Although Wang Lili was anxious, her expression remained haughty.
Beside her, the male lead, popular film emperor Wang Hao, watched Director Zhou leave without looking back and finally couldn't help but ask Wang Lili, "Are we going too far?"
If it were any other time, Wang Hao wouldn't have bothered with such trivial matters.
But now that Director Zhou had left, they needed someone to serve and take care of them. Without Director Zhou, what would they do?
When Wang Lili heard Wang Hao's question, she snorted, "What can we do? What else can we do? The situation has come to this. Why didn't you help just now when you were so concerned? Now you're just second-guessing, what's the point?"
Wang Hao was rebuked and had no retort, so he could only sit aside with a flushed face in silence.
Wang Lili watched Director Zhou for a long time. Seeing that Director Zhou had no intention of returning, she also became annoyed. She sat back into her tent, pulled the curtain, and said, "Forget it, I don't care anymore. I've never seen a director like this. Instead of staying on their own turf for a show, they actually ran to someone else's territory."
The other crew members from Director Zhou's group also dispersed, each returning to their own tents.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Director Zhou had originally expected to be unwelcome or driven away when he followed Director Wang and Director Li to their territory.
But he never expected that Director Wang and Director Li would welcome him warmly. Even though they knew he wasn't part of their group, they offered him delicious food and drinks, and they all drank and chatted happily.
At that moment, countless thoughts surged in Director Zhou's mind. Finally, all of them were overshadowed by one thought.
That was that he had been too petty.
He had been holding onto the petty grudges with Director Wang and Director Li, thinking he was so clever, without realizing that they genuinely treated him well.
"Old Zhao, I'm not saying you're not a good captain, but you're more like a father than a captain," Director Wang said, after several bottles of wine, unable to resist advising Director Zhou. "I don't mind you coming here, but after all, you are the leader of your group. So, in my opinion, you should manage them well, let them fend for themselves, or you can just not manage anything and stay here with me. It's just a variety show, what's the big deal?"
Director Wang's voice was firm as he spoke.
Director Zhou nodded as he listened, a cigarette held between his fingers, lost in thought. Director Li, standing beside him, came over and poured him a glass of water. "Old Wang means you shouldn't get too involved. You're just their director. To put it bluntly, after this variety show ends, you'll have no further connection with them. Even if you don't want to participate now, you can withdraw temporarily. After all, your responsibility is to film the drama, not to participate in promotion. This isn't your job."
Director Zhou nodded, "Who doesn't understand the logic? But I was thinking it's my work, so I wanted to contribute a little more. Especially... sigh, never mind, let's not talk about it. What are you guys grilling over there? It smells so good, give me some."
He said, leaning over curiously.
Qi Yu and Si Qing were grilling some chicken wings and drumsticks. Seeing him approach, they generously offered him a pair.
Director Zhou quickly thanked them, then took a bite of the fresh, fragrant, and smooth texture. As he ate, his eyes widened, and he gave a thumbs-up. "I didn't expect this, your skills are quite good."
Si Qing, hearing Director Zhou's words, remained calm. "It's okay. I used to grill things often, and my sister liked it very much, so I've honed my skills."
Qi Yu, who was eating heartily nearby, nodded upon hearing this, indicating with his greasy little mouth that what he said was true.
Director Zhou also ate with great relish.
Si Qing noticed that he enjoyed it very much, so he grilled some more things. The group ate and enjoyed themselves more and more, and the atmosphere was good.
Wang Lili, who had been hiding in her tent, was already bored. Hearing the laughter and singing from the other side, and the general merriment, she couldn't help but feel jealous.
After enduring for a while, she finally couldn't take it anymore. Holding an umbrella, she rushed over and angrily rebuked Director Zhou, "Director Zhou, you are clearly part of our group, why are you going to someone else's place? How long do you plan to stay here? The team members are all starving, aren't you going to take care of them?"
