Chapter 68: Replacing the Female Lead

  Liu Yifei first openly talked about that unpleasant shooting experience in her blog, beating around the bush a lot, and when she got to the point, she glossed over it. In the end, she concluded that the bad guy was a short middle-aged man, who absolutely could not be He Mu. Although she didn't have much contact with He Mu, his words and deeds left her with a very good impression, and she looked forward to cooperating with this actor with great potential, which would definitely be a wonderful experience.

  Now the "reactionary" media has completely lost its voice, and all the victims have spoken out for He Mu. What else can they say? The carefully crafted headlines and articles for tomorrow can be discarded now. Of course, there are still some unscrupulous small newspapers speculating that Liu Yifei was forced by Tiger Wolf Entertainment to say something against her will, claiming that the facts are not as Liu Yifei said. Although this argument is baseless, it still has a small market.

  In addition, some stubborn people on the internet still insist that He Muyang insulted their goddess, and the goddess only said some insincere words for the cooperation of her new play. As for these people, no matter how conclusive evidence you provide, it's all in vain.

  ——————

  In the general manager's office of Hu Lao, Da Tang said in confusion: "It's strange, didn't Liu Xiaoli say that her daughter wouldn't get involved in this matter? Why did she suddenly change direction, is it Liu Yifei's personal behavior?"

  Xiao Fang smiled: "Liu Yifei would never have done something so outrageous without her mother's permission, in fact this is a deal between Liu's mother and me."

  "Deal?"

  "That's right, the deal," Xiao Fang said with a hint of helplessness. "Let Liu Yifei prove He Mu's innocence, and then I will unconditionally terminate her acting contract without damaging Liu Yifei's reputation."

  "Didn't she say on her blog that she was looking forward to collaborating with He Mu?" Da Tang asked, and then suddenly realized the answer himself, "Oh, right, looking forward to collaboration doesn't necessarily mean this time's collaboration. But why did she say it like that? Why didn't she just say it directly?"

  Xiao Fang explained: "It was my requirement, the sponsorship fee from the sponsor has not been transferred to the crew's account yet. If Liu Yifei's withdrawal news spreads now, I'm afraid the sponsor will make a fuss, so I thought about waiting for two days after the payment is made before announcing it. Anyway, the contract doesn't require the female lead to be Liu Yifei."

  "So the company's top priority now is to re-select a female lead."

  "It's not just the female lead, several supporting actors who hadn't signed contracts also changed their minds a few days ago, and we need to recruit new actors again. The start date will have to be postponed for a while. Fortunately, Liu Yifei's withdrawal should save us quite a bit of money, which we can use to invest more in the supporting cast. Whoever replaces her will only cost less, so with the extra budget, we can invite some heavyweight supporting actors, which will add color to this drama."

  Datang nodded in agreement, "It's just that the right female lead isn't easy to choose, and I don't know why Liu Yifei was so eager to quit, didn't she say she really liked this play at first?"

  "Who knows, maybe there's a better choice," Xiao Fang guessed.

  ——————

  Liu Yifei's home, Liu Xiaoli was eagerly watching Chen Jinfeng make a phone call. Before long, Chen Jinfeng finished the call and smiled at Liu and her mother: "The agent said that next month we can fly to the US for the first round of auditions. If all the interviews go well, Xixi will become the female lead in this super blockbuster, working with Donnie Yen and Jet Li. This is absolutely a great opportunity to step onto the world stage!"

  Liu Xiaoli pulled her daughter's hand: "What did I say? If we don't give up on 'Stewardess', won't we miss this good opportunity?"

  Liu Yifei was also somewhat excited, investing over 100 million yuan. Jackie Chan and Jet Li, two kung fu superstars, collaborated for the first time. The special effects were stunning in this oriental fantasy epic. This is absolutely a masterpiece that will attract attention from around the world. If she can really be part of it, it would be a major turning point in her career, far more significant than starring in a few TV dramas like "Stewardess". As for "Stewardess", she had already helped He Muyi clarify things, and they didn't owe each other anything anymore.

  "It's been so many years since I returned to the US, my spoken language is almost rusty. I want to go back and listen to English radio broadcasts, you guys chat." Liu Yifei playfully winked at her mom and godfather before entering her own bedroom.

  ——————

  The day after Liu Yifei's blog clarification, the new issue of Star Power Weekly, which sparked this public opinion incident, was released. As promised by Zhong Dajun, they apologized for the trouble caused to He Mu and Liu Yifei in their previous article. What they did was even more extreme - they published an apology letter, written not by the magazine's legal representative or the author of the article, Guo Siyuan, but by a self-proclaimed extra actor named Wu who claimed to have worked on the set of "The Legend of the Condor Hero" and had harassed Liu Yifei during filming, also known as the short middle-aged man mentioned by Liu Yifei.

  This apology letter details how he was motivated, how he specifically implemented it, and lists the psychological fluctuations and feelings before and after the behavior. Finally, it simply expresses his deep sense of guilt and intention to repent.

