What arrived before Zhang Shan was the contract drafted by the lawyer and delivered by Zhang Zhihua. I don’t know whether it should be considered an opening or a warm-up.
"My sister will be back soon."
"I told you last time."
"Monday at the latest! It's only three or four days away!" Zhang Zhihua emphasized.
"Um."
Li Xuan has been too busy these days. Sheng Min is worried about him but doesn't dare to let him know. He also didn't sleep well and his insomnia problem recurred. Zhang Zhihua's voice is too loud and a few words from him made him dizzy.
"You'd better sign it..." Zhang Zhihua's tone was like that of a **.
Sheng Min has been delaying the renewal of his contract, and this is the only source of money he has left. The entire company is keeping an eye on him, and his life is becoming increasingly difficult. He has been squeezed out many times, both openly and covertly.
"The contract is really generous. My sister has been in a bad mood recently because of my brother-in-law's affairs. Why do you keep dragging it out? Don't be so stubborn. It's not enough to rest for almost a month. Have you read the script I brought..."
"I've read it." Sheng Min stood up and saw the guest off. "Leave the contract here. I have something else to do. I won't keep you here any longer."
He half escorted and half urged Zhang Zhihua out of the door, and even after closing the door, he could still hear faint complaints.
Sheng Min picked up the contract, glanced at it casually, and threw it aside. After a moment, he picked it up again.
To be fair, the conditions were indeed generous, both in terms of the promised resources and the share of the profits, but this did not prevent Sheng Min from feeling deeply tired when Zhang Shan's name appeared on the mobile phone screen.
"Mr. Zhang."
"Did you receive the contract?"
"I got it."
"Take a look at it once you get it. You didn't mention the contract we had agreed to after the filming. I forgot about it when things got busy." Zhang Shan's voice was the same as always, and she didn't sound upset about family matters. "My brother is the most useless and doesn't know how to take things lightly. You've known him for so many years, you know he's just like that."
It was obvious that Zhang Zhihua had said something behind his back. Sheng Min said calmly, "I know."
"You really have a bad taste. You didn't like any of the books he sent you? ... It's been more than a month. Aren't you bored at home?" Zhang Shan laughed twice. "But I'm not worried about you. You always find things to do. I heard you go to the theater often recently? I don't have such a good leisure time. I haven't been there for many years... ... It sounds itchy. Are there any good plays recently? I'll go and see them when I return to N City."
The implication is so clear that you don't even need to try hard to catch it.
"Come to think of it, you mentioned to me a few years ago that you wanted to take on a play, right? At the time, I couldn't make it, but it was not impossible for me to just do it for fun."
The director team of "The Mountain" promised to keep it a secret for him. After so many days, there has been no further news, but there is no wall that is impenetrable. Sheng Min has been clear about this since the day he decided to go for the interview.
Whether it was a test or he really knew something, Sheng Min had no way of telling and didn't want to know, but he felt that he had to say something: "Mr. Zhang, there is something I want to..."
"Xiao Min." Zhang Shan didn't give him a chance to finish. "Many things may seem good, but they may not be that way. It's not a good habit to be greedy for more after getting something."
"Maybe we can't reach Shu." Sheng Min replied calmly, "But I think I should have the right to decide whether to move forward."
The other end of the phone was suddenly quiet for a few seconds. Zhang Shan still smiled, as if coaxing a child: "You are young, and impetuousness is the worst. You must stop it. Don't rush to make a decision. It's boring. Take your time to read the contract. No matter what, I will talk to you in person when I come back."
She hung up directly, leaving behind only a long string of blank tones, like a siren or a warning.
I was a little impulsive just now. Sheng Min looked at the black screen of his mobile phone. It was probably because Li Xuan didn't come back last night, and his temper became a little bad. He didn't have that much patience to argue.
But that was it. Sheng Min lowered his eyes. There was less than a month left before the contract expired. He had been dragging his feet and not signing it. It was already an attitude that Zhang Shan must have known.
There may be troubles. If you are positive, you can deal with them as they come. If you are negative, you can just wait and see.
