Failing to find a Chinese actress for a domestically produced sci-fi film was one of Qiao Sen’s biggest regrets.
But, when he looked at all the current actresses in the industry, someone with the right level of acting and a suitable image was rare to come by. So, he had no choice but to select the French actress.
Soon, the French actress arrived in Beijing, and Tangning and Qiao Sen went to meet with this internationally award-winning top actress.
Her figure and appearance were both top-rate. On top of that, she exuded a sense of sensuality and elegance like a typical foreign woman.
The French actress’ name was Cate. She was stunningly beautiful.
Foreign actors always had a lot of conditions and restrictions when filming in Beijing, so Qiao Sen and Tangning were mentally prepared for it. But, when Cate’s manager, pulled out a long list of conditions, Qiao Sen was still a little shocked. She was simply filming a film, yet she even had specifications for the makeup she used…
In the end, Tangning couldn’t stand it anymore, so she turned and said to Qiao Sen, “I’m not feeling too well. I’ll leave this with you to handle.”
Qiao Sen knew that Tangning was unhappy with the situation, so he quickly dealt with Cate before he followed behind Tangning and asked, “Are you wondering why we didn’t leave the opportunity for a local actress and instead chose to waste money on a foreign one?”
Tangning remained silent for a few seconds before she nodded her head.
“We have no choice,” Qiao Sen shrugged. “Listen to me. We need Cate.”
Tangning took a deep breath and did not say another word.
The two returned to the hotel, prepared to continue their negotiations with Cate’s manager.
“I’m quite interested in your culture. Especially your good looking men…” Cate said in fluent English. “I hope we work well together.”
The entertainment industry, whether domestic or foreign, were very similar. So, of course, the behavior of actors wasn’t much different either.
Cate was a professional when it came to acting. So, of course, she liked having fun in private, but, she didn’t cause too many problems.
Despite this, Tangning still felt a sense of danger.
But for now, she could only wait and see how things panned out, one step at a time.
…
Meanwhile, Xia Hanmo signed a contract with ‘The Big Adventure’ and officially joined the permanent cast of the show. However, no one in the industry had high hopes for Xia Hanmo. They felt that Zhou Qing was crazy for finding an actress that was famous for having a bad reputation.
But, until Zhou Qing’s official departure from the show, he still had the right to choose his hosting partners. This was a condition the TV channel had agreed on when they initially asked him to stay with them, and it was still valid.
‘The Big Adventure’ currently comprised of three hosts and three guests. Every week, the show took place in a different location where they participated in various challenging missions.
Because each mission involved local characteristics of their location, the ratings were very high. The producers put in a lot of thought and were clever with their design of the show. Moreover, the hosts and guests all had a great sense of humor. This wasn’t easy to achieve in a variety show.
Of course, shooting took place in the outdoors. So, Xia Hanmo and Lin Qian had to prepare themselves to follow the crew wherever they went, and once shooting started, it would take roughly one week to complete. Lin Qian thought about how Li Jin was often busy. Now that her schedule was so unstable as well, there didn’t appear to be much hope between the two of them.
So, when Lin Qian left Beijing with Xia Hanmo, she did not notify Li Jin about it. She simply gave Tangning a phone call.
Fortunately this time, the shoot did not take place overseas but in a quaint mountain village inhabited by a local minority group.
Coincidentally, as they headed into the village, it began to rain.
Xia Hanmo was a newcomer, this was the undeniable truth. So, amongst the hosts and guests, no one liked her except for Zhou Qing.
Simply looking at the attitude that the managers had towards them, was enough to see their disdain towards them; even their managers ignored them.
Because the mountain village had limited resources, it wasn’t possible for the cast and crew to live in a 5-star hotel like they would in Beijing. Their only choice was to live in a homestay.
The director and Zhou Qing had discussed this issue beforehand and decided to give the worst room to one of the singers.
Actually, the only downside to it was that it was more humid than the other rooms.
After the singer found out about this, she pretended not to be picky, but in private, she went to find Xia Hanmo and asked, “Xia Jie, I can’t stay in humid places. Do you mind swapping rooms with me? I have a tendency to develop eczema.”
Xia Hanmo had no choice but to nod her head, “OK.”
A moment later, Lin Qian approached and glared at her, “I left you alone for one second and you ended up losing your room. What a waste of Zhou Ge’s efforts.”
“This is just a small matter,” Xia Hanmo smiled. “As long as our guests behave during filming, I’m willing to give up my room.”
“It’s too humid in here!” Lin Qian frowned.
“I have an idea.” After speaking, Xia Hanmo went to find some limestone and scattered it around the room, “This should help.”
“I can’t stand you,” Lin Qian shook her head and headed into the bathroom to wash down. At this time, Zhou Qing suddenly came knocking on the door.
Xia Hanmo did not expect Zhou Qing to come to her room. But, when she saw him, she noticed that he did not look pleased.
“Zhou Ge…”
“Why did you give your room away? The placement of rooms affects the game we play tomorrow. By making this decision on your own, you’ve cut into the crew’s resting time because they now have to make new arrangements.”
“If the guest makes a request, you should resolve it. There is no end to compromise.”
Xia Hanmo was a little surprised, but she lowered her head and accepted the scolding, “Sorry, I made a mistake.”
“I’m strict towards you because you need to grow up. Tangning’s artists shouldn’t be like this.”
After he was done talking, Zhou Qing turned around and left, leaving Xia Hanmo all alone in a stunned state.
She was willing to accept Zhou Qing’s scolding. But, his last words sounded like he doubted Tangning.
Lin Qian heard the conversation between the two and patted Xia Hanmo on the shoulder, “Right now, it’s best for you to do nothing. You simply need to understand that those involved in this program is like its own separate society. Don’t get fooled so naively again.”
Xia Hanmo nodded her head.
The next morning, everyone gathered to have breakfast. But, Xia Hanmo and Lin Qian ended up arriving late.
Everyone looked at the two women, including Zhou Qing.
“Why are you so late?”
Xia Hanmo shook her head and explained, “Our room was relatively humid, so when we woke up this morning, we discovered there were a lot of bugs in the room. Afraid that it might frighten some of you, we asked the owner of the homestay to do a thorough check of the place. So, we were a little delayed.”
“That’s right, I was frightened to death last night.”
“I even touched one!”
The guests immediately responded as they looked thankfully at Xia Hanmo.
“Hurry and sit down,” Zhou Qing instructed after Xia Hanmo was done talking.
Xia Hanmo made the guests grateful towards her, not because she wanted them to like her, but because she wanted them to feel guilty the next time they tried to request something from her.