Chapter 518: On Set Encounters

Xu Chen stayed polite and well-mannered:

“Hello, Sister Xueli, just call me Xu Chen.”

He smiled again. “A few days ago, I talked with Director Li Yue, and he mentioned an expert in artist management would come to support Bing Ge.”

“I never thought I’d meet you today.”

Huang Xueli had arrived with Bing Ge and Coach Cheng Hong.

But as soon as Bing Ge stepped out of the car, she grabbed everyone’s attention, so even Xu Chen missed Huang Xueli getting out afterward.

Meanwhile, Coach Cheng Hong was busy getting cozy with Sun Aimi, leaving Huang Xueli standing alone.

Director Li Yue had briefly mentioned Huang Xueli to Xu Chen during their call, but didn’t go into details.

He only said she used to handle artist management and event planning at a film company in Beijing, and now she’s been brought in as an ‘expert’ for his business office.

Huang Xueli smiled and said:

“Well, ‘expert’ might be a stretch…”

“But with Bing Ge’s business deals growing and big clients like the Xi Zhilang Group involved, we really need someone dedicated to manage it all.”

Xu Chen smiled, though inside he felt a sharp awareness.

She was clearly skilled in business talk—every word hit the right notes, covering all bases in just one sentence.

She picked up on what Xu Chen had said earlier, subtly confirming her expertise while building trust with ‘Young Xu Chen,’ implying, ‘I can handle all the complexities around Bing Ge.’

At the same time, she casually praised today’s client, the Xi Zhilang Group.

Of course, this was also aimed at Kuang Lili, who stood nearby.

Xu Chen felt impressed, thinking someone like her managing Bing Ge’s business would be a real relief.

Kuang Lili walked over with a smile, and Xu Chen made the introductions.

Only then did Huang Xueli pull out her business card, holding it with both hands as she offered it to Kuang Lili and Xu Chen.

This was the formal business introduction, not just casual chat like earlier.

Xu Chen also properly introduced Zhou Junjun as a ‘company partner.’

Zhou Junjun was great with people; she cracked a couple of jokes and soon chatted easily with Huang Xueli.

With her task done, Coach Cheng Hong headed back to Sun Aimi.

Zhou Junjun picked up on it:

“Coach Cheng seems really into Aimi!”

Xu Chen joked, “Back when we shot that Jeep ad in the Great Northwest, Coach Cheng and Aimi built a solid friendship.”

Shooting wouldn’t start for a bit, so they snacked and chatted.

As someone in business, Huang Xueli was outgoing and talkative.

Listening to her stories, Xu Chen realized she was indeed an expert in artist management and business.

After the millennium, waves of artists from Hong Kong and Bay Island flocked to Mainland China for opportunities.

Among the first to head north, Huang Xueli had managed some very famous stars from there.

Xu Chen pondered quietly—if Bing Ge ever retired from the National Team, she’d need a solid management team.

If Huang Xueli proved reliable, maybe they could bring her over to Ran Bing Sports.

Xu Chen had already discussed this with Nie Fei, planning an internal team for Bing Ge.

But with the National Team’s strict oversight, they couldn’t bypass Director Li Yue, so it was on hold.

Still, when the time was right, they’d have to make it happen.

…

…

The two leads took forever with makeup and costumes, and they still hadn’t emerged.

A director’s assistant approached the rest area and said to Kuang Lili and Xu Chen:

“Ms. Kuang, Young Xu Chen, sorry for the delay—the director just went over the script with the actors again.

They’re tweaking a bit more makeup, and we’ll start shooting soon.

I’ll stay here, so if you have any feedback, just let me know, and I’ll pass it to the director.” …

Wu Feifei and Su Rong came out of the makeup room early, guided by an assistant to the edge of the rest area.

The two girls saw Xu Chen deep in conversation and felt too shy to interrupt.

Xu Chen spotted them and waved with a smile; they quickly walked over.

Su Rong, seeing strangers, hid behind Wu Feifei, blinking nervously.

Wu Feifei was more confident, pulling Su Rong to sit behind Xu Chen.

Kuang Lili had met Su Rong in Pengcheng before and greeted her warmly.

Xu Chen introduced the two young women to Kuang Lili and Huang Xueli, calling them ‘Bing Ge’s good friends.’

Huang Xueli had a knack for breaking the ice, and with outgoing Wu Feifei there, they all started chatting easily.

As they talked about the upcoming shoot, Zhou Junjun leaned in and said:

“After all that makeup time, what’s Bing Ge’s look like?”

Su Rong, who had been quiet, suddenly perked up, tilting her chin with pride:

“He’s incredibly handsome—you’ll see!”

…

The monitor’s big screen showed the live camera feed.

By now, Xie Bingran and Li Lizi had left the makeup room and were heading to the shooting area.

Kuang Lili stared at the screen and couldn’t help saying, “Bing Ge looks amazing!”

Xie Bingran was fully styled as a ‘boy,’ fitting her role as the ‘boyfriend’ today.

She wore a light brown men’s sweater with a Morandi blue scarf around her neck.

This outfit enhanced her ‘warm guy’ vibe, and the winter-like feel matched the ‘warm milk tea’ product.

Yet, it couldn’t hide Bing Ge’s natural cool edge.

Her hair was slicked back, revealing sharp, intense features.

Xu Chen watched the monitor and couldn’t help thinking of the dominant ‘Bing Ge’ from Tiancheng No. 1 High School.

“Heartbreaker of all genders,” “loyal and fierce,” that ‘wolf-dog Bing’…”

Su Rong stared at the screen, her face full of admiration.

She glanced at Xu Chen, then whispered to Wu Feifei:

“What you said before makes so much sense.”

Wu Feifei: “Huh?”

