Chapter 653: High Above

As a few of them chatted here, the noise made no difference, since the set had no audio recording—space, after all, doesn't carry sound, and the background music would be added in post-production.

Shooting the stunt double's scenes for Liu Tianxian was still troublesome; if a movement was done wrong, they had to redo it, but thankfully each time they had to reset Ceng Yi's position.

If you're upside down or tilted, it makes you feel terrible.

So Ceng Yi was fine—the Executive Director asked her every time during filming whether she was okay.

But she was trained in dance, so she could still overcome it.

"Xiaodao, you've been staring at the mirror for ages, crying and laughing—how's your imitation going? Share with us." Liu Tianxian rested her hand on Zhao Xiaodao's shoulder; she could chat with anyone.

Watching her make faces was pretty funny.

"I'm just messing around, haven't learned it yet—I still need to learn from you; you must've learned a lot," Zhao Xiaodao said.

She thought of Liu Tianxian demonstrating and teaching in front of the Principal.

"I'm just a dabbler, didn't learn much," Liu Tianxian said.

"That explains it," Zhao Xiaodao said.

"Explains what?" Liu Tianxian asked, puzzled.

"That's why you got so many nominations but rarely won awards," Zhao Xiaodao chuckled.

This felt like a knife stab to Liu Tianxian; she looked speechless, but her face still carried a smile, and she didn't take it to heart.

Others couldn't help but laugh too.

It was a joke about Liu Tianxian's several Golden Horse nominations without wins—but everyone just heard it as a joke; plenty of people are perennial runners-up.

"Then you should strive to win awards, don't follow my example," Liu Tianxian said.

"That's hard, but no matter what, you'll be with me—I won't be lonely," Zhao Xiaodao smiled, eyes half-closed.

They chatted here, laughter coming occasionally—mostly because Zhao Xiaodao spoke bluntly, and Liu Tianxian just took it as a joke.

After Ceng Yi, Liu Tianxian's stunt double, finished shooting, Fang Hong spoke into the walkie-talkie: "We'll stop here for now; everyone take a break."

After this scene, it was time for the final one.

The final scene was Liu Tianxian, in a spacesuit, colliding with Liu Tianwang.

After they collided, they'd be wrapped in red ropes—very visually striking—but the red ropes were a post-production special effect; none existed on set now.

The crew members loosened up in small groups; props and lighting stands didn't need moving.

They'd shoot again in this same setting soon.

Liu Tianwang descended from midair and came over to Fang Hong's director team: "How's it going? Is the footage usable?"

"It's usable—performance is fine. There's one more scene coming; thanks for the extra effort," Fang Hong said.

Liu Tianwang's acting was decent enough—he didn't break immersion, and that was enough; no one expected him to compete for awards anyway.

In the previous scene, the stunt double didn't show his face—he did.

"No problem, it's my duty," Liu Tianwang waved off, appearing very amiable.

After chatting a bit, Fang Hong told Liu Tianxian: "Go change your clothes!"

Giving the crew a break was to give Liu Tianxian time to put on the spacesuit and be strapped into the wire rig to be suspended midair.

It was complicated and took time to prepare—safety came first.

During the break, Fang Hong pulled Zhao Xiaodao aside: "Xiaodao, I heard from your agent you want to start your own studio."

"I've thought about it, but I want to affiliate with Yutu," Zhao Xiaodao said tactfully, her big eyes fixed on the Principal, watching his reaction.

A studio is relatively independent, with fewer constraints; even though Yutu isn't very restrictive either, psychologically it still feels freer—like you're working for yourself, giving you more drive.

Affiliating with Yutu is mainly for its film and television resources.

Mainly, she feared the Principal would disapprove of her leaving and punish her—that would be disastrous.

After all, everything she had today came mostly from the Principal.

The Principal could lift her up, and he could also bury her—right now, if the Principal truly wanted to ruin someone, he had the power.

Even Da Heiniu and Da Baobei weren't crushed to death—if he really wanted to destroy them, it wouldn't just be about getting kicked off a show or stealing endorsements.

"Fine, you can start your own studio," Fang Hong nodded in agreement.

Zhao Xiaodao was stunned, eyes wide: "Principal, you're agreeing already?"

"What, you didn't want me to agree?" Fang Hong countered.

"No no, I thought you'd scold me or blacklist me," Zhao Xiaodao laughed.

"So that's how you see me?" Fang Hong said.

Zhao Xiaodao said nothing, just laughed a silly "hehehe," sounding somewhat relieved.

After all, the Principal hadn't made things hard for her.

