Actresses

Chapter 75 Enlightenment

However, unlike when she hung up on Sister Stone earlier, Shi Jiahe didn't have the courage to end the call with Wei Ning.

Even though they were good friends, she knew perfectly well that she and Wei Ning were not equals in terms of power and status. Besides, Wei Ning had just subtly pointed out that she had no prior experience in production. The implication was that without her, she wasn't qualified to be involved in this project. If things continued to escalate, Wei Ning might say something even more hurtful.

Even if you think you're right in every word, you're no match for the power and pressure of the platform.

So-called principles are meant to be broken by platforms.

Shi Jiahe pressed her philtrum, trying to suppress the nausea, which had already exhausted almost all her strength, leaving her no time to retort. During this time, she kept drinking water and rinsing her mouth, but the person on the phone didn't stop talking, rattling off a rapid-fire monologue.

"Jiahe, this is the last time I'll say this to you. If it weren't you, but someone else, I wouldn't have said a single extra word. I'm only saying this because of our relationship, so don't pressure me. What I'm telling you is the best outcome I've considered. You have to accept it, or, to put it bluntly, I can kick you all out. But I don't want that, so please don't force me to say anything harsh. I don't want the people I care about to suffer losses or be wronged. Because we're such good friends, I'm thinking of you. I'm thinking of your artists. I hope you understand."

Shi Jiahe didn't have time to refute a word, because she was busy suppressing the nausea that kept surging up, but it looked like she was about to lose control.

She stood up and rushed to the bathroom without even putting on slippers, still holding her phone. She put the phone on the sink, then, leaning against the basin, began to dry heave.

At this point, it was completely impossible to hear what the person on the other end was saying.

Wei Ning seemed to be shouting later, "What's wrong with you? Something's not right over there. What's that sound? Are you vomiting?" Shi Jiahe was completely confused.

After vomiting everything up, Shi Jiahe finally felt much better. It seemed the takeout order had gone bad again; her stomach was already sensitive, and eating something greasy had probably made it unbearable. She thought weakly, "I'll just order some porridge later."

After rinsing her mouth and drying her face, she dragged her heavy body back to the sofa, panting as she spoke into the phone, "I feel really unwell today... probably with low blood sugar and gastroenteritis. So I've been in a bad mood, and I might have said some harsh things to you."

Wei Ning was silent for a few seconds. "Why aren't you going to the hospital? Do you want me to go with you?"

"No need, you're so busy, I'll just take a taxi myself."

"Jiahe, the way we're talking, with all these veiled barbs, is making me uncomfortable too, as if I wanted to be like this. You see, whether you're not feeling well today or you're accusing me of being unfair to Zhaocai, do you think I don't know what's going on? But we're in this situation right now. If I don't do things according to President Zhou Chun's wishes, I can't even protect myself, so how can I protect you? To be honest, if you took this project to another platform, it wouldn't pass either, but it still has hope here. So stop being so conflicted, go to the hospital quickly, and get some rest. Then we'll discuss what to do next. I think you should look on the bright side. Your sister Ran has been trending all day today, and I saw that her reputation is excellent. That's actually a good sign."

"Okay, I'm too tired to talk right now. Let's talk later."

The two remained silent on the phone for a long time. Wei Ning probably realized that continuing the conversation would be pointless, so he finally spoke up: "Then give me a call if you need me. I'll contact you again in a couple of days. As for the screenwriting, I'll communicate directly with Zhao Cai. Don't worry about it; I'll play the bad cop."

"I'm not worried about who plays the good cop/bad cop... I don't have any losses. What I want to say is... things can't be done this way... Every project is made up of people. If you want your project to be successful, you have to make the people on it willing and dedicated to working for you... Don't easily hurt people's feelings, especially young people... It's easy to hurt someone's feelings. It's hard to make up for it..."

Shi Jiahe spoke at length, panting, before realizing that the other end of the phone had already hung up.

She put her phone aside and stared blankly at the ceiling.

So much happened today; it seems I should try to figure things out first and tackle them one by one. Never mind, nothing's more important than ordering takeout. Leaning against the sofa, Shi Jiahe realized she could barely stand. In that instant, she understood the truth of the old saying, "Health first."

The names Cheng Xiaotang and Li Luoan seemed to have reappeared in the WeChat group. There must be some new discussion or trending topic. But Shi Jiahe wasn't really concerned at the moment.

When the takeout arrived, she didn't delay and ate it immediately. The light porridge was good for her stomach, and after she broke out in a sweat, she finally felt much better.

