Chapter 291: Visiting the Set
Wang Haoran pulled up to the film set and casually brought the McLaren to a stop. The car’s door lifted upward, and he stepped out from the driver’s seat, every movement exuding unspoken ease and nobility.
“Hello, are you Young Master Wang?” A slightly pudgy middle-aged man jogged over quickly, a fawning smile stretched across his face as he addressed him with unfeigned deference.
Wang Haoran gave the unfamiliar man a glance, brows lifting slightly in mild surprise. “You know me?”
The man chuckled cheerfully. “President Wang already told me that you’d be stopping by this evening, so I’ve been waiting here since dusk.” He lowered his voice, eyes glinting. “I haven’t seen you in person before, Young Master, but when I spotted a McLaren pulling in—and saw someone like yourself step out, so young, so refined, with an air of natural nobility—I figured, who else could it be?”
Wang Haoran let out a faint smile. This chubby man was clearly a smooth talker. “What’s your position here?”
“I’m the assistant director,” the man replied hastily, his tone full of pride but his posture still servile.
Wang Haoran nodded. Assistant director. That wasn’t too bad. A person in such a role could probably be useful if leveraged correctly.
The man gave a slight bow, gesturing with a sweep of his arm. “Young Master Wang, allow me to guide you inside and give you a proper introduction to the crew, the shooting schedule, and the filming process.”
Wang Haoran responded with a simple nod.
The assistant director took the lead, guiding him deeper into the set. The location was a commercial plaza, temporarily rented out for the production’s needs. There were no shoppers milling about—only extras in costume and crew bustling back and forth, all focused on bringing this fictional world to life. As they walked, something came to Wang Haoran’s mind. He casually pulled out his phone and brought up a photo—one he’d acquired from Lusa Ming—and held it up for the assistant director to see.
“Is this girl part of your crew?”
The assistant director squinted for a moment, then recognized her immediately. “Yes, I know her. That’s Li Yunxi. She’s a minor extra. Barely above background roles.”
Wang Haoran gave a silent nod. So it was her. Lu Ming had been beaten up over this girl, all because he’d tried to get her phone number.
The moment of silence from Wang Haoran didn’t go unnoticed. The assistant director’s eyes flickered thoughtfully, testing the waters. “Young Master Wang… are you interested in her?”
Wang Haoran didn’t answer that. He merely asked, “What do you know about her?”
“She’s clueless about how the industry works,” the man said, chuckling bitterly. “With her looks and figure, she could be so much more than just a background extra.”
Wang Haoran’s gaze sharpened slightly. “You tried something with her, didn’t you?”
The assistant director laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. “Young Master Wang’s insight is truly incredible.”
“And?” Wang Haoran asked.
“I didn’t even get close,” the man confessed. “Tried to sweet-talk her a bit and caught a slap across the face for my trouble.”
Wang Haoran’s expression remained unreadable, but inwardly, he was already piecing things together. “Did Shen Yixing back her up?”
“Actually, no,” the assistant director replied. “It was the director who stepped in.”
“The director?” Wang Haoran arched an eyebrow. “Then this director must be pretty close to Shen Yixing.”
“Quite the opposite,” the man replied, his voice laced with envy. “They don’t get along at all. Always bickering.”
That surprised Wang Haoran. “What kind of person is this director?”
“Young guy. Really young. Only twenty-one, looks like he could be a male lead himself. Comes from three generations of directors. Background, connections, talent—he’s got it all.”
Wang Haoran fell silent, lost in thought.
This assistant director was a typical low-level villain—a sycophant with little power. But the director who shielded Li Yunxi… if he was a righteous character, why did he clash with Shen Yixing, who was clearly the protagonist in this story? And more curiously, why was he also good-looking?
Even with all his prior knowledge from devouring countless NovelFires in his previous life, Wang Haoran found himself baffled. This dynamic didn’t fit into any template he was familiar with.
But one thing was certain—Li Yunxi was definitely one of the female lead.
As they spoke, the assistant director had already brought him to a high-end handbag boutique within the plaza.
“Young Master Wang, the actors are still doing their makeup. It’ll be a while before the next scene starts. They’ll be filming here. Let me go hurry things along. Please have a seat and rest for a bit,” he said, quickly fetching a plush, high-backed stool and placing it beside him.
“Go ahead,” Wang Haoran said with a wave, settling down without another word.
The assistant director bowed slightly and turned away, his steps brisk as he made his way to the extras’ rest area.
Though Wang Entertainment was a newly formed company, its backing was the colossal Wang Group, with assets in the hundreds of billions. If someone could curry favor with Wang Haoran, the future heir, it could mean instant ascension in the industry.
And so, the assistant director took it upon himself to act.
His eyes swept the gathered extras—and then he saw her.
Amidst the crowd, her figure stood out like a crane among chickens. Even in casual costume and simple makeup, she carried a beauty that couldn’t be hidden.
“Li Yunxi, come here a moment,” he called out.
Her body stiffened before she slowly walked out, stopping at a distance of about three meters from him, clearly unwilling to get any closer.
“Step forward,” he snapped, annoyed by her attitude.
“I’m fine where I am. Whatever you’ve got to say, just say it from there. I’d rather not get close enough to smell your bad breath,” Li Yunxi retorted coldly, not giving him an ounce of face.
Several nearby extras stifled their laughter, but it wasn’t enough to hide their amusement.
“What are you all laughing at!” the assistant director barked, face flushed with humiliation. He cleared his throat and forced down his rage. “Young Master Wang from Wang Entertainment wants to see you. Follow me.”
He’d intended to speak quietly, but with her refusal to come close, he had no choice but to shout it from across the space.
“Wang Entertainment? Let him piss off,” Li Yunxi said without hesitation, her voice steady and sharp. “I, Li Yunxi, won’t bow to anyone.”
The assistant director’s face turned red with fury. “Do you even understand the opportunity in front of you? Wang Haoran’s family has hundreds of billions in assets! He’s more handsome than most of the top stars in the industry! Do you know how many women would sell their souls for a chance to catch his eye? And now that he’s interested in you, you dare spit on that? Are you insane?!”
“I don’t care if he’s got billions or trillions,” Li Yunxi sneered. “I’m not going.”
“You’ll regret this!” the assistant director spat, turning away in fury.
He stormed back to where Wang Haoran was waiting and immediately reported everything that had just transpired, not daring to hide a single word.
Wang Haoran frowned slightly at the account and gave a light rebuke for the man’s presumptuousness before asking, “What’s her background?”
“From the countryside. Her family background is as ordinary as it gets,” the assistant director replied at once.
Wang Haoran narrowed his eyes. “Then this attitude of hers… is it just for certain people, or is she always like this?”
“She’s like this with everyone,” the man said, shaking his head. “She gives no one any face. Not even the director or Shen Yixing.”
Wang Haoran fell silent again.
If he were to put it nicely, Li Yunxi was incredibly headstrong. If he were to put it less kindly… she had a screw loose.
Insulting the assistant director was one thing. But publicly disparaging the heir to the investment company in front of the entire crew? What if Wang Entertainment really did pull out? The entire production would collapse.
She wasn’t just shooting herself in the foot—she was risking the livelihoods of the entire crew.
And with a personality like that, who would like her? Even the protagonist would have a hard time tolerating such a female lead.
Wang Haoran searched through the endless vault of novels he had read throughout both lifetimes, but he couldn’t find a single template that fit Li Yunxi.
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