Chapter 30

At the production base, after the day's shooting had ended, Liu Hanmin sat angrily in a shady corner of the Gong王府, unable to bear the treatment. He didn't even touch the boxed meal that was thrown to the side.

At this moment, he said with great dissatisfaction, "Dad, what's going on here? Didn't you say you would support me? In the end, I didn't even get the lead role. But why is the treatment so different?"

As the person the investors wanted to promote, Liu Hanmin indeed had the right to be arrogant. Moreover, he had a relationship that few knew about—he was Liu Jiajun's son. To be precise, he was Liu Jiajun's recently acknowledged illegitimate child.

The investors' support for Liu Hanmin was actually out of respect for Liu Jiajun. Otherwise, how could a newcomer be so arrogant?

Liu Jiajun snorted and said, "Can you blame me? If it weren't for me, do you think you could have gotten the role of Er Tai? I originally wanted you to play Er Kang, but Ye Ming's performance won the approval of Ms. Qiongyao. Moreover, it's said that 'Rats Love Rice' will be used as a theme song in 'The Story of the Palace.' In such a situation, you can't compete with Ye Ming.

Also, if you have a grudge against Su Youpeng, you can deal with him behind the scenes. There's no need to make things too bad with him and the director. If you act behind the scenes, even if something happens, we can find a scapegoat. Like now, aren't you just putting yourself in a difficult position?

In the future, you need to be more restrained. Dealing with those big stars, your old man has plenty of ways. There's no need to offend everyone so openly."

To be honest, Liu Jiajun didn't really respect Sun Shupeng, but he didn't want to make things too bad with him. After all, there was still He Xiujun above them.

Liu Hanmin had grown up to be quite good-looking, a handsome young man. However, because he grew up in a single-parent family, he was vengeful and self-centered, thinking he was always right and the center of everything. Otherwise, he would think others were wronging him.

Therefore, he said with great dissatisfaction, "I don't care. I just can't stand it. If you don't help me, I can't continue filming. Why can't I have a dedicated makeup van, while Su Youpeng can?"

Although his son was a bit unreasonable, Liu Jiajun thought about it and felt quite helpless. He knew his son's temper very well. If he didn't manage it, something big would happen sooner or later.

Therefore, Liu Jiajun thought for a moment and said, "Forget it, don't worry about it. I'll have Uncle Wu take care of it. He will give Su Youpeng a lesson he'll never forget. But during this time, you must behave yourself and not cause any trouble. Did you see Manager He today? She's already a bit unhappy with you. Even if you have a grudge against the director, you can't openly confront him.

Just like me, if he says filming on the east side is better, I'll insist on the west side. I'm the authority on filming, and I make the decisions. No matter how great the director is, he has to listen to me, and he can't say anything."

Liu Jiajun was more cunning and smart in this regard. Even if it escalated to He Xiujun, he could say it was a difference in work opinions, a work conflict, and that he had no intention of targeting Sun Shupeng, but in reality, he was confronting Sun Shupeng.

On the other side, Su Youpeng, not being very familiar with everyone, didn't eat with the group but in his own makeup van, a privilege of a top star.

As for Ye Ming and the other newcomers, they ate in a small pavilion during the day's shooting.

Lin Xinru sat by herself, still a bit distant from Ye Ming and the others. Although they had been together for a few days and had become somewhat familiar, the barrier hadn't been completely removed.

Ye Ming, Zhao Wei, and Fan Bingbing sat close together, forming a small group.

Zhang Tielin didn't have any scenes to shoot in the evening but stayed, sometimes giving Ye Ming and the others some acting advice. The Emperor was quite willing to teach.

At this moment, Zhang Tielin was playing with his mynah bird, and Fan Bingbing, after eating and drinking, was feeding the bird named Huajie with some grains.

While eating, Lin Xinru said, "If the conflict between Liu Hanmin and Su Youpeng continues, how can we continue filming? I've read the script, and they have a lot of scenes together."

Ye Ming said decisively, "Xinru, this isn't something you should worry about. And it's best not to get involved. As a newcomer, focus on your acting and be a good person. This is the most important. When you have the qualifications to get involved, no one will ignore your opinion. But not now."

