Li Qiyu was a bit confused, but Song Yian remained unmoved. In fact, he even felt like laughing.
When Li Xiangping started talking about this project, Song Yian already knew what he was going to say. He glanced at Li Qiyu and then said, "This is a decision made by the company's project department. I'm not in a position to interfere."
"I'm just saying that the people in your project department are so unreliable," Li Xiangping said angrily.
Li Qiyu felt a bit uneasy at Li Xiangping's angry tone. After all, she was also a member of the project department. She had always been dedicated. How could they be considered unreliable?
At this moment, Jiang Yongfeng stepped in to smooth things over, playing the good cop while Li Xiangping played the bad cop.
"Oh, dear, you can't say that. Xiao An is always magnanimous. His subordinates see that he has a good temper, so they act in a duplicitous manner and do things that are not beneficial to him. We can't blame Xiao An for that."
What they said was so far - fetched. If it weren't for the fact that Li Qiyu was the person in the project department whom he would never suspect, Song Yian would have almost believed their nonsense.
"Dad, Aunt Jiang, what exactly happened? Why are you so angry, Dad?"
Only then did Jiang Yongfeng put on an act of being good for Song Yian and the movie and said, "The thing is like this. Before, the casting manager from your project department contacted Xichi and hoped that she could play the leading female role. Xichi has not been in good health because of her head injury. I didn't want her to take on this role at first. But thinking that this is the first movie of Lishi Film after its listing, as our own people, if we don't help you make a good start, who will?"
Li Xiangping's words were so sincere and moving that Li Qiyu was stunned.
Li Xiangping made a very sad look and continued, "On my side, I finally managed to persuade Xichi to agree to take on this movie. But then, the people in your project department went back on their word. They said that Xichi was only an alternate for the leading female role and it wasn't finalized yet. Moreover, they said that after discussion in the project department, they thought that your former sister - in - law, Ming Yuezhu, was more suitable for the leading female role. Isn't this just playing with people? Our Xichi is Xiyu's younger sister. They dared to treat her like this. They simply don't put you, the CEO, in their eyes."
Li Qiyu, who had been stunned, came to her senses after hearing this last sentence. So, it turned out that after Xichi lost the role, they came here to ask for an explanation.
Li Qiyu was involved in this matter from start to finish, so she had the right to speak. Although she had initially wanted Zhong Yuxiu to play this role, the people in the project department were all experienced. When they contacted Xichi's agent, they clearly stated that she was an alternate and needed to audition.
As for Zhong Yuxiu's audition - it was predictably bad.
After watching the audition, the director kept shaking his head but kept praising Ming Yuezhu, saying that she truly deserved to be a movie queen. He almost praised Ming Yuezhu as a hidden gem.
Li Qiyu smiled faintly and asked, "Sisters?"
As soon as this question was asked, both Li Xiangping and Jiang Yongfeng looked embarrassed. Li Xiangping glared at Jiang Yongfeng, and Jiang Yongfeng quickly tried to make up for it. "Look at me. Since Xichi has always regarded Xiyu as her own sister, I just said it out of habit. Besides, regardless of blood relation, we are all a family. Family members should take care of each other. How can we let outsiders take advantage?"
"Outsiders?" At this point, Li Qiyu reminded them, "Tongtong is still here."
Jiang Yongfeng was put on the spot again.
Li Xiangping couldn't stand it anymore and said to Jiang Yongfeng, "You haven't seen Tongtong for so long. Take Tongtong downstairs to have some fun. He must miss his grandma."
Li Tong wanted to say that he was having a great time here and didn't miss her at all.
But he knew that a good child shouldn't interrupt. So he obediently followed Jiang Yongfeng and left.
As soon as Jiang Yongfeng left, the hall became much quieter.
Li Xiangping continued, "Although what your Aunt Jiang said was a bit rough, the principle is right. You know that Ming Yuezhu insisted on divorcing your elder brother."
Li Qiyu nodded and said, "Yes, I know. She did the right thing."
Li Xiangping was about to continue based on Li Qiyu's "I know", but the following "She did the right thing" left him speechless. He could only look at Li Qiyu with a puzzled look on his face, as if saying -
Do you mean to look down on me or your elder brother?
The cooperation between Song Yian and Li Qiyu was much more tacit than that between Jiang Yongfeng and Li Xiangping.
Song Yian helped Li Qiyu explain, "Xiao Yu means that since elder brother and sister - in - law have no feelings for each other, forcing them to stay together will only lead to hatred out of love. It's better for them to separate for a while and calm down. If they are destined, there may still be a possibility of reconciliation."
"Reconciliation?" Li Xiangping snorted, clearly showing his disdain. "My son, Li Xiangping's son, is not someone she can just abandon and then take back whenever she wants. Does she even put me and our Li family in her eyes?"
However, after saying this, Li Xiangping felt that something was wrong. After all, the relationship between Li Xiyu and Song Yian was not very good at that time. He cleared his throat and quickly changed his words. "Of course, what Xiao An said makes sense. As parents, we naturally listen to our children. As long as there are still feelings, we still support them."
At this point, he tried to persuade again, "Let's not talk about this relationship issue for now. Let's just talk about this matter. If you really think your younger sister Xichi is not suitable, you can find other female celebrities. But why do you have to choose Ming Yuezhu? You know that your elder brother just divorced her. Isn't this adding to your elder brother's pain?"
Song Yian put on a very embarrassed look and replied, "Dad, you don't know. As you said, the people in my company have indeed been spoiled by me. I really can't interfere with the people they want to choose. Not only can't I interfere, but I also have to listen to their opinions. If I don't listen to them, they will be angry with me, the boss."
When Song Yian said this, he was looking at Li Qiyu the whole time.
Li Xiangping didn't notice this little detail. He just felt very angry.
"Are you the boss or are they the boss? How dare they be angry with the boss? They're really out of line."
"But they are talented. They have the ability to make movies that are both well - received and commercially successful. So I have to go along with them. If the talents leave, the loss will be worse than a movie making a loss. I treat the employees in our project department like ancestors. If I don't keep a close eye on them and they leave for someone else, I really won't know where to cry."
At first, Li Qiyu didn't notice anything strange.
But as she listened, she realized that something was off.