Chapter 156 Skylight 00

Gao Xiang covered her mouth and chuckled, "So, you're saying they are seasoned veterans?"

Song Wan frowned, unable to react for a moment.

Seeing her dazed expression, Gao Xiang couldn't help but laugh. After a long while, amid Song Wan's look of embarrassment turning into anger, she explained, "I wrote into the contract the minimum amount of screen time they are guaranteed to receive per episode."

Hearing this, Song Wan instantly understood the crucial point.

Much like when she previously participated in the variety show *Step Up, Star*, her contract had also stipulated a specific duration of appearance per episode.

Because if it wasn't clearly stated in black and white, there would be too much room for manipulation behind such clauses, leaving one with nowhere to seek justice in the end.

The fact that Gao Xiang was willing to put the screen time into the contract was already a show of sincerity to those two actresses—and it was precisely what they desired most.

Although everyone knew full well that the production crew might not strictly adhere to the contract during editing, at least it gave them a sense of security.

However, the fact that they could think of this clearly indicated that they had seen much and been cheated often.

Though Gao Xiang's tone carried a hint of disdain as she spoke, in truth, she didn't hold too much prejudice against the two actresses in her heart.

Having seen such things too many times in the industry and grown accustomed to them, she actually didn't feel much about it anymore.

It was just that this time, she had faced their greed head-on.

It had been many years since anyone dared to make such exorbitant demands of her, which made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Yet once the matter was resolved, she promptly put it out of her mind.

"Since the issue is resolved, we need to start preparing for the character auditions." Song Wan turned her gaze to Zhou Qi. "Director Zhou, which two directors have you invited?"

Zhou Qi replied, "Qian Fu and Cai Qi."

Song Wan was slightly stunned, then smiled, "I actually thought it would be Director Qian and Director Zhao."

Although both were well-known directors, Cai Qi was notably much more indifferent to external gossip. Aside from catching news of him when a film of his was released, even the most skilled paparazzi had no way of knowing what he was up to at other times.

Zhou Qi smiled, a look of quiet triumph on his face.

Song Wan almost couldn't resist talking back to him. That expression... was simply too punchable.

Gao Xiang was also somewhat dazed; clearly, she had not expected that the final person Zhou Qi invited would be Cai Qi.

Seeing them stunned, Zhou Qi immediately laughed. "Unexpected? Or feeling strange? Or would you prefer to swap someone else in?"

Gao Xiang shook her head. "Whether it's Director Qian, Director Zhao, or Director Cai, if they can come to participate in our variety show, we've struck gold."

Song Wan nodded, looking at Zhou Qi with a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

Without dragging it out, Zhou Qi said, "Cai Qi has a role in his hands—a supporting role—whose character design clashes with one of the roles in *Starlight*. Therefore, he wants to come and see if he can find a suitable actor for it first."

Song Wan sat up straight, looking at Zhou Qi in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

Zhou Qi spread his hands. "Is there anything strange about that?"

After thinking for a moment, he added, "Or rather, isn't it only natural?"

Song Wan paused. Upon reflection, she had no choice but to agree with Zhou Qi's words.

Indeed, the explanation that Cai Qi was appearing in *Acting Masters* because of Zhou Qi, and merely helping to select a suitable actor as a favor, was far more believable than the idea that he had joined the variety show simply to take the opportunity to scout for talent himself.

Zhou Qi chuckled, "Cai Qi said that although the two roles still have some differences, he wants to find an actor who fits his vision during the auditions for that specific character."

Song Wan frowned. "Why not just tell us what kind of actor he's looking for so we can help him along the way..."

"Cai Qi has a rather eccentric personality; he doesn't like fully polished actors," Zhou Qi said, looking somewhat distressed. "He prefers to train actors himself."

On this point, Gao Xiang had the most authority to speak. "Many of the stars I used to manage wanted to cooperate with Director Cai, and some had already worked with him, but without exception, Director Cai was extremely dissatisfied with all of them.

"Even when Director Cai was forced to employ them for certain reasons, during the filming process on set, they were scolded severely. Director Cai didn't mind showing his dislike for them on set at all."

She didn't mention that in the end, those investors, entertainment companies, or overbearing big-name stars all lost the guts to use dirty tricks to force him into employing actors he didn't want.

Because as long as Cai Qi wanted to, he could find ways to chase people out of the crew halfway through production.

And the reasons Cai Qi ultimately gave were, without exception, always...

"I don't like your acting style. Too greasy, lacking in spirit, you are simply not the so-and-so I want."

After Gao Xiang finished speaking, Zhou Qi burst into loud laughter. "I never expected he would have the same attitude toward your former artists."

Gao Xiang shot him a sidelong glance.

Zhou Qi hurriedly shut his mouth, shifting the topic, "It was only when I saw him refuse to give Yang Qing any face back then that I realized how extremely meticulous and fussy Cai Qi is when selecting actors."

Song Wan thought about it, and it was true. There had always been rumors in the outside world that Cai Qi liked to use rookie actors, and he was currently the director among the famous generation who used and promoted the most newcomers.

Yet Song Wan remained worried.

One had to understand that directors with rather peculiar personalities like Cai Qi tended to act according to their own impulses and were unlikely to consider others.

"Director Zhou, though I feel like I'm worrying needlessly, I still want to ask," she paused, "Director Cai won't just throw a tantrum and quit halfway after finding an actor he likes, right?"

Gao Xiang blinked: "..."

Zhou Qi: "..."

He wanted to say impossible; how could Cai Qi lack professional ethics to that extent?