Maybe because he has been with Li Xuan for too long, he wants to do everything as he pleases. Sheng Min lowered his head and smiled. He had thought it through. The only thing Zhang Shan could use to threaten him was Li Xuan. In the domestic entertainment industry, if they were not photographed kissing or having sex, it was not considered solid evidence.
Artists worry about being exposed, which is nothing more than worrying about the impact on their fan circles. When accepting roles, their sexual orientation will also be considered as a risk by investors. Since he has made up his mind not to do this job anymore, he is not afraid of being caught. Compared with these things about himself, he is more worried about Li Xuan.
He didn't know Yuanyi's specific situation. Li Xuan never brought it up on his own initiative. When asked, he always said it was nothing, and would get off topic after just a few sentences, changing the subject.
Sheng Min sighed, turned around and took one of Li Xuan's mints and ate it. The cool breath spread to his heart and lungs. He calmed down, opened his notebook and sorted out the assets on hand again.
Most of the money he earned over the years was used to pay off Wang Shuying's gambling debts. The remaining money was not as much as he had imagined, but it was barely enough to be considered savings. He consulted someone about the cost of developing a game from scratch, which should be enough even if he encountered trouble in terminating the contract.
After the calculation, he felt relieved and sent a message to Li Xuan asking him if he would come back for dinner. However, he regretted it right after sending it and quickly withdrew the message.
Their dialog box stopped at yesterday, when Sheng Min took photos of the newly arrived flowers. During this period, when Li Xuan was not available to come back, he asked the florist to send flowers. He wanted to comfort him, and Sheng Min knew it.
He smiled helplessly and prepared to change the water in the vase. Just as he stood up, his cell phone rang. He thought it was Li Xuan calling, but when he picked it up, it was an unfamiliar number. He frowned and swiped over: "Hello, who is this?"
"Hello, I'm Yin Qianpin."
During the day, there were fewer people visiting the theater, so there were more parking spaces. After parking, Sheng Min did not get out immediately, but looked through the rearview mirror at the driveway shaded by trees.
Recently, he always feels that someone is following him. Whenever he goes out, there are a few looming eyes behind him. It can't be an illusion. Sheng Min is used to being followed. He still has this vigilance. I just don't know what kind of people are following him now. The reporters' collective rush for performance at the end of the year was arranged by Zhang Shan... ...
Sheng Min knew the license plates of the cars that often drove with him, and the reporters were all old acquaintances, so he didn't see them. Cars drove by quickly, and I didn't know where those eyes were hidden.
Just take the photos. There is nothing to hide. Even Li Xuan is not one of them. Sheng Min put on a mask and a hat and gently closed the car door.
Yin Qianpin has a long-term cooperation with the drama theater. When I came to the preliminary selection last time, I found out that he had rented the entire tenth floor. The office was at the end, with a crack on the door. Sheng Min knocked on the door gently: "Director Yin?"
"Come in."
This should be two rooms connected together. It is very large and more like a small library than an office. The curtains are drawn, and the sunlight shines in. There is a faint scent of book ink in the air.
No one could be seen behind the layers of bookshelves for a while, so Sheng Min walked inside following the sound and accidentally kicked a blanket on the ground with his toes.
He took a breath and subconsciously took a step back. A hand stretched out from the blanket: "Hello."
"You look better in person than on TV." Then a face full of sleep marks poked its head out. Sheng Min recognized him. It was the actor who played Wang Lin. He had been acting in Yin Qianpin's dramas since his debut. He was not from a professional background, and no one knew his specific origins. There was an outrageous rumor that he was brought out by Yin Qianpin when he went to a mountain to collect folk songs.
"Deng Jing." He was not handsome in the traditional sense, his facial features were plain but relaxed, and he had his own charm. He waved his hand but did not show any intention of getting up, so Sheng Min had to half-kneel down and shook his hand, "Hello."
"Don't worry about him, Shengmin, take a seat." Yin Qianpin sat at a table against the wall, with a thick stack of books beside him. He asked with disdain, "... Why are you sleeping here?"
