One minute later.
Ming Ge was respectfully invited to sit on the sofa, with a cup of tea placed on the coffee table in front of her.
A disposable paper cup, containing a few pitifully sparse green tea leaves, bobbing up and down in the steaming water.
Perhaps feeling the hospitality was inadequate, the young director looked vaguely uneasy and coughed awkwardly, "Miss Ming Ge, the crew is about to disband, the site workers have all gone back, so there's no coffee or juice left, only..."
A few tea leaves.
Before he could finish speaking, the woman with the immaculate makeup and commanding presence gracefully picked up the paper cup with her slender fingers and took a sip from the edge of her fiery red lips.
This sip of tea was a gesture of respect.
A warm feeling flickered through Han Sen's heart.
He remembered the doors closed in his face and the times he had to grovel when seeking investment and sponsorship for "The Empress is on Top" in front of wealthy bosses with beer bellies and narrow minds, hoping they would throw him some small change as charity.
Reality ground down the pride and passion in the bones of the youth to nothing.
Some say, that's just how society is if you need something from someone, you have to play the grandchild.
However, from this Miss Ming's demeanor, Han Sen felt a kind of respect that had been missing for a long time.
She could have easily snubbed the cheap cup of tea with arrogant indifference.
But, to save his face, she drank it.
The gaze of the young director towards the woman held a mixture of complexity and gratitude.
Miss Ming Ge really is a good person.
Ding! The good person card!
And Ming Ge...
Ptooey ptooey ptooey.
Mouth full of tea leaf fragments.
Ming Ge could only swallow them down with a stoic face while inwardly cursing her luck.
#My persona as a noble, icy female financier must not crumble#
She gently placed the paper cup back down and spoke, "Director Han, I'm very optimistic about 'The Empress is on Top'."
Here it comes!
Han Sen thought, and then sat up straight.
Putting aside personal subjective emotions, he was a competent director.
Han Sen explained to Ming Ge, "'The Empress is on Top' is a 20-episode ancient costume light comedy..."
Ming Ge listened attentively.
But her mind inevitably drifted to the difficult journey of "The Empress is on Top" in its previous life.
In 2010, this ancient costume light comedy officially started filming in Hengdian Film and Television City.
Due to a lack of funds, the shooting plan was once interrupted and even came close to being aborted.
It wasn't until 2014 that it was restarted, with an investment of twenty million and three months of effort, eventually premiering on Strawberry Network.
A low-budget web series, with no elaborate costumes or sets and no big-name stars, it became an unexpected hit due only to its clear, funny storyline and refreshing pace.
Everyone from the lead actors to the supporting roles became instantly famous.
The 25-year-old young director Han Sen was thereafter hailed as a genius.
However, at this moment, the future genius of the directing world was just a newcomer who faced the dissolution of his very first play, with all his hard work about to go down the drain, a novice director not looked favorably upon by others.
"... Whether it's the theme or the story, I'm confident that this show will be a hit," said the young director with assured certainty, a confidence in his own work before he shifted the conversation, "But, our biggest investor decided to pull out abruptly just yesterday."
Han Sen sighed, his youthful and handsome face filled with a sense of uncertainty and helplessness about the future.
Fortunately, the show hadn't officially started filming yet, having only reached the casting stage. It was still possible to cut the losses in time.
Otherwise, the resulting damages would be incalculable.
Ming Ge mentioned investment, but Han Sen did not harbor much hope; the gap in the crew's finances was not something that could be filled by a small sum of money.
Out of politeness, Han Sen still asked, "May I ask, Miss Ming Ge, how much do you plan to invest?"
Ming Ge's lips curved into a smile, and she held up a finger.