ABT Chapter 0014 Director Ma's Trouble
By the time everything was settled and Li Fan walked out of the police station, it was already midnight. Li Fan walked on the deserted streets, the dim streetlights casting his shadow long. He rubbed his injured arm, his nose wrinkling at the pungent smell of the plaster.
For the detectives, injuries and blood were part of their daily lives. Lin Lei could tell at a glance that Li Fan's arm was not seriously injured, so he simply slapped on a couple of pieces of plaster, claiming it was a secret remedy used within the Criminal Investigation Division. But Li Fan doubted the substance on his arm, suspecting it came from one of those street stalls where you could get three plasters for ten yuan, and discounts for over twenty yuan.
Li Fan didn't tell Lin Lei everything, and Lin Lei knew that. However, anything unrelated to the case, he chose to turn a blind eye. After understanding the whole situation, as an upright person, he leaned towards believing Li Fan.
Li Fan returned to his dormitory, collapsing onto his bed without even taking off his pants. The combination of fright and exhaustion from the night made him sleep soundly. So soundly that he nearly wet the bed.
As the stars twinkled and the moon cast its light, the bustling city, after a day of hustle and bustle, fell silent. Some people snuggled up to their loved ones and fell into a deep sleep, while others hugged their pillows alone. Some were engaged in fierce battles with virtual enemies under their blankets, while others tossed and turned in loneliness. (I'm definitely talking about League of Legends! Don't get any ideas.)
When most people had turned off their lights and fallen asleep, inside a studio in the outskirts of Tiancheng City, Ma Rao was still pulling at his hair, repeatedly watching the footage.
Ma Rao, one of the top directors of the sixth generation in China, whose films were a staple in both the Chinese New Year and summer box offices. With the booming film market in recent years, various Hollywood blockbusters had swept through China. Ma Rao became the leader of domestic films in sniping against Hollywood.
What troubled him at the moment was the action-adventure film he had recently directed, "Speed Crisis." This film was invested in by the Huayi Brothers Film and Television Company, and they had managed to invite the popular film king, Ha Lu, to star. In order to create the attraction of luxury cars and beautiful women, Ma Rao had even specially invited supermodel Zhou Qingyu to play the female lead.
He replayed the film footage over and over again, and no matter how he looked at the drifting and chasing scenes, they seemed awkward.
The actors' performances were excellent, and the interaction between Zhou Qingyu and Ha Lu was also excellent, even perfect. He hadn't had high expectations for Zhou Qingyu originally; just being a visual appearance role was enough. But Zhou Qingyu's performance far exceeded his expectations.
However, when it came to the scenes of the cars drifting and evading, Ma Rao felt an impulse to smash things.
What the hell is this?!
Over a million yuan was spent on these special effects, and it's no different from "Piggyman"!
Based on this performance, can it compete with "Fast & Furious"?
TMLGB! Ma Rao couldn't help but swear, feeling like he'd been cheated.
Just as he was about to pull all his hair out, his phone beeped.
It was a Weibo notification. A netizen had mentioned him, saying: "@Director Ma, is this the shooting scene of your crew? 'Crazy chase on the streets of Tiancheng, van's extreme evasive drifting!'"
He clicked on it and saw a video clip. The footage seemed to be captured from surveillance cameras; a van and a Reesfaust racing one after the other on the highway, weaving like a dragon and snake. Suddenly, at a crossroads, a fully loaded truck came across. The van couldn't brake in time, but it performed an epic drift, spinning half a circle around the truck's front end, almost like a graceful waltz.
The Reesfaust behind also made a sharp turn, but unfortunately lost control and seemed to have crashed, judging from the video's resolution.
If not for the low resolution of the video, Ma Rao would have thought it was a new Hollywood production!
He became more and more excited as he watched, picking up the phone and dialing his assistant's number. "Hey! Take a look at the video I mentioned you in on Weibo. Go to the Tiancheng City Police Station right away and find the driver of the van in the video for me! I know it's two in the morning now, and I know you're sleeping! I'll give you one day. If you don't bring that person to me, you can find a new job!"
Director Ma was very angry, and he didn't know why, but recently, he just couldn't stand his assistant and agent no matter how he looked at them.
A hurried knocking on the door woke up the four people in the dormitory. The other three covered their heads and continued sleeping, so Li Fan, who was annoyed, had to get out of bed to answer the door.
Li Fan: "Who are you looking for?"
Visitor: "Hello! Is Li Fan here?"
Li Fan: "I'm Li Fan. What's the matter?"
Visitor: "Great, I finally found you. I'm Assistant Director Ma Rao. Our director has something important to discuss with you. Hurry up and put on your clothes and come with me."
Li Fan: "Ma Rao? Which Ma Rao?"
Visitor: "Which Ma Rao could it be? The one who directed 'Thunder Serpent' and 'Bullsh*t'!"
Li Fan suddenly realized: "Oh! Are you going to take me with you and drag me to the set?"
Visitor: "Exactly!"
Li Fan: "And then you'll ask me for an enrollment fee of eighteen hundred bucks, saying you'll arrange a role for me. Then you'll make me change into a costume, claiming it's a costume deposit. And then you'll disappear, right? Now this scam comes knocking on the door offering services. You guys are really dedicated."
With that, he slammed the door shut.
Damn, trying to scam me? No way!
But the person outside didn't give up and kept knocking. This time, Li Fan acted like an ostrich, burying his head in his pillow and pretending to sleep.
About five minutes later, the person sleeping closest to the door couldn't stand it anymore and jumped up, opening the door while still half-asleep. He always slept naked.
The assistant outside didn't wait for the sleepyhead to react and rushed into the room, heading straight for Li Fan's bed.
While shaking Li Fan, he said with a sobbing tone, "Bro, please help me! If you don't go, I'll lose my job! Director Ma has been unhappy with me lately, and my whole family depends on me to make money."
Li Fan sat up abruptly, "Damn, are you ever going to stop? Scamming doesn't work, so now you're resorting to begging?"
Seeing that Li Fan still didn't believe him, the assistant knelt down with a thud, took out his wallet from his arms, and pulled out a stack of red bills.
"Bro, I'm definitely not lying to you! I have over five thousand bucks in my pocket. Take it as a deposit. As long as you go with me!"
Sincere!
Li Fan thought for 1.28 seconds and slowly accepted it. He put the money in his wallet and locked it in the bedside table.
Then he showed a friendly face to the assistant and said, "You seem pretty sincere, let's go!"
The assistant cursed inwardly, you think the money makes me sincere, you bastard!
But he didn't dare to show it and smiled obsequiously. After helping Li Fan wash his face and brush his teeth, he took Li Fan by the hand and hailed a cab to the studio.
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