Chapter 61

Not far away, Lee Hyori, who was talking with the staff members sent by DSP to assist, heard Xia Hou Zhongying's voice and walked over with the staff. When she saw Xia Hou Zhongying's outfit, she couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. What was this kid up to, wearing such a get-up? He was the chief director, after all.

"Zhongying, what are you up to? Why are you dressed like this? Today is the opening ceremony, and we need to perform a ritual to the gods," Lee Hyori asked, speechless.

Today was the day the production team had planned to start filming. According to Xia Hou Zhongying's original plan, filming was supposed to start in the new year, as he felt there was too much preparation needed, and two months might not be enough. However, with Lee Hyori joining, DSP sent many staff members to assist him and Lee Hyori. Additionally, DSP hoped to complete the film as soon as possible to help them recover from the negative media coverage, so they worked even harder to prepare everything the production team needed.

After a discussion, Xia Hou Zhongying agreed to start filming today, and the sponsors fully cooperated. After the press conference yesterday, the school principal immediately held a meeting, allocated the necessary venues for the production team, and required the school leaders and teachers to fully support the team. Jiang Rongying from Rongying Photography Equipment Company also transported the required equipment to Kent School overnight and handed it over to the production team.

With all the preparations in place, the next step was the opening ceremony and the ritual to the gods. However, with Xia Hou Zhongying dressed like this, how could he lead the ritual? As the chief director, this was too reckless, and it lacked any sense of dignity.

"Big sister, I'm dressed like this because of you," Xia Hou Zhongying said dejectedly.

"How is it because of me? I didn't tell you to dress like this," Lee Hyori replied.

"Big sister, have you seen the comments online?" Xia Hou Zhongying said with a sad face. "Now, your fans are saying that I'm harming you by bringing you into the production and are threatening to attack me. My photos and information have been posted online. If I don't dress like this, and your fans see me, they'll throw a bunch of rotten eggs at me."

"So I had to wear an egg-proof coat," Xia Hou Zhongying said, tugging at his black windbreaker.

Everyone almost burst out laughing. It was quite shameless of him to claim it was fashionable, but now they understood the reason. Thinking about it, Xia Hou Zhongying was indeed quite pitiful, having become the target of Lee Hyori's fans without doing anything.

Even though Lee Hyori explained at yesterday's press conference that she joined the production because she loved the script, her fans didn't believe her. Moreover, many tabloids, to attract attention, published a lot of false insider information, misleading her fans and making them hate Xia Hou Zhongying even more.

"Is it really that exaggerated?" Lee Hyori was also at a loss.

"Big sister, it's even more exaggerated than that," Xia Hou Zhongying said, pulling out a newspaper and showing it to her. "Look at this. 'Lee Hyori's Mysterious Boyfriend Exposed: A High School Student. To Support His Career, She Joins His Self-Funded Film for Free.'"

Lee Hyori almost fainted.

"And this one, look. 'Lee Hyori Has Been Kept by a Rich Second Generation. According to an Informed Source, They Were Seen in a Corner of a Cafe, Acting Intimately. The Man Is None Other Than the Director of 'Green Apple Paradise,' Xia Hou Zhongying.'" Xia Hou Zhongying said angrily, "And there's a photo."

Lee Hyori took the newspaper and recognized the cafe at the entrance of DSP Company. At the time, she and Xia Hou Zhongying were discussing how to regain the director's position, so they leaned in to talk quietly. Due to the angle of the photo, they looked like they were being intimate.

Many reporters had been staking out DSP Company those days, hoping to dig up some news. She never expected to be secretly photographed and for the tabloids to report it so shamelessly. Lee Hyori was speechless.

Everyone was also stunned. The media was really too unethical, not considering the age difference of about ten years between the two. They all looked at the depressed Xia Hou Zhongying with sympathy.

"Big sister, with the media distorting facts like this, can I be careful enough?" Xia Hou Zhongying said with a bitter face. "Now, I have to be cautious wherever I go, in case a brick or a rotten egg flies at me."

"Haha, I can't help you with that, big sister. You'll have to be more careful in the future," Lee Hyori said. Her reputation was so great that tabloids in Korea reported her gossip news every day. Complaining wouldn't help. If she complained, the tabloids would be delighted, as they could use the lawsuit to boost their reputation. In the end, they would just issue an apology and pay some compensation, but they would gain a lot. So Lee Hyori had gotten used to it, but Xia Hou Zhongying, who was caught in the crossfire, was suffering.

Seeing the worried Xia Hou Zhongying, everyone burst out laughing again.

