NWWNL – Chapter 30 part 2

While Yi Yang was looking at Han Xiao, Han Xiao was also looking at Yi Yang.

Although he was a man and did not have a woman’s sixth sense, Han Xiao was still keenly aware of Yi Yang’s malice towards him. But thinking about it, this was the first time he has seen Yi Yang. He had never crossed the man before. So why did Yi Yang have such heavy and almost undisguised malice towards him?

That nameless malice made him subconsciously reject the man in front of him.

But as far as he knew there was no reason for hatred between them.

Everyone around was quiet for a while.

Just when the two were still firmly ‘shaking hands’ with each other, a soft voice came from the set, “Director Xu, I’m ready.”

The two suddenly let go.

“Xinyi, you’re here? Let me introduce you, this is President Yi, the main investor in our show.”

Xu Xinyi, with a strange smile that said ‘I don’t know you at all’, spoke in a way that tried to distance herself from Yi Yang. “Hello, President Yi.”

Yi Yang saw Xu Xinyi wearing her ancient costume.

Her long hair was scattered at the back of her head and decorated with beads and jade hairpins. The gorgeous costume wrapped tightly around her waist and limbs while a wide skirt spread out over her legs, as graceful as the wind through the willows.

–“This dog man seems so fascinated. He must have been attracted by my beauty!”

Yi Yang returned to his senses and said, “Hello.”

“President Yi, please sit down for a while. I still have to walk Xinyi and Han Xiao through the scene later.”

By coincidence, the scene Xu Xinyi and Han Xiao were shooting today was quite ambiguous. It was a scene in which Xu Xinyi would take care of Han Xiao’s character after she rescued him.

And at the end of the scene, there was an emotional kiss.

Of course, they didn’t plan to do the kiss anymore. After the first incident, all the kissing scenes were done using stand-ins.

With the on-site staff ready, Mr. Sun and Yi Yang sat in front of the screen and watched Xu Xinyi and Han Xiao on the set.

Xu Xinyi walked in from outside with a bowl of soup. She sat by Han Xiao’s bed, briefly tested the temperature of the soup in the bowl, and then wanted to wake Han Xiao up to drink the medicine. However, Han Xiao was in a coma and would wake up to drink the medicine.

After careful consideration, Xu Xinyi swiftly took a mouthful of the medicine, pinched Han Xiao’s chin, leaned over, and was about to feed the medicine to Han Xiao with mouth-to-mouth.

Behind the monitoring screen, Yi Yang frowned. His expression was cloudy, he tugged uncomfortably at his tie, and his face was covered with displeasure.

Zhao Bin, his assistant, saw his boss’s face and knew that something must have upset him.

Looking at the screen, he suddenly remembered the rumor that Xu Xinyi had been kept by a boss. He was surprised in his heart, as if something that he had been guessing for a long time had been confirmed all of a sudden, and he bowed his head.

Meanwhile, on set, Xu Xinyi and Han Xiao’s lips were only a fraction of a centimeter apart, and their lips were about to touch when Han Xiao suddenly woke up at the critical moment.

The two people looked at each other, stunned for a moment, and their gazes entwined and entangled.

Xu Xinyi finally seemed to start and realize something, and suddenly stood up. But Han Xiao clenched Xu Xinyi’s wrist regardless of his injury and knocked over the bowl of medicine in her hands.

“Don’t go!” His voice was weak and extremely dry. “Why did you save me?”

Han Xiao suddenly gave her a tug. Xu Xinyi was caught off guard and bumped into the bed before falling into Han Xiao’s arms.

An impulse to push Xu Xinyi away spread like ripples on the surface of the water at the bottom of Han Xiao’s heart.

But under Xu Xinyi’s clear and frightened eyes, he barely restrained his fear.

But the feeling was rising.

Han Xiao fiercely pressed Xu Xinyi down on the bed, flipping their positions, and Xu Xinyi looked up at Han Xiao with fear and expectation.

Yi Yang clenched his fists in front of the screen.

“Jingheng! Don’t…” Her words came to an abrupt end.

The lens was pulled back for a long shot and in the shadows there seemed to be an emotional kiss, half-concealed.

“Cut–” Director Xu called out with a smile, “Very good, pass!”

Xu Xinyi got up and away from Han Xiao for fear that the intimate contact would upset him. “I’m sorry, Teacher Han, I offended you just now. Are you all right?”

Han Xiao waved his hand. “I’m alright.”

Yi Yang’s face was turning even more gloomy.

Director Xu smiled and looked at the two investors, “How was it Boss Yi, Boss Sun?”

Mr. Sun sized up the situation and didn’t say anything for a moment, instead he looked at Yi Yang’s face and asked him what he thought.

“What does President Yi think?”

