Caught in Affairs with Superstar
Chapter 157 - 133: The Beginning of the Scandal

Chapter 157: Chapter 133: The Beginning of the Scandal

One day, there were only three scenes that could be shot because the actors were not all available, resulting in no one to shoot with.

Lu Yuan was furious when he received the call sheet, slamming the table and cursing people out. However, those who bore the brunt of his anger were simply scapegoats; he couldn’t possibly go and curse out the actors. Half of them came from the platform itself, and half were the mainstays and those with connections to the project. The money this show made for Lu Yuan meant he couldn’t afford to offend these people.

But the production couldn’t stop; to halt production was to burn money.

Huang Zhong and Lu Yuan had no choice but to take the script of the spin-off movie starring Yu Yhan, which the screenwriter was working on, and shoot whatever was ready. For the parts that hadn’t been written, the screenwriter was locked up in a hotel room, writing daily.

It was complete chaos.

Zhou Yun very clearly felt that Lu Yuan’s temper was getting worse on set. Of course, she had never been yelled at. Lu Yuan’s bad temper did not even extend to her in a veiled form. She herself felt a bit embarrassed; with the popularity of "After the Scandal" soaring again, she gained a following of true fans, not like before where most were haters.

This led to a surge in business inquiries for Zhou Yun, which Zhou Lan sifted through selectively. Some unavoidable engagements required Zhou Lan to ask for leave on Zhou Yun’s behalf.

The frequent leaves and outings also impacted Zhou Yun’s performance. She suddenly began to stumble and find it hard to get into character during filming. Previously, being consistently with the crew meant she could stay in character without much external interference. Now, with too much on her plate and too many distractions, Zhou Yun sometimes felt her mind buzzing, unable to settle down.

She had to be honest with Zhou Lan about this, especially about the time spent away.

Either they had to schedule all business engagements together to handle them in one go, without staying with the crew for a few days only to leave again afterward.

What seemed like just one day out, in fact, affected her state of mind for several days after.

Zhou Lan could only try his best to coordinate.

Still, there were times when coordination was impossible to achieve.

This was a difficulty that Zhou Yun had to overcome, as she had not chosen a purely acting path from the start.

At the end of July, Zhou Yun suddenly heard some news that Huang Zhong was preparing for the second installment of "Eighth Heartbeat".

She heard this news from Zheng Xiaowen.

Zheng Xiaowen asked her if she would be filming the second installment of "Eighth Heartbeat".

Zhou Yun shook her head and said no, there was no such plan at all.

Zheng Xiaowen said, "President Huang from your show contacted me, saying they’re preparing the second installment and wanted me to continue sponsoring."

Zhou Yun looked surprised: "I haven’t heard about this. Even if there is a second part, I’m not going to act in it."

A drama she didn’t initially want to act in, a sentiment not changed by the filming process.

With a cast in constant disarray, a director rushing through production, a script written half-heartedly, Zhou Yun was merely persisting out of responsibility to herself.

Zheng Xiaowen said: "Then you should be careful. From what he hinted, it seems like the second part will feature the original cast."

Zheng Xiaowen did not spell it out, but Zhou Yun understood. Zheng Xiaowen was warning her to be wary of Huang Zhong using the pretext of her continuing to star in the second installment as bait for sponsorship. After all, for "Eighth Heartbeat" at present, Zhou Yun was the biggest selling point.

Zhou Yun immediately discussed this matter with Zhou Lan, who said, "There’s nothing much we can do about this. We can’t just come forward and say we won’t act in the second part. Huang Zhong hasn’t told anyone for sure that you would continue the role. Even if Gu Huaichun and Yin Zhou continue to act, that’s still the original cast. We have to wait for others to approach us for clarification, just like Zheng Xiaowen did. But don’t worry, most brands are cautious; they won’t sign a contract easily without confirmation you’re in the second part. I’ve a feeling Huang Zhong is releasing news about preparing a second part of ’Eighth Heartbeat’ just to create buzz. It might attract other interested parties to the project and if it draws in some well-known actors to join, that could be a win."

"Who would act in it? Such a low-budget drama."

"In recent years, how many celebrities have come out of talent shows? They each bring their own fan following, but there are only so many film and television dramas being made — too many monks and not enough porridge. If you pay close attention, you’ll notice that apart from the most prominent ones, most mid-tier celebrities neither hit it big nor fade away. For them, riding on your coattails to act in the second part is their best shot at a decent role right now. If Huang Zhong does play up your involvement to attract others, surely some of the key roles will be taken up by eager stars — everyone wants to be more famous."

Zhou Yun: "But I won’t act in it."

"When they find out you won’t act, they will have already signed contracts and will have to act," said Zhou Lan. "That’s how many dramas lure actors into the fold."

"That’s practically deception."

"That’s why one needs to be exceedingly careful with any project; there are too many empty shells deceiving people," said Zhou Lan. "Has Huang Zhong approached you recently? He’s been talking to me about ’Letter to You’, wanting you to act. He Yong also came to me; his attitude was quite vague. I thought he would want you to take the role."

Zhou Yun said: "Maybe he wants to push Xu Siyao into the role."

"Xu Siyao?" Zhou Lan laughed sarcastically, "Even if Huang Zhong agrees, Liu Pinran won’t nod along. Who takes Xu Siyao seriously? Even Hongcheng TV Station won’t agree."

"Isn’t He Yong quite keen on promoting Xu Siyao?"

Zhou Lan said: "At most, they would let Xu Siyao act as the female lead in the second part of ’Eighth Heartbeat’. If it goes that far, it’s breaking the ceiling. Hongcheng TV Station always cares about the lead when buying dramas, Xu Siyao is not in their league."

What Zhou Yun did not expect was that Zhou Lan’s words would turn out to be prophetic.

In early August, Zhou Yun heard that Xu Siyao was set to star in the second installment of "Eighth Heartbeat", and the male lead might be Yin Zhou.

This rumor came from Zhen Xiaoxiao.

When she mentioned it, it was purely to sneer at Yu Yhan.

"Some people think they are something just because they starred in a spin-off movie. It’s just a spin-off movie, after all. If they are capable, let them be the female lead in the second part. Look at Xu Siyao, the young girl has got skills."

Strangely, although Zhen Xiaoxiao had issues with both Yu Yhan and Xu Siyao, she would rather praise Xu Siyao to mock Yu Yhan.

Upon hearing this, Yu Yhan walked away with a darkened face.

When this news reached Zhou Yun, she had just finished work.

She was utterly bewildered, finding it hard to believe.

Was Xu Siyao really going to star in the second part?

Zhou Yun had never taken Zhou Lan’s casual words seriously, instinctively thinking that with Xu Siyao’s proud personality, why would she want to take part in the second installment, even if it was as the female lead? As long as she wasn’t the lead in the first installment, from others’ perspective, this would be perceived as taking over an unsuccessful endeavor.

Who would want to be the one to take over a mess?