Chapter 559: A Man's Head and a Woman's Waist: Eating at a Banquet

"The Fault in Our Stars" is an art-house romance film, but the ending is not a happy one.

It is not just a tragedy for the male and female leads; the male lead's best friend is also a tragedy.

Suffering from retinoblastoma, he had already lost one eye, and as his condition worsened, the other eye also needed to be removed.

What is even more terrifying is that his girlfriend, who previously had a huge chest and was incredibly sweet, cannot accept the outcome of him being completely blind and wants to leave him. What is being filmed today is Luo Jin venting his emotions at Wei Jin's home; the plot is very simple, and the filming is going smoothly.

After a scene ended, Huang Mengying, wearing a bun and full of energy, walked over.

"Boss, there are many reporters outside wanting to visit the set."

Wei Jin shook his head, "We are not accepting set visits or interviews right now. If there is anything, let Chen Xi handle it."

Art-house films are different from commercial films; they do not need so much promotion before release. It is more appropriate to keep the mystery and suspense until the very end to be revealed.

"Okay."

After speaking, Huang Mengying was about to leave, but Wei Jin called her back.

"Meng Ying, you are about to graduate, right?"

"Yes, the procedures are already finished; only the graduation ceremony on the 27th remains."

"That's perfect. Director Ning's 'Breakup Buddies' has already started casting. Go back to the company this afternoon, and Zhang Xu will take you there for an audition."

Huang Mengying was stunned: "Ah?"

"Ah what? Could it be that you don't want to debut?"

"No, no..."

Huang Mengying hurriedly shook her head. Since she had chosen this path, how could she not want to debut? Moreover, this was a film by Ning Hao.

"I'm just afraid I won't perform well and will embarrass you, Boss."

"Don't worry, it's just the second female lead. The acting requirements aren't too high. If you perform normally, there will definitely be no problem."

Wei Jin offered a word of comfort. Ning Hao's scripts usually don't have too many female characters, but this "Breakup Buddies" is an exception; every character is quite brilliant.

Especially the second female lead, a 'non-mainstream' girl, who leaves a very deep impression.

Furthermore, with Yuan Quan already cast as the first female lead, this is considered a step up for Huang Mengying. After all, this classmate of Li Jie is a bona fide powerhouse actress.

As for the other characters, Wei Jin does not want to interfere; if any of the company's artists are interested, Zhang Xu will arrange it himself.

With Wei Jin's strong backing, Ning Hao naturally wouldn't refuse to give face. Huang Mengying successfully got the role; the so-called audition was more like a formality.

However, this was somewhat unfair to other female stars.

"Sister Hua, why? In yesterday's audition, I clearly performed very well, and Director Ning was very satisfied with me too. How could I not be suitable?"

At Shi Ba Culture, in Wang Jinhua's office, Zhou Dongyu looked unwilling to accept this.

Since debuting as a 'Mou Girl' in 2010, her most notable work to date remains "Hawthorn Tree Forever".

Now, more than three years later, her popularity is almost gone, and she urgently needs a new work to build her fame.

And the big-name director and luxurious cast of "Breakup Buddies" perfectly fit her requirements.

Moreover, although it was called an audition for the second female lead, in terms of screen time, it actually had more than the first female lead; it was just categorized as the second female lead.

Missing out on it like this, Zhou Dongyu truly felt it was a pity.

Sitting opposite her, Wang Jinhua was also very helpless at this moment.

She had thought that with her connections in the industry and Zhou Dongyu's performance during the audition, this role should have been in the bag.

In fact, in recent years, she rarely failed when she made a move.

But upon hearing the assistant's report that Zhang Xu had personally brought someone to Bad Monkey, Wang Jinhua didn't even have the courage to call Ning Hao to confirm again—who told them to have a deeper background? However, facing Zhou Dongyu, Wang Jinhua still had to maintain the company's dignity, so she forcibly saved face.

"Dongyu, don't overthink it. If you missed it, you missed it. I am currently working on the first female lead for another film, which is absolutely no worse than 'Breakup Buddies'..."

Perhaps it was good luck; just as Wang Jinhua finished speaking, the assistant knocked and entered. The two in the room looked over subconsciously.

The assistant didn't play coy and reported directly: "President Wang, they've replied. The first female lead is secured!"

Zhou Dongyu's face was filled with surprise, "Sister Hua, this..."

"I told you before, joining the company, I would never treat you unfairly," Wang Jinhua said, feigning profoundness.

In fact, when she first learned about this film, she was still hesitating; now was just the right time to use it to put on a show.

"Thank you, thank you, Sister Hua."

Zhou Dongyu truly believed it. In just a few short hours, another film was secured; she is worthy of being the number one Agent in the domestic entertainment industry, awesome! "By the way, Sister Hua, what about the situation with this film?"