Yi Yang looked at Xu Xinyi with a heavy gaze and said nothing.

His face was very ugly, his already unsmiling face was now frosty like an arctic tundra, it seemed he was not satisfied with the scene.

Mr. Sun felt his interpretation was right.

“I don’t think it was very good,” He shook his head and began to pick at the scene. “Before I came here, I heard that although Miss Xu’s reputation online was not very good, her acting skills were good, but when I saw her act just now, it was not all that much, just so-so. It seems the rumors were unfounded.”

Director Xu did not expect that Mr. Sun would really dare to say that. But since he was an investor he had to be patient and asked, “I don’t know where Mr. Sun was not satisfied?”

Mr. Sun pretended to shake his head with regret and sighed, “I’m just a layman. I don’t understand this, but I just don’t feel she was any good and I can’t get immersed into the scene with her acting. Director Xu, you also passed Miss Xu’s take after acting the scene once. But why have I heard Li Hanxing would get NG many times when she acts? You’re not bullying Li Hanxing, are you?”

Director Xu’s face didn’t look very good, but he still replied, “How could I do something like that?”

Mr. Sun said meaningfully, “You wouldn’t do something like that? But as far as I’m concerned, I’m afraid that my 10 million yuan is just going down the drain. Miss Xu’s acting really doesn’t reassure me.”

Han Xiao had many dealings with investors and directors in the entertainment industry over the years. After he heard what Mr. Sun said Han Xiao wasn’t polite with his response. “If even Xinyi’s acting skills don’t reassure you Mr. Sun, I doubt you can find any actress in the whole entertainment industry that would make you feel assured.”

Being contradicted in public, Mr. Sun’s face was swollen, but he knew the weight of Han Xiao’s words and he could not attack him in public, so he continued to attack Xu Xinyi and ignored Han Xiao.

“Since Teacher Han is so approving of Miss Xu’s acting skills, why don’t you show us a few more performances alone, Miss Xu? That way we can all see Miss Xu’s real strength. I don’t think Miss Xu will mind, will she?”

Li Hanxing spoke ‘understandingly’ from the side, “Sister Xinyi, Boss Sun is just outspoken but he has no malice. After all, he has invested 10 million yuan in this drama, which is not a small sum. We should be considerate of him. Although he is not an expert, he can at least play the part of the audience. Isn’t our TV series being made for the audience? If the audience doesn’t like it then it must be bad. So why don’t you show Boss Sun a few more performances?”

Xu Xinyi did not smile. “It takes a certain amount of time to put on makeup and prepare for a scene. I’m afraid it will waste Mr. Sun’s time.”

“Then, Miss Xu, just don’t bother with makeup. You look pretty like this. I’ve seen a lot of costume dramas. The way you’re dressed now is already what the women of the boudoir looked like. Why doesn’t Miss Xu do an impromptu dance?”

Yi Yang heard those words and looked over at Mr. Sun with a cold look, revealing contempt and hostility that no one else noticed. His indifferent facial features were increasingly layered with frost.

The atmosphere dropped to a freezing point and no one spoke.

–“Even a eunuch knows to get angry and get revenge. But this dog man is just watching me being bullied and acts indifferent. What a man he is! Not even as good as a eunuch!”

–“I knew that the dog man was unreliable. I just have to do it myself.”

Xu Xinyi sat down as if she didn’t hear them and spoke bluntly. “I’m sorry, I’m not good at talking. But Mr. Sun, since you know that you’re a layman, how about you don’t give out advice in front of an expert. Director Xu was very satisfied with the scene just now, and I was also very satisfied, but only you seemed to think I was not good at acting. Mr. Sun, if you have trouble seeing you should wear glasses when you go out and if you don’t understand, you shouldn’t comment. Otherwise, your nonsense will be laughed at. “

“What’s more, you say you are an investor in this show but you only invested ten million. You’re so picky and you want me to perform a dance but, with all due respect, do you deserve it? With a mere ten million, you want to talk nonsense in front of me, Mr. Investor? Don’t come here and embarrass yourself with your tiny investment of ten million yuan. I don’t lack that little bit of pocket money. I’ve seen a lot of people like you who think they’re qualified to jump around in front of me.”

Yi Yang, who was about to speak up, “…”.

Director Xu, who was just about to say something for Xu Xinyi, “…”

Han Xiao who was hesitating, “…”.

The actors and staff present were so stunned that they could not close their mouths. Although they had all seen Xu Xinyi’s mouth these days, they did not expect that she wouldn’t hide it from the investors at all.

Mr. Sun did not expect that Xu Xinyi would dare to talk to him like this in front of so many people. He trembled with anger and his tone was dangerous. “Xu Xinyi, do you know what you just said?”

