Chapter 586: Chapter 586

Tony hadn’t rested yet and quickly responded to He Jinxia’s question with a positive answer.

Knowing that Tony could help the crew find a makeup artist, He Jinxia thought about it but didn’t reply to Xu Xiuzi immediately. Content orıginally comes from novel[f]ire.net

She didn’t want to develop a habit in Xu Xiuzi where she would seek her help with every issue, as the hierarchy in the entertainment circle was distinct, and celebrities mostly befriended others of the same or higher status for more benefits.

Even though Xu Xiuzi was a junior she favored, such behavior had already crossed a line.

He Jinxia wasn’t a person of great charity, and Xu Xiuzi’s current status wasn’t sufficient to warrant her help, unless Duan Yu messaged her; only then would she consider helping for the sake of the director.

The most difficult debts to repay were those of favors. Tony, having extensive connections, could find friends in Berlin to help, but he had offered his help in view of He Jinxia’s influence.

And now, He Jinxia wanted to ’sell’ this favor to Duan Yu.

If it were to be sold to Xu Xiuzi, that would be too unprofitable.

When Duan Yu came to her, it was "help".

When Xu Xiuzi came to her, it could only be "beg."

Meanwhile, Xu Xiuzi, not having seen a response from He Jinxia for a long time, furrowed her brows, wondering if even He Jinxia was out of options.

She didn’t want to appear on the red carpet in Berlin with a poor makeup look!

Xi Jing was constantly making phone calls nearby, trying to ask other friends in Berlin if they knew any outstanding makeup artists, since those friends often traveled abroad, and a few of them had also been to Berlin this year, but unfortunately, all the responses were negative.

After contacting all the friends she could think of and still finding no solution, Xi Jing furrowed her brows, sighed, and looked at the time—it was already eleven o’clock at night.

She turned to look at Xu Xiuzi and found her expression equally grave.

Xi Jing’s eyes brightened suddenly, and she asked, "Did Senior Jinxia reply? Can she find someone from her side?"

Xu Xiuzi shook her head, "No, I sent several messages, but she didn’t reply to any. Because I sent them so frequently, I didn’t dare to send more. Do you think she might have fallen asleep and not seen them?"

Xi Jing frowned, that was very possible.

"Did you try calling her to check in?"

Xu Xiuzi shook her head again, looking distressed, "I don’t have her number."

She remembered that afternoon, she had intended to exchange phone numbers with He Jinxia, but He Jinxia, smiling, had told her everyone used WeChat now, so they just exchanged WeChat contacts instead.

Xi Jing tentatively suggested, "Then why not place a voice call through WeChat?"

Xu Xiuzi was also inclined to do this, but every time she was about to press the call button, a feeling of impropriety surged up. Thinking it over, given her current relationship with He Jinxia, it probably wasn’t sufficient to make a voice call.

It wasn’t just for herself; she was also considering the entire crew, so disturbing He Jinxia should be okay, right?

Just as she resolved to initiate the voice call, Xi Jing’s phone suddenly rang, breaking Xu Xiuzi’s hard-earned resolve.

Xi Jing’s eyes lit up, exclaiming, "It’s the director calling!"

Xu Xiuzi hurriedly leaned in to listen together.

Over the phone, Duan Yu’s anxious voice came through, "How is it going, have you found a solution?"

Xi Jing and Xu Xiuzi looked disappointed, having anticipated this for nothing.

Xi Jing said, "No, my friends here in Berlin don’t know any makeup artists, and even if they do, they aren’t close enough with them to help us with makeup.

She hesitated and then shared the approach Xu Xiuzi and He Jinxia had resorted to for help.

"Xiuxiu has He Jinxia’s WeChat. An hour ago, she sent her a message to see if He Jinxia might have a solution, but she hasn’t responded yet. I’m not sure if she’s fallen asleep."

Duan Yu thought for a moment and then decisively said, "Let me try contacting her."

Lying bored on the comfortable and soft hotel bed, He Jinxia was rolling around. She was chatting with Sheng Yan, feeling no guilt for ignoring the message from Xu Xiuzi.

Sheng Yan, feeling her unease, asked, "Is something troubling you?"

He Jinxia thought for a moment and shook her head, "It’s nothing major. I can handle it. I’m just waiting for a call from someone."

Sheng Yan frowned, "A man’s?"

He Jinxia hesitated, then nodded.

Sheng Yan raised an eyebrow, "Don’t wait, just turn off your phone."

He Jinxia, slightly stunned and unable to help but laugh, touched the screen and pouted, "Mr. Sheng Yan, have you noticed that you’ve been quite jealous lately?

Sheng Yan, unflinching, said, "Really? I haven’t noticed."

He Jinxia commented, great, you can never wake someone who’s pretending to be asleep.

She laughed and said, "I’m waiting for a call from a director in my crew. He needs a favor, and I can owe him one, too. As a newbie director whose first film was nominated at the Berlin Film Festival, his starting point is really high."

Sheng Yan’s expression became more serious, "A high starting point doesn’t guarantee greater future achievements. Moreover, because he is young, he’s more likely to lose his way. The difficulty for art films in the film industry isn’t without reason."

He Jinxia nodded, agreeing with Sheng Yan’s perspective.

It’s good for a director to want to make art films, but the bottom line is whether these films can provide a livelihood. If they can’t, what’s the point of making them?

Of course, some might choose to invest unconditionally because of ideals, dreams, or interests, but such investment can’t last forever.

He Jinxia could tell that even though "Eighteen Years Old Sky" nominally had three directors, the final decisions on set were made by Duan Yu, and all three directors deferred to him.

Duan Yu was still young, with infinite possibilities, but it was uncertain if he could resist the temptation of money.

Some art film directors have successfully transitioned to commercial directors, but behind their success, there’s a larger number of art directors who have failed.

Duan Yu’s start was smooth, as his first art film had been nominated for the Berlin Film Festival.

Even without winning any awards, just being nominated was enough to secure his film funding for the next three years, as people were willing to invest in him.

If he could advance further in these three years, the investors would profit, but if he won no awards, many would pull their investments after three years, and that would be Duan Yu’s nightmare.

But who can predict the future? Perhaps Duan Yu has a real talent for making art films, and his future projects might continue to be nominated and even win at major film festivals?

Through "Eighteen Years Old Sky," He Jinxia realized that Duan Yu was the type of director who had a knack for appealing to the tastes of the judges.

His techniques and style were close to academia, sticking to the theme. The films he produced were likely to appeal to the judges. As long as he didn’t change his style, his upcoming works would have a great chance of being nominated.