Nothing in the world that couldn't be solved by money

The dappled sunlight of the pale autumn afternoon fell through the tiny gaps within the cluster of bright-as-blood-red leaves of the maple tree, drawing faint patterns on the face of the beautiful young girl standing in its shade. The dark purple chequer patterned skirt and the plain white colored top of the school uniform only worked to further enhance the loveliness of her soft-looking features.

This type of gentle beauty could easily arouse any man's instinct to protect with just a glance, but somehow or other, this didn't seem to be the case with the handsome youth standing a few paces away from her.

"Ah'Jian, what do you mean? How can you say that I did something like that to little sister Lanhua?" The beauty finally spoke after a poignant pause, her soft and mellow voice able to tickle any male creature's heart. But the handsome youngster was unforgiving.

"Liu Qing, don't act here with me. You're Siming's good friend and I'm also quite familiar with you, so I won't tell him about this matter. But, if I get wind of you doing something like this again…" He threateningly dragged the last syllable, making the beauty's face twist for a bit before it quickly smoothed back to normal.

"Ah'Jian, what are you saying? Why are y-"

"Cut!"

The tense scene suddenly shattered as the two people paused in their actions; the young man who looked very fierce a few moments ago relaxed the tense set of his shoulders as an amicable look appeared on his youthful face.

As for the beauty who was cut in the middle of speaking, she didn't look offended in the slightest and instead turned to look at the middle-aged man who interrupted her. But once the focus turned towards this third person, whatever remaining enchantment that was still in the air from that scene of the pair of the eye-catching young couple under the shade of the bright maple tree vanished without a trace.

Instead, what appeared in the field of vision of the onlooker was an incomparably bustling scene; people were milling about here and there carrying objects of varying sizes in their hands. Some were small stuff like hot water bottles, while others were big ones like chairs and tables– Oh, there was one even carrying a ladder, and three other people huffing and puffing while moving some sort of wooden board that appeared to be… wall partitions?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm?

Some people were staring at the two standing under the maple tree while conversing amongst themselves. Few more could be seen maneuvering what looked to be… cameras– cameras!? Yep, they were moving cameras this way and that, but the most conspicuous among this group of people was still that middle-aged man sitting on a plastic chair, who was now shouting as his face nearly turned into the shade of a ripe tomato.

"Song Yue, what are you doing? This Liu Qing is not just some weak flower. She's a white lotus adept at acting frail and weak while sabotaging the FL ah! You have to express her malevolence more subtly. Don't just twist your face– it's too obvious!"

Despite the harsh scolding, this Song Yue person didn't appear angry. Instead, she humbly listened to what the middle-aged man was saying while nodding occasionally, and once he was done, finally concurred demurely. "Yes, director. I'll try harder."

Seeing this modest attitude, the anger on director Tian's face abated slightly. Today hadn't been a good day for him as well. Early in the morning, that disaster star, Yu Xiuran, had ambled over to the set, declaring that he wanted to have a look at how the shooting was going to happen. The rascal had looked as innocent and sincere as you could get, but would Tian Yun be fooled by this type of lame act?

Of course not! How could he not know that this kid came running over here today out of all days to take a look at that little actress from Star dreams, eh? How old did this brat think he was?

'That's another headache.' The middle-aged director sighed dispiritedly as he signaled the cameramen to get into position. Having this type of woman with such a rotten reputation acting in their drama, won't they drown in spittle once the show starts to be streamed on the web?

How can a small-time web series like theirs bear this level of backlash? What's the use of her being the best suited to play this type of unimportant side character since the losses would be bigger than the gains?

Not to mention— director Tian looked at the building to the side which housed the storage, dressing rooms as well as the resting lounge of the artists, his eyes especially focusing on the tightly closed door of the small office in a very corner of the building. Then he shifted his eyes away as if nothing happened, signaling the two actors to get back into position.

'Anyway, as long as this little shit doesn't kick up a fuss, everything will be fine.'

At this moment, however…

"Director, director– we have a problem." Seeing the flustered look of the heavily sweating crew member, director Tian could feel a corner of his eye twitching as an ominous premonition filled his heart. Feeling his temples starting to throb, he once again paused his action and quietly asked, "What happened now?"

"Teacher Feng and her agent are here."

"Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao appears." (1)

"Huh?"

Seeing the bewildered look on the staff's face, Tian Yun sighed tiredly before once again turning towards the actors as he spoke out loud. "You two– for now, try to get a better feel of this scene. Song Yue, try to be a bit less stiff and more naturally devious. Also Siqi, you should balance the feelings of your character. No matter what, the two of them can still be considered somewhat friends, so don't just lash out at her. Try to mix in more concern with your anger."

Seeing the pair of people nodding blankly, director Tian finally went away after saying that he'd give them half an hour of break. The two released a breath they had been holding in and looking at each other, smiled in relief before moving to sit at the side.

"Wonder what happened?" Song Yue muttered as if to herself while slowly taking a sip of the hot milk tea.

Filming a scene of autumn when it was almost winter, especially wearing the not-so-warm school uniform provided by the drama crew can be quite torturous. Trying to warm her hands with the high temperature from the hot mug, she turned to Meng Siqi, who had been sitting quite well-behaved by her side before suddenly asking, "Siqi, I heard that your company's other artist is going to come to the set today. Could it be that our director went to greet her?"

The good-looking youth lifted his head from the mug of steaming tea and stared at her blankly for a moment before smiling gently while slightly shaking his head. "I don't know sister Yue. maybe the director had a sudden emergency to deal with."

"Hmmm."

Meng Siqi drained the rest of the tea before standing up. "That– sister Yue, it's quite cold so I'd go inside the lounge to look at the script. Are you coming?"

Song Yue shook her head to indicate otherwise, smiling lightly as she prompted the other to go ahead. Then she quietly sat in place, drinking the rest of the now not-so-warm tea as a gentle smile graced her lips. But her young assistant didn't appear as collected as her.

"Sister Yue, look at him. Just because he's from a big company, acting all high and mighty. What's the big deal in answering a sma-"

'Thump!' Song Yue suddenly put down the half-empty cup on the table beside her and shot a sharp look at the fuming young woman, who quickly fell silent the next moment. "Little Xing, be careful of what you say. Eyes and ears are everywhere, and if you provoke someone you shouldn't, both of us will have to suffer."

The young assistant paled and cautiously glanced around a bit before heaving a sigh of relief. Fortunately, there was no one near them– at least within hearing sight. If someone started gossiping about sister Yue, she'll also suffer a lot. "Sorry teacher. I'll be more careful next time."

The young actress hummed in agreement. It was never a loss to be careful in this circle. Having a loose mouth can spell disaster.

It was after a few minutes had passed that the young assistant hesitantly asked the question that had been troubling her for quite some time now, her voice barely above a whisper. "That– what about that person? Having her in this crew, won't it be too troublesome?"

Song Yue sighed and stood up before slowly starting to stroll towards the resting lounge as the young girl trailed behind her. "Whatever happens, we have already signed the contract. As for the rest– the director and the production crew would probably take of it." Also, she heard that their investor is from a well-to-do family. And, Song Yue knew one thing from her experience in this industry for two years now. That there's nothing in this world that couldn't be solved using money.

Glossary:

01) Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao appears - This phrase simply means that when you are talking about someone, they suddenly appears. It can be considered the Chinese version of the saying 'speak of the devil'.