"I've been sleeping here for half the night and you just saw me now... Brother, you asked me to come and revise the script for you."
"You just changed two sentences."
"You have to think twice to say that. Do you think I want to sleep on the floor?" Deng Jing slowly got up, his bones crackling. "Okay, I won't bother you. Let's go have breakfast. Do you want to eat?"
Yin Qianpin read the book without saying anything.
"Then don't eat." Deng Jing clapped his hands happily and asked Sheng Min, "Do you want to eat?"
He was really very familiar, which reminded Sheng Min of Yang Xu to some extent. She said thoughtfully, "I've had lunch."
"You're so funny." Deng Jing was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, patted his shoulder, jumped out from the center of the blanket very lightly, waved his hand, and said, "Let's go."
"Rehearse in the evening." Yin Qianpin said behind him.
“I remember.”
The door opened and closed again. Yin Qianpin was still concentrating on the book in his hand. He didn't look up. "Sit anywhere."
Sheng Min sat down somewhat awkwardly, the uneasiness and nervousness in his heart were interrupted by this little episode.
After waiting for a long while, there was still no next sentence. Yin Qianpin kept his head down reading the book, drawing with a pen in his hand. Only the swirl of hair on his head could be seen. The bed blanket thrown on the ground was really an eyesore. Sheng Min simply picked it up, folded it twice and put it aside, and picked up the book in front of him to read.
I was fascinated as soon as I read it. After finishing a chapter, I looked up again and found that Yin Qian had put the book down at some point.
Yin Qianpin became famous early. When his first play, which he wrote and directed, won an award, he was still a college student at the Drama Academy. Although he can be considered a senior figure in the drama world, he is actually not even 30 years old.
Compared to his plays, which are hard to ticketed, he is much more low-key. Some directors love to give interviews, but he never does. In recent years, he has even seldom attended award ceremonies. The most recent photo of him that could be found in the media was from two years ago.
Wearing a baseball cap, the half of his face exposed made him look very young and student-like, and it is the same now.
"You don't recognize me?" Noticing Sheng Min's gaze, he smiled. His two rows of teeth were white enough to be used in toothpaste commercials. His first sentence came out of nowhere, "We've met before. Three years ago, I invited you to perform in my play, but you didn't come."
Sheng Min was surprised and thought for a moment that he had heard it wrong, but Yin Qianpin's expression was definitely not a joke.
Three years ago, he had not yet participated in "Picking the Moon" and was not very famous. He thought for a moment and asked: "Was it when I was in school?"
"You remember?"
"No."
Yin Qianpin let out a sigh of annoyance and reminded him, "I used to go to the open-air square when I had time to find inspiration and select actors. I talked to you and asked you if you wanted to audition three times, and you refused each time..."
Having said this, Sheng Min finally had a vague impression.
When he went to watch his seniors rehearse plays, he did see several people asking him if he wanted to join and play a role. It was common for a play to suddenly need a replacement in the middle of rehearsal, and he would usually just refuse. According to Yin Qianpin... He glanced at Yin Qianpin again, who looked very young like a college student, and was not sure: "I remember a senior..."
"What are you looking at? I just grew my hair a little longer during those two years." Yin Qianpin touched his nose.
This was completely different from the serious interview Sheng Min had expected. Surprised, he couldn't help but laugh: "Sorry, I didn't recognize you at the time."
Three years ago, Yin Qianpin's hair was not long at all, it had already reached his shoulders. At night, the light in the small square was dim. He lowered his voice and asked persistently several times, saying, "Classmate, I have written a new play script. Do you want to try it?" Who could have guessed that a well-known drama director would select people in this way? It was just like a flirt.
"You regret it now."
"It's no use regretting it. Even if I recognized him, I couldn't agree to it at that time." Sheng Min thought about it and said frankly. It would be a lie to say that I wasn't surprised or regretful, but I didn't regret it.
At that time, he was not famous, had no confidence, no freedom, only a hole that could never be filled. According to the company's arrangement, he played some dispensable roles in one third-rate online drama after another. The opportunity was not missed, it just didn't belong to him in the first place.