  With the release of this "rich" apology letter, He Mu's suspicion was completely cleared, and because the content of the apology letter was rich and explosive, the sales of "Star Power Weekly" also increased by ten percentage points. This new magazine has begun to rise in the gossip magazine field, becoming a unique landscape.

  In the editor-in-chief's office, Zhong Dajun opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate with Guo Siyuan. The idea for the publicity stunt was his brainchild, and he had even personally gone to Xiangshan to find that actor surnamed Wu. He also taught that person how to write the apology letter. It could be said that the surge in sales of these two issues of the magazine were inseparable from Guo Siyuan. Zhong Dajun had indeed found a treasure, and he was already considering increasing the advertising fees for next season. Of course, what would also increase was Guo Siyuan's salary.

  ——————

  The sponsorship fee for the "Flight Attendant" crew has basically been settled, and Xiao Fang no longer has any worries. The news of the change in casting for the role of Ruan Jing soon came out, and Liu Yifei's side also confirmed it. According to Hu Ge's statement, Liu Yifei was unable to continue cooperating due to physical reasons, and both parties parted ways peacefully. The role of Ruan Jing will be re-selected with a suitable candidate. Liu Yifei said that she would go to the United States for a period of quiet retreat and recuperation, and unfortunately, she would not have the chance to play the role of Ruan Jing. She hopes that the next person can perform well in this role.

  As soon as the news came out, not only did the media move to dig up the inside story, but also major brokerage firms quickly sprang into action, sending countless letters of recommendation and self-recommendation to Hu Lang Studio. The play was already hot before it was even filmed, plus the influence of the original work, this play is bound to be a hit. It's easy to imagine how tempting the temporarily vacant female lead Ren Jing would be for those aspiring actresses who have not yet made a name for themselves.

  This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rise to fame, and if seized, one can quickly become a star. As a result, many young and beautiful actresses have started taking action, some by using their connections, others by making sacrifices. However, Shao Fu is not easily swayed by recommendations from friends and insists on rigorous auditions and assessments. Those who are unsuitable will be rejected outright. This is an investment of tens of millions, and he cannot afford to compromise the quality of his work for personal relationships, unless he wants to ruin his reputation.

  It was also because of Xiao Fang's strictness that after Li Qiang completed the script, the position of the heroine remained vacant. All other actors had taken their positions, but only the female lead was missing, causing the crew to delay filming until the end of August when another major event occurred in the entertainment industry, giving Xiao Fang an opportunity.

  ——————

  August 30th, He Mu was still at home, and he already knew the reasons and consequences of Liu Yifei's breach of contract. Although he couldn't say he hated her, his heart still had some knots, and with the lingering impact of the chest-touching incident, it led to the two not collaborating again for many years.

  He stayed at home and posted a blog, then browsed the news online. Suddenly, one piece of news made him freeze. On an entertainment news section on a portal website, "Huang Xiaoming was in a car accident last night on his way back to Beijing, with one dead and one injured" was prominently displayed.

  He Mu was shocked and speechless, although he had an unpleasant experience with Hu Ge before, He Mu always regarded Hu Ge as a target to catch up with and surpass, but their later interactions made them good friends. Every time Hu Ge came to Beijing, He Mu would host him, and when Hu Ge's movie premiered in the capital, he thought of He Mu first. Now seeing his friend's life or death unknown, He Mu's first reaction was to call him, but then he called Director Li Guoli instead.

  Li's phone was always busy, and it took several calls to get through. Li Guoli seemed very tired: "Just now, many friends have asked me about Hu Ge's injury. I can only say that he is still alive and not in danger of his life, but the situation is not too optimistic. It's not convenient to visit him for the time being." He Mu had to give up his plan to fly to Shanghai immediately.

  Another day passed, and the news on the internet and in the newspapers was updated. It turned out that Hu Ge's injury was to his face. No wonder Director Li said the situation was not optimistic. The face is an actor's foundation for survival, especially for actors like Hu Ge who take the idol route. He must ensure he is handsome enough to attract the admiration of young boys and girls. If his face is disfigured, the blow to him will be fatal, and his acting career may also come to an end.

  It was on this day that Liu Shi was called into the office by Xiao Fang and Da Tang.

  "Poems, you should already know about Hu Ge's matter." Da Tang asked.

  Shi Shi nodded, originally she was about to enter the group, and the makeup styling had already been tried out. Unexpectedly, Hu Ge had such a big thing happen, as the soul figure of the drama "The Legend of Archery", the consequences of Hu Ge's incident were that the entire crew was paralyzed, and it was unlikely that the crew could restart in a short period of time.

  "So your work focus should be on 'Stewardess', got it?"

  "I know." Poetic nodded cleverly.

  Xiao Fang smiled and said: "You have no idea."

  "Right, you still don't know." Datang also chimed in.

  "What am I supposed to know?"

  ……