Wang Hao also nodded. As a film emperor, he still maintained his dignity. He walked over with an umbrella and said to Director Zhou, "Director Zhou, you are part of our crew. You are promoting our drama, not theirs. What does it look like for you to be in another crew? Moreover, we are in a competitive relationship now."
Director Wang and Director Li, who were listening nearby, sneered and remained silent. They just ate and browsed their phones, occasionally complaining in chat messages.
Qi Yu was busy eating and didn't have the energy to join the conversation.
Their thinking was simple: if Director Zhou couldn't stand up for himself and refute the unfair treatment, then even if they helped him, they couldn't do it forever.
Wang Hao and Wang Lili seemed to have more to say.
Director Zhou suddenly stood up and said to them in a somewhat fierce tone, "I've had enough of you two. Am I not only your director, but also your nanny? You need me to set up tents, you need me for everything. Now you need me to use the fire to grill food, don't you? Is there no one else you can ask for help besides me? Is there nothing else you can do? I don't believe that with your hands and feet, you can't do it."
Wang Lili and Wang Hao were stunned. They had never seen such a volatile Director Zhou and were at a loss for words. Both of them fell silent.
Director Wang handed Director Zhou a cup of wine, urging him to take a drink.
Director Zhou took a sip, held the wine glass in his hand, then cursed and told Wang Lili and the other to get lost.
Wang Lili and Wang Hao, feeling embarrassed to say anything more in front of the live broadcast camera, could only leave dejectedly, holding their umbrellas.
Seeing how delicious the grilled meat was from Qi Yu and Si Qing's side, they felt a pang of jealousy. Since they couldn't persuade Director Zhou to return, they decided to grill and eat themselves.
After all, the meat and vegetables they bought were the best and freshest. Director Zhou would surely return when he smelled it and got hungry.
However, Wang Lili and Wang Hao both overlooked one point: apart from a few internet celebrities playing supporting roles who knew how to cook, almost no one else in their group could cook.
If they couldn't cook, what was the use of buying so much meat and vegetables?
They kept burning the pot.
Wang Lili initially had some patience, replacing the burnt food. But after burning it three times without achieving satisfactory results, she finally lost her patience, threw down her chopsticks and the food, and decided not to bother.
Xiao Zhang, who had always played supporting roles, walked over.
Xiao Zhang was also a relatively well-known internet celebrity, but compared to Wang Lili, his fan base was insignificant.
Therefore, in front of Wang Lili, Xiao Zhang was quite subservient.
Seeing Wang Lili's disappointment and her throwing down the food because she couldn't grill it well, he immediately took over the grilling task.
Wang Hao, standing beside them, also quickly handed over all the meat and ingredients he had to Xiao Zhang to grill. In this way, Xiao Zhang replaced Director Zhou's job.
Director Zhou sat at a distance, watching, while tidying up his tent, preparing to set up camp at Director Wang's place.
Director Wang and Director Li, of course, welcomed him. They even chose a very good spot for Director Zhou, and the tent that had been brought over was placed there.
Sui You, having eaten his fill, was bored and decided to help Director Zhou set up his tent.
Director Zhou was surprised to see the male lead from the other crew helping him set up his tent. He first froze for a moment, then quickly waved his hand, indicating that he would do it himself.
Although the male lead of Director Wang and Director Li's crew was not famous, just an ordinary newcomer actor, who could say for sure in the entertainment industry?
Perhaps a newcomer you considered insignificant one moment could become wildly popular the next and become a top star.
In the entertainment industry, whether an actor can gain audience recognition depends not only on acting, appearance, and skill, but also partly on luck.
And in Director Zhou's opinion, although Sui You, the male lead, was not famous and didn't seem to have formal training, he had good looks, which already gave him sixty points. Furthermore, he had watched the trailers released by Director Wang and Director Li, and Sui You's performance as the male lead was very good.
He was a perfect match for the female lead, Qi Yu.