“Director Xu, is this an actress from your crew?” Mr. Sun pointed at Xu Xinyi and asked Director Xu harshly: “Director Xu, I trusted you and invested ten million in your drama, but just look at the heroine you’ve chosen. Her acting is not good and her reputation on the internet is even worse.”

“Did you know that there are still fans on the official WeChat account saying that because Xu Xinyi was cast they are boycotting the show? Xu Xinyi is a surefire money-losing product from a glance. From the start, I didn’t want a woman like her cast as the heroine, but you insisted on using her! When I get back, I will explain all this to President Xiao. If you can’t handle this matter properly then we will have to consider withdrawing the investment!”

“A woman like me? What kind of woman am I? Or did Mr. Sun always feel that Li Hanxing, your relative, was more suitable for the heroine role?” Xu Xinyi spoke like she suddenly realized something, “I forgot. When I was still working for Tianyu, the company asked me to give up the role of the heroine of this drama to Li Hanxing, that must be what you meant Mr. Sun.”

–“What’s the use of marrying this dog man? He won’t care about you, he won’t take care of you, and he won’t stand up for you at the critical moment. Ah~ for a woman, it’s better to rely on yourself than to depend on heaven and earth.*”

No one spoke on the scene and there was a long pin drop silence. 

Being so humiliated by Xu Xinyi in public, Li Hanxing was so angry that her nose was crooked, and she looked at Mr. Sun with eyes that were crying torrents.

Mr. Sun couldn’t stand it.

“Director Xu, this is the heroine you chose! If you don’t change Xu Xinyi out for me today, I’ll withdraw all my capital!” With that, he said to Yi Yang, “Boss Yi, you also heard this Xu Xinyi’s attitude towards us!”

“You want to change the heroine?” Yi Yang looked coldly at Mr. Sun, “Is there a better candidate for the heroine in Mr. Sun’s mind?”

Hearing what Yi Yang said, Mr. Sun assumed that Yi Yang was also dissatisfied with Xu Xinyi so he took Li Hanxing’s hand and said. “I have great confidence in Hanxing’s acting skills.”

Before Li Hanxing had time to react, she heard Xu Xinyi’s ridicule.

“It turns out that Mr. Sun’s idea of good acting is this Li Hanxing who can’t even remember her lines even after 20 or 30 NGs. Mr. Sun sure has a unique taste and I really don’t deserve Mr. Sun’s praise.” Xu Xinyi took a long look at Li Hanxing, scanning her from head to toe, and said with incomparable disdain, “I didn’t know that Miss Li was shooting a film for the Republic of China’s crew. Who in our crew isn’t wearing ancient costumes all day? Who would wear a cheongsam out in broad daylight?”

“If Mr. Sun wants to withdraw, it’s no problem. Director Xu, I’ll invest however much Mr. Sun withdraws. You can rest assured that I still have this little bit of pocket money, and I have great confidence in my acting skills.”

Yi Yang suddenly felt he didn’t need to be here. Xu Xinyi doesn’t need him. She could manage this sort of thing easily by herself.

“NG 20 or 30 times?” Yi Yang’s tone was slightly mocking. He glanced at Li Hanxing but quickly withdrew his eyes. “I don’t think I can agree with Mr. Sun’s taste. A few days ago, I talked to President Xiao about cooperation and President Xiao recommended some of Mr. Sun’s ideas to me. But now it seems that this cooperation still needs to be carefully considered.”

“This…” Mr. Sun did not expect that Yi Yang would use this matter to back out of the cooperative relationship discussed with the Yi Group. It had taken him a lot of effort to secure that cooperation, so he spoke in a hurry. “Mr. Yi, these are two different things. If you don’t believe it, we can ask Li Hanxing to act a scene for you. NG 20 or 30 times? It’s pure nonsense.”

“Director Xu, is that nonsense?”

Director Xu said with a smile: “Since there are no outsiders here I can say that 20 or 30 times is exaggerated, it should only be a dozen or so times, Hanxing’s acting is okay but she still needs to make some efforts.”

Xu Xinyi made no secret of her sneer.

Yi Yang said to Director Xu, “Director Xu, Mr. Sun is right in saying that your drama should be more careful in choosing its actors.”

Mr. Sun was delighted.

Yi Yang continued: “For people like Li Hanxing who have to NG ten or twenty times, it is a waste of everyone’s time in the crew.”

Mr. Sun suddenly paled.

“Mr. Sun, every industry has its own evaluation criteria. I am not an expert and I cannot easily judge the acting skills of an actor. However, Director Xu has directed dramas for many years. I believe in his vision and professionalism and I also have great confidence in Miss Xu’s acting skills. Seeing her acting just now, I almost thought Miss Xu was really attracted to this Mr. Han.” He looked at Xu Xinyi with an unreadable gaze.

