Chapter 294: Invest in Sound Insulation [2 in 1]

Even though he had obtained the guide to clear the mission, Xia Cheng did not manage to get the opportunity to increase the beauty’s affection level of him. The reason? There was really only one—that b*stard by the name of Ye Shuang was too much and stole the spotlight! His cheat was so powerful that he could do nothing about it!

When Rong Su was scolded the first time, before Xia Cheng could adjust the expression that he should show…

It won’t work if I appear too happy. She might misunderstand and think I’m laughing at her misery. Too saddened won’t work either; the girl is already not in a good mood, so if she sees a frown and downturned lips, her mood might drop even further…

When he finally found the balance that he was looking for and thought that he could comfort the girl without being chased away, Xia Cheng stood up and saw the handsome man already sitting next to the girl, teaching her how to act.

“The effect earlier is indeed not so good, but I have looked at the camera already. It is mainly due to the camera angle…

“Later, you have to pay attention to how the scene is split on the camera. Pay attention to the light-reflecting boards and the backdrop and…

“So, you need to move about thirty centimeters from where you were earlier and lean your upper body another twenty-five degrees to your right and open your shoulders about another fifteen degrees…”

After the girl successfully passed the first shoot, she hopped toward Ye Shuang with good cheer. Looking at the happy scene between the two, even the workers had a smile on their faces, while Xia Cheng’s eyes were blinded.

The second time that the girl was scolded…

“If there is a lack in acting skill, we can depend on make-up to fill up the void. Go to the dressing room to take the brow pencils. He wants an aloof expression, right? Let me help you fix the edge of your brows and the shape of your eyes, and you’ll have that effect. By the way, bring some silver dust with you as well!”

“…” Xia Cheng.

The third time that the girl was scolded…

“This time, it is the issue of the clothes. Later, when you stand here…”

The fourth time…

“The gaze is not sharp enough? Other than reflecting light, what kind of function does he think this pair of crystalline lenses can do? Don’t listen to his baseless words—you have to believe in science… How about this? Just stand where you were earlier and do not tip your chin around. Later, during the shooting, try to use your eyes to find my finger. Remember, only move your eyes and not your face…”

…

Just like that, Rong Su activated the cheat known as Ye Shuang and was like a fish to the water at the LPA studio. Perhaps her acting was a bit choppy, her presence not that dominating, her ability to find the camera angle was not mature… But! With Brother Shuang there, there was no problem! The world of science was that powerful!

After a whole day of shooting, not only did the devastated Xia Cheng fail to find an opportunity to show off before the girl, even Vincent, who had thought the day was going to be difficult, was incredibly surprised.

Most of the people there thought that the girl was incredibly clever. Even though there were so many cuts, she would not repeat the same mistake twice… This had nothing to do with acting skills. Nowadays, even the best actress in the world was unable to predict what the director wanted immediately, but this Rong Su little girl was able to do that!

Due to the difference in language, not many people realized how much Ye Shuang had contributed to achieve this effect. Only a small handful of people realized that… for example, the director James. After shooting a few scenes, he started to notice the secret that was at work.

“Ye.” After the shooting was over, Vincent came over to talk to Ye Shuang with surprise apparent on his face. “The director, James, wants to invite all of you out for dinner. Yes, that’s you, Miss Rong Su, Miss Qiu Yu, and Karen… This is too surprising. This is the first time that I’ve seen James extent an invitation to someone that he has only worked with once.”

Xia Cheng walked past with his darkened face.

Vincent was silent for three seconds, and then he coughed and quickly changed his words. “Of course, Mr. Xia Cheng is one of the invited guests as well. Ha ha ha ha…”

Then he quickly turned his head around like nothing had happened. He was probably thinking about how to bring this up with James.

Even though the man had little to no presence, he was still part of the group that came from China. If everyone was invited and he was left home alone to survive on bread, it would be such a rude thing to do. James had no comment on adding another person to the guest list—after all, it was only an extra chair. As long as the people that he wanted to invite came, he was fine.

The one who complained was Su Zheng. After she found out that her right to visit the studio had been stripped, and she had missed out on the chance to be treated to a dinner, Su Zheng, who had been abandoned at the house, was incredibly dissatisfied. She grumbled on the phone, criticizing Ye Shuang for hiscruelty, lack of support, and lack of gentlemanly behavior.

Ye Shuang listened to all that calmly and very gracefully ended the call. She turned to smile apologetically at the other guests at the table who were waiting for her to finish the call. “I’m sorry, that was a call from a friend of mine… Er, we were talking about the change in film shooting?”