"Hmm, the specifics..."

On the set of "Star Luck", as the plot progressed, the male lead had already started chemotherapy, and Wei Jin had to shave his head.

At this moment, the barber was tinkering with Wei Jin's head, and two cameramen were surrounding him, one of whom was actually Lu Yang.

"Haha, when the movie is released, these will all be behind-the-scenes footage. I have to record them well, hahaha."

Regarding the boredom of this guy Lu Yang, Wei Jin was already unable to complain, but he had no reason to refuse the behind-the-scenes footage.

Ten-plus minutes later, Wei Jin's new look was finished.

Not to mention, in the middle of summer, this cool feeling on the top of his head was actually quite damn refreshing.

Suddenly, Wei Jin felt an extra hand on his head, which felt a bit cool.

"Hey, don't mess around, Yifei, you don't know..."

"I know, a man's head and a woman's waist, right? At worst, I'll just let you touch mine."

Before Wei Jin could finish his sentence, the young girl actually beat him to the punch, and then she became more enthusiastic as she spoke, "Not to mention, Brother, your head feels like a peeled egg; the texture is actually quite good."

Wei Jin grabbed the girl's hand, stood up, leaned into her ear, and teased:

"Yifei, what's truly like an egg isn't this head..."

"Then what else do you have..."

Halfway through her sentence, Liu Yifei suddenly realized, a blush instantly appearing on her fair, pretty face, and she spat at Wei Jin.

"Brother, you really are..."

Watching the girl's embarrassed expression, Wei Jin leaned in closer.

"Hehe, I'll let you touch me properly tonight."

Wei Jin was a man of his word; that night, he not only let Liu Yifei touch him, but also let her properly taste the flavor of a hard-boiled egg.

No, to be precise, it was a duck egg, and a very large one at that.

It was a pity that the young girl's oral skills weren't very impressive; it had been nearly half an hour, and she still hadn't finished.

Just as Wei Jin was planning to take matters into his own hands, the phone beside him rang.

Looking at the caller ID, he pressed the speakerphone directly, and the voice of Fiber Optic Lao Wang rang out instantly.

Perhaps having tasted the sweetness of *So Young*, Fiber Optic's efficiency this time was very high; in half a month, that film *My Old Classmate* had completed its preparation and casting, and was even set to start filming in a few days.

"You chose Lin Gengxin and Zhou Dongyu?"

"Mm, Wanda sent word over; this Lin Gengxin's appearance is actually quite good. As for Zhou Dongyu, she is a Mou Girl after all, so she has a bit of buzz. I originally wanted Bai Bin to come, but unfortunately, her schedule didn't align."

Wei Jin shook his head; this wasn't a case of a schedule not aligning—the moment the invitation was sent over, Zhang Xu rejected it directly.

After all, for a Four Dan Actress like Bai Bin, this type of film had no meaning other than trading fame for money.

It was Lin Yufen, however, who perhaps to consolidate her achievements, ultimately took on this film.

Regarding this, Wei Jin didn't mind; after all, the contract clearly stated that as long as it didn't conflict with the company's arrangements, directors could decide for themselves whether to take on outside projects. Besides, Fiber Optic really did pay a lot.

"By the way, little brother, if you don't have any issues, come show your support at the premiere of *Badges of Fury*?"

"Big brother, my filming is already in its final stages; I can't get away."

Wei Jin rubbed his bald head, looking somewhat troubled. "How about this, big brother, I'll have Lao Chen go over."

"Alright then, I'll tell President Chen."

Hanging up the phone, Wei Jin saw Liu Yifei look up, somewhat puzzled.

"Brother, the filming mission isn't that heavy, right? Why aren't you going?"

Wei Jin touched his new hairstyle. "With this on my head, how can I go out and see people?"

These words amused the young girl. "Hee hee, I didn't expect you to have an idol burden."

"Hmph, you think? You've already seen me at my ugliest, so I have to properly seal your mouth."

After speaking, Wei Jin reached out and applied a little force; the girl gave him a flirtatious glance and obediently lowered her head. Time entered late June, and the filming of *Star Luck* went more and more smoothly, with about one-third of the scenes remaining.

Following Lu Yang's shout of "Action," Luo Jin, wearing sunglasses and holding a blind cane, entered the frame.

The dual blow to his body and spirit made this supporting character, who had once been incredibly optimistic at the "Patient Support Group," seem like a living dead man.

"Don't be so decadent; at least you are still alive, while my time is already running out."

Perhaps remembering the protagonist's plight, the close friend finally regained a bit of vitality; he clumsily turned his head in the direction the sound came from, his voice hoarse.

