Chapter 66: Potential Crisis

This annoyed Xiao Ran greatly. He wasn’t averse to criticism, but he simply disliked Ni Kuang. Although Ni Kuang was talented, the attacks on China in his works were truly infuriating. Though Xiao Ran didn’t consider himself particularly patriotic, such attacks were indeed slandering the Chinese people.
What angered Xiao Ran most was that Ni Kuang’s son, Ni Zhen, later married Zhou Huimin, the leader of the Jade Maiden Sect, hiding her in a luxurious home. This alone was enough to make many men hate them deeply.
In any case, even if Xiao Ran wasn’t recognized by those in the industry, he would still be hailed as the top screenwriter by outsiders. Over 200 million in box office revenue wasn’t something to be taken lightly—200 million in cash could bury a person. If before some people thought Xiao Ran hadn’t won any awards and thus didn’t count, now that he had won awards, there was no argument left.
Now, Xiao Ran was wondering whether having 100 million screenwriters would be better than 20 million. Of course, it was just a joke; he wasn’t stupid enough to think a movie could achieve 100 million in box office revenue in this era. Unless… he controlled all the theaters and all the actors.
In the morning, Wei Dongling wasn’t very busy. Seeing Xiao Ran’s thoughtful expression, he couldn’t help but laugh. “Being criticized must feel different, right? It’s okay; you’ll get used to it eventually. There are always people in this world who speak well of you, while others speak ill of you—unable to tolerate others’ success!”
Seeing Xiao Ran’s confusion, Wei Dongling cheerfully told him what had happened after they parted ways last night. When Wei Dongling left the venue, he happened to overhear a few people talking. Those people seemed to be from the industry as well, and they disdained Xiao Ran for winning an award. One of them, suspected to be a screenwriter, arrogantly claimed that Xiao Ran was just an ordinary screenwriter and not worthy of being called the top screenwriter.
“Is that so? Did I offend someone?” Immediately, Xiao Ran realized that many problems arose not because one offended others, but because as long as you performed better than some people, you would face jealousy. After thinking for a moment, he smiled and said to Wei Dongling, “Give it to me!”
Wei Dongling spread his hands, pretending to be puzzled. Xiao Ran couldn’t help but laugh. Patting his thigh casually, he said, “I don’t believe you haven’t sent someone to find out who those guys are. Give it to me!”
“You really understand me. You’re great!” Wei Dongling admired Xiao Ran greatly, giving him a thumbs up and laughing. “If you could guess that, then I must be transparent! Those guys aren’t a big deal—just insignificant figures. No need to pay them attention.”
As he said this, Wei Dongling gave Xiao Ran a strange look. Xiao Ran suddenly understood—Wei Dongling was trying to tell him not to get complacent because of the title of top screenwriter and thus attract unnecessary enemies. Realizing this, he bowed like an ancient scholar and said, “Thank you for your advice, brother! Hehe!”

Wei Dongling nodded in relief. After all, he was not much older than Xiao Ran, and he naturally had more experience in this regard, so he gave Xiao Ran some subtle advice. Yet he didn’t expect that Xiao Ran was actually much more mature than his age and wouldn’t become arrogant because of it.

After the joke, Wei Dongling frowned. “The company’s situation isn’t good right now. Before even a single movie has been released, Liao Jingping is already complaining to me. He says we’ve reserved slots but no movies to show, forcing them to find films on short notice, which has caused a lot of losses! We should release a movie first; otherwise, the company’s finances will be in serious trouble.”

“No way!” When it came to work, Xiao Ran lost his usual playful attitude and became focused. After thinking for a moment, he gave his reason: “A Dong, what the company needs now isn’t money—it’s recognition. I think finances aren’t as dire as you say. At most, there are expenses without corresponding income!”

Seeing Wei Dongling nod in agreement, Xiao Ran rubbed his nose and smiled. “Besides, with Fang Ruohai’s financial support behind us, there won’t be any financial problems. So, it’s necessary for us to use our films to build a reputation. Moreover, if we release a movie now, the box office results won’t be satisfactory!”

“There’s something I’m not sure if I should say…” Wei Dongling hesitated. He wasn’t one to hold back his words, but knowing that Xiao Ran was pursuing Fang Ruoxin, he needed to think carefully before speaking: “Relying so much on Fang Ruohai isn’t a good thing, in my opinion. If he plays any tricks with the funds, I’m afraid the company…”

“Probably not, right?” Though he said that, Xiao Ran gently patted his thigh, letting his thoughts follow a rhythmic pace. If Fang Ruohai held them back, the consequences would be unimaginable. But according to the contract, even without Fang Ruohai’s financial support, Shadow’s losses wouldn’t be that severe—enough at least to maintain the current situation.

Strictly speaking, Xiao Ran even hoped Fang Ruohai would break the contract, so he wouldn’t have to give 70% of the film’s profits to him. Coming to this conclusion, Xiao Ran chuckled. “It doesn’t matter. He can’t possibly cause us any harm!”

Besides, I might even become his brother-in-law! Xiao Ran added this thought firmly in his mind. After the conversation, Xiao Ran headed to the filming location. Some scenes of “A Fairy Tale in Autumn” were shot abroad, but now filming had moved to Hong Kong, and it was almost complete.

So, Xiao Ran went to the set of “Prison Storms.” Brother Fa had been busy with filming projects all year, which really exhausted him. Since it was shot on location, it saved a lot of trouble. Upon arriving at the set, Xiao Ran didn’t disturb anyone; only Liang Kun came forward to greet him.