Su Rong: “If Bing Ge were a guy and Xu Chen a girl, that’d be perfect…”

Xu Chen: “…”

Zhou Junjun: “!”

Kuang Lili: “??!”

Su Rong turned to Xu Chen, narrowing her eyes slightly:

“Sis Chen…”

Xu Chen: Σ(っ°Д°;)??!!

“…”

Huang Xueli, whether she heard or not, kept her eyes on the screen with Xie Bingran and changed the topic with a smile:

“Bing Ge’s type is rare in the entertainment world—with no real substitutes.

If she ever leaves sports for film and TV, she’d thrive.”

…

The shooting scene followed East Morning Star Advertising’s original plan: a romantic, European-style town street.

Xie Bingran and Li Lizi were in position, sitting side by side on a bench as the props team handed them You Le Mei milk teas.

Li Lizi wore a white sweater with a red scarf.

At seventeen or eighteen, she had that pure, untouched charm.

Li Lizi leaned against the tall Bing Ge, perfectly capturing that ‘cute girlfriend’ feel.

Xu Chen glanced at the footage and knew this ad was a sure hit.

The shoot wasn’t too complex; the key was nailing the overall atmosphere.

And from the monitor, they had it just right.

The rest came down to the actors’ lines—those cheesy romantic bits.

During creative discussions, Kuang Lili had worried about their acting.

After all, neither Xie Bingran nor Li Lizi were professional actors.

Xu Chen wasn’t concerned:

“Just four or five lines—it’s fine.

Less polished makes it more real…

Plus, this concept plays on ‘cheesy lines,’ so a bit of awkwardness will help it spread.” …

The whole ad only had five lines, but they’d shoot from different angles, taking forever with multiple takes.

…

【What am I to you?】

【You’re my You Le Mei…】

【So I’m just milk tea!】

【That way, I can hold you in my hands…】

…

After Xie Bingran and Li Lizi ran through the scene, Kuang Lili said with delight,

“Better than I expected!”

Zheng Wan, standing nearby, added,

“Yeah! Bing Ge and Li Lizi are so natural!”

Xu Chen grinned mischievously and turned to Kuang Lili,

“Looks like your little princess has some romance experience, huh?”

Kuang Lili burst out laughing but whispered,

“Don’t say that—our boss is strict, and they keep a tight rein on her.”

You could see Li Lizi’s inexperience in acting, but that awkwardness added a shy, genuine touch.

It fit a young girl in love perfectly.

Earlier, in calls with the director, Xu Chen had worries about their acting too.

They’d discussed alternatives, like just filming visuals and dubbing the lines.

In scenes without big expressions, the voice and delivery really show the acting.

But after this run-through, both Xie Bingran and Li Lizi exceeded expectations.

Xie Bingran had never acted before; her past ads were mostly posing and reciting cold lines.

Today, though, she surprised everyone.

Xu Chen felt a bit resigned—maybe this ‘dominant boyfriend’ role just suited Bing Ge…

In his past life, Zhou Jielun’s You Le Mei ad was part of a series of short clips.

But for East Morning Star Advertising, Xu Chen pitched just this one with four lines and a tagline.

It wasn’t laziness.

From a marketing standpoint, focusing on this single ad would make it hit harder.

With limited budgets, putting everything into the best spot is smartest.

This ‘hold in my hands’ idea had already proven popular in the past life, becoming a household phrase.

In a way, Xu Chen’s involvement here saved the client a ton on production and promotion.

And with Xie Bingran riding the 2008 Olympics wave, her appeal likely matched or beat Zhou Jielun’s.

…

The shoot went smoothly.

It was mostly the camera setups and scene changes that dragged on.

Bing Ge was like a unflinching ‘boyfriend machine,’ while Li Lizi stayed glued to her side, looking thrilled.

During a set change, Li Lizi grabbed snacks and happily shared with Bing Ge, all sweet and couple-like.

Xu Chen glanced at Su Rong.

Sure enough, the girl stared at the monitor, pouting like jealousy had hit.

Xu Chen laughed and grabbed the biggest jelly from the table, handing it to her…

Sun Aimi was with the director’s team, busy at the shooting area, wearing big headphones and holding a walkie-talkie.

Coach Cheng Hong sat beside her, acting as a ‘little assistant,’ holding Sun Aimi’s water and snacks.

Xu Chen shook his head, thinking how Coach Cheng, usually so tough as the National Team leader, turned so sweet around Sun Aimi.

Talk about one thing countering another.

…

At noon, the production team set out simple work meals.

Xu Chen grabbed his lunch box and headed to the makeup room to say hi to ‘Little Princess’ Li Lizi.

But mainly, he wanted to sit next to his Bing Ge.

Wu Feifei and Su Rong followed, and soon they all gathered at one table, chatting away.

They were all around seventeen to nineteen, so conversation flowed easily.

Li Lizi was still in high school in Hong Kong and would enter HKU next year, curious about university life.

She peppered Su Rong and Wu Feifei, her ‘freshman seniors,’ with questions.

As Xu Chen listened to Li Lizi talk about her path, he felt a twinge of emotion.

She didn’t have to deal with exams—Li Yongjun had pulled strings, maybe donations, to get her straight into Hong Kong University.

She could have gone to places like Europe or Australia, but Li Yongjun worried about the free-spirited vibe there and kept her in Hong Kong.

Xu Chen thought of his own grueling college exams back in Shandong Province and sighed inwardly.

Life’s inequalities—resources, opportunities—some people are born into privilege…

He looked at Xie Bingran beside him, who was focused on her meal.

Xu Chen couldn’t help thinking their future kids would start life with every advantage.

Xie Bingran chewed a piece of broccoli and noticed Xu Chen staring.

She blinked, as if asking, ‘What?’

Xu Chen smiled, meaning, ‘Nothing.’

…