Superstar's Development Diary
Chapter 444 - 445: The War of Women

Chapter 444: Chapter 445: The War of Women

He Jinxia felt strange and kept asking as she followed behind him, "Sheng Yan, why aren’t you talking?"

"Sheng Yan, why do you look so annoyed?"

"Sheng Yan, at least make a sound to me!"

"Sheng Yan, if you keep this up, I won’t pay attention to you anymore!"

As soon as she said this, Sheng Yan immediately stopped in his tracks.

Without turning his head to look at He Jinxia, he said softly, "I don’t like you talking with him."

He Jinxia was stunned. Before she could even ponder the meaning of his words, Sheng Yan had plunged forward again.

Furrowing her brows slightly, she followed behind him, trying to figure out what Sheng Yan meant by his words.

By the time they reached the reception room door and she heard the director talking with the other two singers, a light bulb went off in her head. Could it be that Sheng Yan was jealous because she had spoken to the director?!

A helplessly amused smile crossed her face. She shook her head. What a petty ghost, she had done it all for him after all.

Once Sheng Yan sat down on the sofa, his phone vibrated. He picked it up and saw a WeChat message.

He Jinxia: [Idiot, I was trying to get on the director’s good side to increase my screen time, hopefully more scenes with you. [Hammer][Hammer][Hammer]]

Sheng Yan was taken aback, a faint smile crossing his lips.

The negotiation went fairly smoothly, and by the morning, everyone had finished communicating. The filming could begin in the afternoon.

While the director hoped that all the stars could free up half a month’s schedule, reality was far from ideal. One singer could only spare ten days, and the other twelve.

It may not seem like a big difference from fifteen days, but the director’s half-month schedule had been calculated based on an ideal progression.

Actual filming was bound to take longer, creating an immediate dilemma for the director, who had to urgently convene with the scriptwriters to make changes to the screenplay.

In the original script, Sheng Yan was intended to be the lead, a role of crucial importance, and the screen time for the remaining three actors was to be distributed evenly by Huami.

But given the current situation, even distribution was impossible. The screen time for the two singers had to be compressed, and He Jinxia’s part had to be increased since she had an abundance of time.

For this reason, the director had specifically communicated with her that half a month might not be enough to shoot all her scenes, and He Jinxia had readily agreed to clear a month’s schedule for Huami.

This made the director incredibly happy, even contemplating having He Jinxia as the lead.

"Hmph, such obvious sycophancy, really losing face for us second-tier stars."

In the afternoon, the female singer got the revised script and found her parts almost halved. Unable to help herself, she pursed her lips and made a sarcastic remark.

He Jinxia flipped through the script leisurely, noticing her parts were much more than initially, and was unconcerned with the other’s sour words, casually remarking:

"If you don’t have the diamond, don’t take on porcelain jobs. If you’re unsatisfied with your parts, feel free to ask the director for more. I have no objections."

The female singer "hehe’d" twice but didn’t continue.

Sheng Yan was not in the waiting room, and the only remaining male singer glanced at the two women and knew it was wise not to interject.

It’s better not to get involved in a war between women.

Soon, a staff member came in, asking them to change venues.

...

Champagne, gourmet food, beautiful people... Almost every high-end dinner party converges these elements.

Luxurious European crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, refracting a hazy radiance.

To showcase the lavishness of the dinner party, the crew had specially rented the "Rich Gold" hall at Imperial City First Hotel. True to its name, even the floors and walls were plated with a layer of gold, and many spatial structures had been utilized to bring out an atmosphere of opulent luxury.

He Jinxia had heard that the Imperial City First Hotel housed four major banquet halls: the "Rich Gold," "Emperor Green," "Huaxia Red," and "Gorgeous Pink." Although the names sounded rough, the interiors were not the least bit shabby.

Now, seeing for herself, she found the reputation was indeed well-deserved.

As the scene opened with the snap of the clapperboard, the female singer, dressed in a sexy and glamorous backless gown, pushed open the banquet hall doors and came in slowly, capturing everyone’s attention.

He Jinxia watched her, her red lips curving up into an amused smile, her eyes gleaming with interest like they had spotted prey, emanating a dangerous vibe.

The first scene passed smoothly.

However, it was a pity that a smooth start did not mean the rest would go as well.

The female singer’s disadvantages as a non-professional actor became fully exposed, with constant line flubs and forgotten words making the shooting quite challenging.

Finally, after the female singer and He Jinxia’s scenes were complete, it was time for Sheng Yan and the male singer to make their entrance, and that’s when the male singer ran into trouble, displaying the typical stiffness in expression and body language plaguing new actors.

The female singer was troubled, and the male singer was also having issues.

Perhaps because she disliked He Jinxia, and added to that, her scenes had been largely taken from her, several reasons fueled her resentment and provoked her into playing tricks within the crew.

In one scene, the female singer pretended to accidentally spill champagne on He Jinxia, frantically reaching for tissues to wipe it up and sneakily planting a listening device on her clothes.

When it actually came time to film that scene, the female singer’s movements and expressions each time she spilled the champagne were always off — either too stiff or too fake. The director cursed loudly after an exasperating ten takes:

"Qin Siqin, do you even want to shoot this? If you can’t act, then don’t bother. While there’s not much footage of you yet, I might as well find someone else!"

Qin Siqin apologized profusely, "I’m so sorry, Director, I didn’t do it on purpose. I’m really very sorry."

Saying sorry wouldn’t kill anyone. Though Qin Siqin appeared nervous on the surface, inside she actually felt a surge of relief.

She glanced at He Jinxia from the corner of her eye, longing to see an angry expression but instead met her seemingly mocking gaze.

He Jinxia said, "Miss Qin, you’d better focus on your acting. Keep splashing and the dress can be dried quickly with a blowdryer, but it will waste a lot of time. You’ve been shooting this scene for an hour now, and you’re still messing up. It’s going to get dark soon."

In the end, she added, "I don’t mind working overtime, but I’m afraid if you keep splashing like this, I might catch a cold. I wonder if that counts as a work injury, and whether other celebrities are willing to wait."

The male singer Yanyu’s position was not far from them. Hearing what He Jinxia said, he also couldn’t help but chime in, "Better finish splashing soon, I’m on a tight schedule and can’t afford more delays."

Seeing that the crew’s dissatisfaction was quite palpable, Qin Siqin finally put away her tricks, reluctantly moving past the scene in her heart.

As the shooting ended, Qin Siqin whispered very faintly, "Don’t provoke me in the crew from now on, and be careful around me."

The two were close, and only He Jinxia heard this.

He Jinxia’s eyes flickered slightly, and she responded in a low voice, "What do you think you are? I can’t be bothered to deal with you."