“Is filming going smoothly? Is no one causing trouble?” Xiao Ran spoke with an unmistakable boss-like aura.

“No, it’s going quite smoothly!” Liang Kun smiled broadly. “But boss, you promised not to let me get involved in gang affairs. What does it mean for me to be here at the set now?”

Xiao Ran was slightly taken aback. He turned to look at Liang Kun and smiled gently, “After all, you’re an expert. Having you here makes me feel much more at ease. If anyone really comes to cause trouble, you just need to talk to them. If it comes to physical confrontation, you’re definitely not needed.”
Liang Kun forced a bitter smile. His role as an advisor really did seem like that of one. But with a salary of 20,000 per month, he had to do some work after all. Xiao Ran didn’t leave him. Seeing that the scene was done, Huang Guangliang and Cheng Kui’an along with the other supporting actors were smoking and resting together.
Xiao Ran walked over with a chuckle and called out, “Brother Liang, Brother Da Sha, Brother Ju—the company treats you well, right?”
When they saw it was the company boss, they quickly stood up. Brother Da Sha kept laughing heartily, truly living up to his name: “Not bad, really not bad!”
“Look at your silly face; you truly live up to being Brother Da Sha!” Huang Guangliang also laughed heartily. “It’s indeed good. The boxed meals are generous, the salary is fine, and everyone is very friendly! It’s not like working on other sets where fights break out every now and then!”
He Jiaju and the other two looked quite fierce, no wonder they always played major villains on screen. But they were the kind of villains who were “cute” in their evilness. Brother Da Sha glared at Huang Guangliang and then said to Xiao Ran, “Boss Xiao, maybe we should work for you from now on.”
Xiao Ran knew how to deal with such straightforward people. He laughed heartily and said, “It’s fine. Which company are you working for now?”
In fact, supporting actors like Huang Guangliang weren’t signed by any company because it was unprofitable to do so. So, they usually worked for a company with more business, something like an agency.
When a big company like Shadow, which only handled production and distribution, made a film, it was impossible to bring in all the actors and some less important crew members, such as extras, at once. So, generally, big companies would delegate such work to smaller firms. There were many such agencies in Hong Kong that relied on these big companies to make a living.
Huang Guangliang and the others were now fairly well-known supporting actors, so they weren’t working for small companies. Instead, when Shadow assigned them to a small company, that company would then recruit them for roles. It was that simple. When Xiao Ran asked which company they were with, he was actually asking which company they had the closest relationship with.
“We’re mainly working with Tianxing now. It’s easy to make a living!” He Jiaju, who had remained silent until then, answered Xiao Ran’s question with a smile.
Xiao Ran had heard of Tianxing Film Company from Wei Dongling some time ago. It was a relatively strong agency and production company. He nodded and smiled, “Right now, Shadow doesn’t have many projects. If you only work for me, you might not earn much. Anyway, whenever there are suitable roles, we definitely need you guys as the villains!”
Brother Da Sha scratched his head and laughed. They could tell Xiao Ran meant they were good at playing villains. In fact, with their muscular faces, it would be a waste not to play villains.

He nodded at them, then walked over to Lin Lingdong. The assistant quickly brought over a chair. After saying thank you, Xiao Ran sat down and, turning slightly toward Lin Lingdong and Nan Yan, sighed, “I really am not a competent producer—I haven’t been to the set for quite some time!”
Lin Lingdong and Xiao Ran were already quite familiar with each other, so he burst into laughter. “To be honest, no director wants a producer present every day.”
Xiao Ran chuckled lightly. The producer system introduced by Mai Dangxiong had scared Hong Kong directors, and with New Art City as a strong follower, directors truly feared and resented producers. Even if Xiao Ran were the director, he wouldn’t like any producer interfering in filming.
“It’s okay. I’m a easy-to-get-along-with producer,” Xiao Ran said with a forced laugh. He didn’t want to interfere in the director’s creative process anyway. “I’m curious—for example, in the scene where Fa Ge plays the erhu in the sunlight in the script, how did you handle it? That scene needs to convey genuine joy and be very impactful. How did you do that?”
“Well…” Some things obviously couldn’t be described in just a few words. Lin Lingdong searched for the right terms before telling Xiao Ran, “Actually, first of all, it depends on the actors’ performances…”
Xiao Ran nodded in agreement. Fa Ge’s performance in that scene, playing the erhu and singing, was excellent—like a ray of light in the darkness. Lin Lingdong continued, “Secondly, it requires good scene coordination—meaning using other characters to subtly highlight that joy. For example, you could arrange a few people to play basketball behind Fa Ze, with very focused expressions. That way, the effect will be pretty good.”
Thinking deeply, Xiao Ran nodded subconsciously. He had always tried to learn from other directors, having consulted Zhang Wanding and Xu Ke before. Their styles were different from Lin Lingdong’s, each with its own characteristics.
*****
Novel title: Lin Lingdong
Real name: Lin Lingdong
Occupation: Director
Lin Lingdong is one of Hong Kong’s most outstanding action film directors. When New Art City was filming “Yin Yang Cuo,” the director, Leung Puchai, didn’t follow the script, so he was replaced by Lin Lingdong, who became famous through this film. Later, he gained even greater recognition with the famous “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” series, rivaling John Woo’s work. However, after focusing on his career in Hollywood, he produced fewer notable works.
Films: “High Alert,” “Fierce Eyes,” and the “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” series, among others.