CSGM - Chapter 90
Chapter 90: Tight Budget
【When I saw those negative stories, I thought of countless ways Chu Xi could clear her name, but I never expected this to be the outcome. /[LaughCry]】
【Damn, I thought Chu Xi had some skeletons in her closet on set, but it turns out the media are the ones with the creative language. /[Facepalm]】
【Damn these media marketing accounts. I let it slide when you hyped this person and that person as top-tier, but this time I really can't take it! Are you kidding me?】
【This girl Chu Xi has some serious patience, not even coming out to slap down the media for their nonsense!】
【Chu Xi, I'm sorry. From this moment on, I'm your guilt-fan /[Facepalm]/[Facepalm]】
Now, looking back, everyone realized: isn't Chu Xi's temper and character just too good?
As mere bystanders, they were so amused by the media's distortion of the facts that they could have laughed with anger. Who knew that Chu Xi would be the most composed of all, remaining silent from beginning to end!
If those irresponsible media outlets, who love to stir up trouble, were to sit at a village entrance for a while, they would, at the very least, be chased and beaten by half the villagers!
Oh, you're so good with words! You just love to run your mouth!
The netizens were also speechless. After genuinely hating Chu Xi for several days and even joining the chorus of condemnation by adding comments like "I can't stand celebrities like this" and "The more I see of Chu Xi, the more I dislike her," they now felt like victims themselves!
They could apologize to Chu Xi.
But the media had to apologize to them, too!
【Xixi, it's really not our fault this time. We only learned about you through the paparazzi's reports. The paparazzi are evil! /[Tears]】
【What do I do? I think her temper is so good, so tolerant. I'm about to become her fan. /[Bitter]】
【Now I can finally say it out loud: her looks are exactly my type!! Sister, kill me!! /[Licking Screen]/[Licking Screen]】
Previously, some people had noticed that Chu Xi had a clean, handsome look, with a certain appeal to her face, but!
Their sense of morality prevented them from being the kind of people whose principles are swayed by appearances!
Even if Chu Xi was beautiful! Even if her features were exquisite and captivating! Even if looking at her photo made their hearts flutter like a startled deer!
They had to hold firm!
But now, it was all good.
Appearance-lovers were ecstatic, hiss, huff. They had discovered another hidden gem of an actor in the entertainment industry!
【Who gets it? I was originally going to be a guilt-fan, but after looking at a few more photos, she's exactly my aesthetic! My true love has arrived, wahoo! /[Heart Eyes]】
As Chu Xi was being slandered, she somehow managed to become popular all over again.
A steady stream of gossip-mongers and guilt-fans came to check out the drama, and a surprisingly large proportion of them converted into fans of her looks or sapiosexual fans.
And when they looked back at the hit variety show of the moment, Our Restaurant, they discovered...
Not meeting Xixi sooner was truly their greatest regret! Huff!
Jiang Zixi had been following the development of online public opinion for the past few days. It gave her a headache, and she was so annoyed she could barely swallow her food.
She was furious with herself for finding such a deceitful informant!
He had promised damaging material, but it turned out to be all fabricated by the informant himself!
No, not purely fabricated, but adapted. It was unbelievable!
Now, buying any online trolls to sway the narrative was meaningless and useless. Most netizens were rational and, after learning the truth, had all sided with Chu Xi.
Jiang Zixi had paid for the publicity, but Chu Xi was the one reaping all the benefits.
After this scandal was cleared up, Chu Xi's relevant data directly doubled! She was even more famous than before!
Jiang Zixi now knew what it meant to try and steal a chicken only to lose the bait, to lose both the lady and the soldiers.
She had painstakingly schemed, only to end up paving the way for Chu Xi, who hadn't lifted a finger.
It was all the fault of her incompetent teammate. She was utterly depressed!
And what had left her depressed for days, even affecting her mental state, wasn't just that Chu Xi had gained a huge wave of positive publicity online.
More importantly, the company behind the Scholar Ox drink was Honghua Special Drinks, and this company happened to be the main sponsor of Peach Video's Scream Night!
Through this coincidence, the Three Kingdoms crew and Chu Xi had somehow done Honghua a favor. It was rumored that the president of Honghua now had a very favorable impression of Chu Xi.
Therefore... when it came to the newcomer recommendation spots for the company to attend Peach Video's Scream Night, the president of Honghua had even dropped a hint or two that Chu Xi could go!
In other words, the sponsor of Scream Night had given Chu Xi a pass!
The scales at Qingyou Agency, which had been wavering between her and Chu Xi, finally stopped tipping.
She had finally lifted a stone only to drop it on her own Achilles' heel!
For next week's Scream Night, a star-studded event full of industry bigwigs, the company had decided to give the attendance spot to Chu Xi!
"Ahhhhh-!"
Seeing the final decision sent by her agent, Jiang Zixi screamed in anguish.
After all her hard work fanning the flames, she had finally fanned her competitor all the way to Scream Night!