Zhang Tielin also said, "Ziwei, what Ye Ming said is right. I've also noticed the conflict between the director and the cameraman. If Liu Hanmin continues to be so arrogant, either he will leave or the director will."

As an experienced actor, he was very clear about such power struggles and would never get involved easily.

He saw clearly that the conflict was irreconcilable and would eventually erupt.

Ziwei, not understanding the dangers of the industry, might put herself in a difficult position if she got involved rashly.

Today, they were supposed to shoot the scene where Xiaoyanzi disguises herself as a eunuch and sneaks out, leading to a fight with the Fifth Prince. However, due to the conflict between Liu Hanmin and Su Youpeng, it wasn't appropriate to shoot this scene.

Chao Guoli found Sun Shupeng and asked about the next schedule.

Sun Shupeng thought for a moment, looked at the script, and said, "Forget it, let's adjust. Today, we'll shoot the scene where the truth about the real and fake princesses is revealed at the scholar's mansion. It's a bit difficult to have Su Youpeng and Liu Hanmin in the same scene, to avoid any trouble. We can also see how Ye Ming performs."

After the arrangements were made, Liu Hanmin also got the news.

Since all the scenes were being shot at the Gong王府, it was relatively easy to adjust, and the last-minute change wasn't difficult.

During the adjustment, Chao Guoli was carefully checking the pre-shooting work, while Director Sun Shupeng was discussing something with He Xiujun. It seemed everything was back on track.

The only one who seemed to notice the change was that Su Youpeng was no longer there.

This made Liu Hanmin feel quite smug as he said to a camera assistant, "Dahu, you saw it. No matter how big a star Su Youpeng is, he still has to submit to me, right?"

Dahu laughed and flattered him, "Brother Min, you're amazing. Su Youpeng may have some success in singing, but when it comes to acting, he still has to look up to you. This morning, you overshadowed their scenes. I don't think Ye Ming is your match either. By suppressing these two leads, you'll show them that they made the wrong choice by not choosing you as the lead."

This was just a joke, but Liu Hanmin felt very pleased, thinking it was true. He believed he could suppress Su Youpeng and Ye Ming.

Liu Hanmin glanced maliciously at the director and thought to himself, "I'll show you who the real lead is."

During the blocking, Ye Ming clearly felt the atmosphere was off. The lighting and camera crew looked at him with hostility.

Moreover, Liu Hanmin was giving him a menacing look.

All of this was noticed by Zhang Tielin, who said from the sidelines, "Ye Ming is in trouble. The lighting and camera crew are hostile towards him, and Liu Hanmin's look clearly shows he wants to overshadow him. This kid is too arrogant, thinking the production is his to control just because he's the investor's choice."

Zhao Wei, sweating, said worriedly, "What should we do? How can we help?"

Zhang Tielin shook his head and said, "We can't do much. Ye Ming is more like an experienced actor than a newcomer. You don't need to worry about him. We'll just watch. If Ye Ming can't handle it, we can't help much. It all depends on whether his acting can overshadow Liu Hanmin."

Ye Ming checked Liu Hanmin's profile: [Name: Liu Hanmin, Age: 24, Acting: 300, Fame: 269, Martial Arts: 70, Insight: 1.5 stars].

This guy, except for his acting, which was barely passable, was a mess. His martial arts were even in the double digits, worse than Zhao Wei and Fan Bingbing, the worst Ye Ming had seen.

His performance this morning was definitely exceptional, or perhaps it was just his natural portrayal of a dissolute young man.

This had little to do with his acting skills.

Therefore, Ye Ming decided to suppress Liu Hanmin and show him that there are always better people out there.

This scene required a very high level of acting. It was a pivotal scene in the entire story.

The truth about Huanzhu Gege's identity would be revealed, and the Fu family would face even greater danger. If this scene was performed well, it would be on par with the later emotional and romantic scenes. If not, it would be a significant loss for the entire production. Therefore, the director was very serious about this scene.

To ensure everything went smoothly, they had to get it right the first time. They aimed to perfectly capture this first major scene.