Therefore, although he was reluctant to admit it, Director Zhou also felt that the Xianxia drama being filmed by Director Wang and Director Li had the potential to be a massive hit.
If it truly became a huge success, Sui You and Qi Yu's value would definitely skyrocket.
Thus, in Director Zhou's view, Sui You and Qi Yu, as well as other members of Director Wang and Director Li's crew, whether they were big actors, small actors, or newcomers who hadn't debuted yet, should all be respected.
Because you can never be sure who the next actor to become popular will be.
Sui You was stunned when Director Zhou thanked him, seemingly surprised by his amiable attitude.
He had heard that Director Zhou and Director Wang, Director Li had a strained relationship, so he thought Director Zhou would be a difficult person to get along with.
He never expected that Director Zhou was actually a decent person, at least polite and well-mannered. And after eating and chatting for so long, he hadn't encountered any unpleasant situations.
Director Zhou walked forward and reached out to organize the things inside his tent.
Due to his magical abilities, Sui You had already put away the items inside Director Zhou's tent when he helped with the tent.
Director Zhou was surprised when he saw this, thinking Sui You had tidied it up for him. He quickly thanked him.
Sui You didn't think it was a big deal. He just moved his fingers casually to put the items in order with the help of magic. This way, the tent would remain tidy.
Therefore, in response to Director Zhou's thanks, Sui You casually said, "It's nothing, I just tidied it up a bit."
Then he returned to his seat and continued to grill vegetables.
It was only then that Director Zhou noticed that Sui You, the male lead, despite his broad shoulders, slender waist, long legs, and tall stature, had a plate in front of him filled with only light grilled vegetables.
Besides that, there were only some roasted peanuts and beans, nothing else. Not a single piece of meat.
And no one else had thought of giving him any meat.
"Sui You, you're eating so plain, are you trying to lose weight?" Director Zhou curiously leaned over, watching and asking with his hands behind his back.
Sui You nodded.
He didn't explain further.
Director Zhou looked at Director Wang and Director Li with surprise. "Are the body requirements for your male lead too harsh? Sui You's figure is already so good, and you still make him eat vegetarian and diet?"
Director Wang and Director Li exchanged glances, then both showed innocent expressions:
"No, we've never asked him to lose weight. Our crew has no requirements for body shape."
"Yes, especially the male lead's figure has always been like this. We haven't asked him to lose weight or gain muscle. This has nothing to do with us."
In fact, when filming before, Director Wang and Director Li did have requirements for actors' body shapes. However, this time, their crew's actors all had good figures and didn't gain weight no matter how much they ate, so this was a rare occasion when they didn't consider actors' weight loss issues.
Director Zhou looked astonished, then looked at Sui You in disbelief. "So you're trying to lose weight voluntarily, or have you always only eaten this?"
Logically speaking, eating only beans, grains, and vegetables, and nothing else, would lead to constant weight gain.
This is because it would affect the body's basic metabolism.
But obviously, Sui You didn't seem to have this problem. His figure was very good, he just preferred to eat vegetarian.
The director rubbed his forehead, feeling like he had never encountered an artist who was so self-disciplined in their life.
Even the film emperor in his crew, Wang Hao, although he diligently checked in on Weibo for his workouts and ate fitness meals, actually indulged in barbecues and crayfish in private.
Sui You looked at Director Zhou with a helpless expression.
Although he had taken human form, he was ultimately a bird. His habits and customs made him dislike eating meat.
What could he do?
The director didn't know these details and thought Sui You's self-control was excellent, so he kept praising Sui You.
Sui You, embarrassed by Director Zhou's praise, could only awkwardly change the subject.
"Director Zhou, you're too kind. Actually, the male lead of your group, Wang Hao, is also very good."
Director Zhou pouted. "Wang Hao? He's not good. He became a film emperor only because his family invested money to promote him. If his family didn't run an antique business and had vast wealth, he would have gone bankrupt long ago."