

In the afternoon filming, there was a small accident. An actor named Zhou Yelu was late, and they couldn't reach him either.

Unfortunately, the scene filmed in the afternoon was an ensemble scene, and it was hard to film without one person.

Time waits for no one. There was no other way but to find someone on set with a similar build, have them change into the costume, and stand in for him.

By using camera angles, they avoided filming his front and side.

Later, when Zhou Yelu arrived, they would have him reshoot the few shots of this scene himself.

He didn't appear on set until two hours later.

This time, Chen Yu didn't speak to him with a good temper, asking with a dark face: "Where did you go? You're so late."

Zhou Yelu looked embarrassed and said: "I forgot to set the alarm when I slept at noon, and I overslept."

Chen Yu's face darkened further, saying: "Someone knocked on your room door, and also asked the hotel for a spare key to go in and check, but there was no one inside."

This wasn't just a matter of oversleeping and being late; he was also lying.

However, at this time, Chen Yu didn't say anything else, only saying: "If there's a second time, I will directly announce your behavior on the crew's official Weibo. Even if you get attention after this show is broadcast, let's see if any other crew dares to use an actor who deliberately doesn't come to participate in the filming."

As soon as Chen Yu's words fell, Zhou Yelu's face turned pale.

This was also the first time Chen Yu had shown such a decisive and ugly face in this crew.

"I'm sorry, Director, I was wrong, I won't do it next time."

Chen Yu didn't say anything, turning to the coordinator and saying: "Move all of Zhou Yelu's scenes to the earliest and latest time slots of each day. If he's late again, call his agency and see how they will compensate for the damage caused to our filming."

Zhou Yelu's face turned even paler.

"Director, Direc—"

Chen Yu ignored him, "We're preparing to film the next scene."

Lu Yan He curled his lips slightly.

He heard Peng Yufen next to him whisper in amazement: "This Director Chen, young as he is, has quite impressive methods. Little Zhou's face turned pale with fright."

Zhang Yuan: "If it were me, I would have just fired Zhou Yelu."

"If you fire him, who's going to play his scenes? Reshoot all the scenes already filmed? Reshooting doesn't cost money?" Peng Yufen retorted directly, "It's easy for you to just open your mouth."

"..." Lu Yan He silently turned his head to avoid their gaze, so they wouldn't see the smile on his face.

Zhang Yuan asked gloomily: "Peng Yufen, why do you like retorting to me so much? Are you uncomfortable if you don't retort to me for a day?"

"Why don't you ask yourself why you're so asking for it?" Peng Yufen responded righteously, "You're in your forties, and your mind isn't sound yet. Your wife is tired enough; finding a husband is like raising another son."

"Your husband isn't easy either, having a mouth dipped in poison lying next to him every day."

Lu Yan He noted down these golden sentences of mutual retorting, thinking they could be written into the script later.

At 8:30 PM, Lu Yan He finished work, and the other actors also finished work, only Zhou Yelu had to stay behind to film his scenes.

Because it was an indoor scene, there was no need to consider daylight. Chen Yu really left all his shots to be filmed at the end.

For the few hours Zhou Yelu was on set, his face was blue.

However, no one went to comfort him.

Hu Siwei and Xin Pingqing were on site discussing the filming plan for tomorrow.

"After being taught a lesson like this, Little Zhou will probably make everyone else in the crew perk up," Xin Pingqing said to Hu Siwei with a smile. "These past two days, although Director Chen is quite impressive, everyone seemed to think he had a good temper and wouldn't get angry, so some people slowly started to slack off."

Hu Siwei nodded, saying: "I originally thought changing directors would be a disaster, but I didn't expect it to be a blessing in disguise."

Xin Pingqing immediately nodded, saying: "Yes, it's fortunate we found Chen Yu to direct."

Hu Siwei asked: "Tell me, if we hadn't found Chen Yu to replace An Jian as director, what would we have done with this show?"

Xin Pingqing laughed, "Siwei-ge, are you testing me?"

"Yes, you are the production assistant now, and in the future, you will be a producer who can stand on your own. Maybe you will encounter similar situations in the future. If it were you, how would you handle it?" Hu Siwei asked.

Xin Pingqing thought for a while and said: "If it really didn't work, I would do as Chen Siqi said at the time: let Director An Jian use a pseudonym, at least finish filming this show first."

Hu Siwei: "But didn't we say? If we use a pseudonym, the person who sent the anonymous letter is likely also in the crew and will definitely be able to see that Director An is still there. According to what they said in the anonymous letter, maybe they will immediately expose the content of the anonymous letter online."

Xin Pingqing said: "That's a matter for later. If this show must start filming, the arrow is on the string. An Jian's problems are only problems of the past. Even if exposed, it would at most trigger a boycott, but it wouldn't be like some tainted artists who are directly banned, making the show unbroadcastable. When the time comes, just delete the director's name. Compared to this show failing, my priority would definitely be to get this show filmed first. After all, the entire crew is waiting to start, and one-third of the production budget has already been invested. If we don't start filming, it's a direct loss."

Hu Siwei didn't expect Xin Pingqing to say that.

"I thought you would say that until An Jian's matters are investigated clearly, not starting filming is a safer choice."

"I am a producer. This project is a project I have worked hard on for a long time. No matter what others say, I must first ensure that this project survives," Xin Pingqing shook his head. "Even if what the anonymous letter says about An Jian is true, now that the project is on the string, I can only bite the bullet and help him cover it up, at least until the show is finished."

Hu Siwei nodded thoughtfully.

