My Life with Narration

Chapter 534 - 525: Crew Inspection (Part 2)

Originally, according to Shen Yi’s plan, today was supposed to be a date just for the two of them, but unexpectedly, it was disrupted by Tang Nan, leading to a lack of interest after strolling around the school for a while.

As for why they wanted to go on a date, let’s just say women have a freshness bonus when it comes to the environment. No matter how intimate Jiang City is, it’s still Jiang City.

Strictly speaking, the capital is Shen Yi’s turf. In the past, I was with you in your territory, but now that you’re here, it’s my turn to take the lead.

A new map, new excitement, that’s why Shen Yi couldn’t wait to send Tang Nan back to stay at her place the next day, to enjoy their world as a couple.

Perhaps it was because it was his own turf that Shen Yi finally stepped out of the bedroom, and although the process was a bit bumpy, it reignited the thrill of their first time, which was overall quite good.

Neither he nor Shen Yi were familiar with the Capital Film and Television Base, but Tang Nan was very familiar. She had shot several shows here and naturally knew her way around.

Because "Wandering Earth" is a sci-fi film with a post-disaster world background, the ratio of on-location shooting is minimal. Most of the sets were completed in film studios, so they didn’t move around much and were quite stable.

"Hey bro, sorry to drop by unannounced!" Su Qing came in with some fruit, casually as if visiting a friend’s house.

"Hey, you’re an investor; there’s no need to apologize for dropping by. President Shen, Little Tang, come on in and have a seat," Wang Fan said with a smile.

Then he led everyone onto the set. Although he wasn’t a famous director, Wang Fan wasn’t new to directing, so he naturally knew why an investor like Su Qing would visit the crew.

Of course, it was to check out the project he invested in. As for specially arranging a reception or having a meal together, while possible, it wasn’t the main focus here.

Tang Nan disappeared as soon as she came in; she was a female artist, and there were some familiar faces here she naturally wanted to greet.

"Pardon the simple setting, brothers and President Shen," Wang Fan said a bit awkwardly.

As soon as they came in, they saw the state of the set. Besides some filming equipment, it was quite simple, and because the backdrop was post-catastrophe and underground, it was naturally not very clean.

They even saw some actors wearing simple space suits, directly collapsing to the ground and falling asleep on the spot.

"No worries, brother, we’re just here because we had nothing better to do. Just go ahead with your work, don’t mind us, as long as we don’t delay the shooting schedule." Su Qing waved his hand dismissively.

In response, Wang Fan laughed, saying it was no problem. They had just finished filming a scene, and the actors were already at a certain level of exhaustion, so it was a good time to take a break. After all, humans aren’t machines, and even if they were, wearing such heavy suits, they’d also be exhausted.

The group then found a corner in the film studio, where Wang Fan poured water for the two and hosted them.

"Um... how come, this is sci-fi, but it looks..."

"Simple, right?" Wang Fan finished the thought.

Su Qing nodded. No matter what, it was a sci-fi movie, which should feature impressive-looking weapons and equipment, but the space suits and gear he saw seemed too simplistic.

Seeing this, Wang Fan scratched his head a bit embarrassedly: "Honestly, sci-fi is too costly. We didn’t have a lot of investment to begin with, so we had to economize. Many actors are helping out without pay due to personal connections, and even the space suits were borrowed from the crew next door."

This truly shocked the two, and even Shen Yi was a bit skeptical about whether this crew could produce anything watchable, given how financially constrained it seemed.

Had it not been for the voiceover’s cues, Su Qing would have stood up and shouted, "Rivva, refund!" by now.

"But rest assured, brother and President Shen, with this investment, I surely can finish it before the year ends. Whether it succeeds or not depends on this shot!"

Perhaps noticing Wang Fan’s nervousness, Su Qing smiled and said, "No worries, bro, just shoot without concern. Even if we lose money, it’s fine; I’ll consider it as playing. Besides, making money is to spend it, right? Even if it’s not your crew, I might as well invest in someone else. It’s all the same."