However, he quickly realized that being a judge on a variety show... was not Cai Qi's profession at all, so how could one even speak of professional ethics?

Zhou Qi completely believed that once Cai Qi found the actor he wanted, there was a ninety percent chance he would just brush off his hands and walk away.

Gao Xiang said uncertainly, "Director Cai wouldn't do that, would he? If a big name like him breaches the contract, the penalty fee would be astronomical."

The bigger the name of the actor, the less restraint ordinary breach-of-contract clauses held for them. Because they earned vast sums, they simply wouldn't care about the penalty for a single variety show. Therefore, to bind these big names, the penalties stipulated in their contracts were astronomical figures that ordinary people could scarcely imagine.

This was completely normal.

Yet, upon hearing this, Song Wan was already beginning to consider whether she should double the penalty fee in Director Cai's contract.

She, too, felt that given Director Cai's personality, once he found an actor, he would likely drag the person off to start filming immediately, entirely unconcerned about whether the show would fall into trouble after his departure.

Zhou Qi was completely dazed; filming hadn't even started yet, and he was already beginning to regret it.

Zhou Qi looked dumbfounded. "Given Cai Qi's personality, if he really finds a suitable actor halfway through, he will definitely leave."

Gao Xiang widened her eyes directly. "Director Zhou, are you pulling my leg?"

Zhou Qi looked at her, his gaze starting to drift. "I'd love to pull your leg, but you've never fallen for it either."

Gao Xiang: "..." You still have the mood to joke at a time like this?

Pressing her lips together, Gao Xiang suggested, "Can we terminate the contract with Director Cai?"

Whether through a peaceful termination or by paying the penalty fee, could they possibly keep such a ticking time bomb in the production crew? When the time came and Director Cai truly ignored everything and refused to participate, where would they go to find another major director whose status was comparable to Cai Qi's and who also had an open schedule?

However, just as the contract set an astronomical penalty fee for Director Cai, it also set an astronomical penalty fee for the production crew.

From Zhou Qi's personal perspective, this money naturally wasn't much. Yet if they were to breach the contract, there was no way this money would come out of his own pocket.

The penalty fee would definitely be deducted from the production's budget.

However, while the production currently had an investment of two hundred and fifty million, which sounded like a lot, the crew was still meticulously budgeting, terrified that funds would run short and leave them stranded during the film's post-production.

Under such circumstances, Zhou Qi would have to be out of his mind to change his tune at the last minute.

And he knew Cai Qi well enough to know that once Cai Qi had made up his mind to select actors from those auditioning for *Starlight*, attempting to persuade him into a peaceful contract termination was simply out of the question.

Were they really supposed to wait until Cai Qi found an actor and pin their hopes on him staying with the show just because of the astronomical penalty fee?

—What were they even thinking? By that time, Cai Qi would undoubtedly prefer to go bankrupt rather than waste time on the show.

—So thought Zhou Qi, who knew Cai Qi inside and out.

"Then can we find out what kind of actor he's looking for?"

Since they had mentioned that the role Cai Qi wanted to find coincided with a certain character in *Starlight*, couldn't they just find out which character it was and schedule that character's audition for the very end?

Song Wan's mind turned quickly, and she immediately thought of a solution.

But if the matter were that easily resolved, would Zhou Qi—who was close friends with Cai Qi—not have thought of it?

Zhou Qi said with a bitter face, "That's what I'm saying..."

"Huh?" Song Wan looked at Zhou Qi. "What's wrong?"

Wasn't this method a good one?

If Cai Qi truly wanted to scout for talent, putting that character's audition at the end would at least guarantee that Cai Qi would appear for the entire season.

Even if in the final episode, Cai Qi found the actor he wanted and walked away with them—even if the very first actor who auditioned for that role happened to catch Director Cai's eye—because it was only one or two episodes, it would be easy for the production team to edit and cover up the fact of Cai Qi's absence.

However...

"From the moment Cai Qi heard the news, came to me, and signed the contract, until now..." Zhou Qi's face turned ashen, "Cai Qi never told me which character it was."

Song Wan opened her mouth wide in surprise. So, Director Cai had tricked Director Zhou?

Zhou Qi clearly realized it now as well. "I just didn't expect him to play tricks on me..."

In the past, although Cai Qi had an eccentric and willful personality, he had always disdained such petty methods, let alone resort to scheming against him. Why on earth would he start swindling his own friend over a single role?

Qian Fu, who had been waiting to watch Zhou Qi make a fool of himself ever since he got wind of the news, thought: *Hahaha, finally it's Zhou Qi's turn to get scammed by Cai Qi. I must wait and watch the expression of regret turning his intestines green when the show ends up stranded in the end.*

Directors like Qian Fu and Zhao Qing, who had various traps laid for them by Cai Qi over characters, thought: *Good friends share weal and woe; how could only we get scammed while you managed to escape unscathed?*

Thinking of how the actors they had set their sights on were targeted by Cai Qi and signed away in the blink of an eye, only for them to discover it right before filming was about to begin...

*Well played!*

Zhou Qi, upon later learning the truth: *...What deep grievance do you people have against me?*

Of course, for now, Zhou Qi hadn't yet imagined that Cai Qi would pull such a stunt out of pure mischief.

He was merely dumbfounded by this realization: "I'm going to go find Cai Qi and get to the bottom of this!"

"Forget it, Director Zhou."

Zhou Qi turned back. "Song Wan, aren't you afraid the show will be left stranded halfway?"