"I don't think the anonymous letter was necessarily made by Pingqing," Hu Siwei said to Lu Yan He and Chen Siqi later.

He repeated the conversation he had when testing Xin Pingqing to them.

"I've known Pingqing for so many years, and I still understand him. If you ask me whether he would retaliate against An Jian because his father once had a grudge against him, I think he would. But if you ask me whether he would disregard the risk of such a big project to retaliate against him, based on my understanding of his character, it doesn't seem like something he would do."

Hu Siwei said: "I think he said one thing very correctly: if he wanted to do this, he could have waited until the show was broadcast before exposing it online."

"The problem is, through this anonymous letter, you can also see that this person's first choice wasn't to expose what An Jian had done online, but to force An Jian to withdraw from the *Silent Staircase* crew. This person cares about An Jian's identity as a director."

After Chen Siqi finished speaking, she was suddenly stunned.

Lu Yan He and Hu Siwei both looked at her suspiciously, asking: "What's wrong?"

"I'm suddenly thinking of something."

"What is it?" Lu Yan He asked.

Chen Siqi: "We all assumed that the person who threatened An Jian with an anonymous letter was related to these things back then and wanted to retaliate against him. But if they wanted to retaliate, they would definitely make him lose his reputation, not just use an anonymous letter to make An Jian withdraw from the crew and stop being a director. This person's goal is just not wanting An Jian to be the director of *Silent Staircase*. Indeed, if Xin Pingqing did this, according to our guess, it was because his father's suicide back then might have been related to An Jian, so he did this—then is doing this enough? How could it be enough to just let An Jian withdraw from the *Silent Staircase* crew?"

Lu Yan He and Hu Siwei both reacted.

"This person is just using some things from back then to threaten An Jian; they might not be related to these things. I was impulsive. Once I knew Xin Pingqing's father was once a screenwriter in An Jian's company, I took it for granted that it was Xin Pingqing," Chen Siqi frowned slightly. "But, even Siwei-ge didn't know that Xin Pingqing's father was once a screenwriter in An Jian's company—"

"Who told you?" Hu Siwei asked.

"Liu Yuan, but he is a person from my company," said Chen Siqi. "I asked him to inquire about news in the crew."

"Then maybe someone deliberately told him this news, just to make us suspect Xin Pingqing about the anonymous letter," said Lu Yan He.

"I have to ask him," said Chen Siqi. "I'll make a phone call."

She picked up her phone and got up to leave.

Lu Yan He and Hu Siwei looked at each other.

"This is really—filming a suspense mystery show, how did our crew become so suspenseful and mysterious?" Hu Siwei said with a smile, the smile somewhat bitter.

Lu Yan He shook his head, "Although it's said that it's not surprising to encounter anything while filming, I've filmed so many shows, and I really haven't encountered anything more outrageous than this."

Hu Siwei couldn't stop laughing, "I feel like the behind-the-scenes footage of our crew could be made into a show."

"Maybe one day it really can be filmed," Lu Yan He shrugged.

At this time, Hu Siwei's mobile phone buzzed.

"Hmm?" He picked it up and looked at it, saying: "Pingqing sent me a message. The footage of the first day of filming has already been edited into a first version, asking if I have time to see it tomorrow."

The shows of the Jump Up Theater are basically filmed and edited at the same time, but the editing is slightly later than the filming.

This is to let the producer and director know at any time whether the footage already filmed for this show is usable, and whether there are places that need to be reshot or supplemented.

But this way of filming will make the producer and director very tired, because this means they are running around all day, not just the task of filming on site.

Lu Yan He said: "Then I'll go see it tomorrow too."

After chatting for a few words, Chen Siqi came back after making the phone call.

Her expression was even more severe.

"What's wrong? Why is your expression so serious?"

Chen Siqi said: "The person who told Liu Yuan that Xin Pingqing's father was once a screenwriter in An Jian's company is An Jian himself."

As soon as Chen Siqi finished speaking, Lu Yan He and Hu Siwei both showed expressions of astonishment and were stunned.

"Liu Yuan went to Director An Jian to understand which people in this crew were old acquaintances and had origins with him, and An Jian mentioned Xin Pingqing's matter," Chen Siqi added. "Why do I feel that this matter is becoming less and less simple now?"

Lu Yan He and Chen Siqi looked at each other.

Hu Siwei also looked puzzled.

"Where is An Jian now?"

"He has already gone home. Because the external statement is a sudden illness, these days, we have all agreed with him that after filming ends, he will not go out and will stay at home," said Hu Siwei.

Chen Siqi: "I think I need to have a chat with him."

Chen Siqi's expression suddenly became very ugly.

Lu Yan He's mind also popped up with the same thought as Chen Siqi, and his expression sank.

What if this matter was directed and acted by An Jian himself?

It's not that someone wants to force him to withdraw from the filming of *Silent Staircase*, but he himself, for some reason, wants to withdraw. In order not to get into a lawsuit, and not to tear his face off with the Jump Up Theater, break up, and spread scandals of not observing professional ethics, so he directed and acted such a scene, and seemed particularly responsible for the crew, taking the initiative to resign—

Could it be like this? -

Recommend the old book *I Became a Scandal Heroine Overnight* and the new book *Sword of the Demon Hunter*

There will be another chapter updated later.

I have to say, writing a little bit of *Sword of the Demon Hunter* every day, changing my thinking, makes my ideas for *Pick a Day to Become Famous* pop up more and more.

Very cool. ===== CHAPTER 605 =====