Sure enough, hearing this, Wang Fan instantly breathed a sigh of relief. When he brought the money back yesterday, the entire crew was invigorated, voluntarily working overtime till midnight. From actors to staff, everyone gave it their all. He saw it with his eyes, felt happy at heart, and believed he could definitely pull it off this time.

The script is adapted from a novel by a world-renowned sci-fi author, making it the strongest core, and the cast is not weak either. It includes veteran actors like Uncle Da and the rising star Kyoko from the "Wolf Warriors" series; the young actors’ performances are also on point. The entire crew doesn’t have any flow stars or major divas, making such a troupe rare in the country.

However, the only shortcoming is in the hardware, but there’s no way around it mainly due to financial constraints. Despite this, he knew this was the biggest investment in domestic sci-fi film to date.

If even this fails, the domestic market will believe that high-budget sci-fi films have no future, so he felt a lot of pressure.

Meanwhile, Tang Nan was mingling among a group of actors, greeting them.

"Hello, Uncle Da!"

"Brother Jing, yo, why so disheveled today? How’s Sister Nan doing recently?"

To this, Wu Jing and the others laughed and responded, "Ah, Little Tang, she’s doing well, staying at home with the kids lately. But what brings you here today? Who are those two over there?"

Hearing this, Tang Nan smiled and said, "Them? They’re our crew’s investors. Didn’t Director Wang mention it to you yesterday?"

Upon hearing this, a few of the resting guys suddenly realized it, as they all knew about the 80 million investment the crew received yesterday.

Except for Wu Jing, all the other actors’ pay increased to some extent, but not his. He was told his pay was too high, and they couldn’t afford it, so they opted for more special effects instead and promised him a cut from the box office proceeds.

Wu Jing didn’t mind this because he was just a cameo, although he had been a cameo for so long, almost turning into a main actor.

"That young? Which rich heir are they?" Wu Jing asked curiously.

It wasn’t just him; the other guys around shared the same thought. Su Qing was just too young, and so was Shen Yi. Both looked young, yet they could bring in 80 million, which isn’t a small amount.

Moreover, having assets of 80 million and being able to pull out 80 million in liquid capital are two different concepts. For someone to allocate this much money, it means their net worth is far beyond 80 million.

"Hahaha, Brother Jing, you guessed wrong. That woman is my friend, also a shareholder in my company, maybe even the one in charge. She runs an internet company in the capital, and that young guy is her boyfriend," Tang Nan laughed.

Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback, not expecting he was actually a young, promising entrepreneur: "So it was your company that invested this time, Little Tang, meaning you’re an investor too."

"No, no, not at all! And this time it wasn’t my friend who invested, but the one next to her. You may not know, but he’s recently very popular online, the youngest Stock God. Just over a month, and under my watch, he went from a regular graduate to earning over 300 million, almost making me envious to death, clenching my jaw in frustration."

"Su Qing?"

Someone nearby spoke up.

"Yes, yes, it’s him!" Even Tang Nan was surprised someone actually recognized Su Qing.

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn’t help but internally acknowledge how impressive it was.

Unlike Su Qing and Shen Yi, Tang Nan was more like a visitor here. After about half an hour of rest, Wang Fan gathered everyone to continue working.

He and Shen Yi watched from the side, curious, and naturally saw some celebrities usually only seen on TV. However, neither he nor Shen Yi had any intention of going up to greet them.

Chasing stars? Not a thing. Shen Yi used to be a relentless money-making machine, unaffected by the usual girl’s idols, and as for Su Qing, what kind of idol would a grown man have?

Nowadays, you can easily check the gender ratio of fans for domestic stars and get an idea. It’s innate; most men aren’t naturally interested in stars, at least not as passionately as young girls.

"What do you think?" Su Qing asked aloud.

Shen Yi: "Can’t understand it!"

Su Qing: "Neither can I!"

Shen Yi: →_→

...