James, who had severe lines on his face, did not appear to be so serious when he was not at work. He touched his goatee, and this director who was famed for being harsh when he was behind the camera was surprisingly patient. “Actually, over these few years, I’ve had many complaints. If there is a chance, I really wish to shoot an epic film, not these small, meaningless commercials…”

“Cough!” The embarrassed Vincent picked up the napkin to wipe at his lips. He then apologized to everyone. “Sorry, the food must’ve gone down the wrong hole, please go on.”

James did not care to adjust his choice of words before the party who practically gave him the money to work. He turned his head back and continued with no change to his tone. “But do you know how hard it is to shoot a film that is satisfactory? All these dummies only know how to do it according to my direction, be it the lighting, the camera angle, or the rest… If I give them the freedom to do things their own way, the result will be trash that cannot be seen at all.”

Vincent opened his lips with difficulty like he wanted to say something, but he thought about it and closed his mouth again. Actually, he really thought that other people’s projects were really not that bad—it was mainly because James had too high a standard for himself and everyone else.

Ye Shuang politely raised his glass of white wine and sipped on it. She put the glass down, thought about it and then said, “I think I understand your intention already, Mr James. You wish to take on another film project, but when working with others, they often cannot live up to your expectations and are not of much help. Not working with others, you are not able to look after so many details… You were satisfied with your earlier projects at the time, but now, looking back, you’re no longer satisfied with that level or standard, so you want me to help you direct?”

James nodded affirmatively. “It is exactly like that.”

Just like that? Ha ha… Ye Shuang smiled gently. “I’m sorry, but I reject.”

Oh, you rej… no wait, can you repeat yourself‽ Not only Vincent, even James thought there was problem with his ears. ‘Direct’ was a better way of putting it. However, to be frank, what James wanted Ye Shuang to do was to be his personal assistant. In China, people called that the set director.

After all, that was all Ye Shuang had shown herself to be worth. She was able to use the fastest speed to achieve the scene that James wanted, but that did not mean that she had the ability to man the camera. Even if she had shown talent in that field as well, Ye Shuang was a complete newbie in the field of directing. In modern society where everything needed experience as a pass, no matter how genius an individual was, they could not have risen to the top in one day.

James thought that his invitation was already very sincere. With his current fame, anyone in his crew would be able to get a job in any other crew. As long as they were able to say that they once worked in director James’ team for X years, even if that person was just a normal assistant, they would be conscripted into another team and heavily valued.

For someone like Ye Shuang whose name had been remembered by James and was given special power by the director, their future prospects were the best among the best. In other words, if she really accepted James’ offer, even if it was just for the role of a set director, six months later, she would become a director that people in the field would fight over.

“Why would you reject it?” James was only shocked for several seconds before he quickly calmed down. He thought that Ye Shuang probably had his own demands and considerations. If those demands were not overboard, James thought that it could still be negotiated. Like asking him to introduce some connections, some opportunities…

“It’s nothing, it’s just that I already have a job.” Ye Shuang took another sip of the wine and sighed, thinking about the state that she was in. After putting the glass down, she lifted her head to look straight at James. Without hiding the fact or trying to fool the man, she admitted, “I have a boss now that I enjoy working for, and I am very satisfied with my current lifestyle, so I do not wish to change anything… Er, when did you arrive?”

Su Zheng’s eyes lit up, and one could practically see the tail that had materialized behind her. “I’m here to ask for signature of course! I was just wandering around the area. I just hung up the phone, and I decided to walk into this restaurant. Is this what they call fate?”

“…” Ye Shuang.

James was baffled by the sudden change in Ye Shuang’s style… Rather, he was confused by the sudden change in language. He looked at Su Zheng, who suddenly, appeared and Ye Shuang, who had a speechless expression on hisface. “Do you two know each other?”

Qiu Yu smiled gently and realized her job as the translator. “Mr. James, this is our colleague, Su Zheng. She came with us to France. Due to a personal reason, she was not at the studio today, and that is why you have not seen her.”

James nodded like this did not matter to him. “In other words, she is part of Miss Rong Su’s team?”

“Not exactly.” Qiu Yu shook her head and explained, “To be precise, she is Mr. Ye Shuang’s team member.”

Su Zheng reached into her four-dimensional pocket and procured a DVD for James to sign. “You’re Director James, right? I like your Wandering Heights a lot, even though I don’t understand it at all!”