This time, she slept fitfully until midnight before finally getting up. After sleeping on and off all day, the discomfort in her body disappeared, and the slight headache only appeared after she had a full night's sleep.

She stood up and went to the living room to get her laptop, ready to concentrate on reviewing the news and updates she had missed that night, as if she were reviewing official documents.

As expected, Cheng Xiaotang posted a second Weibo post in the evening, directly addressing He Yuran, saying she was currently producing a project and hoped to collaborate with two former artists. But this was truly ridiculous; she bluntly stated He Yuran's career struggles over the past few years. Even though the film and television industry is widely considered to be in a downturn, industry professionals generally avoid speaking such truths publicly, as artists are unlikely to appreciate it—even if they are fully aware of it. Sure enough, both He Yuran and Li Luoan seemed to have vanished, offering no response on social media. Cheng Xiaotang, on the other hand, seemed to be putting on a show, replying to each comment in the comment section by herself, essentially performing a one-woman show.

Let's look at the work group again.

Although the trending topics were lively, everyone was surprisingly quiet. Scrolling back through the messages, it turned out the boss had lashed out in the afternoon.

A closer look revealed nothing serious; it was more like nitpicking. But He Yuran today was like a firecracker, quick to ignite, showing no kindness to anyone in the group. Shi Jiahe didn't know whether she should be thankful or not, having remained silent throughout the group chat, thus avoiding every barrage of criticism. During this time, Ding Yi and Danzi both sent her private messages, especially Ding Yi, who sent several in a row, but Shi Jiahe didn't reply.

Shi Jiahe scrolled through her WeChat messages and chuckled. She thought to herself, "This studio hasn't changed at all without me. Does it really think it's that important? Normally I'm paid by the boss, acting all high and mighty when negotiating business, but now? It turns out, whether it's the things the boss assigns or the things I want to do, I have no real value."

She remained unusually calm, plugged her phone into a power source, opened the 114 online appointment booking platform, and started trying to book an appointment for the next day at a top-tier hospital near her home, specifically the gastroenterology department. Fortunately, it wasn't difficult to get an appointment, and she secured one for the morning.

Shi Jiahe managed to get some sleep in the latter half of the night, ate breakfast early the next morning, and went to the hospital on time. After listening to her description, the doctor said it wasn't a big problem, prescribed some routine medication, but also said that if she was really worried, she could schedule a gastroscopy and colonoscopy. Shi Jiahe imagined it and thought it would be troublesome, so she said she would think about it.

But in any case, she felt much more at ease after leaving the hospital.

It's strange how people can be so reassuring. Even if the person sitting across from you isn't a real doctor, just the fact that they're wearing a white coat makes you feel safe. She felt like she wasn't actually sick; she was simply there for peace of mind.

Standing in the sunlight, Shi Jiahe walked out, passing by the inpatient building. She watched the patients and their families coming and going at the entrance. Most of them walked on their own, a few were in wheelchairs, and she even saw a hospital bed being pushed in, covered in tubes.

Shi Jiahe watched all this silently, then glanced at the clear blue sky, and the gloom in her heart that had been hanging over her since yesterday suddenly vanished.

—At least I have a healthy body and a decent job, so what am I feeling down about? I should cheer up and solve the problem.

She suddenly remembered how she had hung up on Sister Stone without any hesitation yesterday, and her thoughts began to wander from there.

When a person regains consciousness, the brain quickly rearranges and reassembles any information missed earlier, then prompts the body to take supplementary actions. Shi Jiahe searched for the production team of that serious drama; news of the cast had already been released, and marketing accounts, when sharing the news, had thoughtfully listed the backgrounds of the director, producer, and production company. Among them, when mentioning producer Chen Yueming, it was noted that he was the son of Chen XX. The name Chen XX seemed strangely familiar to Shi Jiahe, and it seemed like she had just seen it recently.

She slapped her thigh, suddenly remembering the trending topic from the previous day. Clicking on it, she found that, sure enough, the name of the acting department head under investigation matched that of Chen Yueming's father perfectly.

...This is a father and son.

...No wonder He Yuran reacted so strongly.

Shi Jiahe immediately understood the logical relationship involved.

Perhaps it was because she was standing in the sun, but Shi Jiahe felt a bit sweaty. Conversely, she could also completely understand why He Yuran was unhappy with her yesterday.

With the old man's situation causing trouble, Chen Yueming's drama is bound to be affected. Ultimately, this matter is also closely related to their own projects. As someone in the industry who wants to produce films, if you can't even see this basic difference, you might as well not be in the business.

After much hesitation, Shi Jiahe disregarded He Yuran's situation and called Sister Shi first.