Caught in Affairs with Superstar-Chapter 222 - 188: Rising Phase: 24

In the evening, Gu Huaichun called Zhou Yun to apologize.

"Zhou Yun, about what happened this afternoon, I’m very sorry. I didn’t know before I went that Director Liu wanted me to create a CP (celebrity pairing) hype with you. I would have definitely refused if it wasn’t for the fact that you all were present, as it would be inappropriate for me to refuse on the spot."

Zhou Yun understood Gu Huaichun’s decision.

After all, she was merely a collaborator, not Liu Pinran’s direct superior.

But Liu Pinran was indeed Gu Huaichun’s direct superior. How could Gu Huaichun possibly go against Liu Pinran.

"It’s okay." Zhou Yun asked, "Was he very angry?"

"A little," Gu Huaichun replied.

"Alright, today... I didn’t mean to disrespect you at all, and I truly dislike hyping up a CP with someone. I was angry because he spoke too outrageously, it’s not like what he said about me and Song Chi."

"I know, I understand," Gu Huaichun said.

"Yeah, it’s fine, we’ll have chances to collaborate in the future," Zhou Yun said.

"Okay," Gu Huaichun responded.

With that, the conversation between the two came to an end—there was nothing left to say.

Both knew of each other’s helplessness that could not be resolved. Continuing the conversation would only result in consoling each other.

A few days later, Zhou Lan informed Zhou Yun that the role in "Dark Sky" was now off the table. Liu Pinran had crossed out Zhou Yun’s name from the candidate list during a preparation meeting and announced in an internal meeting that he would no longer work with Zhou Yun, who they claimed became arrogant upon her rise to fame. This news was relayed by Yuehai through Zhou Lan’s friend, who heard that Liu Pinran had directly accused Zhou Yun of being arrogant and uncooperative at the internal meeting. Zhou Lan was angry upon hearing this news, but there was nothing she could do.

She couldn’t just go to Yuehai’s headquarters and tell everyone that Zhou Yun’s alleged arrogance was a smear.

That was simply unrealistic.

There was no other option but to swallow the injustice silently.

Fortunately, although the door to "Dark Sky" was closed, Shen Yao’s new movie was progressing smoothly. The contract was settled quickly and smoothly, with generous terms offered by Shen Yao’s side for everything from the remuneration to various detailed clauses.

Zhou Lan couldn’t help but exclaim, "Blockbusters are indeed different—nothing stingy about them."

In March, the official announcement of the movie "Warm Little Horse" was made, with Shen Yao as the leading actor and including the popular young actresses Yu Sitian and Zhou Yun among the main cast.

The announcement reignited lively discussions.

Several drama and film bloggers said that Zhou Yun’s career was skyrocketing, moving from "Eighth Heartbeat" to "Heart Inquiry" and now to "Warm Little Horse," her projects increasing in scale and production value. Of course, at such times, the inevitable old narrative also surfaced: Zhou Yun must have a powerful backer, which allowed her to ride the coattails of her hype with Song Chi to fame and an upgrade in resources.

Zhou Yun could do nothing about such comments.

Resource leapfrogging? She didn’t feel it that way. Zhou Yun thought to herself that she had no such backer; if anyone was to be labeled as such, it could only be Song Chi. Her transformation over the past year stemmed entirely from that scandal with Song Chi. It was from that scandal that Zhou Yun entered the public eye, leading to a revolution in her career.

Of course, the old saying held true; as long as the internet rumors weren’t too vicious or intense, it was best to just ignore them. The internet was a place rife with nonsense, and if she paid it any mind, it would only grow more rampant and intense.

Regardless of what was said online, securing the role in "Warm Little Horse" was certainly a cause for celebration.

Zhou Yun joyfully opened a bottle of wine for herself.

"You’re drinking already? It’s only noon," Zhou Lan was shocked to find Zhou Yun opening a bottle of wine in the lounge and asked in disbelief, "Don’t you remember you have a shoot this afternoon?"

Zhou Yun raised her glass and said, "Just half a glass, to celebrate."

Her eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint like that of a child.

Zhou Lan couldn’t help but laugh, saying, "I thought you were never the type to indulge like this."

"I’m not an ascetic monk," Zhou Yun replied with a lifted corner of her mouth and eyes that seemed to have a layer of shimmering light added to them.

This scene made Zhou Lan pause in amazement again.

Even after knowing Zhou Yun for so long, she was still occasionally struck by certain moments with her.

It was like being targeted by a sniper.

Zhou Lan knew that she was increasingly fond of Zhou Yun and increasingly believed that one day, Zhou Yun would reach the highest peak and become a legend.

Her conviction was built upon these unexpectedly enchanting moments.

"They’ve already sent over the script, the movie starts filming in October, they’ve asked for twenty-five days of your schedule," Zhou Lan said, "It can be shot within a month."

"How many scenes do I have?" Zhou Yun asked.

"A total of nine scenes," Zhou Lan replied.

Nine scenes in twenty-five days.

Zhou Yun thought to herself, that’s quite extravagant.

This would be her first time filming a movie.

There were seven months until October.

Zhou Lan continued, "He Yong called me this morning, the script for the movie our company customized for you is ready. He’s asking for your thoughts on the male lead."

Zhou Yun was quite surprised and asked, "What, do they actually plan to consider my thoughts in their decision-making?"

Zhou Lan replied, "It’s not impossible. The movie *Life* fell through, and they were worried for a while that you wouldn’t agree to act in the company’s film."

The condition that had been agreed upon with the company was that if they let her act in "Life," she would willingly help the company shoot this workplace drama.

Zhou Yun said, "I haven’t even read the script; how would I know who’s suitable?"

No sooner had Zhou Yun finished speaking than He Yong called that evening, saying the script had been sent to her email. She could have a look, and if she had any thoughts about the male lead, she could suggest them. The company would definitely take her recommendations seriously.

"This really surprises me. I never imagined that one day he would be willing to hand over the decision-making power to me. I thought he would always hold on to this power himself," Zhou Yun laughed and told Zhou Lan about it the next day, "What’s gotten into He Yong? This move seems too generous."

Zhou Lan nodded and said, "You’re still sharp. I’ve heard some news."

"Hm?" Zhou Yun asked with surprise, "What news?"

Zhou Lan said, "The headquarters is dissatisfied with Chengqian Entertainment’s performance for the past two years and is considering letting Lu Yicheng take over his business."

The core business of Chengqian Entertainment was artist management; all other operations revolved around it.

Lu Yicheng, who was in charge of the business division, indeed had the experience and connections to be the most suitable replacement for He Yong within the company.

"Is He Yong going to be sacked?" Zhou Yun’s eyes widened in shock.

"It’s not finalized yet, but there are rumors about it. He urgently needs a top actress to secure his position. Actually, he’s already been working on it. If not for the conflict with you in the past, which made him cautious, he would give you even more autonomy," Zhou Lan said, "He’s trying to win you over."

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