She could have coughed up blood from anger!
On the other side, on the film set, the director was happy for Chu Xi when he heard the news.
Among the many artists he had worked with, only those who were very popular or had reached a certain status were invited by Peach Video to attend Scream Night.
After all, it was a symbol of influence and represented the recognition of industry leaders.
Many celebrities considered being invited to such a grand event an honor, and many actors hovering between the A-list and B-list were hoping for such a stepping stone from the industry leaders.
He never expected that Chu Xi, who was only filming her first movie, would be invited to attend such a top-tier industry gala.
Speaking of which, the director couldn't help but remark, "Your career luck is really good."
Chu Xi remained calm. "Is that so? Then can you give me a day off next Saturday?"
The director shot her a look. "Do you know what a 'gala' is?"
It was a banquet that started in the evening.
After spending so much time together, how could he not know what Chu Xi was thinking?
She was the one who most wished for the crew to have a day off!
The director said, "I'll help you move your scenes to the night before and that morning. You can remove your makeup at noon and go back to get ready."
It sounded like he was giving Chu Xi half a day off.
In reality, Chu Xi sighed.
"You're making me pull an all-nighter again. Can't you be a little more humane?"
The director patted her shoulder sincerely. "Time waits for no one, and the crew's budget is limited. I have to hurry up and finish filming. Please be considerate."
Being poor was truly pitiful. Chu Xi had nothing to say, but a moment later, she thought of something and returned with a different attitude to instruct the director.
"Then hurry up and film. Finish as soon as possible so you don't lose money."
She remembered that her landlady had also invested a sum of money in this movie.
She couldn't let Ren Zhi lose money, or she would have to miserably attend unwilling dinner parties and come back late at night with a headache again.
Ever since Chu Xi started paying attention to the crew's budget issues, she noticed something fishy after a couple of days.
During a break, she secretly found the director to ask.
"Director Yang, is our crew running out of money?"
Faced with her sudden question, the director was first taken aback, then felt a little guilty.
"Why are you suddenly asking about this?"
Seeing his response, Chu Xi knew her guess was most likely correct.
Chu Xi was also very frank, saying directly, "I just noticed that the quality of the boxed lunches has gotten worse recently, and you've also let go of some temporary workers. It's pretty obvious."
It was something one could notice with just a little attention.
And then with a little bit of associative thinking... the crew was out of money?
The director didn't deny it, but instead told her, "Don't spread this around!"
This was a major issue that could disrupt morale and couldn't be leaked.
Chu Xi nodded. "Oh, okay."
Later, when she went home and asked one of the investors, Ren Zhi, she found out that the props and special effects for the Three Kingdoms crew were extremely expensive. Indeed, during the filming process, they discovered that the expenses were far exceeding the budget.
Speaking of which, Ren Zhi was also worried about this matter.
She asked Chu Xi, "You're filming this movie right now. How do you feel about it?"
Chu Xi didn't think much of it. "It's good."
Ren Zhi asked again, "Do you think the audience will like it when it's released?"
Chu Xi still didn't think much of it. "How would I know about them? Different IQs, different aesthetics, different mindsets. I don't get it."
It wasn't until Ren Zhi showed a contemplative expression that Chu Xi gradually started to pay attention.
Ren Zhi sat at the dining table after dinner, and Chu Xi sat opposite her. She thought for a moment, wondering if her words just now had been too perfunctory.
So she rephrased, "As for the movie, I think the script is pretty good. As long as someone isn't an overly critical contrarian, they probably won't think it's a bad film..."
This was Chu Xi's assessment: the theme was conventional, the plot was above average, and it was made with such painstaking effort that few could compare.
Ren Zhi thought pretty much the same thing.
Ren Zhi agreed, "My thoughts are the same as yours."
Chu Xi: "Ehehe." It was unclear what she was so happy about.
It was just that others didn't think so. There were too many precedents of big-budget films based on the Three Kingdoms IP losing money, which led to not many people being optimistic about this movie.
The resulting effect was that it was now very difficult for Three Kingdoms to attract investment.
If the crew was starting to run short on funds, the director was scratching his head, and Ren Zhi was also very worried.
Chu Xi cleared the bowls from the table and smiled at her. "Don't worry, just go find investors."
"Easier said than done." Ren Zhi stood up to help, saying, "I'll do the dishes."
"No need, I'm fast. By the way, you're going to the Peach Video Scream Night on Saturday, right?"
Chu Xi had never considered that Ren Zhi might not go. As a top-tier actress, she would surely be invited to such an important industry event, right?
But Chu Xi thought it was better to ask and be sure, lest she get her hopes up for nothing.
Ren Zhi's answer was, without a doubt, as expected. "I'm going."
Chu Xi was happy again. "Ehehe."
Ren Zhi asked, "What are you smiling about?"
Chu Xi turned around, holding the bowls, and smiled. "I'm going too. We'll be going together."
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