Lee Hyori irresponsibly told him to be careful and ignored him, leaving Xia Hou Zhongying so depressed that he wanted to bang his head against the wall. How could he be careful? With so many of her fans, wouldn't he have to hide his face from now on?

Xia Hou Zhongying finally understood why artists were unwilling to offend the media and hated them. He now hated the media, especially the tabloids, for their lack of public morals.

"Alright, let's not talk about this. There are some things I need to tell you," Lee Hyori said with a smile.

Pulling Xia Hou Zhongying to a place a bit away from the others, Lee Hyori and the DSP staff explained to him what to pay attention to during the opening ceremony and the ritual. As the chief director, he needed to lead the ritual, but since he had never experienced such a thing before, they were worried he might make a mistake.

South Korea is a country with strict etiquette, influenced more by Confucian thought than modern China. There are strict norms for behavior and speech, and there is a strong emphasis on hierarchy. Xia Hou Zhongying, influenced by modern open-minded thinking, found it hard to tolerate the various rules in South Korea. After coming to South Korea, his behavior was seen as rule-breaking, which is why he was called the "first delinquent of Kent."

The ritual to the gods is a sacred matter for Koreans, allowing no room for error. Lee Hyori and others, knowing Xia Hou Zhongying's past, were worried he might not understand or might resist the ritual, so they felt it necessary to remind him and explain the procedures.

Xia Hou Zhongying, though not interested in such things, had to consider the feelings of those around him, so he studied the various complex rituals and procedures seriously.

After learning the procedures, at the request of the staff, Xia Hou Zhongying took off his school uniform and changed into a more formal outfit with someone of similar build, and the ritual began.

When Xia Hou Zhongying completed the ritual according to the procedures taught by Lee Hyori and others, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and clapped, congratulating each other on the start of the production.

After the ritual, the production team moved to the first shooting location, a classroom in the school.

As soon as they walked out of the basketball gym, the students outside erupted in screams, shouting the names of the production team members.

Actually, it wasn't the whole team; the students were mostly there for Lee Hyori, with a few calling out the names of Xia Hou Zhongying, Jung Soo-yeon, and Hwang Mi-yeong. As for the others who were not from Kent School, they were just extras, and the students didn't even recognize them.

The security guards sent by the school quickly surrounded the team, separating them from the students. However, there were too many people, and even the school leaders couldn't disperse them, causing a headache.

In the end, Lee Hyori had to step in with a megaphone to calm the students, signing a few autographs for those nearby and explaining that they couldn't delay the start of filming. Only then did the students clear the way.

The students who got Lee Hyori's autograph were overjoyed, almost laughing like they had epilepsy.

Kent School understood that Lee Hyori's arrival would cause a stir among the students, so they assigned all the security and后勤人员 to maintain the safety of the production team and the order of the shooting site. They also prepared mentally for the first few days of disruption to normal teaching, expecting things to return to normal only after the students got used to Lee Hyori's presence.

The seven female characters in the drama were classmates, and their classroom was chosen to be the classroom of Grade 1, Class 5 at Kent School. The selection of the classroom sparked intense competition among the classes, as being chosen meant they would appear in the film, even if only as extras.

In the end, Grade 1, Class 5 won because Xia Hou Zhongying and Jung Soo-yeon were students in that class. The reason was simple: Xia Hou Zhongying was more familiar with his classmates, and the class was the most supportive of the film production, willing to cooperate unconditionally with any request from Xia Hou Zhongying.

The other classes were helpless and had no choice but to accept the result, as Xia Hou Zhongying and Jung Soo-yeon were not in their class.

The production team moved to the classroom of Grade 1, Class 5. After the staff set up the cameras and equipment, Xia Hou Zhongying began to arrange the positions and actions of the extras and the actors appearing in the first scene. He also discussed the details with Lee Hyori, Gao Yunhao, and Quan Xiangjing, making adjustments until all four were satisfied.

Looking at the prepared set, Xia Hou Zhongying felt a sudden surge of excitement. With just one command, the film, which had taken so much effort and faced many obstacles, could finally begin.

Xia Hou Zhongying clenched his fist and softly called out, "Big sister."

Lee Hyori smiled and nodded, encouraging him.

"Action," Xia Hou Zhongying's voice trembled slightly as he said these two words. His nervousness eased, and he slowly unclenched his fist. The filming had finally begun.

"Fighting..." With Xia Hou Zhongying's "Action," the first shot showed the seven girls stacking their hands together and shouting "Fighting" in unison. The camera pulled back, capturing the scene of the seven friends cheering each other on.