98: Director Cai dropped the melon seeds in his hand.

Director Cai took another drag from his cigarette butt, twisting it back and forth in the ashtray.

Teacher Yue, after finding Chen Fang to film, was too embarrassed to call him directly, so she had her agent do it.

It was fine if she called; he wasn't a petty person. He understood young people, using work as an excuse to flirt a little, just filming for fun.

Director Cai dropped the cigarette butt and answered the phone, "Hello, Sister Liu."

"Director Cai, good morning. I'm calling to discuss the 'flammable and explosive' MV."

Director Cai chuckled inwardly, but his tone remained humble as he said, "Sister Liu, I've told Teacher Yue many times that we truly put our full effort into it. She shouldn't blame me for being too demanding."

"Mm, I know. Please listen to me first."

"Please speak."

"We recently evaluated the overall effect of your team's MV and found that the current MV version deviates somewhat from our expectations. After careful consideration, we have decided to suspend our cooperation. You can temporarily halt the subsequent post-production work on your end."

Director Cai was stunned. "Suspend?"

"Mm, regarding payment settlement, we will pay for the completed portions according to the contract. As for the specific amount and details, we will have our finance team connect with you to ensure both parties are satisfied. Additionally, if there's an opportunity in the future, we still very much look forward to cooperating again."

Director Cai scratched his head, completely bewildered.

If they weren't using this, were they using Chen Fang's?

What a joke!

And he had called Sister Liu before; she spoke quite amiably, so why was she so polite and distant today?

Could it be that Yue Qingzhu was angry and complained to her?

"No, Sister Liu, let's not be childish. Quality should always come first, right?"

On the other end of the phone, Sister Liu rolled her eyes.

She had things to do the past two days and didn't accompany Qingzhu to the filming set.

The day before yesterday, Qingzhu told her what Director Cai had said, and she immediately realized that this was just slowly PUA-ing her like boiling a frog in warm water, shifting the problems caused by their slacking onto her.

And now he still had the nerve to talk about "being childish" and "quality first," trying to dump the blame on them again?

The more Sister Liu thought about it, the angrier she got, and a small thought of revenge rose in her heart. She sneered:

"It's not that your filming isn't good; your professional standard is very high, and you have a unique artistic vision. It's just that your artistic concept deviates somewhat from our expectations. Since you said quality is most important, and we've already paid the fees, why don't you help us take a look at the new footage and give us some valuable advice, how about that?"

After Sister Liu finished speaking, she still felt unsatisfied and continued sarcastically, "It was filmed by a newcomer, so it's definitely miles worse than yours. With a professional like you giving us advice, we'll have more confidence in the final work. Don't you agree?"

On the other end of the phone.

Director Cai listened to her sincere tone and didn't detect any sarcasm.

He didn't think Chen Fang's filming would be that good, and he was even gossiping in his mind: What's Yue Qingzhu's relationship with Chen Fang? Can they even use his video? Is she paving the way for him with this song's MV? She's truly blinded by love.

But Director Cai wasn't angry either.

As long as they paid, who cared which one they used?

Anyway, he hadn't put much effort into it, only telling people around him that he was going to film a new song MV for Yue Qingzhu. If it was replaced by a shoddy product made by an amateur team, he wouldn't lose face.

"You're too kind; it's what I should do. Send it over, and I'll take a look."

Director Cai hung up the phone, greeted the sound engineer, and returned to his office with his coffee, signing a non-disclosure agreement electronically.

Then he took out a bag of melon seeds from a drawer. Just as he poured out a small pile, he received the footage from Sister Liu.

Director Cai clicked on the footage, and familiar music came from the speakers.

At the same time, he picked up a melon seed.

But just as he bit into it, his smile froze on his face. He put down the melon seed, straightened his body, and stared blankly at the screen.

More than 20 seconds later, the screen went black.

Plop, the melon seed in Director Cai's hand dropped onto the table.

It had to be said, the filming was indeed excellent.

The narrative technique was quite ingenious, employing montage to cleverly splice different scenes and emotional fragments, creating a rich sense of layering.

The editing rhythm was precise, with clean and sharp transitions at key emotionalbreak out points, enhancing the song's dramatic tension. The use of light and shadow was also outstanding…

And Yue Qingzhu was filmed beautifully, with her eyes full of expression.

If his version scored 60 points overall, this one would be 90 points.

He stared blankly down, swallowed, and slowly put the small pile of melon seeds on the table back into the bag.

Damn it, this was even a notch higher in quality than the video he made for "Misty Rain."

What to do?

Was this really filmed by Chen Fang?

Never mind, it wasn't important. The credit was his, so he'd just pretend he filmed it. Now he had to think about how to save face.

He tossed the bag aside, frowned, leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and his gaze fell on the screen.

He had already mentioned to seven or eight colleagues that he was going to film an MV for Yue Qingzhu, and Yue Qingzhu's side hadn't kept it a secret either.

He originally thought the two young people were just playing around, and the video quality wouldn't be high, so he wouldn't be ridiculed by his peers. But now, this MV's quality was exceptionally high.

Next month, he still had the "Misty Rain" MV to participate in the Music Billboard Season. If it was crushed by the "flammable and explosive" MV, his colleagues would definitely say he was kicked out because of poor quality, wouldn't that make him lose all his old face? What about future collaborations?

No, no, he had to think of a way.

Director Cai fumbled for his cigarette pack, pulled out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it.

Should he imply that the two of them had something going on, which was why he was replaced? No, that would be a path to ruin.

He stood up and paced around the office several times, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

Chen Fang was the lyricist and composer!

He could just say that he understood it more deeply and had talent!

Losing to a colleague was embarrassing.

But losing to a lyricist and composer + a talent monster, that would be alright, wouldn't it?

Director Cai suddenly had an idea: could Chen Fang film two more incredibly amazing videos next month? Losing to someone of similar skill was embarrassing, but losing to a sudden monstrous talent, that was just human nature, wasn't it?

One person suffering was very painful, but what if everyone suffered?

Please, he was now sincerely praying that Chen Fang was indeed a monster, and that he'd hurry up and film!

Director Cai's thoughts were a mess. He shook his head, sat back in his chair, and leaned weakly against the backrest.

Sigh, but no matter what, he was going to lose face.