Chapter 12: The待遇 Has Finally Improved!

In the brightly lit supermarket, Ji Yu pushed the cart, following closely behind Li Xiaoran.

“Hengdian is pretty rundown. The environment there isn’t good, and there are a lot of mosquitoes. You have to be careful when filming,” Li Xiaoran chattered while picking up various outdoor essentials from the shelves—mosquito repellent, medicated oil, and all sorts of miscellaneous items.

Ji Yu looked at the gradually filling cart and felt quite pleased. It gave off the vibe of a young couple shopping together.

When they left the supermarket, Ji Yu found himself carrying two huge bags, almost overflowing with goods.

“Give me one, I’ll help you carry it,” Li Xiaoran offered, reaching out, but she quickly withdrew her hand after her fingertips brushed against the back of Ji Yu’s hand.

Ji Yu didn’t mind; since they had already hugged today, he figured he’d wait for another chance to hold her hand.

“Li, let’s go eat and celebrate. I’m hungry,” Ji Yu said.

“Okay, but with all these bags, where can we eat? I should have suggested eating first,” Li Xiaoran replied.

“There’s a noodle shop up ahead. Let’s go there,” Ji Yu said.

Leading Li Xiaoran to the noodle shop, Ji Yu felt he wouldn’t have dared to do this yesterday. Back then, he was still a struggling extra, needing to put on a good front to cover up his status gap and win favor.

But now, as a contracted artist, eating noodles was perfectly fine.

Although it was just noodles, both of them smiled happily, and Li Xiaoran even shared her marinated egg with Ji Yu.

After the meal, Ji Yu smiled and said, “Li, we’re heading to Hengdian tomorrow. I probably won’t be back until November.”

Li Xiaoran smiled back, “Then we’ll meet up when you return. After wrapping up this drama, I’ll be going to other crews as well, also filming in the Magic City.”

“What drama?” Ji Yu asked curiously.

Li Xiaoran smiled, “Rogue Doctor, just a small supporting role, more like a cameo.”

“Alright, see you in November!” Ji Yu said.

“See you in November. Keep up the good work!”

“You too, Li!”

They parted ways at the intersection, laughing.

That night, back home, Ji Yu packed his things and looked at his train ticket, unable to suppress a smile.

Tomorrow he would depart for Hengdian, officially beginning his journey as a star!

Early the next morning, Ji Yu arrived in Hengdian with his suitcase.

It was his first time there, and it wasn’t as bustling as he imagined. He thought there would be film crews everywhere and extras filling the streets.

He headed to the hotel to meet the crew. They had arranged for someone to wait for him there.

Upon meeting, the man was very polite, “You must be Ji Yu. Director Cai specifically called me about you. I’m Xiao Li from the crew, here to help carry your suitcase.”

Before Ji Yu could react, the suitcase was already taken from his hands.

This kind of treatment made him feel like a star!

Ji Yu straightened his back involuntarily.

“We’ve arranged a queen-sized bed room for you. The environment is quite nice. Let’s rest this morning, and at two in the afternoon, I’ll take you to meet the director,” Xiao Li said as they walked.

“We’re divided into three groups for filming. The Bat Demon’s scenes are all in the third group. I’ve checked the shooting schedule for you—filming officially starts tomorrow and will last about fifteen days.”

“Thank you!” Ji Yu was surprised at how professional Xiao Li was.

Xiao Li smiled, “It’s my duty. My main task is to take care of the actors.”

They arrived at the room, and Ji Yu was very satisfied.

What could be better than living alone in a queen-sized bed?

After putting down his things, Xiao Li glanced at the time, “It’s only ten o’clock now. Rest for a bit. I’ll come by again at eleven-thirty to take you out for a meal. Oh, here’s the script. Familiarize yourself with it.”

“Thanks, I’ll treat you next time.”

“No need. I’ll be off then.”

After Xiao Li left, Ji Yu jumped onto the big bed and rolled around happily.

The room was nothing extraordinary—he had stayed in better ones before—but this time, it was different. This time, he was being treated like a star artist.

A milestone!

After tidying up a bit, Ji Yu began reading the script.

He searched his scenes in the script for a long time and finally found that his total lines didn’t even fill four pages.

He suppressed the urge to spit blood.

This small role was ranked tenth?

Ji Yu felt even the Hound God had more scenes than him.

So all the good parts were reserved for the main cast, huh.

Ji Yu wanted to cry but had to accept his fate.

At least he had a few complete scenes.

And yet, these few scenes would take fifteen days to shoot, coordinated with the lead actors’ schedules.

Fortunately, he had a more important role lined up in the next drama, which comforted him a bit.

Meanwhile, in the Magic City at Sugar Man Company, Old Cai was troubled.

The company’s current dramas were all funded and received co-production agreements through connections that Li Guoli had built at China Film Group.

Now, to collaborate with Shanghai Film Group, it was inevitable to use mainland actors and local teams.

Otherwise, with only actors from Hong Kong and Taiwan, China Film wouldn’t approve the permits.

China Film and Shanghai Film had been at odds for a long time.

Previously, cooperation with China Film had gone smoothly, but Old Cai didn’t want to remain just a co-production company. He truly wanted to establish roots in the mainland market.

That was why he stubbornly let go of China Film and spent money to partner with Shanghai Film.

Caught between two giants, a small company like Sugar Man was in a tough spot.

Old Cai’s biggest headache was that Shanghai Film specifically requested Li Guoli to be stationed on the Detective Kelan crew.

This was intended to sever Li Guoli and Sugar Man’s ties with China Film and force a clear allegiance.

Old Cai felt it was too difficult.

He couldn’t afford to offend anyone, but with the company’s growth, he had to make choices.

If Detective Kelan succeeded, the company could firmly establish itself in the Magic City.

If it failed, they’d have to swallow their pride and return to China Film for co-productions.

But that would make survival in the Magic City difficult.

He hoped Li Yapeng and Sun Li wouldn’t let him down!

Oh, and there was also Ji Yu—he wondered if this lucky guy could bring some surprises.

At that moment, Ji Yu was about to go eat with Xiao Li in Hengdian.

Downstairs at the hotel, they ran into Sun Li hurrying back.

“You must be Ji Yu!” Sun Li said happily. “Nice to meet you. I’m Sun Li, also an artist under Sister Cai.”

“Hello, Sister Li, I’m Ji Yu,” he replied politely.

“Don’t be so formal. Come on, I’m treating you to a meal. Sister Cai asked me to look after you,” Sun Li said with the air of a big sister. As the company’s top star, she naturally carried an aura.

With a beauty treating him to a meal, Ji Yu was naturally delighted.

However, Sun Li’s reign as top star was nearing its end. Yesterday at the company, Ji Yu overheard that Old Cai was preparing to sign Guan Yonghe.

Once he arrived, Sun Li’s position would be usurped.

The scariest part was that she might lose more than just her company status.

Milk Tea Liu Ruoying was also vying for her spot!

Huang Lei, that old fox, played his game well.

But that was Sun Li’s problem; it had nothing to do with Ji Yu. After all, it wasn’t his own territory being taken.

In fact, Ji Yu had plans to steal Li Yapeng’s spot himself.

That way, he’d become Sugar Man’s top star!

Otherwise, once Hu Ge appeared, given Old Cai’s tendencies, Ji Yu might not have much chance.

Time waits for no one. He had to develop himself well these few years!