Qiu Yu translated everything, due to some unknown reason… probably because there were many witnesses on the spot… so she did not cut out the last sentence.

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James looked at Qiu Yu and Su Zheng with complicated emotions for some time, trying to figure out whose problem it was. “Wandering Height is Bruce’s work… Of course, I personally also think it is a writing that is hard to understand.”

Then, he lowered his head to drop a signature on the DVD.

Vincent and the rest lowered their heads and pretended to not hear anything, like the food on the table had suddenly captured their absolute attention.

Su Zheng very naturally took the seat next to Ye Shuang and used the same move to push away Xia Cheng, who had little presence to be there. Very happily, she grabbed the DVD back and then turned to ask Qiu Yu, “What did the goatee uncle say?”

Qiu Yu smiled. “He said thank you for liking his work.”

“…Even though I don’t know French, I know math, don’t try to bully me.”

The words length obviously did not match up!

Su Zheng was dissatisfied with Qiu Yu’s dishonesty. The latter smiled and lowered her head to cut at the food like nothing was wrong. Su Zheng puffed up her cheeks and then poked Ye Shuang. “Brother Shuang, can I order food?”

“Stop being crazy, we’re guests here.” As shameless as Ye Shuang might be, she was going to help decide on the host’s behalf that they were adding a guest. Thankfully, James was more understanding than he appeared. After Su Zheng sat down, he called for the waiter to ask for a menu. He used actual actions to express that he did not mind treating another guest.

Despite her earlier attitude, Su Zheng did not push it. She took the menu and pointed at the colorful pictures. She poured herself some wine and then sat down and did not say anything after that.

Xia Cheng pulled his plate from Su Zheng angrily. He originally wanted to mock Ye Shuang when he denied James’ offer, but that had been completely ruined by Su Zheng’s intervention. Therefore, he could only listen as James continued his persuasion. “What is your current job? Honestly, I think the same job for too long a time will only exhaust your talent. Even though I don’t know the height that you can reach, but temporarily, I am still interested in your talent. Perhaps you can try to help me with just one film. After all, you are still young now—it is the time for you to try out many different careers.”

Su Zheng grabbed the plate of seafood that she had ordered and begged for a translation. Under the situation where Karen did not know Chinese, Rong Su did not know French, and Xia Cheng was ignored… Qiu Yu’s translation was barely accepted by Su Zheng.

Chewing on a fresh oyster, before Ye Shuang even answered, Su Zheng already answered on her behalf. “Brother Shuang is a high-class human resources manager. He can earn up to several million in minutes, and his job is very challenging and exciting. Why should he lower himself to be someone’s assistant? Xiao Yu, translate for him… Wait, never mind, you’re too dishonest to do that.”

Qiu Yu blinked innocently. “You have to trust in my professional ethics.”

“You… Er! Who kicked me?” Su Zheng claimed angrily.

Brother Shuang turned his head to smile kindly. “Are you sure you did not accidentally kick the edge of the table?”

I did not do that! Su Zheng was about to explode when she saw Ye Shuang glanced silently at Xia Cheng and then glanced back at her… Su Zheng sat back down quietly. “…Hmm, now that I think about it, I probably did accidentally kick the table.”

She forgot that there was a bad guy there. Even though it might not be dangerous to reveal Ye Shuang’s job, it was not good to attract people’s suspicion.

After dealing with Su Zheng, Ye Shuang thought about it and turned the question back to James. “Mr. James, even though it is difficult for everyone to match due to differing personalities, I believe it is not impossible for you to find someone to be work with. Have there not been someone that you enjoy cooperating with from the past?”

Looking back at James’ information… Fine, Ye Shuang had not focused on James before. The man’s field was too non-mainstream. When Ye Shuang was studying for the case, she did not notice anything worth paying attention to. Therefore, even with Ye Shuang’s photographic memory, how was she going to remember something that she had not studied?

Just from a logical angle, no matter how a director found their success, it would not have happened overnight. Before he became today’s James, among his many workers, mentors, friends, or people in the circle, could there really be no one who had gotten his approval?

No matter how arrogant and talented one was, that was purely impossible. There might not be many, but there had to be some.

As she expected, James revealed a nostalgic gaze. “Of course, I once met someone who was as brilliant as you are… You are very good at observing and adjusting details, but that person is good at designing and organizing the bigger picture.

