Chapter 34

Sun Shupeng glanced at Liu Yuebing, his expression conveying a sense of disappointment and frustration. He said irritably, "What's going on here? I entrusted you with such an important task, and this is how you repay my trust? Usually, when you guys pull some minor stunts, as long as they don't affect the big picture, I turn a blind eye. But I didn't expect you to pull something like this. If we don't get to the bottom of this today, I'll call the police."

If the matter were handled internally, it wouldn't be a big deal, but once the police got involved, the nature of the issue would change. Liu Yuebing quickly explained, "Director Sun, you don't know me well enough. I've been with you for so many years; when have I ever made a mistake on this issue? This time, Han Fei said he could get cheaper boxed meals. I thought about the huge daily expenses of the production and wanted to save some money for the crew. I didn't expect the food to be so terrible."

At this point, the director turned his gaze to Han Fei and then glanced thoughtfully at Liu Jiajun. He suspected that Liu Jiajun was behind this. Han Fei had always been part of Liu Jiajun's group, opposing him at every turn. Liu Jiajun's son had just been fired, and this incident happened right after. Sun Shupeng wouldn't believe it was a coincidence.

Han Fei, indeed, was not someone who could handle intimidation. After a stern look from Director Sun, he immediately said, "Director, actually, I don't have much to do with this. The boxed meals I ordered were recommended by a friend of Ye Ming. I thought, since Ye Ming is familiar with Beijing, he wouldn't cheat the production. I just wanted to give him a little support. I didn't expect his friend to be so untrustworthy."

Mentioning Ye Ming shocked Sun Shupeng and the others. This new actor was being quite bold. Despite his usual friendly demeanor, he seemed to have a dark side. Sun Shupeng, still fuming, said, "Ye Ming, how do you explain this? Did you take a kickback?"

Taking kickbacks was a common phenomenon in every production. As long as it didn't affect the shooting and wasn't too excessive, the director would often turn a blind eye. However, if caught by the producer, the consequences would be severe. Therefore, Ye Ming was in a very difficult position. If this incident were confirmed, his status in the production would be in jeopardy.

Ye Ming was more surprised than anyone. He slammed his hand on the table, incredulous. "You're framing me. Honestly, we've barely met a few times. What's the point of framing me? If you say I recommended it, show me the evidence."

Han Fei, seemingly prepared, said, "For something like this, how could there be evidence? But I do have a witness. Da Ming was there at the time. You can confront him."

This was a clear attempt to ruin Ye Ming. If confirmed, Ye Ming would never recover. Not just in this production, but he would be blacklisted from almost all productions.

Ye Ming's acting career would be over.

Hearing Han Fei's confident words and the mention of witness Da Ming, the veteran actors like Zhang Tielin looked at Ye Ming with suspicion. They, the supporting actors, ate the same quality of boxed meals as Chen Zhipeng. Without comparison, they might have found the meals a bit light, but they hadn't complained. However, compared to Su Youpeng's meals, the difference was obvious.

Thus, their impression of Ye Ming was not good. Even Su Youpeng looked at Ye Ming with disbelief, as if he couldn't understand why Ye Ming would do such a thing.

Zhao Wei looked disbelieving, while Fan Bingbing seemed more interested in her script. As for Lin Xinru, she took a hands-off approach. She was worried about her own role being replaced and had no time to care about others.

Da Ming confirmed Han Fei's story, swearing that Ye Ming had recommended the boxed meals.

Sun Shupeng turned his gaze back to Ye Ming and said bluntly, "Ye Ming, do you have anything else to say about this?"

If this were confirmed, Sun Shupeng would take severe action.

Ye Ming looked at Han Fei and Da Ming and said, "To find Old Sichuan, you must have put in a lot of effort. You must have investigated me a lot at the Beijing Film Studio. If you don't push me to the brink, I won't push back. I'll give you a chance. If you confess, I'll consider this never happened."

Finding the connection between Ye Ming and Old Sichuan clearly required a visit to the film studio. Ye Ming believed Li Dachuan wouldn't betray him.

Han Fei and Da Ming, however, remained stubborn, insisting that Ye Ming had recommended the meals.

Director Sun Shupeng's face grew darker, as if storm clouds were gathering.

Chao Guoli was already considering who could replace Ye Ming, given that the loss would be minimal since shooting had just begun. Replacing actors was common in productions. For example, in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," the role of Guo Jing was replaced by Li Yapeng after several episodes.

At this moment, Ye Ming seemed to be the target of everyone's attention. The meeting room was so quiet that a pin dropping could be heard.

Ye Ming sighed and said, "I know it's hard for a newcomer, but I didn't expect the production to bully a newcomer so much. Fortunately, heaven has eyes. I want to thank Xinru. You might not know, but Princess Zhihui is a tech enthusiast. Her MD had a problem today, and I helped her fix it. Coincidentally, while I was in the bathroom, I overheard a conversation and recorded it."

Hearing this, Liu Jiajun's face turned pale. Could it be that coincidental?

Sony MD, regardless of its quality, perfectly captured Liu Jiajun's voice.

This was a clear frame-up, a blatant suppression of a newcomer.

Or, perhaps Liu Jiajun was seeking revenge for his son, trying to make Sun Shupeng look bad and kick Ye Ming out.

But no one expected Ye Ming to have recorded the conversation.

If you don't push me to the brink, I won't push back.

Han Fei knew he was finished. He couldn't stay in the production. Da Ming, upon hearing the recording, also realized his fate. He would be kicked out, no questions asked.

The cameraman, Liu Jiajun, might keep his position, as he was from Zhongjie and wouldn't be replaced easily. But for Han Fei and Da Ming, they were the scapegoats.

Sun Shupeng immediately understood the situation and glared at Liu Jiajun, who lowered his head like a defeated rooster.

However, Sun Shupeng didn't plan to let Liu Jiajun off easily. He said sternly, "Liu, since Manager He is not here, I will report this to her. How she handles it is up to her. I don't want any more issues."

This was a warning, telling Liu Jiajun to behave.

Then, Sun Shupeng turned to Ye Ming and said, "I'm sorry for the injustice you've suffered. It was my oversight that allowed this to happen. I apologize. However, I hope we can handle this internally and not let the media know. I hope you understand my position."

Continuing "The Story of the Little Dragon Maiden" was already a miracle. If not for the lack of funds, such incidents wouldn't have happened. If negative news broke, the production's future would be even more difficult.

But Ye Ming was from Yonghua, one of the investors in "The Story of the Little Dragon Maiden." Even if the director didn't give Ye Ming face, he had to give Yonghua face.

Ye Ming, understanding his position as a newcomer, nodded in agreement. His calm demeanor impressed the veteran actors like Zhang Tielin, who admired his composure.

In their youth, they might not have handled such a situation with such grace.

As for Han Fei and Da Ming, they were immediately expelled from the production and their already paid compensation was reclaimed.

Although Liu Yuebing wasn't directly responsible, his lack of supervision led to this incident. The angry director fined him 1,000 yuan. As a trusted aide, he was given a lighter punishment. If it were someone else, they would have been expelled like Han Fei and Da Ming.

Sun Shupeng's decisive action firmly established his authority in the production for the first time.