Xu Xinyi felt a little guilty and shifted her line of sight.

After Yi Yang said so much, Mr. Sun knew that he had made an error in judgment.

He had looked at Yi Yang’s face before and saw he looked quite dissatisfied with Xu Xinyi. Why was he putting in a good word for Xu Xinyi now?

But, whatever the case, he couldn’t offend Yi Yang here today.

Seemed he would have to give up this piece called Li Hanxing.**

He said with a smile: “President Yi is right, every industry has its own evaluation criteria. I see why President Yi is such a high level elite, unlike me, I know too little about television to speak about it and I made a slip of the tongue.”

Hearing that, Xu Xinyi deliberately asked, “Oh? So Mr. Sun now thinks that my acting skills are good, while Li Hanxing’s acting skills are poor?”

Li Hanxing quietly tugged at Mr. Sun’s sleeve, but he brushed her off. “Of course, Hanxing’s acting skills still need more practice. To NG so much delays the whole crew.”

“It won’t take just a day or two to learn. I’m afraid that going on like this will delay the progress of the whole crew. Mr. Sun, Hanxing is your relative. Why don’t you take her home and ask a teacher to give Hanxing a few more lessons, and then give her a few roles when her acting skills are better? What do you think?”

Mr. Sun’s expression really could not be described just with the word ugly.

Li Hanxing immediately said angrily, “Xu Xinyi, what do you mean? You just want to kick me out, don’t you? I’m telling you, I signed a contract with the crew! Who do you think you are? You think you can kick me out?”

Yi Yang looked at Mr. Sun coldly.

Mr. Sun hurriedly smiled and said, “Of course. We can’t delay filming for something like this.”

Li Hanxing could not believe it, “Boss Sun!”

“Alright!” Mr. Sun reprimanded, “Stop talking!”

“Fortunately, this Miss Li has not been with the crew for a long time, plus all the NGs because of her poor acting skills, so she has not yet acted most of her scenes. Once a newcomer joins the crew, she should be able to catch up to the previous progress in a day or two.” Xu Xinyi smiled and got up. “I have to shoot another scene later, so I won’t see you off.”

Mr. Sun was enraged and wanted to leave as soon as possible. “President Yi, I feel I’ve seen enough of the crew today. It’s getting late, and I still have some things to deal with, so I’ll go first. When you have time, we can discuss our cooperation?”

Yi Yang was concise and did not give a definite answer, “Another time.”

Mr. Sun secretly scolded himself for losing both the small and the big for the sake of a woman. He estimated that he would have to make some serious effort to establish the cooperation after this. And it was all because of Li Hanxing, who he was already a little bored of anyway.

“Then I’ll go first.” With that, he left Li Hanxing behind and left in a hurry.

When Li Hanxing saw that her backer had gone, and the people around were looking at her like a joke, she immediately stamped her foot and ran after him crying.

Seeing those two leaving, Yi Yang unconsciously rubbed the wedding ring on his ring finger.

The staff who had been watching secretly and openly dispersed one after another.

Xu Xinyi twisted her waist and said, “President Yi, thank you so much for today. If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know what I would have done.”

Yi Yang raised an eyebrow but played along and pretended not to know her. “You’re welcome Miss Xu, if you really want to say thank you…” He took a room key from his assistant Zhao Bin and handed it to Xu Xinyi.

“I’m very interested in Miss Xu and I’m going to stay here tonight. I don’t know if I can have the honor of inviting Miss Xu to come to my room tonight for a chat.” His tone was full of ambiguity.

The offered room key attracted a lot of attention.

–“I knew he had bad intentions and just wanted to harm me!”

–“Dog man, you’re going to die tonight!”

Xu Xinyi politely refused. “I heard that President Yi is married. For a lonely man and a beautiful girl to be in the same room, if your wife knows about it, I’m afraid there will be a misunderstanding.”

Yi Yang had a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Miss Xu misunderstood. I also invited Director Xu to have a chat tonight.”

“…”

Xu Xinyi gave a dry smile. “Is that so.”

Yi Yang suddenly got up and looked down at her. “The other investor is gone.”

Xu Xinyi maintained her smile.

–“Dog man, tonight either you die or I live!”

–“You just wait for me!”

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*the ‘rely on yourself rather than on heaven and earth’ is pretty self-explanatory I feel? It’s just an idiom meaning you can only rely on yourself because the rivers can drain and the mountains can crack… or something.

**so this line was ‘少不得得弃车保帅’ which means something like ‘abandon the car to be handsome’ which doesn’t make a lot of sense but after some googling I found that this is apparently a metaphor used in regard to the game Chinese chess. So I just reworked the line a bit to make sense with a different ‘game’ metaphor