“Edward is a genius scriptwriter. This is not only because he writes a very good plot, but most importantly, he is able to come up with many different, intertwining but complimenting plotlines in a short amount of time. The way he writes is like painting—you’ll never realize it from the beginning, but you couldn’t be in awe when the full picture is completed…”

James sighed. “I always thought Edward would rise to become a great figure in his field; his scripts are unrivalled… Unfortunately, like you, he does not have much interest in films. We only worked together on two projects before Edward completely disappeared from the movie world. Even I had a hard time looking for him.”

Ye Shuang did not concur or add to what James said because she realized when the man brought up Edward, there was a change to Xia Cheng’s emotion. Even though it was swiftly covered up, that ripple did not escape Ye Shuang’s detection. Obviously, the distraction was caused by the name Edward, but what could his relationship to a movie scriptwriter be?

“I’m sorry to ask, but is Edward French?” Ye Shuang paid attention to Xia Cheng while she asked.

“Of course not, he’s American.” James’ brows went up immediately. He looked rather annoyed. “Have you not seen my famous film before?”

Ye Shuang nodded honestly. “I’m sorry, but I really have not seen it before.”

“…” James.

Vincent had been silent, but he knew right then he had to say something. He cleared his throat and tried to smooth things over by changing the subject. “I think we should talk about Ye next time. Perhaps by then he might have changed his mind. James, you need to give him some time to think about it.”

The atmosphere lightened slightly. After James excused himself to use the bathroom, Vincent leaned in to whisper to Ye Shuang to explain, “Edward and James got their start from that film. After that, James became more famous while Edward disappeared… Er, you can reject James’ offer, but do not speak ill of Edward before him, and more than that, do not insult his work.”

“I’m not insulting his work because I seriously have not seen his film before.” Ye Shuang sighed helplessly. “Fine, tonight, I will go watch his films to not upset him next time.”

After that, James lost interest in inviting Ye Shuang to join his crew, so the atmosphere was quite friendly, and they finished the dinner.

The rare thing was that Xia Cheng did not try to do anything else to raise his affection in Rong Su’s eyes. It felt as if his attention was suddenly distracted, and he had no time left for Rong Su.

Vincent actually did not have to follow them home, but after Ye Shuang said that she was going to watch James’ earlier works, Vincent decided to follow Karen back to her home after checking and realizing that his schedule was quite free the next day. How much of it was due to giving face to James was an unknown. In any case, Vincent thought that it was worthwhile to pay more attention to Ye Shuang’s group.

“You stole my wine again?” After Karen served everyone some dessert, she put the tray down and sat on the sofa. She sighed when she saw Vincent already holding a glass of wine in his hand.

Vincent smiled rather not so politely. “Don’t be so stingy, Karen. Good wine has to be shared with those who know how to enjoy it—that is how it will gain its true value.”

“Those who know how to enjoy it?” Karen chided him. “Are you talking about yourself? But I can only see a thief. Don’t forget, you can’t even recognize the content of the wines.”

“Of course, I’m not talking about me. Have you forgotten about Ye?” Vincent tipped the leg of his glass toward Ye Shuang. “We have with us a real wine connoisseur… Ye, why don’t you tell her which year this wine is from and what it is made of?”

“Stop joking.” Even though Ye Shuang smiled helplessly, she still managed to give out a list perfectly, and she did not even miss the percentage of the ingredients used in the wine. If there was a chance to gain a new ally, she would not miss out on it. Even though she might not get an ally, at least she could minus an enemy.

Karen was surprised. She leaned over to sniff the glass in Ye Shuang’s hand. When she lifted her head, the surprise on her face deepened. “You are hundred percent correct.”

“Of course, he is correct!” Vincent claimed proudly like he was the one who made the effort. “I’ve already told you Ye has many talents that we have not seen before.”

When have you said that? Ye Shuang pretended not to have heard Vincent as she turned her focus to the movie on the TV that was starting.

Right then, Xia Cheng poked his head out from upstairs. “Karen, I have something that I need your help with, can you come up for a moment?”

Due to the issue of language, there were not many in the living room who understood that. Rong Su and Su Zheng did not know the language to enjoy the movie, so they had decided to go for a walk. Qiu Yu, who accompanied Rong Su, naturally went along with them.

Karen’s husband and son had gone to play tennis.

Xia Cheng called Karen upstairs while Vincent stayed with Ye Shuang at the living room. There was no one there to eavesdrop on them on the second floor.

But everything had an exception.

For example, there could be an alien with super hearing just downstairs, and the door to the two’s room might not have a good sound insulation…