"Sorry, I shouldn't be like this in front of you."

Wei Jin struggled to move his body, came before Luo Jin, grabbed his hand, and stuffed a letter into it.

"What is this?"

"Keep it safe for me; when I'm gone, give it to her."

"Okay, I will."

"Cut."

As Lu Yang's command fell, a very important scene ended just like that.

Next, the filming of the entire movie entered the final stage.

Outside, Fiber Optic's *Badges of Fury* was released.

Relying on the cast and the face of Fiber Optic's Lao Wang, the cinema chains gave it a high screening share, with an average screening rate reaching 28%.

Thus, on the first day of the film's release, the results were quite good.

Under the pressure of the imported blockbuster *Man of Steel*, it reported 26.8 million.

The key was that after the script was adapted by Shanhe Media, the word-of-mouth was much better, and its rating on Yinxiang Net barely crossed 7 points.

And relying on the decent word-of-mouth, after entering the weekend, the film's box office growth came as no surprise.

Over the first three days of the weekend, it approached the 100 million mark, reporting 96.6 million.

Although it couldn't be compared to a breakout hit like *So Young*, compared to the 30 million production cost, this film was definitely a huge profit.

In contrast, that film *Switch* had completely fizzled out.

Over this week, it only reaped a box office of over 26 million, with a total box office of 260 million; the single-day box office was even less than 500,000, and the cinema screening share was already less than 5%.

Even so, the occupancy rate was almost below 40%.

The industry had a premonition that the film would likely be pulled from theaters in these next few days.

Ning Hao's *No Man's Land*, on the other hand, although its screening share was squeezed quite a bit, still performed well.

In one week, the box office reaped nearly 80 million; currently, it had been released for 17 days, and the total box office was already approaching the 300 million mark.

At the same time, the Shanghai International Film Festival also came to a close.

But no one expected that Guo Jingming would actually defeat numerous professionally trained directors and happily win the Best Newcomer Director award in the Film Channel Media Awards module.

That would have been fine; after all, in the non-main sections of a film festival, promoting newcomers could barely be justified.

But the key was that Yang Mi, Guo Biting, Guo Caijie, and others actually defeated a crowd of acting powerhouses like Feng Yuanzheng, Qin Hailu, Liu Ye, and Shen Aojun, letting *Tiny Times* win the Best Picture award for that module!

In the eyes of the entire circle, this was undoubtedly the biggest joke.

One must know that no matter how much the Shanghai International Film Festival had declined, it was still an international A-list film festival; such an operation was simply lowering the grade of the film festival.

At this moment, the internet and media were full of mockery.

"The Golden Goblet Award in the Main Competition Section is always given to unknown foreign films; now they are messing around in other sections too. The Shanghai International Film Festival is completely hopeless."

"The trashiest international A-list film festival in the world, it's simply shameful!"

"Hehe, it's all just human relationships and worldly wisdom; Guo Jingming has had a close relationship with the cultural circle since his debut, so of course they have to support their own people."

"."

Wei Jin ignored the disturbances on the internet, and the filming of Star Luck continued.

The scenes these past few days were all very "sweet," because the male lead did not have much time left, and the two began to cherish every day they spent together.

At this moment, the lens captured such a scene: under the golden sunset, the female lead wearing an oxygen tube pushed a wheelchair, while the male lead sat on it wearing a hat.

The two chatted and laughed, gradually walking away into the sunset. "Senior Brother, the next scene is your wrap-up. Shall we have a feast tonight?"

Lu Yang's joke drew a burst of laughter from the crew.

"Sure, let's drink until we drop tonight and have a good celebration?"

"Uh..."

Wei Jin's words dealt a direct critical hit; Lu Yang was instantly filled with the fear of crawling under the table from before and hurriedly shook his head.

"I think filming is more important. As for eating and such, let's wait until the wrap-up."

"Hahaha."

Lu Yang's goofy appearance once again drew laughter, but this did not affect the crew's operations.

Half an hour later, the camera was turned on again; this time it was a scene of Wei Jin being resuscitated on a hospital bed.

"Rapid renal failure, heart and lung functions failing rapidly..."

"Adrenaline..."

"Defibrillator."

"Beep~~~~"

"Resuscitation ineffective, we did our best..."

"Cut, this take is a wrap."

As Lu Yang issued the command, many people from the crew gathered around Wei Jin's hospital bed.

Especially Shu Chang, who had come specifically to watch the scene; she was actually holding a milk tea with a serious face, as if she were paying respects to a corpse.

"Get lost, all of you. I'm not actually dead, damn it."

"Hahaha, congratulations to President Wei on wrapping up!"

"Congratulations to President Wei on wrapping up!"

(End of this chapter)