This made Yin Qianpin look at him a little more: "I didn't know you were an artist at the time. I only found out after "Picking the Moon" was broadcast."
Sheng Min smiled, thought for a moment and said, "But earlier, I handed in my resume to the crew. I was about seventeen..."
"How could it be possible then?" Yin Qian raised his eyebrows.
"My face hasn't grown yet." Sheng Min said, "The company doesn't have many roles to arrange, so I have more freedom."
Yin Qianpin burst out laughing: "You are so honest... You are seventeen, and it's "Listening to the Pine"? You have a good eye. That was the third play I wrote... I haven't seen your resume, the assistant director must have screened you out."
"Um."
"It's right to screen you out. That play is not suitable for you. Since I rejected you before, we are even." Yin Qianpin waved his hand, "You said that you were not selected at the age of seventeen, and you couldn't act at the age of twenty. What about now?"
"Now look at you."
"Don't say anything, just call me by my name."
Yin Qianpin propped up his head and thought for a while, "Let me be frank. Generally speaking, I don't like to work with famous artists. It's too pretentious. On the one hand, they think the drama circle is too small, and on the other hand, they want to use it to gild themselves, as if they can show off their acting skills by performing in a few plays... But principles are dispensable. Xiao Xie is your fan. Yes, it's about my disappointing assistant director... ... Among the artists who want to act in my dramas, there are many who are more famous than you. I just don't use them. She just came this year and has never seen the market."
He tutted his tongue twice, full of scholarly air and pride: "She recommended it to me many times. I've been dragged to watch your audition video recently and I can almost recite it by heart. She said you are different and very sincere, so I'll believe it for the time being... To be honest, "The Mountain" suits your temperament, and your acting skills are also acceptable to me. What's more, we have some predestined relationship... I am a little superstitious about this, but there is one thing I need to confirm."
Yin Qianpin paused subtly, and Sheng Min nodded: "You can tell me directly, it doesn't matter."
"I know your contract is about to expire. Do you mind a basic background check? If I choose you, who should I sign the contract with?"
"Sign with me."
"You alone?"
"I personally." Sheng Min nodded and answered calmly.
Yin Qianpin couldn't help but look up and look at his face. Sheng Min's clear eyes showed no trace of concealment: "Don't lie to me."
“This is something that can be easily verified.”
"You are still very young."
"So I want to do what I like." Sheng Min felt nervous and unusually calm at the moment, "I wanted to do it, but I didn't dare. But a friend persuaded me to give it a try."
"what do you like."
"I like acting." Sheng Min said softly, "I want the people who rehearse with me and watch my plays to like the play itself, regardless of who I am."
Yin Qianpin thought thoughtfully: "Then you will lose a lot."
"I've already gotten a lot." Sheng Min smiled gently.
Yin Qianpin held his chin in his hand and remained silent, as if trying to determine the truth of the words. After a long while, he finally took over the conversation again: "This is big news. If I leak the news to the gossip magazine, I can make a lot of money. Your company's stock price will definitely fall..."
He made a joke and then said seriously: "I can't guarantee that I will use you now. To be honest, there are other options, but I want to give you a chance to keep trying. If you are finally chosen, I hope you can give me at least a full year of rehearsal and touring."
Sheng Min's throat tightened a little. He looked into Yin Qianpin's bright eyes, as if he was back to when he was five years old and that gentle aunt asked him if he wanted to act.
He was young and did not understand what she meant. He smelled the rich perfume on her but did not dare to look at her face. He could only see the beautiful bunch of flowers behind her over her shoulder.
Later, the shattered illusion blooms again at this moment.
Li Xuan is right. Sheng Min smiled. As long as you want, there is nothing you can't do.
"Hey." Yin Qianpin waved his hand in front of him, "Is this OK?"
"Can."
Sheng Min nodded.
Yin Qianpin smiled and nodded happily, then took out a bunch of keys and gave them to him: "The office next door is for you to use. You can come here to rehearse starting tomorrow... ... If we can finally cooperate and you have really made up your mind, then maybe we can sign a longer contract."