"You really hurt my feelings—we've collaborated for so many years, and this is how you see me? That I'm terrible," Fang Hong said.

"How could we possibly know you? We're not your wife—we can only watch you from afar," Zhao Xiaodao said bluntly.

"You make it sound like I'm aloof, out of touch—I'm still very down-to-earth," Fang Hong knew they'd only collaborated, never interacted much, so it was normal she didn't understand.

"Anyway, it never reached me," Zhao Xiaodao laughed.

Fang Hong smiled, dropped the subject, and asked: "You can affiliate—how exactly do you want to do it?"

"Yutu provides me with production support, business negotiations, brand partnerships, and PR; I'll handle project sourcing and promotion channels myself. The revenue split stays the same as when I was with Yutu," Zhao Xiaodao said.

That meant taking half of her earnings—fifty-fifty.

She'd find her own film and television projects for her studio—Yutu didn't need to worry about that; of course, if Yutu had projects, they could still collaborate with her—it wasn't mandatory.

This way, she could diversify collaborations with other film companies, while Yutu wouldn't lose her—after all, Yutu was still making money, and its revenue hadn't decreased.

If she succeeded outside, she'd earn even more.

Business negotiations and brand partnerships would go to Yutu—just let them handle her packaging.

After all, Yutu was currently fighting for Da Baobei's endorsements; if she landed those two, she'd make a fortune—and Yutu's strength was still formidable.

"Alright, no problem," Fang Hong agreed.

Starting a studio now is a major trend; it can't be stopped. Any star with a bit of ambition opens a personal studio after becoming famous.

The affiliated model carries less responsibility, allowing minimal accountability.

Whoever collapses is solely responsible for it.

If signed to a company, the company must clean up after her—these are two entirely different arrangements.

Alibaba and Goose Factory Entertainment don't sign artists. The stronger they become, the less they need artists; only artists come begging for collaboration, offering up their own share.

Having no artists is the most flexible. With artists, you have to find projects and resources for them—it's a hassle.

Giving more to one, less to another inevitably breeds resentment. Like giving Liu Tianxian so much, the other female stars must feel unbalanced—only the Principal's growing strength keeps them in check.

If it can't be held down, they'll curse you when they leave.

Zhao Xiaodao finally felt a weight lift off her chest. She hadn't expected the Principal to be so easygoing, not giving her any trouble.

She'd thought she'd have to argue for a long time.

Soon, the crew returned to busy activity, preparing to resume filming.

At this moment, Liu Tianxian had already been helped by crew members into her spacesuit, only her head exposed—she looked bulky, and wires hung from every position on her back.

"Be careful," Fang Hong warned.

"It's fine, I'm used to it," Liu Tianxian reassured him.

After all, she often used wire rigs in her films, and this was still relatively simple for her.

In the past, wire rigs required high-difficulty movements, especially in action scenes, and injuries were common.

Now, this isn't nearly as dangerous—dangerous stunts are all done by doubles. She doesn't need to perform many movements, just be controlled while filming close-ups of her face and full-body shots.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Liu Tianxian was slowly lifted, rising gradually; the crew remained extremely cautious, since she was the boss's wife.

Below, many people tilted their heads upward, watching—this was the final scene; after this, filming would wrap.

As the crew filmed with nervous tension, Fang Hong and Wen Muye sat together, watching the monitor.

Huang Jiaozhu suddenly appeared at the studio entrance, accompanied by Chen Daoming; the two walked and talked as if Chen Daoming had brought him in.

These two clearly knew each other well—Huang Jiaozhu had once played a supporting role in Chen Daoming's film *The Great Han Emperor*.

Later, one became Chairman of the Film Association, the other Vice-Chairman.

Huang Jiaozhu came out of curiosity, glancing around the environment, seeing they were filming, so he didn't disturb them, instead following Chen Daoming's guidance to stand beside Fang Hong.

Fang Hong suddenly noticed someone standing beside him and looked up.

"Principal!" Huang Jiaozhu put on a smiling face—he stood there on purpose so Fang Hong would see him arrive.

That way, he didn't disturb, yet didn't seem abrupt.

"What are you here for?" Fang Hong was puzzled.

"I heard you're filming a big movie, so I came specifically to learn. Principal, you're busy—don't mind me," Huang Jiaozhu flattered.

He was quite skilled with words, placing himself in a very low position—Fang Hong couldn't very well kick him out.

"Fine," Fang Hong didn't care, said nothing, but knew perfectly well why this man was here.

He was here for Da Baobei.

(End of Chapter)