Actresses

Chapter 59 Threshold

Only now did Shi Jiahe realize a very crucial issue.

Indeed, the initial plan was to shoot an ensemble piece, something that He Yuran and I had confirmed early on. However, we never seriously discussed which role each person would play in the script. Of course, this is understandable, since we hadn't even received the script yet. Moreover, before this problem arose, the team wasn't even fully formed; we hadn't even sat down for a proper discussion.

Shi Jiahe had been busy with some strange things these days, but unexpectedly, Zhuang Pan was the first to bring it up.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, and then typed back: "Don't worry, sis, I'll discuss it with President Ning now."

"Stop dragging it out, okay? Hurry up, she's driving me crazy with all this questioning. When have I ever been this embarrassed? It's like I wasn't sincere in doing this, like I was just messing with her."

Shi Jiahe didn't reply to He Yuran, and didn't know how to reply for the time being, so she directly called Wei Ning.

Wei Ning answered quickly. "What's the matter that's so urgent that you had to call to ask?"

"To make a long story short, Ran-jie is with Zhuang Pan right now. Zhuang Pan asked Ran-jie which role she's getting, but I can't answer. Quick, let's decide."

"What do you mean? It's confirmed for another collaboration?" Wei Ning's tone became noticeably excited. "Is it for real this time? I knew it, my intuition is always right!"

"Don't rely on your intuition. I don't have time to explain right now. You know how celebrities are; they can do whatever they want. You have more experience than me, so tell me quickly how to deal with Zhuang Pan. Besides, it does involve the issue of role assignments."

"Jiahe, don't rush, let me find that character's biography first."

Although Shi Jiahe was extremely anxious, she could only obediently wait with her phone on. After a while, Wei Ning finally asked, "How did you initially communicate with Zhuang Pan and her team? Did you promise her anything beforehand?"

Shi Jiahe tried hard to recall: "It means that the role was both within her comfort zone and a breakthrough, and it also had something that was very much in line with her own personality. You know, Zhuang Pan's acting skills are limited."

"We'll change the characters," Wei Ning said without hesitation. "There's an art-house film actress in the show right now, so we'll change her personality. I'll have the screenwriter write it based on Zhuang Pan."

"Ah, will that work? But... it might be possible," Shi Jiahe thought to herself. She figured she was just cramming at the last minute, so she'd deal with this first. Then she asked, "Could you write a short passage for me?"

Wei Ning sniffed. "Are you in a hurry?"

"certainly!"

"Okay, I'll arrange it now. Wait for my reply." After saying that, the other party hung up the phone.

Looking at her phone, Shi Jiahe could guess that this task had been assigned to Zhao Cai again. The poor kid was probably already on the phone processing the new brief, and soon she'd be slamming the keyboard until sparks flew.

But with Wei Ning around, Shi Jiahe felt more at ease.

After all, they are experienced platform producers, and they know what kind of character sketches can move artists. Let's leave it to them.

Shi Jiahe leaned back in her chair, lost in thought, waiting quietly.

During this time, He Yuran called twice, and Shi Jiahe forced herself to either appease him or make excuses. She couldn't even imagine what the situation was like at her boss's house right now. In all the years they'd been together, she'd rarely seen He Yuran lose control over other people. But for now, this was all she could do.

Fortunately, this time Wei Ning sent the document over in just half an hour.

"Take a look first. I think this version is enough for the celebrities."

"It's so good to have you, Ningning!" Shi Jiahe said happily to WeChat.

Wei Ning was still somewhat smug, and replied with a voice message: "Of course, I have worked with Zhuang Pan before, and I specially tuned some of the lines to be shown to her. With that alone, winning her over is a sure thing."

"Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Ning!"

Shi Jiahe, both excited and nervous, added a watermark and quickly forwarded it.

This time, He Yuran's WeChat went silent again.

Shi Jiahe checked her phone almost every few seconds. She couldn't understand what the show was playing at all. She would rewind every ten seconds, watching each scene five or six times. Her attention was scattered and fleeing, leaving only a little focus, just enough to wait for the result she both anticipated and feared.

Finally, a ding sounded.

Shi Jiahe stared wide-eyed at the words on the screen.

"Zhuang Pan seems to have agreed, but there are still more things to discuss with her agent when we get back," He Yuran sent.

In the empty office, Shi Jiahe couldn't help but shout, "Yes!" She stood up and ran around the desk a few times before quickly sitting back down and replying, "That's great! Thank you for your hard work, boss!"

Then, He Yuran stopped sending messages.

Before she knew it, Shi Jiahe's nerves had relaxed from their previous tension. She leaned back in her chair, feeling both happy and relaxed.

Although her mind was blank at that moment, she really wanted to say, "That's wonderful."

The studio was quiet. Although nothing seemed to be happening around her, and no one would understand her feelings at this moment or know what was going on, it seemed that she had really taken a solid step closer to what she wanted to do.

She heard it.

Looking around, she could faintly hear children running and shouting in the neighborhood through the window. But she didn't care; what she heard was what she wanted to hear.

Shi Jiahe slowly began to pack her things, got up again, turned off the lights, and locked the door.

After going downstairs, she didn't rush home but walked around the neighborhood for a while. After walking for about ten minutes, she suddenly realized, belatedly, where did this strange feeling come from?

—Or rather, how should it be described accurately?

