Hu Lei nodded in appreciation at the young man who led her and Beatrice to the conference room in the Illusion Entertainment building. She opened the door and faced the room filled with more than twenty people. Everyone turned to look at her with dissatisfaction. It seemed that she was the only one who had not arrived."Good morning." She spoke and smiled politely before making her way to the far corner of the room with Beatrice in tow.
"Miss Hu, please be more sensitive next time. We have waited for you for a long time." Lan Jie, the publicity manager, spoke out as soon as Hu Lei and Beatrice sat down.
Hu Lei frowned a bit and looked at her watch. According to the information that she had received, the meeting was supposed to begin at nine o"clock. There were five more minutes before the designated hour.
"Oh, I did not know that the meeting had been moved up." She said evenly.
Normally, she would not quibble over small matters with small people. However, she was still in a poor mood after her almost joyous moment was interrupted rudely. Therefore, she did not feel like bowing down so easily.
"There was no change. The time indicated is nine o"clock, but this is only meant to give a little leeway in case of a problem. Everyone is supposed to arrive at eight, and the meeting officially begins at half past eight." The woman tapped her fingers on the table.
"Then, I will take that leeway." Hu Lei responded.
Almost everyone in the room was shocked by the bold proclamation. They felt that she was audacious to speak like that. After all, even if she was an author, her reputation and influence was nothing compared to the idols or a veteran in the entertainment industry like Lan Jie.
Some people would have protested her apparent rudeness. However, Bei Gong Hai laughed a little, almost involuntarily, at the words. Dai Li also felt that the little author was very amusing.
"Manager Lan, what she says make sense." Dai Li was the one who spoke up.
In the long run, the other people could only accept Hu Lei"s tardiness and apparent rude behaviour. However, in the hearts of the various a.s.sistants and other personnel, she was just a woman who had become arrogant after gaining a little bit of fame.
Hu Lei did not care about their thoughts. She felt that she had done nothing wrong. If they wanted her to come earlier, they should make it clear.
A group of people in casual clothes boarded a beautiful recreational bus which had been temporarily branded with The Queen of the Apocalypse motifs. Obviously, the images were not too grotesque. The primary graphics focused on the three main characters with the rest of the cast and zombies in the background.
Beatrice looked on in apprehension as Hu Lei stepped into the bus. Unfortunately, there was nothing to be done. It turned out that the people who were not directly involved in the movie, such as a.s.sistants, could not board the party bus. They could only follow in a smaller van.
She remembered that she had been warned strictly by Zhong Feng not to leave Hu Lei alone, especially in an unfamiliar place with unknown people. Even if she did know why he imposed such measures, she could not be at peace.
But there was nothing she could do because the reasons for the separation had been clear. The publicity team wanted to shoot some promotional materials from the bus for social media and the fan clubs. It would not do if there were random faces.
In the bus, Hu Lei chose a seat close to the door. The bus was not a standard vehicle. It was a recreational s.p.a.ce with comfortable couches and the essentials of a small home. She could not help wishing that she had one of these when she was on the road for hours.
"Can I sit with you?" A cheerful feminine voice spoke.
Hu Lei found w.a.n.g Yue looking at her with a friendly smile. She had a good impression of this actress, especially after she saw the trailer. She was obviously a gifted person who had represented her Queen in the movie trailer fairly. Therefore, she nodded.
"I am sorry about the debacle earlier during the meeting. It is really confusing if you have never been involved in these things." w.a.n.g Yue initiated a conversation.
Hu Lei nodded in agreement, "It is not like it would cost anything to explain everything completely. It would only be a few more words." She felt like venting, and she was happy to find a sympathetic ear.
"There was this time when I started out that I missed an audition because of unreasonable time rules. Who knew that the people casting at the time expected me to arrive three hours before my audition?" w.a.n.g Yue made a face.
Hu Lei had imagined that it would be awkward for her. After all, Ah-Feng had probably made the arrangements so that she could have a little fun. However, she was pleased because w.a.n.g Yue had taken the initiative to talk to her. With the initial awkwardness gone, she could behave a little more naturally.
"Who makes these rules?" Hu Lei pouted.
w.a.n.g Yue motioned with her head at Lan Jie, who was talking to the bus driver. The older woman looked back at them. They laughed simultaneously. The camera crew did not forget to capture some candid pictures for the promotion. These images will be invaluable before and even after the movie was released.
"You two seem to be having fun." Dai Li settled on the seat opposite them, and Bei Gong Hai settled beside him. The supporting cast could only take seats in the back. They felt it was incredibly unfair that the three big stars sat together, not giving anyone an opportunity to get closer.
Their anger was naturally directly to the one person who did not have the right to be in the group. Weren"t all science fiction writers supposed to be ugly men with low self-esteem hiding in little black rooms? Of course, no one dared to voice such thoughts in a bus full of cameras.
"Do not be nosy. We could be having a sensitive talk about girl things." w.a.n.g Yue responded naturally.
"Judging from your laughter, I would say that you were not saying anything good." Bei Gong Hai joined in with a smile.
Bei Gong Hai had at first been suspicious of w.a.n.g Yue. She seemed to be inciting the crowd to anger in the conference room. However, looking at the two girls, there was no negativity. In fact, they looked like they were getting along quite well.