Huayu: This producer has no bottom line.

Chapter 18 The Dark Moonlight of a Short, Ugly, and Poor Man

"Cut! Cut! Cut!"

Inside a nicely furnished office, Ren Pingsheng rubbed his temples and called out three times.

This is an unused office of Sohu.

Compared to the wild grass in Dongba Country Park before, the crew of "Men's Diary: Romance" has completely upgraded their equipment.

Not only was the staff expanded, but all kinds of equipment were also fully equipped.

All of this stems from the staggering 10 million views accumulated after all twelve episodes of the first season of "Unexpected" were broadcast.

And the first production fee that Guo Weiwei received from the collaboration with Seasun Entertainment.

But now, Ren Pingsheng would rather go back to that desolate wilderness to photograph dead fish eyes.

"Zhang'er, there was a problem with the composition of that shot just now. Zoom in a bit, over the shoulder, right up to their face!"

Ren Pingsheng turned his head and shouted at a young man with shoulder-length hair and sweating profusely behind the camera.

"Got it, Director Ren, I'll adjust it right away!" The young man frantically adjusted the focus, muttering professional terms like axis and light and shadow cutting under his breath.

The young man's name is Zhang Yibo. He was specially "captured" by Ren Pingsheng at the Beijing Film Academy.

For no other reason than that Ren Pingsheng remembered that this dull young man who graduated from the photography department would become the editing director of "Better Days", "My People, My Country" and "The Annual Meeting Cannot Stop", and even won a Hong Kong Film Award nomination for Best Editing.

Ren Pingsheng's criteria for selecting people are very clear: the entire team must be composed of multi-talented individuals who can be photographers, editors, screenwriters, and voice actors!

Only in this way can he escape his misery as soon as possible and become a comfortable, hands-off manager.

But right now, Zhang Yibo is just a rookie who's been driven crazy by the film set.

"Bai Ke, I'll say it again, you're playing a womanizer who drives sports cars, and you're supposed to be a short, rich, and handsome guy. Look at yourself right now, where's the slightest hint of relaxation?"

Ren Pingsheng turned back and continued to fire at the other side.

In front of the camera, Bai Ke was wearing a borrowed Armani suit, but he was hunched over and his eyes were darting around. He looked like a little kid who had stolen an adult's clothes.

"Brother Pingsheng...I...I've never seen how a rich and handsome guy picks up girls."

Bai Ke was so aggrieved he almost cried.

"Even if you haven't eaten pork, you've seen pigs run, right? Relax! Do you understand the feeling of relaxation?!"

Ren Pingsheng sighed and turned his gaze to the female protagonist opposite Bai Ke.

"And you, Angelababy, you're playing a sea queen who raises fish, not a ghost. Why are you staring so wide-eyed?"

The girl sitting opposite Bai Ke wore an extremely form-fitting pure white dress, and her long, seaweed-like hair was slightly curled.

To be fair, at 20 years old, she was at the peak of her beauty. Her mixed-race features and unparalleled girlish charm made her the perfect first love straight out of a comic book.

This was obtained by Ren Pingsheng through the Hong Kong agency that he had previously contacted Aoi Sora with.

At this time, she had not yet hooked up with that "Nao Tai Tao" Huang Xiaoming, and was just a familiar face on the fringes of the Japanese and Hong Kong entertainment circles, so her price was surprisingly cheap.

In Ren Pingsheng's vision, her sweet yet sassy appearance, coupled with her years as a young model, would allow her to effortlessly portray the sophisticated "green tea" persona of someone who "arrogantly treats men like ATMs one minute and then pitifully feigns grievances to a sycophant the next."

He is the best choice to utterly defeat the "loser" Wang Duoyu in this drama.

But reality slapped Ren Pingsheng in the face.

When you're with Yang Ying normally, her smile is sweeter than anyone else's, every gesture is full of charm, and her eyes seem to speak volumes when she looks at you.

But once the camera is pointed at her, she becomes a blank stare.

"Baby, you need to project that innocent, aloof vibe. You're treating him like an ATM, but you need to make him feel like he's your guardian angel."

"Director Ren, I...I just did that..."

Yang Ying defended herself in Mandarin with a slight Hong Kong and Taiwan accent, blinking her big, aggrieved eyes.

"Feeling innocent doesn't mean you have to bulge your eyes out!"

"But the photographers in Japan said my face looks smallest when my eyes are wide open..."

Ren Pingsheng scratched his head in frustration.

A poor student who has never seen the world, and a beautiful but talentless woman.

The scene between these two was a complete disaster!

"Ping Sheng, how about... I set an example for them?"

Da Peng, who had been waiting for his scene to start, came over.

"You're coming?" Ren Pingsheng looked at him suspiciously. "Can you play a rich, handsome, and successful man?"

"I can play a 'green tea' character!"

Da Peng chuckled, pushed Bai Ke aside, and walked to the spot where Yang Ying had just been standing.

"Come on, Xiao Zhang, turn it on!"

Da Peng took a deep breath, and his round face, which had previously exuded a loser vibe, instantly changed.

He lowered his head slightly, looking up timidly at us, and with one hand he tucked a strand of hair behind his ear in an extremely affected manner, his voice trembling.

"Brother Duoyu, I received the Xuanjing you gave me, but... you're so good to me, it makes me feel pressured. Let's just be good siblings again~"

That duplicitous, hypocritical green tea vibe is absolutely amazing!

"puff--"

Xiao Ai next to him spat out a mouthful of water, and Zhang Yibo's shoulders twitched from trying to suppress his laughter.

Yang Ying stood to the side, dumbfounded.

She actually learned "tea ceremony" from this man who was nearly thirty years old.

"Brother Peng, you're amazing!" Ren Pingsheng gave a thumbs up. "Baby, see that? Just act like him!"

Yang Ying nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

"Alright, who's the handsome, rich, and tall guy who can demonstrate and rehearse with me?" Da Peng got carried away with his acting and turned to look at everyone.

The audience was silent.

Bai Ke and Xiao Ai kept their heads down; they only had a few hundred yuan in their cards.

Zhang Yibo quietly fiddled with the camera; he still lives in the school dormitory.

Seeing that no one responded, Da Peng cleared his throat, stood in front of the camera, and tried to put on a wicked and arrogant smile.

The result was an extremely greasy performance, typical of a domineering CEO.

Ren Pingsheng sighed. He had the image he wanted in his mind, but when he tried it himself, it was still not quite there.

Ultimately, money is the most nourishing thing.

That kind of relaxed and arrogant attitude, born from never having lacked money since childhood, is something these struggling working-class people who can't even pull out a few cents from their pockets could never fake.

"Alright, let's call it a day."

Ren Pingsheng glanced at the sky and waved his hand weakly.

The first day of filming ended hastily in this hilarious yet chaotic atmosphere.

Although the makeshift team has been upgraded, chaos still reigns.

Xiao Zhang and Xiao Lin started packing up the equipment, Bai Ke pulled Da Peng aside to ask for acting advice, while Yang Ying whispered to her assistant about Hua Yi's situation in Yanjing.

Ren Pingsheng leaned back in his chair, covering his face as he reviewed today's filming in his mind.

Just then, my phone rang.

When she answered the phone, Sister Zhao's deliberately lowered voice betrayed her barely concealed panic.

"A major event has occurred in my life."

"What's wrong?"

"General Manager Gong is leaving the company!"