In the past few days, although she wasn't under the so-called heavy pressure of work, her mind had been in a state of artificial tension. If things are numerous and complicated, but all under one's own control, one's spirit can be quite excited because every step taken has a goal, and one feels fulfilled. However, when all actions are passively pushed forward, the anxiety far outweighs the anticipation, because the outcome is unknown, and everything is out of control. This intense mental turmoil and confusion in a short period of time, when suddenly returning to reality, creates a bizarre sense of detachment.

Because real life flows forward like water, changing at a very slow, even imperceptible, pace. This stark contrast can lead to a profound sense of emptiness.

Today is just a corner of the disorderly normalcy of the past few years, but Shi Jiahe feels as if the string of her spirit has snapped.

She didn't know how many more times she could endure something like this.

Training makes muscles stronger, but she feels that with each stimulation, her nerves are becoming more and more fragile. Moreover, her mental resistance to communication and work seems to have reached a new critical point.

Before I knew it, I had arrived at that familiar building again, where the boss's house was located.

She looked up, counting the floors and windows. Sure enough, the lights were on. He Yuran must be home right now, but she didn't know if Zhuang Pan had left or not.

Given her current mental state, it would be best for her to go home, to avoid triggering the boss's mental illness again and being called up for another all-night chat, which would only make things worse.

However, Shi Jiahe started to compete again.

Now she knows where the root of her mental instability lies—actually, she's always known, but she's just too weak to fight back. Thinking about the person she supposedly both loves and hates, he must have just gone through a high-intensity mental ordeal. If she confronts him now, she might be able to fight fire with fire.

Shi Jiahe thought for a moment, then took out her phone and sent He Yuran a new message.

"Boss, has Zhuang Pan left? I'm downstairs."

"I've been walking for a while, and I'm just lounging on the sofa. Are you coming too? My battery is completely dead."

"Your phone? I'll go upstairs and charge it for you, hehehe." Shi Jiahe got excited this time. When the enemy is weak, I'm strong. It's that simple.

"I've had enough of you. I'm not talking about the phone, I'm talking about myself. Fine, come on up."

When Shi Jiahe heard her boss say something like that before, she felt like she had been given a shot of adrenaline. She immediately straightened her back and stepped into the building.

She felt it was even somewhat like an ancient general going to war, full of imposing momentum.

This Zhuang Pan is truly electrifying, single-handedly pushing her boss to this point. But looking at it from another angle, most popular artists are high-energy people; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to withstand the daily grind of appearances and filming. It's remarkable that Zhuang Pan, who hasn't been on set for a while, hasn't become lethargic and is still in such great shape.

Upon entering, I saw He Yuran lounging lazily on the sofa, completely motionless. Even when she tried to speak, she could barely open her mouth. Looking at the coffee table, it was littered with various beverage and wine bottles, scattered haphazardly.

"Boss, are you alright? What did she say? Why did she agree?"

"I can't remember anything from the daytime. My mind is completely blank. Towards the end, I was totally daydreaming. And I got a little drunk later on. I'm telling you, I had no choice but to get drunk! Zhuang Pan kept hugging me and talking non-stop. I told her I was slow on the uptake and that I had to understand what she was saying. She said it was okay, sis. I said, 'Listen to me!' And she kept talking until just now."

"Do you remember what the main things were?"

He Yuran seemed to be trying hard to recall something very distant. He frowned, squeezed his nose, and after a long while, shook his head. "No."

"Sister, are you sure?"

"I'm sure. She's never serious about anything."

Shi Jiahe didn't dare to laugh either, and sat down on the sofa. "So, regarding taking on roles, did she say anything else? Something that made you feel like there was an underlying meaning, or something ambiguous?"

He Yuran's gaze became vacant again. She sighed for a while before shaking her head. "That's it. She said she'd go back and discuss it with her manager. I doubt she could come up with anything coherent."

"Sis, I haven't seen you this exhausted in a long time." Shi Jiahe finally couldn't help but burst into laughter, feeling like she hadn't felt this relieved in a long time.

She even felt that Zhuang Pan had avenged her, because he had accomplished something she had never been able to do on her own. She also developed a sense of intimacy with Zhuang Pan from a distance.

"If she wants to come to my house again, I'll have to think twice. She's the kind of person who won't leave until she's practically dead. I even feel a little sorry for her boyfriend, which explains why he doesn't want to see her and wants to break up."

Shi Jiahe thought to herself, "Boss, we think alike."

"You didn't say that to her face, did you?"

"Your sister isn't that blind! As for you, you should just leave now after you've finished asking all the gossip you wanted to know. I'm going to close my eyes and go to sleep. Don't bother me."

Shi Jiahe thought to herself, "The PPT is still waiting for your review." Never mind, don't bring up things that don't go well. So she stood up and quietly tidied up the mess on the table. After putting the remaining wine back in the refrigerator, packing up the trash, wiping the table again, and restoring the room to its original state, she poured a glass of water and placed it next to He Yuran.

At this moment, the boss had already closed his eyes. His breathing was very even, indicating that he had likely fallen asleep.

Shi Jiahe whispered "Goodnight, Sister Ran," then carried the trash to the entrance and gently closed the door from the outside.

She rode her bike home in the gentle breeze, and could even be considered quite content.

Shi Jiahe was taking out her keys to open the door when she felt her phone vibrate again. The anxiety and unease that had just been relieved for a short while surged back from the neglected corners, crawling into every pore of her body and invading her brain.

What she fears most is that her intuition is often accurate.

Reluctantly pulling out her phone, she saw a new message from Ran Jie: "Zhuang Pan and her agent have reached an agreement; they hope to see the script as soon as possible."

Just then, another message came in. It contained only two short words, but they made Shi Jiahe's vision go black.

"The complete manuscript."